JP2002225982A - Pull tab opener - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pull tab opener which is easily operated by any one for opening a pull tab provided at the lid of a can for drinks or the like. SOLUTION: The pull tab opener is composed of an operating handle, a tab holder 12 provided at the front end of the operating handle for holding a tab 40 of the pull tab 4, and an engaging piece 2 which projects rearward and downward from the tab holder 12, and the tab holder 12 is in a width stretching horizontally over the tab 40. The rear part of the engaging piece 2 is provided, being almost in parallel with the operating handle, and serves as an inserting piece 20 to be inserted into a ring part 400 of the tab 40. The inserting piece 20 is formed in a thickness which becomes thinner as it comes close to the rear end so that it can be inserted into a gap between the ring part 400 and the upside of the lid 50 of the can 5 whereon the pull tab 4 is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pull-top opener used for opening a pull-top provided on an upper surface of a beverage can or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A general pull-top provided on an upper surface of a lid portion of a beverage can or the like can be easily pulled up by hooking a fingertip or a nail on a ring portion of a tab and pulling up the hand without using an opening tool or the like. In this configuration, the plug of the drinking part can be cut and separated and opened. However, since the upper surface of the lid portion of the can and the ring portion of the tab are disposed in proximity to each other, a finger or a nail is hooked on the end of the ring portion, a finger is inserted through the ring portion, and the ring portion is pulled up. Such operations are difficult for children, women, the elderly, and other weak people. Further, in the case of a person who has a nail extended, the nail may be damaged when the nail is opened.

For this reason, as shown in FIG. 6, a cut groove 62 for holding the ring portion 400 of the tab 40 from above and below as a pull-top opener that allows even a weak person to easily pull up the ring portion and open the pull-top. Is formed, and a grip portion 61 disposed on the upper surface of the main body 60.
Is inserted, the handle 61 is tilted in the direction of the arrow to open the can (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-117395).

When this pull-top opener 6 is used,
Due to the leverage, the ring 400
, The pull-top 4 can be easily opened even by a weak person. However, since it is necessary to insert the ring portion 400 into the narrow gap of the cut groove 62, it is difficult to handle. In addition, since only a part of the ring portion 400 is clamped, the tab 40 may be deformed at the time of lifting and may not be opened properly.

[0005] As shown in FIG. 7, a locking arm 64 projecting in the lateral direction is connected to a leg 63 provided on the lower surface of a pressing plate 65 for operation. After the stop, the leg 63 is arranged at the center of the pull-top 4 and the pressing plate 65 is pushed down to open the plug (Registered Utility Model No. 3013214). In this case, the locking of the locking arm 64 to the ring portion 400 is simple, and the stopper can be opened with a light force by the principle of leverage as in the above-described example.

However, it is necessary to dispose the leg 63 at the center position of the pull-top 4 (the center position of the lid of the can 5) in a movement-preventing state, and when the leg 63 is not at a predetermined position, 63 slipped and could not be opened well,
In some cases, the pull-top opener 6 may come off from the lid of the can 5 and fly out, which is dangerous. Further, since the leg 63 is hidden below the pressing plate 65, it is difficult to position the leg 63 at the center of the pull top 4.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a pull-top opener for use in opening a pull-top provided on a lid of a beverage can or the like, which can be easily handled and anyone can easily open the pull-top. I do.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems * 1 The technical means of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problem is as follows: "The handle portion for operation and the tab of the pull-top provided at the front end of the handle portion are pressed. A tab retainer, and an engagement piece projecting rearward and downward from the tab retainer, wherein the tab retainer is set to have a width that traverses the tab from side to side;
A rear part of the engagement piece part is an insertion piece that is substantially parallel to the handle part and can be inserted into the ring part of the tab, and the insertion piece is a lid of a can in which the pull top is disposed. The thickness is gradually reduced toward the rear end so that it can be inserted into the gap between the upper surface and the ring portion. " The above technical means works as follows. According to the above-described means, the engagement piece projects rearward and downward from the tab holder and the insertion piece is substantially parallel to the handle, so that the handle is gripped and the insertion piece is inserted into the ring portion of the pull-top. When it is arranged and pulled outward, the thinly formed rear end of the insert is inserted into the gap between the upper surface of the lid of the can and the ring. Finally, the entire insertion piece is inserted below the ring portion. Here, since the insertion piece is gradually thinned toward the rear end,
Insertion of the ring portion below is smooth.

