US3688398A

US3688398A - Can opener with cutting element carrying hand lever and push button operated mechanism for removing same

Info

Publication number: US3688398A
Application number: US12742A
Authority: US
Inventors: Leo F Aberer
Original assignee: Rival Manufacturing Co
Current assignee: Rival Manufacturing Co
Priority date: 1970-02-19
Filing date: 1970-02-19
Publication date: 1972-09-05
Anticipated expiration: 1989-09-05
Also published as: CA937742A

Abstract

An electrically powered can opener has a cutter wheel carrying hand lever pivotally attached to its forward upright frame by an elongate pin assembly. The frame and various parts of the can opener include a spring biased movable latch which engages a portion of the pin assembly to retain same in its operative environment. This latch is enclosed by an open front box-like casing which has an exteriorly accessible push button located on the casing and engaging a portion of the movable latch. The push button has a position which when moved thereto pivots the movable latch out of contact with said pin assembly thereby allowing the hand lever to be removed from the can opener frame.

Description

United States Patent Aberer [54] CAN OPENER WITH CUTTING ELEMENT CARRYING HAND LEVER AND PUSH BUTTON OPERATED MECHANISM FOR REMOVING SAME [72] Inventor: Leo F. Aberer, Shawnee Mission,

- Kans.

[73] Assignee: Rival Manufacturing Company,

Kansas City, Mo.

[22] Filed: Feb. 19, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 12,742

[52] US. Cl. ..30/4 R [51] Int. Cl. ..B67b 7/38 [58] Field of Search ..30/4, 8, 8.5, 9; 292/153, 304

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,496,635 2/1970 McLean ..30/4 919,750 4/1909 Neumeister ..292/153 X Sept. 5, 1972 2,810,952 10/1957 Sundell ..30/4 R Primary Examiner-Andrew R. J uhasz Assistant ExaminerGary L. Smith Attorney-Scofield, Kokjer, Scofield & Lowe ABSTRACT An electrically powered can opener has a cutter wheel carrying hand lever pivotally attached to its forward upright frame by an elongate pin assembly. The frame and various parts of the can opener include a spring biased movable latch which engages a portion of the pin assembly to retain same in its operative environment. This latch is enclosed by an open front box-like casing which has an exteriorly accessible push button located on the casing and engaging a portion of the movable latch. The push button has a position which when moved thereto pivots the movable latch out of contact with said pin assembly thereby allowing the hand lever to be removed from the can opener frame.

3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The advantages of electrically powered can openers with removable hand levers which carry the cutter elements thereon were discussed in the Robert J. Scott patent application entitled Removable Hand Lever Construction, now US. Pat. No. 3,520,056, which issued June 14, 1970, which is owned by the same assignee. It was noted therein that can openers with permanently affixed cutting elements were difficult to clean and maintain sanitary and that means for permitting the removing of the hand lever carrying the cutting element thereon facilitated its easy washing and sanitizing of same.

The invention disclosed herein utilizes a pivotally mounted spring biased latch member which contacts and engages an inwardly extending pin member from the hand lever pin assembly so that the hand lever is movably attached to the upright frame in its operative environment. One end of the pivotally mounted latch member has a means for contacting and engaging a push button which is accessible exteriorly of the can opener frame and casing. The push button is movable between two positions. One position the at rest position) corresponds to a latch-pin member engaging position with the spring bias operative to maintain the engagement between the two above-mentioned members. The second position of the push button pivots the spring biased latch away from the axis of the pin member and out of contact therewith so that the hand lever may be removed from its normal operative environment within the can opener upright frame.

One 'of the principal objects of the invention is to provide, in the can opener of the type wherein the cutting element is carried by and moved into and out of the cutting position by the hand lever substantially pivoted to the body or frame of a can opener, a readily removable can piercing hand lever which is retained in the can opener frame by a uniquely constructed spring biased latch which operatively interconnects with a push button located at least partially on the exterior of the can opener box-like casing. It is a feature of the invention that the spring biased latch is pivoted relative to the can opener frame at a location near the central area of the latch and is movable under spring tension toward and away from the axis of the hand lever pin member. In this manner, convenient latch area portions are available on either side of the pivot for engaging either the pin member or for providing a means for pivoting the latch member.

