GB2275918A

GB2275918A - Screw top opener

Info

Publication number: GB2275918A
Application number: GB9304690A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert Samuel George Potter
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-03-08
Filing date: 1993-03-08
Publication date: 1994-09-14
Also published as: GB9304690D0

Abstract

A bottle opener 20 comprises a pair of jaws 22 hinged to one another for gripping a screw threaded bottle top 14 and retaining means 30 on the jaws 22 for engaging the underside of a collar 16 projecting from the neck 12 of a bottle 10 to prevent the bottle top 14 and the bottle opener 20 from being forced off the bottle by the pressure within the bottle when the top is partially unscrewed. The retaining means may comprise individual claws or grooves 30, and the inner surfaces of the jaws may comprise inclined teeth. The opener may be of plastics and the jaws connected by a film hinge. A catch 32 may be provided to hold the jaws closed, and holes 36 may be provided to assist in the escape of gases. <IMAGE>

Description

Bottle opener Field of the invention The present invention relates to a bottle opener for use with bottles of the type having a screw top and a collar that projects from the neck of the bottle below the screw threaded portion to which the screw top is fitted.

The tops of pressurised bottles, for example those containing carbonated drinks, can be hard to turn, making it difficult for the bottles to be opened without the use of an implement, especially by the elderly and people unable to grip the top firmly. Furthermore, within such bottles, the build up of pressure can be so great, especially if the bottle is shaken while in transit, that the top can fly off and cause personal injury as soon as it is only slightly turned. In such an event, the liquid contents of the bottle can also spray out under pressure and cause damage to property.

Object of the invention The present invention therefore seeks to provide a bottle opener that can offer improved leverage to assist in opening the screw top of the bottle and that can also prevent the top from flying off after it has been released.

Summary of the invention According to the present invention, a bottle opener for use with a bottle of the type having a screw top and a collar that projects from the neck of the bottle below the screw threaded portion to which the screw top is fitted, comprises a pair of jaws hinged to one another for gripping the bottle top and retaining means on the jaws for engaging the underside of the collar projecting from the neck of the bottle to prevent the bottle top and the bottle opener from being forced off the bottle by the pressure within the bottle when the top is partially unscrewed.

The retaining means may be defined by a groove on the inner surfaces of the jaws for receiving the projecting collar on the neck of the bottle. Alternatively, in place of a continuous groove, individual claws may project from the jaws to grip the engage the underside of the collar. The axial length of the groove or the claws should be greater than the axial length of the collar to allow some axial movement of the jaws as the top is unscrewed.

The jaws are preferably provided with handles to allow improved leverage. Such handles may be sufficiently long to allow the opener to gripped in the same way as pliers or a nut cracker, or they maybe formed by smaller projections on the jaws to allow the opener to be gripped between the thumb and fore finger in the same manner as wing nut.

It is advantageous to provide a releasable catch for holding the jaws closed around the top, the catch being arranged either on the jaws directly or on the handles. In this way, even if the user's grip on the bottle opener should weaken, the jaws will retain their grip on the collar projecting from the neck of the bottle.

The inner surfaces of the jaws may be provided with surfaces shaped or treated to assist in gripping the top of the bottle, it being preferred to form inclined teeth on the jaws that self tighten around the bottle top in the manner of a plumber's wrench.

While the bottle opener may be formed of many suitable manners, it is advantageous to use a plastics material as the opener may then the formed by injection moulding. In this case, the jaws may be hinged to one another by means of a film hinge, thereby obviating assembly costs during manufacture.

Brief description of the drawings The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure is a section through a bottle opener of the invention fitted about a bottle top, and Figure 2 is a perspective view of the bottle opener alone in an open position prior to fitting around the top of a bottle to be opened.

Description of the preferred embodiment In Figure 1, there is shown the upper end of a bottle 10, having a neck 12 and a top 14 screwed to the end of the bottle. Beneath the top 14, the neck has a projecting collar 16 for reinforcement. Bottles of this design made of PET clear plastics material are extremely common and are used, for example, for most makes of carbonated drinks.

