Bottle crown with opener assembly

Abstract

A crown for a bottle or other container has a top portion and an annular skirt that descends contiguously from the top portion. An opener assembly and an arrangement of frangible scoring lines on the crown allow for ease of opening the bottle or container. Corrugated embodiments provide material strengthening for a reduced gauge crown.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A frangible crown for a container opening, the crown comprising:
 a top portion;   an annular skirt having an annular side wall descending from the top portion and terminating at a bottom annular edge;   an opener assembly attached to an attachment portion of the top portion;   a frangible scoring arrangement comprising:
 a curvilinear first score line extending in a first continuous radial direction from the top portion to the bottom edge of the skirt; and 
 a curvilinear second score line comprising:
 an upper radial segment extending in the first continuous radial direction from the attachment portion of the top portion to the annular sidewall of the skirt, and 
 a lower annular segment extending circumferentially along the annular side wall of the skirt from the upper radial segment to an endpoint substantially spaced from the bottom annular edge of the skirt; and 
 
 a third score line extending from the attachment portion in a second continuous radial direction opposite from the first radial direction; and 
   wherein a rear portion of the opener assembly is configured to frangibly engage the third score line when lifted from the top portion.   
     
     
         2 . The frangible crown of  claim 1 , wherein the third score line comprises a plurality of third score lines radially extending in the second direction. 
     
     
         3 . The frangible crown of  claim 1 , wherein the attachment portion comprises a rivet integrally formed with the top portion, the opener assembly attached to the attachment portion with the rivet. 
     
     
         4 . The frangible crown of  claim 1 , wherein a tab portion of the opener assembly is integrally formed with the annular sidewall of the skirt. 
     
     
         5 . The frangible crown of  claim 1 , further comprising at least two dimples upwardly embossed in the top portion proximate to the third score line, wherein the at least two dimples provide a fulcrum for the opener assembly when lifted to frangibly engage the third score line. 
     
     
         6 . The frangible crown of  claim 1 , wherein the crown further comprises an underside and one or more of the score lines of the frangible score line arrangement is formed on the underside of the crown. 
     
     
         7 . The frangible crown of  claim 1 , wherein the frangible score line arrangement further comprises an arcuate fourth score line extending around the attachment portion and connecting beginning ends of the first and second score line. 
     
     
         8 . The frangible score line arrangement of  claim 6 , wherein the arcuate fourth score line further connects to a beginning end of the third score line. 
     
     
         9 . The frangible crown of  claim 1 , wherein the attachment portion is off-center with respect to a diameter of the crown. 
     
     
         10 . The frangible crown of  claim 1 , further comprising a recessed portion inwardly formed in the top portion and configured to receive at least a portion of the opener assembly therein. 
     
     
         11 . The frangible crown of  claim 10 , further comprising a second recessed portion concentrically formed within the recessed portion. 
     
     
         12 . The frangible crown of  claim 10 , wherein the recessed portion is located at a center of the top portion with respect to an outer diameter of the crown. 
     
     
         13 . The frangible crown of  claim 1 , wherein the opener assembly comprises a pull ring configured to move upwards from the top portion when the opener assembly is lifted from the top portion, the pull ring including a divot having a thickness less than a thickness of a remainder of the pull ring. 
     
     
         14 . The frangible crown of  claim 13 , wherein the divot further comprises a protrusion extending from the remainder of the pull ring. 
     
     
         15 . A frangible crown for a container opening, the crown comprising:
 a top portion;   an annular skirt having an annular side wall descending from the top portion and terminating at a bottom annular edge;   an opener assembly comprising a pull ring and a tab portion connected to the pull ring, the tab portion integrally formed with an attachment portion of the annular sidewall;   a recessed portion inwardly formed in the top portion and configured to receive the pull ring therein   a frangible scoring arrangement comprising:
 a curvilinear first score line extending in a first continuous radial direction from the annular sidewall to the bottom edge of the skirt; and 
 a curvilinear second score line comprising:
 an upper radial segment extending in the first continuous radial direction from the annular sidewall to an intermediate portion of the skirt, and 
 a lower annular segment extending circumferentially along the intermediate portion of the skirt from the upper radial segment to an endpoint substantially spaced from the bottom annular edge of the skirt. 
 
   
     
     
         16 . The frangible crown of  claim 15 , further comprising a boss upwardly formed from the top portion and configured to be received within the pull ring of the opener assembly. 
     
     
         17 . The frangible crown of  claim 16 , wherein the boss is circular and concentrically formed within the recessed portion. 
     
     
         18 . The frangible crown of  claim 16 , wherein a top of the boss is substantially level with the top portion of the crown. 
     
     
         19 . The frangible crown of  claim 15 , wherein the pull ring and tab portion of the opener assembly are integrally formed. 
     
     
         20 . The frangible crown of  claim 15 , wherein the pull ring comprises a divot having a thickness less than a thickness of a remainder of the pull ring. 
     
     
         21 . The frangible crown of  claim 20 , wherein the divot further comprises a protrusion extending from the remainder of the pull ring. 
     
     
         22 . The frangible crown of  claim 15 , wherein the crown further comprises an underside and one or more of the score lines of the frangible score line arrangement is formed on the underside of the crown.