Synthetic resin bottle opener for Ramune bottles

Abstract

To provide an opener in which a cap opener is arranged inside an external cylinder and a top plate of the cap opener is joined with an upper end part of the external cylinder via a plurality of bridges, capable of making the bridge easy to break to facilitate removal of the cap opener.SOLUTION: An opener 9 comprises an external cylinder 10 and a cap opener 11. An outward recess 17 is formed on an outer periphery of a top plate 14 constituting the cap opener 11, and an inner end of a bridge 16 is joined with a bottom of the outward recess 17. A length of the bridge 16 is increased without changing an outer diameter of the top plate 14 to improve a breaking property of the bridge 16. Thus a stress can be concentrated by applying a large moment on the bridge 16. As a gap between the top plate 14 and the external cylinder 10 does not change, there is no deterioration in appearance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a synthetic resin bottle remover that is attached to a Ramune bottle that is sealed with a glass bead (marble). [Background technology]

[0002] Ramune is lemonade (carbonated water) filled in a container (bottle) with a glass ball seal, and is opened by pushing down the glass ball (the stopper) with a T-shaped bottle opener. To allow the container to be opened without having to prepare a bottle opener, the Ramune container is sold with a plastic bottle opener attached.

[0003] There are several types of cork removers, but regardless of the type, they are equipped with a bottle opener with a push tube hanging down from the top plate, and this bottle opener is supported by a support means on the Ramune container so that it does not hit the glass ball, thereby preventing the bottle from being accidentally opened even if external force is applied from above during the distribution stage of the Ramune.

[0004] The support means for the bottle opener are a ring-shaped spacer that is fitted into the push cylinder, and an outer cylinder that surrounds the bottle opener from the outside, and Patent Document 1 discloses that the outer cylinder is formed straight and supported on the top surface of the Ramune container. The bottle opener is placed inside the outer cylinder, and the top plate of the bottle opener is connected to the outer cylinder via multiple bridges.

[0005] On the other hand, Patent Documents 2 and 3 disclose that the outer cylinder is formed into a convex shape with a small diameter portion that rests on the upper end of the Ramune container and a large diameter portion that is continuous with the lower end of the small diameter portion, and the top plate of the bottle opener is connected to the upper end of the small diameter portion with multiple bridges, while the large diameter portion is loosely fitted into the top of the Ramune container from the outside.

[0006] The cork opener is held in the ramune container by a heat-shrinkable film so that it cannot fall off. However, if the cylinder is formed into a convex shape as in Patent Documents 2 and 3, the cork opener can be kept attached to the ramune container while the upright ramune container is moved on a conveyor, and the series of steps of filling the ramune with the ramune, setting the cork opener, attaching the heat-shrinkable film, and heating the heat-shrinkable film are carried out automatically, which has the advantage that the filling process can be automated without any problems. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Publication No. 1-20311 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 3462482 [Patent Document 3] JP 2019-15012 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] Now, when the support means is a spacer type, the spacer can be manufactured as a separate part from the bottle opener, so that it can be removed from the bottle opener without applying any force. However, when the support means is an outer tube, as in the various patent documents, the bridge is pushed through by pressing the fingertips against the top plate of the bottle opener. However, since pushing through the bridge requires a considerable amount of force, removing the bottle opener is difficult, and there is a risk that people with little strength, such as women or children, will not be able to remove the bottle opener.

[0009] The present invention has been made against the background of the above-mentioned current situation, and aims to disclose a technique for easily removing a bottle opener from a bottle opener having an outer cylinder. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The plug remover of the present invention is as defined in claim 1: "It has an outer cylinder supported by the mouth of the Ramune container and a bottle opener disposed inside the outer cylinder, The bottle opener has a top plate disposed within the upper part of the outer cylinder, and a push tube hanging down from the underside of the top plate, and the outer peripheral edge of the top plate is integrally connected to the upper end of the outer cylinder via a plurality of bridges disposed at intervals in the circumferential direction. In this basic configuration, "A recess into which the bridge fits in plan view is formed in either or both of the top plate and the outer cylinder." The structure is as follows.

[0011] The present invention can be developed in various ways. For example, in claim 2, "The bridges and the outer cylinder form an upwardly opening V-groove." In this case, the V-groove may be formed by the entire bridge and the inner surface of the outer cylinder, or may be formed only in the base portion of the bridge.

[0012] In addition, in claim 3, in claim 1 or 2, "The extension lines of each of the bridges are positioned so as not to intersect with the axis of the bottle opener or the outer barrel in a plan view." The following configuration was adopted. Effect of the Invention

[0013] Now, if stress is concentrated in a narrow area, the bridge will be easily torn off. Therefore, if the outer diameter of the top plate or the outer diameter of the outer cylinder is reduced to lengthen the bridge, a moment will act on each bridge when the top plate is pressed down, concentrating stress at the base of the bridge, making it easier to break off.

