US2852156A

US2852156A - Apparatus for removing circumferential sealing bands from cans

Info

Publication number: US2852156A
Application number: US610592A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ernest J Brasseur
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1956-09-18
Filing date: 1956-09-18
Publication date: 1958-09-16
Anticipated expiration: 1975-09-16

Description

Sept. 16, 1958 E. J. \BRASSEUR 2,852,156 APPARATUS FOR REMOVING CIRCUMFERENTIAL SEALING BANDS FROM CANS Filed Sept. 18, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l a 85 C 5-6.1. 6 7 5a 12 so 96 64 i 3 60 2 98 aa I INVENTOR. [em/557$ 58455508 YWW E. J. BRAssEuR 2,852 APPARATUS FOR REMOVING CIRCUMFERENTIAL SEALING BANDS FROM CANS 2 Sheets-Shes INVENTOR. e/vsr../. eeysssz/e w w 6 I. 4 w

' Sept. 16, 1958 Filed Sept. 18, 1956 United States Patent 0.

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING CIRCUMFEREN- TIAL SEALING BANDS FROM CANS Ernest J. Brasseur, Los Angeles, Calif. Application September 18, 1956, Serial No. 610,592

8 Claims. ((31. 220-52) This invention relates to devices for freeing a lid from V a can having the lid fixed to it by a circumferential sealing band, and more particularly to means operable to remove a sealing band ofany width from a can without the necessity of using a separate key normally distributed with such cans for that purpose.

The use of separate keys to remove circumferential sealing bands from cans is accompanied by several disadvantages. In the first place, using a separate key can be rather hazardous. In fact, it is not uncommon for a person using a key to cut himself very badly with a ribbon if it becomes accidentally unwound from the key either during the time the band is being removed or after the band has been removed from the can. Moreover, a seal-- ing band or ribbon often breaks before it is completely removed. In this case, the remaining portion of the ribbon on the can may generally be removed from it, if at all, only at the expense of great deal of time and eifort under hazardous conditions.

It is also a current practice to distribute keys separately from the can with which they are to be employed. This means that the keys can easily become lost, and opening the cans may again be an extremely troublesome task. Furthermore, even when keys are available, they are difficult to manage and time consuming to use. Thus, the use of separate keys to remove sealing bands presents several pressing problems.

Some attempts have been made in the past to overcome some of these problems. For example, one device disclosed in the prior art for removing such bands without a separate key includes the use of a forked shaft having a slot to receive a free end of a sealing band. The free end of the band is thus positioned in the slot and the band wound around the shaft off of the can. The free end is threaded through the slot and secured to the shaft by the same type of lapping arrangement which is produced by the use of a separate key having a slotted shank portion fixed to a handle portion.

The use of the forked configuration employed to bind the free end of the sealing band to the shaft makes it imperative that the shaft be relatively small in diameter. This, for the reason that all cans are made with sealing bands having free ends of a size to be used with separate keys having shank portions of relatively small diameters. It is undesirable, and even unnecessary, from the manufacturers viewpoint to make the free ends unduly long, since it is not only a waste of material, but it can also make the removal of a sealing band difiicult by unreasonably decreasing the mechanical advantage obtainable with a key of a given transverse handle length. Furthermore, unusually long key handles are no more easily manipulated than unusually short ones.

Thus, as a practical matter, the free ends of sealing bands are usually rather short, and the forked shaft used in the above-described prior art device must, of necessity, be rather small in diameter. As a result, the prior art device has not achieved any substantial measure of success for two reasons. In the first place, if the forked 2,852,156 Patented Sept. 16, 1958 shaft is made small enough to accommodate the shortest free end of a sealing band of a minimum width, and the sealing band is positioned on the side of the can only a minimum distance from a lid to be freed, the shaft will ordinarly be much too weak to wind a band having a rather long free end of a minimum width, and being positioned on the side of a can a maximum distance from a lid to be freed.

Secondly, but probably the most important disadvantage of the use'of a forked shaft having a relatively small diameter, is the fact that when the shaft does have such a small diameter, after a sealing band has been wound around the shaft, it will freeze to the shaft, i. e., it will not uncoil or spring loose. Hence, considerable difiiculty is encountered in removing the band from the shaft. In addition, this task is also hazardous. It is of course necessary to remove the band from the shaft in order that the apparatus may be used over and over again. However, by virtue of the fact that the band is diflicult and hazardous to remove from the shaft, the prior art device actually does not solve several of the problems related to the simple manipulation of the single and separate key; namely, it is not safe; it is often difiicult to manage; and it may require a considerable amount of time to operate.

