WO1994024013A1

WO1994024013A1 - Safety bottle top

Info

Publication number: WO1994024013A1
Application number: PCT/GB1994/000807
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nicholas Low
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-04-17
Filing date: 1994-04-15
Publication date: 1994-10-27
Anticipated expiration: 1995-10-17
Also published as: AU6510194A; GB2277079A; GB9307955D0

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of bottle tops, and particularly to bottle tops for pressurized drinks. A cap for a bottle comprises a tapered plug (9) for locating in a bottle top outlet (4) to seal the outlet, a cover portion for extending across the outlet, a skirt portion (10) extending around the perimeter of the cover, and an engagement means (12) in the form of a screw thread for securing the cap to the bottle top. The cap is provided with a vent passage (40) having an end which opens out onto a surface of the plug, the end being sealed by a neck (3) of the bottle, when the cap is fully secured and tightened to the bottle.

Description

SAFETY BOTTLE TOP

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to fluid containers, and particularly although not exclusively to bottles for pressurized drinks.

Background Art

Accidents resulting from the opening of known soft drinks bottles which contain pressurized or carbonated drinks, have caused serious injuries to consumers opening such bottles. In some instances, when a known plastics screw cap has been propelled from a bottle under pressure of the gases inside the bottle, consumers have lost their eyesight due to the cap hitting their eye. It has been estimated that the velocity of a bottle cap which is propelled from a bottle is comparable to that of the velocity of a bullet from a hand gun.

One known idea to address the above problem is to tie a conventional cap to the bottle top using a plastics ring, which can rotate around the neck of the bottle. This ring allows the cap to be unscrewed, and retains the cap to the bottle if the cap is ejected from the bottle top by the pressure of the gases contained in the bottle. However there is a disadvantage in the cumbersome use of such a known cap.

The present invention aims to address the above mentioned problems.

Description of the Invention

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a bottle for a pressurized drink the bottle having:

an outlet in the shape of a tubular bore through which the drink can be poured; a cap for sealing the outlet of the bottle;

engagement means for securing the cap to the outlet of the bottle, the engagement means being tightened or loosened by movement of the cap with respect to the bottle;

wherein the outlet has a tapered portion and the cap has a tapered plug which fits the tapered portion such that the plug makes a gas tight seal with the tapered portion when the engagement means are tightened, and on loosening the engagement means, the plug is drawn away from the tapered portion, breaking the gas tight seal and creating a gap through which pressurized gas is released from inside the bottle, the arrangement being that on loosening the engagement means, the pressurized gas escapes at a rate sufficient that the pressure in the bottle is equalized to the atmospheric pressure surrounding the bottle before the engagement means can be loosened enough to remove the cap from the bottle.

This may have an advantage that the cap cannot be propelled under pressure from the bottle and thus may reduce the dangers involved in opening a pressurized drinks bottle.

By tubular bore, it is meant the neck of the bottle. The tubular bore may be formed by injection moulding, casting, by glass blowing, or by any other process which gives rise to a tubular shaped neck.

Preferably the tapered portion comprises a truncated substantially conical bore, the bore having a narrower width at an end of the bore nearer the inside of the bottle than at an end of the bore nearer the outside of the bottle.

Preferably the cap comprises an upper cover portion, which extends across the outlet, and a central conical plug which extends downwardly from the centre of the cover portion into the conical bore such that when the engagement means are tightened, an outer surface of the conical plug urges against a surface of the conical bore to form the gas tight seal.

This may have an advantage of providing an effective gas tight seal.

Preferably the bottle has a vent passage having a first end which opens to the air outside of the bottle, and a second end which opens onto a surface of the tapered plug or tapered portion such that when the engagement means are tightened, the second end of the passage is sealed and when the engagement means are loosened the second end is open to the gap thereby allowing pressurized gas inside the bottle to escape to the outside of the bottle via the gap and the vent passage.

Preferably the vent passage is formed in the cap.

Preferably an engagement means are tightened or loosened by a rotational movement of the cap with respect to the bottle.

Preferably an engagement means comprises a screw thread.

