US3820511A - Can holding device for serving - Google Patents

Abstract

A can holding device for serving from a can includes an elongate hand-grip member to be disposed alongside the can and having means for holding and pouring from the can held thereby. The device includes an annular movable base for substantially encircling the lower end of the can and for supporting the can in spaced relation with respect to support surfaces upon which the device may be disposed when serving. A connection is formed between the base and the lower end of the hand-grip member permitting movement of the base between advanced and retracted positions as well as provision of cam means carried by the base opposite the pivot connection and disposed to engage the can and urge the base away from the pivot connection to remove any looseness in the pivot connection so as to firmly retain the base beneath the can while permitting ready alignment of the base with the can. At the upper end of the device, a can opening element is carried beneath a cross-piece together with a tubular puncture element forming a vent therefor. The cross-piece serves as a lever including a fulcrum connection at one end thereof for engaging the bead formed around the edge of the can whereby the can may both be opened for serving and punctured for venting all in the same lever movement.

Description

United States Patent [19] Katz akia'n 54] CAN HOLDING DEVICE FOR SERVING [76] Inventor: John Katzakian, 3411 Arden Creek Rd., Sacramento, Calif. 95825 22 Filed: June 22,1972 21 Appl. No.: 265,218

52 US. Cl 222/475, 222/85, 222/89 51 1m. 01 A47g 19/14 [58] Field of Search...; ..'222/83, 81, 5, 89,475, 222/468, 567, 83.5, 465, 86 88, 469-471, 173, 184

[ 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,229,303 1/1941 2,320,084 5/1943 2,522,420 9/1950 2,812,112 11/1957 1 3,014,621 12/1961 3,134,506- 5/1964 'Waym; 222/89 Primary ExaminerRobe'rt B. Reeves Assistant Examiner-11, Grant Skaggs Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Flehr, Hohbach, Test, Albritton & Herbert l [451 June 28, 1974 [57] ABSTRACT A can holding device for serving from a can includes an elongate hand-grip member to be disposed alongside the can and having means for holding and pouring from the can held thereby. The device includes an annular movable base for substantially encircling the lower end of the can and for supporting the can in spaced relation with respect to support surfaces upon which the device may be disposed when serving. A connection is formed between the base and the lower end of the hand-grip member permitting movement of the base between advanced and retracted positions as well as provision of cam means carried by the base opposite the pivot connection and'disposed to engage the can and urge the base away from the pivot connection to remove any looseness in the pivot connection so as to firmly retain the base beneath the can while permitting ready alignment of the base with the can. At the upper end of the device, a can opening element is carried beneath a cross-piece together with a tubular puncture element forming a vent therefor. The cross-piece servesas a lever including a fulcrum connection at one end thereof for engaging the bead formed around the edge of the can whereby the can may both be opened for serving and punctured for venting all in the same lever movement.

1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figures 1 CAN HOLDING DEVICE FOR SERVING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention pertains to a can holding and pouring to accommodate these refills, some people simply buy the large size cans of such breakfast juices and place these cans on the table so that anyone who desires to refill their glass can do so by pouring from the can.

However, where the can which has been placed on the table is large enough to accommodate the needs of a family, it also becomes sufficiently large that it makes it awkward or difficult to grip around the can for any but the largest hands. For example, typically the larger size cans, such as the above size, are relatively difficult to hold in the hand unless held by an adult and, therefore, there has been a need for the provision of an improved can handling and serving device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND OBJECTS In general, there has been provided a can holding and serving device having an elongate hand-grip member to be disposed alongside a can and means for holding and pouring from the can held thereby. An annular movable base for encircling the lower end margin of the can body and for supporting the can from beneath in spaced relation from support surfaces, such as a'table upon whichthe device may be disposed, have also been provided. i

Means have further been provided coupling the base to the lower end of the hand-grip member for movement between advanced and retracted positions for accommodating substantially coaxial positioning of said base beneath said can when in one of said positions and means for readily releasably holding the base in cansupporting relation beneath the lower end of the can.

In addition to the foregoing, an elongate cantilever arm extends diametrically across the can from the upper .endof the hand-grip member. The cantilever arm includes means near its distal end for engaging and coupling with the bead formed around the upper edge of a can so as to constitute a fulcrum about which the arm can act as a lever to be urged downwardly against the can. The arm includes a pair of can-piercing elements, one of which serves to vent the can and the other to open the can in the region of a pouring spout formed through the cantilever arm.

