US2726439A - Protective can opener - Google Patents

Description

Dec.

B. R. KOCH 2,726,439

PROTECTIVE CAN OPENER Filed Feb. 25. 1954 fi zvaniar ,Ben km/n 1?. )(ac):

United States Patent PROTECTIVE CAN OPENER Benjamin R. Koch, Peoria, ill. Application February 25, 1954, Serial No. 412,438 I 9 Claims. (Cl. 30-6.1)

The present invention relates to a can opener for liquid containers and, more particularly, relates to an improvement in can top piercing tools whereby a plurality of relatively small, closely spaced turned-edge openings are provided.

As those familiar with the can opening art are generally aware, can top piercing tools of the type shown in the patent to DeWitt F. Sampson et al. No. 1,996,550 have been in general use for a number of years. These openers have been conventionally used with beverage cans having flat tops, and are particularly suitable for such canned beverages as beer and the like intended for adult consumption. Until very recently, substantially all of the beverages packed in such fiat topped containers and capable of top piercing by such a tool, have been intended not only for adult consumption but have been of the type in which adults have been those operating the opening tool. However, it is now proposed that soft drinks and similar beverages having their major market appeal with youngsters, be packaged in the so-called fiat topped can having a rolled top edge, constructed generally in accordance with the type of can now in almost universal use in the packaging of beer. In deciding to market such a canned soft drink, however, it became immediately apparent that the top piercing can opener of the type shown in the above mentioned patent to Sampson et al., could not be successfully used in opening such cans for small children.

As is well known, the aperture provided by the conventional can opener'of the top piercing type is of a size sufiicient that even an adult finger may be inserted in the opening. Further, should the beverage be drunk directly from the can, it is possible to insert ones tongue substantially through the aperture. While these failings are, of course, of little significance where adults are concerned it will be immediately recognized that such an opening in a tin can will be very dangerous where children are involved. This is true since in the can piercing operation, the can metal is actually sheared inwardly of the can top and a rather extensive, sharp edge is provided along the periphery of the pierced opening. This sharp edge can easily cause a cut in the relatively tender skin of a small child, especially when it is remembered that small children have a tendency toward extreme curiosity and may demonstrate the trait by attempting to insert their fingers or tongues in such a convenient opening, if provided.

In view of the above, it has been considered an absolute requirement by the beverage industry that a safer opening be provided in the top can surface. The can opener of the present invention satisfactorily solves this problem and has simultaneously provided such a safe opening without the need of expensive and clumsy can piercing tools. While applicant is, of course, aware of tools intended for the production of relatively small pierced apertures, nevertheless the known tools of the prior art completely fail to provide an inexpensive can-piercing tool capable of providing small, closely spaced apertures of a safeconstruction. Thus, no tool is now known that is acceptable to the beverage trade from the point of view of safety of the pierced opening produced and from the point of view of inexpensiveness in the manufacture.

In solving the above problems, applicant has provided hereby a pierce-type can opener of the lever action variety. Three relatively slender, spaced, forwardly and downwardly extending piercing prongs are provided for sequential engagement with the top surface of the can. By providing slender piercing portions and by providing them relatively close together, the present tool pierces the can top in such a manner as to produce downturned pierced flanges sufiiciently close together to prevent the insertion in the opening of any body portions, no matter how small, while at the same time providing a relatively closely knit, compact can opening wherein the beverage issuing forth will converge into a single compact stream.

Further, through the provision of sequentially operating piercing projections or points, the present apparatus permits the selective piercing of a multiple hole group as above described, or alternatively, a single relatively small, air hole which is likewise of a size so small as to completely prevent the possibility of injury to small children.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel can opener for piercing a group of closely spaced small apertures in a tin can top.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a safety can opener for piercing small openings having inwardly deflected sheared edges, spaced so close together as to prevent the insertion therein of any body portions to an extent sufficient to permit contact with the sharp edge of said sheared edges.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel, and extremely simple, can opener capable of selectively and sequentially piercing a flat can top with three elongated yet narrow, openings positioned side by side adjacent one edge of said can top.

A feature of the present invention is the provision of a one-piece stamped lever type can opener capable of producing a plurality of small, side by side, apertures sufficiently large to permit the rapid drainage of a can but not having a suflicient distance between side walls to prevent the insertion within the opening of any body portions.

