Pressurizing Closure Device

Abstract

A pressurizing closure device for closing the opening in a container that contains a carbonated liquid or beverage, which closure device seals the opening and provides a simple resilient air cavity with check valve openings that is successively squeezed forcing air through the closure device into the container and repressurizing the gas volume above the carbonated liquid.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is well known that a carbonated fluid such as soda water, beer or the like goes flat after the container has been opened for a sufficient time period. The fluid or beverage rapidly looses its carbonation. While many different types of stoppers, closure devices, pressure caps, and the like have been used to close open bottles or containers, and while such devices usually effect a seal of the bottle opening thus preventing further loss of carbonated gas to the atmosphere outside of the bottle, there is still a considerable loss of carbonated gas into the volume between the depleted liquid and the closed end of the bottle or container. Where a substantial amount of the contents are removed from the container, then the loss of carbonated gas to this volume can be substantial.

Thus it is advantageous to have a pressurizing closure device that quickly, easily, and positively closes the opening of a container and that has a suitable cavity with appropriate resilient check valves and ports from the outer atmospheric air to the internal volume of the container that pumps air under pressure in a simple and easy manner into the internal volume of the sealed container. This repressurizes the gas volume within the container and above the level of the liquid, preventing further escape of carbonated gases into the volume of the container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an exemplary embodiment of this invention, a resilient body portion is secured to the container at an opening therein in a manner to seal the opening. Where the container is a known narrow necked bottle, then the body portion is cylindrical and fits over the outer end of the opening and is secured to the ridges thereon. Where the opening is in the thin metal wall of a metal container, then the closure device has a base portion with grooves in its outer edge surface that fits in and coacts with the adjacent thin edges of the opening to provide a closure to the opening. In both embodiments, the opening in the container is closed by a wall portion that fits over and seals the opening.

The wall portion has a resilient check valve port therethrough that provides an air passage into the container. The check valve port prevents escape of air in the reverse direction through the air passage. Secured to the outside of the wall portion is a resilient air cavity that is expandable and contractible and has an opening to the outer atmosphere. This opening may be closed by an appropriate check valve, flap member or by the fingers of the user. The air in the cavity is compressed by squeezing and is forced through the check valve port through the sealing wall and into the inner volume of the container. Thus the two embodiments provide a sealing means as well as a combination repressurizing means that seals and repressurizes the container carrying the carbonated liquid or beverage.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new and improved pressurizing closure device.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved pressurizing closure device for resealing the opening of a container that carries a carbonated liquid and that repressurizes the volume therein.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved pressurizing closure device that closes openings in bottles having narrow neck openings or openings in the wall of metal containers and that has simple and inexpensive means for repressurizing the volume in the resealed container.

Other objects and many advantages of this invention will become more apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description and an examination of the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate like parts throughout and in which:

FIG. l is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the invention with parts broken away.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view with parts broken away of a modified embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the pressurizing closure device positioned in an opening in the wall of a metal container.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 5- 5 of FIG. 4, with parts broken away.

Referring now to FIG. l, a bottle that contains a carbonated liquid or beverage, such as soda pop, beer, or the like, has a narrow neck l2 with a known upper end construction 26 having circumferential grooves for coacting with known pressure type bottle caps. When the bottle cap is removed from end 26 and a part of the carbonated liquid is removed, then it is desirable to reseal the end 26. The pressurizing closure device l0 has a body portion l4 with a cylindrical opening and a wall 21 that fits over the end 26 and is securely held thereto in the manner shown. A conical shaped tip portion l6 having a passage l8 therethrough projects down from the wall portion 21 into the container and air, gas, or the like passes into the volume of the bottle. The resilient conical portion l6 is biased inwardly to close the passage l8. Additionally, the gas pressure within the container l2 acts against the outer surface of the cylindrical portion l6 to force closure of passage l8. Also this compression force of the gas within the container l2 exerts an upward force against the resilient wall 21 that tends to force the wall 21 in an upward curved shape. This exerts an inwardly directed pulling force against the cylindrical wall portion 14 and also an upward force against the cylindrical wall portion 14 that aids in increasing the holding force of the closure device l0 onto the neck of the bottle l2.

