U.S. patent number 3,800,401 [Application Number 05/131,258] was granted by the patent office on 1974-04-02 for method of making container closure construction.
This patent grant is currently assigned to American Flange & Manufacturing Co., Inc.. Invention is credited to John Jesevich, Vyto Simkus.
United States Patent |
3,800,401 |
Jesevich , et al. |
April 2, 1974 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
METHOD OF MAKING CONTAINER CLOSURE CONSTRUCTION
Abstract
A tag ring element having a neck portion and a base portion and
bordering the openings in container walls and methods and apparatus
for at least partially forming the same during the application of
the closure elements to the container walls, including means for
automatically feeding and positioning blanks for such tag ring
elements in position for securement during the securing of closure
elements about said container wall openings. The tag ring elements
may be preformed to varying degrees depending upon the means for
holding them in the dies and may be of varying thicknesses,
depending on whether they serve as the sole securing neck for
securing closure flanges to container wall openings, whether they
reinforce lightweight necks formed in the container wall, or
whether they principally serve to provide eyelets for the
attachment of various elements thereto. In a particular instance,
the tag ring element flat blanks are fed into the dies which
perforate container walls, draw necks up from the same form and
secure the tag ring elements thereto, and secure closure flanges
within such necks in one stroke of a press. Particular feeding and
holding means for the tag ring elements for the automatic
application of the same to container wall necks simultaneously with
the application of the closure flange to the opening being formed,
is provided in the instance of single stroke application of
closures to the container walls.
Inventors: |
Jesevich; John (Cicero, IL),
Simkus; Vyto (Chicago, IL) |
Assignee: |
American Flange & Manufacturing
Co., Inc. (New York, NY)
|
Family
ID: |
22448639 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/131,258 |
Filed: |
April 5, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
29/432.2;
29/243.517; 29/512 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B21D
51/40 (20130101); B65D 39/086 (20130101); B65D
39/082 (20130101); B65D 39/084 (20130101); Y10T
29/4992 (20150115); Y10T 29/49837 (20150115); Y10T
29/53717 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
B21D
51/38 (20060101); B65D 39/00 (20060101); B65D
39/08 (20060101); B21D 51/40 (20060101); B23p
011/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;29/512,243.52,432,432.2
;113/121E ;220/39B |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,055,230 |
|
Jan 1967 |
|
GB |
|
1,432,274 |
|
Nov 1968 |
|
DT |
|
Primary Examiner: Lanham; Charles W.
Claims
Having described our invention what we claim as new and seek to
protect by Letter Patent is:
1. The method of simultaneously securing a closure flange and a tag
ring element to a container wall in a single punch press operation,
comprising the steps of supporting a closure flange including a
cylindrical neck having an upper unthreaded portion and a lower
internally threaded portion surrounded by a polygonal base,
positioning an annular tag ring element in vertically spaced
concentric relationship above said closure flange, placing an
imperforate container wall between said closure flange and said tag
ring element, vertically displacing said tag ring element and said
closure flange toward each other, perforating a concentric opening
in said container wall and permanently securing said closure flange
and said tag ring element about said container wall opening.
2. The method as in claim 1 and forming said tag ring element with
an upstanding neck from a flat blank during said securing.
3. The method as in claim 1 and deforming said container wall and
said tag ring element during said securing.
4. The method of simultaneously securing a closure flange and a tag
ring element to a container wall in a single punch press operation
comprising the steps of positioning an internally threaded closure
flange in a lower die sub-assembly, retaining an annular tag ring
element on an upper die sub-assembly operatively positioned above
said lower die sub-assembly, positioning a container wall between
said upper and lower die sub-assemblies, closing said upper die
sub-assembly on said lower die sub-assembly and permanently
securing said closure flange and said tag ring element about an
opening formed in said container wall.
5. The method as in claim 4 and forming said tag ring element with
an upstanding neck from a flat blank during said securing.
6. The method as in claim 4 and deforming said container wall and
said tag ring element during said forming.
