Patent Description:
Generally, metal containers are roughly categorized into two-piece cans and three-piece cans. A two-piece can is a metal container constituted by two parts: a lid and a can body integral with a can bottom, or a can bottom and a can body integral with a can lid. Meanwhile, a three-piece can is a metal container constituted by three parts: a can barrel, a top lid, and a bottom lid. A two-piece can has no welded parts in the can body and thus has good appearance; however, typically, a high degree of processing is required.

Typically, metal sheets, such as tin-free steel (TFS) and aluminum, used as raw material for metal containers have been coated in order to improve corrosion resistance. However, the issues with the coating are that it requires a long processing time for complicated coating and baking steps and that emission of large quantities of solvents and carbon dioxide puts a heavy load on the environment. To address these issues, resin-coated metal sheets for containers having thermoplastic films on metal surfaces have been developed, and are currently widely industrially used mainly as beverage can raw material.

Patent Literatures <NUM> to <NUM> disclose a technology of producing a two-piece can by a drawing method or a draw & ironing (DI) method using, as a raw material, a resin-coated metal sheet that has resin coating layers on both surfaces of a metal sheet. Furthermore, Patent Literatures <NUM> and <NUM> disclose a technology of adding a white pigment to a resin coating layer to be positioned on an outer surface side of a formed metal container in order to allow for a process, such as printing, that enhances the designability of the can body. <CIT> discloses coating composition for steel sheets used in the preparation of containers comprising PBT and PET. The coating is applied in a way that results in the polyesters being in an amorphous state.

As the shapes of can bodies have become increasingly diverse in recent years, the needs for increasing the degree of processing of can bodies have grown. While the number of can bodies that can be stored per unit area can be increased by decreasing the can diameter and increasing the can height, resin-coated metal sheets are more severely processed as the degree of processing increases.

When producing a two-piece can body that involves a high degree of processing by using a resin-coated metal sheet, in order to increase the adhesion between the resin coating and the metal sheet and to improve the coating property of the resin coating layer positioned on the can inner surface side, a heat treatment is performed at around the melting point of the resin coating layer after the processing. However, it has been found that, as the degree of processing performed on the two-piece can increases, wrinkle defects are generated in the resin coating layer during the heat treatment performed after the can-making process. Thus, when a two-piece can body that requires a high degree of processing is to be made by using a resin-coated metal sheet, wrinkle defects generated during the heat treatment after the can-making process need to be suppressed.

Typically, crystalline, rigid amorphous, and mobile amorphous fractions coexist in a resin coating layer, and the ratios thereof can be calculated by calorimetry. Patent Literature <NUM> introduces a technology of controlling the crystallinity of a resin coating layer, which is determined from the difference between the heat of crystallization and the heat of melting, so as to decrease the residual stress after the forming process and suppress appearance defects (dotted pattern) caused by the heat treatment after the can-making process. However, wrinkle defects generated during the heat treatment after the can-making process still occur even when the crystallinity is decreased to be in the range of crystallinity disclosed in Patent Literature <NUM> (difference between heat of crystallization and heat of melting: <NUM> J/g or less ≈ crystalline content of <NUM>% or less); thus, wrinkle defects cannot be suppressed by controlling the crystallinity.

The present invention has been made under the circumstances described above, and an object thereof is to provide a resin-coated metal sheet for containers, which exhibits excellent formability during the two-piece can-making process that involves a high degree of processing and on which wrinkle defects are not generated by a post-process heat treatment.

The inventors of the present invention have conducted extensive studies and found that the wrinkle defects that are generated during the heat treatment after the can-making process are caused by coexistence of rigid phases (crystalline and rigid amorphous fractions) and soft phases (mobile amorphous fractions)in the resin coating layer. When rigid phases (crystalline and rigid amorphous fractions) and soft phases (mobile amorphous fractions) coexist in a resin coating layer, inhomogeneous strain occurs in the resin coating layer upon deformation during the can-making process involving a high degree of processing. As a result, during the heat treatment after the can-making process, the resin coating layer that has been softened by being heated to near the melting point deforms unevenly, thereby generating wrinkle defects.

The inventors of the present invention have studied further on the basis of the aforementioned findings. As a result, the inventors have found that adjusting the ratio of the mobile amorphous fractions in the resin coating layer to a particular value or higher suppresses inhomogeneous strain in the resin coating layer generated during the can-making process, and thus it becomes possible to suppress wrinkle defects generated during the heat treatment after the can-making process.

