Bottles and jars – Closures – Stopper type
Reexamination Certificate
1996-11-07
2001-04-17
Talbot, Brian K. (Department: 1762)
Bottles and jars
Closures
Stopper type
C427S294000, C427S296000, C427S351000, C427S387000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06216898
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method of manufacturing a stopper of the type which may be used, for example, as a cork stopper for a wine bottle.
Wine production has increased worldwide to a significant extent over the years. Traditionally wine bottles have been closed off with stoppers made from natural cork material. With the increase with wine production the demand for cork material has increased considerably. Good quality cork has increased in price considerably over the years due to the scarcity value attached to quality cork.
Various attempts have been made to overcome the shortage of quality cork material. For example, plastic stoppers and screw-cap stoppers have been developed which, in practice, operate at least as effectively as natural cork. However, there is a consumer resistance to plastic stoppers and certainly bottlers of quality wines and other beverages continue to prefer cork stoppers for their product. Another attempt to overcome the shortage of quality cork material has been to reconstitute a solid cork from comminuted lesser quality cork particles using an adhesive. Cork stoppers are then cut from the reconstituted material. These corks, however, have proved to be less than satisfactory since they often leak and tend to break up and can be difficult to extract from a bottle.
A further attempt to solve the problem of cork shortages and expense has been to coat lesser quality corks or reconstituted corks with a sealant, or to impregnate them with a silicone oil, as described in British patent no. GB 1,207,674. However, known sealants have, for one or other of the following reasons, proved to perform inadequately. Since a cork is often required to remain in situ and to provide an effective seal for a number of years, any deterioration in the sealant over time will tend to result in failure of the seal. The composition which seals the cork should also not contaminate the contents of the bottle in any way. The cost of the sealant should not be excessive and the sealant should not make insertion of the cork into the bottle or removal of the cork from the bottle too difficult. The sealant should also retain its flexibility over the intended life of the product and should not crack or break up on being removed from the bottle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention a process of manufacturing a stopper comprises the steps of:
(a) providing a cork stopper body;
(b) immersing the stopper body in a liquid comprising an elastomeric substance;
(c) subjecting the stopper body and the liquid to a vacuum to enhance penetration of the liquid into the stopper body; and
(d) curing the impregnated stopper body, so that the stopper body is at least partially impregnated with the elastomeric substance.
Step (c) of the process may be carried out in a desiccator in which a container of the liquid, in which the stopper body is submerged, is located.
Prior to submerging the stopper body in the liquid, the liquid may be subjected to a vacuum to remove air therefrom.
The vacuum may be released and reapplied at least once.
Preferably the vacuum is sufficient to cause boiling of the liquid.
The stopper body and the liquid may be subjected to the vacuum for a period between 5 and 20 minutes.
Preferably the period is approximately 15 minutes.
The stopper body may remain submerged in the liquid for a predetermined period after the vacuum has been released.
Preferably the impregnated stopper body contains an amount of the liquid having a mass from 15% to 40% of the mass of the untreated cork.
The process may include the step of cleaning the impregnated stopper body prior to curing thereof by forcing it through a conduit to remove excess liquid from the surface thereof Preferably the conduit is a plastics tube having an internal diameter equal to or less than the diameter of the stopper body, so that the stopper body is a tight fit in the tube.
The cleaned stopper body preferably has a layer of the liquid remaining on its outer surface which has a thickness between 20 and 30 &mgr;m.
The impregnated stopper body may be cured at a temperature between 20° C. and 70° C.
The liquid may comprise a silicone rubber mixture.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3767211 (1973-10-01), Amphlett
patent: 4308232 (1981-12-01), Crouthen et al.
patent: 4821900 (1989-04-01), Berker
patent: 5252685 (1993-10-01), Arai et al.
patent: 1927397 (1970-12-01), None
patent: 17 57 476 (1971-06-01), None
patent: 3516633 (1986-11-01), None
patent: 0 277 603 (1988-08-01), None
patent: 0 546 237 (1993-06-01), None
patent: 2 597 778 (1987-10-01), None
patent: 1 207 674 (1970-10-01), None
Aberdein Christopher David
Dressing Herbert
Portocork Internacional, S.A.
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP
Talbot Brian K.
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