The illustrated bottle opener, which is generally designated 20 in the drawings, is constructed in the manner of a nut cracker. It has a pair of jaws 22 hinged about a pin 24 and gripping handles 26 on the opposite side of the jaws 22 from the hinge pin 24. The jaws 22 have a cylindrical toothed inner surfaces 28 for gripping the bottle top 14 and a groove 30 beneath the gripping surfaces 28 for receiving the collar 16 projecting from the neck 12 of the bottle 10.

One of the handles 26 has at its end remote from the jaw 22 a catch lever 32 than is hinged about a pin 34. After the handle have been squeezed together about the bottle top 14, the catch lever may be pivoted about the other handle to prevent the handles from separating.

To use the bottle opener 20, it is first opened as shown in Figure 2 and its jaws are placed about the bottle top 14.

The handles 26 are squeezed together about the top so that the top 14 is gripped between the toothed or serrated gripping surfaces 28 of the jaws 22 and the collar 16 engages in the groove 30 in the manner shown in Figure 1.

The catch lever 34 is then pivoted about the pin 34 to close it over the second handle 26.

While applying pressure to squeeze the handles 26, the opener is now rotated about the axis of the bottle 10 to unscrew the top 14. If inclined teeth are formed on the gripping surfaces 28, then they self tighten around the top in the manner of a plumber's F-wrench making it easier for the opener to be used by the infirm or the elderly.

Once the top has been slightly opened, gases may try to escape from the bottle. To assist in the escape of the gases, holes 36 are provided in the sides of the jaws 22 and a further central hole 38 is formed at the top of the jaws.

Once the pressure has been released, the bottle opener may be removed from the bottle and the top 14 unscrewed by hand.

Should the top be forced up violently when it is only partly opened, it is prevented from flying away by the engagement of the collar 16 within the groove 30. The latter has an axial extent that allows it to retain the collar 16 captive until the cap 14 has been raised sufficiently to release the pressure within the bottle.

It will be clear to the person skilled in the art that many modifications may be made to the bottle opener as described above. For example, the handles need only be shorter wing-like handle for gripping with the fingers rather than in the palm of the hand. Alternative catch constructions may be used, for example a resilient barb on one jaw may engage a shoulder on the other jaw. Both the jaws may be formed in one piece of a plastics material, being connected to one another by means of a plastics film hinge.

Though a continuous groove has been described to act as a means for retaining the opener on the bottle by engaging the underside of the projecting collar, three or more individual claws projecting from the jaws may be used for the same purpose. Furthermore, the handles may be arranged on the same side of the jaws as the hinge so that the construction will generally resemble pliers rather than a nut cracker.

All such modifications and others are within the scope of the present as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A bottle opener for use with a bottle of the type having a screw top and a collar that projects from the neck of the bottle below the screw threaded portion to which the screw top is fitted, the opener comprising a pair of jaws hinged to one another for gripping the bottle top and retaining means on the jaws for engaging the underside of the collar projecting from the neck of the bottle to prevent the bottle top and the bottle opener from being forced off the bottle by the pressure within the bottle when the top is partially unscrewed.

2. A bottle opener as claimed in claim 1, wherein the retaining means are defined by a groove on the inner surfaces of the jaws for receiving the projecting collar on the neck of the bottle.

3. A bottle opener as claimed in claim 1, wherein the retaining means are defined by individual claws projecting from the jaws to grip the engage the underside of the collar.

4. A bottle opener as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the jaws are provided with handles to allow improved leverage.

5. A bottle opener as claimed in claim 4, wherein the handles are sufficiently long to enable the opener to gripped in the palm of a user's hand.

6. A bottle opener as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a releasable catch is provided for holding the jaws closed around the top, the catch being arranged either on the jaws directly or on the handles.

7. A bottle opener as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the inner surfaces of the jaws are provided with surfaces shaped or treated to assist in gripping the top of the bottle.

8. A bottle opener as claimed in claim 7, wherein inclined teeth are formed on the jaws that self tighten around the bottle top.

9. A bottle opener as claimed in any preceding claim, formed of a plastics material.

10. A bottle opener as claimed in claim 9, wherein the jaws are formed integrally with one another and are connected by a film hinge.

11. A bottle opener constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.