GB2303362A

GB2303362A - Foil cutting tool

Info

Publication number: GB2303362A
Application number: GB9517952A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kavin Hackett
Original assignee: JAPANESE ART CORP Ltd
Current assignee: JAPANESE ART CORP Ltd
Priority date: 1995-07-07
Filing date: 1995-09-04
Publication date: 1997-02-19
Also published as: GB9517952D0; GB9513854D0

Description

SAFETY BOTTLE FOIL AND SECURITY FILM CUTTER This invention relates to a safety bottle foil and security film cutter.

Wine bottle foil cutters are well-known products which comprise metal cutting edges with which the foil sealing a bottle of wine for security and hygiene purposes is scored and easy to peel off or remove.

Foil cutters are, however, relatively expensive. Moreover some have a dangerous open cutting edge, require practice and not a little dexterity in use, or moving parts which may break. In addition, such cutters with moving 'wheellike' cutting edges, are only suitable for removing the foil on the top of a wine bottle and no other product.

The blade often found for the purpose on a 'Waiter's Friend' combination corkscrew and bottle opener requires manual dexterity in use and is liable to slip on the bottle neck.

It is possible to remove the cork from a wine bottle with a corkscrew without first removing any of the sheath covering it. The resulting jagged edge is deemed unsightly, makes pouring cleanly into the glass uncertain and small particles of the sheath may enter the glass along with the contents of the bottle. Alternatively, the entire sheath can be removed but this is time consuming and less visually appealing than the removal of the top portion of the sheath only.

Many cutting tools to remove seals have been known since the early part of the twentieth century but generally each suffers from some limitation whereby they are difficult to use, useful only on one type of bottle, expensive to manufacture or too expensive for the consumer in relation to the perceived value.

There is then a need for a low cost tool, easily and safely operable by the unskilled consumer to cut the foil or security film on a range of narrow-necked bottles.

It is the objective of the present invention to address these needs within a lightweight, inexpensive, easy to manufacture tool.

According to the present invention there is provided a simple yet effective tool to cut foil and film covering narrow necked bottles comprising: one or two only metal cutting edges horizontally embedded in a one piece horse-shoe shaped handle containing said cutting edges whereby upon rotation of the invention around a bottle neck by an amount more than 180', the covering seal is cut and removable with ease of effort, said cutting edges being contained within a horseshoe-shape giving protection to the user, said tool without any moving parts save the inherent flexibility of the handle.

In the preferred embodiment, there is a flexible plastic handle shaped to provide the means to clip onto and hold the invention onto any narrow-necked bottle suitable for use by both right- and left-handed users.

In a second embodiment, the rigid plastic handle holds the said cutting edges, but is not shaped to clip onto the bottle, but is merely positioned and held in place by the user against any part of a bottle neck. The shape of the handle is such that the user is protected during the cutting action and is suitable for both right- and lefthanded users.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 shows the preferred embodiment and the preferred cutting position on a wine bottle neck.

Figure 3 is a transverse view of the invention in position on a wine bottle neck.

Figure 4 shows the removal of the invention from the bottle neck along with the top of the foil or film.

Figure 5 shows, in plan, top view, the exposed metal heads embedded in position in the handle Figure 6 shows in plan, the metal heads Figures 7 - 10 show the preferred embodiment with alternative-shaped cutting heads and their position within the handle.

Figure 11 show a top plan view of a second embodiment Figure 12 shows a bottom plan view of the second embodiment Figure 13 shows a cross-sectional view of the second embodiment with the exposed cutting heads Referring to the drawing in figure 5, the cutter comprises one or two metal heads (a) permanently embedded in a plastic handle (b), (c) shows the locator holes for the moulding process and (d) shows the cutting edge.

In order to use the cutter, the user places the preferred embodiment of the cutter in the natural horse-shoe shaped space created between thumb and index finger and pushes the product onto a bottle neck whereupon the product flexes outward to admit the bottle neck and clips around said bottle neck. In alternative embodiments, the user places the cutter in the same space between thumb and index finger and simply holds the blade or blades against the bottle covering to be cut. The invention can be positioned either above the shoulder of a wine bottle or on another part of a bottle neck, so the bottle lies within the confines of the cutter. In the preferred embodiment, the user squeezes the cutter around the bottle neck between thumb and index finger and rotates either bottle or cutter or both together in opposing directions by an amount more than 180' so that the metal heads score the foil or security film. The bottle is then removed from the confines of the cutter and the cut foil or film manually removed from the bottle neck if it has not removed with the withdrawal of the cutter. In alternative embodiments, no squeezing action is necessary.

Claims

1. According to the present invention there is provided a simple yet effective tool to cut foil and film covering narrow necked bottles comprising: one or two only metal cutting edges horizontally embedded in a one piece horse-shoe shaped handle containing said cutting edges whereby upon rotation of the invention around a bottle neck by an amount more than 180', the covering seal is cut and removable with ease of effort, said cutting edges being contained within a horseshoe-shape giving protection to the user, said tool without any moving parts save the inherent flexibility of the handle.

2. A safety bottle foil and security film cutter as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the means of cutting on any position on any narrow-necked bottle is provided by the flexibility inherent in the material used for the handle.

3. A safety bottle foil and security film cutter as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 wherein the means of scoring is one or two cutting edges contained within a horse-shoe shape allowing a degree of safety in usage and storage.

4. A safety bottle foil and security film cutter as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the product can be used on any narrow-necked bottle due to the horseshoe shaped design of the handle.

5. A safety bottle foil and security film cutter as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the frame incorporates two integral lugs extending inwardly allowing the product to be clipped onto a bottle neck and remain in place.

6. A safety bottle foil and security film cutter substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.