EP0005025B1 - Conteneur en métal de faible poids - Google Patents

Conteneur en métal de faible poids Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0005025B1
EP0005025B1 EP19790300591 EP79300591A EP0005025B1 EP 0005025 B1 EP0005025 B1 EP 0005025B1 EP 19790300591 EP19790300591 EP 19790300591 EP 79300591 A EP79300591 A EP 79300591A EP 0005025 B1 EP0005025 B1 EP 0005025B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
container
inch
frustoconical surface
side wall
thickness
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
EP19790300591
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0005025A3 (en
EP0005025A2 (fr
Inventor
David Allen Straw
Edward C. Miller
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Ball Corp
Original Assignee
Ball Corp
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Ball Corp filed Critical Ball Corp
Publication of EP0005025A2 publication Critical patent/EP0005025A2/fr
Publication of EP0005025A3 publication Critical patent/EP0005025A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0005025B1 publication Critical patent/EP0005025B1/fr
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D1/00—Containers having bodies formed in one piece, e.g. by casting metallic material, by moulding plastics, by blowing vitreous material, by throwing ceramic material, by moulding pulped fibrous material, by deep-drawing operations performed on sheet material
    • B65D1/12—Cans, casks, barrels, or drums
    • B65D1/14—Cans, casks, barrels, or drums characterised by shape
    • B65D1/16—Cans, casks, barrels, or drums characterised by shape of curved cross-section, e.g. cylindrical
    • B65D1/165—Cylindrical cans