Next, when the handle is lifted upward,
The ring portion is engaged with the insertion piece and pulled up in a state in which the tab retainer is pressed against the tab on the center side of the ring portion, and the tab is pressed toward the center side by a lever acting with the tab retainer as a fulcrum. Is pressed down to press the plug of the drinking part on the upper surface of the lid to cut it.
Thus, the pull top can be opened with a small force.

When the tab is pulled up by the engagement of the ring portion with the engagement piece, the tab retainer is
Since the end portion of the ring portion on the center side of the lid portion or the vicinity of the connection portion with the lid portion is reliably pressed, the engagement state between the pull-top opener and the pull-top is stabilized even when the pull-top is opened.

* 2. In item 1, it is preferable that an opening is provided at a front portion of the handle portion from the rear of the tab retainer over a predetermined range, and the engaging piece portion is disposed below the opening. There
Thereby, since the engagement piece can be seen from the opening, it is easy to insert the insertion piece into the ring portion of the pull top. Here, the opening does not necessarily need to be able to see the whole of the engaging piece through the opening, and it is sufficient if the opening is set so that at least the insertion piece can be seen.

* 3. In the paragraph (1) or the paragraph (2), it is preferable that “the insertion piece is inserted into a front portion of the engagement piece when the insertion piece is inserted into a gap between the upper surface of the lid of the can and the ring portion. A stopper is provided to make it difficult for the front part of the part to enter below the ring part.), The stopper is located at the front end of the insertion piece, so that the entire insertion piece is When inserted below the ring portion, a large resistance is generated in the further insertion of the engagement piece portion, so that the final insertion position of the insertion piece with respect to the ring portion is always determined, and the engagement piece portion sets the ring portion. Since the state of engagement between the engagement piece and the ring when the is pulled up and the state of pressing the tab by the tab holder are stabilized, the pull-top can be easily opened.

The stopper may be any stopper that can prevent the front part of the engagement piece from entering the gap between the upper surface of the lid of the can and the ring part continuously from the insertion piece. A protrusion or a thick portion provided at a front end of the insertion piece, a corrugated or jagged upper surface of a front portion of the engagement piece portion, and a front portion of the engagement piece portion is formed by the ring portion. The insertion piece may be bent at the front end of the insertion piece in order to make the insertion piece difficult to enter below.

The stopper may be a "step formed at a front end of the insertion piece in the engagement piece". In this case, since the step portion can be formed by cutting off the upper surface of the rear end portion of the engagement piece portion by a predetermined thickness, the stopper can be easily formed.

[0015]

According to the present invention having the above configuration, the following specific effects are obtained. When using the pull-top opener of the present invention, the entire insertion piece can be inserted below the ring part simply by disposing the insertion piece of the engagement piece part in the ring part of the pull-top and pulling the handle outward. . Further, the pull-top can be opened with a small force only by raising the handle, and the engagement between the pull-top and the pull-top opener is stable. It is easy to handle even for a person who has weakness or a person who has difficulty working with fine hands, and by using this, anyone can easily open the pull top.

Further, in addition to the above effects, in the item 2, the insertion of the insertion piece into the ring portion of the pull top is easy. In the item (3), since the final insertion degree of the engagement piece is determined at an appropriate position, the pull-top can be easily opened. That is, an unplugging error hardly occurs. In item 4, formation of the stopper is easy.

[0017]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a pull-top opener according to an embodiment of the present invention. This one is
The operating rod 10 is connected to the rear of the annular frame 13 in which the elliptical opening 11 is formed. It has a configuration. The front end of the annular frame portion 13 is a tab retainer 12 for pressing the tab of the pull top when opening the pull top, and the other portion except the tab retainer 12 becomes the above-mentioned handle portion.

A rear portion of the engagement piece 2 is provided between the upper surface of the lid 50 of the beverage can 5 on which the pull-top 4 is disposed and the ring 4.
The insertion piece 20 is a thin insertion piece 20 that can be inserted into the gap between the insertion piece 20 and a front end of the insertion piece 20. The annular frame portion 13 is gently warped upward, and a through hole 14 through which a string or a chain is passed is formed at the rear end of the operation rod 10.