Preferably the cap is fully detachable from the bottle. The bottle and/or cap may be of a plastics material.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provide a bottle for a pressurized drink, the bottle having a removable and replaceable screw cap for sealing an outlet at the bottle top when the cap is fully tightened to the bottle top, the relative dimensions of the bottle top and the cap being such that when the cap is manually unscrewed from the bottle top, the pressure inside the bottle is substantially equalized to the atmospheric pressure outside of the bottle during the unscrewing operation before the cap can be detached from the bottle.

The invention includes a cap for a bottle, the cap comprising a tapered plug for locating in a bottle top outlet to seal the outlet, a cover portion for extending across the outlet, a skirt portion extending around the perimeter of the cover, and engagement means for securing the cap to the bottle top, wherein the cap has a vent passage having an end which opens out on to a surface of the plug, the end being sealed when the cap is fitted to the bottle.

Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention

For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a cross-section of the upper end of a bottle and bottle cap according to a specific embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 shows a cross-section of the bottle cap in Figure 1, along the line AA.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings, a plastics bottle 1, suitable for containing pressurized fizzy drinks 50 e.g. carbonated drinks, comprises a plastics body 2 comprising a wall which is gathered into a neck 3 and an outlet 4 defined by a tubular wall 5. The tubular wall 5 defines a central bore having a truncated substantially conical inner surface 6. The conical shape of the bore is arranged such that the upper end of the bore nearer the outside of the bottle has a wider diameter than the lower end of the bore nearer the inside of the bottle.

The bottle also comprises a fully removable plastics cap 7 having a cover portion 8 which extends across the outlet when the cap is fitted to the bottle, a central truncated conical shaped plug 9, and a perimeter skirt 10. The cap fits over the top of the bottle, the tubular wall 5 of the bottle top fitting between the plug 9 and the outer perimeter wall 10 of the cap. The outer perimeter wall 10 has a screw thread 11 which engages a corresponding screw thread 12 on the tubular wall 5 of the bottle top.

The cap is fitted to the bottle in a rotational screw motion. The screw threads 11 and 12 secure the cap to the bottle top, urging the central plug 9 on the bottle cap into the tapered bore, such that an outer surface 13 of the conical plug presses against the outer surface 6 of the tapered bore, providing a gas tight seal. When the cap is fully screwed onto the bottle top, the friction between the surface 13 of the plug 9 and surface 6 of the bore causes the cap to be locked tightly to the bottle top, whilst also being retained under tension by the screw threads 11 and 12. The friction between the conical bore and the plug 9 helps to retain the cap to the bottle and reduces some of the strain on the screw threads 11, 12.

When the cap is unscrewed, the rotational motion causes the screw threads 11, 12 to urge the cap upwardly, bringing the surface 13 of the plug 9 out of contact with the surface 6 of the bore, and breaking the gas tight seal, providing a gap 20 between the surface 6 of the bore and the surface 13 of the plug 9.

With the cap in the loosened state, the gas pressure inside the 30 above the drink 50 is released via the gap between the bore and the plug 9 and out of the vent 40 to the atmosphere outside of the bottle.

The screw threads 11, 12 are arranged such that a gas passage from inside the chamber 30 to the atmosphere outside the bottle is provided for the escaping gas through _* the vent 40 and the space between the plug and the bore, whilst the screw thread still attaches the cap to the bottle top. The dimensions of the vent 40, plug 9, the bore, and the screw thread 11, 12 are arranged such that it is impossible to manually unscrew the cap quick enough for there to be any significant pressure left within the chamber 30 when the cap is unscrewed far enough from the bottle top such that the threads 11 and 12 disengage allowing release of the cap. In this manner, release of the gas pressure inside the bottle is achieved before the cap can be removed from the bottle, thus preventing the cap flying off under pressure into the face of the consumer. When the cap is unscrewed, the gas inside the bottle is allowed to escape at a rate dictated by the relative dimensions of the plug 9, the bore, the vent 40 and the screw threads 11, 12, sufficient to ensure that the pressure inside the bottle is substantially equalised to the atmospheric pressure outside of the bottle, before the cap can be removed from the bottle under normal manual opening of the bottle.

