US2873885A

US2873885A - Can piercing and delivery device

Info

Publication number: US2873885A
Application number: US688809A
Authority: US
Inventors: Heller Karl
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1957-10-03
Filing date: 1957-10-03
Publication date: 1959-02-17
Anticipated expiration: 1976-02-17

Description

K. HELLER cm PIERCING AND DELIVERY DEVICE Feb.'17, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct 3, 1957 47 Z 4422 Z529 i Feb. 17, 1959 K. HELLER 2,

CAN PIERCING AND DELIVERY DEVICE Filed Oct. 3, 1957' 4 Sheets-Shet 2' Feb. 17, 1959 K. HELLER 5 3 CAN PIERCING AND DELIVERY DEVICE Filed 00+... 5, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Feb. 17, 1959 K. HELLER CAN PIERCING AND DELIVERY DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed 001:. 3, 1957 United St t s Paten Off ce CAN PIERCING AND DELIVERY DEVICE Karl Heller, Jersey City, N. J.

Application October 3, 1957, Serial No. 688,809

7 Claims. (Cl. 222-81) The present invention relates to can piercing devices which after formation of a hole in a can top thereby may be used as a delivery or pouring means or spout for the can contents.

.A general object of the present invention is to provide such a can piercing and delivery device of simple construction which may be easily employed to cut an opening in a can top by seating or resting it on the latter and depressing it, the device thereafter remaining securely on the top and forming an effectively tight closure of the cut hole for protection of the can contents, the closure being readily manipulatable without removal to permit successive pouring of portions of the can contents through the device, such device being forcibly removable in a ready manner from the can for use with another can after the contents of the first has been dispensed therethrough.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide the device in the form of a hollow blade mounted upon a lever arm seatable loosely on a can top so that a blow thereon by the heel of the hand will cause the blade.

by downward swing to cut in the can top a hole in which the blade may remain snugly engaging the edges of the hole at all points effectively to prevent or minimize contents and gas or air leakage therebetween, the passage through the hollow blade being used as a delivery passage closable atwill by closure means thereof for effective closure of the passage in a substantially air-tight manner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a reusable embodiment of this piercing and delivery device which is particularly suited to use with one pound, rolled top coffee cans which after being applied to the coffee can top in the indicated simple manner may remain thereon as an effective closure guarding against staling of the ground coffee contents until all of it has been de-' livered therethrough, small portion by small portion, the device having a readily manipulatable passage closure to permit such portion-by-portion delivery while allowing contents-protecting closure of the can between the delivery uses of the device; the device also permitting use thereof in a manner which measures to an acceptable degree of accuracy the quantity of each delivered portion. A further object of the invention is to provide structural embodiments of the device which are readily and economically constructed in a simple manner permitting rapid mass production thereof at reasonable cost, and which allow eflicient use and operation thereof.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

..Fig. l is a perspective view, to reduced scale, of a 4, 2,873,885 Patented Feb. 17,1959

one pound can or tin of ground coffee showing an embodiment of the. can piercing and delivery device of the present invention superposed or seated on the top thereof.

in position for and prior to the piercing of the latter;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view, with parts broken.

structure, with parts of the can broken away and in section, and with the piercing and delivery device shown in longitudinal section in its position on the can top after the latter has been pierced thereby;

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail, with parts broken away,

taken substantially on line 4-4 of Fig. 3, but to full scale;

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail, with parts broken away, taken substantially on line 55 of Fig. 3, also to full scale; v

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail, with parts broken away, taken substantiallyon line 6-6 of Fig. 2, likewise to. full scale;

Fig. 7 is a top plan view 'to full scale, with parts broken away, of that portion of the can top which is pierced by the device when forced down from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 3 and showing the hole formed therein by the piercing blade of the device after the latter has been removed therefrom;

Fig. 8 is a sectional detail view to full scale, with parts broken away, of a portion of the can at the pierced hole indicating in plan the bottom side-of that portion of the top shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a top plan diagrammatic View of the can top and the embodiment of the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 prior to depression of the device to pierce the can top;

Fig. 10 is a side elevational diagrammatic view of the parts shown in Fig. 9, with certain parts of the can and the top thereof indicated in dotted lines;

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic plan view similar to Fig.9 of thestructure shown in Fig. 3 after the device has-been depressed to pierce the can top; I

Fig. 12 is a'diagrammatic, side elevational view similar to Fig. 10 of the structure shown in Fig. 11, with parts of the can indicated in dotted lines;

Fig. 13 is a full scale side elevational view of a modified form of the blade of the device which has been found in practice to be operable, and indicating in dotted lines the lever arm to which the blade is mounted; a

Fig. 14 is a back elevational view of the blade shown in Fig. 13; N

Fig. 15 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away and in section, of the structure shown in Fig. 3, indicating inversion of the can and manipulation ofthe closure of the blade passage of the device to the open pouring position and illustrating delivery of can contents therefrom; e f

Fig. 16 is a view similar to Fig. 15 but with the closure of the device in closing position and illustrating manipulation of the inverted can to use the device as means for measuring the quantity of can contents to be delivered in one manipulation;

Fig. 17 is an inverted view similar to Fig. 16 but with parts of the can broken away and in section, the device being shown in longitudinal section, this view illustrating further manipulation of .the inverted can to refill the delivery blade for the next portion measuring manipulation of the device; I

Fig. 18 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the device of the present invention taken from a point similar to that in which .the embodiment in Fig. l'is viewed; I

Fig. 19 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 18 showing the-device thereof with the closing cap removed;

Fig. 20 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away and in section, of the structure shown in- Fig. 18;

Fig. 21 is a sectional view, with parts broken away, taken substantially on line 21-21 of Fig. 20 showing parts. in plan;

Fig. 22 is an enlarged perspective view of the blade employed in the Figs. 18 to 21 inclusive embodiment;

V Fig. 23 is a top plan view, with parts broken away, of thelever member of the embodiment shown in Figs. 18 to 21 inclusive;

Fig. .24 is' a side elevational view, with parts broken away, of the lever member shown in Fig. 23, with part thereof sectioned on line 24-24;

Fig. 25 is a longitudinal section, with parts broken away, of a modified form of the lever member shown in Fig. 24;'and

Fig. 26 is a top plan view, with parts broken away, of the foot portion of a still further modified form of the lever member.

