US2552961A

US2552961A - Key for opening cans

Info

Publication number: US2552961A
Application number: US90227A
Authority: US
Inventors: Walter F Grossenbach
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1949-04-28
Filing date: 1949-04-28
Publication date: 1951-05-15
Anticipated expiration: 1968-05-15

Description

y 1951 w. F. GRYOSSENBACH 2,552,963

KEY FOR OPENING CANS Filed April 28, 1949 INVENTOR.

A $70 Ali) Patented May 15, 1951 UNITED STATES PTENT OFFICE KEY FOR OPENING CANS Walter F. Grossenbach, Ashton, Idaho Application April 28, 1949, Serial No. 90,227

1 Claim. 1

The present invention relates to improvements in keys for opening cans and has reference more particularly to a key for facilitating the removal of the tear-strip that is associated with vacuumpack canning tins.

With the conventional removal keys now generally used for removing the tear-strip there is a tendency for the tear-strip to work off the end of the key in the form of open spiral whorls, as the tin can is being opened.

This not only produces the danger attributed to the sharp edges of the twisted whorls, but also causes considerable annoyance in that a complete severance of the tear-strip from the can may only be obtained with difficulty and frequently the application of a pair of pliers is necessary.

It is, therefore, the primary object of my invention to provide a key which will enable the tear-strip to be completely removed from the can without any danger of the spiral windings slipping axially off of the end of the key.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a key wherein a portion thereof acts as a guide for engagement against the side of the can lid during the turning movement of the key in winding the tear-strip upon the key.

A still further object is to provide a key that is formed from a single strand of wire the same being strong and durable as well as inexpensive in its manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawing.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and in which like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views Figure l is a side elevation of my improved key.

Figure 2 is an edge View thereof. 7

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken approximately on the line 3--3 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a side elevation showing the key in the act of winding the tear-strip upon the same.

Figure 5 is a View at right angles to Figure 4, illustrating how the key engages against the side of the lid of the can in the act of winding the tear-strip upon the removal key, and

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken approximately on the line 66 of Figure 5, looking in the direction of the arrows.

In the drawing, the numeral l designates the upper portion of a vacuum-pack can, the lid thereof being designated by the numeral 2, and

the usual tear-strip is denoted at 3.

My improved key is denoted generally by the numeral 4 and is formed from a single piece of wire, that is bent to form an actuating handle portion 5 at the upper end of the shank portion 6.

The portion of the shank, adjacent its lower free end is flattened as at l and this flattened portion is formed with a tear-strip receiving slot 8, in which the free end of the tear-strip is inserted.

The portion of the shank directly above the flattened portion 1 is bent back upon itself to form a laterally extending head 9 the lower end portion of the shank being bent laterally in the same direction to form a foot Iii. This construction is clearly illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawing.

The laterally extending head 9 and foot Ill cooperate to form with the slotted flattened portion I a reel upon which the tear-strip may be wound so that the spiral windings of the tearstrip will not slip axially off the end of the removal key, while the tear-strip is being removed.

Further, the laterally extending head 9 will engage with the side of the can lid to serve as a guide when the key is attached to the tear-strip and the handle portion 5 is turned, thus tending to pull the tear-strip away from the can while it is being rolled upon the reel portion of the key.

The use of my removal key is readily apparent from the disclosure and foregoing description.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a removal key that will enable the tear-strip to be entirely removed from the can and without any danger of the spiral winding slipping off of the end of the key.

While I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes in the size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

A key for removing a tear-strip from a can comprising a strand of stiff wire bent in spaced relation to one end to form'a laterally extending arm and in spaced relation to said arm being crimped to form a second laterally extending arm of double thickness spaced from the first arm, the portion of the strand between said arms being formed with an opening for receiving an end portion of a tear-strip, and the other end portion of said strand being bent to form a handle extending from opposite sides of the portion of the strand from which the arms extend.

WALTER F. GROSSENBACH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of thispa tent:

Number Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Rostiser July 22, 1930 Epstein May 30, 1933 Vale Feb. 6, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Switzerland July 16, 1948 Great Britain., Apr. 7, 1938