The size of the opening 11 is set to be larger than the size of a later-described engaging piece 2 in plan view. Therefore, when the pull top 4 is opened, the operation of inserting the insertion piece 20 of the engagement piece 2 into the ring 400 of the tab 4 through the opening 11 can be seen from above the opening 11. . Since the size of the annular frame portion 13 is set to be larger than that of the ring portion 400, the tab retainer 12, which is a part of the annular frame portion 13, has the tab 40 as shown in FIG. The width is such that it can cross right and left.

The engaging piece 2 is a strip-like tongue extending from the center of the tab retainer 12 to the rear and downward. As shown in FIG. It is curved so as to be substantially parallel to the frame portion 13. The insertion piece 2 is formed so as to gradually become thinner toward the rear, and a step 22 formed at a front end of the insertion piece 2 is formed.
The height is set so that the front edge 21 of the parallel piece 2 is not inserted below the ring 400 because the edge of the ring 400 easily gets over the edge.

The pull-top opener of this embodiment is made of stainless steel, and is punched out so as to leave a portion corresponding to the engaging piece 2 in a disk-shaped portion in the front half of a blank previously punched to a predetermined contour. The outer peripheral portion of the opening 11 becomes the annular frame portion 13. And
The engaging piece 2 is formed by pressing the material in the opening 11. Further, in order to reduce the thickness of the insertion piece so as to have the step 22 at the rear part of the engagement piece part 2, a processing of cutting the upper surface of the rear part of the engagement piece part 2 by a predetermined thickness or a processing by forging. Formed by

Next, a case where the pull-top 4 provided on the upper lid 50 of the beverage can 5 is actually opened using the pull-top opener of this embodiment will be described. Upper lid 50 of beverage can 5 and operating rod 1
0 is substantially parallel to the pull-top opener, and as shown in FIG. 3, the insertion piece 20 of the engagement piece 2 is inserted into the pull-top 4 so that the insertion piece 20 is inserted outward from the center of the pull-top 4. When it is inserted into the ring portion 40, the rear end of the insertion piece 20 inclined downward and rearward along the ring-shaped frame portion 13 is connected to the upper surface of the lid 50 of the beverage can 5 and the ring portion 400.
Is inserted into the gap.

When the operating rod 10 is pulled backward in this state, the insertion piece 20 is inserted below the ring 400 so as to push the ring 400 upward. Here, when the entire insertion piece 20 is inserted below the ring portion, the edge of the ring portion 400 abuts on the step 22 formed at the front end of the insertion piece 2 and is locked there. Is done.

Next, when the operating rod 10 is lifted upward, as shown in FIG. 4, the tab presser 12 presses the tab 40 against the center of the ring 400 so as to cross the tab 40 left and right. The ring part 400 is inserted
It is engaged with 0 and pulled up. Further, the operating rod 1
0 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG.
Since the end on the center side of the tab 40 is pushed down by a lever function with the fulcrum 2 as a fulcrum, the plug 41 of the drinking part formed on the lid 50 is pressed and cut off, and is shown by a broken line in FIG. So that it is folded inside the beverage can 50 and the pull top 4 is opened. After the cap is opened, the engaging piece 2 is removed from the ring 400, and the raised tab 4 is lifted.
The contents of the beverage can 5 can be taken out by returning 0 to the original position by hand.

As described above, the insertion piece 20 can be inserted below the ring part 400 only by inserting the insertion piece 20 into the ring portion 400 of the pull-top 4 and pulling it backward. Since the pull-top 4 can be opened with a small force only by raising the operation lever 10 by leverage, this pull-top opener can be used by a weak person such as a child or an elderly person, or a person who has difficulty in fine work. The pull top 4 can be easily opened by using this.

In the pull-top opener of this embodiment, the insertion piece 20 and the ring 400
Because the opening 11 that can be seen is provided,
The insertion of the insertion piece 20 into the pull top 4 is easy.
Further, a step 22 formed at a front end of the insertion piece 20 is formed.
As a result, the front portion 21 of the engagement piece 2 is
0, it is difficult to insert the operating rod 10
When the pull top 4 is opened by opening the pull top 4, the engagement state between the engagement piece 2 and the tab 40 is stabilized.
Easy to open.