Referring to the drawings, in which like numerals identify similar parts throughout, it will be seen, by way of example, that the embodiments there illustrated are particularly adapted for use in opening and providing a closure for a one pound can or tin of ground coffee. Such a can of coffee is illustrated at 2 as being in the conventional form, having. cylindrical sidewall 21 and a circular top 22 with the edge of the latter anchored in an air-tight manner to the top edge of the sidewall by :1 rolled rim bead 23. The circular top of such a conventional can 20 is about five inches in diameter and the illustrated embodiments. of the device are made in such dimensions as to be adapted for piercing such a top and closing a pierced hole therein. Currently, it is the practice of manufacturers to mount such a beaded can top to the cylindrical sidewall by a tear strip which when stripped off 'by a key converts the top into a slip-top cover. The device of the present invention eliminates the necessity of mounting such a beaded can top to the cylindrical sidewall by such a tear strip tov convert the top into a slip-top cover, since the device of the present invention is designed to pierce a hole through the cover and then while seated therein to provide an outlet passage and to serve as a' closure for such passage.

The embodiment of the device, shown at 24 in Figs. 1 to 12 inclusive and Figs. .to 17 inclusive, comprises a lever member 25, a hollow blade 26 mounted on the bottom side of the lever, and a pouring superstructure 27 mounted on the top side of the lever member. As will be seen from Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the lever member 25, preferably is flat and relatively wide or paddle shaped, having at one end 28 a head portion which carries the hollow piercing blade 26 and the pouring superstructure 27 and at the other end a bearing foot structure 29. As best seen in Fig. 1, the bearing foot structure 29 is widened and cut back or concaved on the end edge at 30, pref- I erably along the arc of a circle, so that this end edge is recessed to provide two laterally-spaced

feet

31 and 32, each preferably having its relatively'short edge surface 33 convexed and laid out along the arc of a circle of a radius substantially equal to the radius of the can top 22, so as to seat inside the can top head 23. The lever member may be molded from suitable plastic composition which will assure desired rigidity, such as polystyrene. With the device 24 loosely seated or superposed on the can top 22 as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the bottom point or tip 34 of the blade 26 contacts the can top 22 at the point Y, and across on the opposite side of the can top the

feet

31 and 32 of the bearing foot portion 29 of the lever member 25 contact the can top to the inside of the head at laterally-spaced bearing points A and B. The end edge of the lever member foot structure 29 between the bearing points A and B is, as previously indicated, cut back at 30, so as to restrict contact with the can top 22. to the bearing points A and B. The contact of the blade. point 34 a point Y with the can top 22 is spaced appreciably inward radially from the can top head 23, as shown. Theresulting three-point contact of the device 24 at A, B and Y assures its steady support on the can top 22 in the properly oriented initial position shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

As will be seen from Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, the hollow piercing blade 26 preferably is formed of three substantially flat depending walls meeting or interconnected at three corner edges so as to be substantially triangular in cross-section with the outline of such section preferably being in the form of an isosceles triangle which may be of the form of an equilateral triangle. The hollow blade 26 is arranged with one angular edge thereof at 35 providing a downwardly-extending front nose edge. Opposite

sidewalls

36 and 136 which meet at the nose edge 35 extend obliquely back therefrom to a foreshortened transverse backwall 37 terminating at the points 38, as indicated in Figs. 2, 3 and 5. The backwall 37 is arranged generally vertical and may be substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of the lever member 25. As will be best seen in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5, the

bottom edges

39 and 139 of the

sidewalls

36 and 136 extend obliquely downward from the points 38 where the backwall 37 terminates to the blade tip 34, preferably being ogee shaped to facilitate cutting and these edges constitute the two cutting edges of the hollow blade 26, being ground off laterally or parallel to backwall 37 so that they form outer sharp shearing knife edges.

Since after the hollow blade 26 pierces a hole in the can top 22 it is to remain in position in the pierced hole until the contents of the can 20 are completely dispensed, features of the present invention assure that the engagement between the edge of the hole and the blade is to be snug at all points to prevent appreciable passage of granular material or can contents and gaseous medium, such as air, therebetween, i. e., the blade is to be received in the pierced hole that it cuts in the can top in a practically air-tight manner. Consequently, the blade is of a certain novel shape which has been determined in the development of the present invention. This may be understood by reference to Figs. 9 to 12 inclusive taken in connection with Figs. 3 and 5. As indicated in Fig. 9, when the device 24 of Figs. 1 to 12 inclusive embodiment of the present invention is loosely seated or superposed on the can top 22, the person using it moves it laterally until the

feet

31 and 32 respectively contact the can top 22 at points A and B radially inward of head 23, and the tip- 34 of the blade 26 contacts the can top at the point Y radially inward an appreciable distance from the head on the diametrically-opposite side of the can top. Contact of the foot portion 29 of the lever member 25 at laterally-spaced points A and B is important to prevent the device 24 from tipping over to one side or the other when it is rested upon the can top 22, and to guide travel of the hollow blade 26 in its downward travel through the can top in the orientation of its initial placement on the can top so that the blade does not wobble and enlarge the hole as the blade is thrust down through the can top. Thus the lever member 25 is swung about a transverse axis A--B. The necessity for keeping the pierced hole in the can top of a dimension so that, when the hollow blade 26 is forced down or thrust home to its final seated position the edges of the hole are snugly engaged at all points by the outer faces of the blade to assure practically air-tight seating therein, dictates a particular shaping of the forward side profile or nose edge 35 of the blade and of its

sidewalls

36 and 136.

The point X where the pivot axis AB of lever member 25 intersects the longitudinal axis of the latter would be the pivot point thereof if it had a single point of contact on its longitudinal axis with the can top. The distance between point X and the initial point of contact at Y of blade tip 34 dictates the contour of at least an appreciable lower portion of the front nose edge 35, which may be termed the nib. After the pierced hole has been completely formed during an appreciable first part of the downward thrust of the hollow blade 26 the latter may then move downward a further distance while maintaining snug contact with the edges of the-hole at all points and this is assured by making the foreshortened backwall 37 normal to the bottom face 40 of the lever member 25. If that portion of the forward side profile or nose edge 35 at its root which is at least equal to the height of the foreshortened backwall 37 is made substantially parallel to the outer or back face of the latter, such snug contact will be maintained as the blade is thrust home through this distance to abutment of the can top by the lever member, the pierced hole 41 being fully formed when the blade reaches this position just as the bottom edge of the backwall is entering the pierced hole.

