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Description  |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to capping assemblies for liquor
bottles, and, more particularly, to a liquor bottle capping assembly
including a perforated member for preventing flame propagation into the
liquor bottle and for discouraging the watering of liquor contained in the
associated liquor bottle; a solid disk member and associated sheet member
for preventing tampering with the contents of the liquor bottle and
providing evidence of any tampering; and a cap member for providing a
resealable closure of the liquor bottle opening.
During the last century, a small woven mesh screen known as a Davies screen
was used on miners' lanterns in order to prevent flame from the lantern
enclosed by the screen from igniting gas pockets encountered in mining
operations. A similar woven mesh is used at the openings of gasoline
containers to prevent flame propagation into the containers. However,
attempts to use such screen-type devices on a liquor bottle to prevent
flame propagation into the liquor bottle have proven unsuccessful. It was
found that a woven mesh screen so significantly retards the flow rate of
liquor poured from a liquor bottle as to make such a screen unusable. Such
woven meshes also tend to cause a crystallization phenomenon during the
period when the liquor sits unused in the bottle which causes the mesh to
clog and further restrict the pouring of liquor from the bottle. Such
meshes also proved to be difficult to attach to the glass mouth of a
liquor bottle in a commercially feasible manner. Finally, it was found
that, with many types of liquor, ignition of alcohol being poured from the
container caused a crusting or "caramelization" of the screen mesh which
would significantly interfere with any subsequent attempts to pour liquor
from the bottle.
Another independent problem relating to the liquor trade is the
unauthorized dilution or "watering" of liquor prior to its sale by
unscrupulous dealers, etc. The problem of liquor watering is especially
acute for liquor sold in certain areas outside of the United States. It
would be generally desirable to provide a device which discourages such
watering of liquor.
Finally, as with all consumable food and beverages, it would be desirable
to provide a container which discourages tampering of any kind before the
bottle is opened.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is one object of the present invention to provide a liquor bottle
capping assembly which provides a means for preventing flame propagation
into a liquor bottle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a liquor bottle
capping assembly which discourages watering of the liquor in a liquor
bottle.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a liquor bottle
capping assembly which provides evidence of tampering with the contents of
the bottle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a liquor bottle
capping assembly which may be easily secured to existing liquor bottle
configurations through the use of conventional crimping tools.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a liquor bottle
capping assembly which is a self-crimping capping assembly which may be
installed on a liquor bottle simply by threading a cap portion thereof
onto the threads of the liquor bottle.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a liquor bottle
capping assembly having a threaded cap portion for conventionally opening
and resealing the liquor bottle subsequent to the initial opening of the
liquor bottle.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a liquor bottle
capping assembly which is relatively inexpensive to produce.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a liquor bottle
capping assembly having a flame arrester portion which is resistant to the
phenomena of crystallization and caramelization.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a liquor bottle
capping assembly having a flame arrester portion which provides a
desirable liquor pour rate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a liquor bottle capping assembly which
may comprise:
perforated member means fixedly attachable to the liquor bottle in covering
relationship with said threaded opening in the liquor bottle for
preventing flame propagation into the liquor bottle;
penetration discouraging means operatively associated with said perforated
member means for discouraging penetration and providing evidence of
penetration of said perforated member means as by a hypodermic needle;
sheet means fixedly attached to said penetration prevention means and
tearably removably attached to said perforated member means for sealing
said bottle opening and for providing evidence of tampering with said
capping assembly;
capping means threadably attachable and detachable on said threaded opening
for providing a removable and reattachable closure for said liquor bottle
opening.
