US2603857A

US2603857A - Can opener

Info

Publication number: US2603857A
Application number: US115850A
Authority: US
Inventors: Oscar H Hanby
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1949-09-15
Filing date: 1949-09-15
Publication date: 1952-07-22
Anticipated expiration: 1969-07-22

Description

y 1952 o. H. HANBY 2,603,857

CAN OPENER Filed p 15, 1 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Rag/2 I N VEN TOR. -w H H 424% %5LFW.

/7 TOR/V5345 y 1952 o. H. HANBY 2,603,857

CAN OPENER Filed Sept. 15, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 .57 5 z INVENTOR.

Patented July 22, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE,

CAN OPENER QscanI-I, Hanby, Grandview, Wash. Application September 15, 1949, Serial No. 115,850-

This invention relates to can openers. and: in. particular to those of. the; type adapted-to be driven by an electric motor or other source of power.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved can opener'that is. of. comparatively simple construction and yet highly efficient and safe and reliablein operation.

Another object is to provide a can opener that is entirely automatic in operation and need never be touched by human hands either to start or stop the same. I

Another object is to provide a can opener of the motor driven type in which the cutting cycle is-initiated by pressure from the can and. in which only one hand is required for use, that being the hand in which the. can, is held while the machine is opening it thusleaving the other hand of the housewife free to. hold a saucepan or other culinary vessel. ready, for transferring the contents of the can.

The foregoing and other objects and advantagesinherent in the invention will become more apparent from the, following detailed description of a preferred constructional embodiment and the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section takenon line lie-Iiv of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on line ll of Fig. 2

Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional views similar to Fig. 3 illustrating the positions of the components during different phases of the operating cycle;

and Fig. 7 is a schematic wiring diagram of the driving motor and its two control switches.

Referring now to the drawings; the can opener includes a support plate l0 having a transverse bracket H attached thereto for fastening the same in an upright position on the wall of the kitchen or other room where it is desired to locate the device. The electric driving motor I2 is secured to plate l0, and the motor shaft I3 which is arranged horizontally is providedwith a small pinion gear l4 that meshes with a larger diameter reduction gear 15 that is keyed or otherwise -secured upon the end of another horizontally arranged shaft 16.- Thelatter is journalled ina yokelT-securedto plate I9; and is provided with a worm-gear i8 between the'yoke arms Iia that meshes with a worm wheel I9 secured upon the'upperend of a generally vertically disposed drive shaft 20. The latter is journalled atitsv upper end ina yoke. 2! that is carried by theshaft His Thedowerend of drive 6 Claims. (01. 30,-.4)

shaft 23. is journalledin a bracket 22; secured to plate In, and this bracket has an intermediate offset portion 22a that permit it to yield slightly. in a horizontal direction to accommodate cans having different bead thickness,

Secured to the lower; end of the drive shaft 20' is a knurledfeedroller 23 adapted to engage the inner side of the beadza. at the top of the can 24, and also acam 25,

The lower end of plate 10 projects horizontally at Illa and pivotally. connectedjat 26' tothe latter is a carriage 2] on which. is mounted, a; guide roller 28-and a cutter element which is preferably also formed as aroller. 2.9. with aperipheral'knife edge portion. 29a.

When carriage if! occupies the position shown in Fig. 3 and towhich it is.- alwaysreturned upon completion of a. cutting cycle, there is sufficient clearance. between the. feed roller 213iandthe cutter and guide. rollers 28, 29; to insert the top bead of the canto be. ope ed. When the motor l2'is started, cam 2.5; rotates into engagement with a lug 3.0,,on. the. carriage, and as the cam continues to rotate bearing against this lug, carriage 2'! is displaced, horizontally about its pivot axis 23 in the direction of the feed roller 23 to the position shown in Fig.5 causing the top bead 24a of the can to be. gripped firmly between the rotating feed roller 23 and guideroller 28, and the knife edged periphery 29c of cutter 29 punctures the side wall of can 2 ,3 just below bead 24a. Displacementof-thecarriagein the direction of the. feed roller 23; and its; return to the starting position is limited by stop pins iii, 32, fixed to the horizontal offset [0a of thesupport plate. Due to the. pressure of the knurled feed roller on the canbead, the can body will then begin torotate. causing the cutter 29; to make a continuous. peripheral cut through the can body along a. line-just; belowthe bead Me.