* Others In the above-described example, the stopper provided at the front portion 21 of the engagement piece 2 is the step 22 provided at the front end of the insertion piece 2. When inserting 20 into the gap between the upper surface of the lid 50 and the ring portion 400, the front portion 21 of the engagement piece 2 is inserted below the ring 400 continuously from the insertion piece 20. Any shape may be used as long as it makes it difficult to form a protrusion at the front end of the insertion piece 20, the rear end of the front part 21 is formed to be thick, or the upper surface of the front part 21 is formed into a corrugated or jagged shape. The upper surface of the front portion 21 may be roughened so that the ring portion 400 does not slide easily.

Also, as shown in FIG.
The engaging piece 2 may be bent so as to make it difficult to insert the lower part 1 below the ring 400.
The pull-top opener shown in FIG. 5 has the same configuration as the pull-top opener of the above-described example except for the engaging piece 2, and the pull-top 4 can be opened by the same operation as in the above-described example.

As shown in FIG. 5, the engaging piece 2 of this embodiment is a band-shaped tongue extending obliquely rearward from the front end of the annular frame 13, and the annular frame 13 and the annular The insertion piece 2 is bent at the front end of the insertion piece 2 so that the insertion piece 20 at the rear of the engagement piece 2 is substantially parallel to the insertion piece 2.
0 is formed so as to gradually become thinner toward the rear end as in the above-described example.

Here, the insertion piece 20 is substantially parallel to the annular frame portion 13 (slightly downwardly inclined) so as to be easily inserted into the gap between the lid portion 50 and the ring portion 400.
As shown in FIG. 5, the front portion 21 of the engagement piece 2
It is greatly inclined and has a large bent portion between itself and the insertion piece 20. Therefore, the insertion piece 20 is
0, the engagement piece 2 and the ring 40
0 is locked at the U-shaped bent portion 23, so that further insertion of the engagement piece 2 can be prevented, so that the insertion position of the insertion piece 20 with respect to the ring 400 can be reliably positioned. Therefore, the pull top 4 can be easily opened.

In the above-described example, the handle for operating the pull-top opener and the tab retainer 12 are integrally formed. However, the tab 40 is traversed right and left at the front end of the elongated handle. A configuration in which the tab holders 12 are continuously provided may be employed. In the above-described example, the opening 11 is provided behind the tab retainer 12, but the tab retainer 12 is provided in a T-shape at the front end of the band-shaped handle. You may.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a pull-top opener according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a use state of a pull-top opener.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing how to use a pull-top opener.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of another pull-top opener.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a conventional pull-top opener.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of another conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 (10) ・ ・ ・ Operating rod (11) ・ ・ ・ Opening (12) ・ ・ ・ Tab holder (13) ・ ・ ・ Circular frame part (2) ・ ・ ・ Engagement piece part (20) ・ ・ ・ Insert piece (21) ・ ・ ・ Front of engaging piece (4) ・ ・ ・ Pull top (40) ・ ・ ・ Tab (400) ・ ・ ・ Ring (5) ・ ・ ・ Beverage can (50) ・ ・ ・ Lid Department

Claims (4)

[Claims] A handle for operation, a tab retainer for pressing a tab of a pull-top provided at a front end of the handle, and an engaging piece protruding rearward and downward from the tab retainer; The tab retainer is set to have a width transverse to the tab left and right, and a rear portion of the engagement piece portion is substantially parallel to the handle portion and is an insertion piece that can be inserted into the ring portion of the tab. Wherein the insertion piece is gradually thinned toward a rear end so as to be insertable into a gap between an upper surface of a lid portion of the can in which the pull top is disposed and the ring portion. opener. 2. The pull-top opener according to claim 1, wherein an opening is provided at a front portion of the handle portion over a predetermined range from behind the tab retainer, and the engaging piece portion is provided below the opening. There is a pull-top opener. 3. The pull-top opener according to claim 1, wherein the insertion piece is inserted into a gap between an upper surface of a lid portion of the can and a ring portion at a front portion of the engagement piece portion.
A pull-top opener provided with a stopper for making it difficult for the front portion of the engagement piece portion to enter below the ring portion. 4. The pull-top opener according to claim 3, wherein the stopper is a step formed at a front end of the insertion piece in the engagement piece.