Abstract:
A bottle cap formed throughout of a single piece of readily deformable, highly stretchable resilient material such as LSR; and comprised of a cap member having a cavity therein with a mouth and an interior surface adapted to receive the neck of a wine bottle therewithin and having a readily deformable resilient closing bead at its mouth for positively engaging the neck of the bottle and securing the cap member thereon. A pair of rings formed integrally with the cap member are carried by opposite exterior sides of the cap member and extend outwardly therefrom, one of said rings being of a larger interior diameter than the other and which is slightly less than the exterior diameter of the exterior lip found on most, if not all, wine bottles. The larger ring is connected to the outer edge of the cap member by a hinge panel which, in its free form, extends horizontally outwardly from the bead at the lower end of the cap and supports the ring and an upstanding stabilizer in the form of a flap. The opposite ring consists of a loop having ends which are spacedly connected to the bead at the lower end of the cap member and is useful in applying the cap member to a bottle and in removing same therefrom, when desired.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    Various bottle caps have been known and utilized widely for many years in various forms and have been of many different designs, in an effort to serve different specific purposes. As a consequence, scores of patents have been obtained, and a huge number of terms have been utilized in seeking to define their novelty. Terms such as beads, pull tabs, latch rings, deformable teeth, inside seals, outside seals, slots, flanges, rims, clamps, coating agents, stoppers, seals, gossets, and tear strips are only a few of such terms which have been utilized in seeking to describe the construction and operation of the devices patented in scores of patents which have issued on such devices.  
           [0002]    To the best of our knowledge, however, no one has suggested or designed a reusable bottle cap which includes integral bottle-neck engaging means and inherent elastic means for facilitating application thereof to a bottle-neck and an integral stabilizer for application of the cap member to a bottle-neck. Also, no one has conceived of a reusable bottle cap which includes a pair of rings or tabs extending outwardly at opposite sides of the cap to facilitate the successful application of the bottle cap to a bottle, in order to seal the bottle, or to remove the bottle cap from a sealed bottle. Thus, a need exists for a simple and inexpensive bottle cap which enables the user to apply and remove the bottle cap, and which successfully self-seals in an effective manner.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Our invention constitutes a definite improvement in the manufacture and performance of bottle caps, especially those previously known and used by wine drinkers and purveyors. It provides a self-sealing cap which is effective in sealing liquids within a bottle, particularly wines. Since it can be manufactured of solely liquid silicone rubber, it simplifies the manufacturing procedures and limits the number of said procedures markedly, as well as the costs thereof.  
           [0004]    This bottle cap is self-sealing and permits storage of open bottles of wine on their sides, without leakage or loss. It remains attached to the neck of the wine bottle while wine is being poured therefrom, without need for attention. It transfers no color or flavor to the wine or other drinkable liquids while the liquids are stored therein. It is self-adjusting to bottle-necks of different diameters and automatically provides a drip-recovering edge during the wine-pouring activities. In addition, it is relatively inexpensive to be manufactured.  
           [0005]    Our invention is relatively simple in construction and can be manufactured in a single injection molding procedure, since the entire member is made of the same material (LSR) which has an elongation or stretchability factor of at least 200%. As shown, it is comprised of a cap member which is of generally cylindrical shape with an open mouth defined by an annular bead at its lower end, and a closed ceiling, and is designed to self-seal when applied to the top of an open wine bottle-neck. The cap member has opposite sides, to one of which a relatively large ring member is secured in spaced relation, by a flat, relatively wide hinge member. A thin upright stabilizer in the form of an outwardly curved thin sheet is mounted upon the upper surface of that ring member and extends upwardly therefrom, opposite the cap member.  
           [0006]    At the opposite side of the cap member, a tab member in the form of a somewhat smaller ring is secured to the bead at two circumferentially spaced locations which enables the user to manipulate the mouth of the bead as required to properly address the open mouth of the wine bottle-neck. The spaced locations of attachment to the bead facilitates such manipulation, so that during application, the mouth of the cap member can be maintained in true alignment with the mouth of the wine bottle.  
           [0007]    It should be noted that the lower surfaces of the above two rings and that of the bead all extend in the same general plane.  
           [0008]    It is an object of our invention to provide a relatively more effective bottle cap than has heretofore been known.  
           [0009]    It is also an object of our invention to provide a bottle cap which is relatively less expensive but more satisfactory when all aspects of comparison are considered.  
           [0010]    A further object is to provide a satisfactory bottle cap which is self-sealing.  
