INTRODUCTION

The invention relates to a device for handling a bottle which has an opening formed at a bottle neck and with an external bottle threading at the opening. The device comprises a handle shaped gripping portion and a ring shaped fixation portion.

The fixation portion has an internal threading being operative with the external bottle threading to enable attachment of the device to the bottle neck by rotation of the device relative to the bottle around a longitude axis whereby the device is moved by the threading in a downwards direction onto the bottle. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A large number of bottles are manufactured without handles or generally without suitable means for lifting and pouring from the bottle. Typically such bottles are designed for cheap or fast manufacturing, to take up as little space as possible, to have a small weight etc.

Examples of such bottles include bottles for beverages such as soda, water, wine and spirit, bottles for dressing such as ketchup or olive oil, or bottles for chemical products such as oil and fuel products. Further examples include pressurised bottles e.g. for butane or for pressurised beverages such as beer and soda.

Generally, handling of bottles can be difficult, and if the bottle is thin-walled or even fragile, there is a risk of collapsing the bottle if it is squeezed, and spillage may occur. A further disadvantage of existing bottles relates to the pouring capabilities or rather to a typical tendency of dripping during pouring.

Various handles for bottles exist. Generally, however, these handles are only suitable for slim bottles, or they are made for one specific bottle shape.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION To improve handling of bottles and containers, the present invention provides a device where the fixation portion forms a cavity with a downwards directed opening which receives a part of the bottle when the device is attached to the bottle, the opening having a width of at least 1,5 times a diameter of the internal threading, where the width is defined as a dimension in a transverse direction or a plane which is perpendicular to the direction of the longitude axis.

Due to the wide opening of the cavity into which the bottle neck is received, the device can be attached to a very broad range of bottles with different shapes, and even bottles with a very wide body relative to the height of the neck can possibly enter the cavity for attachment of the device.

In this context, the transverse direction could be any direction in a plane which is transverse to the longitude direction.

In contrast to the traditional handles known from bottles, the invention relies on the finding that the external threading on the bottle neck on commercial bottles is normally sufficiently strong and rigid for the interaction between the handle and the bottle, e.g. for pouring and thus tilting of the bottle. Traditional handles often relies on contact between the handle and the bottle along the surface of the bottle for supporting the interaction between the bottle and the handle. For this reason, the traditional handles are made for bottles of a specific shape and with relatively narrow or slender cavities in which the bottle neck is received.

By external threading and internal threading is herein meant any kind of traditional threading structure with radial outwards (external) or inwards (internal) directed ribs, fins, tracks or protrusions of any kind which are suitable for fixation in a manner known from traditional screw threaded fixation. The term "bottle" is considered to cover any kind of container for storage of a fluid substance - liquid, powder, gas etc.

To make a compact design of the device, the fixation portion may have a height which is less than 5 times the height of the internal threading. The height is herein defined as a dimension in the direction of the longitude axis. Again, to increase the number of bottles which may be attached to the device, the ratio between the height and the width of the fixation portion, i.e. the height divided with the width may be less than 2, or even less than 1, such as less than 0,5.

The fixation portion may further comprise an external threading having threading

characteristics similar to that of the internal threading. This will enable attachment of a closure which was originally designed to be attached to the external threading on the bottle neck, and the original cap on the bottle can therefore be used for closing the bottle also with the device attached to the bottle.

To facilitate pouring and handling, the distance between the external threading and the internal threading in the direction of the longitude axis could be at most equal to the height of the internal threading.

The gripping portion should facilitate a good grip and the ability of the user to carry the bottle and to pour from the bottle. The gripping portion may extend in the downwards direction from the fixation portion.

It may be an advantage if the gripping portion extends along the sidewall of the bottle at a relatively small distance from the bottle. For this purpose, and still with due regards to the desired possibility to attach the device even to wide or bulbous bottles, the gripping portion may form a first curved shape with a radius of curvature being at least equal to a length of the device, the length being defined as a dimension in the direction of the longitude axis. The first curved shape is considered to be the shape defined by the gripping portion in its lengthwise direction, i.e. along the longest dimension of the gripping portion.

