EP3459905B1 - Waiter's knife - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a waiter's knife according to the preamble of claim 1.

The well-known waiter's knife consists of an elongated body, at one end of which a support with two steps is pivotably attached. A corkscrew spiral is arranged in the body so that it can be swiveled out. The corkscrew spiral or spiral for short is screwed into a spigot of a wine bottle by turning the body. By means of the steps of the support, the body can be supported on the mouth of the bottle. The body of the waiter's knife becomes a one-armed lever supported on the edge of the bottle, which allows the pin or cork to be pulled out by means of the spiral in two strokes with little effort.

Before pulling the peg, cut open the bottle collar that covers the opening of a bottle and thus the peg. The waiter's knife has a fold-out blade similar to a pocket knife.

With the known waiter's knives, the implementation of the steps mentioned requires that the sommelier puts down the wine bottle in order to fold out the spiral and the support, or beforehand the knife for cutting open the cuff.

FR-A-2 702 699 indicates a corkscrew in which the spiral is partially swiveled out of the rest position in the handle by a spring. For this purpose, an elongated spring element, which extends over the entire length of the handle, presses on a nose at the foot of the corkscrew spiral. The nose is offset from the swivel axis of the spiral by a short distance from the spiral tip so that the spring element can exert a torque on the spiral. The coil is held in the rest position by hooking the tip into a nose on a tongue protruding from the handle. Side pressure on the coil disengages the tip from the nose and the coil pivots out of the handle under the pressure of the spring. However, this is a simple corkscrew that pulls the cork out of a bottle by pulling on the handle. The spiral has to be touched by hand, which is not desirable in the professional field. The need to exert lateral pressure on the spiral in order to disengage it from the hook or to engage it after use requires, on the one hand, that the spiral is freely accessible from the side and, on the other hand, a complicated movement. The protruding hook that holds the spiral back presents a risk of injury or can get caught in textiles.

From the WO-A-2008/055750 a waiter's knife is known in which the arm for support on the bottle neck, together with the spiral, jumps into the use position under spring pressure when the arm is pivoted away from the handle. However, such rapid combined movement can be surprising and result in slipping out of the hand

The German utility model DE-U-93 10 489 teaches a combined bottle opener and corkscrew, which is also equipped with a music chip. A melody is played for a certain time both when removing a crown cap and when swiveling out the spiral to pull a pin.

Finally, in a waiter's knife that has been picked up ready for use, the spiral is necessarily in the hand closed around the handle, so that there is no possibility of accessing the spiral without reaching around or using the other hand. This suggestion of a self-pivoting corkscrew spiral is therefore not applicable as a whole for a waiter's knife.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a waiter's or sommelier's knife which is easier to use with one hand.

Such a waiter's knife is specified in claim 1. The further claims relate to preferred embodiments.

• Figur 1 Isometrische Darstellung eines Kellner- oder Sommeliermessers;
• Figur 2 Draufsicht auf ein Kellnermesser;
• Figur 3 Seitenansicht eines Kellnermessers mit ausgeschwenkten beweglichen Teilen;
• Figur 4 Längsschnitt gemäss IV-IV in Figur 3:
  • Figur 4a bewegliche Teile ausgeschwenkt inkl. Spirale;
  • Figur 4b wie Figur 4a, aber Spirale eingeklappt;
• Figur 5 Isometrische Darstellung des Kellnermessers aus einer anderen Blickrichtung:
  • Figur 5a Gesamtansicht;
  • Figur 5b vergrösserter Teilausschnitt;
• Figur 6 Isometrische Ansicht des Kellnermessers, ein Seitenteil entfernt:
  • Figur 6a Gesamtdarstellung;
  • Figur 6b vergrösserter Teilausschnitt;
• Figur 7 Explosionsdarstellung des Kellnermessers;
• Figur 8 Isometrische Ansicht der unteren Platine mit Verriegelungsflügel.

The invention is further explained using a preferred exemplary embodiment with reference to figures. Show it:

• Figure 1 Isometric illustration of a waiter's or sommelier's knife;
• Figure 2 Top view of a waiter's knife;
• Figure 3 Side view of a waiter's knife with pivoted moving parts;
• Figure 4 Longitudinal section according to IV-IV in Figure 3 :
  • Figure 4a moving parts swiveled out including spiral;
  • Figure 4b how Figure 4a , but spiral collapsed;
• Figure 5 Isometric representation of the waiter's knife from a different perspective:
  • Figure 5a Overall view;
  • Figure 5b enlarged partial section;
• Figure 6 Isometric view of the waiter's knife, one side removed:
  • Figure 6a Overall representation;
  • Figure 6b enlarged partial section;
• Figure 7 Exploded view of the waiter's knife;
• Figure 8 Isometric view of the lower board with locking wings.

