Improvements in Hermetically Sealed Metal Cans and like Vessels.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 16th May, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 15th Feb., 1893-Accepted, 16th May, 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Hermetically Sealed Metal Cans and like Vessels.
I, HERBERT JOHN ALLISON, of 52 Chancery Lane, London, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (which
has been communicated to me from abroad by Gustavus Albert Waeber, of
No. 165 Duane Street, in the City and State of New York, United States of
America, Merchant), to be as follows:-
These improvements pertain generally to the class of sheet metal cans and other
vessels which, after being hermetically sealed, are opened to obtain access to their
contents by stripping off a section or portion of the metal composing the vessel
around more or less of the periphery of the latter; and they relate specifically
to that variety of these vessels in which the strip-section is, at one of its edges or
sides, torn at or against an incision made in the material of the vessel and at its
other edge or side is torn from the solder which, if the strip-section is in the body,.
secures the latter to the cover, or if it is in the cover, secures that to the body.
These improvements are not applicable to any portion of a can or vessel except
to the side wall of its body, or to the vertical rim or flange of its cover when the
latter is of the kind which encircles one end of the body wall; and they are
designed to constitute improvements upon the method of manufacturing metallic
vessels devised by Villeroche and Chatelard in France and patented by them there
on the 25th of July, 1884.
A prominent defect in that method has in practice been found to be the extreme
nicety of construction and adjustment required in the machines employed to carry
out the method, thereby necessitating expensive skilled labor to properly do the
work. Even with good machines and skilled labor, spoiled work to a considerable
amount is frequently unavoidable. This results from the two-fold operation which
Villeroche and Chatelard make essential. In the rapidity of movement of the
machines which must be kept up in order to render their use profitable by turning
the work out in large quantities, it is very difficult to long retain the respective
rolls and cutters in proper relation to the track which needs to be traveled by them
on the blanks, without very nice adjustment and great care and attention. This
leads to the necessity of originally constructing the machines with great skill and
hence at increased cost, and to the frequent failure in operation of even the best
machines. In spite of this, however, the two-fold method of the patent is still
employed in France by the patentees and their licensees, and by all others who
work under the patent.
These improvements consist in omitting the second step of the Villeroche and
Chatelard system, and thereby dispensing with the secondary turning outward or
reversing of the "crease" of their plan, and in providing a means of readily
opening hermetically sealed metal cans and other vessels by making a shallow groove
or bead in the material of which the side walls of the body or the rim or flange of
the top or bottom head of the can or vessel is composed on one side of the path
which the stripped off section or zone of metal is desired to follow, and in cutting
an incision partly through the metal either at the bottom of the groove or bead, on.
its inside, or on its outside at its top surface or apex, or at or near to its interior or
exterior angle on that side of it which is next to the path which the strip-section is
to follow, the other side of the strip-section being as before stated, soldered to the
adjacent head or cover of the can or vessel in the customary manner, if the
improvements are applied to the side wall of the vessel body, or soldered to the body
if they are applied to the rim or flange of the cover.

page_text: The groove or bead may be made on the interior surface of the can body or
cover flange so that it will project outwardly, or it may be made on the exterior
surfaces of these parts so that it will project inwardly. And I wish it to be under-
stood that in using the terms groove or bead I intend them in all cases to denote
depressions in the metal which are so formed as to cause on the opposite surface of
the material from that in which the groove or bead is made a projection along the
line of the latter substantially or nearly equal to the depth of the depression.
If desired, in place of the groove or bead, a shoulder formed in the metal of
either the body wall or of the cover flange may be employed, the incision being
made and located as above described.
Instead of making an incision in the metal, a continuous depression may be
formed therein and may be located at either of the points at which the incision
might be placed. This depression need not, and preferably should not, break or
abrade the surface of the metal, and its bottom may be flat or nearly flat, or it may
be somewhat rounded.
Either form of the above described improvements will be found to operate
readily and efficiently, and by the employment of either of them in the manufacture
of cans and vessels of the classes herein referred to expensive and carefully and
accurately constructed and adjusted machines may be dispensed with, while labor
of only an average grade will be required, and there will be little or no spoiled
work and all the disadvantages of the Villeroche and Chatelard method will be
obviated.
Dated this 16th day of May 1809
ALLISON BROS.,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Hermetically Sealed Metal Cans and like Vessels.
