Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
  • B67B—APPLYING CLOSURE MEMBERS TO BOTTLES JARS, OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; OPENING CLOSED CONTAINERS
  • B67B7/00—Hand- or power-operated devices for opening closed containers
  • B67B7/44—Combination tools, e.g. comprising cork-screws, can piercers, crowncap removers
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
  • B67B—APPLYING CLOSURE MEMBERS TO BOTTLES JARS, OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; OPENING CLOSED CONTAINERS
  • B67B7/00—Hand- or power-operated devices for opening closed containers
  • B67B7/18—Hand- or power-operated devices for opening closed containers for removing threaded caps

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a cap-gripping device comprising a curved base body and a gripper arm which is hingedly connected thereto, in which said base body comprises two engagement surfaces and said gripper arm is provided with an engagement surface for gripping a lid and between which an opening is delimited for accommodating a lid, wherein the engagement surface of this gripper arm is closer to said engagement surfaces of said base body than said hinge.
• Such a device is known from FR 2575 184, in which a pipe wrench-like construction is described for clamping a Hd having a relatively long lever.
• cap-gripping devices are known from. US-A-3.913.424 and US 2003/0061912.
• this hinge is arranged as far as possible on the periphery of the cap-gripping device.
• the engagement surface of the gripper arm is of spherical, that is to say convexly curved, design. All this being arranged in such a manner that when the lid and cap-gripping device rotate with respect to one another, the restraining force of the cap-gripping device on the Hd gradually increases.
• the base body comprises a free end remote from the hinge and the free end of the gripper arm and of the base body can be moved apart in order to be able to accommodate a lid in a simple manner.
• the engagement surface for the hand on the gripper arm is on the same side of the hinge as the engagement surface on the gripper arm. That is to say that, in contrast with the state of the art, when a lid or another object is clamped, this does not involve a lever effect, but rather a self- clamping effect.
• the engagement surfaces and more particularly the engagement surfaces of the base body may have any shape. Preferably, however, it is provided that two clearly defined points of engagement with the Hd exist.
• the engagement surfaces are preferably straight.
• the two engagement surfaces are at an angle to one another and more particularly this angle is larger than 45° and more particularly approximately 60°.
• the bisector of this angle approximately intersects the point of engagement of the engagement surface of the gripper arm on the lid.
• the cap-gripping device is provided with a stop which extends beyond the opening for the lid. If the lid gripper is fitted from above this stop determines the positioning of the gripping device on the Hd. In addition, it ensures that the cap-gripping device can only be fitted onto the lid in the correct position, that is to say in the direction of opening. This prevents the risk of lids being screwed onto a bottle or another container too tightly. After all, if rotation is attempted in the non-operational direction, i.e. the direction in which the gripper arm is not self-actuating, the cap-gripping device will slip on the lid at relatively low torque.
• the cap-gripping device and more particularly the exterior thereof, such as the engagement surfaces, are preferably made from plastic material. In order to increase the strength, metal inserts may be incorporated.
• the hinge between the gripper arm and the base body is preferably under spring tension, so that these parts are pushed against one another.
• the cap-gripping device is provided with an opening for engaging with a crown cork, so that it can also be used as a bottle opener.
• the length of the gripper arm is less than 8 cm.
• the dimensions of the device are preferably approximately 6 x 8 cm or smaller.
• the invention also relates to an assembly comprising a cap-gripping device and a round lid, in which this cap-gripping device comprises a base body and a gripper arm attached thereto, the base body and the gripper arm being embodied for external engagement and being provided with engagement surfaces, the engagement surface of said gripper arm being of convex design, said lid being locked in place by engagement between these engagement surfaces and the convex shape of this gripper arm and the position of the hinge being such that when the cap-gripping device is rotated further in the intended direction of rotation of the Hd, said Hd is gradually clamped more tightly between these engagement surfaces.
• this cap-gripping device comprises a base body and a gripper arm attached thereto, the base body and the gripper arm being embodied for external engagement and being provided with engagement surfaces, the engagement surface of said gripper arm being of convex design, said lid being locked in place by engagement between these engagement surfaces and the convex shape of this gripper arm and the position of the hinge being such that when the cap-gripping device is rotated
