Abstract:
An economical system and method for eliminating manual operations in smaller scale animal feeding water bottle management is provided. A hand held cap removal tool captures the perimeter of the water bottle cap for automatic capping or decapping. Provisions for suspending the tool for convenient universal motion over a work area are described. The cap removal tool accommodates straight and angled water delivery tubes and most popular water bottle cap sizes.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/509,792, filed Oct. 9, 2003. This invention relates to bottle cap handling systems, and in particular to devices and methods for installing and removing caps from animal water feeding bottles. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Medical research depends on animal experimentation which demands large numbers of animals, such as mice, rats, guinea pigs, and so on. Depending on the nature of the project animals may be housed singly or in multiples in each cage. In either case, a container for water is usually essential for each cage. In the past and to some extent even today this problem was addressed by providing a rubber stopper with a through hole, inserting a specially designed stainless steel tube in the hole, and inserting the rubber stopper into a suitable glass or plastic water bottle. Obvious problems with reliability and labor considerations led to the growing use of metal or plastic screw caps to replace the rubber stoppers, and matching threaded neck water bottles. While this provided reliable animal watering devices the lab technician was still faced with dealing with perhaps thousands of bottles each day. Each bottle cap has to be unscrewed to remove the cap, the bottle emptied of remaining water, filled with fresh water, and finally the cap resecured. This tedious work is not only boring and costly, but can lead to physical injury such as carpal tunnel syndrome. It has been estimated that repetitive motion of this kind can lead to worker complaints costing up to $15,000 per complaint in terms of lost productivity, disability, and medical costs. 
     To address this tedious problem of uncapping, dumping, and recapping bottles a variety of automated animal water bottle handling systems have been devised, including mechanical and computer programmed. These systems are currently commercially available for large scale animal requirements. However, for smaller research requirements the problem persists. The present invention provides a solution by providing a simple, economical hand held water bottle decapping and recapping system specifically for those applications still depending on objectionable manual operations. 
     It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a system for capping and decapping bottles with a hand held mechanism. 
     An additional object of the present invention is to fill the gap between automatic and manual bottle capping and decapping procedures. 
     A further object of the invention is to speed up the installation and removal of caps on water bottles. 
     Still another object of the invention is to minimize or eliminate physical injury to workers, such as carpal tunnel syndrome. 
     Yet another object of the invention is to provide a consistent and predetermined torque of each cap so as to minimize leakage. 
     SUMMARY 
     These and other objects are obtained with the animal water cap handling system of the present invention. 
     As noted above the task of unscrewing water bottles, emptying their contents, refilling the bottles, and then resecuring the threaded cap onto the matching bottle threads is an extremely objectionable procedure. It occurred that a hand held tool could be constructed to substantially eliminate the problem for those facilities wherein economic considerations dictated manual procedures. To this end a tool has been devised to automatically remove and resecure a cap on a water bottle. 
     Basically the cap handling tool is comprised of a straight tube having a gripper head at one end, and a drive tool mating piece at its other end. The gripper head is comprised of an upper section (for example, a cone shaped section) affixed to a perpendicularly attached gripper ring. An aperture at the center of the upper section, such as at the apex of the cone, permits attaching the gripper head to one end of the tube. The internal surface of the gripper ring is serrated with the serrations running parallel to the tube. The other end of the tube retains the drive tool mating piece. This extends a spaced distance away from the tube and is axially aligned with the center line of the tube. 
     Animal water feeding bottles tend to be standardized in their thread configurations as set by the Society of Plastics Industry. Typical cap sizes used with feeding bottles are 48 mm, 40 mm, and 54 mm, with the 48 and 40 mm sizes comprising about 90% of these bottle types in use. 
     To use the cap handling tool of the present invention, the drive tool mating piece on one end of the handling tool, typically hexagonal in shape, is inserted into the hexagonal clutch of a standard electric screw driver, as, for example, Dewalt model # DW 920K2. As will be more fully described below the gripper ring, which is sized to have a diameter slightly larger than the cap to be removed and with serrations substantially matching similar serrations on the side of the cap, is then positioned on the cap, the electric screw driver is activated so as to rotate the tool counterclockwise, thereby removing the cap. The process can be reversed, i.e. resecuring the cap, by having the electric screw driver rotate the tool clockwise. Preferably, the serrations on the interior of the gripper ring are tapered to be slightly larger at its lower opening so as to facilitate grasping the serrations on the side of the cap. 
