CA2130523A1

CA2130523A1 - Bottle cap opener

Info

Publication number: CA2130523A1
Application number: CA002130523A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Paul Duguay
Original assignee: SEQUIN NICOLE
Current assignee: SEQUIN NICOLE
Priority date: 1994-08-19
Filing date: 1994-08-19
Publication date: 1996-02-20

Abstract

A bottle cap opener for bottle caps which are removable by rotation and have a depending, side wall with n circumferentially evenly distributed ridges and intermediate valleys, includes a rigid support member for supporting x upstanding teeth which are affixed to the support and equidistantly distributed in a circle about the center thereof.
The integer x is larger than 2, smaller than n and wholly divisible into n, and is preferably 3. Each one of the teeth has a radially inwardly protruding sharp edge which is adapted to engage one of the valleys of the cap to provide leverage for rotating the bottle cap by rotation of the support. The opener is of simplified construction, fits reliably on twist-off or screw-off bottle caps and permits removal of the caps without slipping or the need for excessive force.

Description

BOTTLE CAP OPENER

The invention relates to bottle openers and, more particular, to openers for twist-off and screw-off type bottle caps.
Crimped-on bottle caps, also called crown caps, have been known and used for a long time as have church key type bottle openers used to lift them off. More recently, 5 twist-off bottle caps have found widespread use by the beer and soft drink industry. Three general types of twist-off or screw-off bottle caps for beverage bottles are known. Twist-off beer bottle caps have been developed from the crimped on crown caps with 21 serrations or teeth along their depending side wall. However, in contrast to the crown caps, the twist-off beer caps further have a plurality of angled ridges which extend along 10 their side wall in circumferential direction and engage the thread on the neck of the beer bottle to hold the cap in place. The second type, a screw-off cap, is used for regular size glass soft drink bottles and is made of metal. These caps are provided with a ring of 42 equally spaced rectangular protrusions or teeth along the upper edge of the side wall of the cap. Finally, two litre size soft drink bottles, which are generally made of plastic, are 15 closed with plastic screw-off caps that have a cylindrical side wall bearing 144 equally spaced fine teeth for better gripping and, thus, easier manual removal of the cap. All three types of caps are designed to be removed by hand without special tools. However, in order to adequately seal the respective bottle, twist-off and screw-off caps must be sufficiently tightened, which makes removal more difficult. Furthermore, the serrations of 20 the beer bottle twist-off caps dig into the skin of the person opening the bottle, which is painful and can lead to injury. The metal and plastic soft drink screw-off bottle caps are usually provided with a tamper evident safety ring which locks the cap onto the neck of the bottle. The perforated connection between the cap and the safety ring must be broken 213052~

