US2146388A - Can opener key - Google Patents

Description

0. R. WADE CAN OPENER KEY Feb. 7, 1939.

Filed Oct. 14, 1935 INVENTOR.

OMER R. WADE ATTORNEY.

Patented F ch. 7, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CAN OPENER KEY Omer R. Wade, San Bruno, Calif.

Application October 14, 1935, Serial No. 44,872

2 Claims.

This invention relates particularly to a can or container having a can opening key removably positioned thereon, and in such a manner that the key may be readily removed from the 5 can and used for opening said can after it has been sealed.

nent manner, the said key being of such construction that it may be detached from its position on the can with a slight pull of the fingers, and thereafter said key used in a conventional manner for opening the can.

A further object of the invention is to provide a can having a top thereon, which top is provided with a recess or depression therein into which a can opening kay is adapted to be fixedly held in a position to be readily detached from the can by a person desiring to remove the contents from the said can.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a can and a can opening key therefor that will be superior in point of simplicity, inexpensiveness of construction, positiveness of operation,

and facility and convenience in use and general efficiency.

In this specification and the annexed drawing, the invention is illustrated in the form considered to be the best, but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to such form,

because it may be embodied in other forms; and

it is also to be understood that in and by the claims following the description, it is desired to cover the invention in whatsoever form it may be embodied.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a can top having a key mounted thereon in accordance with tion.

my inven- Fig. 2 is a cross section taken through Fig. 1

on the line 2-4.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the can opening In detail the construction illustrated in the drawing comprises a can which may be of cylindrical or rectangular, or any other desirable cross section, one end of said can being clos or cap designated by the numeral 2.-

ed by a lid The end of the can and the peripheral flange 3 of the lid or top are united together in a seam ventional type of capping apparatus.

by a con- The central portion 4 of the lid or cap 2 lies below the plane of the flange 3, and between the center portion 4 and the flange 3, there is provided an annular groove or depression 5. The can body I is provided with a tear strip around the circumference thereof, one end of which is adapted to be inserted within a key so that when the key is advanced around the can, the tear strip is peeled away from the can body, thus permitting the cap or lid to be removed therefrom.

It is current practice for the can manufacturer to provide the keys for opening cans of this character, and said keys are either loosely attached to the cans or are joined-thereto by soldering, spot welding or the like. In this invention I have provided a key 6, which consists of a finger gripping portion 1 and a shank 8, said shank having a slot therethrough, through which the end of the tear strip on the can may pass in order to open the can.

The key is preferably made out of round wire, and the shank end thereof is flattened to a rectangular cross section. The working end 8 of the shank is bent at right angles to the shank, and the thicknes of said working end is substantially the same as that of the groove 5, whereby the portion 8 will snugly fit within the groove 5. The flattened end of the shank 8 is provided with a button or embossment 9 thereon.

In operation, the end 8 of the key is pressed 80 into the groove of the can lid, and in forcing said key into the groove, the button 9 creates a small vertical slot in the adjacent face of the can groove. The end 8 of the key is then moved a slight distance around the groove 5, forming as it slides an indenture which acts to lock the key in the groove. The construction of the key and cap or lid and the action of moving the key into the cap, finally positioning it therein, is similar to that oftheconventional and well-known bayonet joint. The shank 8 of the key is preferably provided with a sharp comer of the bend thereof, or the said shank may be treated in some other suitable manner to facilitate its being broken, whenever it is desired to remove said key from the can lid. Once the key has been broken from the lid, the portion 8 remains in the groove.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Figs. 4 and 5, I have provided a depression H in the center portion i2 of the can lid or cover. The depression H is of an area which will snugly receive the bend end l3 of a can openingkey M. In this form of the invention, the end I3 is forced into one end of the depression II, and then moved transversely to the opposite end of said depression to maintain the key in the depression. The end ii of the key M is provided with a button or protuberance ii on the face thereof to facilitate the locking of the key in the depression.

Having thus described this invention, what I claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. A rip strip can having a key, formed of wire attached thereto, said key being of wire bent upon itself to form a handle and a straight shank, said shank being of flattened cross section, and having a small portion at its extreme free end bent at right angles to the remaining portion, said small portion engaging a slot in the end of said can, and said short portion havinga small projection on one of its faces, said slot being of substantially the same width as said shank, and said projection frictionally engaging a groove in a face of said slot, the bend between the major portion of said shank and said small portion forming a weakened section to permit the key to be manually separated at said section from said small portion.

2. A rip strip can having a key, formed of wire attached thereto, said key being of wire bent upon itself to form a handle and a straight shank, said shank being of flattened cross section, and having a small portion at its extreme free end bent at right angles to the remaining portion, said small portion engaging a slot in the end of said can, and said short portion having a small projection on one of its faces, said slot being of substantially the same width as said shank, and said projection frictionally engaging a groove in a face of said slot, the bend between the major portion of said shank and said small portion forming a weakened section to permit the key to be manually separated at said section from said small portion, and having a slot in the key shank engaging the rip strip of the can when the key is removed from the can.

OMER R. WADE.

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