The waiter's knife 1 comprises a handle 3 in which the spiral 5 is rotatably mounted about an axle bolt 7, a pivotable support 9 and a cover wing 11.

The handle 3 is essentially composed of the upper handle shell 17, the upper plate 19, the middle plate 21, the lower plate 23 and the lower handle shell 25. These parts are essentially by the second axle bolt 14, the first axle pin 7 for the spiral 5 and a third, front pin 27 held together. The handle shells 17 are used to make the outer shape of the knife ergonomic, so that the waiter's knife 1 lies comfortably in the hand. You can also contribute to an appealing appearance by choosing the right color and material.

A basically V-shaped leaf spring 31 is arranged between the center plate 21 and the spiral 5. Your lower leg 33 is anchored in a groove 35 in the center plate 21. In order to prevent longitudinal displacement and slipping of the leaf spring 31, the groove 35 is equipped with an extension 37 in which the rolled-up end 39 of the lower leg 33 is arranged. The end of the leg 33 thickened by the roll-up 39 can therefore no longer slide out of the groove 35. The lower leg 33 otherwise follows approximately the course of the groove 35 and the surface 41 of the center plate 21 in this area.

The upper leg 45 of the leaf spring 31, on the other hand, is strongly convexly curved (see Figure 7 ) and wraps around the lower end 47 of the spiral 5, which is leaf-shaped overall and has the passage 49 for the first axle bolt 7 near the end of the spiral 5. Upper plate 19, middle plate 21 and lower plate 23 have cutouts with a depth approximately corresponding to the diameter of the spiral-shaped section 53 of the spiral 5. Overall, that is to say placed on top of one another, the three plates 19, 21, 23 have a width which likewise corresponds to the diameter of the spiral section 53. In addition, depressions 55 can be present in the handle shells 17, 25. Overall, the handle shells 17, 25 and the plates 19, 21, 23 placed on top of one another form a recess 57 in the handle 3 into which the spiral 5 can optimally be pivoted completely. In particular, in this state it can no longer be grasped and swiveled out with a fingernail as with the previously known waiter's knives.

The spiral 5 thus lies, as is usual with a waiter's knife, in the part of the handle which, when in use, lies in the palm of the hand, that is to say with the tip towards the front pin 27.

Furthermore, as in Figure 6 shown, the leaf spring 31, that is to say more precisely the upper leg 45, flattened and thus tensioned. It exerts a force on the lower part of the spiral 5 which easily swings the spiral out of the recess 55 again. In order to prevent this, the lower plate 23 has a nose 59 with a bevel 61. The nose 59 is arranged on a wing 63 which is formed by an approximately Z-shaped slot 65 in the lower plate 23. The open end of the slot 65 opens into the cutout 51 of the lower plate 23. The wing 63 is therefore approximately L-shaped and the unlocking pin 67 is attached to the end of the foot of this L. The head 69 of the unlocking pin 67 protrudes from the upper grip shell 17. By pressure (see arrow 71 in Figure 5b ) on the head 69, the pin 67 can be pressed down, after which the nose 59 loses the form fit with the lower end 47 of the spiral 5, this is released and is pivoted out of the recess 55 by the tensioned upper leg 45 of the leaf spring 31 . This enables the spiral 5 to be unfolded without the aid of a second hand, simply by pressing the head 69 of the unlocking pin 67.

In particular, the unlocking pin 67 is arranged in half the length of the handle 31, which also contains the pivot axis 7 of the spiral 5, i.e. in an area that can be reached with a finger of a hand that encompasses the front part of the handle 3 (right in Fig. 2 ) encloses.

After releasing by pressing the unlocking pin 67, the spiral 5 swings under the action of the spring 31 not necessarily to the position approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the handle 3, which is usually chosen for screwing into the stopper of a bottle, but at least so far from the handle 3 so that it can be grasped with one or more fingers of the hand in which the waiter's knife is located and swiveled out further into the desired position. In particular, this can be done without having to reach around or use the other hand to help. The minimum angle up to which the spiral 5 can be pivoted out of the handle 3 by the spring 31 is 20 °. Larger angles, such as at least 30 ° or, better still, at least 45 °, make it easier to grasp the spiral and to pivot it out further. However, larger swivel angles also require a stronger spring, which can make folding in the spiral 5 more difficult and inconvenient. The higher force on the spiral can also result in the risk of injury to the hand that surrounds the handle if, for example, the unlocking pin 67 is accidentally actuated.

