Year: 1886

page_text: I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, Fel. Inst. P.A. of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool in the County of Lancaster, and
323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer do hereby déclare
the nature of this invention (a communication from abroad by Clarence M.
Symonds of San Francisco in the State of California, in the United States of
America, Gentleman) and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The following is a full, clear and exact description of the invention as com-,
municated to me by my foreign correspondent, which, with the accompanying
drawings, will enable persons skilled in the art to which the invention most nearly
appertains to make and operate the same.
The invention relates to a machine for jointing and seaming tin plate bodies for
cans and other vessels.
The tin plate is bent to the required form, and in one operation of suitable
mechanism the edges of the plate are bent and crimped and interlocked, and the
interlocked edges are compressed into a flat seam.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine.
Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same.
•
Figure 3 is a horizontal section through the inner and outer slides.
Figure 4 is a vertical section through the crimping bit and the anvil.
Figure 5 is a plan view of the crimping bit, looking down.
Figure 6 is a longitudinal elevation of the upper and lower parallel bars,.
showing the upper bar resting on the links and studs.
Figure 7 is the same, showing the upper bar depressed and the studs in the
recesses.
Figure 8 is a vertical section through the crimping bit, showing the position of
the edges of the tin plate in the first operation in jointing and seaming.
Figure 9 is the same, showing the same in the second operation in jointing and
seaming.

page_text: crimping bit.
Figure 12 is a front view of the circular form for holding the can body.
Figure 13 is a side view of the same.
Figure 14 is a view of the square form for holding the can body.
Figure 15 is a side elevation of the power inachine.
Figure 16 is a front elevation of the same.
Referring to Figure 1, A is the body or base of the machine which is mounted
on legs when it is operated by a treadle; or it may rest on any suitable support
when it is to be operated by power. B is a curved arm, having a recess between
them, on each side of the body A, and is cast with it; each arm curves forward and
has a broad bead C formed on their ends, and on the face of this head the slides E
and F are arranged to be moved as hereinafter described.
A standard's projects upward from the centre of each arm.
In the front of the lower part of the body A, and secured to it is an anvil D,
which projects horizontally under the middle of the head C and a short distance
below it Figure 1. This anvil can be constructed of any desired shape, and forms
of different size and shape to conform to the can bodies to be jointed and seamed
can be secured around it in the manner hereinafter shown.
An inner slide E is fitted in suitable guides to move up and down against the
outer side or face of the head C above the anvil D, and this slide has a foot piece a
which extends nearly the length of the anvil. This foot-piece is divided directly
above and about one half of the anvil by a recess, through which the lower end,
which is called the hammer G, of the outer slide F moves. This outer slide is also
arranged in suitable guides to move up and down against the face of the inner
slide E. One side of the hammer G is vertical, and moves against the side of the
recess in the foot-piece a, the lower end is flat, for the purpose of giving the
impact to the crimping edges of the tin plate and to flatten them down upon
the anvil, after they have been bent into the proper interlocking position.
On one side of the middle line of the anvil D and extending lengthwise through
its upper part is a channel b, in which two parallel bars placed one above the
other, äre arranged to move. A rod connected with the lower bar H extends back
through the recess in the body between the arms B, and has a slot c with a friction
roller at its rear end. A bar d passes through this slot and bears against a
shoulder on the rod of the lower bar H, and has a beveled shoulder e which works.
against the friction roller on the outer edge of the slot c when the bar is forced
down and draws the bar backward in a longitudinal direction. A spiral spring f
is coiled round the rod connected with the lower bar Hin a chamber between the
arm B, and a pin g in front of the spiral spring causes it to contract when the
bar d is drawn back by the beveled shoulder c. When the bar & moves upward
so as to free this beveled shoulder from the friction roller on the outer edge of
the slot c the spiral spring f will-force the bar d to its first position.
The upper bar I extends only. the length of the anvil and has a thin blade h on
one edge projecting upward. A steel die-plate J is sunk in the upper face of the
anvil on each side of the channel b: the die plate on one side extends to the edge
of the channel and has a rabbet b¹ in its upper part to the depth and width of the
seam to be made on the can-body, while the die plate on the opposite side extends
partly across the channel, thus leaving a narrow space or slit between the edges of
the die-plates through which the blade h of the upper bar I is projected when the
said bar is forced upward against the under side of the die-plates. On the upper
side of the lower bar H are two or more short studs i, and in the under side of the
upper bar Iare corresponding recesses i baving. their front sides beveled, Figure 1.
