Improvements in Hermetically-sealing Cans and other Vessels of Sheet Metal.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Apr., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Jan., 1893—Accepted, 4th Feb., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Hermetically-sealing Cans and other Vessels of
Sheet Metal.
I, HERBERT JOHN ALLISON, of 52 Chancery Lane, London, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of these improvements
(which have been communicated to me from abroad by Frederic Reiset and
Gustavus Albert Waeber, both of No. 165 Duane Street, in the City and State of
New York, U.S.A., Merchants,) to be as follows:-
The leading object of each part of these inventions is to diminish the cost of
production of metallic cans and vessels of the classes which are opened by tearing
out a strip-section therefrom. Receptacles of this character are coming into such
general use and are being applied to so many new purposes, that it is a matter of
importance to enable manufacturers to put them upon the market at as small a first
cost as possible. One of the sources of expense hitherto incident to the production
of such vessels has been the necessity of furnishing with each vessel sold one of the
instruments generally termed "keys "-which are used to tear out the opening
strips, and it is the design of this portion of these inventions to dispense with the
use of keys and enable the can or other receptacle to be easily opened by the
employment simply of a "tongue" of a special construction and operating in a
manner different from any device heretofore introduced for opening such
receptacles.
For this purpose one of the ends or heads of a sheet metal can or other vessel
which is intended to be made air-tight is provided with any suitable form of strip-
section, such, for instance, as a narrow zone or band of the material having at each
side of it a bead or corrugation with an incision or indentation made partially
through the metal in one corner or angle of each bead, though any other efficient
strip system will answer the purpose. In this strip-section a transverse cut is made
entirely or partly through the material of it at any desired point in its path, and a
device, which may be termed a lever-tongue, made in the form of a short bar or
lever of copper, iron or other stiff unyielding substance, is fastened at one end
firmly to the strip-section at or close to the point where the said cut is placed.
In case this incision is made entirely through the strip-section, it is preferred to
thin the end of the lever and insert it through the incision and then solder or
otherwise permanently secure the thinned end in position. If, however, the incision
is made only partly through the section, the end, preferably thinned as before, may
be soldered or fastened strongly in any way to the upper side of the strip-section
close to the incision. It will be seen that the lever when thus secured in place
constitutes in a certain sense a prolongation of the section and therefore becomes a
substitute for the customary thin flexible tongue employed in receptacles of the
character here represented. But it also performs a function of which the ordinary
tongue is incapable, inasmuch as its rigidity and its combination with the strip-
section at the incision point enables it, upon being firmly grasped at its free
extremity by the hand or with pliers or in any other effective manner, to operate
as a lever working upon the fulcrum furnished by that portion of the strip-section
to which its fastened end is attached. Consequently, as soon as force is exerted
upon its free extremity it quickly pries off that part of the strip-section and causes
it to break through at the transverse incision and thus starts the stripping operation
fully as effectually as can be done by the ordinary key applied to a thin and
yielding tongue of the usual construction. It thus comprises a tongue and a key
in one instrument, and performs efficiently the function of each. Moreover it
removes the danger of tearing the tongue off before the strip-section has been

page_text: started, as frequently happens when the flexible tongue is used if the soldering
which keeps the latter in place has not been properly done.
If preferred, in place of the short bar or lever attached to the strip-section as
above described, a mere stud or a small ring or any other appliance may be secured
to the strip-section near the transverse incision, provided it be of such a nature
that some convenient instrument, as for example a pair of pliers, an ordinary fork,
a crooked wire or even in some cases a short piece of cord or string can be employed
to exert the requisite amount of force upon such stud or other appliance to cause
the strip-section to break at the transverse incision and start the stripping operation
as in the case of the lever.
It will thus be seen that by this portion of these inventions a separate key or
any equivalent therefor is entirely dispensed with, while at the same time an
instrument is provided which satisfactorily answers all the purposes of such a key
without the additional manufacturing cost which the employment of separate keys
makes necessary.
The remaining part of the improvements is designed to enable the tongue,
whether in the thin flexible form hereinabove referred to or even in the form of
the short rigid bar or lever or equivalent appliances before described, to be
dispensed with, this result being effected by combining the usual key or other
device employed to effect the tearing operation in vessels of the strip-section class
with such strip-section in such manner that the key alone, without any form of
tongue whatever, may be used to start and complete the tearing out of the
section.
