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
  • B67B7/02—Hand- or power-operated devices for opening closed containers for removing stoppers
  • B67B7/04—Cork-screws
  • B67B7/0417—Cork-screws with supporting means for assisting the pulling action
  • B67B7/0441—Cork-screws with supporting means for assisting the pulling action whereby the supporting means abut around the whole periphery of the neck of the bottle

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a corkscrew and more specifically an automatic type corkscrew.
• Automatic type corkscrews are devices which, by acting on one or more control members, carry out the various successive operations of introducing an extraction screw inside the cork, d extraction of the latter from the neck of the bottle and expulsion of the extracted cap.
• corkscrews of the prior art consist essentially of a body, or frame, comprising means for guiding a movable head, the movement of which is ensured by control members, and which is provided with an extraction screw mounted freely in rotation and fixed in translation on this head.
• These corkscrews also include a nut, itself mounted movable in translation on the body in which the extraction screw is screwed.
• the nut is secured to the frame and the head is moved relative thereto, which has the effect of causing the rotation of the extraction screw in the nut and its penetration inside the plug.
• the nut and the head are moved in translation, which has the effect of preventing the rotation of the extraction screw on the one hand and on the other hand to drive the cap out of the neck of the bottle.
• the head and the nut are then moved in the third step to the bottom of the body and, finally, in the fourth step, and after having immobilized the nut, the head is moved away from it. last, which has the effect of rotating the extraction screw and extracting the latter from the plug thus ensuring the release of the latter.
• corkscrews implementing such an operating principle. These corkscrews, which are used for example by communities, are most of the time bulky devices intended to be fixed on a work surface. Automatic corkscrews have also been proposed operating according to this same principle and which are for the use of individuals. These models use corkscrew tightening mechanisms on the neck of the bottle by means of lever arms.
• this type of device is most of the time relatively large in size since its volume extends essentially in two dimensions.
• the object of the present invention is to propose a corkscrew of the automatic type, with a reduced size extending essentially in a preferred direction, and with a reduced cost price.
• the present invention thus relates to an automatic type corkscrew comprising a tubular body whose internal surface forms a guide of a drawer mounted movable in translation along the longitudinal axis of said body between a high position and a low position, this drawer consisting of at least two parts, namely a head and a nut, the head being secured to gripping means and comprising at its base an extraction screw mounted free in rotation and fixed in translation relative to the head, l 'nut, receiving the extraction screw, so that during a relative movement of the head relative to 1' nut the extraction screw performs rotational movement, in which one of the two said parts of the drawer is provided with locking means able to cooperate with complementary reception means arranged on the other part, so as to ensure, when activated, the joining of the two said parts, this corkscrew further comprising unlocking means acting, in the rest position of the corkscrew, on the locking means in order to release the two parts of the drawer, characterized in that it comprises means disconnection of the unlocking means allowing, when
• the body of the corkscrew will preferably be formed of two tubular half-shells and will include at least one longitudinal groove, and each of the elements of the drawer will include at least one stud capable of moving in this groove.
• the nut is formed from two parts, namely,
• a socket comprising, at its upper part, latching means able to cooperate in a determined angular position, with stop means arranged at the base of the nut and which ensure, in this position, their connection in longitudinal translation and, in another angular position, their freedom in translation, a nut element which is mounted mobile in rotation at the base of the sleeve.
• the base of each longitudinal groove opens onto a transverse groove, capable of receiving the stud of the sleeve, under the effect of elastic biasing means, when the sleeve is in the low position in the body.
• the abutment means produced on the head may consist on the one hand of at least one radial abutment extending outwards from the base of a cylindrical portion and on the other hand of an area free to stop, the latching means comprising at least one radial stop extending inwards and capable, when the stud secured to the sleeve is in longitudinal alignment with the stud secured to the nut element, with the stop of the head so as to secure the joining in longitudinal translation of these two elements.
• the free stop zone is arranged in such a way that, when the stud fixed to the sleeve is applied to the bottom of the transverse groove by elastic means, the radial stop is in longitudinal alignment with the free zone, thus allowing the longitudinal translation of the head and the nut.
• the disconnection control means of the unlocking means may be movable in longitudinal translation between a lowered position and a raised position, and comprise at least one inclined face, relative to the longitudinal axis of the corkscrew, which is suitable, when 'it is in the raised position, to come into contact with the stud of the sleeve in order to bring it into longitudinal alignment with the stud of the nut element.
• these disconnection control means will be kept at rest, in the low position, by elastic means and will be able to be brought into the high position by pressing these means on the neck of a bottle.