The present invention has been made on the basis of the aforementioned findings and is summarized as follows.

According to the present invention, there can be provided a resin-coated metal sheet for containers, which exhibits excellent formability during a two-piece can-making process that involves a high degree of processing and on which wrinkle defects are not generated by a post-process heat treatment.

A resin-coated metal sheet for containers , which is one embodiment of the present invention, will now be described.

<FIG> is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a resin-coated metal sheet for containers according to one embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in <FIG>, a resin-coated metal sheet <NUM> for containers according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a metal sheet <NUM>, a resin coating layer <NUM> formed on a front surface side of the metal sheet <NUM>, and a resin coating layer <NUM> formed on a rear surface side of the metal sheet <NUM>. The resin coating layer <NUM> and the resin coating layer <NUM> are to be respectively positioned on an outer surface side and an inner surface side of a metal container after forming.

The metal sheet <NUM> is formed of a steel sheet such as tin or tin-free steel. Tin having a coating weight in the range of <NUM>/m<NUM> or more and <NUM>/m<NUM> or less is preferably used as the tin. The tin-free steel preferably has, on its surfaces, a metallic chromium layer having a coating weight of <NUM>/m<NUM> or more and <NUM>/m<NUM> or less and a chromium oxide layer having a coating weight of <NUM>/m<NUM> or more and <NUM>/m<NUM> or less on a metallic chromium basis. The type of the steel sheet is not particularly specified as long as the steel sheet can be formed into an intended shape, but the steel sheet preferably has the following components and is preferably produced by the following method.

The mechanical properties of the steel sheet are not particularly limited as long as the steel sheet can be formed into an intended shape. In order to maintain sufficient can body strength without degrading the workability, a steel sheet having a yield point (YP) of <NUM> MPa or more and <NUM> MPa or less is preferably used. In addition, the Lankford coefficient (r value), which is the indicator of the plastic anisotropy, is preferably <NUM> or more. The planar anisotropy Δr of the r value is preferably <NUM> or less in terms of absolute value.

The components of the steel for achieving the aforementioned properties are not particularly limited, and, for example, components such as Si, Mn, P, S, Al, and N may be contained. The Si content is preferably <NUM> mass% or more and <NUM> mass% or less, the Mn content is preferably <NUM> mass% or more and <NUM> mass% or less, the P content is preferably <NUM> mass% or more and <NUM> mass% or less, the S content is preferably <NUM> mass% or more and <NUM> mass% or less, the Al content is preferably <NUM> mass% or more and <NUM> mass% or less, and the N content is preferably <NUM> mass% or more and <NUM> mass% or less. In addition, other components such as Ti, Nb, B, Cu, Ni, Cr, Mo, and V may be contained; however, from the viewpoint of securing corrosion resistance etc., the total content of these components is preferably <NUM> mass% or less.

In the present invention, at least the resin coating layer <NUM> (the resin coating layer on the outer surface side of a container to be obtained by forming) on one surface is formed of a resin material containing <NUM> mol% or more of an ethylene terephthalate unit. Specifically, the resin coating layer <NUM> is formed of a polyester containing <NUM> mol% or more of an ethylene terephthalate unit constituting polyethylene terephthalate formed of terephthalic acid as a carboxylic acid component and ethylene glycol as a glycol component. When inorganic additives (such as titanium oxide) are contained in the resin coating layer <NUM>, the ratio of the ethylene terephthalate unit in the resin material excluding the weight of such inorganic additives is <NUM> mol% or more. Preferably, the resin material contains <NUM> mol% or more of the ethylene terephthalate unit. When the molar concentration of the ethylene terephthalate unit is less than <NUM> mol%, the resin softens due to the heat applied during the continuous can-making process, and the resin coating layer <NUM> may become fractured or scraped.