7. The method of reinforcing container wall openings and providing
identifying tag and closure seal affixing means comprising the
steps of horizontally supporting a flat annular tag ring element
having a central opening, horizontally positioning a container wall
section in vertically spaced relationship below said tag ring
element, performing said container wall to form an opening therein,
drawing a neck in said container wall section upwardly about said
opening, simultaneously drawing a neck upwardly from said tag ring
element about the opening therein with said tag ring element neck
closely surrounding said container wall opening neck and inserting
an internally threaded closure flange within said container wall
opening neck.
8. The method as in claim 7 and deforming said flange so as to
permanently secure said flange and said tag ring element to said
container wall about said opening neck.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the industrial container field, particularly in the fabrication
of steel drums, it has long been the practice to mechanically
secure a closure flange, for reception of a threaded plug, within
an opening formed in a container wall. One method of inserting
flanges in container walls has been carried out by a metal working
die which forms an opening in the container wall and mechanically
inserts the flange in a single operation. In many instances,
however, it is desirable to also include an annular tag ring in the
insertion which surrounds the upstanding container wall opening
neck and is permanently held in place by the outwardly curled bead
at the uppermost end of the flange neck. One function of such tag
ring is to provide an effective means for securing a tag for
identifying the container contents. In many instances tag rings
also serve as means for affixing a wire and lead seal which is
threaded through the closure plug for tamperproofing purposes. In
addition, with the increasing trend toward the use of lighter gage
metal in the fabrication of industrial shipping containers, it is
advantageous to employ such tag rings for reinforcing the container
wall opening neck to meet necessary strength requirements.
Heretofore, it was thought only possible to include such tag ring
by hand feeding in flange insertions carried out in a two-step
operation wherein the container wall is perforated and the
surrounding container wall opening neck drawn upwardly therearound
in a first punch press operation. In the second operation, the
flange neck is inserted within the container wall opening from
beneath whereby the tag ring could be placed over the container
wall opening exteriorally surrounding the opening neck. The upper
end of the flange neck is then curled outwardly so as to
permanently secure the flange and the tag ring to the underlying
container wall opening neck. The above described two operation
flange insertion arrangement, however, is relatively costly and
unsuited for high speed container fabricating processes.
The invention is particularly adaptable to the application of tag
ring elements in a single operation flange insertion arrangement.
This is accomplished by feeding flanges and tag ring elements into
a die for insertion within a container wall in a single stroke of
the press. More specifically, a flange is fed into the lower half
of the die together with the feeding of a tag ring element into the
upper half of the die. A container wall is then positioned in the
die between the flange and tag ring element. The press is cycled,
causing a perforating punch in the upper die to move downwardly
through the tag ring element and perforate the container wall.
Continued downward movement of the upper die causes a neck to be
drawn upwardly about the container wall opening with the tag ring
element positioned in overlying concentric relationship about the
opening neck. Final closing of the die forms the container wall
down over the flange and curls the upper end of the flange neck
outwardly about the container wall opening neck and tag ring
element, permanently securing the flange and the tag ring element
to the container wall.
It is accordingly a primary object of the invention to provide a
new method and apparatus for securing closure flanges and tag ring
elements to container walls in a single operation.
A further object is to provide a new method and apparatus for
feeding closure flanges and tag ring elements into a die for
securing said flanges and tag ring elements to a container
wall.
Another object is to provide a new tag ring element for securement
together with a closure flange to a container wall in a single
operation.
Other and more detailed objects of the invention will in part be
obvious and be in part pointed out as the description of the
invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing
proceeds.
In that drawing:
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a closure flange and a
tag ring element flat blank in accordance with one form of the
invention as they would appear aligned ready for application about
a container opening;
FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the feed mechanism for feeding the
tag ring element and closure flange of FIG. 1 into operative
position in an insertion die as illustrated;
FIG. 3 is a view taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 2 and looking in the
direction of the arrows;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the feed mechanism
and die of FIG. 2 with such feed mechanism in advanced position
within the die and carrying a closure flange and tag ring
element;
FIG. 5 is a horizontal section taken on line 5--5 of FIG. 4 and
looking in the direction of the arrows;
FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but with the feed mechanism in
full feeding ejecting position;
FIG. 7 is a vertical section of the insertion die in open position,
the feeding mechanism having been retracted and the closure flange,
tag ring element and container wall being properly positioned ready
for the securing operation;
FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the die in the
stage following that of FIG. 7 showing that the container wall has
been perforated;
FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8, but with the die further
advanced and having partially formed the container wall neck and
tag ring element neck about the closure flange;
FIG. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the die at the
stage following that of FIG. 9 with a container wall neck and tag
ring element neck formed ready for the curling of the closure
flange portion thereover;
FIG. 11 is a vertical section of substantially all of the die
mechanism showing the closure flange in secured position in the
container wall opening and curled over at its upper end to retain
the fully formed tag ring element in place;
FIG. 12 is a vertical sectional view of a modified partially formed
tag ring element;
FIG. 13 is a top plan view of the modified tag ring element of FIG.
