Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D—WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D51/00—Making hollow objects
  • B21D51/16—Making hollow objects characterised by the use of the objects
  • B21D51/38—Making inlet or outlet arrangements of cans, tins, baths, bottles, or other vessels; Making can ends; Making closures
  • B21D51/44—Making closures, e.g. caps
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D—WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D51/00—Making hollow objects
  • B21D51/16—Making hollow objects characterised by the use of the objects
  • B21D51/38—Making inlet or outlet arrangements of cans, tins, baths, bottles, or other vessels; Making can ends; Making closures
  • B21D51/44—Making closures, e.g. caps
  • B21D51/50—Making screw caps
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D—WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D51/00—Making hollow objects
  • B21D51/16—Making hollow objects characterised by the use of the objects
  • B21D51/38—Making inlet or outlet arrangements of cans, tins, baths, bottles, or other vessels; Making can ends; Making closures
  • B21D51/44—Making closures, e.g. caps
  • B21D51/46—Placing sealings or sealing material
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T29/00—Metal working
  • Y10T29/49—Method of mechanical manufacture
  • Y10T29/49826—Assembling or joining
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T29/00—Metal working
  • Y10T29/49—Method of mechanical manufacture
  • Y10T29/49826—Assembling or joining
  • Y10T29/49828—Progressively advancing of work assembly station or assembled portion of work
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T29/00—Metal working
  • Y10T29/49—Method of mechanical manufacture
  • Y10T29/49826—Assembling or joining
  • Y10T29/49833—Punching, piercing or reaming part by surface of second part
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T29/00—Metal working
  • Y10T29/49—Method of mechanical manufacture
  • Y10T29/49826—Assembling or joining
  • Y10T29/49833—Punching, piercing or reaming part by surface of second part
  • Y10T29/49835—Punching, piercing or reaming part by surface of second part with shaping
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T29/00—Metal working
  • Y10T29/49—Method of mechanical manufacture
  • Y10T29/49826—Assembling or joining
  • Y10T29/49885—Assembling or joining with coating before or during assembling
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T29/00—Metal working
  • Y10T29/49—Method of mechanical manufacture
  • Y10T29/49826—Assembling or joining
  • Y10T29/49895—Associating parts by use of aligning means [e.g., use of a drift pin or a "fixture"]
  • Y10T29/49901—Sequentially associating parts on stationary aligning means

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing metal closures. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus which receives a continuous coil of pre-coated aluminum sheet material to form Roll On Pilfer Proof (ROPP) closures.
• the ROPP closures may optionally be decorated with marketing indicia or product information after the ROPP closures are formed.
• ROPP closures which are adapted for interconnection to a threaded neck of a container are well known in the metal container industry.
• the exterior top, sidewall, and interior top of ROPP closures are frequently decorated with brand names, logos, designs, product information, and/or other preferred indicia.
• the existing process of manufacturing and decorating ROPP closures starts with a coil of uncoated metal which is cut into a number of individual sheets. The individual sheets are coated and/or decorated and may be cured multiple times. The sheets are then sent to a cupping press which cuts individual blanks or discs from the sheets and forms the blanks into cups. The cups are subsequently formed into ROPP closures.
• the existing method results in a significant inventory of work-in-progress that must be stored while the closures are being decorated and formed.
• the process requires the use of cut sheets of metal as opposed to using a continuous roll or coil of metal material.
• the manufacturer can purchase a coil of metal and cut it into sheets, but cutting the coil takes time and adds a step to the process.
• the manufacturer can purchase pre-cut sheets from a metal supplier, but suppliers generally charge more for pre-cut sheets than for an equivalent amount of material in an uncut coil.
• the manufacturer must cure the cut sheets in wicket ovens multiple times which further increases the production time and expense for the manufacturer.
• each coil of metal is cut into 1,000 individual sheets and 210 cups are cut from each sheet yielding up to 210,000 cups from each coil.
• fewer than 210,000 cups are actually produced from each coil because greater than 2%, and sometimes as much as 10%, of process scrap is produced at several different points in the process.
• each cut sheet used to calibrate the sheet printer/coater becomes scrap metal and thus, each cut sheet used for calibration in this known process results in a loss of approximately 210 cups. Because the final decoration may require five or more coatings, the sheet printer/coater may require five separate calibrations to produce the final decoration, resulting in a significant amount of scrap.
