CAN OPENER

Abstract: A can opener capable of gripping the rim of a can whilst the rim of the can is being cut, the can opener having a mechanism whereby the user of the can opener need not apply constant pressure to maintain the grip of the can opener against the rim of the can. The can opener also has a release mechanism for ejecting the lid of the can once removed from the body of the can.

Description: "Can Opener" The invention relates to a can opener of the type which operates to separate an end wall or lid of the can by cutting from the outside under the upstanding rim formed at the end of the can and comprising overlapped portions of the perimeter of the end wall and the side wall of the can. It is one object of this invention to provide a can opener which can reliably be mounted on the edge of a can in predetermined position and which can remove the lid. It is a further object of the invention to provide such a can opener from which the cut lid can efficiently be removed without the need to contact the lid with fingers and which will dispose of the cut lid into a garbage bin by a quick release mechanism. According to the present invention there is provided a hand held can opener comprising a body, a traction wheel mounted in the body, a cutting wheel moveable towards and away from the traction wheel, the cutting wheel being carried by a mounting plate, and lever means for moving the mounting plate to cause the cutter wheel to move towards and away from the traction wheel, wherein there is included a release mechanism operable to cause the lever means to move the cutter wheel away from the traction wheel. Further features of the invention are set out in the dependent claims . Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of the can opener from the underside, some parts of the opener having been removed to better show the mechanism within; Fig 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the can opener of Fig 1 taken on the line II - II; Fig 3 is a plan view of an abutment plate; Fig 4 is a plan view of a cutter mounting plate; Fig 5 is a plan view of a release lever; Fig 6 is a plan view of a grip arm; Fig 7 is a plan view of a gripping mechanism in the closed position; Fig 8 is a plan view of a gripping mechanism in the open position; Fig 9 is an underneath plan view, partly in section, of another embodiment of the invention, being in the "open" position; Fig 10 is an underneath plan view, partly in section, of the embodiment of Fig 9, being in the "closed" position; Figs 11 and 12 are underneath plan views, partly in section, of alternative designs of the release button of Fig 9; Fig 13 is a cross-sectional view in one plane of the grip arm of Fig 9; and Fig 14 is a cross-sectional view in another plane of the grip arm of Fig 9. With reference to Figs 1 and 2, a hand held can opener of the invention comprises a moulding defining a head portion 1A and a handle portion IB. The handle portion comprises a housing 1 made up an upper body shell IE and a lower body shell IF each moulded of plastics and being held together by snap fitting, by screws or other suitable means, not shown. The side walls of the shells are shaped to provide side slots 1C, ID, in the handle portion. A rotatable handle 2 is mounted in the head portion by a spindle 3 which passes through a hole 4 formed in a boss 5 in the head portion. An abutment plate 6 having one circular hole 7 (Fig 3) is mounted against the lower surface of the upper body shell IE of the head portion 1 and the hole 7 is aligned with the hole 4, the spindle 3 passing through the abutment plate 6. The lower end of the spindle 3 is fixed to a traction wheel 9 so that when the handle 2 is rotated spindle 3 and thus traction wheel 9 also rotate. The traction wheel comprises a disc 10 having peripheral teeth 11. A cutting wheel 20 is mounted in the opener for reciprocal movement towards and away from the traction wheel 9. The cutting wheel 20 is mounted by a pin 21 to one corner of a triangular cutter mounting plate 22 (Fig 4) . The abutment plate has an enclosed arcuate slot 23 and the pin 21 protrudes therethrough, the cutter mounting plate 22 being present between the overlying ceiling of the upper handle portion IE and the abutment plate 6. The cutter mounting plate 22 has holes 21, 24 and 28 located near respective ones of its three corners. Extending through hole 24 there is a pin 25 fixed to the ceiling of the handle portion IE so that the cutter mounting plate 22 moves pivotally about the pin 25, the pin 21 then travelling an arcuate path in the slot 23. A coil spring 26 (Figs 7 and 8) is connected between a fixed point 27 adjacent the pin 25 and the far corner 28 of the plate 22 so that pivotal movement of the plate towards the traction wheel stretches the spring 26. The spring 26 is extended or contracted by a lever mechanism 30. This is made up of a release lever 31 (Fig 5) and a grip arm 32 (Fig 6) . The release lever 31 has one longer leg 33 and one shorter leg 34, the two legs being at an angle so that the lever is of general C shape. The outer end of the longer leg 33 is pivotally mounted on a pin 36 which is fixed to housing IB, passing through a hole 37. A hole 38 is present at the union of the legs. In the embodiment of Figs 1 to 8 the arm 32 has two spaced apart holes 39,40 near its ends, and the lever is superimposed on the arm by a pin 41 passing through aligned holes 38,39. The arm 32 is superimposed on the cutter mounting plate 22 by a pin 29 passing through aligned holes 28,40. The shorter leg 34 of the release lever 31 is shaped and dimensioned to present a release button 42 projecting slightly out