Referring to Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings, a cross-section of the cap in Figure 1 across the line AA is shown, showing the plug 9 perimeter wall 10, and a space between the plug and the perimeter wall to accommodate the bottle top wall 5. The vent 40 is shown in cutaway view.

Whilst in this particular embodiment, the vent 40 is provided in the cap, in other embodiments the tolerance between the screw threads 11 and 12 may be made such that once the surface 13 of the plug 9 is freed from the surface 6 of the bore 4, gas pressure may escape via the space between the screw threads 11 and 12, the tolerances of the screw threads being designed to allow sufficiently rapid escape of the gas that the cap cannot be unscrewed without first fully releasing all of the pressure within the space 30 above the drink. In this embodiment, a vent may be dispensed with.

The reader's attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specificatit in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification

(including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) , and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) , may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s) . The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) , or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims

1. A bottle for a pressurized drink the bottle having:

an outlet (4) in the shape of a tubular bore through which the drink can be poured;

a cap (7) for sealing the outlet of the bottle;

engagement means (11, 12) for securing the cap to the outlet of the bottle, the engagement means being tightened or loosened by movement of the cap with respect to the bottle;

characterised in that the outlet has a tapered portion (6) and the cap has a tapered plug (9) which fits the tapered portion such that the plug makes a gas tight seal with the tapered portion when the engagement means are tightened, and on loosening the engagement means, the plug is drawn away from the tapered portion, breaking the gas tight seal and creating a gap through which pressurized gas is released from inside the bottle, the arrangement being that on loosening the engagement means, the pressurized gas escapes at a rate sufficient that the pressure in the bottle is equalized to the atmospheric pressure surrounding the bottle before the engagement means can be loosened enough to remove the cap from the bottle.

2. A bottle according to claim 1, in which the tapered portion (6) comprises a truncated substantially conical bore, the bore having a narrower width at an end of the bore nearer the inside of the bottle than at an end of the bore nearer the outside of the bottle.

3. A bottle according to claim 2, wherein the cap comprises an upper cover portion (8) , which extends across the outlet, and a central conical plug (9) which extends downwardly from the centre of the cover portion into the ^■5 conical bore such that when the engagement means are tightened, an outer surface of the conical plug urges against a surface of the conical bore to form the gas tight seal.

0 4. A bottle according to any one of the preceding claims, in which there is provided a vent passage (40) having a first end which opens to the air outside of the bottle, and a second end which opens onto a surface of the tapered plug or tapered portion such that when the 5 engagement means are tightened, the second end of the passage is sealed and when the engagement means are loosened the second end is open to the gap thereby allowing pressurized gas inside the bottle to escape to the outside of the bottle via the gap and the vent 0 passage.

5. A bottle according to claim 4, wherein the vent passage is formed in the cap.

5 6. A bottle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the engagement means are tightened or loosened by a rotational movement of the cap with respect to the bottle.

0 7. A bottle according to claim 6, wherein the engagement means comprises a screw thread.

8. A bottle according to any one of the preceding claims in which the cap is fully detachable from the bottle. 5

9. A bottle according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the bottle and/or cap are of a plastics material.

10. A bottle for a pressurized drink, the bottle having a removable and replaceable screw cap (7) for sealing an outlet (4) at the bottle top when the cap is fully tightened to the bottle top, characterised in that the relative dimensions of the bottle top and the cap being such that when the cap is manually unscrewed from the bottle top, the pressure inside the bottle is substantially equalized to the atmospheric pressure outside of the bottle during the unscrewing operation before the cap can be detached from the bottle.

11. A bottle substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.

12. A cap for a bottle, characterised in that the cap comprises a tapered plug (9) for locating in a bottle top outlet (4) to seal the outlet, a cover portion (8) for extending across the outlet, a skirt portion (10) extending around the perimeter of the cover, ^• and engagement means (11, 12) for securing the cap to the bottle top, wherein the cap has a vent passage (40) having an end which opens out on to a surface of the plug, the end being sealed when the cap is fitted to the bottle.