U.S. patent application number 11/570013 was filed with the patent office on 2008-03-06 for closing element.
Invention is credited to Hans-Dieter Dubs, Jurgen Soldan.
Application Number | 20080053950 11/570013 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34970604 |
Filed Date | 2008-03-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080053950 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Soldan; Jurgen ; et
al. |
March 6, 2008 |
Closing Element
Abstract
A closure element for bottles includes a stopper that engages in
the mouth of a bottle, a head having a larger outside diameter than
the stopper, a sealing element arranged in a transition region
between stopper and head. The sealing element has a first sealing
region which bears against the stopper and comprises at least one
outwardly pointing sealing bead. The first sealing region has at
least one outwardly pointing projection or at least one annular
bead which is arranged at a distance from the annular sealing bead
and on that side of the sealing bead which faces away from the
head. The projection or at least one annular bead has at least one
cutout introduced into the circumferential surface of the bead.
Inventors: |
Soldan; Jurgen; (Worms,
DE) ; Dubs; Hans-Dieter; (Worms, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OSTROLENK FABER GERB & SOFFEN
1180 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS
NEW YORK
NY
100368403
US
|
Family ID: |
34970604 |
Appl. No.: |
11/570013 |
Filed: |
May 31, 2005 |
PCT Filed: |
May 31, 2005 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP05/05820 |
371 Date: |
January 31, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/355 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 39/0076
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
215/355 |
International
Class: |
B65D 39/00 20060101
B65D039/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 2, 2004 |
DE |
10 2004 026 964.5 |
Claims
1. A closure element for a bottle comprising: a stopper engaging in
a mouth of the bottle, the stopper having a head having a larger
outside diameter than a diameter of the stopper; a sealing element
arranged in a transition region between the stopper and the head,
the sealing element having a first sealing region which bears
against the stopper and comprises at least one outwardly pointing
sealing bead, the first sealing region having at least one
outwardly pointing projection or at least one annular bead which is
arranged at a distance from the sealing bead on that side of the
sealing bead which faces away from the head, the annular bead
having at least one cutout introduced into the a circumferential
surface of the annular bead; and the first sealing region has at
least one projection, on an inner side thereof which faces the
stopper.
2. The closure element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sealing
element has a second sealing region which bears against the head
and which adjoins the first sealing region.
3. The closure element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sealing
element is in a single piece.
4. The closure element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least
one projection comprises an inner bead on the sealing element and
located further from the head than the sealing bead and nearer to
the head than the annular bead.
5. The closure element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sealing
element is composed of plastic.
6. The closure element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stopper
is composed of glass.
7. The closure element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stopper
is composed of at least one of metal, ceramic and plastic.
8. The closure element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least
one projection is an inner bead.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a closure element for bottles
according to the preamble of claim 1.
[0002] Closure elements of the type discussed here are known. They
are used in particular in bottles with high-quality contents, in
particular bottles made of glass. In order to ensure leakproof
sealing of the contents of the bottles, a sealing element is
provided. After closure at the manufacturer's, closure elements of
the type discussed here are generally secured, for example, by
means of a plastic or aluminum cap which holds the closure element
on the bottle. After opening for the first time, i.e. also after
removal of the cap, the closure element is held by means of the
friction prevailing between sealing element and bottle. If there is
an increase in pressure in the interior of the bottle, the closure
element may therefore be pushed out of the mouth region of the
bottle until it loses its hold and possibly drops off entirely.
[0003] It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a
closure element for bottles which does not have this
disadvantage.
[0004] To achieve this object, a closure element is proposed which
shows the features mentioned in claim 1. It has a stopper engaging
in the mouth of the drinks bottle and a head with an outside
diameter which is larger than that of the stopper. A sealing
element which is arranged in the transition region between stopper
and head has a first sealing region which bears against the
stopper. The interior of the drinks bottle is sealed by at least
one outwardly pointing sealing bead which is provided in the first
sealing region. The closure element is distinguished in that at
least one outwardly projecting projection, preferably an annular
bead, which has at least one recess introduced into the
circumferential surface of the bead, is provided on that side of
the first sealing region which faces away from the head.
[0005] By this means, additional holding forces are built up
between closure element and bottle. If there is a positive pressure
in the bottle, the closure element is pushed somewhat out of the
mouth of the bottle, namely until the sealing bead acting as the
seal is pushed out of the mouth of the bottle until it no longer
seals the interior thereof and the positive pressure can escape.
The internal pressure can escape from the bottle by means of the at
least one projection situated at a distance from the sealing bead
or by means of the cutout in the annular bead. At the same time, it
is ensured that the closure element still finds a sufficient degree
of hold on the bottle and cannot fall out of the mouth.
[0006] Further refinements emerge from the subclaims.
[0007] The invention is explained in more detail below with
reference to the drawing. The single FIGURE shows a schematic
diagram of a closure element in side view of a sealing element in
longitudinal section.
[0008] The closure element 1 illustrated has a stopper 3 which can
be inserted into the mouth of a bottle. The stopper is adjoined by
a head 5, the outside diameter of which is larger than that of the
stopper 3. It may be provided, for example, that the outside
diameter of the head 5 essentially corresponds to that of the
bottle in the mouth region, so that the bottle as it were merges
into the closure element. Stopper 3 and head 5 are preferably
formed in a single piece.
[0009] A sealing element 7 is provided in the transition region
between stopper 3 and head 5, the sealing element having at least
one first sealing region 9 bearing against the stopper 3.
Preferably, as illustrated in the FIGURE, a second sealing region
11 is provided which adjoins the first sealing region and bears
against the head 5 from below.