Thus, as'indicated in Fig. 10, the forward side profile or nose edge 35 of blade 26 from its root through a distance which is substantially. equal to the depth C of the foreshortened backwall 37, is likewise normal to the bottom face 40 of the lever member 25 downward to the point D. From the point D to the tip 34 at Y, however, the forward side profile or nose edge 35 of the nib must be curved back and ideally it is laid out along the arc of a circle having a radius XY with X as the center, thereby making the blade beak-like or parrot-nosed in shape. Actually, as will be seen from Fig. 10, the point D on the forward side profile or nose edge 35 is a distance C down from the lever bottom face 40 which is slightly greater than the depth C of the backwall 37 as determined by the point where radius X -Y (equal to the radius X-Y) through the bottom edge of the backwall at 38 intersects the'line defining the front side profile or nose front edge.

In any selected transverse radial plane through the curved tip portion of nose edge 35 and axis A-B, or point X, the angle between the outer faces of the

sidewalls

36 and 136 should be, substantially equal to the angle therebetween at the root of the blade. For example, in the radial plane of radius X -Y the angle between elements of the outer faces of sidewalls 36 and '136 in that plane is substantially equal to the angle between such elements in the radial plane of radius LX1,7 Y1,!

This assures that as the lever member 25 is swung downward about the transverse axis AB the blade tip 34 will first pierce through the can top 22 at point Y and then the sharp shearing edges 39 and 139 will cut back, gradually enlarging the hole while the blade is being swung down until point D thereon is lowered to the can top, so that the hole 41 is of a size and shape just snugly to receive the root of the blade. Thereafter, the root of the hollow blade 26 moves substantially straight down to seat its root section into this formed hole 41, with snug engagement of the edges of the hole at all points, as will be seen from Fig. 5. If the forward side profile or nose edge 35 of the hollow blade 26 was laid out on a straight line throughout its extent to thetip 34 including the nib, and substantially normal to the bottom face 40 of the lever member 25, such blade would tear back in the can top-22 in being swung down by the lever member so that at the root of the blade the front nose edge would be spaced appreciably from the front corner of the hole, thereby permitting free passage of gaseous medium or air, as was found in the development of the present invention. However, by laying out the forward side profile or nose edge 35 of the nib between the points D and Y on the arc of a circle having a radius X"--Y, this curved portion of the nib will be snugged into the front corner can top 22. As previously indicated, in the last portion of the travel of the hollow blade 26 downward from this position of alignment of point D with the can top 22 to the final seated position indicated in Figs. 11 and 12, the forward line element of the front nose edge, of the hollow blade 26 moves through the distance C and its backwall 37 moves through the distance C without further enlargement of the pierced hole and with maintenance of snug contact with the edges of the latter at all points. The

foot elements

31 and 32 might lift slightly from the can top 22 during this last small portion of the travel of blade 26 down into the pierced hole 41, as'may be dictated by guidance of the blade by the edges of the formed hole, but in any event no substantial or harmful distortion of the hole edges due to this last portion of blade travel is experienced in practice.

As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5, the piercing of the triangular hole 41 in the can top 22 cuts or shears back a triangular portion or lip 42 from the can top. Since the

bottom edges

39 and 139 of the blade, the sharpened outer margins of which constitute the cutting edges, have appreciable transverse width due to the thickness of the stock from which the blade 26 is made, the transverselyextending faces of these edges apply back pressureto the top of the lip 42 as it is formed in the shearing action so as gradually to curl it downward and backward. When the shearing action is completed at the rear points 38 of the shearing edges so that the bottom edge of the foreshortened backwall 37 begins entering the so-formed triangular hole 41, the rear edges of the

blade side walls

36 and 136 bend the sheared lip 42 sharply down to extend substantially at right angles to the the'general plane of the can top 22, and this final sharp bending may ,in part be performed by cooperative action of the rear face of the backwall 37 as it enters the hole. Since the can top is made of tinned dead steel or black iron sheet, it has appreciable resiliency and the triangular portionor lip 42- will constitute a spring member which automatically snugs the front nose edge 35 of the hollow blade 26 into the front corner or notch 43 of the pierced hole 41' by hearing against the back face of the foreshortened backwall 37, thereby maintaining snug contact along the edges of the hole with the outer faces of the blade and securely holding the latter in the hole so that the device 24 remains in position on the can top 22 even when the can is inverted. This is important since there must be no tendency for the device 24 to fall away from the can top 22 when the can is inverted in contents-pouring action, but such secure holding of the device does not prevent it from being forcibly pulled away from the can top rather easily, such asv by a rocking action from side to side, when the can contents have been completely dispensed, to permit transfer of the device to another full can. Such pierced hole 41 and the triangular spring lip 42 are best seen in Figs. 7 and 8 in which it is clearly indicated that the spring lip in its formation has a transversely-extending crown 44 that springs forward toward the front notch 43 of the pierced hole when hollow blade 26 is removed from the pierced hole, as has been observed in use of the device. It is this crown 44 of spring lip 42 which bears against the back faces of the rear edges of the blade sidewalls 36 and 136 and the rear face of foreshortened backwall 37 and keeps the front-nose edge 35 snugged into the front notch 43 of pierced hole 42. It must be understood, however, that such snugging action does not leave any appreciable gaps between the rear shearing edges 39 and 139 of the hollow blade 26 and the two

rear notches

45, 45 of the pierced hole 41, since the width of each

sidewall

36 and 136 at its root in the plane of section on line- 44 of Fig. 3 is substanial y equ l t the id h hereof at p i s 8 38 Where the free edge of baelgwall 37 terminates (see Figs. 4 and This spring action of triangular lip 42 is chiefly of advantage in firmly holding the hollow blade 26 frietionally in the pierced hole 41 to secure the device 24 to the can top 22 until the can contents have been entirely dispensed through the hollow blade 26.

Since the front nose edge 35 of the hollow blade 26 at its root from point D and through the distance C is straight and normal to the bottom face 40 of the lever member 25, as is backwall 37 to

points

38, 38, the thrust home of the blade from point D causes the device to creep forward through distance Z, as indicated in Figs. 11 and 12. Thus, since the lever arm 25 is free to move longitudinally forward, not being fixed to the can in any way, such as it would be if it were hooked over the rim bead 23, the device automatically finds its proper final seated position, as dictated by travel of the hollow blade 26 into the pierced hole 41, without tendency for the latter to be torn larger to destroy the substantially sift-proof and air-tight seal of the blade walls to the hole edges. This forward creeping movement of the device 24, in so seating it home to the final seated position of Figs. 4, 11 and 12, dictates certain dimensions of the head portion 27,. particularly the extent of overhang of the lever member front end 28 with respect to the front nose edge at the root of blade 26, so that this lever front end will not be jammed up against the rim bead 23 to tear back farther the back edge of the pierced hole 41 and push the faces of the blade side walls 36' and 136 and front nose edge 35 away from the opposed hole edges. Such freedom of contact of the device 24 with respect to the rim head 23 in the final movement of being. thrust home allows the device to find its final seated position on. the can top 22 with assurance that the edges of the pierced hole 41 will snugly engage the walls of hollow blade 26 at all points for a substantially sift-proof and air-tight seal.

The piercing blade 26 is mounted in any suitable manner to the lever member 25. For example, as will be seen from Figs. 3 and 6, the piercing blade 26 is provided with a lateral base plate or flange member 46 which may be made integral with the root thereof, and, preferably, the bottom face of the lever member 25 is recessed at 47 to receive such blade plate member with any suitable means, such as screws 48-48, being employed .to fasten these parts together. It will be understood, however, that within the scope of the present invention .other suitable means may be used for this purpose; for example, if the lever member 49 is made from metal rather than molded plastic brazing, soldering or the like may be used for this purpose as may be dictated or permitted by the character of the metal, and it is possible to make the blade member and the lever member integral. In any event the blade member 26 must be tough and strong so as to be sharpened along its shearing edges 39 and 139, to retain such sharpness and to assure the strength necessary to perform the piercing operation, thus preferably being made of tempered steel in the illustrated embodiments.

As previously indicated, the lever member 25 is provided with a superstructure 27 which, preferably, is in the form of an upwardly-extending integral land 49 that may be circular in transverse section. The head end of the lever member 25 to which the piercing blade 26 is mounted and its integral circular land 49 are provided with an upwardly-extending through hole 50 which is substantially aligned with the interior space 51 of the hollow blade, together to form an outlet passage, as will be seen from Figs. 2, and 15 to 17 inclusive. he inlet opening of this outlet passage is located behind the blade tip 34 and below the bottom edge of the backwall 37, being defined .at opposite sides by the shearing edge 39 a al-Wand thi .heqkwal b o edge The outlet ,of this passagejsprovided bythe topend of the of suitable material, such as elastic plastic composition,

e. g., polyethylene. Cylindrical cap 52 preferably has a circumferential inside rib 53 mounted on the cylindrical inner face of its side wall and snapped into an annular groove 54 in the cylindrical outer surface of the circular land 49, so as to be rotatable on the latter. If

' desired, the plastic cap 52 may be provided on one side with a finger tab 55 for manual engagement to facilitate its manual rotation between open and closed positions. The closure means, in the form of the plastic cap 52, is provided in the circular top thereof with an outlet hole 56. This outlet hole is offset laterally from the axis of the cap, preferably at a distance substantially equal to the distance of the offsetting of the hole 50 laterally from the axis of the land 49, so that in one radial position of the cap these holes will be substantially aligned to open up the outlet or discharge passage, as illustrated in Fig. 15. In another radial position of the rotary cap 52'the hole 50 in the land 49 will be covered by an unperforated cap top portion, with a portion of the top of the land 49 blocking the cap hole 56 i as illustrated in Figs. 1, 3, 16 and 17.

Although, as previously explained, the theoretically ideal shape of the piercing blade 26 is similar to that illustrated in Figs. 10 and 12, such features are not critical to such degree as to prevent practical employment of slight variations therefrom. For example, the piercing blade 126 of the device 124 illustrated in Figs. 13 and 14 has been found to be operable to pierce the triangular hole in the top of a coffee tin and thereafter to remain snugly in position in the hole effectively to close the latter' and protect the ground coifee contents while being retained therein with sufiicient frictional force to permit pouring inversion of the can without tendency for the device to fall away therefrom. As will be seen from Figs. 13 and 14 the lever member 125, indicated in Fig. 13 in dotted lines, may be of a structure similar to that proposed at 25 in the other figures (the outline of the superstructure having been omitted), and piercing blade 126 may be mounted thereto in like or other suitable fashion. The forward side profile or nose edge 135 of the blade 126 curves from its tip 134 upward to a point D which is preferably below the point at which a radius from swing axis AB or point X extending through the bottom edge of the backwall 37 intersects the nose edge a distance C which is appreciably greater than the distance C of Fig. 10. As a consequence the lateral distance Z between the vertical portion at the blade root of the nose edge 135 and a continuation of the arc of the circle having a radius X Y along which is laid out the curved bottom portion of the nose edge, i. e., the forward line element of the side profile of the nib, is appreciably greater than this distance Z in the Fig. 10 embodiment. This increased distance Z represents the distance through which the lever member travels or creeps longitudinally in piercing the triangular hole in the can top with the piercing-blade 126. It has been found in practice that the blade 126 will form a triangular hole in the can top into which the blade root will be snugly engaged and with the outer surfaces of the blade juxtaposed sufliciently close to the edges of the hole at all points as to assure a sift-proof and sufiiciently air-tight closure for all practical purposes. The

sidewalls

236 and 336 of the piercing blade 126 have their outer faces shaped in the manner explained in connection with Fig. 10, so as to assure that in the progressive formation of thetriangular hole the edges of the front corner thereof will be arranged substantially at the angle of the outer faces of these side walls at the root of the blade, thus to assure that when the blade is thrust home these hole edges will be disposed very closely adjacent to or substantially in contact with these sidewall faces.

It will now be understood that the theoretical ideal shapes of the nose and sidewalls of the blades are those which define the forward line element of the side profile of the nib, such as the front nose edge (such as 35 or 135) by a circular arc struck about the swing axis A--B or the point X all the way up to the blade root or the bottom face 40 of the lever member and lay out the back wall 37 on a similar circular arc struck about the same axis or point. However, such an ideally shaped blade structure may be more demanding for practical manufacturing procedures in mass production than a manufacturer may wish. The proposal of Fig. so closely approaches such ideal characteristics as to assure proper attainment of the desired ends and a structure which may be more readily adapted to manufacturing procedures, and even the further variation of Fig. 13 has been found to be suitable for practical purposes.

