Patent Application
20240417132
The present technology relates to tabs for opening beverage and food cans. More specifically, the present technology relates to tab designs that facilitate safer and easier opening of beverage and food cans.
Food and beverage cans often include graspable tabs that enable users to quickly and easily open the cans without the need for a can opener or other tool. Conventional tabs include a handle or other graspable feature that is formed by bending exposed edges of a metallic material toward one another to provide a smooth upper and peripheral surface. The exposed edges are positioned on a lower surface of the tab, with a gap formed between opposing edges of the handle. These edges may be sharp and may pose a risk of cuts or other injuries as a user positions his or her finger underneath the handle and applies an upward and/or rearward force to puncture the can and/or remove the lid from the can. Therefore, improvements in tabs for food and beverage cans are desired.
The present technology relates to tabs for containers, such as food or beverage cans. In some embodiments, the tabs include a tab body having a nose, a handle, at least one tab carrier, and a medial portion that extends between and couples the nose and the handle. The at least one tab carrier is positioned flush with or inset relative to a main body of the handle. The handle may define a central opening. The handle may include an outer curl having a first edge that is folded along a bottom surface of the tab body and that is directed toward the medial portion. The handle may include an inner curl extending from the central opening. The inner curl may include a second edge that is folded along the bottom surface of the tab body and that is directed away from the medial portion. A distance between the first edge and the second edge may be less than 0.5 mm, e.g., less than 0.4 mm, less than 0.3 mm, less than 0.2 mm, or less than 0.1 mm. In terms of ranges, the distance between the first edge and the second edge may range from 0.01 mm to 0.5 mm, e.g., from 0.1 to 0.4 mm, from 0.1 to 0.3 mm or from 0.1 to 0.2 mm. In some aspects, the first edge may contact the second edge. In some aspects, the second edge may overlap the first edge, or the first edge may overlap the second edge.
At least a portion of one or both of the first edge and the second edge may be pressed against a bottom surface of a main portion of the handle. The tab body may include a longitudinal axis. A portion of one or both of the first edge and the second edge may be pressed against a bottom surface of a main portion of the handle such that an inner region of the handle proximate the longitudinal axis is thinner than an outer region of the handle outward of the inner region relative to the longitudinal axis.
Some embodiments of the present technology may encompass tabs for a food or beverage can. The tabs may include a tab body comprising a nose, a handle, and a medial portion that extends between and couples the nose and the handle. The handle may define a central opening. The handle may include an outer curl having a first edge that is folded along a bottom surface of the tab body and that is directed toward the medial portion. The handle may include an inner curl extending from the central opening. The inner curl may include a second edge that is folded along the bottom surface of the tab body and that is directed away from the medial portion. The second edge may overlap the second edge.
In some embodiments, at least a portion of one or both of the first edge and the second edge may be pressed against a bottom surface of a main portion of the handle. The tab body may include a longitudinal axis. A portion of one or both of the first edge and the second edge may be pressed against a bottom surface of a main portion of the handle such that an inner region of the handle proximate the longitudinal axis is thinner than an outer region of the handle outward of the inner region relative to the longitudinal axis. The tab may not include any portion of a tab carrier.
Some embodiments of the present technology may encompass EZO food or beverage cans. The cans may include a can body. The cans may include a lid coupled with the can body. The cans may include a tab coupled with the lid. The tab may be configured to open the lid. The tab may include a tab body having a nose, a handle, and a medial portion that extends between and couples the nose and the handle. The handle may define a central opening. The handle may include an outer curl having a first edge that is folded along a bottom surface of the tab body and that is directed toward the medial portion. The handle may include an inner curl extending from the central opening. The inner curl may include a second edge that is folded along the bottom surface of the tab body and that is directed away from the medial portion. A distance between the first edge and the second edge may be less than about 0.5 mm.
In some embodiments, the lid may include a center panel. The lid may include a peripheral curl coupled with a rim of the can. The lid may include a chuck wall disposed between the center panel and the peripheral curl. The chuck wall may include a substantially horizontal portion. The substantially horizontal portion may be positioned less than 4 mm, e.g., less than 3 mm, less than 2 mm or less than 1 mm, below a top surface of the peripheral curl. The substantially horizontal portion may be oriented within 30 degrees, e.g., within 20 degrees, or within 10 degrees, relative to the center panel. The chuck wall may include a substantially vertical portion that is disposed above the substantially horizontal portion. A transition between the substantially vertical portion and the substantially horizontal portion may have a radius of between 0.75 mm and 1.25 mm, e.g., between 0.85 and 1.15 mm.
