Abstract:
A container opener comprising a handle portion on which force is applicable when removing a lid from a container and a utility portion for engaging with said lid to be removed from said container, one or both of said portions are generally made of a resilient but relatively stiff material, which said utility portion is provided with a gripping means made of an elastomeric material or a soft plastic material for gripping and/or simultaneous movement with said lid.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is concerned with a device for removing a lid from a container such as a jar, a bottle or the like. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   There are a variety of conventional container openers or the like designed to assist users to remove a lid from a container by turning the lid and hence removing it therefrom. However, these conventional openers often do not address all the problems associated with difficulty of operation, damaging to the lid to be removed and/or high cost of manufacture. 
   The present invention seeks to provide a container opener which can mitigate the drawbacks of the prior art, or at least to provide the public with a useful choice. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container opener comprising a handle portion on which force is applicable when removing a lid from a container and a utility portion for engaging with the lid to be removed from the container, one or both of the hand and utility portions are generally made of a resilient but relatively stiff material and the utility portion is provided with a gripping means (preferably non-metallic gripping means) made of an elastomeric material or a soft plastic(s) material for engaging with and gripping onto the lid and for simultaneous movement with the lid. The provision of the non-metallic gripping means ensures that the lid to be removed would not be damaged because if the gripping means were metallic, it would be typically harder physically and might crack or deform the lid or at least often leave bite marks thereon. The use of an elastomeric material or a soft plastic(s) material for the gripping means enhances the frictional engagement with the lid without damaging the lid such that the utility portion and the lid can be turned simultaneously and conveniently. 
   Preferably, the opener and in particular the handle portion may be elongate in shape with the handle portion provided at one end and the utility portion provided at the opposite end. The handle portion may include a pair of arms between which the lid is placed in use, and the arms may be extended from the utility portion. The elongate opener and the provision the arms assist users in use by providing mechanical advantage for turning the lid. The opener may generally be of V-shaped with the arms spread apart at default which allows the lid to be conveniently placed in the utility portion. 
   Suitably, opposite facing surfaces may be defined by the gripping means. The surfaces engage and grip sides of the lid in use. 
   Advantageously, the opener may be adapted to assume a first, or default, configuration in which the arms are separated and a second, operable, configuration in which the utility portion or the gripping means is brought together to grip the sides of the lid for simultaneous turning or rotating movement. In particular, the utility portion may comprise at least two gripping regions of different sizes for removing lids of at least two categories of sizes, the smaller or the smallest gripping region may be arranged at the end of the opener opposite to the handle portion. The smaller or the smallest gripping region may be generally in the shape of the letter “C”. More particularly, the utility portion or the gripping means may be provided with three gripping regions of different sizes or may particularly be sized and shaped to remove lids having a diameter from about 16 mm to 50 mm such that one such opener can be used to remove a variety of lids of different sizes. 
   Suitably, the resilient but relatively stiff material may be polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyamide (PA), polycarbonate (PC), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or acetal copolymer (POM). These materials are particular desirable not only because they are resilient and relatively stiff, but also relatively light and inexpensive. The resilient but relatively stiff material may alternatively be a metallic material of a metal alloy. Among other characteristics, a metallic material or a metal alloy material is however typically more costly and may not be suitable for a low-end product. The utility portion or particularly the gripping means may be free of any teeth means, groove means or metallic means which could easily damage the lid. 
   The elastomeric material may preferably comprise or be a thermoplastic elastomer selected from the group consisting of styrene-butadiene-styrene based theremoplastic elastomer and styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene based thermoplastic elastomer. The soft plastic(s) material may preferably comprise or be silicone. Elastomeric materials or soft plastic(s) materials are desirable because the gripping means made therewith can engage a reliable frictional relationship with lids. 
   According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container opener of elongate shape comprising a handle portion at one end and a utility portion at the opposite end, one or both of said portions are generally made of a resilient but relatively stiff material, which the handle portion comprises a pair of ares extending from the utility portion, wherein the utility portion may be provided with a gripping means made of an elastomeric material or a soft plastic(s) material for gripping a lid to be removed for simultaneous movement therewith, and wherein the gripping means is free of any teeth means, groove means or metallic means. 
   Preferably, the opener may be adapted to assume a first configuration in which the arms are separated and a second configuration in which the utility portion is brought together towards and for gripping the lid for simultaneous turning or rotating movement. 
   Suitably, the resilient but relatively stiff material may be polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyamide (PA), polycarbonate (PC), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or acetal copolymer (POM). The resilient but relatively stiff material may alternatively be a metallic material of a metal alloy. 
   The elastomeric material may preferably comprise or be a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) selected from the group consisting of styrene-butadiene-styrene based theremoplastic elastomer (SBS based TPE) and styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene based thermoplastic elastomer (SEBS based TPE). The soft plastic(s) material may preferably comprise or be silicone. Both the elastomeric material and silicone are soft and has good gripping property. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     An embodiment of the present invention is described, by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view from below showing a container opener in a default configuration according to an embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a top perspective view of the opener of  FIG. 1  but in a different configuration; 
       FIG. 3  is a top view of the opener of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a side view of the opener of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a schematic engineering drawing of the opener of  FIG. 1 ; and 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic engineering drawing of the opener of  FIG. 1 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   The invention is concerned with a container opener or more commonly called a jar opener. The jar opener, generally designated  1 , is shown in  FIGS. 1 to 6  and is elongate in shape. As shown particularly in  FIGS. 1 ,  3  and  5 , the opener  1  is generally V-shaped when viewed invertedly. 