When the spiral 5 is folded in while tensioning the upper leg 45 of the leaf spring 31, the lower end 47 of the spiral 5 slides over the bevel 61 of the nose 59, whereby the wing 63 and thus the nose 59 are pushed away without major resistance. As a result, the spiral 5 can be folded into the recess 55 without major resistance, but with the upper spring leg 45 being tensioned, with the wing 63 swinging back in the end position and the lug 59 again in a form-fitting connection with the lower end 47 of the spiral 5 occurs. The spiral 5 is thus locked again in the recess 55.

The cover wing 11 has the function, on the one hand, of covering the support 9 underneath it and the spiral 5 in the folded-in state, whereby the waiter's knife 1 offers a closed, pleasing impression in the rest state. A catch 75 is attached to the underside of the cover wing 5. The catch 75 is used to be placed on the mouth of a bottle in order to exert a pull on the spiral 5 in the usual way by pivoting the handle 3 in the manner of a one-armed lever and thus to carry out a second phase of pulling a pin, which ideally the pin is moved completely out of the bottle neck. For the first phase of pulling, in which the pin is moved from the original position into an approximately half-pulled position, the front end 77 of the support 9 is placed on the wall of the bottle opening after the spiral 5 has been largely screwed into the pin of the bottle . For this purpose, the front end 77 is provided with a step 79 in order to prevent it from sliding off the wall at the bottle opening.

The support 9 basically has the shape of two cheeks 81, 83, which are mechanically connected to one another by a web 85 ( Figure 5a , Figure 7 ). The upper cheek 81 has an actuating knob 87 which, when the support 9 is folded in, lies in a recess 89 of the upper handle shell 17, but is so spaced from the edge of the recess 89 or protrudes slightly over the upper handle shell 17, which through a finger sliding over the upper handle shell 17, sufficient force can be exerted on the actuating knob 87 and thus the support 9 in order to pivot it away from the handle 3 (see FIG Figure 2 ).

The upper sides of the cheeks 81 of the support 9, which are directed towards the cover wing 11, have concave depressions 91 (upper cheek 81) and 93 (lower cheek 83). The lower concave recess 93 is equipped with a cutting edge. A bottle neck can be inserted into the concave depressions 89, 91 between the cover wing 11 and the support 9. When the bottle neck is turned, the cutting edge of the recess 93 of the lower cheek 83 separates the sleeve which is pressed over the bottle opening.

From the above description it can be seen that the waiter's knife 1 can be taken in the right hand and an open bottle can be taken in the left hand and then, without putting the bottle down, successively opening the cuff, unfolding the spiral 5 while relaxing the spring 31 and subsequent pulling of the spigot out of the bottle is possible. Overall, this results in an elegant, fluid course of action.

• Griffschalen: Stabilisiertes Holz (Holz, mit Kunststoff getränkt zur Verbesserung der mechanischen und chemischen Eigenschaften und zur Betonung der Maserung); Alternativen: Damaststahl, Stahl, Titan, Carbon (kohlenstofffaserverstärkter Kunststoff), Kunststoffe.
• Platinen 19, 21, 23: Stahl, z.B. Werkstoffnummer 1.4021 (DIN X20Cr13); Alternativen: Titan, Damaststahl.
• Feder 31: Federstahl 1.4310 (DIN X10CrNi18-8)
• Spirale 5: Stahl 1.4021; Alternativen: Damaststahl, Titan.
• Flügel 9, Stütze 11: Gehärteter Stahl 1.4034 (DIN X46Cr13).
• Stifte 7,14, 27, 67, 69, 87: Edelstahl; Alternative: Titan.

A wide range of materials can be used as the material for the parts of the knife, as is customary in known waiter's knives. For the handle shells, a material with a pleasant feel and / or an appealing visual impression is preferred. In particular, the following materials come into question, with possible alternatives also being indicated:

• Grips: Stabilized wood (wood, soaked with plastic to improve the mechanical and chemical properties and to emphasize the grain); Alternatives: Damascus steel, steel, titanium, carbon (carbon fiber reinforced plastic), plastics.
• Blanks 19, 21, 23: steel, e.g. material number 1.4021 (DIN X20Cr13); Alternatives: titanium, damascus steel.
• Spring 31: spring steel 1.4310 (DIN X10CrNi18-8)
• Spiral 5: steel 1.4021; Alternatives: Damascus steel, titanium.
• Sash 9, support 11: Hardened steel 1.4034 (DIN X46Cr13).
• Pins 7, 14, 27, 67, 69, 87: stainless steel; Alternative: titanium.

• Ausführung des Kellnermessers in im Wesentlichen spiegelbildlicher Form für Linkshänder.
• Statt einer Blattfeder aus Federstahl wird ein anderes Federelement verwendet wie zum Beispiel eine Spiralfeder, oder auch mehr als eine Feder.

