US618518A

US618518A - Sheet-metal can

Info

Publication number: US618518A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1899-01-31
Anticipated expiration: 1916-01-31

Description

No. 6I8,5I8. Patented lan. 3|, |899. E. NORTON. SHEET METAL CAN.

(Application filed Det. 7, 1897.)

(No Model.)

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THE NDRRIS PERS 6U.. PHOTO'UTHO., VSHINGTON. D. C.

IINTTEE y. STATES PATENT EEicE.

EDVTIN NORTON, OF MAYWOOD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE NORTON BROS., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

S H EET- M ETAL CAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 618,518, dated January 31, 1899.

Application filed October 7, 1897. Serial No. 654,335. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWIN NORTON, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing in Maywood, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sheet-Metal Cans, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in sheet-metal cans or vessels, and more particularly to improvements upon the sheet-metal can or vessel shown and described in the pending application of myself and Bernard II. Larkin, Serial No. 649,696, filed August 27, 1897, and in which the cover is secured to the can-body both by a vacuum or atmospheric-pressure seal and by a mechanical seal, consistin gin crimping an inner upright flange on the can-cover outwardly under and against an inwardly-proj ectin g roll or shoulder at the upper end of the can-body, and in which the can-body has an externally-projecting shoulder to serve as a fulcrum for prying off the cover of the can.

The object of my present improvement is to remove certain defects or objections in the can shown and described in said application and toperfect the same and adapt it for use for preserving sh, meats, fruits, vegetables, or other articles requiring perfect hermetically-sealed vessels for their preservation.

One objection or difliculty experienced with the can shown and described in said application, Serial No. 649,696, is that sometimes the pressure exerted upon the packing-ring interposed between the cover and the canbody would shear or press off a thin annulus or portion of the packing and force it into the can, Where it would remain as a deposit on top of the goods in the can, thus injuring the same either in quality, appearance, or salability. By my present invention I overcome this difficulty by a peculiar construction of the annular channel or. receptacle in the cover for the packing in connection with the rollor shoulder on the can-body, with which it cooperates.

In the can shown and described in said application, Serial No. 649,696, the externallyprojecting shoulder or fulcrum on the canbody for prying off the cover is formed by making an integral fold in the stock of the can-body itself. This occasions two objections or difficulties, especially in cans designed for holding hermetically-sealed food products, viz: First, the sharp fold formed in the stock of the can-body itself is liable to cause slight cracks or breaks in the stock, which may sooner or later develop into pinholes or fine leaks, so that the cans cannot be as safely relied upon to be perfect or absolutely hermetically tight with that certainty and uniformity in every in stance which is necessary or desirable in cans used for putting up hermetically-sealed food products, because in such cans a very few-say five or six-leaky or imperfect ones out of one thousand would render that construction of can unfit for such use and impracticable, as is Well known to those skilled in the art, and, second, the sharp fold in the body of the can forming the fulcrum leaves a crevice on the inside of the can-body right at the point where the stock is bent or folded, and the tin coating of the tin-plate consequently stretched, tending to give an opportunity for the acids of the food or other products in the can to attack the iron or steel plate from which the tin-plate is formed by coating it with tin, which action is liable to injure the quality, flavor, appearance, or salability of the goods. These two objections or difficulties in the can of said application I overcome or remove in my present invention by providing the c an-body at its upper end with a seamless ring, having at its upper edge an internal roll or fold which fits or hooks over the upper end of the can-body and constitutes the inWardly-projectin g roll or shoulder for the can, which seamless ring ts outside the can-body and is itself yprovided with the externally-projecting fold to serve as the fulcrum for prying off the cover. By this means the stock of the can-,body itself is left entirely smooth and unfolded, so that the can has a smooth interior surface and so that the stock of the can-body is entirely free from sharp bends or folds which might be liable to cause leaks. The seamless ring also avoids any unevenness'caused Aby the side seam of the can-body in the can of said application, and thus gives a smoother, better, and more perfect seat for the packing between the cover andfcan, and also for the metal-to-metal con- IOO tact between the inner ilange of the cover and the shoulder or roll at the mouth of the can when said inner flange is forced or crimped out under and against the same.

The nature, construction, and operation of my improvement will be more fully understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specilication.

In said drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a can embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section showing the cover separate from the can and ready to be applied thereto. Fig. 3 is a similar section showing the cover sealed and secured to the can-body by the vacuum or atmospheric seal and before the cover is mechanically sealed or secured in place. Fig. 4 is a similar section showing the cover sealed and secured on the can both by the Vacuum or atmosphericpressure seal and by the mechanical seal. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional View of the cover to more clearly show the particular construction of the annular channel or seat for the packing, and Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the finished and sealed can to better show its construction and operation.

In the drawings, A represents the can-body; B, the cover; C, the rubber, cement, or other packing inserted between the cover and the can-body; D, the bottom of the can, and F the seamless ring.

The can-body A may be and preferably is of a plain, smooth, cylindrical form, as illustrated in the drawings, having the customary side-seam a.