[0014] On the other hand, when removing a Ramune bottle with a bottle opener, the palm of the hand is placed on the top plate and pressed against it, so it is preferable that the outer diameter of the top plate be as large as possible. In addition, since there is a risk that the stability of the Ramune bottle will decrease if the outer diameter of the cylinder is made larger, there is a natural limit to the outer diameter of the cylinder (the outer diameter of the small diameter part in the cases of Patent Documents 2 and 3). Furthermore, there is also the problem that if the gap between the top plate and the outer cylinder is large, it will look bad.

[0015] Due to these constraints, conventionally the gap between the top of the bottle opener and the top end of the outer barrel has been made as narrow as possible, which has forced the length of the bridge to be very short (around 0.5 mm). This means that it is not possible to realize the stress concentration phenomenon utilizing the moment, making it very difficult to push through the bridge.

[0016] In contrast, in the present invention, the ends of the bridges fit into the recesses formed in the top plate or the outer cylinder, so the bridges can be made longer while keeping the outer diameter of the top plate and the inner diameter of the outer cylinder the same as before, allowing a large moment to act on each bridge when pressed against the top plate. This significantly reduces the force required to remove the bottle opener without causing problems such as a decrease in the functionality of the bottle opener, which is good news for people with little strength, such as women and children.

[0017] The recess may be formed in either the top plate or the outer cylinder, but forming the recess in the top plate can improve safety by preventing the remains of the bridge from being exposed to the outside of the outer peripheral surface of the top plate. On the other hand, forming the recess on the inner surface of the outer cylinder has the advantage that the remains (protrusions) remaining after the bridge is torn off can be stored in the recess, preventing fingers from hitting the remains, improving safety.

[0018] Forming a V-groove as in claim 2 has the advantage of improving the function of concentrating stress at the base of the bridge, which has the advantage of allowing the bottle opener to be pushed through with even less force. By adopting the configuration of claim 3, an external force that twists the bridge around the axis acts on the bridge when the top plate is pressed, allowing the bridge to be pushed through with even less force.

[0019] Now, when manufacturing a bottle opener by injection molding, a gate is generally placed at the center of the top plate, and the molten synthetic resin flows from the top plate forming cavity through the bridge forming cavity to the outer cylinder forming cavity, but in the configuration of claim 3, the bridge forming cavity is inclined with respect to the radial line passing through the axis of the bottle opener cavity, so the molten resin is directed to flow in one circumferential direction around the outer cylinder forming cavity. This has the advantage of improving the fluidity of the resin and improving molding accuracy. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] (A) is an oblique view of the uncork device according to the first embodiment, (B) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the device attached to a Ramune container, (C) is a cross-sectional view taken along CC in (A), (D) is a plan view of the uncork device, (E) is a cross-sectional view taken along EE in (D), and (F) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the main parts of the second embodiment. [Diagram 2] (A) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the main parts of the third embodiment, (B) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the main parts of the fourth embodiment, (C) is a cross-sectional view taken along CC in (B), (D) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the main parts of the fifth embodiment, (E) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the main parts of the sixth embodiment, (F) is a plan view of the main parts of the seventh embodiment, (G) is a plan view of the main parts of the eighth embodiment, (H) is a plan view of the eighth embodiment after the bottle opener has been removed, and (I) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the main parts of the ninth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] (1) First embodiment DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment shown in Fig. 1 (A) to (E) will be described.

[0022] Before explaining the uncorking tool, we will explain the Ramune container 1. The mouth 2 of the Ramune container 1 has an outward flange 3, and a synthetic resin cap 4 is fitted by force fitting to the part above the flange 3. For this reason, a ring-shaped protrusion 5 is formed on the upper end of the Ramune container 1.

[0023] The top surface and outer circumferential surface of the cap 4 are connected via a smoothly curved surface. A step 4a is formed at approximately the middle height of the outer periphery of the cap 4, and an outward flange 6 is formed at the bottom end. The cap 4 has an inner tube 7 that fits into the inside of the Ramune container, and a glass ball 8 is tightly fitted into the inner tube 7 from below. Although not shown, the Ramune container 1 has a narrowed portion that holds the glass ball 8 so that it does not fall to the bottom after the bottle is opened.

[0024] The basic structure of the corkscrew 9 is the same as in Patent Documents 2 and 3, and includes an outer cylinder 10 and a corkscrew 11 disposed inside the outer cylinder 10. The outer cylinder 10 has a small diameter portion 12 that rests on the upper surface of the cap 4 and a large diameter portion 13 that fits around the outer periphery of the cap 4 with a small amount of play, and the two are connected together via a curved portion. The lower end of the large diameter portion 13 rests on a step portion 4a of the cap 4.