           [0011]    Another object is to provide a bottle cap which will automatically catch wine drops which frequently drip from the neck of a wine bottle after wine has been poured therefrom.  
           [0012]    Another object is to provide a bottle cap which is self-adjustable to bottle-necks of various diameters.  
           [0013]    These and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following description, made in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which: 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of my invention, taken from above;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof,  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 is a side elevational view thereof,  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of an open wine bottle with one of our bottle caps applied thereto preparatory to sealing same;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the bottle-neck receiving ring of one of our bottle caps in its free form;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of a wine bottle-neck and the bottle-neck receiving ring of one of our bottle caps mounted thereon; and  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view of one of our bottle caps, taken along the longitudinal center thereof 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0021]    As shown in the drawings, our invention includes a reusable, plastic, self-sealing bottle cap which is designed to improve the performance of bottle caps, especially for wine bottles and to minimize the cost of manufacture thereof. Our bottle cap is designed to self-seal in a highly effective manner and to provide advantages over all bottle caps previously known. To begin with, we have found a self-sealing bottle cap which will perform in a highly improved manner and can be manufactured at a reduced cost. It is a single piece elongated item which can be injection molded in a singled-step procedure of liquid silicone rubber (LSR), which is highly stretchable and imperious to liquids, such as wine. It seals in a highly satisfactory manner and attaches directly to the bottle at all times, irrespective of whether it is in bottle-sealing position or removed therefrom to dispense wine from the bottle.  
         [0022]    As shown, our improved bottle cap is comprised of a centrally disposed cap member  10  which, in its free form, is generally cylindrical in shape, having a closed ceiling  11  at its upper end and an open mouth  12  at its lower end. It has a vertical sidewall  13  and opposite vertical sides  13   a  and  13   b  which terminate at the lower end of the cap member in an annular bead  14 .  
         [0023]    This bead  14 , as best shown in the vertical sectional view of the drawings, has larger thickness dimensions than the thickness of the sidewall  13 .  
         [0024]    At the opposite side  13   b  of the cap member  10  a thin, flat, relatively broad hinge member  15  is connected to the bead  14  and extends radially outwardly therefrom as best shown in the vertical sectional view of FIG. 7. The outer end  15   b  of the hinge member  15  is connected directly to a relatively large ring member  16  which has an internal diameter which is slightly smaller than the exterior diameter of a conventional wine bottle-neck.  
         [0025]    The ring member  16  is designed to be applied to the neck of a wine bottle so as to encircle same shortly below the lip which is carried by most, in not all wine bottles, at a short distance below the wine bottle&#39;s mouth. It has a unique cross-sectional shape, as shown in FIG. 7, the vertical sectional view of the drawings. It&#39;s lower surface  17 , in its free form extends horizontally and is planar with the bottom surface  15   a  of the hinge  15  and of the bead  14 . The upper surface  18  of the ring  16  also extends horizontally in its free form, and thus extends parallel with the lower surface  17 .  
         [0026]    The lower and outer exterior circumferential surface  19  of the ring  16  extends vertically while the inner surface  20  extends at 75 degrees off horizontal. The axially longer circumferential surface  21  of the ring  16  extends at an angle which is 50 degrees off vertical and extends between the top horizontal surface  18  and the vertical surface  19 . As described hereinafter, the peculiar cross-sectional shape of the larger ring  16  plays an important part in providing a drip-catching function in conjunction with wine-serving activities. Mounted upon the upper horizontal surface  18  of the ring  16  is an upstanding stabilizer  22  in the form of a flap or panel which is concaved to correspond with the curvature of the wine bottle and ring  16 , and is adapted to conform to the exterior shape of the neck of a wine bottle and which when gripped by the index finger of the user when the ring  16  is in encircling relation to the bottle-neck, will stabilize the hinge  15  and the cap member  10 .  
         [0027]    At the opposite side  13   a  of the cap member  10 , a second ring member  23  extends outwardly from the bead  14  and is secured, as shown, at spaced locations along the circumference of that bead. This ring member  23 , like ring member  16  has a flat under-surface  24  which extends in the same plane as the lower flat surface  14   a  of the bead  14 . As shown in FIG. 2, the ring  23  utilizes the exterior surface of a portion of bead  14  to complete the ring. The two points of connection thereof to the bead  14  are each spaced an equal distance from the longitudinal center-line of the entire assembly, as shown in FIG. 2, which is a top plan view thereof.  
