WO2004080816A2

WO2004080816A2 - Screw cap with lever housing

Info

Publication number: WO2004080816A2
Application number: PCT/FR2004/000489
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bernard Cuccia; Andrée SOLER CUCCIA
Original assignee: Bernard Cuccia; Soler Cuccia Andree
Priority date: 2003-03-05
Filing date: 2004-03-03
Publication date: 2004-09-23
Also published as: FR2851987B1; FR2851987A1; WO2004080816B1; WO2004080816A3

Abstract

The invention relates to a novel type of screw cap. The inventive cap comprises: (i) a screw cap with a lever housing, and (ii) two stacked levels which are solidly connected to one another in order to form a single assembly. The housing can be used for the insertion of levers such as spoon handles in order to facilitate opening.

Description

jDescriptionl

Two-level plug, screw for the lower floor and lever housing for the upper floor.

I) Indication of the technical field of the invention.

5 The screw caps. For many hands the receptacles with screw caps are very difficult to open. The invention which is the subject of this patent describes a simple technical solution to solve this problem.

The traffic jams have never stopped evolving. This invention is about going even further and 0 thinking a little about all those who lack strength in their hands. It is therefore not surprising that it is a Doctor who deposits this invention. The average age does not stop increasing, there are more and more elderly people and especially elderly, sick, weakened women and it is still very often the hands of women of all ages who are busy unclog containers for: cooking, baby's meal, baby's medicine, housekeeping, etc. 5 The aim in this work is, first of all, to take nothing away from the properties of current screw caps, to keep intact the work already carried out in this area, efficiency, safety, cost price, etc. and then to provide a better one in order to decrease by three or even by twelve the force necessary to overcome the resistance to the opening of the current screw caps whatever they may be.

Φ II) Indication of the state of the prior art highlighting the technical problem. State of the art:

As for the current screw caps (Plate 1/8. Fig 1 and 2), their evolution has mainly focused on safety in the case of dangerous products or certain medicines in the face of small hands that touch everything. A very ingenious click system is found in the center of many container lids and thus makes it possible in a tactile and auditory way to know if by chance the jar has not been badly closed in the factory, or if a hand has already opened the pot. There is also sometimes a strip of vertical sticky paper that goes from the lid to the jar and which of course is torn at the opening. System with click and strip are sometimes associated. 0 A word from the inside of the metal covers. They are coated on their entire surface with a thin plasticized layer with a thickness of malleable plastic at the circumference which allows sealing. Some covers have a larger plastic coating over their entire inner surface. This is to talk about the presence of plastic in current covers. We will come back to this problem later, in terms of technical means.

Regarding the subject at hand, that is to say how to adapt the cap to the human hand, except for a few vertically grooved caps to allow the fingers to slip less, or some small reliefs around the edges traffic jams, it is clear that the subject has never concerned anyone. It has been established once and for all that everyone has the strength to open a large jar of jam for example and that failing this is not a major problem. Let these people get help wherever they like as best they can with whatever they want! They only have to tap with a knife all around the cap and they will end up succeeding after a few minutes in opening this jar! That these people mostly manage not to buy these products when they can, which represents a big shortfall for manufacturers, has never challenged them, or perhaps if, but they had to do with the caps that the market offers. It's up to us to present them with something better. Let's say a word about the capsules because for some bottles it is also possible to unscrew them by hand, which is very practical, but still you have to have the strength of youth and not be afraid of hurting your fingers, which explains that this means is, in fact, not very widespread. The bottle opener was therefore invented. The idea of using a lever to open a bottle was therefore born but it was not fully exploited and we can understand why. Indeed, the bottle openers use the roof of the capsule as a fulcrum. Yes, but when it is not a capsule but our example jar of jam, where to find a point of support. Useless to search a long time, there is not at first sight and even by looking well (and yet ... by looking better still ... but we will see that further), and even so it is capsule, you still need to have a bottle opener on hand. Manufacturers therefore rushed to cans or metal cans or brilliant inventors were able to find the principle of the lever and include it on the lids. So a child's finger does as well as big arms! Hence the success of this type of openness.

The technical problem:

The technical problem of receptacles with screw caps is that they are not suitable for human hands. Let us always take for example a jar of glass jam covered with a metal stopper (plate 1/8. Fig 1 and 2). The cover which awaits the hand of man, is less than a centimeter high, it is very round, it sometimes has timid reliefs, it is very smooth. It is therefore very difficult to grasp it with your fingertips. The fingers have force, even for Olympic weightlifters, only in the grip, that is to say in bending, but the opening movement requires bending and rotation of the fingers. Who says rotation, says lateral force of the fingers. All treatises on the physiology of the hand show that the muscles allowing the laterality of the fingers are ridiculously insignificant. The current technique does not take into account these physiological imperatives, hence the difficulties in performing a gesture which is not physiological, that is to say which does not take into account our natural possibilities.

