IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR SECURING THE ENDS OR TOPS AND BOTTOMS IN METAL BOXES OR CASES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Frederick Lotz, of Barbican, in the City of
London, for an Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR SECURING THE
ENDS OR TOPS AND BOTTOMS IN METAL BOXES OR CASES." A communication
from abroad by Richard Wagner, of Chemnitz, Germany.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Frederick Lotz
"
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th March 1880.
WILLIAM FREDERICK LOTZ, of Barbican, in the City of London. IMPROVED
MACHINERY FOR SECURING THE ENDS OR TOPS AND BOTTOMS IN METAL BOXES
OR CASES." [A communication from abroad by Richard Wagner, of Chemnitz,
Germany.]
3
My Invention relates to machinery for securing, without the employment of
solder, the end pieces or tops and bottoms of boxes or cases made of tin plate or
similar material for containing preserved fruit, meat, vegetables, and other articles
to the bodies of the said boxes or cases in such a manner that the joint or connection
will be air-tight.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I construct a machine which is
provided with two discs, namely, an upper and a lower one, between which the
box or case is fastened before the machine is put into operation.
Before a box-is-placed-in-the-machine-a-flange-is provided around the edge-by-
turning over a portion of the tin forming the body of the box at right angles to
the axis of the same, this flange extending completely around the box. The disc
or blank to form the end either the top or the bottom end is also provided with
a flange by turning down the edge in such a manner that there will be a rim or
flange which projects beyond the extreme edge of the aforesaid flange on the body
of the box. The said end is placed upon the body and the two are held together
by the upper disc, the other end of the box being held by the lower disc, so that
when the box is pressed between the two discs they are all capable of rotating
together, suitable bearing points being provided. Motion is imparted by means of
a handle, upon the shaft of which there is a bevelled gear wheel engaging with
another bevel wheel connected with the upper disc.

page_text: I provide a roller whose periphery has three different forms, making as it were
three rollers in one. The upper portion of the periphery is plane or flat, the central
portion is concave, and the lower portion is bevelled or angular. This roller is
placed within a bifurcated piece or fork which is supported upon a frame. The
said fork has a rod at its upper end, and a projecting piece at its lower end. The
rod fits into a hollow spindle having a coarse screw thread upon its exterior portion.
These threads fit into a female screw or nut provided in a portion of the frame, so
that by operating a handle at the upper part of the spindle the fork, and with it
the aforesaid roller, may be moved vertically, as required. The frame to which the
fork is attached is capable of turning on a rod or spindle fixed in brackets, and
screw nuts are provided whereby the position of the frame may be adjusted
according to the diameter of the box or case.
When a box has been fixed between the discs with the top or bottom piece in
position, as above explained, the aforesaid roller is adjusted to its lowest position
by means of the handle at the top of the spindle; then a chain connected to a foot
lever is tightened, and the box is caused to revolve by operating the handle in
connection with the bevel wheels aforesaid; this causes the roller to revolve, and
the rim or flange on the end piece to be pressed down over the flange on the body
of the box. This operation having been effected the chain is somewhat slackened,
and a spring to which it is attached draws the fork and thus moves the roller away
from the fold that has been made around the box. The roller is now adjusted into
such a position that the lower or bevelled surface thereof will press against the fold,
and the rotation of the parts as before causes the folds formed with the two flanges
to be pressed together; and in order that the lower part of the folded metal shall
not be caused by this pressure to bulge out, a disc is brought into operation whose 2
edge presses the lower part of the fold. After this fold has been made the roller is
again brought into its lowest position, and is then so adjusted that the central or
concave surface thereof presses upon the fold and compresses it still further. This
having been done, the roller is again adjusted, and in such a manner that the upper
or flat face of the roller runs against the fold and completes the union of the end a
piece with the body of the box, a double fold having been made.
In order to ensure a perfectly air-tight connection it is desirable to insert a
packing of chemically pure vegetable paper.
