The present invention relates to a stopper particularly for a bottle suitable for containing wine.
Currently, bottles typically made of glass are used particularly to preserve and transport wine and are closed with stoppers.
A first known type of stopper consists of a small cylinder, obtained from a single piece of cork, which is slightly larger in diameter than the neck of the bottle, so that it can be inserted therein following radial compression.
Once it has been thus inserted in the open end of the neck of the bottle, the cylinder tends to expand radially, adhering to the internal surface of the bottle and accordingly closing it.
Due to the material of which it is made, the cylinder is crossed by small irregularly-shaped cavities, which connect the inside of the bottle to the outside and allow a minimal exchange of air; this is essential in particular for wines that must undergo an aging process in a bottle.
The cavities or natural channels that pass through the cork further form, in certain portions, receptacles for a substance, known as suberin, which has antibacterial properties which limit the formation of bacteria, molds or fungi, which might cause deterioration of the wine.
These known types of stopper, obtained from a single piece of cork, have a drawback: the characteristics of air-permeability of the stopper depend directly on the quality of the cork, which being a natural element is subject to many environmental factors that are difficult to control; in particular, the characteristics of the cork depend on the location and on the level of growth attained by the plant, on the climate conditions in which it has grown, on any fungi, molds or bacteria that might have attacked it, and on the detergents used to wash the cork to make it adapted for contact with wine.
Therefore, the characteristics of these known types of stopper cannot be determined easily beforehand, with the consequent risk of not ensuring perfect preservation of the wine and/or the uniformity of the aging process of a same wine contained in several bottles closed by different stoppers.
Further, the enormous number of bottles of wine produced each year has caused a drastic reduction in the quantity of cork available, in particular of pieces of cork large enough to provide the stoppers described earlier.
Stoppers are also known which are constituted by a small cylinder obtained from a plurality of small cork cylinders which have a same radius and a reduced height and are arranged one above the other and fixed axially to each other by means of a suitable adhesive; in this manner, it is possible to obtain stoppers starting from cork pieces which are smaller and are therefore available in larger quantities.
These known types of stopper, however, have the drawback that their permeability to air is extremely reduced by the presence of the adhesive, which can also cause the deterioration of the wine contained in the bottle.
In order to be able to use even small cork fragments, or to reuse pieces of cork stoppers that have already been used, for the production of stoppers, stoppers are known which are constituted by a small cylinder obtained by pressing and monolithically coupling small cork pieces by means of appropriate adhesives.
However, even these known types of stopper have, due to the presence of the adhesive, a reduced air permeability, and there is also the risk that the adhesive agent might cause deterioration of the wine.
In an attempt to overcome the problem of the limited availability of cork, it is known to provide stoppers constituted by a small cylinder made of an elastically deformable plastic material, which is generally silicone-based and is inserted, after radial compression, in the open end of the neck of the bottle to be closed; however, said known types of stopper are completely airtight and therefore cannot be used for wines that need to age in the bottle.
Again as an alternative to cork stoppers, stoppers are also in use which are made of rigid or semirigid plastics, glass, or ceramics and comprise a substantially cylindrical or frustum-shaped stem, from the lateral surface of which annular ribs protrude in some cases; the stem is inserted, optionally with the interposition of suitable gaskets, in the open end of the neck of a bottle, so as to rigidly couple by friction to the internal surface of the neck and close the bottle.
However, even these known types of stopper have the drawback that they are completely airtight and do not ensure protection of the wine against bacteria, molds or fungi.
As a partial solution to these drawbacks, WO02/055397 discloses a stopper, particularly for wine bottles, which comprises a small cylinder made at least partially of synthetic material, such as for example a polyethylene resin with the addition of an expanding agent, which can be inserted by pressing in the neck of a bottle so as to close it; at least one tubular duct is formed within the cylinder and connects the inside of the bottle to the outside environment through at least one membrane, which is permeable to oxygen but impermeable to liquids and is arranged transversely with respect to the duct.
The membrane is constituted by a film made of an acrylic copolymer and is fixed to an appropriately provided substrate made for example of non-woven fabric.
Optionally, the membrane can be fixed inside a small cylindrical tube arranged coaxially with respect to the tubular duct.
Although this known embodiment allows to obtain a chosen exchange of the air between the outside environment and the wine, it provides no protection to the wine against the formation of molds, fungi or bacteria that might cause its deterioration.
