Can opener

Cutlery – Can opener – With driven roller to continuously engage bead and...

Patent

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Details

30422, 30427, B67B 772

Patent

active

056923090

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
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 into 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.
A can opener of this type is disclosed in European patent publication EP-A-169224. That opener comprises two pivotally arranged body portions, one carrying a cutter wheel and the other a traction wheel, and the rim of the can to be opened is in use of the opener received between the wheels. The axes of the wheels are substantially parallel. A problem can arise with that opener in that even when the opener has cut around the entire periphery of the rim, it can still be difficult to remove the severed end wall. It is proposed in that disclosure to provide means separate from the cutter wheel to detach the severed end wall. For this purpose the opener, in one embodiment, includes an extra release hook, and in another embodiment, a lever which distorts the side wall of the can.
In our International patent application WO 92/02445, we have shown that by appropriate shaping of the parts supporting the rim of the can, the end wall can be cut so that it may be easily detached from the can.
Accordingly in WO 92/02445 there is provided a can opener adapted to separate an end wall from a can body by cutting from the outside into the upstanding rim formed at the end of the can, the rim comprising overlapped portions of the perimeter of the end wall and the side wall of the can, the can opener comprising two body portions arranged for relative pivotal movement about an axis, one portion carrying a rotary cutting wheel and the other portion carrying a rotary traction wheel, the axes of the wheels being substantially parallel to each other (and to the main axis of the can body when in position for cutting) in one vertical plane, the opener being arranged, in use, to receive the rim of the can between the two wheels and to orbit the can as the traction wheel is rotated while the cutting wheel makes a peripheral cut into the outside of the rim, the traction wheel being shaped to distort the rim while it is cut by the cutting wheel to loosen the overlapping engagement between the end wall and the side wall of the can.
Preferably, to distort the rim, the traction wheel includes a portion having a surface adapted to engage, in use, the inner side wall of the rim, the said surface being inclined at an angle greater than the angle of the inclination of the rim with respect to the vertical axis of the can.
We have now found that further improvement in the separation of the overlapping engagement of the end wall and the side wall of the can can be achieved by a modification of the shape of the cutter wheel of the can opener disclosed in WO 92/02445.
Accordingly the present invention provides a can opener adapted to separate an end wall from a can body by cutting from the outside into the upstanding rim formed at the end of the can, the rim comprising overlapped portions of the perimeter of the end wall and the side wall of the can, the can opener comprising two body portions arranged for relative pivotal movement about an axis, one portion carrying a rotary cutting wheel and the other portion carrying a rotary traction wheel, the axes of the wheels being substantially parallel to each other (and to the main axis of the can body when in position for cutting) in one vertical plane, the opener being arranged, in use, to receive the rim of the can between the two wheels and to orbit the can as the traction wheel is rotated while the cutting wheel makes a peripheral cut into the outside of the rim, the traction wheel being shaped to distort the rim while it is cut by the cutting wheel to loosen the overlapping engagement between the end wall and the side wall of the can and the cutting wheel having an outwardly angled body portion adjacent its cutting tip, the angled body portion being adapted to contact the outside of the rim below the cut and thereby ex

REFERENCES:
patent: Re27504 (1972-10-01), Smith
patent: 2661528 (1953-06-01), Coplen
patent: 3313023 (1967-04-01), Jepson et al.
patent: 3740840 (1973-06-01), McLaren, Jr.
patent: 4734986 (1988-04-01), Peters
patent: 4782595 (1988-11-01), Diewert
patent: 4833783 (1989-05-01), Davel
patent: 5181322 (1993-01-01), Koo

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