WO1996034806A1 - Closure device for containers - Google Patents
Closure device for containers Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO1996034806A1 WO1996034806A1 PCT/GB1996/001065 GB9601065W WO9634806A1 WO 1996034806 A1 WO1996034806 A1 WO 1996034806A1 GB 9601065 W GB9601065 W GB 9601065W WO 9634806 A1 WO9634806 A1 WO 9634806A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- closure device
- container
- mouldings
- closure
- cork
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D39/00—Closures arranged within necks or pouring openings or in discharge apertures, e.g. stoppers
- B65D39/0005—Closures arranged within necks or pouring openings or in discharge apertures, e.g. stoppers made in one piece
- B65D39/0011—Closures arranged within necks or pouring openings or in discharge apertures, e.g. stoppers made in one piece from natural or synthetic cork, e.g. for wine bottles or the like
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D39/00—Closures arranged within necks or pouring openings or in discharge apertures, e.g. stoppers
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
- B41M1/00—Inking and printing with a printer's forme
- B41M1/40—Printing on bodies of particular shapes, e.g. golf balls, candles, wine corks
Definitions
- Closure devices for containers are commonly made of natural materials such as cork. These are used for temporarily sealing containers in order to prevent spillage and to preserve the contents of the container. They have a traditional appeal and are effective. Very large quantities are used in wine bottling and they are also used for other foodstuffs and for other substances such as cosmetics. However, they have the disadvantage of being relatively expensive, are labour intensive to produce, are subject to quality variations and can introduce microorganisms and other impurities to the stored substance. These disadvantages have been recognised for some time and synthetic substitutes have been developed using synthetic rubbers and plastics.
- a closure device for a container comprising a body of circular cross-section which is preferably cylindrical and which is adapted to fit in an opening in the container to seal said container said body consisting essentially of moulded foamed closed-cell polymer or copolymer preferably expanded polystyrene, having a substantially uniform density of at least 0.03 g/cc.
- closure device of the invention does not contain an insert of any other material in its body.
- the particularly preferred polymeric material of the closure device of this invention is expanded polystyrene.
- Expanded polystyrene is well known for its very low density and it is extensively employed, for example, in packaging applications in which the expanded polystyrene used may typically have a density of 0.016 g/cc. It is important to note, however, that an essential novel feature of the present invention is that the polymeric material used has a density of at least 0.03 g/cc so that it is more comparable in density to cork which typically has a density of around 0.1 g/cc although varying depending its source. Also the increased density of the material renders it more impermeable to gases and liquids.
- the process conditions used for the production of moulded expanded polystyrene closure devices of the present invention are controlled, in known conventional manner, to produce a final density of at least 0.03 g/cc.
- the preferred shape of the body of closure device in accord with the invention is substantially cylindrical it may for example be of other shapes having a circular cross-section, for example frustoconical.
- the closure device may have an enlarged end, that is an end which has a larger diameter than the body of the closure device, similar to that of the types of cork which are used for sealing wines of the "Champagne" type in which the enlarged end serves to provide an anchorage for a wire fastening attached to the neck of the bottle to secure the closure device against being forced out of the mouth of the bottle by the internal pressure of the gas in the bottle.
- the closure device of the invention is inserted into the opening of a container to prevent the material held in the container escaping through the container's opening when the closure is in place. It also prevents outside contaminants such as gases, moisture, bacteria or fungi from entering the container through the opening. Through achieving an air-tight seal, it maintains the material stored in the container in as near perfect a condition as possible.
- the polymeric material of the closure is desirably coloured to look like the natural material that it replaces and is also desirably surface- textured or otherwise physically surface-treated with the same end in view. It can also be painted and/or be printed with information on its surface if required.
- the closure may be pressure treated in its manufacture for example by rolling. It was originally thought that this pressure treatment increased both the elasticity and the density of only a surface layer of the material. However it is now believed that the pressure treatment increases the elasticity and density of the whole body of the closure but that there is no significant resulting change in the uniformity of its density. This pressure treatment enhances the closure's ability to press against the walls of the container opening and thereby to seal it.
