WO1987005002A1

WO1987005002A1 - Opener

Info

Publication number: WO1987005002A1
Application number: PCT/DK1987/000014
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kai Brandtberg
Original assignee: Kai Brandtberg
Priority date: 1986-02-13
Filing date: 1987-02-13
Publication date: 1987-08-27
Also published as: DK441086D0; DK441086A; AU7039887A; EP0256101A1

Abstract

A hand-carried opener for the opening of objects, preferably bottles with crown cork caps, comprising an opening device (1) and a shaft (2). The opening device (1) is formed as a lever (1) pivotally mounted in the shaft (2), and adapted to activate a per se known registering device (25) mounted in the shaft (2) at each opening of an object via an activating device (12) mounted in the lever (2; 2c). In this way it is possible to place the opening device (1), the activating device (12) and the registering device (25) in a shaft in such a way that the resulting opener gets so compact and small that it easily can be kept in a pocket, e.g. a trouser or coat pocket and suitably can be held in the hand during use as it indicates when an object is being opened.

Description

Title: Opener

Technical Field

The invention relates to a hand-carried opener for the opening of objects, preferably bottles with crown cork caps, comprising an opening device and a shaft.

In connection with the opening of bottles or similar packings it is often appropriate to indicate by means of the opener that an object has been opened. Known hand-carried openers do not show this feature.

Background Art

US patent No. 2,678,164 describes an opener designed for firm attachment in a beverage delivery machine and providing a record for the number of bottles delivered. This opener whose opening device is constituted by a stationary gripping portion and a stationary dolly portion comprises a plate on a long rod activating an arm on a registering device when a bottle is being opened. This configuration is rather bulky so that the opener cannot suitably be kept in a pocket or held in the hand during use.

Description of the Invention

The object of the invention is to provide a hand-carried opener which indicates to the user that an object, preferably a bottle with a crown cork cap, has been opened and which without being uncomfortable can be kept in the pocket of a garment such as a pair of trousers.

The hand-carried opener according to the invention is characterised in that the opening device is formed as a lever pivotally mounted in the shaft and adapted to acti vate a per se known registering device mounted in the shaft at each opening of an object via an activating device mounted in the shaft. In this way it is possible to place the opening device, the activating device and the registering device in the shaft in such a way that the resulting opener gets so compact and small that it easily can be kept in a pocket e.g. a trouser or coat pocket and suitably can be held in the hand during use as it indicates when an object is being opened.

According to the invention the shaft may be a hollow shaft and the lever comprise an opening portion at its end freely protruding from the shaft and be in contact with an activating device at its other end protruding into the shaft, and the lever preloaded in a direction away from the position activating its registering device by means of a resilient device mounted in the shaft. This embodiment has in practice shown particularly advantageous since both an activation of the registering device when opening an object and a return of the lever is achieved in a simple way when the opening has been concluded.

According to a further embodiment of the invention the turning motion of the lever is confined by a build-in stopper in the shaft. In this way the forces occurring when opening the object in a particularly simple way are transmitted to the shaft.

According to a further embodiment of the invention the registering device is a mechanical counter formed as a ratchet mechanism comprising a ratchet wheel and an associated pawl and the activating device is adapted to cooperate in such a way with the ratchet wheel that the latter is turned a predetermined angle at each opening of an object. This embodiment which in practice has shown to be particularly advantageous, in a simple and/or inexpensive way provides an Indication of that an object has been opened as well as a summing up of the number of openings in a given period of time.

Furthermore according to the invention the ratchet wheel may comprise a disc provided with a scale formed with an from the outside accessible engaging portion, such as a radially extending groove. This permits a resetting of the scale of the disc by inserting e.g. a coin in the groove and a subsequent turning of ratchet wheel and disc.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the registering device is an electronic counter with an associated display. This reduces the number of moving parts in the shaft substantially just as it in a simple way has been rendered possible to register the opening of a very large number of objects in a given period of time.

Furthermore according to the invention the regis tering device may be formed as a lucky wheel rotatably mounted in the shaft and the activating device may be formed as a trigger mechanism. This provides an opener which apart from indicating that an object has been opened also serves as a game .

