PLATE WITH OPENING AID FOR CANS

Abstract

A metal plate (1) with an opening aid for cans has an upper and a lower face, a central (7) and a radial (8) edge, and two lateral edges (18) connecting ends of the central and radial edge. The plate is slightly curved, and the radial edge extends over a partial circle with an angle of at least 150, wherein a receiving area (9) for the rivet is provided on the central edge. The lateral edges have edge reinforcements reinforcing the plate. The radial edge has a groove anchor (10) that forms a sliding rail that engages a groove of the beverage can. The upper face is equipped with at least one elevation (15) that engages the lever of the can and functions as an opening aid. The elevation has gradually inclines towards its ends, and runs approximately concentrically. The upper face has at least one pushing aid, preferably with a knob (20). The corners between the lateral edges and the radial edge form radially protruding corner flanges (13).

Claims

1. A plate structure with an opening aid for cans each having a respective lever that is attached to the can with a respective rivet, said plate structure comprising: a plate having an upper face and a lower face, a central edge and a radial edge, and two lateral edges that each connect a respective end of the central edge and a respective end of the radial edge, wherein the plate is curved with a curvature approximating a sphere of curvature having a curvature center that lies approximately on a longitudinal axis of the can and in a distal direction of the lower face, wherein the radial edge extends over a partial circle with an angle of at least 150, wherein the central edge provides a receptacle configured to receive the rivets is provided on the central edge, each of the lateral edges having a respective edge reinforcement thereon, wherein said edge reinforcements brace the plate, and the radial edge has a groove anchor thereon, wherein said groove anchor forms an angled slide rail that is directed away from the lower face, and engages in a groove of the beverage can, the upper face having at least one elongate, generally crescent-shaped elevation thereon, wherein said elevation is configured to engage with the lever of the can and serves as an opening aid, wherein the elevation has ends and a decreasing inclination towards each of the ends thereof, the elevation extending generally concentrically to the receptacle and being at least 5 mm long, and at least one sliding aid is arranged on the upper face, wherein said sliding face has at least one knob, wherein the lateral edges have corners that each form a respective projection in a radial direction towards the radial edge and form corner horns, and wherein the plate is made of metal.

2. The plate structure according to claim 1, wherein the plate has a thickness of at least 0.2 mm.

3. The plate structure according to claim 1, wherein the elevation has a length of at least 7 mm.

4. The plate structure according to claim 1, wherein the elevations on each of the two sides slope evenly over a distance of at least 1 mm.

5. The plate structure according to claim 1, wherein the elevations have a height of at least 0.25 mm.

6. The plate structure according to claim 1, wherein the radial edge is curved so as to form a partial circle with an angle of at least 200.

7. The plate structure according to claim 1, wherein the corner horns are extruded at least 2 mm.

8. The plate structure according to claim 1, wherein the lateral edges have a curvature due to the corner horns, and the edge reinforcement is arranged along said curvature.

9. The plate structure according to claim 1, wherein the edge reinforcement is formed as a thickening of the plate and has the thickening that is at least 1.2 times a thickness of the plate away from said thickening.

10. The plate structure according to claim 1, wherein the sliding aid has at least 3 knobs.

11. The plate structure according to claim 1, wherein the knobs of the sliding aid are each configured as a rectangle with rounded corners, the rectangle having an aspect ratio of at least 1:1.

12. The plate structure according to claim 1, wherein the plate has an underside that is coated with a plastic.

13. The plate structure according to claim 1, wherein the upper face is is configured to receive printing thereon.

14. The plate structure according to claim 1, at least one pushing aid is formed on the upper face, and the plate is formed in one piece and shaped by embossing.

15. A can system comprising a can and the plate structure according to claim 1, wherein the plate structure is attached to the can.

16. A method for producing a can system according to claim 15, said method comprising first providing the can, then placing the plate structure on the groove, and then placing the lever on the groove, and finally closing the groove.