To enable a good grip and simultaneously to increase bending stiffness in a direction transverse to the lengthwise direction of the gripping portion, the gripping portion may form a second curved shape with a radius of curvature being at least 2 times the radius of curvature of the first curved shape. To enable a compact design of the bottles with the device attached, e.g. for suitable storage e.g. in a refrigerator, the gripping portion may be smaller than a diameter of the internal threading, the width of the gripping portion being defined as a dimension of the gripping portion in a transverse direction which is perpendicular to the longitude axis.

For the same purpose, a thickness of the gripping portion may be smaller than 0,2 times the diameter of the internal threading, the thickness of the gripping portion being defined as a dimension of the gripping portion in a direction perpendicular both to the to the longitude axis and to the transverse direction. In that way, size of the bottle with the device may only marginally depend on the device.

The fixation portion may form a pouring spout of any size and shape. The spout may extend in the direction of the longitude axis, e.g. through both the internal and external threading. For this purpose, the fixation portion may form a seal which can seal liquid tight with the opening of the bottle when the device is attached to the bottle. In one embodiment, the fixation portion forms a conduit extending from the cavity through the internal and external threading to an opening above the external threading.

The conduit may have a stepped configuration such that a first part of the conduit has a first cross sectional area, and the second, and upper, part of the conduit has a second and smaller cross sectional area. A transition between the first and second part of the conduit may be bevelled. By bevelled is meant that the transition forms an edge extending in a direction being non perpendicular to the first and second parts of the conduit.

The first part of the conduit may have a diameter which enables the bottle neck to enter this part of the conduit, and the second part of the conduit may have a diameter which prevents the bottle neck from entering this part of the conduit. In that way, the upper edge of the opening in the bottle neck may abut the edge of the transition between the first and second parts of the conduit and seal against this edge. For that purpose, this edge between the first and second parts of the conduit may be made from a soft resilient material compared with the material of other parts of the device. The transition between the first and second parts of the conduit may form a lip which extends in the downwards direction and which has a dimension which enables the lip to be received in the opening of the bottle neck. Again, the lip may be soft resilient such that deflection of the lip against the bottle neck can improve the sealing properties between the device and the bottle. The fixation portion may have a conical shape, and the fixation portion and the gripping portion may be formed in one piece, e.g. by injection moulding.

A very typical bottle for beverages and soda is made by blow moulding. This kind of bottle is formed e.g. in 0.5, 1 and 2 litre size and typically, the bottle forms a radial outwards flange circumferential about the bottle neck close to the opening of the bottle. The flange is relatively rigid compared to the bottle in general, and for the purpose of supporting the device on the bottle, the outwards flange forms a suitable contact surface against which force from the device may be transferred to the bottle. For this purpose, the device may comprise, in the fixation portion, a contact surface facing in the downwards direction. The dimension of the internal threading, the contact surface, and the distance between the internal threading and the contact surface may be selected to ensure that the contact surface comes in contact with the flange on the bottle when the device is attached to the bottle.

The contact surface may particularly be a plane surface, e.g. a circular surface with a diameter at least equal to that of the flange of the bottle for which the device is designed. In a second aspect, the invention provides a combination with a bottle and a device of the above described kind.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In the following, an embodiment of the invention will be described in further details with reference to the drawings in which :

Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate perspective views of a handle according to the invention;

Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate side views of the handle;

Fig. 5 illustrates a top view;

Fig 6 illustrates the ability of the device according to the invention to be arranged in narrow spaces such as in a refrigerator; and

Fig. 7 illustrates an enlarged view of the cavity in which the bottle neck is received. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The device 1 illustrated in Figs 1-5 forms a handle shaped gripping portion 2 and a ring shaped fixation portion 3. Equal numbers for identical features apply with respect of all figures.

