EP3383791A1

EP3383791A1 - Corkscrew with lever

Info

Publication number: EP3383791A1
Application number: EP16809913.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Thierry Gourand
Original assignee: PSP SAS
Current assignee: Peugeot Saveurs
Priority date: 2015-11-30
Filing date: 2016-10-21
Publication date: 2018-10-10
Anticipated expiration: 2036-10-21
Also published as: FR3044305A1; FR3044305B1; CA3004993C; US20180346304A1; US10640352B2; CA3004993A1; EP3383791B1; WO2017093623A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a "lever-type" corkscrew (1) comprising a spiral (5) mounted to rotate on an area (6) of a handle (2) located between an end section (3) and a manoeuvring section (4) of said handle (2), and a telescopic arm (7) having a first element (8) mounted to rotate on the end section (3) of said handle (2) and a second element (9), having an upper end (90) and a lower end (91), mounted to slide in said first element (8) between a rest position and a second position, the lower edge (94) of the lower end (91) of said second element (9) being able to be supported on the neck (1) of a bottle. The corkscrew is characterised in that said end section (3) of the handle (2) is shaped in such a way as to define a circular cam (12) having said second axis (A2) as the centre thereof, and able to act on the upper end (90) of said second element (9), which is connected to said second axis (A2) by means of a recall member (10) in such a way that, in a position of use of the corkscrew (1), the upper end (90) thereof is continuously held in contact with said cam (12) and such that the lower end (91) thereof continuously extends outside of said first element (8).

Description

Lever corkscrew

The subject of the present invention is a "lever type" corkscrew comprising, on the one hand, a spin rotatably mounted on an area of a shaft between an end section and a section of maneuvering said sleeve, around a first axis perpendicular to said handle and secondly a telescopic arm having a first member rotatably mounted on the end portion of said handle about a second axis perpendicular to said handle and a second member having a top end and a lower end, slidably mounted in said first member between a rest position in which its lower end is located at a distance dO from said second axis and a second position in which its lower end is located at a distance d from said second axis greater than dO, the lower end of said second element being provided able to bear on the neck of a bottle

A "lever type" corkscrew conventionally makes it possible to reduce the tensile force that a user must provide to extract a plug after inserting a spin.

There are currently on the market different categories of corkscrews of this type differing from each other in particular by the number of supports or the number of levers they contain.

The most primitive model has a lever of fixed length allowing a single support on the neck. Such a device nevertheless has limits at the end of uncorking, when the force to be exerted to extract the plug becomes important, or in the case of plug longer than the standard length. Indeed, the handle of the corkscrew is then placed substantially vertically relative to the bottle, and the lever can not act, forcing the user to complete the unclogging operation without the help of it. Other more elaborate models have been proposed to overcome this disadvantage.

There is thus known a corkscrew model comprising two separate levers fixed on the same axis of rotation and each having a bearing point on the neck of a bottle. Such a structure nevertheless results in a rather tedious mode of use, because it forces the user to change the fulcrum and therefore lever during operation. In addition, after the establishment of the second lever, it is necessary to rotate the first lever to place it in a position in which it will not interfere with the operation of it or inconvenience the user.

It has also been imagined a double-sided corkscrew, having a first lever, having a first support, fixed on the handle of the corkscrew and a second lever, having a second support, rotatably mounted on the lower end of the first the sink. In the same category there is still a corkscrew double support described in the document FR2755957, which comprises a first lever pivotally mounted on the handle and a second lever smaller than the first lever rotatably mounted on a central portion thereof . Nevertheless, such corkscrews do not overcome the drawbacks mentioned above since again their structure is such that the user is forced to change the lever during the uncorking, and to rotate the one and / or the other of the two levers to put it in the position of use and rest.

Furthermore, there is also known a single-lever corkscrew and multiple supports as described in the publication FR2772364, wherein the various bearing points are materialized by a row of notches made in a groove of the lever. Such a structure also involves manually changing the fulcrum during the extraction of a plug. Therefore, she does not give more satisfaction, from the point of view of its comfort of use, than the solutions described above.

