This invention relates to a drip-retaining collar for catching and retaining drips of liquid from a bottle such as a wine bottle.

Background of the Invention A well known problem encountered when pouring a liquid such as wine from a bottle is that, after pouring, a residual drop of liquid often remains on the neck of the bottle. Unless care is taken to wipe the bottle to remove the drop, the drop will typically run down the outer surface of the bottle on to the underlying surface. In the case of a strongly coloured liquid such as red wine, this can lead to staining of an underlying surface, such as a table cloth, as well as soiling any label present on the bottle.

Various solutions to the abovementioned problem have been have been proposed, see for example GB 265214, US 3063590, FR 2622425 and US 2005/0199579. However, for various reasons, the aforesaid solutions are not considered to be entirely satisfactory

Summary of the Invention

The present invention sets out to provide an improved means of catching drips from bottles, such as wine bottles, whilst at the same time providing additional space on a bottle for presenting advertising and marketing information and materials.

Accordingly, in a first aspect, the invention provides a drip-retaining collar for a bottle, the collar being configured to sit about a neck of the bottle and comprising an annular drip-collecting trough which is arranged to collect drips running down the neck of the bottle, wherein the annular trough is partitioned into compartments, each compartment being of such a size and configuration that it can retain drip liquid collected therein when the collar is inverted.

In use, the drip-retaining collar is placed over the neck of a bottle and moved along the neck and away from the mouth of the bottle so that it comes to rest on the shoulder of the bottle, i.e. the region of the bottle where it flares out from the lower end of the neck. The collar is shaped so that after liquid (e.g. wine) has been poured from the bottle and the bottle has been restored to an upright position, any residual liquid running down the neck of the bottle is arrested and collected by the trough.

Unlike conventional napkins and known drip retaining collars, such as the collars disclosed in our earlier International patent application WO2010/013009, which make use of an absorbent material to absorb drips, the drip collar of the present invention makes use of surface adhesion and/or surface tension to retain collected drip liquid. Thus, drips running down the neck of a bottle are directed into the annular trough and the drip liquid is held firmly in the trough by surface adhesion and/or surface tension. If the collar is inverted, the liquid does not fall out but remains in the trough. It is of course possible to overload the drip retaining-collar by pouring down the neck of the bottle an amount of liquid which exceeds the total capacity of the trough. However, the total capacity of the trough is such that it is more than sufficient to accommodate the volumes of drip liquid that would be encountered in normal use.

Furthermore, adjacent compartments may have a nick (e.g. a small cut-out or slot) in a common dividing wall between the adjacent compartments to enable liquid to pass from one compartment to another. Preferably nicks are provided in each dividing wall between adjacent compartments. The nick is typically located in an upper edge of the (or each) dividing wall. In the event that a drip is collected that has a volume greater than the volume of the compartment into which it falls, excess drip liquid can readily be transferred to neighbouring compartments so that overflow and spillage does not occur. In this way, overloading of any single compartment is avoided. The drip-retaining collar typically has a radially inwardly facing edge for contacting the neck of the bottle so as to halt the flow of drips down the neck, the annular drip-collecting trough being disposed radially outwardly of the radially inwardly facing edge. The radially inwardly facing edge may be provided by a flexible annular flange which extends radially inwardly from the trough and serves in use to direct drips into the trough.

In order to enhance the ability of the collar to prevent drips from running down the neck of the bottle, the radially inwardly facing edge may be provided by a flexible annular flange which extends radially inwardly from the trough. The flexible annular flange may form a seal against the surface of the neck of the bottle.

Preferably, the flexible annular flange has one or more discontinuities around its circumference such that it is divided into a plurality of segments, the discontinuities being sufficiently small that drips do not pass through. The discontinuities provide the annular flange with greater flexibility so that it can accommodate bottle necks of different diameters.

Preferably at least part of the flexible annular flange is inclined upwardly so that, in use, it directs drip liquid into the annular trough. A further function of the flexible annular flange is to hold the drip-retaining collar in place on the bottle neck and prevent it from sliding up the neck of the bottle in use.

The flexible annular flange is preferably resilient. The resilience of the flange enables it to grip the neck of the bottle and thereby provide a better seal and greater resistance to displacement. The annular trough is partitioned into a plurality of compartments that each have a size and configuration that enables them to retain drip liquid. If the trough is not partitioned, it will not retain liquid sufficiently tightly and will, if the bottle is tipped, spill its contents.

The annular trough is typically divided into a single row of compartments extending around its circumference, although it could in principle be divided into several rows.