Disclosure of the invention Preamble:

We have just seen clearly that the current screw caps are not suitable for human hands.

Finally, it should therefore be remedied by inventing a new type of screw cap taking into account the physiology of the human hand. Since he can't do it with his fingers, he has to do it differently. Man has long known how to use tools to compensate for his poor physical performance. Still, it must be given the means.

* With what tools? The simplest, the most numerous, those around us: the tip of a knife, the handle of a fork or a tablespoon or coffee spoon. These familiar objects are found in all kitchens and on all tables in numerous copies. They will serve as levers.

** With what means? This is the subject of the invention, the description of which follows. I propose to adapt the principle of the lever to all screw caps whatever they are and including the caps of the threaded bottles in order to allow even a child to tackle them with as much success as a fort of halls, but there without bottle opener or other elaborate instruments. The levers are all around us in abundance, so there is no need to integrate them into the lids as in the case of cans. To be able to use these levers, it is therefore necessary to shape a housing, that is to say a cavity, intended to receive them.

The invention therefore relates to a new type of screw cap comprising a lever housing. Technical means to be used to achieve the result sought by the invention.

They are insignificant. It's DIY for children.

* For the plastic plug, only a little more plastic is needed to increase the thickness of the base roof by a few millimeters in order to accommodate the housing. It will therefore be necessary to modify the mold at the level of the cap roof.

** For the metal cover, you need (plate 2/8. Fig 3, 4 and 5): 1 / a plastic plate

(or ad hoc wood, or compressed cardboard, treated then covered with a plastic film) a few millimeters high, 2 / a chisel to cut out a circular surface equal to the internal surface of the roof of the cover and cut it off of the housing, 3 / a second cover with the dimensions of the base cover but without click system and without reliefs for adapting to the thread of the container, 4 / a metal chisel to allow three actions on this second cover: K cutting of a side slit, "cutting if necessary a symmetrical orifice to the click system at roof level," reducing the height of the vertical lateral edge to the thickness of the plastic surface already cut, increased by the thickness of the jail, 5 / some very powerful glue. These three actions will be in manufacturing by stamping, which will round the window edges and the lower periphery of this second cover so as not to injure. If it has been decided to join the two covers together by crimping or welding, an additional one or two millimeters should be provided at the height of the second cover (plate 5/8. Fig 14, 15 and 16). "^'''" Also for the metal cover, it is possible to offer a completely different means of manufacture using a metal blade. It suffices to have a metal blade of the order of 1 mm thick and of the order of 4 mm wide and to shape it around the edges of the housing (board 3/8. Fig 6, 7 and 8) . By spring effect, this device snaps onto the cylindrical part 4mm in height of the upper cover on its internal surface. It then suffices to spray the same plastic film to obtain the same chemical properties as the lower plugs. In this case the amount of plastic added to the current configuration will be a few micrograms. Description itself: of the new two-level screw cap.

It is a stopper:

1 ° / with screw and lever housing. (Definition of Petit Larousse. Housing: place or cavity where a moving part of a mechanism is placed.) 2 ° / with two levels superimposed and secured in a single unit.

It is a stopper of which:

1 °) The lower level with screws, is nothing new, except to be joined to the upper level (plate 1/8. Fig 1 and 2).

2 °) The new element is the upper level secured to the lower level and comprising a lever housing (plate 5/8. Fig 14 to 16).

3 °) The upper level does not hamper the functioning of the click system of the lower level (board 3/8. Fig 6 to 8) (board 4/8. Fig 9 to 13) (board 6/8. Fig 17 ).

4 °) The lever housing is suitable for levers such as: knife blades, fork handles, tablespoons, or only teaspoons. 5 °) The housing is open to the outside by a lateral slot suitable for the levers of which he and she are intended and already mentioned (plates 5/8 and 6/8).

6 °) The housing is opened to the outside by an upper circular opening, the size of the click system that it overhangs, this when this system exists (plates 5/8 and 6/8). To make and dress a lever housing, at each screw cap whatever it is, in a second upper level, to allow use as levers; knives, forks, tablespoons or, possibly and only, coffee, this in order to facilitate the opening of the containers, the technical means are, as we have just seen, very simple whether it is as well as '' a small plastic cap of the mineral water type, a threaded bottle cap (plate 7/8), a metal cap of a bottle of antibiotic for children (same as plate 7/8), a jam jar lid (plate 5/8) with the click system to keep or honey jar without click system. This housing integrated directly into the base plug, will thus constitute a sort of new plug, which we will say with screws and lever housing, smarter than the simple screw plug and whose contribution of a small second level almost does not appear. To achieve this accommodation above the base plug, the following technical characteristics must be taken into account and the precise measurements will follow. In general and for information we have taken 21mm in width and 4mm in height for the side slit. 1 / For all plastic caps: in this case The thickness of the cap roof will be increased by a few millimeters to include the lever housing. Base plug, housing and housing lining are molded in the same mass of plastic.