Further, the membrane, made of synthetic material, over time may release chemical substances which might cause deterioration of the wine.
Further, the membrane, over time, can lose its characteristics of air-permeability and/or impermeability to liquids, with the consequent risk of causing deterioration of the wine and/or allowing its leakage from the bottle.
Moreover, if the bottle is inverted, the wine enters the duct formed within the cylinder, thus making contact with the membrane; such membrane, being very thin, may break under the pressure of the wine, causing the wine to leak from the bottle.
The aim of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, eliminating the drawbacks of the cited background art, by providing a stopper that allows to close in particular a bottle of wine, so as to prevent the leakage of said wine, at the same time ensuring a chosen exchange of air between the inside of the bottle and the outside environment.
Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a stopper which allows to close in particular a bottle of wine so as to reduce the formation of molds, fungi or bacteria.
Another object is to provide a stopper which can be obtained in a chosen quantity and has constant air-permeability characteristics.
Another object of the invention is to ensure that the wine does not leak from the bottle even if the bottle is inverted.
Another object is to provide a stopper which is structurally simple and has low manufacturing costs.
This aim and these and other objects, which will become better apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a stopper particularly for a bottle for containing wine, which comprises a body which can be associated within or at the open end of the neck of said bottle so as to close it, characterized in that at least one block is associated axially and internally with said body and is made of a material which is permeable to air, impermeable to liquids and porous, its ends being connected, directly or by means of at least one duct, to the inside and the outside of said bottle.
Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the following detailed description of a particular but not exclusive embodiment thereof, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
In the exemplary embodiments that follow, individual characteristics, given in relation to specific examples, may actually be interchanged with other different characteristics that exist in other exemplary embodiments.
Moreover, it is noted that anything found to be already known during the patenting process is understood not to be claimed and to be the subject of a disclaimer.
With reference to
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment shown in
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Preferably starting from the lower end face 8 of the body 3, which during use is directed toward the inside of the bottle 2, advantageously but not necessarily there is, at the central axis of the body 3, a cavity or receptacle 50, which is at most as high as the body 3.
At least one complementarily shaped block 9, made of a material which is permeable to air, impermeable to liquids and porous, is associated within the cavity or receptacle 50, which is advantageously approximately cylindrical.
In the embodiments shown in
Advantageously, a second end 11 of the block 9 is connected to at least one duct 12, which is preferably but not necessarily approximately cylindrical and is formed in the body 3 starting from its upper end face 13, which lies opposite the lower end face 8.
In another embodiment, the body 3 can be associated with the neck 5 of the bottle 2 by turning it through 180°, so that the block 9 is directly connected to the outside of the bottle 2 (environment).
As an alternative, the cavity or receptacle 50 and the block 9 contained therein may be as high as the body 3, so that the first and second ends of said block are connected directly respectively to the inside and the outside of the bottle 2; in this case, not shown in the accompanying figures, the cavity or receptacle 50, and therefore the block 9, are arranged in a position which is axial but axially offset with respect to the longitudinal central axis of the body 3, so as to allow the insertion, approximately centrally with respect to the upper end face 13, of the tip of a corkscrew which is adapted to extract the stopper 1 from the bottle 2.
Advantageously but not necessarily, the outer lateral surface of the block 9 is knurled, so as to improve its grip on the lateral surface of the cavity or receptacle 50 within which it is accommodated.
Advantageously, the block 9 can be obtained for example by sintering a material which has such characteristics as not to cause the wine to deteriorate, such as for example stainless steel, glass or ceramics.
Sintering entails the compression, in an appropriate mold, of a powder of the intended material, optionally with the addition of suitable additives, and then heating it to a temperature which is close to its melting point but such as not to change the shape of the particles; interspaces of appropriate sizes are thus formed among the various particles and allow the flow of air.
The dimensions of the interspaces depend on the type of material used, on the pressure with which the particles are compacted, and on the temperature to which they are subjected; by adjusting these factors appropriately, therefore, it is possible to obtain interspaces of chosen dimensions, such as to allow the flow of a chosen amount of air but at the same time prevent the passage of wine.
Advantageously, the powder to be sintered can be enriched with a selected percentage of powder of silver or of other materials having antibacterial characteristics, such as for example titanium oxide; this helps to prevent the formation of molds, fungi or bacteria, which might cause the wine to deteriorate.
