The present invention relates to hygienic caps for beverage bottles. Background

Drinking beverages directly from bottles is often more convenient than pouring the drink into a glass. This manner of consumption is particularly popular for drinking beer at pubs and clubs, barbeques etc. However, there are important health implications with drinking in such a fashion. The outer surfaces of bottles are often not very clean due to the storage of bottles in warehouses, pub cellars etc. In these conditions, bacterial and fungal growth may occur on the glass. In cellars and warehouses, rats and mice run across stored items, often urinating on them, resulting in the spread of disease.

Washing all bottles thoroughly may be inconvenient for bars or organisers of outdoor events for example. It would be advantageous to have some sort of protective cover for the bottles which would protect drinkers. The sight of a protective cover freshly applied to an opened bottle would be a reassurance to customers and would protect vendors form liability against negligence claims against them. In addition to protection against the spread of infection, it would be a guard against cutting lips on chips in glass bottles for example.

Such a protective guard is disclosed in WO01/05669. Here, a protective sleeve is disclosed which comprises an outer and an inner mantle of soft resilient material, such that it may be pushed down onto the neck of a bottle to secure it in place. It is envisaged that each protective sleeve should be packaged in a sealed bag before use to ensure its cleanliness. Such a device undoubtedly ensures a hygienic contact surface for lips whilst drinking, but suffers a significant disadvantage, in that such device must be individually supplied. This may prove expensive and inconvenient for owners or bars, organisers of major events, or even householders hosting a large barbeque. The present invention seeks to overcome these and other problems.

Summary of invention According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a protective bottle neck cover, comprising: an outer mantle for at least partially surrounding a neck of a bottle, the mantle having a first open end and a second open end; an annular lip attached to the outer mantle at the first open end; such that the bottle neck cover may be fitted to a bottle by inserting the neck of a the bottle through the second open end until an open end of the bottle neck is in contact with the annular lip; and once fitted, the outer mantle covers an outer surface of the bottle neck and an inner surface of the bottle neck is exposed.

Preferably the outer mantle is substantially frusto-conical.

Preferably the outer mantle is substantially cylindrical.

Preferably the lip is annular; Optionally the lip is an annular segment;

Preferably the bottle neck cover further comprises a seal located on an inside of the outer mantle. According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a stacking tool for stacking and fitting bottle caps according to any preceding claim comprising; a storage structure for containing a plurality of bottle caps; a bottle neck insertion aperture for receiving a bottle neck; and a releasable retaining structure for retaining the bottle caps within the storage structure. Preferably releasable retaining structure comprises a plurality of protrusion extending from an inner surface of the storage structure.

Preferably the plurality of protrusions are flexible.

Optionally the plurality of protrusions are frangibly detachable from the inner surface of the storage structure.

Optionally the retaining means comprises at least two opposing grips depending from an end of the storage structure proximal the bottle neck insertion aperture.

Brief description of the Figures

The above and other aspects of the invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the invention of Figure 1 when place on a bottle neck;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a prior art device

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a stack of bottle caps according to the embodiment of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a top view of a second embodiment of the invention;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of Figure 5; Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of a plurality of stacked bottle caps according to the embodiment of Figures 5 and 6;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the embodiment of Figures 5 - 7.

Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of a bottle cap according to the embodiment of Figures 5 - 8 located on a bottle neck;

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the invention;

Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the invention of Figure 10 when place on a bottle neck;

Figure 12 is side view of a stacking tool according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of stacked bottle caps according to the invention;

Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view of a mechanism for bottle cap fitting according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 15 is a cross-sectional view of a mechanism for bottle cap fitting according to another embodiment of the invention;

Figure 16 is a perspective view of a bottle cap according to another embodiment of the invention.