2 / For all metal plugs: in this case it is necessary to treat: 1 °] of the housing and 2 °] of its covering.

1 °] With regard to housing: its floor is already made up of the roof of the base plug with or without a click system (board 1/8), its own roof will be treated with its covering, the three walls have yet to be made a few millimeters in height (Plate 2/8. Fig 4 and 5) (Plate 3/8). Take a plastic plate of this thickness, choose a deformable plastic, cut a circular surface with a diameter slightly smaller than that of the cover, and finally cut in this surface the housing as will be described later. 2 °] As regards its covering (plate 2/8. Fig 3): it is a cover of the same kind as the base cover (plate 1/8) which is superimposed on the base cover. Its characteristics are as follows: (1 *) it serves as a roof for housing, (2 *) it is pierced or not on its roof with a circular orifice equal in diameter to the click system and (3 *) this so as to overhang it perfectly, (4 *) its height is equal to the thickness of the housing increased by the thickness of the metal sheet which constitutes it, (5 *) the plastic surface in which the housing has been cut is glued to its underside (in its concavity),

(6 *) the entrance to the housing is made by cutting out the necessary rectangle on the lateral edge of this second cover, (7 *) the edges of this entrance as well as that of the orifice of the roof are blunted so as not to injure , (8 *) this set: second cover plus housing is secured to the roof of the base plug, this in several ways, * either by a second bonding, but this time from the underside of the plastic plate to the roof of the base cover, ** either by soldering or crimping or other technical means, by its circumference less than the upper circumference of the base cap. In all cases the circumference of the junction of the two stages is blunt or treated in any way so as not to injure. At this stage of the description, certain points should be clarified; namely: the appearance and dimensions of the housing for each plug.

We had said: "The upper level, comprising a lever housing, does not hamper the functioning of the possible click system of the lower level". Like a garage, the accommodation is made up of an entrance, two side walls, a back wall, a floor and a roof. It is sufficient that the side walls of the housing and the back wall are all tangent to the circle of the click system of the floor so as not to hinder it (board 3/8. Fig 8) and (board 4/8. Fig 9 to 11 ). Thus, the two rectilinear side walls, go from the entrance to the bottom of the housing, widening just enough not to encroach on the click system. As for the back wall, it will be an arc tangent to the click system whose center is in the middle of the entrance.

We also said: "The lever housing is suitable for levers such as: knife blades, fork handles, tablespoons, or only teaspoons", "The housing is opened to the outside by a lateral slot suitable for the levers of which he and she are intended and already mentioned ”.

So it is the dimensions of the entry (21mm by 4mm for information) and the radius (r) of the click system which determine the upper view (plate 8/8. Fig 20) and the profile view of the housing ( plate 6/8). We have two variables there, but they pose no difficulty. When the lid lends itself to it, and this is by far the most frequent case, we will take the width of the handle of a common tablespoon plus two millimeters for the width of the entry (hence the 21mm) and we will use the same type of calculation for the height (hence the 4mm). Otherwise, we will use, according to the same calculation, the values of the handle of a teaspoon. The value of the radius of the click system (r) which varies from one cover to another does not matter, so the walls will be more or less flared, which has no functional impact (plate 4/8. Fig 9 to 11). There, in this exposition, by deduction, are all the measures.

A word for the simpler case where there is no click system, that is to say on the metal lids of certain jars of honey, or for all the plastic caps and capsules. In this case the housing is simply a parallelepiped (board 3/8. Fig 7), (board 4/8. Fig 12 and 13) and (board 7/8. Fig 18). It is the entrance that determines its height and width. As for the depth, it is determined by common sense, if the stopper is small, it will be the diameter of the stopper (2k) and if it has the dimensions found on snap-on lids, it will be the radius (R ") of the cover, possibly a few millimeters of common sense. [Understanding of the technical solution which is brought to the technical problem posed: |

