Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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POWER PIE~RCE CAN OPENER
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
; l. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to an electric can
opener with a simple arrangement of a pivoting mechanism
carrying a cutter wheel wherein a grip structure is
provided to jam or bite against the can rim and pull
1 5 the cutter into contact providing a power pierce.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electric can openers have become a common household
appliance designed to a high degree of usefulness,
cleanability, cut lid holding, and various forms of
ll 10 power pierce. The former plow, or pointed cutter
i piercing the can like a can of motor oil is pierced
~¦ by its attaching spout, has been replaced by the
rolling cutter wheel which generally reduces the metal
slivers inevitably produced during a cutting operation
and which may drop into the food. One of the dis-
advantages of the rotating cutter wheel is difficulty
of piercing the can top because of the large force
Il ~ required over that of the old pointed plow cutter.
I Nevertheless, numerous arrangements have been provided
120 to provide a power piercer so that the energy of the
driving motor is used to pierce the lid and avoid the
large manual force by the user on the operating lever.
Numerous power pierce arrangements have been provided
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and a typical one is shown in U.S. Patent No. 3,121,285
to Freeman dated February 18, 1964, of common assignment
which, in effect, gives the puncturing cutter a running
start by rotating the can before puncturing the lid to
power assist the actual puncturing. Another form of
power pierce is shown in U.S. patent No. 3,~46,485
to McLean dated March 30, 1~76 which uses many parts
in a different pivoting and lever arrangement whereby
the piercing force is multiplied momentarily to pierce the
can lid by cutter wheel. Thus, power pierce per se is
not new.
It is a primary object of the invention to provide
an improved power pierce for an electric can opener
with a simple addition to presentconventional structure
without the complexity of additional levers, pivoting
arrangemen~s,or inducing delays in the actual piercing of
the lid.
Another object is to improve the power pierce
structure by providing a grip mean.s ahead of the
cutter wheel that engages first and then automatically
pulls the cutter wheel into piercing operation simply
and easily.
It is a further object of the invention to
linkage connect the automatic or pierce structure
with a simple single sliding switch actuator for easy
power pierce and start and stop operating with no
additional structure.
SU~AR~ OF T~IE IN~ENTION
In accordance with the invention, a conventional
electric powered can opener has a housing with a feed
gear rotatably mounted thereon to drivingly hold and
rotate a can by its rim. An operating lever is
pivoted above the feed gear on the housing and carries
a cutter mechanism that is swung into position to cut
and remove the can lid. To this standard structure, an
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improvement in the cutter mechanism includes a gripping
means oriented to force against the moving can rim
before the cutter contacts the lid and, by jamminy or
biting into the rim, to pull the cutter into the can top
for a power pierce. This grip means on the standard
pivoted operating lever may be linked and connected
through the le~er and through the housing to a slidable
switch actuator that easily initiates start, running,
power piercing, and removal of the can. Thus, the
main object of the present invention is to provide an
improved power pierce that uses the parts already present
and, by orientation, bi~es into the cutter rim to power
pull the cutter into the can top for power pierce.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a can opener showing
the formed and oriented single operating lever of the
invention.
FIGS. 2.~ are diagrammatic showings of the operation
of the grip means approaching in FIG. 2, biti~ and
power pierce in FIG. 3, and cutting in FIG. 4.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a typical
electric powered can opener having a housing 10 enclosing
an internal motor not shown and adapted to be plugged
into house current to operate in conventional fashion.
The can opener may take any suitable form such as hanging
under a kitchen cabinet by mounting in a suitable
bracket or may stand on legs as shown in U.S. Patent
2,~79,300 to ~[owell et al dated April 11, 1961 of
common assignment or merely operate at the edge of a
counter top of the general type shown in said '285 U.S.
patent.
As such, the can opener is provided with a serrated
feed gear 12 through suitable gearing not shown for
counterclockwise rotation in the FIG. 1 embodiment.
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The feed gear holds and rotates a can by its rim while
a cutter is rotated into position to pierce and cut the
can lid in conventional fashion. While any suitable
plow or wheel cutter may be used, the round cutter wheel
14 has replaced the blade or plow cutter as preferable
because it is easily removed by screw 16 for replacement
or cleaning and generally does a better job of cutting
producing fewer slivers of metal than the old plow
cutter. In order to bring the operating mechanism into
cutting position, cutter 14 is mounted on an operating
lever 18 of suitable shape with the lever pivoted at 20
on the housing generally substantially above feed gear
12. In operation, the operating lever 18 through suitable
mechanism is rotated to carry the cutter wheel 14 into the
can top and start the can opening operation as is well
known.
