U.S. patent number 3,811,393 [Application Number 05/323,052] was granted by the patent office on 1974-05-21 for manufacture of cans and the like.
This patent grant is currently assigned to The Stolle Company. Invention is credited to Frederick J. Close.
United States Patent |
3,811,393 |
Close |
May 21, 1974 |
MANUFACTURE OF CANS AND THE LIKE
Abstract
This application discloses a novel process in the manufacture of
two-piece metal cans and the like wherein a predrawn cup is
produced at the mill rather than by the can manufacturer. The
predrawn cup is flanged and tapered. The predrawn cups are stacked
in nested relation and a plurality of stacks are packaged at the
mill for shipment to the can manufacturer. The can manufacturer
then need only redraw and wall-iron the cups and trim, flange, wash
and decorate them in order to complete the manufacture of the can.
By this procedure scrap loss to the can manufacturer is avoided,
making it also easier for a manufacturer to enter the can
manufacturing business with less capital investment.
Inventors: |
Close; Frederick J. (North
Madison, OH) |
Assignee: |
The Stolle Company (Sidney,
OH)
|
Family
ID: |
23257563 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/323,052 |
Filed: |
January 12, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
72/349;
72/348 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B21D
51/26 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B21D
51/26 (20060101); B21d 051/26 () |
Field of
Search: |
;72/347,348,349
;113/12R |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Herbst; Richard J.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Melville; John W. Strasser; Albert
E. Foster; Stanley H.
Claims
1. In the manufacture of cans and the like, the steps, performed at
the mill, of
a. cutting circular blanks from a coil or the like of sheet
metal;
b. drawing said blanks into smoothly, tapered and outwardly flanged
cups;
c. stacking numbers of said predrawn cups into nested stacks;
d. packaging a plurality of said nested stacks for shipment;
and
e. shipping said package to a can manufacturer; and the steps
performed at the manufacturer's plant of
f. redrawing and wall-ironing said predrawn cups to full can
dimensions and
g. trimming, flanging, washing, and decorating said cans.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The conventional way in which so-called two piece cans are
manufactured is that the can manufacturer buys his basic material
from a mill in the form of a coil. From this coil the can
manufacturer cuts out circular blanks and by means of a press
operation produces a so-called first operation cup. This cup is
then redrawn and wall-ironed in order to achieve the full container
height. The cans are then trimmed, washed, necked and flanged so as
to be ready for use.
In this procedure, the can maker must invest in an initial blanking
and drawing press and tooling which represents a substantial
investment which makes it expensive to get into the can making
business. Additionally, it has been found that approximately
seventeen percent of the coil stock fed into the blanking and
cupping operation results in scrap which must be returned to the
metal supplier. This seventeen percent scrap material is paid for
by the can maker at the full price of the metal coil but when it is
sent back in the form of scrap, he recoups only a fraction of what
he paid for it. This results in a substantial loss to the can
maker.
According to the present invention, the basic metal supplier will
cut the blanks and draw the blanks into cups, the cups so drawn
will be flanged and tapered so that they may be nested for
shipment. At the mill, a plurality of such flanged and tapered cups
will be stacked in nested relation and a plurality of stacks will
be packed in containers for shipment to the can manufacturer.
According to the present method, scrap at the can manufacturer's
plant is substantially eliminated.
Flanged and tapered cups as a finished article of manufacture are
known in U.S. Pat. No. 3,248,003 to Henchert. The cups there
disclosed are finished articles ready for filling and closing.
According to the present invention, the flanged tapered cups are
intermediates and are only tapered for convenience in shipping in
order to improve the space factor of the shipment. In the formation
of predrawn cups, it is not ordinarily necessary that such cups be
tapered and in fact tapered cups have never been used to
applicant's knowledge in the manufacture of cylindrical cans.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank in which a can or the like is to
be formed.
FIG. 2 is a diametral cross sectional view of a first operation cup
according to present practices.
FIG. 3 is a similar view after the cup has been redrawn and
wall-ironed to produce full can height.
FIG. 4 is a similar view showing the can body after it has been
trimmed, necked and flanged.
FIG. 5 is a diametral cross sectional view of a first operation
according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a similar view of the completed predrawn cup ready for
shipment to the can manufacturer.
FIG. 7 is a similar view after the predrawn cup has been redrawn
and wall-ironed to full height.
FIG. 8 is an elevational view of a plurality of predrawn cups
according to FIG. 6 in nested relation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
According to the present invention, the basic metal supplier,
instead of shipping a metal coil to the can maker, will blank out
blanks such as the circular blank 10 of FIG. 1 and will draw them
in either one or two steps until they assume the configuration of
the cup 11 of FIG. 6 having the flange 12.
In order to achieve the cup of FIG. 6, it may be necessary to go
through a first draw to produce the configuration of FIG. 5 wherein
a small taper is provided at 13, the balance of the cup being
cylindrical as at 14. In going from the configuration of FIG. 5 to
that of FIG. 6, the tapered walls are straightened out to a taper
of about not more than 9.degree. and the flange 12 is provided.
A plurality of the cups of FIG. 6 which constitute an intermediate
in the manufacture of two-piece cans and the like are nested
together as indicated in FIG. 8. A plurality of stacks according to
FIG. 8 are then packaged in a suitable container which may be
palletized for ease in handling and this container is then shipped
to the can manufacturer.
Thus, in addition to producing the metal coil, the basic metal
supplier will now blank the blanks from the coil and predraw the
tapered flanged cups of FIG. 6 and will stack them and package
them, containerize them and palletize them for shipment to the can
maker.
Heretofore, the basic metal supplier has merely produced a coil of
metal which he has shipped to the can maker. The can maker has then
formed a cup 15 as shown in FIG. 2 and has then redrawn and
wall-ironed the cup to its full height to the configuration shown
at 16 in FIG. 3. He has then trimmed, washed, decorated, necked and
flanged the can so that the can is ready for use as shown at 17 in
FIG. 4.
It will be observed that the steps of the present process are
basically the same as those of the prior art except that the
producing of the predrawn cup is transferred from the can maker to
the mill and in order to make possible the shipment of the predrawn
cups with an economically sound space factor, the cups are produced
in tapered form as shown in FIG. 6. The predrawn cups in the
manufacture of two-piece cans have always been as shown in FIG. 2
and there has been no reason and there is no reason in the
manufacture of these cans to provide tapered cups. However, the
provision of the tapered cups makes possible the convenient
shipping of the predrawn cups from the basic metal supplier to the
can maker.
The process herein disclosed avoids the production of scrap at the
can maker's plant, which scrap must then be shipped back at
substantial loss to the basic metal supplied. The process also
greatly reduces the initial investment which must be made by one
seeking to enter the can making business. While the basic metal
supplier must make an investment in blanking and drawing presses
and in packaging apparatus, this investment will make it easier for
him to interest manufacturers in two-piece can manufacturing
business. The basic metal supplier can very readily dispose of the
scrap by conveying it from the blanking operation to the furnace
for remelt. This assures minimum contamination of scrap material
which usually occurs when reclaiming scrap returned to the metal
supplier from the conventional process. Thus, the present process
is economically sound and is of advantage both to the basic metal
supplier and to the can manufacturer.
Modifications may of course be made without departing from the
spirit of the invention and therefore no limitation which is not
specifically set forth in the claims is intended or should be
implied.
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