Abstract:
The Champagne Bottle Opener, a hand manipulable device is described for removing mushroom-shaped stoppers from sparkling beverage bottles. It includes a pair of bifurcated jaws and opposing handles about a common pivot wherein each jaw contains improvements over prior art, improvements that enable the device to function more effectively for the wide dimensional variances in bottle and cork diameters commonly found in the marketplace. The opposing handles contain improvements as well permitting the device to be operated more easily and safely. Also included in the present invention are features that generate a tactile “snap” when the device is properly inserted about the bottle, and provide improved means for anchoring the tool when engaging in the extraction of any mushroom-shaped stopper.

Description:
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS  
       [0001]    
       
         
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 2,761,338 
                 September 1956 
                 Hardy 
                 81/3.38 R 
               
               
                 3,722,327 
                 March 1973 
                 Strassel 
                 81/3.36 R 
               
               
                 3,800,345 
                 April 1974 
                 Feliz 
                 7/14.6 
               
               
                 4,018,110 
                 April 1977 
                 Spriggs 
                 81/3.08 
               
               
                 4,387,609 
                 June 1983 
                 Poisfuss 
                 81/3.36 
               
               
                 4,422,355 
                 December 1983 
                 Burns 
                 81/3.46 
               
               
                 4,606,245 
                 August 1986 
                 Veverka 
                 81/3.36 
               
               
                 4,875,394 
                 October 1989 
                 Crudgington 
                 81/3.08 
               
               
                 4,947,711 
                 August 1990 
                 Glebeler 
                 81/3.37 
               
               
                 5,275,070 
                 January 1994 
                 St. Denis 
                 81/3.29 
               
               
                 5,347,889 
                 September 1994 
                 St. Denis 
                 81/3.29 
               
               
                 5,868,044 
                 February 1999 
                 Sonderman 
                 81/3.29 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
       FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS  
       [0002]    
       
         
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 53681 
                 September 1937 
                 Denmark 
                 81/417 
               
