Improvements in and in Apparatus for Sealing Cans or other Containing Vessels.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 15th June, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 15th Apr., 1893-Accepted, 10th June, 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and in Apparatus for Sealing Cans or other
Containing Vessels.
We, ROBERT ALEXANDER SLOAN and JOHN EDWARD LLOYD BARNES,
Consulting Engineers, of Castle Chambers, 26 Castle Street, Liverpool in the
County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to sealing cans or other containing vessels and to apparatus
therefor and particularly to sealing cans or containing vessels under a vacuum or
where the pressure in the can or vessel is to be less or greater than that of the
atmosphere.
We will first describe our invention with reference to cans which it is desired to
seal by soldering under a vacuum.
We provide a vessel which we term a receiver capable of withstanding pressure
and sufficiently large to contain one of the cans to be sealed; the receiver
communicates by means of a cock and pipe with an exhausting pump and is closed
by a lid which can be readily opened to admit the cans and closed air-tight. The
receiver is provided with a holder to hold the cans and also with a soldering bit
adapted to be heated by means external to the receiver. Either the soldering bit
or the holder is movable to a limited extent relatively to the receiver so that when
a can is placed in the holder the soldering bit can be applied to the desired part of
the can; the movement of either the bit or the holder as the case may be is
effected by means of a handle external to the receiver, and the joint with the
receiver is air-tight.
The cans
are filled and closed hermetically with the exception of a small
puncture, so located that when the can is placed in the holder the puncture is
adjacent to the soldering bit. The lid of the receiver is now closed and the
interior of the receiver put in communication with the exhausting pump and as
soon as there is a sufficient degree of exhaustion in the can, the puncture is
soldered up by the application of the soldering bit which has been previously
charged with solder. The receiver is now shut off from the exhausting pump, air
admitted, and the can removed.
We prefer generally to keep the soldering bit stationary during soldering and to
make the holder movable, this can be conveniently done by carrying the holder on
the end of a stem of considerable length which passes through a hole in the wall
of the receiver (preferably through the bottom thereof) sufficiently large to permit
the necessary movement, the stem outside the receiver is surrounded by a length of
rubber tubing one end of which is attached to a collar on the stem and the other
end to a boss on the receiver, this admits of the necessary rocking and longitudinal
movement of the stem and holder while preserving an air-tight joint; the outer
end of the stem is provided with a handle and a spring or weight is fitted to
counterbalance the atmospheric pressure. The lid is attached to the receiver by
an adjustable hinge and has a continuous projecting vee ridge which, when the lid
is closed, bears with considerable force on a seating of rubber bedded air-tight in
a groove in the receiver and so makes an air-tight joint between the lid and the
receiver; the necessary pressure may conveniently be applied by the engagement
of a hand lever, hinged to the lid, with a cam surface on the receiver.
The soldering bit is preferably constructed in the form of a tube having one end
closed and the other open and is provided with an external flange adapted to make
an air-tight joint with a suitable facing on the receiver or the lid thereof, the
necessary pressure to make the joint being obtained by a nut and screw.
The

page_text: closed end of the tube has a solid prolongation to which the solder is applied and
which is detachable for the purpose of renewal. We prefer to carry the soldering
bit from the lid, its closed end depending therefrom within the receiver and the
facing on the lid where the external flange makes joint being some distance above
the plane of the lid, and we also prefer to provide the portion of the lid, between
the vee projection and the facing for the flange, with a water jacket.
It will be seen that while the closed end of the soldering bit is within the receiver
the interior of the bit is open to the atmosphere, so that a hot iron or blow-pipe
flame can be introduced therein to heat the bit without interfering with the vacuum
in the receiver. We prefer to use a blow-pipe flame to heat the bit, the air and
gas being led to the closed end and the flame applied as closely as possible to the
prolongation to which the solder is applied; in this way the part heated is remote
from the joint between the soldering bit and the lid and should any heat be
conducted past the joint it is absorbed by the water in the jacket which thus
prevents the rubber, at the joint between the lid and the receiver, being injured by
undue heating. The lid is provided with glass windows so that the operator may
see the can and soldering bit.
Instead of fixing the soldering bit and making the can holder movable the
latter may be fixed and the former movable, in which case the joint between the
soldering bit and the receiver resembles that already described in connection with
the holder.
The soldering bit may be heated electrically in which case its construction may
be modified so as to be more easily adapted to the case in which the soldering bit
is made movable.
