Patent Publication Number: US-2004056033-A1

Title: Beverage can opening device and method

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
     [0001] This application claims the benefit of the filing date of the provisional patent application serial No. 60/411,995, filed on Sep. 19, 2002. 
    
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] The present invention relates to a device for opening beverage cans, and more particularly, to a device that reduces the probability that a dangerous insect can get inside of the opened can.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003] Since the early 1990&#39;s beverage can manufacturers have changed the configuration of the opening in beverage cans. The openings have evolved from removable pull-tabs to pivoting attached tabs and more recently to wide mouth attached tabs. As the openings have gotten larger, the probability has increased for a bug, such as a bee, wasp or hornet, to get inside the can. An unseen bug inside the can presents a danger to the unsuspecting drinker. Every summer hundreds of thousands of individuals are stung by wasps, hornets and bees, many of these insects lurking within a beverage can because of the insect&#39;s attraction to the contents of the can. Each year, over 85,000 Americans seek medical treatment for allergic reactions to insect stings and at least fifty of them die.  
       [0004] Beverage cans also pose a risk of injury to small children who cut their tongues in the prefabricated opening of beverage cans. The fabricated can openings are sharp and result in hundreds of injuries each year. Many of the injuries are minor, however, in recent years, countless lawsuits have been filed on behalf of children who have lacerated or cut off a portion of their tongues on the sharp opening.  
       [0005] Modern beverage cans are highly sophisticated pressure vessels, generally manufactured out of aluminum or other metal. The desire of manufacturers to reduce the amount of metal per can has been a driving force in the design of a near egg shell like can, i.e., one having very thin walls. A metallic beverage can relies greatly on the pressure of its contents for strength. Once the can&#39;s hull is compromised and the pressure is released, a metallic beverage can becomes very fragile and will crush or distort under moderate pressure. Almost any puncher to the can&#39;s configuration immediately releases its inner pressure and reduces the can&#39;s ability to hold its form.  
       [0006] Beverage can holders with lids, which could arguably be used to safeguard open cans from insects, are generally known. For example various types of these devices have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,690,300; 4,735,333; 5,139,163; 5,609,277; 5,657,957; 6,000,262; 6,206,223; 6,244,461.  
       [0007] While the structural arrangements of the devices described in the above listed patents, at first appearance, have similarities with the present invention, they differ in material respects. In particular, none of the referenced devices modify the can in a manner that restricts the access of bugs, nor do the devices allow a beverage can to be used independently of the device for intermittent drinking.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008] In view of the foregoing disadvantages of the prior art devices for limiting the access of insects into opened beverage cans, there exists a need for a device to open beverage cans, without crushing the can, that does not rely on the manufacturer&#39;s opening. Thus, one object of the present invention is to provide a device and method for opening a beverage can that will reduce the chance that an insect could enter a beverage can and injure the individual drinking from the can.  
       [0009] A second object of the invention is to provide a device for opening beverage cans that will reduce the chance that a person small child will cut his or herr tongue on a sharp can opening.  
       [0010] Because of the fragile nature of beverage cans, the blades of the can opening device of the present invention operate to puncture the can virtually simultaneously. If a first blade punctures the can before the second blade does so, the can may lose its stability and crush or deform under the force of the second blade. The can&#39;s pressurized contents may also rapidly exit through the opening made by the second blade and cause the person opening the can to become covered with the contents of the can.  
       [0011] The present invention has a collar that fits around a beverage can. The collar is configured to allow a beverage can to be inserted but not pass through. This configuration allows the device to rest on the can&#39;s top or bottom lip and at the same time stabilize the can within the collar.  
       [0012] The present invention also has a blade holder that can move relative to the collar. The blade holder is attached by a hinge or other configuration that allows the blade holder to pivot with respect to the collar. The blade holder could also be pressed towards the collar by hand or other simple machine. In an alternative embodiment, the blade holder could be held stationary and the collar securing the can could be moved towards the blade holder. In a further embodiment, a person&#39;s hand could act as the collar and blade holder would move relative to the person&#39;s hand.  
       [0013] Attached to the blade holder are at least two blades. The blades have points to pierce the beverage can held within the collar. The blades also have cutting edges that create slits in the can as the points of the blades are moved into the can.  
       [0014] As the device&#39;s blade holder is moved relative to the collar, the blades penetrate the upper opening of the collar and pierce a beverage can placed within the collar. The blade holder can then be moved away from the collar, removing the blades from the beverage can and leaving behind at least two slits.  