It is preferred that there are at least 30 compartments, more preferably at least 34 compartments, and still more preferably at least 36 compartments. Most preferably, there are 38 or more compartments.

The drip-retaining collar may have a downwardly depending portion in the form of a skirt which typically is flared outwardly at or towards a lower end thereof.

References to orientation (e.g. "downwardly depending" and "lower end") in the present context refer to the orientation of the collar and its component parts when the bottle is in an upright position.

The lower part of the skirt may be shaped to resemble a pair of shirt-tails, one of which may be larger than the other. The angle of flare of the skirt is selected so that the collar will sit comfortably on a range of different bottle sizes and types.

The skirt may be used to carry printed material such as trademarks, logos, product information, advertising materials and information about the manufacturer or retailer. For example, the skirt may carry one or more printed labels.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention, a label is integrally moulded into the skirt. This can be achieved by means of in-mould labelling, a well known process which is used widely in the packaging industry and can be used to mould labelled containers and other items at high speed and in large volumes. An advantage of in-mould labelling is that it enables the collar to be formed with the label in place in a single moulding operation.

Alternatively, the label may be applied to the skirt in a separate operation after the moulding of the collar. When applied to the skirt in a separate operation, it can be bonded to the skirt using either a peelable or a non-peelable adhesive, or a combination thereof. For example, part of the label may be adapted to be peeled off and removed

In one embodiment, the skirt has inner and outer labels, wherein the outer label is constructed so as to be removable to reveal the inner label.

The inner label may be formed so that it is non-removable (without destroying the label and collar) or it may be formed so that it is partially or fully removable (e.g. partially or fully peelable).

The outer label may be used to provide information relevant to the point-of-sale of the bottle such as details of special price offers or competitions or any of a wide variety of types of promotional material and information relating to the bottles and their contents when on display in a store. Alternatively or additionally, the outer label may bear a brand name or logo or a design.

One or more outer labels may be detachably secured to the collar. For example, a pair of outer labels may be detachably secured to the collar.

Typically the one or more outer labels are detachably secured to the skirt by means of a peelable adhesive. After purchase of a product bearing the drip- retaining collar of the invention, the outer label can be peeled off leaving the drip- retaining collar itself remaining in place.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the skirt of the drip-retaining collar of the invention may carry:

(a) a moulded-in (i.e. using in-mould labelling technology) non-peelable label; or

(b) a moulded-in label which may be fully or partially detachable (e.g.

peelable); or

(c) a moulded-in non-peelable inner label and a peelable outer label; or (d) a non-peelable label applied in a separate process to the moulding of the collar; or

(e) inner and outer labels both applied in separate processes to the moulding of the collar.

In another aspect, the invention provides a product comprising a bottle having mounted thereon a drip-retaining collar as defined herein.

A substantial advantage of the drip-retaining collar of the invention is its ease of manufacture and the fact that it can be formed by moulding in a one-step manufacturing process. By contrast, known drip collar designs frequently make use of a number of different materials and therefore are assembled in a series of steps which can often be difficult to automate on an economical basis.

Further aspects and embodiments of the invention will be evident from the following specific description and the claims appended hereto.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a view from above of a drip-retaining collar according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a side view in direction D1 of the drip-retaining collar shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side view in direction D2 of the drip-retaining collar shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a view from below of the drip-retaining collar of Figures 1 to 3. Figure 5 is a side view in direction D3 of the drip-retaining collar shown in Figure 2. Detailed Description of the Invention

The invention will now be illustrated in greater detail, but not limited, by reference to the specific embodiments illustrated in the drawings Figures 1 to 5. The drip-retaining collar 2 of Figures 1 to 5 has a generally flared shape and comprises a portion 4 in the form of a skirt, the lower part of which comprises smaller and larger shirt-tail shaped portions 6 and 8.

Extending around the inner surface of the upper (i.e. narrower) end of the collar 2 is an annular trough 10 which is divided by a plurality of dividing walls 12 into a series of compartments 14. The annular trough 10 is slightly recessed (e.g. by about 2-3 mm) from the upper edge 16 of the collar.

