Improvements in Means for Enabling Preserved Provision and the like Cans or Boxes to be Opened, their App.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Feb., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Nov., 1892-Accepted, 31st Dec., 1392
•
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means for Enabling Preserved Provision and the
like Cans or Boxes to be Opened, applicable also for use in
Effecting the Attachment of One of their Ends, and in Apparatus
to be used in connection with such latter purpose.
A communication by GUSTAVE GOBRON, of 184, Avenue Victor Hugo, Paris, in
the Republic of France, Inventor.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON F.C.S., M.1.M.E., of the Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool and 6 Bank Street,
Manchester, both in the County of Lancaster, and 323 High Holborn, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows :-
This invention consists essentially in a mode of easily soldering and opening
metallic boxes for holding preserves, and for other uses, which consists in placing,
in the joint of one of the ends of the box, a strip of iron previously coated with tin
or solder, and in using, in introducing this strip into the joint before mentioned, a
highly heated pressure piece, which causes the tin adhering to the said strip to
melt, and thus performs at a single operation the soldering of the end.
It consists also in an arrangement of a simple apparatus allowing this operation
to be easily performed.
The metallic strip of iron, well coated with solder, is placed in the interstice
between the edges of the drum, or hox, and the end which is to be soldered in and
which will also serve for the easy opening of the box.
The strip is angular in section, or may be of any other suitable form, and one of
its ends projects somewhat upwards, so as to allow of its being gripped by a key,
whereby it can be drawn out from its place in order to allow the end of the drum
or box being easily withdrawn when it is desired to open the box.
In order to cause the tinned strip to penetrate into its proper position, and, at the
same time, to effect the soldering of the end, a special apparatus is employed,
composed of a fixed socket on which a metal collar or cage rests (which may be in
one or more pieces) having the form of the metallic box.
The cage may be formed of two parts connected by a hinge and furnished, at the
opposite side, with lugs, the connecting pin of which may he removed by means of
a hinged lever. The upper edge of this cage is preferably formed of a steel ring,
bored internally in such a way as to exactly fit about the edge of the receptacle
where it adjoins the end to which it is to be soldered.
On the other hand, a block or metallic plug is placed in the middle of the cage
and is arranged on an adjustable plate, the upper part of which receives and holds
the curved over edge of the bottom of the box. In this manner, the edges of the
cylinder or box and of the end are perfectly supported, and cannot be displaced
during the closing operation.
The apparatus being thus arranged, the body of the box and the end are
introduced therein, then the metallic strip previously coated with solder is
introduced into the joint of these two parts, and, by means of a screw or of a lever,
the pressure plate, heated by any suitable means but preferably by means of a gas
jet arranged in the form of a blow-pipe, is caused to descend.
This plate forces the strip to penetrate into the joint, at the same time that its
heat causes the fusion of the tin, and completes thus, at the same time, the soldering
of the bottom.
It must always be noted that, in this arrangement, the pressure plate must have a
of the proiecting portion of the strip, and,
groove allowing of the
пассато

page_text: consequently, the operation must be completed by the addition of a drop of solder,
applied at this point, so that the box may be made completely tight.
It will be seen that, when this system of easily opening and soldering, which has
just been described, is adopted, the filling of the box or can must be effected at the
side or end which it is not intended to open, and this end may be then closed and
soldered by any method suitable for this purpose.
This system of easy opening has very appreciable advantages when compared
with other means which have been proposed for facilitating the opening of such
boxes, and allows of the use of tin for soldering the strip of iron to the box. This
is important from an hygienic point of view, and then the quantity of tin employed
may be very small, which renders the process an economical one.
Finally, the strip of iron being annealed before being coated with tin, is not
liable to be broken when the can or druin is opened.
As regards the key which is employed for this purpose it may be of any suitable
form and its size must be in proportion to the power necessary for rolling up the
strip and drawing it out of the recess in which it rests.
Dated this 24th day of February 1892.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means for Enabling Preserved Provision and the
like Cans or Boxes to be Opened, applicable also for use. in
Effecting the Attachment of One of their Ends, and in Apparatus
to be used in connection with such latter purpose.
A communication by GUSTAVE GOBRON, of 184, Avenue Victor Hugo, Paris, in
the Republic of France, Inventor.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON; F.C.S., M.L.M.E., of the Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street,
Manchester, both in the County of Lancaster, and 323, High Holborn, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object a mode of cheaply and simply arranging, in
boxes for holding preserves and for other uses, the strip of iron which allows of
their being easily opened by means of a key.
It consists essentially in placing this strip of iron in the joint of the lid and the
body of the box, after having previously coated it with tin or solder sufficient to
cause the soldering together of these two parts, and then in applying, to the joint
thus prepared, a highly beated pressure piece which causes the tin adhering, to the
said strip to melt, and thus performs at a single operation the soldering of the lid
and the body.
ו'
This improvement will now be described in detail, reference being made to the
accompanying drawings, on which :-
Figure 1 is a vertical section of the apparatus serving to mechanically solder the
lid of the box.
"
Figure 2 shows, on a larger scale, the position occupied by the wire in the joint
of the box.
Figure 3 is a view in perspective of the wire or strip of metal arranged so as to
be placed in the joint of a round box.
Figure 4 shows a vertical section of another position which the wire may
preferably occupy in the joint of the box.
Figure 5 shows yet another position which the wire may assume in certain cases.
As may be seen clearly on Figures 2 and 4 of the drawings, the metallic strip C
!.

