US2599551A

US2599551A - Can opener

Info

Publication number: US2599551A
Application number: US125881A
Authority: US
Inventors: Hagen Roger
Original assignee: Western Newell Manufacturing Co
Current assignee: Western Newell Manufacturing Co
Priority date: 1949-11-07
Filing date: 1949-11-07
Publication date: 1952-06-10
Anticipated expiration: 1969-06-10

Description

1 1952 R. HAGEN 2,599,551

CAN OPENER Filed Nov. '7, 1949 Patented June 10, 1952 CAN OPENER R ger-Hagen, Plym u h, Wis... assignor to Western Nowell Mf Co" Ereep rt. L, a corporation of Illinois Application November 7, 1949, SeriaI No. 125,881

9 Claims. 1

This inventionrelates. ocan openers and reiers particularly to an opener designed to, produce a Pouring opening in the end wall of a can as, for instance, such cans in which beer and other beverages are now commonly sold. There are two; general versions of such can openers in the prior art. In one, represented by Patent No. 1,996,550 issued to D. F. Sampson et al., a lifting force must be exerted upon the opener in use thereof. The other, represented by Patent No. 2,053,637. issued to Herbert Schrader, is characterizedby theylfact that the punch section underlies the handlein such a Way that the-opening force is applied in a downward direction toward the top of the can. Both types are subject to the same objection. Ineach case the sharp piercing point protrudes in a manner which creates a serious hazard. To overcome this hazard and precludethe possibility of having; the point punctureacarton in which the opener may be placed along with a number of cans as, for instance, in a case of canned beer, it was necessary to provide a separate guard or sheath for the point.

Attempts have been made in, the past to overcome this objection by folding or hinging the opener upon itself in such a way that its piercing; point will be protected, but, in all past applications of this concept too great a strain was placed upon the hinge connection. In the present invention the opener is also foldable but the construction is such that very little strain is placed, upon the hinge during the opening of a 0 41.1.

The purpo e oi t s nv nti n, therefore, is to provide an improved folding type can opener,

Another object, of this invention is to provide a folding can openerwherein the punch section lies under the handle section in its operative position so that the opener possessesI the advantages of the Schrader typeof opener wherein the opening force is downward.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description. proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by'the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the hereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one complete example of the physical embodiment of the invention constructed according to the best mode so far devised for the practical application of the principle thereof, and in which:

Figure lis a herspectiv rview of a, can opener embodying this invention;

' Figure 2 is a side view of the opener illustrating its manner of use;

Figure 3 is a side view of the openerwith its punch section swung around to inoperativeposition and, illustrating the manner in which the opener may be used asa bottle cap remover; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the hinge forming portions of the handle and punch sections, illustrating the same prior to assembly of the parts and formation of the hinge.

Referring now particularly to the accompanying drawing the numerals 5 and 6 respectively designate the handle and punch sections of the opener, and which sections are hingedly connected as at l. The axis of the hinge connection is crosswise or transverse to the handle and punch sections so that the punch section may be swung around .the end of the handle section from an operative position bearing against the underside of the handle section as shown in Figures 1 and 2 to an inoperative position, overlying the top of the handle section as shown in Figure 3.

Both sections. of the opener are preferably stamped and formed from hand stockor other suitable sheet metal, and the handle section has an elongated flat handle portion 8 and an oblique- 1y bent end portion 9. The punch section 6 has a substantially flat attaching end portion Ill-of the same width as the handle and a cutting end; portion I i. These end portions of the punch section are disposed at an obtuse angle to each other with the junction therebetween curved and directed outwardly as at 3 to lieabove the plane of the fiat attaching end portion I0.

Avtongue M is punched out and struck down from the curved medial portion l3 to form a fulcrum adapted to hook under the rim l5 of a cam during use of the opener, the relativedisposition of the fulcrum l4 and the curved medial portion l3 being: such that the rim of the can is accommodatedv therehetween as clearly shown in Fig ore-2; The cutting end portion l I is substantiallytriangular a d t rminates in a bo ked. p eroinsr int It so that upon placing the punch section in operative, position upon a can as shown dotted lines in Figure 2 the-cutting end portion overlies the adjacent top end wall 11 of the can with its piercing point It resting thereon. Attention s directed to the fact that the attaching end portion of the punch section and the bent end portion 9 of the handle section are of such relative lengths that the curved medial portionv 13 of the punch section lies just beyond the bend in the handle section when the opener is in its operative position. This enables the attaching portion NJ to lie flat against the underside of the end portion 9 and also brings the rounded medial portion l3 of the punch section under the forward part of the handle proper and thus strengthens the structure at an otherwise weak point, since it locates the center of moments about which the forces acting on the handle section tend to produce rotation at a distance from the bend'in the handle which, of course, is structurally the weakest part thereof.

The hinge connection 7 is conveniently formed by a tongue l8 narrower than the handle section and extending from the end of its upwardly bent portion 9 to be passed through a transverse slot 20 in the end of the attaching portion to and curled about the land 2| lying between the slot and the end of the attaching portion.

It is to be noted that the tongue I 8 is curled around the land 21 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figures 2 and 3. This affords greater assurance against spreading open the hinge loop by the stress imposed thereon during operation of the opener.

Though the opener will function satisfactorily if the punch section is free to swing about the hinge, it is preferable to releasably hold the punch section in its operative and inoperative positions. Any suitable detent means may be employed for this purpose, but the expedient shown has proved entirely satisfactory. As best shown in Figure 4., the tongue It has two sets of opposite nubbins 22 and 23 on its side edges. These nubbins protrude to a height such that the width of the tongue across the tops thereof is slightly in excess of the length of the slot 2i Hence, as the punch section is swung about the hinge the nubbins 22 and 23 must be forced through the slot 20.