The invention may also comprise a liquor container assembly comprising:
(a) container means for holding liquor therein, said container means having
a restricted opening therein for pouringly dispensing said liquor
therefrom;
(b) flame arrester means operatively associated with said container opening
for enabling pouring of said liquor therethrough and for preventing
propagation of flame therethrough whereby flame outside of said container
means is prevented from propagating into said container means on liquor
which is being poured from said container means and which is ignited by
said outside flame;
liquor flow controlling means for enabling pouring of said liquor from said
container means with a predetermined flow characteristic when said liquor
is in an unwatered state and for substantially preventing the pouring of
liquids of a greater surface tension than said liquor through said liquor
flow controlling means for discouraging dilution of the alcoholic content
of said liquor in said container means through pouring water into said
container means and for providing evidence of watering of said liquor in
the container means by providing a flow characteristic for substantially
watered liquor that is noticeably different than said predetermined flow
characteristic of said liquor in an unwatered state.
The invention may also comprise a liquor bottle capping assembly for a
liquor bottle having a threaded opening comprising:
perforated member means fixedly attachable to the liquor bottle in covering
relationship with said threaded opening in the liquor bottle for
preventing flame propagation into the liquor bottle;
capping means threadably attachable and detachable on said threaded opening
for providing a removable and reattachable closure for said liquor bottle
opening;
said liquor bottle threaded opening comprising a top, horizontally
extending, annular ring surface integrally connected with an annular,
downwardly and inwardly extending surface at a peripheral edge surface;
said perforated member means having a horizontally extending portion
adapted to abuttingly engage said bottle top horizontally extending
surface and having a downwardly and outwardly extending annular flange
portion adapted to frictionally engage an annular vertical surface of said
capping means in a nondeformed state thereof prior to installation on said
bottle, and adapted to engage said annular downwardly and inwardly
extending surface of said bottle in a crimpingly inwardly deformed state
thereof subsequent to installation on said bottle and having a perforated
member annular shoulder portion connecting said horizontally extending
portion and said annular flange portion;
said capping means comprising a downwardly extending flange portion with an
inner surface having a threaded portion on a lower region thereof which is
adapted to threadingly engage said bottle opening and having a cap annular
shoulder portion on an upper region thereof and having a generally
vertically extending annular portion positioned below said cap annular
shoulder portion; said downwardly extending portion being adapted to
receive said flange portion of said perforated member in holding
frictional engagement therewithin prior to installation of said capping
assembly on said liquor bottle and said cap shoulder portion being adapted
to urge said perforated member means against said peripheral edge surface
of said threaded bottle opening for deformingly forcing said flange
portion of said perforated member means into crimpingly abutting
engagement with said liquor bottle annular downwardly and outwardly
extending surface;
whereby said perforated member is crimpingly attached to said liquor bottle
through screwing said capping means onto said liquor bottle threaded
opening whereby the need for crimping tools is obviated.
The invention may also comprise a method of preventing flame propagation
into a liquor bottle when liquor is poured in the presence of flame
comprising:
mounting a perforated metal member having holes therein sufficiently small
to prevent flame propagation therethrough in covering relationship with
the opening of the liquor bottle;
pouring liquor from the liquor bottle through said openings in the
perforated member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
An illustrative and presently preferred embodiment of the invention is
shown in the accompanying drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a liquor bottle capping assembly.
FIG. 2 is a detail cross sectional view of a liquor bottle capping assembly
installed on a liquor bottle.
FIG. 3 is a top view of a perforated member portion of the liquor bottle
capping assembly illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the perforated member illustrated in
FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the perforated member illustrated in FIGS. 3 and
4.
FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of a perforated member adapted for use in
a self-crimping liquor bottle capping assembly.
FIGS. 7-9 are detail cross sectional views of a self-crimping liquor bottle
capping assembly in various states during installation of the capping
assembly on a liquor bottle.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the liquor bottle capping assembly 10 of the
present invention is adapted for use on a liquor bottle such as a rum
bottle 12 having a restricted bottle opening 14 provided in a threaded
neck portion 16 of the bottle. The liquor bottle 12 is, of course, filled
with liquor 18 prior to installation of the capping assembly 10.
