Improvements in Cans, Boxes, and like Receptacles.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Jan., 1898-Accepted, 4th June, 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Cans, Boxes, and like Receptacles.
We, BENJAMIN W. MORFOOT, Machinist, residing at No. 33, Selden Street, and
AUGUST J. STEPINA, Clerk, residing at No. 1145, West Thirteenth Street, both in
the City of Chicago, State of Illinois, United States of America, 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:-
This invention relates to a novel construction in a can head of the class known
as key opening, the object being to provide a device of this kind which can be
made in a single operation of the dies, which will not require more metal than the
ordinary can head now in general use, which can be soldered to the can body in the
soldering machines now in general use, and which can be easily opened by means
of a simple key without the exercise of undue strength, and consists in the features
of construction and combinations of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed.
In the accompanying drawings illustrating this invention:
Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a can head made in accordance with this invention.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a can provided with a head made in accordance
with this invention and showing a key secured to the tongue on said head by means
of which said head is ripped to open said can.
Fig. 3 is a sectional view of said head on an enlarged scale taken on the
line 3-3 of Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a modified form of can head which is provided with
two tongues either of which may be used in case the other breaks off.
Fig. 5 is a detail view in elevation of another form of key which may be used to
rip a can head.
One feature of this invention consists in weakening the metal in the can head
along certain lines, to enable it to be easily ripped along such lines to open
the can.
Another feature of this invention consists in so arranging said weakened lines
that in one or more parts of said head they turn outwardly toward the periphery
thereof and in extending the metal between such weakened lines beyond such
periphery to form a tongue or tongues which may be engaged by a key.
Another feature of this invention consists in so arranging said weakened lines
as to cause the metal strip between the same, of which such tongue or tongues form
a part, to coil themselves evenly upon the key as the same is turned to rip said-head
along said weakened lines.
Another feature of this invention consists in so arranging the tongue on said
head as to enable it to be cut out of such part of the metal sheet as is otherwise
wasted.
Referring now to said drawings, A indicates a can head made in accordance
with this invention which consists of a disc 1 provided with a peripheral flange 2
and an outward extension or tongue 3 on said flange 2.
The entire can head is cut out of a sheet of metal, and before bending the flange,
this cut out portion would form what is termed the cover sheet." It is not
"

page_text: essential that such sheet should be flanged, though in ordinary manufacture it is
preferable.
Weakened lines 4 and 5 are formed in said flange 2 and disk 1 which begin
at the points where the edges of said tongue 3 meet the edge of said peripheral
flange 2 and extend transversely across said flange 2 and thence around said disk 1
in the manner hereinafter described.
Said weakened line 4 extends spirally inwardly on said disk 1 away from the
edge thereof in a sharp curve 6 about ninety degrees in extent and curves thence
very slightly in the opposite direction spirally toward the outer edge of said disk 1,
as shown at 7, and when it reaches the point 8 continues annularly around said
head, that is, parallel or concentric with the flange 2, and adjacent the same
until it meets the weakened line 5 at the point where the same first enters upon
the disk 1.. Said weakened line 5 extends around said disk 1 parallel with said
line 4 so as to leave a removable strip of metal inwardly of said line 4 and between
the latter and the line 5, of which strip said tongue 3 forms a continuation. Said
line 5 continues around said head until it reaches a point adjacent the portion 6°
thereof which is parallel with said portion 6 of said line 4 so as to leave a small
portion 9 of unweakened metal between said end of said line and the portion 6ª
thereof which will prevent the central portion 10 of said head from becoming
entirely separated from said removable strip, as will be obvious, thus causing said
portion 10 to be removed with said removable strip.
In removing said strip it will be obvious that the fracture along the line 4
will be complete owing to the fact that said line meets the line 5, thus separating
the entire disk 1 from its flange 2, except the small portion between the portions 6
and 7 of the line 4 and the flange 2, so as to lay open the entire top of the can.
The weakened lines 4 and 5 are formed by cutting into the metal as shown at 11
in Fig. 3, so that along such lines the metal is thinner and consequently weaker
than at other points, and is casily fractured or ripped.
By means of my method of arranging the weakened lines so as to extend around
said cover only in curves of considerable radius, thus avoiding sharp turns, the
transverse tearing of the removable strip is entirely obviated and the latter is
caused to wind upon a limited portion of the key, thereby preventing contact of the
fingers with the sharp edges of the strip.
In cutting ordinary cover sheets from large sheets of metal small quadrangular
areas of the latter must obviously remain untouched, and these areas form waste
metal. By means of the projecting tongue of my cover sheet, these waste portions
are almost entirely used up as the portion of the die adapted to cut the tongue is
directed so as to cut into these waste portions. Thus the little additional metal
required in the formation of my device does not add to the cost of production.
In Figure 4 a modified form of construction of this can head is shown in which
two of said tongues 3 are provided and in which, consequently, the weakened
lines 4 and 5 are differently arranged. In this construction the said weakened
line 4 has a curved portion 6 and spiral portion 7 at each end and does not meet
said line 5, while the latter is also parallel with said line 4 at both ends, the said
ends running off said disk 1 at points a short distance apart so as to leave a space of
unweakened metal between the ends of said line which corresponds to the space
shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The advantage of having two tongues is that if one of
them should break off the other can be used. In cases where only one tongue is
employed, if that should break off it would be necessary to employ a different
tool in order to open the can.
9
In said Fig. 2 a key 12 is shown secured to the tongue. Said key 12 is provided
with one or more slots 13 which are adapted to receive the tongue 3 and by turning
said key, wind said tongue around the same as shown. By continuing to turn said
key 12 it will be obvious that the tongue 3 will be completely wound upon the same
and thereafter the strip, of which said tongue forms a part, and while being wound
upon said key will be ripped from said head.