Moreover, a sealing band may break and leave a ragged edge so short that it cannot be secured to the forked shaft.

The present invention overcomes these-and other disadvantages of the prior art by providing in apparatus for cooperation with the free end of a circumferential sealing band on a can for removing the band to free a lid from one end of the can, the arrangement including means in a first plane to seat against the lid of the can; an elongated body having a longitudinal axis extending substantially perpendicularly to said plane, the body including two jaws at least on the side of the seat means adjacent the can to grip the free end of the band in a second plane perpendicular to the first plane, at least one of the jaws being movable toward and away from the other; retention means for maintaining the body in a substantially fixed axial, but rotatable angular position with respect to the seat means along the side of the can; lock means operable to maintain the jaws in fixed positions relative to each other when they are moved into clamping engagement with the free end of the band; rotary means for turning the body to peel the band off of the can; and stop means fixed to the seat means for abutment against the periphery of the can to oppose the tendency of the can to rotate about the body and thereby to slide off of the seat in response to the rotation of the body.

According to a preferred arrangement, the seat means includes simply a base member or fiat horizontal plate to support the can upside down on its lid. The base member may be fixed to a wall or secured by appropriate bracket means to a wall, as is the common practice for such devices. The winding or rotary means may also include a winding arm fixed to the elongated or winding body to obtain considerable mechanical advantage. Hence, the device in the invention is safe because it is unnecessary for the operator to have his hands near the band or ribbon as it is being wound ofi of the can.

According to a feature of the invention, the elongated winding body is made sufliciently large in diameter to cause the sealing band to spring outwardly of it when the gripping jaws are moved to release the free end of the band, whereby the band may be easily removed from the winding body after it has been wound off of the can. Thus, the invention is much safer to operate than the above-described prior ,art device.

According to another feature of the invention, the Winding body is provided with a longitudinal slot adjacent the outer edges of the jaws, the slot and the jaws both having length sufiiciently large to receive free ends of the sealing bands having widely difierent widths. Hence, the device of the invention may be employed to remove sealing bands from cans having sealing band dimensions and positions falling within substantially any finite range, this for the reason that separate means, viz. jaws, are provided to secure the free end of the ribbon to the elongated winding body and that the winding body may therefore be made as large as necessary without regard to the length of the free end of the ribbon, whereas this is impossible in the prior art device, as explained above. Hence, the use of the jaws has two advantages. It permits the use of an elongated winding body having a diameter as large as necessary both to cause a ribbon wound thereon to spring outwardly of it after it is wound oif of a can, and to permit winding both small and large ribbons, strength being the requirement in the second case where the bending movement may be large.

It can also be seen that, by using the above mentioned jaws, the free end of a broken ribbon may still be easily tightly secured to the winding body, even though very little of a ragged end of a ribbon may remain, whereas this would be impossible with the use of the prior art device.

Furthermore the invention overcomes the abovedescribed and many other problems associated with the use of a single and separate key, viz. it can be easily and quickly operated without the use of a key. Thus, the loss of a key presents no special problem. In addition, the device of the invention may be made with a minimum numberof component parts, all of which may be easily and economically fabricated and only one of which is preferably die cast.

According to a specific feature of the invention, the retention, lock, and rotary means mentioned above are preferably disposed on the side of the seat means opposite that on which the can is positioned, and the jaws preferably extend the complete portion of the length of the winding body from the seat means along the side of the can to the end of the winding body, the space between the jaws at their mutually adjacent ends spaced from the seat means being opened, whereby the sealing band may be lifted axially off of the winding body after the band has been wound on to it off of the can.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, the winding body is preferably made cylindrical in shape and has a diameter equal to onehalf inch, whereby the winding body may be easily operated, has sufficient strength, and will be sufficiently large in diameter to efiiciently wind sealing bands off of all cans that are currently commercially made.

