US3172317A

US3172317A - Can opener

Info

Publication number: US3172317A
Application number: US83234A
Authority: US
Inventors: Blakeslee Harry Nelson; Wilkinson Harlen Edgar
Original assignee: American Can Co
Current assignee: Primerica Inc
Priority date: 1961-01-17
Filing date: 1961-01-17
Publication date: 1965-03-09
Anticipated expiration: 1982-03-09

Description

March 1965 H. N. BLAKESLEE ETAL 3,172,317

CAN OPENER Filed Jan. 17. 1961 NF. 5 05 M v, MW m/M M m 6 m 55% fin n y f J m RR W 7 B United States Patent 3,172,317 CAN OPENER Harry Nelson Blakeslee, Barrington, and Harlen Edgar Wilkinson, Crystal Lake, 11]., assignors to American Can Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Jan. 17, 1961, Ser. No. 83,234 1 Claim. (Cl. 81-346) The present invention relates in general to container or can opening devices and has particular reference to a pry-ofi type opener for removing from a can a countersunk panel end closure having inner and outer end seam flanges surrounding and frictionally embracing a marginal edge portion of the body of the can.

An object of the invention is is to provide a pry-off opened for such a can closure where in there is available an element for engaging under the closure end seam and a variable fulcrum point element setting up moment arms of progressively increasing length during the opening operation so as to produce a short moment arm and a high pressure prying action with a low pressure requirement at the beginning of the opening action and longer moment arms with uniformly low pressure requirements during the remainder of the opening action.

Another object is to provide such a pry-off can opener in which there is provided means engageable against the inner face of the closure seam to lock the outer seam engaging element in its gripping position under the seem so as to prevent slippage of the element and thereby insure complete removal of the can closure in a single lifting action of the opener.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

FiGURE 1 is a side elevation of a pry-01f can opener embodying the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the can opener shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are fragmentary schematic views showing the end seam portion of the top end of a can in section and the can opener of FIGS. 1 and 2 applied to the closure seam, portions of the opener being broken away, with FIG. 3 showing the initial opening position of the opener and FIG. 4 showing the closure partially removed; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary side view of a modified form of the opener shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with the modified opener initially applied to the closure seam of the top end of a can shown in section and with parts broken away.

As a preferred and exemplary embodiment of the instant invention, FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings illustrate a pry-off type can opener for prying from a sheet metal can body 11 (FIGS. 3 and 4), a crimped-on metal can end or closure 12 having a countersunk panel 13 formed with respective inner and outer end seam flanges 14, 15 surrounding and frictionally embracing a crimped or S- shaped marginal edge portion 16 of the can body 11. The terminal edge of the outer flange 15 preferably is bent back on itself as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 to produce an inwardly disposed hem 17 providing a smooth, rounded terminal edge 18 for the closure. Such a closure and end seam is fully disclosed in US. Patent 2,428,371, issued October 7, 1947 to H. Kinberg on Container.

The pry-off opener 10 preferably is made of flat steel stock and comprises a handle portion 21 having at one end an S-shaped or curved bridge port-ion 22 which merges into a long curved fulcrum element or rocker head 23. The bridge portion 22 adjacent the rocker head 23 is formed with a locking lug 24 which is struck out from the 3,172,317 Patented Mar. 9, 1965 material of the bridge portion and which projects in a direction toward the handle, -i.e. in a direction opposite to the rocker head 23 but substantially forming a continuation or extension of the rocker head.

In a similar manner, the handle 21 adjacent the bridge portion 22 is formed with a depending hook lug 26 which is struck out from the material of the handle and which terminates in a slightly upturned hook nose 27. The hook nose 27, as viewed in FIG. 1 is disposed in spaced relation to the terminal end of the locking lug 24 a distance substantially equal to one-half of the height of the end seam of the closure 12, and is located slightly below the level of the terminal end of the locking lug.

For the purpose of removing a closure 12 from a can body 11, the pry-ofi opener 10 is initially applied to the can as shown in FIG. 3. In this initial position the bridge portion 22 of the opener bridges the end seam of the closure 12, and the rocker head 23 engages against the top outer face of the countersunk panel 13. The hook nose 27 is engaged under the smooth edge 18 of the outer flange 15 and the terminal end of the locking lug 24 is disposed contiguous to the exposed inner face of the inner flange 14 adjacent the top edge of the seam as shown in FIG. 3.