Document EP0860396 describes another solution in which the corkscrew comprises a lever having a first element of given length connected to the handle and whose lower end is provided with a fulcrum. The lever further has a second element connected to the first element, whose lower end is also provided with a fulcrum and which is movable between a retracted position inside the first element and a position partially extracted from the first element . In its retracted position, the upper edge of the second element appears in a window formed in the front face of the first element and in which the head of the handle is adapted to be inserted during its rotational movement. The movement of the second element towards its position partially extracted from the first element has the effect of lengthening it. This displacement is obtained by the action of the handle s' inserting progressively, following its rotation, into the window of the first element and thus resting on the upper edge of said second element. Such a structure simplifies the implementation of the corkscrew, because it is no longer necessary to replace a lever by another or a fulcrum by another during extraction of the plug. Nevertheless, it has been observed that the length of which the first element is lengthened is generally not sufficient to allow the extraction of the entire plug by means of the lever and that the user must generally use his only force to achieve this. finally.

The present invention aims to overcome all of the disadvantages mentioned above and to provide a solution for a user to easily extract, and successfully with each attempt, a plug retained in the neck of a bottle. In particular, the invention aims to facilitate the unclogging of bottles by a user by means of a "lever" type corkscrew. to preserve the simplicity of the single support, while reducing the force required for uncorking while maintaining the interest of the multi-support corkscrew, that is to say a different distance from the support lever with respect to its axis of rotation on the handle of the corkscrew according to the insertion level of the plug in the bottle. On the other hand, the invention also intends to propose a solution that makes it possible to reduce the number of steps necessary for folding / unfolding the tendril and the lever, by making it possible for these elements to fold / unfold simultaneously by a single gesture. of the user.

To this end, the present invention relates to a corkscrew of the type indicated in the preamble, characterized in that the end section of said handle is shaped to define a circular cam having as a center said second axis and adapted to act on the upper end of said second member, which is connected to said second axis by means of a return member such that, in a use position of the corkscrew, its upper end is permanently held in contact with said cam and that its lower end extends continuously out of said first element.

Other features and advantages of the invention will emerge from the following detailed description relating to an exemplary embodiment of the ejection device given solely for information and not limitation.

The understanding of this description will be facilitated with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of a corkscrew according to the invention in its use position in which the twist and the arm are unfolded. FIG. 2 illustrates a front view of the handle of the corkscrew. FIG. 1

- Figure 3 is a bottom view of this same handle. FIG. 4 represents a front view of the twist of the corkscrew of FIG. 1,

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the corkscrew arm of FIG. 1,

FIG. 6 is a sectional view along AA of this same arm,

FIG. 6A is a sectional view along BB of the first element of this same arm,

FIG. 6B is a sectional view along CC of the second element of this same arm,

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the detail D of FIG. 1,

Figures 8 to 11 show sectional views of the corkscrew of Figure 1 and the neck of a bottle during various stages of uncorking the latter.

Figures 12 to 14 are sectional views of the corkscrew of Figure 1 during various stages of unfolding.

Figures 15 to 17 are sectional views of the corkscrew of Figure 1 illustrating a first mode of folding to its storage position, and

Figures 18 to 22 are sectional views of the corkscrew of Figure 1 showing a second folding mode to its storage position.

It is specified beforehand that in the description which follows, the arrows E and m shown in certain figures respectively represent the forces applied by a user on a constituent element of the corkscrew 1 according to the invention, and the movement conferred by these efforts.

In the alternative embodiment illustrated in the figures, the corkscrew 1 according to the invention comprises a handle 2, for example made of wood, metal, plastic, composite material, ceramic or any other equivalent material, having an end portion 3 and a maneuvering section 4. A metal swirler 5 is rotatably mounted around a first axis A1 perpendicular to the handle 2 on an intermediate zone 6 of said handle 2 between its end section 3 and its operating section 4. The corkscrew 1 also comprises a telescopic arm 7, made of metal, rotatably mounted on the end portion 3 of said handle 2 about a second axis A2 perpendicular to said handle 2. Thus, in a conventional manner, the swirler 5 and the telescopic arm 7 are movable between a position of use of the corkscrew 1 in which they are unfolded (FIG 1) and a storage position of the corkscrew 1 in which they are folded against the lower edge of the handle 2 (Fig. 12).