The invention also contemplates the use of a specific arrangement to make manual operation of the ribbon gripping jaws easy and convenient. This arrangement ineludes rotary means comprising a first arm fixed to one of the jaws in a position to rotate in a third plane spaced from, but parallel to, the above-mentioned first plane, and a handle having an axis perpendicular to the first plane but spaced a distance from the axis of the winding body several times the diameter of the winding body, whereby considerable leverage may be obtained to rotate the winding body to peel the sealing band from the can, and lock means including a second arm fixed to the other of said jaws in a position to rotate in a fourth plane adjacent the first arm, the fourth plane also being parallel to the first and second planes, and means operable to fix the first and second arms together, the jaws being in their operative clamping positions in engagement with the free end of the sealing band when the first and second arms are clamped together, the second arm extending radially from the axis of the winding body a distance several times the diameter of the winding body, whereby considerableleverage may-be obtained'to move said. one.

4 jaw with respect to the other to clamp the free end of the sealing band between them.

According to a specific aspect of the invention the means to fix the first or second arms together may include a plate, or threaded stud fixed perpendicular to the plate and extending through one of the arms, a wing nut on the other end of the stud, the other of said arms being fixed to a corresponding jaw in a position to travel in between said one of said arms and said plate.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the handle may have a uniform cross-section, the plate may be cut away to conform to the shape of a handle and may be positioned adjacent the handle, the handle thereby keeping the plate and the stud from rotating with respect to said one arm, whereby the wing nut may be operated to clamp said other arm between said one arm and said plate.

The use of special jaw means is also contemplated in accordance with the invention to grip the free end of a sealing band securely, This arrangement may include a winding body comprising a hollow cylinder having a slot through it extending fro-m the seat means to its end adjacent the can, each jaw, both of which may be included in the winding body, being an elongated member having a circular sector cross-section, each of the jaws being positioned within the hollow cylinder with the apex of each substantially in line with the axis of the lining body, one of the jaws being fixed to the cylinder in a position circumferentially spaced from the slot, the other of the jaws being movable with respect to the cylinder, the jaws having cross-sections of a size to permit said one jaw to be rotated to a position to permit the free end of a sealing band to be inserted through the slot into the interior of the cylinder between the jaws.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide apparatus for removing the sealing band from a can, which apparatus may be operated safely, easily and quickly.

It is another object of the invention to provide apparams for removing the sealing band from a can, which apparatus may be made of a small number of inexpensive parts.

It is still another object of the invention to provide apparatus which may be employed to remove broken sealing bands from cans in spite of the fact that the bands may have only relatively short free ends.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus for removing the sealing band from a can Without a separate key.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means in apparatus for removing sealing bands from cans for fixing the free end of a sealing band securely to a winding body.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for removing sealing bands of all sizes from cans so equipped.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a special winding body in apparatus employed to remove sealing bands from cans, the winding body being constructed in a manner to permit rapid and easy removal of a sealing band wound on it.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be better understood when considered with the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings made a part of this specification, wherein an embodiment is illustrated by way of example. The device of the present invention is by no means limited 'to the specific embodiment illustrated in the draw ings since it is shown merely for purposes of description.

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of one embodiment of the device of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the device;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the device;

Fig. 4 is a broken away sectional view of the working mechanism of the device shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3;

Fig. 5 is a partialsectional view of the deviceillnstratr 1 ingthe operation of a pair of arms employed toset the jaws in a winding body shown in Figs. 1 through 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the winding body taken on line 66 shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a different portion of the winding body taken on line 77 shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view of the winding body taken on a line 88 shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of a transverse section of the winding body showing the jaws'therein in their operative clamping positions on the free end of a circumferential sealing band of a can;

Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional view of axial retaining means for a cylinder mounted internally of the winding body to which a movable jaw is fixed;

Fig. 11 is a sectional view of a forked shaft employed in the prior art showing how a sealing band will freeze to it; and

Fig. 12 is a sectional view of a winding shaft constructed in accordance with the invention showing how a sealing band will not freeze to it.

In the drawings in Fig. l, a can 10 having a sealing band 12 to free a lid 14 is shown, the sealing band 12 having a free end 16 as better shown in Figs. 3, 4, 6, 8, and 9. The can 10 is mounted upside down on a base member 18 which may be a substantially flat plate having a supporting web 20 fixed to a mounting plate 22 and a bracket 24. The mounting plate 22 may be fixed to a wall indicated at 26 by screws or other convenient means, or may be mounted in wedge-shaped brackets which are commonly used for that purpose, but which are not shown.