• Fig. 1 diagrammatically shows a top view of the cap-gripping device according to the present invention
• Fig.2 shows a bottom view of the cap-gripping device according to the invention.
• Fig. 3 shows an exploded view of the different components of which the cap-gripping device according to the invention is composed.
• the cap-gripping device is indicated in the figures by reference numeral L It consists of a base body 2 to which a gripper arm 3 is hingedly attached.
• the hinge attachment comprises a hinge 12 consisting of a hinge pin 14 and a cup spring 15.
• the base body is provided with an opening 13 for accommodating hinge pin 14.
• a metal part 9 is forced against the metal part 7.
• the metal part 7 supports plastic part 8 and parts 9 and 10 together form the abovementioned gripper arm 3.
• Part 9 is provided with a projection 26.
• the base body is composed of a metal part 7 and a plastic part 8 arranged around it.
• the plastic part 8 has a chamber 27 for receiving projection 26. It will be understood that, depending on the materials used, all this can be integrally formed from one and the same material.
• Both plastic part 8 and plastic part 10 are provided with engagement surfaces, denoted by 5, 6 and 4, respectively, for gripper arm 3.
• Engagement surfaces 5 and 6 consist of a toothing 24 and are preferably straight.
• Engagement surface 4 is also provided with a toothing 23, but is of curved embodiment.
• the drawing shows that hinge 12 is arranged as far as possible on the outside.
• the length of the hinge arm 3 is indicated by L and this length is smaller than 8 cm.
• the engagement surfaces 5 and 6 are arranged at an angle of approximately 60° and extending between them is a bisector line 17 which, in the engagement position as shown in Fig. 2, intersects engagement surface 4 approximately at the point of engagement with the lid 20.
• an opening is delimited for accommodating a lid. This opening is denoted by 16.
• a stop face 11 is present which delimits a smaller opening. If the cap-gripping device according to the invention is fitted onto a lid from above, the user can automatically feel if this cap-gripping device has been fitted onto the lid sufficiently far. Also, when the device is being pushed on from the side, the user can move the cap-gripping device down until it touches the stop face 11. Fitting the cap-gripping device from the side is facilitated by the locating surfaces 18 and 19 on the gripper arm and the base body, respectively.
• the metal part 7 is provided with an opening 21 which is designed in such a way that a crown cork of a bottle or of another container can easily be removed by means thereof.
• the above-described device works as follows. If a lid has to be removed, the user places the cap-gripping device on a bottle. As the gripper arm 3 can be positioned in a great number of positions relative to the base body 2, by means of the freedom of movement the projection 26 has in chamber 27, in which no spring or the like is present, it is immediately clear to the user how the relevant parts have to be operated. In this case, the user may approach the lid both from above and from the side. In the latter case, the opening between the locating surfaces 18 and 19 should be maximized to such a degree, by moving the base body and the gripper arm apart, that the cap can be moved in between.
• the user preferably pushes the cap-gripping device so far onto the Hd that the stop face 11 rests on the top of the lid.
• This pressure is exerted, on the one hand, on the base body as near as possible to the free end 30 thereof and, on the oiher hand, on the gripper arm 3 as near as possible to the free end thereof. That is to say the engagement surface for the hand on the gripper arm 3 is on the same side as the engagement surface 4 relative to the hinge 12. This is in contrast with the projection 26 which is situated on the other side of hinge 12 relative to engagement surface 4.
• the user subsequently performs a rotating movement. If this rotating movement takes place in the direction of arrow 22, i.e.
• clamping is preferably carried out in such a manner that, at the three clamping points, in each case one vector is produced at right angles to the respective clamping surface. If these vectors are linked together, a closed system is created (head-tail method).
• the present invention results in complete locking in of the Hd and in addition in a strengthening of the force of engagement of the cap-gripping device and the lid, as the gripper arm will tend to move in the direction of line 17 towards the corner between the two engagement surfaces during rotation.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Devices For Opening Bottles Or Cans (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=37308773

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

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Family Cites Families (7)

• 2006
  • 2006-01-27 NL NL1031016A patent/NL1031016C2/nl not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2007
  • 2007-01-25 WO PCT/NL2007/050029 patent/WO2007086742A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2007-01-25 EP EP07709177A patent/EP1979262A1/de not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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