Some embodiments of the present technology may encompass methods of forming a tab for a container. The methods may include punching a tab body into a sheet of metal material. The tab body may include a nose, a handle, and a medial portion that extends between and couples the nose and the handle. The handle may define a central opening. The methods may include forming an outer curl about the handle. The outer curl may have a first edge that is folded along a bottom surface of the tab body and that is directed toward the medial portion. The methods may include forming an inner curl about the handle. The inner curl may extend from the central opening and may include a second edge that is folded along the bottom surface of the tab body and that is directed away from the medial portion. The methods may include pressing the first edge and the second edge together such that the first edge and the second edge are separated by a distance of less than 0.5 mm. The methods may include moving at least one tab carrier inward such that the at least one tab carrier is flush with or inset relative to a main body of the handle. The methods may include removing at least a portion of at least one tab carrier from the handle. The removing the at least a portion of the at least one tab carrier may include one or more selected from the group consisting of trimming the at least a portion of the at least one tab carrier, filing the at least a portion of the at least one tab carrier, and sanding the at least a portion of the at least one tab carrier.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the disclosed technology may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings.
Several of the figures are included as schematics. It is to be understood that the figures are for illustrative purposes, and are not to be considered of scale unless specifically stated to be of scale. Additionally, as schematics, the figures are provided to aid comprehension and may not include all aspects or information compared to realistic representations, and may include exaggerated material for illustrative purposes.
In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a letter that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the letter.
The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure. Rather, the description of the exemplary embodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing one or more exemplary embodiments. It being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to tabs for opening containers such as food and beverage cans. The tabs may include handles that pose little to no injury risk, as exposed edges of the metallic material in at least an inner region of the handle of the tab are pressed close together, touching, and/or overlapping to reduce the ability of a user's finger being cut on an exposed edge of the tab. Embodiments may include tabs for beverage cans in which a user lifts the handle of the tab to push on a region of a lid having a perforation and/or weakened perimeter to push the region into the inner region of the can to create an opening in the lid through which the beverage may be poured or drank. Embodiments may also be utilized in food and/or beverage cans, such as “easy open” (EZO) cans in which the tab is used to puncture the lid near a rim of the can, with the user then pulling the tab backwards to partially or fully remove the lid from the can. While discussed primarily in the context of food and beverage cans, it will be appreciated that the features described herein may be applied to other cans and containers, including racquetball cans, tennis ball cans, and the like.
Turning now to
Handle 104 and/or medial portion 106 may define a central opening 112, which may help a user better grasp the handle 104. Central opening 112 may have a generally circular shape as shown here, or may have any other shape, such as an oval, oblong, or other shape. In some embodiments, such as those in which the tab 100 is installed on an EZO can, the central opening 112 may be sufficiently large that a user may position his or her finger through the central opening 112 to make it easier to apply sufficient force to remove the lid from the can. Some or all of the edge of the material used to form the tab 100 may be bent, folded, and/or otherwise curved onto itself such that some or all of the outer periphery of the central opening 112 may have a rounded edge. For example, the central opening 112 may be formed using a punch or other machining device that forms a hole in a sheet of metallic material. Edges defining the hole may be bent to an underside of the tab 100 to form an inner curl 114 that includes rounded edges defining central opening 112, while safely positioning the cut edges 116 folded along a bottom surface of the tab 100. A portion of the cut edges 116 proximate the distal end of tab 100 may be directed away from the medial portion 106 and generally toward the distal end of tab 100.
As shown, tab 100 also includes one or more outer curls 118, which may extend about all or part of the outer periphery of the body of tab 100. As illustrated, outer curl 118 extends about an entirety of the outer periphery of tab 100 except where tab carriers 120 (which secure the tab 100 to a sheet of metal material during the manufacturing process) are formed. Outer curl 118 may include bent, folded, and/or otherwise curved outer edges that define the outer periphery of all or part of tab 100, including handle 104. A portion of outer curl 118 that includes the handle 104 (such as between tab carriers 120) may include an cut edge 122 that is directed generally toward the medial portion 106.
To reduce the possibility of a user being cut by cut edges 116 and/or 122, a distance between the cut edges 116 and 122 may be reduced, particularly in the region of the distal end of the tab 100. For example, a distance between cut edges 116 and 122 in the region of the distal end of tab 100 may be less than or 0.5 mm, less than or 0.4 mm, less than or 0.3 mm, less than or about 0.2 mm, less than or 0.1 mm, less than or 0.05 mm, less than or 0.025 mm, less than or 0.01 mm, less than or 0.005 mm, or less. In terms of ranges, the distance between cut edges 116 and 112 may range from 0.01 mm to 0.5 mm, e.g., from 0.1 to 0.4 mm, from 0.1 to 0.3 mm or from 0.1 to 0.2 mm. In some embodiments, cut edges 116 and 122 proximate the distal end of tab 100 may contact one another so as to completely eliminate any gap between cut edges 116 and 122 in that region of handle 104. In some embodiments, cut edge 116 may overlap cut edge 122 in the region proximate handle 104, which may prevent cut edge 122 from being in contact with a user's finger and may help reduce or eliminate the risk of being cut.