I, HERBERT JOHN ALLISON, of 52 Chancery Lane, London, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (which
has been communicated to me from abroad by Gustavus Albert Waeber, of
No. 165 Duane Street, in the City and State of New York, U.S.A. Merchant),
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
These improvements pertain generally to the class of sheet metal cans and other
vessels which, after being hermetically sealed, are opened to obtain access to their
contents by stripping off a section or portion of the metal composing the vessel
around more or less of the periphery of the latter; and they relate specifically to
that variety of these vessels which are opened by means of a tongue and "key,"
and in which the strip section is, at one of its edges or sides, torn at or against an
incision made in the material of the vessel and at its other edge or side is torn from
the solder which, if the strip-section is in the body, secures the latter to the cover,
or if it is in the cover, secures that to the body.
These inventions are not applicable to any portion of a can or vessel except to
the side wall of its body, or to the vertical rim or flange of its cover when the
latter is of the kind which encircles one end of the body wall; and they are
designed in part to constitute improvements upon the method of manufacturing
metallic vessels heretofore invented by me. My said prior invention was designed to
remedy the defect existing in the method theretofore employed in the manufacture
of a form of sheet metal vessel in which a groove or crease was first impressed
in the metal, an incision then made in the bottom of this groove, and finally the
groove turned or forced in the reverse direction, whereby the incision is opened or
stretched somewhat and the vessel's contents thus rendered more easy of access by
the stripping operation.
68
"
This mode of manufacture has in practice been found very objectionable on

page_text: account of the extreme nicety of construction and adjustment required in the
machines employed to carry out the method, thereby necessitating expensive skilled
labour to properly do the work. Even with good machines and skilled labor,
spoiled work to a considerable amount is frequently unavoidable. This results from
the two-fold operation which the method makes essential, and in the rapidity of
movement of the machines which must be kept up in order to render their use
profitable by turning the work out in large quantities, it is very difficult to long retain
the respective rolls and cutters in proper relation to the track which needs to be
traveled by them on the blanks, without very nice adjustment and great care and
attention. This leads to the necessity of originally constructing the machines
with great skill and hence at increased cost, and to the frequent failure in operation
of even the best machines.
"
These improvements consist in omitting the second step of this prior system, and
thereby dispensing with the secondary turning outward or reversing of the " crease
and in providing a means of readily opening hermetically sealed metal cans and
other vessels of the class above mentioned; and they consist:
First. In making a groove or bead in the material of which the side walls of the
body or the rim or flange of the top or bottom head of a can or vessel of this class
is composed on one side of the path which the stripped off section or zone of metal
is desired to follow, and in cutting an incision partly through the metal either at
the bottom of the groove or bead, on its inside, or on its outside at its top surface
or apex, or at or near to its interior or exterior angle on that side of it which is
next to the path which the strip-section is to follow.
Second. In forming in the class of sheet metal vessels above referred to, a groove
or bead either in the side wall of the body of the vessel or in the rim or flange of
one of its ends or heads, in combination with an indentation or depression made in
the metal and located in the bottom of the groove or bead on its interior or concave
surface or in its top or apex on its exterior or convex surface.
Third. In a sheet metal vessel of the class aforesaid, the combination of a groove
or bead formed in the side wall of the body of the vessel or in the rim or flange
of one of its ends or heads, with an indentation or depression made in the metal
and located either in or adjacent to the interior or exterior angles or corners of
such groove or bead.
In the drawing,
Figure 1 is an outside elevation of a form of cylindrical sheet-metal can made
in accordance with my improvements in which the covers or heads are placed inside
of the ends of the body and are soldered thereto.
Fig. 2 is an interior section of the body of the same can, showing how the
portion of the vessel to which my improved methods are applied appears from the
inside.
Fig. 3 is a detail view, somewhat enlarged, of a part of the side wall of the
body of the same can at the point where the improvements are applied.
Fig. 4 represents another example of a can made according to my inventions.
Fig. 5 is a detail view showing still other variations in the mode of employing
my improvements, and
Fig. 6 represents the improvements applied to the rim or side flange of the
cover or head of a cylindrical can of the well-known form in which the heads
encircle the ends of the body in the manner shown.
A, Fig. 1, represents the exterior of the side walls of the body of a cylindrical
sheet metal can of ordinary construction, and is a shallow groove or bead which
may be impressed in the metal by rolls or dies in any of the modes commonly
employed for such work. In the can shown in this figure, the method being
applied to the body-walls, the groove runs entirely around the perimiter of the
vessel, and, as will be seen, it is located about one quarter of an inch from the
nearest head of the can, so that the strip-section will be of that width, as
the groove is its boundary on that side. The other side of the strip-section is
soldered to the head of the can along the line c, c, as usual.