With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, the telescopic arm 7 consists of a first element 8 having an upper part 80 and a lower part 81 and a second element 9 having an upper end 90 and a lower end 91. The lower part 81 of the first element 8 has a "C" section and has two "L" side walls 84 bordering a face 85. The upper part 80 of the first element 8 comprises two tabs 82 extending each of the side walls 84 of the lower part and whose respective free end comprises an orifice 83 for assembling the telescopic arm 7 on the axis A2 of the handle 2.

The second element 9 of the telescopic arm 7 has an upper end 90 and a lower end 91. It has two lateral wings 92 bordering a bottom 93 and is of general section "U". The lower edge 94 of each of the lateral wings 92 has a "V" cutout adapted to bear on the neck 11 of a bottle of which it has a substantially complementary shape. Moreover, its upper end 90 has two teeth 95 extending in the extension of the bottom 93 and side wings 92. According to the invention, the second element 9 further comprises an axis 97 extending between its lateral wings 92 at its lower end 91. According to the invention, the second element 9 is slidably mounted in the first element 8, the side walls 84 define a slide. The second element 9 is also connected to the second axis A2 of the telescopic arm 7 by means of a tension spring, such as for example a helical spring 10 (see FIG 7), a first end of which is fixed to said axis A2 and a second end is fixed on the element 9, for example in a notch 96 that includes the bottom 93 of the latter. According to another variant embodiment not illustrated, it can also be provided to provide the element 9 with an axle mounted between its faces 92 and on which can be fixed the second end of the spring 10. In this case, said axis can being slidably mounted in an oblong shaped slot formed appropriately on a wall 84 of the element 8, and advantageously defining a maximum stroke of the element 9 to prevent inadvertent disassembly of the element 7 by traction.

It should be noted that the second element 9 is mounted in the first element 8 and connected to the handle 2 by means of the spring 10 so that, in the position of use of the corkscrew 1, its teeth 95 are permanently maintained in contact with the lower edge of the end portion 3 of the handle 2, while its lower end 91 is permanently located outside the first element 8. The stops 26 that includes the first element 8 also contribute to maintain the lower end 91 of the second element 9 out of the first element 8.

In fact, with reference to the figures, the end portion 3 of the handle 2 defines a circular cam 12 having as its center the second axis of rotation A2. The invention provides that the profile of this cam 12 comprises a first curve 13 of constant radius and a second curve 14 of increasing radius succeeding one another between the intermediate zone 6 of the handle 2 carrying the first axis A1 and the end edge 15 of the end section 3 of the handle 2. The profile of the cam 12 further comprises a stop 16 formed in the extension of In fact, in the variant embodiment illustrated, the circular cam 12 has two symmetrical members 12a, 12b (see FIG 3) each in contact with a tooth 95 of the second element 9 of the telescopic arm 7. Thus, the cam 12 is able to act on the upper end 90 of the second element 9 in order to move it between a rest position in which its lower edge 94 is located at a distance dO from the second axis A2 and a second position wherein the lower edge 94 is located at a distance d from the second axis A2 greater than dO (see Figs 9 and 11).

The twist 5 conventionally comprises an upper portion 17 of rectangular section connected to the first axis A1 of the handle 2. It has a side face 18 (see Figs 4 and 8) oriented towards the telescopic arm 7. In accordance with the invention, the upper portion 17 is provided with a groove 19 of axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the swirler 5, and the inlet opening 20 is formed in its side face 18, separating the latter in a zone upper 18a and a lower zone 18b. More particularly, in the embodiment shown, the groove 19 has a section "U" and has a bottom

21 delimited by a front wall 22 and a rear wall 23. The groove 19 is designed to accommodate the axis 97 that comprises the second element 9 of the telescopic arm 7 in the storage position of the corkscrew 1. Moreover, the front wall

22 is connected to the upper zone 18a of the side face 18 by an oblique surface 24 forming with said front wall 22 an angle α less than 90 °. The rear wall 23 of the groove 19 is connected to the lower zone 18b of the lateral face 18 by an oblique surface 25 forming with said rear wall 23 an angle β greater than 90 ° (see Figure 8).

