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EP-4417539-B1 - BEVERAGE CONTAINER STOPPER AND PRESSURIZATION SYSTEM

EP4417539B1EP 4417539 B1EP4417539 B1EP 4417539B1EP-4417539-B1

Inventors

  • DERUNTZ, OTTO
  • RIDER, MICHAEL

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20210305

Claims (15)

  1. A stopper (1) for use with a beverage container (5) having a neck, an opening (51) at the neck to access an interior space of the container, and a lip (52) on an outer surface of the neck, the stopper comprising: a stopper body (10) having a sealing surface (13) arranged to contact and form a seal with a portion of the neck around the opening; a lip engagement member (30) including a pawl (31) mounted for pivotal movement between a lip engaging position for engaging with the lip on the container neck and a release position, the lip engagement member being mounted for sliding movement relative to the stopper body; characterized in that a handle (41) is pivotally mounted about a horizontal axis to the stopper body and movable between a closed position, an intermediate position and an open position, the intermediate position being between the open and closed positions, movement of the handle relative to the stopper body causing movement of the lip engagement member toward and away from the stopper body, wherein with the handle in the open position, the lip engagement member is positioned away from the stopper body and the pawl is in the release position to receive the container neck, wherein with the handle in the closed position the pawl is in the lip engaging position and the lip engagement member is positioned toward the stopper body to urge the sealing surface to engage with the portion of the neck around the opening to form the seal, and wherein movement of the handle from the closed position to the intermediate position causes the lip engagement member to move away from the stopper body such that the seal is broken but the pawl remains in the lip engaging position to prevent removal of the stopper from the container.
  2. The stopper of claim 1, further comprising a carrier member (20) mounted for sliding movement relative to the stopper body, wherein the lip engagement member is slidably movable relative to the carrier member and is resiliently biased for movement toward the carrier member by a first resilient element (32).
  3. The stopper of claim 2, wherein movement of the handle causes movement of the carrier member toward and away from the stopper body.
  4. The stopper of claim 3, wherein movement of the carrier member toward the stopper body urges the pawl to move toward the sealing surface.
  5. The stopper of claim 3, wherein the carrier member is resiliently biased to move away from the stopper body by a second resilient element (25).
  6. The stopper of claim 5, further comprising a cam (43) and cam follower (42) arranged to move the carrier member relative to the stopper body based on rotation of the cam, wherein the cam is coupled to the handle.
  7. The stopper of claim 6, wherein the cam is pivotally mounted to the stopper body for rotation, and the cam follower is arranged on the carrier member.
  8. The stopper of claim 7, wherein with the handle in the open position, the carrier member and the lip engagement member are positioned away from the stopper body and the pawl is in the release position to receive the container neck, and wherein movement of the handle from the open position to the closed position moves the pawl to the lip engaging position and moves the carrier member and the lip engagement member toward the stopper body, movement of the lip engagement member toward the stopper body continuing until the pawl engages with the lip and the sealing surface engages with the portion of the neck around the opening whereupon the carrier member continues movement toward the stopper body and away from the lip engagement member against urging of the first resilient element but the lip engagement member ceases movement toward the stopper body.
  9. The stopper of claim 1, wherein the stopper body includes a sidewall (16) that defines a cavity (12) into which the neck of the container is received, the sidewall including an opening (17) into which the pawl extends in the lip engaging position to engage with the lip of the container.
  10. The stopper of claim 9, wherein the pawl is spring biased to move toward the lip engaging position and movement of the lip engagement member away from the stopper body causes a portion of the sidewall at the opening to contact the pawl and move the pawl to the release position against the spring bias.
  11. The stopper of claim 1, wherein the stopper body includes a cup-shaped body having a sidewall (16) that defines a cavity and an opening at a lower end to receive the neck of the container into the cavity, and wherein the sealing surface is located in the cavity at a side opposite the opening.
  12. The stopper of claim 11, wherein the lip engagement member includes a sleeve positioned around the sidewall of the stopper body and slidably movable relative to the stopper body, wherein the pawl is pivotally mounted to the sleeve.
  13. The stopper of claim 12, further comprising a guide (21) along which the sleeve of the lip engagement member is movable relative to the stopper body, the guide including a spring (22) arranged to bias the sleeve to move toward the stopper body.
  14. The stopper of claim 1, wherein the stopper body includes a gas pathway arranged to introduce pressurized gas into the container, the gas pathway extending from a top of the stopper body to a location adjacent the sealing surface, wherein the gas pathway includes a one-way valve (15) that permits flow in the gas pathway into the container, and resists flow from the container.
  15. The stopper of claim 14, further comprising a gas supply adapted to fluidly couple to the gas pathway and provide pressurized gas to the gas pathway.

