US1888413A - Method of making alpha can - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 22, 1932. H. SEBELL METHOD OF MAKING A CAN Filed March 13. 1930 .luuem'oa.

T H .w M a BM V/ T m m 6 Patented Nov. 22, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HARRY SEBELL, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR 01E ONE-HALF '10 ARTHUZR H.

PARKER, OF LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS METHOD OF MAKING A CAN Application filed March 13, 1930. Serial No. 435,398.

This invention relates to a method of making a can body with a lock seam joint and has for its object to provide a novel method by which this look seam can be formed and soldered without injuring in any way any finish coating or any lettering or design which may have been applied to the blank before the latter is formed into the shape of the can body.

Many cans or tin containers in which food products or other materials" are put up and sold have a suitable finish coating, such as lacquer, applied to their exterior and many times the exterior of the can or container will have imprinted thereon some wording or some design. This finish coating and the design or the printed matter is frequently applied to the blank before the latter is shaped into the can body and as the heat required in soldering the lock seam joint is apt to injure the lacquer finish it is not an uncommon thing to omit the lacquer finish from the portions of the blank adjacent to the lock seam. This results in a can body in which a vertical band orzone along the seam has no finish applied thereto thus giving the can an unsightly or partially finished appearance.

My invention provides a novel method of making a can body by which a can body with a lock seam joint can be made without injuring or disturbing in any way either the finish coating which may have been applied to the can or any wording or design which may have been imprinted thereon.

In order to give an understanding of the invention I have illustrated in the drawing a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described, after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view illustrating in full lines a blank of sheet metal from which the can body is made and illustrating in dotted lines the 5 blank shaped into the form of the can body;

Fig. 2 illustrates the manner of soldering the lock seam;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a completed can body with part broken out;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view showing the way in which the soldering flux and material is applied.

The type of can body to which this invention particularly relates is illustrated in Fig. 3, it being a can body having a so-called lock seam at its side. Such can body is formed from a blank of sheet metal which is bent into a circular shape, said blank being folded at one end to form the hook portion 2 adapted to engage and interlock with another book portion 3 formed on the opposite end of the blank.

The can body is completed by soldering to gether the hook portions to make a soldered seam.

The blank from which the can body is made is indicated at 4 and the surface there of which constitutes the outer face of the can may be provided with some suitable finish coating, such as lacquer or the like, or may have some wording or design printed thereon. This finish coating and/or printing or design will preferably be applied to the blank while the latter is in a flat shape and before it is formed into the shape of the can body. The finish coating will be applied to the entire portion of the surface of the blank which is exposed on the outside of the can when the can body is made so that when the blank is formed into the can body the entire surface of the can body will be pro vided with the finish coat.

At one end the marginal portion of the blank is bent backwardly to form the hook portion 2 which is located on the side of the lank opposite that which is to form the outer face of the can body. The marginal portion of the blank at the other end is simiv larly bent into a hook shape 3 with the hook portion on the outer face of the blank. 90

In accordance with my invention the exposed face 5 of the hook portion 2 is pro vided with a coating of flux and soldering material 10 indicated by the stipled shading of Fig. 3. This flux and soldering material may be applied either before or after the marginal edge of the blank is folded into the hook formation but preferably after the hook has been formed as the bending of the end of the-blank into the hook form might disturb 1 or injure the soldering material 10 if the latter were applied before the end of the blank was bent into the hook shape. In either event, however, after the blank has been shaped as shown at Fig. l and the fin); and soldering material has been applied, then said blank is bent into the cylindrical shape of the can body and the two hook portions 2 and 3 are interlocked with each other as shown. When this is done this brings the face 5 of the hook portion 2 to which the flux and soldering material 10 has been applied in contact with the inside face 6 of the hook portion 3.

\Vhen the can body has been thus formed then a heated element 7 is placed within the can body in contact with the inner face of the lock seam as shown in Fig. 2 while a cooling or non-heated member 8 is placed in contact with the outside of the can body along the line of the lock seam. The heat of the member 7 fuses the solder material 10 and the lock seam is pressed between the elements 7 and 8 thereby making a tightly soldered joint.

It is intended that the element 8 shall be maintained in. a cool condition during this operation in order to prevent the heat generated during the soldering operation from unduly heating the outer face of the lock seam. The element 8 may be kept cool in any approved way. It is shown as provided with a chamber 9 through which water or other cooling medium may be circulated.

WVith this manner of making the can body it is possible to have the finish coating applied to the portion 11 of the face of the blank which forms the outer face of the can body and which constitutes the outer face of the lock seam, because the cooling element- 8 will maintain its outer surface sutliciently cool so that the lacquer or other finish coat will not be injured by the heat generated during the soldering of the seam.

The above-described method has the further advantage that during the soldering operation the inner wall of the can is kept entirely free from any flux or other soldering material. The soldering material is located between the surfaces 5 and 6 and the interlocking of the hook members 2 and 3 prevents any of the flux or soldering material 10 from getting onto the inner face of the can body.

I claim:

1. The method of making a can body which consists in bending the ends of the blank from which the can body is to be made to form hook portions, one of which is located on one side of the blank and the other of which is located on the other side thereof, applying a soldering flux and a soldering material to the outer face of one hook portion, subsequently, bending the blank into the form of a can body and in so doing giving a concave curvature to the side of the blank on which the hook portion face carrying the soldering flux and soldering material is located, interlocking the hook portions with the hook portion having the soldering flux and soldering material on the outside of the other hook portion, whereby the hook portion face carrying the soldering flux and soldering material is separated from the interior face of the can body by a single thickness of metal and from the outer face of the can body by three thicknesses of metal, applying sufficient heat to the interior face of the can along the same to fuse the soldering material and simultaneously subjecting the outer face of the can body along the seam to a cooling action.

2. The method of making a can body which consists in providing one face of the blank from which the can body is to be made with a finish coating, bending the two ends of the blank to form hook portions, one of which is located on the side of the blank carrying the finish coating and the other of which is on the other side thereof, applying to the outer face of the latter hook portion a flux and soldering material, bending the blank into the form of a can body with the finish coating on the outside, interlocking the hook portions with the hook portion carrying the flux and soldering material on the out side of the other hook portion but with the hook portion face to which the flux and S01- dering material is applied resting against the wall of the can and thus separated from the inner face of the can body by a single thickness of metal, applying suflicient heat to the inner face of the can body along the line of the seam to fuse the solder material and simultaneously subjecting the outer face of the can body along the line of the seam to a sufficient cooling action to prevent the heat of the soldering operation from injuring the finish coating but insuflicient to interfere with the soldering operation.

3. The method of making a can body which consists in providing one entire face of the blank from which the can body is to be made with a finish coating, bending the two ends of the blank to form hook portions, one 0 which is located on the side of the blank carrying the finish coating and the other of which is on the other side thereof, applying to the non-coated .face of the latter hook portion a flux and soldering material, bending the blank into the form of a can body and interlocking the hook portions in such a way that the face of the hook portion earrying the flux and soldering material is separated from the non-coated face of the can body by a single thickness of metal and is separated from the coated face by three thicknesses of metal, applying sufficient heat to the non-coated face of the can body along the line of the seam to fuse the soldering material and simultaneously subjectin the coated face of the can body along the me of the seam to a suflicient cooling action to prevent the heat of the soldering operation from injurin the finish coating but insuificient to inter ere with the soldering operation.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

HARRY SEBELL.

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