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US 5,181,322 AGranted
Can openers
AssigneeMaxpat Trading & Marketing (Far West) Limited
InventorVincent H. Koo
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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AssigneeMaxpat Trading & Marketing (Far West) Limited
InventorVincent H. Koo
Estimating the term…
A can opener of the type in which the can is opened by cutting through an outer part of the rim joining the lid with the main body of the can. Cam means (51) are arranged to engage outside wall of the can immediately beneath the rim, the engagement underneath the rim moving the cam means and cutter wheel (40) against resilient means (54) to a position such that the cutter wheel makes its cut at a substantially constant predetermined distance on the rim. The drive wheel can have an outer cylindrical surface which is toothed and its lower edge bevelled or chamfered. To reduce friction, the shaft supporting the drive wheel may be journaled within a metal sleeve supported by the body of the can opener, the outer surface of the shaft and the inner surface of the sleeve mate at positions adjacent the ends of the sleeve so as to provide good rotational support for the shaft and intermediate those positions a gap being provided between the outer surface of the shaft and the inner surface of the sleeve to avoid contact between the shaft and sleeve. The cutter wheel may be supported by an arcuate support wall (66) during cutting.
A can opener for opening a can having a lid joined to a main body by a rim, in which the can is opened by cutting through an outer part of the rim joining the lid with the main body of the can, in which the can opener comprises a rotatably supported cutter wheel for engaging and cutting the said outer part of the rim, a rotatable drive wheel for engaging the inner part of the rim, means for gripping the rim between the cutter wheel and drive wheel so that, upon rotation of the drive wheel, the can opener orbits around the rim of the can and the cutter wheel can compete a cut around the outer part of the rim, resilient means for allowing the cutter wheel to move resiliently in an axial direction along its axis of rotation, and cam means joined to the cutter wheel and axially spaced from the cutter wheel by a predetermined amount, the cam means being arranged to engage the underside of the rim, the engagement underneath the rim moving the cam means and the cutter wheel against the resilient means to a position such that the cutter wheel makes its cut at a substantially constant predetermined distance up the rim from its lower end.
A can opener for opening a can having a lid joined to a main body by a rim, in which the can is opened by cutting through an outer part of the rim joining the lid with the main body of the can, in which the can opener comprises a cutter wheel for engaging and cutting the said outer part of the rim, a rotatable drive wheel for engaging the inner part of the rim, a pair of body members pivoted to one another and having integral handles extending generally in a direction away from the axis of pivoting, the body members being arranged, upon pivoting relative one another, to move the drive wheel and cutter wheel towards and away from one another respectively to allow the can opener to be fitted over the rim of a can to be opened and to grip the rim between the cutter wheel and drive wheel so that, upon rotation of the drive wheel, the can opener orbits around the rim of the can and the cutter wheel can complete a cut around the outer part of the rim, one body member supporting the cutter wheel and having a substantially flat surface in the region of the nip between the cutter wheel and the drive wheel, the integral handle of the other body member having an undersurface which is substantially flat and also substantially in the same plane as the substantially flat surface on the said one body member, whereby when the body members and their integral handles are pivoted to allow the can opener to be fitted over the rim of a can, those two surfaces will rest on the top of the rim of a can and will align the axis of the cutter wheel so that at least in the plane containing them it is parallel with the upright axis to the can.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.