Bracket 24 is provided with a U-shaped configuration to axially align a winding body 28 through apertures 30 and 32 extending through parallel leg portions thereof. Base member 18 is also provided with an aperture 34 in register with apertures 30 to permit the passage of a winding body 28 upwardly therethrough extending along the side of can 10.

Winding body 28 comprises an external member 36 and internal member 38. Both

members

36 and 38 are substantially cylindrical in shape but vary in cross-section at different positions along their lengths. Member 36 is substantially cylindrical in shape and includes what may be considered a perfect cylinder 40 throughout its length except for .a lower end portion 42 which only extends 180 about the lower portion of the member 38. The member 42 can be seen only in Figs. 4 and 10. Cylinder 40 is substantially perfect except for the semicircular portion 42 below base member 18. Above base member 18, cylinder 40 is provided with a longitudinal slot 44 which can be seen only in Figs. 3, 4, 8 and 9.

A jaw 46 is mounted within cylinder 40 and is preferably made an integral part of it, jaw 46 having a circular sector shaped cross-section. The apex of the wedge shape of jaw 46 is then aligned substantially with the axis of winding body 28.

Member 38 comprises substantially a solid cylinder 48 having a jaw 50 connected to its upper end or, as shown, preferably fabricated integrally with it. The jaw 50 extends substantially the same distance upwardly of the member 38 as jaw 46 is fabricated integrally with cylinder 40. That is, jaw 50 extends substantially from base member 18 upwardly to the upward end of body 28. Jaw 50 is also wedge shaped although one of

jaws

46 or 50 may have a circular sector shaped cross-section of an angular spread greater than 180 degrees. Cylinder 48 extends downwardly from base member 18 and is rotatable within cylinder 40 to substantially the lower end of body 28. Cylinder 48 is provided with a circumferential groove 52 to receive a semicircular washer 54 against which a lower end portion 56 of cylinder 40 bears and which a projection 58 on a winding arm 60 engages. Cylinder 48 is cut away at its lower end at 62 to project through a somewhat rectangularly shaped aperture 64 of ,6 I a jaw operating arm 66. The lower end of cylinder 48 is reduced in diameter and provided with a threaded pro jection 68 onto which a nut 70 is threaded to maintain jaw operation arm 66 in position, a washer 72 being inserted between nut 70 and arm 66. Preferably a sur face 74 against which arm 66 rests near the lower end of cylinder 44 is preferably but not necessarily closer to a surface 76 at the lower end of cylinder 48 than the thickness of jaw operating arm 66, whereby arm 66 may be fixed securely to the lower end of cylinder 48.

Body 28 is prevented from slipping through aperture 34 in base member 18, and apertures 30 and 32 in bracket 24, by means of a cylindrical stop 78 through which a set screw 80 is threaded to engage cylinder 40 of member 36. This can best be seen in Fig. 1. Bracket 24 is there shown provided with

arms

82 and 84, stop 78 engaging arm 84. An upper surface 86 of winding arm 60 also bears against bracket arm 84 to preventv member 36 from sliding upwardly out of

apertures

30, 32 and 34. Winding arm 60 is then fixed to the other cylinder 40 of member 36 by means of a set screw 88.

It is to be noted that member 36 is rotatably mounted through base member 18 and can be rotated with respect thereto simply by rotation of winding arm 60.

Member 38 is also rotatably mounted with respect to both base member 18 and member 36. The only stop which limits rotation of member 38 with respect to member 36 are the cooperation of the faces of

jaws

46 and 50 as indicated in Figs. 3, 8 and 9.

Member 38 is maintained in a fixed axial position by means of split washer or ring 54. Ring 54 cannot move either upwardly or downwardly because cylinder 40 is maintained in a fixed axial position and winding arm 46 is maintained in a fixed axial position by cylinder 40 by means of set screw 88. Axial movement of ring 54 is prevented by its position between the end 56 of cylinder 40 and the projection 58 on winding arm 60. Ring 54 has a width sufiiciently large also to extend into the groove 52 of cylinder 48 at least a distance around it somewhat less than 180 degrees. Thus, cylinder 48 cannot move axially within cylinder 40, and mem-.

ber 38 is maintained in a fixed axial but rotatable angular position.