The object of our purpose is not to create a new cap which would be more airtight, more secure or of a lower cost, but to add, in several ways, to all existing caps a small supplement, to improve them. , to make them adapt to the human hand and not the reverse as is currently the case, to make them smarter in a way, in order to bring better in order to decrease by three or even by twelve the force necessary to overcome the resistance to the opening of current screw caps whatever they may be. It is therefore necessary, after talking about the physiology of the hand to bring out the technical problem of screw caps, to now study the opening movement of the cover in terms of physics (plate 8/8) in order to allow understanding of the technical solution to the technical problem posed. This movement, in fact is put into equation, it is “the movement of the couple”, fortunately very simple: P xd = px D. (P) being the force of resistance to the opening, (p) being the against force that it will be necessary to oppose more one iota to manage to mobilize the cover. But who says "couple movement" says point of support! Now we said that there was none at first sight, we also said that by looking better ... In fact this point of support exists, but it is not seen because it does not is not material at first glance (but in fact it is very material, but we do not seek it where it is necessary ...). Physics tells us that it is in the center (O) of the circle that represents the cover, and that it is carried by the virtual axis which is perpendicular to the cover in its center. This virtual axis is held by the left hand. How is it virtual? Physics tells us that the vertical wall of the container acts as a virtual axis. Physics also tells us that it is in fact the left hand which represents by its force the force of this fulcrum but at the center (O) of the cover. We can thus say that (d) is the distance from (O) to (P) and that (D) is the distance from (O) to (p). (d) and (D) are two line segments on the same line. As the cover is made, we are in the case of two children of the same weight on a swing (board 1/8). Thus, (P = p), resistance and counter-resistance are equal and (d = D), resistance and counter-resistance on opening are equidistant from the fulcrum (O) but diametrically opposite. The couple's movement tells us that for (p) to be smaller than (P), (D) must be greater than (d). It is the rule of the lever quite simple, but fortunately that the man knew how to use a lever like tool to multiply his forces before knowing the equation. It is sort of the special swing that is needed when one of the children is very large and the other is very thin and where the fulcrum is offset from the side of the large (board 8/8. Fig 21).

So a mouse can swing with a mammoth as long as (d), on the side of the mammoth and

(D), on the mouse side, fit the equation. Hence the famous phrase: "give me a point of support and I will raise the world". For what concerns us we will be satisfied with the screw cap.

It therefore remained to create an original configuration allowing (D) to be much larger than

(d), the radius of the cover (d = R) and in this case, by the law of physics:

P x d = p x D. if D = 5d for example, p = P / 5.

This is detailed in the description of the invention above (plate 8/8. Fig 20 and 21).

Starting point: (plate 1/8. Fig 1 and 2).

A simple screw cover with click system. It's the first level

The added elements: (plate 2/8. Fig 3, 4 and 5) or (plate 3/8).

The accommodation: (board 2/8. Fig 4 and 5) or (board 3/8).

Its covering: (plate 2/8. Fig 3 with or without the upper opening).

It is the 2nd level In the end: (board 5/8) and (board 6/8) or (board 7/8).

The two levels are united.

It is the new type of screw cap and lever housing in two levels.

Only one example (for short): (Plate 8/8)

P = resistance to opening. p = counter resistance to opening. d = R = radius of the cover. L = length of the knife. r = radius of the click system. D = (L - r).

P x d = P x R. ρ x D = p x (L - r)

P xd = px (L - r) If D = (L - r) = 5 dp = P / 5. QED. In this case, we have divided the force to be applied for the opening by 5. Let us not forget that in addition this force (p) does not apply with the fingertips (flexion and rotation, see physiology of the hand) but with all the force of the right upper limb in a right-handed person.

For the anecdote let us say again that the left-handers will be favored because one unscrews in the opposite direction of a clock, and that the muscles of adduction are definitely more powerful than the muscles of abduction. It is enough to make a pump on the palm of the hands then on the back of the hands to be convinced ...!

Claims

claims

1] Screw cap, plastic or metal, consisting of a vertical cylinder adapting to the thread of the container and covered with a roof, whether or not carrying the safety click system. Screw cap of a new type characterized in that it is screw and lever housing, in two superimposed levels and secured in a single assembly.

2] Two-level screw cap according to claim No. 1 characterized in that the lower level screw, is nothing new, except to be secured to the upper level.

3] Two-level screw cap according to claims No. 1 and No. 2 characterized in that the new element is the upper level secured to the lower level and comprising a lever housing.

4] Two-level screw cap according to claims No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 characterized in that the upper level does not interfere with the operation of the possible click system of the lower level.

5] Two-level screw cap according to claims No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 characterized in that the lever housing is suitable for levers such as: knife blades, fork handles, tablespoons , or just teaspoons.

6] Two-level screw cap according to any one of claims characterized in that the housing is open to the outside by a lateral slot suitable for the levers already mentioned.

7] Two-level screw cap according to any one of claims characterized in that the housing is open to the outside by an upper circular orifice, the size of the click system that it overhangs.