In general, the capping assembly 10 comprises a perforated member 22 which
is fixedly attached to an upper portion of the bottle neck 16 in covering
relationship with the bottle opening 14; a solid disk member 24 which is
adapted to be positioned on a recessed perforated portion of the
perforated member 22 to discourage penetration and provide evidence of
penetration of the bottle enclosure as by a hypodermic needle, etc.; a
sheet such as metal foil 26 which is adhered to a top portion of the solid
disk member 24 and which is also adhered to a peripheral portion of the
perforated member 22 to seal the bottle and provide evidence of attempted
tampering with the contents of the bottle; and a cap member 28 which is
adapted to be conventionally threaded onto threaded neck portion 16 to
provide a resealable closure for the bottle subsequent to the
non-reversible removal of the sheet member 26 and attached solid disk
member 24. The perforated member 22 has a plurality of holes 42 therein
which are sufficiently small in diameter to prevent propagation of flame
therethrough and which are sufficiently large in diameter to permit
discharge of liquor 18 from the bottle. The holes 42 are sufficiently
large and numerous to provide a desirable liquor pour rate from the
bottle, i.e. a relatively fast pour rate such as, e.g. a maximum rate of
not less than 16 ounces per minute if the liquor has not been diluted with
water. The sheet member 26 may be provided in two layers to facilitate
grasping and removal thereof from its adhesive attachment to the
perforated member 22. In one preferred embodiment, the sheet member is
provided with a laser-imprinted hologram thereon which would become
visible and provide a warning message if the sheet member were even
slightly altered by tampering. Use of a holographic warning message on a
label applied over a liquor bottle cap is known in the art. Such a label
is commercially available from American Bank Note Holographics, Inc., 999
Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Shaumburg, Ill., 60195. In another embodiment, the
sheet member is constructed of a metal foil, plastic film, metalized
plastic, or other material which provides non-reversible evidence of
wrinkling, creasing or tearing when tampered with.
Having thus described the invention in general, particular features of the
invention will now be described in further detail.
Perforated member 22 is preferably formed from a flat, circular metal blank
such as, for example, an aluminum blank having a thickness of preferably
between 0.0090 inches and 0.0120 inches and most preferably 0.0105 inches
for providing necessary strength and crimping characteristics. It has been
discovered that treatment of such an aluminum blank with an oxidizing
agent prevents crystal formation of the surface of the member when it is
used with certain types of alcoholic beverages such as dark rum. One
inexpensive manner of oxidizing such aluminum blanks is by soaking the
blanks in a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution for ten minutes at room
temperature. The perforated member, as best illustrated in FIG. 4,
comprises a top portion 36, a bottom portion 38, an exterior surface 37,
and an interior surface 39. The perforated member has an inner, circular,
recessed, horizontally extending, perforated portion 40 which may have a
diameter of, e.g. 0.614 inches. The perforated portion 40 is provided with
a plurality of circular holes 42 which may have a diameter of between
0.060 inches and 0.075 inches and most preferably 0.063 (i.e. an area of
between 0.0028 square inches and 0.0044 square inches, and most preferably
0.0031 square inches) inches for use with a liquor bottle containing 151
proof rum. The holes 42 are provided in a density which enables the holes
to remain spaced apart from one another by a minimum distance of
preferably 0.020 inches to enable the perforated portion to remain
relatively strong to resist puncturing or rupture. The holes are
preferably provided in a sufficient density to provide a total open hole
area of between 0.105 square inches and 0.163 square inches and most
preferably 0.115 square inches. It has been discovered that the flow rate
of liquor of a predetermined alcoholic content through the perforated
member is different than the flow rate of liquor which has been
substantially diluted with water, i.e. liquor which has been substantially
diluted with water tends to pour much more slowly, or not at all, than
liquor which has not been diluted with water. Thus, use of the perforated
member discourages the watering of liquor as by an unscrupulous bar owner,
even after the sheet member 26 and disk member 24 have been removed
because water is not easily poured into the bottle through the perforated
member and because "watered" liquor pours out of the bottle more slowly
than "unwatered" liquor. The above exemplary perforated portion dimensions
have been found to prevent flame propagation into and to discourage
watering of rum having an alcoholic content of 75%.