As long as heat resistance and workability are not impaired, multiple dicarboxylic acid components and glycol components other than terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol may be copolymerized and used as a resin material constituting the resin coating layer <NUM>. Examples of the dicarboxylic acid component include aromatic dicarboxylic acids such as isophthalic acid, naphthalenedicarboxylic acid, diphenyldicarboxylic acid, diphenylsulfonedicarboxylic acid, diphenoxyethanedicarboxylic acid, <NUM>-sodium sulfoisophthalic acid, and phthalic acid, aliphatic dicarboxylic acids such as oxalic acid, succinic acid, adipic acid, sebacic acid, dimer acid, maleic acid, and fumaric acid, alicyclic dicarboxylic acids such as cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid, and oxycarboxylic acids such as p-oxybenzoic acid. Examples of the glycol component include aliphatic glycols such as propanediol, butanediol, pentanediol, hexanediol, and neopentyl glycol, alicyclic glycols such as cyclohexanedimethanol, aromatic glycols such as bisphenol A and bisphenol S, and diethylene glycol.

The resin material forming the resin coating layer <NUM> is not limited by the production method. For example, the resin material can be formed by (<NUM>) a method that involves esterifying terephthalic acid, ethylene glycol, and copolymer components and then performing polycondensation of the resulting reaction product to obtain a copolymer polyester or (<NUM>) a method that involves transesterifying dimethyl terephthalate, ethylene glycol, and copolymer components and then performing polycondensation reaction of the resulting reaction product to obtain a copolymer polyester. Furthermore, when producing the polyester, additives such as a fluorescent whitening agent, an antioxidant, a heat stabilizer, a UV absorber, and an antistatic material may be added.

Furthermore, the resin coating layer <NUM> is formed of a resin material that has a mobile amorphous content of <NUM>% or more. When mobile amorphous fractions, which are soft phases, account for <NUM>% or more of the resin material constituting the resin coating layer <NUM>, inhomogeneous strain generated during the can-making process can be suppressed, and wrinkle defects generated during the heat treatment after the can-making process can be suppressed. Preferably, the mobile amorphous content in the resin coating layer <NUM> is <NUM>% or more. More preferably, the mobile amorphous content in the resin coating layer <NUM> is <NUM>% or more and <NUM>% or less. When the mobile amorphous content is <NUM>% or less, rigid phases can be securely obtained in the resin coating layer, and thus better impact resistance can be obtained. When inorganic additives (such as an inorganic pigment) are contained in the resin coating layer <NUM>, the mobile amorphous content in the resin material excluding the weight of such inorganic additives needs to be <NUM>% or more. Note that the mobile amorphous content in the present invention can be calculated from the difference in specific heat for the glass transition point obtained by temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry as described in the examples below.

The resin-coated metal sheet <NUM> is obtained by press-bonding resin coating layers <NUM> and <NUM> on the front and rear surfaces of the metal sheet <NUM> heated to a temperature higher than or equal to the melting point of the resin coating layers <NUM> and <NUM> by using a laminating roller, and then cooling the resulting product. The mobile amorphous content in the resin coating layer <NUM> can be adjusted by changing the temperature of the metal sheet <NUM> after press-bonding and the time for which the metal sheet <NUM> after the press-bonding is held at a temperature higher than or equal to the melting onset temperature of the resin coating layer <NUM>.

In order to achieve the mobile amorphous content of the present invention, after the resin coating layer <NUM> is press-bonded to the metal sheet <NUM>, the metal sheet <NUM> needs to be held at a temperature higher than or equal to the melting onset temperature of the resin coating layer <NUM> for <NUM> seconds or more and <NUM> seconds or less and then be quenched such as by water quenching. When the time for which the metal sheet <NUM> is held at a temperature higher than or equal to the melting onset temperature of the resin coating layer <NUM> after the resin coating layer <NUM> is press-bonded to the metal sheet <NUM> is less than <NUM> seconds, melting of the resin coating layer is insufficient, and the mobile amorphous content of the present invention cannot be yielded. When the time for which the metal sheet <NUM> is held at a temperature higher than or equal to the melting onset temperature of the resin coating layer <NUM> after the resin coating layer <NUM> is press-bonded to the metal sheet is more than <NUM> seconds, the production line becomes long, and the productivity is severely degraded. Furthermore, since the metal sheet <NUM> is allowed to naturally cool even after press bonding, the temperature of the metal sheet <NUM> during press bonding needs to be prominently high in order to hold, for more than <NUM> seconds, the metal sheet <NUM> at a temperature higher than or equal to the melting onset temperature of the resin coating layer <NUM> after press-bonding of the resin coating layer <NUM> onto the metal sheet <NUM>. In such a case, the resin coating layer <NUM> becomes melted and adheres to the laminate roll. Thus, the time for which the metal sheet after the resin coating layer <NUM> is press-bonded to the metal sheet <NUM> is held at a temperature higher than or equal to the melting onset temperature of the resin coating layer <NUM> is preferably <NUM> seconds or less.

