Lever- Or Gear-translated Closure Remover Patents (Class 81/3.37)
  • Patent number: 6386069
    Abstract: The present invention pertains to a manually operated stopper extractor device arranged to engage a bottle of carbonated liquid to remove the stopper. The extractor device includes a frame arranged to be centered about the neck of the bottle and a side support housing which encloses an actuation lever coupled to an extraction yoke. The yoke is operable between a disengaged and engaged position with the stopper. When the lever is in a compressed actuated position, the yoke engages the stopper and moves the stopper upwardly to remove the stopper from the bottle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2002
    Inventors: César Hugo Olivera, Roberto José Cardón
  • Patent number: 6357322
    Abstract: An invented corkscrew machine includes a rotatable spiral radius pinion gear mechanically coupled to an annular collar and engaging an inclined gear rack for translating a driver up and down carrying a freely rotating, helical corkscrew. A crank rotates the spiral radius pinion gear for translating the driver up and down relative to the collar the along the rotation axis of the corkscrew with a mechanical advantage that increases as driver approaches the collar. A non-rotating collar cam coupled to and translatable relative to the driver, receives and follows the helix of the corkscrew for imparting torque rotating the corkscrew when held stationary within the annular collar responsive to translation of the driver toward and away from the annular collar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2002
    Assignee: Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael J. Dolan, Dominic P. Symons, Sung Kim, Diego G. Andina, Gianpiero Tonetti
  • Publication number: 20020017167
    Abstract: A device to center and align to the wormscrew of a corkscrew the neck of a bottle of any diameter whatsoever from which the cork is to be extracted, wherein a receptacle cone is located at the base of a collection tube and is retractable with respect to the latter in order to allow the neck of a bottle to abut always centered against the base of the tube in order to have a constant and determinate abutment position to correctly remove the cork and to be able to determine precisely and in advance how much the wormscrew has to penetrate into the cork itself.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 27, 2001
    Publication date: February 14, 2002
    Inventor: Alberto Fabbro
  • Patent number: 6257091
    Abstract: An automatic decapper removes caps from capped test tubes by gripping the cap on a test tube with the upper grippers and holding the cap stationary while the test tube is rotated and translated downward with lower grippers. In a preferred embodiment, the upper grippers comprise three jaws coupled to a cam to be moved, as appropriate, from a first position in which a test tube cap may be inserted between the jaws to a second position in which the jaws grip the inserted cap. The upper grippers are mounted to a decapping arm that is pivotable between a first position above the lower grippers, in which the decapping takes place, to a second position above the exterior of the decapper, where it remains while the test tube is inserted into or removed from the lower grippers and where a removed cap may be released into a container for disposal or reuse. The lower grippers comprise a pair of lever arms for holding the test tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2001
    Assignee: Bayer Corporation
    Inventors: Beri Cohen, Thomas W. DeYoung, Paul E. Purpura, Helmut Artus
  • Patent number: 6176154
    Abstract: A manually operated corkscrew for removing a stopper from a mouth of a bottle is described. The corkscrew includes a body and a support arm, with an edge, pivotally connected to the body. A ringlet, for removable insertion into the stopper, is pivotally connected to the body adjacent to where the body and support arm are pivotally connected. A mechanism, providing at least two intermediate and graduated points along the edge of the support arm for engagement with the mouth of the bottle to permit removal of the stopper without having to further insert the ringlet into the stopper is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2001
    Inventors: Ramon Brucart Puig, Marta Bonich Linares