The perforated member 22 comprises a horizontally extending annular ring
portion 44 which is positioned a small distance, e.g. 0.010 inches, above
the perforated portion 40 and which is connected thereto by a downwardly
and inwardly extending annular transition portion 46. The annular ring
portion may have an outer diameter of approximately 0.915 inches and an
inner diameter of approximately 0.614 inches. A downwardly extending
annular flange portion 48 is connected to annular ring portion 44 by an
annular shoulder portion 50 which may have a radius of curvature of, e.g.,
0.015 inches. The downwardly extending portion 48 may have an axial length
of, e.g., 0.090 inches.
The perforated member 22 is adapted for attachment to a bottle threaded
neck portion 16 having a horizontally extending annular ring surface 52
which may have an outer diameter of 0.888 inches and an inner diameter of
0.614 inches and which is connected by an annular shoulder portion 51,
which may have a radius of curvature of, e.g., 0.030 inches, to an annular
downwardly and inwardly extending, e.g. at a 20 degree angle of
inclination from a vertical axis, surface 54. Surface 54 is in turn
connected to a downwardly and outwardly extending surface 55 which is
integrally connected to the top portion of an outwardly projecting
continuous male thread 56. Thread 56 projects radially outwardly from a
vertically extending bottle neck surface 58. Perforated member 22 is
positioned on top of horizontally extending annular ring surface 52 with
the interior surface of annular ring portion 44 in abutting engagement
with surface 52. In one embodiment of the invention, the downwardly
extending annular flange 48 is crimpingly attached, i.e. bent inwardly
into abutting relationship with annular downwardly and inwardly extending
surface 54 by a conventional crimping tool. One conventional crimping
device used for this purpose employes a high energy electromagnet to urge
flange member 48 into abutting relationship with surface 54.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, solid disk member 24 comprises a planar
circular top surface 60, a planar circular bottom surface 62, and a
cylindrical lateral edge surface 64. The diameter of the disk may be,
e.g., 0.600 inches, and the thickness of the disk may be, e.g., 0.010
inches. The disk is preferably a metal disk such as aluminum but may also
be constructed of high strength, high durometer plastic or other material
which is sufficiently strong to resist and/or provide evidence of
penetration by a hypodermic needle or the like. The solid disk member 24
is adapted to have a thickness approximately equal to the vertical
distance between the perforated portion 40 and the annular ring portion 44
of perforated member 22 such that the top surface 60 of the disk is
positioned at approximately the same elevation as the top surface of
annular ring portion 44 of the perforated member.
As shown by FIGS. 1 and 2, sheet member 26 may comprise a circularly shaped
first layer portion 80 having a first layer top surface 82 and a first
layer bottom surface 84; a second layer portion 86 having a second layer
top surface 88 and a second layer bottom surface 90. The first and second
layers 80, 86 are integrally connected at fold portion 92. Second layer 86
is preferably somewhat smaller than first layer 88 and is adapted to be
folded with bottom surface 90 thereof in abutting overlapping relationship
with first layer top surface 82. An adhesive layer 96 may be provided for
adhering surface 60 of disk member 24 to first layer bottom surface 84.
Another adhesive layer 98 may be provided for adhering a peripheral
portion of the first layer bottom surface 84 to the upper surface of
perforated member annular ring portion 44. As an alternative to adhesive,
ultrasonic welding or other attachment means may be employed. It will be
understood that this configuration enables second layer portion 86 to act
as a tab which may be lifted and grasped and pulled to remove the sheet
member 26 and attached disk 24 from the perforated member, thereby
exposing perforated portion 40 of the perforated member and enabling
pouring of liquor 18 from bottle 12.