               
                 25798 
                 February 1953 
                 Finland 
                 81/3.09 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0004]     The present invention applies to specific improvements to bottle stopper removers for removing mushroom-shaped stoppers, those commonly made from either cork or plastic, from champagne and other sparkling beverage bottles, and more specifically applies to extractors that incorporate opposing bifurcated jaws and a pair of handles about a common pivot; jaws that provide a leveraged lifting action for removing the stopper by squeezing said handles.  
         [0005]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0006]     Invention and use of bottle stopper removers for sparkling beverages sealed with mushroom-shaped stoppers are known to the public. The concept of using bifurcated jaws for such devices was first introduced by Spriggs, U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,110. While the concepts disclosed by Spriggs are valid, significant refinements brought forth in Crudgington U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,394 were necessary to produce a viable product of this type.  
         [0007]     This type of bottle stopper remover in its basic form is comprised of upper and lower bifurcated jaws that engage about the neck or top of the bottle. Each jaw forms a pair of prongs with essentially a U-shaped blade incorporated therein. Depending on its application the blade associated with the lower jaw rests directly on either the flared section directly below the bottle&#39;s lip or on the top of the bottle&#39;s lip, while the blade belonging to the upper jaw is positioned under the head of either a cork or plastic stopper. A squeeze of a pair of handles about a common pivot results in the spreading of the jaws which in turn serves to exert an upwardly-directed leveraged force on the stopper, thus eliminating the need to manually “wrestle” the stopper out of the bottle.  
         [0008]     3. Object of the Invention  
         [0009]     It is the object of the present invention to provide significant improvements to inventions previously disclosed by Spriggs and Crudgington that enhance the function of hand manipulable devices of this type for removing mushroom shaped stoppers from sparkling beverage bottles.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     The present invention focuses particularly on certain improvements in such pullers hereafter referred as the champagne bottle opener, or simply the opener, puller or extractor. Prior art neglects to address problems arising from the wide dimensional variances found in sparkling beverage bottles and stoppers contained therein. Of greatest concern is the variation in diameter of the lip at the top of the bottle and the diameter of the stopper, particularly those made of natural cork The lip of sparkling wine bottles will vary in diameter from about 1.04″ to 1.15″ and the size of cork stoppers varies even more; in some cases the cork&#39;s head is only slightly larger than the bottle&#39;s lip. If the problems associated with these dimensional variances is not adequately addressed, the opener of the bifurcated jaw type may fail to function properly: if too large the upper jaw may inadvertently slip over a small cork stopper without lifting it; or if too small, the opener may break or worse yet, chip shards of glass from the bottle&#39;s lip while attempting to slide over the lip. For an opener to be reliable over the broadest range of bottle and cork configurations, the problems arising from dimensional variances are examined and improvements are set forth. The full implication of these size variations will be detailed along with advancements in the current invention that address the corresponding issues.  
         [0011]     Introduced in my invention are significant refinements in the upper and lower bifurcated jaws that improve stopper retaining means, stopper gripping means and bottle anchoring means, along with identifying the importance of the material used to obtain desired mechanical characteristics. Prior art neglects to introduce the advantages of an opener that provides the means to inform the user that the tool has been fully and properly positioned for extracting a stopper, this being another object of my invention. Additionally, inherent problems, with spring clip mechanisms introduced in prior art for retaining or holding a stopper during extraction, are detailed herein. An improvement set forth eliminates the need for using spring clip(s) or other means to grab or clamp the stopper, yet prevents the released stopper from inadvertently ricocheting out of the puller&#39;s stopper-retaining device during extraction.  
         [0012]     The wish-bone shaped handle configuration depicted in prior art for bifurcated stopper extractors is replaced with an improved design that is fully set forth. The problems inherent in this configuration are addressed, with embodiments that enhance the manipulation of the opener without sacrificing leverage capability or vertical lift.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the assembled Champagne Opener consisting of an upper lever, lower lever, a pair of hinge pins that snap together and an internal hinge spring not shown. Also illustrated are the two types of mushroom-shaped stoppers, a typical one made of cork and the other a typical one made of plastic.  
