Closure removal apparatus and method
AssigneeBehr Process Corporation
InventorsGregory James Warren, Robert L. Vance, Anthony Gmitruk, Jose L. Vega
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Abstract
A method of removing a closure from a container includes engaging three or more pry fingers against a lid and a container of the package in three or more locations spaced circumferentially around the package, and moving the pry fingers against the container and the lid, to pry the lid away from the container. A closure remover includes a frame, an actuator movable with respect to the frame, and a plurality of kinematic links movably carried between the frame and the actuator and including a plurality of articulatable pry fingers.
Claims21
A method of opening a package, comprising:
- engaging at least three pry fingers against a lid and a container of a package in at least three locations spaced circumferentially around the package;
- and
- moving free ends of the pry fingers directly against the container and the lid, to pry the lid away from the container, by driving fixed ends of the pry fingers so as to pivot the pry fingers about pivot axes between the fixed and free ends.
A method of opening a package, comprising:
- engaging at least three pry fingers against a lid and a container of a package in at least three locations spaced circumferentially around the package;
- and
- moving free ends of the pry fingers against the container and the lid, to pry the lid away from the container, by driving fixed ends of the pry fingers so as to pivot the pry fingers about pivot axes between the fixed and free ends, wherein the method is carried out using a closure remover to open the package, wherein the closure remover includes:
- a frame;
- a guide coupled to and extending away from the frame along a central longitudinal axis of the closure remover;
- an actuator translatable toward and away from the frame along the guide and including a link coupling;
- and
- at least three kinematic links movably carried between the frame and the actuator and including:
- articulatable drive links pivotably coupled to the link coupling,
- translatable guide links carried by the frame and biased in an inward direction transverse to the axis, and
- articulatable pry fingers having free ends, fixed link portions pivotably coupled to the drive links, and intermediate portions disposed between the free ends and the fixed link portions and pivotably coupled to the guide links.
A method of opening a package, comprising:
- engaging at least three pry fingers against a lid and a container of a package in at least three locations spaced circumferentially around the package;
- and
- moving free ends of the pry fingers directly against the container and the lid, to pry the lid away from the container, by driving fixed ends of the pry fingers so as to pivot the pry fingers about pivot axes between the fixed and free ends;
- wherein the method is carried out using a closure remover to open the package, wherein the closure remover includes:
- a frame,
- an actuator movable with respect to the frame,
- a plurality of kinematic links movably carried between the frame and the actuator and including the pry fingers, which are articulatable, and
- a guide coupled to and extending axially away from the frame,
- wherein the actuator is translatably carried by the guide and includes a link coupling to which the drive links are pivotably coupled.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.