12;
FIGS. 14 and 15 are views respectively comparable to FIGS. 9 and
10, but including the modified tag ring element of FIGS. 12 and
13;
FIG. 16 is a view taken on line 16--16 of FIG. 4 looking in the
direction of the arrows and showing the use of spring pins for
holding the tag ring element in the die;
FIG. 17 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken on line 17-17 of FIG.
16 and including a section of a tag ring element and the support
therefore, showing one of the spring pins approaching the eyelet in
the tag ring element;
FIG. 18 is a view similar to FIG. 17 showing the spring pin already
received in the tag ring element eyelet and holding the same in the
insertion die;
FIG. 19 is a view similar to FIG. 18, but showing a modified form
of embossing ring for holding a tag ring element in place
therein;
FIG. 20 is a view taken on line 20--20 of FIG. 19 and looking in
the direction of the arrows;
FIG. 21 is a top plan view with a part broken away and shown in
section of a completely assembled closure flange, tag ring element
and section of container wall in accordance with the foregoing
embodiments;
FIG. 22 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on line 22--22 of
FIG. 21 and looking in the direction of the arrows;
FIG. 23 is a top plan view similar to FIG. 21 including a further
modified form of tag ring element;
FIG. 24 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to FIG. 18 showing
an arrangement modified for holding the tag ring element of FIG. 23
in place in the die; and
FIG. 25 is a view taken on line 25--25 of FIG. 24 and looking in
the direction of the arrows.
Considering first the closure flange and invention tag ring
element, such being the articles which the method and apparatus of
the invention are concerned, FIG. 1 shows a conventional closure
flange 1 comprising a cylindrical neck 2 having an upper unthreaded
portion 3 and an internally threaded lower portion 4 surrounded by
an octagonal base 5. An annular gasket 6 surrounds the cylindrical
neck at the juncture of the threaded lower portion 4 and the flange
base 5. The tag ring element 7 of one form of the invention is
formed as a flat blank having a circular inner free edge 8
bordering a central opening and terminating in outermost octagonal
free edge 9. A series of eyelets 10 are formed in the tag ring
element 7 adjacent the free edge 9 at the corners of the
octagon.
In FIGS. 2 through 6 the feed mechanism, generally indicated at 11,
is shown for feeding a closure flange and tag ring element together
into an insertion die. A horizontally disposed pneumatic drive
cylinder 12 is secured to a metal working punch press (not shown)
within which the insertion die is mounted. The cylinder piston rod
13 is directed toward the insertion die and has a nut 14 threadedly
engaging its distal end. An L-shaped frame 15 has an upstanding
wall 16 provided with an opening 17 through which the piston rod 13
slidingly extends. A collar 18 is fixed to the piston rod 13 for
engagement by a coil compression spring 19 which surrounds the
piston rod 13 and normally urges the upstanding wall 16 against the
nut 14. A pair of rods 20 are connected to the cylinder 12
excending parallel to the piston rod 13 are provided with stop nuts
21 at their outer ends. The upstanding wall 16 of the frame 15 is
provided with a pair of apertures 22 through which the rods 20
extend.