With the opener 10 in this initially applied posit-ion it is merely necessary to lift upwardly on the outer 'end of the handle 21 while maintaining the rocker head 23 in engagement with the countersunk panel 13. The rocker head 23 provides the fulcrum point on which the opener is rocked. In this initial position of the opener, the fulcrum point is immediately adjacent the end seam of the closure 12 and thereby sets-off a short moment arm in relation to the hook nose 27 so that only a minimum pres sure on the handle is required to begin the prying action against the outer flange 15 of the closure.

A=s continued pressure is exerted on the handle 21 the hook lug 26 lifts or prys the flanges 14, 15 free of the can body marginal edge portion 16 as shown in FIG. 4 while the rocker head 23 rolls back on the countersunk panel 13 and thereby progressively increases the moment arm in relation to the hook lug 26 and thus provides for a decreased but substantially uniform pressure requirement on the handle 21.

This prying action on the outer flange 15 of the closure lifts the flanges 14, 15 substantially in a vertical direction without spreading the flanges apart. As the prying action is continued the countersunk panel 13 bends upwardly and the flanges around the periphery of the can body 11 are progressively released from the body until the closure is completely removed.

During this prying action and substantially at the time the pressure is initially applied to the handle 21, the locking lug 24 engages against the inner flange 14 near the top edge of the flange as shown in FIG. 4 and thereby locks the hook nose 27 of the hook lug 26 against displacement from the smooth terminal edge 18 of the outer flange 15. The hook nose 27 is thereby prevented from slipping out from under the closure edge 18 and it is through this locking feature that the closure may be completely removed from the can in a single prying action.

In the modified form of the invention as shown in FIG, 5, the opener preferably is made of flat steel stock and its edge is utilized for the prying action instead of a flat face as in the preferred form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this modified form, a handle 31 is provided at one end of the stock, while the other end is bifurcated to define a pair of legs extending away from the handle 31. One of the legs terminates in a laterally inwardly facing locking lug 33 disposed in the bifurcation opening 34. Opposed to the locking lug 33, the other leg 35 of the opener is formed with a laterally inwardly facing hook lug 36 terminating in a hook nose 37 disposed in spaced relation to and substantially directly opposite the locking lug 33. The outer edge of the leg having locking lug 33 thereon is areuately curved to form a rocker head or fulcrum element 32.

When this modified opener is initially applied to a closure 12 to be pried oif its can body 11, the locking lug 33 engages against the base or lowerend of the inner flange 14 of the closure and also engages against the countersunk panel 13. The outer edge of locking lug 33 is curved and forms a continuation of the rocker head 32.

The hook nose 37 of the hook lug 36 engages under the smooth terminal edge 13 of the outer flange 15 as in the preferred form of opener.

Hence when pressure is applied to the handle 31 of the modified opener, the prying action against the outer flange 15 begins with a moment arm considerably shorter than in the preferred form of opener and hence a lesser pressure is required on the handle to begin the opening operation. The prying action in the modified form opener is substantially the same as with the preferred form, except that the locking lug 33 engages against the base of the inner flange 14 and thereby has a tendency to prevent spreading apart of the flanges 14, 15 during the prying-off operation as well as locking the hook nose 37 of the hook lug 36 in position under the outer flange edge 13 to insure complete removal of the closure 12 in one single operation.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

We claim:

A pry-off can opener formed from a single piece of stock for removing from a can a countersunk panel end closure having inner and outer end seam flanges surrounding and frictionally embracing a marginal edge portion of the body of said can, one end of said stock defining an elongated handle for said opener, a hook lug struck outwardly from said stock adjacent said handle and facing the other end of said stock for engagement under an exposed edge of said outer end seam flange of said end closure to pry said closure from said can body by pressure exerted on said handle, said stock other end defining an arcuately curved fulcrum element disposed in spaced relation to said hook lug longitudinally of said stock for engagement with said countersunk panel of said end closure inwardly of said inner seam flange to provide an increasing moment arm between said element and said hook lug to facilitate prying said closure from said can body, and a locking lug struck outwardly from said stock adjacent said fulcrum element facing said one stock end and disposed adjacent said hook lug in spaced confronting relation thereto for engagement with the inner face of said inner end seam flange when said opener is on said closure to retain said hook lug in engagement with said exposed edge of said outer end seam flange during said prying action and to insure against excessive outward bending of said outer end seam flange, said opener stock between said hook lug and locking lug having a reverse curvature from that of said fulcrum element to provide clearance thereunder between said lugs for said seam flanges when saidopener is positioned in operative engagement therewith.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,496,437 Stokke June 3, 1924 1,978,487 Courtney Oct. 30, 1934 2,067,599 Courtney Jan. 12, 1937 2,715,264 Atwater Aug. 16, 1955 2,860,533 Lydon Nov. 18, 1958 2,964,763 Nagy Dec. 20, 1960.