Bottle-opener for removing the crown cap from a bottle provided with a crown cap with a peripheral edge and teeth protruding outward from the peripheral edge, and a combination of a bottle-opener and a bottle provided with a crown cap with a peripheral edge and teeth protruding outward from the peripheral edge

The invention relates to a bottle-opener for

removing the crown cap from a bottle provided with a crown cap with a peripheral edge and teeth protruding outward from the peripheral edge.

For the purpose of storing beverages it is known to make use of bottles in which the beverages are held, usually under pressure (for instance as a result of carbon dioxide present in the beverage) . Diverse types of closures are known for the purpose of closing bottles. One of these closures is a crown cap, as described in the patent publications US 468226 and US 468258, among others. The cap is here crimped so that outward protruding teeth are created in the cap all around the peripheral edge. The cap here clamps round the edge of the bottle .

Also known are diverse bottle-openers for removing such crown caps, such as for instance the bottle-openers of patent publications US 501050 and US 514200. An opening or an edge is here wedged underneath the crown cap, and the crown cap is then lifted, using a lever, along a pivot point

situated at a distance therefrom.

At the moment that the content of the bottle comes into contact with the exterior of the bottle, the content of the bottle, which is often under pressure, will here cause a popping sound, particularly when the cap is removed quickly. In use of the existing bottle-openers, the bottle-opener often has to be placed and opened in relatively precise manner, whereby the sound production during opening of the bottle is limited, while it is often precisely this audible popping sound which is desirable as it enhances the experience of opening a bottle.

Bottle-openers, such as for instance so-called bar blades, or other means are for this reason often used in an unintended manner in order to still achieve such a popping sound. However, it generally requires a lot of practice to reliably remove a crown cap in this way, and the crown cap or the bottle can moreover become damaged during this unintended use, wherein parts of the often glass bottle may also be removed, which may on the one hand find their way into the beverage and may on the other hand result in a sharp edge on the bottle, making it less easy to handle.

It is now an object of the invention to reduce or even obviate the above stated problems.

This object is achieved with a bottle-opener for removing the crown cap from a bottle provided with a crown cap with a peripheral edge and teeth protruding outward from the peripheral edge, which bottle-opener comprises an elongate body with a handle arranged at a first end of the body and a slot formed in the body in the longitudinal direction of the body, this slot comprising close to the second end of the body an end edge extending transversely of the longitudinal direction.

The bottle-opener according to the invention is pressed with the elongate slot against the side of the crown cap so that one or more toothings can align between the side walls of the slot. By then pulling the bottle-opener upward along the bottle in the longitudinal direction the crown cap reaches the end edge, along which the aligned crown cap is pulled loose from the bottle. The alignment reduces the chance of ridges, which may be present on the bottle underneath the crown cap, preventing the pulling loose or being able to cause damaged during the pulling loose. The bottle-opener is held by the handle during this process.

Selecting a sufficiently great distance between the end edge and the handle results in a distance sufficient for completing the correct alignment before the crown cap reaches the end edge .

The end edge is here arranged at a distance from the bottom of the slot in the depth direction of the slot, this distance being selected such that the end edge does not engage on the first rim often present around a bottleneck. In the most common bottlenecks this distance should be no greater than 10 millimetres.

In a preferred embodiment of the bottle-opener according to the invention the end edge is the upper edge of an end wall standing upright at the outer end of the slot.

Although other embodiments of the end edge can also be envisaged, it is advantageous to embody the end edge as upper edge of a wall standing upright from the bottom of the slot. This increases the sturdiness and simplifies the

production of the bottle-opener. The end wall preferably connects to the two side walls of the slot.

In another preferred embodiment of the bottle-opener according to the invention the end edge is curved in the plane, the normal of which is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the bottle-opener.

Such a curved end edge is better suited to fit on the likewise generally curved bottleneck of the bottle. The radius of curvature of the curvature of the end edge is therefore preferably also adjusted to the radius of curvature of a bottleneck or mouth of the bottle, so that this can lie with the crown cap on the end edge. In addition to the end edge, the further portion of the body of the bottle-opener toward the second end preferably also fits on the bottleneck.

In a preferred embodiment of the bottle-opener according to the invention the slot is T-shaped, wherein the wide part of the T-shape is adjacent to and extends parallel to the end edge .

In this way the slot widens in the direction of the end edge on both sides of the slot. It is achieved in this way that a previously aligned crown cap can come to lie more firmly in the slot, which facilitates the removal of the crown cap.

In a preferred embodiment of the bottle-opener according to the invention the depth of the slot in the wide part of the slot increases gradually in the direction of the end edge .

Having the depth change gradually from the start of the wide part of the slot toward the end edge improves the reliability with which the crown cap selects a deeper

position, because the crown cap can slide toward this deeper position more easily. This increase can for instance be embodied in the form of two slopes inclining downward in the direction of the end edge on either side of the narrow part of the T-shape.

