GB2258208A

GB2258208A - Resealable lid for drinks can.

Info

Publication number: GB2258208A
Application number: GB9115923A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Clifford Brian Almond
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1991-07-23
Filing date: 1991-07-23
Publication date: 1993-02-03
Anticipated expiration: 2011-07-23
Also published as: GB9115923D0; GB2258208B

Abstract

In an easy-open lid 10 for a drinks can, where a portion 20 of the lid is displaced inwardly on opening to provide a dispensing aperture 31, an opener tab 15 is secured to the lid by a rivet 13. The opener tab may be rotated about the rivet to seal the aperture. The opener tab comprises a blade 16 which initiates and propagates tearing along a weakened line 21 defining the aperture, and a finger grip portion 19 connected to the blade by arms 18. The can is opened in the normal way, by pulling upwards on the finger grip portion to push portion 20 inside the can, and then pushing the grip 19 back. The opener tab may then be rotated about the rivet to bring the grip 19 over the aperture 31, thus closing it (see Fig 2). The grip has no apertures in it, and is of a similar shape to the aperture 31. The grip may be coated with a material to enhance sealing, and may be tucked inside the aperture on closing to further improve the seal. <IMAGE>

Description

DUST CAP This invention relates to a drink can opener comprising a tab to be fixed by a pin to a lid of the can, a blade extending transverse to a longitudinal direction of the opener and connected to the tab by a hinge line transverse to the longitudinal direction of the opener, the blade being adapted to initiate and propagate tearing of the can lid along a tear line which defines the periphery of a closure panel which occludes a pouring aperture of the can lid, at least one lever arm extending in the longitudinal direction of the opener from the blade past the tab to a finger grip portion, whereby lifting the finger grip portion away from the can lid causes the opener to rotate about the hinge line and urge the blade down onto the tear line to initiate the said tearing action.

Such openers are now as a matter of course fastened by a pin to the centre of the aluminium cap of thin-walled aluminium drinks cans containing, most usually, carbonated soft drinks. The aluminium can lid includes a tear line, somewhat in the shape of the sole of a foot, to define a closure panel and pouring aperture which is arranged radially on the can lid, with its somewhat pointed end (corresponding to the toes of the footprint) at the radially outermost end, and the other end of the pouring aperture closely adjacent to the pin for the can opener at the centre of the can lid.

The tear line does not extend completely around the periphery of the pouring aperture. There is left a narrow neck, just offset from the point nearest the pin. which serves to retain the closure panel after tearing around the tear line is complete.

Thus, in actual use, the finger grip portion is lifted away from the can lid, the blade presses down on the closure panel, near to the neck, initiating tearing along the tear line at the neck, with continued downward pressure of the blade of the opener propagating the tear all the way around the periphery to the other side of the neck, and then pushing the closure panel downwardly into Lile volume of Llic caii to cause plastic bending at the neck, so the closure panel remains bent below the plane of the can lid even after the opener has been pushed back to a disposition flush with the lid.

These cans work well and are suitable for recycling because all parts of the can are made out of the same metal, namely, aluminium. A problem with such cans is that, if the contents are not consumed in one go, the residual contents are open to the outside environment, through the open pouring aperture. Carbonated drinks are liable to go "flat", sugary drinks are liable to attract flying insects through the pouring aperture, and cans tipping over will result in spilled contents.

It one object of the present invention to reduce or eliminate these disadvantages, at economical cost.

Drinks can openers in accordance with the present invention are characterised in that the finger grip portion is adapted, upon rotation of the opener about the pin, to engage with the periphery of a pouring aperture in a can lid and seal, substantially seal, or close, the aperture in the can lid.

It hardly need be stated that, in another aspect of the invention, there is provided a drinks can which incorporates a drinks can opener as identified above, and a tear line having a shape which corresponds with the shape of ihe peripllersZ nf i-hA finger grip portion of the opener, for optimum sealing of the pouring aperture by the finger grip portion.

The currently conventional can openers incorporate a finger grip portion in the form of a ring, with a large aperture inside the hoop of the ring. Possibly the ring shape is to save material, possibly it is to improve finger grip, and possibly it is to remind users of the previous "ring pull" can openers, such reminders serving to teach users what to do with the finger portion in order to open the drinks can. In any event, a finger portion in the form of a hoop surrounding an open aperture is obviously unsuitable for use in the present invention, which clearly requires a finger grip portion with no central aperture, and therefore more in the nature of a flat plate without apertures in it.

For best sealing, it should be possible to guide the finger grip portion, during its rotation into a position to occlude the pouring aperture, so that the periphery of the finger grip portion is guided past the lip of the pouring aperture and into the can cavity, by tucking one long edge of the can opener underneath one long edge of the pouring aperture, and advancing the opener in this direction until the other long edge of the opener has advanced far enough to be tucked down below the other long edge of the pouring aperture. Then, after this second tucking operation, the direction of rotation of the opener can be briefly reversed in order to bring both long edges of the can opener into correspondence with both long edges of the pouring aperture, with the opener edges internally of the pouring aperture edges, with respect to the cavity of the can.Thereafter, any spring resilience of the material of the can opener along the hinge line of the opener, along with any gas pressure differential brought about by the pressure of carbonated drinks in the can, will all tend- to confirm and increase the sealing action of the periphery of the opener against the inside periphery of the pouring aperture of the can.