• FIGS. 1a to 1c are schematic drawings showing the different respective operating steps of a first embodiment of an automatic corkscrew according to the invention, namely, a starting position, a screwing step, an extraction step, a descent step and a step of expelling the cork.
• Figure 2 is an exploded axial sectional view showing the various components of a corkscrew according to the invention.
• FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the drawer of the corkscrew shown in FIG. 2.
• FIG. 4 is a view in axial and longitudinal section of a corkscrew according to the invention, in which, on the right part of the figure, the means for disconnecting the unlocking means are activated and, on the left part of In the figure, these same disconnection means are not activated.
• Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the corkscrew shown in Figure 4 along line V-V thereof.
• Figures 6a to 6e are views in axial and longitudinal section of an automatic corkscrew according to the invention respectively in the starting, screwing, extraction, descent and expulsion positions.
• Figure 7 is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the corkscrew according to the invention.
• Figure 8 is a partial axial sectional view of the locking means, unlocking, and disconnection of the head unlocking means and
• Figure 9 is a partial axial sectional view of the locking means, unlocking, and disconnection of the head unlocking means and
• FIG. 10 is an exploded axial partial sectional view showing the various elements constituting a second embodiment of a corkscrew according to the invention, in an angular position of these elements corresponding to the phase shown in the figure lb.
• Figure 11 is an exploded partial axial sectional view of some of the elements shown in Figure 10 in an angular position of these elements corresponding to the phase of extraction of the plug shown in FIG.
• FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of one of the elements along the line XII-XII of FIG. 10.
• FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of another element shown along the line XIII -XIII of FIG. 11.
• FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the example of implementation of a corkscrew according to the invention shown in FIGS. 10 to 13.
• the corkscrew according to the invention consists of a tubular body 1 formed of two shells 2.
• the latter are linked in translation by pins 6 which take place in corresponding holes thereof.
• the two shells 2 once assembled are threaded into a sheath 4 which maintains the assembly.
• the two shells 2 are hollowed out with a longitudinal groove 8 of rectangular cross section which is intended to guide in translation a parallelepipedal drawer 10 formed of two parts, namely a head 12 and a nut 14.
• the nut 14 is of substantially cubic shape and is extended upwards by two tongues 16 which are intended to take their place in respective recesses 18 of corresponding shape hollowed out in the head 12.
• the tongues 16 are pierced at their upper part with respective holes 19 intended to receive opposite lugs 20 which are mounted telescopically on the head 12, under the action of a compression spring 21 disposed between the latter.
• This ensures the two parts constituting the drawer 10, namely the head 12 and the nut 14.
• the upper part of the head 12 is connected to gripping means 7, and its lower part is hollowed out with an orifice 13 intended to receive means for suspending and holding an extraction screw 22.
• These suspension means consist of a socket 15 and a nut 25 which allow both free rotation of the screw 22 relative to the head 12 and its maintenance in the longitudinal direction.
• the lower part of the screw 22 passes longitudinally through the nut 14 which, for this purpose, is pierced with a hole of a shape suitable for the helical shape of the screw 22, so as to form a nut.
• the nut is preferably constituted by a central and longitudinal hole 26 with a diameter close to the extreme diameter of the screw 22 by two cylindrical and parallel pins 24 whose axes are perpendicular to the 'longitudinal axis yy' of the corkscrew and are offset from each other both in the vertical direction and in the transverse direction.
• each groove 8 is hollowed out by a recess 28 in which is fixed, by its upper part, an elastic blade 30, the base of which comprises a stud 32 with a diameter and a length such that they allow it to take place inside the hole 19 of the tongue 16.
• the blade 30 will be such that it has sufficient stiffness to move the stud 32 in the direction of the axis yy 'of the corkscrew with a application force greater than that of the spring 21 so that, in the device's rest position, the pins 32 push the lugs 20 against the spring 21 and take place in the hole 19 of the tongue 16, ensuring thus on the one hand the immobilization of the nut 14 relative to the body 1 of the corkscrew, and on the other hand the unlocking of the latter with the head 12, as shown on the left side of the figure 4.
• Each of the two shells 2 is hollowed out at its lower part with a longitudinal internal groove 33, these two internal grooves being intended to receive two respective slides 34 which are arranged at the upper part of a tubular element 36 intended to receive the neck 3 of the bottle from which it is desired to extract the stopper 5 with that of the body 1 of the corkscrew.
• the two slides 34 have, on their external face, a stop 37 intended to limit their travel inside the groove 33 and which move in recesses 38 provided in the shells 2.