     It is important to note that the purpose of the tube portion of the cap handling tool is to accommodate the metal, glass, or plastic water dispensing tube inevitably extending through the cap. These water tubes are generally of two types, a first straight type, of varying height, extending perpendicular to the top surface of the cap, and a second type, of varying height, extending at a right or acute angle to the cap top surface. In this latter case a second version of the cap handling tool has been devised having a slot in the gripper head and a matching, aligned slot in the tube so as to permit the gripper head to be secured over the water tube and onto the cap for the decapping-recapping procedures. In the case of the perpendicular water tube a slot for the gripper head and tube is not required, the water tube simply being inserted into the hollow tube section of the cap handling tool. 
     In addition to having a gripper head assembly for either perpendicular or angled water tubes, and to accommodate the differently sized serrated caps, a universal gripper head can be provided for those applications requiring frequently processing differently sized bottle caps. In one case the gripper head is configured to have all three popular thread sizes incorporated, one above the other in a single gripper head. Other combinations with two or more than three can be fashioned to accommodate a broader selection of caps if desirable. 
     While the above described hand held cap handling system provides a substantial improvement, the system is further improved by adding means for suspending the electric screw driver and attached cap handling tool in a universally positioning mode over the work area containing the bottles. A series of descriptions illustrating possible versions will be fully discussed below. For example, a bottle filling apparatus can be adapted in order to have a vertical arm connected to a rotatable horizontal arm so as to position a cable connected driver-tool combination over the racks containing the bottles and caps to be processed. Alternatively, a rotatable horizontal arm can be wall mounted with a cable connected driver-tool combination universally positionable over a work area. Still another alternative would be to suspend a universally positionable cable connected driver-tool combination from a ceiling over a work area. 
     It should be noted that a variety of other drive mechanisms can be used for cap handling tool rotation. For example, a flexible shaft assembly available from S.S. White Technologies, Inc., of Piscataway, N.J., can be employed. One possible arrangement would be to wall mount a rotatable horizontal arm having a ring support through which the flexible shaft can be positioned and secured. One end of the shaft would connect to the cap handling tool, while the other end of the flexible shaft would connect to a variable power, foot switch operated motor. Other drive mechanisms for the cap handling tool would include standard drill and drill bit clutch combinations, threaded connections to a drive mechanism, screw on securing mechanisms for securing the cap removal tool to the drive mechanism, and so on depending on designer preference. 
     While the above noted examples employ electric driven devices, obviously other power means, including air pressure, can be employed as the means for rotating the cap handling tool. The tool itself can be fabricated in metal such as steel or aluminum, or plastics such as polycarbonate. Stainless steel is preferred for its ability to withstand sterilization, and acceptability in sensitive pharmaceutical environments. In the case of plastics, Food and Drug Administration approved materials may be an important consideration. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one version of the cap handling tool of the invention, showing a slot in the gripper head and attached tube for accommodating angled water tubes. 
         FIG. 2A  is a perspective view of a hex bar drive-tool connector. 
         FIG. 2B  is a perspective view of a hex plug for the hex bar of  FIG. 2A . 
         FIG. 2C  is a perspective view of the tube section of one version of the cap handling tool of the invention, illustrating a slot for accommodating angled water tubes. 
         FIG. 3A  is a perspective view of a gripper head illustrating a slot for accommodating angled water tubes. 
         FIG. 3B  is a side, schematic sectional view of the gripper head of  FIG. 3A . 
         FIG. 3C  is a side, schematic view of a portion of the gripper head taken along the lines  3 C- 3 D of  FIG. 3B  showing an O ring within an annular groove acting as a bottle cap spacer. 
         FIG. 3D  is a side, schematic view of a portion of the gripper head taken along the lines  3 C- 3 D of  FIG. 3B  showing an O ring within an annular groove acting as a gripper for a bottle cap. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a non-slotted tube and gripper head for one version of the cap handling tool of the invention. 
         FIG. 5A  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the upper section of the gripper head of  FIG. 4  depicted as conical in shape. 
         FIG. 5B  is a side, sectional, elevation view of the cone portion in  FIG. 5A . 
         FIG. 6A  is a side, elevational perspective view of the gripper ring section of the gripper head of  FIG. 5A . 