According to a further embodiment of the invention the trigger mechanism comprises a pivotally and substantially in the longitudinal direction of the lever slidable cam device mounted in the shaft and engaging a slidable rod provided with a serration and mounted in the shaft and preloaded so that the serration normally is disengaged from a toothed rim provided on the lucky wheel, but which substantially momentarily is brought into or out of engagement with this when the lever is pivoted at the opening of an object. This embodiment which in practice has proved to be particularly advantageous provides a simple and inexpensive way of activating the registering device when this is formed as a lucky wheel. Finally according to the invention the registering device may be a driving circuit with associated loudspeaker mounted in an electric circuit which circuit is closed via the activating device at each opening of an object and thus provides a melody or a similar audible signal. In this way the number of moving parts in the opener is reduced substantially.

Brief Description of the Drawing

The invention is explained in the following with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a first embodiment of an opener according to the invention in which the registering device is formed as a mechanical counter,

Fig. 2 illustrates the same viewed in the direction II-II in Fig. 1 as the lid portion of the shaft of the opener has been removed,

Fig. 3 illustrates the same viewed in the direction III-III in Fig. 1 as the lid portion of the shaft is seen from the inside,

Fig. 4 is an alternative embodiment of an opener according to the invention viewed in a direction corresponding to the direction II-II in Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a diagram of an electric circuit in a third embodiment of an opener according to the invention in which the indicating device is an electric counter with associated display,

Fig. 6 is a side view of a fourth embodiment of an opener according to the invention in which the indicating device is formed as a lucky wheel, Fig. 7 is the opener of Fig. 6 viewed in a direction corresponding to the direction II - II in Fig . 1 , and

Fig. 8 is an electric circuit in a fifth embodiment of an opener according to the invention in which the registering device is a driving circuit with associated loudspeaker.

Description of the Preferred Embodiments of the Invention

Fig. 1 shows an opener for the opening of objects, preferably for the opening of bottles with crown cork caps, comprising an opening device 1 and a shaft 2. The shaft 2 is hollow and comprises e.g. a deep bottom portion 3 and a flat lid portion 4 which are assembled along the perpendicular shown in Fig. 1 with a dot-and-dash line.

The opening device 1 is formed as a lever 1 pivotally mounted in the shaft 2. The pivotal mounting is provided by means of an axle journal 8 formed in one shaft portion, here the bottom portion 3, which extends through a bore formed substantially In the middle of the opening device 1 and into a recess 6 formed in the other shaft portion, here the lid portion 4. The lever 1 comprises a gripping portion 10 and a dolly portion 11 at the end protruding freely from the shaft 2 and is in contact with an activating device 12 at the other end protruding into the inner of the shaft. Said device is adapted to activate a counter 25 mounted in the shaft 2 at each opening of a bottle or similar object.

The embodiment of the counter shown in Figs. 1-3 is formed as a ratchet mechanism 25 comprising a ratchet wheel 13 rotatably mounted in the shaft 2 and an associated ratchet pawl 14 ensuring that the ratchet wheel 13 can only rotate in one direction. When opening a bottle or a similar object, the end of the lever 1 protruding into the shaft 2 activates the activating device 12 engaging the ratchet wheel 13 whereafter the latter is rotated a predetermined angle. The size of this angle is determined by a stopper 15 upon which the activating device 12 impinges when the ratchet wheel 13 has been turned a predetermined angle. In order to return the lever 1 to its starting position after the opening of a bottle, the lever 1 is preloaded in a direction towards its starting position by means of a resilient device or a spring 16. In the embodiment of the opener shown in Fig. 2, the spring 16 acts on a hoop 17 connecting the activating device 12 and the ratchet pawl 14.

As shown in Fig. 1, an opening 18 is formed in the lid portion 4 of the shaft, through which opening a disc 19 with a scale integral with the ratchet wheel 13 or firmly attached thereto is visible. This scale disc 19 is provided with a groove 20 whereby it is possible to reset the ratchet wheel 13 and thus the scale disc 19 by introducing e.g. a coin into the groove 20 and turning the ratchet wheel. If the possibility of resetting the scale disc 19 is not desirable, the opening 18 is closed by means of a transparent panel.

