Patent Application
20090214322
This invention is in the field of can openers and in particular a method of opening cans with a ring pull mechanism.
Cans are used for a variety of uses mainly in the food and drinks industry. Opening cans has always presented 10 difficulty as can openers are often hard to operate and leave dangerously sharp edges. A breakthrough was achieved with the introduction of the “ring pull” can openers. These involve an integral ring in the lid of the can whereby the user pulls the ring to tear off the lid or in the case of drinks or other 15 liquids, part of the lid or sometimes to push part of the lid inside the can thereby leaving an opening in the lid giving access to the liquid in the can.
The main disadvantage of the ring pull method is the difficulty people experience when grasping the ring which 20 often lies parallel to and adjacent with the lid of the can. The young and the elderly are especially affected by this problem which can cause much discomfort and even can cause broken fingernails.
Prior art shows many attempts to solve this problem, for 25 example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,409 issued to Bittel 1991, U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,777 issued to Osmar 1992, U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,953 issued to Eve 1999 and WIPO patent number WO2001016015 all of which reveal different devices made to ease the problem above described concerning the opening the can that has a ring pull can opener. Most of these patents use a “J” shaped handle device to place under the ring in order to lever the ring 5 upwards and thereafter tear off the lid.
The main disadvantage of these “J” handles that they need to be acquired and thereafter need to be in the place of the user when he wishes to open the can. This is often not the case. Another disadvantage of the “J” handles and other 10 shaped handles that the use of leverage to ease the opening procedure is that they also have a tendency to cause the ring to snap off the can lid, if not handled with great care, because of the great pressure created by the leverage.
This invention reveals a more simple method of opening 15 cans that use pull rings and this method enhances the original idea of the pull ring without requiring the purchase of additional equipment.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description present embodiments of the invention and are intended to provide 5 an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the invention as it is claimed. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings 10 illustrate various embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles and operations of the invention but not to limit the invention to these descriptions only.
The object of this invention is to aid the opening of cans 15 with ring pull can openers without needing additional equipment to pull on the ring. The invention would apply to cans containing solids or liquids.
During the manufacture of the can there would be a lid with a semi spherical concave indentation under the place where 20 the ring is situated. This indentation enables the user to place his finger under the ring and lift up the ring to tear off the lid of the can or in the case of liquids, part of the lid.
The main difficulty of users of ring pull can openers is the initial grasping of the ring. The state of art procedure causes 25 the user to be frustrated and sometimes causes fingernails to break. Once the user's finger is in the ring, the opening of the can is straightforward and even preferable to the large leverage of “J” handles, which sometimes cause the ring to snap off the lid, leaving the can sealed without a means to open the same.
Another object of this invention is to use the indentation in the lid of the can to promote marketing efforts by being the 5 niche for lottery tickets or other advertising or promotion material.
Another object of this invention is for the said tickets and promotion materials to be wrapped and attached to the can in such a manner that any unauthorized interference with the tickets or materials is observably identifiable.
Instead of the concave indentation in the lid of the can or in conjunction with the said indentation could be a convex shaped ring to better accommodate the finger that is placed under the ring in order to lift the ring to open the can.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain by way of example only, the principles of the invention:
As will be appreciated the present invention is capable of other and different embodiments than those discussed 5 above and described in more detail below, and its several details are capable of modifications in various aspects, all without departing from the spirit of the invention.
Accordingly, the drawings and description of the embodiments set forth below are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.
This illustration of opening is suitable for a can containing liquids but the same principles and elements would apply to a can containing solids where the opening groove 104 of the can is usually a complete circle adjacent to the circumference of the can 100.
The pull-ring 106 is attached to the lid 102 at the connection point 110. The connection point 110 acts as a pivot point when the ring 106 is lifted. The user's finger enters the indentation 108 and fits under the ring 106 in order to ease the lifting of the ring 106.
Advertising or lottery tickets or prizes or other kinds of commercial promotions 112 could be kept in the indentation 108. The said promotions 112 could be kept in a sealed manner, to prevent pre-purchase interference.
The present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments described above, but to encompass any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
