Can-opener. History of invention and production

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HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY, OBJECTS AROUND US
Free library / Directory / The history of technology, technology, objects around us

Can-opener. History of invention and production

The history of technology, technology, objects around us

Directory / The history of technology, technology, objects around us

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In 1795, the French government promised a prize to anyone who could develop a method of long-term storage of food, essential for Napoleon's army. In 1806, the confectioner Nikola Apper proposed a conservation technology, for which he received the title of "Benefactor of Humanity" from the emperor.

Nicola Upper

In the army of the early 1812th century, banks were usually opened with a bayonet, and sometimes firearms were used. However, Upper used glass jars that were too fragile. This obstacle was overcome by the British engineer and industrialist Brian Dunkin, who in XNUMX developed a process for the production of canned food in cans from tin-plated (i.e., tin-coated) steel sheet.

Products in such jars were perfectly preserved (which was confirmed by Sir William Perry's expedition to the North Pole in 1824), but when it came to food, there was a slight difficulty: the jar had to be opened. The canned food manufacturers thought this was clearly not their problem and limited themselves to a brief instruction on the label: "Use a chisel and a hammer."

But even with the help of tools, opening canned food was not easy. The cans were real "fortresses" made of thick tin, and the packaging often exceeded the weight of the contents. In the army of the early XNUMXth century, bayonets were commonly used to open cans, and sometimes hungry soldiers resorted to the help of firearms.

In the second half of the 1858th century, cans began to be made from thinner tin, and in XNUMX, Ezra Warner of Connecticut patented the first can opener with two blades, straight and sharp for piercing the can (with a guard guard) and curved for cutting the lid.

Can-opener
Ezra Warner can opener

This classic design, whose descendants are still popular today, was called Bull's Head. In 1870, the American William Lyman proposed not to cut the can with a blade, but to use a "cutting wheel". His knife was actually a compass, one leg of which was stuck exactly in the middle of the lid, and the second, with a sharp wheel, cut a hole in the jar. It cannot be said that it was very convenient (the center had to be determined independently, the wheel slipped), but progress is evident.

Can-opener
Modern can opener

In 1925, the next step was taken: the Star Can Opener Company of San Francisco improved Lyman's design by placing a gear at the bottom of the can opener (which was no longer a knife in the literal sense) - the so-called feed wheel. The rim of the can was firmly fixed between the gear and the cutting wheel (or a regular blade), preventing slippage and ensuring a smooth cut.

Later, an electric drive and magnets were added to the design to hold the can, but the cutting principle itself has remained unchanged to this day.

Author: S.Apresov

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