Abstract:
A foil cutter for removing the foil wrapping from the neck of a wine bottle has a generally circular, disc-shaped body including a substantially circular interior cavity with a plurality of cutting wheels projecting into the cavity. When the foil cutter is at rest, the circular interior cavity fits loosely over the mouth of the wine bottle. The foil cutter body is flexible to permit a partial collapsing of the circular interior cavity to bring the cutting wheels into cutting relationship with the foil wrap.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    This invention relates to a cutter for use in removing the foil from the neck of a wine bottle.  
           [0003]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0004]    Wine bottles are sealed by a cork forcibly inserted within the neck. In order to protect the cork from foreign matter, and to inhibit drying of the cork, it is covered, often by a wax plug but more typically by a metal foil adhered to the upper end of the neck of the bottle and covering its mouth. When the wine bottle is opened, the foil must be removed to gain access to the cork. Removal of the foil is accomplished in several ways.  
           [0005]    Many people ignore the foil and simply insert a corkscrew through it into the cork. When the cork is pulled through the foil, the foil is torn, leaving jagged edges exposed. The jagged edges are unsightly, catch on clothing and other items, and cause the wine to pour erratically, often resulting in spills.  
           [0006]    Some use the tip of the corkscrew to rip the foil, pulling away pieces until the foil has been removed. While this method obviates the aforementioned jagged edges, it is laborious and leaves a mangled mass of foil, which must be disposed of.  
           [0007]    Others, waiters particularly, cut the foil with a short knife blade, either the one attached to a corkscrew designed for waiters&#39; use or a separate implement. The cutting edge of the blade is applied to the foil just below the top edge of the bottle, and to cut through the foil, the blade is pressed firmly against the neck while traversing a path encircling the neck. This method removes a small cap-shaped portion of the foil, while leaving a cylindrical sleeve of foil attached to the neck. The presence of the sleeve is considered aesthetically pleasing, since, in addition to its functional characteristics, the foil is often quite decorative. Considerable experience is needed to accomplish this feat deftly, experience which is usually outside the realm of most household hosts. And, should the knife slip, injury to the unskilled host is possible.  
           [0008]    Foil cutters other than knife blades are known. So far as this invention is concerned, the most pertinent prior art known to the inventor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,844, issued Jul. 11, 1989, to Allen. Allen discloses several embodiments including a tong-shaped device (FIGS.  7 - 10 ) and an oval-shaped cutter (FIG. 13). These comprise two opposing arms, with a pair of cutting wheels mounted on each arm, integrally joined by one or two flexible connectors, each of which comprise slender rods, small in cross-section, which are reverse-bent sharply over a relatively short length. In use, Allen&#39;s cutters are held in the hand with each pair of wheels positioned on opposite sides of the wine bottle&#39;s neck, the arms are squeezed until the wheels pierce the foil, and the bottle and cutter are rotated in opposite directions. While suitable for their intended purpose, they have the disadvantage that the flexure needed to apply the cutting wheels to the foil is concentrated in a limited portion of the cutter, the aforesaid short length of the connectors, and the flexure occurs primarily in the plane of the connectors and arms. As a consequence, the connectors are susceptible to structural fatigue ultimately leading to breakage. In addition, they are relatively bulky, relatively difficult to store, especially in a pocket as would be necessary for a waiter, and the sharp reverse bend in the connectors can be uncomfortable.  
         OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    The present invention overcomes the difficulties described above by providing a foil cutter which is small, easily stored, is comfortable to handle, and is relatively long-lived due to the flexure being transverse the plane of a leaf-spring of the spring and spread over a broad expanse thereof.  
           [0010]    It is an object of the invention to provide a foil cutter which is compact, comfortable to hold and use, and easy to handle and store.  
           [0011]    It is a further object of the invention to provide a foil cutter that is long lived due to spreading the flexural area of the leaf spring over an extended area. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    The foregoing and other objects, aspects, uses, and advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood from the following detailed description of the present invention when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is a perspective view that illustrates the preferred embodiment of the foil cutter of the present invention;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is a top view of the foil cutter of FIG. 1;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is a front view of the foil cutter of FIG. 1;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the foil cutter of FIG. 1;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view of the foil cutter as seen along lines  5 - 5  of FIG. 2 as applied to a wine bottle; and  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view of the foil cutter in use on the wine bottle of FIG. 5. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0019]    The general configuration of foil cutter  10  as a whole can be seen by a general viewing of the perspective, top, side, and bottom views of FIGS.  1 - 4  and the cross-sectional views of FIGS.  5 - 6 .  
         [0020]    Cutter  10  comprises an essentially circular, disc-shaped body  12  (FIG. 1) with a substantially closed top  14 , a substantially closed periphery  16 , and an open bottom  18  (FIGS.  4 - 6 ). Top  14 , periphery  16 , and bottom  18  generally define a substantially circular interior cavity  20  that is substantially closed on all sides with the exception of open bottom  18 . The diameter of cavity  20  (FIG. 5) is sufficiently large that the neck  22  of a normal wine bottle  24  can be loosely received in cavity  20 .  
