Bottle security device

1. A bottle security device for use with a bottle having a neck, the bottle security device comprising:

an outer member defining a cavity;

a plurality of fingers which project upwardly within the outer member cavity and define therebetween a cavity;

an inner member including a body and a plurality of locking fingers which extend therefrom and are adapted to fit around at least a portion of the neck of the bottle; the inner member being movable between locked and unlocked positions; a portion of the inner member being disposed in the outer member cavity; a portion of the inner member being disposed within the cavity defined by the upwardly projecting fingers; the locking fingers being disposed radially inwardly of the upwardly projecting fingers; and

a rotatable member for unlocking the device in response to rotation of the rotatable member.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the body of the inner member includes a sidewall defining a cavity.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the outer member has a sidewall bounding the outer member cavity; and wherein the upwardly projecting fingers are disposed between the outer member sidewall and the inner member.

4. The device of claim 1 in combination with the bottle having the neck; wherein the locking fingers fit around and lockably engage the neck when the device is locked on the neck of the bottle.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein the device is secured to the neck of the bottle when the inner member is in the locked position with the locking fingers lockably engaging the neck of the bottle; and wherein the device is removable from the neck of the bottle when the inner member is in the unlocked position.

6. A bottle security device for use with a bottle having a neck, the bottle security device comprising:

an outer member defining a cavity;

a plurality of fingers which project upwardly within the outer member cavity and define therebetween a cavity;

an inner member including a body and a plurality of locking fingers which extend therefrom and are adapted to fit around at least a portion of the neck of the bottle; the inner member being movable between locked and unlocked positions; a portion of the inner member being disposed in the outer member cavity; a portion of the inner member being disposed within the cavity defined by the upwardly projecting fingers; and

a rotatable member for unlocking the device in response to rotation of the rotatable member;

wherein the upwardly projecting fingers are configured to lock the inner member in the locked position.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein the upwardly projecting fingers include engaging fingers which engage the inner member to lock the inner member in the locked position.

8. The device of claim 6 wherein the upwardly projecting fingers are moved from a first position in contact with the inner member to a second position out of contact with the inner member in response to rotation of the rotatable member.

9. A bottle security device for use with a bottle having a neck, the bottle security device comprising:

an outer member defining a cavity;

a plurality of fingers which project upwardly within the outer member cavity and define therebetween a cavity;

an inner member including a body and a plurality of locking fingers which extend therefrom and are adapted to fit around at least a portion of the neck of the bottle; the inner member being movable between locked and unlocked positions; a portion of the inner member being disposed in the outer member cavity; a portion of the inner member being disposed within the cavity defined by the upwardly projecting fingers; and

a rotatable member for unlocking the device in response to rotation of the rotatable member;

wherein the outer member has a sidewall bounding the outer member cavity; and wherein the upwardly projecting fingers are connected to and project upwardly from the outer member sidewall.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein the upwardly projecting fingers angle upwardly and inwardly.

11. A bottle security device for use with a bottle having a neck, the bottle security device comprising:

an outer member defining a cavity;

a plurality of fingers which project upwardly within the outer member cavity and define therebetween a cavity;

an inner member including a body and a plurality of locking fingers which extend therefrom and are adapted to fit around at least a portion of the neck of the bottle; the inner member being movable between locked and unlocked positions; a portion of the inner member being disposed in the outer member cavity; a portion of the inner member being disposed within the cavity defined by the upwardly projecting fingers; and

a rotatable member for unlocking the device in response to rotation of the rotatable member;

wherein the upwardly projecting fingers angle upwardly and inwardly.

12. A bottle security device for use with a bottle having a neck, the bottle security device comprising:

an outer member defining a cavity;

a plurality of fingers which project upwardly within the outer member cavity and define therebetween a cavity;

an inner member including a body and a plurality of locking fingers which extend therefrom and are adapted to fit around at least a portion of the neck of the bottle; the inner member being movable between locked and unlocked positions; a portion of the inner member being disposed in the outer member cavity; a portion of the inner member being disposed within the cavity defined by the upwardly projecting fingers; and

a rotatable member for unlocking the device in response to rotation of the rotatable member;

wherein a portion of each of the upwardly projecting fingers is moved radially in response to rotation of the rotatable member to unlock the device.

13. The device of claim 12 wherein the portion of each of the upwardly projecting finger is moved radially outwardly in response to rotation of the rotatable member to unlock the device.

14. A bottle security device for use with a bottle having a neck, the bottle security device comprising:

an outer member defining a cavity;

a plurality of fingers which project upwardly within the outer member cavity and define therebetween a cavity;

an inner member including a body and a plurality of locking fingers which extend therefrom and are adapted to fit around at least a portion of the neck of the bottle; the inner member being movable between locked and unlocked positions; a portion of the inner member being disposed in the outer member cavity; a portion of the inner member being disposed within the cavity defined by the upwardly projecting fingers;

a rotatable member for unlocking the device in response to rotation of the rotatable member;

wherein a portion of the upwardly projecting fingers are moved in response to rotation of the rotatable member to unlock the device; and

wherein the rotatable member engages and moves the upwardly projecting fingers to unlock the device.

15. The device of claim 14 further comprising a plurality of first camming surfaces respectively on the upwardly projecting fingers; and a plurality of second camming surfaces on the rotatable member which respectively slidably engage the first camming surfaces during rotation of the rotatable member to move a portion of each upwardly projecting finger to unlock the device.

16. A bottle security device for use with a bottle having a neck, the bottle security device comprising:

an outer member defining a cavity; the outer member having a sidewall bounding the outer member cavity;

a plurality of fingers which project upwardly within the outer member cavity and define therebetween a cavity;

an inner member including a body and a plurality of locking fingers which extend therefrom and are adapted to fit around at least a portion of the neck of the bottle; the inner member being movable between locked and unlocked positions; a portion of the inner member being disposed in the outer member cavity; a portion of the inner member being disposed within the cavity defined by the upwardly projecting fingers;

a rotatable member for unlocking the device in response to rotation of the rotatable member;

wherein the upwardly projecting fingers are disposed between the outer member sidewall and the locking fingers of the inner member.

17. A bottle security device for use with a bottle having a neck, the bottle security device comprising:

an outer member defining a cavity; the outer member having a sidewall bounding the outer member cavity;

a plurality of fingers which project upwardly within the outer member cavity and define therebetween a cavity;

an inner member including a body and a plurality of locking fingers which extend therefrom and are adapted to fit around at least a portion of the neck of the bottle; the inner member being movable between locked and unlocked positions; a portion of the inner member being disposed in the outer member cavity; a portion of the inner member being disposed within the cavity defined by the upwardly projecting fingers;

a rotatable member for unlocking the device in response to rotation of the rotatable member;

wherein the body of the inner member includes a sidewall defining a cavity; and wherein the upwardly projecting fingers are disposed between the outer member sidewall and the inner member sidewall.

18. A bottle security device for use with a bottle having a neck, the bottle security device comprising:

an outer member defining a cavity; the outer member having a sidewall bounding the outer member cavity;

a plurality of fingers which project upwardly within the outer member cavity and define therebetween a cavity;

an inner member including a body and a plurality of locking fingers which extend therefrom and are adapted to fit around at least a portion of the neck of the bottle; the inner member being movable between locked and unlocked positions; a portion of the inner member being disposed in the outer member cavity; a portion of the inner member being disposed within the cavity defined by the upwardly projecting fingers;

a rotatable member for unlocking the device in response to rotation of the rotatable member;

wherein the upwardly projecting fingers are disposed between the outer member sidewall and the inner member; and

wherein the outer member sidewall has an inner surface; and wherein the upwardly projecting fingers include strengthening fingers which abut the inner surface of the outer member sidewall.

19. The device of claim 18 wherein the upwardly projecting fingers include engaging fingers which engage the inner member to lock the inner member in the locked position.

20. A method comprising the steps of:

rotating a rotatable member to unlock an inner member having a body and a plurality of locking fingers extending therefrom to allow the inner member to move from a locked position in which the locking fingers are adapted to fit around a portion of the neck of a bottle and lockably engage the neck of the bottle to an unlocked position adapted to allow removal of the bottle from between the locking fingers wherein a portion of the inner member is disposed within a cavity defined by a plurality of upwardly projecting fingers which are disposed within a cavity defined by an outer member and wherein the a portion of the inner member is disposed within the outer member cavity; and

moving the entire inner member downwardly with respect to the outer member from the locked position to the unlocked position.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising the step of unlocking the device to disengage the locking fingers from the neck of the bottle; and removing the bottle from between the locking fingers.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein the step of rotating further includes the step of moving the inner member from the locked position to the unlocked position in response to rotation of the rotatable member.

23. A method comprising the steps of:

rotating a rotatable member to unlock an inner member having a body and a plurality of locking fingers extending therefrom to allow the inner member to move from a locked position in which the locking fingers are adapted to fit around a portion of the neck of a bottle and lockably engage the neck of the bottle to an unlocked position adapted to allow removal of the bottle from between the locking fingers wherein a portion of the inner member is disposed within a cavity defined by a plurality of upwardly projecting fingers which are disposed within a cavity defined by an outer member and wherein the a portion of the inner member is disposed within the outer member cavity; and

wherein the step of rotating includes moving a plurality of the upwardly projecting fingers out of locking engagement with the inner member in response to rotation of the rotatable member to unlock the inner member.

24. The method of claim 23 further including the step of moving the entire inner member downwardly with respect to the outer member from the locked position to the unlocked position.

25. A bottle security device for use with a bottle having a neck, the bottle security device comprising:

an outer member defining a cavity;

a plurality of fingers which project upwardly within the outer member cavity and define therebetween a cavity;

an inner member having upper and lower ends and including a body and a plurality of locking fingers which extend therefrom and are adapted to fit around at least a portion of the neck of the bottle; the inner member being movable between locked and unlocked positions; a portion of the inner member being disposed in the outer member cavity; a portion of the inner member being disposed within the cavity defined by the upwardly projecting fingers;

a rotatable member for unlocking the device in response to rotation of the rotatable member; and

wherein the upwardly projecting fingers extend upwardly from adjacent the lower end of the inner member.

26. A bottle security device for use with a bottle having a neck, the bottle security device comprising:

an outer member defining a cavity;

a plurality of fingers which project upwardly within the outer member cavity and define therebetween a cavity;

an inner member comprising a top wall, a sidewall which is connected to and extends downwardly from the top wall and a plurality of locking fingers which extend downwardly from the sidewall and are adapted to fit around at least a portion of the neck of the bottle; the inner member being movable between locked and unlocked positions; a portion of the inner member being disposed in the outer member cavity; a portion of the inner member being disposed within the cavity defined by the upwardly projecting fingers; and

a rotatable member for unlocking the device in response to rotation of the rotatable member; and

wherein the upwardly projecting fingers extend from below the top wall of the inner member to above the top wall of the inner member.

27. A bottle security device for use with a bottle having a neck, the bottle security device comprising:

an outer member defining a cavity;

a plurality of fingers which project upwardly within the outer member cavity and define therebetween a cavity;

an inner member comprising a sidewall defining a cavity, a top wall which is connected to and extends radially inwardly from the sidewall and a plurality of locking fingers which are connected to and extend downwardly from the sidewall and are adapted to fit around at least a portion of the neck of the bottle; the inner member being movable between locked and unlocked positions; a portion of the inner member being disposed in the outer member cavity; a portion of the inner member being disposed within the cavity defined by the upwardly projecting fingers; the inner member top wall in its entirety being disposed radially inward of the upwardly projecting fingers; and

a rotatable member for unlocking the device in response to rotation of the rotatable member.

28. A bottle security device for use with a bottle having a neck, the bottle security device comprising:

an outer member defining a cavity;

a plurality of fingers which project upwardly within the outer member cavity and define therebetween a cavity;

an inner member including a body and a plurality of locking fingers which extend therefrom and are adapted to fit around at least a portion of the neck of the bottle; the inner member being movable between locked and unlocked positions; a portion of the inner member being disposed in the outer member cavity; a portion of the inner member being disposed within the cavity defined by the upwardly projecting fingers; the entire inner member being movable downwardly with respect to the outer member from the locked position to the unlocked position; and

a rotatable member for unlocking the device in response to rotation of the rotatable member.

29. A bottle security device for use with a bottle having a neck, the bottle security device comprising:

an outer member defining a cavity;

a plurality of fingers which project upwardly within the outer member cavity and define therebetween a cavity;

an inner member including a body and a plurality of locking fingers which extend therefrom and are adapted to fit around at least a portion of the neck of the bottle; the inner member being movable between locked and unlocked positions; a portion of the inner member being disposed in the outer member cavity; a portion of the inner member being disposed within the cavity defined by the upwardly projecting fingers;

a rotatable member for unlocking the device in response to rotation of the rotatable member; and

a magnetically actuated locking mechanism having locked and unlocked positions for respectively preventing and allowing rotation of the rotatable member.

30. The device of claim 29 wherein the locking mechanism comprises at least one piston which is movable relative to the rotatable member and an additional member of the device between a first position in which the at least one piston creates an interference between the rotatable member and the additional member when in the locked position of the locking mechanism to prevent rotation of the rotatable member and a second position in which the interference is eliminated.

31. The device of claim 29 wherein a force must be applied to rotate the rotatable member from a non-rotated position to a rotated position to unlock the device; and wherein the rotatable member automatically rotatably returns to the non-rotated position when the force is removed.