- the closure may also be coated with a flexible impervious coating such as poiyurethane if an additional degree of impermeability is required.
- the closure may also be waxed. Additionally, any coating composition used may contain colour so as to render the closure device of similar colour to that of natural cork.
- Figure 1 shows a perspective of the closure device, in this case acting as a substitute for a cork in a wine bottle.
- Figure 2 shows the closure device in place in a wine bottle.
- the closure device comprises a cylinder of expanded polystyrene 1 of substantially uniform density greater than 0.03 g/cc.
- the expanded polystyrene exhibits a greatly reduced permeability to gases and water vapour, and to other fluids.
- Expanded polystyrene is resistant to alcohol and is an approved material for contact with foodstuffs. It is biologically inert and acts as a barrier to the ingress of bacteria and moulds.
- at higher densities such as above 0.03 g/cc it also compares favourably to cork in density and also has a microstructure of similar appearance to that of cork.
- the texture of its external surface 2 is already very cork-like and this is desirably enhanced by colouring and/or by physically treating the surface, for example by shaving, sanding or texturing.
- the frictional properties between high density expanded polystyrene and glass compare favourably to those between cork and glass. It should be noted however that cork relies to some extent on absorption of liquid from the contents of the container in order to achieve its effectiveness in sealing whereas the closure device of the present invention does not absorb liquids to any significant degree.
- expanded polystyrene is conventionally produced by a bead process using a suspension polymerisation technique.
- a blowing agent such as for example about 6% of a low boiling petroleum ether fraction, e.g. n-pentane, is either incorporated before polymerisation, or after polymerisation the beads are impregnated under heat and pressure.
- the beads are then processed by steam moulding.
- the beads are first pre-foamed by heating in a steam bath. This causes the beads to expand and the expansion is continued until they reach an appropriate level in the mould corresponding to the desired density. This may be determined by a suitably positioned thermocouple which is arranged to cause the steam to be switched off when this point is reached.
- the expanded beads are then allowed to stand for 24 hours to allow them to cool to room temperature and to allow air to diffuse into the cells so that the cells equilibrate with outside conditions.
- the mould itself may be in the form of a plurality of cylinders which may be interlinked each of which cylinders may be several times the length of the closure devices to be produced.
- the mouldings are taken out of the moulds, trimmed, cut to length, printed, textured, coated and waxed with paraffin wax, as appropriate.
- the resulting closure devices can be inserted directly into a container such as a bottle at this stage if the mouldings are of sufficiently small diameter.
- a container such as a bottle
- larger diameter mouldings are used which are reduced in size by compression, e.g. by rolling, before being put into a conventional cork inserter.
- the closure device may be pressure treated, for example by rolling, to improve the elasticity of the polystyrene.
- the closure device is compressed as it is pushed into a bottle 3 and provides a seal against the glass.
- On withdrawal the elasticity of the closure device creates a good simulation of the sensation of a real cork being removed from a bottle and allows the closure device to be reinserted if required.
- the closure device retains rigidity thus providing mechanical strength to prevent the closure device from distorting through bending when it is pushed into a bottle 4 and to provide purchase for extraction devices.
- the high density expanded polystyrene is practically impervious to gases and fluid of the nature likely to be encountered in wine.
- the closure device of the invention thus consists essentially solely of an expanded closed-cell polymer, preferably expanded polystyrene, which has a substantially constant density of greater than 0.03 g/cc throughout, and which can be partially or wholly surface coated with an impermeable sealing material for example with poiyurethane and/or a wax to prevent moisture and gaseous movement through and around the closure device.