         [0014]      FIGS. 2 &amp; 2   a  are perspective views of the opener assembly and the lower lever positioned for extraction of all mushroom-shaped plastic stoppers from a typical sparkling beverage bottle.  
         [0015]      FIGS. 3 &amp; 3   a  are perspective views of the opener assembly and the lower lever positioned for removal of a cork stopper sealing an unusually large-lipped sparkling beverage bottle.  
         [0016]      FIGS. 4 &amp; 4   a  are perspective views of the opener assembly and the lower lever positioned for removal of cork stoppers sealing all normal sized sparkling beverage bottles.  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the upper lever showing preferred embodiments of the upper jaw and associated elements.  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is a top perspective view of the upper jaw detailing preferred embodiments of the blade configuration.  
         [0019]      FIG. 7  is a bottom orthographic view of the upper jaw detailing preferred embodiments of the blade configuration and the stopper retaining means.  
         [0020]      FIG. 8  is a front orthographic view of the upper jaw positioned for extraction of all plastic stoppers.  
         [0021]      FIG. 8   a  is a side orthographic section view of  FIG. 8  primarily illustrating the relationship between plastic stopper and stopper retaining means.  
         [0022]      FIG. 9  is a front orthographic view of the upper jaw positioned for extraction of a cork stopper sealing an unusually large-lipped sparkling beverage bottle.  
         [0023]      FIG. 9   a  is a side orthographic section view of  FIG. 9  primarily illustrating the relationship between cork stopper and stopper retaining means.  
         [0024]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the lower lever showing preferred embodiments of the lower jaw and associated elements.  
         [0025]      FIG. 11  is a bottom orthographic view of the lower jaw showing preferred embodiments of the lower jaw.  
         [0026]      FIG. 12  is a front orthographic section view of  FIG. 4  detailing embodiments of the upper and lower blade configuration when applied to a mushroom-shaped cork stopper sealed to a normal sized sparkling beverage bottle.  
         [0027]      FIG. 13  is a side view of the opener assembly with the upper and lower levers in the “relaxed” position illustrating preferred embodiments to the handle configuration and the stopper retaining means.  
         [0028]      FIG. 14  is a side view of the opener assembly with the upper and lower levers in the fully squeezed position illustrating preferred embodiments to the handle configuration and the stopper retaining means.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0029]     The basic elements comprising a bifurcated stopper puller are not new to the art as they were introduced and described in prior art. The present invention introduces numerous and significant improvements to all such pullers. Whereas the preferred configuration of the improvements relating to the invention has been illustrated and described herein, it should be realized that the embodiments are to be considered in all respects illustrative and not restrictive.  
         [0030]     The bifurcated stopper puller illustrated in  FIG. 1  is comprised of a pair of levers, upper  1  and lower  1   a , which at one end form a pair of handles, upper  2  and lower  2   a , and at the opposite end a pair of bifurcated jaws, upper  3  and lower  3   a . The levers  1  and  1   a  are joined by a pivot pin assembly  4 , so that the squeezing together of the handles  2  and  2   a  causes the opening of upper  3  and lower  3   a  jaws. Typically, a spring (not shown) is placed between the handles  2  and  2   a  for returning the levers  1  and  1   a  to their original rest position, making the puller easier to hold during placement. Additionally, stopper gripping means  5  is positioned between the handles  2  and  2   a  for conventional cork removal by gripping and rotating the stopper. A stopper retaining member  6  is affixed to the upperjaw  3 . Bifurcated jaws, upper  3  and lower  3   a  each have a pair of ridges  14  and  14   a  formed around their perimeters for reinforcement. The interior of upper  3  and lower  3   a  jaws contain upper blade  11  and lower blade  11   a  respectively, each of which forms a generally “U” shaped upper recess  10  and lower recess  10   a . Upper recess  10  provides the means for addressing either a mushroom-shaped plastic stopper  7   a  below its base  15 , or mushroom-shaped cork stopper  7   b  at it&#39;s downwardly presented shoulder  15   a ; and the lower recess  10   a  provides the means for anchoring to either the lip  17  or shoulder  19  of a sparkling wine or similar beverage bottle  18  sealed with either plastic stopper  7   a  or cork stopper  7   b . Henceforth, any reference that refers to both plastic stopper  7   a  and cork stopper  7   b , will be referred to simply as stopper  7 . To accommodate the wide variety of bottle-stopper configurations three positions for placing the opener around the bottle  18  are available as illustrated in  FIGS. 2, 3  &amp;  4 , wherein each position addresses different stopper  7  and bottle  18  configurations. As shown in  FIGS. 2 &amp; 2   a , the opener rests on shoulder  19  of bottle  18 , that being the proper anchoring position for removing all plastic stoppers  7   a . As seen in  FIGS. 3 &amp; 3   a , the opener rests on top of the bottle&#39;s lip  17   a  having unusually large internal and external diameters as is the case with certain European brands.  