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a lightweight aluminum-base alloy container capable of withstanding a substantial internal pressure without eversion comprising a unitary structure having a seamless cylindrical side wall and a bottom wall integrally formed with the side wall at the lower extremity thereof.
  • the bottom of the inventive container has an improved configuration to provide for adequate column strength along the vertical axis of the container as well as stability against internal pressure generated by the contents of the container after it has been closed and sealed.
  • dome structure itself was integrally formed with other curvilineal or walled members, usually at different inclinations to that of the longitudinal axis of the container in order to further strengthen the container structure.
  • curvilineal or walled members usually at different inclinations to that of the longitudinal axis of the container in order to further strengthen the container structure.
  • a number of containers are known and described in the patent literature having a circular side wall and an integral bottom wall comprising an inwardly domed panel having a nose or connecting portion around the periphery thereof that merges with the side wall.
  • the connecting portion itself generally comprises an annular supporting member or bead having connected thereto an arcuate section or sections.
  • Containers provided with this general type of bottom structure are illustrated in a number of prior art examples. For example, one example discloses a container having an integral bottom with a domed center panel recessed inwardly, and another example shows a can structure having an integral bottom portion provided with a bead member with inclined surfaces and recessed domed panel. A further prior art example shows a can bottom defined by inclined surfaces extending from the side wall and a recessed domed center panel.
  • a still further prior art example is a container having outer and inner inclined surfaces with a recessed domed center panel. Also, the prior art discloses a container having a bottom wall including an ellipsoidal dome surrounded by a substantial vertical wall portion which merges with the side wall of the container along an outwardly directed bead. Finally, the prior art discloses a container having a domed center portion that is recessed inwardly.
  • the object of the invention is to provide an improved bottom structure that can be manufactured with less metal and yet be consistent with strength and volume requirements for containers of almost the same general appearance.
  • a lightweight aluminum-base alloy container capable of withstanding a substantial internal pressure without eversion comprising a unitary structure having a seamless cylindrical side wall and a bottom wall integrally formed with the side wall at the lower extremity thereof, wherein the ratio of the thickness of said bottom wall to the thickness of said side wall being no greater than 3.0.
  • said bottom wall comprising tapering surfaces extending downwardly from the side wall, said tapering surfaces forming a taper angle of between 1.3° and about 2.2° and a wall tapering in thickness in the range of 0.01524 cm (0.006 inch) to about 0.0254 cm (0.010 inch) in excess of the side wall, an outer frustoconical surface extending downwardly and inwardly from said side wall toward the axis of said container, said outer frustoconical surface forming a bottom angle of between 35° and about 45° with respect to the axis of the container, a bottom radius integrally connected with said outer frustoconical surface providing an annular supporting surface of the container, said annular supporting surface having a diameter in the range of 5.207 cm (2.05 inch) to about 5.588 cm (2.2 inch), an inner frustoconical surface integrally connected with said bottom radius and extending upwardly and inwardly from said annular supporting surface toward the axis of the container, said inner frustoconical surface forming an angle in
  • the instant invention is directly concerned with providing an aluminum-base alloy container configuration made with slightly less metal than containers of almost similar structural appearance. Although the amount of aluminum saved per container is small, it certainly is significant since many thousands of containers are produced and therefore any savings would be substantial.
  • the particular aluminum container of the subject invention is profiled in such a way that column strength, pressure stability and other characteristics are not jeopardized yet the amount of metal utilized in producing the container structure is slightly yet significantly reduced.
  • the container is specifically configured to be capable of withstanding substantial internal pressure without deforming in the order of 6.55 bar (95 psi) and loads of the order of 158.9 kg (350 pounds) and still retaining its serviceability.
  • the instant invention is concerned with providing a seamless metal can structure that is particularly advantageous as regards minimal metal thickness for a domed configured can bottom consistent with other strength and stability requirements.
  • the improved configuration of the container bottom of the instant invention is such that where the container is a drawn and ironed container it can be readily formed in the tool pack of a conventional or standard draw and iron can bodymaker and at the end of the ironing operation so that no separate and costly operation need be used.
  • the bottom portion of the metal container is provided with a specially configured feature to be described in more detail herein.
  • Figure 1 depicts a seamless metal container 17 provided with a side wall 10 and an outer substantially frustoconical surface 11 extending downwardly and inwardly from the side wall 10 to the axis of said container, an annular bead 15 extending from the first frustoconical surface providing an annular supporting surface for the container, an inner substantially frustoconical surface 13 extending upwardly and inwardly from the annular head 15 toward the axis of the container, and a recessed domed center panel 12 extending upwardly and inwardly from the inner frustoconical surface to the axis of the container.
  • container body 17 may be readily produced in a draw and iron press, the container bottom 18 being integrally connected to the side wall 10 and can be easily shaped on a standard and appropriate bottom doming device.
  • FIG. 3 there is shown a greatly enlarged view of a tapered configuration of the subject invention where the side wall 10 and outer frustoconical surface 11 unite.
  • this configuration is integrally connected with the side wall and comprises a taper angle G formed from a point 0 one side of which is parallel to the inner side wall and the other being tangent to an inner sloping side 19. It has been found that the taper angle G should be between about 1.3° and about 2.2°.
