Patent Abstract:
An assemlby for depressurizing an opened beverage bottle including a bottle closure having a valve to permit depressurization of the bottle by a removable pump assembly. The pump assembly includes a stretchable diaphragm having roller being moveable on tracks within a housing. A pivotal actuator stretches the diaphragm to cause expansion of diaphragm chamber and effect depressurization of the bottle through the closure valve.

Full Description:
This application claims priority benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 60/300,320 filed Jun. 22, 2001. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   This invention relates in general to beverage bottles and, in particular, to depressurizing pumps and beverage bottle closures for extending the quality of a beverage within a bottle after previously being opened. 
   2. Summary of the Prior Art 
   Beverages are sealed for sale in plastic or glass bottles having a range of sizes. After the original bottling for initial sale, the bottles contain a void which is pressurized in the case of carbonated beverages and evacuated in the case of fermented beverages. The quality and taste of certain beverages, such as wine, deteriorates after the bottle is opened due to oxygen in the air. This problem is not effectively alleviated by re-corking the bottle after opening, because air is trapped within the void in the bottle to reduce the palatable lifetime of the beverage . . . In the case of wine, opened bottles of the beverage are commonly stored with nitrogen, which reduces the effects of oxygen and increases storage life. Nitrogen techniques to store opened bottles of wine are not convenient to use and do not achieve optimum results. 
   Another technique in the prior art employs depressurizing devices that act to significantly reduce oxygen levels within a resealed beverage bottle. Many past pumps and other devices for depressurizing and resealing beverage bottles are difficult to use and do not provide optimum evacuation and resealing. The designs of known evaluating devices are further expensive to manufacture and possess unnecessary complicated mechanical designs. It is therefore desirable in the prior art to provide an effective depressurizing pump assembly and closure for beverage containers. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is therefore an objective of the invention to provide two embodiments of improved depressurizing pump assemblies and closures for evacuating and resealing an opened beverage bottle. The pumps herein are capable of significantly reducing the oxygen levels within the void of the bottle to a near vacuum condition. The closures effectively reseal the bottle to preserve the evacuated state within the bottle created by the pump. In a first embodiment of the invention, the closure includes two valves, one of which allows air to be withdrawn from the bottle and the second allows air that was withdrawn from the bottle to be released from the pump. In a second embodiment of the invention, the closure includes a single valve operating in concert with a valve provided on the housing of the pump. The pumps employ an effective diaphragm design which is capable of evacuating the air in the bottle in a minimum number of manual strokes. The diaphragm of the pump assemblies herein serves the dual function of acting as a seal with the bottle when the pump is mounted thereon and a pump element as the diaphragm is stretched during a pumping stroke. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a side elevational view, with a housing half removed and parts in section, of a first embodiment of the depressurizing pump assembly of the invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a front elevational view, with parts removed and parts in section, of the depressurizing pump of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a side elevational view of a half of the housing of the depressurizing pump assembly of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a front elevational view of the housing half of  FIG. 3 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a side elevational view, with parts in section, of the pump diaphragm of the pump assembly of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a side elevational view, with parts in section, of the base of the pump assembly of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 7  is a side elevational view, with parts in section, of the lever arm of the pump assembly of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 8  is a bottom plan view of the lever arm of  FIG. 7 ; 
       FIG. 9  is a side elevational view, with parts in section, of the pump lever of the pump assembly of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 10  is back elevational view of the pump lever of  FIG. 9 ; 
       FIG. 11  is a side elevational view of the valved bottle closure for use with the pump assembly of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 12  is a side elevational view, with parts in section, of the valved bottle closure of  FIG. 7 ; 
       FIG. 13  is a side elevational view, with a housing half removed and parts in section, of a second embodiment of the depressurizing pump assembly of the invention; 
       FIG. 14  is a front elevational view, with parts removed and parts in section, of the depressurizing pump of  FIG. 13 ; 
       FIG. 15  is a side elevational view of a rear half of the housing of the depressurizing pump assembly of  FIG. 13 ; 
