Patent Publication Number: US-9889971-B2

Title: Stopper device for the neck of a container, container provided with such a device, method for stopping such a container, and method for production of such a device

Description:
The present invention relates to a closure device for closing a receptacle neck, and to a receptacle fitted with such a device, and also to a method of closing a receptacle by means of such a device, and to a method of manufacturing such a device. The invention relates particularly, but not exclusively, to glass receptacles for containing an alcoholic beverage, in particular wine. 
     Traditionally, wine bottles are closed by means of a plug that is made of cork and that is jammed in the neck of the bottle, and that is subsequently covered in a metal covering, generally a sheet of aluminum fitting closely to the outside shape of the neck. 
     In order to make it easier to open glass bottles, and above all to reclose them, proposals have been made in the past to replace corks with removable metal closures, generally suitable for being screwed onto the neck and then unscrewed. Sealing is obtained by means of a sealing piece, in practice a disk, that is retained inside the closure, close to its end wall. Such metal closures frequently comprise a screw cap and a collar that is held in place around the base of the neck of the bottle, with frangible metal bridges connecting the cap to the collar before first opening of the bottle. The collar remains in place at the base of the neck, and depending on its dimensions and/or its coloring, it can impart an attractive appearance to the neck of the bottle. Nevertheless, such metal closures are relatively dangerous for the user who runs the risk of getting cut while handling them. 
     In FR-A-1 372 671, EP-A-0 592 721, FR-A-2 267 952 and WO-A-00/07898, proposals have been made for closures made of plastics material, in the form of a relatively flexible cap, commonly referred to as a “capsule”, in the end of which a sealing gasket can be housed, so as to be received inside the neck of a bottle, while the skirt of the capsule covers the outside of the neck. In principle, the flexibility of the skirt enables the capsule to fit closely to the outside face of the neck. However, in practice, the skirts of such capsules are designed to be circular cylinders such that when the necks for closing present an elaborate shape, or when, for some given shape, such necks suffer from dispersion concerning their outlines, the effect of the capsule fitting “closely” around the neck is not obtained. In addition, that kind of flexible capsule, which is torn on first opening, is not suitable for being replaced at will around the neck in order to reclose it. 
     WO-A-00/63089 proposes a closure device having three main components, namely an outside capsule, an inside insert held stationary permanently inside the capsule, and a sealing disk retained in the insert. The insert is designed to enable the device to be screwed on and off a receptacle neck, thus enabling it to be opened and reclosed at will, while the outer capsule is specifically dedicated to providing a pleasing appearance for the device, by completely masking the insert. Thus, WO-A-00/63089 envisages capsules that are rigid, whether made of plastics material, or made of metal, with the above-mentioned problems of potential cuts. Either way, the capsules comprise a tubular sleeve of circular base constituted by a cap for housing the insert and an end collar extending axially beyond the insert towards the base of the neck of the receptacle. Nevertheless, the appearance of the collar in those devices is not very attractive because the collar is designed to adapt to receptacle necks having bases presenting a variety of shapes, or for, some given shape, presenting relatively great dispersion concerning their outlines. In practice, the collars of those devices are generally circular cylinders presenting an axial dimension that is small so as to avoid any contact with, and any jamming between, the rigid outside capsule and the neck of the glass receptacle. The resulting gap between the closure device and the base of the neck runs the risk of enabling dirt or germs to accumulate on the collar of the outside capsule, leading to corresponding advantages in terms of health and appearance. 
     The object of the present invention is to propose a closure device having an inside insert for releasably fastening around a neck of the receptacle and an outside capsule of plastics material which, in particular at the base of the neck of the receptacle for closing, limits the risk of the inside of the capsule being dirtied, and presenting improved appearance, in particular by seeking to imitate the above-mentioned metal closures, even when the dimensions of the receptacle necks for fitting with the device presents a certain amount of dispersion concerning their shape. 
     To this end, the invention provides a closure device for closing a receptacle neck, as defined in claim  1 . 