17. The plate structure according to claim 1, wherein the plate has a thickness of at least 1 mm.

18. The plate structure according to claim 1, wherein the elevation has a length of at least 20 mm.

19. The plate structure according to claim 1, wherein the elevations on each of the two sides slope evenly over a distance of at least 5 mm.

20. The plate structure according to claim 1, wherein the elevations have a height of at most 1 mm.

Description

[0067] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing.

[0068] FIG. 1 schematically shows an embodiment of a plate in angled top view,

[0069] FIG. 2 schematically shows the same embodiment of a plate in angled bottom view,

[0070] FIG. 3 schematically shows the same embodiment of a plate in flat top view,

[0071] FIG. 4 schematically shows the same embodiment of a plate in side view,

[0072] FIG. 5 schematically shows a top view of the same embodiment of a plate, and

[0073] FIG. 6a-h each schematically show an embodiment of a plate and a beverage can in side view.

[0074] A plate 1 for a can 2, in particular a beverage can, is described below (FIGS. 1-6).

[0075] The can 2 has a substantially cylindrical shape. One side of the cylinder, referred to as the head plate 22, has an opening 3 of the beverage can 2. A rivet 4 is arranged next to the opening 3, to which a lever 11 is attached, which is designed to press in a part of the lid of the can 2. A pressed-in lid part 12 is then located inside the can 2. A rivet head 14 is formed at the end of the rivet. The rivet head 14 is a flat, mostly round plate, which is arranged at the end of the rivet 4 and has a larger radius than the rivet 4, the rivet head 4 prevents the lever 11 from loosening inadvertently. At the edge, the beverage can 2 has a groove 5 and a raised edge 6.

[0076] The plate 1 has a central edge 7, a radial edge 8 and 2 lateral edges 18.

[0077] The plate 1 has corner horns 13, which form a projection in the radial direction at the corners of the lateral edges 18, towards the radial edge 8.

[0078] The plate has an edge reinforcement 21, which is formed at the lateral edges 18 and braces the plate.

[0079] The plate 1 has a slight curvature and the center of a sphere of curvature, which describes the curvature, lies approximately on the longitudinal axis of the can and is arranged distally to the lower face of the plate 1.

[0080] In the top view, the plate 1 has approximately the shape of a sector of a circle with a radius r and a center angle around a circle center M (FIG. 1). The shape of the plate is such that the center angle is approximately 200.

[0081] In this embodiment example, the plate 1 is designed as a protective cover 1 and is also referred to as such in the following.

[0082] The center of the circle M is located at a central edge 7 of the protective cover 1 and is arranged in such a way that it is congruent with the center of the rivet 4 of the beverage can 2 when the protective cover 1 is arranged on the beverage can 2.

[0083] In the top view, the central edge 7 forms a circular segment-shaped recess 9 for the receptacle of the rivet 4. The indentation 9 is in the shape of a segment circle. The radius of the circular segment-shaped recess corresponds at least to the radius of the rivet 4.

[0084] Another possibility, not shown here, is that the indentation 9 is completely enclosed by the metal of the plate 1.

[0085] In the top view, the protective cover 1 is only as large as is sensible for the function of the closure and is necessary to cover the opening 3 of the beverage can 2 and provide sufficient stability. The protective cover 1 is a mass-produced article. The smaller it is, the cheaper it is to manufacture.

[0086] The radius r of the sector of the circle essentially corresponds to the usual distance between the rivet 4 and the groove 5 of the beverage can 2.

[0087] The radius r of the sector of the circle is smaller than the usual distance between the rivet 4 and the raised edge 6 of the beverage can 2.

[0088] The protective cover has an opening aid 15. The opening aid 15 is an elevation pointing upwards, away from the can. It is formed at approximately half the distance from the central edge 7 to the radial edge 8 of the closure.

