Key Ring

Abstract

A key ring is capable of removing a crown cap from a bottle. The crown cap has a rim and a top. The key ring can adroit and retain keys and comprises a closed loop including a first portion having a pair of elongated arms that extend in the same general direction (Y) and are spaced apart in an orthogonal direction (X) by a distance of 10 to 40 mm. The bottle can be opened by locating one of the arms under the rim of a crown cap while the other of the arms is located on the top of the crown cap and the key ring is twisted in the direction of arrow A, The length of the loop in the direction (Y) is at least 20 mm so that the loop includes a second portion that extends laterally beyond the crown cap by a distance that allows the key ring to be engaged by the user to twist the key ring and lever the cap off the bottle. A key on the key ring and/or an extension of the key ring loop in the X direction can assist in levering the cap off the bottle.

1 . A key ring capable of removing a crown cap from a bottle, which crown cap has a rim and a top, wherein the key ring is configured to admit and retain keys, wherein the key ring comprises a closed loop including a first portion having a pair of elongated arms that extend in the same general direction (Y) and are spaced apart in an orthogonal direction (X) by a distance of 10 to 40 mm, whereby one of the arms can be located under the rim of a crown cap while the other of the arms is located on the top of the crown cap, and wherein the length of the loop in the direction (Y) in which the arms extend is at least 20 mm, whereby the loop includes a second portion that extends laterally beyond the crown cap by a distance that allows the key ring to be engaged by the user to lever the cap off the bottle. 
     
     
         2 . A key ring as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the pair of elongated arms are spaced apart by a distance of 12 to 26 mm 
     
     
         3 . A key ring as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the pair of elongated arms are spaced apart by a distance of 14 to 22 mm. 
     
     
         4 . A key ring as claimed in claim I , wherein the pair of elongated arms are spaced apart by a distance of 15 to 19 mm. 
     
     
         5 . A key ring as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the pair of elongated arms are spaced apart by a distance of about 17 mm. 
     
     
         6 . A key ring as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the length of the loop in the direction (Y) in which the arms extend is 20 to 40 mm. 
     
     
         7 . A key ring as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the length of the loop in the direction (Y) in which the arms extend is 22 to 32 mm 
     
     
         8 . A key ring as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the length of the loop in the direction (Y) in which the arms extend is 22 to 28 mm. 
     
     
         9 . A key ring as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the length of the loop in the direction (Y) in which the arms extend is about 25 mm. 
     
     
         10 . A key ring as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the length of the key ring in the Y direction exceeds the Width of the key ring in the X direction. 
     
     
         11 . A key ring as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the ratio of the length in the Y direction o the width in the X direction is at least 1.1:1 
     
     
         12 . A key ring as claimed, in  claim 11 , wherein said ratio is in the range of 1.25:1 to 3:1. 
     
     
         13 . A key ring as claimed, in  claim 11 , wherein said ratio is in the range of 1.4:1 to 2:1. 
     
     
         14 . A key ring as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein the second portion has a width in the said orthogonal direction (X) that is at least 10 millimetres greater than the separation between the arms. 
     
     
         15 . A key ring as claimed in  claim 14 . wherein the second portion comprises a loop that extends in the said orthogonal direction (X) beyond only one of the arms. 
     
     
         16 . A key ring as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the second portion comprises a loop that extends in the said orthogonal direction (X) beyond both of the arms. 
     
     
         17 . A key ring as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein a fiat land is provided on the inside of at least one of the arms to engage under the rim of a crown cap. 
     
     
         18 . A key ring as claimed in  claim 1  which is configured to allow a key on the key ring to act as a lever by spanning the key ring second portion so that it contacts the ring at 2 points that are spaced apart from each other in the X direction, whereby the key can be twisted to assist in levering the cap off the bottle. 
     
     
         19 . A method of removing a cap from a bottle using a key ring as claimed in  claim 1 , the method comprising engaging one of the arms in the first section under the rim of the cap and engaging the other of the arm in the first section with the top of the cap and twisting the second portion lying laterally beyond the cap to lever the cap off the bottle. 
     
     
         20 . A method as claimed in  claim 19 , wherein a key on the key ring is used as a lever by spanning the key ring second portion so that it contacts the ring at 2 points that are spaced apart from each other in the X direction, whereby the key can be twisted to assist in levering the cap off the bottle.