The reduced distance between cut edges 116 and 122 may extend about all, or substantially all of handle 104 in some embodiments. In other embodiments, only the region proximate the distal end of tab 100 may have a reduced distance between cut edges 116 and 122. For example, handle 104 may include an inner region 124 proximate longitudinal axis L (which may extend through inner region 124) and an outer region 126 that is outward of inner region 124 relative to longitudinal axis L. Inner region 124 may include the reduced distance between cut edges 116 and 122. Inner region 124 may extend between tab carriers 120 in some embodiments, while in other embodiments inner region 124 may include only a portion of handle 104 that is between tab carriers 120. For example, inner region 124 may include a central 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, etc. of the region between tab carriers 120. In terms of ranges, inner region 124 may include between 30% and 90% of the centermost portion of the region between tab carriers 120, e.g., e.g., from 40% to 80%, from 50% to 70%, or 55% to 65%. Inner region 124 may include the reduced distance between cut edges 116 and 122, while outer region 126 may have greater distances between cut edges 116 and 122 than inner region 124.
In some embodiments, the portions of cut edges 116 and 122 within inner region 124 may be flattened and/or otherwise pressed against a main portion 128 of handle 104, which may reduce the thickness of inner region 124 and may prevent cut edges 116 and 122 from being raised sufficiently relative to main portion 128 of handle 104 to pose a significant risk of cutting an individual. Inner region 124 may be thinner than outer region 126. In some embodiments, inner region 124 may be formed by crimping, pressing, and/or otherwise flattening cut edges 116 and 122 against a bottom surface of main portion 128 of handle 104, which may not only reduce the thickness of inner region 124 but may also reduce the distance between cut edges 116 and 122 within inner region 124.
Tab 100 may be formed by punching, die cutting, machining and/or otherwise forming the body of tab into a sheet of metal material. This may be performed over several different steps. For example, a general tab shaped periphery may be stamped or punched to the sheet of metal material, opening 110 and/or center opening 112 may be cut into the body, and/or other features may be formed in one or more steps. Outer curl 118 may be formed about handle 104 by bending, folding, and/or otherwise curving cut edge 122 to be positioned below a bottom surface of main portion 128 of handle 104. Inner curl 114 may be formed about handle 104 by bending, folding, and/or otherwise curving cut edge 116 to be positioned below a bottom surface of main portion 128 of handle 104. The cut edges 116 and 122 may be pressed together such that the edges 116 and 122 are separated by the reduced distance of less than 0.5 mm as described above. Pressing cut edges 116 and 122 together may include applying compressive force between the rounded edges of inner curl 114 and outer curl 118 within inner region 124 and/or between a top surface of handle 104 and a bottom surface of handle 104 within inner region 124.
In conventional tabs, the tab carriers may present additional cutting hazards. For example, as shown in
To reduce and/or eliminate the injury risk associated with tab carriers, embodiments may alter the size and/or position of tab carriers.
In some embodiments, a user may have trouble opening a can using a tab, such as tab 100 and may instead try to open the can using a can opener. However, oftentimes lids of cans, such as EZO cans, may have a rim or other peripheral region that is spaced too far from a horizontal region of the lid to enable the blade of the can opener to reach the horizontal region to open the can.
