Improvements in Metal Cans and Canisters to Facilitate their Opening.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Aug., 1895-Accepted, 19th Oct.,
1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Metal Cans and Canisters to Facilitate their
Opening.
We,
SUMMERS BROWN, of No. 158 Pitt Street, in the City of Sydney and
Colony of New South Wales, Merchant, and FRANK KERBY, of No. 107 George
Street, in the said city, Baker, do hereby declare that the nature of our invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to certain improvements in metal cans and canisters to
facilitate their opening it being understood that such cans and canisters are
hermetically soldered or otherwise sealed. Many methods and devices have hitherto
been proposed for the automatic opening of such hermetically sealed cans hence
called "self-opening cans" but none of these proposals have been so simple in
method effective in operation and cheap in cost as is possible by these present
improvements.
These improvements in metal cans and canisters to facilitate their opening consist
in the combination and arrangement with an ordinary can or canister of an ordinary
outside flanged lid or cover in a novel manner namely with a space between the top
of the can or canister and the underside of the said lid or cover and soldering said
lid or cover to said can or canister at the edge of said lid flange. Preferably the
edge of the outside flange of the lid or cover is made chisel-pointed or a cutting edge
or as near as may be chisel-pointed or a cutting edge. For the opening of the can
or canister it is only necessary to force the lid or cover downward on to the top
edge of the can or canister say by one or more blows. The movement of the lid or
cover causes the edge thereof to act as a chisel plane or scraper and cut away plane
or scrape the joining solder of the can and cover so as to break joint and free said
cover so that it may then be used as an ordinary unsealed lid or cover of the said
can or canister.
But in order that this invention may be clearly understood reference will now be
made to the drawings herewith in which Figure 1 is elevation partly in section of
the top of a can or canister with lid or cover thereon according to these improve-
ments ready for opening Figure 2 is similar view of the same tin ready for the lid
or cover to be removed and Figure 3 a similar view with the lid or cover removed.
Figures 4 and 5 are partial sectional elevations of modified constructions of cans or
canisters the former having the top of the tin strengthened or reinforced and the
latter having the lid or cover strengthened or reinforced.
The can or canister A has preferably a bulging or slight cylindrical enlarge-
ment A¹ over which the lid or cover B having outside flange B' just easily fits.
The lower edge on this flange B¹ has preferably a sharpened or cutting edge B*.
At the points or line where the edge B2 touches the enlargement A' the solder A³
is laid on in any well-known manner the cans A being held or sitting in a frame
which has a distance piece against which said edge B pushes or rests. There is
thus left space C between the top edge A' of the can or canister and the underface B
of the lid or cover. It will be found that a can and cover thus fastened will sustain
a very considerable weight upon it. When however weight is suddenly applied in
the form of a blow or blows the lid or cover B is driven downward as shown in
Figure 2 until face B takes on edge A³ when it will be found that the edge B' has
cut away or planed or scraped the solder A' and completely released the joint so
that the lid B may be removed from the can as shewn in Figures 3.

page_text: In Figure 4 the strength of the can A is reinforced by a turnover of the top edge
so that the solder A' is applied to the two edges B and A' but in all other respects
the can and cover are the same as that described in reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3.
In Figure 5 the strength of the cover or lid is reinforced by a supplementary
ring B and this strengthened lid might be used on a can of the construction shown
in Figure 4 though it is shown on one similar to that shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3
and in all other respects the combination and arrangement of the can and cover are
the same.
Though the best arrangement for carrying out this invention is herein described
yet it is clearly to be seen that the value of the same would be retained if such
arrangement was not strictly adhered to for instance though the bulging or enlarge-
ment of the head of the can is a great advantage yet it may not be an essential and
the same may be stated in respect to the edge of the flange of the lid which
preferably is chisel-pointed but would also serve with advantage if it were not so
chisel-pointed.
Though the drawing illustrates this invention as applied to circular cans it may
equally as well be applied to cans of any other shape and of any size.
Having now particularly described and explained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is
First. The combination and arrangement with a can or canister of a lid or cover
soldered at the edge of its outside flange to said can or canister and having its top
more or less away from the top of said can or canister and having its said edge of
its outside flange adapted to cut away plane or scrape the jointing solder or seal
between scan or canister and said lid or cover to release the latter substantially
as herein described and explained.
Second. The combination and arrangement with a can or canister such as A
having a bulging or enlargement such as A¹ of a lid or cover such as B having a
flange such as B₁ and chisel head such as B' and a ring of solder such as A holding
the underface such as B³ from the top edge such as A' substantially as herein
described and explained and as illustrated in the drawing.
Third. A hermetically sealed can or canister adapted to be opened by the cutting
away planing or scraping of the soldered joint between it and the flange of an
outside lid or cover by movement of the edge of said flange substantially as herein
described and explained.
Dated at Sydney, in the Colony of New South Wales, this Twenty-first day of
June One thousand eight hundred and ninety-five.
Witness―
FRED WALSH.
SUMMERS BROWN.
FRANK KERBY.