SEMI-AUTOMATIC JAR OPENER

OUVRE-BOCAL SEMI-AUTOMATIQUE

English Abstract

A semi-automatic opener for a jar closed by a threaded cover comprises a base
for receiving a jar thereon and an upper portion superimposed to the base. A
first turntable is rotatably mounted to the base via a rotatable shaft that is
coupled to a motor. A first toothed rack is mounted to the first turntable and
has
a first central gear coaxially mounted to the rotatable shaft and a first pair
of
rack elements each interlocked to the first central gear for reciprocating
movement towards and away each other upon rotation of the first central gear.
A first pair of jaws is respectively secured to a rack element of the first
toothed
rack and allows immobilizing the jar. The second portion also includes a pair
of
jaws mounted to a second toothed rack. In operation, the jar is positioned
onto
the base and the second portion is lowered for abutment with the cover. Then,
activating the motor causes the rotation of the rotatable shaft, which in turn
causes the rotation in unison of the first and second turntables with the jar.
Since the rotation of the second turntable causes the closing of the upper
jaws
on the cover of the jar, the rotation of the jar is stopped when the second
pair of
jaws grips the cover. The jar and the upper portion of the jar opener are then
immobilized while the lower jaws move towards the jar since the motor is still
energized and the first turntable is fixedly mounted to the rotating shaft.
The
cover being immobilized, the rotation of the jar results in its opening.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A semi-automatic opener for a jar closed by a threaded
cover comprising:
a first portion including a first body provided with a first turntable
mounted to said first body, and a first toothed rack mounted to said first
turntable; said first toothed rack having a first central gear mounted to said
first
body via a rotatable shaft, a first pair of rack elements each interlocked to
said
first central gear for reciprocating movement towards and away each other
upon rotation of said first turntable, and first pair of immobilizing
elements; each
one of said pair of immobilizing elements being secured to a respective rack
element of said first toothed rack;
a second portion including a second body provided with a second
turntable rotatably mounted to said second body and a second toothed rack
mounted to said second turntable; said second toothed rack having a second
central gear mounted to said second body via a fixed shaft, a second pair of
rack elements each interlocked to said second central gear for reciprocating
movement towards and away each other upon rotation of said second
turntabte, and second pair of immobilizing elements; each one of said second
pair of immobilizing elements being secured to a respective rack element of
said second toothed rack;
one of said first and second portions defining a base for receiving the jar
thereon, one of said first and second immobilizing elements associated to said
one of said first and second portions defining a base being for immobilizing
said
jar; the other one of said first and second portions being so mounted to said
one of said first and second portions as to be superimposed thereto for
receiving the cover; the other one of said first and second immobilizing
elements being for immobilizing said cover;
whereby, in operation, rotating said rotatable shaft causes the rotation of
said
first central gear and of said first turntable which in turn causes the
rotation in
unison of the jar with the cover until said second pair of immobilizing
elements

contacts one of the jar and the cover; further rotation of said rotatable
shaft
then causes said first pair of immobilizing elements to move towards each
other
until they grip the other of the jar and the cover; further rotating said
rotatable
shaft then causes a torsional force between the jar and the cover so as to
unlock the cover from the jar.
2. A jar opener as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of
said first pair of immobilizing elements and said second immobilizing elements
includes a pair of jaws.
3. A jar opener as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of
said first pair of immobilizing elements and said second immobilizing elements
are lined with a friction material.
4. A jar opener as recited in claim 3, wherein said friction
material is rubber.
5. A jar opener as recited in claim 1, wherein said first
turntable includes at least one friction member.
6. A jar opener as recited in claim 5, wherein said at least one
friction member is made of rubber.
7. A jar opener as recited in claim 1, further comprising a
motor for driving said rotatable shaft.
8. A jar opener as recited in claim 7, wherein said motor is
provided with a driving shaft; said rotatable shaft is coupled to said driving
shaft
via at least one coupling gear.

9. A jar opener as recited in claim 7, wherein said motor is
operable through a button.
10. A jar opener as recited in claim 1, wherein said rotatable
shaft is mounted to said first body via a low-friction cylindrical sleeve.
11. A jar opener as recited in claim 1, wherein said second
turntable includes at least one friction member.
12. A jar opener as recited in claim 11, wherein said at least
one friction member is made of rubber.
13. A jar opener as recited in claim 1, wherein one of said first
and second bodies associated to said other one of said first and second
portions is a top body mounted to other one of said first and second bodies,
which is a lower body, via two serrated posts that are secured to said lower
body; said top body being provided with two apertures for receiving said
posts;
said other one of said first and second portions further comprising a
horizontal
shaft rotatably mounted to said top body and two gears, each coaxially
mounted to said horizontal shaft so as to interlock with a respective serrated
post;
whereby, rotating said horizontal shaft allows varying a distance between said
first and second portions of the opener.
14. A jar opener as recited in claim 13, wherein at least one of
two longitudinal ends of said horizontal shaft being provided with a knob.
15. A jar opener as recited in 14, wherein said knob and said
top body are provided with respective first and second projections for

preventing the rotation of the horizontal shaft, thereby locking the top body
along the serrated posts.

