Machine for beading cylindrical cans or can bodies

A machine for beading cylindrical cans or can bodies, comprising:

• a revolving head or carousel rotatable about a vertical axis and comprising a plurality of work stations passing singly and in succession through a station at which unbeaded can bodies are fed in and a station at which beaded can bodies run out;
• means associated with each of the work stations, by which a can body is supported during passage of the work station from the infeed station to the runout station;
• fixed reaction means, extending substantially parallel with and externally of the trajectory followed by a can body carried by the support means of each work station, of which an internal face is positioned to enter into contact with a can body during passage of the work station from the infeed station to the runout station and bears a beaded profile with which the can body is to be invested;
• means associated with each of the work stations and positioned so as to constrain a single can body during its passage from the infeed station to the runout station, embodied essentially as a revolving mandrel comprising a vertical center shaft ensheathed by a removable barrel of which the external diameter is significantly less than the internal diameter of the can body and of which an external surface affords a profile complementary to that of the fixed reaction means, in such a way that a can body constrained forcibly between the revolving mandrel and the fixed reaction means will be deformed and invested with a beaded profile during passage of the work station from the infeed station to the runout station;
• means by which the mandrel and the support means of each work station are moved toward and away from one another through a distance substantially equal to half the height of the can body;
• wherein support means comprise at least one containing element, affording a semicylindrical surface directed toward the relative mandrel and provided with a plurality of elements capable of attracting the can body, and a shelf positioned below the containing element, presenting a hole or recess affording passage to the mandrel during movement of the mandrel and the support means toward and away from one another, and are capable of movement between a raised position, in which the shelf is aligned with further support means afforded respectively by the infeed station and by the runout station, and a lowered position in which the shelf is disposed at a height not lower than that of the relative mandrel.

A machine for beading cylindrical cans or can bodies, comprising:

• a revolving head or carousel rotatable about a vertical axis and comprising a plurality of work stations passing singly and in succession through a station at which unbeaded can bodies are fed in and a station at which beaded can bodies run out;
• means associated with each of the work stations, by which a can body is supported during passage of the work station from the infeed station to the runout station;
• fixed reaction means, extending substantially parallel with and externally of the trajectory followed by a can body carried by the support means of each work station, of which an internal face is positioned to enter into contact with a can body during passage of the work station from the infeed station to the runout station and bears a beaded profile with which the can body is to be invested;
• means associated with each of the work stations and positioned so as to constrain a single can body during its passage from the infeed station to the runout station, embodied essentially as a revolving mandrel comprising a vertical center shaft ensheathed by a removable barrel of which the external diameter is significantly less than the internal diameter of the can body and of which an external surface affords a profile complementary to that of the fixed reaction means, in such a way that a can body constrained forcibly between the revolving mandrel and the fixed reaction means will be deformed and invested with a beaded profile during passage of the work station from the infeed station to the runout station;
• means by which the mandrel and the support means of each work station are moved toward and away from one another through a distance substantially equal to half the height of the can body;
• wherein the revolving head comprises:
• a fixed and centrally positioned vertical shaft;
• two freely revolving platforms located one above the other, supported by and rotatable about the fixed shaft, which serve to support the constraint means and the support means while enabling their movement parallel to the axis of the fixed shaft;
• a plurality of cam followers associated one with each of the constraint means and the support means, and operating in conjunction with respective cam means associated rigidly and coaxially with the fixed center shaft.

A machine for beading cylindrical cans or can bodies, comprising:

• a revolving head or carousel rotatable about an axis and comprising a plurality of work stations passing singly and in succession through a station at which unbeaded can bodies are fed in and a station at which beaded can bodies run out;
• means associated with each of the work stations, by which a can body is supported during passage of the work station from the infeed station to the runout station;
• fixed reaction means, extending substantially parallel with and externally of the trajectory followed by a can body carried by the support means of each work station, of which an internal face is positioned to enter into contact with a can body during passage of the work station from the infeed station to the runout station and bears a beaded profile with which the can body is to be invested;
• means associated with each of the work stations and positioned so as to constrain a single can body during its passage from the infeed station to the runout station, comprising a revolving mandrel having a supported end and a free end, said mandrel having an external diameter which is significantly less than the internal diameter of the can body and of which an external surface affords a profile complementary to that of the fixed reaction means, in such a way that a can body constrained forcibly between the revolving mandrel and the fixed reaction means will be deformed and invested with a beaded profile during passage of the work station from the infeed station to the runout station;
• moving means for moving the mandrel of each work station substantially parallel to said axis and for moving the support means of each work station substantially parallel to said axis;
• said moving means moving said mandrel and moving said support means toward and away from one another through at least a distance substantially equal to half the height of the can body during passage of a respective work station from the infeed station to the runout station.