Can opener with toolless replaceable component design
AssigneeEdlund Company, LLC
InventorRyan S. Whitney
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Manual can openers that include longer-lasting knife designs, knife holders that securely hold a knife as well as a securing mechanism that provides for fast and easy knife replacement, and a toolless design that includes a dual purpose pull pin configured for use as both a pin for a knife hinge as well as a drive gear lock for disassembling a drive assembly of the can opener.
Claims10
A manual can opener, comprising:
- a housing;
- a drive gear having first and second opposed sides, a recess in at least one of the first and second opposed sides, and a plurality of gear teeth, the gear rotatably disposed in the housing and configured to engage a side of a can being opened to rotate the can;
- a handle;
- and
- an arbor coupled to the handle and threadably coupled to the gear, the arbor configured to transmit a user-generated force from the handle to the gear to rotate the gear;
- wherein the recess is configured and dimensioned to receive an elongate locking member removeably disposed in the recess, the locking member configured to prevent rotation of the drive gear when the locking member is disposed in the recess for unthreading the arbor from the gear.
A method of using a manual can opener that includes an arbor and a drive gear threadably coupled to the arbor, the drive gear having first and second opposed sides, a recess in at least one of the sides, and a plurality of teeth that engage an outer wall of a can to thereby rotate the can, the method comprising:
- removably disposing an elongate locking member in the recess;
- rotating the arbor in a first direction to rotate the drive gear until the elongate locking member engages the housing, thereby preventing further rotation of the drive gear in the first direction;
- continuing to rotate the arbor to unthread the arbor from the drive gear;
- and
- removing the gear from the can opener.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.