AU3017700A - Sealable closure for a container - Google Patents

Description

SEALABLE CLOSURE FOR A CONTAINER Field of Invention The present invention relates to a closure for sealing the contents of a bottle or container in a vacuum. This invention has particular but not exclusive application to sealing bottles of wine and other non-carbonated beverages.

Prior Art Bottles of wine have traditionally used cork stoppers or other suitable i stoppers to seal the contents therein. If the contents of the bottle are not used they are normally preserved by reinserting the stopper or introducing a dedicated stopper usually an expandable stopper that is able to effect a seal.

With resealing in the aforementioned example there is no attempt to evacuate the air within the bottle prior to sealing the bottle. In some instances such as in the preservation of food or storing of beverages it is advantageous to evacuate the air from the bottle (or container) to reduce the rate of spoilage.

Summary of Invention The present invention in one aspect broadly resides in a sealable closure for a container including a closure body having a vent passage there through; and a valve assembly supported substantially within the closure body for closing the vent passage against ingress of fluid to the container, wherein an opening in an outer portion of the closure body provides access to the valve assembly to enable seal release.

The closure body is preferably a rigid body. Suitably the rigid body is made of hardened plastics material such as polyoxymethylene (for example Delrin by DuPont), polypropylene or a nylon derivative.

The closure body may be a one piece unit or consist of a plurality of components assembled together to form the closure body.

The closure body may have integral gasket means for sealing engagement with an abutting container or lid surface. Integral gasket means may be in the form of one or more fins which extend around an outer surface and project substantially outward. Alternatively a separate gasket means may be used for i o o sealing engagement.

Where the sealable closure is locatable in a container lid, the closure body 15 in one preferred form includes a threaded shaft and a complementary-threaded valve housing member. The threaded shaft preferably has an outwardly extending flange for abutment against an inner surface of the container lid. The valve housing member preferably sits on an outer surface of the lid when connected to the threaded shaft.

Where the sealable closure is locatable in a container lid or in an open container, the closure body in another preferred form includes a one piece or S* assembled closure body insertable within the opening. Preferably the closure body has a flange extending outwardly enabling location on an outer surface of the lid or container.

The valve assembly preferably includes a valve seat about the vent passage and a valve member biased into sealing engagement with the valve seat.

The valve seat preferably is rigid. The valve seat preferably is made of hardened plastics material such as mentioned above. The valve seat preferably has a substantially sharp perimeter edge which is adapted to sealably engage the valve member.

The valve member is preferably biased for engagement with the valve seat.

The valve member is preferably retained between the valve seat and an opposing body edge or surface. Preferably the valve member is flexible. The valve member may be captured.

The valve member is preferably a non-return valve that in use allows air and the like to evacuate from the container and only allow air into the container when the seal is broken.

i Preferably the seal is formed with sealable engagement of a flexible valve member on a rigid valve seat. Preferably the seal can be released by lifting an oooo S 15 edge portion of the valve member off the valve seat.

SPreferably access to the valve assembly allows a user's finger to initiate S release. Preferably the opening on the outer surface of the closure body allows a user's finger to enter the opening and initiate release of the valve member from the 20 valve seat.

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Preferably the valve member is recessed from an outer surface of the closure body. Preferably the valve member is positioned so that it is substantially protected by the closure body from accidental release.

In another preferred form the sealable closure includes a vacuum piston pump integrally formed therewith.

In another aspect, the invention broadly resides in a method of fitting the aforementioned sealable closure to a container including placing a vacuum piston pump on or around the closure body if not integrally formed therewith; pumping the pump to evacuate air from the container through the valve assembly; and forming a vacuum within the container.

The seal is broken and the vacuum is lost when the valve assembly is released.

Please note the term, container is used broadly and includes a bottle.

In another aspect the invention is a wine bottle stopper being a sealable closure as described above.

Brief Description of the Drawings S In order that this invention may be more readily understood reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred o embodiments of the invention and wherein Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a bottle with a first preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the first embodiment; Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the first embodiment; Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of a lid with the second preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the assembled second embodiment; and Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of the components of the second embodiment; Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view of a third embodiment of the sealable closure; Fig. 8 is another diagrammatic view of the third embodiment of the sealable closure.

Detailed DescriDtion of the Preferred Embodiment With reference to Fig. 1 there is shown a stopper 10 which is a first embodiment of the invention. The stopper 10 is positioned in the opening of bottle 11. Stopper 10 has a flange 12 extending outwardly from the body portion 13 of the stopper 10. The stopper 10 forms a seal with the bottle 11 with a separate gasket 14 spaced between flange 12 and bottle rim With reference to Figs. 2 and 3 there is shown stopper 10, flange 12 and body portion 13. There is also shown a valve assembly 16 which includes valve seat 17 and valve diaphragm 18. The valve diaphragm 18 is a non-return valve that in use allows air and the like to evacuate from the container and only allow air -in the container when the seal is broken.

The valve seat 17 comprises a hollow cylindrical tube 19 with a substantially sharp inner perimeter edge 20. The tube 19 is formed separately and interference fitted with outer sleeve 21. Alternatively the stopper 10 may be made as a one piece unit. Valve diaphragm 18 is a flexible diaphragm retained in position by inner edge 20 and opposing inner surface 22 of outer sleeve 21. The 20 valve diaphragm 18 extends across vent passage 23 and partially across opening 24. The valve diaphragm 18 can be lifted upward so that there is fluid communication between vent passage 23 and opening 24. The opening 24 is l°;°:wide enough to permit a user's finger to lift the valve diaphragm 18 when the seal needs to be broken. The valve diaphragm 18 is recessed from the top outer surface 25 of the stopper 10 thereby protecting the valve diaphragm 18 from accidental release.