Description

Background of Invention This invention relates generally to dispensing fluid from a container, e.g., pouring of sparkling wine from a wine bottle, and subsequent resealing of the container, e.g., to retain carbonation in the beverage. IT PD 20 090 022 A1 refers to a bottle cap for sparkling wine. GB 2 546 755 A refers to a vessel cap. Summary of Invention One or more embodiments in accordance with aspects of the invention allow a user to dispense a beverage, such as wine, from a bottle or other container. In some cases, dispensing of liquid from such a bottle may be performed one or more times, and a stopper may be engaged with the bottle after each beverage dispensing to seal closed the interior of the bottle. Thus, the beverage may be dispensed from the bottle multiple times and stored for extended periods between each dispensing while minimizing effect on beverage quality. In some embodiments, little or no gas, such as air, which is reactive with the beverage, may be introduced into the bottle after dispensing of beverage from within the bottle. Thus, in some embodiments, a user may dispense wine from a wine bottle and subsequently seal the bottle from air or other potentially damaging gasses or liquids entering into the bottle. In some embodiments, a pressure above ambient pressure may be maintained in the bottle after dispensing is complete, which may help maintain a carbonation level in a sparkling beverage, and such pressure may be established by introducing pressurized gas through the stopper. In one case, a stopper is provided for use with a beverage container having a neck, an opening at the neck to access an interior space of the container, and a lip on an outer surface of the neck. The stopper may include a stopper body having a sealing surface arranged to contact and form a seal with a portion of the neck around the opening, e.g., to seal the interior space of the bottle from gasses or other external environmental conditions. A carrier member may be mounted for movement relative to the stopper body, e.g., in directions toward and away from the stopper body and/or the sealing surface. A lip engagement member may also be mounted for movement relative to the stopper body (e.g., toward and away from the stopper body and/or sealing surface) and relative to the carrier member (e.g., toward and away from the carrier member). For example, the lip engagement member may be mounted to the carrier member so as to move with the carrier member in some conditions, but be capable of movement relative to the carrier member in other conditions. The lip engagement member may include a pawl mounted for movement between a lip engaging position for engaging with the lip on the container neck and a release position in which the pawl may be prevented from engaging with the lip. For example, the pawl may be mounted for pivotal movement between the lip engaging and release positions. The lip engagement member may be resiliently biased for movement toward the carrier member by a first resilient element, and this resilient bias may urge the container neck into contact with the sealing surface, helping to establish and/or maintain a seal at the container opening. For example, with the lip engagement member engaged with the container lip, the carrier member may be moved toward the stopper body, which may cause the lip engagement member to urge the container lip, and therefore a portion of the container at the opening, toward the sealing surface. The resilient bias that urges the lip engagement member to move toward the carrier member may help establish a seal at the container opening, as well as allow the stopper to accommodate differently sized container arrangements, e.g., different distances between a container lip and opening area where a seal with the sealing surface is established. The resilient bias may also be part of a detent that operates to keep a handle that is used to move the carrier member and lip engagement member in a closed position. In some cases, movement of the carrier member toward the stopper body urges the pawl to move toward the sealing surface. For example, the lip engagement member may be resiliently biased to move toward the carrier member or otherwise coupled for movement with the carrier member, and so movement of the carrier member toward the stopper body may urge the pawl to move toward the sealing surface. This may cause the pawl to urge the container neck into contact with the sealing surface. In some cases, the carrier member is resiliently biased to move away from the stopper body by a second resilient element, at least in a portion of a range of movement of the carrier member relative to the stopper body. This biasing may help move the carrier member and lip engagement member to a position in which a container neck is disengaged by the stopper. For example, in some cases, movement of the lip engagement member may cause the pawl to move between the lip engaging and release positions. If m