• a compression spring 35 is disposed between the base of the body 1 and the upper part of the tubular element 36, this compression spring having the effect of moving the tubular element 36 away from the body 1.
• the lower part of the blades 30 and the upper external part opposite the slides 34 are bevelled so that, when the slides 34 are moved upwards against the action of the compression spring 35, the beveled part of each slide comes into contact with the corresponding bevelled part of the tongue 30 with the effect, as shown on the right half of Figure 4, of pushing it outwards which allows the pins 20 to return to their place inside the respective holes 19 of the tongues 16, which has the effect of joining the two parts of the drawer 10, namely the head 12 and the nut 14.
• the tubular element 36 is provided with a deformable clamp 40.
• This clamp consists of a first part, or base 40a, of cylindrical shape which is fixed on the internal face of the tubular element 36 and of a second upper part 40b of frustoconical shape, which is split longitudinally of a plurality of grooves 41, so as to form between them deformable and elastic tongues 39.
• the neck 3 of the bottle containing the stopper 5 to be extracted is inserted inside the clamp 40 and a vertical force F 1 # is exerted on the body 1 so as to compress the spring 35 as much as possible , which has the effect of applying the beveled upper parts runners 34 against the bevelled lower parts of the elastic blades 30, thus pushing the pins 32 outwards as shown on the right part of FIG. 4.
• a force F ′ x is exerted simultaneously in the same direction direction on the gripping member 7, which has the effect of moving down the head 12 while imparting to the extraction screw 22 a rotation, due to its passage in the nut 14, which allows it , as shown in FIGS. 1b and 6b, to penetrate inside the plug 5.
• the lugs 20 are in front of the holes 19 of the tongues 16 which are released so that they can penetrate the latter thus ensuring the joining of the head 12 with nut 14.
• corkscrews of the type in particular shown for example in FIG. 7.
• the head 12 can be locked with the nut 14 by the cooperation of two elastic strips 44 secured to the head 12 and which terminate at their anterior ends by hooks 43 which, in the normal position, that is to say when they are not subjected to any constraint, come to take place in notches 45 provided at the front part of the nut 14, and thus ensure the joining of the head 12 and the nut 14.
• the device comprises unlocking means which are constituted by longitudinal elements 47 which are mounted movable along the longitudinal axis yy 'of the corkscrew and which are urged by elastic means 49 in the direction of the arrow F 3 , so coming to bear on the base of the hooks 43.
• the elastic means 49 are such that they are able to deform the tongues 44 outwards, so as to extract the hooks 43 from the notches 45, thus freeing the head 12 from the nut 14.
• the device also comprises means for disconnecting the unlocking elements 47, represented schematically by a transverse traction element 50 and which allows, by pivoting the elements 47 to disengage them from the base of the hooks 43.
• the hooks 43 thus freed take up again, as shown in FIG. 9, in the notches 45 thus ensuring the joining of the head 12 and the nut 14.
• This corkscrew thus essentially consists of a tubular body formed by two identical shells 2 ', which are linked in translation by pins 6' which take place in corresponding holes in these shells.
• the two shells 2 'once assembled are threaded into a sheath 9' in three parts 9 'a, 9'b and 9'c, which ensures the maintenance of the assembly.
• the two shells 2 ' are hollowed out with a central and longitudinal groove 8' of small width which ends at its base with a transverse groove 8 'a.
• the longitudinal groove 8 ' is intended to guide inside the shells of a movable drawer 10'.
• This drawer 10 ' is essentially made up of three elements of overall cylindrical shape, namely an upper head 12', a central sleeve 13 and a lower nut 14 '.
• the head 12 ′ is formed by a cylindrical upper part of the same diameter as that of the interior of the shells 2 ′ on which are arranged two diametrically opposite radial guide pins 60 intended to move respectively in the longitudinal grooves 8 ′ of the 2 'shells.
• This part is extended downwards by a cylindrical portion 62 of smaller diameter, ending in a shoulder separated into four radial stops 64 diametrically opposed by four longitudinal grooves 63. As shown in FIG.
• the portion 62 is hollowed out with 'an axial cylindrical cavity in which is embedded a ball bearing 66 which ensures the rotation of an axis 65 which is integral with the wick 22' of the corkscrew.
• the central sleeve 13 consists of a tubular cylindrical element which ends at its lower part by a circular boss 67. The latter is provided with two diametrically opposed radial studs 68 intended to move in the respective grooves 8 'and 8' a 2 'shells.