Fig. 4 shows another embodiment of the opener which as opposed to the embodiment shown in Figs. 1-3 is not intended for the opening a bottle with a crown cork cap but for pricking holes in the lid of a tin. The opening portion 9a of the opening device la. comprises a contact portion 21 adapted to abut on the cylindric surface of the tin immediately near its top surface and a cutting portion 22 formed to prick holes in the lid of the tin.

The opener shown in Fig. 4 furthermore is distinguished from the previously mentioned embodiment in that the activating device 12a, the ratchet pawl 14a, the resilient device or spring 16a, and the hoop 17a are integral, which seen from a manufacturing point of view is particularly advantageous and in that the stopper 15a for confining the turning movement of the opening device 1a is formed to abut the hoop 17a and not as in the embodiment shown in Figs. 1-3 to abut the activating device 12.

Fig. 5 shows schematically how an electronic registering device in the form of an electronic counter 25b with an associated display mounted in an electronic circuit may replace the mechanical registering device in the opener according to the invention. The circuit is closed when the opening device 1b pivots at the opening of a bottle or a similar object and comprises a power supply 23, a switch 24 preloaded in a direction towards its open position which is actuated by an activating device 12b mounted at the end of the opening device 1b protruding into the shaft of the opener at the opening of a bottle and the counter 25b and the display 26. The counter 25b thus sums up at each opening of an object the number of objects opened since the last resetting of the counter and this number can be read on the display.

By replacing the counter with a random-number-generator which generates a random number when the circuit is closed and displays it on the display, an electronic "lucky wheel" is provided.

Figs. 6 and 7 are a front view and viewed in a direction corresponding to the line II-II in Fig. 1, respectively, a fourth embodiment of the opener according to the invention, in which embodiment the registering device of the opener is formed as a lucky wheel 25c rotatably mounted in the shaft 2c and the activating device 12c is formed as a trigger mechanism. This trigger mechanism 12c comprises a cam device 26 being partly pivotally and partly slidably mounted in the shaft 2c by means of an oblong hole formed in the cam device 26 through which an axle journal 28 extends transversely of the shaft. The cam device 26 is preferably L-shaped and one leg 29 is formed as a cam surface being in contact with the end of opening device 1c formed as a lever protruding into the shaft 2c while the other leg 31 protrudes into a groove 32 in a rod 33 running in the longitudinal direction of the shaft 2c, said rod 33 being slidably mounted in guides 34, 35. At the end by the lucky wheel 25c. the rod 33 comprises a short serration 36 and is preloaded by means of a spring 37 so that the serration 36 is out of engagement with a toothed rim 38 provided on the lucky wheel 25c when the opener is in the starting position.

When the opening device 1c. which is preloaded towards its starting position by means of a flat spring 16c turns at the removal of a cap, the cam device 26 also turns and slides the rod 33 towards the right in Fig. 7 whereby the serration 36 is brought into engagement with the toothed rim 38 on the lucky wheel 25c and the spring 37 is tightened additionally. At some moment the inner end of the opening device 1c formed as a lever will be situated at the top of the cam surface 30 in which position the lever 1c is no longer force-transmittingly connected with the cam device 26 and thus with the rod 33 for which reason the latter because of the preloading of the spring 37 momentarily slides towards left in Fig. 7. In this way the serration 36 will be very quickly guided past and approximately momentarily be brought into and out of engagement with the toothed rim 38 on the lucky wheel 25c whereby this is put into a quick rotation. At the same time the cam device 26 returns to the position shown in Fig. 7 due to its engagement with the rod 33.

The pivotal movement of the lever 1c is confined by a build-in stopper 15c In the shaft 2c through which the torque necessary for removing the cap is transmitted to the cap by the lever 1c.. When the cap has been removed, the lever 1c will assume its starting position due to the flat spring 16c, as the inner end again passes the top of the cam surface 30 of the cam device 26.