page_text: B, Fig. 2, shows the interior surface of the side walls of the body of the same
can represented in Fig. 1, and exhibits the reverse side of the groove b. In the
centre of the bottom of the groove make an incision (indicated by d) partly
through the metal and extending the entire length of the groove. This completes
the operation, and I do not at any time, either before or after making the
incision, reverse or throw outward the groove or bead or crease, as in the prior
method. since it is this secondary operation which gives rise to all the objections
which it is the aim of my improvement to overcome. If now the work has been
properly done, it will be found that by inserting the end of the tongue 4, projecting
from the side of the can, in the slot of a key of the usual form-such as is shown
at e-the section or zone i, i, of the metal can be readily stripped off in the usual
way and the contents of the can exposed. If desired, the groove or bend may be
impressed from the outside of the can and the incision made in its bottom, as
before, so that in this case the incision will be visible from the outside of the
vessel, as seen at ', Fig. 4; but in either instance the operation and effect of the
stripping will be the same; or the incision may be formed in the top or apex of
the groove, as seen at m in Fig. 5, or at its interior or exterior angle, as shown at m¹
and m² in the same figure, or it may be placed near to either of these angles.
If desired, in place of the groove or bead, a shoulder formed in the metal of
either the body-wall or of the cover flange may be employed, the incision being
made and located as above described. Such a shoulder will practically be one-half
of the groove or bead, and will operate in substantially the same manner.
Instead of making an incision in the metal, a continuous depression or indenta-
tion may be formed therein and may be located at either of the points at which the
incision might be placed as above described. This depression or indentation need
not, and preferably should not, break or abrade the surface of the metal, and its
bottom may be flat or nearly flat, or it may be somewhat rounded.
in combination either with the groove or head or with the shoulder.
It may be used
In the form of can represented in Fig. 6 one of my improved methods is employed
in precisely the same manner as in the other figures, except that it is applied to the
rim or flange of the can, as seen at o in the figure. Its operation here will be the
same as in the case of the body-wall, and the lower edge of the strip-section will
tear from the solder-line at p.
I wish it to be understood that in using the terms "groove" or "bead" I intend
'them in all cases to denote channels in the metal which are so formed as to cause
on the opposite surface of the material from that in which the groove or bead is
made a projection along the line of the latter substantially or nearly equal to the
depth of the channel.
Either of the above described forms of my improvements will be found to
operate readily and efficiently, and by the employment of either of them in
the manufacture of cans and vessels of the classes herein referred to, expensive
and carefully and accurately constructed and adjusted machines may be dispensed
with, while labour of only an average grade will be required, and there will
be little or no spoiled work and all the disadvantages of the prior method will
be obviated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is -
First. A sheet metal receptacle of the class which is opened by a tongue and
key, such receptacle having a groove or bead-formed without being thrown or
turned outward or reversed-in the side wall thereof or in the rim or flange of one
of its ends or heads, in combination with an incision made in the metal and located
in the bottom or in the apex of said groove or bead or in or near to either of its
interior or exterior angles or corners, substantially as and for the purposes set
forth.
Second. A sheet metal receptacle of the class aforesaid provided with
A

page_text: shoulder in the side wall of its body, in combination with an incision made in the
metal and located in either of the interior or exterior angles or corners of such
shoulder, or near to the shoulder, substantially as described.
Third. A sheet metal receptacle of the class aforesaid having a groove or bead-
formed without being thrown or turned outward or reversed-in the side wall
thereof or in the rim or flange of one of its ends or heads, in combination with an
indentation or depression made in the metal and located in the bottom or in the
apex of said groove or bead or in or near to either of its interior or exterior angles
or corners, substantially as set forth.
Fourth. A sheet metal receptacle of the class aforesaid provided with a
shoulder in the side wall of its body, in combination with an indentation or
depression made in the metal and located in either of the interior or exterior angles
or corners of such shoulder or near or adjacent to the shoulder, substantially as
described.
Fifth. A cover or head for a sheet metal receptacle of the class aforesaid, such
cover or head being provided with a shoulder in its rim or flange, in combination
with an indentation or depression made in the metal and located in one of the
interior or exterior angles or corners of such shoulder or near or adjacent thereto,
substantially as set forth.
Dated this 15th day of February 1803
ALLISON BROS.,
Agents for the Applicant.