Obviously, the arrangement of the can opener as described above, to occlude the pouring aperture, will wholly or substantially prevent leakage of liquid through the pouring aperture if a non-empty can is upset, will resist the efforts of insects to enter the can through the pouring aperture, and should help to maintain the volume of carbonating gas in the liquid contained within the can.

It can be made a simple matter to reverse the closure operation described above, in order to bring the finger grip portion of the can opener back to its initial disposition to permit further drinking from the can, and the operation can be repeated as often as is required by the user of the can.

While a very effective closure is achievable with a can opener made of nothing more than aluminium, it may be desirable to provide the periphery of the finger grip portion of the can opener with a coating of a material better adapted for sealing purposes, such as a resilient polymeric material. This would obviously add to the cost of the opener, but might be justifiable if the efficacy of the seal is significantly improved.

Conventional can openers of the type used in the present invention have a pair of lever arms, one each side of the tab, and it is envisaged that openers in accordance with the present invention would retain such a structure of lever arms. Nevertheless, other embodiments are contemplated such as a can opener with only one lever arm, one side only of the tab.

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show more clearly how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of an embodiment of drinks can and opener in accordance with the present invention; and FIGURE 2 is a similar plan view to that of Figure 1, showing the can opened and about to be resealed using the opener.

Referring first to Figure 1, the can 10 has a lid 11 crimped to the cylindrical wall of the can at a rim 12.

The wall and lid 11 are made of aluminium.

In the centre of the lid 11 is an aluminium pin 13 which extends upwardly from the surface of the lid 11 through an aperture in a tab 14 of an opener 15. The top of the pin 13 is squashed, in the manner of a rivet, over the top surface of the tab 14 to retain the opener 15 on the pin 13. The opener 15 has a blade 16 and a hinge line 17 lies between the tab 14 and the blade 16. Lying alongside the tab 14 and extending from the blade 16 is a pair of lever arms 18 which connect the blades 16 to a finger grip portion 19.

In the lid 11 of the can is a closure panel 20 defined by a tear line 21. Lifting the finger portion 19 causes the can opener 15 to pivot about the hinge line 17, so that the edge 22 of the blade 16 is urged downwardly onto the edge of the closure panel 20 adjacent the tear line 21, to initiate tearing of the panel from the remainder of the lid 11, along the tear line 21. When tearing is complete, the closure panel 20 is urged downwardly into the cavity of the can 10 by plastic deformation at a neck (not shown in the drawings) which connects the closure panel 20 to the remainder of the lid 11 at a location close to the end of the closure panel 20 underneath the blade edge 22.

Once the closure panel has been deflected out of the way in such fashion, the can opener 15 can be bent at the hinge line 17 back to a disposition flush with the top of the can lid 11, and then rotated about the pin 13, as shown in Figure 2, until a first longitudinal edge 30 of the finger grip portion 19 begins to overlap with the pouring aperture 31 where previously was the closure panel 20. With continued rotation of the can opener 15, the long edge 30 may be tucked underneath the corresponding long edge 32 of the pouring aperture 31. Just a little more rotation in the same direction, direction f shown in Figure 2, can bring the second long edge 33 of the finger grip portion past the second long edge 34 of the pouring aperture, at which point the edge 33 can be tucked below the long edge 34 of the aperture 31 and the direction of rotation of the can opener 15 briefly reversed in order to bring the finger grip portion 19 directly below the pouring aperture 31, for sealing of the can.

Claims

1. A drinks can opener comprising a tab adapted to be fixed by a pin to a lid of the can, a blade extending transverse to a longitudinal direction of the opener and connected to the tab, the blade being adapted to initiate and propagate tearing of the can lid along a tear line which defines the periphery of a closure panel which occludes a pouring aperture of the can lid, at least one lever arm extending in the longitudinal direction of the opener from the blade past the tab to a finger grip portion, whereby lifting the finger grip portion away from the can lid causes the blade to move down onto the tear line to initiate the said tearing action, characterised in that the finger grip portion is adapted, upon rotation of the opener about the pin, to engage with the periphery of the pouring aperture in the can lid and substantially seal or close the aperture.

2. An opener as claimed in claim 1, wherein the finger grip portion has no central aperture, and has the nature of a flat plate without apertures in it.

3. A drinks can incorporating a drinks can opener as claimed in either claim 1 or 2, and a tear line having a shape which corresponds with the shape of the periphery of the finger grip portion of the opener, for sealing or closing substantially the pouring aperture by the finger grip portion.

4. A drinks can as claimed in claim 3, wherein the finger grip portion is so adapted, during its rotation into a position to occlude the pouring aperture, that a periphery of the finger grip portion is guided past the lip of the pouring aperture and into the can cavity, by tucking one long edge of the can opener underneath one long edge of the pouring aperture, and advancing the opener in this direction until the other long edge of the opener has advanced far enough to be tucked down below the other long edge of the pouring aperture.

5. A drinks can as claimed in either claim 3 or claim 4, wherein at least the periphery of the finger grip portion of the can opener is provided with a coating of a material adapted for sealing purposes, such as a resilient polymeric material.

6. A drinks can substantially as described herein.