Still other and further objects and features of the present invention will at once become apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the attached sheet of drawings wherein:

Figure l is a plan view of the can opener constructed according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the can opener constructed according to the principles of the present invention;

Figure 3 is an angularly disposed plan view more fully illustrating the construction of the piercing portion thereof; and taken along line HIIII of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a plan view of a tin can or similar vessel pierced by the tool shown in Figures 1 through 3; and

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV of Figure 4 and more fully illustrating the construction of the pierced openings provided by the can opener of the present invention.

As shown on the drawings:

In the preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings, a fiat strip of sheet steel 'is stamped into the form shown in Figures 1 through 3. There, a handle 10 is pierced to provide a downwardly projecting can top lid engaging lip 11 and a series of three piercing teeth 12 13 and 14. At the opposite end, a conventional bottle opener l5 and a hanger aperture 16 are also 'providediif desired. However, the pierced portions 15 and 16 form no part of the present invention and they may be dispensed with if preferred.

As may be seen from Figure 3, the piercing fingers 12, 13 and 14 preferably are somewhat pyramid in shape.

Thus, the side wall 12a of the prong 12 will, for example, lie along an acute angle A relative to the side a of the handle 10. Similarly, the remaining piercing portions 13 and 14 are also provided with a slight axial taper. This taper is provided for the purpose of providing an aperture having a very slight taper to it. The piercing fingers 12, 13 and 14 may also be provided with relief along the thickness dimension if desired. Both the length and thickness relief or taper aid in preventing deflection of the edges of the pierced aperture upwardly upon removal of the tool from the cam and are preferably used since it is desired that no sharp edges be positioned adjacent the surface of the pierced can top.

As will be seen from the drawings, the piercing fingers 12, 13 and 14 are quite narrow compared to those heretofore known in the prior art. Aside from the fact that such narrow piercing fingers provide smaller apertures, they also tend to form narrow apertures having a more extensive inturned lip area. Thus as may be seen from a consideration of Figure 5, the apertures 20, 21 and 22 are all bounded by sharply downturned, rounded portions a, 21a and 22a. It has been found that the use of relatively narrow piercing fingers has increased the tendency of the sheet metal of the can top to dent or turn in slightly immediately before shearing in the piercing operation and, as a result, the narrow apertures are almost perfectly safe to the touch. This is true since it is practically impossible to insert a body portion into the aperture and extend suflicient to catch the sharp edges 20b, 211;, or 22b of the pierced opening.

It will, of course, be apparent that the apertures 20, 21 and 22 may be of substantially the same length as each other and all of them may, of course, be substantially the same length as that shown for the aperture 20. However, in order to provide progressive application of the piercing work load, it is preferred that the center aperture 20 be somewhat longer and be started ahead of the others. For this reason, the apertures 21 and 22 are shown as shorter, though not to any appreciable extent wider than the aperture 20. The apertures 21 and 22 may, of course, be somewhat longer than shown if desired, while still retaining the progressive action of the piercing tool.

While the angle A shown in the drawings approximates 2, it will be understood that a slightly greater taper may be provided in the piercing fingers if desired. The angle should, however, be kept at a small value in order to provide maximum length of the aperture while permitting free withdrawal of the tool upon completion of the piercing operation. By this providing a long, narrow aperture the accessibility of the sharp edge of the aperture is retained at a minimum due to the nearness of the opposite sides of the aperture to each other and further due to the inwardly deflected nature of the edge of the aperture. As was pointed out above, the use of a narrow piercing finger actually provides a maximum inward deflecting action, thereby further increasing the inaccessibility of the edge of the pierced aperture over the conventional triangular or wide aperture.

It has been found that a pouring aperture of up to approximately inch in width is quite safe but it is to be understood that a Width up to approximately /4 inch is permissible where the material pierced will initially deflect to a substantial extent. It is also preferred that at least ,4 inch be retained between adjacent apertures in order to permit the desired deflection around the edges of the apertures.

As has been discussed above, the present tool will operate to satisfactorily pierce a single relatively small aperture such as that shown at 25 in Figure 4. This aper' ture is utilized as an air vent and is provided by performing only the initial portion of the sequential piercing operation. Thus, only the piercing finger 12 shears the metal during the piercing step required to produce the aperture 25. It will, of course, be apparent that the size of the aperture 25 will be regulated to a certain extent by the relative lengths of the piercing fingers 12, 13 and 14, with the length of aperture becoming smaller as the fingers 13 and 14 approach the length of finger 12.