       [0015] The slits left behind by the blades are thin enough to restrict the access of most insects to the can&#39;s interior. The slits are also wide enough to allow the can&#39;s contents to flow out of the can smoothly. The slits do not need to be identical in dimension and one slit could be solely for drinking and the other slit could be solely for pressure regulation while drinking. Although not required, having similar slit dimensions allows for the most versatile use of the beverage can.  
       [0016] The objects of the invention, along with various features of novelty that characterize this invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and form part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of this invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its use, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of this version of the invention. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
     [0017]FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of one embodiment of the can opening device.  
     [0018]FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-section of the can opening device of FIG. 1.  
     [0019]FIG. 3 illustrates a bottom view of the blade holder.  
     [0020]FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of the blade holder.  
     [0021]FIG. 5 illustrates a top view of the collar.  
     [0022]FIG. 6 illustrates another embodiment of the can opening device.  
     [0023]FIG. 7 illustrates a cross-section of the can opening device shown in FIG. 6. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
     [0024] Illustrated in the FIGURES is beverage can opening device  8 .  
     [0025] As shown in FIG. 1, the can opening device  8  includes a collar  10  (also shown in FIGS. 2 and 5), a hinge  12  (also shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and  5 ), a blade holder  13  (also shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and  4 ), and a set of blades  14   a  and  14   b  (shown in FIGS. 3 and 4).  
     [0026] The operation of the device is simple. The collar  10  is placed upon a beverage can. Force is applied to the blade holder  13  and it is rotated towards the collar and beverage can. As the blade holder  13  is rotated, the blades  14   a  and  14   b  will contact the beverage can held within the collar  13 . The points  17  of the blades will pierce the beverage can and continue into the can. After the points  17  pierce the beverage can, the cutting surfaces  15  and  16  of the blades  14   a  and  14   b  will form slits in the beverage can. The blade holder is then rotated in the opposite direction removing the blades  14   a  and  14   b  from the beverage can. The collar is then removed from the beverage can and the can is ready to drink from.  
     [0027] Blades  14   a  and  14   b  each have two adjacent cutting surfaces,  15  and  16 , that come to a point  17 . The blades also have a penetration stop  18  (without a cutting edge) that prevents pivotal motion of the blade holder when the stop  18  meets the top of the beverage can (unless a much greater force is applied to continue to pivot the blade holder towards the beverage can).  
     [0028] In the preferred embodiment, the blades  14   a  and  14   b  are made of metal and the collar  10  and blade holder  13  are made from plastic. The components could instead be made from various materials such as metal, plastic, or ceramic. The collar and blade holder do not need to be made of the same material. The collar has an upper orifice  22  and a lower orifice  19 .  
     [0029] The cross-sectional views of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrate the different diameters of the collar&#39;s upper and lower orifices. The lower orifice  19  has a diameter  20  that is slightly larger than the diameter of a beverage can. The upper orifice  22  has a diameter  21  that is smaller than the diameter of a beverage can  23 . The orifice  22  is large enough to allow the blades  14   a  and  14   b  to pass through. The blades each have a height (h), and a width (w), shown in FIG. 2, and a thickness (t), shown in FIG. 4.  
     [0030] In the preferred embodiment, lower orifice  19  is large enough to securely receive a beverage can, and upper orifice  22  is narrow enough to restrict the can from passing through the collar  10 . As shown in FIG. 2, when placed on a beverage can, the collar secures one end of the beverage can. Either end of the beverage can could be placed within the collar and opened with the present invention.  
     [0031] In the preferred embodiment, the two blades  14   a  and  14   b  are configured to produce two slits in the can that are approximately one inch by an eighth of an inch. Of course, blades of various sizes can also be used, as can a different number of blades.  
     [0032]FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the blade holder  13  and blades  14   a  and  14   b . In FIG. 3 the blades are formed from a single piece that is molded into the blade holder. This is the preferred embodiment of the blades. Alternatively, the blades could be attached individually and at different positions, as long as the blades travel within the upper orifice of the collar when the blade holder is pivoted towards the collar.  
     [0033] The blades  14   a  and  14   b  can be attached to the blade holder in many different ways. They can be affixed using a fastener, they can be molded into the blade holder, they can be molded from the same material as the holder, they can be welded or glued to the blade holder, or they also could be stamped out of the blade holder itself if the holder was made of metal.  