Description

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TITLE OF THE INVENTION
SEMI-AUTOMATIC JAR OPENER
FILED OF THE INVENTION
10001] The present invention relates to a semi-automatic jar opener for
opening a threaded cover of a jar of any size, without manually applying
torsional force and exerting physical strength.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Canadian Patent No. 432,070 issued to Gaulin on December 25th
1945 (hereinafter "Gaulin") shows a bottle and jar opener. However, Gaulin's
jar opener is not semi-automatic and cannot be used by elders, who may have
little or no physical strength, or handicapped persons, who may not be
physically capable of using Gaulin's device. Gaulin requires the user to hold
the
jar or bottle in one of his hands, place the opener on top of the cover with
his
other hand, and twist his wrist counter-clockwise, manually applying a counter-
clockwise torque to loosen and subsequently remove the threaded cover from
any bottle or jar.
SUMMARYS OF THE INVENTION
[0003] According to the present invention, there is provided a semi-
automatic opener for a jar closed by a threaded cover comprising:
a first portion including a first body defining a base for receiving
the jar thereon;
a second portion including a second body mounted to the first
body so as to be superimposed to the first body;
one of the first and second portions having:

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a first turntable rotatably mounted to the respective body
between the first and second portions via a rotatable shaft for
rotating at least one of the jar and the cover;
a first toothed rack mounted to the first turntable; the first
toothed rack having a first central gear coaxially mounted to the
rotatable shaft and a first pair of rack elements each interlocked to
the first central gear for reciprocating movement towards and
away each other upon rotation of the first central gear; and
first pair of immobilizing elements for immobilizing the at
least one of the jar and the cover; each of the pair of immobilizing
elements being secured to a respective rack element of the first
toothed rack; and
the other of the first and second portions being provided with
second immobilizing elements mounted to the respective body for immobilizing
the other of the at least one of the jar and the cover;
whereby, in operation, the jar is positioned onto the base and its cover is
immobilized by the second immobilizing elements; the rotatable shaft is then
rotated causing the first pair of immobilizing elements to move towards each
other until they grip the at least one of the jar and the cover; rotating the
shaft
then causes a torsional force between the jar and the cover so as to unlock
the
cover.
[0004] The device enables users, particularly elders and handicapped
persons, to unscrew threaded covers of a jar. Thus, one of the benefits of the
present invention is that the user is not required to manually exert torsional
force to unscrew a threaded cover from a jar. The rotational torque is
provided
by an electric motor and does not require the application of manual force.
Users who may have little or no physical strength, which is a common problem
with the elderly, can utilize the present invention and unscrew threaded
covers
from jars without using physical strength. In addition, the present invention
is

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user-friendly and may be operated by a single hand. Many handicapped users,
who may have physical limitations, are also enabled by the present invention
to
unscrew threaded covers from jars without much difficulty. Furthermore, the
present invention does not need to be fixed at a single location and may be
moved from one place to another.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] Figure 1 is a top frontal perspective view of an exemplary
embodiment of a semi-automatic jar opener according to the present invention;
[0006] Figure 2 is a frontal elevational view of the jar opener illustrated in
Figure 1;
[0007] Figure 3 is a top perspective view of a lower part of the jar opener
illustrated in Figure 1;
[0008] Figure 4 is a bottom frontal perspective view of a upper part of the
jar opener illustrated in Figure 1;
[0009] Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 on Figure 2; and
[0010] Figure 6 is a sectional view of an upper part of the jar opener
illustrated in Figure 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] An automatic jar opener 10 according to an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
Figures 1 to 6.

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[0012] The automatic jar opener 10 comprises a lower portion 12
including a lower turntable 14 rotatably mounted in a first disk-shaped body
16,
and lower immobilizing elements 18, operatively coupled to the lower turntable
14 via a first toothed rack 20. The lower turntable 14 is operatively coupled
to
an electric motor 22 so as to be drivable therefrom.
[0013] The automatic jar opener 10 further comprises an upper portion
24 including an upper turntable 26 rotatably mounted in a second disk-shaped
body 28, and upper immobilizing elements 30, operatively coupled to the upper
turntable 26 via a second toothed rack 32.
[0014] The second disk-shaped body 28 is movably mounted to the first
disk-shaped body preferably via two serrated posts 34 that are secured to the
first disk-shaped body 16. The second disk-shaped body 28 includes two
diametrically opposite apertures 36 configured, sized and positioned to
scoverably receive a respective serrated post 34.
[0015] The upper portion 24 is provided with a horizontal shaft 38
rotatably mounted to the second disk-shaped body 28 so as to be generally
parallel to the flat surfaces thereof and as to have its two ends adjacent to
a
respective serrated post 34. Two gears 40 are mounted to the shaft 38
thereabout and are so positioned along the shaft 38 so as to interlock a
respective serrated post 34. Each of the two ends of the shaft 38 is provided
with a knob 42. The knobs 42 allow rotating the gears 40 of the horizontal
shaft
38 for adjusting the height of the upper portion 24 along the serrated
vertical
posts 34 and therefore the distance between the upper and lower portions 12
and 24.
[0016] At least one knob 42 may include a radial projection 44 part of a