Another object of my invention is to provide a readily removable can piercing hand lever assembly which is manipulated at least in part by a unique push button located at least partially exteriorly of the can opener casing. It is a feature of this object that the latch structure is designed to cooperate with a can opener boxlike casing with the push button slidably mounted therein. Due to the size, shape and mounting location of the push button, the assembly of the can opener frame and the casing during manufacturing processes is facilitated as in the interrelationship between the external push button and the one end portion of the latch member.

A further object of my invention is to provide a uniquely constructed, rugged, durable and simple to operate combination push button and pivotal latch which permits the easy removal and reassembly of a can piercing hand lever of an electrically powered can opener of the character described above.

Other and further objects of the invention, together with the features of novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear in the course of the following description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of the specification and is to be read in conjunction therewith and in which like reference numerals indicate like parts in the various views:

FIG. 1 is a front fragmentary elevational view of a power operated can opener with a removable can piercing lever assembly and with the operating parts shown in the normal operating or at rest position;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the can opener upright frame and lever assembly of FIG. 1 showing the spring biased latch and pin member in the engaging or in the lever retaining position;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary elevational view of FIG. 2 showing the push button and the spring biased latch member moved to a position that will permit removal or reassembly of the hand lever assembly;

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view of the hand lever assembly showing the pin assembly in solid lines and the cutter wheel in broken lines;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows and showing the push button in broken lines in the at rest or lever assembly retaining position; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the latch member engaging portion of the push button structure taken generally along the line 6-6 of FIG. 3 in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawing, reference numeral 10 generally designates the body or frame of a typical electrically operated can opener. The principal portion of the frame shown in the various views is adapted to cooperate with an open front box-like casing 10a and operates to support various operative parts of the can opener.

A serrated or toothed rotary can feed wheel 11 is operatively located on the forward side of frame 10. The feed wheel drive shaft 12 extends through frame 10 and is rotatably supported in an appropriately bearinged aperture in a thickened portion of frame 10. An electric motor means not shown) rotates the shaft 12 and drives feed wheel 1 l in a conventional manner.

The subject invention is conveniently utilized with a pivotal can piercing hand lever 13 located forwardly of frame 10 so as to provide a movable support for cutter wheel 14. The cutter wheel is mounted for free rotation on the usual stud or arbor anchored in lever 13 and held on the arbor by screw 15. Hand lever 13 has an elongate pin assembly extending through a suitable fitted aperture in the lower left-hand portion of the lever (see FIG. 1) and is fixedly secured thereto. As clearly seen in FIG. 4, the forward or outwardly extending portion of the pin assembly includes a cylindrical rod-like projection 16 which functions as a can guide. The intermediate portion of the pin assembly includes a continuation of the can guide 16 with jam nut 17 and the circular flange 170 on either side thereof further fixedly locating and positioning the hand lever at an optimum location relative to other portions of the pin assembly. 5

The rearward extending portion of the pin assembly includes a generally rod or shaft-like rearwardly extending pin member 16b having an annular groove 16c in the rearward end portion thereof. Pin member 16b is rotatably positioned within an aperture in a thickened portion of the front frame, generally designated by boss b, as suggested above.

Turning now more particularly to the detailed description of the lever assembly and the locking or retaining means associated therewith, latch 18 is pivotally affixed at an area on or near the central portion thereof to the inner portion of boss 10b by means of shoulder screw 19 which threadably engages boss 10b in a conventional manner. Latch I8 is conveniently shaped as shown in the various figures to approximate a Y with the notched or shaft engaging portion of the Y being located in the upper leg, the pivot point being located near the vertex of the Y and the base of the Y providing the push button engaging portion. The latch member includes the notch 18a located in the upper leg and a suitable aperture 18b located in the lower leg. Tension spring is interconnected between the anchor screw 20a and the aperture 18b of latch 18 so that the latch member is biased to rotate about its pivotal connection 19 in a counterclockwise direction as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. The push button engaging portion of latch 18 is bifurcated at 18c, there being an upper leg and a lower leg of the bifurcated end portion which cooperates with the push button structure as will be discussed later. Accordingly, when in the normal or at rest position, latch 18 contacts the pin member 161) and is engaged within the annular groove 16c so that the hand lever is retained for operative movement within frame 10.