When the metal sheet <NUM> is held at a temperature higher than or equal to the melting onset temperature of the resin coating layer <NUM> and is then allowed to naturally cool to a temperature less than the melting onset temperature, rigid phases (crystalline and rigid amorphous fractions) are generated in the resin coating layer, and the mobile amorphous content of the present invention cannot be obtained. Thus, after the resin coating layer <NUM> is held at a temperature higher than or equal to the melting onset temperature, quenching must be performed by, for example, water quenching. Here, quenching means performing cooling at a cooling rate of <NUM>/second or more from the melting onset temperature to <NUM>. Preferably, the cooling rate is <NUM>/second or more.

Examples of the method for increasing the temperature of the metal sheet <NUM> after the resin coating layer <NUM> is press-bonded thereto include a method that involves increasing the heating temperature of the metal sheet <NUM> before press bonding, a method that involves decreasing the pressure of the laminate roll during press bonding, and a method that involves increasing the temperature of the laminate roll during press bonding. In order to achieve the mobile amorphous content targeted by the present invention, the heating temperature of the metal sheet <NUM> is preferably about <NUM> to <NUM> higher than the melting point of the resin coating layer <NUM>. Moreover, decreasing the pressing pressure of the roll during press bonding can mitigate the cooling effect of the roll during press bonding and can keep the metal sheet temperature high after press bonding. Moreover, the higher the temperature of the laminate roll, the smaller the cooling effect of the roll during press bonding, and thus the metal sheet temperature after press bonding can be kept high. However, when the temperature of the laminate roll is <NUM> or more higher than the glass transition point of the resin coating layer <NUM>, the resin coating layer <NUM> softens, the roughness of the laminate roll is transferred to the resin coating layer <NUM>, and thus appearance defects are generated. Thus, the temperature of the laminate roll needs to be lower than or equal to a temperature <NUM> higher than the glass transition point of the resin coating layer <NUM>.

For the purpose of decreasing the frictional coefficient during the can-making process, the resin coating layer <NUM> may contain <NUM> mass% or more and <NUM> mass% or less of lubricant components. At lubricant components content of <NUM> mass% or more, sufficient slidability with a die is obtained during the can-making process, and scraping of the resin coating layer <NUM> is avoided even in a severer process. In addition, at lubricant components content of <NUM> mass% or less, the resin coating layer <NUM> remains rigid, and scraping of the resin coating layer <NUM> is avoided even in a severer process. The lubricant components content is preferably <NUM> mass% or more and preferably <NUM>% mass% or less.

The lubricant components contained in the resin coating layer <NUM> is preferably organic lubricants. Examples of the organic lubricants include polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, modified polyolefins such as acid-modified polyethylene, acid-modified polypropylene, polyethylene oxide, and polypropylene oxide, aliphatic acids and esters thereof such as stearic acid and stearate, and natural wax such as carnauba wax.

The resin coating layer <NUM> is in some cases required to appear white in order to enhance designability after printing. In such a case, the resin coating layer <NUM> may contain <NUM> mass% or less of inorganic pigments. The inorganic pigments content is preferably <NUM> mass% or more and preferably <NUM> mass% or less. The inorganic pigments content is more preferably <NUM> mass% or more and the inorganic pigments content is more preferably <NUM> mass% or less. At an inorganic pigments content of <NUM> mass% or more, a more excellent whiteness is obtained after processing. At an inorganic pigments content exceeding <NUM> mass%, issues related to the adhesion between the metal sheet <NUM> and the resin coating layer <NUM> and workability of the resin coating layer <NUM> may arise during forming that involves a high degree of processing.

Examples of the inorganic pigments include titanium oxide, alumina, calcium carbonate, and barium sulfate. The inorganic pigments contained in the resin coating layer <NUM> is not particularly limited but is preferably titanium oxide. In particular, rutile type titanium oxide having a purity of <NUM>% or more is preferable since dispersibility is more excellent during mixing with the resin material.

