US2571691A

US2571691A - Can cover clincher

Info

Publication number: US2571691A
Application number: US769385A
Authority: US
Inventors: Merton L Dodge
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1947-08-19
Filing date: 1947-08-19
Publication date: 1951-10-16
Anticipated expiration: 1968-10-16

Description

Oct. 16, 1951 J M. DODGE 2,571,691

' CAN COVER CLINCHER I Filed Aug. 19, 1947 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVIAIIII VENTOR. M52101! 1.. D65

Patented Oct. 16, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CAN COVER CLINCHER MertonL. Dodge, Seattle, Wash.

Application August 19, 1947, Serial No. 769,385 2 Claims. (01. 81 1s) This invention relates to can cover clinching tools and it has reference more particularly to a hand operated cover clinching tool, designed especially for use in home canning operations and manually operable to loosely secure the covers in place on the cans, thus to retain the contents in the can while being heated or exhausted prior to the final double seaming operation and processing, and to facilitate handling of the cans.

For a better understanding of the present invention, it will be explained that tin cans are now quite extensively used for home canning operations and that such cans are sealed by the double seaming of the ends or covers to the can bodies. Since the products that are canned are most generally heated to approximately boiling point (212 F.) prior to the double seaming of the end or cover to the can body, it is quite advantageous and is practical, as is well understood in the art, that the covers be placed on the cans and loosely clinched thereto to retain the contents in the cans during the exhausting operation, but permitting steam and air escapement.

Many home canners have small hand operated double seamers and sometimes use the double seamer itself as the means for loosely clinching the cover flange over the can body flange, but this operation is rather slow and impractical for various reasons. Spot clinching that is done by tool, in their relationship and in the mode of use of the tool, as will hereinafter be fully described.

In accomplishing the above mentioned and other objectsof the invention, I have provided the improved details of construction, the preferred forms of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein means of tools or machines not especially designed for this purpose, usually deforms the cover flange so that effective double seaming is not insured.

In view of the above and for various other reasons, it has been the principal object of this invention to provide .a hand-operated can cover clincher of pliers type, and of such design that a short portion of the can cover flange may be curled thereby beneath the body flange to an exact amount, thus, at that point, to secure the cover loosely in place. Furthermore, it is essential to do this without causing any abrupt ident, irregularity or any undesirable deformation that will cause difliculty in double seaming, or in any wayimpair the integrity of the sealed connection.

More specifically stated, the object of the present invention is to provide a hand operated can cover clincher, comprising a tool of pliers type having one jaw equipped with a chuck for ehgaging against the counter-sink wall of the can cover and the otherjaw being'equipped with a die -opposedly related to the chuck to eng g the Fig. 1 is a top View of a can with cover applied thereto and showing .a cover clinching tool, embodied by the present invention, as applied to the cover in .a flange clinching operation.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, sectional detail of portions of the can body and cover as assembled prior to clinching, and indicating the application of the chuck and clincher die of the present tool thereto Fig. 3 is a similar view, showing the cover flange as being clinched beneath the can body flange by the closing together of the jaw portions of the tool.

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail showing a completed clinch and illustrating the engagement of the inwardly curled edge of the cover flange with the body flange to, limit the extent to which the cover may lift from the can.

Fig. 5 is an underside View of the jaw portions of the present clinching tool, showing the relationship and shape of the coacting portions of the chuck and clincher die, as applied to the jaws of the tool.

Referring more in detail to the drawings- In Figs. 2, 3 and 4, l0 designates the cylindrical body wall of a typical tin can, and I2 designates the out-turned peripheral flange at the upper end of the can body over which the end or cover is applied and to which its flange is joined in the double seam to seal the can. The can cover is designated by numeral 13 and this is shown as being formed with a counter-sink having a cylindrical wall portion 14 that fits closely within the upper end of the cylindrical can body and from which counter-sink wall a flange l5 extends horizontally and outwardly to overlie the body flange 12. Before clinching and before double seaming, the flange l extends substantially beyond the periphery of the body flange, as shown in Fig. 2, and has a peripheral, downwardly and slightly inwardly curled lip 11.

The purpose of the present tool is to curl a short segment of the lip portion I! of the cover flange beneath the body flange l2 so that the cover cannot, at that point, he lifted out of the can body, but at the same time will provide for a certain amount of lift that will allow steam and air to escape from the can during the preliminary processing of the cans contents prior to double seaming.