         FIG. 6B  is a sectional, schematic view of the gripper ring of  FIG. 6A , taken along the line  6 B- 6 B of  FIG. 6C . 
         FIG. 6C  is a bottom plan, schematic view of the gripper ring of  FIG. 6A . 
         FIG. 6D  is a perspective view of a multi-cap gripper ring employing the principles of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6E  is a sectional, schematic view of the gripper ring of  FIG. 6D , taken along the line  6 E- 6 E of  FIG. 6F . 
         FIG. 6F  is a bottom plan, schematic view of the gripper ring of  FIG. 6D . 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of one version of the cap handling system of the invention shown suspended in position above a container of bottles and adjacent a bottle filling apparatus. 
         FIG. 8  is a view similar to  FIG. 7  illustrating a wall mounted suspension of one version of the cap handling system of the invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a view similar to  FIG. 8  illustrating a ceiling mounted suspension of one version of the cap handling system of the invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of one version of the cap handling system of the invention, illustrating a foot activated, motor driven flexible shaft as the controlled source of rotation for one version of the cap handling tool of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Turning now to the drawings wherein similar structures having the same function are denoted with the same numerals, in  FIG. 1   a  version of the cap handling tool  10  of the invention is depicted. The cap handling tool  10  is basically comprised of a straight, hollow tube  18  having a gripper head  13  affixed at one end, and a plug  19  ( FIG. 2B ) inserted and secured at its other end typically by welding to the top of the tube  18 . A drive tool mating piece, here a hex bar  23  ( FIG. 2A ), is tightly inserted into, pinned or welded to, a complementing opening in plug  19  to complete the structure of the cap handling tool  10 . Dimensions can be approximately 6″ in length×¾″ dia. for the tube; 2.5″ dia.×1¼′ in length for the gripper head, and 1½″ in length×¼″ across the flats for the hex bar  23 . Stainless steel is a preferred material of construction due to the fact that it can be sterilized, is durable, and acceptable in sensitive animal research areas, but a variety of other metals, such as aluminum, can also be used. The tool can, of course, be fabricated in plastics such as polycarbonate, with care given to Food and Drug Administration approved materials if necessary. 
     As seen in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the hex plug  19  has a shaft  28  for insertion and for press fit or weld connection into the top of tube  18 , with an annular, larger diameter collar  22  substantially matching the outside diameter of the tube. Opening  30  in the hex plug accepts the hex shaft  26  of the hex bar  23  protruding above the end of the tube  18  when inserted. 
     As illustrated, one embodiment of the gripper head  13  is comprised of a cone shaped top portion  14  ( FIG. 3A ) having an aperture  32  at the apex of the cone, the cone  14  being fixedly secured to an annular gripper ring  12  affixed to the outer periphery of the cone ( FIG. 3A ). In  FIGS. 5A and 5B , cone portion  38  of the slot-less embodiment of the gripper head  39  (see  FIG. 4 ) is depicted. The annular ring  40  of gripper head  39  is best illustrated in  FIGS. 6A ,  6 B and  6 C. As seen in  FIGS. 5B and 6B  a right angle annular cut out  44  adjacent the peripheral edge of the gripper ring  40  complements an extended perimeter, annular protrusion  46  at the peripheral edge of the cone  38  for a secure point of attachment. This complementing structure exists also between gripper ring  12  and cone shaped top portion  14  for the slotted version. A preferred method for joining the cone  14  and the gripper ring  12 , and similarly the cone  38  and the gripper ring  40 , is by welding. The tube  18  (or tube  36 , see  FIG. 4 ) can be press fitted or welded to the aperture  32  (or  42 ) in the cone  14  (or  38 ). 
       FIGS. 3B ,  6 A,  6 B, and  6 C illustrate the gripper ring mechanism used to facilitate cap removal. The interior surface of the gripper head has annularly disposed serrations  34  running generally parallel to the direction of the tube. The purpose of the serrations is to contact matching serrations on the outer surface of the bottle cap  78  ( FIG. 7 ). For example, the grooves forming the serrations might be 5° apart, therefore comprising 72 grooves around a cap or ring circumference. As perhaps best seen in  FIG. 6B  the ring diameter of the gripper ring  40  is slightly larger at the lower end  73  of the gripper ring  40  as contrasted to the upper end  75 . This allows the operator to more easily engage the bottle cap, for example  78 , for removal. Once the ring envelops the cap, the operator urges the tool further onto the cap to the point where the upper end  75  of the ring engages the cap. At this point, the cap can be rotatably removed from or refitted to the bottle. 
