Patent ID: 7882721

Claim:
A can bodymaker, comprising: a machine frame; a bodymaker drive mechanism carried on the machine frame; and a ram carried on the machine frame; wherein said drive mechanism is formed of a major ring carried in stationary position with respect to said machine frame and a minor planetary ring carried on the frame for rolling orbital motion against the inside circumference of said major ring, such that said minor planetary ring rolls on a minor ring central axis that orbits the major ring central axis, and said planetary ring has a diameter of one-half the diameter of the major ring, whereby each point on the circumference of the minor ring tracks a straight-line path of movement along an axis of motion that is parallel to a diameter of the major ring; and further comprising: a crank device attached to the drive mechanism for movement with said minor ring central axis and having a tracking point offset from the minor ring central axis and aligned with a selected point at the circumference of the minor ring, such that the tracking point tracks a preselected straight-line path that is parallel to a preselected diameter of the major ring; wherein: said crank device is connected to said ram for driving the ram in synchronization with movement of the tracking point on a predetermined straight-line path that is parallel to said preselected diameter of the major ring; and the machine frame is configured to support said ram for straight-line reciprocation on said preselected straight-line path.