       FIG. 16  is a side elevational view of the front housing half of  FIG. 13 ; 
       FIG. 17  is a side elevational view, with parts in section, of the base of the pump assembly of  FIG. 13 ; 
       FIG. 18  is top plan view of the base of  FIG. 17 ; 
       FIG. 19  is a top plan view of the diaphragm of the pump assembly of  FIG. 13 ; 
       FIG. 20  is a bottom plan view of the diaphragm of  FIG. 19 ; 
       FIG. 21  is a side elevational view, with parts in section, of the diaphragm of  FIG. 19 ; 
       FIG. 22  is a side elevational view, with parts in section, of the pump lever for use with the pump assembly of  FIG. 13 ; 
       FIG. 23  is a bottom plan view of the of the pump lever of  FIG. 22 ; 
       FIG. 24  is a side elevational view, with parts in section, of the pump lever cover for the pump lever of  FIG. 22 ; 
       FIG. 25  is a bottom plan view of the pump lever cover of  FIG. 24 ; 
       FIG. 26  is a side elevational view of the of the rod arm for the pump assembly of  FIG. 25 ; 
       FIG. 27  is a top plan view of the rod arm of  FIG. 26 ; 
       FIG. 28  is a side elevational view of the diaphragm rod of for use with the pump assembly of  FIG. 13 ; 
       FIG. 29  is a top plan view of the diaphragm rod of  FIG. 28 ; 
       FIG. 30  is a top plan view of the valve cap for the pump assembly of  FIG. 13 ; 
       FIG. 31  is a side elevational view, with parts in section, of the valve cap of  FIG. 30 ; 
       FIG. 32  is a top plan view of the valve for use with the valve cap of  FIG. 30 ; and 
       FIG. 33  is a side elevation view of the closure for use with the pump assembly of FIG.  13 . 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 1-10 , there is illustrated a first embodiment of the depressurizing pump assembly for beverage bottles, generally designated by reference numeral  2 . As seen in  FIGS. 1-4 , pump assembly  2  includes a housing  4  that is formed by identical halves  4   a  ( FIGS. 1-3 ) suitably affixed together by an adhesive or mechanical fasteners. The housing  4  forms a hollow interior portion  4   b . The housing  4  is provided with a curved upper portion  6  and a lower portion  8  having bulging curved walls  8   a . Aligned divider walls  10  internally separate upper portion  6  from lower portion  8 . As seen  FIGS. 2 and 4 , a pair curved tracks  14  are formed on the interior wall of housing halves  4   a  in the upper housing portion  6 . The tracks  14  are each defined by spaced projecting continuous sections  16  having an enclosed upper end  16   a  and a closed end  18  as seen in  FIGS. 1-4 . The housing halves  4   a  include angled walls  4   b ′ to enclose the upper end of the housing  4 . Although the housing can be formed from any suitable material, housing  4  is shown as being fabricated from a durable plastic. 
   The lower end  20  of housing  4  is open to which a base  22  formed from a plastic and the like is secured by a suitable technique, such as by an adhesive or mechanical fasteners or welds. As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 6 , the base  22  includes a lower wall  24  having integral upright portions  26  that are secured to the bottom of housing  4 . The upright portion  26  includes an upper edge portion  26   a  that is inserted in housing  4 . A retainer ring  27  is positioned on corresponding grooves in upper edge portion  26   a  and housing  4  to retain the base  22  to the housing  4 . Both the base  22  and the housing  4  include a matching circular cross-section at the bottom. A central passage  30  is formed by downward hollow projection  30   a  having an inverted frusto-conical continuous wall  30   b . A cylindrical projection  32  is integral to wall  24  and concentrically surrounds inner projection  30   a  to create a lower opening  33  that receives a portion of the bottle closure of the invention in use as will be described. As seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2  the central passage  30  is in filud communication with diaphragm lower chamber  33   a . A continuous circular ridge  34  is integral to base  22  and forms a continuous space  33   b  within housing  4 . 
   As seen in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,and  5 , a stretchable diaphragm  38  is mounted in housing  4  and is fabricated from silicone or other material capable of bulging upward when stretched by a mechanical force and returning to a normal shape as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  when the mechanical force is substantially removed. The diaphragm  38  is circular in cross-section and its outer periphery is defined by a continuous peripheral section  40  which extends downward into space  33   b . A stretchable diaphragm wall  42  integrally extends from outer ring section  40  to enclose the lower diaphragm chamber  33   a . The diaphragm wall  42  is provided with a continuous groove  44  ( FIG. 5 ) to increase flexibility of the diaphragm  38 . The diaphragm periphery  40  may be secured by an adhesive within space  33   b  and is otherwise secured to the housing  4  by a diaphragm retainer ring  54  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) which bears in secured relationship against the upper surface of ring  40  and the lower surface of ledge  55  formed on the interior surface of housing  4 . The retainer  54  has a lower protuberance  56  that inter-fits with a groove  58  in periphery  40 . 
