DRIP-CATCHER

Abstract: The invention relates to a drip-catcher for, for instance, a bottle and intended for preventing dripping and drops seeping from the bottle orifice during pouring. The drip-catcher of the invention simply consists of a piece (1) of flexible and elastic foil material, preferably plastic material foil having the thickness of .1-.2 mm. The diameter of the piece of material may be 60-80 mm. When used as a drip-catcher the piece of material is rolled into an oblong cylindrical form and inserted in the orifice of the bottle. Due to its elasticity the piece of material will positively engage the orifice and constitute a tube-formed outlet spout. Due to the small thickness of the foil material and its liquid-repellent nature this spout cuts off the jet very efficiently and is also a very efficient drop-catcher. The drip-catcher of the invention is extremely simple and cheap. Its use is uncomplicated and it is universally applicable because the piece of material adjusts itself to the bottle orifice irrespective of its size. The effect of the drip-catcher is remarkable due to the small thickness and liquid-repellent surface of the material.

Description: Drip-Catcher This invention relates to a drip-catcher, especially for a bottle or similar liquid container, and of the kind indica¬ ted in the preamble of claim 1. Drip-catchers are already known, for instance in the form of a beak for placing in a bottle and intended for pre¬ venting dripping from the bottle when pouring. A well-known drip-catcher of this type consists of a cork in which has been inserted a through-going tube-formed spout. The spout ends in an obliquely cut edge which during the pouring of the liquid on the one hand will gather the liquid in a regular and well-defined jet so that splashing is avoided and on the other hand will cut off the jet at the end of the pouring so that no drop is formed at the spout. The latter feature is particularly important because when the bottle returns to its upright position the drop remaining at the edge of the spout tends to seep downward on the outside of the bottle which is highly undesirable. Apart from the fact that the effect aimed at is only parti¬ ally obtained it is a common feature of the known drip-cat¬ chers that they are bulky, impractical in use and relative¬ ly expensive to manufacture. They are not suited for being discarded upon use. As to the type comprising a cork with an inserted tube, the cork will often dry up so that it does not fit tightly in the bottle. The liquid can then seep out along the cork during pouring so that the device far from improving the pouring qualities of the bottle gives rise to a dirty bottle and dirty surroundings. The purpose of the invention is to suggest a simple, cheap and universally useful drip-catcher which does not present the drawbacks of the hitherto known drip-catchers. This drip-catcher should, much more efficiently than hitherto possible, prevent splashing and dripping during pouring in- to, for instance, a glass. The solution according to the invention consists in shaping the drip-catcher as indicated in the characterizing clause of claim 1. The drip-catcher quite simply consists of a round or circular piece of semi-rigid flat plastic foil having a thickness of 0.1-0.2 mm dependent upon the flexi¬ bility of the material. Other types of material or lamina¬ tes of several materials, for instance plastic-laminated paper, may also be used. The size of the piece of material may be of the order of magnitude 60-80 mm diameter. When using the drip-catcher one rolls the piece of material into an oblong cylinder and inserts* one end of it in the bottle or container. Due to its elasticity the piece of ma¬ terial tends to unroll so as to assume its original flat configuration and in so doing it tightly engages the inside of the bottle orifice. In this simple way a cylinder-formed spout, which may be slit or completely closed, is formed. It should be noted that the piece of material adapts itself to the orifice of the bottle irrespective of the orifice size, i.e. the drip-catcher is universally useful within a relatively large diameter interval. When pouring, the liquid passes the cylindrical outlet presented by the drip-catcher. Due to the smooth and thin character of the foil material the outlet will constitute an ideal drip-catcher because the edge of the foil cuts off the jet sharply. By using a plastic material having a low adhesion effect to the liquid concerned according to claim 3 the formation of a drop at the cutting-off edge is efficiently avoided which would otherwise, at the end of the pouring, lead to seeping down of drops on the outside of the bottle. In other words, the drip-catcher fulfills its task efficiently in as simple manner. The contour of the cut out piece of material may vary with¬ in wide limits, it may be circular, elliptical, rhombic, rectangular or triangular dependent upon desire and pur¬ pose, cf. claim 2. The drip-catcher may have printed on it an advertisement or otherwise be used for publicity, cf. claim 5. The drip-catcher may be disposable, i.e. intended for being discarded after use, cf. claim 6, and in this embodiment it may constitute part of the bottle package, for instance it may be packed in a label pocket on the bottle or otherwise be handed out together with a purchased bottle. Or the drip-catcher may present an adhesive zone for direct at¬ tachment to the bottle. A tear off-line between the adhe¬ sive zone and the drip-catcher proper makes it possible to detach the latter for use. The invention will be more closely illustrated in the fol¬ lowing, reference being had to the drawing in which Fig. 1 shows a circular piece of material according to the invention in its starting configuration, Fig. 2 is the same piece of material in the form of a roll for inserting in a bottle, Fig. 3 is the piece of material inserted as a drip-catcher in a bottle, Fig. 3a is a view along arrows A-A of Fig. 3, Fig. 3b is a similar view in which, however, the drip-cat¬ cher has been introduced into a somewhat larger bottle, Fig. 4 is a magnified sectional view showing the outlet edge or cutting off-edge of the drip-catcher, the liquid coming pouring out through the outlet, Fig. 5 is the samt. picture shown at the end of the pouring, and Fig.6 shows several shapes of the piece of material. In the embodiment of the drawing the drip-catcher simply consists of a circular cut out piece 1 of .13 mm plasic foil or plastic laminate, for instance PVC plastic material or a similar plastic material quality. The material may be transparent or opaque and may be coloured. The material should possess a suitable flexibility and elasticity depen¬ dent upon the purpose so that the cylinder form shown in Fig. 2 can easily be obtained by manual rolling. The size of the piece of material depends upon the size of the bott¬ le. For usual domestic size bottles-a diameter of 60-80 mm will be suitable. Upon forming the piece of material into a cylinder (Fig.2) it is inserted in the mouth of the bottle (Fig.3). In the drawing the bottle is designated by F. Due to its elastici¬ ty the piece of material will tend to unroll into its ori¬ ginal flat configuration which, however the mouth of the bottle will prevent. The material will engage the inside of the bottle thereby forming a spout-like outlet of the bott¬ le. Presuming the bottle neck regularly round and smooth the piece of material will seal efficiently inside the bottle neck and provide an ideal bottle outlet. In the pouring operation the thin sharp edge of the piece of foil material at the outlet edge 2 brings about that the jet V of liquid is efficiently cut off when the pouring is terminated, i.e. when the bottle returns to its upright position. The cutting off prevents the formation of drops at the outlet edge 2 which drops would otherwise seep down on the outside of the bottle. The drop-repelling effect is enhanced by using a type of" plastic material for the drip— catcher having a low surface adhesion to the liquid concerned. As appears from the above the drip-catcher is self-adjust¬ ing, i.e. the drip-catcher may be used for bottles of va¬ rying size, cf. Figs. 3a and 3b. Thus the drip-catcher is universally applicable. The cutting off effect of the drip- catcher is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 showing the pouring operation at the outlet edge and the termination of the pouring, respectively, in which latter situation the jet V of liquid is cut into a portion P which continues leaving the bottle and a portion Q which returns to the bottle. It should be noted that the sharp edge of the foil prevents drops from clinging to it, all in connection with the smooth liquid-repelling surface of the foil material and the surface tension of the liquid. - The invention is shown in some variants in Fig.6. The piece of material should preferably present rounded corners which brings about the best drip-catching effect. The invention is not restricted to the embodiments of the drawing and the foregoing description. The drip-catcher of the invention is useful for other objects than bottles such as jugs, cans and barrels. The material of the cut out piece may be another material than here specified.

