Patent ID: 8539682

Claim:
A can opener mechanism comprising: a housing having a cutter movement gear boss having an internal bore and an external diameter; a cutter movement gear having a central cylindrical member supported within the bore of the cutter movement gear boss, and a shortened arc series of radial gear teeth terminating at a pair of missing teeth portions at each end of the shortened arc series of radial gear teeth, a downwardly extending overhang member between the pair of missing teeth portions on an opposite side of the cutter movement gear with respect to the shortened arc series of radial gear teeth, the downwardly extending overhang member having an interior portion side from which an interference bump projects radially inwardly; and an idle gear having an upper toothed portion and a cylindrical lower portion and an internal surface larger than an external cylindrical surface of the cutter movement gear boss; a lower drive gear having teeth that simultaneously engage the toothed upper portion of the idle gear and at least one of the missing teeth portions on the opposite sides of the cutter movement gear and the series of radial gear teeth of the cutter movement gear, the lower drive gear acting to engage the toothed upper portion of the idle gear compressively in a manner to allow the idle gear to move laterally taken with respect to a distance between the cutter movement gear and the lower drive gear to thereby engage the interference bump whereby rotational force is transmitted from the idle gear to the cutter movement gear to move the cutter movement gear to engage the series of gear teeth of the cutter movement gear with the teeth of the lower drive gear.