Lid 200 may include a center panel 202 that is generally flat and is designed to cover a substantial amount of an opening of a can (not shown). Lid 200 may also include a peripheral curl 204 that is designed to be coupled with a rim of the can to secure lid 200 and can together. Disposed between center panel 202 and peripheral curl 204 may be a chuck wall 206. As used in herein, “chuck wall” is understood to refer to a portion of lid 200 located between a countersink region 216 and peripheral curl 204 and which is contacted by or engaged with a chuck during a seaming operation of a manufacturing process. Chuck wall 206 may include a substantially vertical portion 208 and a substantially horizontal portion 210. Substantially vertical portion 208 may be within 15 degrees of vertical (such as relative to an angle that is generally orthogonal to the center panel 202), within 10 degrees of vertical, within 5 degrees of vertical, or less. In terms of ranges, the angle of substantially vertical portion 208 may range from 0 degrees and 15 degrees of vertical, e.g., from 1 degree to 12 degrees or from 5 degrees to 8 degrees. Substantially vertical portion 208 may be linear and/or may have a contour. Substantially horizontal portion 210 may have an angle 0 within 30 degrees of horizontal (such as relative to the center panel 202), within 25 degrees of horizontal, within 20 degrees of horizontal, within 15 degrees of horizontal, within 10 degrees of horizontal, within 5 degrees of horizontal, or less. Substantially horizontal portion 210 may be linear and/or may have a contour. Substantially vertical portion 208 may be coupled with peripheral curl 204, such as via a first transition radius 212. First transition radius 212 may be between about 0.75 mm and 1.25 mm, e.g., from 0.85 mm to 1.15 mm, or from 0.95 mm to 1.05 mm. Chuck wall 206 may have a transition radius 214 between substantially vertical portion 208 and substantially horizontal portion 210. In some embodiments, transition radius 214 may be between about 0.75 mm and 1.25 mm. A vertical distance between substantially horizontal portion 210 and a top surface of peripheral curl 204 may be less than 4 mm, less than 3.75 mm, less than 3.5 mm, less than about 3.25 mm, less than 3 mm, less than 2.75 mm, or less. In terms of ranges, the vertical distance between substantially horizontal portion 210 and a top surface of peripheral curl 204 may range from 2.5 mm to 4 mm, e.g., from 2.75 mm to 3.75 mm, or from 3 mm to 3.5 mm. Such a vertical distance may be sufficiently small so as to enable a blade of a can opener to pierce substantially horizontal portion 210 to open the can.
In some embodiments, substantially horizontal portion 210 of chuck wall 206 may transition to a countersink region 216. A transition 218 between substantially horizontal portion 210 and countersink region 216 may have a radius 224 of between 0.65 mm and 1.15 mm, e.g., from 0.75 mm to 1.05 mm, or from 0.85 mm to 0.95 mm. Countersink region 216 may have a radius 226 of between 0.4 mm and 0.7 mm, e.g., from 0.45 mm to 0.65 mm, or from 0.5 mm to 0.6 mm. Countersink region 216 may include a transition 220 that extends to center panel 202. Transition 220 may have a radius 228 of between 0.35 mm and 0.65 mm, e.g., from 0.4 mm to 0.6 mm, or from 0.45 mm to 0.55 mm.
The methods, systems, devices, graphs, and tables discussed herein are examples. Various configurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For instance, in alternative configurations, the methods may be performed in an order different from that described, and/or various stages may be added, omitted, and/or combined. Also, features described with respect to certain configurations may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of the configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Also, technology evolves and, thus, many of the elements are examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure or claims. Additionally, the techniques discussed herein may provide differing results with different types of context awareness classifiers.
While illustrative and presently preferred embodiments of the disclosed systems, methods, and machine-readable media have been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed, and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations, except as limited by the prior art.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly or conventionally understood. As used herein, the articles “a” and “an” refer to one or to more than one (i.e., to at least one) of the grammatical object of the article. By way of example, “an element” means one element or more than one element. “About” and/or “approximately” as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a temporal duration, and the like, encompasses variations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from the specified value, as such variations are appropriate to in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein. “Substantially” as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a temporal duration, a physical attribute (such as frequency), and the like, also encompasses variations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from the specified value, as such variations are appropriate to in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein.
Where a range of values is provided, it is understood that each intervening value, to the smallest fraction of the unit of the lower limit, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, between the upper and lower limits of that range is also specifically disclosed. Any narrower range between any stated values or unstated intervening values in a stated range and any other stated or intervening value in that stated range is encompassed. The upper and lower limits of those smaller ranges may independently be included or excluded in the range, and each range where either, neither, or both limits are included in the smaller ranges is also encompassed within the technology, subject to any specifically excluded limit in the stated range. Where the stated range includes one or both of the limits, ranges excluding either or both of those included limits are also included.
As used herein, including in the claims, “and” as used in a list of items prefaced by “at least one of” or “one or more of” indicates that any combination of the listed items may be used. For example, a list of “at least one of A, B, and C” includes any of the combinations A or B or C or AB or AC or BC and/or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Furthermore, to the extent more than one occurrence or use of the items A, B, or C is possible, multiple uses of A, B, and/or C may form part of the contemplated combinations. For example, a list of “at least one of A, B, and C” may also include AA, AAB, AAA, BB, etc.
This application claims the benefit of, and priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/257,931, filed Oct. 20, 2021, which is incorporated here by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB2022/060014 | 10/18/2022 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63257931 | Oct 2021 | US |
