Can opener

#According to the invention, there is provided a can opener comprising a elongate body, a lever connected to the body for relative pivotal movement about a substantially horizontal axis between open and closed positions, a turning knob provided at a front end of the body, a traction wheel supported for rotation about a substantially vertical axis by the knob to turn a can, a rotary cutter rotatable by the knob for opening said can while said can is being turned, and a slider supporting the rotary cutter for rotation, said slider being movable by the lever to slide linearly between a rearward position corresponding to the lever's open position in which the rotary cutter is away from the traction wheel and a forward position corresponding to the lever's closed position in which the rotary cutter is close to the traction wheel.

#Preferably, the slider is movable by the lever through a cam action.

#More preferably, the slider has a hole and the lever has a part engaging movably with the hole for sliding the slider in opposite directions upon said pivotal movement of the lever.

#The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

#FIG. 1 is a top and rear end perspective view of an embodiment of a can opener (hinged open) in accordance with the invention;

#FIG. 2 is a top and front end perspective view of the can opener (hinged closed) of FIG. 1;

#Referring to the drawings, there is shown a can opener 10 embodying the invention, which can opener 10 comprises a horizontal elongate hollow body 30 having front and rear ends 32 and 34 and includes a hollow lever 40 below the body 30. The body 30 and the lever 40 have respective open bottom and top sides. A horizontal hinge pin 36 is provided extending across opposite side walls of the body 30 at an intermediate position between the body front and rear ends 32 and 34. The lever 40 is hinged, at its front end 42, to the body 30 by means of the pin 36 for relative pivotal movement about a horizontal axis between a downward open position (FIGS. 1 and 5) and an upward closed position (FIGS. 2 and 6). In the closed position, the open top side of the lever 40 is received within and enclosed by the open bottom side of the body 30.

#An elbow spring 44 is supported by the lever 40 for acting against the body rear end 34 in order to bias the lever 40 towards its open position. The body rear end 34 and the lever 40 together form a handle for the overall can opener 10. A winged turning knob 20, which is rotatable about a vertical axis, is provided atop the body front end 32.

#The can opener 10 includes a cutting mechanism 50 provided at the bottom side of the body front end 32, said mechanism 50 being formed by a traction wheel 52 and a rotary cutting disc 54. The traction wheel 52 is connected co-axially to the knob 20 by means of a vertical shaft 22 for rotation by the knob 20. The cutting disc 54 is rotatably supported on a vertical spindle 56 which is fixed from below to the front end of a mounting plate 60 and spaced rearwardly apart from the shaft 22. The mounting plate 60 is slidable linearly forward to move the cutting disc 54 close to the traction wheel 52 (for cutting operation) and rearward to move the cutting disc 54 away therefrom (FIG. 4). When the cutting disc 54 is moved close to the traction wheel 52, its cutting edge will overlap slightly from below with the traction wheel 52.