As suggested above, the box-like casing 10a that cooperates with the front frame 10 supports a push button hereinafter identified by the numeral 21) for movement between a first position which will result in 45 latch 18 engaging the pin member 16b and to a second position which will permit the pin member (and accordingly the hand lever) to be removed from its operative position within frame 10. As clearly seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, push button 21 is comprised of a wedge-shaped outer portion 21a with an inwardly extending hollow base portion 21b. The base 21b and the thumb outer portion 210 are integrally formed and appropriately sized so that base 211; slideably fits within an oval structure 10a in casing 100 and which is substantially adjacent to the pivot point of latch 18 (shoulder screw 19). The inner face of base 21b is also oval or elliptical in shape with a pin 21c extending through the opposed sides of base 21b. The bifurcated legs of push button engaging portion 18c of latch 18 are disposed on either side of pin 21c for an operative interconnection between the two members. As suggested above, the dimensions of the wedge-shaped outer portion 21a of push button 21 adjacent its base 21b are sufiicient to 6 cover opening 10a in casing 10a regardless of whether the push button is in the rest or the lever release position.

In operation, hand lever 13 is pivotally attached to frame 10 when pin assembly (more particularly pin member 16b) extends through its associated aperture in frame 10 and boss 10b so that the spring biased latch member 18 may be engaged within the annular groove 16c. When in this position, hand lever 13 may be operatively moved between the can receiving and the can piercing position which are the conventional desired positions of an electrically operated can opener of this nature. When it is desired to remove hand lever 13 (and cutter wheel 14) from frame 10, it is only necessary to press downwardly on the upper surface of push button 21 in the direction of the arrow, see FIG. 3).

When push button 21 is depressed so that the lower portion of its base 21b nearly contacts the lower surface of the opening 10a, the pin 21c moves downwardly against the upper surface of the lower bifurcated leg of latch portion 180 thereby pivoting latch 18 in a clockwise direction as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. This pivotal movement of latch 18 is against the tension of spring 20, however the movement is sufficient to free the notched portion 180 of latch 18 from the annular groove 16c to be moved to the solid line position shown in FIG. 3. Accordingly, the hand lever and its associated pin assembly are removable from frame 10a. Likewise, such a button position will permit the repositioning of the hand lever and its associated pin assembly within frame 10. With the manual pressure released from push button 21 the spring 20 pivots latch 18 to the position shown in FIG. 2 and will accordingly be engaged in annular groove 160 of pin member 16b when the pin assembly has been returned to its operative position within frame 10.

As shown, when latch 18 is fully engaged in groove 160, some clearance exists between the upper end of portion 21b of push button 21 and aperture to assure that the latch will never be impeded from so engaging said groove 16c. Also, when portion 21b seats downwardly in aperture 100', pin 1619 will always be free of latch 18.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all the ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention I claim:

1. In a can opener having an upright frame, a casing which encloses a portion thereof, a rotary feed wheel, and means for rotating said feed wheel, the combination therewith of a hand lever carrying a cutting element thereon,

means for removably supporting said hand lever on said frame, said means including a bearing opening in said frame,

a latch,

means for pivotally connecting said latch to said frame,

a pin member supported from said lever and having a groove defined therein, said latch having a contoured opening defined therein, said latch opening having at least a first and a second portion in spaced apart relationship, said first portion of said latch opening being selectively sized to permit a portion of said latch to be engaged within said pin member groove to retain said hand lever in its rotative operative environment on said frame with said pin member extending through said bearing opening, said second portion of said latch opening being sized to permit axial separation of said pin member and said bearing opening so that said hand lever may be removed from said frame, said latch opening being located on said frame in said pin member retaining operative environment with the axis of said second latch opening portion spaced from a vertical line through the axis of said latch opening first portion,