In use and operation of the embodiment of the can piercing and delivery device 24 illustrated in Figs. 1 to 12 inclusive it is loosely seated upon the can top 22 in the manner indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 with the lever member 25 arranged obliquely with respect thereto. The lever member 25 is slid longitudinally until its

feet

31 and 32 contact the can top 22 at points A and B adjacent the inner side of the rim bead 23, with the blade tip 34 contacting the can top at the point Y across on the opposite side of the top. A sharp blow on the superstructure 27 or application thereon of downward pressure by the heel of a persons hand, as indicated by the arrow 57 in Fig. 1, will cause the blade tip 34 to pierce through the can top 22 and then the shearing edges 39 and 139 of the blade sidewalls 36 and 136 to shear back through the can top progressively as the blade is lowered to form the triangular hole 41 and progressively curl down and backward spring lip 42. As a result, the bottom face 40 of the lever member is pushed down to juxta-position or substantial abutment of the can top 22, with the root of the piercing blade 26 received in and through the triangular hole 41 in the can top, as indicated in Fig. 3. Thereafter, if the closure cap 52 be manipulated to uncover the outlet hole 50, such as by being turned manually substantially to align its hole 56 with the hole 50 in the lever member, as is indicated in Fig. 15, inversion of the can 26 will cause a portion of the can contents 58, such as ground coffee, to spill out through the open outlet passage as indicated at 59 in Fig. 15. Of course the cap 52 may be removed by snapping it off to permit this delivery action. After a desired quantity of the can contents 58.has been withdrawn in this manner, the can 20 may then be turned back to its upright position and the closure cap 52, if it has been kept on the land 49, may be rotated back to the closed position of Figs. 1 and 3 securely to close the opened can in a sift-proof and practically air-tight manner, with retention of the device 24 thereon to serve as delivery means for subsequent withdrawal in like manner of additional portions of the can contents. As the quantity of the can contents 58 becomes depleted one may assure ready removal thereof through this dispensing device 24 by tilting the inverted can 20 further in the direction of the arrow 60 indicated in Fig. 15, and in this manner the can contents may be delivered portionby-portion until practically all of the can contents have been removed through the delivery device. Those wishing to practice a high degree of frugality may then pull or rock the piercing and delivery device 24 from off of the can top 22 with withdrawal of the piercing blade 26 from the severed hole 41 and shake out through the latter such small amount of the can contents as may 10' remain therein. In any event, removal of the piercing and delivery device 24 from the emptied can 20 permits the subsequent use of the former in like manner for the opening of another full can and delivery of the contents of the latter therefrom through the device in the same way. 1

Although the paddle-shaped lever member 25 shown in the drawings is of preferred formation, it is to be understood that the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto since, for example, the sides of the lever member need not be cut back as far as indicated. In fact the lever member might 'be substantially in the form of a disc having a suitable edge notch, such as that proposed at 30, to define the laterally-spaced contact points at A and B. In fact, the lever member of the device of the present invention may be an openwork structure and the foot elements thereof may be provided as localized lands or nibs or even as the terminal ends of fork-tine elements. For example, the lever member may be formed as a suitable head structure having a pair of diverging rods extending from one side thereof along the dot-dash lines of Figs. 9 and 10 to the contact points A and B. Also the lever member may be adjustable in length for varying the distance between the foot elements and the blade to a limited degree as a practical matter, as indicated hereinafter.

Embodiments of the present invention may be employed as means to measure the quantity of successive portions of the can contents discharged therefrom. As indicated in Fig. 16 if, after mounting the device 24 on the can top 22, the can 20' is inverted and then tilted back in the direction of the arrow 61, the can contents 58 will fall away from the inlet opening of the hollow blade 26, as indicated by the dotted line arrow therein, so as finally to separate at the sides of the spring lip 42 and beyond the free edge of the backwall 37 the main body of the can contents from the amount 62 trapped within the hollow blade of the outlet hole 56. If, with the can 20 and device 24 then held in the positions of Fig. 16, the closure cap 52 be rotated to align its outlet hole 56 with the discharge passage hole 50 the quantity 62 of the can contents trapped in the device will be spilled out as a measured portion determined by the capacity of the outlet passage. Then, if the closure cap 52 be rotated back to the closed position, as indicated in Fig. 17, and the inverted can so be tilted back in the direction of the arrow 63, a quantity of the can contents 58 will tend to flow forward in the direction of the arrow 64 past the sides of the spring lip 42 to between the blade shearing edges 39 and 139 and into the interior of the hollow blade, again to collect in the discharge passage a similar quantity of the can contents to be discharged therefrom in the manner indicated in Fig. 16.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the cutting and discharge structure of the, device is a beak-like hollow blade having an inwardly curved or convexcd nib in side profile chiefly defined by laterally-spaced sidewalls meeting in the line element which defines the forward side profile thereof and gradually diverging laterally back away from this forward side profile line element. The bottom or lower edges of the sidewalls are sharp to serve as cutting or shearing edges extending rearward from the tip of the nib to the rear of the blade structure, preferably obliquely upward to terminal points of the cutting edges, with appreciably shorter generally vertical rear edge portions provided with substantially aligned trans verse faces which serve an important function with regard to the shaping and contact of the cut out can top lip. At the root of the blade these sidewalls and rear contact face portions extend substantially normal from the bottom side of the lever member. Preferably the sidewalls are symmetrical in shape and diverge at substantially equal angles from a medial lateral axis extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the lever member, and the action of the faces of the rear edge portions of the sidewalls in shaping down and maintaining contact with the ,can top cut out lip may be supplemented to advantage by a foreshortened depending or generally vertically-extending backwall substantially normal to this axis with its rear face substantially aligned with the rear faces of the sidewall rear edge portions and juxtaposed to the latter at the sides. Such backwall assures there will be no appreciable direct communication between the atmosphere and the blade interior at the back corners of the sheared hole as might occur when excessively heavy gauge stock is employed for the can top causing the lip to bend down at its root in a short curve with slight tearback rather than sharply in a right angled shoulder at the ends of the sheared cuts without any tear-back. These characteristics may be embodied in blades in which the sidewalls, instead of being substantially fiat in their portions other than those defining the inwardly curved nib, are curved in lateral planes. As is illustrated in Figs. 18 to inclusive the opposed sidewalls may be arcuately shaped in a lateral direction and may, if desired, be arranged along arcs of a common circle so that, for example, the major portion of the blade which is defined by the sidewalls, except for the convexed nib thereof, may appear to be a section of a tube. The hole formed in the can top by such a blade may be considered to be archshaped or D-shaped rather than triangular in shape but the same snug fit between the edges of the hole and the outside faces of the blade obtain and such structure is equivalent in purpose and action to the triangular blades illustrated in Figs. 1 to 17 inclusive.

