GB2348864A - Ringlift can opener - Google Patents

Abstract

An opener for ring-pull cans comprises a hand-held body incorporating: a thin hook (2), with sharp edge (3), pivoting area (4) and a handle (5) so that the opener can engage with the pull ring and remove the lid in a single easy and smooth operation. The hook (2) lies approximately parallel to the axis of the handle (5). Wheels or other supports may be incorporated to facilitate travel of the body across the lid and a plurality of hooks may be provided.

Description

RING PULL CAN OPENER This invention relates to a new type of can opener.

Background The'Ring Pull'method of opening carbonated drinks cans, in which a section of the lid is removed, along a score line impressed in it, by pulling on a ring attached to it, has been in use for a number of years. A section of lid is torn off to create a drinking orifice. The principle was later adapted to create the'Lift Tab'opener in which the section of lid and the ring are retained with the can rather than being discarded.

In recent years the principe of the original Ring Pull method has been applied to cans containing food. However, in this case the ring in required to pull the entire lid off the can. This way of opening cans is rapidly gaining in popularity and it will not be long before the majority of cans have lids of this type. There are now many types of can, in different shapes and sizes, which have this type of lid.

Although the removal of a lid in this way is very quick and convenient (and much more so than the slotted turnkey provided with sardine tins of yesteryear) it does give rise to certain difficulties. In the first place the ring must be lifted off the surface of the lid to enable a finger to gain a hold under it. This is often quite difficult and usually requires that a finger nail is forced under the ring to prise it up. A knife is frequently used for this purpose. And the actual'tearing off'of the lid often requires substantial effort. Children, ladies and elderly people find these difficulties irksome. Broken nails can result and the contents of the can may also be spilled in the struggle to'tear off' the lid. It is these difficulties which the present invention is designed to overcome.

According to the present invention there is provided, a simple hand held utensil which has a means of raising up the ring from the lid, a means of securely grasping the ring, a means of levering back the lid to tear it off and a means of holding the utensil.

It is the combination of these featuresin a unique form and relationship with each other which creates the novelty of the design and the exceptional ease of use.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying Drawing No. 1.

In the following description the new opener will be referred to as the Ringlift.

Description Referring to Drawing No1, the Ringlift comprises a body component 1) having four features which are numbered: 2) thin hook, 3) sharp edge, 4) pivot area, 5) handle.

Other items shown are numbered: 6) can, 7) lid, 8) pull ring and 9) wheels.

In order to remove the lid 7 from the can 6 the Ringlift is pulled-with little effort required-horizontally across the lid in direction'A'so that the sharp edge 3 of the thin hook 2-which lies parallel with the lld surface-is drawn under the pull-ring at B which is then captured by the hook. The hook being of appropriate width to enable it to remain fully in the ring as the ring rises. Using handle 5 the body 1 is then rotated in direction C about a pivot area 4 which bears on the lid surface 7 so that the hook, pulls the captured ring up to a nearly vertical position as shown in figure 2 thereby causing the rupture of the score line on the lid and then back over the body with the lid peeling off the can behind it. The whole process requiring very little effort to either hold the can in place or to engage the hook in the ring. A suitable shape for the perimeter of the pivotal area of the body is curved or circular and a mangeable size for this feature might be 50-70mm in diameter but other sizes and shapes could be used.

A curved profile is ideal as it affords a smooth and progressive arc movement of the handle as the lid is removed. The travel of the handle may be increased by placing the can to be opened so that it overhangs the edge of a worktop or sink.

To facilitate the removal of larger lids, without requiring a body of greater size, a second hook or even a third hook may be incorporated at D. Once the ring pull has been raised to the more or less vertical position required for rupture of the lid to commence, the body is re-engaged using another hook, so enabling a larger portion of the periphery of the body to be used to complete the'peeling off'action.

Figure 3 shows a further refinement in that wheels (9) may be added to either side of the body to Improve stability of the opener on the lid surface. They also enable the body to be more easily drawn back against the ring as it rises with the hook immediately after the position shown in figure 2 has been reached. Without this secondary movement of the body an unneccessary stress may be applied to the ring ai the wrong angle prior to it rupturing the lid with the resultant inadvertent detachment of the ring from the lid before'tearing'commences. The wheels may be fixed so as to rotate together alongside the body or may be separately rotatable.

The hook (2) projects below the bottom edge of the wheels to enable it to engage with the pull ring which is attached above the surface of the lid.

Patent History (For interest of examiner only) The need for a suitable opener for cans of this type was clear as long ago as 1970 and US Patent No. 3656375 (Reeds) shows an opener with all 3 necessary components present.-namely a handle, a body to provide fulcrum and a means of holding the ring.

1971 US Patent No. 3724297 (Bucko) and 1977 US Patent No. 4120216 (Goldberg) show different approaches but all three patents rely on raising the ring up from the lid by straight forward leverage. 1981 US Patent No. 4362071 (Coker) again uses the same three components but shows for the first time a curved body to provide the fulcrum.

1990 US Patent No. 5018409 (Bittel), still using the same three components, now shows how the lid might be rolled off the can. However he insists on the hook being perpendicular to the axis of the handle and this means that the hook has to be pushed under the ring.

1992 US Patent No. 5309794 (Kelly) now shows a completely circular body but again requires the hook to be pushed under the ring. The pushing action of both these concepts requires that the opener is firmly grippe. This in itself is difficult for those with arthritic hands.

In the current application the hook is drawn across the lid and because the hook is thin the effort needed to raise the ring is minimal. The leverage for rupturing the lid and rolling it back is substantial and the length of perimeter of the circular or elliptical body is maximise. It can be considerably greater than in any other embodiment of the three components so far envisaged because of the possibility of multiple hooks.

It is therefor possible to strip lids from longer tins with minimum effort. A great advantage for the elderly, disabled or arthritic.

Claims (6)

1. CLAIMS 1. An opener for ring-pull can lids incorporating a handle to provide leverage, a body to provide support having a long perimeter about which the opener can smoothly pivot and a long thin primary hook, for engaging the pull ring, lying approximately parallel to the line of the axis of the handle.
2. 2. An opener as claimed in Claim 1 which has a body with a curved or circular support surface.
3. 3. An opener as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim2 having a multiplicity of hooks to increase the length of usable perimeter.
4. 4. An opener as claimed in Claim 1, Claim 2 or Claim 3 on which wheels or other supports are incorporated in the body to facilitate easy travel of the body across the lid.
5. 5. An opener as claimed in Claim 1, Claim 2, Claim 3 or Claim 4 which has a handle separately attached to the body.
6. 6. An opener as claimed in Claim 1, Claim 2, Claim 3, Claim 4 or Claim 5 which has a hook member separately attached to the body.