• the existing process requires a long production lead time and therefore manufacturers typically produce excess decorated sheets to account for expected process scrap to ensure on-time delivery of a customer's order. For example, if the customer orders 1 million closures, the manufacturer will have to purchase and decorate enough sheets to produce more than 1 million closures to account for losses and spoilage inherent in the existing process. Because it can take up to one week to apply each coating, and five or more coatings may be required to create the final decoration, the manufacturer must decorate a surplus of sheets to ensure enough closures are produced to fulfill the customer's order on-time. If the order of 1 million closures includes a decoration that requires five coatings, and each coating generates some level of spoilage, many of the spoiled sheets will have multiple coatings and will have been cured multiple times.
• the present invention comprises a method and apparatus of manufacturing and forming a closure. After the closure is formed, lithography or other printing techniques may optionally be used to decorate the formed closure.
• the present invention allows for the use of uncoated, plain, or single colored aluminum coils to manufacture closures which in one preferred embodiment are Roll on Pilfer Proof (ROPP) closures.
• ROPP Roll on Pilfer Proof
• the aluminum may optionally be pre-coated.
• the apparatus cuts blanks or discs from the continuous sheet, forms the blanks into cups, trims the cups to a desired length, and then forms the cups into ROPP closures.
• a Tampo or offset printing method may be used to apply customer lithography and/or other desired indicia to an exterior top, exterior sidewall, and to an inside portion of the ROPP closure.
• the present invention reduces the cost of producing and decorating ROPP closures by reducing or eliminating the use of wicket ovens and reducing the amount of scrap material created during manufacturing and forming of the ROPP closures. Additionally, the present invention improves efficiency by reducing stored work-in-progress and completed work inventory as well as by reducing production lead-times.
• a novel process of forming a metal closure which is adapted for interconnection to a threaded neck or finish of a container is provided, comprising: (1) providing a coil of a sheet metal material; (2) aligning the sheet metal material with a cupping press; (3) feeding the sheet metal material through the cupping press; (4) cutting a plurality of blanks from the sheet metal material; and (5) forming each of the plurality of blanks into the metal closure generally comprising a predetermined shape.
• the process may further include (6) pinch trimming the metal closure to a desired height.
• the process may also include (7) forming at least one of a knurl, a vent, and a perforation into the metal closure; (8) forming a tamper ring into the metal closure; (9) installing a liner in an interior portion of the metal closure; (10) and decorating one or more of an exterior top, an exterior sidewall, and the interior portion of the metal closure with an indicia; and (11) forming threads on the metal closure.
• the sheet metal material may be comprised of an aluminum alloy.
• the sheet metal material is pre-coated with at least one of an inside coating, one or more outside coatings, and an outside base color.
• aligning the sheet with the cupping press comprises securing the sheet in a predetermined position in relation to the cupping press.
• the decorating takes place before forming the at least one knurl, vent, and perforation into the metal closure.
• the decorating further comprises heating or applying UV radiation to the metal closure to cure the coatings.
• the metal closure is a roll on pilfer proof closure.
• the threads are formed on the metal closure when the metal closure is interconnected to a threaded neck of a container.
• the blanks are circular.
• the blanks are non-circular and are formed into metal closures of a desired height without trimming the metal closures.
• the cups may be drawn and re-drawn one or more times to a finished depth.
• the drawing and redrawing is performed by a drawing apparatus.
• the cupping press is operable to draw and re-draw the cups one or more times.
• both the cupping press and/or the drawing apparatus include tools to pinch trim the cups to a predetermined height.
• the cups may be trimmed to the desired height by an optional trimming machine. The trimming machine is operable to receive the cups from either the cupping press or the drawing apparatus.
• the apparatus may include: (3) a collector to collect the metallic closure from the cupping press; (4) a drawing apparatus operable to receive at least one of the plurality of blanks from the cupping press, the drawing apparatus comprising at least one tool operable to draw and re-draw the cup one or more times to form a metallic closure having a second predetermined shape, the drawing apparatus further comprising at least one tool operable to pinch trim the metallic closure to a desired height; (5) a trimming machine operable to receive a metallic closure from the cupping press, the collector, or the drawing apparatus, the trimming machine operable to trim the metallic closure to a desired height; (6) a mandrel operable to receive the metallic closure from the cupping press, the drawing apparatus, or the trimming machine, wherein the mandrel further comprises additional tools operable to form at least one of a knurl, a vent, and a perforation in the metallic closure; (7) a liner applicator operable to receive the metallic closure from the cupping press, the drawing apparatus, the trimming machine
• the cupping press is further operable to draw or pull the continuous sheet into the cupping press from a coil mounted on a spindle without the use of a separate uncoiler.