page_text: In Fig. 5 another form of key is shown which is formed by bending the end 14
over so as to bring it parallel with the shank having a small space 15 between said
end and said shank to receive said tongue 3.
A can head made in accordance with this invention is obviously just as cheap as
the ordinary heads now generally used and besides this, has the advantage of
requiring no extra operations to make it complete as is the case with other can
heads of this character. It also has the advantage that it can be soldered to the
can body in machines used for soldering the ordinary can heads thereto.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is―
1. A sheet metal can having a flanged sheet metal cover provided with an
annular detachable strip in its flat or plane portion, and bordered by weakened
lines, said strip being deflected outwardly across the flange, terminating in a
tongue which projects at the side of the can body.
2. In a metal can box or receptacle, a cover having a removable or semi-detached
strip terminating in a tongue portion projecting beyond the edge of the cover
sheet, said removable strip being formed by weakening lines cut into the cover
sheet, the whole being made from a single piece of metal.
3. A metal can, box or receptacle cover provided with an annular detachable
strip which deflects laterally and terminates at one end in a tongue which projects
beyond the edge of the cover sheet.
4. A metal can, box or receptacle cover provided with an annular detachable
strip defined by weakening lines running one to the other, but not crossing the
strip.
5. A cover for a metallic can, box, or receptacle, provided with a detachable
strip, part of which is annular and part of which is spiral, and which terminates
in a tongue projecting beyond the edge of the cover sheet.
6. A cover for a metallic can, box or receptacle, provided with a detachable strip
bordered by weakened lines, part of said strip being annular and part being spiral,
and which terminates in a tongue projecting beyond the edge of the cover sheet.
7. A cover for a metallic can, box or receptacle, provided with a detachable strip
bordered by weakened lines one of which follows the flange of the cover partially
around the latter and turns spirally therefrom and thence crosses said flange, said
strip terminating in a tongue projecting beyond the edge of said flange.
8. A cover for a metallic can, box or receptacle, provided in its flat or plane face
with a detachable strip adjacent the flange of said cover, a portion of said strip
being parallel with said flange and a portion thereof extending spirally inwardly
therefrom and thence turning outwardly to extend laterally across said flange, and
terminating in a tongue projecting beyond the edge of said flange.
9. A cover for a metallic can, box or receptacle, provided in its flat or plane face
with a detachable strip bordered by weakened lines of which the one nearest the
edge of the cover sheet extends around and runs into a transverse portion of the
innermost line, and said innermost line terminating at a point adjacent said
transverse portion thereof, whereby a portion of unweakened metal is left between
the transverse portion and the adjacent end of said innermost line.
10. A cover for a metallic can, box or receptacle, provided with a detachable
strip bordered by parallel weakened lines and terminating in a tongue projecting
beyond the edge of the cover sheet, said lines being partially parallel with the edge
of said cover sheet and extending partially transversely thereto and terminating at
the edge of the cover sheet, the other end of the outermost of said lines running to
the transverse portion of the innermost line, and said innermost line terminating
at a point adjacent the transverse portion thereof so as to leave a portion of un-
weakened metal between the point of termination of said line and the transverse
portion thereof.
11. A cover for a metallic can, box or receptacle, provided with a peripheral

page_text: flange, a detachable strip in said cover extending transversely across said flange
and laterally partially over the flat or plane face of said cover and thence turning
spirally outwardly so that its outer edge follows the flange of said cover completely
around said cover to a point adjacent the lateral portion of said strip and there
terminating.
12. A cover for a metallic can, box or receptacle, provided with a peripheral
flange, a detachable strip in said cover having a tongue projecting beyond the
edge of said peripheral flange, said strip extending transversely across said flange
and laterally partially across the flat or plane portion of said cover and turning
thence spirally outwardly until the outermost edge of said strip comes adjacent the
edge of said flat face of said cover whence it follows said edge around said cover
and terminates adjacent the lateral portion of said strip.
13. A cover for a metallic can, box or receptacle, provided with a peripheral
flange, a detachable strip in said cover bordered by weakened lines having a tongue
projecting beyond the edge of said peripheral flange, said strip extending trans-
versely across said flange and laterally partially across the flat or plane portion of
said cover and turning thence spirally outwardly until the outermost edge of said
strip comes adjacent the edge of said flat face of said cover whence it follows said
edge around said cover and terminates adjacent the lateral portion of said strip.
14. A cover for a metallic can, box or receptacle, provided with a detachable
strip projecting beyond the edge of the cover sheet, said detachable strip being
partially parallel with the edge of said cover sheet, partially spiral, and partially
lateral with relation thereto.
15. A cover for a metallic can, box or receptacle, provided with a detachable
strip projecting beyond the edge of the cover sheet, and bordered by weakened
lines, said detachable strip being partially parallel with the edge of said cover sheet,
partially spiral, and partially lateral with relation thereto.
T
31541
of Danauhan
D 1807
BENJAMIN W. MORFOOT.
AUGUST J. STEPINA,
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for 'the Applicants.