         [0021]    A plurality of cutting edges  26  (FIG. 4), which preferably comprise the outer edges of cutting wheels, are spaced about cavity  20  and protrude therein. Cutter  10  is made operational by flexing body  12  inwardly by applying pressure to opposing sides of periphery  16  in the direction of arrows A-A (FIG. 6). The dimensions of cutter  10  are preferably on the order of two inches in diameter and three-quarters of an inch in height, a compact tool that combines easy handling with a secure feel. While these are the preferred dimensions, clearly the dimensions may vary and still remain within the scope of the appended claims. This concludes an overview of cutter  10 ; the details thereof will now be described.  
         [0022]    Cutter body  12  comprises two substantially D-shaped body parts  28  and  30 , which are mirror images of each other. Body parts  28  and  30  each comprise a top  32  with an integral, depending, arcuate flange  34 , the combination of top and flange defining an interior, half-moon shaped recess  36  (FIGS.  4 - 6 ). Each recess  36  is bounded only by top  32  and flange  34 .  
         [0023]    A pair of cutting wheels  38  (FIGS.  4 - 5 ) are rotatably attached to each of body parts  28  and  30 . Wheels  38  are each freely rotatable on axles  40 , which are secured within flanges  34  and locked in place by a hard plastic cap  42  (FIGS.  5 - 6 ). Cap  42  is preferably sonic welded to the interior surfaces of body parts  28  and  30 . A plurality of chambers  44 , opening into interior cavity  20  through caps  42 , are molded into flange  34  within each of which an associated cutting wheel  38  is free to rotate.  
         [0024]    Body parts  28  and  30  are joined together to form the aforementioned disc-shaped body  12  by a circular leaf spring  46  (most clearly visualized through the combination of the dotted lines in FIGS. 2 and 4 and the cross-sectional edge views in FIGS.  5 - 6 ) molded into tops  32 . When connected by leaf spring  46 , the two half-moon shaped recesses  36  combine to form generally circular interior cavity  20 . The lower edges  48  of flanges  34  are smooth for comfort and flared outwardly (FIGS.  5 - 6 ) to give interior cavity  20  a funnel-like configuration, which aids in placing cutter  10  on wine bottle neck  22 .  
         [0025]    Spring  46  performs three essential functions: it joins body parts  28  and  30  together to form a single cutter body  12 , it spaces body parts  28  and  30  slightly apart along facing linear edges  50  and  52 , providing a larger expanse of bendable area, and it flexes transversely of its plane (compare FIGS. 5 and 6), when pressure is applied as indicated by arrows A-A, spreading the flexure across the full diameter of spring  46 . When flexed, flanges  34  approach each other, bringing cutting wheels  38  into contact with bottle neck  22 , whereupon relative rotation between cutter  10  and bottle  24  will cut through any foil thereon. An oval aperture  54  may be stamped in spring  46  to increase its flexibility. Controlling the size and shape of aperture  54  permits the spring&#39;s resistance to flexibility to be finely tuned. When the applied pressure is released, spring  46  resumes its planar configuration and restores cutter  10  to the rest position shown in FIG. 5.  
         [0026]    The exterior surface  56  of cutter  10  is contoured for ergonomic and aesthetic reasons. The overall configuration is smooth and without sharp edges or corners, so the propensity for cutter  10  to catch on disparate objects is virtually eliminated. Tops  32  are slightly domed to fit comfortably in the palm of the hand, and grooves  58  are provided in the exterior surface of flanges  34  as finger grips, which facilitate gripping of cutter  10 .  
         [0027]    Body parts  28  and  30  are conveniently molded of ABS having a high tensile strength, which may be coated with a rubberized paint to provide an easy and attractive surface for the hands of the user to grip. Plastic cap  42  may also be a form of ABS.  
         [0028]    In use (FIGS.  5 - 6 ), cutter  10  is placed over neck  22  of wine bottle  24 , until top  14  of cavity  20  rests upon mouth  60 . Flanges  34  are depressed along arrows A-A bringing cutting edges  26  of cutting wheels  44  into contact with neck  22  just above the so-called drip ring  62 . Rotating bottle and cutter in opposite directions severs the foil, leaving a cylindrical sleeve (not shown) around neck  22 . When the top “cap” of the foil has been completely severed, cutter  10  is removed from bottle  24 , the foil “cap” is discarded, and cutter  10  is returned to a drawer or pocket.  
         [0029]    Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.  
         [0030]    Further, the purpose of the Abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The Abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured solely by the claims, nor is intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.  
         [0031]    It can be seen from the above that an invention has been disclosed which fulfills all the objects of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the disclosure is by way of illustration only and that the scope of the invention is to be limited solely by the following claims: