WO1997042087A1

WO1997042087A1 - Beverage can with sloping top wall

Info

Publication number: WO1997042087A1
Application number: PCT/GB1997/001237
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alexander De Muschamp Payne
Original assignee: Alexander De Muschamp Payne
Priority date: 1996-05-07
Filing date: 1997-05-07
Publication date: 1997-11-13
Also published as: GB2312887A; GB9609508D0

Abstract

A container for beverages such as a drinks can is provided with a sloping surface (2) opposite to the drinking position (10). The sloped surface accommodates all or part of the nose of the consumer so that the consumer's nose does not strike the top surface of the can when the consumer tilts the can to drink the contents. The container is manufactured by forming the can body (1) and the end of the can (3) that includes the sloping surface (2) in one piece.

Description

BEVERAGE CAN WITH SLOPING TOP WALL

This invention relates to containers for beverages, such as beverage cans .

The use of metal beverage cans as convenient containers for soft and alcoholic drinks is well known.

According to the present invention a beverage can has on one end an opening device the operation of which by a consumer provides an opening in the end for the consumer to drink the contents of the can from a position on one side of the said end, wherein the can has a sloping surface on the opposite side of the opening to the said position, the sloping surface being inclined to both the can end and can sidewall and having dimensions sufficient to accommodate at least the tip of the nose of a consumer when the consumer tilts the can when drinking the contents thereof.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: -

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a beverage can as seen from above and to one side;

Figure 2 is a rear elevation;

Figure 3 is a top elevation; Figure 4 is a view along line IV-IV of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a* beverage can as seen from above and to one side;

Figure 6 is a rear elevation of the beverage can of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a top elevation of the beverage can of Figure 5; and

Figure 8 is a view along the line VIII-VIII of Figure 7.

The beverage can shown in Figures 1 to 4 includes a one piece metal body shell 1 formed by deep drawing comprising a generally cylindrical sidewall 2 together with a shaped top end wall 3. After filling with a beverage, the bottom of the one-piece body shell is closed by a can end 4, the can end being secured to the bottom of the body shell by a conventional rolling operation.

The top end wall 3 includes a conventional ring-pull opening device which comprises a lever 5 which acts about a fulcrum 6 onto a closure portion 7 which is part of the surface of the shaped top end. The closure portion 7 has its outline defined by a scored weakening line 8 for the greater part of its periphery but has a small unscored section 9 close to the fulcrum. When the consumer pulls up the ring portion of the lever, the closure portion 7 is separated at the scoreline 8 and displaced below the perimeter of the top surface whilst still hingedly attached thereto by the small unscored section 9. Operation of the opening device thus causes formation of an aperture close to a drinking position 10, the drinking position being on the opposite side of the aperture to the ring portion of the lever.

As can be seen from Figures 1, 2 and 4 the top end wall 3 is formed with an arcuate raised bead 18 around a horseshoe-shaped horizontal surface 11. The bead 18 extends for about 250°. The surface 11 extends around the opening device and merges with a sloping valley-like surface 12 on the opposite side of the opening device 5,7 to the drinking position 10. The shaped end has rounded outer edge 13 outside the bead 18 merging with the sidewall and ending in shoulders 14 and 15. The sloping surface 12 meets the sidewall in a V-shaped junction with shoulders 14 and 15 at its highest points and a point 16 at its lowest point. The bead 18 is sized to fit snugly within the can end 4 of an identical superimposed can to permit stacking of the cans for transport and display.

The raised bead 18 defines a drinking channel 17 around the opening to guide the beverage to the drinking position when the consumer tilts the can. The drinking channel has dimensions of approximately 1mm in width and 2mm in depth.

The sloping surface 12 forms a re-entrant to accommodate at least the tip of the nose of the consumer when the opened beverage can is held to the consumers mouth and tilted so the consumer can drink the contents of the can. The second embodiment is illustrated in Figures 5-8: similar parts are shown by the number for the previous embodiment being increased by 20. The second embodiment differs from the earlier embodiment in that the sloping surface 32 extends over the full width of the shaped end 23 of the can.

As can be seen from Figures 5 and 8 the shaped end 23 including the sloping surface 32 is smoothly convexly curved in the direction from the drinking position 30 to the junction 36 of the lowest point of the sloping surface 32 and the can sidewall 22.

During manufacture of the beverage cans described above, the one piece body shell 1,21 comprising the cylindrical sidewall 2,22 and shaped top end 3,23 with its raised bead 18,38 and its channel 17,37 is formed by a conventional drawing method. The opening device 5,25 is affixed to the shaped top surface of the can 3,23 after inverting the completed can. The body of the can is completed after filling by securing a can end 4,24 by a rolling operation. The process described differs from the conventional manufacturing process in that the sidewall and top of the can are produced by the drawing process; conventionally the sidewall and base of the can are formed as a drawn shell and the top closure incorporates the opening device.

Claims

ςLΔIϋ≤ :

1. A beverage can having one end closed by a closμre which is removable by a consumer to enable the consumer to drink the contents of the can from a position on one side of the said end, wherein the can has a sloping surface on the opposite side of the opening to the said position, the sloping surface being inclined to both the can end and the can sidewall and having dimensions sufficient to accommodate the nose of a consumer when the consumer tilts the can while drinking the contents thereof.

2. A can according to Claim 1, wherein the sloping surface extends over the full width of the can end.

3. A can according to Claim 1, wherein the sloping surface is formed by the floor of a re-entrant formed in the can end and the adjacent portion of the sidewall of the can.

4. A beverage can substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 5 of Figures 6 to 9 of the drawings.

5. A method for manufacturing a can according to any of the previous claims, which comprises:- a. Forming a one piece body shell that includes the can sidewall and the can end wall including the sloping surface by deep drawing metal using a shaped die, b. Fixing the opening device to the end of the can shell formed by the shaped die, c. Filling the can shell with the end wall lowermost, and d. Sealing the can by affixing a can end to the open end of the one piece body shell.

6. A beverage can substantially as described with reference to Figs.1 to 4 or Figs. 5 to 8 of the drawings.