Patent ID: 6352165
Filing Date: 2002-03-05
Classification: B65B

Abstract:
An apparatus for sealing and pressurizing a bottle having an opening on a top end section and external threads extending about the top end section, said apparatus comprising:an internal cap section having a bottom end with a bottom opening, a top end, and a generally cylindrical side wall located between said bottom and top ends and forming a chamber adapted to receive at least a portion of the top end section of the bottle, said cap section having internal threads found in said chamber and adapted for engaging said external threads in order to detachably mount said apparatus on the bottle; an annular compressing plate mounted on said cap section so as to be movable upwardly or downwardly on said cylindrical side wall around which the compressing plate extends, and such that said compressing plate is non-rotatable relative to said cap section; a resilient, expandable and compressible bellows located above said compressing plate and arranged around said cap section, said bellows having an opening for passage of air into or out of the bellows; and an exterior cover member having a cylindrical side wall that has interior threads formed on the inside thereof in operative engagement with a circumferential edge of said compressing plate, such that rotation of said cover member in a predetermined direction to a sufficient extent causes said bellows to be compressed by upward movement of said compressing plate relative to said cap section, wherein during use of the apparatus, said compression of said bellows forces compressed air to flow from the inside of said bellows into the bottle and said apparatus forms a sealing closure over the opening on the top end section.