The L-shaped frame 15 has a horizontal leg 23 terminating in a
cylindrical collar 24 adapted internally for the reception of a
closure flange 1. Such receiving opening 24a has a lowermost
annular double stepped formation 25 within which the flange base 5
and gasket 6 are nested. A radially inwardly directed spring ball
26 is mounted within the wall of the collar 24 to extnd within the
oepning 24a for frictional engagement with the flange neck 2. A
lower plunger 27, formed as an incomplete annulus is slidingly
positioned within the opening 24a and is provided with a
diametrically extending internal pin 28. An elongated lower pivot
arm 29 pivotally connected at 30 to a leg 23 extends inwardly
through cutout portions in collar 24 and plunger 27, terminating in
a forked inner end 31 which slidingly receives the pin 28. An
upwardly opening slot 32 is formed in the inner end of the lower
pivot arm 29 directl above the pivot connection 30. A vertically
extending bracket 33 is connected to the nut 14 at the end of
piston rod 13, and carries lower and upper transversely extending
pivot pins 34 and 35 respectively. The lower of these pins 34 is
slidably and pivotally received within the slot 32 in the arm
29.
An upstanding cylindrical sleeve 36 is secured to the upper portion
of the collar 24 and is formed with a radially outwardly extending
projection 37. An upper elongated pivot arm 39 overlies the arm 29
and has its inner end pivotally connected at 38 to the collar
projection 37. The upper pivot arm 39 has generally the same
configuration as the lower pivot arm 29 and is provided at its
inner end with a slot 40 positioned below the pivot connection 38
for slidable and pivotal engagement with the pivot pin 35 carried
by the bracket 33. The pivot arm 29 extends through an opening in
the sleeve 36 and terminates in a forked inner end 41. An upper
tublar plunger 42 slidably received within the sleeve 36 is also
formed with an opening through which the arm 39 extends. A
diametrically extending internal pin 43 secured within the upper
plunger 42 is seated for slidable and pivotal movement within the
forked end 41 of the arm 39. A vertical keyway 48 is formed in the
exterior surface of the plunger 42 and a pin 44 seated in the outer
sleeve 36 projects into the groove 48 to prevent relative
rotational movement between the sleeve 36 and plunger 42. The upper
portion of the upper plunger 42 is surrounded by a spring biased
vertically slidable compression ring 45 supported in raised
position by a plurality of coil springs 46 acting against a ledge
49. The upper surface of the compression ring 45 is recessed at 47
so that when the ring 45 is in its uppermost position a flat
continuous surface is presented by the surface of the recess 47 and
the upper end of the plunger 42. The recess 47 has an octagonal
border so that a flat tag ring element 7 can be securely nested
therein to extend across the top of the plunger 42. In this
position the element 7 is ready to be transferred to a receiving
portion of the insertion die to be described.
The insertion die into which the closure flange and tag ring
element are fed comprises lower and upper die sub-assemblies. The
lower die sub-assembly 50, as clearly illustrated in FIGS. 4 and
11, has a lower die shoe 51 for mounting on a punch press bolster
plate (not shown) and is provided with a central aperture 52. A
tubular flanging punch 53 is centrally supported on the die shoe 51
with its lower end extending into the aperture 52. A series of coil
compression springs 54 interacting between the die shoe 51 and a
circumferentially enlarged lower portion 55 of the flanging punch
53 resiliently urge the flanging punch upwardly. An annular support
56 surrounds the flanging punch 53 and has a radially inwardly
projecting ledge 57 which limits the upward movement of the
flanging punch 53. An annular lower anvil 58 surrounds an
intermediate portion of the flanging punch 53 above the enlarged
lower portion 55 thereof and is secured to the supporting ring
ledge 57. An annular compression ring 59 having an octagonal
interior surface 64 surrounds the anvil 58 exending vertically
thereabove thus forming a circumferential recess 60 about the
flanging punch 53 spaced below its upper end. A series of vertical
pins 61 seated on coil compression springs 62 resiliently urge the
compression ring 59 upwardly with respect to the die shoe 51. An
inwardly projecting lip 63 at the upper end of the support 56
limits upward movement of the compression ring 59.
The upper die sub-assembly 70 has an upper die shoe 71 mounted on
the ram of a punch press (not shown). A perforating punch 72 is
centrally mounted on the upper die shoe 71 in vertical concentric
alignment with the flanging punch 53. An annular curling anvil 73
surrounding the perforating punch 72 is provided with an annular
concave curling anvil surface 72 vertically spaced above the lower
end of the perforating punch 72. An embossing ring 75 surrounds the
curling anvil 73 and is resiliently urged downwardly by a series of
coil compression springs 76 surrounding mounting bolts 76a and
acting between the embossing ring and the die shoe 71. The
embossing ring 73 terminates in a lowermost downwardly facing
embossing surface 77 normally disposed in a horizontal plane
intermediate the curling anvil surface 74 and the lower end of the
perforating punch 72. The surface 77 terminates radially inwardly
in a short vertical wall 78 having an octagonal configuration. From
the wall 78 the embossing surface extends by way of a radiused
juncture portion 80 into an upper embossing surface 79 extending
radially inwardly.