From the preceding description of an exemplary embodiment, numerous modifications and additions are accessible to the person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of protection of the invention, which is defined by the claims. It is conceivable:

• Execution of the waiter's knife in an essentially mirror-image form for left-handers.
• Instead of a leaf spring made of spring steel, another spring element is used, such as a spiral spring, or more than one spring.

Claims (11)

1. Waiter's friend (1) having a handle (3) and a screw (5) that is hinged in the handle and intended to be screwed into the cork of a bottle, wherein

   - a spring element (31) is provided which is supported on the screw and on the handle in such a manner that the screw can be swung towards the handle into a rest position while tensioning the spring element, characterised in that

   - on a side wall of the handle, a retaining element (59) is provided which is configured to maintain the screw swung towards the handle against the tension force of the spring element by mechanical engagement with the screw,

   - an externally accessible releasing means (67) is provided which is operatively connected to the retaining element such that by acting upon the releasing means with a finger, the retaining element is releasable from its mechanical engagement with the screw in order to allow the screw to be swung away from the handle by the spring element,

   - the retaining element (59) is attached to the handle (3) by an elastically resilient connection such that the mechanical engagement of the retaining element with the screw is releasable while tensioning the resilient connection,

   - the retaining element (59) has a surface (61) that is arranged at an acute angle to the plane of the folding movement of the screw (5) within the motion range of the screw such that the retaining element can be moved out of the path by the screw sliding on the surface, and

   - the releasing means projects from the retaining element through the side wall located opposite the retaining element relative to the screw such that the mechanical engagement of the retaining element with the screw is releasable by applying pressure upon the projecting part of the releasing means.
2. Waiter's friend (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the handle (3) has a first recess (57) that is configured such that in its rest position, the screw is covered by the handle on at least two sides along the longitudinal axis of the screw, so that the screw in its rest position is located substantially inside the handle.
3. Waiter's friend (1) according to claim 2, characterised in that the walls of the handle (3) that form the two sides of the first recess (57) have a height of at least 75 %, preferably 80 %, more preferably at least 85 %, more preferably at least 90 %, more preferably at least 95 %, and particularly preferably at least 99 % of the diameter of the screw (5).
4. Waiter's friend (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the spring element (31) is a substantially V-shaped leaf spring that has two legs (33, 45) and is supported on the handle (3), the middle section of the leaf spring, which corresponds to the apex of the V, being arranged beyond the pivot point of the screw as seen from the free ends of the legs, such that while pivoting the screw, the movement is reduced in the middle section.
5. Waiter's friend (1) according to claim 4, characterised in that the first leg (45) of the leaf spring, which is arranged in the direction of the screw, is bent in such a manner that when the screw is swung into the recess (57) in the handle (3), the leg is substantially brought into a straight shape.
6. Waiter's friend (1) according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterised in that

   - a wing (11) is hinged to the handle (3) on a second axle (14),

   - the second axle is offset towards a first end of the handle relative to the hinge axle (7) of the screw (5),

   - the wing is configured so as to cover the first recess (57) for the screw in the handle, and in that

   - between the wing and the handle, a supporting member (9) is hingedly arranged, the supporting member having a protruding activating member (87) which can be moved to a rest position in a second recess (89) of one handle side wall (17) by pivoting the supporting member into the handle and of which an end projects sufficiently from the side wall of the handle in its rest position, preferably by at least one millimetre, to be actuatable by a finger in order to swing the supporting member out of the body.
7. Waiter's friend (1) according to claim 6, characterised in that when the wing (11) lies against the handle (3), the screw (5) and the supporting member (9) are substantially completely covered by the wing.
8. Waiter's friend (1) according to one of claims 6 to 7, characterised in that the wing (11) has a step or a nose (75) at a first distance from the second axle (14) and the supporting member (9) has a step or a nose (79) at a second distance from the axle (14) on which the supporting member is hinged, the second distance being at most 75 % of the first distance such that in a first phase of pulling a cork from a bottle opening, the waiter's friend (1) can be supported on the bottle opening by the step or nose on the supporting member and in a following second phase by the step or nose on the wing.
9. Waiter's friend (1) according to one of claims 6 to 8, characterised in that the supporting member has a concavely rounded cutting edge (93) so that a bottle neck with a capsule can be placed between the wing and the supporting member and the capsule of the bottle cut open by the cutting edge.
10. Waiter's friend (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the surface is arranged at an angle of at least 10°, preferably at least 20°, more preferably at least 30° and at most 60°, preferably at most 45°, more preferably at most 40° relative to the plane of the folding movement.
11. Waiter's friend according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the screw (5) has a plate-shaped base section (47) that comprises the hinged mounting of the screw, that the retaining element (59) is configured to be operatively connected to the base section, and that the base section forms at most 50 %, preferably at most 40 %, and more preferably at most 1/3 of the length of the screw (5).

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