Hand-operated can press

A hand press for squeezing liquid from contents of a can wherein the can is positionable on a base and with one hand a pair of handles are grasped and squeezed together to push a platen against a severed can end and squeeze out the liquid while the can is held by that one grasping hand over an appropriate drainage receiver such as a sink.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
It is a common culinary practice to press liquid from certain can contents, 
such as tuna or the like, by manually forcing one severed can lid into the 
can to squeeze the liquid out of the contents while holding the can over a 
sink or bowl. This can be a time consuming and messy procedure with liquid 
tending to squirt out unpredictably. It may also be injurious if care is 
not taken to guard against finger cuts on the sharp severed can end edges, 
essentially while removing the can end after pressing is completed. 
Following the design of long-known masher utensils such as that of U.S. 
Pat. No. 207,974, various scissors-type can presses have been proposed. 
One example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,647 which has the 
disadvantage of a plunger stroke curving into the can, only partially 
offset by an angled plunger face, with the result that the plunger face is 
not forced straight into the can. Another scissor-type design is shown in 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,574 which is merely a modified pair of kitchen tongs 
from which the can may slip accidentally during operation and which cannot 
assert very great squeezing forces without hurting the fingers of the 
operator. 
Straight-stroke ram-type can presses have also been proposed. One overly 
simple form is the press of U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,544 which requires both 
hands to operate if it is to be held over a sink or bowl to receive the 
drained liquid. In other fields unrelated to can presses, ram-type presses 
are known in which platens slide along parallel standards during 
operation, but they are complicated devices involving hydraulic systems or 
complex gear trains. Those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,664,042 and 
5,001,911 are examples. 
The principal object of the present invention is to provide a simple hand 
press for cans of tuna or the like which may be operated with one hand 
alone while the press and can are extended by that one hand over a sink or 
bowl and in which the severed can lid is forced straight into the can for 
squeezing the contents and forcing out the liquid. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A hand-operated can press is provided by the invention for forcing a can 
end axially into moist can contents against an opposite unsevered can end 
to expel liquid from the contents. The press of the invention comprises a 
base on which the unsevered can end is positionable. At least one 
elongated standard extends rigidly and substantially perpendicularly from 
the base to be alongside the positioned can and parallel to the can axis. 
A slide element is linearly translatable along the standard. A platen is 
mounted on the slide element for linear movement from a retracted position 
permitting placement of the can on the base to an inserted position 
engaging and pressing the severed can end into the moist contents within 
the can. Substantially parallel opposed inner and outer squeezing handles 
extend substantially perpendicularly from the standard and slide element 
respectively and are spaced sufficiently close to one another in the 
retracted position of the platen to be grasped by an adult hand and 
squeezed together to advance the platen toward its inserted position while 
the entire press with the can therein may be held in that one grasping 
hand for appropriate drainage of liquid expelled from the can contents. 
In a preferred form of the invention a pair of parallel standards extended 
rigidly from the base, and the inner squeezing handle spans ends of the 
pair of standards remote from the base. A pair of slide elements may be 
linearly translatable along the respective standards, and the outer 
squeezing handle may span ends of the pair of slide elements remote from 
the base. The slide elements may fit telescopically around the respective 
standards. 
A circular seat may be provided on the base between the pair of standards 
for receiving a cylindrical can and positioning the can in axial 
opposition to the platen. A plurality of concentric stepped seats may be 
provided for receiving cylindrical cans of varying diameters. 
Preferably the base and standards and the inner handle connecting the 
standards are of unitary construction, and the slide elements and the 
outer handle connecting the slide elements are also of unitary 
construction. The platen may be substantially wedge-shaped to crease the 
severed can end substantially diametrically as the platen presses the 
severed can end into the moist contents within the can. The base may 
include a planar underside permitting the press to stand upright on a 
horizontal surface. The platen may be removable from the slide elements.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2 the preferred form of the hand-operated 
can press of the invention includes a base 10 having a planar underside 
permitting the press to stand upright on a horizontal surface. Three 
concentric partially circular stepped sets 11A, 11B and 11C are formed on 
the upper side of the base 10 for receiving cans of varying diameters. For 
economy of material the base 10 may have flat chordal sides 12 and 13 and 
a central circular hole 14 coaxial with the seats 11A to C. 