[0010] A sealing bead 13 which seals off the interior of a bottle
from the surroundings is provided here on the outer side of the
first sealing region 9, which side faces away from the stopper 3.
It is possible to provide a plurality of sealing beads of this type
one above another, i.e. at a distance from one another. An annular
bead 15 is provided here on that side of the sealing bead 13 which
faces away from the head 5, said annular bead having, in its
circumferential surface, at least one recess which does not seal
off the interior of the bottle from the sealing bead 13, i.e.
constitutes a passage. Pressure acting in the interior of the
bottle can therefore furthermore act on the sealing bead 13.
[0011] Instead of the bead 15, at least one projection, preferably
a number of projections, can also be provided, the projections
being arranged at a distance from one another on an imaginary
circumferential line and not pressure-tightly sealing the interior
of the bottle from the sealing bead 13.
[0012] An inner bead 17 is provided on that side of the first
sealing region 9 which faces the stopper 3, the inner bead being
provided in the lower region of the sealing bead 13 but, as seen in
the direction of the center axis 19 of the closure element 1,
having a smaller extent and a lower height. The inner bead 17
serves as a support for the sealing bead 13 and as a means of
holding the sealing element 7 on the stopper 3.
[0013] In addition, an inner bead can likewise be provided in the
region of the bead 15 or of the at least one projection provided
here. Dimensions and number of the at least one inner bead 17 can
be adapted to different applications.
[0014] On the lower side of the second sea ling region 11, which
side faces away from the head 5, at least one annular bead 21
running concentrically with respect to the center axis 19 is
provided. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated here, two annular
beads 21 and 23 arranged concentrically with respect to each other
are illustrated. These may serve as an additional seal but also in
order to cushion an impact on the closure element 1 in a resilient
manner while said closure element is placed onto a bottle and is
supported with the annular beads 21, 23 on the wall region of the
bottle that surrounds the mouth.
[0015] The following is to be emphasized with regard to the
function of the closure element 1:
[0016] For the closure of a bottle, the closure element 1 is placed
onto a bottle, so that the stopper 3 engages in the mouth of the
same and the head 5 is supported on the wall region of the bottle
that surrounds the mouth. The sealing element 7 serves to seal the
interior of the bottle in a leakproof manner, with at least one
first sealing region 9 providing sealing in the region of the
stopper 3. In addition, a second sealing region 11 may also be
provided. The sealing element 7 is preferably formed in a single
piece, so that the first sealing region 9 merges into the second
sealing region 11. The first sealing region 9 is of substantially
cylindrical or slightly conical design and is situated
concentrically with respect to the center axis 19. The second
sealing region 11 is situated in a plane to which the center axis
19 is perpendicular.
[0017] The sealing bead 13 provides the leakproof sealing of the
interior of the bottle. It generally also supplies sufficient
holding forces in order to hold the closure element 1 on a bottle.
Additional holding forces are built up by the at least one
projection arranged, as seen from the head 5, below the sealing
bead 13, or by the bead 15. It is essential that here, however, a
sealing of the interior of the bottle is not provided, so that a
pressure building up here acts as far as the sealing bead 13.
[0018] If, therefore, a pressure builds up in the interior of the
bottle, the stopper 3 is pressed somewhat out of the mouth of the
same, to be precise, until the positive pressure can escape past
the sealing bead 13. In this position, the closure element 1 still
finds a sufficient degree of hold in the mouth of a bottle because
at least one projection, preferably the bead 15, is still provided
below the sealing bead 13. Since said bead is provided with at
least one recess, the internal pressure in the bottle can escape
here, with the result that further axial displacement of the
closure element 1 out of the bottle does not take place.
[0019] While, in the originally closed state, the head 5 of the
closure element 1 rests virtually entirely on the wall of a bottle
that surrounds the mouth, namely at a distance predetermined by the
second sealing element 11, the closure element is situated, after
dissipation of an increased internal pressure in the interior, in a
position in which the distance between the head 5 and the bottle is
increased. Just by this, a consumer can recognize that the closure
element has been displaced by internal pressure in the bottle. This
displacement could be used, in the case of non-gaseous contents, as
an indication that the contents are spoiled and fermented.
[0020] The closure element 1 is preferably composed entirely of
glass, so that it does not impair the contents in the bottle in
terms of taste. It would suffice merely to produce the stopper from
glass, at least the regions which come into contact with the
contents of the bottle. However, the closure element 1 may also be
composed of metal, ceramic or of a plastic which does not impair
the contents of the bottle in terms of taste. Correspondingly, a
plastic is selected for the sealing element 7 that, on the one
hand, is sufficiently elastic in order to ensure that the interior
of the bottle is sealed off but, on the other hand, supplies the
closure element 1 with a sufficient degree of hold on the bottle
and likewise does not impair the contents in terms of taste.
[0021] It is furthermore possible to produce the closure element 1
from glass, metal or ceramic and to provide it with a plastic
coating which realizes the sealing element 7 and has an outer
contour as provided for the sealing element 7.
[0022] The functional principle of the closure element 1 makes it
clear that the sealing element 7 has at least one sealing bead 13
sealing off the interior of a bottle, and, in addition, also a
holding region which holds the closure element 1 securely on a
bottle even after a displacement of the same in the direction of
the center axis 19. In order to ensure this function, at least one
projection which can hold the closure element 1 in the mouth region
of a bottle is provided below the sealing bead 13, i.e. on the side
facing away from the head 5. However, a plurality of projections,
but, in particular, an encircling bead 15 with at least one recess,
are preferably provided, said bead providing the closure element 1
with a secure hold in the mouth of a bottle even if the closure
element 1 has been displaced somewhat in the direction of the
center axis 19.
* * * * *