   The opener  1  comprises a utility portion  2  and a handle portion  4  extended therefrom. The opener  1  is generally made of polycarbonate which is a resilient but relatively stiff material although other suitable materials having this required resilient and stiff physical property may also be used. These other materials include polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyamide (PA), polycarbonate (PC), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or acetal copolymer (POM). 
   The utility portion  2  is integrally formed and comprises two wings  6 ,  8  connected together at a junction  10  at the front end of the opener  1 . The utility portion  2  is provided with a gap  12  between the wings  6 ,  8  and wherein a lid of a container to be removed may be placed. The utility portion  2  is additionally provided with a layer thermoplastic elastomeric material (TPE)  14  and particularly a layer of styrene-butadiene-styrene based thermoplastic elastomer (SBS based TPE) material although styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene based thermoplastic elastomer (SEBS based TBE) or a soft plastic(s) material such as silicone may also be used. The layer of TPE  14  is fixedly attached to the inner side of the utility portion, defines opposite facing surfaces  16 ,  18  between which the lid is placed in use, and defines an elongate gripping area  20  (see also  FIGS. 5 and 6 ) in which the lid is gripped. While in this embodiment the junction  10  is not provided with any hinge means, the junction  10  serves as a hinge at which the wings  6 ,  8  can pivot. It is envisaged that a hinge means may be provided at the junction. 
   As best illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the utility portion  12  is provided with a flange  22  surrounding the upper side of the gripping area  20 . In particular, the gripping area  20  generally comprises three gripping regions  21   a ,  21   b ,  21   c  of successive larger sizes with the region  21   a  at the front end of the opener  1  being smallest and the region  21   c  closest to the handle portion  4  being the largest. 
   The handle portion  4  comprises a pair of arms  24 ,  26 , each extending from the respective wing  6 ,  8  of the utility portion  2 . Each of the arms  24 ,  26  and the respective wing  6 ,  8  are integrally formed. The handle portion  4  is provided with a thin layer  28  of elastomeric material similar to the elastomeric material of the utility portion  2  on its outer sides  29 , and this elastomeric layer allows better gripping by users on the arms  24 ,  26 . 
   It is to be noted that the jar opener  1  illustrated in this embodiment can remove lids of three categories of sizes. For examples, lids that are relatively small may be removed at the smallest gripping region  21   a  and lids that are relatively large may be removed at the largest gripping region  21   c . Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , depending on the configuration of the opener  1 , the smallest region  21   a  indicated by the upper dotted circle ranges from about 13.7 mm to 18.3 mm in diameter such that lids having a diameter in this range may be removed at this region. The diameter of the largest region  21   c  indicated by the lower dotted circle ranges from about 26 mm to 52.7 mm in diameter such that lids having a diameter in this range may be removed at this region. The diameter of the middle region  21   b  indicated by the middle dotted circle ranges from about 19.3 mm to 32.2 mm. It is thus envisaged that the jar opener of this embodiment may remove lids having a diameter from about 13.7 mm to 52.7 mm. However, experiments have shown that it would be difficult to remove lids having a diameter of 13.7 mm or less with the opener of this embodiment arms  24 ,  26  because the handle portion  4  would need to be squeezed very closely together with an unusually greater force. Likewise, it would be difficult to remove lids having a diameter of 52.7 mm or above because such large lids placing the lid in the largest gripping region would be relatively inconvenient. Experiments have shown that the jar opener of this embodiment is preferably used to remove lids having a diameter of about 16 mm to 50 mm. This embodiment has been test to be able to effectively remove relatively small lids, such as removing caps from nail polish bottles, at the region  21   a . Of course, embodiments of different sizes may be made for removing lids falling outside of this range of diameter. 
   In use, the opener  1  in its default configuration (as shown in  FIG. 3 ) is placed above a container having a lid (not shown) to be removed therefrom with the side of the opener (i.e. the side having the flange) upwardly facing. In particular, the lid is placed in the gap  12  at the appropriate selected gripping region ( 21   a ,  21   b  or  21   c ) between the opposite facing surfaces  16 ,  18  of the SBS based TPE gripping area  20 . The arms  24 ,  26  are then brought together by squeezing them together with one hand until the opposite facing surfaces  16 ,  18  touch opposite sides of the lid. At this point, the arms  16 ,  18  actually bend slightly due to its resilience and stiffness thereof. The opposite facing surfaces  16 ,  18  then frictionally engage with and grip the opposite sides of the lid and the opener  1  adopts a squeezed configuration. Due to the elastomeric nature of the gripping area  20 , it deforms slightly. As the arms  24 ,  26  are continued to be squeezed and then are turned (normally in anti-clockwise direction for removing the lid), the lid is simultaneously turned with the opener  1  and thus loosened from the container and then be removed from the container. It is to be envisaged that after releasing the arms, the opener resumes to its default configuration due to its inherent resilience and stiffness. While metallic materials or metal alloys having similar resilience and stiffness may be used in place of the SBS based TPE type material, they may not be desirable at least to the extent that they are typically on one hand heavier and thus less user friendly and on the other hand more costly to manufacture.