     A closure device of the invention can thus cover a receptacle neck over the main part of its length: the free end portion of the neck is surrounded by the cap of the sleeve of the capsule, that permanently houses the insert that is releasably connected to said end portion of the neck, while the opposite end portion of the neck, i.e. its base that is connected to the main body of the receptacle, is covered by the skirt. No radial clearance remains, remote from the cap, between the neck and the end of the truncated cone formed by the skirt due to the inside surface of said end pressing against the neck. In other words, the truncated cone fits closely and elastically around the outside shape of the neck, automatically accommodating any potential dimensional tolerances at the base of the neck. No dirt can thus infiltrate between the neck and the capsule from this end of the truncated cone. In addition, the appearance of the skirt is then similar to that of the metal collars of metal closures as mentioned above. In addition to giving the skirt the elasticity that enables it to accommodate variations in the dimensions of the neck, the fact of making the outside capsule out of plastics material limits the risk of the user being cut, or more generally, injured while handling the closure device of the invention. In addition, for receptacles made of glass, the presence of plastics material around the neck of the receptacle does not lead to any significant impediment in recycling the glass that constitutes the receptacle, since the plastics material can be mixed without problem with the glass melt during glass recycling, unlike closure devices that include metal. 
     Other characteristics and advantages of the device, taken in isolation or in any technically feasible combination, are set out in dependent claims  2  to  6 . 
     The invention also provides a receptacle including a neck adapted to be closed by a closure device as defined above. The receptacle is advantageously made of glass. 
     The invention also provides a method according to claim  9  for closing a receptacle neck by means of a device as defined above. 
     The invention also provides a method as defined in claim  10  for manufacturing a closure device for closing a receptacle neck. 
     The method of the invention thus makes it possible firstly to obtain the outside capsule of plastics material quickly, and secondly to assemble the closure device easily, the device subsequently being manipulated just as easily for fitting removably around the neck of the receptacle, e.g. by screw fastening. Since the various operations of the method of manufacture of the invention, both in terms of molding and in terms of assembling the various components of the device, are suitable for being implemented using movements that are substantially axial, the method is suitable in practice for being automated, without degrading the quality of its performance. 
    
    
     
       The invention can be better understood on reading the following description given purely by way of example and made with reference to the drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a closure device of the invention; and 
         FIG. 2  is a longitudinal section of the  FIG. 1  device shown around a receptacle neck, the left-hand half of the figure showing the device in the assembled state but not yet put into place around the neck, while the right-hand half of the figure shows the device assembled and put into place around the neck so as to closure it. 
     
    
    
     In  FIGS. 1 and 2 , there can be a closure device  1  adapted to be screwed in releasable manner on a neck  2  of a receptacle  3 , e.g. a bottle made of glass or the like, for containing an alcoholic beverage, in particular wine. The neck  2  presents a generally tubular shape about a longitudinal axis X-X. 
     For convenience, in the description below, orientations assume that the terms “top” and “high” correspond to a direction generally parallel to the axis X-X and going away from the neck  2 , i.e. in a direction that is directed towards the top portions of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , whereas the terms “bottom” and “low” correspond to an opposite direction. 
     At its free end, the neck  2  defines a rim  4  over which the liquid contained in the receptacle is to be poured. The outside face of the neck  2  is provided, in succession on going downwards from the top with: a helical thread  5  and with a ring  6 , both projecting radially outwards. At the transition between the bottom end of the ring and the remainder of the neck  2 , which constitutes an elongate portion  7 , there is formed a transverse shoulder  8  that slopes a little relative to a plane perpendicular to the axis X-X. The outside face  7 A of the elongate portion  7  is substantially frustoconical about the axis X-X and it converges towards the shoulder  8 . 
     The closure device  1  essentially comprises three distinct parts, namely a capsule  10 , an insert  20 , and a sealing disk  30  that are designed to be assembled coaxially one within the other and then mounted on the neck  2 . In the assembled state, the capsule  10  and the insert  20  form a one-piece closure  40 , as explained below. 