       FIGS. 3C and 3D  illustrate the use of O rings ( 35 , 37 , 41 ) to further facilitate the handling of bottle caps within the gripper head. An annular groove  33  has been formed adjacent the point of attachment of the gripper head upper section  14  and the gripper ring so as to permit the placement therein of O rings of differing diameters. It is sometimes desirable to prevent the gripper ring from temporarily grasping a bottle cap during cap removal procedures. For example, in  FIG. 3C  an O ring  35  having substantially the same diameter as the diameter of the bottle cap is shown. When the upper end  75  of the gripper ring engages the cap this O ring  35  prevents temporary grasping of the cap by the gripper ring, thereby acting as a spacer between the cap top surface and the upper end  75  of the gripper ring, thereby facilitating removal of the cap from the gripper ring 
       FIG. 3D  illustrates the use of O rings to enable the gripper head to temporarily grasp the bottle cap for those applications where the operator prefers to place the cap in the gripper ring portion of the tool before installing the cap in a bottle. In one approach an O ring  37  having a slightly smaller I.D. than the O.D of the bottle cap would be secured the annular groove  33  between the gripper head upper section and the gripper ring. When an operator urges the tool further onto the cap the O ring  37  will be slightly deformed between the top surface and immediate top sides of the cap, causing the cap to be temporarily grasped by the gripper head. Alternatively, an annular groove  41  can be placed a spaced distance along the interior wall of the gripper ring to permit the placement therein of an O ring  43  having an I.D. slightly smaller so as to fit over the sides of the bottle cap. Placing the gripper ring over the bottle cap will now cause an external surface of the bottle cap to contact the O ring  43 , thereby causing the gripper head to temporarily grasp the bottle cap. Installation of the cap to the bottle would then follow. 
       FIGS. 1 ,  2 C, and  3 A illustrate an important feature of one version of the cap removal tool  10  of the invention. For those applications wherein the water dispensing tube is at a right or acute angle as it exits the bottle cap, and of varying height, a slot  16  is provided in the cone  14  and gripper ring  12  ( FIG. 3A ), and a slot  20  is provided in tube  18 . The slot  20  has sufficient length to accommodate the longest angled tube to be expected in a particular application. 
     For those applications depicted in  FIG. 7  wherein the water dispensing tube  80  is straight and perpendicular to the top surface of the cap there is, of course, no need for a slotted tool. In  FIG. 4  a non-slotted tube  36  is depicted, affixed to a gripper head  39  comprised of a non-slotted cone  38  ( FIGS. 5A and 5B ) and a non-slotted gripper ring  40  via aperture  42 . 
     In addition to a slotted gripping ring  12  and a non-slotted gripping ring  40  available in sizes and serrations to match the differently sized and differently serrated bottle caps,  FIGS. 6D ,  6 E, and  6 F, illustrate a single gripper ring  41  for accommodating all three standard bottle cap threads. Gripper ring  41  can, of course, be made available in a slotted configuration. A variety of other gripper rings configured to engage other bottle cap profiles can also be employed for the cap removal tool  10  of the invention. For example, a gripper ring for a hexagonally sided bottle cap is easily provided consistent with the principles of the invention. 