In a preferred embodiment of the bottle-opener according to the invention the distance between the side edges of the slot running parallel to the longitudinal direction is equal to the distance between a first side of a first tooth of the crown cap and an opposite side of a second tooth of the crown cap.

A crown cap comprises a number of teeth, each with two sides. Arranged one behind the other as seen along the periphery of the crown cap are the first side and an opposite side of a first tooth, and subsequently the first side and then the opposite side of a subsequent tooth. The distance between the side edges of the slot, and particularly of the narrow portion in the case of a T-shaped slot, is preferably equal to the distance between the first side of a first tooth and an opposite side of a second tooth of the crown cap, and preferably the distance between these two sides close to the peripheral edge of the crown cap.

Because of a thus selected distance, the teeth which lie against the side walls during the pulling upward of the bottle-opener ensure a reliable alignment of the crown cap.

At least one further tooth is preferably also arranged between the first and the second tooth, as this further increases the reliability of the alignment. In the case of one further tooth the first side wall thus lies against a first side of a first tooth, and the second side wall lies against the opposite side of a third tooth.

In a preferred embodiment of the bottle-opener according to the invention the handle comprises two recesses extending parallel to the slot.

Such recesses, the edges of which preferably lie in the plane with a normal which is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the bottle-opener, can be produced in simple manner, and the bottle-opener can in this way be held properly and easily.

In a preferred embodiment of the bottle-opener according to the invention the slot extends in a flat plane.

It is preferred to embody the bottle-opener as a flat surface with arranged in the flat surface a slot with side edges standing upright from the bottom of the slot. A flat bottle-opener is easier to transport, is less likely to become caught behind other items, and has a low weight.

In a preferred embodiment of the bottle-opener according to the invention the body is solid.

A solid bottle-opener can be held properly and reduces the chance of improper use of the bottle-opener.

In addition, it is particularly preferred that no openings be present in the body. The presence of openings in the body suggests that the bottle-opener can be used in the same way as the stated already known bottle-openers,

particularly when the openings have dimensions such that this opener fits round a crown cap.

In a preferred embodiment of the bottle-opener according to the invention the bottle-opener is punched from sheet material.

Punching from sheet material is an inexpensive production method. The current design of the bottle-opener lends itself well to such a production method.

In a preferred embodiment of the bottle-opener according to the invention the bottle-opener forms part of a lighter or the sole of a shoe, such as a slipper.

It is preferred to integrate the bottle opener into other objects which are frequently brought along and are easy to carry, such as a lighter, for instance a cigarette lighter, or the sole of a shoe, such as the sole of a slipper.

Owing to such an integration the bottle-opener moreover provides further options for enhancing the experience of using the bottle-opener.

The invention relates to a combination of a bottle- opener according to any of the foregoing claims, and a bottle provided with a crown cap with a peripheral edge and teeth protruding outward from the peripheral edge.

These and other features of the invention are further elucidated with reference to the accompanying

drawings.

Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of a bottle-opener according to the invention in perspective view.

Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of a bottle- opener according to the invention in perspective view.

Figure 3 shows a cross-section of the bottle-opener according to figure 2 along the line III-III in combination with a crown cap.

Figure 1 shows a bottle-opener 1 comprising an elongate flat body 2, having at the first outer end 3 of the body a handle 4 in the form of recesses 5, 6 on either side of body 2 which are suitable for arranging therein part of a finger. An elongate T-shaped slot 7 with side edges 8, 9 is arranged in the longitudinal direction of body 2. This slot 7 further comprises an end edge 10 close to the second outer end 11 of body 2. End edge 10 is curved in the plane, the normal of which is parallel to the longitudinal direction of bottle- opener 1, so that this end edge 10 fits on the bottleneck of a bottle from which the crown cap is removed with bottle-opener 1.

Figure 2 shows another bottle-opener 20, similar to the bottle-opener of figure 1. The same parts are designated in this figure with the same numerals. Bottle-opener 20 is moreover provided here with two slopes 21, 22 inclining downward in the direction of end edge 10. This figure also shows that end edge 10 forms the upper side of an upright end wall 23.

Bottle opener 20 is preferably 6 millimetres thick, 30 millimetres wide and 180 millimetres long. Slot 7

preferably has a length of 45 millimetres, of which the length of the wide part amounts to 10.5 millimetres, and the distance from end edge 10 to the second outer end 11 preferably equals 20 millimetres. The depth of slot 7 preferably equals 4.5 millimetres. The radius of curvature of end edge 10 is

preferably 14.

Figure 3 shows bottle-opener 20 with the slot 7 arranged therein. Wedged in this slot 7 is a crown cap 30, which is provided on the peripheral edge with a number of teeth distributed regularly over the peripheral edge of crown cap 30. The figure shows 15 teeth, but in reality the number of teeth can be greater or smaller. The number of teeth of a crown cap generally equals 21. As shown for toothing 31, each toothing has a first side 31a and an opposite side 31b. Crown cap 30 is wedged with two teeth 32, 33, between which another tooth 34 is arranged, against side edges 8, 9.