U.S. patent application number 09/764260 was filed with the patent office on 2002-07-25 for tapered stackable can.
Invention is credited to Garst, Dale.
Application Number | 20020096450 09/764260 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25070176 |
Filed Date | 2002-07-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020096450 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Garst, Dale |
July 25, 2002 |
Tapered stackable can
Abstract
The invention is a can with a full taper on the sidewalls, as
opposed to a straight side or expanded shoulder, thereby enabling
the cans to be nested with less distance between cans. To prevent
the cans from wedging together or locking, stand-offs in the form
of inwardly indented ribs or bubbles are incorporated into the
bottom surface of the can. In one embodiment, there are two ribs
transecting the bottom of the can. The two ribs are off-center, so
that when two adjacent cans within a nested stack are rotated
180.degree. from each other, the ribs in the upper can are not in
alignment with the ribs in the lower can. The inward facing ribs in
the lower can thus contact the flat outer surface of the upper can
so as to maintain space between the nested cans and prevent locking
or wedging. In a second embodiment, there are six bubbles in two
rows of three on the bottom of the can. In one row, the middle
bubble faces outward and the two side bubbles face inward. In the
other row, the middle bubble faces inward and the two side bubbles
face outward. When two adjacent cans within a nested stack are
rotated 180.degree. from each other, the inner-facing bubbles in
one row of the lower can contact the outer-facing bubbles of the
opposite row of the upper can. This contact between the opposing
bubbles maintains space between the nested cans and prevents
locking or wedging.
Inventors: |
Garst, Dale; (Union Bridge,
MD) |
Correspondence
Address: |
James C. Wray
Suite 300
1493 Chain Bridge Road
McLean
VA
22101
US
|
Family ID: |
25070176 |
Appl. No.: |
09/764260 |
Filed: |
January 19, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/516 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 21/0233
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/516 |
International
Class: |
B65D 021/00; B65D
085/62 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A nestable can with a closed lower end and an open upper end,
said can comprising: a full taper on the four sidewalls, as opposed
to a straight side or expanded shoulder, thereby enabling the cans
to be nested with less distance between the cans; standoffs in the
form of two inward facing ribs that transect the bottom surface of
the can, said ribs being off-center or non-symmetrical so that when
two adjacent cans within a nested stack are rotated 180.degree.
relative to each other, the ribs in the lower can will not be in
alignment with the ribs in the upper can and will thus contact the
flat outer surface of the upper can so as to maintain space between
the adjacent nested cans and prevent locking or wedging.
2. A nestable can with a closed lower end and an open upper end,
said can comprising: a full taper on the four sidewalls, as opposed
to a straight side or expanded shoulder, thereby enabling the cans
to be nested with less distance between the cans; standoffs in the
form of multiple bubbles in two or more rows on the bottom surface
of the can, a first said row having peripheral bubbles facing
outward with alternating bubbles facing inward and outward, a
second row having peripheral bubbles facing inward and alternating
bubbles facing outward and inward, and adjacent cans within a
nested stack rotated 180.degree. from each other, the inward-facing
bubbles in the lower can contacting the outward-facing bubbles of
the upper can, said contacting between the opposing bubbles serving
to maintain space between the adjacent nested cans and prevent
locking or wedging.
3. A method of nesting cans with a closed lower end and an open
upper end for preventing locking or wedging between adjacent cans,
said method comprising: providing the four sidewalls of the can
with a straight taper; incorporating two off-center inward facing
ribs into the bottom surface of the can; rotating each can within a
nested stack of such cans 180.degree. relative to the previous can
in the nested stack.
4. A method of nesting cans with a closed lower end and an open
upper end for preventing locking or wedging between adjacent cans,
said method comprising: providing the four sidewalls of the can
with a straight taper; incorporating multiple bubbles in two or
more rows of a bottom surface of the can, the first said row having
peripheral bubbles facing outward and alternating bubbles facing
inward and outward, the second said row having peripheral bubbles
facing inward and alternating bubbles facing outward and inward;
rotating each can within a nested stack of such cans 180.degree.
relative to the previous can in the nested stack.
5. A method of nesting cans so as to prevent locking or wedging
between adjacent cans, said cans having a closed lower end and an
open upper end and having four sidewalls with a straight taper,
said method comprising: using a tool to incorporate multiple
bubbles in two or more rows into a bottom surface of a first can, a
first said row having peripheral bubbles facing outward and
alternate bubbles facing inward and outward, a second row having
the peripheral bubbles facing inward and alternating bubbles facing
outward and inward; gagging the tool; using the gagged tool to
incorporate multiple bubbles in two or more rows into a bottom
surface of a second can, a first row having the peripheral bubbles
facing inward and alternating bubbles facing outward, a second row
having peripheral bubbles facing outward and alternate bubbles
facing inward and outward; placing the second can within the first
can without rotating either can relative to the other.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] Manufacturers of cans ship their empty cans to, for example,
food packaging companies, where the cans are filled with the food
that they are to contain. When the can manufacturer ships his empty
cans, it becomes less expensive for him to do so as the volume
taken up by the cans decreases. The can manufacturer thus has
incentive to nest the empty cans as closely together as possible
for shipping purposes. Adjacent cans nested together too closely,
however, may stick or wedge to each other. Such sticking causes
problems for the food packaging company's automated machines that
try to separate the cans.