The dividing walls 12 preferably each have a small nick (not shown) which enables liquid from one compartment to flow into adjacent compartments thereby preventing any one compartment from being overloaded. Connected to the trough 10 and extending inwardly therefrom is a flexible annular flange 18, the inner section of which is inclined in an upwards direction. A series of radial discontinuities or slots 20 in the flexible annular flangel 8 divides the flange18 into a series of segments (eight are shown in this embodiment). The slots 20 give the flange greater flexibility and thereby enable it to accommodate different sizes of bottle neck. In use, the radially inner edges 22 of the flange segments press against the neck of the bottle to arrest the flow of drips. They also serve to hold the collar in position and prevent it from sliding up the neck of the bottle.

The collar is formed by moulding in one piece from a suitable plastics material such as polypropylene. The plastics material typically has a degree of resilience which assists the flange segments to grip more tightly against the neck of the bottle.

During the moulding process, a label may be incorporated into the collar using well known in-mould labelling technology. In Figures 2, 3 and 5, the label is depicted schematically as a series of stripes. In practice, however, the moulded-in label would be used to display information about the product or its manufacturer, trademarks and logos and other advertising material.

Following the initial moulding operation, a peelable outer label may be applied to the skirt or a part thereof in a separate step. The peelable outer label may be used to display details relating to sales promotions involving the product to which the collar is applied. After purchase of a product bearing the collar, the outer label can be peeled off to reveal the inner label.

After the moulding operation, and any further label application steps, the collars of the invention may be stacked prior to application to a bottle. The collars can be held together in a stack by means of a tab 24 on the upper surface of the trough of one collar which engages and is held between two pegs 28 on the under-surface of the trough of the adjacent collar in the stack. Engagement of the tab 24 with the pegs 28 is sufficiently firm to hold the stack together whilst still allowing the collar to be removed readily from the stack for application to a bottle. In order to prevent adjacent collars from sticking together through surface adhesion when stacked, spacers 30 are provided on the underside of the collar to create a small air gap between the collars.

Once the collars have been manufactured and any additional labels applied, the collars may be placed on a bottle either manually or, more preferably, by machine. In order to enable the collar to be oriented correctly (e.g. so that the shirt tail shaped sections 6 and 8 are aligned with the labels on the bottle) when applied by machine, an orientation peg 26 is provided on the upper surface of the trough.

In use, the label of Figures 1 to 5 is located about the neck of a bottle, the radially inner edges of the flexible flange segments pressing against the bottle neck. After the bottle has been opened and one or more measures of liquid (e.g. wine) poured out of the bottle, residual liquid in the form of drips may be left on the neck of the bottle. If not removed, the drips will tend to run down the neck and sides of the bottle on to an underlying surface, often marking the surface. In the case of highly coloured liquids such as red wine, the drips will cause staining of the underlying surface.

The drip-retaining collar of the invention prevents this problem from arising. As drips run down the neck, they are arrested by the flexible flange segments and diverted into the compartmentalised trough. The size and number of the compartments is such that the drip liquid is held firmly within the compartments and does not spill out when the bottle is tipped. Tests carried out have established that even when the drip-retaining collar has been filled with liquid and is inverted, the liquid remains in the compartment and does not fall out. Without wishing to be bound by any theory, it is believed that the liquid is retained in the compartments by virtue of surface adhesion between the plastics material and the liquid.

The total volume of the trough is sufficiently large that it can easily accommodate the volume of drip liquid typically encountered. The number and size of the compartments is selected so as to provide optimal drip retention capability. Thus, if the trough is not divided into compartments, the drip-retention capability of the collar is very poor and drip liquid will tend to spill out of the trough when the collar is tipped or inverted. Similarly, if there are too few compartments, such that each compartment has a relatively large volume, the drip retention will be poor. The number of compartments required for good drip retention will depend on a number of factors such as the total volume of the trough, the shapes of the compartments, the nature of the plastics material from which the collar is formed and the type of liquid that the trough is intended to collect. Equipped with the template provided by this patent application, the skilled person will readily be able to identify suitable compartment configurations that give good drip retention. By way of example, the inventors have found that, for the drip collar shown in the drawings, at least 30 compartments are desirable for good drip retention, whilst collars with 36 or more compartments (for example 38 or more) have excellent drip retention properties. Thus, the drip-retaining collar of the invention performs both a technical function, in that it provides an efficient means of collecting and retaining drips left after pouring from a bottle, and an advertising function in that it increases the space available on a bottle for presenting advertising or marketing information.

The drip-retaining collar of the invention is of simple construction and lends itself readily to mass production, an important requirement if a product is to be commercially viable.

Equivalents It will readily be apparent that numerous modifications and alterations may be made to the specific embodiments of the invention described above without departing from the principles underlying the invention. All such modifications and alterations are intended to be embraced by this application.