         [0028]    The smaller ring  23  has a greater thickness than that of the sidewall  13  of the cap member  10  and is connected directly to the bead  14  at opposite sides of the longitudinal center of the integrally formed assembly, which includes the cap member  10  and its bead  14 , hinge  15 , larger ring  16  and smaller ring  23 . It is somewhat less in its inner diameter than the exterior diameter of the average wine bottle neck.  
         [0029]    The ring  23  is an improved form of a tab because of its construction and spaced points of attachment to the bead  14  adjacent the mouth of the cap member  10  at two circumferentially spaced locations, thereby enabling the user to manipulate spaced portions of the bead  14  in the event the area surrounding one point of attachment of the ring  23  progresses ahead of the other, or to one side of the mouth of the wine bottle, as sometimes occurs in the application of a cap member  10  to a wine bottle to be closed. If the user carelessly fails to align the cap member directly opposite the centerline of the neck of the wine bottle, the bead  14  may tend to slip somewhat sidewise as it is applied to the open-mouth bottle. In that event, the advantage of the connection of the outermost portions of the ring  23  to the bead  14  at locations disposed at each side of said centerline come into play, for the user can readily draw the cap member  10  and bead member  14  back into alignment with the mouth of the bottle by increasing the extent of draw applied to the ring  23  at that side of the ring. In this manner, the application of the cap member  10  to the bottle-neck may be facilitated, for then the bead  14  of cap member  10  will readily slip downwardly over the lip of the bottle into sealing position.  
         [0030]    As shown the smaller ring  23  has a horizontal under-surface  24  and a horizontal upper surface  25 . Its radial thickness is 0.100″. As shown in the drawings, the ring  23  is generally horseshoe-shaped and measures roughly 0.600″-0.700″ between its points of juncture with the bead  14 . Each of its radially spaced surfaces  26  and  27  extend vertically. The sidewall  13  and ceiling  11  of the cap member  10  are each formed of LSR and are 0.020″ thick. The annular bead  14  has an internal diameter of approximately 0.900″ and extends along and below the lower end of the sidewall  13 . As shown, the bead  14  has a diameter which extends inwardly of the inner surface  13   c  of the sidewall  13  only a distance adequate to securely fasten the cap member  10  to the neck of a wine bottle of conventional diameter. As shown, the outermost surface  14   b  of the bead  14  is vertical except where the hinge member  15  is connected thereto. The lowest surface  14   a  of the bead  14  is a continuation of the lowest surfaces of the smaller ring  23 , the hinge member  15  and the larger ring  16 , since each of said surfaces extend in the same plane when in their free form.  
         [0031]    The exterior circumferential surface  14   b  of the bead  14 , in its free form, extends vertically upwardly throughout its circumferential length except for the area at which the hinge member  15  is attached thereto. The upper surface of the bead  14  is connected throughout its circumferential length to the lower annular edge of the sidewall  13 , The inner surface  14   c  of the bead, which defines the interior diameter of the bead  14 , is arcuate in shape and has a radius approximating 0.030″.  
         [0032]    The hinge member  15  emanates from the exterior surface  14   b  at one side of the bead  14 , as shown in the drawings. As shown in the plan view and the vertical sectional view, it is comprised of a flat strip of the LSR material extending from the exterior surface  14   b  of bead  14  to the larger ring  16 . The under-surface  15   a  of the hinge extends co-planar with the under surfaces of the cap member  10  and surface  24  of smaller ring  23 . The outer end of the hinge member  15  is connected directly to the larger ring  16  and supports same. The hinge member is flat and relatively thin and 0.700″ wide, as best shown in the plan view of the drawings. Its outer end  15   b  is arcuate in shape and is connected directly to the outer circumferential portions  16   a  of the larger ring  16 , as a continuation of the LSR molding.  
         [0033]    The ring member  16  has a diameter slightly greater than that of the cap member  10 . It has an internal diameter of 1.050″ and an external diameter of 1.150″. Its under-surface  17  is co-planar with the undersurfaces of the hinge member  15 , the bead  14  and ring  23 . Its circumferential surface is divided between a lower vertical circumferential surface  19  and an upper circumferential surface  21 , the latter of which slopes at a 50 degree angle to the surface  19 . Its top surface  18  extends horizontally. Its inner circumferential surface  20  extends at an angle of 75 degrees off horizontal. It is surface  18  which modifies and converts into the drip collector, as described hereinafter.  
