Abstract:
A liquid container comprising a bottle extends along a longitudinal axis X between a bottom of the bottle and a neck axially opposite to the bottom of the bottle. The container comprises a protection shell including a hollow body that is elongate along the longitudinal axis X and surrounding the bottle. The hollow body delimits an internal space extending axially from a first opening situated towards the bottom of the bottle to a second opening situated towards the neck. The protection shell also includes a cover blocking the first opening and arranged axially facing the bottom of the bottle. The neck is entirely contained in the space. The cover is fixed to the hollow body by a mechanical link that can be established manually.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The invention relates to the field of protection devices for vessels, in particular devices protecting glass bottles against impacts, and notably devices that can contain glass breakages should the bottle be broken. 
       PRIOR ART 
       [0002]    The document FR 2549009 described a cladding shell, typically for a champagne bottle, that allows the neck of the bottle to pass through. 
         [0003]    This type of device, primarily intended for decoration, does not provide optimal protection because it presents the drawback of still leaving the neck of the bottle exposed to any impacts. Now, vessels such as wine, champagne or beer bottles are commonly used in sensitive places such as on a lawn, a carpet, or around the edges of a swimming pool. In such places, the breaking of the bottle may be very prejudicial. For example, a splinter of glass falling into a swimming pool or around the edges of the latter may cause wounds and/or filtration apparatus malfunctions. 
       OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    One object of the present invention is to overcome this drawback by providing a protection device that protects all the bottle while being suited to the consumption of its content. The device according to the invention is particularly suited to places where the use of a glass vessel for the consumption of a drink is deprecated or prohibited, such as a swimming pool. 
         [0005]    According to one embodiment, the container for liquid comprises a bottle, extends along a longitudinal axis between a bottom of the bottle and a neck axially opposite to the bottom of the bottle. The container comprises a protection device including a hollow body that is elongate along the longitudinal axis. The hollow body delimites an internal space surrounding the bottle from a first opening at the level of the bottom of the bottle to a second opening at the level of the neck. The protection device further includes a cover blocking the first opening and arranged axially facing the bottom of the bottle. The neck is entirely contained in the internal space. The cover is fixed to the hollow body by a mechanical link that can be established manually. 
         [0006]    Advantageously, the mechanical link that can be established manually is chosen from a screw fitting, a snap fitting, a force fitting and a bayonet fixing. 
         [0007]    Advantageously, the protection device comprises a centering surface cooperating with the bottom of the bottle in order to center the bottom in the hollow body. The centering surface may have a shape generated by rotation. 
         [0008]    The shape generated by rotation may have radial ripples making it possible to hold the vessel radially. The centering surface may be fixed relative to the hollow body and thus oppose the movement of the vessel in the shell and any impact against the latter. Centering the end of the vessel opposite to the neck prevents the vessel from being held only by the axial abutment of the neck. This greatly reinforces the securing of the vessel in the shell. This is particularly useful for vessels with heavy bottoms such as champagne or equivalent bottles or glass wine bottles. 
         [0009]    Advantageously, the neck comprises a free axial end and the hollow body has an axial abutment extending radially towards the interior of the hollow body, from the second opening, and axially facing the free end of the neck. 
         [0010]    The axial abutment may be circular and extend from the second opening to cooperate with the free end of the neck, called the locking ring of the neck. This facilitates the seal between the neck and the shell. 
         [0011]    Advantageously, the protection device comprises an axially urging device designed to axially push and keep the neck of the bottle tight against the axial abutment. 
         [0012]    Advantageously, the axially urging device comprises a radial elastic element extending radially and a bottom circular flange extending axially between the radial elastic element and said cover, the radial elastic element having, on a side opposite to the bottom circular flange, one or more bearing regions for the bottle extending at a radial distance from the bottom circular flange. 
         [0013]    The expression “at a radial distance” should be understood to mean that the radial distance relative to the axis between the bottom circular flange and each of the one or more bearing regions is greater than a predetermined non-zero threshold. Thus, the radial elastic element behaves like a spring subjected to the two opposing axial forces, one deriving from the vessel and the other from the bottom. This makes it possible to encase the dimensional fluctuations of the vessel to be protected without affecting the way in which the bottom blocks the first opening of the hollow body. For example, this radial distance may be greater than a thirtieth of the inscribed diameter of the first opening. 
         [0014]    According to a variant, the container comprises a spacer separate from the radial elastic element, a centering surface for the bottom extending on one side of the spacer; the axially urging device also comprises one or more intermediate circular flanges extending axially between the side of the spacer opposite to the centering surface and the bearing region or regions of the radial elastic element, the intermediate circular flange or flanges being fixed either to the spacer or to the bearing region or regions of the radial elastic element. 