• the cupping press includes tools to trim or pinch trim the metallic closure to a desired height.
• the tools of the cupping press are operable to cut circular blanks from the sheet metal material.
• the cupping press includes tools to cut non-circular blanks from the sheet metal material and form a non-circular blank into a metallic closure without trimming the non-circular blank.
• the cupping press includes tools to form both circular and non-circular blanks from the sheet metal material.
• the continuous feed apparatus may include: (3) a trimming machine operable to receive the plurality of metal closures having a predetermined shape from the cupping press, the trimmer operable to trim the plurality of metal closures to a desired height.
• the continuous feed apparatus includes a drawing apparatus operable receive the plurality of metal closures from the cupping press and draw and re-draw the metal closures one or more times to a finished depth.
• the continuous feed apparatus includes a decorator operable to receive the plurality of metal closures from the cupping press, the drawing apparatus, or the trimming machine, wherein the decorator is operable to decorate one or more of an exterior top, an exterior sidewall, and the interior portion of the plurality of metal closures with an indicia to produce a plurality of decorated metal closures.
• the decorator is operable to form a raised or embossed profile on the exterior sidewall of the plurality of decorated metal closures.
• the continuous feed apparatus further includes a curer operable to receive and cure the decorated metal closures from the decorator.
• the continuous feed apparatus further includes a mandrel operable to receive the plurality of metal closures from the cupping press, the drawing apparatus, or the trimming machine, the mandrel further comprising tools operable to form at least one of a knurl, a vent, and a perforation into the plurality of metal closures.
• the mandrel may include tools operable to form a tamper ring and threads in the plurality of metal closures.
• the cupping press and the drawing apparatus include one or more tools to trim or pinch trim the plurality of metal closures to a desired height.
• the cupping press includes tools to cut a plurality of non-circular blanks from the sheet metal material and to form the non-circular blanks into a plurality of metal closures.
• the cupping press or the drawing apparatus may pinch trim the plurality of metal closures formed from the non-circular blanks to a desired height.
• the cupping press and the drawing apparatus may use any tools know to those of skill in the art to trim or pinch trim the closures.
• the metal closures may be decorated and cured, if necessary, after the metal closures have been pinch trimmed and before forming knurl, vents, perforations, and/or a tamper ring in the metal closures.
• the metal closures may be decorated without being pinch trimmed.
• the closures may be left undecorated and stored until needed to fulfill a customer's order. When required to fill a customer's order, the undecorated closures are removed from storage and one or more of the exterior tops, exterior sidewalls, and the interior top portions of the closures are decorated and cured if necessary.
• the closures may be formed without knurls, vents, perforations, a tamper ring, threads, or a liner.
• the knurls, vents, perforations, tamper ring, threads, and/or liner may be formed in the closures as specified by a customer.
• the metal closures may be formed without being trimmed.
• the un- trimmed cups may be trimmed by an optional trimming machine.
• references made herein to "lithography” or aspects thereof should not necessarily be construed as limiting the present invention to a particular method or type of printing or decorating of ROPP closures. It will be recognized by one skilled in the art that the present invention may be used with other printing processes such as offset printing, dry offset printing, gravure printing, intaglio printing, screen printing, tampo printing, and inkjet printing.
• each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C,” “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” and "A, B, and/or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together.
• Figure 1 illustrates a prior art method for manufacturing and decorating a roll on pilfer proof closure using individual metal sheets
• Figure 2 illustrates a novel method for manufacturing a roll on pilfer proof closure according to one embodiment of the present invention.
• ROPP closures are generally formed of conventional metallic materials, such as aluminum.
• the process of the present invention can be applied to ROPP closures formed of other metals or metal alloys, plastics, cardboard, paper, fiber reinforced materials, and the like.
• a prior art method for manufacturing and decorating ROPP closures is illustrated.
• a roll or coil 2 of uncoated metal such as aluminum
• the coil 2 is cut into approximately 1,000 individual cut sheets 4.
• the individual cut sheets 4 are subsequently stacked 6 in preparation for applying one or more coatings.
• Coatings are applied to the cut sheets 4 by a sheet printer/coater 8 and cured in a wicket oven 10.