         [0034]    As shown, the inner diameter of the bead  14  is slightly less than that of the inner surface  13   c  of bottle cap  10 . Its inner diameter is also slightly less than the exterior diameter of the lip  28  of a conventional wine bottle. As a consequence, the bead  14  can be readily stretched so as to slip over the open end of a wine bottle and the lip thereof, and then tighten over the portions of the wine bottle-neck immediately below its lip and seal therearound. As shown, the bead  14  is 0.900″ in its free form internal diameter.  
         [0035]    The preferred range of hardness of the LSR material from which our improved bottle cap is manufactured is about 40-60 Shore A. We prefer to utilize LSR having a Shore A value of 50. The outer range of LSR suitable for use in the manufacture of our improved bottle cap is 5-80 Shore A. The inner diameter of the bottle cap  10  is slightly less than the exterior diameter of the bottle neck of a conventional wine bottle immediately below the lip of the bottle neck.  
         [0036]    The radius of the arcuate portions of the ring  23  is 0.300″. The distance from the centerline of the bottle cap  10  and the outer surface of ring  23 , taken along the longitudinal centerline of the entire molding as disclosed herein is 1.000″. The vertical thickness of the hinge  15  is 0.040″. The overall length of the entire molded assembly is 2.995″. The radial thickness of the ring  16  is 0.100″ and the diameter of its interior is 1.050″.  
         [0037]    As shown in the drawings, the claimed bottle cap includes an upstanding stabilizer  22  which is mounted upon the upper surface  15   c  of hinge  15  at the outer end of the latter. It is curved in its horizontal sectional form to conform with the curvature of the inner surface  16   a  of ring  16  and extends upwardly 0.50″.  
         [0038]    The above bottle cap is unique in both structure and operation. The two rings at opposite sides of the cap member supplement each other. To utilize same, the ring  16  is applied to the mouth area of a wine bottle which may or may not have been previously opened, with the mouth  12  of the bottle cap  10  facing upwardly. In doing so, the depending stabilizer  22  conforms to and bears against the neck of the bottle and the thin cap member  10  with its mouth facing upwardly; is ready for capping the wine bottle when same is desired.  
         [0039]    Once the bottle of wine has been opened, our bottle cap  10  remains attached at all times to the bottle-neck, as described above. At the termination or interruption of the wine-pouring activities, it is a simple procedure to move the bottle cap  10  into closing position over the open wine bottle-neck. It can be accomplished by merely grasping the wine bottle neck, with the index finger of one hand, around the stabilizer  22  and wine bottle-neck, and grasping the other ring  23  with the fingers of the other hand, and bringing the mouth of the cap member  10  into closing position over the mouth of the wine bottle-neck, until the bead  14  passes downwardly over and beyond the lip  28  of the bottle-neck  29 , which is the position in which the bead  14  of the bottle cap member  10  effectively seals the bottle-neck  29 . Thereafter, if deemed desirable, the wine may be stored in the sealed bottle, on its side, indefinitely and without loss of wine.  
         [0040]    In the event that the user does not draw our bottle cap directly over the mouth of the bottle-neck  29 , it can be readily re-aligned by the user applying a greater pull upon the side of the ring  23  which has failed to draw the bead of the bottle cap directly over the open bottle neck. In this manner, the widely spaced single points of attachment of the ring  23  to the bead  14  greatly facilitates the correct alignment of the mouth of the bottle cap  10  with the mouth of the bottle neck  29 . From this position, the bottle cap  10  can readily be moved downwardly into sealing position below the lip  28 .  
         [0041]    [0041]FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate how the ring  16  functions to perform the drip collection referred to hereinabove. FIG. 5 shows the cross-sectional shape of the ring  16  in its inverted free form prior to its application to the bottle-neck of a wine bottle. As shown in FIG. 7, the opening in bottom surface  17  is of a larger diameter than the opening in upper surface  18 . When the ring  16  is applied to a wine bottle in inverted condition, as shown in FIG. 6, the narrower opening in inverted upper surface  18  is stretched to a greater extent than the larger opening in inverted lower surface  17 , which distorts the cross-sectional shape of ring  16  and in doing so, causes the outer edge  30  of the inverted lower surface  17  to swing upwardly toward the mouth of the bottle, thereby creating a drip-catching groove  31  at the lower edge of the lip  28  of the wine bottle. This obviates the well-known drip problem which waiters have in pouring wine for their customers.  
         [0042]    Wherever herein we utilize the term “plastic,” that term is being utilized in its descriptive sense only.  
         [0043]    It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of the invention which comprises the matter shown and described herein and set forth in the appended claims.