AU736877B2 - Anti-pilfer device for wine bottles - Google Patents

Description

Anti-Pilfer Device For Wine Bottles Field of the Invention There is a trend away from the old style capsule seal on the top of a wine bottle to a security cap or anti-pilfer seal. The cap can be of a paper type and there are variations through to a wax cap which approaches an old method of using sealing wax.

Present bottle filling rates appear to demand that any sealing device is premade and only attachment takes place on the production line.

Known wax caps from the United States are made of "wax" and are adhered to the top of the cork using hot-melt glue. The top of the cork is pushed a small distance into the neck of the bottle so that the wax cap when attached is approximately flush with the top of the bottle.

"Wax" has some inherent problems when used for this purpose. It is a convenient material and is relatively easy to handle but it has a limited range of useful .temperatures. When cooled below the glass transition temperature it becomes very brittle 15 and susceptible to shattering when subject to the entry of a cork screw. The temperature range between the glass transition temperature and the softening point is limited to about while the melting point is below 100C. The "wax" currently being used appears to •oooo S"have a glass transition temperature close to the temperature of a domestic refrigerator, which means that some caps shatter when the cork is extracted. The softening 20 temperature appears to be less than that reached inside a car when in direct sunlight, which again is a problem.

Further to the above, the known wax caps take the form of a basic disc having flat upper and lower surfaces. A flat lower surface in particular leaves little room for the application of hot melt adhesive between the cap and the top of the cork. As a result, the adhesive can leak from the side of the cap during application and leave little adhesive in position to secure the cap to the cork and at the same time deposit a mess of adhesive on the lip of the bottle.

Object of the Invention It is the object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate at least one of the above disadvantages and/or more generally to provide an improved antipilfer cap.

[R:\LIBLL] I 1040specie.doc:keh Disclosure of the Invention There is disclosed herein an anti-pilfer device for application to a cork of a wine bottle, the device having a disc formed from a material having a relatively wide useful temperature range as defined herein, the disc having a first major surface to be positioned adjacent the cork and a second major surface to be positioned remote from the cork; said first surface having a concave recess into which adhesive can be applied for securing the disc to the cork to thereby inhibit spillage of the adhesive.

Preferably, the disc is formed of plastics material or of polymer wax.

Preferably, the recess is cylindrical.

1o Alternatively, the recess can be in the form of a concavity.

Preferably, the cap has an annular rib about the recess.

Preferably, the device is engineered to have a low penetration strength so that it S•is easy to insert a cork screw therethrough for removal of the cork from the bottle.

There is further disclosed herein a combination including a bottle having a neck, Is a cork received wholly within the neck and the anti-pilfer device as disclosed above, wherein adhesive is located in the recess of the first surface and serves to secure the disc of the anti-pilfer device to the cork.

Preferably, the anti-pilfer device is positioned wholly within the neck.

Definition e 20 As used herein the term "relatively wide useful temperature range" is intended to S: mean that the glass transition temperature is below -5°C while the softening point is not i reached until in excess of 100C. The melting point is well above this.

Brief Description of the Drawings A preferred form of the present invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of an anti-pilfer device; Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the device of Fig. 1 taken at A-A; Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another device; and SFig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional elevational view of the anti-pilfer device of igs. 1 and 2 in position upon a cork within the neck of a wine bottle.

fR:\LIBLL1 040svecie.doc:keh Description of the Preferred Embodiment In Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings there is schematically depicted an anti-pilfer device 30. Device 30 is typically fabricated from "polymer wax" and is engineered to have a low penetration strength so that it is easy to insert a cork screw therethrough. The device 30 has an upper and lower recess 31 into one of which adhesive can be applied for connecting the device to the upper surface of a cork. About the periphery of the cap 30 there is an annular rib 33 which defines the shape of each of recess 31. The recesses 31 are separated by a thin web 32, to the upper and lower surfaces of which there can be impressed, adhered or otherwise imprinted a logo for example. The web 32 should be sufficiently thin for easy penetration by a corkscrew or other conventional removing device. The web 32 in the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2 includes upper and lower surfaces which are substantially flat. That is, the recesses 31 are i substantially cylindrical.

As an alternative, and as shown in Fig. 3, the recesses 31 might be in the form of a concavity. That is, the upper and lower surfaces of the web 32 can be curved like the inside surface of a sphere.

As shown in Fig. 4, the disc 30 of Figs. 1 and 2 is shown in place within the neck 52 of a wine bottle 51. A cork 50 is positioned within the neck 52. Adhesive 53 is positioned in the recess 31 at the underside of web 32. It should be noted that an annular 20 ridge 33 extends around the web 32 and serves to prevent lateral spillage of the adhesive 53 from the space between the web 32 and the upper surface of cork 50. In the :embodiment of Fig. 3, the annular ridge 33 is not provided. Instead, the cylindrical surface of each concavity 31 extends to the outer edge 34 of the disc 40, serving the same purpose.

By way of the present invention, it will be clear to the observer that pilfering of the wine bottle has not occurred by the fact that the web 32 is free of penetration marks or fractures. Since there is very little if any space between the outer periphery of the disc or 40 and the inner surface of the wine bottle neck, it is not feasible that implements be R 4 inserted for the purpose of lifting the disc without damaging the disc. Also, it should be

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apparent to the addressee that a significant advantage of the present invention is that the adhesive 53 is retained between the web 32 and the upper surface of cork 50 without lateral spillage, a problem associated with the prior art and as mentioned earlier.

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Claims (8)

1. An anti-pilfer device for application to a cork of a wine bottle, the device having a disc formed from a material having a relatively wide useful temperature range as defined herein, the disc having a first major surface to be positioned adjacent the cork and a second major surface to be positioned remote from the cork; said first surface having a concave recess into which adhesive can be applied for securing the disc to the cork to thereby inhibit spillage of the adhesive.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the disc is formed of plastics material.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the disc is formed of a polymer wax.

4. The device of claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein the recess is cylindrical. The device of claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the disc has an annular rib about the recess. r s6. The device of claims 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein the second surface includes a recess.

7. The device of any preceding claim wherein said device has a low penetration strength so that it is easy to insert a cork screw therethrough.

8. A combination including a bottle having a neck, a cork received wholly •i within the neck and the anti-pilfer device of any one of the preceding claims, wherein adhesive is located in the concave recess of the first surface and serves to secure the disc of the anti-pilfer device to the cork.

9. The combination of claim 8 wherein the anti-pilfer device is positioned wholly within the neck.

10. An anti-pilfer device for application to a cork of a wine bottle, said device substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the embodiments of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings. Dated 25 May, 2001 Rosemount Estates Pty Ltd Patent Attorneys for the Applicant/Nominated Person SPRUSON FERGUSON [R:\LIBLLI 1040specie.doc:keh