A pair of parallel elongated standards 16A and 16B of rectangular cross 
section extend rigidly and perpendicularly from the base. An inner 
squeezing handle 17 extends substantially perpendicularly between the ends 
of the standards 16A and 16B remote from the base 10. The base 10, the 
standards 16A and 16B and the inner handle 17 may be of plastic and of a 
one-piece unitary construction. 
A typical can 20 may be positioned on the base 10 and as shown in FIG. 1 it 
occupies the largest diameter partially circular seat 11C. One circular 
end 21 of the can 20 is severed by any conventional can opener but left in 
place on the moist contents within the can. In position on the base 10 the 
can 20 is disposed between the standards 16A and 16B with its axis 
parallel to those standards. 
A pair of slide elements 23A and 23B of U-shaped cross section are 
telescoped on and therefore are linearly translatable along the respective 
standards 16A and 16B. An outer squeezing handle 24 extends 
perpendicularly from the slide elements 23A and 23B. It is preferred that 
the slide elements 23A and 23B and the outer handle 24 be of the same 
plastic material as the base 10, standards 16A and 16B and inner handle 
17, and also that they be of a one-piece unitary construction. A 
transverse frame element 26 extends integrally between the ends of the 
slide elements 23A and 23B remote from the outer handle 24. 
Removably attached to the underside of the frame element 26 which is 
opposed to the base 10 is a substantially cylindrical platen 28 shown 
particularly in FIG. 3. The platen is a cup-shaped element made of the 
same plastic as the other parts of the press. It has an upper circular rim 
29 formed with diametrically opposed slots 30A and 30B. These slots snap 
removably onto ears 31 projecting from the underside of the frame element 
26, that ear 31 which engages the slot 30B being visible in FIG. 1. The 
platen 28 includes a ram portion 33 which is substantially cylindrical but 
has a lower end which is slightly wedge-shaped along a ridge line 34. A 
magnet may be provided on the surface of the lower end of the ram portion 
33 to retain the severed can lid after pressing is completed. 
In operation the press is assembled simply by snapping the platen 28 into 
place on the frame element 26 and sliding the slide elements 23A and 23B 
downwardly on the standards 16A and 16B as the press stands on its flat 
underside on a horizontal surface such as a kitchen counter. The end 21 of 
the can 20 is severed. The outer handle 24 is lifted away from the inner 
handle 17 to its retracted position marked "X" in FIG. 1, and that 
dimension is sufficiently small so that an adult can easily grasp the 
inner handle 17 and the outer handle 24 in one hand. In this retracted 
position of the platen 28 there is sufficient clearance for the can 20 to 
be placed on the appropriate partially circular seat on the platen 10. The 
operator simply squeezes the outer handle 24 with the heel of the hand 
downwardly toward the inner handle 17 grasped by the fingers, and this 
moves the platen downwardly so that its lower wedge-shaped face is forced 
onto the can end 21. As a consequence the can end 21 is forced onto the 
moist can contents. 
As this squeezing action begins the operator may with that one hand extend 
the entire press and can outwardly over a sink or bowl or other 
appropriate drainage receiving means. As further squeezing of the hand 
takes place the platen 28 thrusts the can end 21 further against the 
contents to squeeze out all liquid as desired. In doing so the 
wedge-shaped end of the platen causes the can end 21 to be slightly 
creased diametrically along the ridge line 34 of the platen, thus allowing 
the squeezed-out liquid to escape from the can 20. 
When the pressing operation is complete the press is again positioned 
upright on a horizontal surface, the outer handle 24 is retracted and the 
can 20 is removed from the base. 
Disassembly for cleaning is done simply by sliding the slide elements 23A 
and 23B off of the standards 16A and 16B and snapping the platen 28 off of 
the frame element 26. The entire disassembled press comprising only three 
parts may then be machine washed. 
The scope of the invention is to be taken from the following claims rather 
than from the foregoing description of preferred embodiment.