As suggested in Fig. 6, a resilient pointer 39 visible from the outside extends into the space between projections 40 on the disc 19c. of the lucky wheel 25c, just as it is the case with large lucky wheels. The pointer 39 advantageously can be made of polyamide-wire.

Fig. 8 shows schematically how an audible indicating device in the form of an electronic driving circuit 25d with an associated loudspeaker 26d mounted in an electric circuit may be used in the opener according to the invention instead of a visible indicating device. The circuit is closed when the opening device 1d turns at the opening of an object and comprises a power supply 23d, a switch preloaded in a direction towards its open position which is actuated by an activating device 12d at the opening of an object and mounted at the end of the opening device 1d protruding into the shaft of the opener and the driving circuit 25d and the loudspeaker 26d.

The invention can be modified in many ways without departing from its idea. The opening device thus can be formed as the opening portion on traditional openers instead of an opening portion comprising a gripping portion and a dolly portion.

Claims

1. A hand-carried opener for the opening of objects, preferably bottles with crown cork caps, comprising an opening device (1; 1a; 1b; 1c), and a shaft (2; 2c),c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the opening device (1; 1a; 1b; 1c; 1d) is formed as a lever (1; 1a; 1b; 1c; 1d) plvotally mounted in the shaft (2; 2c.) , and adapted to activate a per se known registering device (25; 25b.; 25c.; 25d_) mounted in the shaft at each opening of an object via an activating device (12; 12b.; 12≤.; 12<L) mounted in the shaft (2; 2c.).

2. An opener as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e ri s e d in that the shaft (2; 2c) is a hollow shaft (3, 4) and that the lever (1; la.; lb.; lc.) at the end freely protruding away from the shaft (2; 2c) comprises an opening portion (9; 9a.) and at the other end protruding into the shaft is in contact with the activating device (12; 12a.; 12b.; 12c.) and that the lever (1; 1a; 1b; 1c) by means of a resilient device (16; 16a.; 16c.) mounted in the shaft (2; 2c) is preloaded in a direction away from the position activating the registering device (25; 25b; 25c).

3. An opener as claimed in claims 1 or 2, c h a r a ct e r i s e d in that the turning motion of the lever (1; 1a; 1b; 1c) is confined by a build-in stopper (15; 15a, 15c) in the shaft (2; 2c).

4. An opener as claimed in one or more of the claims 1-3, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the registering device is a mechanical counter (25) formed as a ratchet mechanism (25) comprising a ratchet wheel (13) and an associated ratchet pawl (14; 14a), and that the activating device (12; 12a) is adapted to cooperate in such way with the ratchet wheel (13) that the latter is turned a predetermined angle at each opening of an object.

5 An opener as claimed in claim 4, c h a r a c t e ri s e d in that the ratchet wheel (13) comprises a disc (19) provided with a scale which is provided with an engaging portion accessible from the outside, such as a radia- lly extending groove (20).

6. An opener as claimed in one or more of the claims 1-3, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the registering device is an electronic counter (25b) with an associated display (26) mounted in the shaft.

7. An opener as claimed In one or more of the claims 1-3, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the registering device is formed as a lucky wheel (25c) rotatably mounted in the shaft (2c) and that the activating device (12c) is formed as a trigger mechanism.

8. An opener as claimed in claim 7, c h a r a c t e ri s e d in that the trigger mechanism (12c) comprises a pivotally and substantially in the longitudinal direction of the lever (2c) slidable cam device (26) mounted in the shaft and engaging a slidable rod (33) mounted in the shaft (2c) and provided with a serration (36) and preloaded so that the serration (36) normally is disengaged from a toothed rim provided on the lucky wheel (25c) but which substantially momentarily is brought into and out of engagement with this when the lever (1c) is pivoted at the opening of an object.

9. An opener as claimed in one or more of claims 1 - 3, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the registering device is an electronic driving circuit with an associated loudspeaker (26d) mounted in an electric circuit which circuit is closed via the activating device (12d) at each opening of an object and thus provides a melody or a similar audible signal.