   The central portion  59  of diaphragm  38  is provided with a central horizontal portion  59   a  and upward hollow cylindrical projection  59   b  forming opening  59   c . The lower portion of a diaphragm holder  62  extends through diaphragm opening  59   c . The securement portion  60  of diaphragm holder  62  has a lower expanded end  64  biased against diaphragm wall  59   a  in secured relationship. A continuous lip  68  projects from diaphragm holder  60  to contact the top of diaphragm portion  59   b  for further securement. 
   The diaphragm holder  62  is fabricated from a suitably strong and flexible material, such as, for example, nylon and has a curved upper upright section  70  terminating with a securement formation  72  having hole  74 . A metal shaft  76 , such as formed from stainless steel, plastic, or other material, extends through hole  74 . Rollers  78  ( FIG. 2 ) are rotatably secured to opposite ends of shaft  76  by a known technique. The rollers  78  respectively project in between curved walls  16  of the housing halves  4   a , such that the rollers follow the track curvature defined by track  14  to cause the diaphragm  38  to flex upward and expand diaphragm chamber  33   a  in conformance to the movement of rollers  76 . 
   As best seen in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  7 , and  8 , a lever arm  82  is pivotally secured to the shaft  76  and extends exteriorly through a narrow opening  83  in housing  4  continuously provided between upper edge  83   a  and lower edge  83   b  cut in housing  4  (FIGS.  1  and  3 ). The lever arm  82  possesses a slightly bowed U-shape defined by upper wall  84 , spaced side walls  86  and securement end  88 . As best seen in  FIG. 8 , the inner portion of side walls  86  are spaced by greater distance than the outer portion of side walls  86  so as to overlap the upper end of the diaphragm holder (FIG.  2 ). A pump lever  90  is secured at its lower end to the securement end  88  of lever arm  82  as will be described. 
   As seen in  FIGS. 1 and 10 , the pump lever  90  also possesses a bowed configuration created by curved outer wall  92  which interconnects a pair of projecting spaced side walls  94 . As seen in  FIG. 10 , the spaced side walls  94  are parallel in lower end  94   a  while the spaced side walls  94  taper toward end other in spaced relationship at upper end  94   a  and terminate with securement end  96  to pivotally attach lever  90  to housing  4  by a pin  98  (FIG.  1 ). A portion  98   a  of the curved outer wall  92  has an undulated shape to form a gripping surface  100  to actuate the pump. The lower end of pump lever  90  is pivotally secured to the outer end of lever by a pin  102  projecting through side walls  94  and the pump lever end positioned therebetween. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 11 and 12 , there is illustrated the beverage bottle closure, generally designated by reference numeral  120 . The upper portion  122  of closure  120  is formed by an enlarged circumferentially extending circular wall  124  to surround an upper cavity  126 . The upper portion  122  may be gripped to insert and remove the closure in and from a bottle. The lower end  130  of closure  120  is in the form of a hollow circular projection  130   a  creating flow passage  132  which is in communication with the void within a beverage bottle when the closure  120  is inserted into the open neck. A plurality of continuous rings  133  extend around the shank of lower end  130  to engage the interior of bottle neck in a sealed relationship. The upper section of projection  130   a  is integrally formed with upper portion  122  by intermediate body portion  134 . The intermediate portion  132  extends upward into cavity  126  and terminates with at apex  136  formed by a flat horizontal surface  138 . The inner periphery  122   a  of closure  120  engages the outer wall  32  of base  22  to produce a seal therebetween when the pump assembly  2  is situated on the closure  120 . 
   A first valve  140  is provided through horizontal surface  138  and is created by severed area  142  through surface  138  to passage  132 . In its normal condition, the severed area  142  is resiliently biased in closed position to block the passage of flow and seal the interior of bottle. When the pump assembly  2  is positioned on closure  120  in a manner to be described to evacuate the bottle, the split area  142  separates to open the valve and permit the flow of air from the bottle void to the diaphragm chamber  33   a  of the pump assembly  2 . A second valve  150  is provided at a cut-out section on intermediate portion to exhaust air from the diaphragm chamber to the atmosphere. The second valve  150  is created by a severed section  152  formed through closure wall portion  154 . The closure  120  may be fabricated from silicon, Kraton, or other similarly acting material. 