FIGS. 4 &amp; 4   a  illustrate the third manner of inserting the opener for most cork stopper  7   b  and bottle  18  configurations, where the opener is sized to rest on top of the typical bottle&#39;s lip  17  and to slip around the base of a typical cork stopper&#39;s head  15   a.    
         [0031]      FIGS. 5, 6 ,  7 ,  8 ,  8   a ,  9  &amp;  9   a  show the upper jaw  3  configuration in various views, with  FIGS. 8 &amp; 8   a  illustrating the application with a typical plastic stopper  7   a  and sparkling beverage bottle  18 ; and  FIGS. 9 &amp; 9   a  showing one of two possible positions to engage a cork stopper  7   b , in this case one sealing a sparkling beverage bottle  18  with an unusually large lip  17   a . In order to prevent any stopper  7  from inadvertently ricocheting out from under the stopper retaining member  6 , prior art introduced the use of a spring loaded stopper retaining member or a stopper retaining member with one or more spring loaded clips. Experience has shown that the use of a spring loaded mechanism to grip the stopper  7  has several inherent problems: springs tend to weaken over time, making them less reliable; the force that springs apply for gripping purposes tends to work against the insertion of the opener; and the wide size range of cork stoppers  7   b  results in the spring clip mechanism becoming ineffective for unusually large or small stoppers  7   b . Spring clip(s) are found to be either too loose for small-headed corks or too tight for large-headed corks. Even in those cases where properly sized, spring clip(s) tend to impede the insertion of the opener around the stopper because the clip(s) exert a counter force while engaging about the stopper&#39;s head. The result is an increased difficulty in positioning the tool for insertion about the stopper  7 , or increased difficulty in inserting the opener into the proper position for extraction. In the present invention, the stopper retaining member  6 , either attached to or made part of the upper jaw  3 , includes a refinement that eliminates the need to grip the stopper  7  in order to prevent its accidental ejection from the opener. Rather than proving means to grip the stopper  7 , a stopper deflecting means  8  is centered within the stopper retaining member  6 , and is positioned and beveled in such a manner as to deflect the released stopper  7  towards the rear of the upper jaw  3  where it is safely contained within the retaining member  6 . This deflecting means  8  can best be understood in  FIGS. 8   a  &amp;  9   a . Since the deflecting means  8  is not required to make contact with the pre-extracted stopper  7  in order to be effective, the stopper retaining member  6  along with deflecting means  8  can be sized to accommodate even the larger cork stoppers  7   b  without sacrificing its effectiveness with smaller stoppers  7 .  
         [0032]     Another significant improvement set forth is the addition of a pair of rails  9  on both sides and within the interior of stopper retaining member  6 , most clearly visible in  FIG. 5 . As can be visualized from viewing  FIGS. 8 &amp; 9 , the pair of rails  9  helps guide the insertion of the opener around any stopper  7 .  FIGS. 8   a  &amp;  9   a  show how the rails  9  are positioned above and primarily parallel to upper blade  11 . The pair of rails  9  can be effectively spaced apart so that they make contact with most plastic stoppers since the dimensional variance of plastic stoppers  7   a  is nominal. Furthermore, a common element of all plastic stoppers  7   a  is that the widest portion is at the base of the head  15 , thereby permitting the base of the head  15  to rest underneath rails  9  as illustrated in  FIG. 8 . Thus, pair of rails  9  provides the means to impede the upward motion of a released plastic stopper  7   a  and assist in discarding it from the opener by preventing the dislodged plastic stopper  7   a  from lifting up and catching on the beveled protrusion  8  as it is being pushed out of the opener.  