When heated electrically the soldering bit may consist of a copper strip which
is heated by the passage of the current and to which the solder is applied; or the
current may pass through a conductor of high resistance and the heat so generated
conducted to the copper bit. Where the copper is heated by the direct passage of
the current through it we prefer to connect the current generator to a transformer
whose secondary is placed close to the copper strip so that waste of heat in the
mains may be avoided.
Where circumstances permit the puncture in the can may be sealed by heating
the portion of the can near the puncture directly by leading the current there-
through by means of electrodes making temporary contact with the tin, a suitable
pellet of solder being previously placed near the puncture.
Suitable gauges are fitted to the receiver and the same cock may be made to
serve either to put the interior of the receiver in communication with the pump or
to open to the atmosphere.
While we have described our invention with reference to sealing cans by soldering,
it is to be understood that our invention is applicable to containing vessels other
than metal in which sealing wax or cement may be used instead of solder for
sealing; our invention is also applicable to glass vessels where the sealing is
effected by fusing the glass.
Where it is desired that the pressure in the can or containing vessel shall be
greater than that of the atmosphere a compression pump is substituted for the
exhausting pump.
Dated this 14th day of June 1892.
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
Castle Chambers, 26, Castle Street, Liverpool,
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and in Apparatus for Sealing Cans or other
Containing Vessels.
We, ROBERT ALEXANDER SLOAN and JOHN EDWARD LLOYD BARNES,
Consulting Engineers, of Castle Chambers, 26 Castle Street, Liverpool, in the
County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
Our invention relates to apparatus for sealing cans or other containing vessels.
under a vacuum or a pressure greater or less than that of the atmosphere, or in
the presence of a gas other than air.
The cans
or the like after being filled are completely sealed up, with the
exception of a small puncture, before being operated upon by our present apparatus,
and the object of the latter is to seal the said puncture under the conditions
stated.
We place the can in a holder within a receiver which can be readily closed air-
tight and which can be wholly or partially exhausted or filled with air or other
gas at any desired pressure, and we effect the sealing by means of a soldering bit
or the like charged with molten solder or other sealing material and heated from
without, either by a gas flame or a hot bar of iron or electrically, either the can
or the bit being movable by a handle which passes air-tight through the receiver,
so that the bit can be applied to the exact spot desired.
In the accompanying drawings which illustrate our invention as applied to
sealing cans by soldering under a vacuum,
Fig. I is a plan, Fig. II a sectional elevation on the line A. A. of Fig. I,
Fig. III is a front elevation and Fig. IV is a sectional elevation of a detail.
Throughout the drawings the same parts are indicated by the same reference
figures, and in the case of Fig. II the direction in which the section is viewed is
indicated by the small arrows adjacent to the letters denoting the plane of section.
1 is a receiver of suitable size and form to receive the largest can to be sealed:
it is firmly bolted down by the feet 2 and closed above by the cover 3 and it
communicates with an exhausting pump by the pipe 4 and cock 5. The cock 5
has two opposite branches 6 and 7 and a single port 8 in its plug, so that the
interior of the receiver can be placed at will either in communication with the
pump or the atmosphere; the object of the perforated plates 9 and 10 is to prevent
dirt being drawn into the apparatus or the pump by the rush of air.
The cover 3 is hinged at the back of the receiver on the bar 11 carried by the
eyebolts 12 which are in turn carried by the brackets 13 cast on the receiver; the
forked hand lever 14 is pivotted to the front of the cover by the bolt 15 and it is
fitted with the adjustable set screw 16 adapted to bear underneath the rigid cam
surface 17 cast on the receiver. The joint between the cover and the receiver
is made by the vee rim 18 which abuts on the rubber ring 19 embedded in a groove
in the top of the receiver; by adjusting the screw 16 and the nuts 20 on the eye-
bolts 12, (which pass through clearance holes in the brackets 13) the height of
the cover relatively to the receiver can be regulated at three points with precision
and a proper and equable pressure between the vee rim and the rubber ring thus
ensured; this adjustment having once been made, it will require no further attention
except to take up wear.
The hand lever has a pair of stops 21 so that when the lever is
swung outwards
clear of the cam surface 17, so freeing the cover, the stops abut against the latter
and the lever then serves to swing the cover back on its hinge so as to give free
access to the receiver. The arrangement shown allows the cover to be opened and
closed air-tight with great facility and this is essential as this has to be done each
time a can is sealed.