     The capsule  10  and the insert  20  are both generally tubular in shape about a longitudinal axis that coincides substantially with the axis X-X when the device  1  is assembled and fitted on the neck  2 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . The capsule and the insert are both open at their bottom ends and closed at their top ends by respective end walls  11  and  21 , respectively with a tubular sleeve  12  and a tubular skirt  22  centered on the axis X-X and extending axially downwards from the peripheries of the end walls  11  and  21 . 
     The insert  20  is adapted to be inserted inside the capsule  10  so as to be held stationary therein permanently, both axially and in rotation about the axis X-X, thus forming the closure  40 . For this purpose, the top end portion of the sleeve  12  of the capsule  10  forms a cap  13  for housing the insert  20  and holding it stationary, with the length of said cap, i.e. its dimension along the axis X-X, being substantially equal to the length of the insert  20 . The remainder of the sleeve  12 , i.e. the portion of the sleeve situated below the axial level of the bottom end of the insert  20  when housed in the cap  13 , forms a skirt  14  described in greater detail below. The capsule  10  comprises a single piece. 
     In order to prevent the insert  20  from moving in rotation inside the cap  13 , the outside face  22 A of the skirt  22  of the insert is provided with a plurality of longitudinal splines  221  projecting radially outwards and distributed around the periphery of the insert. These splines are dimensioned to engage with complementary longitudinal grooves in the inside face  13 B of the cap  13 . 
     The insert  20  is prevented from moving axially inside the cap  13  in an upward direction by the end wall  11  of the capsule  10 , and in a downward direction by the top end portion  141  of the skirt  14  that has a shoulder directed inwards relative to the bottom end of the cap  13 . This shoulder need not present a radial dimension that is large relative to the thickness of the skirt  22  of the insert, providing the insert jams radially inside the cap of the capsule  10  with sufficient intensity when the insert is put into place. In this respect, in a variant that is not shown, this shoulder may be omitted. 
     The skirt  22  of the insert  20  also defines an inside face  22 B provided in its bottom portion with a thread  222  that projects radially inwards and that is substantially complementary to the outside thread  5  on the neck  2 , such that the closure  40 , i.e. the insert and the capsule  10  when assembled together, is suitable for being screwed on and off the neck  2 . In order to make the closure easier for the user to grip in the hand, the outside face  13 A of the cap  13  has longitudinal grooves. 
     In its top portion, the inside face  22 B of the skirt  22  of the insert  20  is provided with three radially inwardly projecting lips  223  distributed around the periphery of the skirt  22  between zones  224  where the skirt connects with the end wall  21  of the insert. One of these connection zones  224  is shown in section in the left-hand portion of  FIG. 2 , while the right-hand portion of  FIG. 2  shows that the corresponding zones of the skirt  22  that extend over the lips  22  are open. Each lip  223  thus defines a top face  225  that is substantially plane. The three faces  225  lie substantially in the same plane perpendicular to the axis X-X and thus constitute a downward axial support for the disk  30 . 
     Extending axially downwards from its top end portion  141 , the skirt  14  forms a truncated cone  142  centered on the axis X-X and converging downwards. 
     The top end portion  143  of the truncated cone  142 , i.e. the more widely flared of the two axial end portions of this truncated cone, presents a shape that is generally cylindrical and of inside diameter d 143  that is substantially equal to the maximum outside diameter of the ring  6  of the neck  2 . As a result, when the closure device  1  is fitted around the neck  2 , the inside face  143 B of this flared end portion  143  is pressed into contact with the maximum-diameter zone of the ring  6 , as shown in the right-hand portion of  FIG. 2 . 
