Hand-held can opener

A hand-held can opener is provided with a grip handle, a grip block pivotally mounted to the forward end of the grip handle, a scissor handle pivotally mounted to the grip block and having a one way roller clutch connection with a unidirectionally driven feed wheel. The grip block is provided with a latch. Squeezing of the scissor handle toward the grip handle with pivot the grip block to position the feed wheel relative to the cutter for penetration of the can lid and lock the grip block into this position. Subsequent release and squeezing of the scissor handle will drive the feed wheel undirectionally for advancing the can lid past the cutter.

DESCRIPTION 
1. Background of the Invention 
This invention pertains to hand-held can openers of the type having a 
squeeze-type action to latch onto and pierce the can and subsequently 
rotate the can past the cutter. 
Hand-held can openers of this type have frequently employed one hand for 
squeezing the handles together and a second hand for rotating a feed wheel 
to advance the can past the cutter. More complex can openers of the 
hand-held type have employed mechanisms in which the handles can be 
brought together to latch the can rim into its cutting position relative 
to the cutter and subsequently maintain that latched condition while the 
handles can separate and advance the feed wheel in a scissor action. U.S. 
Pat. No. 2,718,056 is an example of this latter type of can opener. The 
can opener in this patent, however, requires an awkward over center 
latching mechanism and numerous linkages making the can opener difficult 
to use and expensive to manufacture. U.S. Pat. No. 2,924,878 shows an 
additional hand-held can opener where a separate latching member holds the 
cutter in operative position relative to the feed wheel and the lower 
gripping portion of the handle is reciprocated relative to the upper 
portion for advancing the feed wheel. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of this invention to provide a hand-held can opener which 
more effectively latches the feed wheel relative to the cutter and enables 
the cutter to pierce the can lid. 
It is another object of this invention to provide a hand-held can opener 
which is less expensive to manufacture and easy to use. 
Basically, these objects are obtained by a can opener having a grip handle 
and a scissor handle. A grip block is pivotally mounted at its forward end 
to a forward end of the grip handle. The scissor handle is pivotally 
mounted on the grip block. By swinging the scissor handle up against the 
grip block, the grip block is pivoted into a latching position with the 
cutter on the grip handle piercing the can lid and the grip block 
maintaining the feed wheel in its proper spaced relationship with the 
cutter and a set of wear rods for advancing the rim of the can past the 
cutter. The scissor handle is then separately movable relative to the grip 
block and the grip handle and drives a one-way clutch to advance the feed 
wheel. 
In the preferred embodiment, the latch mechanism for holding the grip block 
against the grip handle and holding the can rim between the feed wheel and 
the cutter is engaged readily by the thumb of the user's hand to release 
the can opener from the can. Thus one hand is free to manipulate the can 
while the other holds the can opener. 
The arrangement of the components of the opener is advantageously suited to 
provide maximum leverage for bringing the feed wheel and cutter into 
position relative to one another for piercing the can. The simplicity and 
relatively few number of components makes the can opener less expensive to 
manufacture and easier to use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
As best shown in FIG. 1, the can opener has a hollow grip handle 10 having 
a forward end 11 and a rearward end 12. Pivotally mounted on a pivot post 
14 is a grip block 16. The grip block is pivoted at its forward end 17 and 
is provided with a rearward end 18 with an abutment surface 20. 
Pivotally mounted to the grip block is a feed wheel 22 of the conventional 
serrated periphery type. The feed wheel is fixed to a feed wheel axle 24 
which is pivotally retained on the grip block 16 by a conventional 
retainer 25 or other suitable fastener. A spacer 28 positions the feed 
wheel relative to the grip block. 
Pivotally mounted to the feed wheel axle 24 by a conventional, one-way or 
unidirectional roller clutch 29, such as a Torrington Company overrunning 
roller clutch, is a hollow scissor handle 30. The roller clutch is well 
known in other uses, but is unique in this hand-held can opener 
application. The roller clutch advantageously offers simplicity and 
reliability in this small hand-held opener use. With the roller clutch, 
pivotal movement of scissor handle 30 towards grip handle 10, will rotate 
the feed wheel 22 to advance a can rim of a can "c," but with movement of 
the scissor handle away from the grip handle will allow free rotation 
between the scissor handle and the feed wheel, thus producing 
unidirectional movement of the feed wheel. A return spring 32 maintains 
the handles in separated position. 
The scissor handle 30 is provided with a bumper surface 31 which engages 
the abutment surface 20 to pivot the grip block counterclockwise toward 
the grip handle. The grip block is provided with a latch 36 mounted on an 
elastic latch post 38 that is fixed to the grip block. The latch passes 
through an opening 37 in the grip handle and engages with a keeper 40 
molded into the grip handle. As the scissor handle pivots the grip block 
counterclockwise from the position shown in FIG. 1 to the position shown 
in FIG. 2, the latch rides over the latch keeper and latches the grip 
block in the position shown in FIG. 2. Upon release of the latch 36, the 
spring 32 separates the handles sufficiently that the scissor handle 
engages the inside surface 55 on the grip block and pushes the grip block 
clockwise to open the space between the feed wheel and the cutter. As is 
apparent, the latch 36 is readily accessible by the thumb of the user 
gripping the handles so that release of the can is readily accomplished 
with the same hand as was operating the scissor and grip handles. 
A circular cutter 50 is freely pivotally mounted on a cutter post 52 that 
is fixed to the grip handle. When the grip block is pivoted into its latch 
position, the feed wheel is positioned relative to the cutter to force the 
cutter to pierce the lid of the can. The rim is squeezed between steel 
wear rods 43 and the feed wheel 22 positioning the rim and advancing the 
lid of the can past the cutter. The unique use of the unilateral clutch in 
this combination of handles and grip block, simplifies the unidirectional 
driving motion of the feed wheel. Furthermore, by pivoting the grip block 
at the forward end of the grip handle, considerable leverage can be 
brought to bear to pivot the grip block toward the grip handle. This 
facilitates the piercing of the can lid by the cutter and provides 
considerable gripping force for the feed wheel against the rim of the can. 
A spacer post 56 is provided on the lower end of the grip block for 
positioning the side wall of the can relative to the cutter and feed wheel 
while the can is being rotated. 
As illustrated in the drawings, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, 
the diameter of the feed wheel should be large and is approximately twice 
the diameter of the cutter so as to maximize the amount of rotation of the 
can for each stroke of the scissor handle. 
In operation the latch 36 is released allowing the spring 32 to pivot the 
grip block clockwise to separate the feed wheel from the cutter. The feed 
wheel is then positioned beneath the rim of the can and the scissor handle 
and grip handle brought together to swing the grip block counterclockwise 
by the bumper surface 31 pushing against the abutment surface 20. The can 
is then urged by the feed wheel toward the cutter until penetration of the 
can lid occurs and the rim of the can abuts the wear rods 43. At this time 
the latch 36 will automatically slide over the keeper 40 holding the can 
rim tightly between the feed wheel and the wear rods with the cutter 
penetrating the can lid. As the scissor handle is then released, the 
return spring 32 separates the handles. Subsequent squeezing of the 
scissor handle will unidirectionally rotate the feed wheel through the 
one-way clutch. When the can lid has been completely severed, the latch 36 
is moved rearwardly and the can is released as the grip block pivots 
clockwise to separate the feed wheel from the cutter. 
While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and 
described, it should be understood that the components lend themselves 
well to fabrication by use of molded plastic materials. Other variations 
will be apparent to those skilled in the art, however, and the invention 
is not to be limited to the specific embodiment illustrated in the drawing 
.