By proper location of these nubbins Z2 and 23 one set thereof will be in position to hold the punch section in its operative position, and the other set thereof will hold the punch section in its inoperative position.

In the inoperative position of the punch section shown in Figure 3 in which it overlies the top of the handle the piercing point is enters a socket 24 in the handle. This socket is conveniently produced by punching a flanged hole down into the handle at the appropriate location.

If desired, the opposite end of the handle may be provided with a conventional cap remover indicated generally by the numeral 25 and which functions in the manner illustrated in Figure 3. It is appreciated, however, that this cap remover has no cooperative relation with the can opener per se.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be readily apparent that this invention provides a can opener suitable for producing a pouring opening in the end wall of a can in a manner approved for the serving of canned beer and the like wherein protection is afforded for the punch section by folding the same back on the handle, and that by virtue of the fact that the punch section underlies the handle in its operative position a more convenient and effective opening action is obtained while at the same time the strain upon the hinge connection is reduced to a minimum.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A folding can openerfor producing a pouring opening in an end wall of a can, comprising: a handle section; a rigid one piece punch section having an attaching end portion and a cutting end portion terminating in a piercing point, said end portions defining an obtuse angle to one another; a fulcrum-forming hook on the punch section at the junction of its twoangularly disposed end portions and on the inside of the angle; and a hinge connecting the end of the attaching portion to one end of the handle, the axis of the hinge being crosswise of the handle and the punch section, and the hinge enabling the punch section to be swung from an inoperative position in which the punch section overlies the top of the handle with its piercing point facing the handle to be guarded thereby to an operative position in which the back of the punch section bears against the underside of the handle with its fulcrumforming hook in position to hook under the rim of a can bounding the end wall in which a pouring opening is to be produced and its cutting end in position to pierce the end wall and cut a pouring opening therein upon the application of force on the handle toward the can.

2. The folding can opener set forth in claim 1 further characterized by the provision of detent means embodied in the hinge for releasably holding the punch section in its operative position and in its inoperative position.

3. The folding can opener set forth in claim 1 further characterized by the fact that the hinge connecting the handle and punch section comprises a transverse slot in one of said members near the end thereof, and a tongue extended from the end of the other member received in said slot and curled about the land lying between the slot and the end of the first designated member.

4. The folding can opener set forth in claim 1 further characterized by the provision of a socket in the handle in position to receive the piercing point when the punch section is in its inoperative position.

5. The folding can opener set forth in claim t further characterized by the fact that said socket comprises a downwardly flanged hole punched into the handle.

6. A folding can opener for producing a pouring opening in an end wall of a can, comprising: an elongated handle section having one end portion disposed at an angle to the body of the hantile; a punch section having an attaching end portion and a cutting end portion disposed at an obtuse angle to one another; a piercing point at the outer end of the cutting end portion; a fulcrum hook at the junction of said end portions on the inside of the angle defined by said end portions; and a hinge connection between the outer end of the attaching end portion and the end of said angularly disposed end portion of the handle, the axis of said hinge connection being crosswise to the handle and punch sections so that the punch section may be swung from an inoperative position in which the punch section overlies the top of the handle and its piercing point faces the handle to be protected thereby, to an operative position in which the back of its attaching portion bears against the underside of the angularly end portion of the handle with the fulcrum hook in such position to hook under the rim of a can bounding the end wall in which the pouring opening is to be produced and its cutting end portion in position to pierce said end wall and cut a pouring opening therein upon the application of force on the handle toward the end wall.

7. A folding can opener for producing a pouring opening in an end wall of a can, comprising: an elongated handle having one end portion thereof disposed at an obtuse angle to the rest of the handle; a punch section comprisin a substantially fiat attaching portion and a triangular cutting end portion terminating in a piercing point, said end portions being disposed at an obtuse angle to one another and the junction between said members being formed to provide an outwardly curved and rounded intermediate portion; a fulcrum projecting down from the medial portion of the punch section and having an upwardly directed hook facing the inside of said curved intermediate portion to hook under the rim of a can when the inside of said curved intermediate portion overlies the top of the rim; a hinge connection between the outer ends of said attaching portion and the angularly disposed end portion of the handle, said attaching end portion and angularly disposed end portion of the handle being of about the same length so that when the punch section is in its operative position the top of its attaching portion bears against the underside of the angularly disposed portion of the handle and the curved intermediate portion of the punch section lies slightly beyond said bend in the handle, said hinge connection enabling the punch section to be swung fully around the end of the handle to a position overlying the handle wlth its piercing point facing the handle to be protected thereby.

8. A folding can opener of the character described, comprising: a handle section and a punch section, the punch section having a substantially triangular cutting end portion terminating in a piercing point and havin an attaching end portion disposed at an obtuse angle to the cutting end portion; a fulcrum on the punch section at the junction of its cutting and attaching end portions and on the inside of the angle defined thereby for engagement under the rim of a can while its cutting end portion and piercing point overlie said end wall; and means hingedly connecting said attaching end portion to one end of the handle section with the hinge axis crosswise of the handle section so that the punch section may be swung from an operative position in which the back of its attaching portion bears against the underside of the handle section and its cutting end portion projects angularly from the handle section, to an inoperative position in which the punch section overlies the handle section and its piercing point faces the same to be protected thereby.

9. The folding can opener set forth in claim 8 further characterized by the provision of detent means for releasably holdin the punch section in its operative and inoperative positions.

ROGER HAGEN.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Acker July 5, 1938 Number