The cover B has an outer upright flange b, which fits outside the can-body, and an inner secondary flange b', which is also substantially upright or at right angles to the plane of the cover. Between the flanges Z9 Z9 is the annular channel or seat b2 for the packing C, the horizontal flange b3 forming the upper wall or bottom, so to speak, of the annular channel or groove b2. The inner corner b4 of the channel b2 is made curved or rounding,

while the outer corner b5 thereof is made substantially square and preferably about as indicated in Figs. 5 and 6. The packing C may preferably be originally placed chiefly in this outer corner, as indicated in Fig. 5. Vhen the packing C is compressed between the cover and the roll or shoulder at the upper end of the can-body, this enlarged outer corner b5 gives room for the compressed packing, and thus prevents any danger of the thin edge or ring of the packing being forced down into the can. The inner flange b' of the cover B has an outwardly-projecting bend or crimp L in the finished or sealed can, which projects under the inwardly-projecting roll or shoulder at the upper end or mouth of the can-body, and thus mechanically seals and secures the cover on the can, as will be hereinafter more fully explained. The outer ilange b of the cover is provided with an externally-projecting bend, fold, or shoulder b?, which cooperates with the external shoulder or fulcrum on the can-body in opening the can or prying off the cover. The external flange b of the cover preferably projects below this external shoulder 127, so as to give greater depth to this external flange of the cover, and thus enable the cover to be more straight-ly, squarely, and properlyT guided home on the can-body in the operation of in stantaneously forcing the cover home by the suddenly-restored atmospheric pressure in making the vacuum or atmospheric-pressure seal of the can. In this operation of forming the vacuum or atmospheric-pressure seal unless the cover is properly guided and moved to place squarely and truly the vacuum-seal will not be perfectly and properly formed.

The bottom or lower head D of the can is or may be of substantially the same construction as that shown and described in said application. It has an external iiange d and an annular bead d.

The seamless ring F is provided with an inwardly-projecting fold or roll f, which lits over the upper end of the can-body A, and thus forms or constitutes the inwardly-projecting roll or shoulder at the mouth vor upper end of the can-body. As the ring F is seamless, the shoulder or roll fis likewise of course seamless, and thus affords a smooth and perfeet bearing not only for the packing C, but also for the metal-to-metal contact between the outward crimp or bend h6 in the inner flange b of the cover and the under or lower part of said roll or shoulder f. The seamless ring F is further provided near its lower edge with an exteriorly-projecting fold or shoulder f', which serves as the fulcrum for prying off the cover by inserting any suitable instrument between said fold, shoulder, or fulcrum f and the external shoulder b? on the outer flange b of the cover B, as will be readily understood from the drawings. The seamless ring F is soldered to the can-body and serves to materially reinforce and strengthen the same, and thus better adapt the can to withstand both the external or atmospheric pressure due to the vacuum or atmospheric-pressure seal of the can and also any internal pressure that may be due to the cooking or processing of the contents of the can while it is in a hermetically-sealed condition.

In operation or method of use after the can is filled the cover B is loosely placed thereon, the air is then exhausted from the can by placing it within the receiver of an air-pu 1n p, the cover is then hermetically sealed and secured to the can-body by suddenly restoring the atmospheric pressure, thus instantaneously forcing the cover home on the can-body and compressing the packing C between the cover and the inwardlyprojecting roll or shoulder f at the upper end or mouth of the can-body. The cover Bis then mechanically sealed and secured to the can-body by forma ing the outwardly-projecting bend or crimp ICO IIO

216 in the inner flange b of the cover B, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6, thus mechanically securing the cover on the can and mechanically holding the packing C in a compressed forrn. The cover is thus sealed and secured to the can by a double seal, the vacuuin or atmospheric-pressure seal and a mechanical seal. The can is opened by placing a suitable instrument between the external fulcruln f on the can-body, or, rather, on the seamless ring which is secured to the canbody and forming a part thereof, and the external shoulder 117 on the outer flange b of the cover.

I claimv l. In a sheet-metal can or vessel, the coinbination with a can-body of a seamless ring fitting outside the can-body and having an internal roll or shoulder at its upper edge litting over the upperend of the can-body, and an externally-projecting fold or shoulder at its lower edge to serve as a fulcrum in prying off the cover, and a cover having an outer .fiange provided with an external shoulder to cooperate with said external shoulder or fulcrum on said seamless ring, said cover having also a secondary inner flange bent or crimped outwardly under and against said' internal roll or shoulder at the upper edge of said seamless ring, substantially as specified.

2. The combination with a can-body, of a seamless ring secured to the can-body and provided at its upper edge with an inwardlyprojecting roll or shoulder, and a cover having an outer flange and a secondary inner flange bent or crimped outwardly under and against said internal roll or shoulder on said seamless ring, said seamless ring being also provided with an outwardly-projecting fold or shoulder near its lower edge, and the outer iiange of said cover havingalso an outwardlyprojecting shoulder and a straight or cylindrical portion below said shoulder, Substantially as specied.

3. In a sheet-metal can or vessel, the cornbination with a can-body of a seamless ring fitting outside the can-body and having an internal roll or shoulder at its upper edge fitting over the upper end of the can-body, and an externally-projecting fold or shoulder at its lower edge to serve as a fulcrum in prying off the cover, and a cover having an outer flange provided with an external shoulder to coperate with said external shoulder or fulcrum on said seamless ring, s aid cover having also a secondary inner iiange bent or crimped outwardly under and against said internal roll or shoulder at the upper edge of said seamless ring, said cover having an annular channel or seat for a packing between its said outer and inner flanges provided with a curved o'r rounded inner corner and a square or enlarged outer corner, and apacking in said receptacle or seat, substantially as specified.

EDWIN NoRToN.

Yitnesses:

H. M. MUNDAY, EDMUND ADoocK.