The operation of the feed mechanism and insertion die described
above in the inserting of the flange and applying the tag ring
element of the invention is as follows: Through the use of article
handling mechanisms (not shown) a closure flange 1 is inserted
within the collar 24 in properly oriented nested position and a tag
ring element 7 is similarly placed in properly oriented nested
position within the compression ring 45. The pneumatic cylinder 12
is then activated causing the piston rod 13 to move the frame 15
inwardly along the rods 20. As seen in FIG. 4, the stop nuts 21 are
set to terminate forward movement of the frame 15 when the flange
and tag ring are properly aligned in the insertion die between the
flanging punch 53 and the perforating punch 72. Continued
advancement of the piston rod 13 compresses the spring 19 and moves
the bracket 33 forward relative to the wall 16. As seen in FIG. 6,
the above described limited movement pivots the forked endof the
arms 29 and 39 away from each other. As the plunger 27 is moved
downwardly by the action of the arm end 31 on the pin 28, it pushes
the flange 1 free from the grip of the ball spring 26 and ejects it
from the collar 24. The flange is thus seated about the flanging
punch 53 within the octagonal wall 64 onto the lower anvil 58. At
the same time the upper plunger 42 is moved upwardly by the action
of the arm end 41 on the pin 43 causing the compression ring 45 to
contact the working surface 77 on the embossing ring 71. The
plunger 42 continues to move upwardly a slight amount against the
compression of springs 46 so that the upper end of the plunger 42
releases the tag ring from the compression ring cutout 47 and seats
the tag ring element 7 up within the embossing ring surface 79 in
oriented nested relationship within the octagonal wall 78. Various
friction fit and spring pin arrangements may be employed for
holding the tag ring element within the embossing ring, the details
of which will be further described hereinafter.
Once the closure flange and tag ring element are positioned in the
die, the travel of the piston rod 13 is reversed causing retraction
of the feed mechanism to its original position away from between
the die subassemblies. As shown in FIG. 7, a container wall 90,
such as the head of a 55 gallon steel drum, is then positioned in
the die by suitable guides (not shown) readying the press for
cycling to effect the insertion stroke. As that stroke proceeds the
upper die sub-assembly 70 closes on the lower die sub-assembly 50
and the perforating punch 72 as seen in FIG. 8, punches out a slug
leaving an opening defined by a circular edge 91 in the container
wall. The container wall, about the opening 91, seats on the end of
the flanging punch 53 which remains extended at this point as the
perforating force is not great enough to overcome the resistance of
compression springs 54.
As the perforating punch moves downward, the slug is pushed out of
the die through the center of the flanging punch. As seen in FIG.
9, the embossing ring surface 77 pushes the container wall against
the lower anvil 59 which also moves downwardly as the resistance
offered by springs 62 is overcome. The drum wall metal immediately
surrounding the opening 91, together with hte overlying tag ring
element portion adjacent the inner edge 8 thereof, are drawn
upwardly around the flange body while the embossing ring surface 79
forces the peripheral portion of the tag ring element
downwardly.
In FIG. 10, the embossing ring is shown at the lower limit of its
travel with the upper surface of the compression ring 59 in
horizontal alignment with the upper surface of the anvil 58. In
this position of the die the embossing surfaces 77 and 79 on
embossing ring 75 form the container wall 90 with an embossment 92
closely overlying the flange base 5 and terminating in an upwardly
formed neck 93 closely surrounding the flange neck 2. The tag ring
element 7 is at the same time completed by being made to conform to
and closely overlie the underlying container wall neck 93 and the
upper surface of the embossment 92. The radiused juncture portion
80 of the embossing ring forms the tag ring element outer edge 9
somewhat downwardly over the periphery of the container wall
embossment. It is also seen in FIG. 10 how the curling anvil
surface 74 on the curling anvil 73 contacts the uppermost
unthreaded neck portion 3 of the flange 1 and turns the neck 3
radially outwardly.