Integrally secured to the body member l4 is an air cavity portion 22 that has an opening 24 in the upper surface. It may be understood that in operation, the user may press on the flexible cavity portion 22 with a finger against the opening 24, closing opening 24 and thus compressing the air in cavity 20. This forces the air through passage l8 into the volume of the bottle container l2 and when successively repeated, pumps air into the space above the fluid until the air or gas pressure exceeds the release pressure of the carbonated gas in the fluid.

A modified embodiment of the invention, see FIG. 2, has a cylindrical cavity portion 32 with substantially the same body configuration as illustrated in FIG. l. Cavity portion 38 projects to the side of the body portion 32 and has an opening 44 that is covered by a resilient flap 42 in the end wall 46. Thus the closure device 38 of FIG. 2 is inserted onto the neck 34 of the bottle 30 and around the tip portion 52 in a the manner previously described relative to FIG. l. The user then squeezes the cavity portion 40 of the closure device 38 forcing air through opening 50 and the check valve port 48 inserting air under pressure into the bottle 30. Check valve 42 operates to close the opening 44 during the squeezing action and to pass air into the cavity portion 40 at other times.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is illustrated still another embodiment of this invention wherein the closure device 64 is fitted into the opening in a metal container 60. The opening that may be oblong and made by use of the known pull-top mechanism, is sealed by the closure device 64. The closure device 64 has a body portion 74 with a radial slot in its outer edge forming lip portions 78 and 80 that fit on each side of the edge of the opening in the upper wall 76 of the metal container 60. The closure device has the conical projection 72 with the passage 70 therethrough and with an inflating cavity 62 with the opening 66 and the check valve flap 68 positioned thereover. It may be understood that the cavity 63 62 has a longitudinal shape as illustrated in FIG. 5.

In operation, the cavity 62 is squeezed in the normal manner pumping air through the check valve opening 66 and through the check valve port 72 into the cavity of the metal container 60. The increased air pressure inside the cavity 60 not only aids in further closing passage 70 in the check valve port 72, but also forces lip 78 against the edge of the opening in the top upper wall 76 intending to increase the sealing pressure therebetween.

Claims

I claim:

1. A pressurizing closure device for closing the opening in a container that contains a carbonated liquid or the like comprising in combination:

a body member having an integral wall portion that fits over the opening in a container and seals the opening,

said wall portion has a check valve port that passes air in a first direction through said wall portion to the internal volume of the container and opposes the passage of air in the reverse direction and out of the container,

said check valve port comprises a conical shaped projection in outer configuration having a centered air passage passing therethrough for passing the air through said wall portion,

said body member has an integral air cavity that communicates with said check valve port and that has an opening to the atmosphere, which air cavity is resiliently expandible and contractible to admit air through said opening and to compress air therein by covering said opening and contracting the cavity thereby pumping the air through said valve ports, and

said conical shaped projection being of resilient material that is normally biased to close off said passage and being capable of projecting into a container whereby the pressurized air that can be injected into the container by said body member exerts pressure against the outer walls of the conical wall portion compressing the conical wall portion to close off said passage.

2. A closure device as claimed in claim l in which:

said wall portion has an outer skirt for fitting around the outside of said container,

said air cavity forms a side of said body member and projects latterly outward therefrom with one side of said skirt forming a part of a wall of the cavity, and

said opening in said cavity has a resilient flap portion covering said opening from the inside of said air cavity to function as a check valve.

3. A closure device as claimed in claim 2 in which, said body member comprises a cylindrical member having internal circumferential shoulders that fit over the end of a bottle and seals the opening therein with said wall portion.

4. A closure device as claimed in claim l in which:

said body member comprises a substantially flat member having a shape corresponding to the shape of the opening in the top wall of a metal can, and

said body member having a circumferential slot in its outer edge that encloses the edge of the opening in said top wall.