of one side of the handle portion IB through slot ID. The arm 32 is shaped to move in and out of slot 1C in the other side of the handle portion IB. It will be seen that pins 29, 41 and 36 lie in an over-centre line in the closed position (Fig 7) . The cutting wheel 20 has a cutting edge 50. A projection 51 depends from the abutment plate 6. In use, the can opener is held in one hand and moved to a can (not shown) , and applied to the top until the projection 51 contacts the lid and the traction wheel 9 contacts the inside of the rim. The user then presses the grip arm 32 inwards so that it pivots about pin 29 and causes the release lever to pivot about pin 36 until the end of the release button 42 protrudes through slot ID to the outside of the main body 1. At the same time cutter mounting plate 22 pivots about pin 25 and moves the cutting edge 50 of the cutting wheel 20 towards the traction wheel 9, thereby firmly gripping the rim of the can between the traction wheel 9 and the cutting wheel 20. The spring 26 ensures that this grip is maintained without a continual force having to be applied by the user to the grip arm 32. In order to achieve this continuing grip in the closed position, the gripping mechanism is dimensioned so that the centre of pin 41 lies a short distance off-centre of a straight line between the centres of pins 29 and 36. The user then turns rotatable handle 2 thereby rotating traction wheel 9, the serrated teeth of which firmly grip the rim of the can. As the serrated wheel rotates, the rim joint of the can is drawn through the narrow gap between the traction wheel 9 and the cutting edge of the cutting wheel 20, so that the side wall of the can is progressively cut along a line parallel to and just below the rim joint by the cutting edge of the cutting wheel 20. At the end of the cutting action the lid separates from the bottom of the can, and is held by the can opener. To release the detached lid from the opener the user presses the release button 42 into the slot ID which causes the cutting wheel 20 to move away from the traction wheel 9 and the gripping mechanism to revert to the position illustrated in Fig 8. The lid then falls away e.g. into a waste bin. The grip arm 32 has a projection 52 which lies outside the body shell when the opener is in the 'closed' position. Projection 52 lies forward (i.e. towards the head end of the opener) of the pin 29 so that pressing on the projection 52 initiates movement of the lever mechanism to the open position. Thus, projection 52 and button 42 are alternative means of initiating the open position. They can be used together, i.e. they can be squeezed together if desired. Also, the design of the opener can be changed to eliminate one or the other if desired, i.e. button 42 could be removed. In the embodiments of Figs 9 to 14, there is a generally triangular cutter mounting plate 122 as before but the spring 26 is replaced by a coiled torsion spring 126. The spring 126 is entrained round a pin 125 and has two ends 126A and 126B extending out from the coil and between which an outward torsion force exists. End 126A is connected to the plate 122 and the end 126B pushes against an inner wall surface of the housing head portion 101A. The lever mechanism comprises a release lever 131 and a grip arm 132 and the release lever 131 has one longer leg 133 and one shorter leg 134, the two legs being at an angle so that the lever is of general L shape. The outer end of the longer leg 133 is pivotally mounted on a pin 136 which is fixed to housing 101B. A hole 138 is present at the union of the legs. The grip arm 132 is of generally U shaped cross-section to accommodate the release lever 131 within the hollow formed between the two sides of the grip arm 132 as best seen in Fig 13 and 14. The grip arm 132 has two spaced apart holes 139 and 140 and the release lever 131 is positioned within the grip arm 132 by means of a pin 141 passing through aligned holes 138 and 139. The grip arm 132 is mounted on the cutter mounting plate 122 by a pin 129 passing through aligned holes 128 and 140 such as to embrace both sides of the cutter mounting plate 122. The shorter leg 134 of the release lever 131 is shaped and dimensioned to engage a release button 142 projecting out of one side of the handle portion 101B through slot 101D. The release button 142 pivots on a pin 146 and is urged outwardly by resilient arm 143 which acts against pin 144. The arm 132 is shaped to move in and out of slot 101C in the other side of the handle portion 101B. It will be seen that pins 129, 141 and 136 lie in an over-centre line in the closed position (Fig 10) . In use, the user presses the grip arm 132 inwards so that it pivots about pin 129 and causes the release lever to pivot about pin 136 until the end of the shorter end 134 of the release lever 131 contacts the release button 142 moving the release button 142 through slot 101D to the outside of the main body 101. At the same time, cutter mounting plate 122 pivots about pin 125 and moves the cutting edge of the cutting wheel towards the traction wheel, thereby firmly gripping the rim of the can between the traction wheel and the cutting wheel. The torsion spring 126 ensures that this grip is maintained without a continual force having to be applied by the user to the grip arm 132. In order to achieve this continuing grip in the closed position, the gripping mechanism is dimensioned so that the centre of pin 141 lies a short distance off-centre of a straight line between the centres of pins 129 and 136 as seen in Fig 10. The user then turns the rotatable handle thereby rotating the traction wheel, the serrated