The fixation portion 3 has an internal threading 4 which is best seen in Fig. 2. The internal threading 4 is accessible via the opening formed by the rim 5 into the cavity surrounded by the wall 6. During use, the bottle neck of the bottle in question is received through the opening into the cavity and an external treading on the bottle neck cooperates with the internal threading 4 to provide a solid attachment of the device to the bottle neck by rotation of the device relative to the bottle around a longitude axis illustrated by the dotted line 7.

The opening, formed by the rim 5, has a width, illustrated by the dotted line 8, of at least 1,5 times a diameter of the internal threading 4.

As shown in the figures, the width is a dimension which is measured in a plane which is perpendicular to the direction of the longitude axis 7. The fixation portion has a height symbolised by the dotted line 9, which is less than 5 times the height of the internal threading 4. As shown in the figures, the height is defined as a dimension in the direction of the longitude axis.

The fixation portion 3 comprises an external threading 10 having threading characteristics similar to that of the internal threading such that a closure which is for closing the bottle can be fitted on the handle for closing a bottle to which the handle is attached.

In Fig. 2, it is visible that the internal threading 4 and the external threading 10 is arranged directly after each other in the direction of the longitude axis, and in Fig. 3, it is clearly visible that the gripping portion 2 extends from the fixation portion 3 in the downwards direction illustrated by the arrow 11 and terminates in a free end 12.

The gripping portion forms a first curved shape with a radius of curvature indicated by the dotted line 13. The first curved shape is visible in a section in a plane which is parallel with the axis 7. The radius indicated by the line 13 is larger than the total length of the device in the direction of the longitude axis, c.f. Fig. 3. Additionally, the gripping portion forms a second curved shape with a radius of curvature indicated by the dotted line 14, c.f. Fig. 1. This radius is at least twice the radius of curvature of the first curved shape, indicated by line 13. The second curved shape is visible in a section in a plane perpendicular to the axis 7. The second curved shape is most clearly seen in Fig. 5.

Referring now to Fig. 4, the gripping portion has a width, indicated by the dotted line 15, which is smaller than the diameter, indicated by the arrow 16, of the external threading 10. As illustrated, the width of the gripping portion is a dimension of the gripping portion measured in a transverse direction which is perpendicular to the longitude axis. As illustrated more clearly in Fig. 6, the ratio between the width of the gripping portion and the width of the external threading enables a very compact stacking of the handle and it therefore takes less space e.g. in a refrigerator even though it has a relatively wide fixation portion enabling its use on a large amount of bottles with different shapes.

The thickness of the gripping portion, illustrated by arrow 17 in fig. 3, is smaller than 0,2 times the diameter of the external threading 10. As shown in Fig. 3, the thickness of the gripping portion is defined as a dimension of the gripping portion in a direction perpendicular both to the to the longitude axis and to the transverse direction.

The figures illustrates that the fixation portion forms a pouring spout through which a fluid can be poured. It is also illustrated that the fixation portion has a conical shape. The illustrated embodiment is formed in one piece with the fixation portion and the gripping portion being moulded in a single injection moulding process.

Fig. 7 illustrates an enlarged view of the cavity in which the bottle neck is received. In this view, it is clearly illustrated that the fixation portion forms a conduit for the fluid to be poured from the bottle. The conduit has a stepped configuration such that a first part 18 of the conduit has a first cross sectional area. This part is formed by the internal threading 4. A second, and upper, part 19 of the conduit has a second and smaller cross sectional area.

A transition 20 between the first and second part of the conduit is bevelled such that it forms an edge extending in a direction being non perpendicular to the first and second parts of the conduit. This transition 20 forms a seal which can seal liquid tight with the opening of the bottle when the device is attached to the bottle.

Fig. 7 further illustrates that the fixation portion forms a plane contact surface 21 in the bottom of the cavity in which the bottle neck is received. The contact surface 21 faces downwards towards the bottle and may come in contact with a radial outwards flange which is often provided on plastic bottles for beverage.