         [0015]    According to another variant, said bearing region or regions of the radial elastic element are designed to center the bottom of the bottle. In this variant, the number of pieces to ensure the elastic pinning of the vessel in the shell is smaller. 
         [0016]    Advantageously, the container comprises a molded chocking element made of elastomeric material, including a flat ring forming the radial elastic element and including the bottom circular flange. The central part of the flat ring may be completed by a spherical cap looping the central void of the bottom. 
         [0017]    Advantageously, the protection device and, in particular, the centering surface, has a central protuberance directed towards the interior of the hollow body and a peripheral gutter. 
         [0018]    Advantageously, the cover is removable. 
         [0019]    Advantageously, the hollow body has an internal face of flared shape from the first opening to the second opening, said shape substantially hugging the external shape of the bottle. The internal surface thus ensures a centering of the bottle in the internal space of the hollow body. Other centering means are possible based on ribs protruding radially towards the interior of the housing. 
         [0020]    Advantageously, the hollow body comprises an internal skirt and an external skirt, concentric and at a radial distance from one another, and fixed to one another respectively in the vicinity of the first opening and in the vicinity of the second opening. The dual protection skirt makes it possible to have a variable external skirt with specific markings or different esthetic finishing levels, while having an internal skirt particularly suited to the impact protection and/or thermal insulation function. 
         [0021]    Advantageously, the container comprises a circular sealing gasket covering the axial abutment and axially compressed when the bottle is introduced into the hollow body. 
         [0022]    Advantageously, the internal surface of the hollow body comprises a centering device designed to center the neck relative to the second opening. 
         [0023]    Advantageously, the container comprises an elastomer sealing sleeve having a cylindrical portion and an axial abutment receiving the neck, the cylindrical portion being radially compressed between the neck and the internal face of the hollow body when the bottle is introduced into the hollow body. 
         [0024]    Advantageously, the container comprises a pouring nozzle that has a tube that can be fitted in a leak tight manner in the neck. Advantageously, the pouring nozzle is made of a pliable synthetic material so that an impact on the pouring nozzle will not cause the bottle to break. 
         [0025]    According to another aspect, the invention relates to a method of manufacturing a container for liquid in which the stopper is removed from a bottle, the unstoppered bottle is inserted into a hollow body through an opening in the hollow body, and said opening is blocked so that the unstoppered bottle is entirely contained in an internal space of the hollow body. 
         [0026]    Advantageously, the unstoppered bottle is inserted into the internal housing while keeping the liquid in the bottle. Then, another stopper is introduced into the internal housing through a second opening in the hollow body and the bottle is restoppered. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0027]    The present invention will be better understood on studying the detailed description of a few embodiments taken as non-limiting examples and illustrated by the appended drawings in which: 
           [0028]      FIG. 1  is a longitudinal cross section of a first embodiment of a double-skirt shell. 
           [0029]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the axial chocking element and of the bottom of the first embodiment. 
           [0030]      FIG. 3  is a detail of  FIG. 1  showing the seal at the level of the neck according to a first embodiment and showing a first type of pouring nozzle. 
           [0031]      FIG. 4  is a longitudinal cross section of a second embodiment of a single-skirt shell. 
           [0032]      FIG. 5  is a detail of  FIG. 4  showing another type of seal at the level of the neck and another type of pouring nozzle. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0033]    As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a bottle  1 , typically a champagne bottle, is surrounded by a shell  2  having a hollow body  3  and a bottom  4 . The hollow body comprises an internal skirt  5  and an external skirt  6  that are concentric and at a radial distance from one another. The assembly of the hollow body  3  with its two skirts has a flared shape corresponding to the external surface of the bottle  1 . The hollow body  3  has a first opening  7  through which the bottle  1  is introduced. After this introduction, the bottom  4  is screwed into the hollow body  3  to block the first opening  7 . The hollow body  3  further has a second opening  8  at the opposite end of the hollow body  3  and having a diameter substantially identical to the internal diameter  9   a  of the neck  9  of the bottle  1 . 
         [0034]    The hollow body  3  is elongate along an axis X and has an internal space  13  receiving the entire bottle  1 . The axis X is concentric to the main axis of the bottle  1 . 
         [0035]    The assembly consisting of the hollow body  3  and the bottom  4  receives all the external surface of the bottle  1  from a bottom  22  of the bottle  1 , the side wall of the bottle  1 , to the locking ring  9   b  of the neck  9 . The opening  8  is in axial alignment with the internal diameter  9   a  of the neck  9 . The hollow body  3  has an internal end facing  11  extending radially perpendicularly to the axis X, and extends from the second opening  8 , so as to cover the locking ring  9   b  of the bottle  1 . The internal end facing  11  is thus an axial abutment  11   a  of circular shape extending on the internal face  12  of the hollow body  3 . 
