US2799428A - Can opener for tearstrip cans - Google Patents

Description

July 16,v l195.7 v Rl c. BARKER 2,799,428

vCAN OPENER FOR TEARSTRIP CAMS Filed Aug. v2O,v 1956 ga/5, lr lilll ff] A Unitedk States Patent() CAN OPENER FOR TEARSTRHP CANS Ray C. Barker, Wichita, Kans.

Application August 20, 1956, Serial No. 695,048

3 Claims. (Cl. 220-52) A common type of container for food products is the can provided with a tear strip extending around the same a short distance from the top; the strip having an exposed, free end lto which a key may be applied to tear the strip loose and wind it up, to open the can.

The purpose of the present invention is to make the work of opening the aforesaid type of can easier than when a conventional plain key is used.

The object of the present invention is to produce a simple, eicient and inexpensive implement for carrying out my said purpose.

A further object of the invention is so to construct the implement that it will operate satisfactorily on cans of various sizes.

The various features of novelty whereby the present invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding the invention and its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. l is a t-op plan view showing an implement embodying a preferred form of the invention applied to a can;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the structures appearing in Fig. 1 including, however, only the upper part of the can;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, on a -smaller scale, showing the implement applied to a smaller can.

Referring to the drawing, 1 represents a at plate, preferably of generally triangularly-shaped metal. The plate has thereon, at one corner of the triangle, a down-turned ange or lip 2. At a second corner of the triangle is a. second lip 3, shown as being formed by partially severing a fragment of the plate from the main body and bending it at an angle downward inwardly from the adjacent edge of the plate. At the third corner of the triangle is a striptearing key device 4. Instead of lips Aother downward projections may be used. The plate itself is preferably triangular in shape so that elements 2, 3 and 4 may be located at its three corners. A substantially isosceles or equilateral triangle is preferred.

The key device includes a shaft 5 that extends through and at right angles to the plate; the mounting being such that the shaft may rotate freely but is held against lengthwi-se movement. In the lower end of the shaft is a slot 6 for receiving the usual free tab or exposed end of the tear strip on a can to be opened. On the upper end of the shaft is a crank arm 7 or the like for tuning the shaft.

The plate has on top thereof, `at the center, ya knob 8. On the under side of the plate, registering with the knob,

is a projection 9 that does not extend down farther than does lip 3. This projection may conveniently be a nut on the lower end of a stem that extends down through the plate from the knob.

The plate is adapted to rest on top of the usual peripheral ridge or bead at the juncture of the cover with the can body. In the drawing the implement is shown in operative relation with respect to a common type of vacuum packed coiee can A, the upstanding annular ridge B of which has a diameter of approximately live inches. Lip or flange 2 contacts the outer side of the ridge B,

Vwhile lip 3 engages the inner side of ridge B near the base of the ridge. Shaft 5 extends down and close to the Iside of the can, the slot 6 therein spanning the width of the tear strip 10.

In carrying out a can-opening operation, the vtab 109', constituting an exposed free end of tear strip 10, is inserted in the slot 6 in the shaft 5; the shaft being then turned so as progressively to tear the strip loose from the can and wind it around the shaft. As the shaft is rotated the knob and the can are held by one hand, the can remaining stationary while the knob is allowed to turn with the plate which rotates in sliding contact with the ridge on the can.

In Fig. l arrow X indicates the direction in which the key device turns, while the direction -of bodily turning movement of the entire implement is indicated by arrow Y.

As the winding'of the tear strip progresses, the cylindrical roll formed thereby on the shaft or key increases in diameter; the roll pressing against the can and gradually forcing the shaft to progressively shift slightly away from the can, however, this does not interfere with the tearing operation, because lip 2, lying on the outer side of ridge B, serves as a fulcrum about which the plate may rock, while lip 3, being on the inner side of such ridge, does not prevent such rocking movements.

It will be seen that, since the plates rests solidly on top of the can, the shaft or key proper, remains at all times parallel to the axis of the can, so that the strip is wound up evenly and without danger of tearing diagonally at some intermediate point.

When a smaller can such as A1 in Fig. 4, is to be opened, the plate is placed on top of the same with the nut or projection 9 engaged with the innerv or outer side of ridge B1 and lips Z and 3 -standing clear of the can. Thus the plate rests solidly 0n the can and, with the users hand on the knob, cannot slip off but slides and turns in a n`xed path in unison with the key device as the latter travels around the can during a strip removal operation.

, I claim:

l. An implement for removing the tear strip extending around a can a short distance below a peripheral ridge rising above the top of the can, comprising: an approximately triangular plate adapted to overlie such a can and rest on said ridge, one corner of the plate being turned down to `form a lip adapted to engage the side of the can, the plate being deformed near a second corner to form a separate down-turned lip inwardly from that corner and Iadapted to engage the inner side of said' ridge, a device rotatably mounted on the plate at the third corner engaging the tear strip and winding it up, and a knob rising from the center of the plate.

2. An implement as set forth in claim -1 wherein the 3 rotatably mounted device comprises ya shaft extending through and at right angles to the plate, the shaft being slotted at its lower end to receive the free end -of the tear strip and having at its upper end a crank arm turning the same.

3. An implement as set forth in `claim l wherein the n knob rests on the plate and has a stern extending through the ridge on a can so small that neither of the lips can be in operative relation to the `can when the rotatable device is interlocked with the tear strip.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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