US 5,235,839 AGranted

Apparatus for flanging containers

AssigneeReynolds Metals Company

InventorsHarry W. Lee, Jr., Eric L. Jensen

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Abstract

A flanging head assembly having a cluster of freely rotatable spin flanging rollers includes a stop ring against which the flange hits during the final flange forming stages to limit the flange to a specific diameter. To prevent the flange from entering the crack formed between the rotating roller and the stationary stop ring, there is provided a step spacing the stop ring surface from the roller forming surface. In this manner, as the terminal edge of the flange slides around the flanging roller during final forming, it will pass over the crack and across the step to lodge in a corner formed between the step and stop ring surface. In a preferred embodiment, the step is a conical surface extending from the stop ring surface in a direction away from the can bottom. This conical surface extends radially inwardly a sufficient distance to contact unsupported flange portions between the flanging rollers to limit the degree of elastic sagging of these portions.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A flanging head assembly for forming a peripheral outwardly directed flange in a free edge portion of a can having a cylindrical body, comprising a plurality of flanging rollers having profiled flange forming surfaces adapted to receive said free edge portion and spin same in a radially outward direction during relative axial movement of said free edge portion toward and against progressively larger diameter portions of said forming surfaces;

housing means for mounting said flanging rollers about a central longitudinal axis thereof;
means for revolving said rollers about said central longitudinal axis to create spinning contact with said relatively axially advancing free edge portion, and a stop ring having a stop surface mounted adjacent a trailing end of said forming surfaces to contact the free edge of the flange as it moves off the forming surfaces to limit the diameter of the flange, the improvement comprising a step formed in the stop ring which spaces the stop surface from the forming surfaces to enable the terminal end of the flange being formed to travel past an interface gap between the roller and stop ring and across the step to contact the stop surface and avoid movement of a portion of the terminal end of flange into the gap.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.