Cap member 28, as illustrated in FIG. 2, comprises a cap top portion 110, a
cap bottom portion 112, a cap outside surface 114, a cap inside surface
116, a cap horizontally extending portion 118, which in turn comprises a
pair of downwardly extending annular sheet engaging prong portions 120,
122 projecting from a lower surface thereof. The cap further comprises a
downwardly extending annular flange portion 124 which has a continuous
female threaded groove 126 provided therein which is adapted to
threadingly engage continuous male thread portion 56 on bottle neck
portion 16 to enable conventional threaded opening and closing of the
liquor bottle with the cap member 28. The cap member may be threaded
downwardly on the liquor bottle threaded neck portion 16 sufficiently far
to enable engagement of annular prong portions 120, 122 with the top
surface of perforated member annular ring portion 44 to form a seal
therewith subsequent to the removal of sheet member 26.
An embodiment of the invention which is adapted to provide a self-crimping
capping assembly is illustrated in FIGS. 6-9. In this self-crimping
assembly, a modified version of the perforated member 22A, FIG. 6, is
initially resistance-fitted into cap 28, as illustrated in FIG. 7. The cap
28A is modified in a manner which allows it to act as a crimping tool
which progressively crimps the perforated member 22A onto the bottle as
the cap is screwed onto the bottle.
In this embodiment, cap 28A is identical to the cap 28 described above with
reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, except that the inside surface 116A of cap 28A
downwardly extending annular flange portion 124A is provided with an
annular curved shoulder surface 140 at an upper portion thereof. The
annular shoulder surface 140 is integrally connected at an upper portion
thereof to upper annular vertical surface 142. The shoulder surface 140 is
integrally connected at the lower portion thereof to lower annular
vertical surface 144 by annular small radius connecting surface 143. Cap
28A shoulder surface 140 has a radius of curvature approximately equal to
that of the bottle shoulder portion 51, e.g. 0.030 inches. The radial
distance between vertical surfaces 142 and 144 may be 0.100 inches. The
radial distance between surface 142 and shoulder portion 51 of the bottle
may be, e.g., 0.060 inches. In this embodiment, perforated member shoulder
portion 50A has a radius of curvature approximately three times as large
as the curvature of bottle shoulder surface 51, e.g. 0.090 inches. This
radius of curvature of shoulder portion 50A, when member 22A is positioned
within cap 28A, has its center of curvature located at a point which lies
on the same vertical axis ZZ as that on which the center of curvature of
bottle shoulder portion 51 is located. The curvature of shoulder 50A
terminates at a position such that annular flange portion 48A projects
downwardly and outwardly. The lower vertical surface 144 of cap 28A is of
a sufficiently small diameter to provide a resistance fit with the
perforated member annular flange portion 48A when perforated member 28A is
urged upwardly into the cap, as illustrated in FIG. 7. As also shown by
FIG. 7, the center of shoulder portion 140 is positioned at a radial
distance from the center of cap 22A which is approximately equal to the
radial distance at which the center of perforated member shoulder portion
50A is positioned from the center of the perforated member. Thus, shoulder
surface 140 initially acts as a locating or stop surface which halts the
axial advance of perforated member 28A when it is initially positioned in
cap 28A. An annular retaining ring 146 may be provided on cap lower
vertical surface 144 to retain the perforated member within the cap
subsequent to its insertion therein. The cap 28A and perforated member 22A
thus comprise a self-crimping capping assembly. As shown in FIG. 8, as the
cap 28A is initially screwed downwardly as indicated at 160, the
perforated member comes into abutting engagement with the top horizontal
surface 52 of the bottle. As illustrated by 162 in FIG. 8, as the cap
continues its axial downward advancement, the flange portion 48A is
crimpingly urged inwardly by surface 140. As shown by FIG. 9, the axial
downward advancement of the bottle eventually causes flange portion 48A to
be urged into abutting engagement with the bottle downwardly and inwardly
extending surface 54 through bending of the perforated member at annular
shoulder portion 50 thereof initially by cap surface 140 and subsequently
by cap surface 142. Thus, in this embodiment, a capping assembly
comprising perforated member 22A, disk member 24, sheet 26 and cap 28A may
be crimpingly mounted on the bottle simply through firmly screwing the
bottle cap onto the bottle threaded end portion. No separate crimping
tools are required.
While an illustrative and presently preferred embodiment of the invention
has been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the
inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and
that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such
variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.
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