[0089] The opening aid 15 is designed as an elevation which, as in the embodiments explained above, has two edges 17, each of which runs approximately in a tangential direction, i.e. approximately parallel to the radial edge 8. As a result, the opening aid 15 is slightly curved and is crescent-shaped. Each edge 17 of the opening aid 15 has a substantially uniform inclination, which descends from the center of the opening aid in the direction towards the lateral edge 18 until the edge 17 has reached the level of the surface of the plate 1. The angle 19 that the edge 17 makes with the surface of the plate 1 is preferably at least 3, in particular at least 5 and particularly preferably at least 8 (FIG. 3). The maximum angle 19 is less than 30 and preferably less than 20. Due to the gradual slope of the edge 17, the opening aid 15 can be slid under the lever 11 of the can 2 with little effort, whereby the lever 11 is lifted upwards by the opening aid 15. The opening aid 15 spreads like a wedge between the surface of the can 2 and the lever 11.

[0090] In principle, other geometries of the opening aid 15 are also conceivable. Provided they have at least one slanted side that is transverse to the radial direction of the beverage can 2.

[0091] In this embodiment example, the opening aid 15 is punched.

[0092] The protective cover 1 is formed at the radial edge 8 with a groove anchor 10, which can engage in the groove 5. In this embodiment example, this groove anchor 10 is formed by a bend in the radial edge 8, whereby the radial edge 8 is bent downwards in such a way that it engages in the groove 5 of the beverage can 2 (FIGS. 1-5, FIGS. 6e, 6h). The width of the bent section corresponds approximately to the depth of the groove 5. Alternatively, the radial edge 8 can also be bent twice and form a V-shape when viewed from the side. The groove anchor 10 here also has a projection extending towards the raised edge 6 (FIG. 6f).

[0093] Another possibility is that the groove anchor 10 is bent three times (FIG. 6g). Compared to the previous alternative, the groove anchor 10 here also has a projection pointing in the direction of the central edge 7 (FIG. 6a).

[0094] The groove anchor 10 can also alternatively adapt to the shape of the groove 5 (FIG. 6a-6d to 3d).

[0095] One possibility is that the groove anchor 10 protrudes from the lower face of the protective cover 1 due to additional material. In the side view, the protective cover 1 has a thickening at this point. This can be made of the same material as the rest of the protective cover 1 or of a different material.

[0096] The plate 1 has a grip area 20, which is arranged on the adjacent other lateral edge 18 (FIGS. 1-5). In the present embodiment example, this gripping area is formed by a number of slightly upwardly protruding, embossed knobs. These thus form a corrugated surface, so that a displacement torque can be easily transmitted to the plate 1 at the grip area with a finger in order to rotate it and slide it under the lever 11 with the opening aid 15.

[0097] The grip area can also be formed by another type of roughening, such as by sandblasting this section. The grip area is preferably much less raised than the opening aid 15, which makes it possible to insert the plate 1 under a lever in such a way that the grip area is first slid through under the lever until the plate 1 is arranged such that the lever is located in the area between the grip area 20 and the opening aid 15.

[0098] A method for manufacturing a can system described above is characterized in that first the can is manufactured, then the plate is placed on the groove and then the lever is placed on the groove and in the last step the groove is closed.

[0099] The opening aid 15 can also be wedge-shaped. In an alternative embodiment, the knobs 20 are punched into the plate as negative knobs.

[0100] Another possibility is that the knobs 20 correspond to a structure, for example a letter or a number or a sign in Braille.

REFERENCE SIGNS

[0101] 1 Protective cover/plate [0102] 2 Can [0103] 3 Opening of the beverage can [0104] 4 Rivet [0105] 5 Groove [0106] 6 Raised edge [0107] 7 Central edge [0108] 8 Radial edge [0109] 9 Indentation [0110] 10 Groove anchor [0111] 11 Lever [0112] 12 Pressed-in cover part [0113] 13 corner horn [0114] 14 Rivet head [0115] 15 Opening aid [0116] 16 Can projection [0117] 17 Edge of the opening aid [0118] 18 Lateral edge [0119] 19 Angle [0120] 20 Knobs [0121] 21 Edge reinforcement [0122] 22 Top plate [0123] r Radius [0124] Center point angle [0125] M Center of circle