     [0034] Collar  10  includes a molded hinge portion  52 , and blade holder  13  includes a molded hinge portion  54 . Hinge pin  31  is used to connect the molded hinge portions. When the hinge portions  52 ,  54  on the respective parts are pinned together, the blade holder  13  can smoothly pivot with respect to the collar  10 . Although the hinge portions shown in FIGS.  1 - 5  are integrally molded to the corresponding parts, alternatively, a separate hinge could be fastened to the parts.  
     [0035] The blade holder  13  is preferably larger then the upper orifice of the collar to protect a person opening a can from the contents of the can that may be expelled when using the device.  
     [0036]FIG. 4 is a side view of the blade holder  13 . FIG. 4 along with FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the two adjacent cutting surfaces  15  and  16 , and dimension (t), the thickness of the blades.  
     [0037] The two adjacent cutting surfaces allow the blades to cut slits perpendicular to the pivot axis (i.e., along hinge  12 ). In the preferred embodiment, each blade is one eighth inch thick (t), at least one inch high (h) and one inch wide (w). As the blade holder is pivoted and the blades are brought into contact with a can secured within the collar, the points of the blades will penetrate the can&#39;s surface and continue to rotate about the pivot axis into the interior of the can. The cutting surfaces of each blade will spread the initial punctures into parallel slits.  
     [0038] Because the blades are fixed with respect to the pivot axis between the collar and blade holder, a blade&#39;s configuration will vary depending on its position relative to the pivot axis and relative to the other blade. In the preferred embodiment, the blades are positioned along the blade holder in a manner that would allow the blades&#39; points to penetrate the can virtually simultaneously and at an equal distance from the pivot axis.  
     [0039] In the preferred embodiment, the blades are congruent and at least an inch and a quarter apart. This configuration allows the blades to penetrate a can without interference with the tab of the can. Various other blade spacings are also envisioned.  
     [0040]FIG. 5 is a top view of the collar  10 . Diameter  20  only needs to be slightly smaller then diameter  21  in order to stabilize the device on the lip of a beverage can.  
     [0041] In the preferred embodiment, the diameter  20  is approximately two and five eighth inches in diameter. Diameter  21  is greater or equal to one and three quarter inches and less then or equal to two and one half inches.  
     [0042] Illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 is an alternative embodiment of a beverage can opening device  58 .  
     [0043] As shown in FIG. 6, the can opening device  58  includes a collar  60 , blade holder  63 , and a set of blades  64  (only one blade shown).  
     [0044] The operation of the device is simple. The collar  60  is placed upon a beverage can  61 . Force is applied to the blade holder  63  to move the holder towards the collar  60  and the beverage can  61 . As the blade holder  63  is moved towards the collar  60 , the blades  64  contact the beverage can held within the collar  63 . The points  67  of the blades will pierce the beverage can and continue into the can. After the points  67  pierce the beverage can, the cutting surfaces  71  and  72  of the blades  64  will form slits in the beverage can. The blade holder is then moved in the opposite direction removing the blades  64  from the beverage can. The collar  60  is then removed from the beverage can and the can is ready to drink from.  
     [0045] Blades  64  each have two adjacent cutting surfaces,  71  and  72 , that come to a point at  67 . The blades also have a penetration stops  68  (without a cutting edge) that prevents motion towards the collar of the blade holder when the stops  68  meet the top of the beverage can.  
     [0046]FIG. 7, a cross-sectional view of the can opening device shown in FIG. 6, illustrates the different diameters of the collar&#39;s upper and lower orifices. The orifice configurations are the same as in FIGS. 2 and 5 above. The blades are also similar to the blades illustrated in the previously described embodiment, and are also configured to produce two slits. Likewise, blades  64  can be attached as described above.  
     [0047] The alternative embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 operates in much the same way as the preferred embodiment, except that the collar and blade holder may or may not be operably attached to each other. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the blade holder moves independently of the collar. Similar to the preferred embodiment, as blade holder is moved towards the collar, the blades are brought into contact with a can secured within the collar, and the points of the blades penetrate the can&#39;s surface into the interior of the can. The cutting surfaces of each blade spread the initial punctures into slits.  
     [0048] Because the blades are not fixed with respect to the collar, a blade&#39;s configuration can vary, creating different shaped slits in countless positions. Curved blades and spikes could be used to create the openings.