Both the tube 19 and outer sleeve 21 are made of rigid plastics material such as delrin. The valve diaphragm 18 however is made of a flexible material such as rubber or flexible plastics material.

6 A second embodiment of the invention is shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. With reference to Fig. 4 there is shown a lid 31 and valve assembly 32 inserted within aperture 33 in the lid 31. The valve assembly 32 includes a valve housing 34, threaded shaft 35 and valve diaphragm 36. The valve housing 34 is substantially cylindrical in shape with an opening 37 in the side wall 38 of the valve housing 34.

The valve housing 34 has an inward extending flange 39 for retaining valve diaphragm 36. The valve housing 34 has an inner recessed thread 40 which is complementary to the thread 41 on the threaded shaft 35. The threaded shaft has an outwardly extending flange 42 at one end. At the other end there is a valve seat 43 in the form of surrounding sharp edges. In use the threaded shaft 35 is inserted through the aperture 33 in the lid so that flange 42 abuts the inner lid surface. A gasket (not shown) is spaced between flange 42 and the inner lid surface. The valve diaphragm 36 is placed over the valve seat 43 and valve •i housing 34 is threaded onto threaded shaft 35 so that the valve diaphragm 36 15 abuts flange 39. Valve diaphragm 36 is then retained in position by inner surface 44 of flange 39 and valve seat 43. The seal is broken by permitting a user's finger to pass through the opening and lift the free edge of the valve diaphragm 36.

In use the stopper 10 or valve assembly 32 is placed in position and a 20 vacuum piston pump is used to evacuate air from the container or bottle. The subsequent higher pressure outside the container or bottle forces an effective seal by the valve diaphragms 18, 36 and the valve seat 17 and 43. The seal is broken by lifting the free edge of the valve diaphragm 18, 36.

The valve housing 34 and threaded shaft 35 is made of rigid plastics material such as delrin manufactured by Dupont. The valve diaphragm 36 is made of any suitable flexible material including flexible plastics material and rubber.

A third embodiment of the sealable closure is shown in figures 7 and 8 where there is shown a sealable closure 70 which includes an outer sleeve 71, an inner sleeve 72, and valve diaphragm 73. The outer sleeve 71 is substantially cylindrical with an annular outwardly extending flange 74. The outer sleeve 71 has an internal aperture75 along the central longitudinal axis. The outer sleeve 71 has a valve diaphragm seat 76 which has surfaces inclined towards the aperture The perimeter edge 77 surrounding the aperture 75 on the valve diaphragm seat 76 is able to effect a seal with the valve diaphragm 73. The outer sleeve 71 also has an annular recess 78 surrounding the valve diaphragm seat 76.

The inner sleeve 72 is substantially cylindrical and able to be friction fitted into the recess 78 in the outer sleeve 71. The insertion of the inner sleeve 72 into the recess 78 is shown in figure 8. The insertion is such that the top surface of the inner sleeve 72 is substantially flush with the top surface of the outer sleeve 71.

The inner sleeve 72 has an internal ledge 79 to allow the valve diaphragm 73 to rest there upon.

The assembled closure 70 is used to form a seal with a bottle or container.

15 A gasket may be used to effect a seal with the rim of the container and flange 74.

An advantage of the closure 70 of the third embodiment is that the fitting of ***the inner sleeve with the outer sleeve is a frictional fit and the inner sleeve is substantially captured within the outer sleeve and therefore substantially prevents 20 leakage of fluid.

f An advantage of the present invention is that the sealable closure can be S".i re-used allowing the container to be sealed and opened a number of times while the contents of the container are being consumed.

It will of course be realised that while the foregoing has been given by way of example all such and other modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of this invention as herein set forth.

Claims (15)

1. A sealable closure for a container including a closure body having a vent passage there through; and a valve assembly supported substantially within the closure body adapted to close the vent passage against ingress of fluid to the container, wherein an opening in an outer portion of the closure body provides access to the valve assembly to enable seal release.

2. A sealable closure as claimed in claim 1 wherein the valve assembly includes a valve seat and a valve member sealingly engageable with the valve seat.

3. A sealable closure as claimed in claim 2 wherein the valve seat has a substantially sharp edge which is adapted to sealably engage the valve member.

4. A sealable closure as claimed in claim 3 wherein the edge is a perimeter edge around the vent passage. A sealable closure as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4 wherein the valve 20 member is biased for engagement with the valve seat.

6. A sealable closure as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 5 wherein the valve member is retained between the valve seat and an opposing closure body portion.

7. A sealable closure as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6 wherein the valve member is captured.

8. A sealable closure as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 7 wherein the valve member operationally serves as a non-return valve. 9

9. A sealable closure as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 8 wherein the closure body including the valve seat is made of rigid material such as hardened plastics material and the valve member is made of flexible material.

10. A sealable closure as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 9 wherein the valve member is recessed from an outer surface of the closure body.

11. A sealable closure as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 10 wherein the valve member is substantially protected by the closure body from accidental release. 1.2. A sealable closure as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 11 wherein the closure body is formed as an integral one piece unit or assembled from a number of components.

13. A sealable closure as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 12 wherein the closure body includes an integral gasket means for sealing engagement with an abutting container or lid surface.

14. A sealable closure as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the 20 closure is used to seal a wine bottle. A sealable closure as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the closure body includes an adaptation for attachment of a vacuum pump.

16. A sealable closure as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the closure body includes a vacuum pump integrally formed with the closure body.

17. A sealable closure as substantially described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

18. A wine bottle stopper being a sealable closure as claimed in any one of the preceding claims. DATED THIS TWENTY-SIXTH DAY OF APRIL 2000. L.R. AGNEW PROPERTIES PTY LTD BY PIZZEYS PATENT TRADE MARK ATTORNEYS r r