a spring, said spring connected to said latch member and said frame and operable to bias said latch about said pivotally connecting means towards said groove engaging relationship with said pin member, said latch being oriented on said frame to pivotally move in a direction that is transverse to the axis of said pin member thereby moving said latch opening in an arcuate path,

a push button operating surface extending exteriorally of said casing, said push button surface interconnected with said latch member and movable between a first position which correspondingly moves said latch to permit same to engage said pin member groove and a second position which effects pivoting of said latch member in said arcuate path out of contact with said groove and in a direction transverse to the axis of said pin member thereby aligning said axis of said second portion of said latch opening with the axis of said pin member to permit axial separation of said pin member and said bearing opening so that said hand lever may be removed from said frame, and means for limiting the pivotal movement of said latch in a preselected direction when said push button surface is moved to said second position to locate said second portion of said latch opening for the said purpose of removing or reassembling said hand lever with respect to said frame, said casing having at least two side portions extending generally rearwardly from said frame, said limiting means including one of said side portions having an opening defined therein, said opening having an upper and a lower limit, one of said push button and said latch extending through said opening and contacting one of said upper and lower side opening limits to facilitate the locating of said second portion of said latch opening in said aligned position with respect to the axis of said pin member and said bearing opening for removing or reassembling said hand lever with respect to said frame. 2. The combination as in claim 1 wherein said latch member has a bifurcated leg that interconnects with said push button, said push button having a means attached thereto that extends within said bifurcated portion of said lever and imparts pivotal movement to said latch when said push button is moved to said second position.

3. The combination as in claim 1 wherein said push button includes a base portion and an exterior portion, said base portion extending interiorly of said casing, said base portion being interconnected with said latch and cooperating with said limiting means to limit the pivotal movement of said latch and said latch opening.

Claims

1. In a can opener having an upright frame, a casing which encloses a portion thereof, a rotary feed wheel, and means for rotating said feed wheel, the combination therewith of a hand lever carrying a cutting element thereon, means for removably supporting said hand lever on said frame, said means including a bearing opening in said frame, a latch, means for pivotally connecting said latch to said frame, a pin member supported from said lever and having a groove defined therein, said latch having a contoured opening defined therein, said latch opening having at least a first and a second portion in spaced apart relationship, said first portion of said latch opening being selectively sized to permit a portion of said latch to be engaged within said pin member groove to retain said hand lever in its rotative operative environment on said frame with said pin member extending through said bearing opening, said second portion of said latch opening being sized to permit axial separation of said pin member and said bearing opening so that said hand lever may be removed from said frame, said latch opening being located on said frame in said pin member retaining operative environment with the axis of said second latch opening portion spaced from a vertical line through the axis of said latch opening first portion, a spring, said spring connected to said latch member and said frame and operable to bias said latch about said pivotally connecting means towards said groove engaging relationship with said pin member, said latch being oriented on said frame to pivotally move in a direction that is transverse to the axis of said pin member thereby moving said latch opening in an arcuate path, a push button operating surface extending exteriorally of said casing, said push button surface interconnected with said latch member and movable between a first position which correspondingly moves said latch to permit same to engage said pin member groove and a second position which effects pivoting of said latch member in said arcuate path out of contact with said groove and in a direction transverse to the axis of said pin member thereby aligning said axis of said second portion of said latch opening with the axis of said pin member to permit axial separation of said pin member and said bearing opening so that said hand lever may be removed from said frame, and means for limiting the pivotal movement of said latch in a preselected direction when said push button surface is moved to said second position to locate said second portion of said latch opening for the said purpose of removing or reassembling said hand lever with respect to said frame, said casing having at least two side portions extending generally rearwardly from said frame, said limiting means including one of said side portions having an opening defined therein, said opening having an upper and a lower limit, one of said push button and said latch extending through said opening and contacting one of said upper and lower side opening limits to facilitate the locating of said second portion of said latch opening in said aligned position with respect to the axis of said pin member and said bearing opening for removing or reassembling said hand lever with respect to said frame.

2. The combination as in claim 1 wherein said latch member has a bifurcated leg that interconnects with said push button, said push button having a means attached thereto that extends within said bifurcated portion of said lever and imparts pivotal movement to said latch when said push button is moved to said second position.