  • the taper thickness and taper angle affects such container qualities as denting as well as column strength and the subject invention has substantially optimized these characteristics for the containers herein described.
  • the container bottom 18 is provided with a recessed domed center panel 12 that is so configured that it approximates the segment of a sphere having a radius of curvature J and recessed to a particular height K.
  • the height of the inner frustoconical surface P be substantially less than the height of outer frustoconical surface.
  • the height of the inner frustoconical surface P be less than half the height of the outer frustoconical surface.
  • the inner frustoconical surface 13 and the axis of the container form an angle E which has been found to lie in the range of about 8° to about 20°. In particular, the preferred range for aluminum containers is about 12° ⁇ 4.
  • the outer frustoconical surface 11 and the axis of the container form a further angle F. It has been found that the angle F be limited to a range of about 35° to about 45° with 40° being preferred. It will be appreciated that as the angle F increases the concavity of the bottom radius 15 decreases and would result in a smaller diameter of support H. Of course, too small a radius of support H for a given container would render it less stable and more likely to tip over.
  • the wall tapering in thickness is depicted in Figure 3 as C therein and is the added thickness in excess of the wall thickness D.
  • the side wall thickness for a 12 ounce aluminum container is about 0.012446 cm (0.0049 inch) ⁇ 0.001016 cm (0.0004 inch).
  • the tapering of wall 19 adds a slight but additional thickness, referred to as wall tapering in thickness and has been found to most advantageous when about 0.02285 cm (0.009 inch) ⁇ 0.00254 cm (0.001 inch) for aluminum containers.
  • the aforementioned wall tapering in thickness in conjunction with the wall taper angle when in ranges herein disclosed provide a very economical metal container having suitable column strength and internal pressure rigidity.
  • the wall tapering in thickness and side wall thickness are integral and are not separate one from the other.
  • total maximum thickness namely about 0.03429 cm (0.0135 inch) for aluminum containers
  • the outer frustoconical surface is reached, this surface having a thickness of about the starting container stock thickness.
  • Illustrative dimensions for aluminum containers of Figures 1 and 2 are as follows where the thickness of the center panel is 0.03429 cm (0.0135 inch) for aluminum.
  • Stability of a metal container is an important factor to the maker and to the consumer. Unstable cans interfere with the operation of the filling and packing machinery. Such machinery operates at high speed and cans which rock or wobble excessively cannot be handled by the machinery. From the viewpoint of the consumer, a can which tips or wobbles is not satisfactory. Stability of a can body was measured by placing a can on a flat and level surface and gradually tipping from vertical until an angle is reached at which the can becomes unstable and tips over and at about this instant the angle from the can center line to vertical is recorded and is called the stability angle.
  • cans employed for the packaging of pressurized products such as beer or carbonated beverages must be able to withstand internal pressures of about 6.55 bar (95 psi). Beer is usually pasteurized in the filled and sealed can at a temperature and for a time which results in an internal pressure of 5.86 bar (85 psi). Generally to allow for error of temperature or time, the minimum acceptable pressure capacity of 6.21 bar (90 psi).
  • carbonated beverages vary according to the degree of carbonation. The highest degree of carbonation is encountered with club soda water which may produce an internal pressure at 37.8°C (100°F) of about 6.55 bar (95 psi).
  • an essential feature of the instant invention is the degree of curvature of the domed panel itself.
  • the concavity must not be too great and that the radius of curvature for the dome panel must be greater than the diameter of the annular supporting surface, i.e., J > H.
  • This relationship is important in that by having a predetermined range for the radius of curvature the forces that come to bear upon the dome surface to cause eversion are in balance or substantially equal to that acting upon the inner frustoconical surface to cause its eversion.
  • the analogy of a chain being no stronger than its weakest link would be appropriate here.
  • the forces required to cause eversion or buckling of the dome would be equal or substantially equal to those required to cause eversion of buckling of the inner frustoconical wall.
  • the two inner contiguous surfaces of the container bottom, vis., the dome and its connecting inner frustoconical surface have in accordance with this invention been equalized or substantially equalized in their load bearing capacity.
  • the relatively larger radius of curvature allows a somewhat flatter dome so that a container manufacturer is able to produce a slightly smaller body diameter or container height and still contain a volume equal to that of the prior art container (i.e., conventional 355 ml (12 ounce) can) which has a slightly higher dome by virtue of a smaller radius of curvature.
  • the fluid volume to metal weight ratio for the container made in accordance with this invention is greater than similar prior art containers.
  • the subject invention may use relatively thin metal stocks, i.e., thickness in the range of about 0.03429 cm (0.0135 inch) or less for aluminum stock.
  • the ratio of panel wall thickness to side wall thickness for aluminum containers should be 3.00 or less.
  • the stability of the container after eversion is enhanced by the subject invention in that the container disclosed herein remains stable. It will be appreciated that a container having a smaller radius of curvature or greater concavity for the dome would more than likely upon eversion result in an unstable container due to the outwardly everted portion of the bottom structure that would extend beyond the supporting member.
  • a wide range of aluminum-base alloys may be used for container stock to produce the containers in accordance with the subject invention. Although a wide range of aluminum-base alloys may be employed for the container stock of the subject invention, a preferred aluminum-base alloy is 3004 H-19 aluminum-base stock of good drawing and ironing quality.
  • a container constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention will allow the manufacturer to reduce the metal utilized without sacrificing rigidity or substantially decreasing the resistance to eversion usually achieved by using a material having a thickness corresponding to what is presently used for these types of containers.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Ceramic Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Containers Having Bodies Formed In One Piece (AREA)
  • Rigid Containers With Two Or More Constituent Elements (AREA)

Claims (9)

1. Récipient (17) en alliage léger à base d'aluminium capable de résister à une pression interne sensible sans retournement comprenant une structure unitaire ayant une paroi latérale cylindrique sans soudure (10) et une paroi de fond (18) intégralement formée avec la paroi latérale (10) à son extrémité inférieure, où le rapport de l'épaisseur de ladite paroi de fond (18) à l'épaisseur de ladite paroi latérale (10) ne dépasse par 3,0, ladite paroi de fond (18) comprenant des surfaces s'effilant s'étendant vers le bas à partir de la paroi latérale (10), lesdites surfaces s'effilant formant un angle de conicité entre 1,3° et environ 2,2° et un effilement de paroi en épaisseur de 0,01524 cm (0,006 pouce) à environ 0,0254 cm (0,010 pouce) en excès de la paroi latérale (10), une surface tronconique externe (11) s'étendant vers le bas et vers l'intérieur de ladite paroi latérale (10) vers l'axe dudit récipient, ladite surface tronconique externe formant un angle au fond entre 35° et environ 45° par rapport à l'axe du récipient (17), un rayon de fond intégralement connecté à ladite surface tronconique externe (11) formant une surface annulaire de support (15) du récipient, ladite surface annulaire de support (15) ayant un diamètre compris entre 5,207 cm (2,05 pouces) et environ 5,588 cm (2,2 pouces), une surface tronconique interne (13) intégralement connectée audit rayon de fond et s'étendant vers le haut et vers l'intérieur de ladite surface annulaire de support (15) vers l'axe du récipient, ladite surface tronconique interne (13) formant un angle de 12°±4° par rapport à l'axe du récipient, la hauteur de ladite surface tronconique interne (13) étant plus faible que la moitié de la hauteur de ladite surface tronconique externe (11) et un panneau central concave vers le bas (12) intégralement connecté à ladite surface tronconique interne (13) et s'étendant vers le haut et vers l'intérieur de ladite surface tronconique interne (13) jusqu'à l'axe dudit récipient (17), le rayon de courbure dudit panneau central concave vers le bas (12) étant entre environ 5,715 cm (2,250 pouces) et environ 7,62 cm (3,000 pouces), ledit panneau central (12) s'étendant, à sa partie la plus haute, légèrement au-delà de la hauteur de ladite surface externe tronconique (11).
2. Récipient selon la revendication 1, où la paroi latérale cylindrique (10) a une épaisseur comprise entre 0,008636 cm (0,0034 pouce) et environ 0,01397 cm (0,0055 pouce).
3. Récipient en alliage léger à base d'aluminium (17) capable de résister à une pression interne sensible sans retournement comprenant un structure unitaire ayant une paroi latérale cylindrique sans soudure (10) et une paroi de fond (18) intégralement formée avec ladite paroi latérale (10) à son extrémité inférieure, où le rapport de l'épaisseur de ladite paroi de fond (18) à l'épaisseur de ladite paroi latérale (10) est de 3,0, ladite paroi de fond (18) comprenant des surfaces s'effiliant qui s'étendent vers le bas à partir de la paroi latérale (10), lesdites surfaces formant un angle de conicité de 2° et un effilement de paroi en épaisseur de 0,02286 cm (0,009 pouce) en excès de ladite paroi latérale (10), une surface tronconique externe (11) s'étendant vers le bas et vers l'intérieur de ladite paroi latérale (10) vers l'axe dudit récipient (17), ladite surface tronconique externe (11) formant un angle au fond de 40° par rapport à l'axe du récipient (17), un rayon de fond intégralement connecté à ladite surface tronconique externe (11) formant une surface annulaire de support (15) pour le récipient, une surface tronconique interne (13) intégralement connectée audit rayon de fond et s'étendant vers le haut et vers l'intérieur de ladite surface annulaire de support (15) vers l'axe du récipient, ladite surface tronconique interne (13) formant un angle de 12° par rapport à l'axe du récipient, la hauteur de ladite surface tronconique interne (13) étant plus faible que la moitié de la hauteur de ladite surface tronconique externe (11), et un panneau central concave vers le bas (12) intégralement connecté à ladite surface tronconique interne (13) et s'étendant vers le haut et vers l'intérieur de ladite surface tronconique interne (13) jusqu'à l'axe dudit récipient, le rayon de courbure dudit panneau central convave vers le bas (12) étant plus grand que le diamètre de la surface annulaire de support (15), le rapport du rayon de courbure à la moitié du diamètre de la surface annulaire de support (15) étant d'environ 2,2, ledit panneau central (12) s'étendant, à sa partie la plus haute, légèrement au-delà de la hauteur de ladite surface tronconique (15).
4. Récipient selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1, 2 ou 3, où l'épaisseur de ladite paroi latérale (10) dudit récipient est de l'ordre de 0,012446 cm (0,0049 pouce)±0,001016 cm (0,0004 pouce) et l'épaisseur du panneau central (12) est de l'ordre de 0,03429 cm (0,0135 pouce).
5. Récipient selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, où le diamètre de la surface annulaire de support (15) du récipient est d'environ 5,461 cm (2,150 pouces).
6. Récipient selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1, 2, 3 ou 4, où le diamètre de la surface annulaire de support (15) du récipient est d'environ 5,334 cm (2,100 pouces).
7. Récipient selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, comprenant un diamètre de corps d'environ 6,604 cm (2,600 pouces).
8. Récipient selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, où le rayon de courbure du panneau central concave vers le bas (12) est d'environ 5,969 cm (2,350 pouces).
9. Récipient selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, où l'alliage à base d'aluminium est 3004 H-19.
EP19790300591 1978-04-26 1979-04-10 Conteneur en métal de faible poids Expired EP0005025B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US90044178A 1978-04-26 1978-04-26
US900441 1978-04-26
US96249378A 1978-11-20 1978-11-20
US962493 1978-11-20

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0005025A2 EP0005025A2 (fr) 1979-10-31
EP0005025A3 EP0005025A3 (en) 1979-11-14
EP0005025B1 true EP0005025B1 (fr) 1983-10-19

Family

ID=27129262

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19790300591 Expired EP0005025B1 (fr) 1978-04-26 1979-04-10 Conteneur en métal de faible poids

Country Status (5)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0005025B1 (fr)
AU (1) AU525803B2 (fr)
CA (1) CA1096789A (fr)
DE (1) DE2966324D1 (fr)
MX (1) MX149013A (fr)

Families Citing this family (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4515284A (en) * 1980-08-21 1985-05-07 Reynolds Metals Company Can body bottom configuration
US4485663A (en) * 1981-02-13 1984-12-04 American Can Company Tool for making container
US4465199A (en) * 1981-06-22 1984-08-14 Katashi Aoki Pressure resisting plastic bottle
GB2114031B (en) * 1982-02-02 1985-10-09 Metal Box Plc Method of forming containers
CA2038817C (fr) * 1990-04-06 1997-04-22 Gary Arthur Baldwin Contenant a boisson, a resistance anti-gouttes amelioree
SE508716C2 (sv) * 1996-01-15 1998-11-02 Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance Botten för en förpackning med inre övertryck
NZ701058A (en) * 2012-05-08 2016-03-31 Nestec Sa Containers having improved load-bearing capacity
CN113247403B (zh) * 2021-05-12 2024-05-14 杭州中粮包装有限公司 一种挤压成型金属瓶的底部结构及优化方法

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3693828A (en) * 1970-07-22 1972-09-26 Crown Cork & Seal Co Seamless steel containers
US3730383A (en) * 1971-07-29 1973-05-01 Aluminum Co Of America Container body and a method of forming the same
US3942673A (en) * 1974-05-10 1976-03-09 National Can Corporation Wall construction for containers
US3998174A (en) * 1975-08-07 1976-12-21 National Steel Corporation Light-weight, high-strength, drawn and ironed, flat rolled steel container body method of manufacture

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0005025A3 (en) 1979-11-14
AU4633279A (en) 1979-11-01
CA1096789A (fr) 1981-03-03
DE2966324D1 (en) 1983-11-24
MX149013A (es) 1983-08-08
AU525803B2 (en) 1982-12-02
EP0005025A2 (fr) 1979-10-31

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