Here, as long as the purpose of the present invention is not obstructed, the resin coating layer <NUM> may contain other additives as needed. Examples of the additives include an anti-blocking agent, a fluorescent whitening agent, an antioxidant, a heat stabilizer, a UV absorber, and an antistatic material. In particular, when whiteness is to be improved, addition of a fluorescent whitening agent is effective.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the resin coating layer <NUM> may have an at least three-layer structure that includes an outermost surface layer 3a, an intermediate layer 3b, and a bottom layer 3c. In this case, the outermost surface layer 3a and the bottom layer 3c preferably each have a thickness of <NUM> or more and <NUM> or less. The thickness is more preferably <NUM> or more and more preferably <NUM> or less, and is yet more preferably <NUM> or more and yet more preferably <NUM> or less. The thickness of the intermediate layer 3b is preferably <NUM> or more and <NUM> or less. The thickness is more preferably <NUM> or more and more preferably <NUM> or less, and is yet more preferably <NUM> or more and yet more preferably <NUM> or less.

When inorganic pigments is added to the resin coating layer <NUM>, the outermost surface layer 3a may become brittle and the resin coating layer <NUM> may thereby become fractured or scraped if the inorganic pigments content in the outermost surface layer 3a is large; thus, the inorganic pigments content in the outermost surface layer 3a is preferably <NUM> mass% or more and <NUM> mass% or less. Furthermore, when the inorganic pigments content in the bottom layer 3c is large, adhesion between the resin coating layer <NUM> and the metal sheet may decrease; thus, the inorganic pigments content in the bottom layer 3c is preferably <NUM> mass% or more and <NUM> mass% or less. From the viewpoint of securely obtaining whiteness after processing, the inorganic pigments content in the intermediate layer 3b is preferably <NUM> mass% or more and <NUM> mass% or less.

When the outermost surface layer 3a and the bottom layer 3c have a small thickness, the resin coating layer <NUM> may not exhibit sufficient gloss and may become fractured or scraped. Meanwhile, when the outermost surface layer 3a and the bottom layer 3c have a large thickness, increasing the thickness of the intermediate layer 3b or increasing the inorganic pigments content in the intermediate layer 3b becomes necessary to securely obtain whiteness, and this is not preferable from the viewpoints of economy and workability. Thus, preferably, the thickness of the outermost surface layer 3a and the bottom layer 3c is <NUM> or more and <NUM> or less, the thickness of the intermediate layer 3b is <NUM> or more and <NUM> or less, the outermost surface layer 3a and the bottom layer 3c each contain <NUM> mass% or more and <NUM> mass% or less of inorganic pigments, and the intermediate layer 3b contains <NUM> mass% or more and <NUM> mass% or less of inorganic pigments.

The resin material forming the resin coating layer <NUM> is preferably a polyester containing <NUM> mol% or more of an ethylene terephthalate unit constituting polyethylene terephthalate formed of terephthalic acid as a carboxylic acid component and ethylene glycol as a glycol component.

A <NUM>-thick tin free steel (TFS, metallic Cr layer: <NUM>/m<NUM>, Cr oxide layer: <NUM>/m<NUM> on a metallic Cr basis, temper: T3CA) was used as a metal sheet, and resin coating layers indicated in Tables <NUM> to <NUM> were formed by a film lamination method (film thermal melting bonding method). In Examples <NUM> to <NUM> and Comparative Example <NUM>, the metal sheet was heated to a temperature <NUM> to <NUM> higher than the melting point of the resin coating layer, a film formed by a biaxial stretching method was thermally press-bonded onto the metal sheet by using a laminate roll, and the resulting metal sheet was held at a temperature higher than or equal to the melting onset temperature of the resin coating layer on the container outer surface side for <NUM> to <NUM> seconds and then cooled with water to coat both surfaces of the metal sheet with resin coating layers. In Examples <NUM> to <NUM> and Comparative Examples <NUM> to <NUM>, the time for which the metal sheet was held at a temperature higher than or equal to the melting onset temperature of the resin coating layer on the container outer surface side after thermal press-bonding of the films was set to less than <NUM> seconds, and then water cooling was performed to coat both surfaces of the metal sheet with resin coating layers.

For each of the obtained resin-coated metal sheets for containers, the inorganic additive content (the inorganic additive refers to inorganic pigments and inorganic additives among additives other than the inorganic pigments), the mobile amorphous content, and the crystalline content in the resin coating layer positioned on the container outer surface side were measured by the methods described below.