Advantageously, in a chosen region of the block 9, the interspaces that are present among the various particles that constitute the sintered material can be filled with a bactericidal substance which does not cause the wine to deteriorate, such as for example suberin, which can be obtained from cork.
As an alternative, the block 9 can be provided for example by means of a solid metallic foam, which has a porous structure; it is therefore possible to predetermine the dimensions of the pores so that they can be crossed by the air but not by a liquid such as wine.
In this case also, in a chosen region of the block 9 the pores that are present therein can be filled with a bactericidal substance which does not cause the wine to deteriorate, such as for example suberin.
Operation is therefore as follows: with reference to
Once inserted in the neck 5, the body 3 tends to expand radially, adhering to the internal surface of the neck 5 and thus closing the bottle 2.
Air can pass through the body 3 and enter or exit from the bottle 2 through the duct 12 and the block 9; the flow-rate of the air that passes through the body 3 is determined by the dimensions of the interspaces or pores that are present in the block 9.
It has thus been found that the invention has achieved the intended aim and objects, a stopper particularly for a bottle for containing wine having been provided which allows to close said bottle in order to prevent the outflow of the wine, at the same time ensuring the chosen exchange of air between the inside of the bottle and the outside environment.
The possibility to obtain a block which has interspaces or pores of chosen and predefined dimensions further allows to ensure the perfect preservation and/or aging of the wine.
Further, it is possible to achieve easily a chosen quantity of stoppers according to the invention having the chosen characteristics of air-permeability, so as to meet the requirement of closing the very large number of bottles produced each year.
It is also easy to produce a chosen number of stoppers according to the invention, all of which have substantially the same characteristics of air-permeability, so as to ensure, for example, uniformity of the aging process of a same wine contained in several bottles closed by said stoppers.
Further, the possibility to introduce a percentage of silver or other materials having antibacterial characteristics in the composition of the block helps to prevent the formation of molds, fungi or bacteria which might cause the wine to deteriorate.
Moreover, the possibility to impregnate a chosen region of the block with a bactericidal substance which does not cause wine deterioration further helps to reduce the formation of molds, fungi or bacteria.
Further, the block is very solid and therefore does not run the risk of breaking or separating under the weight of the wine which might press thereon if, for example, the bottle is inverted.
Finally, the production costs of the stopper according to the invention remain low, since the stopper is made of components that are easy to produce and/or assemble.
The invention is of course susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.
Thus, for example, with reference to
In the embodiment shown in
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In the embodiment shown in
With reference to
At least one complementarily shaped block 109 is associated within the cavity or seat 150 and is made of a material which is permeable to air, impermeable to liquids and porous.
With reference to
In the embodiments shown in
As an alternative, in another embodiment, not shown in the accompanying figures, the cavity or receptacle 150 and the block 109 contained therein have a same height, which is equal to the height of the body 103, so that the first and second ends of the block 109 are connected directly respectively to the inside and to the outside of the bottle 102.
Advantageously, as in the embodiments described earlier with reference to
As an alternative, in this case also the block 109 can be made for example of a solid metallic foam, which has a porous structure, and a chosen region of the block 109 can be impregnated with a bactericidal substance which does not cause wine to deteriorate.
With reference to
A second annular gasket 219 is interposed between the head 214 of the body 203 and the perimetric edge of the end 204 of the neck 205 of the bottle 202 and is arranged coaxially and externally with respect to the stem 215.
Advantageously, a suitable lever 220 of a known type is rotatably associated with the head 214 and with the neck 205 and is adapted to compress selectively the head 214 toward the neck 205, so as to couple the stopper 202 thereto.
Preferably starting from the lower end face 208 of the stem 215 of the body 203 there is, advantageously but not necessarily, at the central axis of the stem 215, a cavity or receptacle 250, which is at most as high as the body 203.
At least one complementarily shaped block 209, made of a material which is permeable to air and impermeable to liquids and porous, is associated within the cavity or receptacle 250.
With reference to
In a further embodiment not shown in the accompanying figures, the cavity or receptacle 250 and the block 209 contained therein are again lower than the body 203 and are arranged so that the second end 211 of the block 209 is flush with the upper end face 213 of the stem 214, thus being connected directly to the outside of the bottle 202; in this case, the first end 210 of the block 209 is connected to at least one duct, which passes axially through the body 203 starting from the lower end face 208 of the stem 212 thereof up to the cavity or receptacle 250.