The parallel bars H I are connected by two or more free working links K, which,
when the bar H is drawn backward, serve to draw the bar I downward, by which

page_text: action the studs i enter the recesses ¹, and thus allow the bar I to be depressed
sufficiently to carry the blade h below the face of the anvil. When the upper bar I
is thus drawn downward the blade his depressed below the face of the anvil; but
when the lower bar H is thrown forward by the spiral spring f, by the withdrawal
of the beveled shoulder e from the slot c,,the links K, supplemented by the action
of the studs moving against the beveled sides of the recesses 2, will force the
upper bar I to its first position resting on the studs i and project the blade h
upward again.
:
On each side of the centre of the face of the anvil are secured two or more
combined spring gauge bars j, j¹, in such a manner that they can be depressed
until their upper edge is level with the anvil face. The gauge bars 1 on the right
of the central slit in the anvil are shorter than the gauge bars; on the left, and
the tops of both sets of gauge bars incline downward from a level with the top of
the blade h.
L is a plate which is secured in suitable guides under the foot piece a of the
inner slide E so that it can be adjusted toward or from the hammer G of the outer
slide F by means of set screws k, Figures 2, 3. This plate has an arm 7 projecting
horizontally from each end across the recess in the foot piece a, and in the ends of
these arms are journaled the ends of the crimping bit M, Figure 5. This crimping
bit hangs eccentrically upon its journals at each end so that it stands in the recess
in the foot-piece a alongside the hammer G, and extends the full length of the
hammer. By suspending the crimping bit in this manner it is made to move
downward against the anvil when it is pressed toward the vertical side of the
recess in the foot-piece a; and in returning from the side of said recess it rises
from the anvil, thus describing an evolute curve with reference to its centre,
Figure 10.
The back of this crimping bit is rounded and its lower edge is comparatively
sharp. At each end of this bit and near the upper edge there is a stud m with a
friction roller which presses against the inclined face of the hammer G. A spring
bolt n is secured in a socket in the plate L so as to press against the back of the
crimping bit just above its centre, by which the friction rollers in the studs m are
kept close against the inclined sides of the hammer. Spring gauge bars j³ are.
pivoted on the crimping bit, as shown in Figures 3, 4, 5, which serve as stops and
prevent the edges of the tin plate from slipping over.
On the inclined side of the hammer G, at each end, is provided a track opposite.
each of the studs m, over which the friction rollers travel as the hammer moves up
and down. This track is perpendicular until it nearly reaches the top of the
hammer, at which point it bulges sharply and forms the projection o above which.
it curves into a shoulder p.
The slides E, F act simultaneously in the first part of their downward movement,
and until the inner slide E nearly rests upon the anvil, then the outer slide F has
an independent downward movement so as to carry its hammer end G down upon
the anvil. This action is accomplished by two levers; a main lever N
passes
through the recess between the arms B of the body A of the machine and has its
fulcrum at q, while its forward end passes through a vertical slot in the head C,
and also through a similar slot in the top of the inner slide E and is attached to
the outer slide F which it moves. A short lever has its fulcrum r in the
standards 8 on the top of the arms B, the forward end of this lever impinges upon
a block P which is secured to the upper end of slide E, while its rear end has a
rollert which is pressed upward by a cam projection u on the main lever N when
that lever moves upward. These levers are so arranged that as long as the
cam projection on the lever N presses upward on the lever O both move
simultaneously, but when the roller ton lever O leaves the upper face of the cam
projection u, lever O becomes stationary and with an even pressure caused by the
roller bearing on the convex surface of the cam projection u, while the lever N
continues it
its movement.

page_text: On the front of the block P there is a projection v through which a set screw w
passes. This screw presses upon the head of the outer slide F, while both the
inner and outer slides move together, and it serves also to keep the slide E from
falling by its own weight away from the front end of the lever O and to lift said
slide on the return movement of slide F. Two other set screws x on the top of
block P serve to arrest the downward movement of slide E just before its foot
piece a strikes the face of the anvil so that it will not rest upon the tin plate and
prevent its yielding under the stroke of the hammer.
The cam projection u on the main lever N is adjusted by set screws u¹, as is
also the roller t by a set screw t', by which means the stroke and pressure on the
inner slide E can be regulated.
When the machine is operated by a treadle the rear end of the main lever N is
connected with a treadle Q by means of a pitman R, and the bar d, which moves
in the slot c in the rod of the lower bar H, is attached to the connecting rod d².