In carrying out this portion of the inventions either the strip-section system
above described or any other suitable stripping provision may be adopted, and trans-
versely across the strip-section a cut or incision is made partly or wholly through
the metal as before set forth. Then as a substitute for using a tongue or key
together, as has always been customary prior to these improvements, the inner
end of a key of the ordinary or any desired form is riveted or by any suitable
means firmly secured to the strip-section close to the transverse incision. The end
of the shank of the key where it is to be fastened to the strip-section must of course
be adapted to enable a firm attachment of it to be made to the section, and
preferably this attachment should be of such a nature as to admit of the key being
so turned as to lie entirely or partially over the top of the can when the latter is
unopened, and of being turned outward so as to afford a firm hold or grips of it
when it is desired to open the can.
This, however, is not essential, but will always
be found most convenient.
The can or vessel having the key thus combined with its strip-section is opened
with great facility since nothing more is necessary than merely to turn the key
horizontally around its point of attachment to the strip-section and outwardly until
its handle or outer end projects sufficiently over the edge of the can-head to afford
a firm grip by the hand or other instrument used for the opening. The key is
then twisted on its own axis in the usual manner, and as soon as this is done the
strip-section will break through at the transverse incision, thus starting the
tearing, and the residue of the section may then be stripped out in the ordinary
way.
"It is not essential in the employment of either of the parts of these improvements
that a transverse incision should be used in all cases. In its place, a sufficiently,
sharp bead may be provided extending across the strip-section in the same manner
as the incision. Or, the metal of the strip-section around or near to the point
where according to the first part of these inventions the short rigid bar or lever is
attached to it, or where according to the second part thereof the key is secured to
it, may be weakened in any suitable way, so that it can be readily torn through
by the initial action of the lever in the one case and of the key in the other.
There may also be some instances in which each of these inventions may be
employed without any transverse incision whatever or any of the just mentioned
equivalents therefor being used in the strip-section. If the cans or other vessels are

page_text: made wholly of tagger's tin or other equivalent thin sheet metal, or if the portion
of them in which the strip-section is located is composed of such thin material the
rigid lever described in the first part of the improvements, or the key described
in the second portion of them, may be attached directly to the strip-section formed
of this thin metal and upon being respectively operated as above herein described,
they will tear the strip-section out without requiring any transverse incision or
other mode of weakening.
Although it will generally be found most convenient to apply either of the
present inventions to one of the ends or heads or top surfaces of the sheet metal
vessels in which they are to be used, yet, if preferred, they may be employed in the
sides of such vessels with satisfactory effect.
Either of the here described improvements will effect a very considerable
economy in the manufacture of the different classes of vessels referred to, and, in
addition, each of them is specially applicable to the tops of glass jars for
containing milk, canned fruit and other articles, and also to many other purposes
to which ordinary systems of strip-opening would not be well adapted.
Dated 1st April 1892.
ALLISON BROS.,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Hermetically-sealing Cans and other Vessels of
Sheet Metal,
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 Frederic Reiset and Gustavus Albert
Waeber, both of No. 165 Duane Street, in the City and State of New York,
U.S.A., Merchants,) and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The leading object of each part of these inventions is to diminish the cost of
production of metallic cans and vessels of the classes which are opened by tearing
out a strip-section therefrom. Receptacles of this character are coming into such
general use and are being applied to so many new purposes, that it is a matter of
importance to enable manufacturers to put them upon the market at as small a first
cost as possible. One of the sources of expense hitherto incident to the production
of such vessels has been the necessity of furnishing with each vessel sold one of the
instruments generally termed " keys "which are used to tear out the opening
strips, and it is the design of this portion of these improvements to dispense with
the use of keys and enable the can or other receptacle to be easily opened by the
employment simply of a tongue" of a special construction and operating in a
manner different from any device heretofore introduced for opening such
receptacles.
61
For this purpose, by this part of my inventions, one of the ends or heads of a sheet
metal can or other vessel which is intended to be made air-tight is provided with
any suitable form of strip-section, such, for instance, as a narrow zone or band of
the material having at each side of it a bead or corrugation with an incision or
indentation made partially through the metal in one corner or angle of each bead,
though any other efficient strip system will answer the purpose. In this strip-
section a transverse cut of any suitable form-whether straight or curved or other-
wise is made entirely or partly through the material of it at any desired point in
its path, and a device, which may be termed a lever-tongue, 'made in the form of a
short bar or lever of copper, iron or other stiff unyielding substance, is fastened at
one end firmly to the strip section at or close to the point where the said cut is
placed.