teeth of which firmly grip the rim of the can. As the serrated wheel rotates, the rim joint of the can is drawn through the narrow gap between the traction wheel and the cutting edge of the cutting wheel, so that the side wall of the can is progressively cut along a line parallel to and just below the rim joint by the cutting edge of the cutting wheel. At the end of the cutting action the lid separates from the bottom of the can, and is held by the can opener. To release the detached lid from the opener the user presses the release button 142 into the slot 101D which causes the gripping mechanism to revert to the position illustrated in Fig 9. The lid then falls away e.g. into a waste bin. The grip arm 132 has a projection 152 which lies outside the body shell when the opener is in the 'closed' position (Fig 10). Projection 152 lies forward (i.e. towards the head end of the opener) of the pin 129 so that pressing on the projection 152 initiates movement of the lever mechanism to the open position. Thus, projection 152 and button 142 are alternative means of initiating the open position. They can be used together, i.e. they can be squeezed together if desired. Also, the design of the opener can be changed to eliminate one or the other if desired. Figs 11 and 12 illustrate alternative designs of release button. In Fig 11 the release button 152 moves in a sliding fashion by virtue of pegs 154,155 sliding within slots 156,157 formed in the release button 152. A resilient arm 158 which engages a peg 159 urges the release button 152 outwardly In Fig 12, the release button 162 is urged outwardly by a plastic "spring" 163. Modifications and improvements may be made to the foregoing without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A hand held can opener comprising a body, a traction wheel mounted in the body, a cutting wheel moveable towards and away from the traction wheel, the cutting wheel being carried by a mounting plate, and lever means for moving the mounting plate to cause the cutter wheel to move towards and away from the traction wheel, wherein there is included a release mechanism operable to cause the lever means to move the cutter wheel away from the traction wheel. 2. An opener according to Claim 1, wherein the release mechanism includes resilient biasing means arranged to urge said cutter wheel away from the traction wheel. 3. An opener according to either Claim 1 or 2 , wherein the resilient biasing means comprises spring means acting on the mounting plate, pivotal movement of the mounting plate to effect movement of the cutting wheel towards the traction wheel resulting in loading of the spring means. 4. An opener according to Claim 3, wherein the spring means is a tension spring connected at one end to the mounting plate and at another end to a fixed pivot point. 5. An opener according to any of Claims 1 to 3 , wherein the spring means is a torsion spring having one arm connected to the mounting plate and the other arm engaging the body. 6. An opener according to any preceding claim, wherein said lever means includes a grip arm and a release lever connected to the grip arm, the grip arm being pivotally attached to the mounting plate at a first pivot point, the release lever being pivotally mounted in the body of the opener on a second pivot point, and the grip arm and release lever being pivotally connected to each other at a third pivot point, the third pivot point lying, when the can opener is in the closed position, in an over-center position with respect to the line joining the first pivot point and the second pivot point . 7. An opener according to Claim 6, including a trigger mechanism actuable to operate the release mechanism to allow the release mechanism to move the cutter wheel away from the traction wheel . 8. An opener according to Claim 7, wherein the release lever is generally L-shaped as seen in plan and dimensioned so that an end portion protrudes through a longitudinal slot in the body to act as a release button for said trigger mechanism. 9. An opener according to Claim 6, wherein the grip arm is provided with a release protrusion whereby pressing of the release protrusion of the grip arm effects actuation of the release mechanism. 10. An opener according to Claim 6, and including a release button mounted in the body and operable to act on said release lever to effect actuation of the release mechanism. 11. An opener according to Claim 10, wherein the release button has a return mechanism adapted to cause the release button to return to its original position after being depressed. 12. An opener according to Claim 11, wherein the return mechanism is a pivot and biasing mechanism. 13. An opener according to Claim 11, wherein the return mechanism is a sliding and biasing mechanism. 14. An opener according to either of Claims 12 or 13, wherein the biasing mechanism is a cantilever arm. 15. An opener according to either of Claims 12 or 13, wherein the biasing mechanism is a spring. 16. A can opener comprising two rotatable members arranged for relative movement towards one another to engage the rim of a can therebetween and for rotating and cutting the can, a movable release element for initiating relative movement of said members away from one another and resilient means for then becoming operable to cause the members to spring apart and release a cut portion of said can. 17. A can opener substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Inventors: PEREIRA TERENCE, PEREIRA, TERENCE
Applicants: LEVENE LTD WILLIAM, PEREIRA TERENCE, PEREIRA, TERENCE, WILLIAM LEVENE LIMITED
Application year: 1999
Main classification: B67B7
IPC codes: B67B7