Crown Packaging Technology, Inc.

Stephen John Osborn

Paul Robert Dunwoody

Andrew Robert Lockley

Florian Christian Gregory Combe

Lucy Michelle Winstanley

Philip Alan Marriot

A can comprises a can body () and a lid (). The can body is manufactured using only a single homogeneous piece of material and has an edge that defines a top opening into the can. The can body also has an inwardly directed bead (), which extends around the body, is adjacent to the can body edge, and defines an inwardly facing sealing surface () of substantially constant transverse cross-sectional dimension along an axial extent. The lid defines an outwardly directed sealing surface which abuts the inwardly facing sealing surface presented by the inwardly directed bead in order to seal the lid to the can body. An alternative can body has an inwardly directed pinched or collapsed bead which defines an upwardly facing sealing surface () for engagement with a downwardly facing sealing surface of a can lid. The alternative can body additionally has an inwardly directed bead () between the can body edge and the pinched or collapsed bead. An outer brim () of the lid is configured to be retained between the two beads of the alternative can body.

Ringless metal cans and method

There is disclosed herein a method of forming a can end comprising: holding a peripheral portion of a blank between inner () and outer () peripheral tool sets; drawing a central portion of the blank against an outer center panel tool () having a central region and a sloping peripheral edge () extending to a peripheral wall () by moving the outer center panel tool () inwardly relative to the peripheral tool sets to form a drawn can end shell (); and reforming the can end shell () against an inner center panel tool () having a central region and a peripheral region by moving the inner center panel tool () outwardly relative to the peripheral tool sets to reform the drawn central portion to have a center panel defined by the central region of the inner center panel tool () and a recessed reinforcing structure extending around the center panel, wherein the sloping peripheral edge () of the outer center panel tool () has a convex radius of curvature of 2 mm or more and 30 mm or less between the central region of the outer center panel tool () and the peripheral wall () of the outer center panel tool (). A related apparatus is also disclosed.

Growing community of inventors

Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

Stephen John Osborn