• the cut sheets 4 may require five or more coatings to create the final decoration, for example: an inside lacquer, and inside glue dot, and outside lacquer basecoat, an outside lithography, and an outside lacquer overcoat.
• the cut sheets 4 must be sent through the printer/coater 8 and cured for each coating resulting in five or more passes through the wicket oven 10 for each cut sheet 4. While decorating, coating, and curing the cut sheets 4, all of the work in progress must be stacked 6 and stored. Because it can take up to 1 week to apply and cure just one coating required to produce a final decoration, the prior art method results in a large amount of work in progress and a correspondingly large inventory expense.
• the individual sheets 4 are fed into a sheet fed cupping press 12 which cuts circular discs or blanks from the sheets 4 and forms the circular blanks into cups 14.
• Each cut sheet 4 results in a certain amount of scrap because the cupping press 12 cannot cut circular blanks from all areas of the cut sheets 4.
• Web scrap 16 is left between each of the circular cutouts 18. End and edge scrap are left at the straight ends 20 and edges 22 of the cut sheets 4 where it is also not possible to cut circular blanks.
• the cupping press 12 cuts and forms the cups 14, the cups are pinch trimmed to a desired height, removing a ring 24 from each cup 14. The trimmed portions are then separated from the cups 14.
• the cups are subsequently loaded onto a mandrel and one or more knurls 26, vents, and perforations 28 are machined in the cups 14 to form the ROPP closure 32.
• the alignment and configuration of knurls, vents, and perforations on ROPP closures is described in U.S. Patent No. 7,147,123, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
• a tamper ring 30 which is adapted to separate from the closure 32 to indicate to a consumer that the container has been opened can also be formed on the closure 32.
• a compressible wad or liner 34 is installed in an interior top of the closures 32 to aid sealing the ROPP closure 32 to the top of a container.
• a roll or coil 36 of pre-coated metal such as aluminum
• the coil 36 may have one or more of an inside coating, an outside coating, and/or an outside base color.
• Using a pre-coated metal reduces production cost and decreases production time by eliminating the need for curing the top and bottom surfaces of the coil 36 during production of the ROPP closures.
• an uncoated coil may be provided and a top and a bottom side of the metal may be simultaneously coated and cured if necessary.
• the coil 36 is positioned in a receiver that is operable to unwind the coil 36.
• the receiver is a spindle.
• the receiver may include an uncoiler and a feeder with draw pads operable to pull the continuous sheet 37 from the coil 36.
• the receiver feeds the continuous sheet 37 into a coil-fed cupping press 38.
• the sheet 37 is registered or aligned with edge guides in the cupping press 38 that keep the sheet 37 in a predetermined position with respect to tools in the cupping press 38.
• the tools in the cupping press 38 cut blanks or discs from the continuous sheet 37 and form the blanks into cups 40 having a predetermined shape.
• the tools in the cupping press 38 may include stamps, knives, punches, dies, draw pads, hold downs, trimmers, and/or rams.
• the cupping press 38 is operable to pull the continuous sheet 37 into the cupping press 38 from the coil 36 without the use of a separate uncoiler.
• the cups 40 may optionally be pinch trimmed 41 to a desired height by the tools of the cupping press 38.
• the pinch trimming 41 may be performed by any method and tools known to those of skill in the art.
• the cups may optionally include a skirt after being pinch trimmed 41 by the cupping press 38.
• an optional trimming machine 44 is operable to receive the cups 40 from the cupping press 38 or the collector.
• the optional trimming machine 44 is operable to trim the cups 40 to a desired height.
• the cupping press 38 includes tools to draw and re-draw the cups one or more times to a finished depth.
• the cupping press 38 includes tools operable to cut non-circular blanks from the continuous sheet 37.
• the non-circular blanks are then formed into cups of a desired height by the tools of the cupping press 38 without being trimmed by the cupping press 38 or an optional dedicated trimmer 44.
• cups formed from the non-circular blanks can be pinch trimmed 41 by the tools of the cupping press 38 or an optional trimming machine 44.
• a collector receives the cups 40 from the cupping press 38.
• a redraw press or drawing apparatus 42 may optionally receive the cups from the cupping press 38 or the collector.
• the drawing apparatus 42 is operable to draw and/or redraw the cups 40 one or more times to achieve a cup having a second predetermined shape.
• the drawing apparatus 42 may include punches, pressure sleeves, blank and draw dies, draw pads, knives, trimmers, and/or a ram to push the cups through the dies.
