3 the tendeney for cor-1pression and expansion, resulting in an el.Tective seal a@t any pressure. It is to be noted naw that the reinforcing rib 32 resists the teridency of the end wall 17 to become unduly distended into the hollow body portion of the stopper 14, in whicli case the tendency wou-Id be to pull the stopper wall inw-ard out of c@ontact with the surface 1;1 of the bottle neck 10. The stopper l@4 and cover 1.8 are made separately and assembled -into a self-contain,-d unit as heretofore stated, and in such condition the unit is adapted to be ins.-rted into the open mouth 12 with the flan,@e 16 pressed firmly against the bead 1,3, after which the iskirt 20 of the cover IS is crimped tightly undemeath the bead 113, all of the usual mann,@r. It will be observed that the insertion of the unit is facilitated by the formation of the inner end of the stopper with a sligbt taper as at 35. To remove the closure, the ciimped cover l@8 is pried free by a suitable tool and in the usual manner, and when freed the entire unit is manually remo-ved substantially as a corl-, would be removed. In the event that for !some reason th,- cover 18 should become separatod from the stoprer 14, the serrations 26 provide for a more convenient iinger hold than would be available if the flange 16 Nvere formed with a smooth, cont-inuous edge. When a container has been opened and a part only of the contents used, it is a charaetctistic iof the novel closure disclosed herein that it may be reinser-ted into the mouth 12 to effect a good seal. Obviously, unless the cover 18 is recrimped around the bead 13, a closure as good as the ori@.-inal will n@ot be obtained, i.e., the closure will not withstand as great a pressure as before. Ilowever, undet such amount,of pressure as it will withstand without being forced out of the neck 10, it will compress and expand to forni an effective seal; and because of its ability to compress and expand it wiR form a more effective seal than a closure which does not possess those characteristics. As stated heretofore, the closure accord-ing to the present invention is not lim-ited to !one adapted to fit a slim necked bottle but is adaptable to other forms of open mouth containers. Moreover, it is not limited to such products as carbona@ted soft drinks or any particular fermented product. The stopper 14 may be molded of any suitable plastic material which is chemically inert in the presence of products to be contained, is not deleterious the,reto, and @is physically stable for substantially a lirnitless time. Hence, it is usable where other materials such as@,a rlibber compound would not be sat-isfactory or permissible, and it is far superior to a stopper made of cork both in the effectiveness of its use and its durability. Furtherinore, it does not rely solely on its inherent elasticity and Lspecial shape (such as a cork for the &o-called sparkling wines) for its effeetiveness but, instoad, i-t utilizes the characteristics of the contained product for 'Lhat purpose. Having thus described my invention, what I claim is. 1. In or for a container having a cylindrical wall and an open mouth and a bead extending radially outward from and oircumferentially of the wall defining the mquth 3)109,549 4 the combination of a cup-siiaped cover made of substantially rigid material and - .formed with a plain top spannin.- said mo-uth and a citimped skirt adapted to have a detachable fit with said bead to hold the cover securely over said mouth, the crimps forming a ledge extend-ing around the inner surface of the skirt, @and a stopper adapted to flt snugly and for a substantial distance within said m,outh, said sto,pper comprising a flange portion and a hollow body portion extending axially therefrom and 10 closed at the unflanged end, the :stopper being assoriated with the cover and the flange having a diameter whereby it overi@ies the said ledge formed by the crimps and thereby interlocks witli the cover, and the body portion being forined to compress axiailly and expand radially when 15 pressure is applied to its closed end. 2. A closure device accord@ing to claim 1, vherein the outer wall of the hollow body portionis smooth and a plurality of eircumferentially extending reinforcing ribs are formed on the inner wall in spaced relation to one 20 another and to the closed inner end to concentrate the expansion action of the body portion in, the areas thereof between its inner end and the adjacent rib and between the ribs. 3. A combi-,iation according to claim 1, wherein the 25 periphery of said flan-ge is formed with serrations to adapt it for a close fit within the crimped skirt of said cover. 4. A closure device comprising a self-contained unit including, in combination, a bottle stopper and mechanical 30 crown fastening cap, said cap ineluding a depending metal crimped skirt adapted to circuniscribe and mechanically engage in positive attachment the mouth of a bottle, the criwps of sai@d skir-t formin.- a led.-e extending around the inner surface of isaid skirt, and the stopper being 35 in the form of a hollow, flexible plastic plu.- of substaritial length flanged at @end and c sed at e o r end, the flanged end being serrated for interlocking engagement with the crimps within the fastening cap, and the flexible plug being formed to have a normally snug 40 fit within the neck of a bottle, the plug being radially expansible by pressure from within the bottle. 5. A combination as i-@i claim 4, wberein the flexible plug is formed with a reinforcing rib on the inner sur- face of its side wall,spaced apart ftom the end wall, where45 by the reaction to pres-stire on the outer surface of the end wall is concentrated in the area intermediate the end wall and the circum-ferential rib and causes the. plug to expand in that area. 50 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,742,172 Biederman ------------- Apr. 17, 1956 2 746,632 Bramming ------------- May 22 1956 55 FOREIGN PATENTS 507,500 1-taly ------------------ Dec. 30, 1954 1,138,982 France ---------------- - Feb. 4, 1957

0 3i,109y549 United States Patent Office Patented Nov. 5, 1963 2 fc,rm or c,.iiboditaient except insofar as such limitations n-tay be set forth i@l the appended clai@ps. i,' , eferring to the drawings: FIG. I is a vertical section, explode c', and partly brolen awa3t, s'@.owing the elemer@ts comprising the present invellf@ol; FI'G. 2 is a view ;similar to FIG. 11 showing the parts in c e cond ioi; and FIG. 3 is a perspect ive view of th-- hohow, molded 10 plastic stopper. The sho wiig .n FIG. I includ es the neck 10@ of a bottle or con,@ ,ir@er which prese nts a smoot h cylind rical interio r surfac e 11, a mou-th 1'-' - ,ind a bead .13 exten d@-,i.- radiall y from ar@cl circum fereilti ally aroun d the mouth 12. A stop15 per l@L, wlii,-h is adapted to fit siiiigiy wifhin the neck 10 of tho bottle is a uniiary structur e formed of molded pla-.tic material (sonieti m,-s cE.- Iled elastome ric) cal,,able of distensio n under pressur e. The stopper 14 is hollow, bein.- formed wi',h a cylindric al wall 15, a flange 16 at 20 one end and closed by a @will 17 at i"s opposite or inner er@d. A cowmon form of mccliani cally attachabl e or c-@.-iiiipskirted metal cover or cap l@3 is shown, k@vhich comprises a plain top surface 19, and a s'l-irt 20, crimp@d, as at 21, at spaced intervals and th,-reby presenliqg iiiter,orly 25 ia serie-. of protube rances 22 which fovm a ledge 23 (interri @.pted) extendii g around - the in@i@-r su.-fac-, of the cover. The ledg@- Z3@ is incident al to Lhe ustial form of crimpski rted cap or cover, but it is taken advanta ge of by the piesent inventio n, as will be pointed out hereinaf ter. 30 As already slated, thf,, present inventio n contemp lates a selfcontaine d, unitary cover and stooper closui-c device. To this end, the stopper 14 is formed to be snap@fit ted i-ito interloel ,@'@ng engage nient w@'.th the cover 13. Being flexible, the flange @16 will bend under pressur e to by35 pass @'Lhe prctuber ances 22 and overlie the led,,c. 23 formed thereby. In order to provide a close tolera@ice fit, and to inlerloo k between Tibs 24, 'Lie edge of the flan,- e 16 is formed serrat'@or@s 1-6, whereb y when ttic flange 16 is snapped i.,ito place the periphe ry thereof fits in clos-. 40 r-.Iatioll to t'iie inner wall of the cover 13 and the serratio ns 26 catise it to settle into a position wlilereb y it is re.L@- ,iined a,@ai,- ist riiovem ent relative to the cover 18. Tlatis, the closti:rc device compris es in an asseinbl ed unit@iry sttucture a mechani ca'Ay fastenab i'e cap with a stop45 per-type sp@al. rne stoppe r 14 is made (yf molde d plastic materi al and exec @t)t for the flan..,, @e 16 is hollow and thimbl e shape d. -ihe flange 16 and the side wall 15 and inner end wall 17 are substa ntial e@io@ ugh to hold their shapes , yet thin 50 enoug h to be quite flexibl e and sli.ahtl y disten dab@l e. The periph ery of this flan_R -- 16 is i'Orme d with serrati o@nf 26, as stated, and its diamet er -is held to a length of close tolera nce to fit snugly -,vithin the cover 18 above the ledge 23, the serrati ons 2,6 projec ting betwe en the nbs 24 de55 fined by the crimps 21. Th-- - otiter surfac e 2,7 of the stoppe r 14,is smodt h, wlaere as its inner surfac e 2@8 is forme d with tbicke ned areas to provid e a pair olf space d apart re" @n@, forein g ribs 2.9 and 30 exten ding contin uously aroun d the surfac e 28. A thlicke ned ringlike area c,- ntered on 60 the outer surfac e 31 of the inner end wall 17 forms a rehirorciig rib 32 for that wall. Thus, when the stopper 14 is in tise and gas pressure within the bottle is exerted agairist the inrer e@-id wall @17, the iforce is traiismitted upwardly t,o the side wall 15. Since the @stopper,1 4 is held 65 film'IY afulain st niover @ient @o@ ut of the bottID neck 10' the reactio n to stich force is an axial conipr ession and radial expan sion o!f the wall 15 against the inner surfac e 11 of the bottle neck 10, and becau se of the reinfo rcing iibs 29 and 30@ tlii@s reactio n is conce ntrate d, or manife sts it70 self most prono uncedl y in - the area-s 33 and 34 betwe en the ribs. Obv@iousl y, the greater the pressure @the greater 3,109,549 FLANGED PLASTIC CORK Earl L. Con!ilin, 328 Cross St., Fort Lee, N.J., assignor of one-half to Century Brewery Corporation, Nevi York, N.Y., a coiporation of New York Filed Ju,-ie 15, 1960, Ser. No. 36,254 5 Claims. 215-47) T'nis irivention relates to container closures, -and more part;cularly to a flanged plastic cork or stopper type Of cloallre device for bottled carbonated or fermented bevera-.es and o@,her products wherein the product is stored under pressure fro@n the tme it is bottled until the bottle is opened preparatory to coiisumption of the product; and wh6rein such pressure may vary from time to time according to -atmospheric conditions, length of storage tiw_e, and @the @l gitation caused by handling andti4ansportation. The primary object of the present invention is tG provide a novel clost,.re device which combines the desirable characteristics of a mechanically fas,ened cap closure along with ,hose of an ordinary stopper or plug type closure, and at the same time provide a more effective seal th,,i-@i that which could be obbained by the use of either the cap or plu.- type seal alore, or by t'iieir use to,@ether. Another object of the invention is to provide a closure device of the character stated that combines the cap and stopp-.r features in a self-contained unit which is sirnply constructed and econ6mical - to manui'acture. It is a LeaLLire of tie invention that the closure device is designed to u,ilize the gas pressure within the container to pronide an effective seal, and its nov-,Ity stems, at least in part, from the fact that it is so,designed that the ef,@-cetive-@iess of its seal is main-'Laired at -all times regardless of variatior@s in th@- amo,,int of pressure within the container. Another fealure of the invention is that the closure dei,ice is adapted for effective re-use after the container has been open.-d and a part only of its contents wilhdrawn, it being des-irable to retain the unused contents in good co.ndition for future use. Other obiects and features of the invention Nvill appear from the detailed descriptioll v,,Iiich follov@s, and it is pointed out that while the preferred embodiment of the invel-tion is shown and described as a closure for a slimP.ecked bottle, it is Pot limited in its api3lication to that ,oarticu,lar type ol' con@ainer. ,,ri @.ts broad aspects, the present invention contemplates a closure d.-vice for a contaiier having a cylindrical wall and an open mouth i-Orfr@ed to receive and hold @a cover in secure attachment thereto, th-- closure device comprising a hollow stopper l'Ormed with a flan-,C portion adapted to seat on the free edge of the container mo@dth and -a body portion aotapted to fit snti,-Iy vi-'@th:@.q the container wall and being closed at its inner end, the stopper bein.compi-essible axially a,@id expi@- @sible radially when pressure is applied to the outer @ surface of its closed inr,.er end. More specifically, tlle cover and stopper are combined in a selfcontaiiied upit, havin.- a stopper portion and a mechanical crimpfastening cap portion, adapted for unitary applicat:lon to and removal from the coiitainer; and the stopper portioii is forrred for controlled axial compressioii an@d radial expansion in r-,spoi-tse to pressUTe within the container. In the accompanying drawings, the invention -has been shown merely by way of examlile a-@id in preferred form, and obviously many variations ,ind mod-ifications thereof, ,and in its mode of application, may be made without d,-partin,- fror,-i its spirit. it is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any particular