         [0036]    The shell comprises a flat sealing gasket  15  arranged against the internal end facing  11  and sandwiched between the axial abutment  11   a  and the locking ring  9   b  of the bottle  1 . 
         [0037]    The length of the internal space  13  is suited to the axial length of the bottle  1 . The shell  2  comprises a means  14  for axially pushing and keeping the neck  9  of the vessel tight against the axial abutment  11   a  equipped with the flat sealing gasket  15 . The urging means  14  comprises a molded chocking element  16  made of elastomeric material. The chocking element  16  comprises a radial elastic element  17  in the shape of a flat ring which is concentric and perpendicular to the axis X. The chocking element  16  further comprises a circular flange  18  extending axially on either sides of the radial elastic element  17  and extending radially outside the radial elastic element  17 . The circular flange  18  has a bottom circular flange  19  extending on a side opposite to the bottle  1  and being chocked into a housing  20  of the bottom  4  and having an annular shape complementing said bottom circular flange  19 . The chocking element  16  has, on its side oriented towards the bottle  1 , a centering surface  21  having a shape generated by rotation that is radially rippled and complementing the bottom  22  of the bottle  1 . 
         [0038]    The centering surface  21  has a central protuberance  23  and a peripheral gutter  24  delimited between the central protuberance and a top circular flange  25 . The bottom  4  of the shell  2  has a central housing  26  extending radially at least in the most part from the radial elastic element  17  to radial proximity to the housing  20 . Thus, when the bottom  4  is screwed into the hollow body  3 , the bottle  1  is axially sandwiched between the centering surface  21  and the flat gasket  15 . The radial fit of the bottom circular flange  19  in the housing  20  and the radial fit of the bottom of the bottle  22  with the top circular flange  25  and/or with the central protuberance  23  allows for a very good centering of the bottle  1  coaxially with the axis X of the shell  2 . Furthermore, the central housing  26  of the bottom  4  enables the radial elastic element  17  to elastically collapse axially. This makes it possible to pin the locking ring  9   b  against the flat gasket  15  and to guarantee the seal preventing, when the user pours the liquid contained in the bottle  1 , the latter from being introduced between the bottle  1  and the internal surface  12  of the hollow body  3 . 
         [0039]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the bottom  4  has external ribs  30  in the shape of a helix cooperating with as many regular beads  31  protruding radially towards the interior of the internal skirt  5 . The beads  31  can be axially stripped by elastic deformation of the internal skirt  5 . 
         [0040]    The internal skirt  5  and the external skirt  6  are fixed to one another concentrically by two mutual centering/snap-fitting regions  33  and  34 . Each of the centering/snap-fitting regions  33 ,  34  consists of an annular bead cooperating with an annular groove. The centering/snap-fitting region  33  is situated in proximity to the first opening  7  of the hollow body  3 . In proximity to the second opening  8 , the external skirt  6  has an end portion  35  axially looping the internal skirt  5  and an internal portion  36  forming an axial return towards the interior of the internal skirt  5 . The portion  36  forming a return has a radially internal surface forming the second opening  8 , a radially external face forming the centering/snap-fitting region  34  and an internal axial end  36   a  bearing on the flat gasket  15 . The internal skirt  5  comprises an end  37 , on the side of the neck  9 , that snap fits axially with the external skirt  6  via the centering/snap-fitting region  34 . The end  37  also has an internal end facing  37   a , receiving the flat gasket  15 , so that the pressure of the locking ring  9   b , on the flat gasket  15 , ensures the seal both between the neck  9  and the portion forming a return  36  of the external skirt  6  and the seal between the internal skirt  5  and the external skirt  6 . 
         [0041]    The shell  2  also comprises a means  38  for centering the neck  9  coaxially to the axis X of the hollow body  3 . The centering means  38 , in this embodiment, is formed by an internal side surface of the internal skirt  5  fitted to the external diameter of the neck  9 . 
         [0042]    Advantageously, the protection shell  2  also comprises a pouring nozzle  40  comprising an insertion tube  41 , a radial bearing flange  42  and a pouring cone  43  extending in continuity with an internal diameter  41   a  of the insertion tube  41 . The insertion tube  41  has external annular beads  44 . The pouring nozzle  40  is molded as a whole from synthetic material so that the insertion tube  41  can be radially deformed in order for the beads  44  to ensure the seal with the internal diameter  9   a  of the neck  9 . Furthermore, the material of the pouring nozzle  40  makes it possible to damp impacts that the pouring cone  43  might suffer so as not to cause the neck  9  to burst. 