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locking mechanism 45 for preventing the rotation of the horizontal shaft 38
and
therefore the translation of the upper portion 24 along the serrated posts 34.
According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, the locking
mechanism 45 further includes a second projection 46 extending tangentially
from the second disk 28 adjacent one of the two posts 34 to be engage by the
radial projection 44 of the knob 42. Of course, the shaft 38 is axially
movable
allowing positioning the first and second projections 44-46 for engagement
thereof.
[0017] The lower portion 12 will now be described in more detail with
reference to Figures 2-5. Each of the two lower immobilizing elements 18, in
the form of a pair of jaws, is secured to an enlarged portion of a respective
opposite rack element 47 of the toothed racks 20. The rack elements 47 are
mounted to the lower turntable 14 for reciprocating towards and away each
other. The lower toothed rack 20 further includes a central rotatable gear 48
interlocked with the two rack elements 47 so as to allow transforming the
rotational movement of the motor 22 into a translation of the rack elements
47.
[0018] More specifically, the driving shaft 54 of the motor 22 is
operatively coupled to central gear 48 via a first coupling gear 50 fixedly
secured to a first end of a shaft 51, which is rotatably mounted coaxially
within
the first disk-shaped hollow body 16 via a low friction cylindrical sleeve 53,
and
that has its other end secured to the gear 48. The first coupling gear 50 is
interlocked with a second coupling gear 52, which is coaxially mounted to the
driving shaft 54 of the motor 22. As illustrated in Figure 1, the lower
portion 12
of the opener 10 may sit on a hollow cylindrical base 57 that allows both
supporting the opener 10 and protecting the motor 22 and first and second
coupling gears 50 and 52. A run button 56 connected to the motor 22 is
provided to activate and deactivate the motor 22.

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[0019] The upper portion 24 will now be described in more detail with
reference to Figures 2, 4 and 6. Each of the two upper immobilizing elements
30, in the form of a pair of jaws, is secured to an enlarged portion of a
respective opposite rack element 62 of the toothed rack 32. The rack elements
62 are mounted to the upper turntable 26 for reciprocation towards and away
each other. The second toothed rack 32 further includes a central gear 64
interlocked with the two rack elements 62 therebetween.
[0020] In operation, the distance between the lower and upper portions
12 and 24 is adjusted to accommodate a jar 59 to open so that the upper
turntable 26 contacts the top of the cover 70 of the jar 59. The distance is
adjusted by first disengaging the locking mechanism 45 as explained
hereinbelow and by rotating at least one of the knobs 42 so as to translate
the
upper portion 24 along the posts 34.
[0021] Then, activating the motor 22 causes the rotation of the central
gear 48 of the lower turntable which in turn causes the rotation in unison of
the
lower turntable 14, the jar 59 and the upper turntable 26. Since the rotation
of
the upper turntable 26 causes the closing of the upper jaws 30 on the cover 70
of the jar 59, the rotation of the jar is stopped when the upper jaws 30 grip
the
cover 70. The jar 59 and the upper portion 24 of the jar opener are then
immobilized while the lower jaws 18 move towards the jar 59 since the motor is
still energized and the lower turntable 14 is mounted to the rotating shaft
51.
The cover 70 being immobilized, the rotation of the jar 59 results in its
opening.
[0022] Friction pads 68 can be provided on the lower and upper turntable
14 and 26 to help stabilize the jar 59 and also contribute to maximize the
rotation of the upper turntable 26 in unison with the jar 59 when the upper
portion 24 abuts the jar and the jaws 30 are not closed on the cover 70 of the
jar 59. Friction pads 66 can also be provided on the jaws 30 for similar

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purposes. Similarly, the jaws 18 and 30 can be lined with respective friction
material 58 and 66 to improve the gripping action on jar 59. Such friction
material can be rubber for example.
[0023] It is to be noted that the opener 10 is operable with a single hand
and a minimal force is required to execute the above operation.
[0024] As would be understood by one skilled in the art, the gears 50-52
may be rotated manually or electrically such that the movement of the gears
increases / decreases the separation between the upper jaws 30. Once the
motor 22 has been activated, the lower set of jaws 18 tighten to firmly grip
the
jar 59 and secure the jar 59 to the center of the platform while the electric
motor
22 rotates the lower turntable 14. As the lower turntable 14 rotates, torque
is
applied to loosen and unscrew the threaded cover 70. It is to be noted that
pressure ceases to be exerted on the jaws 18 and 30 as soon as the cover 70
is unlocked.
[0025] The present invention has been described with reference to
specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that
various modifications and changes may be made thereunto without departing
from the broadest spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in
the
claims that follow. The specification and drawings are accordingly to be
regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense.

Representative Drawing