       FIGS. 7-10  illustrate a number of different systems and methods for convenient use of the cap removal tool. In  FIG. 7  the tool is shown used in conjunction with a bottle filling apparatus, which is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/266,796, filed Oct. 8, 2002, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. The bottle filling machine  50  is shown with a vertical member  52  connected via a bushing  53  to horizontal member  54 . This bushing arrangement allows rotational movement about vertical member  52 . A bushing  56  mounted on the horizontal member permits lateral movement of a spring loaded tool balancer mechanism  58  with connected cable  60  along the length of horizontal member  54 . A suitable tool balancer mechanism is available as part # 62410005 from the Hubbell Company of Mayville, Wis. Clip  61  connects cable  60  to a tool support bracket  62 . Bracket  62  includes a looped end  63  configure to firmly engage the butt end  65  of the tool driving mechanism  64 , which in this embodiment is a standard electric screw driver such as Dewalt&#39;s Model # DW 920K2. As is standard with such devices, a battery pack,  66  is secured to the butt end of the  64 . Bracket  62  is designed to provide a clearance height distance  67 , which enables the removal and/or replacement of the battery pack  66  without necessarily removing the tool driving mechanism  64  from the bracket  62 . Chuck  72  at the end of the electric screw driver is shown secured to the head  24  of the hex bar  23  at the top of the cap removal tool  10 . The tool is shown suspended just above a typical animal feeding water bottle  76 , with cap  78  having a perpendicular water dispensing tube  80  in place. The water bottle is shown positioned in a container  74  typically having a plurality of such bottles placed therein prior or subsequent to being processed by the bottle filling apparatus  50 . In this arrangement the cap removal tool is free to move in all directions, up and down, as facilitated by the spring loaded tool balancer mechanism  58 , and side to side or front to back because of the lateral or rotational connections between members  52 ,  54  and  56 . This enables access to the bottles at every location in the bottle container or bottle containers placed side by side, if the dimensions accommodate such a juxtaposition. In operation, with the tool  10  connected to the driving mechanism  64 , the operator grasps the mechanism  64  to lower the tool including the gripper on to a respective bottle cap. If the bottle cap includes an angled tube, of course the slotted version of the tool (see  FIG. 1 ) will be employed. In the latter case, the operator would have to align the slot in the gripper  13  and tube  18  with the orientation of the water tube as it emanated from the cap  78 . As noted above the engagement of the cap is facilitated due to the relatively larger opening of the lower portion of the gripper ring, for example  12 . The cap is engaged and the operator urges the tool further downward until the gripper ring firmly grasps the cap. At this point the tool driving mechanism is energized in a known manner to allow appropriate rotational motion depending on whether the cap is to be removed or secured. A tool driving mechanism  64  is selected which enables the operator to adjust the torque and/or speed applied through the tool to the bottle cap. The Dewalt device noted, for example, has an adjustment capability over a range of “1 to 20” which allows the operator to experiment with and empirically determine the desired torque to sufficiently tighten the cap to prevent or minimize leakage without stripping or otherwise mutilating the internal cap threads. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a similar arrangement to that of  FIG. 7  except in this case the horizontal member  54  is rotationally connected to a wall  53 . Once again the cap removal tool is free to be positioned in virtually any direction as required. 
     Again in  FIG. 9  a similar arrangement to that of  FIGS. 7 and 8  is shown. In this case the cap removal tool is illustrated as being rotationally suspended from a ceiling  82 . Support bars  84  extend from the ceiling affixed to a horizontal bar  86  which provides the laterally adjustable support  88  for the remainder of the suspension assembly. 
     Obviously, in addition to the above described electric screw driver, a variety of other rotary drive devices can be similarly employed to rotate the cap removal tool. For example, in  FIG. 10  a flexible shaft, available from S.S. White Technologies, Inc. can be utilized. Again a wall mounted horizontal member  54  supports a lateral movement bushing  56  securing a bar  90  and loop  92  for positioning and securing the flexible shaft  94 . The flexible shaft can be equipped at one end with a hex chuck  100  for securing the head  24  of the hex bar  23  on the tool  10  thereto. The other end of the flexible shaft is connected to a controllable source of power  96 , such as an electric motor, and a foot operated on/off switch  98 , for providing clockwise or counterclockwise rotation to the cap removal tool. 
     It should be noted that although the tool such as  10  in  FIG. 1  is described as a composite of separate pieces, it is within the breadth of the present invention for the tool to be machined or molded as a single unit. Further the means whereby the gripper ring engages the cap can include an elastomeric O-ring positioned in a suitably located annular groove on the interior surface of the gripper ring area of the tool. Still further, the cap engaging means can comprise a ball nose spring plunger, available as part # 3408A65, from McMaster Carr Company of Dayton New Jersey, disposed again at an appropriate location on the interior surface of the gripper ring area. 
     Thus it can be seen that the cap removal system of the present invention offers important new conveniences in animal feeding water bottle management. For the smaller scale research facility an economical solution to a tedious problem is provided, while at the same time substantially increasing worker efficiency in an ergonomically acceptable manner. 
     While the present invention has been disclosed in connection with versions shown in detail, various modifications and improvements will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the spirit and scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the following claims.