This mode of construction is represented in Figure 1. In this figure A is the

page_text: body of a cylindrical sheet metal preserving can of the common form. B B' are
the respective heads of the can fabricated and secured to the body in the customary
manner. represents the strip section of the kind above described, d d being the
stiffening beads between which the zone or band tears out, the incisions along
which its tears being assumed to be placed in the usual manner in the angles of the
beads on the underside of the head B. c is the transverse cut made through the
material of the strip section, and gf is the short bar or lever, which I have termed
above a lever-tongue, which is firmly secured to the strip-section at or close to the
point where the transverse cut c is made. The construction of this part of the
device will be clearly understood by reference to Figure 2. This lever-tongue at
its end g where it is secured to the strip-section may, if preferred, be thinned, so as
to be more conveniently fastened to the strip, but the residue of it, f, should be
made of sufficient weight and strength to be stiff and unyielding, as otherwise it
will not perform the functions which I intend for it. In case the transverse cut is
made entirely through the strip-section, it is preferred to thin the end 9 of the lever
in all cases and insert it through the incision and then solder or otherwise per-
manently secure this thinned end in position.
The operation of this part of my improvements will be readily understood, as it
is obvious that the lever when thus secured in place, constitutes in a certain sense
a prolongation of the strip-section and therefore becomes a substitute for the
customary thin flexible tongue employed in receptacles of the character here repre-
sented. But it also performs a function of which the ordinary tongue is incapable,
inasmuch as its rigidity and its combination with the strip-section at the incision
point enables it, upon being firmly grasped at its free extremity by the hand or
with pliers or in any other effective manner, to operate as a lever working upon the
fulcrum furnished by that portion of the strip-section to which its fastened end is
attached. Consequently, as soon as force is exerted upon its free extremity it
quickly pries off that part of the strip-section and causes it to break through at
the transverse incision and thus starts the stripping operation fully as effectually as
can be done by the ordinary key applied to a thin and yielding tongue of the usual
construction. It thus comprises a tongue and a key in one instrument, and performs
efficiently the function of each. Moreover it removes the danger of tearing the
tongue off before the strip-section has been started, as frequently happens when the
flexible tongue is used if the soldering which keeps the latter in place has not been
properly done.
If preferred, in place of the short bar or lever attached to the strip-section as
here shown and described, a mere stud, or a small handle, ring, hook, or any other
suitable appliance such as shown at m in Figure 3, and m¹ in Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
and 10, may be secured to the strip-section near the transverse incision, provided it
be of such a nature that some convenient instrument, as for example a pair of pliers,
an ordinary fork, a crooked wire or even in some cases a short piece of cord or
string, can be employed to exert the requisite amount of force upon such stud or
other appliance to cause the strip-section to break at the transverse incision and
start the stripping operation as in the case of the lever.
It will thus be seen that by this portion of these inventions a separate key or any
equivalent therefor is entirely dispensed with, while at the same time an instrument
is provided which satisfactorily answers all the purposes of such a key without
the additional manufacturing cost which the employment of separate keys makes
necessary.
The remaining part of the improvements is designed to enable the tongue, whether
in the thin flexible form hereinabove referred to or even in the form of the short
rigid har or lever or equivalent appliances before described, to be dispensed with,
this result being effected by combining the usual key or other similar device
employed to effect the tearing operation in vessels of the strip-section class with
such strip-section in such manner that the key alone, without any form of tongue
whatever, may be used to start and complete the tearing out of the section.
In carrying out this portion of the inventions either the strip-section system

page_text: above described or any other suitable stripping provision may be adopted, and
transversely across the strip-section a cut or incision of any suitable shape is made
partly or wholly through the metal, as represented at c in Figure 11 of the drawings.