A resin-coated metal sheet was immersed at room temperature in a concentrated hydrochloric acid (<NUM> mol/L)/distilled water (<NUM>:<NUM>) mixed solution to dissolve the metal surfaces and remove the resin coating layer positioned on the container outer surface side from the metal sheet. Subsequently, the removed resin coating layer was thoroughly washed with distilled water and then subjected to vacuum drying. The dried resin coating layer was subjected to thermogravimetric determination by using a thermogravimetric apparatus from room temperature to <NUM> at an air flow rate of <NUM>/minute and a heating rate of <NUM>/minute. From the results of the thermogravimetric determination, the ratio of the weight at <NUM> to the weight at room temperature was assumed to be the inorganic additive content. The inorganic additive content was calculated from the following formula (<NUM>).

A resin-coated metal sheet was immersed at room temperature in a concentrated hydrochloric acid (<NUM> mol/L)/distilled water (<NUM>:<NUM>) mixed solution to dissolve the metal surfaces and remove the resin coating layer positioned on the container outer surface side from the metal sheet. Subsequently, the removed resin coating layer was thoroughly washed with distilled water and then subjected to vacuum drying. The dried resin coating layer was subjected to temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry from <NUM> to <NUM> at a nitrogen gas flow rate of <NUM>/minute, an average heating rate of <NUM>/minute, a modulation amplitude of ±<NUM>, and a modulation cycle of <NUM> seconds. The measurement results of reversing heat flow obtained from the temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry were used to calculate the difference in specific heat between before and after the glass transition point that existed between <NUM> to <NUM>, and the mobile amorphous content was calculated from the following formula (<NUM>). The inorganic additive content determined by the method described above was used as the inorganic additive content.

A resin-coated metal sheet was immersed at room temperature in a concentrated hydrochloric acid (<NUM> mol/L)/distilled water (<NUM>:<NUM>) mixed solution to dissolve the metal surfaces and remove the resin coating layer positioned on the container outer surface side from the metal sheet. Subsequently, the removed resin coating layer was thoroughly washed with distilled water and then subjected to vacuum drying. The dried resin coating layer was subjected to temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry from <NUM> to <NUM> at a nitrogen gas flow rate of <NUM>/minute, an average heating rate of <NUM>/minute, a modulation amplitude of ±<NUM>, and a modulation cycle of <NUM> seconds. The measurement results of the total heat flow obtained by the temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry were used to determine the heat of crystallization from the area of the crystallization peak that existed between <NUM> to <NUM> and the heat of melting determined from the area of the melting peak that existed between <NUM> and <NUM>, and the heat of crystallization and the heat of melting were used to calculate the crystalline content from the following formula (<NUM>). The inorganic additive content determined by the method described above was used as the inorganic additive content.

For the resin-coated metal sheets for containers of Examples <NUM> to <NUM> and Comparative Examples <NUM> to <NUM>, the formability and appearance after heat treatment were evaluated by the following methods.

Paraffin wax was applied to each of the resin-coated metal sheets for containers obtained in Examples <NUM> to <NUM> and Comparative Examples <NUM> to <NUM>, and then a disk having a diameter of <NUM> was punched out. This disk was drawn by a cupping press machine and then subjected to two-step redrawing and one-step ironing to form a can having an inner diameter of <NUM> and a can height of <NUM>. The surface of the resin coating layer on the outer surface side of the formed can was observed with naked eye, and formability was evaluated according to the following standards.

Paraffin wax was applied to each of the resin-coated metal sheets for containers according to Examples <NUM> to <NUM> and Comparative Examples <NUM> to <NUM>, and then a disk having a diameter of <NUM> was punched out. This disk was drawn by a cupping press machine and then subjected to two-step redrawing and one-step ironing to form a can having an inner diameter of <NUM> and a can height of <NUM>. The obtained can body was heated in a hot-air drying furnace under conditions that the can body temperature reached <NUM> in <NUM> seconds, and then quenched with cool air. The resin coating layer on the can outer surface after cooling was observed with naked eye, and appearance after heat treatment was evaluated according to the following standards.

Table <NUM> indicates the evaluation results of the formability and the appearance after the heat treatment.

Claim 1:
A resin-coated metal sheet for containers, the resin-coated metal sheet comprising a metal sheet and a resin coating layer on at least one surface of the metal sheet, wherein the resin coating layer on the at least one surface contains a resin material that contains <NUM> mol% or more of an ethylene terephthalate unit and that has a mobile amorphous content of <NUM>% or more.