[0025] The bottle opener 11 is composed of a circular top plate 14 and a cylindrical push tube 15 hanging down from its underside, and the lower end of the push tube 15 extends close to the glass ball 8 when set in the Ramune container 1.

[0026] The top plate 14 of the bottle opener 11 is connected to the upper end of the outer cylinder 10 via a number of (four) bridges 16 arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. The outer ends of the bridges 16 are connected to the inner surface of the small diameter portion 12 of the outer cylinder 10, and the inner ends of the bridges 16 are connected to the bottom of outward recesses 17 formed on the outer periphery of the top plate 14. The bridges 16 extend radially from the axis of the bottle opener 11 in a plan view. The depth of the outward recesses 17 is approximately the same as the plate thickness of the top plate 14 and the outer cylinder 10 (actual size is approximately 1 mm). The cross-sectional shape of the bridges 16 can be any shape, such as a circle or a square.

[0027] The cork remover 9 is covered with a heat-shrinkable shrink film 18 when set in the Ramune container 1, and the shrink film 18 has a strip-shaped cut-out portion (not shown) defined by a pair of vertically long parallel perforations, and the upper end of the cut-out portion forms a tab and is located above the top plate 14. The top plate 14 is then lowered slightly below the upper end surface of the outer cylinder 10 to form a gap for pulling up the tab. The shrink film 18 extends below the flange 3 of the Ramune container 1.

[0028] (2) Summary In the above configuration, after removing the shrink film 18 and detaching the cork opener 9 from the Ramune container 1, for example, by placing the cork opener 9 on a table or the like and pressing the top plate 14 downward with a thumb, the group of bridges 16 are torn off and the cork opener 11 is separated from the outer cylinder 10.

[0029] In this embodiment, the inner end of bridge 16 fits into outward recess 17 of top plate 14, and the length of bridge 16 is about three times longer than in the past, so that a large moment acts on bridge 16 when pressure is applied to top plate 14, and stress can be concentrated in a narrow portion of bridge 16, allowing bridge 16 to be torn off with a light force. Therefore, even people with little strength, such as women or children, can easily remove bottle opener 11.

[0030] Where the bridge 16 breaks off is not necessarily fixed, but for example, if the bridge is tapered outward so that the cross-sectional area is slightly reduced from the inner end to the outer end, stress can be concentrated at the outer end of the bridge 16 that is connected to the small diameter portion 12 of the outer cylinder 10, making it possible to make the location where the bridge breaks off constant. Conversely, the bridge can be tapered inward, or if the bridge is formed into an hourglass shape in which the cross-sectional area at the middle portion is the smallest, the location where the bridge breaks off can be made constant at the middle portion. The bridge may also be formed into an hourglass shape that narrows from the center toward both ends.

[0031] In conventional products, after removing bottle opener 11, the remains of bridge 16 may be exposed on the outer periphery of top plate 14 in the form of sharp edges, which may inadvertently cause injury to the skin. However, by forming outward recess 17 in top plate 14 as in this embodiment, the remains of bridge 16 can be contained in outward recess 17, thereby preventing injury from the remains of bridge 16.

[0032] Although each bridge 16 is disposed at the same height, when four bridges 16 are disposed as in the embodiment, if the heights of each pair of opposing bridges 16 are slightly different (for example, by about 0.5 mm), the pressing force against the top plate 14 acts on each pair of bridges 16 in turn, making it easier to push off the bridges 16. In other words, first one pair of bridges 16 breaks off, and then the remaining pair breaks off, and this phenomenon occurs almost instantaneously, allowing the bottle opener 11 to be separated with a light force.

[0033] (3) Other embodiments Next, other embodiments will be described. In the second embodiment shown in Fig. 1(F), the bridge 16 is inclined so as to become lower as it goes outward, so that the entire upper surface of the bridge 16 and the small diameter portion 12 of the outer cylinder 10 form a V-shaped groove 19. In this embodiment, stress is concentrated at the outer end portion of the bridge 16 (the base portion with the small diameter portion 12), which improves the ease of pushing the bridge 16 through.

[0034] In the second embodiment shown in Fig. 1(F), the entire bridge 16 is tilted to form the V-groove 19, but in the third embodiment shown in Fig. 2(A), the bridge 16 is formed in an L-shape and the V-groove is formed only on the outside. It is considered that the third embodiment has a better stress concentration effect than the second embodiment.