Then as a substitute for using a tongue or key together, as has always been
customary prior to these improvements, the inner end of a key of the ordinary or
any desired form is riveted or by any suitable means firmly secured to the strip-
section close to the transverse incision. This will be plainly understood by
reference to Figures 11 and 12, in which K represents a key of a common shape,
and n is a rivet whereby the inner end of the key is permanently fastened to the
strip-section near to the transverse incision c. The end of the shank of the key
where it is to be fastened to the strip-section may be somewhat flattened, and it
must of course be adapted to enable a firm attachment of it to be made to the
section, and preferably this attachment should be of such a nature as to admit of
the key being so turned as to lie entirely or partially over the top of the can when
the latter is unopened, as shown in Figure 12, and of being turned outward so as
to afford a firm hold or grip of it when it is desired to open the can, as seen in
Figure 11. This, however, is not essential, but will always be found most
convenient.
The can or vessel having the key thus combined with its strip-section is opened
with great facility since nothing more is necessary than merely to turn the key
horizontally around its point of attachment to the strip-section and outwardly until
its handle or outer end projects sufficiently over the edge of the can-head to afford
a firm grip by the hand or other instrument used for the opening. The key is then
twisted on its own axis in the usual manner, and as soon as this is done the strip-
section will break through at the transverse incision, thus starting the tearing, and
the residue of the section may then be stripped out in the ordinary way.
As in the case of the lever-tongue, no special form of strip-section required to
be employed with this turning key. For the sake of convenience, the same strip
system which was referred to in describing the lever-tongue and which is repre-
sented in Figures 1 to 10 is also shown in Figures 11 and 12 in combination with
the turning key, b in these last mentioned Figures 11 and 12 denoting the strip
zone or band which has the turning key attached thereto, and d d showing the
stiffening beads, the weakening incisions being assumed to be on the under surface
of the head B, as in Figures 1 to 10.
It is not essential in the employment of either of the parts of these improvements
that a transverse incision should be used in all cases. In its place, a sufficiently
sharp bead may be provided extending across the strip-section in the same manner
as the incision. Or, the metal of the strip-section around or near to the point
where according to the first part of these inventions the short rigid bar or lever is
attached to it, or where according to the second part thereof the key is secured to
it, may be weakened in any suitable way, so that it can be readily torn through by
the initial action of the lever or equivalent appliances in the one case and of the key
in the other.
There may also be some instances in which each of these inventions may be
employed without any transverse incision whatever or any of the just mentioned
equivalents therefor being used in the strip-section. If the cans or other vessels
are made wholly of tagger's tin or other equivalent thin sheet metal, or if the
portion of them in which the strip-section is located is composed of such thin
material the rigid lever described in the first part of the improvements, or the key
described in the second portion of them, may be attached directly to the strip-
section formed of this thin metal and upon being respectively operated as above
herein described, they will tear the strip-section out without requiring any trans-
verse incision or other mode of weakening.
Although it will generally be found most convenient to apply either of the
present inventions to one of the ends or heads or top surfaces of the sheet metal
vessels in which they are to be used, yet, if preferred, they may be employed in the
sides of such vessels with satisfactory effect.

page_text: Either of the here described improvements will effect a very considerable economy
in the manufacture of the different classes of vessels referred to, and, in addition,
each of them is specially applicable to the tops of glass jars for containing milk,
canned fruit and other articles, and also to many other purposes to which ordinary
systems of strip-opening would not be well adapted.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
First. In a sheet metal can or other receptacle which has a suitable strip-section
in one of its heads or ends, the combination of a transverse cut made across the
strip-section either wholly or partially through the metal with a stiff unyielding
lever-tongue firmly secured to the section at or close to the transverse cut, sub-
stantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Second. In a sheet metal can or other receptacle which has a suitable strip-
section in one of its heads or ends, the combination of a transverse cut across the
section made either wholly or partially through the metal with a stud, or small
handle, ring, hook, or other suitable appliance firmly secured to the strip-section at
or close to the transverse cut, substantially as described.
Third. In a sheet metal can or other receptacle the combination in one of its
heads or ends of a suitable strip-section with a transverse incision made wholly or
partially through the metal of such section and with a key of any desired form
which is firmly secured at one end to the strip-section at or near to the transverse
incision, substantially as represented and shown.
Fourth. In a sheet metal can or other receptacle made wholly of tagger's tin or
other equivalent thin material, or having a portion containing a strip-section com-
posed of such thin material, the combination of such strip-section with a lever-
tongue, stud, ring, hook or other herein described appliance, or with a suitable key,
firmly secured to the section at any desired point in its path, substantially in the
manner and for the purpose herein set forth.
Dated this 2nd day of January 1893.
ALLISON BROS.,
57, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.