Non-circular can end with corner-mounted tab and tooling and a conversion press for providing same

Tooling adapted to manufacture a non-circular can end for attachment to a container having walls which form a non-circular opening, said non-circular can end comprising:

• a recessed panel having a product side facing toward said container and a public side facing away therefrom;
• a number of safety folds integrally connected to the recessed panel;
• a non-circular score line adjacent to the safety folds that defines a severable panel portion in said recessed panel, said severable panel portion having a corner with a predetermined radius of curvature;
• a tab attached to said severable panel portion with a rivet at said corner thereof, said tab including a handle end and a nose end, said nose end structured to sever said scoreline at said corner when said handle end is lifted;
• a chuckwall having a first end and a second end, said first end of said chuckwall integral with said recessed panel and extending generally vertically therefrom;
• and
• a seaming portion integral with the second end of said chuckwall and structured to attach and secure said non-circular can end to the walls of said container with the scoreline located adjacent to the first end of the chuckwall, wherein said tooling comprises:
• a first station including upper tooling and lower tooling wherein one of said upper and lower tooling is adapted to be advanced towards the other of said upper and lower tooling in order to form an initial bubble bend for the formation of said integral rivet in said corner of said severable panel portion and to form at least one of said number of preliminary folds integral with said recessed panel;
• a second station including upper tooling and lower tooling wherein one of said upper and lower tooling is adapted to be advanced towards the other of said upper and lower tooling in order to form a button bend for the formation of said integral rivet and to make said scoreline defining said severable panel portion;
• a third station including upper tooling and lower tooling wherein one of said upper and lower tooling is adapted to be advanced towards the other of said upper and lower tooling in order to form a second button bend for the formation of said integral rivet and to complete said number of safety folds;
• and
• at least a fourth station including upper tooling and lower tooling wherein one of said upper and lower tooling is adapted to be advanced towards the other of said upper and lower tooling in order to complete the formation of said recessed panel and to prepare said integral rivet for receiving and securing said tab at said corner of said severable panel portion.

A conversion press adapted to convert a non-circular shell into a finished non-circular can end for attachment to a container having walls which form a non-circular opening, said conversion press comprising:

• a press ram;
• an upper tooling member;
• a lower tooling member;
• and
• upper and lower tooling coupled to said upper and lower tooling members, respectively, and adapted to form said non-circular can end when said press ram is activated thereby advancing one of said upper and lower tooling members towards the other of said upper and lower tooling members, wherein said non-circular can end comprises:
• a recessed panel having a product side facing toward said container and a public side facing away therefrom,
• a number of safety folds integrally connected to the recessed panel;
• a non-circular score line adjacent to the safety folds that defines a severable panel portion in said recessed panel, said severable panel portion having a corner with a predetermined radius of curvature,
• a tab attached to said severable panel portion with a rivet at said corner thereof, said tab including a handle end and a nose end, said nose end structured to sever said scoreline at said corner when said handle end is lifted,
• a chuckwall having a first end and a second end, said first end of said chuckwall integral with said recessed panel and extending generally vertically therefrom, and
• a seaming portion integral with the second end of said chuckwall and structured to attach and secure said non-circular can end to the walls of said container with the scoreline located adjacent to the first end of the chuckwall.