Figure 17 is a top view of a fitting action for the embodiment of Figure 16;

Figure 18 is a side view of a fitting action for the embodiment of Figure 16; Figure 19 is a top view of a bottle cap according to the embodiment of Figure 16 fitted onto a bottle;

Figure 20 is a side view of a bottle cap according to the embodiment of Figure 16 fitted onto a bottle;

Detailed description

In its broadest aspect, the present invention provides a simple hygienic cover for a bottle neck, which protects the drinker from dirt germs and any chips in the glass of the bottle. For the convenience of bar tenders, event organisers etc, the covers are shaped to allow them to be stacked. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the simplest embodiment of the invention. The bottle neck cover 100 has an outer mantle 101, with a narrower first end 102 and a wider second end 103, and an annular lip 104, which surrounds aperture 105 provided to allow flow of liquid through the bottle neck. Figure 2 shows a cover placed over bottle 201, such that the annular lip located rests upon the open end of the bottle neck 202. An optional seal 203 may be provided inside bottle cap 100. In a preferred embodiment, the outer mantle is substantially frustoconical, which, combined with the absence of any part of the cover which, in normal use is inside the neck of the bottle, allows this easy stackability. This represents a significant improvement on the prior art, illustrated in Figure 3, in which the outer mantle 301 is substantially cylindrical and there is an inner mantle 302, which, in use, is inserted into the bottle neck. The cylindrical shape and the inner mantle seriously impede the stacking of the covers. It has been realised that the inner mantle is unnecessary, as the inner surface of the bottle is not exposed to dirt and germs. The "clip-on" action provided by the inner mantle is also superfluous as the cover will be held onto the bottle either by the annular lip acting under gravity against the bottle neck, the pressure of a person's lips against the bottle during drinking, or, as will be seen below in an alternative embodiment of the invention, by shaping the outer mantle to fit ridges in the necks of typical bottle necks.

The absence of an inner mantle and the frustoconical shape allow the covers to be easily stacked, as shown in Figure 4, which is a cross-sectional view of multiple covers 100 piled on top of each other. This stackability has a number of advantages. First and most obviously, it reduces storage space. Secondly, it reduces the amount of packaging required to maintain the cleanliness of the covers during storage and sale. Finally, it enables the covers to be fitted by a tool designed to dispense such covers in a simple and cost effective manner.

In addition to the hygiene issues described above, another problem with drinking from bottles is that insects such as bees or wasps may enter the bottle neck unnoticed by the drinker. Allergies to insect stings afflict a significant minority of the population, and if an individual with such an allergy is stung this can result in extremely serious medical consequences. Figure 5 is a top view of an embodiment of the invention aimed at overcoming this problem. There is provided gauze 501 located in aperture 105 and supported by inner mantle 502, such that gauze 501 covers aperture 105 and prevents insects and other similarly sized solid objects passing through aperture 105 whilst allowing liquid to pass through.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of Figure 5 along line A - A. In a preferred embodiment, an inner mantle 502 is provided to support gauze 501. To allow easy stackability, in a preferred embodiment, inner mantle 501 and outer mantle 101 diverge in direction 503 from first end 102 to second end 103, resulting in gap 504 at second end 103 between inner mantle 501 and outer mantle 101 being wider than annular lip 104. Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view along the line A-A of a plurality of stacked bottle caps according to the embodiment of Figures 5 and 6. Figure 8 is a perspective view of this embodiment and Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of a bottle cap according to the embodiment of Figures 5 - 8 located on bottle neck 202. In an alternative embodiment, gauze 501 is substantially flush with annular lip 104, dispensing with the need for inner mantle 502. The person skilled in the art will appreciate that there are many different ways to position and secure gauze within the device and the invention is not limited to any one way of doing so.

In addition, any portion of the bottle cap may be made from a material which changes a property when it has been in contact with certain chemicals. For example, a portion of the bottle cap may be made from a material which changes colour when it has been in contact with Rohypnol, or some other substance. Thus when the contents of a bottle is in contact with such a bottle cap it will indicate to a user that the contents have been tampered with.