In general, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved can holding and pouring device particularly useful for serving beverages at a table.

Itis another object of the present invention to provide an improved can holding and serving device which can quickly, in a single downward movement of a portion thereof as is coupled to the beading around the edge of the can, pierce the can and open it for pouring at one end while at the other end a movable base is disposed in position to cooperate with the bottom of the can and to hold the base in place.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will be more readily evident from the following detailed dis- 2 closure of a preferred embodiment when considered in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a side elevation center-line section view of a can holding and serving device coupled to a can which is partially broken away for clarity;

FIG. 2 shows a top plan section view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 with the can removed;

FIG. 3 shows an end elevation view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 1 with the can thereof removed and with the puncturing member 26 shown in phantom lines;

FIG. 4 shows a bottom plan view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1 with the can thereof removed; and

FIG. 5 shows a portion of a top plan view of FIG. 1 taken along the line 55 thereof. I

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A can holding and pouring device 10 of a type for engaging the top and bottom edges of a can 11 includes an elongate hand-grip member 12 disposed adjacent one side wall of can 11 to extend a substantial distance alongside the can. Member 12 is of a substantially rigid material and includes a pair of spaced downwardly extending members 13,14. Member 14 is spaced sufficiently from member 13 (and can 11) whereby to accommodate the fingers (not shown) of a persons hand gripping through the spacing 16.

The upper end of grip member 12 carries a cantilever lever arm 17 of substantially rigid material extending from the upper end of the hand-grip member so as to diametrically span the top of the can.

The free or distal end of lever arm 17 carries a downwardly depending hook-like element 18 of rigid material, such as steel, formed with a small lip 19 to be engaged beneath the bead 21 formed around the upper edge of can 11. As thus arranged, hook element 18 serves to provide afulcrum about which lever arm 17 can be pivoted downwardly in the direction of arrow 22 as element 18 prevents upward movement of the distal end of arm 17.

Arm 17 further includes a pouring spout 23 through which the contents of can 11 can be dispensed. A stainless steel bar or other suitable rigid bar 24 lies beneath and secured to arm 17 and includes element 18 at one end as a portion thereof. Bar 24 includes a downwardly curving puncturing element 26 struck therefrom so as to leave an opening 27 disposed in line with pouring spout 23. A plastic semi-rigid lid 25 is bonded to bar 24 and formed with a gripping flange 25a for engaging bead 21. r

A second puncturing element in the form of a hollow, tubular vent pipe puncture element 28 with a beveled lower end is carried to depend downwardly from the central portion of lever arm 17.

As thus arranged, lever arm 17 can first be engaged with bead 21 by means of element 18 and then with a downward thrust of lever arm 17 in the direction of arrow 22 a pouring opening 29 and a vent opening 30 can be conjointly fonned.

Means have been provided on the top surface of arm 17 in the form of a pouring gate consisting of the elongate, thin, flat blade or closure element 32 forming a sliding closure movable along the length of arm 17 for closing and opening pouring spout 23. Thus, blade 32 is slidably disposed and retained by elongate slots 33 formed by the overhanging lip portions 34. A thumb rest 36 has been formed on one end of blade 32 for moving blade 32 back and forth in the direction of arrow 37.

An elongate slot opening 38 extends through closure element 32 at a predetermined disposition therealong for alignment with puncture (vent) element 28 during opening of the spout by the sliding of closure element. Thus, it is readily evident that, as closure element 32 is withdrawn to open pouring spout 23, opening 38 will become aligned with vent element 28. While closure element 32 can be withdrawn some additional degree in order to permit additional volume of liquid to be poured through the spout, if closure element 32 is moved too far in order to open spout 23 to too great an extent, the venting passage of element 28 and the vent opening 38 will become interrupted by virtue of the fact that vent opening 38 will become displaced beyond vent element 28 thereby blocking the vent passage through element 28 so as to slow the flow.

A base means is carried from the lower end of handgrip member 12 to provide an annular seat to engage the bottom of the can and dispose the bottom of the can spaced from support surfaces upon which the device may be placed and, in this manner, eliminate any objectionable rings which may be formed by condensation on wood surfaces and others.

Such base means is movable between advanced and retracted positions so as to permit access for loading" the can into the holding device and pursuing the puncturing aspects noted above. In short, the means aforementioned is movable to a position out of the way so that the can can become attached to the lever arm 17.

