CA1105401A

CA1105401A - Beverage can

Info

Publication number: CA1105401A
Application number: CA325,547A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Guenter Hexel
Original assignee: Schmalback Lubeca AG
Current assignee: Ardagh Metal Beverage Germany GmbH
Priority date: 1978-04-19
Filing date: 1979-04-11
Publication date: 1981-07-21
Also published as: NL7902739A; ES242774U; ES242774Y; BE875483R

Abstract

BEVERAGE CAN

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A can such as a beverage can for containing a beverage such as beer under pressure therein is disclosed. The can comprises a cylindrical body portion and a bottom in which there are provided concentric rows of protrusions. The pro-trusions provide a closed support surface or base plane for stable standing of the can on a surface, for example, on a transport means. The can may further include a central inward depression in the bottom.

Description

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This invention relates to containers such as cans.
More particularly, this invention relates to cans such as be-verage cans, e.g., cans commonly employed for beverages such as beer, soft drinks and the like, either returnable or non-returnable cans.
Recently, a can has been described which is formed such that the bottom wall thereof is substantially plane and extends orthogonally with respect to the central longitudinal axis of the can. The bottom wall of the can is provided with at least two protrusions or outwardly extending ridges which emerge from the outer wall surface at a height of about 3 to 20 times, preferably 10 to 16 times, the wall thickness. These protrusions are located on a pitch circle having a diameter which is equal to or greater than half the diameter of the generally cylindrical body portion of the can. The protrusions extend to a plane defining a common base or support plane or surface for an upstanding can) and the protrusions can be formed in various shapes.
In accordance with one embodiment of the can, there is provided a plurality of protrusions which are arranged on a pitch circle the center of which is coincidental with the center o the circular bottom wall.
The can provides that the reinforcement of the bottom wall, which is achieved by the protrusions, does not appreciably affect the volume to be contained in the can and, furthermore, does not increase the dimensions of the can in comparison to the volume thereof, whereby, despite the deformations maintained within strict limits, the bottom wall retains an outstandingly high rigidity. Also, under all circumstances, i.e., also when the beverage is store in the can under pressure, a very solid support surface is presented by the can, whereby, at -the same -1 ~

time, the danger of joint~forming between parts of ~he bottom is prevented.
It is an object of the invention to provide a can which has an improved standing stability during filling, transportation and manufacture thereof.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a can, particularly beverage can, for containment of a liquid to be maintained under an overpressure, said can having a cylindrical body portion and a reinforced bottom adapted to withstand pressures leading to outward bulging thereof, said bottom having an inner surface and an outer sur~
face and being integrally joined to the body portion and extending perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal axis of the can, said can comprising, in combination: a plura-lity of protrusions arranged on a first, outer pitch circle, said first pitch circle having a diameter at least equal to or greater than one half of the diameter of the cylindrical body portion of the can, said protrusions on the first pitch circle emerging from the outer surface of said bottom to a common base plane, said protrusions having a height above the outer surface of the bottom of from 3 to 20 times the thick-ness of the wall; and a plurality of protrusions arranged on a second pitch circle, said second pitch circle exten-ding concentrically with respect to the first pitch circle and having a smaller diameter than the first pitch circle, said protrusions on the second pitch circle including inte-grally formed, longitudinal protrusions arranged in spaced relation with respec-t to each other and emerging from the outer surface of the bottom of the can to the common base plane, each of said protrusions having a length at least equal to the distance between succeeding protrusions arranged in spaced re-.f.~
f.~

