IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING AND CLOSING METALLIC COLLAPSABLE VESSELS
Year: 1842

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
RAND, of Howland Street, in the County of Middlesex, Artist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-ninth day of September, in the sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Rand, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said John Rand, my exors, adñññors, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said John Rand, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING AND CLOSING METALLIC COLLAPSABLE
VESSELS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said
John Rand, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in
Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Rand, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had

page_text: to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say:
My Invention relates, first, to a mode of forming collapsable metal vessels
of metal tin and other metals sufficiently malleable to be operated on by the
process of sinking the same into the depth of vessel desired; and,
Secondly, my Invention relates to a mode of constructing the caps and
nozels used in closing such metal collapsable vessels. And in order that my
Invention may be most fully understood and readily carried into effect, I will
proceed to describe the Drawing hereunto annexed, first remarking that
collapsable vessels have heretofore been made of drawn tubes of metal tin,
and their principle use has been for containing artists' colors; they have,
however, been and are used for other purposes, as described in the Specifica-
tion of my former Patent. And the uses and application of vessels made of
thin metal tin, or other soft metal, are daily extending. And the objects of
my present Invention are to facilitate the making of thin metal vessels which
may readily be collapsed when it is desired to force out the contents of such
vessels when such contents are of a fluid or semi-fluid consistency. But such
use of thin metal vessels is not the only one to which vessels so formed may
be applied. I do not, therefore, confine the application to the receiving of
fluid or semi-fluid matters, the present Invention not being for the application
of such thin and readily collapsable vessels to any particular purposes, but to
make thin metal vessels, which are readily collapsable, for whatever purpose
they now he applied
portions of metal and slightly sinking the same preparatory to the forming the
same into thin metal vessels, which may be readily collapsed.
Figure 2 is the punch or upper die, which is so formed as to first sink the
metal before cutting it, the punch or upper die having a spike or point affixed
therein in order to puncture the sheet metal.
Figure 3 shews a section and plan of a piece of metal, tin, or other soft
metal cut and sunk by the dies Figures 1 and 2. a is a part of a sheet of
metal tin placed on the upper surface of the die b, the nature of which is
clearly shewn in the Drawing. c is the punch or upper die, the lower part of
which at d is made convex, as is shewn, and it has a spike or point e affixed
thereto, as is shewn, f, f, being the cutting edge of the punch or upper die.
These dies are suitable for being worked by a fly press or other suitable ma-
chinery; and such is the case in respect to the other dies hereafter mentioned.
Figure 4 shews the section of the dies for forming thin metal vessels

page_text: out of the pieces of metal tin or other suitably soft metal. 9 is the lower
die, the nature of which is clearly shewn in the Drawing, and it is so formed
as to produce a short neck or nozel on each of the collapsable vessels produced,
as will be hereafter explained. h is a tube passing through the lower die g,
and it rests on the lever i, by which it can be raised, in order to force the
thin metal vessels out of the die g as they are made. The pieces of metal,
Figure 3, cut by the dies Figures 1 and 2, fit into the die g, and they are
raised into thin vessels by means of the upper die or punch j, which is so
formed in respect to the die g that there is a space between it and the die g
equal to the thickness it is desired to give to the metal of the vessels produced
by such dies, the lower end of the die j being convex, to correspond with the
concavity of the die g, as is shewn. k is a spike or projecting point at the end
of the die or punch j. In using these dies the workman, by means of a fly
press or other suitable machinery, causes the punch or die j to press into a
piece of metal such as is shewn at Figure 3, by which means part of the metal
will be pressed into the lower portion of the die g, in order to form the neck or
nozel of the thin metal vessel, the length of such neck being governed by the
position of the upper part of the tube h, into which tube the pin or spike k
enters, as is shewn, the remainder of the metal placed in the die g, as the
punch or die j moves into the die g, being formed into a vessel which slides
along the punch or die, and thus is formed a thin metal vessel applicable for
holding liquids or semi-fluid matters, which, when the other end of the vessel
is closed by folding or otherwise, as was described in my former Specification,
may be expressed through the neck or nozel.
Figure 5 shews a perspective view of one of the thin metal vessels such as
is produced by the dies Figure 4.
In some cases thin metal vessels are required without any neck or noze!,
such as is shewn in Figure 6. In making such vessels the point or spike of
the upper die, Figure 2, would be dispensed with, and such would be the case
with the point or spike of the die or punch j, Figure 4; and in place of the
tube h being used a solid rod would be applied in the lower die g, and the
And I would
upper end of the same would form the lower part of the die g.
remark, that although I have shewn the die or punch to be cylindrical, and
the upper part of the die g to be cylindrical, this may be varied if desired,
and thin metal vessels with several sides may be produced by having dies j
and g suitably made. And further, in place of the die or punch being
cylindrical it may be made slightly conical, the smaller diameter of the cone
being at the lower end, and the upper part of the die g would then be made
slightly conical to correspond, by which means thin and readily collapsable
metal vessels slightly conical may be produced.

page_text: I will now describe the second part of my Invention, which relates to the
making of screws on the necks or nozels of such collapsable vessels, and to
the making of screw caps to fit thereon, thus improving the construction of
the apparatus for closing collapsable metal vessels.
Figure 7 shews. the section of dies for forming a screw on the necks or
nozels of the collapsable vessels. Z is a punch which enters into the thin
metal vessels, the spike or projecting pin of which is of larger diameter than
that affixed to the die or punch j, so that in forcing that pin or spike through
the necks or nozels of the thin metal vessels the necks or nozels will be
expanded; but as each of the necks, when so expanded, is in a die with a screw
cut therein, the metal of the neck in being forced outwards will fill the thread of
the screw, and thus will a screw be formed at the outer surface of the neck or
nozel when the vessel may be removed from the screw die by unscrewing. m is
the screw die into which the end and neck or nozel of one of the thin metal
vessels is inserted; the punch or die 7 is then forced downwards by a screw press
or other means.
Figure 8 shews a section of the dies used for forming screw caps for
fitting the necks or nozels before described. n is the lower or hollow die,
which may be engraved so as to produce a milled surface to the external
of each cap, as is shewn at Figure 9, where a finished cap and collapsable
vessel are shewn, Figure 10 shewing pieces of metal tin or other suitably soft
metal from which caps are made. o is the upper punch or die, having a male
screw formed thereon; and it will be found that in causing the punch or die o
to press on a piece of metal in the die n. that the metal will be formed into a
cap having a female screw formed therein.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would have it understood, that I do not
confine myself to the precise details shewn, provided the peculiar character of
my Invention be retained. But what I claim is,-
First, the mode herein described of making collapsable metal vessels, as is
described in respect to the dies, Figure 4; and,
Secondly, I claim the improvements in closing collapsable metal vessels by
forming screws on the necks or nozels, and by forming screw caps, as described
in respect to Figures 7 and 8.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Rand, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-three.
JOHN (L.8.) RAND.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-eighth day of March,
in the year of our Lord 1843, the aforesaid John Rand came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.