It will be seen from Figs. 18 to 24 inclusive that the embodiment of the device identified generally by numeral 224 comprises a lever member 225 carrying hollow blade structure 226 and a capped superstructure 227. It is indicated in Fig. 19 that the lever member 225 is similar to that shown at 25 in Figs. 1 to 12 inclusive having a foot structure 29 provided with laterally-spaced

foot elements

31 and 32 which provide the spaced contact points A and B. The head end 22% thereof carries the capped superstructure 227 which, as will best be seen from Fig. 20, may consist of an apertured land 65, an interfitting piece 66 carrying the circular capping land 249 and a closure means in the form of an inverted measuring cup 252. The lever member 225 and the head piece 66 may, if desired, be molded from substantially rigid plastic, such as polystyrene, but can, if desired, be formed from relatively more elastic plastic material, such as polyethylene. Even though the lever member and its head piece be formed of relatively elastic plastic and especially when. the lever member and this head piece are formed from relatively rigid plastic, the measuring cup 252 may, to advantage, be formed from relatively elastic plastic, such as polyethylene, in order to secure a sealing fit of its mouth about the land 249.

As will be seen from Figs. 23 and 24, the land of the lever member 225 is provided with a D-shaped hole 66% having a substantially flat back face 67 extending substantially normal to the underside 249 of the lever member and with this hole cut back or rabbeted on the upper side to provide a flanking C-shaped lateral shoulder 68 and a transverse shoulder 69 flanking the back face 67. The curved front portion and the two laterally spaced side portions of the shoulder 68 are provided for support of a flange on the top end of the blade. A transversely-extending, generally vertical or depending flange 237 may be molded integral with the lever member 225 to serve as the foreshortened backwall of the blade structure, as will be more fully explained hereinafter.

As will be seen from Figs. 20 and 22, the major portion of the blade structure 226 is provided in the semi-circular form previously proposed with the laterally-spaced

sidewalls

436 and 536 provided as integral portions meeting at the line element which defines the forward side profile 235 and the top edge of this unitary blade element carries a laterallymxtending flange 75). The blade element 226 may be readily shaped and pressed from relatively thin sheet metal stock, such as steel, which will be suitably tempered to retain its cutting edge and such stock, for example, may be about of an inch thick. As will be seen from Figs. 20 and 22, the

bottom edges

439 and 539 of the

sidewalls

436 and 536 extend obliquely upward back to rear terminal points 238, 233 which determine the limits of the shearing edges provided by the sharp outer margins of the bottom edges of the sidewalls. Preferably the lower pointed or nib portion 71 has its bottom edges ground oft angularly on the inner sides thereof so as to assure sharpness of the outer marginal edges of the tip 234 and the

bottom edges

439 and 539 from the nib back to the terminal points 238, 238 may be ground 01f transversely, which will provide suitable sharp outer marginal edges flanked inwardly thereof by narrow flat edge faces which will bear against the can top lip as it is being cut out and gradually turn it down. The unitary blade structure 226 terminates in substantially vertical

rear edges

72, 72 which extend upwardly from the cutting terminal corners or points 238, 238 to the lateral flange 70.

As previously explained, the ideal side profile shape of the blade structure is arranged along the arcs of circles struck about the swing axis and when the blade structure is formed of relatively thin stock in a shaping press it may not be too difiicult to curve the front or nose of the blade along the arc of such a circle all the way up to the root at the underside 249 of the lever member 225. As will 'be seen from Fig. 20, the swing axis there is identified as B, X and A and the radius of curvature of the nose 235 of the blade is x-y. This curvature is carried up above the point D" all the way to the root of the blade rather than being terminated at that point which lies in a plane extending through the swing axis and, the terminal

rear points

238, 238 of the cutting edges. Also, as previously explained, the ideal shape of the substantially vertical

rear edges

72, 72 of the

blade sidewalls

436 and 536 is determined by the arc of a circle struck about the swing axis having a radius 238X and such curvature is shown in exaggerated form in Fig. 22 for clarity.

As indicated in Fig. 20, the hollow blade 226 is mounted to the lever member 225 by dropping it down, point first, through the hole 660 until its lateral flange seats upon the front curved and side portions of the shoulder 68 in the lever member land 65. In so seating the

rear edges

72, 72 slide down through

notches

73, 73 seen in Fig. 23 which fiank the ends of the transverse shoulder 69 and are aligned with the rear face 74 of the depending backwall 237 which is similarly curved. When blade 226 is shaped from relatively thin tempered steel stock, its

sidewalls

436 and 536 have appreciable spring and the transverse distance between the

notches

73, 73 and the width of the backwall 237 may be slightly greater than the distance between the inside faces of the blade sidewalls at the

rear edges

72, 72 so that the sidewalls will there be sprung slightly farther apart in being slid down through the notches along the side edges of the backwall, so as to form thereat snug contact preventing appreciable sifting or leakage through such joints of granular or liquid contents of a can.

After the blade 226 is inserted in the lever member 225 in such fashion the land piece 66 is mounted there above with a depending D-shaped portion 75 thereof surrounding the outlet hole 259 seated down in the rabbeted top portion of the D-shaped hole 666- in the lever member 225 to rest upon the blade flange 7t) and the transverse shoulder 69. The depending portion 75 of the land piece 66 may be cemented in such position securely to hold the blade 226 in the mounted position, shown in Fig. 20. Thus the interior space 251 in the blade 226 is communicated with the outlet hole 250 and the latter may then be closed off by telescoping the open mouth of the cup 252 down over the circular land 249.

The useof the embodiment of the device illustrated in Figs. 1 8 to 24 inclusive will be similar to that described above in connection with the embodiments of Figs. 1 to 17 inclusive, such as in the manner illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, and the contents of the can may be removed by slipping the measuring cup 252 off of the circular land 249. Some of the contents of the inverted can, as illustrated in Fig. 15, may be dispensed through the outlet hole 250 into the removed cup 252, which will serve as a measure and the capacity of the latter may be such as is conventionally accepted to 'be the right quantity of coffee for making'one cup of coffee if the can contents is granular coffee. When the embodiment of the device illustrated in Figs. 18 to 24 inclusive is rested upon the can top'22, as in the manner proposed in Figs. 1 and 2, the hollow blade 226 may be caused to pierce an archshaped or D-shaped hole in the can top by striking firmly with the heel of the hand either upon the top of the land 66, if the cap'252 be removed, or upon the bottom 76 of the cap, if the latter be in mounted position, and it has been found that even though the cap be formed of relatively elastic plastic, such as polyethylene, its cylindrical sidewall 77 has sufiicient rigidity to apply more than enough force to the blade readily to pierce the can top without collapse of the cap.

