SYSTEM FOR MAINTAINING CARBONATION IN BEVERAGES
DESCRIPTION
The invention concerns a system for maintaining carbonation in beverages. The invention comprises a specially shaped bottle, an openable ring piece with a threaded portion, an openable ring piece with an attached knife device, and a top piece with a threaded portion.
For a long time, people have tried to find a solution for maintaining carbonation in a bottle of soda after the bottle has been opened and many things have been tried. The idea of this invention is to reduce the empty space for carbon dioxide in the bottle, which is done by removing that part of the bottle that is not in use. The purpose of this invention is to maintain carbonation in soda and this equipment is only intended for this purpose. In order for this to be possible, the bottle must be molded in a certain shape so that the device can be used which shortens the bottle and is also a grip for the top piece that will be screwed on. The invention comprises four things: a specially shaped bottle, a top piece with a threaded portion, an openable ring piece with a threaded portion which is fixed around the bottle and the top piece with a threaded portion will be screwed onto when the bottle has been cut apart, and a ring piece with an attached cutting device which cuts the bottle apart. inventions that have tried to solve this same problem, namely, reducing the empty space for carbon dioxide in the bottle, include the one disclosed in U.S. Patent 4,747,496, which is a clip that is placed around the bottle when a part of the contents has been consumed. First of all, the clip only removes a small part of the empty space which forms after half of the contents have been consumed, for example, in addition, the pressure of the carbon dioxide is very strong and consequently the clamp will splay out when the carbon dioxide grows in the bottle and the effectiveness of the clip will be limited. Another invention that tries to solve the same problem is the one disclosed in US 2013/0068717 Al, which is a bottle that can be compressed like a harmonica, thus decreasing the empty space in the bottie. On the other hand, when the carbon dioxide pressure increases in the bottle, the bottle will be pushed out again. Another invention that tries to solve the same problem is the one disclosed in US 2011/0139743 Al, where air is pumped with pressure equipment into the bottle. Although this invention is not trying to reduce the empty space in the bottle like the present invention, it does try to solve the same problem, namely, keeping the carbon dioxide in the soda after the bottle has been opened. It is hard to know exactly how powerful this pressure equipment is, but you can buy a finger pump today, which is screwed on the bottle instead of the cap. That finger pump pumps air into the bottle after the bottle has been opened. On the other hand, its effectiveness is very limited, as it is necessary to pump high pressure into the bottle to keep the carbon dioxide in the soda, but the finger pump only reaches a fraction of the sufficient pressure. The invention is described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 shows the four main parts of the invention: a specially shaped bottle (1), an openable ring piece with a threaded portion (2), an openable ring piece with an attached knife device (3), and a top piece with a threaded portion (4). Figure 2 shows details of the specially shaped bottle and an openable ring piece with a threaded portion attached to the specially shaped bottle. Figure 3 shows details of the openable ring piece with a threaded portion. Figure 4 shows details of the openable ring piece with an attached knife device. Figure 5 shows an openable ring piece with an attached knife device attached to the specially shaped bottle and further details of the knife device. Figure 6 shows an openable ring piece with a threaded portion attached to the remainder of the bottle with and without the top piece with a threaded portion, as well as details of the top piece with a threaded portion. This invention was made with the aim of preserving carbon dioxide in a bottle which has been opened but the soda has not been completely consumed. The invention is intended for two or three liter bottles. There are two places on the bottle where the bottle can be cut apart and finally a top piece is screwed on the remaining part of the bottle to preserve the soda. In order to make it possible, the form of the bottle must be designed as shown in Figure 2. There are two places on the bottle which have a curved design (6) together with four concave oblong indentations (8) which are located at the center with regular intervals where the bottle can be cut, and that place is chosen for cutting which is above and nearest the surface of the liquid in the bottle when the bottle is in an upright position.
The first step to cut the bottle is to place a ring piece with a threaded portion around the bottle. This ring piece, which also has a curved design (21) along with four convex spherical protrusions (19) which are located at the center of the interior at regular intervals, is adapted to fit the shape of the bottle and the convex spherical protrusions fit into the concave oblong indentations on the bottle. When the ring piece with the threaded portion has been piaced, it is pressed together and locked with a pair of snap fasteners (15), and is thereby fastened on the bottle. When the ring piece with the threaded portion has been fastened on the bottle, a ring piece with an attached cutting device that finally cuts the bottle into two pieces is placed around the ring piece which already is fastened on the bottle. The ring piece with the cutting device has two projections (29) that fit into two grooves (17) which are located on the ring piece with the threaded portion. When the ring piece with the cutting device is fitted around the ring piece with the threaded portion, it is closed with the closing means (23), which can be found on the cutting device (28). When the closing means is closed, it presses a small pin (25) which pushes the knife blade (27) with a thin and sharp point through the bottle, and then the closing means is locked with a pair of snap fasteners (24), where the end (22) of the closing means must be pressed to lock the snap fasteners. When the snap fasteners have been assembled and locked, the ring piece with the cutting device is fixed on the ring piece with the threaded portion and the bottle is cut apart. In order to cut the bottle, the attached handle (31) is grasped and the ring piece with the knife device is rotated in a complete circle or until the bottle is cut in two and the upper part of the bottle is discarded, as it contains no soda.