It is not necessary that the aforesaid discs and the bevel wheels should remain
stationary during the fixing of a box, and during the time required by the various 3
adjustments; and the machine may be provided with suitable parts to enable it to
be driven by steam or other power instead of by hand.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Frederick Lotz in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 9th September 1880.
WILLIAM FREDERICK LOTZ, of Barbican, in the City of London. " IMPROVED
MACHINERY FOR SECURING THE ENDS OR TOPS AND BOTTOMS IN METAL BOXES
OR CASES." A communication from abroad by Richard Wagner, of Chemnitz,
Germany.
My Invention relates to machinery for securing without the employment of solder
the end pieces or tops and bottoms of boxes, cases, or cans made of tin-plate or
similar material for containing preserved fruit, meat, vegetables, and other articles,
to the bodies of the said boxes, cases, or cans in such a manner that the joint or
connection will be air tight.
This Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, in which,-
Figure 1 is a front elevation partly in section of my improved machine, and
Figures 2 and 3 are side views of the same.
Figure 4 is a plan of the said machine.
The remaining Figures are hereinafter referred to.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawings.
8
8
A represents the frame of the machine provided with suitable bearings, in which
pins or spindles b, b¹, are free to revolve, the said spindles being situated in the
same vertical plane. These spindles carry the clamping discs 8 and 8¹. Rotary
motion is imparted to the spindle b and disc s from the driving shaft through the
bevel wheels r, r¹. The spindle 61, which supports the disc s³, is so arranged as to
be pressed upwards against the can body by a weighted lever c, when the said can
body is placed between the clamping discs 8, 8', before the machine is put into
operation, and will be thereby caused to revolve with the disc s; d represents a
rod or bar connected with a treadle (not shown), which when depressed raises the
outer end of the weighted lever c and effects a downward movement of the disc &¹
to permit the removal of the box, case, or can. The spindle 6¹ is supported by the
bearing f, which may be screwed up and down or raised and lowered so that can
bodies of different heights may be readily clamped between the discs 8, 8¹. At the
side of the disc & I arrange upon the screw spindle g the roller or wheel e. This
screw spindle may be raised and lowered in the bush or collar i by the handle or
crank h; the said bush being arranged upon the toothed rod or spindle m, which is
supported in a cylindrical bearing or bush on the main frame A; n represents a
lever provided with a toothed segment, which is in gear with the toothed portion
of the spindle m, and is connected by a rod or connection u to a treadle (not
shewn). By these means the lever n when the treadle is depressed causes the
roller e to approach the disc. 8, the said roller being again caused to move away
from the said disc (when pressure is removed from the treadle) by means of a
suitable spring connected with the treadle and to the frame of the machine. To
enable boxes or cans of various diameters to be closed the collar i is fitted with a
capability of sliding on the spindle m. The periphery of the aforesaid roller or
wheel e has three different forms, constituting as it were three rollers in one.
upper portion of the periphery is plane or flat, the central portion is concave, and
the lower portion is bevelled or angular, as shewn in Figures 7 to 14, for the
purposes hereinafter specified. Between the roller or wheel e and the discs is
situated the wheel, disc, or roller 1, which may be moved up and down by the
excentric o and the lever p connected with the crank or handle q. This disc is
supported by and is free to revolve in journals on the support v, and may be
adjusted upon the rod t to or from the disc s to suit cans of different diameters.
To ensure the connection of the top and bottom to the can body in a
The
perfectly

page_text: air tight manner I prefer to employ a packing of chemically pure vegetable paper
or other suitable material, as shewn in Figure 15. This packing however may be
dispensed with, as air tight cans may be produced by my improved machinery
without the employment of such packing.
Before a box is placed in the machine a flange or outwardly flaring lip is provided
around the edge by turning over a portion of the metal forming the body of the
box, as shewn in Figure 6, this flange extending completely around the box. The
disc or blank (see Figure 5) to form the end (either the top or the bottom end) is
also provided with a flange by turning down the edge in such a manner that there
will be a rim or flange, which projects beyond the extreme edge of the aforesaid
flange on the body of the box when placed over the same, as shewn in Figure 7.