In this manner of operation, a weighty is attached on the end of the main lever N
by which the said lever is depressed after each operation of jointing and seaming,
Figure 1.
When the machine is operated by power the arrangement may be as shown in
Figures 15, 16, in which S is the driving pulley, T the cams on the shaft, U the
eccentric, and V the lever. The connecting bar d is connected therewith and with
the mechanism of the machine.
In jointing and seaming a can body the operation of the machine is as follows:-
the tin plate having been properly bent is slipped over the form on the anvil until.
it strikes the gauge bars j', which serve as stops. The ends of the tin plate will
then overlap and rest upon the combined spring gauge bars j, j, that is to say, the
end of the tin plate which rests upon the short gauge bars j' will pass over and its
edge will rest. upon the blade h and against the gauge bars, while the opposite
end of the tin plate overlaps the other and rests against the gauge bars j³, as shown
in Figure 8. The treadle is then depressed which causes the slides E F to move
simultaneously downward until the foot piece a of slide E nearly rests upon the
anvil, the set screws x serving to stop the downward motion of slide E and its
foot-piece a just before contact is made with the anvil. During this movement of
the slides E, F, which will be characterized as the first part of the operation, the
lower edge of the crimping bit M and the shoulder of the foot piece a press
the edges of the tin plate down on each side of the blade h and bend them to the
interlocking position, Figure 8.
At this stage of the operation the inner slide E is down as far as it can go and
rests upon the set screws x, and is kept there with a steady pressure by the action
of the roller t passing over the convex surface of the cam. projection on the
lever N. The upward movement of this lever continues, which action causes the
outer slide F to move downward and carry its hammer G. toward the anvil. While
the friction rollers on the studs m of the crimping bit M are traversing their tracks
between the lower end of, the hammer and its beveled enlargement o the crimping.
bit remains stationary; but during this interval the shoulder e of the bar'd, which
works through the slot c in the rod of the lower bar H, acts upon said slot and
draws the lower bar H back, causing the upper bar I to be drawn, down,, carrying
its blade through the narrow slit in the anvil and leaving, the face of the
anvil clear. The continuous downward movement of the hammer G causes its
enlargement o to force the upper end of the crimping bit M quickly outward as
the studs.m ride over said enlargement. This movement causes the lower edge of
the crimping bit to swing into the rabbet b¹ on the anvil and to compress the
standing interlocked edges of the tin plate across the space occupied by the blade
before its withdrawal. The compression of the tin plate takes place near the top
of the anvil, and the standing interlocked edges are thereby forced into an inclined
position under the hammer,, as shown in Figure 9.
The friction rollers on the studs m then ride over the shoulder p above the
enlargement o and the spring bolt n presses the upper edge of the crimping bit M

page_text: inward, thus carrying its lower edge out from under the hammer and raising it
from the anvil by its eccentric motion. The hammer then moves down upon the
inclined edges of the tin plate, and the blow flattens them down in the rabbet b¹,
and completes the operation of jointing and seaming a tin can body, Figure 10.
This operation is completed by a simple movement of the lever, the several stages
described being accomplished successively as the lever is depressed.
In preparing to seam can bodies on this machine it is necessary that the tin
plate should fit to the anvil block in order that the edges may be held in the
proper position to each other, this is accomplished by providing separate forms,
both circular and square, Figures 12, 14 for each size of can body. The form is
made by bending sheet metal in a circular or square shape, and it is secured to the
body A of the machine so that it nearly surrounds the anvil, leaving the face free.
In seaming circular can bodies, a spring pad Y is provided, Figures 12, 13, on one
side of the circular form, which prevents the can body from being held too close to
the form by the drawing in of the seam, and permits the can body to be easily
withdrawn from the form.
Referring to Figure 11, a modification z¹ is shown, of the combined spring
gauge bars j, j, secured in the anvil on each side of the channel b; and also, in the
same Figure, a modification 2 of the pivoted gauge bars 7 secured in the crimping
bit M. In both cases the purpose and action of the modified gauge bars are similar
to the description hereinbefore given.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A machine for jointing and seaming tin can bodies and operated by treadle
or power, consisting of the body A having curved arms B with a vertical head C,.
vertically moving slides, E, F, and anvil D projecting horizontally from said body.
and secured to it, and having suitable devices for bending, crimping, interlocking
and flattening the edges of tin plate into a close union seat, substantially as
described and set forth.