Thus, an annular movable base 39 includes, in general, a cylindrical ring portion 41 for encircling a lower end margin 42 of the side wall of can 11. Radially inwardly directed support elements, such as the tangs 43,

struck from the cylindrical wall portion 41 are spaced from the lower end thereof a predetermined distance sufficient to avoid condensation rings or the like forming on a wood or other surface.

Thus, the tangs 43 extend radially inwardly at a number of locations around the ring 41 other than adjacent the lower end of member 12. At that location, handgrip member 12 is formed at its distal end with an upwardly turned hook portion 44 for engaging the bead 46 formed about the bottom edge of can 11 whereby, in conjunction with element 18, can 11 will be held compressed therebetween.

As noted above, base 39 is movable between advanced and retracted positions engaged and released relative to the bottom of can 11. Accordingly, a pair of upwardly extending pivot support arms 47 is attached as by plastic welding or otherwise to relatively flat earlike portions 48 extending radially outwardly of base 39. The upper ends of pivot arms 47 are coupled by means of a pivot pin 49 to the lower end of member 12. Pivot pin 49 is relatively small with respect to the pivot pin opening formed through the bottom end of member 12 so that the pin will fit with sufficient looseness or lost motion at that location to pennit the annular base 39 to be readily coaxially aligned with can 11 when it is placed thereon.

Means are further provided for holding base 39 out of alignment with respect to can 11 for periods when can 11 is being attached to lever arm 17. Accordingly, a pair of outwardly urged small steel detent balls 51 is lodged in a hole formed in the lower end of member 12 and urged outwardly by a spring 52. Balls 51 are suitably retained at each end of the hole to permit slightly less than a hemisphere of each to protrude. A dimple 54 is formed on the inside surface of each of arms 47 and in the arcuate panel for engaging the ball detents 51.

Cam means have further been provided carried by base 39 opposite pivot connection 49 and disposed to engage the can and urge base 39 away from the pivot connection so as to remove the looseness or lost motion therein whereby to firmly retain the base beneath the can.

Accordingly, a wedge or cam 56 is formed diametrically opposite pivot pin 49 so that, as the bottom end of can 11 is moved into base 39, cam 56 serves to draw base 39 slightly to the left as shown and thereby tightens the connection at pivot pin 49.

From the foregoing, it will be readily evident that there has been provided an improved can holding and serving device having the improved feature of conjointly puncturing the upper surface of the can with a lever arm forming a portion of the device and further provided with a lower base'which is movable into and out of engagement with the bottom of a can retained in the device for pouring. It is further noted that a certain amount of looseness is found in the connection holding the baseto the device so that it can be readily aligned but once aligned the looseness is removed by means of cam action. Further, the arrangement as shown and described above includes novel means for aligning a vent opening with a pouring spout so as to provide additional control in pouring.

I claim:

1. In a can holding and pouring device having an elongate hand-grip member to be disposed alongside a can and means for holding said member to said can for pouring from the can held thereby, a member extending across the top of the can and having a pouring spout therethrough, an annular movable base for substantially encircling the lower end of the can and supporting the can from beneath in spaced relation to support surfaces upon which said device may be disposed, means forming a pivot connection between said base and the lower end of said hand-grip member for movement between advanced and retracted positions, said pivot connection having sufficient looseness or lost motion therein to readily permit said base member to be disposed around a lower end margin of the can and substantially coaxially therewith, cam means carried by said base opposite said pivot connection and disposed to engage the can to draw the base away from the pivot connection to remove said looseness therein whereby to firmly retain said base beneath said can, and detent means carried by said hand-grip member for holding said base in its retracted position.

Claims (1)

1. In a can holding and pouring device having an elongate handgrip member to be disposed alongside a can and means for holding said member to said can for pouring from the can held thereby, a member extending across the top of the can and having a pouring spout therethrough, an annular movable base for substantially encircling the lower end of the can and supporting the can from beneath in spaced relation to support surfaces upon which said device may be disposed, means forming a pivot connection between said base and the lower end of said hand-grip member for movement between advanced and retracted positions, said pivot connection having sufficient looseness or lost motion therein to readily permit said base member to be disposed around a lower end margin of the can and substantially coaxially therewith, cam means carried by said base opposite said pivot connection and disposed to engage the can to draw the base away from the pivot connection to remove said looseness therein whereby to firmly retain said base beneath said can, and detent means carried by said hand-grip member for holding said base in its retracted position.

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