The said end is placed upon the body, and the two are held together by the disc e,
the other end of the box being held by the disc a', so that when the box is pressed
between the two discs they are all capable of rotating together.
The operation of the said machine is as follows, that is to say :-
When a paper ring, such as that shewn in Figure 15, has been placed over the
end of the body of the box or can, and the said end has been inserted within the
cover or bottom (Figure 5) of the can, the latter is placed between the clamping
discs 8, 8', with the top or bottom piece in position, as above explained, the disc §¹
being drawn downward a sufficient distance from the disc s by the treadle and
connection d for this purpose. The roller or wheel e is now adjusted to the position
shewn in Figure 7 by means of the handle h. The said roller is through the
treadle and connection u then pressed or forced against the rim of the cover or
bottom of the can, so that when the can body is revolved by means of the pulley k
and bevel wheels r, r, the upper or flat portion of the periphery of the said roller
will press the said rim closely against the outwardly flaring lip of the can body, as
shewn in Figure 8, a single lap joint being thereby formed. When the treadle is
released the aforesaid spring withdraws the roller e from the fold or lap that has
been made around the box. The disc or wheel by means of the crank or handle q
is now brought into the position shewn in Figure 9, that is to say, with its edge
below the single lapped joint, just touching the same on its inner side, and the
rollere by turning the handle or crank h is adjusted into the position also shewn
in Figure 9, that is to say, with its lower or bevelled surface pressing against the
fold. The treadle and connection u being then depressed, and the rotation of the
parts effected as before, the roller presses against the seam of the can and folds it
over, as shewn in Figure 10. The treadle is then again released and the roller e
withdrawn by the aforesaid spring; the disc 7 which during the pressure of the
roller e prevented any bulging out of the lower part of the folded metal is now
withdrawn by turning the crank q. After this fold has been made the roller e is
adjusted into the position shewn in Figure 11, so that the central or concave
surface thereof is opposite the fold, and when the treadle is depressed this surface
presses upon the said fold, as shewn in Figure 12, and compresses it still further.
This having been done the roller is again adjusted to the position shewn in
Figure 13, in such a manner that the upper or flat face of the roller runs against
the fold and completes the union of the end piece with the body of the box, a
double fold or lapping joint being formed, as shewn in Figure 14. The treadle for
operating the connection d is then depressed, thereby lowering the disc s' and
permitting the removal of the can, the above described operations being then
repeated.
It is not necessary that the discs 8, 8', and the bevel wheels r, r³, should remain
stationary during the fixing of a can or box, and during the time occupied by the
various adjustments, and the machine may be provided with suitable parts to
enable it to be driven by hand instead of by steam or other power.
An important feature of my Invention is the capability of securing the ends in
the body of a box, case, or can by a continuous process, that is to say, the improved
machine herein described allows the forming of the double lapped joint by
consecutive operations without taking the box, case, or can out of the machine.

page_text: Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
First. In a machine for securing the ends upon the bodies of sheet metal boxes,
cases, or cans, the combination of the roller e, the disc l, and their adjusting devices,
all so constructed, arranged, and operating as to form a double fold or lapped joint
with or without the paper packing, and without soldering, substantially in the
manner and for the purposes specified.
Second. The roller e and disc l, having the shape or contour above described and
shewn, in combination with the discs 8, 8¹, between which the box, case, or can is
clamped, as above set forth and for the purposes specified.
Third. A machine for securing the ends to the bodies of sheet metal cans, cases,
or boxes, consisting of the parts constructed, combined, and operating as above set
forth and for the purposes specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Frederick Lotz, have hereunto set my
band and seal, this Eighth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
WILLIAM FREDERICK LOTZ. (LS.)
Witness,
HENRY H. LAKE,
8, Southampton Buildings, W.C.