page_text: The soldering bit 22 by which the sealing is effected is within the receiver bu
is heated by conduction from without; this bit, which requires to be occasionally
renewed, is detachably secured to the closed lower end of the open topped tube 23
which is preferably of copper on account of its high conductivity for heat. The
tube 23 passes up the tubular portion 24 of the cover and has a flange 25 at its
top which sits in a corresponding recessed seating in 24, and an air-tight joint is
made by inserting an asbestos washer between the flange 25 and its seating and
screwing down the union nut 26.
The copper tube is continuously heated internally by the blow pipe 27 constructed
in the usual manner of an inner tube 34 and an outer tube 35; as the combustion
takes place in a confined space we find it preferable to bring the gas supply through
the inner tube and the air blast through the outer tube. The blow pipe is held at
any desired height in the boss 28 by the pinching screw 29; this boss is cast
integral with the nut 26 and is supported by the arms 30 which allow free escape
for the products of combustion.
The height of the blow pipe is adjusted so as to bring the hottest part of the
flame to bear upon the centre of the bottom of the tube 23 and as this tube, as
well as the soldering bit 22, are both of copper, sufficient heat is conducted to the
point of the latter to melt the solder. The blow pipe is omitted, for the sake of
clearness, from Fig. I.
It is necessary to prevent as far as possible, the conduction of heat to the other
parts of the apparatus, and with this object the tube 23 is made tall so that the
heat may have to travel a considerable distance before reaching the air-tight joint
at the flange 25; the water casing 31 surrounding the part 24 of the cover arrests
any flow of heat down the latter and keeps the lower part of the apparatus cool,
a constant flow of water enters the casing by the inlet 32 and leaves by the
outlet 33. To prevent radiation of heat from the tube 23, the annular space
between it and 24 may be packed with asbestos. The tubular connections to the
gas inlet 34, blast inlet 35, water inlet 32 and water outlet 33 are all made of
rubber tubing to permit of the necessary movement of the cover in opening and
closing the receiver.
36 are circular glass windows, fixed air-tight in the cover by rubber washers
and screwed rings 37, through which the sealing operation can be observed.
38 is a holder having spring arms 39 between which the can 40 to be sealed is
pushed and held with gentle friction. This holder must be adapted to the size
and form of the can so as to hold it with its puncture close below the point of
the soldering bit 22; in order that the apparatus may be adapted to operate upon
cans of different sizes and forms, a series of corresponding holders are provided,
each of which has a tapped boss 41 adapted to screw freely, after the manner of
a lathe chuck on the screwed nose 42 of the handle bar 43.
In order to effect the scaling, the top of the can must be to a small extent
movable horizontally in any direction and also vertically and this is effected by
the handle bar 43 and knob 44 which are shown in Fig. IV; the handle bar passes
quite freely through the hole 45 in the bottom of the receiver which serves as a
fulcrum so far as horizontal movement is concerned and also permits of the
necessary vertical sliding. The handle bar passes through a hole in the bench
upon which the apparatus rests and is carried down sufficiently to bring the knob 44
into a convenient position for the operator; the knob is secured to the square
stem 46 on the cylindrical piece 47 into which the lower end of the handle bar
is screwed and pinned by the pin 48. In order to prevent leakage at the hole 45,
the handle bar is surrounded by the internally wired rubber tube 49 which is
tightly lashed above to the tubular prolongation 50 on the receiver and below to
the piece 47; this tube possesses sufficient elasticity to accommodate itself to the
slight movement of the handle bar. As the pressure of the atmosphere acting on
the area of the cross-section of the tube 49 will tend to force the handle bar into
the apparatus, we counteract this tendency by the spiral spring 51 which may be
attached below to the floor and is connected, under sufficient tension, to the handle

page_text: bar by the bow 52 which is screwed into the piece 47 above the knob 44 so as not
to impede the use of the latter.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-The blow pipe having been lit for a
few minutes to heat the bit, the latter is charged with molten solder, the appro-
priate holder is screwed on to the nose 42, the can, already filled, closed and
punctured as described, is pushed into the holder and the vicinity of the puncture
is moistened with soldering fluid or sprinkled with powdered resin. The cover is
now closed and the cock 5 turned on to the exhausting pipe 4 which should
preferably lead from a reservoir of considerable volume: as soon as the desired
degree of exhaustion within the receiver is attained,-which is indicated by the
vacuum gauge connected to the receiver by the nozzle 53,-the knob 44 is operated
so as to bring the puncture up to the bit 22 and so completely seal the can after
which the cock is turned through half a revolution so as to break the vacuum and
the cover may then be opened and the can removed.