   In operation, the pump assembly  2  is attached to a previously opened beverage bottle after the closure  120  is inserted into the neck. The pump assembly  2  is affixed to the closure  120  by inserting the inner hollow projection  30   a  of base  22  into the cavity  126 . In use the pump lever  90  is squeezed such that lever arm  82  causes the rollers  78  to move upward in track  14  generally near enclosed upper end  164 . The diaphragm holder  70  simultaneously pulls diaphragm  38  upward to stretch it and reduce the pressure within the diaphragm chamber  33   a . In the upward stroke valve  150  remains closed while valve  140  of the closure  120  opens to pull air out of the bottle to evacuate the air from the bottle. Upon release of pump lever  90 , the diaphragm  38  returns to its original configuration and pulls the rollers  78  downward in the track  14 . On the down stroke valve  140  closes to seal the bottle and valve  150  opens to exhaust the air of diaphragm chamber  33   a . During the upward evacuating stroke of pump assembly  2 , the inner hollow projection is pressed downward in greater frictional and sealing contact with closure  120 . It should be apparent the diaphragm  38  not only evacuates the bottle, but serves as a seal while the valve  140  is open. The pump assembly  2  can undergo multiple strokes if greater evacuation and depressurization of the bottle is desired. Upon depressurizing the bottle the pump assembly  2  is removed while the closure  120  is in sealed relationship on bottle whereby both valves  140  and  150  assume their normal closed mode. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 13-33 , there is illustrated the second embodiment of the depressurizing pump assembly for beverage bottles, generally designated by reference numeral  200 . As seen in  FIGS. 13-16 , pump assembly  200  includes a housing  202  that is formed by front and back housing halves  202   a  and  202   b  ( FIGS. 13-16 ) suitably affixed together by an adhesive or mechanical fasteners (not shown). The housing  202  forms a hollow interior portion  202   c  when the respective edges  204   a . and  204   b  of housing halves  202   a  and  202   b  interconnect as will be described. In  FIG. 16 , the front housing half  202   a  has a plurality of internal pin projections  202   a ′ that project beyond the edge  204   a  of the housing half  202   a . The pin projections  202   a ′ are arranged to be inserted into hollow projections  202   b ′ formed interiorly of back housing  202   b  when the halves  202   a,b  are assembled together. The hollow projections  202   b ′ are positioned within back housing  202   b  so that pin projections  202   a ′ are inserted into the hollow projections  202   b ′ to aid in securement and support of the housing halves. In addition, front housing  202   a  has three identical posts  202   a ″ projecting internally of the front housing  202   a  at the bottom and the top portion. The posts  202   a ″ have narrowed projecting ends  203  in housing  202   b  that extend into hollow bases  203 ′ formed in alignment therewith when the housing  202  is assembled for further securement and support. 
   The housing  202  is provided with a curved upper portion  206  and a lower portion  208  having bulging curved walls  208   a,b . The opposed edges  204   a,b  forming bulged curved walls  208   a,b  and the edges  204   a,b  forming the convex portion  206  each have lips  209   a,b  that are offset from each other. As seen in  FIGS. 15 and 16 , the lips  209   a  and  209   b  contact each other in adjacent contacting sealed relationship when the halves  202   a  and  202   b  are assembled together with the lip  209   a  being with in the lip  209   b . Offset lips  209   a ′ and  209   b  are also formed on a upper section of halves  202   a  and  202   b  for further interengagement of the edges  204   a,b . As seen  FIGS. 13-16 , a pair curved tracks  214  are formed on the interior wall of housing  202   a,b  in the upper housing portion  206 . The tracks  214  are each defined by spaced projecting continuous sections  216  having an enclosed upper end  216   a  and a closed lower end  218  as seen in  FIGS. 13-16 . The housing halves  202   a,b  include angled walls  204   b ′ to enclose the upper end of the housing  202 . Although the housing can be formed from any suitable material, housing  202  is shown as being fabricated from a durable plastic. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 13 ,  14 ,  17 , and  18 , the lower end  220  of housing  202  is open to which a base  222  formed from a plastic and the like is secured by a suitable technique, such as by an adhesive or mechanical fasteners or welds. The base  222  includes a lower wall  224  having integral upright portions  226  that are secured to the bottom of housing  202 . The upright portion  226  includes upper edge portion  226   a  that is inserted in housing  4 . A retainer ledge  227  is is provided on housing  202  to retain the base  222  to the housing  202 . Both the base  222  and the housing  202  include a matching circular cross-section at the bottom. A central passage  230  is formed by downward hollow projection  230   a  having an inverted frusto-conical continuous wall  230   b . A cylindrical projection  232  is integral to wall  224  concentrically surrounds inner projection  230   a  to create a lower opening  233  that receives a portion of the bottle closure of the invention in use as will be described. As seen in  FIGS. 13 and 14  the central passage  230  is in filud communication with diaphragm lower chamber  233   a.    