As shown in Figs. 8 and 9, it is to be noted that jaw 46 is made integrally with cylinder 40 but spaced from slot 44 so that particular crimping means may be provided for the free end 16 of sealing band or ribbon 12. In all the figures except Fig. 9 the

jaws

46 and 50 are shown in their respective operative clamping or gripping positions against free end 16. In Fig. 9 the position of jaw 50 is shown with jaw operating arm 66 in the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 5. Jaw operating arm' 66 is then rotated to a position shown in dotted lines and indicated at 90 in Fig. 5 and shown in the same position in all the other figures. In this position, jaw 50 is in the position shown in Fig. 8. Thus, by inserting free end 16 in the position shown in Fig. 9 and moving arm 66 toward arm 60 to the position 90, free end 16 may be crimped in the manner shown in Fig. 8. This means that the apparatus is set to wind ribbon 12 off of can 10. However, it is necessary to fix' the position of arm 66 with respect to arm 60 in order that jaw 50 will not rotate back to the position shown in Fig. 9 and free the free end 16 of ribbon 12.

Arm 66 is in fact clamped to arm 60 by means of an arrangement including a threaded stud 92 fixed to a plate 94 to clamp arm 66 to the underside of arm 66. The

upper end of stud 92 is provided with a wing nut 96,.

which may be manually operated to clamp arm 66 to arm 60. The washer 98 is then disposed between the upper surface of arm 60 and wing nut 96.

Preferably stop means indicated at 99 are provided on arm 66 to engage stud 92 so that free end 16 will not be mashed too tightly to weaken it when it is in the position shown in Fig. 8.

An upwardly extendingprojection 97 is. also preferably provided on jaw operating arm 66 so that it maybe more easily operated.

A handle 95 is then fixed downwardly from winding arm 60 so that it may be more easily rotated. It is to be noted that plate 94 is cut away at 93 to conform to the cylindrical configuration of handle 95 so that it will not rotate with wing nut 96 when jaw operating arm 66 is being clamped to winding arm 60.

Stop means 91 is also fixed to base member 18 to cause the can to rotate about its symmetrical axis and to prevent it from sliding off base member 18 as ribbon 12 is removed from can 10.

In the operation of the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, wing nut 96 is first unscrewed to free jaw operating arm 66 from winding arm 60. Arm 66 is then rotated to the position shown in Fig. to rotate jaw 50 to the position shown in Fig. 9. Winding arm 60 is then rotated to present slot 44 to the free end 16 of ribbon 12. Free end 16 is then inserted into the slot in between the

jaws

50 and 46 and jaw operating arm 66 is rotated to rotate jaw 50 to the position shown in Fig. 8 to crimp the free end 16 of ribbon 12 in the manner there shown. By rotating arm 66 to this position, stop 99 will then engage stud 92 and wing nut 96 may be screwed on to stud 92 to cause plate 94 to clamp arm 66 to arm 60, plate 94 conforming to the configuration of handle 95 to prevent both it and stud 92 from rotating. After arm 66 has been clamped to arm 60, handle 95 may be grasped and arm 60 may be turned in a counter-clockwise direction as indicated at arrow 89 in Fig. 3. Ribbon 12 will then be wound on to body 28.

After the band has been wound on winding body 28, wing nut 96 is loosened and jaw operating arm 66 freed from winding arm 60. Arm 66 is then rotated to place jaw 50 again in the position shown in Fig. 9. In this case, the band 12 will spiral loose from the winding body 28 because it may be made suificiently large to cause it to spiral loose. It has been found in the construction of the invention that the smaller the width of ribbon 12-, the greater tendency it has to freeze tightly around body 28. However, by using body-28 with a diameter of about one-half inch, it is generally possible to unwind ribbons of widths used on substantially any can sold commercially. The ribbon is simply slipped upwardly over the upper end of Winding body 28 and disposed of. The apparatus is then ready to be operated to remove another ribbon from another can.

