Patent Application
20240327074
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present disclosure relates, in general, to glass bottle sealing technology.
Beverage bottles, primarily made of glass and more recently made of aluminum, require sealing caps to maintain the freshness, carbonation and leakage of their contained fluids. Metal bottle caps are commonly used for glass bottles, and can be made from aluminum, steel, or tinplate. These materials are sturdy and can be easily sealed to prevent leaks. A plethora of designs exist that may be removed by simple hand manipulation or removed with a bottle opening tool. The commonality resides in their manner of sealed attachment around the top flange (collar) of the bottle neck.
The hand manipulation caps may be removed by twisting or pulling a central strip. This type of removal is hard for someone with long fingernails or weak wrists. The pull top style leaves a central sharp strip of metal, and the common bottle cap needs a bottle opener tool, and if it is tried to be opened without this tool, the tip flange on the bottle neck may chip leaving sharp edges and depositing a glass shard somewhere.
A bottle cap that can be easily removed by anyone, safely, would fulfill a long felt need in the bottle industry. This new invention utilizes and combines known and new technologies in a unique and novel configuration to overcome the aforementioned problems and accomplish this.
In accordance with various embodiments, a mullet stylized bottle cap is provided.
In one aspect, a decorative bottle cap that can be inexpensively mass produced, able to be used with existing bottle cap sealing machines and technology and use existing sealing components, is provided.
In another aspect, a stylized bottle cap that may be sealed to a glass bottle using existing crimping technology and removed without a tool.
In yet another aspect, a stylized bottle cap with a stiffened opening tab, that may manually be removed and resealed without a tool.
In another aspect a bottle cap that provides both a novel appearance and provides additional surface area for branding.
Various modifications and additions can be made to the embodiments discussed without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, while the embodiments described above refer to particular features, the scope of this invention also includes embodiments having different combination of features and embodiments that do not include all of the above described features.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of particular embodiments may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings, in which like reference numerals are used to refer to similar components.
While various aspects and features of certain embodiments have been summarized above, the following detailed description illustrates a few exemplary embodiments in further detail to enable one skilled in the art to practice such embodiments. The described examples are provided for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first seal ring could be termed a second seal ring, and, similarly, a second seal ring could be termed a first seal ring, without departing from the scope of the inventive concept.
It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “coupled to,” or “connected to” another element or layer, it can be directly on, directly coupled to or directly connected to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly coupled to,” or “directly connected to” another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layers present. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
The present invention relates to a novel design for a crimp-on style bottle cap (“cap”) for sealing a glass bottle, predominantly but not exclusively for carbonated beverages.
Caps for glass bottles work by creating an airtight seal between the cap and the collar of the bottle, which prevents air and other contaminants from entering the bottle and compromising the contents. William Painter invented the Crown Cork bottle cap in 1892 and then patented the first tool to open his new bottle cap in 1894. Since then, tens of millions of crimp style bottle cap openers have been produced. This novel design provides a modified conventional bottle cap that does not require an opener tool for removal and also provides for a tool free, limited resealing of the bottle.
Generally, crimp on caps have a liner or seal made of a material such as rubber, cork, or plastic that is affixed to the underside of the cap and sits between the cap and the bottle neck's top collar (flange.) The cap typically has a peripheral edge on its planar body that extends beyond the outer extent of the bottle neck's top collar so it can be downwardly crimped about this top collar. As the cap is downwardly crimped onto the bottle neck, the liner compresses between the underside of the cap and the top edge of the bottle neck, and creates a seal that prevents air from entering the bottle. Removing the bottle cap requires the vertically upward uncrimping of a partial peripheral section of the bottle cap until it is loose enough to uncouple from the bottle neck.
Crimp style bottle caps are preferred for carbonated beverages such as beer because they protect the beer better from oxygen ingress and form a better seal. However, their drawback is that they require a bottle opener or an ingenious method to open. This apparatus is a crimp style bottle cap that is both stylish in design (representing a “business in front—party in back” mullet style haircut, common in the 90's), and is able to be easily opened or resealed by anyone without a tool, because of the mechanical advantage its design offers.
In the way of background, crimp style bottle caps are manufactured forming planar, metallic discs into cap shells by bending the outer periphery of the disc downward into what is known as the skirt. In this process the skirt also has a series of ridges formed contiguously about its outer peripheral edge. This crimped edge is the part of the cap shell that is folded or rolled onto the bottle neck during the crimping process. This edge help to create a tight seal between the cap and the top collar of the bottle neck. On the underside of the cap shell is a bottle cap liner affixed, which is a circular disc that is generally made of a sterilized plastic. When the cap is pressed onto the bottle neck and the crimped edge secured around the top collar, a seal is formed.