   As seen in  FIGS. 13 ,  14 , and  19 - 21 , a stretchable diaphragm  238  is mounted in housing  202  and is fabricated from silicone or other material capable of bulging upward when stretched by a mechanical force and returning to a normal shape as shown in  FIGS. 13 and 14  when the mechanical force is substantially removed. The diaphragm  238  is circular in cross-section and its outer periphery is defined by a continuous peripheral section  240  which extends downward into space  233   b . A stretchable diaphragm wall  242  integrally extends from outer ring section  240  to enclose the lower diaphragm chamber  233   a . The diaphragm wall  242  is provided with a continuous groove  244  ( FIGS. 19-21 ) to increase flexibility of the diaphragm  238 . A pair of continuous grooves  246  is disposed on each side of groove  244 . Ribs  248  are disposed within grooves  244 , 246  to assist the diaphragm  233   a  to return to its relaxed start of FIG.  13 . The diaphragm periphery  240  may be secured by an adhesive within space  233   b  and is otherwise secured to the housing  202  by a diaphragm retainer ring  254  ( FIGS. 13 and 14 ) which bears in secured relationship against the upper surface of ring  240  and the lower surface of ledge  255  formed on the interior surface of housing  202 . The retainer  254  has a lower protuberance  256  that inter-fits with a groove  258  in periphery  240  of the diaphragm. 
   The diaphragm  238  is provided with a central horizontal portion  259   a  and upward hollow cylindrical projection  259   b  forming opening  259   c . The lower portion of a diaphragm rod  262  extends through diaphragm opening  259   c  as seen in  FIGS. 13 and 14 . The securement portion  260  of diaphragm rod  262  has a lower expanded end  264  biased against diaphragm wall  259   a  in secured relationship. Continuous lip  268  projects from diaphragm holder  260  to contact the top of diaphragm portion  259   b  for further securement. 
   The diaphragm rod  262  is fabricated from a suitably strong and flexible material, such as, for example, nylon and has a curved upper upright section  270  terminating with a securement formation  272  having hole  274  as seen in  FIGS. 28 and 29 . The upright section is off-center from the convex top of the expanded end  264 . A metal shaft  276 , such as formed from stainless steel, plastic, or other material, extends through hole  274 . Rollers (not shown) are rotatably secured to opposite ends of shaft (not shown) in a manner as described with reference to the first embodiment of the invention disclosed herein. The rollers respectively project in between curved walls  216  of the housing halves  202   a,b , such that the rollers follow the track curvature defined by track  214  to cause the diaphragm  238  to flex upward and expand diaphragm chamber  233   a  in conformance to the movement of rollers. As illustrated in  FIGS. 13 and 14 , a spring  280  is attached to a pin on the lever arm  282  and a securement anchor  282   a  to remove the slack to remove slack in the diaphragm  242 . 
   As best seen in  FIGS. 13 ,  14 ,  26 , and  27 , a lever arm  282  is pivotally secured to the shaft  276  and extends exteriorly through a narrow opening  283  in housing  202  continuously provided between upper edge  283   a  and lower edge  283   b  cut in housing  202  (FIGS.  13 - 16 ). The lever arm  282  possesses a slightly bowed U-shape defined by upper wall  284 , spaced sidewalls  286  and securement end  288 . As best seen in  FIG. 27 , the inner portion of side walls  286  are spaced by greater distance than the outer portion of side walls  286  so as to overlap the upper end of the diaphragm holder (FIG.  13 ). A pump lever  290  is secured at its lower end to the securement end  288  of lever arm  282  as will be described. 
