Agglomerated Cork Stopper Sealing Rolled Edges
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cork stoppers for wide-necked containers, especially those made of deformable materials, face challenges in sealing due to manufacturing complexity and high costs, as well as difficulties in allowing gas exchange and recycling, with previous solutions not providing satisfactory sealing or being cost-effective.
Innovation Solution
A single-piece agglomerated cork stopper with a specific frustoconical shape and acute angle (81-85 degrees) that fits containers with rolled edges, featuring a thicker distal part for gripping and a thinner proximal part for sealing, and optionally a middle part for precise machining, ensuring effective sealing and easy manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a two-part composite stopper with plastic insulating element is used, then hermetic sealing is achieved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the sealing function and insulating function into a single integrated cork stopper structure. The cork material itself provides both the sealing capability through its compressible nature and the insulating properties, eliminating the need for separate plastic insulating elements and reducing manufacturing complexity from assembling multiple parts to producing a single piece.
Solution Approach 2:
The stopper features a proximal part with specific geometric characteristics (frustoconical shape with angle α between 81-85 degrees) that provides enhanced sealing quality at the container opening interface, while the distal part maintains the traditional cork structure for insulation and gripping. This local optimization of geometry at the sealing interface achieves hermetic sealing without requiring additional insulating components.
2Reliability
If traditional cork stoppers are forced through wide-necked containers, then sealing is achieved, but the container material must be rigid enough to maintain shape
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the geometric parameters of the stopper, specifically introducing a frustoconical proximal part with angle α between 81-85 degrees. This geometric parameter change allows the stopper to create an interference fit with rolled edges of the container opening, providing reliable sealing even in wide-necked containers with more flexible materials like cardboard or plastic, without requiring the container material to be rigid.
3Ease of manufacture
If a one-piece cork stopper is used, then manufacturing is simplified, but sealing effectiveness may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The stopper features a proximal part with specific geometric characteristics (frustoconical shape with angle α between 81-85 degrees) that provides enhanced sealing quality at the container opening interface, while the distal part maintains the traditional cork structure for insulation and gripping. This local optimization of geometry at the sealing interface achieves hermetic sealing without requiring additional insulating components.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention relates to a stopper for covering a container (7). The stopper has a distal portion (1), having a distal face (11), an internal proximal face (12), and a lateral face (13), and a proximal portion (2) having a proximal face (21) and a lateral face (22). The maximum distance between the axis and the lateral face (22) of the proximal portion (2) is strictly less than the minimum distance between the axis and the lateral face (13). The stopper is such that the angle α between the proximal face (12) of the distal portion and the lateral face (22) of the proximal portion (2) varies from 81 degrees to 85 degrees.