OPENING DEVICE FOR SCREW TOP CLOSURES

Abstract: A device for removing screw top closures comprising an apertured member (16) located rotatably in a housing (11). The housing (11) has an aperture (19) which is alignable with aperture (21) in the rotatable member (16) in one position. Apertures (19) and (21) are eccentric to the axis of rotation of member (16) whereby upon rotation of member (16), a toothed inner edge (23) of member (16) wedgingly engages a screw top closure to facilitate removal or replacement on a container.

Description: "OPENING DEVICE FOR SCREW TOP CLOSURES" This invention relates to an improved device for removing screw top closures. Screw top closures are usually applied to containers in a factory by mechanical means to tightly close the container. In some instances, the screw threaded top of the container may have moulding imperfections which cause a wedging or binding effect on the screw top. In other situations the nature of the materials employed in the container and the screw top may give rise to a high coefficient of friction between the two materials. The effort required to remove such closures manually is frequently beyond consumers, who have to resort to mechanical aids in order to provide the necessary grip on the closure and to provide the torque required to release the closure from the container. While aids such as plier-like devices are readily available they are generally not designed especially for the task of removing screw top closures such as bottle tops or the like. Further, such devices are frequently cumbersome and/or inefficient in use as they rely on a substantial jaw pressure to achieve the necessary grip. The present invention aims to alleviate the disadvantages associated with prior art devices and to provide a device which will be reliable and efficient in use. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will hereinafter become apparent. According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a device for removing screw top closures comprising: a housing member having a first aperture therein; a clamping member rotatably associated with said housing member, said clamping member including a second aperture therein; said device characterized in that at least one of said first aperture and said second aperture is located eccentrically to the axis of relative rotation between said housing and said clamping member whereby in use a screw top closure may be wedgingly engaged between opposed inner edges of said first and second apertures. In a preferred form the support housing includes spaced circular walls connected peripherally together and the respective walls having coincident apertures therethrough arranged in off-set relationship to the central axis of said walls and said clamping member is a disc-like member which is substantially correspondingly apertured and is supported between said walls whereby the clamping member may be rotated between said open and clamping positions. The aperture in said clamping member may be the same or a different size to the apertures in said housing and it may have a serrated clamping edge and there may be provided selector means for rotating said clamping member relative to said housing. The selector means may be a pin fixed to said clamping member and extending outwardly therefrom through a slot in said housing wall. Of course the selector member could extend from the clamping member through the or each aperture in said housing. These apertures may be of any desired form such as square or triangular as well as circular. The selector means may also be constituted by the serrated edge of the clamping member. In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein; FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a preferred form of bottle opener; FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view showing the clamping member in phantom; FIG. 3 is an exploded cross-sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1; and FIG. 4 illustrates the operation of the opener. As illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, the opener 10 includes housing 11 having two substantially circular outer walls 12 - - - joined at their outer periphery by an upright wall 13 formed by abutting flanges 14. A circular space 15 is formed between the walls 12 and an apertured disc-like clamping member 16 is supported in the space 15. The member 16 is freely rotatable in the space 15 however its movement is limited by a pin 17 which engages with the clamping member 16 and passes through a slot 18 concentric with the wall 13. Circular apertures 19 in the wall 14 are arranged congruently to provide spaced abutment edges 20 against which a bottle top may engage. The apertures 19 are eccentric with respect to outer wall 13. The aperture 21 in the clamping member 16 is also eccentric with respect to outer wall 13 so that the clamping member 16 may be rotated to a position whereby all three apertures 19, 19 and 21 may be aligned to a position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 at which the apertures 19 are overlapped by the intermediate aperture 21. It will be seen that the clamping edge portion 22 of the aperture 21 co-operates with abutment edges 20 to provide jaw members to grip the bottle top. The clamping edge portion 22 of member 16 includes toothed projections 23 arranged over at least the operative portion of edge 22. Such toothed projections may be spaced evenly as shown or may be spaced apart either evenly or unevenly. The operation of the device will now be described with reference to FIG.4. From the position shown in FIG. 1 the pin 17 is moved anti-clockwise to align the apertures 19 and 21 to enable the opener 10 to be placed about a bottle top 24. The pin 17 is then moved clockwise to lightly clamp the top 24 between the edges 20 of the apertures 19 and the clamping edge 22. Subsequent rotation of the opener 10 in the anti-clockwise direction will cause clamping edge 22 to engage top 24 and thus tend to further rotate the member 21 within the housing 12 and clockwise relative thereto to tightly grip the top 24. The large external diameter of the opener relative to top 24 provides a lever arm extending from the centre of rotation to permit a substantial large torque to be transmitted to the opener with a simple wrist action to remove the top. If desired the opener 10 may be inverted for use in resealing the bottle. If required the clamping member 21 may be urged towards the closed position shown in FIG. 1 by a spring biassing means. To engage the opener 10 with a bottle top or the like, pin 17 is moved to align apertures 19, 19 and 21 and then released. Initial engagement between clamping edge 22 and the cap is achieved under the influence of the spring biassing means. The opener may be made of plastics material or of metal or a combination of materials as desired and of course it could be formed to any external shape for convenient gripping by auser. In lieu of the rotational support of the clamping member 21 there could be provided pivotal support within housing 11 for the jaw portion to provide the necessary clamping action upon the application of a rotational force to the opener. Furthermore it will be seen that the opener 10 can accommodate various diameter closure tops. In a further embodiment the opener may be a two part device comprising a pair of apertured members connected together so as to cause the apertures to move between an open position and a clamping position upon the application of a rotational force thereto. Instead of having an upstanding pin extending through an arcuate slot in the normally upper face of the housing, yet a further embodiment of the invention, the clamping member may have a substantially radial projection extending through a slot in the peripheral wall of the housing. The projection may be in the form of a lever arm to permit even greater torque to be applied to the screw top closure. it will of course be realised that the above has been given by way " of illustrated example only and all such modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the present invention as is herein set forth.

Claims: CLAIMS : 1. A device for removing screw top closures comprising:- a housing member having a first aperture therein; a clamping member rotatably associated with said housing member, said clamping member including a second aperture therein; said device characterized in th.at at least one of said first aperture and said second aperture is located eccentrically to the axis of relative rotation between said housing and said clamping member whereby in use a screw top closure may be wedgingly engaged between opposed inner edges of said first and second apertures. 2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least portion of an inner edge of said second aperture includes one or more toothed projections. 3. A device as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein at least portion of an inner edge of said first aperture includes one or more toothed projections. 4. A device as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said clamping member includes aperture alignment means extending through an arcuate slot in said housing member. 5. A device as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said housing includes a pair of opposed walls defining a hollow cavity within which said clamping member is rotatable. 6. A device as claimed in claim 5 wherein said opposed walls include respectively aligned first apertures. 7. A device as claimed in any one of claims 4-6 wherein said aperture alignment means comprises a projection extending normally from a planar face of said clamping member and extending through an arcuate slot in an adjacent planar face of said housing member. 8. A device as claimed in any one of claims 4-6 wherein said alignment means comprises a projection extending substantially radially from a peripheral edge of said OMPI Y/IPO _ clamping member through an arcuate slot in a peripheral edge of said housing member. 9. A device as claimed in claim 8 wherein said projection comprises a lever arm. 10. A device as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said clamping member is biassed toward a clamping position.

Inventors: CHANDLER GEOFFREY JAMES, CHANDLER, GEOFFREY, JAMES
Applicants: CHANDLER GEOFFREY JAMES, CHANDLER, GEOFFREY, JAMES
Application year: 1984
Main classification: B67B7
IPC codes: B67B7