         [0043]    If we imagine the assembly illustrated in  FIG. 1  being dropped on a sharp edge such as a swimming pool edge, it will be understood that the deformation of the external skirt  6 , then that of the internal skirt  5  help to progressively dampen the violence of the impact before the deformation of the shell  2  reaches the bottle  1 . At least the internal skirt  5  is made of a material that is sufficiently ductile for such an impact not to cause the internal skirt  5  to break. Thus, if the impact is sufficiently violent to ultimately cause the bottle  1  to break inside the shell  2 , the glass debris of the broken bottle  1  remain contained within the internal skirt  5  of the hollow body  3 . 
         [0044]    The second embodiment, illustrated in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , will make it possible to describe four means which shape as many variants that are independent of one another and that can be used together or separately by substituting the corresponding means in the embodiment described previously. The second embodiment comprises a hollow body  50  consisting of a single skirt, a pouring nozzle  60 , a centering means  70  for the neck  9 , and an axially urging means  80 . 
         [0045]    The hollow body  50  is a more economical version than the hollow body  3 . It comprises a single skirt made of synthetic material. The hollow body  50  extends axially from a first opening  51  to a second opening  52  receiving the neck  9 . The hollow body  50  extends axially in the vicinity of the first opening  51  and has lateral snap-fitting notches cooperating with a bottom  54  to block the first opening  51  after the bottle  1  has been introduced into the internal housing  13 . 
         [0046]    In the vicinity of the second opening  52 , the hollow body extends radially. The second opening has a diameter substantially identical to the diameter  9   a  of the neck  9 . 
         [0047]    The centering means  70  for the neck  9  consists of an elastomer sealing sleeve  71  having a cylindrical portion  72  and a portion  73  extending radially, the whole hugging an internal surface of the hollow body  50  in the vicinity of the second opening  52 . In this position, the radial portion  73  is sandwiched between the axial abutment  53  of the hollow body  50  and the locking ring  9   b  of the neck  9 . Similarly, the cylindrical portion  72  has an internal diameter at rest that is less than an external diameter  9   c  of the neck  9  so that the introduction of the bottle  1  into the hollow body  50  is accompanied by the radial compression of the cylindrical portion  72 , this radial compression ensuring the centering of the neck  9  coaxially to the axis X of the hollow body  50 . 
         [0048]    The axially urging means  80  is formed by the stacking of a spacer  81  on a radial elastic element  82  made of elastomeric material. The spacer  81  comprises, on the side receiving the bottle  1 , a centering surface  83  with a shape generated by rotation that is radially rippled, with a central protuberance and a peripheral gutter corresponding to the bottom  22  of the bottle  1 . The side of the spacer  81 , opposite to the centering surface  83 , has an external intermediate circular flange  84   a  and an internal intermediate circular flange  84   b  that are concentric and that both extend axially so as to form, between the intermediate circular flanges, an annular void  85 . 
         [0049]    The radial elastic element  82  comprises a flat ring  86  perpendicular to the axis X and extending radially from a bearing region  86   a , on which rests the internal intermediate circular flange  84   a , to a bearing region  86   b , on which axially rests the internal intermediate circular flange  84   b . The elastic radial element  82  also has a bottom circular flange  87  protruding from the flat ring  86  on the side opposite to the bearing surfaces  86   a  and  86   b , and itself bearing on the bottom  54 . Thus, when the bottom  54  is snap fitted onto the hollow body  50 , the flat ring  86  ripples radially under the opposing pressure of the bottom circular flange  87  on one side and the two intermediate circular flanges  84   a  and  84   b  on the other. This radial ripple has a spring effect urging the bottle  1  against the axial abutment  53  through the elastomer spring-action sleeve  71 . 
         [0050]    The pouring nozzle  60  is a variant obtained by machining and/or by stamping which comprises an insertion tube  61  of the internal diameter  61   a  and having circular external grooves receiving two o-ring seals  62  to ensure the seal with the internal diameter  9   a  of the neck  9 . 
         [0051]    The internal surface  55  of the hollow body  50  extends radially at a distance from the bottle  1  so that an external impact on the hollow body  50  first causes a significant deformation of the hollow body  50  before reaching the bottle  1  in order for the impact to be damped thereby. If, despite this impact damping, the bottle  1  were to be broken, the debris of the bottle  1  would remain contained within the internal housing  13  of the hollow body  50 .