Manufacturing tooling and methods for producing push button container closures

A tooling assembly for manufacturing a push button container closure (10) from a blank (50) of a container closure, the blank including a generally planar center panel (12) and a sidewall (18) extending from a periphery (20) of the center panel at a corner junction (22), wherein the tooling assembly comprises:

• a first press station (70) including first and second die tools (72, 74) that press together to deform a center panel of the container closure to include a bubble (58) projecting upwardly from a remainder of the center panel;
• a second press station (80) including first and second die tools (82, 84) that press together to further deform the center panel at the bubble to form a central button (24) and a depressed annular region (26) surrounding the central button, with the central button located in relative elevation below the corner junction of the container closure;
• a third press station (100) including first and second die tools (102, 104) that press together to deform an outer region (60) of the center panel located between the depressed annular region and the sidewall to reshape the center panel at the outer region and thereby move the central button upwardly closer to an elevation of the corner junction of the container closure;
• a fourth press station (120) including first and second die tools (122, 124) that press together to score the depressed annular region surrounding the central button to provide main scores (30, 32) and ancillary scores (34) into an upper surface (16) of the container closure, the second die tool including a plurality of cutting projections (138) that cut into the upper surface of the container closure to form the main scores and the ancillary scores when the first and second die tools are pressed together, with one of the cutting projections being larger in size than a remainder of the cutting projections to form a selected one of the main scores so as to be cut deeper into material of the container closure than all other scores such that the central button can be pushed to sever the center panel at the selected one of the main scores to release a pressure differential across the container closure,
• wherein the fourth press station is configured so as to cut all scores into the container closure only at the fourth press station and in a single compression action, and such that the container closure is scored at only one of the press stations in the tooling assembly.