   As seen in  FIGS. 13 ,  14 ,  22  and  23 , the pump lever  290  also possesses a bowed configuration created by curved outer wall  292  ( FIG. 22 ) which interconnects a pair of projecting spaced sidewalls  294 . As seen in  FIG. 23 , the spaced side walls  294  are nearly parallel in lower end  294   a  while the spaced side walls  294  taper toward end other in spaced relationship at upper end  294   a  and terminate with securement end  296  to pivotally attach lever  290  to housing  202  by a pin  298  (FIG.  13 ). The curved outer wall  292  has openings  293  to receive a resilient lever cover  300  ( FIGS. 24 and 25 ) having projections  301  fitting in the openings  293  of the of pump lever  290 . The lower end of pump lever  290  is pivotally secured to the outer end of lever by a pin projecting through side walls  294  and the pump lever end  290   a  positioned therebetween. 
   Referring to  FIG. 33 , there is illustrated the beverage bottle closure, generally designated by reference numeral  120 ′. The closure  120 ′ is similar to the closure shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12  for a similar function with the valve  140 , but the exhaust port  152  as shown in the proceeding embodiment has been eliminated. The base portion  334 ′ in  FIG. 31  is shown continuous without the severed section of the preceding embodiment. The outer upper periphery of closure  120 ′ is generally cylindrical shape having a plurality of horizontal slots to create a seal with the wall projection  232  of base  222 . Opposed flat surfaces are also provided on upper outer periphery to aid insertion and removal from the bottle. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 13 and 14  a valve  320  and a valve cap  322  is shown mounted on the base  222 . The valve  360  is mounted above an exhaust port in base  222  to exhaust air to the atmosphere. The construction of valve  360  and valve cap  362  is similar to the valves and valve caps disclosed in copending U.S. non-provisional application Ser. No. 09/592,717 filed Jun. 6, 2000. The valve  360  is formed having a circular cutout area  366  forming central portion  368   a  disposed adjacent circular periphery  368 . A central passage is in fluid communication with cutout area  368  and extends for approximately 270 degrees. A portion  372  of central portion  368   a  is thinner in cross-section to allow flexure of portion  3368   a . The valve cap  362  is inserted into the cavity  360   a  of valve  360  and includes central port  364 . In the upward stroke of the diaphragm, the central portion  368   a  contacts the central port  364  to block the port. In the downward stroke, the central portion  368   a  is flexed and displaced to allow air through passage  364  and out the exhaust port in the base  222 . In exhausting air, the valve makes a hissing sound serving as an indicator that air is being removed from the bottle. After two or more strokes of the diaphragm, the valve  360  will not open and the hissing sound will not be heard indicating to the user that evacuation of the bottle has occurred. 
   In operation the pump assembly  200  is attached to a previously opened beverage bottle after the closure  320  has been inserted in the neck of the bottle. The pump assembly  200  is affixed to the closure  320  by inserting the inner hollow projection  230   a  of base  222  into the cavity  326  of the closure  320 . The inner perimeter of closure  320  contact the inner wall engages housing  4  around the outer perimeter of base  222  to produce a seal. In use the pump lever  290  is squeezed such that lever arm  282  causes the rollers to move upward in track  214  generally near enclosed upper end  264 . The diaphragm rod  270  simultaneously pulls diaphragm  238  upward to stretch it and reduce the pressure within the diaphragm chamber  233   a . In the upward stroke valve  360  remains closed while valve  340  of the closure  320  opens to pull air out of the bottle to evacuate the air from the bottle. Upon release of pump lever  290 , the diaphragm  38  returns to its original configuration and pulls the rollers downward in the track  214 . On the down stroke valve  340  closes to seal the bottle and valve  360  opens to exhaust the air from the diaphragm chamber  333   a . It should be apparent the diaphragm  338  not only evacuates the bottle, but serves as a seal while the valve  340  is open. The pump assembly  200  can undergo multiple strokes if greater evacuation and depressurization of the bottle is desired. Upon depressurizing the bottle the pump assembly  200  is removed while the closure  320  is in a sealed relationship on bottle whereby valves  340  assumes its normal closed mode.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5