It has further been found that with an embodiment of the device of the type illustrated in Figs. 18 to 24 inclusive that if the backwall 237, which is there shown as being a depending flange extending substantially normal from the underside 240 of the lever member 225, is omitted, the cut out can top lip, such as that illustrated at 42 in Fig. 3, will be progressively turned down inward into the can by the oblique, transversely-extendingbottom faces of the cutting edges 439 and 539 and that when the sheared cuts are fully formed by the cutting edges as they shear through the can top to the terminal rear points 238,238, the can top lip will then be turned down sharply substantially at'right angles as the curved faces of the rear .edges 72, 72 enter the back end of the hole and slide down along the front face of the can top lip. For this reason, in certain embodiments, the backwall 237 or any equivalent backwall structure, such as a' blade wall similar to 37 of the Figs. 1 to 17 inclusive embodiment, may be omitted while attaining the proper piercing of the can top and. the snug seating of the piercing blade in the pierced hole therein, as is suggested in Fig. 25 by lever member 325 which is similar to lever member 225 except for the omission of the depending backwall, with the foreshortened inner face of shoulder 69 being indicated at 167. Since practical embodiments of the device may vary somewhat from the theoretically ideal shape of the blade structure, as previouslyindicated, it may be desirable to use such a depending backwall either as a wall of the blade structure or as a flange on the lever member so as to assure that there will be no gaps at the back corners of the pierced hole, such as are indicated at 45, 45 in Figs. 5, 7 and 8, to permit escape exterior of the blade of can contents. In any event, blades of embodiments of the present invention will be defined chiefly by blade sidewalls which meet in a forward nose provided with a nib of the type proposed in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, or Figs. 13 and 14, or Figs. 18 to 22 inclusive. When a generally vertically-extending blade backwall is employed it may be set in between the rear edges of the blade sidewalls with its rear face substantially aligned with the facesof the rear edges of the sidewalls or it may be lapped against the rear edges of the sidewalls so that its 'marginalside edges serve as the sidewall rear edge portions with its intermediate major portion serving as the backwall element which has its rear face substantially aligned with the rear faces of these marginal portions which serve as the sidewall rear edge portions.

After such a piercing and delivery device has been mounted upon a can top in the described manner with its blade structure snugly seated in a pierced hole in the can top, it may be most easily removed from the can after the latter is emptied through the outlet hole in the device by rocking the lever member back and forth laterally, such as in the direction of the double ended arrow 78 shown in Fig. 18. In order to facilitate side finger engagement of the lever member for this purpose, opposite sides of the head thereof may be provided with undercut notches 79 to facilitate secure finger engagement of the lever member when the latter is snugly seated upon the can top.

As previously indicated, the lever member of the device may be of a structure permitting limited change in the effective length thereof to adapt the device to cans having tops of somewhat different diameters. For this purpose, as is illustrated by way of example in Fig. 26, the lever member may be in the form of a bar or rod 425 slidably carrying thereon a yoke or collar 80 provided with the flared foot structure in the form of angularly extending

legs

431 and 432, corners of which provide the bearing points A and B. The collar 80 may carry a clampingthumb screw 81 to fix it in a selected position along the lever bar 425 and, if desired, the top of the latter may be flatted off as indicated at 82 to prevent relative rotation of the collar thereon and to form a secure clamping surface for the inner end of the thumb screw 81.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be saidto fall therebetween.

This application is a'continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial Number 602,657, noW abandoned.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A can piercing and delivery device for a tin can and the like having a lateral top of certain width circumscribed by an upstanding rim bead and comprising, in combination; a lever member to be loosely seated upon such a can top and having at one end thereof a relatively wide bearing foot structure having at least a pair of transversely-spaced areas for contact of the can top at relatively widely spaced points adjacent the inner side of such rim head; a depending, hollow, beak-like piercing blade carried by the other end of said lever member and having a convexed nib in side profile which terminates in a lower, sharp, hole-starting tip for contact of the can top radially inward at an appreciable distance from the rim bead across from the points of foot contact with said lever member resting obliquely upon said can top, said blade being chiefly defined by laterally-spaced sidewalls which gradually diverge laterally back away from the line element which defines the forward side profile thereof with the bottom edges of said sidewalls being sharp to serve as shearing edges and having appreciably 'shorter generally vertical rear edge portions provided with substantially aligned transverse faces with said sidewalls and the transverse faces of said rear edge portions extending substantially normal from the underside of said lever member at the root of the blade to form in the can top a hole when said lever member is swung downward to abutment of said can top about an axisthrough the laterally-spaced points of foot contact with the edges of the pierced hole snugly contacting the exterior of the root of said blade at substantially all lateral points adjacent the underside of said lever member for frictional retention of said blade in the pierced hole, the lateral profile of the projection of said bottom shearing edges in the can top plane which includes the blade tip and lever member contact areas being of substantially the same shape and size as the lateral cross-section of the blade at its root, the interior of said hollow blade providing a portion of an outlet passage with said lever member having an outlet hole extending upwardly therethrough and communicating with the interior of said blade to form another portion of the outlet passage; and manually manipulatable closure means carried by said lever member to open and close the outlet passage at will.

2. The can piercing and delivery device as defined in claim 1 characterized by said lever member being a substantially flat paddle-shaped structure with the end edge at its wider portion being centrally recessed to provide said laterally-spaced contact areas as longitudinal projections each having a corner providing the point contact with the can top.

3. The can piercing and delivery device as defined in claim 1 characterized by said lever member having a raised circular land on its top side above said blade with the hole in said lever member extending through said land offset laterally of the axis of the latter, said closure means comprising manually-rotatable disc means rotatably mounted on said land and having a hole extending through the top thereof offset laterally of the disc means axis for alignment with the lever member hole in one radial position of said disc means, a portion of said disc means covering and securely closing said lever member hole in another radial position of said disc means.