2. In a machine for jointing and seaming tin can bodies, the anvil D having a
blade arranged to be projected upward through a central slit in its face which
extends through its length, and provided with two or more combined spring gauge
bars on each side of said slit, in combination with the inner slide E having a
recessed foot-piece a, an adjustable plate L having arms and set screws k, an
eccentrically suspended crimping bit M, and the outer slide F having a hammer G,
substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.
3. In a machine for jointing and seaming tin can bodies, the combination of the
body A having an horizontally projecting anvil D in which a blade his arranged
to be automatically projected upward through a slit in its face and then with-
drawn, with the inner slide E. having a recessed foot piece a extending parallel
with the anvil, and carrying in said recess a crimping bit M, and a vertically moving
hammer G arranged to move down and flatten the edges of the tin plate, as described
and set forth.
4. In a machine for jointing and seaming tin can bodies, the combination of the
horizontal anvil D having a blade arranged to project upward through a longi-
tudinal slit in its face and provided with mechanism for withdrawing said blade
below the face of the anvil with the vertically moving recessed foot piece a which
carries the crimping bit M and the hammer G, said hammer being arranged to
move down upon the anvil after said foot piece and crimping bit have completed
their action, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.
5. In a machine for jointing and seaming tin can bodies, the combination of the
anvil D having a channel b extending through it longitudinally, on each side
of which is sunk a die-plate J. in such a manner as to leave a narrow slit between
their edges one of said die-plates having a rabbet b¹ on its edge in which the seam
of the can body is formed, the said charme having arranged therein a bar I having

page_text: recesses on its under side and provided with a blade h so arranged that it will
project through said slit, with suitable mechanism for raising and lowering said
bar I so as to alternately project its blade above and withdraw it below the face of
the anvil, in the manner described and set forth.
6. In a machine for jointing and seaming tin can bodies, the combination of the
anvil D provided with the die plate J and the intermediate slit, and having the
upper bar with its blade h, and recesses i arranged in the channel b, with
the parallel longitudinally moving lower bar H connected with the bar I by
links K and having studs i, the said bar H extending through channel b and
connecting with a rod having a slot c with a friction roller at its rear end, a bar d
having a beveled shoulder e passing through said slot c, and a spiral spring of coiled
round said rod of bar H and a pin g in front of said spring, substantially as
described and for the purpose set forth.
7. In a machine for jointing and seaming tin can bodies, the combination of
anvil D having a blade h arranged to be projected above its face and die-plates J
and the intermediate slit, with two or more inclined combined spring gauge bars
arranged on each side of said slit, the long bars j being placed on one side and the
short bars on the opposite side, to serve as guides and stops for the edges of the
tin plate and to hold them in the proper position with reference to the blade h, as
described and set forth.
8. In a machine for jointing and seaming tin can bodies, having a horizontal
anvil D provided with a blade arranged to be projected through a slit in its face
and a recessed foot piece a arranged to move downward, an adjustable plate L
having a spring bolt n in a socket and arms in which is journaled eccentrically,
the crimping bit M, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.
9. In a machine for jointing and seaming tin can bodies, the crimping bit M
journaled in the arm of plate L and mounted in the recess of foot piece a of the
inner slide E and having gauge bars 2 pivoted thereon, or pins or bars 2 in a
socket therein, Figure 11, to stop the edge of the tin plate, and provided with
studs m having friction rollers near its upper edge on one side, and pressed forward
by a spring bolt n above its centre on the opposite side, in combination with the
vertically moving hammer G which is provided with tracks having a projection o
and a shoulder p on which the friction rollers on the studs m travel, by means of
which the crimping bit is moved to crimp the interlocked edges of the tin plate
and withdrawn in time for the stroke of the hammer, substantially as described
and set forth.
10. In a machine for jointing and seaming tin can bodies, the outer slide F which
is moved by the main lever N which passes through a vertical slot in the head of
said slide, in combination with the inner slide E which is moved by the lever Ọ by
means of the adjustable cam projection on the lever N acting on the roller t on
the rear end of said lever O, the block P and its projection v, and the set screws
which act on the head of said slide E, substantially as described and for the
purpose set forth.
11. In a machine for jointing and seaming tin can bodies, the circular form W
having a pad Y on one side, and the square form X, each said form being slipped
over the anvil D and secured to it, for the purpose of forming and holding the tin
plate, substantially as described and set forth.
Doted this 15th day of Wash 100R