GB2113174A - Longitudinally-grooved container - Google Patents

Abstract

A container, such as, a cylindrical paint can, has a welded side seam (2) and a groove or indent (3) in the container side wall (4), which extends generally parallel with respect to the welded side seam (2). In a preferred embodiment, the groove or indent (3) extends along substantially the total length of the seam (2) between the top and bottom of the side wall (4) of the container. The groove or indent (3) may be located adjacent the side seam (3) and can project either inwardly or outwardly of the container (1). The groove or indent (3), which is suitable for indexing the container in a required angular orientation during the application of a carrying handle thereto or for printing purposes, may be formed by a pair of rollers after the welded seam has been formed. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Container with side seam indexing groove This invention relates to containers, such as, tin plate paint cans, with side seam grooves which are used as indexing means for can orientation with respect to a riveting station or printing and/or labelling alignment.

It is standard practice with dry side seam or side seam cemented cans to employ a back-up bead, in the form of of an indent or groove extending parallel to the side seam from the top to the bottom of the can, which acts as a strengthening or reinforcing element for this type of hooked side seam.

However, it is becoming more important with tinplate cans which have welded side seams for the blank, from which the can is formed, to be completely free of any projections which might otherwise interfere with the printing, rolling, forming and/or welding operations associated with the construction of this type of can.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, therefore, there is provided a container having 3 welded side seam and groove extending generally parallel with respect to the welded seam.

Preferably, this groove extends along the total length of the seam between the top and bottom of the can side wall and, also, is located adjacent this seam.

In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a container having a welded side seam, wherein a groove is formed in the side wall of the container extending generally parallel with respect to the side seam.

Advantageously, the groove is formed in the container side wall adjacent the welded side seam, such that it extends along at least a major portion of the length of the seam. Preferably, the indent is formed in the container after the side seam has been welded, although in certain applications, it may be provided before or simultaneously with the welding operation.

Also, the groove may be in the form of an indent, that is to say, it projects inwardly of the container. Alternatively, the groove may project outwardly with respect to the container.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, a preferred embodiment in accordance therewith will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig 1 is a side elevation of a 2+ litre paint can with a welded side seam; Fig 2 is an enlarged section along the line Il-Il in Fig 1; Fig 3 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for manufacturing the can shown in Figs 1 and 2, in accordance with the inventive method; and Fig 4 is an elevational view of a pair of indenting rollers incorporated in the apparatus of Fig. 3.

Referring firstly to Figs 1 and 2 of the drawings, a 2+ litre paint can 1, made of tin plate, has a welded side seam 2 of a width W, in this particular case W being 0.4mm.

Adjacent the welded side seam, 2, and extending parallel thereto, is a grooved indent 3 projecting inwardly with respect to the container side wall 4. This indent 3 is generally V-shaped, although any desired configuration may be used, depending upon the purpose for which it is to be used.

In this particular case, the indent is to be used for indexing the can in a desired orientation with respect to its longitudinal axis, for handle rivet application purposes. In this particular application, the can is rotated about its longitudinal axis until the indent 3 engages a stop which determines the orientation of the can 1 with respect to a rivet hole and/or rivet application machine, such as that described in our co-pending patent application number 8201223 entitled "Application of Carrying Handles to Containers" and filed on 1 6th January 1982.

The indent 3 can be applied to the side wall 4 of the can 1 at any desired stage in the manufacture of the can, although it is preferred to apply this indent 3 immediately after the welding of the side seam 2, as will be described below with reference to Fig. 3.

A particularly suitable type of welded side seam body maker, for producing this type of paint can, is that sold by Soudronic AG under their SBW Series. This type of body maker is fully automatic and it is a comparatively simple task to provide a pair of indenting rollers immediately after and adjacent the welding station where the rollformed can bodies are transferred by transport chains to the welding wheels of the welding station.

It will be appreciated that, although the preferred embodiment is described above with respect to a cylindrical 2+ litre paint can, the invention can be applied to any type of container having a welded side seam, such as the generally rectangular 5 litre oil cans. Also, it should be understood that the indent 3 can be used as indexing means for printing the can side wall 4 or applying labelling thereto, particularly for alignment purposes.

Turning now to Figs 3 and 4 of the drawings, apparatus for manufacturing the can described above with reference to Figs 1 and 2, and in accordance with the method of the invention, comprises a standard body maker, such as that sold by Soudronic AG, and an indenting station, as will be described hereinbelow.

The body maker consists of a blank supply station 31, a blank flexing station 32, a body forming station 33 and a seam welding station 34.

Intermediate the forming and welding stations 33, 34 is a rolled body feeder 35 comprising a pair of feed chains (not shown) and a control body mandrel 36.

Printed blanks are fed successively from the supply station 31 to the flexing station 32 where each blank is flexed several times to relieve any stresses therein. Then, each blank is passed to the roll-forming station 33 where it is rolled into a cylindrical shape about a mandrel (not shown).

Subsequently, each rolled body is fed in turn along the feeder 35 to the welding station 34 where the welded side seam 2 is formed.

Immediately downstream of the welding station 34 is an indent forming station 37 which is connected to the body maker, and in this particular case to the feeder 35 thereof, by means of any suitable form of linkage 38. The indenting station 37 itself consists of a pair of driven indenting rollers 41 42 of which roller 41 engages the inside and roller 42 engages the outside of the rolled and welded body adjacent the welded side seam. A shaped annular rib 43, on the roller 41, cooperates with an annular groove 44 on the roller 42 to form the necessary side seam indent when the can side wall is passed between the rollers before the body is passed to a subsequent manufacturing station (not shown) in the direction of the arrow F. To counteract the forces exerted upon the body by this pair of indenting rollers 41, 42 another pair of balance rollers (not shown) engages the inside and the outside of the body diametrically opposite the indenting rollers.

Although the apparatus described above is used for manufacturing cylindrical paint cans, it can be modified to cope with cans of other crosssections, such as, rectangular or square.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that, although the above-described embodiment relates to a can having an indent in the form of an inwardly projecting groove, the invention also embraces an outwardly projecting indexing groove.

Claims (10)

1. A container having a welded side seam and a groove or indent in the side wall of the container, extending generally parallel with respect to the welded side seam.

2. A container according to claim 1, wherein the groove or indent extends along substantially the total length of the seam between the top and bottom of the side wall of the container.

3. A container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the groove or indent is adjacent the side seam.

4. A container according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the groove or indent projects inwardly of the container.

5. A container according to any preceding clairr having a cylindrical side wall.

6. A method of manufacturing a container having a welded side seam, wherein a groove or indent is formed in the side wall of the container, extending generally parallel with respect to the side seam.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the groove or indent is formed adjacent the welded side seam.

8. A method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the groove or indent is formed to extend along substantially the total length of the seam between the top and bottom of the side wall of the container.

9. A method according to claim 6, 7 or 8.

wherein the groove ot indent is formed to project inwardly of the container.

10. A method or container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.