The particular structure of the upper part 17 of the swirler 5 and the presence of the axis 97 on the second element 9 of the telescopic arm 7 advantageously allow a concomitant folding / unfolding of the swirler 5 and the arm 7. Indeed, the deployment / folding of the telescopic arm 7, obtained following its rotation around the axis A2 in one direction or the other, causes the spin 5 in his movement.

Thus, to unfold the swirler 5 and the arm 7, it is sufficient for the user to pull on the arm 7 to deploy it (see Fig. 12). The axis 97 of the second element 9 of the arm 7 then slides in the groove 19 of the upper part 17 of the swirler 5, by pressing on the front wall 22 of said groove 19. This has the effect of causing the swirl 5 progressively in the rotational movement of the telescopic arm 7 (see Figs 13-14). When the axis 97 of the second element 9 of the arm 7 reaches the inlet opening 20 of the groove 19, the swirler 5 is released from its contact with the arm 7 and is placed in the fully unfolded active position thanks to the action a spring (not shown) connecting it to the handle 2. Moreover, at the end of deployment, the teeth 95 of the second element 9 of the arm 7 are placed in contact with the cam 12 of the handle 2, against the stop 16 (cf. Fig. 1).

In this position of the corkscrew 1, the user can then screw the auger 5 into a plug 26 closing the neck 11 of a bottle by rotating the entire corkscrew 1 about the longitudinal axis of the auger 5. The arm 7 advantageously remains locked against the stop 16 throughout this operation under the effect of the effort exerted by the user on the handle 2 (see Fig. 8) and therefore does not risk to hinder the movements of the latter.

Thanks to the invention, the user can then extract the cap 26 of the neck 11 with reduced effort. For this purpose, it first releases the telescopic arm 7 blocked against the stop 16 of the cam 12 of the handle 2 by pushing the operating section 4 of the latter down towards the neck 11. It then positions the lower edge 94 in "V" of the second part 9 of the telescopic arm 7 on the neck 11 of the bottle, which will allow it to build on it. thereafter. The position of the corkscrew 1 then obtained is illustrated in FIG. 9.

By an upward pulling force on the operating section 4 of the handle 2, the user then extracts the stopper 26 gradually from the neck 11 in a single movement. The traction force exerted first induces a rotation of the arm 7 and the twist 5 around their respective axes of rotation A1, A2. The second portion 9 of the arm 7 whose teeth 95 are permanently held in contact with the profile of the cam 12, under the effect of the spring 10, follows the rotational movement of the arm 7 during a first phase of the movement, its teeth 95 then being subjected to the action of the first curve 13 of constant radius of the cam 12 (see Fig. 10). Then, during a second phase of the extraction movement, the teeth 95 of the second portion 9 of the arm 7 come into contact with the second curve 14 of increasing radius of the cam 12. The latter then presses on said second element 9 to cause its displacement relative to the first element 8 to its second position in which its lower edge 94 away from the axis A2 and the arm 7 is thus gradually lengthened as the cam 12 moves relative to the arm 7 (see Figs 10-11).

The rotation and extension movement of the telescopic arm 7 is stopped by the arrival of the stop 16 of the cam 12 in contact with the teeth 95 of its second element 9. In this position of the corkscrew 1, the stopper 26 is completely extracted from the neck 11. In other words, to fully extract the cap 26 of the neck 11, it was sufficient for a user to screw the swirler 5 in said cap 26, then to exert a single traction on the maneuver section 4 of the handle 2 after positioning the arm 7 resting on the neck 11.

Once the plug 26 has been extracted from the neck 11, the user classically removes it from the swirler 5 and places the corkscrew 1 in its storage position in which the swirler 5 and the arm 7 are folded against its lower edge.

This last operation can be carried out in a single step, by folding concomitantly the swirler 5 and the arm 7, as shown in Figures 15 to 17.

In this case, the user simply folds the telescopic arm 7 which comes into contact with the swirler 5 and then rotates about the axis Al. The axis 97 of the arm 7 which is then placed below the axis inlet opening 20 of the groove 19 can then be directly housed inside the latter to then reach the bottom 21 at the end of folding.

Naturally, the same operation can also be carried out in two stages by first folding the spin 5 then the arm 7 (see Figs 18-22).