From the above description, it will be apparent that I have provided a novel and highly effective can top piercing tool capable of providing a series of narrow, extremely safe apertures adjacent the rim of a can whereby the chances of injury by the user are substantially eliminated. It will, of course, be understood that variations and modifications may be made in the preferred embodiment of the invention, set forth above, and it is therefore my intention to be limited only as required by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A protective piercing tool for cutting a plurality of narrow side-by-side openings adjacent the peripheral edge of the top of a can having a laterally projecting upper lip, comprising means for securing said tool to said lip for pivotal motion thereabout, a handle portion for actuating said tool, and a plurality of slender projecting piercing fingers adjacent said means for sequential engagement with the surface of said can top upon pivotal motion of said tool about said lip.

2. A protective piercing tool for cutting a plurality of narrow openings in the top of a can having a laterally projecting upper lip, comprising means for securing said tool to said lip for pivotal motion thereabout, a handle portion for actuating said tool, and a plurality of slender projecting piercing fingers for sequential engagement with the surface of said can top upon pivotal motion of said tool about said lip, said slender piercing fingers being positioned immediately adjacent each other and spaced apart a distance approximately the same as their width.

3. A protective piercing tool for cutting a plurality of narrow side-by-side openings in the top of a can adjacent the laterally projecting peripheral lip thereof, comprising means for securing said tool to said lip for pivotal motion thereabout, a handle portion for actuating said tool, and a plurality of slender projecting piercing fingers adjacent said means for sequential engagement with the surface of said can top upon pivotal motion of said tool about said lip, said slender fingers having a very slight taper along their lengths whereby the maximum downturning of the edges of the pierced opening is provided without at the same time permitting upward deflection of the peripheral opening edges upon removal of the tool from the pierced aperture cut thereby.

4. A lever type can opener for piercing a plurality of safety openings in the top of a can having a laterally extending top lid, comprising, a hande portion, a fulcrum portion secured to said handle portion for controlling movement of said tool about said lip, a plurality of slender piercing fingers secured to said handle on the opposite side of said fulcrum from said handle portion having a width substantially less than one-quarter inch and being spaced from the adjacent fingers by a distance of at least one-sixteenth inch.

5. A lever type can opener for piercing a plurality of safety openings in the top of a can having a laterally extending top lid, comprising, a handle portion, a fulcrum portion secured to said handle portion for controlling movement of said opener about said lip, a plurality of slender piercing fingers secured to said handle adjacent said fulcrum and having a width substantially less than one-quarter inch and being spaced from the adjacent fingers by a distance of at least one-sixteenth inch.

6. A lever type can opener for piercing a plurality of safety openings in the top of a can having a laterally extending top lid, comprising, a handle portion, a fulcrum portion secured to said handle portion for controlling the movement of said opener about said lip, a plurality of slender piercing fingers secured to said handle adjacent said fulcrum, each of said fingers having substantially greater length than Width and having a maximum width measured along a line drawn perpendicular to the longer of the side edges of said finger of approximately onequarter inch or less.

7. A protective piercing tool for cutting a plurality of narrow openings in the top of a can, each of which is of a dimension smaller than the tip of a child's finger, comprising means to engage an edge of the can top for pivotal movement thereabout, a handle portion for actuating said tool and at least threerelatively slender spaced fork-like pointed piercing prongs projecting generally parallel from said handle portion beyond said means and with an intermediate prong of greater length than others on opposite sides thereof for piercing the can top prior to the piercing engagement of the top by said other prongs and whereby said intermediate prong is effective to punch a larger opening in the can top than that made by other side prongs.

8. The tool of claim 7 further characterized by the 6 side edges of said intermediate prong being slightly tapere lengthwise of the prong so that said edges diverge toward said handle portion.

9. The tool of claim 7 further characterized by each of said prongs being shaped to form generally wedgeshaped-like openings in the can top with the side openings converging toward the intermediate opening punched by the intermediate prong.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,338,300 Hawkins Apr. 27, 1920 2,090,085 Wegner Aug. 17, 1937 2,135,116 Shaffer Nov. 1, 1938 2,195,253 Meier Mar. 26, 1940 2,251,200 Pohle July 29, 1941 2,578,462 Codiga Dec. 11, 1951

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