It is clear that the apparatus can be used for sealing with cement instead of
solder; or, if the containing vessel 40 be made of some readily fusible material, it
might be sealed by fusing the material at the puncture and so closing the latter;
it is also clear that the apparatus can be used for sealing vessels under a pressure
greater than that of the atmosphere (in which case the pipe 4 must lead from a
compression pump); or for sealing vessels in presence of a gas other than air, in
which case the said gas must be led into the receiver through an inlet controlled by
a stop cock.
While we have described the bit 22 as stationary and the can holder 39 as
movable, the apparatus might obviously be modified by keeping the can holder
stationary and leading the tube 23 into the receiver after the manner described
with reference to the handle bar 43; the arrangement shown is however preferable,
as the high temperature of the tube 23 would make it difficult to maintain the
connection air-tight, as the rubber tubing corresponding to 49 would be very
liable to injury from the heat. Instead of the arrangement shown for leading the
handle bar 43 into the receiver, a mechanically fitting ball and socket joint might
be used, the necessary end movement being provided for by passing the bar
through a stuffing box in the ball; the device shown is however much cheaper,
less liable to leakage, freer, and has been found in practice to answer admirably.
We have found that an iron heater placed in the tube 23 (the boss 28 and
arms 30 being then dispensed with) answers very well, but the necessity to
frequently change the heaters makes such an arrangement much less convenient
than that with the blow pipe for continuous work.
In cases where electrical energy is available the soldering bit may be heated by
any of the well known methods for electrically heating soldering bits.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is ;-
1. The herein described apparatus for sealing cans which consists of a receiver
having a cover adapted to readily close it air-tight, and having an opening in com-
munication with means for controlling the interior pressure; a depending soldering
bit constructed and heated as described; and a can holder which is operated by a
handle entering the receiver by a flexible air-tight connection whereby relative
movement can be produced between the can, held within the receiver, and the
soldering bit; substantially as described and illustrated.
2. In apparatus for sealing cans and the like; in combination, a receiver having
a cover adapted to readily close it air-tight and having an opening controlled by a
cock through which the receiver communicates either with the atmosphere or a
pump as may be desired; a soldering bit carried from the end of a closed tube
projecting within the receiver and heated internally, while in position, from without
the receiver and carried by the cover of the receiver, which is hinged so that when
the latter is opened the soldering bit is moved out of the way of the cans; and a

page_text: handle entering the receiver by a flexible air-tight connection whereby relative
movement can be produced between a can held in the receiver and the said
soldering bit; substantially as described and illustrated.
3. In apparatus for sealing cans and the like; in combination, a receiver having
a cover adapted to readily close it air-tight and having an opening controlled by a
cock through which the receiver communicates either with the atmosphere or a
pump as may be desired, a soldering bit carried by a closed tube from a tubular
portion 24 of the said cover, which said tubular portion 24 is surrounded by a water
casing to prevent conduction of heat from the soldering bit to the receiver; and a
handle entering the receiver by a flexible air-tight connection whereby relative
movement can be produced between a can held within the receiver and the said
soldering bit; substantially as described and illustrated.
4. In apparatus for sealing cans and the like; in combination with the receiver,
the cover 3, hinged by the pin 11 and eyebolts 12, the fastening and lifting lever 14,
the cam surface 17, and the tube 23 supported by the said cover and carrying the
soldering bit 22; substantially as deseribed and illustrated.
5. In apparatus for sealing cans and the like; in combination with the receiver,
the cover 3, having a vee rim 18 adapted to bear on the rubber ring 19 for making
an air-tight joint, the hand lever 14, the set screw 16 therein, the cam surface 17,
the stops 21 on the hand lever, whereby the latter serves both to fasten and to lift
the cover, the pin 11, the eyebolts 12, and the nuts 20 whereby in conjunction
with the set screw 16, the pressure of the cover on the rubber ring can be
accurately adjusted; substantially as described and illustrated.
6. The device for heating the soldering bit 22 from without the receiver, con-
sisting of the tube 23 to which the bit is detachably secured and which is jointed
above to the cover, the blow pipe 27, and the coupling nut 26 having the boss 28
for carrying the blow-pipe; substantially as described and illustrated.
7. The device for holding and moving the can 40, consisting of the detachable
holder 38 and handle 43 fulcrummed and sliding at 45, and the rubber tube 49
secured above to the tubular prolongation 50 and below to the piece 47; sub-
stantially as described and illustrated.
8. The combination and arrangement of parts forming the improved apparatus
for sealing cans, substantially as described and illustrated in the drawings.
Dated this 14th day of Auril 1802
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
Agents for the Applicants.