AU2019100809A4 - A device to assist opening jars - Google Patents

Abstract

A device to assist a user to open a jar or bottle. In particular, the device is helpful to assist users who have impaired hand, wrist, or finger strength or function. The device comprises a first flexible gripping portion for placing over a lid of a jar or bottle, a second flexible gripping portion for gripping the base of the jar or bottle, and a flexible neck extending between the first gripping portion and the second gripping portion. FIUa

Description

Α DEVICE TO ASSIST OPENING JARS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a device to assist a user to open a jar or bottle. In particular, the device is 5 helpful to assist users who have impaired hand, wrist, or finger strength or function.

BACKGROUND

Conditions that affect the strength or mobility of a person's hands, wrists or fingers are widespread, particularly among the elderly. Arthritis is one such condition that affects over 350 million people .0 worldwide, causing swelling, pain, stiffness and decreased range of motion of affected joints and making some everyday tasks difficult or painful. Other neurological or degenerative conditions can similarly impact on joint or muscle strength or mobility.

Opening a jar or bottle involves squeezing and pressing on the lid of the jar to grip it and applying a rotational force to the lid, while simultaneously resisting the rotational force with the other hand .5 holding the body of the jar. Opening a jar or bottle is an everyday task that can be difficult or impossible for people living with a neurological, degenerative, or other condition that affects the use of their hands such that they are unable to generate enough force to grip and rotate the lid. Even people without such disorders struggle at times to open tightly sealed jars or bottles.

Several commercial solutions exist to attempt to assist users with opening jars. However, these Ό solutions can be bulky to store or expensive. Some only work for specific size jars. Further, many of these existing devices are not suitable for people with impaired hand, wrist, or finger strength or function because they require the operator to apply a force to the device to squeeze the lid, and/or they still require the operator to hold the body of the jar with their other hand to resist the opening force.

Ϊ5 It is an object of at least preferred embodiments of the present invention to address one or more of the above-mentioned disadvantages and/or to at least provide the public with a useful alternative.

In this specification where reference has been made to patent specifications, other external documents, or other sources of information, this is generally to provide a context for discussing features of the invention. Unless specifically stated otherwise, reference to such external documents or sources of information is not to be construed as an admission that such documents or such sources of information, in any jurisdiction, are prior art or form part of the common general knowledge in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, a device is provided to assist in opening jars and bottles. The device comprises a first flexible gripping portion for placing over the lid of a jar or bottle, a second flexible gripping portion for gripping the base of the jar or bottle, and a flexible neck extending between the first gripping portion and the second gripping portion.

In an embodiment, the device comprises a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and Polyester composite.

Preferably the composite comprises PVC foam reinforced with polyester strands. In an embodiment,

-22019100809 24 Jul 2019 the material comprises a multiplicity of voids and nodes. Preferably the material has a thickness between about 3mm and about 4mm thick.

In an embodiment, the first gripping portion and the second gripping portions each have a rounded shape. For example, they may be substantially circular. The second gripping portion may be substantially the same size as the first gripping portion. Alternatively, the second gripping portion may be larger than the first gripping portion, for example, for use with some bottles.

The first gripping portion is preferably larger than the lid of the jar or bottle to be opened. The second gripping portion is preferably larger than the base of the jar or bottle to be opened. In one embodiment the first gripping portion and the second gripping portion each have a diameter of .0 between about 100 mm and about 165 mm, for example of about 110 mm or about 150 mm. In an alternative embodiment, the first gripping portion has a smaller diameter or width than the second gripping portion, of between about 60 and about 110 mm.

In an embodiment, the first gripping portion, the second gripping portion and the neck are integrally formed. The neck may be wider adjacent the gripping portions, or the junction between the neck .5 and each gripping portion may be tapered or filleted to reduce stresses at the junction.

In an alternative embodiment, the neck may have a first end attached to the first gripping portion, for example stitched or adhered to the gripping portion, and a second end attached to the second gripping portion, for example stitched or adhered to the gripping portion.

The neck may be extendable, for example it may comprise an elastic material.

i0 In an embodiment, the device comprises a hanging loop for hanging the device from a hook or protrusion. The hanging loop is preferably attached to the first gripping portion or the second gripping portion.

The device preferably comprises a material wherein the coefficient of friction between the device and a glass surface is greater than the coefficient of friction of the glass surface with the palm of a i5 human hand.

This invention may also be said broadly to consist in the parts, elements and features referred to or indicated in the specification of the application, individually or collectively, and any or all combinations of any two or more said parts, elements or features. Where specific integers are mentioned herein which have known equivalents in the art to which this invention relates, such known equivalents are deemed to be incorporated herein as if individually described.