As an alternative, in another embodiment not shown in the accompanying figures, the cavity or seat 250 and the block 209 contained therein are as high as the block 203, and therefore the first and second ends of the block 209 are connected directly to the inside and outside of the bottle 202 (environment), respectively.
With reference to
An annular tab 323 protrudes from the perimetric edge of the disk 321 toward the neck 305 of the bottle 302 so as to partially surround it.
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment shown in
Approximately centrally with respect to the disk 321, toward the inside of the bottle 302, there is an axial cavity or receptacle 350 which is approximately U-shaped and on the bottom of which there is at least one first hole which forms a duct 312.
An approximately complementarily shaped block 309, similar to the blocks described earlier with reference to
The block 309 is connected to the inside of the bottle 302 through the duct 312.
As an alternative, the bottom of the cavity or receptacle 350 can be completely open, so that the block 309, rigidly coupled beforehand to the cavity or receptacle 350, is connected directly to the inside and the outside of the bottle 302.
In the embodiment shown in
With reference to
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment shown in
Advantageously, a second hole 426 is provided in the disk 421, preferably approximately centrally thereto.
The body 403 comprises a fourth gasket 427, which is associated in a lower region with respect to the disk 421 and is interposed during use between said disk and the open end of the neck 405 of the bottle.
Advantageously, the fourth gasket 427 is approximately W-shaped in a cross-section taken along a diametrical plane, so as to form a central portion 428 which is preferably approximately cylindrical and hollow, is open in a lower region and faces the second hole 426 formed in the overlying disk 421.
Two approximately S-shaped wings 429a and 429b protrude radially from the lower end of the central portion 428, and their free ends are interposed, during use, between the open end of the neck 405 of the bottle and the disk 421.
Advantageously, the fourth gasket 427 is made of elastically deformable plastic material.
An axial and preferably cylindrical cavity or receptacle 450 is formed within the central portion 428 of the fourth gasket 427, on the opposite side with respect to the disk 421, and at least one first hole, which forms a duct 412, is formed in the bottom of said cavity or receptacle.
The cavity or receptacle 450 can accommodate an approximately complementarily shaped block 409, which is similar to the blocks described previously with reference to
The block 409 is connected directly, with its first lower end 410, to the inside of the bottle; the second upper end of the block 409 is connected to the outside of the bottle through the duct 412 and the second hole 426.
As shown in
In the embodiment shown in
With reference to
With reference to
In this embodiment, the body 603 is constituted by a fifth gasket 635, which is fixed within an appropriately provided opening 636 which is formed in a second upper surface 637 of the can 634.
Advantageously, the fifth gasket 635 is substantially cylindrical and hollow and open in a lower region, and has, on its lateral surface, adapted means for nonremovable fixing to the second upper surface 637 of the can 634, which are constituted preferably by appropriately provided wings 638a, 638b, which protrude radially from said lateral surface.
Advantageously, the fifth gasket 635 is made of elastically deformable plastic material.
A preferably cylindrical axial cavity or receptacle 650 is formed within the fifth gasket 635 toward the inside of the can 634, and at least one first hole which forms a duct 612 is formed in its bottom.
An approximately complementarily shaped block 609, similar to the blocks described previously with reference to
The block 609 is connected directly, by means of its first lower end 610, to the inside of the can 637, while the second upper end of the block 609 is connected to the outside of the can 634 by means of the duct 612.
Advantageously, the block made of a material which is permeable to air, impermeable to liquids and porous can be made of a plastic material which has such characteristics, such as for example a plastic material of the polyolefin family; optionally, it is possible to add to the mixture of the plastic material that constitutes the block a bactericidal substance which does not cause the wine to deteriorate, such as for example a percentage of silver.
The density of the plastic material must be calibrated appropriately so as to achieve such an air permeability as to allow optimum micro-oxygenation of the wine, comparable to that of cork, adapted for maturation and proper preservation of the wine.
The materials used and the dimensions that constitute the individual components of the invention may of course be more pertinent according to specific requirements.
The various means for performing certain different functions need not certainly coexist only in the illustrated embodiment but can be present per se in many embodiments, including ones that are not illustrated.
The characteristics indicated as advantageous, convenient or the like may also be omitted or be replaced with equivalents.