     At the bottom end  144  of the truncated cone  142 , i.e. at the more tapered end of the two axial ends of this truncated cone, the inside diameter d 144  of the skirt is smaller than the outside diameter of the zone of the elongate portion  7  at the axial level where said end  144  is to extend when the device  1  has been put into place around the neck  2 . As a result, while the device is being put into place, the inside diameter of the end  144  increases by elastically deforming the sleeve  12  and takes on a value d′ 144  that is substantially equal to the diameter of the associated zone on the outside face  7 A of the elongate portion  7  of the neck  2 . Since the thickness of the wall of the truncated cone  142  is substantially constant along its length, the outside diameter of the end  144  goes from a value D 144  when the device  1  has not yet been assembled on the neck  2 , to a greater value D′ 144  once the device  1  is in place. The corresponding increase in the cross-section of the end  144  of the truncated cone  142  leads to a reduction in the conicity of this truncated cone, i.e. to a reduction in the angle at its apex. In other words, when the device  1  is put into place around the neck  2 , the frustoconical shape of the portion  142  of the skirt  14  tends towards a circularly cylindrical shape, without necessarily reaching that shape, depending on the dimensions of the skirt and the dimensions of the neck  2 . As a result the inside face  144 B of the end  144  of the truncated cone  142  presses radially and elastically against the corresponding zone of the outside face  7 A of the portion  7  of the neck  2 , without leaving any clearance between these faces. 
     In practice, while the device  1  is being put into place around the neck  2 , the truncated cone  142  is deformed outwards, with its top end portion  143  in contact with the ring  6  of the neck  2  forming a kind of hinge for the bottom portion of the truncated cone  142 , which tilts about said hinge, as represented by arrow F. The deformed configuration of the truncated cone is drawn in continuous lines in the right-hand portion of  FIG. 2 , while its initial configuration is drawn therein in dashed lines. 
     In addition, unlike the cap  13  connected to the end wall  11  and in which the insert  20  is held stationary when the device  1  is in the assembled state, the skirt  14  presents a certain amount of flexibility that makes the above-described deformation possible and that imparts a certain amount of structural elasticity thereto, tending to return the truncated cone  142  to its initial configuration. As a result, the surface  144 B is held pressed against the outside face  7 A of the portion  7  of the neck  2 . 
     In its main portion, the truncated cone  142  of the skirt  14  is provided with a tongue  145  that projects from its inside face, which tongue may optionally be discontinuous around the inside periphery of the ring. Before the device  1  has been put into place around the neck  2 , the tongue extends downwards towards the axis X-X, as shown in the left-hand portion of  FIG. 2 , whereas once the device  1  has been put into place it extends upwards towards the axis, as shown in the right-hand portion of  FIG. 2 . Once the device  1  has been fitted onto the neck  2 , the free end of the tongue  145  is situated immediately under the shoulder  8 , such that when the closure  40  is unscrewed upwards for the first time, the tongue comes to bear against the shoulder, thus preventing the bottom portion of the skirt  14  moving axially, while the remainder of the skirt, together with the cap  13  and the end wall  11  can be taken away upwards. For this purpose, a line of weakness  146  as represented by dashed lines in  FIGS. 1 and 2  is provided in the main portion of the skirt  14 , axially above the tongue  145 . In the example shown, the line of weakness  146  is situated axially over the zone where the end portion  141  connects with the truncated cone  142 . This line of weakness is constituted by breakable bridges, for example, or by a plurality of circumferential cuts or nicks formed through the wall of the skirt. 
     The top end portion  143  of the truncated cone  142  is provided internally, axially juxtaposed with the line of weakness  146 , with an annular bead  147  extending around the entire inside periphery of said end portion  143 . This bead bears in leaktight manner against the outside face of the ring  6  of the neck  2 , and thus prevents any drops of liquid coming from the rim  4  and trickling along the thread  5  from infiltrating between the portion  7  of the neck and the portion of the skirt  14  that remains behind when the line of weakness  146  is broken. The presence of this bead  147  in the immediate proximity of the line of weakness also avoids leaving any radial clearance between the end portion  143  of the truncated cone  142  and the ring  6 , which would spoil the appearance of the portion of the device  1  that remains around the neck  2  after opening. 