The term 'comprising' as used in this specification and claims means 'consisting at least in part of'. When interpreting statements in this specification and claims that include the term 'comprising', other features besides those prefaced by this term can also be present. Related terms such as 'comprise' and 'comprised' are to be interpreted in a similar manner.

It is intended that reference to a range of numbers disclosed herein (for example, 1 to 10) also incorporates reference to all rational numbers within that range and any range of rational numbers within that range (for example, 1 to 6, 1.5 to 5.5 and 3.1 to 10). Therefore, all sub-ranges of all ranges expressly disclosed herein are hereby expressly disclosed.

As used herein the term '(s)' following a noun means the plural and/or singular form of that noun. 40 As used herein the term 'and/or' means 'and' or 'or', or where the context allows, both.

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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figures l(i) to (iii) are plan views of three alternative embodiment devices for assisting in opening jars, where Figure l(i) shows a first embodiment, Figure l(ii) shows an alternative embodiment suitable for wider jars, and Figure l(iii) shows a third embodiment for use in opening bottles;

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing one of the devices of Figure 1 held by a user;

Figure 3 shows further embodiment devices, together with a jar that they are suitable for use with;

Figure 4 illustrates use of a device of the present invention to open a jar;

.0 Figure 5 illustrates use of a further embodiment device of the present invention to open a bottle; and

Figure 6 is a plan view for indicating dimensions of various embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT .5 The present invention will now be described with reference to Figures l(i) to 5 which show exemplary embodiment devices for to assist a user open a jar or bottle, in particular to assist users with impaired hand, wrist, or finger strength or function.

Referring to Figure l(i), the device 1 comprises a first flexible gripping portion 3a, a second flexible gripping portion 3b for gripping the base of the jar or bottle, and a flexible neck 5 extending i0 between the first gripping portion 3a and the second gripping portion 3b.

The gripping portions 3a, 3b are substantially circular, but in alternative embodiments the gripping portions may have other shapes, for example they might be hexagonal or square, or oval. The first gripping portion 3a is larger than the lid of the jar 11 or bottle to be opened. The second gripping portion 3b is larger than the base of the jar 11 or bottle to be opened.

The neck 5 is an elongate portion of the device extending from the first gripping portion 3a to the second gripping portion 3b. The transition between the edges of the neck 5 and the edge of each gripping portion is preferably gradual to reduce stress concentrations and thereby reduce the likelihood of tearing of the neck at the junction between the gripping portion and the neck. The neck may be wider adjacent the gripping portions, or the junction between the neck and each gripping portion may be tapered or have an outwardly concave edge portion 9 (Figure 6) forming a fillet and tangent with the outwardly convex edge of the gripping portion.

In the embodiments shown in Figures 1 to 4, the first gripping portion 3a, the second gripping portion 3b and the neck 5 are integrally formed.

A hanging loop 7 is attached to the first gripping portion 3a, to enable easy storage of the device 1 by hanging it from a hook or other protrusion such as a nail. The hanging loop 7 in the embodiments shown comprises a textile loop stitched to either of the first or second gripping portion. However, in alternative embodiments, rather than a textile loop, the hanging loop may comprise a loop of cord or a tab with an aperture for receipt of a hook, for example. The tab may be attached to the first or second gripping portion, for example stitched or adhered to the gripping portion, or may be integral

-42019100809 24 Jul 2019 with the respective gripping portion. If hanging of the device is not desired, or in embodiments without a hanging loop, the device 1 is flexible and such that it can be folded or rolled up for compact storage.

Referring to Figure 2, to use the device 1, a user places the first gripping portion 3a in the palm of 5 one hand (usually in the dominant hand), and the second gripping portion 3b in the palm of their other hand. They then pick up the jar 11 to be opened with the base of the jar resting on the second gripping portion 3b and the first gripping portion over the lid of the jar (see Figure 4). Alternatively, the user may first place the second gripping portion 3b in one palm and then place the base of the jar on the second gripping portion and lift the first gripping portion over the lid of the jar 11.

.0 Because the gripping portions 3a, 3b are flexible and wider than the respective lid or base of the jar, they wrap around the side of the lid and jar to allow the user to grip the side surfaces of the lid and jar.

The neck 5 of the device extends between the two gripping portions 3a, 3b and is longer than the jar to be opened, such that there is slack in the neck in use. That is, the neck 5 is not taut during use.

.5 The purpose of the neck is primarily to keep the two gripping portions together for storage, so there is a reduced risk of one of the gripping portions being misplaced.

To open the jar 11, the user then grips the jar 11 through the device 1, and applies a rotational force in the direction that is normal to open a jar. The gripping portions 3a, 3b comprise a material that provides a higher level of friction or 'grip' with the jar or lid than would be present with the user's Ό hands only, particularly if the hands are wet or otherwise lubricated. This reduces the grip force required by the user to apply a rotation to the lid and also to hold the body of the jar to resist the rotation. That is, the coefficient of friction between the device 1 and the glass of the jar or metal or plastic of the lid, is greater than the coefficient of friction of the glass surface with the palm of a human hand.