4. A can piercing and delivery device for a tin can and the like having a lateral top of certain width cir cumscribed by an upstanding rim bead and comprising, in combination; a lever member to be loosely seated upon such a can top and having at one end thereof a relatively wide bearing foot structure having at least a pair of transversely-spaced areas for contact of the can top at relatively widely spaced points adjacent the inner side of such rim bead; 21 depending, hollow, beak-like piercing blade carried by the other end of said lever member and having a convexed nib in side profile which terminates in a lower, sharp, hole-starting tip for contact of the can top radially inward at an appreciable distance from the rim bead across from the points of foot contact with said lever member resting obliquely upon said can top, said blade being chiefly defined by laterallyspaced curved sidewalls which gradually diverge laterally back away from the line element which defines the forward side profile thereof with the bottom edges of said sidewalls being sharp for can top shearing and extending back obliquely upward to substantially shorter generally vertical rear blade edge portions provided with substantially aligned transverse faces with said sidewalls and the transverse faces of said rear edge portions extending substantially normal from the underside of said lever member at the root of the blade to form in the can top a hole of the shape and size of the cross-section of said blade at its root, said blade in forming such hole being adapte to cut a lip in the can top and to turn this lip downward and backward when said lever mer ber is swung downward to abutment of said can top about an axis through the laterally-spaced points of foot contact whereby edges of the pierced hole have snug contact adjacent the underside of said lever member with the blade root and the turned down can top lip pressing forward on the rear of the blade for frictional retention of said blade in the pierced hole with effective closure of the latter, the interior of said hollow blade providing a portion of an outlet passage which in said blade forward of said can top lip is generally D-shaped in cross-section, said lever member having an outlet hole extending upwardly therethrough and communicating with the interior of said' blade as another portion '16 of the outlet passage; and manually manipulatable closure means carried by said lever member to open and close the outlet passage at will.

5. The can piercing and delivery device as defined in claim 4 characterized by said blade sidewalls being merged with each other at the line element which defines the forward side profile thereof providing a generally semi-circular sidewall structure above said convexed nib with the convex curvature of the latter substantially lying along the arc of a circle described about the transverse swing axis of said lever member, and the provision of a generally vertically-extending blade backwall having a rear face substantially aligned with the rear faces of said sidewall rear edge portions and juxtaposed to the latter at the sides to enclose the interior of said blade on all vertical sides, the top of said backwall being juxtaposed to the underside of said lever member.

6. A can piercing and delivery device for a tin can and the like having a lateral top of certain width surrounded by an upstanding rim bead and comprising, in combination; an elongated lever member to be loosely seated upon such a can top and having at one end thereof a relatively wide bearing foot structure providing a pair of foot elements for point contact of the can top at relatively widely spaced points adjacent the inner side of such rim bead; a depending, hollow, parrot-nosed piercing blade mounted to the underside of the other end of said lever member and having a lower, sharp, hole-starting tip, the root of said blade being of a shape in cross section of that of an isosceles triangle and having three angularly-disposed, downwardly-extending, interconnected walls with two of the latter constituting a pair of backwardly-diverging sidewalls meeting in a downwardly-extending inwardly curved nose edge terminating in said tip and with the third sidewall thereof constituting a foreshortened backwall having a transverse bottom edge and arranged substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of said lever member, said two-side walls having back lower edges forming sharp shearing edges extending obliquely upward and back divergingly from said lower tip to said backwall transverse bottom edge, an appreciable lower portion of the nose edge of said blade being curved upwardly and forward toward the blade root substantially along the arc of a circle described about a transverse swing axis extending through the laterally-spaced foot contact points, the interior of said hollow blade providing a portion of an outlet passage having its inlet opening behind said tip and below the transverse edge of said backwall; said lever member being of a length to locate said blade tip on said can top at a point spaced such appreciable distance radially inward from the rim bead when said lever member is rested obliquely upon the can top with the foot contact points thereof located adjacent the inner side of the rim bead across the opposite side of the can top as will prevent jamming of the front end of said lever member in the vicinity of said blade against the inner side of the rim bead when said lever member is swung down about said swing axis to pierce said blade through the can top, said lever member having an outlet hole extending upwardly therethrough and communicating with the interior of said hollow blade to form another portion of the outlet passage; and manually manipulatable closure means mounted on the top side of said lever member to open and close the outlet passage at will.

7. A can piercing and delivery device for a cylindrical tin can and the like having a lateral circular top of certain diameter circumscribed by an upstanding rim bead and comprising, in combination; an elongated, substnatially fiat lever member to be loosely seated upon such a can top and having at one end thereof a relatively wide bearing foot portion with the end edge of the latter being centrally recessed to provide a pair of longitu dinally-extending, laterally-spaced foot elements each having a corner for point contactof the can top adjacent the inner side of such rim bead; a depending, hollow, parrot-nosed piercing blade mounted to the under side of the other end of said lever member and having a lower, sharp, hole-starting tip, the root of said blade being of a shape in cross-section of that of an isosceles triangle and having three angularly-disposed, downwardly extending, interconnected walls with two of the latter constituting a pair of backwardly-diverging sidewalls meeting in a downwardly-extending curved nose edge terminating in said tip and with the third sidewall thereof constituting a foreshortened backwall having a transverse bottom edge and arranged substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of said lever member, said two sidewalls having back lower edges forming sharp shearing edges extending obliquely upward and back divergingly from said lower tip to said backwall transverse bottom edge, an appreciable lower portion of the nose edge of said blade being curved upwardly and forward toward the blade root substantially along the arc of a circle described about a transverse swing axis extending through the laterally-spaced foot contact points, the interior of said hollow blade providing a portion of an outlet passage having its inlet opening behind said tip and below the transverse edges of said backwall; said lever member being of a length appreciably less than the diameter of the can top rim bead to locate said blade tip initially on said can top at a point spaced appreciably inward radially from the rim head when the lever foot portion is rested against the rim bead across on the opposite side of the can top and so that when said lever member is swung down about the swing axis to abutment of the can top the front end of said lever member will be free of contact with the rim bead; a raised circular land carried by the top side of said lever member above said hollow blade, said lever member and land having a hole extending upwardly therethrough at a point ofiset laterally of the axis of said land and communicating with the interior of said hollow blade to form together the outlet passage; and a rotatable cylindrical cap concentrically mounted on said land for manual turning and having a hole extending through the circular top thereof at a point laterally offset from its axis for alignment with the land hole in one radial position to provide an outlet opening for the passage, the circular top covering the land hole in a substantially air-tight manner in another radial position of said cap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,619,255 Bricout Nov. 25, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 208,180 Great Britain Jan. 3, 1924 1,088,465 France Sept. 8, 1954