GB2221668A

GB2221668A - Opener for ring-pull cans

Info

Publication number: GB2221668A
Application number: GB8917651A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roger Coakham
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1988-08-03
Filing date: 1989-08-02
Publication date: 1990-02-14
Also published as: GB8818461D0; GB8917651D0

Abstract

An opener for ring-pull cans comprises a lever 10 having a projecting nose portion for inserting through the ring portion 20 of the ring-pull piece of the can, and a pair of spaced-apart lobes 13, 14 having generally curved peripheral surfaces (15, Figure 5) for supporting the lever on the top of the can either side of the ring-pull piece. The opener turns on its lobes 13, 14 during opening so that the points of contact of these lobes with the can top move over the surface in the same direction as the tearing action of the closure 26. When used with a ring pull piece which stays attached to the can with the piece projecting into the can after opening the nose portion is narrow and is inclined away from the lobes (Figures 6 and 7). The rearward end of the opener may be formed as a bracket for fixing to a surface. <IMAGE>

Description

CAN OPENER This invention relates to a can opener and more particularly to an opener for ring pull cans.

The use of ring-pull cans is becoming increasingly widespread. Various devices have been proposed for use in opening ring-pull cans but these have been complicated.

Also, in ring-pull cans of the tear-off type, known openers have operated to push the ring-pull piece into the can rather than pull it off altogether as desired.

I have now devised an opener for ring-pull cans of the tear-off type, which opener is of simple construction and easy to use and serves to pull the ring-pull piece from the can.

I have also devised an opener for use both on cans of the tearoff type and on cans of the type where the ring-pull piece remains attached to the top of the can.

In accordance with this invention, there is provided an opener for ring-pull cans, the opener comprising a lever having a projecting nose portion for inserting through the ring portion of the ring-pull piece of the can, and a pair of spaced-apart lobes having generally convex-curved surfaces for supporting the lever on the top of the can either side of the ring-pull piece.

In use, the projecting nose portion of the lever is inserted through the ring portion of the ring-pull piece, with the lobes resting on the top of the can either side of the ring-pull piece. The lever is then operated to lift its projecting nose portion and thus lift the ring relative to the top of the can. As the lever is turned, its lobes acting as a fulcrum where they rest upon the top of the can, it lifts the ring further. In the case of cans of the tear-off type, the lever then tears the closure portion of the ring-pull piece from the top of the can. As this closure portion is lifted from endto-end to tear it from the can, the lobes turn on their curved surfaces so that the effective fulcrum of the lever relative to the can top moves over the surface of the can top in the same direction as the tearing action.

Embodiments of this invention will now be described by way of examples only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a ring-pull can opener in accordance with this invention; FIGURE 2 is a side view of the can opener shown in Figure 1; FIGURE 3 is a side view of the can opener of Figures 1 and 2 provided with a handle; FIGURE 4 is a plan view of a ring-pull can of tear-off type with the can opener engaged with its ring pull and ready to open the can; FIGURE 5 is a side view of the top of the can with the engaged opener, indicating the movement of the opener which is made in order to tear the ring pull piece from the can; FIGURE 6 is a plan view of a modified can opener; and FIGURE 7 is a side view of the can opener of Figure 6.

In the modification shown in Figure 3, the rearward end of the level 10 may receive a handle 18, which is particularly useful for disabled persons.

The opener of Figures 1 and 2 or of Figure 3 is used on a ring-pull can of the tear-off type.

The can is gripped in one hand and handle end of the can opener is gripped in the other. The nose portion 12 of the opener is inserted through the ring 20 of the ring-pull piece 22 of the can .24, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, with the downwardly-projecting lobes 13, 14 resting on the top of the can either side of the ring-pull piece 22. The opener is then turned in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 5, so that the nose portion 12 lifts the ring. As the opener is turned further, levering up the ring, the closure portion 26 of the ring-pull piece is torn from the can.As this progresses, the opener turns on its lobes 13, 14 so that the point of contact of these with the can top (i.e. the effective fulcrum of the lever) moves over the surface of the can top in the same direction as the tearing action of the closure portion 26 (i.e. from its narrower end to its wider end and thus towards the periphery of the can).

It will be appreciated that the can opener which has been described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 tears the ring-pull piece from the tear-off type can in the same manner as it would be torn away by hand.

Referring to Figures 6 and 7, there is shown a modified can opener for use on ring-pull cans of the tear-off type, but also for use on ring-pull cans of the type in which the ring-pull piece stays attached to the can at the junction of its ring with the ring-pull piece of the can top, leaving the ring-pull piece projecting into the can. In the opener shown in Figures 6 and 7, the projecting nose portion 12 has parallel opposite edges but is narrower than the main portion of the lever 10 and is joined thereto by a portion 9 with straight inclined opposite sides. Further, the nose 12 and transition portion 9 incline away from the semi-circular lobes 13, 14.

Because the nose portion 12 is narrow it can be inserted through the smaller ring-pull which is found on cans of the type in which the ring-pull piece remains attached to the top of the can.

In a modification of the opener shown in Figures 1 and 2, or of the opener shown in Figure 3, or of the opener shown in Figures 6 and 7, the rearward end of the opener may be formed as a bracket arranged for fixing to a wall or to a work top, for example.

The openers which have been described are of simple construction but are easy to use and are effective in opening ring-pull cans. The openers are particularly useful for disabled or others who find difficulty of inconvenience in opening ring-pull cans by hand.

Claims

1) An opener for ring-pull cans, the opener comprising a lever having a projecting nose portion for inserting through the ring portion of the ring-pull piece of the can, and a pair of spaced-apart lobes having generally convex-curved surfaces for supporting the lever on top of the can either side of the ring-pull piece.

2) An opener as claimed in claim 1, in which the lobes are generally semi-circular in shape.

3) An opener as claimed in claim 2, in which the lever is formed from sheet metal with the lobes bent through generally 900 from opposite edges of an elongate body portion of the lever.

4) An opener as claimed in claim 3, in which the lobes are positioned at one end of the elongate body portion of the lever, from which end the nose portion projects.

5) An opener as claimed in claim 4, in which the nose portion tapers in width and lies in the same place as the elongate body portion of the lever.

6) An opener as claimed in claim 4, in which the nose portion has parallel sides and is narrower than the elongate body portion of the lever.

7) An openers claimed in claim 6, in which the nose portion is inclined away from the lobes.

8) A can opener substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 and 2, Figure 3 or Figures 6 and 7 of the accompanying drawings.