Ϊ5 Figures l(ii), l(iii), 3 and 5 show alternative embodiment devices 101, 201, 301, 401, 501, 601 that vary in size, dimensions, and materials compared with the first embodiment device 1. In these alternative embodiments, like numbers are used to indicate like parts but with the addition of a multiple of 100.

In some embodiments 1,101, 301, 401, 601 the first gripping portion 3a and the second gripping 30 portion 3b are substantially the same size and shape. These embodiments are suitable for opening jars and bottles where the diameter of the lid is substantially the same as the width of the body of the jar, but they can also be used for opening jars or bottles where the lid is smaller than the width of the body of the jar.

Alternatively, the first gripping portion for the lid may be smaller than the second gripping portion, 35 as shown in the embodiments 201 and 501. These embodiments 201, 501 also have a longer neck portion 205, 505 and are particularly suitable for use to open bottles, which are typically taller than jars, and often have small lids. Figure 5 illustrates use of the device 501 to open a bottle.

The device preferably comprises a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and Polyester composite. The PVC is in an expanded foam form such that it has some compressibility and flexibility, so as to not significantly 40 limit dexterity. The PVC foam is reinforced with polyester strands to provide tear resistance. The device comprises a multiplicity of voids and nodes which provide texture to the surface of the device, further increasing grip strength.

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Other materials are envisaged for alternative embodiments of the device. For example, the device may comprise a silicone, a foam, a rubber or any other flexible material that provides sufficient friction. Devices 301 and 601 in Figure 3 comprise alternative materials. Preferably the material has some compressibility and/or some elasticity. The surface of the device may be smooth (device 301) or may be textured to provide additional friction (device 601).

The neck 5 is preferably integrally formed with the gripping portions 3a, 3b and so comprises the same material as the gripping portions. However, alternatively the neck may be formed separately and be attached at each end to a respective gripping portion, for example by stitching or using an adhesive. Figure 5 shows an embodiment having a separately formed neck.

.0 The neck 5 may be extendable, for example comprising an elastic material to allow the device to accommodate a wider range of heights or jars or bottles.

Referring to Figure 5, in one embodiment, the device 1 has an overall length A (excluding the hanging loop 7) of about 350 mm. Another embodiment 101 has an overall length A (excluding the hanging loop 7) of about 420 mm. Further alternative embodiments are envisaged in which the .5 length of the device A is between about 280 mm and about 500 mm, preferably between about 310 mm and about 460 mm.

In one embodiment, the gripping portions 3a, 3b of the device each have a diameter B of about 110 mm. In another embodiment 101 the gripping portions 103a, 103b of the device 101 each have a diameter of about 150 mm. However, alternative embodiments are envisaged in which the

Ό gripping portions may have a diameter or width between about 88 mm and about 180 mm, preferably between about 100 mm and about 165 mm. In other embodiments in which the first gripping portion has a smaller diameter than the second gripping portion, the diameter of the first gripping portion may be between about 60 and about 110 mm.

In one embodiment, the neck 5 of the device 1 has a width C of about 40 mm. In another

Ϊ5 embodiment 101 the neck 105 of the device 101 has a width C of about 50 mm. However, alternative embodiments are envisaged in which the neck has a width between about 30 mm and about 60 mm.

In one embodiment, the device has a concave edge 9 between the neck 5 and each gripping portion 3a, 3b, the concave edge curving with a radius D of about 55 mm. In another embodiment 101 the concave edges at the end of the neck 105 curve with a radius D of about 75 mm. However, alternative embodiments are envisaged in which the concave edges at the end of the neck curve with a radius D between about 45 mm and about 90 mm, preferably between about 50 mm and about 80 mm.

The thickness of the gripping portion and the neck portion is suitable to provide resistance to tearing 35 while still providing flexibility for gripping the jar, without significantly limiting dexterity. In the embodiments comprising a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and Polyester composite material, the thickness of the material is preferably between about 3mm and about 4mm thick.

Preferred embodiments of the invention have been described by way of example only and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (5)

1. A device for assisting in opening a jar or bottle, device comprising:

a first flexible gripping portion for placing over a lid of a jar or bottle; a second flexible gripping portion for gripping the base of the jar or bottle; and

5 a flexible neck extending between the first gripping portion and the second gripping portion.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device comprises a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and Polyester composite material.

.0

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the first gripping portion and the second gripping portions each have a rounded shape.

4. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the first gripping portion, the second gripping portion, and the neck are integrally formed.

.5

5. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a hanging loop for hanging the device on a hook or other protrusion.