• the cups 40 are pinch trimmed 41 A to a desired height by the tools of the drawing apparatus 42.
• the cups 40 may be trimmed to a desired height by an optional trimming machine 44A. After trimming, the cups may optionally include a skirt.
• Running the continuous sheet 37 of metal through the cupping press 38 is more efficient than the use of cut sheets 4 in the existing process.
• a continuous sheet 37 results in less end scrap metal from each coil 36 than the existing process because each sheet 37 has only two cut ends where the cupping press 38 cannot cut complete blanks.
• the coil-fed cupping press 38 can process sheets 37 that are wider than the width of the cut sheets 4 used by the sheet- fed cupping press 12 of the existing process, further reducing scrap because more blanks can be cut in each row. This reduction in the amount of scrap results in a production of approximately 220,000 to 242,000 cups per coil 36, a 5% to 10% increase in cups 40 compared to the prior art method described in conjunction with Fig. 1.
• Scrap may be further reduced by cutting non-circular blanks from the sheets 37.
• the tools of the cupping press can be aligned to cut the non-circular blanks in a plurality of orientations to reduce the amount of web-scrap left between each of cutouts formed by the non-circular blanks.
• the cupping press 38 can simultaneously cut both circular and non-circular blanks from the sheets 37 further reducing scrap.
• no scrap can be produced due to a non-centered decoration or misaligned decoration. Therefore, there is no requirement to inspect the cups 40 for print alignment after the cups 40 are formed by the cupping press 38.
• the undecorated cups are stored after leaving the cupping press 38, the drawing apparatus 42, or the trimming machine 44, 44A until needed to fill a customer's order.
• the undecorated cups may subsequently be trimmed, decorated, cured, and knurls, vents, and perforations formed on the cups as required to fulfill the customer's order.
• the cups 40 may optionally be decorated on an exterior top, an exterior sidewall, or an interior surface portion by a decorator 48 using an offset printing method.
• a UV cured non-varnish ink or any other suitable ink or coating may be applied to the cups 40 by the decorator 48.
• the cups 40 may be run through the decorator 48 multiples times to receive multiple coatings. If necessary, the cups 40 are washed and dried prior to being decorated.
• the present invention reduces the amount of scrap produced during decoration because calibrating the decorator 48 to decorate the individual cups 40 is easier than calibrating the printer/coater 8 used to decorate cut sheets 4. Calibration of the decorator 48 generally takes only a few cups 40 instead of the one or more entire cut sheets 4 of metal that may be required to calibrate the sheet printer/coater 8 in the prior art method described above.
• the present invention further reduces the amount of scrap produced because there is no requirement to orient the cups 40 in the decorator 48 during decoration since there is no "up” or "down” orientation on a circular exterior top surface of a cup 40.
• the coatings used to decorate the cups 40 may be cured 50 using methods known to those skilled in the art, including thermal curing (for example, in a bake oven at a temperature of greater than approximately 350°F) or ultraviolet light curing. It will be appreciated that the decorated cups 40 may be cured using any suitable method as recognized by one of skill in the art.
• the cups 40 are loaded onto a mandrel 52 that includes tools operable to form one or more knurls 26, vents, and a plurality of perforations 28 in the cups 40 to produce the ROPP closure 56.
• a tamper band or ring 30 comprising perforations, partial cut-outs, and/or bridges may be formed in the ROPP closure 56 by the tools of the mandrel 52.
• the tamper ring 30 is adapted to separate from the ROPP closure 56 and leave a lower portion 54 on a neck of a container when the ROPP closure 56 is removed, thereby indicating that the container has been opened yet allowing the liquid in the container to be dispensed from the container.
• the mandrel 52 includes knives, punches, and other tools operable to form the knurls, vent, perforations, and tamper ring.
• the cups 40 may not receive knurls, vents, perforations, or tamper features.
• a liner applicator 58 installs a liner 60 in an interior top portion of the closures 56 to aid sealing between a top of an opening of the container and the ROPP closure 56.
• the closures 56 may be heated and an extruded plastic wad is placed inside the closures 56.
• the liner applicator 58 may include a water cooled form tool to compress the plastic wad and form a profiled liner 60.
• a flat cut disk of liner material may be applied by the applicator 58 to form the liner 60 in a method as is known by those skilled in the art.
• the ROPP closures 56 can be decorated by a decorator 48A after the knurls, vents, and perforations are formed or after installation of the optional liner 60.