FIG. 11 shows the assembly with the insertion stroke completed
following the continued downward travel of the curling anvil 73 to
force the flanging punch 53 downwardly by overcoming the resistance
of compression springs 54. Thus the curling anvil surface 74 has
curled the flange neck portion 3 outwardly and downwardly over the
upwardly facing container wall opening edge 91 and the tag ring
element inner edge 8, into a tightly closed bead which permanently
secures the flange and the tag ring element about the container
wall opening with the gasket 6 blocking off any possible leakage
path between the flange and the container wall.
FIGS. 12 through 15 show how the above described punch press
operation can be carried out using a modified form of tag ring
element 107 having a flat base 108 terminating in an octagonally
shaped outer free edge 109. A partially preformed conical neck 110
excends upwardly and radially inwardly from the inner edge 111 of
the tag ring element base 108 at approximaely 25 degrees to the
vertical and terminates in a circular free edge 112. Eyelets 113
are formed in the base 108 at each corner of the octagon closely
adjacent the free edge 109.
The insertion operation is carried out in basically the same manner
as with the flat tag ring element 7 except that, as seen in FIG.
14, the initial closing of the embossing ring 75 on the anvil 59
forms just the container wall over the flange neck 2 as the tag
ring element 107 remains held within the embossing ring wall 78. As
the embossing ring 75 moves downwardly, the embossing surface 79
forms the tag ring element neck 110 into engagement with the
underlying partially formed container wall opening neck as seen in
FIG. 15. Completion of the insertion stroke with the modified tag
ring element 107 is substantially identical to that illustrated in
FIGS. 10 and 11 with the completed tag ring element 107 having its
neck 119 formed to conform to the underlying upstanding container
wall oepning neck 93.
FIGS. 16 and 18 show the details of the embossing ring 75 for
retaining the tag ring element 7, or alternatively the tag ring
elemnt 107, in the upper die sub-assembly 70. A pair of spring
loaded retaining pins 81 are mounted for reciprocating movement in
the embossing ring 75 and project downwardly and slightly radially
inwardly from the embossing surface 78 at a slight angle to the
vertical. Each of the spring loaded pins 81 is resiliently urged
toward extended position by a light coil compression spring 82 held
in place in a bore behind the pin end by a set screw 83. The pins
81 are located in the embossing surface 78 at diametrically spaced
positions at the corners of the octagon so as to line up with the
tag ring eyelets 10.
In operation when the tag ring element 7 is pushed up within the
octagonal embossing ring wall 78 by the upper plunger 42 as above
described, free ends of the pins 81 first strike the inner edge of
the eyelets 10 and partially retract. Continued upward movement of
the tag ring element retracts the pins to a position where their
free ends slip through the eyelets and hold the tag ring elemnt in
place against the embossing ring juncture portion 80 as seen in
FIG. 18. Disengagement of the pins 81 from the eyelets 10 takes
place by the action of the die closing and forcing the pins 81 back
up to a fully retracted position within the embossing ring.
FIGS. 19 and 20 show a modified embossing ring 175 which provides
for retention of an octagonal tag ring element 7 by friction fit
engagement in place of the spring pins above described. To
accomplish this, the embossing ring 175, like the embossing ring 75
of the principal embodiment, has a lower embossing surface 177
surrounding an octagonally shaped vertical inner wall 178 which is
in turn joined to an upper embossing surface 179 by a radiused
juncture portion 180. Two diametrically opposed flats of the
octagonal wall 178 have downwarldy and radially inwardly tapered
portions 181 so dimensioned that the distance between the lower
ends of the tapered portions 181 is slightly less than the
dimension across the flats of the tag ring element. Accordingly, as
the tag ring element 7 is pushed up into the embossing ring 175 by
the upper plunger 42, that element is slightly flexed across the
two flats engaging the tapered embossing ring portions 181. This
allows the tag ring element to snap within the embossing ring wall
178. The hodling effect here is adequate to retain the tag ring
element 7 within the embossing ring during the insertion stroke.
Once the tag ring element is formed into a neck and base and is
permanently held in place by the flange curl 8, as in the FIG. 11
showing, its outer free edge 9 readily snaps past the restricted
tapered sections 181 as the die opens.