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (8)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AU55091/96A AU697116B2 (en) | 1995-05-03 | 1996-05-03 | Closure device for containers |
NZ306517A NZ306517A (en) | 1995-05-03 | 1996-05-03 | Closure device for containers comprising a circular-cross section of a moulded foamed closed-cell polymer having a uniform density of at least 0.03 g/cc. |
JP8533127A JPH11505494A (en) | 1995-05-03 | 1996-05-03 | Container closure device |
EP96912151A EP0824465B1 (en) | 1995-05-03 | 1996-05-03 | Closure device for containers |
DE69603474T DE69603474T2 (en) | 1995-05-03 | 1996-05-03 | LOCKING DEVICE FOR CONTAINERS |
BR9608212-7A BR9608212A (en) | 1995-05-03 | 1996-05-03 | Lid device for a container, process for making the same, and container. |
BG101991A BG63718B1 (en) | 1995-05-03 | 1997-10-24 | Closing device for containers |
GR990402399T GR3031300T3 (en) | 1995-05-03 | 1999-09-22 | Closure device for containers |
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB9508972.8 | 1995-05-03 | ||
GBGB9508972.8A GB9508972D0 (en) | 1995-05-03 | 1995-05-03 | Synthetic closure device for containers |
GBGB9607815.9A GB9607815D0 (en) | 1995-05-03 | 1996-01-10 | Synthetic closure device for containers |
GB9607815.9 | 1996-01-10 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO1996034806A1 true WO1996034806A1 (en) | 1996-11-07 |
Family
ID=26306973
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/GB1996/001065 WO1996034806A1 (en) | 1995-05-03 | 1996-05-03 | Closure device for containers |
Country Status (15)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0824465B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JPH11505494A (en) |
CN (1) | CN1071252C (en) |
AT (1) | ATE182546T1 (en) |
AU (1) | AU697116B2 (en) |
BG (1) | BG63718B1 (en) |
BR (1) | BR9608212A (en) |
CA (1) | CA2219085A1 (en) |
DE (1) | DE69603474T2 (en) |
ES (1) | ES2135225T3 (en) |
GB (1) | GB9607815D0 (en) |
GR (1) | GR3031300T3 (en) |
NZ (1) | NZ306517A (en) |
RU (1) | RU2175937C2 (en) |
WO (1) | WO1996034806A1 (en) |
Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP1022226A1 (en) * | 1999-01-25 | 2000-07-26 | "P1" Handels GmbH | Stopper made from a foamed thermoplastic material |
GB2347407A (en) * | 1999-03-02 | 2000-09-06 | Betacorque Limited | Synthetic closure device for a container |
WO2001008893A1 (en) * | 1999-07-29 | 2001-02-08 | Cortec Ood | Polychromatic printed corks and method for making the same |
US7993743B2 (en) | 2002-03-06 | 2011-08-09 | Bacchus Technologies Ltd. | Stoppers comprising a cork substrate and a composite barrier layer comprising reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive |
Families Citing this family (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN103230669A (en) * | 2012-11-30 | 2013-08-07 | 戴见霖 | Artificial material particle |
CN107098052B (en) * | 2017-06-06 | 2018-08-21 | 南通白蒲黄酒有限公司 | A kind of yellow rice wine hermetically sealed can |
CN110406788A (en) * | 2018-04-28 | 2019-11-05 | 吴小娜 | A kind of Wine bottle stopper of cork wood production |
Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4091136A (en) * | 1976-05-17 | 1978-05-23 | Shaw Plastics Corporation | Synthetic cork-like material and method of making same |
US4668557A (en) * | 1986-07-18 | 1987-05-26 | The University Of Iowa Research Foundation | Polyhedron cell structure and method of making same |
EP0496194A1 (en) * | 1991-01-09 | 1992-07-29 | POLITAP S.a.s. di Lino Fantin e Alessandro Menegatti e C. | Stopper-like closure for liquid-containers |
