Patent Application
20080296249
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to method and apparatus for opening a bottle opener and, more particularly, to method and apparatus for providing a bottle having an integral bottle opener positioned on a seamless surface of the bottle body.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of container opening devices or bottle cap openers is known in the prior art. Bottle opening devices heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of removing caps from bottles are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements. Such designs include the ornamental design for a bottle shaped bottle opener that is disclosed in U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 433,298.
Bottle openers are typically small and are easily lost. As a result, several devices have been designed to ensure that a bottle opener is in close proximity to the bottles in need of opening. Such devices include bottle cartons or other multi-container packages that include integral bottle openers, such as the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,335,814 and 6,295,894.
Separately formed bottle openers are also commonly attached to bottles or to other containers. These bottle openers may be attached to a bottle cap or to the bottle body itself. U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,746 discloses a bottle cap having an opener that is integral with the cap.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,725,726 discloses a bottle having an opener shaped recess positioned in a bottle neck. An opener is inserted into the recess. The opener must be separated from the container to remove the closed cap from the bottle.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,347,734 discloses a bottle having a metal opener that attaches to the neck. The disclosed opener does not have to be separated from the original bottle to open another bottle. However, the opener is separately formed from a different material.
Bottle or container openers have also been formed on a bottom of a bottle or a container. U.S. Pat. No. 1,755,086 discloses a tumbler having a recess on the tumbler bottom. The recess forms a bottle opener. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,992,574 and 3,236,126 disclose bottles that include openers positioned at the base of the bottle body. U.S. Pat. No. 2,745,301 discloses a bottle and a can that include an opener positioned at the base of the bottle or of the can. These openers must be placed at particular positions along the bottle or container body due to structural limitations, material mechanical property limitations, or fabrication process limitations.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,322,843 discloses two embodiments of containers that include openers that must be placed at particular positions along the container body. One embodiment has an opener formed at the bottom of the container body. The other embodiment has a cylindrical outer surface that extends from the container body, so that a recess forms at an intersection of the container neck to the body. A flange extends from the outer surface to form the opener. The openers can only be positioned at the intersection of the neck and the bottle body or at the base of the bottle body because the containers must form a recess. As a result, there is a need a for an improved bottle opener.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a container. A frusto-conical tubular body has an upper end portion for receiving a first crown cap and a lower end portion forming a base for supporting the body. The body has a seamless outer surface extending from the upper end portion to the lower end portion. An integral container opener is located at a preselected position between the upper end portion and the lower end portion. The container opener includes a depression in the seamless outer surface and a lip extending therefrom. The lip is positioned over the depression forming a recess in the seamless surface. The recess receives a second crown cap so that the lip frictionally engages the second crown cap to facilitate removal of the second crown cap from another container.
Further in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a fluid holding apparatus. A first crown cap is provided. A body has a frustum shaped neck portion, a cylindrical base portion, a transition portion positioned between the neck portion and the base portion, and an inner chamber for storing fluids. The neck portion supports the crown cap with an opening for receiving fluids positioned thereon so that the crown cap closes the opening. The neck portion opening communicates with the inner chamber. The transition portion connects the neck portion to the base portion to form a continuous frusto-conical outer surface thereon. The base portion includes an annular trough extending around a circumference of the outer surface and a lip projecting from the outer surface to cover the trough partially. The lip and the trough form an opener for removing a second crown cap from another fluid holding apparatus.
Further in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method for opening bottles. A frusto-conical tubular bottle body having a neck projecting from one end, a base positioned at the opposite end, and a seamless continuous outer surface extending from the neck to the base is provided. A channel is formed in the body outer surface in a preselected position along the length of the bottle body with sufficient depth to receive an annular flange extending from a crown shaped bottle cap. A portion of the outer surface adjacent to the channel is deformed to form a lip extending over the channel with an inner surface for frictionally engaging the crown shaped bottle cap.
Accordingly, a principal object of the present invention is to provide a combination bottle and bottle opener that includes an integral opener positioned at a predetermined position on the bottle body.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a container having a seamless outer surface with an integral opener positioned on that surface.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a combination bottle and bottle opener with a body having sufficient strength to support an integral bottle opener positioned at any point on the bottle outer surface.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an aluminum bottle having a seamless outer surface with a bottle opener positioned on that surface.
These and other objects of the present invention will be more completely described and disclosed in the following specification, accompanying drawings, and appended claims.
Referring to the drawings and, particularly, to
The container 10 includes a tubular frusto-conical shaped body 18 having a neck portion 20, a tubular base portion 22, and a tubular transition portion 24. The neck portion 20 is essentially frustum shaped with an elongated section 28 that includes an opening 26 for receiving fluids to fill an internal chamber 30, shown in
The base portion 22 is essentially cylindrical in shape. The base portion 22 includes an essentially flat bottom 32 that allows the container 10 to rest in an upright position to facilitate efficient storage or display. The transition portion 24 connects the neck portion 20 to the base portion 22.
The body 18 is formed using conventional manufacturing processes, such as extrusion, casting, or forging. The manufacturing process provides the body 18 with an essentially seamless outer surface 34 that extends from the opening 26 to the bottom 32. The outer surface 26 includes a depression or recess that forms an integral container opener 36, shown in detail in
The body 18 is made from any suitable material having sufficient strength to remove the crown cap 14 from the bottle top 16 without deforming the opener 36. The material must also have sufficient ductility to allow the crown cap 14 to be removed without causing brittle failure of the opener 36 or the bottle body 18. Preferably, the body 18 is made from a suitable metal or metal alloy. Most preferably, the body 18 is made from an aluminum alloy.
In operation as shown in
Now referring to
The base portion 44 includes an annular trough or channel 48 that extends around a circumference of an outer surface 50. The surface 50 includes a lip 52 that projects downwardly relative to the neck portion 42. The lip 52 partially covers the trough 48 to form a bottle opener 54.
Now referring to
The base portion 60 shown in
The opener 70 is formed by deforming the seamless outer surface 64 of the body 58 in a preselected position along the bottle body length to form the trough or channel 62. The trough or channel 62 has sufficient depth as shown in
Liquid is inserted into the bottle body 58 after the opener 70 is formed. The bottle body 58 is sealed with a crown cap 71. The liquid is stored in the bottle body 58 until the capped end is inserted by another opener (not shown).
Referring to
Unlike the embodiment shown in
As shown in
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
The neck portion 124 is essentially frustum shaped with an upper section 132 and a peripheral edge 134. The diameter of the upper section 132 is substantially smaller than the diameter of the peripheral edge 134. The diameter of the peripheral edge 134 is substantially greater than the diameter of an upper section 136 of the transition portion 124, so that the peripheral edge 134 extends over the transition portion 124 to form the opener 130.
The neck portion 124 shown in
Referring now to
Unlike the embodiment shown in
According to the provisions of the patent statutes, we have explained the principle, preferred construction and mode of operation of our invention and have illustrated and described what we now consider to represent its best embodiments. However, it should be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.