before removal of the cap, which requires substantial torque. Also, the ends of the broken perforated connection left on the bottle cap and the safety ring are rather pointy and sharp and often lead to injury, especially when the cap is made of metal. Thus, a bottle opener design is desired which would facilitate the opening of twist-off bottle caps and prevent 5 injury. A bottle opener is also desired which would allow the opening of all types of t~,vist-off and screw-off beverage bottle caps.
One bottle cap opener is described by Hughes in C~n~ n Patent 1,260,207.
Hughes discloses an opener having back-to-back sockets respectively sized to receive a twist-off beer cap or a screw-off plastic bottle cap. The sockets are provided with a 10 plurality of serrations. It is a disadvantage of this bottle cap opener that, despite of the serrations, the opener often slips on the bottle cap, since the serrations of the socket and the teeth on the bottle cap are not complementary in shape and number and the serrations are too large to lock with the teeth on the cap. Furthermore, as mentioned in the patent itself, bottle caps get jammed in the socket and must be forcibly removed. Although this 15 opener is made for plastic screw-off and metal twist-off caps, it cannot be used for all three types of twist-off and screw-off bottle caps cullclllly in use, since every type of cap has its own diameter. It is also expensive to manufacture due to the plurality of sockets and serrations.
Another beer bottle twist-off cap opener is known which has a socket exactly 20 complementary in shape to a twist-off beer bottle cap. However, this type of opener also is prone to slipping and must be firmly pressed against the bottle cap during opening which is lm~tisf~ctory, may be hard to do for elderly persons and often jams the cap in the socket. The problem of the opener slipping is due to the circumferential ridges which extend around the depending side wall of a twist-off beer bottle cap for engagement with 2130~23 -the threaded portion of the bottle neck. The circumferential ridges are located at different heights along the side wall and interfere with the cap's fit into the complementary socket of the opener. It is a further disadvantage that the complicated shape of the socket increases manufacturing costs.
It is now an object of the invention to provide a bottle opener of simplified construction which will reliably fit on a twist-off or screw-off bottle cap to permit removal of the cap without slipping or the need of excessive force.
It is another object of the invention to provide a universal bottle cap opener which can be used for any type of beverage bottle cap which is removable by a rotating motion.
Accordingly, the invention provides a bottle cap opener for a bottle cap which is removable by rotation and has a top surface and a depending, annular side wall with n circumferentially evenly distributed ridges and intermediate valleys, which opener includes a rigid support member for supporting a plurality of teeth and having a top surface and a bottom surface; and x up~t~n(ling teeth affixed to the top surface of the support. The top surface of the support has a center and the upstanding teeth are equally distributed in a circle about the center, wherein the number x of upstanding teeth is an integer larger than 2 and smaller than n and wholly divisible into n. Each one of the teeth has a radially inwardly protruding sharp edge which is adapted to engage one of the valleys of the cap to provide leverage for rotating the bottle cap by rotation of the support.
In order to achieve a maximum fit of the opener on the bottle cap, the number ofteeth is preferably no larger than 3.
In a preferred embodiment, the bottle cap opener of the invention is universallyuseable with any twist-off or screw-off beverage bottle cap and each sharp edge has interconnected first and second portions. The first portions are adjacent the top surface of 21~0~23 the support, extend parallel to each other and are spaced from the center of the support at a first distance larger than a radius of a beer bottle twist-off cap at the valleys and smaller than the radius of the beer bottle cap at the ridges. The second portions diverge from each other and from the center of the support and together define a frustoconical surface, a 5 central axis of which extends through the center of the support.
This construction ensures that the bottle opener will fit onto any bottle cap having ridges and intermediate valleys, since the number of teeth on the cap is adjusted so that each edge of each tooth will always engage a valley on the cap, thereby preventing slipping of the opener on the cap. Tests with openers wherein the number of teeth 10 corresponds to the number of ridges on the cap to be opened have shown that they do not always fit onto the cap or slip on the cap, due to manufacturing tolerances. It has been discovered that the opener will reliably fit without slipping if the number of teeth is less than the number of ridges on the cap, is wholly divisible into the number of ridges, and is at least 3. Generally, the smaller the number of teeth, the better the fit. Finally, since the 15 numbers of ridges on ~ lllly used twist-off and screw-off caps varies widely (21, 42 or 144) the most preferred number of teeth for a universally useable opener is exactly 3. If more teeth are used, the risk of the opener slipping on the caps with a larger number of teeth increases.
The invention will now be further described in the following by way of example 20 only and with reference to the attached drawings, wherein Figure 1 is an isometric view of a bottle opener in accordance with the invention;
Figure 2 is a cross section taken along line 2-2 through the embodiment shown in Figure 1;