[0002] The prior art generally has kept adjacent cans from nesting
too closely together via separator means such as an expanded
shoulder or a step lower down on the inner surfaces of the can's
sidewalls. The prior art suffers from problems of the adjacent cans
not nesting together closely enough, or the separator means being
such that they adversely affect the structural integrity of the
can, or the separator means being such that the cost of
manufacturing the can is increased.
[0003] The present invention solves problems remaining in the prior
art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The present invention provides a can that can be nested with
minimal space between cans and yet with no locking or sticking
between adjacent nested cans.
[0005] A nestable can with a closed lower end and an open upper end
comprises a full taper on the four sidewalls, as opposed to a
straight side or expanded shoulder, thereby enabling the cans to be
nested with less distance between the cans. The bottom end of the
can has two inward facing ribs that transect the bottom surface of
the can. The ribs are off-center so that when two adjacent cans
within a nested stack are rotated 180.degree. from each other, the
ribs in the lower can will not be in alignment with the ribs in the
upper can and will contact the flat bottom end of the upper can.
The ribs thus maintain space between the adjacent nested cans and
prevent locking or wedging.
[0006] In an alternate embodiment of the invention, a nestable can
with a closed lower end and an open upper end comprises a full
taper on the four sidewalls. The lower end of the can has standoffs
in the form of six bubbles in two rows of three. In the first row,
the two peripheral bubbles face outward and the one center bubble
faces inward. In the second row the two peripheral bubbles face
inward and the one center bubble faces outward. When two adjacent
cans within a nested stack are rotated 180.degree. from each other,
the three inward-facing bubbles in the lower can will contact the
three outward-facing bubbles of the upper can. The bubbles thus
maintain space between the adjacent nested cans and prevent locking
or wedging.
[0007] One way of forming the cans uses a tool to incorporate six
bubbles in two rows of three into the bottom surface of a first
can. The first row has the two peripheral bubbles face outward and
the one center bubble face inward, while the second row has the two
peripheral bubbles face inward and the one center bubble face
outward.
[0008] The tool is then gagged.
[0009] The gagged tool incorporates six bubbles in two rows of
three into the bottom surface of a second can. The first row has
the two peripheral bubbles face inward and the one center bubble
face outward. The second row has the two peripheral bubbles face
outward and the one center bubble face inward.
[0010] One of the cans is then nested within the other without
rotating either can relative to the other.
[0011] These and other objects and features of the invention are
apparent in the disclosure, which includes the above and ongoing
written specification, with the claims and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a top view of a preferred embodiment of the
can.
[0013] FIG. 2 is a side view of the nested can embodiments shown in
FIG. 1.
[0014] FIG. 3 is a top view of a second preferred embodiment of the
can.
[0015] FIG. 4 is a side view of the nested can embodiments shown in
FIG. 3.
[0016] FIG. 5 is a three dimensional view of the can embodiment
shown in FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0017] In the drawings, like reference characters designate like or
corresponding parts throughout the several views. A nestable can is
generally represented by the numeral 1.
[0018] In accordance with the invention, the can preferably
comprises four sidewalls 3 that possess a straight inward taper 4
from the top 5 to the closed bottom 7 of the can. The straight
taper 4 of the sidewalls 3 allows the cans to be nested closely
together.
[0019] The bottom 7 of the can is of a generally rectangular shape
and has two primary dimensions, length and width. The bottom 7 is
transected by two inward facing ribs 9 that run in the width
dimension of the can, i.e. are perpendicular to the length
dimension of the can, and are off-center with respect to the length
dimension of the can.
[0020] Because the ribs 9 are off-center with respect to the length
dimension of the can, when two cans 11 and 13 are rotated
180.degree. relative to each other and are nested together such
that can 11 is the lower of the two cans, the inward facing ribs 9
of can 11 will contact the flat bottom surface 7 of the upper can
13. The ribs thus separate the two nested cans 11 and 13 from each
other by a distance that is equal to the thickness of the ribs.
[0021] While the straight taper 4 of the sidewalls 3 allows the
cans 11 and 13 to nest closely together, the separation that the
ribs 9 maintain between the two nested cans 11 and 13 prevents the
two cans from becoming wedged together.
[0022] In an alternate preferred embodiment 2 of the can, the
bottom surface 7 of the can has six bubbles in two rows, 15 and 17,
with three bubbles in each row. In the first row 15 the peripheral
two bubbles 19 and 21 face inward, and the center bubble 20 faces
outward. In the second row 17 the peripheral two bubbles 23 and 25
face outward, and the center bubble 24 faces inward.
[0023] Because the bubbles are configured in this fashion, when two
cans 27 and 29 are rotated 180.degree. relative to each other and
are nested together such that can 27 is the lower of the two cans,
the three inward facing bubbles 19, 21, and 24, of the lower can 27
will contact the three outward facing bubbles 20, 23, and 25, of
the upper can 29. The bubbles thus separate two nested cans 27 and
29 from each other by a distance that is equal to twice the
thickness of the bubbles.
[0024] While the straight taper 4 of the sidewalls 3 allows the
cans 27 and 29 to nest closely together, the separation that the
bubbles maintain between the two nested cans 27 and 29 prevents the
two cans from becoming wedged together.
[0025] In other embodiments of the invention, the tools are gagged
upon each reciprocation so that the same bubbles or ribs are formed
alternately in or out. Alternately, the tools are gagged so that
ribs are formed in one can in one location and then the other
location in the next can.
[0026] While the invention has been described with reference to
specific embodiments, modifications and variations of the invention
may be constructed without departing from the scope of the
invention, which is defined in the following claims.
* * * * *