It can be seen that both the operation of the apparatus and in the removal of the sealing hand, no substantial hazard is involved. The use of

jaws

46 and 50 then permits winding body 28 to be sufficiently large in diameter both for the purposes of strength and to cause the ribbon 12 to spring outwardly of it when the ribbon has been completely removed from the can 10. By using the special configuration of the

jaws

46 and 50 in relation to the cylinder 40 having the slot 44, it can also be seen from Fig. 8 that the free end 16 of ribbon 12 may be crimped and gripped securely within winding body 28. It is also to be noted that if ribbon 12 should tear during the operation of removing it from the can, a small, ragged free end of the ribbon may easily be threaded through slot 44 between

jaws

46 and 50 and be gripped therebetween by movement of arm 66 toward arm in the position shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. It is to be noted that preferably slot 44 extends substantially all the way from base member 18, as shown in Fig. 4, to the top of cylinder 40. This is preferable for two reasons. In the first place, this means that regardless of the position of ribbon 12 on can 10 near lid 14,

jaws

46 and 50 may be operated to fix the free end 16 of ribbon 12 securely to winding member 28. The extended length of winding member 28 above base member 18 also permits securing free ends of ribbons of substantially. any size. Still fur- 8 ther,.the fact that slot 44 is open at the upp r. end of winding body 28 makes it a simple matter to remove ribbon 12 after it has been wound on winding body 28.

In Fig. 11, a forked shaft 87 employed in the prior art is shown having a ribbon wound about it. It is to be noted that the ribbon is substantially frozen to the shaft 87. In Fig. 12, winding body 28 is shown with ribbon 12 around it in a substantially loose position afterjaw St has been moved to the same position as indicated in Fig. 9. In this position, ribbon 12 may easily be lifted off the upper end of winding body 28.

It is further seen that the device of the invention is easily and quickly operated. In addition, it may be made with a minimum number of component parts, all of which may be easily and economically fabricated. Preferably, only winding arm 60 is die cast.

It is to be noted that considerable mechanical advantage is provided by winding arm 60 since it extends preferably several times the radius or diameter from the symmetrical axis of winding body 28. In addition, considerable mechanical advantage is also obtained to move jaw 50 in clamping engagement with jaw 46 to retain the free end 16 of ribbon 12 between them internally of winding body 28. This is obtained by also making jaw operating arm 66 of a length several times the radius or diameter of winding body 28. Arm 66 may be easily operated simply by grasping arm 60 with one hand and grasping arm 66 with the other, and twisting them together with a very small force. Such a mechanical advantage is, in fact, created that the

arms

60 and 66 may be pushed together with the free end 16 inserted between

jaws

46 and 50 without any substantial effort.

It is to be further noted that means to clamp arm 66 to arm 60 is conveniently operable. It is to be noted that arm 66 may be located over the top of arm 60 if. that is desirable. However, it is to be noted that the weight of plate 94 tends to keep it at its lower extreme position dependable on the position of screw 96 relative to stud 92. This means that arm 66 may easily be moved into the space between arm 60 and plate 94' while it is turned off of stud 92 a substantial distance. It is also to be noted that by virtue of the fact that plate 94 conforms to the shape of handle 95, no slippage can result between stud 92, plate 94, or arm 60. This means that when wing nut 96 is screwed down on to stud 92, there must be positive movement of plate 94 toward arm 60 to clamp arm 66 between plate 94 and arm 60.

Although only one specific embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be noted that many changes and modifications thereof will be obvious to and may be made by those skilled in the art, since the true scope of the invention is defined only in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In apparatus for cooperation with a free end of a sealing band on a can for removing the band to free a lid from one end of the can, the combination comprising: a base member to support the can upside down on its lid in a first horizontal plane; cylindrical jaw means rotatably mounted through said base member, said jaw means having upper and lower ends, and having an axis extending substantially perpendicularly to said plane; said jaw means including a hollow cylinder having one jaw fixed internally of it and extending at least from said base member to the upper end of said jaw means, and another jaw rotatably mounted internally of said hollow cylin der and extending at least from said base member to the upper end of said jaw means; said jaws being positioned to grip the free end of said band in a vertical plane; means for maintaining said cylinder in a substantially fixed axial, but rotatable angular position with respect to said base member; a solid cylinder having upper and lower ends; said other jaw being mounted on the upper end of said solid cylinder; means for mounting said solid cylinder within said hollow cylinder in a fixed axial, but

rotatable angular position with respect to said hollow cylinder; a first arm fixed to one of said cylinders in a position to rotate in a second horizontal plane spaced from said first horizontal plane; a handle fixed to said first arm with its axis perpendicular to said first plane, but a spaced distance from the axis of said cylinder several times the radius of said solid cylinder; a second arm fixed to the other of said cylinders in a position to rotate in a third horizontal plane adjacent said first arm; and means operable to fix said arms together, said jaws being in their operative clamping positions in engagement with the free end of said band when said first and second arms are clamped together, said second arm extending radially from the axis of said cylinders a distance several times the radius of said solid cylinder.