As previously explained, control of the mechanism is automatic and the motor-is started whenever a: can is. presented. forcutting, To bring this about, itwill be observed that anarcuate guideplate 33 depends from the horizontal offset Hla. Thisplate guidesthe-can into cutting position, and also servesas a broad bearing surface for the can sidewallto maintain the can in correct vertical alignment with respect to the rollers while beingcut. A switch unit 34. is mounted upon the. support I 0 at the. general level of the guide plate 3&and the switch contacts are actuated by a pushrQd SS that projects through an. opening Basin-plate 33. is-clear fromthe drawing. one end ofd 35 extends beyond the inner face 3312;.0fgplatey33 and is adapted to, be

pushed in by the side wall of can 24 to a position substantially flush with the inner face 33b. The other end of rod 35 is adapted to bear against the contact operating member of the switch. Switch 34 is of the well known push button type, i. e. the switch contacts are self releasing and are closed only when pressure is applied against the switch button by rod 35 as the latter is shifted to the left from the position shown in Fig. 1 When the rod pressure is removed, the switch contacts reopen automatically.

Rod 35 is loaded by spring 36 to the right, i. e. in the direction away from switch 34 and hence the contacts of the switch will be closed only during such time as rod 35 is pressed to the left by the can wall. As will be seen from the schematic circuit diagram in Fig. 7, a circuit between the motor I2 and its source of power is completed via the switch contacts 341) and conventional appliance plug connector 3'! assuming the latter to be plugged into a convenient outlet whenever the switch contacts are closed thus setting the drive shaft 20 into rotation.

Provision is also made for returning the carriage 21 to its starting position and stopping the motor after the top of the can has been completely severed and the can removed. To this end, it will be seen that the carriage is provided with a trip lever 38 pivotally mounted at 380 intermediate its ends, and the position of the lever is determined by the positionof rod 35 through an operating link 39, one end of link 39 being connected to rod 35 and the other end connected to end 3801. of lever 38. The linkage arrangement is such that the other end 38b of the trip lever is moved out of the path of the cam25 as shown in Fig. 5 whenever rod-35 is shifted to the left from the position shown in Fig. 1, i. e. during the period in which a can is being opened, and into the cam path as shown in Fig. 6 whenever rod 35 occupies its other position.

For stopping the motor 12 upon completion of a cutting cycle, a second switch 40 is utilized. This switch which operates on the same principle as switch 34 is mounted upon the support plate Illa in such position that the switch lever 40a is pressed inwardly by an adjustable screw type abutment 4| on carriage 21 to close the switch contacts 40b as the carriage 21 is moved by cam 25 from the position in Fig. 3 to that of Fig. 5. As seen in Fig. 7, the contacts 402)- of switch 40 are connected in parallel with switch contacts 34?) to keep the motor energized after pressure is released from rod 35 and contacts 345 open as shown in Fig. 6.

As explained above, so long as rod 35 is pressed inwardly by the can i.'e. during the time that the can wall is being cut, the end 3% of trip lever 38 is held out of the path of the cam 25 and consequently the latter rotates free of the trip lever for as many revolutions of the feed roller 23 as are required to rotate the can through one revolution. After the can has been cut completely around its periphery, the housewife who in the meantime should preferably support the can bottom loosely in hand while it is slowly revolving is now free to remove the opened can from the machine. This of course releases the pressure upon rod 35 causing switch contacts 34bto open and the end 38bof the trip lever to move into the path of rotation of cam 25 as viewed in Fig. 6. Motor [2, however, continues to run due to the holding circuit established through now closed switch contacts 40b. When cam 25 engages the trip lever end 385, the force exerted thereon by the cam is transmitted through the pivot 380 to the body of carriage 21, causing the latter to return to its starting position as shown in Fig. 3. The severed can top is thereby released from the feed and guide rollers 23, 28 and the contacts 40?) of switch 40 are opened as pressure upon switch lever 40a by abutment 41 is released thus disconnecting motor l2 from the power source. This action completes the operating cycle and the can opener is ready for a repeat operation.

A cover: member 42 is preferably provided to enclose motor and gear mechanism thus exposing only the rollers, cutter and guide plate to view, and may be secured in place on wall bracket I by means of screws 43 at each side thereof.

In conclusion it will be evident that the machine is entirely automatic and need never be touched by hand either to start or stop the same. Also only one hand, namely the one in which the can is held is required for operation of the machine, leaving the otherhand free which is often of utmost convenience to the housewife. Moreover, while the construction illustrated in the drawings illustrates a practical embodiment, it does not by any means exhaust all design possibilities. Hence I wish it to be expressly understood that various structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventive principles involved as expressed by the appended claims.

I claim: 7

1. In a motor driven can opener, the combination comprising a fixed support, a drive shaft rotatably mounted on said support and coupled to said motor, for rotation in one direction only, a cam and feed roller carriedby and rotatable with said shaft, a carriage pivotally mounted upon said support, said carriage including thereon a cutter member, a guide cooperative with said feed roller and a lug engaged by said cam upon initial rotation thereof for effecting a turning movement of said carriage about its pivot mounting in the direction of said feed roller to thereby cause the can bead to be gripped between said guide and feed roller and the can side wall to be punctured by said cutter member, and a trip member mounted upon said carriage and cooperative with said cam for returnin said carriage to its initial position, said trip member being retained in a nonoperative position by the can body while the latter is being cut but movable into, the path of said cam upon removal of the opened can to thereby effect the said carriage return by continued rotation of said cam in the same direction of rotation.

2. In a can opener, the combination comprising a fixed support, a drive shaft rotatably mounted on said'support, a cam and feed roller carried by and rotatable with said shaft in a given direction, a carriage mountedupon said support for movement relative thereto, said carriage including thereon a cutter member, a guide cooperative with said feed roller and 2. lug engaged by said cam upon initial rotation thereof for moving said carriage in the direction of said feed roller to thereby cause the can bead to be gripped between said guide and feed roller and the can side wall to be punctured by said cutter member, and a tripping device effective upon completion of the cutting operation for returning said carriage to its initial position, said tripping device being engageable with and actuatable by said cam upon continued rotation of the latter in said given direction.

' In a can opener, the combination comprising a fixed support, a drive shaftrotatably mounted on said support, a cam and feed roller carried by and rotatable with said shaft, a carriage mounted upon said support for movement relative thereto, said carriage including thereon a cutter member, a guide cooperative with said feed roller and a lug engaged by said cam upon initial rotation thereof for moving said carriage in the direction of said feed roller to thereby cause the can bead to be gripped between said guide and feed rollers and the can side wall to be punctured by said cutter member, and a carriage trip member mounted upon said carriage and cooperative with said cam, said trip member being retained in a non-operative position by the can body while the latter i being cut but movable into the path of said cam upon removal of the opened can for effecting a return of said carriage to its initial position upon continued rotation of said cam in the same direction.

4. In a motor driven can opener, the combination comprising a drive shaft coupled to said motor, a cam and feed roller carried by said shaft,

a carriage supporting thereon a cutter member, a

guide cooperative with said feed roller and a lug engaged'by said cam upon initial rotation thereof for moving said carriage in the direction of said feed roller to thereby cause the can bead to be gripped between said guide and feed roller and the can side wall to be punctured by said cutter member, means adapted to be actuated by the can body when brought into position for engagement by said rollers for starting said motor, and means effective upon subsequent removal of the opened can from the cutting position to return said carriageto its initial position and stop said motor.

5. In a motor driven can opener, the combination comprising a support, a drive shaft on said support, a motor on said support, means coupling the motor shaft to said drive shaft, a feed roller and cam carried by said drive shaft, a carriage mounted on said support for displacement relative to said drive shaft, said carriage having thereon a cutter member, a guide cooperative with said feed roller and a lug engaged by said cam upon initial rotation thereof for displacing said carriage in the direction of said drive shaft to thereby cause the can bead to be gripped between said guide and feed roller and the can side wall to be punctured by said cutter member, a normally open switch for connecting said motor to a'source of power and which is adapted to be closed only upon application of pressure to a switch actuating member from the can when brought into position for engagement by said rollers, a trip member on said carriage controlled by said switch actuating member and movable into the path of said cam upon removal of the opened can to thereby return said carriage to its initial position, and a second switch connected in parallel with the other said switch and which is controlled by said carriage, said second switch being closed when said carriage moves to its displaced position and opened when returned to its initial position. 7 l

6. In a motor driven can opener, the combination comprising a support, an upright drive shaft on said support, a motor on said support, means coupling the motor shaft to said drive shaft, a feed roller and cam carried by said drive shaft, a carriage pivotally mounted on said support for horizontal displacement relative to said drive shaft, said carriage having thereon a cutter memher, a guide cooperative with said feed roller and a lug engaged by said cam upon initial rotation thereof for displacing said carriage in the direction of said drive shaft to thereby cause the top bead of the can to be gripped between said guide and feed roller and the can side Wall to be punctured by said cutter member, a, normally open switch for connecting said motor to a source of power and which is adapted to be closed only upon application of pressure to a switch actuating member from the can when brought into position for engagement by said rollers, a trip member on' said carriage controlled by said switch actuating member and movable into the path of said cam upon removal of the opened can to thereby return said carriage to its initial position, and a second switch connected in parallel with the other said switch and which is controlled by said carriage, said second switch being closed when said carriage moves to its displaced position and opened when returned to its initial position.

OSCAR H. HANBY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,834,563 West Dec. 1, 1931 2,378,090 Landry June 12, 1945 2,438,376 Squires 1 Mar. 23, 1948