         [0033]     As evident in  FIGS. 5, 6  &amp;  7 , the stopper gripping means of blade  11  within upper jaw  3  has been enhanced by introducing a pair of opposing curvatures  13  within the generally “U” shaped recess  10  described in prior art. When these curvatures  13  are viewed together as illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the pair of curvatures  13  form a primarily circular slot  16 , thereby increasing the possible surface contact between blade  11  and any stopper  7  when the opener is positioned as shown in  FIG. 2  or  3 . In both positions, the pair of curvatures  13  are aligned with and conform to the circular shape of all type stoppers  7  so that with plastic stoppers  7   a  as shown in  FIG. 2 , increased surface contact is made between blade  11  and the base of the plastic stopper head  15 ; or with cork stoppers  7   b  as shown in  FIG. 3 , increased surface contact is made between blade  11  and the downwardly presenting portion of a cork stopper&#39;s head  15   a . Also included within the upper jaw  3  as seen in  FIG. 6  is a secondary generally circular recess  12  positioned at the base of primary recess  10  for positioning the opener as seen in  FIG. 4 . And while recess  12  was disclosed in prior art, it is made significantly more effective by introducing an upwardly facing chamfer  22  seen most clearly in  FIG. 6  so that recess  12  is wider at the top of blade  11  than at the bottom and having a cross-sectional width sufficient to permit the opener to pass under and around the base of a cork stopper  7   b . By introducing chamfer  22  to recess  12 , engagement between blade  11  and downwardly facing shoulder  15   a  is improved thereby eliminating the requirement to engage about a partially lifted the stopper  7   b  as defined in prior art. Recess  12  is further enhanced by increasing its curvature past 180° as shown in  FIG. 7  so that blade  11  slightly encircles the cork stopper  7   b , thus providing the means to generate a slight locking action when the opener is positioned for extraction.  
         [0034]     As viewed in  FIG. 7 a  further innovation within the upper jaw  3  is the slight tapering of blade  11  at the entrance of upper recess  10  where the width of the upper recess  10  narrows from the entrance with the narrowest point  21  being at the front of opposing curvatures  13 . By making the upper jaw  3  and/or blade  11  from a rigid material with some degree of flexibility, as with certain plastics, the narrowest point of blade separation  21  can be made to spread apart slightly during insertion. The primary recess  10  in upper blade  11  at its narrowest point  21  can thereby be appreciably less than the diameter of bottle  18  where applied, that being directly under the head of plastic cork  7   a  as seen in  FIG. 2 , or appreciably less than the diameter at the base  15   a  of cork stopper  7   b  as seen in  FIG. 3 . This embodiment enhances the gripping means of blade  11  by further encompassing either type stopper  7  thereby increasing contact through the extended arc length of curvatures  13 . Furthermore, the momentary splaying action of blade  11  during insertion of the opener creates a spring-loaded force that assists the user in properly positioning the opener by centering either bottle  18  as shown in  FIG. 8 , or cork stopper  7   b  as shown in  FIG. 9 , within the circular slot  16  as blade  11  returns from its flexed to normal shape. In addition, the momentary splaying of blade  11  generates a slight snapping action that can be felt, thereby informing the user that the puller has been fully and properly inserted.  
         [0035]      FIGS. 8 &amp; 8   a  illustrate a typical sparkling beverage bottle  18  sealed with a plastic stopper  7   a . When the opener is positioned for extraction, the circular slot  16  within upper blade  11  shown in  FIGS. 6 &amp; 7  is centered about the bottle  18 . Normally, all plastic stoppers  7   a  cover the bottle&#39;s lip as shown in  FIGS. 2 &amp; 2   a  necessitating that upper blade  11  pass over lip  17  during removal of a plastic stopper  7   a . For most domestic sparkling beverage bottles, the diameter of circular slot  16  is sized to be larger than lip  17  thereby providing adequate clearance for upper blade  11  to pass over bottle lip  17  during extraction. As seen in  FIG. 7 , to remove a plastic stopper  7   a  sealing a sparkling beverage bottle with the largest diameter lip  17 , curvatures  13  have been modified to accommodate a larger diameter lip  17 . On each side of blade  11  curvature  13  has been elongated by splitting each curve into two nearly identical curvatures  13  whose radii are bisected by a slight separation  33  thereby forming two pair of adjacent curvatures  13  as seen in  FIG. 7 . The separation  33  between curvatures  13  enables upper blade  11  to slide over a bottle lip  17  having a diameter greater than that of curvatures  13 , without necessitating the increase of the cross-sectional width of circular slot  16 . By manufacturing the upper jaw  3  and/or upper blade  11  from a rigid material with some degree of flexibility, as with certain plastics, blade  11  can be made to spread apart sufficiently during the extraction of any plastic stopper  7   a . By this means circular slot  16  remains sufficiently small for blade  11  to make the best possible contact with the underside  15  of a plastic stopper  7   a  or the downwardly presenting shoulder  15   a  of a cork stopper  7   b.    