Considering further the finished closure container wall assembly as
seen in FIG. 21, the cutaway section thereof shows the finished tag
ring element 7 formed to closely surround the underlying container
wall opening neck 93 thus acting as an effective thickening and
desirable reinforcement of the container wall neck surrounding the
flange. This is particularly advantageous in the case of light gage
metal containers where the tag ring element may even be formed from
material considerably heavier than the container wall in order to
adequately support the inserted flange in the drum neck. It may
even be desirable in certain instances to eliminate the container
wall opening neck all together and utilize the tag ring neck formed
in accordance with the invention as the sole securing neck for
securing flanges with respect to container walls.
In the enlarged fragmentary section of FIG. 22, the relationship
between the tag ring element 7 and container wall embossment 93 is
clearly shown. From this it can be seen that the tag ring free edge
9 is spaced slightly upwardly, as indicated at 94, from the border
of the underlying container wall embossment 93. The gap 94 is
partially created during the insertion operation by the container
wall metal being pulled over the sharp edge of the flange base 5 at
a sharper radius than the radius to which the tag ring element
outer edge is formed by the radiused juncture portion 80 in the
embossing ring. The gap 94 is also contributed to by a certain
amount of vertical spring back which naturally occurs along the
edge 9 upon the release of the pressure of the embossing ring. The
purpose of the gap 94 is to provide accessibility to the tag ring
eyelets 10 through which a string or wire can be secured carrying a
tag for identifying the container contents. A wire and lead closure
seal can also be employed by threading a wire through an eyelet of
a closure plug (not shown) threadedly engaged in the flange 1 then
threading it through one or more of the eyelets 10 and clinching
its ends within a lead seal. The gap 94 normally sufficiently
exposes the eyelet 10 for threading of a thin wire therethrough. If
not, the gap provides an easy access point to insert an implement
for deflecting the tag ring element edge 9 upwardly to expose the
eyelet far enough for the insertion of even a heavier wire through
the eyelet 10. Formation of the tag ring element outer edge portion
of the manner shown, allows the tag ring element to advantageously
perform its intended function without presenting any sharp or
protruding metal edges to injure one's hands. Any hazard attendant
to the common practice of wiping off the top of the container
around the closure opening is prevented.
A further modified tag ring element and embossing ring for holding
the same are illustrated in FIGS. 23 through 25. Here the tag ring
element 207 is shown as a flat blank having a circular inner edge
208 and a circular outer edge 209 interrupted by a pair of radially
outwardly protruding, diametrically opposite ears 211 formed with
eyelets 210. It should be noted that the tag ring element 207 could
also be fabricated with a partially preformed neck as shown in the
modified tag ring element 107 of FIG. 12. In FIGS. 24 and 25, the
tag ring element 107 is shown as pressed up within a modified
embossing ring 275 having a lower embossing surface 277 and an
upper embossing surface 279 joined together by a vertical octagonal
wall 278. Two diametrically opposed cutout portions 280 are formed
in the embossing surface 277 for reception fo the tag ring ears
211. A pair of spring biased pins 281 comparable to those of FIGS.
17 and 18 project down into the cutout portions 280 for engagement
within the eyelets 210 in the tag ring ears 211. The tag ring
element 207 is worked into its final form in the course of the
insertion operation as above described. However, the tag ring
element outer edge 209 lies within the confines of the underlying
octagonal container wall embossment 92, as seen in FIG. 23, while
the ears 211 extend past the outer edge of the embossment to
overlie the surrounding container wall in spaced relationship with
respect thereto.
The concept of forming a tag ring element out of a flat blank
during the flange insertion operation also lends itself to
container fabricating installations set up to insert flanges in two
separate punch press operations. In the first of these the die
actions perforate the container wall, draw up the neck and form the
embossment around it. In the second operation the die inserts the
flange and curls its upper end over the end of the container wall
opening neck. In the two-step operation, as in the single operation
flange insertion, the tag ring element can be automatically fed
into and held in the upper die sub-assembly of either the first or
second operation die and formed over the container wall opening
neck and surrounding embossment, resulting in the finished assembly
of completed tag ring element, flange and drum stock as shown.
* * * * *