[0035] 2(B) and (C) is a modification of the second embodiment, in which the entire bridge 16 is tilted to form a V-groove, and an inward recess 20 is also formed in the small diameter portion 12 of the outer cylinder 10, and the outer end of the bridge 16 is connected to the bottom surface of the inward recess 20. In this embodiment, the length of the bridge 16 is further increased without changing the outer diameter of the top plate 14 and the inner diameter of the small diameter portion 12, thereby improving the ease of pushing through the bridge 16.

[0036] In the fourth embodiment, the top plate 14 has the recesses 17 and 20 formed on both the small diameter portion 12 and the top plate 14 . However, it is also possible to form the inward recess 20 only on the small diameter portion 12 of the outer cylinder 10 .

[0037] 2(D), in the case where the bridge 16 is inclined as in the second embodiment, a recessed groove 21 that spreads upward from the outer end of the bridge 16 is formed in the small diameter portion 12 of the outer cylinder 10. In this case, too, it can be said that the stress concentration effect on the outer end of the bridge 16 can be improved.

[0038] In the sixth embodiment shown in Fig. 2(E), an inward recess 20 is formed in the small diameter portion 12 of the outer cylinder 10, and a V-shaped groove 19 is formed by the bottom surface of the inward recess 20 and the upper surface of the bridge 16. Only the upper surface of the bridge 16 is inclined. Therefore, the bridge 16 is tapered on the outside, making it prone to breakage.

[0039] 2(F), an outward recess 17 is formed in the top plate 14, and the bridge 16 is formed in a non-radial position so that its axis 22 does not intersect with the axis of the bottle opener 11 in a plan view. In this embodiment, when the top plate 14 is pressed down, a twisting force is also applied to the bridge 16 around the axis, making it even more susceptible to breakage.

[0040] In addition, in the mold for manufacturing the extractor 9, the gate is opened to the cavity for forming the top plate, so that during molding, the molten resin flows from the cavity for forming the top plate through each cavity for forming the bridge to the cavity for forming the outer cylinder, but since the cavity for forming the bridge is inclined with respect to the radial line, the resin flows in one circumferential direction in the cavity for forming the outer cylinder as shown by the arrow 23. This makes the flow of the resin into the recess for forming the outer cylinder very smooth, improving the processing accuracy. Also, the fluidity of the resin increases and no air bubbles remain, so the whitening phenomenon caused by air bubbles can be prevented.

[0041] 2(G)(H), an inward recess 20 is formed by bulging the small diameter portion 12 of the outer cylinder 10 outward over its entire height, and the outer ends of the bridges 16 are connected to the bottom surface of the inward recess 20. In this embodiment, if the bridges 16 are torn off, the remains 16a are contained within the inward recess 20 as shown in (H), preventing people from being injured by the remains 16a.

[0042] 2(I), the outer peripheral portion of the top plate 14 is aligned to the same height as the small diameter portion 12 of the outer cylinder 10, while most of the top plate 14 except for the outer peripheral portion is stepped down (recessed) to form a gap for pulling up the shrink film 18. The outward recess 17 is formed in the top plate 14, but may be formed in the small diameter portion of the outer cylinder 10.

[0043] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention can be embodied in various other ways. For example, the above-mentioned embodiments can be applied to each other as long as they are not inconsistent with each other. In addition, in the present invention, the outer cylinder may have a straight shape as in Patent Document 1. [Industrial Applicability]

[0044] The present invention can be embodied in a bottle remover for Ramune bottles, and is therefore industrially applicable. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 1 Ramune container 2 Mouth 4. The cap that forms part of the Ramune container 4a Step 8. Glass Beads 9 Bottle opener 10 Outer cylinder 11 Bottle Opener 12 Small diameter section 13 Large diameter section 14 Tabletop 15 Push tube 16 Bridge 17 Outward recess 18 Shrink film 19 V groove 20 Inward recess

Claims

1. The device has an outer cylinder supported by the mouth of the Ramune container, and a bottle opener disposed inside the outer cylinder, The bottle opener has a top plate disposed within the upper part of the outer cylinder, and a push tube hanging down from the underside of the top plate, and the outer peripheral edge of the top plate is integrally connected to the upper end of the outer cylinder via a plurality of bridges disposed at intervals in the circumferential direction, A recess into which the bridge fits in a plan view is formed in either or both of the top plate and the outer cylinder. A synthetic resin bottle remover for Ramune bottles.

2. Each bridge and the outer cylinder form a V-groove that opens upward.

2. The synthetic resin bottle opener for a Ramune bottle according to claim 1.

3. The extension lines of each bridge do not intersect with the axial centers of the bottle opener and the outer cylinder in a plan view.

3. A synthetic resin bottle remover for a Ramune container according to claim 1 or 2.

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