21~0~23 Figure 3 is a preferred embodiment of a decorative cover and bottle opener combination; and Figure 4 illustrates another preferred combination of a bottle opener as shown in Figure 1 with a decorative cover.
In a preferred embodiment, a bottle cap opener 10 in accordance with the invention as shown in Figures 1 and 2 includes a rigid, flat support member 12 which has a three-branch configuration, a top surface 11 and a bottom surface 13. Three upstanding teeth 14 are respectively positioned at an end of one of the three branches. The teeth are all positioned at the same distance from each other and together define a circle about the center 16. Each tooth includes a radially inwardly directed sharp edge 18 adapted to engage the serrations of a bottle cap which is removable by rotation and includes a top surface and a depending, annular side wall with a plurality of ridges and intermediate valleys (not illustrated). In particular, each sharp edge is adapted to engage one of the valleys on the cap so that torque applied to the support by the user can be transmitted to the cap for rotation and removal thereof. The teeth 14 can be solid, but are preferably tubular as shown in Figure 2 for added rigidity and reduced material cost. Each edge 18 includes interconnected first and second portions 20 and 22. In this embodiment, the first portions 20 extend parallel to each other and are perpendicular to the top surface 11 of the support 12, whereas the second portions 22 are diverging from each other and from the center 16 of the support in a generally radial direction. The second portions 22 are convex, start at the first portion 20, and terminate at a top end 24 of the respectively associated tooth 14. The support 12, the teeth 14 and the edges 18 are all integrally molded of a hard, polymeric material to prevent breaking and reduce wear, especially of the edges. The preferred material is high density polyethylene. The first portions 20 of ~- 213~523 the edges 18 are adapted to respectively engage a valley of a twist-off beer bottle cap (not shown) and are positioned at a radial distance A from the center 16 of the support 12 which is larger than a radius of the beer bottle cap at the valleys and smaller than the radius of the beer bottle cap at the ridges. In this embodiment, the radial distance is 17/32 5 inch, or about 0.5 inch. The second portions 22 extend outwardly far enough so that they can engage the fine serrations on the outside of a plastic soft drink bottle cap. In this embodiment, the second portions 22 extend at least to a distance B from the center 16 measured parallel to the top surface 11 of the support 12, which distance B is larger than a radius of a plastic soft drink bottle cap at the valleys and smaller than a radius of that cap 10 at the ridges. In the preferred embodiment shown, distance B is 5/8 inch. The length C
of the first portions 20 is preferably equal to the height of a twist-off beer bottle cap, in order to ensure that the sharp edges extend to the bottom edge of the cap where the serrations are highest to best lock the opener on the cap. The overall height of the teeth 14 is selected so that even short necked beer bottles can be opened without the top end 24 15 abutting the enlarged body portion of the bottle, which would impede full insertion of the bottle cap between the teeth 14.
As shown in Figures 1 and 2, each tooth 14 is provided with a magnet 26 mounted in a recess 28 in the top end 24 of the tooth. This allows the opener 10 to be stored for easy access on any magnetizable surface and, especially, on the front surface of a 20 refrigerator. Other means than the magnets 26 can be provided for temporary attachment of the opener to a supporting surface, for example adhesive tape, suction cups, etc. The attachment means can be affixed to the teeth 14 or the support 17.
Turning now to Figures 3 and 4, a decorative, cup-shaped cover 30 is fitted over the opener 10. The decorative cover 30 can have any desired outer shape and size, as long -- 21~0523 as it fits around the opener 10 and can be comfortably held by a user. The holder 10 and decorative cover 30 are preferably connected by way of an interference or press fit, but can be affixed to each other by adhesive or any other means which will provide for a reliable connection between the two parts. The depth of the cup shaped recess 32 in the cover 30 should not exceed the combined height of the support 12 and the teeth 14 in order to allow attachment of the cover and opener combination to a magnetizable surface by way of the magnets 26. The cover can also include magnetic material or be magnetic itself. Other attachment means as discussed above can also be affixed to the cover 30.
When the first portions 20 of the edges 18 are positioned at exactly 17/32 inch from the center of the support 12, the opener 10 has the added advantage that beer bottle caps are easily removed from between the teeth 14 by simply .~h~king or lightly tapping the support 12. Although the above described embodiment is the preferred one due to its universality, openers which fit only one type of twist-off or screw-off bottle caps are also within the scope of this invention.
Although the use of separate support and cover components is preferred for addeddesign flexibility, the support can be shaped and sized the same as the decorative cover, so that the opener 10 is of a unitary construction and the teeth are integral with the body of the opener. In other words, the three branched support member 12 can be omitted, so that the body of the opener functions as a support member for the teeth 14.
Although the preferred material for the teeth 14 and optionally for the whole opener 10 is high density polyethylene, other hard plastics materials which will withstand the forces encountered during removal of rotatable bottle caps without permanentdeformation or chipping can also be used, for example bakelite.

Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope of the invention which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A bottle cap opener for a bottle cap which is removable by rotation and has a top surface and a depending, annular side wall with n circumferentially evenly distributed ridges and intermediate valleys, comprising a rigid support member for supporting a plurality of teeth and having a top surface and a bottom surface, the top surface having a center; and x upstanding teeth affixed to the top surface of the support and equidistantly distributed in a circle about the center thereof, x being an integer larger than 2, smaller than n and wholly divisible into n, each one of the teeth having a radially inwardly protruding sharp edge adapted to engage one of the valleys of the cap to provide leverage for rotating the bottle cap by rotation of the support.

2. A bottle cap opener as defined in claim 1, wherein x is no larger than 3.

3. A bottle cap opener as defined in claim 2, wherein each one of the edges has a length which equals a height of the bottle cap side wall.

4. A bottle cap opener as defined in claim 1, wherein x is no larger than 3, and the sharp edges extend parallel to each other, have a minimum length equal to a height of the bottle cap, and are each spaced from the center of the support at a selected distance larger than a first radius of the cap at the valleys and smaller than a second radius of the cap at the ridges.

5. A bottle cap opener as defined in claim 4, wherein the selected distance is about 17/32 inch.

6. A bottle cap opener as defined in claim 1, wherein the sharp edges diverge from each other and the center of the support and together define a frustoconical surface, a central axis of which extends through the center of the support.

7. A bottle cap opener as defined in claim 6, wherein x is no larger than 3 and each of the sharp edges extends to a minimum distance of about 5/8 inch from a central axis of the frustoconical surface.

8. A bottle cap opener as defined in claim 1 universally useable with different bottle caps, wherein x is no larger than 3, and each edge has interconnected first and second portions, the first portions being adjacent the support and extending parallel to each other and the second portions diverging from each other and the center of the support and together defining a frustoconical surface, a central axis of which extends through the center of support.

9. A bottle cap opener as defined in claim 8, wherein the first portions are each spaced from the center of the support at a first distance larger than a first radius of a beer bottle twist-off cap at the valleys and smaller than a second radius of the beer bottle cap at the ridges.

10. A bottle cap opener as defined in claim 9, wherein the first distance is about 17/32 inch.

11. A bottle cap opener as defined in claim 8, wherein the second portions extend to a minimum distance from the central axis of the frustoconical surface which is larger than a first radius of a plastic screw-off bottle cap at the valleys and smaller than a second radius of the plastic screw-off bottle cap at the ridges.

12. A bottle cap opener as defined in claim 11, wherein the minimum distance is 5/8 inch.

13. A bottle cap opener as defined in claim 1 or 8, wherein the top surface of the support is flat.

14. A bottle cap opener as defined in claim 1 or 8, wherein the support member is received in a cup-shaped cover having an outer gripping surface for improved handling by a user.

15. A bottle cap opener as defined in claim 14, wherein the outer gripping surface is provided with means for preventing slipping of a user's hand on the cover.

16. A bottle cap opener as defined in claim 1, further including means for removably attaching the opener to a supporting surface.

17. A bottle cap opener as defined in claim 1, wherein the means for removably attaching is at least one magnet respectively mounted in a top surface of one of the teeth.