Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~06.1.7t3~
" IMPLEMENT SUITABLE FOR REMOVING THE METAL CAP FROM THE
CONTAINER, MADE OF PLASTICS MATERIAL, OF THE DRINKING-BOTTLES
FOR SMALL LABORATORY ANI~LS "
The present i.nvention relates to a hand-operated implement,
which is so structured as to enable the metal cap to be easily
removed from the container of plastics material which compose
the drinking-bottles used in animal breeding departements for
small laboratory animals, such as mice, Guinea pigs, or other
animal~.
Heretofore, the separation of the two parts which
constitute the drinking-bottle, in order to allow the latter to
be filled, is manually carried out by the animal breeding
departement operators.
Although this operation may seem an extremely simple one,
in practice said separation results often to be either hindered,
or complicated, in that both parts are firmly sticking to each
other. Said sticking is the result of several contributing
factors, such as an exces~ive ~tress previously applied by the
operator during the last assembly of the two components of the
drinking-bottle, or a misalignment thereof,the presence of solid
residues deposited on the container neck deriving from the
evaporation of the liquid contents of the container, wear of
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container neck, and still other factors.
Due to these reasons, in order to remove the metal cap from
the container of the drinking-bottle, the operator must have
resort to improper means, such as pliers and pincers, or he must
exert leverage on the tube of the metal cap, which may result in
a deformation of the metal cap, and/or in a breakage of the
container, the integrity of the drinking-bottle being hence
compromi~ed, its functionality being endangered, and the
replacement thereof with a new drinking-bottle becoming
necessary.
In order to overcome the foregoing drawbacks, the present
invention provides a hand-operated tool, which is structured so
as to secure that removal of the metal cap from tbe container
made of plastics material is carried out effectively and simply.
The implement leaves the constituting parts of the
drinking-bottle in a perfectly unspoiled condition, thu~
securing a l-ong useful life thereof and furthermore preventing
any direct contact between operator's ha~ds and metal cap, thus
improving the hygienic conditions.
The particular configuration of the hand-operated implement
according to the present invention i8 now illustrated in
the following detailed de~cription with reference to the
attached drawings, wherein-
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3 -
Figures 1 and 2 is a side view and ~ top plan view,
respectively/ of the implement according to the invention;
Figure 3 is an exploded view of the ~rinking-bottle;
Figure 4 is a side sectional view of the implement applied
onto on the cap of the drinking-bottle before said cap is
removed from the drinking-bottle container.
As one may observe from Figures 1 and 2, the hand-operated
implement according to tha present invention substantially
comprises a handle 1 integral with a body 2 onto which a ring 3
is fastened, which has an inner diameter equal to, or slightly
exceeding, the outer diameter of the cylindrical wall of the cap
11 of the drinking-bottle.
In its bottom portion, the body 2 is provided with an
elon~ated hollow 2a extending along the handle 1/ring 3
direction. The hollow 2a opens towarcl~ the ring 3, and at its
opposit~ end, is closed by a wall 2b and on its side wall is
opened by a passing through-310t 7.
In~ide the hollow 2a there are housed a piston 4 bevelled
in 4a, sliding inside said hollow, and a spring 5 positioned
between the piston 4 and the wall 2b. The piston 4 is provided
with a button-shaped protrusion 6, integral with the same
piston. When the spring 5 expands, it biases th~ piston 4 to
exit the hollow 2a, until (see Figu~e 1), the protrusion 6
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engages the wall o~ the hollow 7 t which acts as a shoulder for
the protrusion 6.
As it can be claarly seen in Figure ~, the length of the
piston 4 is such that, when said piston is in its rest position,
its protruding end considerably extends beyond the inner edge of
the ring 3.
Referring to Figurè 4, the operator, after applying the
ring 3 of the implement onto the cap of the drinking-bottle
causes said riny 3 to slide along the cap wall until, overcoming
the pressure of the spring 5, he causes the bevelled end 4a of
the piston 4 to slide beyond the edge 15 of the cap 11.
When the operator has caused the piston to slide beyond the
edge 15, the spring 5 keeps said piston 4 biassd against the
body 12 of the drinking-bottle, while simultaneously engaging
the edge 15 of the cap. Then in order to remove the cap, the
operator has ju~t to ex~rt leverage on the handle 1. The piston
4, acting against the lower edge of the cap, causes the cap to
be easily disengaged from the body of the drinking-bottle.
Once that both parts of drinking-bottle are separated from
each other, the operator, acting on the button-shaped protrusion
6 in such a way as to win the resistanc~ of the spring 5, cause~
the piston 4 to retract, thus disengaging the cap 11 from the
rlng 3.
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It should be noted that, although khe laboratory drinking-
bottles available on the market may ha~e, of course, very
di~erent capacities from one another, their caps retain
constant dimensions (in particular, their diameter i5 constant).
Therefore, the hand-operated tool according to the present
invention can be used with all the drinking-bottles available on
the market, irrespective of their capacity.
The size of, and the materials used for the implement,
according to the present invention, may vary accordiny to any
usage requirements.
