Pop Top Dot

Abstract

The Pop Top Dot, simply put, in terms of the basic technical disclosure, is a small semi-soft ball attached to the underside of the pull-lever on any “stay-tab”, pull-top system of can opening. The underside of the lever tends to pinch, or dig under the nail, so the soft nature of the Pop Top Dot will address this. The stay-tab opening system is most often associated with canned beverages, but this lever system and tab are used on many canned items, the Pop Top Dot precisely where the fingertip contacts the tab when opening the container. The Pop Top Dot is either an extension of the tab, a metal aluminum alloy sphere as a manufactured part of the lever, cast and then coated with a soft material, or it's a cushioned sphere attached to the lever with a bonding agent of some kind.

Description

In 1975 Mr. Daniel F. Cudzik invented the stay-tab beverage can opening system, this lever system became the standard opening system found on canned beverages. The invention devised by Mr. Cudzik, eliminated the risks associated with a person cut by the razor sharp pull-tabs, and also addressed the nuisance associated with the refuse generated by these tabs. I, Marc Reuben Schlosser, as a past food and beverage professional, with more than 35 years of experience, have been regularly irritated by the predictable pain associated with opening canned beverages. The lever will dig under your fingernail, or pinch the fingertip, after many cans, it became more than a minor nuisance. I Marc Reuben Schlosser, have invented a non-obvious improvement to the stay-tab lever system that addresses this problem, and alleviates the pain associated with opening a can. A Pop-Top-Dot is considered a food and beverage apparatus, and falls under the U.S. patent classification 099. FIG. 1(a) is the underside view of a stay-tap lever, showing several Pop Top Dots.

FIG. 1(a) is the underside view of a stay-tap lever, showing a single Pop Top Dot.

FIG. 1(b) is the underside view of a stay-tab lever, showing several Pop Top Dots.

FIG. 1(c) is a side view of the top of a can, and the stay-tab lever in the stationary position.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the top of a can, the initiation of an opening with a Pop Top Dot

FIG. 3 Shows the opening midway

FIG. 4 Shows the completion of an opening and pull on the stay-tab lever with a Pop Top Dot cushion.

Claims

1. The Pop-Top-Dot is attached to the underside of the stay-tab lever, directly where the fingertip makes contact with the lever, and consists of a small, semi-soft sphere, or series of spheres, that cushion the fingertip, and also act as a small brace, elevating the stay-tab lever roughly 3/16th of an inch above the surface of the can, allowing access without a pinch. The slightly elevated tab is well below the outer rim of the can. A Pop-Top-Dot is a semi-soft sphere adhered to the lever, or a spherical extension of the aluminum alloy found in the lever, an aluminum sphere coated with a semi-soft rubberized material. This is a subtle improvement to the stay-tab system that will reveal the old way of opening cans, the tab digging under a nail, or wincing for the pinch, or simply seeking out a spoon to pry it open.