Usually the force required for cutter 14 to pierce
the can lid is enhanced by various means such as a larger
mechanical advantage on the operating`lever so the user
benefits from a lower actuating force than merely pushing
cutter wheel 14 directly into the can top. With an
electric powered can opener, it is possible to use the
electric motor as an assist and a power pierce may also
be obtained by a "running start" as described in said
U.S. Patent No. 3,121,285 or equivalent as in said U.S.
Patent 3,946,485. Generally, power pierce requires
additional structure and to avoid this, the present
; invention provides an improvement.
As shown in FIG. 1 and diagrammatically in FIGS.
2-4, the improvement of the present invention is in
the cutter mechanism wherein a grip means 22 is provided
on the operating lever. As will hecome apparent, grip
means 22 at start lies substantially on a line 24
between the pivot 20 and the top 26 of the feed gear
~; 35 12 when against the can rim. This act~ally falls between
the positions shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 when grip 22 first
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contacts the top or rim 28 of a conventional can. For
convenience, grip means 22 is a bent-out ear substantially
flat and is considerably wider than the rim as shown in
FIG. 1.
In order to operate properly, and as shown dia-
grammatically in FIGS. 2-4, grip means 22 is spaced
and disposed to contact the top of rim 28, the orientation
being such that grip 22 (FIG. 2~ is intended to approach
and bite into the rim top slightly before cutter 14
contact and thus pull the lever 18 and-its carried cutter
wheel 14 down and into the can top or lid (FIG. 3) so
that the cutter 14 is pulled in to pierce the lid by the
power applied through the motor. Rotation of feed gear
12 pulls the cutter directly into the lid on continued
can rotation and the lid is cut in the normal fashion
and grip 22 then passes out of the operative position
and clear of the rim as shown in FIG. 4 having completed
its power pierce by pulling the cutter into piercing
and then cutting position.
While the amount of bite or gripping by grip 22
into rim 28 may vary, it is merely necessary for grip
22 to make a slight indentation in the rim 28 - enough
for it to grab and pull the cutter 14 into position
which pierces the lid (FIG. 3). This results in a
slight dimpl~ng by grip 22 in the rim which is barely
perceptible an~d not objectionable. Thus, it will be
apparent that the distance between lever pivot 20 to
the bottom of grip 22 is slightly greater than the
distance from pivot 2~ to the top of can rim 28 ensuring
3CI that the grip bites into the rim as lever 24 is rotated
toward the can to assume the position of FIG. 3.
For convenient operation by the user, it is de-
sirable to bias lever 18 for rotation toward the can
by a suitable spring 30 shown diagrammatically in FIGS.
2-4. Further, to provide driving contact at all times
between the can rim and feed gear 12 the lever 18 has a
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suitable horizontal guide spring plate 32 that helps to
align the can and bias it against the feed gear 12 when
in cutting position as shown in FIG. 4.
For convenient external operation, a slidable switch
actuator 34 is provided at a convenient location in the
housing to slide in slot 36 and, through suitable con--
nected linkage 38 shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1, the
operating lever 18 can be manually actuated against the
bias of spring 30 by operation of button 34 in the housing
and the button can also be connected to start the motor.
In operation, button 34 is pulled to the right of
FIG. 2 position, a can 40 is inserted with its rim resting
on the feed gear 12 and, through suitable guides and rests
known in the art, positioned for cutting. The actuator
button 34 is released whereupon the bias of spring 30 drops
the lever. A continuation of movement of actuator button
34 will not farther move the lever, but may turn on the
power and start rotation of feed gear 12 in any suitable
manner. Various known gui.des and locating members orient
the can. Also, clockwise rotation of lever 24 under the
bias of spring 30 permits grip 22 to contact the can rim
between the FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 positions and bite or jam
into rim 28 where it is then pulled further clockwise by
the d.riven feed gear 12 until cutter 14 is pulled into
and pierces the can lid where continued rotation frees
grip 22 from the rim and lld is severed at FIG. 4. When
severed, the operation may be stopped by any of several
well known automatic stops not forming part of the
instant invention and the can may be removed by slightly
turning it and tilting it or by moving button 34 back into
FIG. 2 posit;on against the bias of spring 30 when the can
opener is then free for removal.
Generally, known structure may be used to releasably
attach the cutter to the can opener for removal and
cleaning. Also, the usual magnet structure holds the
severed lid and both are well known in the art and form no
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part of the present invention.
Thus, the present invention provides a simple means
on the usual operating lever requiring no extra parts
but a slight bend in the lever to act as a grip or heel
to bite into the can rim and power pull cutter 14 into
piercing and cutting operation all without addition of any
complexity or extra parts.
While there has been described a preferred form of
the invention, obvious equivalent variations are possible
in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be
understood that, within the scope of the appended claims,
the invention may be practiced otherwise than as
specifically described, and the claims are intended to
cover such equivalent variations.
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