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of yet another embodiment of the invention, showing an additional annular receiving groove 1001 surrounding outer mantle 103. This groove is sized to receive a rim of the type typically surrounding the neck of a bottle, onto which a bottle top is fixed. Figure 11 illustrates how receiving groove 1001 fits over bottle rim 1101 to enable bottle cap 100 to clip onto bottle neck 202. Different sizes of bottle cap may be produced for different bottle sizes and in yet another embodiment, a second receiving groove may be provided for bottles with a second rim.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a stacking tool to enable the convenient storage of multiple bottle caps according to the invention and easy fitting of the bottle caps to bottle necks. Figure 12 is side view of stacking tool 1200 according to an embodiment of the invention. Stacking tool 1200 comprises a substantially cylindrical main section 1201, with bottle insertion aperture 1202 through which bottle neck 202 may be inserted. In b an embodiment, bottle opener 1203 is provided at an end 1204 distal aperture 1003. Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view along the line B-B, showing stacked bottle caps 100 according to the invention. Figure 14 is a cross-section view along the line B-B illustrating a mechanism for bottle cap fitting according to an embodiment of the invention. A plurality of flexible protrusions 1401 are provided around inner surface 1402 of cylindrical main section 1201. Flexible protrusions 1401 hold bottle caps 100 in place within main section 1201. Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of how the mechanism of Figure 12 allows the fitting of bottle cap 100 to bottle neck 202. Bottle neck 202 is inserted into aperture 1203. In an embodiment, bottle neck 202 is urged into bottle cap 100 such that bottle neck rim 1 101 slots into bottle rim receiving groove 1001. The bottle is then pulled out of stacking tool 1200. The grip between bottle neck rim 1 101 and receiving groove 1001 is sufficiently strong to ensure that flexible protrusions 1401 bend to allow release of a single bottle cap from the stack. In another embodiment, frangibly detachable protrusions are used instead of flexible protrusions 1401. In this embodiment, the frangible detachable protrusions are broken off when bottle neck 202 is removed from stacking tool 1200. The embodiment of Figures 12 - 14 is only suitable for a bottle cap according to the embodiment of Figure 1. Figure 15 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment, suitable for the embodiment of bottle cap 100 illustrated in Figure 1. There are provided opposing flexible grips 1501 which depend from stacking tool 1200 at an end proximal bottle insertion aperture 1202. To release a bottle cap, bottle neck 202 is urged into bottle cap 100. Bottle cap is then held against bottle neck 202 by applying pressure with fingers. Bottle neck 202 is then removed from stacking tool 1200 and bottle cap is pulled away with it. In an alternative embodiment, a clip mechanism may be provided to hold bottle cap to bottle during this removal process. The person skilled in the art will appreciate that the solid cylindrical section of Figures 12 - 15 may be replaced with other suitable structures for the storage of bottle caps. In an alternative embodiment, for example, a rigid wire frame structure may be used to contain bottle caps 100. In yet another embodiment, main section 1201 of stacking tool 1200 may be cuboid rather than cylindrical. The invention is not limited to any one containment arrangement. In use, bottle caps are fitted into a stacking tool, which may be free standing, fixed to a bar or similar fixture or part of a vending machine. A small free standing stacking tool can be sold to individuals who wish to protect themselves against infection from dirty bottles sold in bars and clubs. Stacking tools in vending machines can be located in bars and clubs for the same purpose and fixed or free standing devices may be provided for bar staff in clubs wishing to protect the health of their clientele and at the same time ensure that any legal liability is met.

Figure 16 is a perspective view of a bottle cap according to yet another embodiment of the invention. There is provided a mantle 1601 shaped as an annular segment. An additional connecting strut 1602 may be provided in an embodiment. The annular segment shape enables the bottle cap to be slid onto a bottle neck from the side of the bottle. A top view of the fitting action is illustrated in Figure 17 and a side view on Figure 18. Figure 19 is a top view of an annular segment bottle cap fitted onto a bottle and Figure 20 is a side view of the same.

The invention is not limited to the details of the embodiments described above. For example, while the bottle cap may change colour when in contact with certain chemicals a different property of the bottle top may change to alert the user that the contents of the bottle have been tampered with. Any portion of the bottle cap may be made from a material to change property, for example the gauze, or the sides, or some other portion. The bottle cap material may be made from a material which changes properties on contact with a variety of different chemicals, thereby protecting the user..