Patent Application
20250197182
The invention relates to a device to remove both 21 and/or 27 point twist-off crown bottle caps from a bottle and is so designed as to display art work through a clear transparent lens.
A twist-off crown bottle cap is a device used to seal beverage bottles, most commonly used on beer bottles. The cap (closure) has a circumferential skirt around the lower edge comprised of a series of projecting flutes called jags (ribs or points). Invented by William Paint in 1892 the original crown cap had 24 jags. Eventually 21 jags became the standard and even more recently 27 point caps have become common place. The cap is firmly secured to the bottle to prevent leakage. As such, it can be difficult to remove and the sharp jags can cut the users hand when trying to remove it from the bottle. In response, numerous devices have been developed to help assist with the removal of these caps. Some removal devices have a top surface suitable to display art work for the purposes of advertising.
It is the intention of this devise to provide a unique twist-off crown bottle cap removal device that will remove both 21 and/or 27 point twist-off crown bottle caps by means of a single row of embossments strategically placed around the inner circular wall. Furthermore, a device that can protect the art work by means of a clear, transparent lens that can be removed and/or replaced by the owner if warranted.
In some prior art the number of ribs and grooves of a closure are matched with the grooves and ribs to the device, as with U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,678A claim 1. In this example, the placement of the ribs is described as having “a plurality of peripherally spaced vertically ribs on the inner surface of said circular wall respectively adapted to engage the vertical grooves of the closure”. As such, the claim restricts the ribs to be respectively adapted to “the closure”, a single closure but not multiple closures. Such a device, as illustrated in its prior art Drawings, FIG. 1, uses 7 ribs to engage a crown cap. A device, so designed, engages a 21 point cap but not a 27 point cap as illustrated in Drawings,
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,666,110B1 as stated in its claims 6 and 7 wherein it describes the number of the grooves (notches) to be “equal to the number of jags on said bottle cap” and “the number of notches is 21”. The restriction of having an “equal” number of spaces, in of its self, defines the number of notches to match a single cap whether it be 21, 27 or any other number of notches. As such, the number can be one (21) or another (27) but not one and/or the other. In so much as the device is designed to engage a 21 point cap it will not engage a 27 point cap. The ribs and groves on the device and the ribs and grooves on a 27 point cap will result on a mismatch, as illustrated in
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,741 as stated in its Summary of Invention, describes a device to remove “more than one type of caps”, like beer bottle caps and soda bottle caps. To accomplish this, a second rows of ribs and grooves are added to the inner circular wall.
In patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,597 as stated in its Description of the Preferred Embodiment, example 9, “a transparent top member 12 of either glass or plastic is connected directly to the top wall 3 of the base member”, the top member is permanently affixed to the base member making the art work permanently affixed to the device and not removable or replaceable.
The twist-off crown bottle cap removal device is a device to remove both 21 and/or 27 point twist-off, crown bottle caps off a bottle. It is cup shape and slightly larger in diameter and thickness to a twist-off crown bottle cap. The embodiment is comprised of four pieces, a main body, a backup disk, an art disk and a clear, transparent lens.
The body is a circular, cylindrical shape having a through hole with an inner circular wall and a single row of strategically placed embossments positioned vertically around a central axis. It comprises a groove on the top suitable in diameter, width and depth to accommodate the insertion of an inverted cup shaped lens. The outer wall is embossed with a polarity of equally spaced vertically ribs and grooves to facilitate a comfortable hand grip for twisting the device to facilitate the cap removal. The outer wall further comprises, a single embossment with a through hole to facilitate the insertion of a key ring. The body is comprised of a color but not limited to, blue, green, red, yellow, orange, purple, black and white or a combination of two or more color and constructed of a material, but not limited to, hard or soft molded plastic, aluminum and metal.
The device further comprises a clear transparent cup shape lens, suitable in size and shape, to allow for the insertion of the inverted lens into the top groove in the body. It is held in place by means of a friction fit between the walls of the groove in the body and the walls of the lens. The friction fit further facilitates the removal of the lens from the body for the purpose of replacing the art disk. The lens is constructed of a hard, clear, transparent material capable of protecting and viewing the art disk housed within.
The art disk comprises an image, such as, but not limited to, a photographic image, a painted image, a printed image, an engraved image, a drawn image or embossed image. It is suitable in size and shape, so as to allow for its encapsulation between the backup disk and lens such that the art is visible from the top through the clear transparent lens.
The backup disk is suitable in size and shape to the art disk and is capable of being inserted into the cup shaped lens to serve as a support mechanism for the art disk upon assembly.
The pieces are assembled by placing the art disk into the open end of the cup shaped lens with the art work facing down toward the bottom of the lens followed by the backup disk. The assembled pieces are then inverted and inserted into the groove in the top of the body.
The device further comprises a method to dissembled the device by applying finger pressure to the underside of the backup disk through the opening in the underside of the main body.
The object of this device is to provide an apparatus to remove both 21 and/or 27 point twist-off crown bottle caps off a bottle. Some devices remove caps that comprise a specific number of ribs or grooves, others remove multiple caps but require more than a single row of ribs and grooves. This device differs in that it uses a single row of strategically placed vertical ribs to remove both 21 and/or 27 point crown caps.
It is a further object of this device to be simple to use. To use the device, hold it in your hand and manually place it over the top of a twist-off crown bottle cap and twist it counter clock wise, with sufficient force, to separate the cap from the bottle.
It is a further object of this device to be relatively inexpensive to produce. Plastic injection molded parts should facilitate this objective.
It is a further object of this device to display artwork. The art disk comprises artwork that is visible through the clear transparent lens.
It is a further object of this device to be able to remove and replace the artwork. It can be dissembled by applying finger pressure to the underside of the backup disk through the opening in the underside of the main body. This feature enables the user to replace the art work with something more desirable.
It is a further object of this device to be durable. When attached to keys, the art work is highly susceptible to damage. The clear transparent lens protects the art work.
It is a further object of this device to provide a safe means to remove a crown bottle cap from the bottle. Caps are firmly secured to bottles and possess sharp fags around the lower edge. As such, they can be difficult to remove and the sharp jags can cut the user's hand. This device provides a comfortable grip to help prevent cuts.