• the upper part of the sleeve 13 is provided with four internal radial stops 69 arranged at 90 degrees whose width is slightly less than that of the longitudinal grooves 63.
• stops are arranged so that their two diametrical axes uu 'form an angle ⁇ , close to 45 °, with the diametrical axis of the pins 68, as shown in FIG. 12.
• the upper part of the sleeve 13 is provided with four longitudinal grooves 72 which extend substantially over half the height of the sleeve 13 and which are intended to give this upper part of the sleeve, and in particular that comprising the stops 69, a certain elasticity.
• the nut 14 ' comprises a cylindrical upper part 74, a base 76 of larger diameter, and two diametrically opposed pins 78, intended to move, during the operation of the corkscrew, in the groove 8'.
• the interior of the nut 14 ' which is not shown or described below, is identical to the nut used in the previous embodiment and is intended to receive the wick 22' and to ensure the rotation thereof when a relative longitudinal movement occurs between the head 12 'and the nut 14'.
• the nut 14 ' is intended to take place in the base of the socket 13.
• the latter has a double groove, namely a transverse groove 80 and a longitudinal groove 82 intended to allow access from the stud 78 to the transverse groove 80.
• Elastic means constituted by a torsion spring 79 have the effect, as shown in FIG. 10, of spreading the stud 68 from the stud 78. This is why as soon as the nut 14 ′ is put in place in the socket 13, the pins will have the relative angular positioning shown in FIG. 10.
• the present device comprises a control member 34 'making it possible to inhibit the unlocking means existing between the head 12' and the nut 14 '.
• This control member 34 ' consists of a washer 84 which is provided with longitudinal tabs 86 which extend upwards and which terminate at their upper part by an inclined face 88 of approximately 45 ° with respect to the longitudinal axis yy 'of the corkscrew.
• a compression spring 90 is arranged which, in the rest position, moves the latter away from the pins 68.
• the base of the present device comprises guide means 40 'intended to ensure the centering of the assembly on the neck 3 of a bottle.
• the stops 69 are superimposed, on the same longitudinal axis, on the grooves 63, so that a pull exerted upwards by the gripping element 7 'on the head 12' will have the effect of separating the latter from the socket 13 and thus reassemble the latter in the upper part of the corkscrew. Such an action corresponds to the actuation phase shown in schematic figure la.
• the base of the corkscrew is then applied to the neck 3 of the bottle, so that the control member 34 'moves upwards, against the compressive force opposed by the spring 90, and that its inclined faces 88 angularly push the stud 68 towards the longitudinal axis yy 'of the corkscrew, which has the effect of rotating the sleeve 13 and bringing its stops 69 facing the stops 64 of the head 12'.
• the head 12 ' is then pushed downwards with a force F'1, as shown in FIG. 1b, and, during this downward movement of the head 12', the bit 22 'is screwed into the nut 14 which gives the latter a rotational movement which has the effect of driving it into the plug 5.
• the stops 64 of the head 12 'and the stops 69 of the socket 13 come into contact with each other and if one continues to exert a downward force, the sleeve deforms due to the elasticity which is conferred on it by the vertical grooves 72 and, one causes a snap-fastening, causing a recognizable snap indicating to the user that the race down is over.
• the corkscrew is removed from the neck of the bottle, so that, under these conditions, the control member 34 'returns to its lower position where it is inoperative.
• a vertical force is then exerted on the head 12 ′ from the top to the bottom, as shown in FIG. 1d, which has the effect of lowering the assembly of the drawer 10 and, when it arrives at the bottom, the element 34 'being inoperative, the torsion spring 79 then urges the pins 68 to bring them back to the bottom of the respective transverse grooves 8' a, which causes a rotation of about 45 degrees of the sleeve 13.
• Such an embodiment is partially advantageous in that it allows construction with simple parts obtained almost entirely by molding, which makes them particularly advantageous in terms of cost price.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Devices For Opening Bottles Or Cans (AREA)
• Iron Core Of Rotating Electric Machines (AREA)

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Citations (2)

• 1998
  • 1998-06-30 FR FR9808302A patent/FR2780390B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1999
  • 1999-06-30 CA CA002301946A patent/CA2301946A1/fr not_active Abandoned
  • 1999-06-30 WO PCT/FR1999/001575 patent/WO2000000422A1/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 1999-06-30 EP EP99926576A patent/EP1007469B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-06-30 AT AT99926576T patent/ATE217603T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1999-06-30 JP JP2000556985A patent/JP2002519253A/ja active Pending
  • 1999-06-30 DE DE69901480T patent/DE69901480T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related

Patent Citations (2)

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