Looking at
The cap 2 is fabricated from a single piece of metal/steel. The main body of the cap 2 is called the cap shell 6 and sits on the top collar of a glass bottle's neck. Here, as compared to a conventional bottle cap, the cap shell 6 is a circular disc (
Uniformly spaced around the skirt 8 is a series of radial ridges 18. These ridges 18 add strength to the skirt 8 to maintain is configuration and its location when crimped around the collar of a bottle. These ridges are form a crimping edge which is the part of the cap shell 6 that is folded or rolled onto the bottle neck during the crimping process. These edges help to create a tight seal between the cap and the bottle neck.
An arced mullet tab 4 extends beyond the bottom perimeter edge 20 of the skirt 8. This mullet tab 4 has a series of strengthening ridges 10 running along its length to add rigidity and strength to the tab 4. These strengthening ridges 10 are linear extensions of the radial ridges 18 found on the skirt. The mullet tab 4 also has a at least one optional concentric ridge formed across its width that lies transverse to the strengthening ridges 10. These strengthening ridges and concentric ridges are necessary for allowing the manual resealing without tools as is discussed herein. This series of strengthening ridges 10 allow the tab 4 the strength to disengage a number of the radial ridges 18 in the vicinity of the tab 4 without bending, while the concentric ridge limits the amount of twisting deformation the tab 4 can undergo if the tab 4 is torqued in operation by an off center force. Together these two ridges act as bi directional ridges to ensure that there is sufficient strength and rigidity to the tab when bent or torqued to resist bending and no twisting. Additionally, the strengthening ridges 10, imparts the image of flowing hair in a mullet configuration. The mullet tab has a width Z (
When the cap 2 is removed, the obtuse angle Ø between the tab 4 and the bottom face of the cap shell 6 will not increase by more than two degrees. Once the cap 2 is loose enough to come free from the collar, the tab 4 will not be able to deform any further and increase the obtuse angle beyond that point.
The skirt 8 has a height X from the planar top face of the cap shell 6 to the perimeter edge 20 of its skirt. (
There is a liner 26 (compression gasket) that is adhesively affixed to the bottom face 14 of the cap shell 6. (
These metal caps 2 are formed by metal stamping or die cutting (“clicking”) as is well known in the industry. The cap shell 6 may have features like embossing, brand labeling or a UPC code placed thereon.
Overall, the various parts of a crimp-on bottle cap work together to create a secure and airtight seal between the cap and the bottle, while also providing the aesthetics of a bottle cap that makes a bottle look like a person with a mullet haircut.
One of the largest advantages of this cap is that it may be resealed by hand after being opened and the contents of the bottle partially consumed. Because of the mechanical advantage or leverage that is provided by the stiffened mullet cap 2, the cap 2 may be placed over the bottle's collar and firmly held in place with downward pressure placed on the front edge of the cap while the mullet tab is pressed toward the neck of the bottle. There will be a slight amount of crimping of the skirt that will result that will be enough to reseal the bottles contents and pressure. This is a feature that no existing crimp style cap can offer.
Crimp style bottle caps can be crimped onto bottles using specialized machinery or hand-held tools. Crimping is a common method for installing caps on bottles that are used for carbonated beverages such as soda, beer, and sparkling water, as well as for some types of food and cosmetic products.
Crimping involves creating a tight seal between the cap and the bottle by folding or rolling the edges of the cap onto the neck of the bottle. This process is well known in the industry and must be carefully calibrated to ensure that the correct amount of pressure is applied to the cap to create a tight seal, without damaging the bottle or the cap. The process and typically involves the following two steps, whether done in an automated production line or one at a time with a manual hand-held crimping tool:
Placing the cap on the bottle: The cap is first placed onto the neck of the bottle, usually using automated machinery.
Crimping the cap onto the bottle: A capping head or crimper is then used to press the edges of the cap onto the bottle neck, creating a tight seal. The crimper applies pressure around the circumference of the cap, folding or rolling the edges of the cap onto the bottle neck.
While certain features and aspects have been described with respect to exemplary embodiments, one skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications are possible. Components described according to a particular structural architecture and/or with respect to one system may be organized in alternative structural architectures and/or incorporated within other described systems. Although several exemplary embodiments are described above, it will be appreciated that the invention is intended to cover all modifications and equivalents within the scope of the following claims.
Having described and illustrated the principles of the inventive concept with reference to illustrated embodiments, it will be recognized that the illustrated embodiments can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles, and can be combined in any desired manner. And although the foregoing discussion has focused on particular embodiments, other configurations are contemplated
Consequently, in view of the wide variety of permutations to the embodiments described herein, this detailed description and accompanying material is intended to be illustrative only, and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the inventive concept. What is claimed as the invention, therefore, is all such modifications as may come within the scope and spirit of the following claims and equivalents thereto.