• the decorator 48A can apply an ultraviolet cured non-varnish ink to an exterior top, an exterior sidewall, or an interior surface portion of the ROPP closures 56 using an offset printing method.
• the ROPP closures 56 may optionally be sent through the decorator 48A multiples times if necessary to create the finished decoration.
• the coatings used to decorate the ROPP closures 56 can be cured 50A using a thermal or ultraviolet light process if the optional liner 60 has not been installed. If a liner 60 is installed in the ROPP closures 56 before the closures are decorated, the coatings are cured 50A using an ultraviolet light process.
• the cups 40 may be decorated by a decorator 48 before the knurls, vents, and perforations are formed in cups and, after installation of a the liner 60, a second decoration may be applied to the ROPP closures 56 by a decorator 48A and cured 50A as needed.
• the decorator 48A further comprises a mandrel and embossing tools.
• the embossing tools comprise rollers with contact surfaces with a shape predetermined to form a raised or embossed profile or indicia onto one or more of the exterior top and the exterior sidewall of the ROPP closure 56.
• the decorator 48A may further comprise tools, such as an abrasive tool, polisher, or grinder, to selectively remove coatings from a predetermined exterior surface portion of the embossed profile of the ROPP closure 56 to produce a ROPP closure 56 with a bare metal embossed decoration on the exterior top and/or the exterior sidewall portion.
• the bare metal embossed decoration can be decorated with coatings by the decorator 48A.
• the embossing tools of the decorator 48A form an embossed profile or indicia on one or more of the exterior top portion and/or the exterior sidewall portion before coatings are applied to the exterior top portion and/or the exterior sidewall portion of the ROPP closure 56.
• ROPP closures 56 may optionally be manufactured without decoration and stored until needed to fulfill a customer's order. The undecorated ROPP closures may then be removed from storage and one or more of the exterior tops, exterior sidewalls, or the interior surfaces of the ROPP closures decorated and cured as required.
• closures may be manufactured without knurls, vents, or perforations. One or more knurls, vents, and/or perforations may then be formed in the closures as required according to a customer's specifications.
• knurls, vents, and/or perforations may be formed in the closure.
• threads may be formed on the closures.
• threads may be formed on the closures by a capping apparatus when the closures are interconnected to a threaded neck of a container by methods known to those of skill in the art.
• the method of the present invention has many benefits compared to prior art methods of manufacturing and decorating ROPP closures.
• Metal suppliers generally charge less for a coil of metal than for an equivalent amount of metal that has been cut into sheets.
• the wide coils of metal used in the present invention are also generally less expensive than the cost of an equivalent amount of material in the narrow sheets required for the prior art method.
• Calibrating lithography for individual cups is easier, results in less waste, and is generally performed more quickly than sheet printer/coater set-up for the cut sheets used in the prior art method. Thus, it is less expensive to set up and calibrate a label, decoration, or other indicia for individual cups compared to the prior art method.
• Production time is also reduced using the method of the present invention, decreasing work-in-progress inventory costs.
• the reduced production time results in a reduction of production lead- time.
• Production lead-time is further reduced because undecorated closures are fungible and may be used to fulfill any customer's order.
• a new order, or an order from a preferred customer can be quickly filled by applying a final decoration to pre -manufactured undecorated closures that are removed from storage or to undecorated closures that are currently in production.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Closures For Containers (AREA)
• Auxiliary Devices For And Details Of Packaging Control (AREA)
• Shaping Metal By Deep-Drawing, Or The Like (AREA)
• Rigid Containers With Two Or More Constituent Elements (AREA)

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• 2014
  • 2014-04-28 WO PCT/US2014/035631 patent/WO2015009340A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2014-04-28 AU AU2014290781A patent/AU2014290781A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2014-04-28 JP JP2016527985A patent/JP2016530100A/ja active Pending
  • 2014-04-28 RU RU2016105594A patent/RU2016105594A/ru not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2014-04-28 CN CN201480040694.XA patent/CN105392707A/zh active Pending
  • 2014-04-28 CA CA2916193A patent/CA2916193A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2014-04-28 EP EP14825942.7A patent/EP3022125A4/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2014-04-28 MX MX2016000672A patent/MX2016000672A/es unknown
  • 2014-04-28 US US14/263,061 patent/US20150020364A1/en not_active Abandoned
• 2016
  • 2016-01-13 GT GT201600005A patent/GT201600005A/es unknown

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