Weirton Steel Corporation

William H Dalrymple

William T Saunders, Deceased

William L Johnston

Jon F Grubbs

William T Saunders

James A Bray

Leonard A Jenkins

Robert Meerdo

Method and apparatus are disclosed for fabricating a one-piece can body, with profiled closed end, from flat rolled steel of selected thickness gauge and tensile strength. Such steel substrate is electrolytically metal plated to facilitate sidewall ironing into an elongated sidewall can body for pressurized beverage packs. An axially-recessed bead is formed in the endwall of a drawn cup by pulling sidewall metal for movement into such endwall. That preformed bead being symmetrically positioned in the drawn cup such that a bodymaker redraw of the drawn cup positions sheet metal of the preformed bead so as to constitute a closed end angled portion, which extends from a circular configuration base support toward contiguous sidewall. Following subsequent sidewall ironing of the bodymaker redrawn cup, a substantially-planar endwall panel, radially inward of such base support, is formed into a concave dome by moving sidewall sheet metal into the closed end of the sidewall ironed can body, thus substantially avoiding thinning of closed end sheet metal and providing desired bulge and implosion resistance. Also, reforming steps for such closed end, subsequent to can body fabrication, are eliminated.

One-piece can bodies for pressure pack beverage cans

New composite-coated flat-rolled steel product and new methods of manufacture in which low-carbon steel, as received in cold-reduced continuous strip form is prepared for plating, a corrosion-prevention plating is applied, and a selected polymeric coating with lubricant is applied as the finish surface. The resulting composite-coated steel substrate is cold-rolled to decrease the composite-coated steel substrate gage. Selection of cold rolling steps, with non-use or selected use of stress-relief type of heat treatment before and/or after an initial cold-rolling of the steel substrate as received prior to surface preparation, provides for selective tin mill manufacture of composite-coated steel of various weights per unit area, for example, in the range of about 35 to about 100 lb/bb, produced by cold rolling of the composite-coated flat-rolled steel.

Light-gage composite-coated flat-rolled steel manufacture and product

Draw processing flat-rolled sheet metal substrate preselectively precoated on each surface with organic coating and draw lubricant into one-piece can bodies ready for assembly into sanitary can packs free of any requirement for applying organic coating or adding organic coating for repair purposes after fabrication and before such direct usage. Cupping of precoated flat-rolled sheet metal can stock using preselected tooling configurations and clearance avoids any increase in side wall metal thickness gage. Tension elongation during redraw is controlled over side wall height by clamping solely between planar clamping surfaces, tooling configurations and preselected clearances to decrease thickness gage uniformly over side wall height between flange metal open end of can body and curved transition zone at closed end. High production rate blanking and cupping is achieved with out-of-phase simultaneous movement of cupping die and punch which provides for rapid discharge cup-shaped work product, open-end-down on flange at open end of cup. Surface area of the cavity entrance zone for each die is fabricated about multiple radii forming sharp edge about which coated can stock is drawn into each die cavity. Curved surface transition zone for each punch is maintained large in relation to sheet metal substrate starting gage which facilitates change of configuration of metal from planar state into cylindrical side wall.

Draw-processing of can bodies for sanitary can packs

Rigid container structure for hermetic sealing of particulate solids which emit an off-gas during containment. Provisions are made for enclosing chamber space with a gas-permeable imperforate membrane film so as to selectively separate and retain an off-gas out of contact with container contents. In a specific embodiment, carbon dioxide is selectively separated from coffee contents while the entire container, including such enclosed chamber as established, is hermetically sealed from ambient atmosphere. Provision is also made for venting of a separated off-gas in initiating a rupture of an end closure structure prior to full opening of the container. That arrangement further diminishes the opportunity for inadvertent discharge of particulate solids due to expulsion of gas from inert gas purging and from gas emitted during hermetic sealing.

Rigid packaging using gas-permeable membrane

Draw processing flat-rolled sheet metal substrate preselectively precoated on each surface with organic coating and draw lubricant into one-piece can bodies ready for assembly into sanitary can packs free of any requirement for applying organic coating or adding organic coating for repair purposes after fabrication and before such direct usage. Cupping of precoated flat-rolled sheet metal can stock using preselected tooling configurations and clearance avoids any increase in side wall metal thickness gage. Tension elongation during redraw is controlled over side wall height by clamping solely between planar clamping surfaces, tooling configurations and preselected clearances to decrease thickness gage uniformly over side wall height between flange metal open end of can body and curved transition zone at closed end. Surface area of the cavity entrance zone for each die is fabricated about multiple radii forming sharp edge about which coated can stock is drawn into each die cavity. Curved surface transition zone for each punch is maintained large in relation to sheet metal substrate starting gage which facilitates change of configuration of metal from planar state into cylindrical side wall.

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Weirton, WV, United States of America

William H Dalrymple