US 4,253,352 AGranted

Tool for opening cans

OwnerGilbert L. O'Nealinventor

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Abstract

A tool for opening cans in the form of a sleeve sized to receive a lever fixed to a can and operable to bend a weakened portion of a can top into the can in a hinged swinging action, the tool having a mouth and longitudinally extending slit at one end sized to receive the lever and being adapted for use in applying additional downward pressure supplementing that of the lever of the can to open a can.

Claims3

Dependent claims

A tool for opening cans of the type having a top surface with a central zone and a generally radially extending zone bounded by a weakened connection with the top surface of the can and which radially extending zone is adapted to be forceably broken from the top surface in response to downward pressure and to be hingedly swung into the interior of the can along a bendable hinge line adjacent the central zone and wherein the can includes a lever with a portion extending over the radially extending zone and a portion extending to a terminal end and radially away from the radially extending zone toward but not to the can periphery with the lever extending in parallel closely spaced relation to the can top and with the lever being fixed between the terminal end and the extending portion so that when the terminal end is lifted, a downward force is applied to the extending radial zone of the can top to break it from the top and to bend it into the can,

said tool comprising:
a generally sleeve shaped device having a first end and a second end and of a length at least twice that of the distance between the terminal end of the lever and the center of the can, said tool having an upper surface and a lower surface in closely adjacent spaced generally parallel relation and side walls interconnecting the upper and lower surfaces, said tool defining a mouth and having a longitudinally extending surface extending from the mouth at said first end toward said second end, said mouth being sized to receive the terminal end of the lever and the thickness of the lower surface being less than the distance between the lever and the can top, for use in applying additional leverage to open a can;
said upper surface including at said first end a longitudinally extending portion of a longitudinal length less than the longitudinally extending length of the radially extending zone of the top of the can and of a thickness less than the distance across the radially extending zone between the weakened areas of juncture of the radially extending can top zone with the can top.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

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Abstract

said tool comprising:
a generally sleeve shaped device having a first end and a second end and of a length at least twice that of the distance between the terminal end of the lever and the center of the can, said tool having an upper surface and a lower surface in closely adjacent spaced generally parallel relation and side walls interconnecting the upper and lower surfaces, said tool defining a mouth and having a longitudinally extending surface extending from the mouth at said first end toward said second end, said mouth being sized to receive the terminal end of the lever and the thickness of the lower surface being less than the distance between the lever and the can top, for use in applying additional leverage to open a can;
said upper surface including at said first end a longitudinally extending portion of a longitudinal length less than the longitudinally extending length of the radially extending zone of the top of the can and of a thickness less than the distance across the radially extending zone between the weakened areas of juncture of the radially extending can top zone with the can top.