225

In his crown cap patents, Painter said

he would be filing applications for his

bottle opener. On June 5, 1893 he

fulfilled his promise and filed an

application for the

“

Capped-Bottle

Opener.

”

Note that the 1892 patents

were in his name only whereas this new

application assigned the patent to the

Crown Cork and Seal Company. His

claim was:

“

A capped bottle opener consisting of a

suitable handle, provided with a cap

engaging lip adapted to underlie a

portion of an applied bottle sealing cap,

and also having a centering gage

affording gaging contact with the side

of the cap adjacent to the engaging lip,

and still farther affording fulcrum

contract to enabling better engagement

with the upper portion of the cap.

”

William Painter

1838-1906

On February 6, 1894 his invention was assigned United States Patent Number

514,200. Painter succeeded in developing a system for sealing bottles and now

had the perfect method for removing the seal. Both of his ideas would change the

way beverages were marketed for decades to come.