     The capsule  10  is made of a semirigid plastics material such as polypropylene or polyethylene, with polypropylene being preferred, in particular for reasons of appearance. The capsule is obtained by molding the plastics material, and is designed to constitute simultaneously the cap  13  and the skirt  14 , in particular including its truncated cone  142 . Unmolding the capsule needs to take account of the undercut inside face of the truncated cone such that the capsule  10  is, advantageously, manipulated only in the vicinity of its end wall  11  in order to be extracted from the mold, providing the truncated cone  142  is suitably dimensioned. 
     In order to make the capsule easier to unmold, it should be observed that, on extraction from the mold, the tongue  145  extends in the configuration shown in the left-hand portion of  FIG. 2 , i.e. its free end is directed downwards. 
     There follows a description of how the closure device  1  is assembled and how it is put into place around the neck  2 . 
     Initially, the capsule  10  is available in its state as extracted from the mold as described above, together with the insert  20  and the sealing disk  30 . 
     In a first step, the sealing disk  30  is placed inside the insert  20  so that the disk is placed axially between the faces  225  of the lips  223  and the end wall  21 , with it being necessary to deform the disk a small amount. The disk then rests on the lips or is stuck to the end wall  21  if a layer of adhesive is interposed between the disk and said end wall. Either way, the lips  223  prevent the disk  30  from subsequently escapsuleing from inside the insert  20 . 
     Before or after inserting the disk  30  inside the insert  20 , the insert is placed inside the cap  13  of the capsule  10 , by being inserted axially under force from the open bottom end thereof. The tooling for performing this operation then advantageously folds the tongue  145  upwards so that it takes up its configuration shown in the right-hand portion of  FIG. 2 . 
     By holding the insert  20  stationary in this way inside the cap  13  of the capsule  10 , the closure  40  is formed that is subsequently fitted onto the neck  2  by being screwed thereon until firstly the tongue  145  passes under the shoulder  8  of the neck, and secondly the sealing disk  30  is compressed axially between the rim  4  and the end wall  21  of the insert  20 , the bottom face of the disk advantageously defining a hollow annular recess  31  that is substantially complementary to the rim. When the closure is fitted around the neck  2 , the inside face  143 B of the portion  143  of the skirt co-operates with the ring  6 , in particular via the bead  147 , by means of complementary shapes serving to center the sleeve  12  around the neck. The device  1  is then in the configuration shown in the right-hand portion of  FIG. 2 . 
     In this configuration, the skirt  14  covers the base of the neck  2 , fitting closely thereabout since its portion  143  is in contact with the ring  6  while its bottom end  144  presses against the portion  7  of the neck. 
     Naturally, various arrangements and variations of the above-described closure device can be envisaged. 
     As examples:
         level with the bearing zone of the end  144  of the skirt  14 , the neck  2  of the receptacle  3  need not necessarily present an outside face having a conical shape that is opposite to the shape of the skirt  14  on being extracted from the mold; the neck could have a cylindrical outside face, or even an outside face that is frustoconical converging towards the axis X-X on going away from the rim  4 , providing the angle at the apex of the skirt is greater than that of the elongate portion of the neck, so as to guarantee that when the closure device is put into place around the neck, the skirt is deformed sufficiently for its end  144  to press against the neck;   instead of providing a sealing disk  30  that is made as a single piece, it is possible to provide a sandwich structure comprising at least a bottom sealing layer together with an elastic top layer;   the sealing disk  30  could be replaced by a sealing washer of inside diameter substantially equal to or less than the inside diameter of the rim  4 ;   instead of or in addition to the means described above for holding the insert  20  stationary relative to the cap  13  of the capsule  10  by means of complementary shapes, the insert could be fitted permanently inside the capsule  10  by heat sealing, in particular by applying ultrasound, or by adhesive, or the like; and/or   the neck of the receptacle on which the closure device  1  is put into place could be made of a plastics material.