In this case, once the twist 5 folded, the axis 97 of the second portion 9 of the arm 7 can not be housed alone directly in the groove 19 of the swirler 5, not being positioned appropriately in front of the inlet opening 20 thereof. To achieve this, the user is forced to press the arm 7 against the swirler 5, which allows the shaft 97 to come into contact with the oblique surface 24 extending between the upper zone 18a of the side wall 18 the upper part 17 of the swirler 5 and the front wall 22 of the groove 19 (see Fig. 19). As the force exerted by the user on the arm 7 in the direction of the swirler 5, the second element 9 of the arm 7 moves along said oblique surface 24 and therefore with respect to the first part 8 arm 7 causing the latter to lengthen (see Fig. 20). Where the oblique surface 24 and the inlet opening 20 of the groove 19 meet, the axis 97 can be introduced into the groove 19 (see Fig. 21). Then, the second element 9 returns to its rest position, under the effect of the spring 10, fixed between the second element 9 of the arm 7 and the axis of rotation A2, and allows the axis 97 to reach the bottom 21 of the groove 19 at the end of the folding (see Fig. 22).

Claims

1. "Lever" type corkscrew (1) comprising on the one hand a spin (5) rotatably mounted on an area (6) of a handle

(2) between an end section (3) and an operating section (4) of said handle (2), about a first axis (A1) perpendicular to said handle (2) and secondly a telescopic arm (7) having a first member (8) rotatably mounted on the end portion (3) of said handle (2) about a second axis (A2) perpendicular to said handle (2) and a second member (9), having an upper end (90) and a lower end (91) slidably mounted in said first member (8) between a rest position in which the lower edge (94) of its lower end (91) is located at a distance of d said second axis (A2) and a second position in which the lower edge (94) of its lower end (91) is located at a distance d from said second axis (A2) greater than dO, the lower edge (94) of the lower end (91) of said second element (9) being provided adapted to bear on the neck (1) d a bottle, said corkscrew (1) being characterized in that said end portion (3) of said handle (2) is shaped to define a circular cam (12) having as center said second axis (A2) and adapted to act on the upper end (90) of said second element (9), which is connected to said second axis (A2) by means of a return member (10) such that, in a position of use corkscrew (1), its upper end (90) is permanently held in contact with said cam (12) and its lower end (91) extends continuously out of said first element (8).

2. corkscrew (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the profile of said cam (12) comprises a first curve (13) of constant radius and a second curve (14) of increasing radius succeeding between the area (6) the handle (2) carrying said first axis (Al) and the end edge (15) of the end section (3).

3. corkscrew (1) according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the profile of said cam (12) comprises a stop (16) formed in the extension of the second curve (14) of radius increasing.

4. Corkscrew (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said return member is a tension spring (10).

5. Corkscrew (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second element (9) of said arm (7) has a section "U" and has two lateral wings (92) bordering a bottom (93), the lower edge (94) of each of said lateral wings (92) having a "V" cutout adapted to bear on the neck (11) of a bottle and the upper end (90) of said second element (9) comprising at least one tooth (95) extending in the extension of said bottom (93) and said side wings (92) and able to bear on said cam (12).

6. corkscrew (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said second element (9) comprises a notch (96) formed on at least one of its lateral wings (92) and adapted to allow the attachment of said body of recall (10).

7. corkscrew (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said auger (5) has an upper portion (17) of rectangular section connected to said first axis (Al) and having a side face (18). ) oriented towards said telescopic arm (7), said upper part (17) being provided with a groove (19) having an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the swirler (5) and whose inlet opening ( 20) is formed in said side face (18).

8. Corkscrew (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said groove (19) has a section "U" having a bottom (21) defined by a front wall (22) and a rear wall (23). and in that said front wall (22) is connected to an upper area (18a) of said side face (18) by an oblique surface (24) forming with said front wall (22) an angle α less than 90 °.

9. Corkscrew (1) according to any one of claims 7 or 8, characterized in that the rear wall (23) of said groove (19) is connected to a lower zone (18b) of the side face (18). ) by an oblique surface (25) forming with said rear wall (23) an angle β greater than 90 °.

10. Corkscrew (1) according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the second element (9) of said telescopic arm (7) comprises an axis (97) extending between its lateral wings (92). ) at its lower end (91).