page_text: of iron, well coated with solder, is placed in the interstice between the edges a
and of the drum or box, A, and the end B3 which is to be soldered in and which
will also serve for the easy opening of the box.
The strip C is angular in section, as shown in Figure 2, or may be flat as shown
in Figure 4, or may be of any other suitable form, allowing sufficient surface for
soldering on the metal of the box. The strip C, after having been coated with
solder along all its length, is bent in such a way as to present exactly the form of
the joint into which it is to be placed as shown in Figure 3 in the case of a
circular box, and one of its ends c projects somewhat externally, so as to allow of
its being gripped by a key, whereby it can be drawn out from its place in order
to allow the end B of the drum or box being easily removed when it is desired to
open the box.
In order to effect the soldering of the joint, in which the tinned strip C has been
placed, a highly heated pressure piece is employed, which is caused to descend and
press on the joint in order to press the parts together and cause the solder adhering
to the wire C to melt.
In case the wire C is placed in the joint in the manner shown in Figure 2 of
the drawings, the apparatus is composed, as may be seen from Figure 1, of a metal
cage or collar D, which may be in two or more parts and in the centre of which is
arranged a mandrel I mounted on a plate J, the height of which may be regulated
according to the socket E which supports the cage D. The upper edge of this
cage is preferably formed of a steel ring d, bored internally in such a way as to
exactly fit the recessed part a of the drum A of the box, and the top of the
mandrel is raised in such a way as to receive and sustain the curved over edge b
of the lid B in order that the edges a and b may not get damaged during the
operation of soldering.
The apparatus being thus arranged, the body A. of the box and the end B are
introduced therein, then the metallic strip C, previously coated with solder, is
introduced into the joint of these two parts, and, by means of a screw or of a lever,
the pressure plate K, heated by any suitable means but preferably by means of a
gas jet arranged in the form of a blow-pipe, is caused to descend.
This plate forces the strip to penetrate into the joint, at the same time that its
heat causes the fusion of the tin, and completes thus, at the same time, the soldering
of the lid.
It must always be noted that, in this arrangement, the pressure plate K must
have a groove allowing of the passage of the projecting portion e above named of
the strip, and, consequently, the operation must be completed by the addition
of a drop of solder, applied at this point, so that the box may be made completely
tight.
It will be seen that the result of this system of placing the metallic strip C is
that the operation can only be performed before the filling of the box or can, and.
that this latter must be effected at the side or end which it is not intended to open,
and this end may be then closed and soldered by any method suitable for this
purpose.
In order to avoid this drawback and to allow of the lid being placed in position
and soldered after the box has been filled, it suffices to insert the wire C in the
joint in the manner shown in Figure 4 of the drawings; the finished box is more
elegant, no trace of solder appearing on the outside.
The wire C is then preferably formed of a strip of flat metal, which, after having
been coated with solder and bent to the exact form of the box, is placed in the
joint formed by the juncture of the edges a and b of the cylinder A and of the
lid B respectively; then the box thus prepared is subjected to the action of
the hot pressure plate, the pressure of which causes the parts folded over to come
together, and completes the soldering of the joint. In this case, the apparatus for
soldering by means of the hot pressure plate may be employed without any modifica-
tion being needed, since it has no longer an internal mandrel I, and its upper edge
is provided with a projection d which, fitting under the projection formed by the

page_text: bending in of the lid over the cylinder, serves to support the joint during its
pressure by the hot plate K.
Of course, in this case, as in the preceding ones, the extremities of the wire C
project outside in order to allow of their being gripped by the key.
It will also be understood that, if it be desirable, this key may roll up the
strip C in such a way as to tear open the upper or lateral face of the joint as
shown by the arrows.
Finally, in case it is desired to obtain a double fastening of the lid B on the
body A of the box, the joint may be arranged in the manner shown in Figure 5.
In this case, the edges and of the lid and of the cylinder are first coated with
solder so that, by submitting the joint thus prepared to the action of the hot plate,
a first soldering is obtained between the edges a and b, and a second soldering
between the strip C (inserted in a bend of the joint) and the parts of the lid and of
the body of the box with which it comes in contact.
In all these modifications, this system of easy opening has very appreciable
advantages. First, it allows of the use of pure tin, which is important from a
hygienic point of view; and then the quantity of tin or of solder employed may be
very small, which renders the process an economical one. Finally, the strip of
iron C, being annealed before being coated with tin or solder, is not liable to be
broken when the can or drum is opened.
As regards the key which is employed for this purpose, it may be of any suitable
form, and its size must be in proportion to the power necessary for rolling up the
strip and tearing open the metal of the lid of the can.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, 1 declare that what I claim is :-
In the construction of preserved provision and the like cans or boxes, the insertion,
in the joint of the box-lid, of a metallic strip for effecting the easy opening by
means of a key fitted on the end of the strip which projects to the outside, this
strip, which is partially flat in section, being coated with the solder or tin necessary
for soldering the joint, and this soldering being effected at one operation by means
of a movable pressure plate strongly heated, the pressure of which causes the parts
to come together, and the heat of which causes the solder adhering to the wire to
melt, substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated this 22nd day of November 1892.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.