WO1994025513A1 (en) * | 1993-05-05 | 1994-11-10 | Supreme Corq | Molded closure for a liquid container |
Family Cites Families (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
FR2284534A1 (en) * | 1974-09-12 | 1976-04-09 | Bouchage Mecanique | IMPROVEMENTS FOR SHUTTERS FOR MOUTH CONTAINERS |
-
1996
- 1996-01-10 GB GBGB9607815.9A patent/GB9607815D0/en active Pending
- 1996-05-03 CN CN96193667A patent/CN1071252C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1996-05-03 CA CA002219085A patent/CA2219085A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 1996-05-03 EP EP96912151A patent/EP0824465B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1996-05-03 DE DE69603474T patent/DE69603474T2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1996-05-03 AT AT96912151T patent/ATE182546T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1996-05-03 BR BR9608212-7A patent/BR9608212A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1996-05-03 NZ NZ306517A patent/NZ306517A/en unknown
- 1996-05-03 RU RU97118336/13A patent/RU2175937C2/en active
- 1996-05-03 ES ES96912151T patent/ES2135225T3/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1996-05-03 WO PCT/GB1996/001065 patent/WO1996034806A1/en active IP Right Grant
- 1996-05-03 AU AU55091/96A patent/AU697116B2/en not_active Ceased
- 1996-05-03 JP JP8533127A patent/JPH11505494A/en active Pending
-
1997
- 1997-10-24 BG BG101991A patent/BG63718B1/en unknown
-
1999
- 1999-09-22 GR GR990402399T patent/GR3031300T3/en unknown
Patent Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4091136A (en) * | 1976-05-17 | 1978-05-23 | Shaw Plastics Corporation | Synthetic cork-like material and method of making same |
US4668557A (en) * | 1986-07-18 | 1987-05-26 | The University Of Iowa Research Foundation | Polyhedron cell structure and method of making same |
EP0496194A1 (en) * | 1991-01-09 | 1992-07-29 | POLITAP S.a.s. di Lino Fantin e Alessandro Menegatti e C. | Stopper-like closure for liquid-containers |
WO1994025513A1 (en) * | 1993-05-05 | 1994-11-10 | Supreme Corq | Molded closure for a liquid container |
Cited By (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP1022226A1 (en) * | 1999-01-25 | 2000-07-26 | "P1" Handels GmbH | Stopper made from a foamed thermoplastic material |
US6528152B1 (en) | 1999-01-25 | 2003-03-04 | “P1”Handels GmbH | Stopper of foamed thermoplastic synthetic material |
GB2347407A (en) * | 1999-03-02 | 2000-09-06 | Betacorque Limited | Synthetic closure device for a container |
WO2001008893A1 (en) * | 1999-07-29 | 2001-02-08 | Cortec Ood | Polychromatic printed corks and method for making the same |
US7993743B2 (en) | 2002-03-06 | 2011-08-09 | Bacchus Technologies Ltd. | Stoppers comprising a cork substrate and a composite barrier layer comprising reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
DE69603474D1 (en) | 1999-09-02 |
BG101991A (en) | 1999-01-29 |
ATE182546T1 (en) | 1999-08-15 |
AU697116B2 (en) | 1998-09-24 |
CN1183085A (en) | 1998-05-27 |
AU5509196A (en) | 1996-11-21 |
CA2219085A1 (en) | 1996-11-07 |
GB9607815D0 (en) | 1996-06-19 |
BR9608212A (en) | 1999-12-07 |
CN1071252C (en) | 2001-09-19 |
EP0824465B1 (en) | 1999-07-28 |
RU2175937C2 (en) | 2001-11-20 |
GR3031300T3 (en) | 1999-12-31 |
JPH11505494A (en) | 1999-05-21 |
ES2135225T3 (en) | 1999-10-16 |
DE69603474T2 (en) | 1999-11-25 |
EP0824465A1 (en) | 1998-02-25 |
BG63718B1 (en) | 2002-10-31 |
NZ306517A (en) | 1998-07-28 |
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