Claims: P a t e n t C l a i m s 1. A drip-catcher, especially for a bottle or similar li¬ quid container, and of the kind intended for placing in the outlet orifice of the bottle or container (bottle neck, spout or mouth) for the purpose of making possible the drip-free pouring of a liquid from the container concerned and preventing drops from seeping down on the outside of the container from the edge of the outlet orifice upon ter¬ minated pouring, c h a c t e r i z e d by the fact that the drip-catcher consists of a piece (1) of a suitable elastic and flexible sheet material,, for instance plastic material foil or plastic laminated paper, which piece of material during use as a drip-catcher is inserted in the container orifice (the bottle neck) as a cylinder-formed roll where the material due to its elasticity by its own force positively engages the inside of the container ori¬ fice, the said material in this closed or partly slit cy¬ linder form constituting a tube-formed or chute-formed out¬ let spout of the container which efficiently cuts off the jet due to its sharp edge (= the edge of the foil). 2. A drip-catcher according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e - r i z e d by the fact that the piece of material (1) has been punched or cut out into an elliptical, rhombic, rect¬ angular, triangular or other suitable closed form, prefer¬ ably having rounded corners and having a diameter of the order of magnitude of 60-80 mm. 3. A drip-catcher according to claims 1 or 2, c h a r a c - t e r i z e d by the fact that the foil material of the piece of material is of a type having a smooth and liquid- repellent surface and a low surface adhesion to the liquid with a view to efficient drop repelling effect and that the foil thickness is of the order of magnitude . l-. * 2 mm depen¬ dent on the rigidity and elasticity or the plastic material used. 4. A drip-catcher according to claims l or 2, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d by the fact the sheet material used for the drip-catcher is plastic laminated or impregnated paper or cardboard or a suitable metal foil, for instance stainless steel. 5. A drip-catcher according to claims 1-4, c h a r a c t e- r i z e d by a printed advertisement or device mark for exploiting the publicity value of the object, the shape of the piece of material being adapted to the device mark con¬ cerned for optimizing the publicity -effect. 6. A drip-catcher according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i¬ z e d by the fact that it is of the disposable type. 7. A drip-catcher according to claim 6 and intended for a bottle, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by being glued to or in another way detachably attached to the bottle or its label, for instance inserted in a label pocket on the bottle.

Inventors: JENSEN BRIAN VANG, JENSEN, BRIAN, VANG
Applicants: MIDAN APS
Application year: 1991
Main classification: B65D23
IPC codes: B65D23, B65D47