lation on the first pitch circle and located on said second -pitch circle so as to bridge the space between succeeding pro-trusions onsaid first pitch circle.
It is important to note that through the utili~ation of at least two concentric rows of protrusions, arranged in radially off-set relation, as described, a substantially contin-uous base surface or support plane is presented, when viewed in the development of the rows. This is achieved in a simple manner by the concentrically arranged rows of protrusions having a rather low height, while, nevertheless, providing, in the direction of the circumference, realization of a closed corrugation near the outer rim of the can.
The bottom of the can, thereby, suitably merges with the cylindrical body portion of the can making use of a very small radius for the transition between the cylindrical body portion and the bottom wall of the can, so as to furnish pro-trusions on pitch circles which have maximal diameters.
The radial distance between protrusions on one pitch circle and protrusions on the other pitch circle is suitably smaller than the radial width of the protrusions. The depth of the protrusions on the outer pitch circle may be greater than the depth of the protrusions on the inner pitch circle.
In order to ensure, at minor denting of the bottom in the direction of the outer surface, a secure standing sur-face, despite shallow depths of the protrusions, a small cen-tral, circular region is provided, having a diameter which is equal to or less than a third of theextent of the diameter of the cylindrical body portion of the can. Viewed from the out side, the region is concave in form. Such central portion can bend outwardly whereby initially the supporting surfaces come into contact with each other, or the bottom can expand beyond the base plane which leads to an instable standing of the can.
The invention will be further described with reference to several embodiments and with reference to the drawings, in which:-FIG. 1 illustrates the bottom portion of a can, inaxial section, in accordance with a prior art can and incor-porating a further development in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 iS a bottom plan view of a preferrred embodi-ment of the invention, wherein only one half is shown, it being understood that the view isidentical on the right side of the centerline 61;
FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the lower corner of a can in accordance with FIG. 2; and FIG. 4 is a development of a side view of two rows of protrusions on the bottom of a can.
In the embodiment according to FIG. 1, a can 50 comprises a cylindrical body portion 51 having a diameter indicated by a dimension line with two arrowheads, designated by the numeral 59, a frusto-conical portion 52 and a generally plane bottom 56. The transition between the cylindrical body portion 51 and the frusto-conical portion 52 is designated by the numexal 53. In the central part of the bottom 56 there is provided a depression 57, concave when viewed from the outside, having a diametrical extension indicated by a dimension line with two arrowheads designated by the numeral 58. This dia-meter is less than one third of the length of the diameter 59.
A considerable distance away from the central depression there is provided, near the transition between the frusto conical portion 52 and the bottom 56, a row 54 of protrusions 55.
Due to the presence of the shallow dip 57 in the central part of the bottom 56, the bottom, in this region, is adapted to bend outwardly to a certain degree without reaching or exceeding the plane defined by the protrusions 55.
It has been found that the relative stability pro-vided by a single row of protrusions provided on a pitch circle, such as is indicated in FIG. 1, is not fully adequate in ensuring a standing stability of the container on conveyor means as employed for transport thereof, so that primarily when empty the cans exhibit the tendency to topple over.
In order to effectively prevent such tendency of the ,-ans there is provided, in accordance with the embodiments shown in FIG. 2 and FIG~ 3, a second pitch circle concentric with respect to the first, said pitch circle having a plura-lity of protrusions arranged thereon.
Thus~ in FIG. 2 a container 60 comprises a body portion 67 and a plane bottom 69 with a transitional edge 6~
formed by a small radius. Near the transitional edge 68 there is provided on a first pitch circle 62 a circular row of pro-trusions 64. These protrusions extend respectively on the pitch circle 62 and are equidistantly spaced apart from each other. The distance between the protrusions is designated by the numeral 74, while the length is designated by numeral 73 and the width of each is designated by the numeral 77.
Concentrically with respect to the pitch circle 62 there is provided a second pitch circle 63 and a further row of protrusions 65. Protrusions 65 have a length designated by the numeral 72 and indicated by the arcuate dimension line with two arrowheads. The respective width of each of the protru-sions 65 can be equal to that of protrusions 64, while the respective length can be somewhat less than that of the pro-trusions 64. Distance 76 between the two rows, indicated by the dimension line with two arrowheads, is preferrably less than the width indicated by dimension line 77 with respect to the protrusions 64.
While two pitch circles are described and shown, i.e., pitch circles 62 and 63, it will be appreciated that more than two pitch circles with protrusions thereon can be provided.
The longitudinal extension of the protrusions 64 and 65 on the pitch circles 62 and 63 is selected, in dependency of the arrangement of the protrusions, such that the protrusions provided on one pitch circle have a length which is at least equal to the distance between succeeding protrusions on the other pitch circle, thereby closing this space or gap when viewed in the development of a side elevation of protrusions. In the development shown in FIG. 4, the protrusions 64 and 65 present a preferably closed base or support plane or surface, the plane being indicated by numeral 70 in FIG. 4. In bottom plan view the support surface will be circular in extent. While a closed or continuous support plane or surface is preferred, in some less critical circumstances there may be provided small gaps, when viewed in development as per FIG. 4, between succeeding protrusions in the support surface.
In this embodiment, again, there can be provided a shallow concave depression, as is indicated by numeral 66, this depression corresponding to the concave depression 57 shown in FIG. 1. This central indentation has the advantage -that the " ~

height of the protrusions 64 and 65 can be reduced. This will result in a bet~er lacquer distribution during lacquer Einishing of the cans as well as an increase in the longevity of the tools required for forming of -the cans. Also, the overall height of the can can be reduced which, in turn, is beneficial for savings in storage requirements and packaging requirements, respectively, for the cans.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:-

1. A can, particularly beverage can, for containment of a liquid to be maintained under an overpressure, said can having a cylindrical body portion and a reinforced bottom adapted to withstand pressures leading to outward bulging there-of, said bottom having an inner surface and an outer surface and being integrally joined to the body portion and extending perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal axis of the can, said can comprising, in combination: a plurality of pro-trusions arranged on a first, outer pitch circle, said first pitch circle having a diameter at least equal to or greater than one half of the diameter of the cylindrical body portion of the can, said protrusions on the first pitch circle emerging from the outer surface of said bottom to a common base plane, said protrusions having a height above the outer surface of the bottom of from 3 to 20 times the thickness of the wall;
and a plurality of protrusions arranged on a second pitch circle, said second pitch circle extending concentrically with respect to the first pitch circle and having a smaller diameter than the first pitch circle, said protrusions on the second pitch circle including integrally formed, longitudinal protrusions arranged in spaced relation with respect to each other and emerging from the outer surface of the bottom of the can to the common base plane, each of said protrusions having a length at least equal to the distance between succeeding protru-sions arranged in spaced relation on the first pitch circle and located on said second pitch circle so as to bridge the space between succeeding protrusions on said first pitch circle.

2. A can as defined in claim 1, wherein said cylin-drical body portion and said bottom are joined by a transi-tional edge of a small curvature.

3. A can as defined in claim 1, wherein the said protrusions on the several pitch circles are regularly spaced on said pitch circles.

4. A can as defined in clam 1, 2 or 3, wherein the radial distance between protrusions on concentric pitch circles is less than the width of the protrusions.

5. A can as defined in claim 1, 2 or 3, further inclu-ding a central inward bulge having a diameter of up to one third of the diameter of the cylindrical body portion of the can.

6. A can in accordance with claim 1, 2 or 3, further including at least one more pitch circle with protrusions,

7. A can in accordance with claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the height of the protrusions is of from 10 to 16 times the thickness of the wall of the can.

A can in accordance with claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the height of the protrusions on the second pitch circle is of from 3 to 20 times the thickness of the wall of the can.