Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Hollow or container type article – Polymer or resin containing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-01
2002-03-12
Copenheaver, Blaine (Department: 1771)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Hollow or container type article
Polymer or resin containing
C428S304400, C428S314800, C428S317900, C428S195100, C215S355000, C215S358000, C215S364000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06355320
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to extruded elastomeric foams incorporating extremely fine, uniform cell structures, constructed for employment as a synthetic closure for liquid bearing vessels and, more particularly, to a process for producing such products as well as the product itself.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
For many years, the wine industry has relied on natural cork as the sole product to seal wine bottles. However, there are several negative aspects which are inherent in the use of natural cork as a closure, all of which are disturbing to the industry and to consumers.
One of the principal drawbacks of natural cork is cork taint. Cork taint exists because of a chemical compound (2,4,6-trichloranisole or TCA), which is found naturally in the cork bark. This taint effects the odor and flavor of the wine and accounts for as much as 50% of the spoilage of all wine bottled with natural cork.
Another problem is broad diversity that exists for natural cork quality. In an attempt to deal with this problem, the cork industry has adopted standards which are subjective at best and generally relate to the number of lenticels, cracks and their sizes, overall aesthetics, smells and functionality, all of which are subject to the growing and harvesting conditions experienced in the cork growing regions of the world. Each individual cork is therefore unique unto itself in all of its characteristics and possesses a wide range of variations. These variations may cause as much as 20% spoilage of bottled wine, due principally to such physical characteristics as non-circular cross-sections, cork size, density, and cell sizes internal to the natural cork that cannot be seen during manual grading. These uncontrollable variations often cause leakage and unwanted oxidation of the wine.
A further drawback of natural cork is the fact that cork is an extremely limited resource. Natural cork bark is harvested from the cork oak which is only able to replenish itself on the order of once every 10 years. This, coupled with the fact that new plantings require 30 years to come to maturity, leaves the natural cork industry with limited ability to increase productivity to meet the demand of an ever-increasing commodity.
A final drawback is the cost of natural cork. Due to its limited availability, especially for higher quality products, and increasing demand, the cost of using cork products in the wine industry has seen a constant rise over the years. This trend probably will not shift as it is a limited resource and is a very labor intensive industry.
In spite of these difficulties and drawbacks, a majority of all wine bottles utilize a natural cork for their closures. As a result, both the wine industry and the consumers have accepted cork closures and have tolerated a certain level of defective product. As a result, efforts to develop a synthetic closure acceptable to the wine industry and consumers have not materialized, except in the area of screw caps, made from aluminum and plastic, and a small segment of molded closures. However, in spite of the industry's desire to eliminate the inherent problems found with cork closures, prior to the present invention, no closure has been developed which is (1) able to maintain the ceremony of opening the wine bottle, (2) has none of the negative attributes of natural cork, (3) is aesthetically acceptable, (4) meets all the physical requirements of a high speed mass bottling, (5) is consistently reproducible, (6) meets all regulatory criteria, and (7) is cost effective in a mass production setting.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide closure means for containers which is manufacturable from synthetic materials and effectively closes and seals any desired bottle, container, package and the like.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure having the characteristic features described above which is manufacturable on a continuing production basis, thus providing lower manufacturing costs compared to natural closures and satisfying industry requirements for a removable bottle stopper which is producible substantially more economically than cork closure/stoppers.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure having the characteristic features described above which meets or exceeds all of the requisite physical characteristics found in natural closures or stoppers such as cork.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure or stopper having the characteristic features described above which is capable of simulating all of the visually aesthetic and tactile characteristics found in natural stoppers, such as cork, so as to be effectively a substitute for cork stoppers or closures for the wine industry, particularly its ends users in both appearance and feel.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure or stopper having the characteristic features described above which is capable of being employed in conventional bottling equipment for being inserted into a bottle container without experiencing any unwanted physical damage.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure or stopper having the characteristic features described above that can be substituted for a cork stopper in wine bottles, providing all of the desirable characteristics of conventional cork stoppers while also being removable from the bottle in the conventional manner without breaking.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure or stopper having the characteristic features described above, which is physiologically neutral, capable of being sterilized, as well as capable of being formed to visually simulate any desired classification of natural cork.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure or stopper having the characteristic features described above which is odorless, remains odorless in position, is tasteless, and only absorbs limited amounts of water.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure or stopper having the characteristic features described above which is unaffected by diluted acids and bases as well as unaffected by most oils.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure or stopper having the characteristic features described above which does not shrink, does not age, does not absorb mold or fungus, and resists damage from insects.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure or stopper having the characteristic features described above which can be mass produced on a continuing basis and eliminates any spoilage of wine due to cork taint.
Other and more specific objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
By employing the present invention, all of the difficulties and drawbacks found in the prior art have been eliminated and an extruded synthetic closure capable of being manufactured continuously and providing a low cost product is achieved. In addition, the synthetic closure of the present invention possesses all of the physical and desirable visual characteristics required by the wine industry. As a result, the present invention achieves a synthetic closure usable in the wine industry as a bottle closure which is virtually equivalent in all respects to a natural cork closure.
One of the principal requirements imposed upon a closure for wine bottles is its sealing capability. In the wine industry, high speed corking machines are employed which subject the closures to extreme forces. These corking machines typically utilize a plurality of compression jaws, typically ranging between two and four, which radially compress the closure from its normal diameter to a substantially smaller diameter, which is about one third of its original size. Then, by employing a plunger or ram, the closure is forced from the jaws in the compressed mode directly into the neck of the bottle, wherein the closure is able to
Allman Michael
Lauer Eduardo
Copenheaver Blaine
Nomacorc LLC
Stoltz Melvin I.
Vo Hai
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