2. In apparatus for cooperation with a free end of a sealing band on a can for removing the band to free a lid from one end of the can, the combination comprising: means in a first plane to seat against the lid of the can; an elongated body having a longitudinal axis extending substantially perpendicularly to said plane, said body including two jaws at least on the side of said seat means adjacent the can to grip the free end of said band in a second plane perpendicular to said first plane, at least one of said jaws being movable toward and away from the other; retention means for maintaining said body in a substantially fixed axial, but rotatable angular position with respect to said seat means along the side of the can; lock means operable to maintain said jaws in fixed positions relative to each other when they are moved into clamping engagement with the free end of the band; rotary means for turning said body to peel the band off of the can; and stop means fixed to said seat means for abutment against the periphery of the can to oppose the tendency of the can to rotate about said body and thereby to slide oif of said seat means in response to the rotation of said body; said rotary means including a first arm fixed to one of said jaws in a position to rotate in a third plane spaced from but parallel to said first plane, and a handle having an axis perpendicular to said first plane but spaced a distance from the axis of said body several times the diameter of said body, whereby considerable leverage may be obtained to rotate said body to peel said band ofi of said can; said lock means including a second arm fixed to the other of said jaws in a position to rotate in a fourth plane adjacent said first aim parallel to said first and third planes, and means operable to fix said first and second arms together, said jaws being in their operative clamping positions in engagement with the free end of said band when said arms are clamped together, said second arm extending radially from the axis of said body a distance several times the diameter of said body, whereby considerable leverage may be obtained to rotate said one jaw with respect to said other jaw to clamp the free end of said band therebetween.

3. The invention as defined in claim 2, wherein said means to fix said first and second arms together includes a plate, a threaded stud fixed perpendicularly at one end to said plate and extending through oneof said arms, a threaded wing nut on the other end of said stud, the other of said arms being fixed to a corresponding jaw in a position to travel in between said one of said arms and said plate.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3, wherein said handle has a uniform cross-section, and wherein said plate is cut away to conform to the shape of said handle, and is positioned adjacent said handle, said handle thereby keeping said plate and said stud from rotating when said threaded wing nut is rotated to clamp said other of said arms between said plate and said one of said arms.

5. In apparatus for cooperation with a free end of a sealing band on a can for removing the band to free a lid from one end of the can, the combination comprising: an elongated body having a longitudinal axis to ex tend along the side of the can; said body including two jaws to extend adjacentthe side of the can to grip the free end of said band, at least one of said jaws being movable toward and away from the other; retention means for maintaining said jaws in a substantially fixed axial, but rotatable angular position with respect to each other; a first arm fixed to said one of said jaws to rotate in a first plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of said body; a second arm fixed to the other of said jaws in a position to rotate adjacent said first arm in a plane substantially parallel to said first plane; and releasable means to lock both of said arms in fixed relative positions with said jaws in their respective operative positions seizing upon the free end of said band, whereby said band may be peeled off of the can by rotation of said arms while in their respective locked positions.

6. The invention as defined in claim 5, wherein said body is cylindrical in shape and has a diameter at least as large as one-half inch.

7. The invention as defined in claim 5, wherein said one jaw is a cylinder having a longitudinal internal sectoral portion cut away at one end, said one jaw being provided with a longitudinal slot at said one end to permit insertion of the free end of said band into said sectoral cut-away portion, said other jaw being a longitudinal member of a sectoral cross section smaller in its angular dimension than that of said cut-away portion of said one jaw telescoped in said cylinder to rotate in said cut-away portion for gripping action on the free end of said band.

8. The invention as defined in claim 7, wherein said one jaw is provided with an internal cylindrical wall surface and a band engaging surface to seize on the free end of said band, said longitudinal slot in said one jaw being spaced from said internal surface thereof to permit a crimping action on said free end at an edge of said slot; said other jaw having a cylindrical wall surface spaced from that of said one jaw to permit extension of the free end and of said band therebetween; said other jaw also having a band engaging surface and a longitudinal edge defined by the intersection of its band engaging and cylindrical wall surfaces; the free end of said band thus being positively retained by extending through said slot; around said slot edge; between said cylindrical walls, around the longitudinal edge of said other jaw, and into said space between the band engaging surfaces of said jaws.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS