EP0113946B1

EP0113946B1 - Container with metal skin and method of fabrication

Info

Publication number: EP0113946B1
Application number: EP19830300819
Authority: EP
Inventors: Daniel Martin Saint Leon
Original assignee: Estee Lauder Inc
Current assignee: Estee Lauder Inc
Priority date: 1983-01-20
Filing date: 1983-02-17
Publication date: 1988-07-27
Also published as: EP0113946A3; JPH0329658B2; JPS59134146A; EP0113946A2; DE3377485D1

Description

Background of the invention

Containers or vessels for storing various types of materials are available in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. Generally, the size, shape and color or label of the container varies with the particular material therein. It is often desirable to place various types of cosmetic materials, such as make-up creams or lotions in more elegant containers than generally available by merely applying a label or other typical indicia to the container. Accordingly, there are available various types of cosmetic materials in containers having metal coverings on the container and closure. While the metal covering may be of any desired color, a gold coloring obtained by anodizing a punched aluminum skin is particularly elegant. However, in the constructions available in the prior art, that portion of the metal skin covering the top curved or shoulder region of the container tends to exhibit stress lines or wrinkles caused by the crimping to follow the container shape.
In some constructions using a plastic insert the skin is left abutting a lip in order to avoid the wrinkling effect. This is not desirable as it leaves exposed a portion of the inner plastic surface of the container exposed. The plastic inner containers are force-fit into the metal skin which has been pressed into a cup shape dimensioned to receive the inner container. This procedure of force-fitting a metal skin onto a container cannot be utilized with a glass jar as the dimensions of the jar cannot be controlled sufficiently. For this reason the available glass jars with metal coverings must be crimped about the shoulder region of the jar to hold the metal skin in place.
In these conventional metal covered glass jars or bottles, the metal covering is a cylindrical capsule or cup having a bottom and a vertically extended side wall dimensioned to receive the jar. While such metal covered containers, including the glass jars provide an elegant appearance, the stress marks in the metal in the shoulder region tend to distract from an otherwise elegant appearance. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a container with a metal skin or covering which avoids the stress marks in the region of the shoulder found in conventional constructions. It would be further desirable to provide a method of fabricating such a container particularly well suited for use with a glass jar having a metal skin which does not form stress marks and does not add significantly to production costs.
It should be mentioned that prior art patent U.S. No. 3,541,833 discloses a vessel in an apparatus for clamping together parts of a heat exchanger. The apparatus contains a holding member, a crimping means and a centering means and clamps together a top piece having a flange with a second piece having a groove for receiving the flange. Each piece must be specifically shaped in order for the apparatus to operate. The two pieces are then placed into an apparatus which first compresses the two pieces together, and then bends the groove of the second piece over the flange of the top piece by means of jaws. A vessel is produced having ribs along the entire seal between the joined top and second pieces.
The prior art. specification U.S. No. 355,144 discloses an apparatus which bends a single sheet of material about the core of a watch means of a concave upper dye. The concave upper dye is forced down upon the ends of the metal sheet to produce a collar around a core.
U.S. Patent No. 4,183, 315 discloses an apparatus for forming pressure vessel ends. A vessel end is secured partially enclosing it in a metal skin. The apparatus includes two parts, a first stationary concave surface and a second depressable concave surface. The metal skin is forced against the top of the pressure vessel, but does not come flush with the pressure vessel until the second concave element is depressed to further push the metal skin about the top of the pressure vessel.
Prior British Patent No. 914,915 discloses a method for sealing an insulator in a metal shell by crimping a metal shell about a plug with a series of angle dyes and crimping while heating to form a shoulder about the neck of a plug.
Prior U.S. Patent 3,221,403 discloses an apparatus and method for producing closures in battery containers having a pair of spaced loaded outer rings with internally formed surfaces adapted to hold an initially curl the ends of the battery container. The adjacent outer rings contains a pair of concentric inner rings having peripheral steps provided for stopping the pre- curling of the ends of the container when the outer rings are axially moved towards each other. When the outer rings converge towards each other internally formed surfaces meter and initially curl the ends of the container to the peripheral steps of the inner rings which ring is then forces the ends of the container to curl over the peripheral edge portions of the cells. Prior Patent No. 207,007 discloses a sheet-metal can having each of its ends shaped into an angular bead combined with heads having their edges flanged or flare outwardly to a size of about equal diameter with the center or vertex of the angular beads, the downward flange of each head resting in an expanded end of the can which, when the can is sealed is bent over and against the flange of the head from the center or vertex of the head.
Prior U.S. Patent No. 208,628 discloses an encased glass vessel having a top casing and a side casing having a flanged joining between the side casing and top casing.
Prior U.S. Patent No. 242,471 discloses a bottle having a metal casing spun onto the glass bottle.
Prior U.S. Patent No. 1,814,080 discloses a container having a receptacle into which a jar may be readily inserted and removed from the casing without destroying the casing.
Prior U.S. Patent No. 3,209 discloses a liquid safety package for dangerous liquids having an inner frangible container an outer non-frangible shell to protect the inner frangible container from damage. Prior U.S. Patent No. 3,415,413 discloses a container and method of making a container in which a metal container is formed with a container body having an open end and a cover, both being configured with main sides and an edge at least one of the container body and cover having thereon a curl formed by disposing an integral portion thereof approximate the edge at an angle with the main plane or a direction of a side. Either the cover or the container body includes a corner defined between the edge and a side, with the other having an area on one of its sides coextensive with the corner. The corner and the area are placed in abutting relationship under pressure to form a substantially linear contact therebetween while electric current is passed therethrough to heat the parts to fuse.

Summary of the invention

A container having a metal skin e.g. of aluminium, brass, copper, silver or gold, comprising:

a vessel having a bottom and a side wall extending from the bottom, the top of the side wall terminating with an inwardly extending shoulder to define an interior space, the shoulder having an opening to provide access to the interior space; a metal plate secured to the bottom of the vessel; and
characterised by a metal shell covering the side wall and formed with an inwardly extending flange covering the shoulder of the vessel from the opening, the side wall and at the bottom curved inwardly to overlap the metal plate on the bottom of the vessel.

A method of forming a container having a metal skin including a vessel having a bottom, a side wall extending vertically from the bottom and an inwardly extending shoulder region at the top of the side wall extending inwardly to an opening for providing access to the vessel, comprising:
forming a metal shell having an elongated side wall and inwardly curved shoulder region for covering the shoulder region and side wall of the vessel, the metal shell adhering a substantially planar metal plate to the bottom of the vessel;
Placing the shoulder region of the vessel into the metal shell with the shoulder of the vessel abutting the inwardly curved region of the metal shell, and characterised by crimping the side wall of the metal skin to overlap the substantially planar metal skin on the bottom of the vessel.
An apparatus for forming a container having a metal skin formed from two pieces, including a vessel having a bottom wall, a metal plate affixed to the bottom wall, a side wall extending vertically from the bottom, an inwardly extending shoulder region at the top of the side wall extending inwardly to an opening for providing access to the vessel comprising:

a holding member to receive the vessel with a metal plate fixed to its bottom wall and formed with a cavity for receiving a metal shell having an elongated side wall and curved shoulder region, opposed coaxial openings, the elongated side wall dimensioned so that a portion of a vessel side wall will extend beyond the cavity; and
characterised by a crimping tool adapted to be displaced from a first non-operative position away from the holding member providing access to the cavity in the holding member and a second operative position towards the holding member for curving the portion of the elongated side wall of the metal shell which will extend beyond the cavity towards the crimping tool so that said crimping tool is adapted to curve the met skin about the container bottom to retain the plate in place on the container bottom.

It is the main object of the present invention to provide an improved container having a metal skin. Other objects of the invention are to provide an improved method and an improved apparatus of forming a container having a metal skin.
In order that the invention may be more clearly understood reference is now directed to the accompanying drawings given by way of example in which:

Fig. 1 is an exploded view of the elements of a container having a metal skin constructed and arranged in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a container and cap having a metal skin constructed and arranged in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a jar having a metal skin constructed and arranged in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of a jar having a metal skin constructed and arranged in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention; and
Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus utilized to apply the metal skin to a jar in accordance with the invention.

Description of the preferred embodiments

Fig. 1 illustrates the embodiment of a container having a metal skin constructed and arranged in accordance with the invention. The metal covered container, shown in perspective in Fig. 2 includes a substantially cylindrical jar 10, a closure cap 11, a metal shell section 12, a metal bottom plate 13 and an adhesive pad 14. Pad 14 is utilized to mount bottom plate 13 onto jar 10, absorbs shock and takes up any space between jar 10 and metal shell 12 due to the tolerance of molded glass jar 10. As shown in Fig. 2, when a jar having a metal skin is assembled in accordance with the invention, the metal skin covers the full height of jar 10 and extends under cap 11 when the container is closed.
Jar 10 in this illustrated embodiment is a cylindrical glass jar having a base 21, a substantially vertical side wall 22 extending from base 21 to form a substantially cylindrical cavity for holding a cosmetic material 23. Side wall 22 extends to a shoulder portion 24 which includes a flange 26 which extends inwardly to a vertically extending neck 27 having a thread 28 thereon. Cap 11 also has a metal skin 15 and is formed with an internal thread 17 for cooperating with thread 28 for coupling cap 11 to jar 10.
The metal skin covering jar 10 is in two sections. The first section is cylindrical shell section 12 which has a substantially cylindrical side wall 31 terminating at one end with a curved shoulder region 32 having an internally extending flange 33 and a central opening 34. The opposite end of side wall 32 of shell section 31 terminates in an open edge 36. Cylindrical metal shell section 12 is dimensioned to fit snuggly over jar 10 with opening 34 dimensioned to allow neck portion 27 to pass therethrough. The interior surface of inwardly extending flange 33 of metal shell section 12 abuts neck 27 of jar 10 as shown in the upper segment of Fig. 3. By extending flange 33 to neck 27, no surface of jar 10 will be exposed when cap 11 is secured to jar 10.
Metal bottom plate 13 is secured to bottom wall 21 of jar 10 by adhesive pad 14 which has adhesive on both sides. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1, plate 13 includes a circular downwardly extending trough 41 which extends away from the bottom of jar 10 and provides a convenient base for supporting jar 10. Trough 41 includes an outer wall 42 which extends above the surface of plate 13 and includes an outermost lip 43 which is overlapped by shell section 31 as will be described in more detail below.
The metal skin may be of any material which can be formed into the desired shapes. The metal may be aluminium, brass, copper, silver, gold and the like. Preferably, the metal is aluminium or brass which are generally used in the cosmetics industry.
Metal plate 13 and shell section 12 are formed by conventional cold forming metal-working procedures. A circular piece of metal is cut from a sheet and impacted to form plate 13. Shell section 12 is formed by using a series of dies of varying shapes until the desired cup shape with curved shoulder region 32 is formed. When shell section 12 is formed opening 34 is cut out. The edges are finished and the outer surfaces of plate 13 and shell section 12 are anodized to provide the desired finish. At this time a label may be formed on the surface by use of a mask, if desired.
When assembly a jar covered with a metal skin in accordance with the invention, metal shell section 12 preferably is supported in an inverted position in a holding fixture 51 having an internal cavity 52 and a neck opening 53 with a resilient protective collar 54 to avoid damage to thread 28. Jar 10 is turned upside down and neck portion 27 is inserted into holding fixture 51 and through opening 34 in metal section 12. Shoulder region 24 of jar 10 abuts the inner surface of shoulder region 32 of metal shell 12. The diameter of metal shell section 12 is dimensioned to receive jar 10 snugly, but due to glass tolerances an adhesive 59 may be disposed between side wall 22 of jar 10 and side wall 31 of shell section 12. Jar 10 is centered in holding fixture 51 by a centering piece 56 which a projection 57 which is displaced towards jar 10 and engages the interior of the neck 27 to center jar 10. Bottom plate 13 may be mounted to the bottom of jar 10 by adhesive pad 14 before or after jar 10 is inserted in shell section 12.
At this time, open edge 34 of shell 12 is then crimped to overlap and engage lip 43 of plate 13 by a crimping tool 58 having a preselected crimping surface 61 which is displaced towards the bottom of jar 10 as shown in Fig. 3. In the alternative embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4, a lip 43' of a bottom plate 13' is positioned abutting the edge of a jar 10' at the junction between a side wall 22' and a bottom wall 21'. This apparatus provides a convenient means to crimp side wall 31 the desired degree to cover bottom plate 13 and avoid forming any significant stress marks.
By providing the metal skin for jar 10 in two sections, namely bottom plate 13 and shell section 31 having curved shoulder region 32, unsightly stress marks or wrinkles in shoulder region 32 are avoided. Prior construction utilizing a metal capsule or cup which is turned inwardly at the shoulder of the vessel tend to form extensive stress marks. Such constructions are usually done by hand to avoid working with a die in the region of the neck to avoid damage thereto.
Open edge 36 of shell section 12 is crimped towards side wall 22 of jar 10 an angle which is substantially less than the 90° curve formed at shoulder region 32. In the embodiments illustrated open edge 36 is curved between about 20 and 60 degrees and avoids formation of any significant stress marks. A sharp right angle curve is provided in metal shell 12 at shoulder region 32 but this is formed by impact forming prior to anodizing the metal and avoids formation of the stress marks.
The container has been shown as a cylindrical jar 10. However, it is contemplated that a container having a vessel having a square, oval or irregular section may also be covered by a metal skin in accordance with the invention.

Claims

1. A container having a metal skin e.g. of aluminum, brass, copper, silver or gold, comprising:

a vessel (10) having a bottom (21) and a side wall (22) extending from the bottom (21), the top of the side wall (22) terminating with an inwardly extending shoulder (24) to define an interior space, the shoulder (24) having an opening to provide access to the interior space;

a metal plate (13) secured to the bottom (21) of the vessel (10); and
characterized by a metal shell (12) covering the side wall (31) and formed with an inwardly extending flange (33) covering the shoulder (24) of the vessel (10) from the opening, the side wall (31) and at the bottom curved inwardly to overlap the metal plate (13) on the bottom (21) of the vessel (10).

2. A container according to claim 1, further including a neck (27) extending from the shoulder (24) and the flange (33) of the metal shell (12) extending to the base of the neck (27) and having a thread (28) on the neck (27) for coupling with a closure (11).

3. A container according to claim 2, further including a closure cap (11) having an internal thread (17) for cooperating with the threaded neck (27) of the vessel (10) for coupling the cap (11) and the vessel (10), at least a portion of the inwardly extending flange (33) of the metal shell (12) covered by the cap (11) when the cap (11) is secured to the vessel (10).

4. A container according to any of the preceding claims, further including a resilient pad (14) with adhesive on both surfaces disposed between the bottom (21) of the vessel (10) and the metal plate (13) for securing the plate (13) to the vessel (10).

5. A container according to any of the preceding claims wherein the metal plate (13) includes an upwardly extending outer lip (43), the side wall (31) of the metal shell (12) being deflected to overlap the outer lip of the metal plate and wherein the outer lip (43) of the plate (13) abuts the vessel (10) and the metal plate (13) is formed with a downwardly projecting circular trough (41).

6. A container according to any of the preceding claims further including a closure cap (11) having an internal thread (17) for cooperating with the threaded neck (28) of the vessel (10) for coupling the cap (11) and the vessel (10), at least a portion of the inwardly extending flange (33) of the metal shell (12) covered by the cap (11) when the cap is secured to the vessel (10).

7. A container of claims 1 or 6, wherein the vessel (10) is a substantially cylindrical glass jar having a metal skin (12) of anodized aluminium.

8. A method of forming a container having a metal skin including a vessel (10) having a bottom (21), a side wall (22) extending vertically from the bottom (21) and an inwardly extending shoulder region (24) at the top of the side wall (22) extending inwardly to an opening for providing access to the vessel (10), comprising:

forming a metal shell (12) having an elongated side wall (31) and inwardly curved shoulder region (32) for covering the shoulder region (24) and side wall (22) of the vessel (10), the metal shell (12) having an opening (34) dimensioned to cooperate with the opening in the vessel (10);

adhering a substantially planar metal plate (13) to the bottom (21) of the vessel (10);

Placing the shoulder region (24) of the vessel (10) into the metal shell (12) with the shoulder (24) of the vessel (10) abutting the inwardly curved region (32) of the metal shell (12), and characterised by crimping the side wall (31) of the metal skin (12) to overlap the substantially planar metal skin (13) on the bottom (21) of the vessel (10).

9. A method for forming a container in accordance with claim 8 further including placing the metal shell (12) having an elongated side wall (31) and curved shoulder region (32) and central opening (34) in a holding member (51) and crimping the bottom edge (21) of the metal shell (12) about the metal plate (13) by a crimping tool (58) displaced towards the metal shell (12) and bottom plate (13).

10. An apparatus for forming a container having a metal skin (12) formed from two pieces, including a vessel (10) having a bottom wall (21), a metal plate (13) affixed to the bottom wall (21), a a side wall (22) extending vertically from the bottom (21) an inwardly extending shoulder region (24) at the top of the side wall (22) extending inwardly to an opening for providing access to the vessel (10) comprising:

a holding member (51) to receive the vessel (10) with a metal plate fixed to its bottom wall and formed with a cavity (52) for receiving a metal shell (12) having an elongated side wall (31) and curved shoulder region (24), opposed coaxial openings (34), the elongated side wall (31) dimensioned so that a portion of a vessel side wall (22) will extend beyond the cavity (52); and
characterised by a crimping tool (58) adapted to be displaced from a first non-operative position away from the holding member (51) providing access to the cavity (52) in the holding member (51) and a second operative position towards the holding member (51) for curving the portion of the elongated side wall (22) of the metal shell (12) which will extend beyond the cavity (52) towards the crimping tool (58) so that said crimping tool (58) is adapted to curve the metal skin (12) about the container bottom (21) to retain the plate (13) in place on the container bottom (21).

11. An apparatus according to claim 10, further including a centering piece (56) formed with a projection (57) adapted to enter the cavity (52) in the holding fixture (51) opposite the crimping tool (58) for centering a vessel (10) placed within the cavity (52) prior to displacing the crimping tool (58) to its second position.