         [0036]      FIGS. 10 &amp; 11  illustrate several improvements to the lower jaw  3   a . The jaw&#39;s ridges  14   a  are significantly strengthened by incorporating a taper  20  from tip to base as viewed most clearly in  FIG. 11 . Tapered ridges  20  also assist in guiding the insertion of the opener around the bottle&#39;s shoulder  19  or bottle&#39;s lip  17 . The anchoring means of blade  11   a  has been enhanced by introducing a pair of opposing curvatures  13   a  within the primary generally “U” shaped recess  10   a  brought forth in prior art. When the pair of curvatures  13   a  are viewed together as seen in  FIG. 11 , they form a primarily circular slot  16   a , thereby encouraging the opener to become properly positioned about a bottle&#39;s shoulder  19  as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 &amp; 2   a . Again referring to both  FIGS. 10 &amp; 11 , by adding downwardly facing chamfers  24  to blade  11   a  at curvatures  13   a , the positioning of the opener for removal of a plastic stopper  7   a  is enhanced. By contouring chamfers  24  to that of the typical bottle&#39;s shoulder  19 , a tighter fit under plastic stopper  7   a  is made possible when the opener is positioned as shown in  FIG. 2 . Furthermore, anchoring of the lower jaw  3   a  has been improved when blade  11   a  is positioned about the bottle  18  as shown in  FIGS. 3 &amp; 3   a  because of the increased contact with bottle lip  17  made possible by the conforming shape of the pair of curvatures  13   a . As seen in  FIGS. 10 &amp; 11  a secondary generally circular recess  12   a  is shown at the base of primary recess  10   a , and while recess  12   a  was disclose in prior art, it has been made significantly more effective by introducing a downwardly facing chamfer  23  that generally conforms to the bottle&#39;s lip  18  when positioned as shown in  FIGS. 4 &amp; 4   a . By adding chamfer  22  to secondary slot  12  in upper jaw  3  shown in  FIG. 6 , and by adding a reversed corresponding chamfer  23  to secondary slot  12   a  in the lower jaw  3   a  shown in  FIGS. 10 &amp; 11 , the opener can be inserted between cork stopper  7   b  and bottle lip  17  without first having to partially dislodge the stopper from the bottle as required in the configuration claimed in prior art. The means to accomplish the placement of the opener shown in  FIG. 4  as previously described can best be visualized by referring to  FIG. 12  that illustrates the manner in which the upper and lower blades  11  &amp;  11   a  form a tapered edge that is defined by opposing chamfers  22  and  23  within slots  12  and  12   a.    
         [0037]      FIGS. 13 and 14  illustrate several improvements in the pair of handles  2  and  2   a  over prior art. Experience reveals that with the wishbone handle configuration previously disclosed, the handles have an undesirable tendency to cross at their ends  21  &amp;  21   a  when fully squeezed if made from a material having even a slight degree of flexibility as with most plastics. By reshaping the lower handle  2   a  so that its end  21   a  is primarily parallel to upper handle&#39;s end  21 , the tendency for them to cross is greatly minimized. Furthermore, by including a stop means  25  between handles  2  &amp;  2   a , their ends  21  &amp;  21   a  are prevented from making contact with one another when fully squeezed. This improvement not only prevents the squeezed handles  2  &amp;  2   a  from crossing but eliminates the possibility of the user&#39;s palm from being pinched from handles that touch. By incorporating the stop means  25  as part of the stopper gripping means  5 , the stop means  25  which would otherwise be an unattractive element becomes essentially hidden. Additionally, the lower handle  2   a  incorporates an upward curvature  26  thereby approximating a shallow “S” shape. This embodiment effectively reduces the maximum handle separation  27  in the relaxed position at the location where the opener is gripped, as seen in  FIG. 13 ; at also improves the grasping of the handles for users with smaller hands without sacrificing the maximum possible angular separation  28  of jaws  3  and  3   a  available with the prior configuration, as seen in  FIG. 14 . Additional benefits are gained by reshaping the stopper retaining member  6 . As can be seen in both orthographic  FIGS. 13 &amp; 14 , the stopper retaining member  6  is in the form of a hood, and while the configuration was previously disclosed, the hood has been improved by the inclusion of front and rear tapers  31  &amp;  32  making the hood  6  wider at its base  29  than at its apex  30 . The front taper  31  increases the user&#39;s view of stopper  7  while positioning the opener. The rear taper  32  expands the effective space  33  for the user&#39;s thumb to be inserted under the stopper retaining member  6  for pushing the extracted stopper  7  out of the opener. Additionally, the rear taper  32  provides reinforcement to the upper jaw  3  by permitting the extension of the base  29  further towards the rear of the upper ridge  14  than would otherwise be possible.