After the bottle has been cut in two pieces, the closing means is opened and the ring piece with the cutting device is removed from the ring piece with a threaded portion. To open the closing means, the end of the closing means is pushed up, and when the closing means opens, the small pin pops back out and at the same time the knife blade returns into the device (26). Now the bottle is in two pieces and the lower part of the bottle remains with the fixed ring piece with a threaded portion, as shown in Figure 6 (36). Finally, a top piece with a threaded portion (40) is screwed on the ring piece with a threaded portion and the cap of the bottle that was cut apart is placed on the bottleneck (39) on the top piece.
This invention comprises four main parts and each one of them will be described in more detail below.
1. The bottle (1)
As shown in Figure 2, the bottle has a special shape, and each part of this shape serves an important purpose for the equipment that is placed on the bottle to cut it apart. The specially shaped bottle comprises one or more inwardly curved portions, each of which further comprises one or more concave indentations. This curved form, along with four concave oblong indentations which are located in the middle at regular intervals, is designed for a ring piece with a threaded portion, which also has the same curved design on the inside and fits into the shape of the bottle together with four convex spherical protrusions which fit into the concave oblong indentations. The specially shaped bottle further comprises convex strips (7) above and below the inwardly curved portions that also fit into the shape of the ring piece. When the bottle has been cut, a top piece is screwed on the ring piece with the threaded portion, and this curved design, together with the convex spherical protrusions inside the ring piece that fit into the concave oblong indentations on the bottle, is intended to prevent the ring piece from being pushed off when the top piece has been screwed on the ring piece due to the pressure of the carbon dioxide. The convex spherical protrusions in the ring piece that fit into the concave oblong indentations also prevent the piece with the threaded portion from turning with the top piece when the top piece is tightened and removed. The concave indentations are slightly oblong while the convex protrusions are spherical so that they easily fit into the indentations. A ring piece with a knife device is placed around the ring piece with the threaded portion which is already on the bottle. The 45 degree sloped form (11) is designed to facilitate the knife cut and a knife blade with a thin and sharp point is thrust through the plastic in the middle of this area. The area immediately above the curved portion (13) is the area which the gasket (42) in the top piece will press on when the top piece is screwed on. it's important that this area has a strong reinforcement around it and therefore the curved form below (10) is also intended as a reinforcement for the area, as well as the small step (12) above the area. The top (5) and bottom (14) parts of the bottle have a slightly larger diameter and are intended as shock absorbers for the bottle if the bottle experiences a mechanical shock, for example during transport,
2. The ring piece with a threaded portion (2)
The openable ring piece with a threaded portion comprises two main parts adapted to fit the shape of the bottle separated by a thin piece of flexible plastic (20), one or more convex spherical protrusions on the inside of the ring piece which fit into the one or more concave oblong indentations on the bottle, a pair of snap fasteners for closing and locking the ring piece, and a small tab (18) for opening the snap fasteners. The thin piece of flexible plastic enables the ring piece to be opened. It has a curved design on the inside with attached convex spherical protrusions which are located in the middle at regular intervals. This curved design fits into the shape of the bottle and the convex spherical protrusions fit into the concave oblong indentations on the bottle. The ring piece with a threaded portion is closed and locked with a pair of snap fasteners and a small tab makes it possible to open the snap fasteners by pushing the tab out. There is a threaded portion (44) on the top piece, and the top piece is screwed on the ring piece in the end. The openable ring piece with a threaded portion further comprises a groove on the inside that the convex strips above and below the curved area of the bottle fit into, and two grooves on the outside that two projections which are inside the ring piece with an attached knife device fit into when it is placed around the ring piece with a threaded portion.
3. The ring piece with a knife device (3)
The openable ring piece with an attached knife device comprises two main parts which are separated by a thin piece of flexible plastic (30), an attached knife device, an attached handle, and two projections that fit into the grooves on the ring piece with a threaded portion. The thin piece of plastic enables the ring piece to be opened. The two projections that fit into the grooves on the ring piece with a threaded portion that is already attached to the bottle make it possible to slide this ring piece when the bottle is cut apart. The attached knife device partly fits into the shape of the bottie (9) and comprises a closing means with an end tab, a small pin, a knife blade with a thin and sharp point, a pair of snap fasteners, an end tab (35), and a spring (34). When the closing means is closed, it presses a small pin which simultaneously pushes the knife blade with a thin and sharp point which is at the other end of the pin through the bottle. When the knife blade passes through the bottle, the closing means is locked with a pair of snap fasteners. Next, the attached handle is grasped and the ring piece is rotated in a complete circle or until the bottle is cut in two and the upper part of the bottle is discarded, as it contains no soda. The ring piece is then removed by pushing the end tab of the closing means up. When the closing means opens, a spring pushes the knife blade back into the device to prevent people from cutting themselves when the device is not in use. 4. The top piece
The top piece with a threaded portion comprises a gasket, a built-in bottleneck (41), and a ring hoop (43) inside the top piece. When the ring piece with an attached knife device has been removed, the bottom part of the bottle remains with the ring piece with a threaded portion still attached to the bottle, and then the top piece which comprises a threaded portion is screwed on the ring piece with a threaded portion, inside the top piece is a gasket which presses on a small area on the bottle when the top piece is screwed on. The ring piece (38) immediately adjoins the small area which the gasket in the top piece will press on and provides support for the small area and thus strength. As shown in Figure 6, there is a built-in bottleneck inside the top piece and thus virtually no space for carbon dioxide in the top piece. A ring hoop presses into the bottle when the top piece is screwed on and protects the soda from leaking into the top piece to prevent a mess when the top piece is removed.