In its present preferred form of construction, the clinching tool i made in pliers form as seen in Fig. 1 in that it comprises two crossed hand levers 2B and 2|, formed with circular and rather extended bearing portions, as at 22 in Figs. 1 and 5, that are engaged concentrically and flatly together, and are pivotally joined at their centers by a stud or rivet 24. The levers extend, at one side of the pivot, as handle

portions

20 and 2! and at the other side of the pivot terminate in

flat jaw portions

25 and 26, which lie in the same Diane and are formed with straight adjacent edges 2? and 28 that may be closed flatly together, thus to limit the extent of closing and incidentally to definitely limit the extent of the inward curling of the cover flange segment in a clinching operation, as will presently be explained.

adapted, when the jaws are opened apart, to be applied to the cover to receive a portion of its flange [5 between them for a clinching operation as has been illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

It is an important detail that the chuck 33 is formed at that side which faces the block M,

with a radially curved or arcuate side surface 32, shown best in Fig. 5. When the tool is applied to the can cover. the bottom surface of the chuck engages against the cover, as in Fig. 3, and the curved surface 32 will engage against the counter-sink wall I4. ture of the chuck surface 32 is made equal to or slightly less than the radius of curvature of the counter-sink wall of cans of smaller size, so that the tool can be used with cans of a range of sizes.

The lower edge or corner of the chuck 3| should be so curved that it will fit snugly in the bend where the counter-sink wall l4 joins with the body portion of the cover.

That side surface of the die 3! that is directly opposed to the curved side surface 32 of the chuck is straight; this surface being designated at 34 and is best shown in Fig. 5. When the jaws 2526 are opened apart and the device applied 'to a can cover for a flanging operation, the

straight side 34 of the die should engage tangentially with the lip of the cover midway of its ends, and the tool will assume a relationship to the can substantially as seen in Fig. l.

The straight side surface 34 of the die is formed, from end to end, at a proper level to receive the lip edge of the cover flange, with a longitudinal groove 40, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. This groove is so located as to receive the downwardly curled lip portion ll of. the w f The radius of curvaflange therein when the jaws are clamped against the cover for a clinching operation and is so shaped that with the closing together of the jaws of the tool, the engaged segment of the cover will be curled inwardly and upwardly so that it assumes a final position substantially as illustrated in Figs. 3 or 4. The clinch is so formed that the cover will be permitted to lift slightly. for example, as from the position in Fig. 3 to the position of Fig. 4, for the escape of steam and air from the can during a pre-heating operation.

The extent to which a clinch is formed is definitely limited by the closing together of the adjacent edge surfaces 21-28 of the

jaws

25 and 26; it being understood that the chuck 3B and die 3| are so located on these jaws that when the edge portions of the jaws are brought flatly together, the clinch would be completed to the desired, exact amount.

Another important feature of this invention resides in the fact that the straight edge 34 of the die 3| is of such length that it will extend to the full length of the chord that defines the segment of the flange that is curled by the clinching tool. Therefore no dent, shoulder or bend will be formed by or at the ends of the die that would cause a roll of the double seamer to bump or jump in the double seaming operation. The outer surface of the clinch will be perfectly straight, as seen at 45 in Fig. 1.

With the can cover seated in the end of the can body as seen in Fig. 2, the manner of using the tool is merely to open the jaws of the clincher tool apart and apply the chuck and die portions 30 and 3| to the selected portion of the cover flange, as in Fig. 2 and then clamp them together. In this clamping operation, the chuck seats against the counter-sink wall I4 and the periphery of the cover flange will be received in the die groove 40. With the closing together of the jaws, the engaged segment of the flange will be inwardly and upwardly curled to the form shown in Fig. 3, and is stopped by the closing together of the jaws, as in Fig. 1. The cover may be lifted out of its seat to the position shown in Fig. 4, by the expanding air or steam in the can during heating. Clinches so formed at three equally spaced locations about the periphery of a can cover are sufficient to hold the cover in place but may be made at more or less places as desired.

Such tools may be made in various designs other than that illustrated, and may be of various materials and in various sizes without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The gist of the invention resides in the details of the chuck and die and in the securing of these parts to the jaws in such relationship to each other and to the edges of the jaws that a clinch of a definite amount will be formed with the closing of the jaws together.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A tool of the character described comprising a pair of pivotally connected levers providing handle portions and jaw portions, said jaw portions having forming blocks projecting from corresponding side faces thereof; said blocks having opposedly related work engaging faces extending in the general longitudinal direction of the tool; one of the work engaging faces being straight and having a groove therein extending in the longitudinal direction of the tool, and the other when of said work engaging faces being arcuate and extending in the general direction of the tool, and curved between its ends toward the straight face. a

2. A tool of the character described comprising a pair of levers pivotally connected intermediate their ends to form jaw portions and handle portions; said jaw portions having opposing flat faces and forming blocks projecting from corresponding sides of the jaws; said blocks having opposing work engaging faces which extend in a general longitudinal direction of the tool and spaced from each other when the jaws are closed, one of the work engaging faces being straight and having a groove therein extending in the longitudinal direction of the tool and the other work engaging face being arcuate and extending in the longitudinal direction of the tool.

MERTON L. DODGE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS m Number Name Date 319,775 Barney June 9, 1885 604,079 Record 'May 17, 1898 763,937 Truesdale June 28, 1904 1,118,871 Leonard Nov. 24, 1914 1,747,440 Hulbert Feb. 18, 1930 2,350,057 Martin May 30, 1944