JP-2026514466-A - Conversion press for can ends

Abstract

A quick-change cartridge assembly for a conversion press includes a down-stacker assembly having at least one can shell feeder for supplying can shells during use of the conversion press incorporating the quick-change cartridge assembly, one or more forming stations, a tab staking station, and a transport belt. The transport belt defines at least one active forming lane for transporting can shells from at least one can shell feeder to one or more forming stations and tab staking stations during use of the conversion press incorporating the quick-change cartridge assembly. [Selection Diagram] Figure 4A

Inventors

• マッカーティ， パトリック， ケヴィン
• カーステンス， アーロン， エマニュエル

Assignees

• アルフォンス ハール インコーポレイテッド

Dates

Publication Date

20260511

Application Date

20240423

Priority Date

20230428

Claims (20)

1. Frame and, A ram movably coupled to the frame, The system comprises at least one cartridge assembly, which is removably coupled to the bolster and ram of the frame, and each cartridge assembly is One or more molding stations, Tab Stake Station and, A transfer belt for receiving can shells, wherein the transfer belt defines at least one active molding lane for transporting the can shells to one or more molding stations and the tab staking station, and the can shells are formed into tabbed can ends as they are transported along the at least one active molding lane. A conversion press for forming tabbed can ends.
2. Each cartridge assembly further comprises a down stacker assembly having at least one can shell supply device for supplying can shells, The transfer belt receives the can shells from the at least one can shell supply device. The conversion press according to claim 1.
3. The conversion press according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one cartridge assembly includes an upper mounting plate removably coupled to the ram and a lower mounting plate removably coupled to the bolster of the frame.
4. The conversion press according to claim 3, wherein the transfer belt is coupled to the lower mounting plate.
5. The conversion press according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a tab forming and feeding device configured to sequentially form tabs onto a tab feeding material and to supply the tab feeding material having the formed tabs to a tab staking station, wherein at the tab staking station, the tabs are separated from the rest of the tab feeding material and bonded to the can shell.
6. The conversion press according to claim 5, wherein the at least one cartridge assembly further comprises a scrap chopper device for cutting the remaining portion of the tab feed material into scrap material, and the conversion press further comprises a scrap chute device for discharging the scrap material from the scrap chopper device.
7. The conversion press according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the at least one cartridge assembly comprises two cartridge assemblies.
8. The conversion press according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the one or more molding stations comprises one or more of the following: a primary bubble station, a secondary bubble station, a score and button station, a panel and button restrike station, or a tab wiping station.
9. The at least one cartridge assembly is An upper mounting plate removably coupled to the ram using mechanical fasteners or a first magnetic fastener assembly, A lower mounting plate removably coupled to the bolster of the frame using mechanical fasteners or a second magnetic fastener assembly, A conversion press according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising:
10. The conversion press according to claim 1, wherein the at least one cartridge assembly comprises a lower mounting plate, and the one or more molding stations, the tab staking station, and the transfer belt are coupled to the lower mounting plate.
11. The at least one cartridge assembly is The system further comprises at least one of the following: an optical tester assembly for checking the molded tabbed can end for defects, or a drive drum detachably coupled to the drive shaft of the conversion press for driving the transfer belt, At least one of the optical tester assembly or the drive drum is coupled to the lower mounting plate of the at least one cartridge assembly. A conversion press according to any one of claims 1 to 10.
12. A method for replacing a cartridge assembly in a conversion press comprising a frame and a ram movably coupled to the frame, wherein the method is The process includes the step of removing the first cartridge assembly from the conversion press, wherein the first cartridge assembly is First upper mounting plate, First lower mounting plate, One or more first molding stations, The system comprises a first tab staking station and a first transport belt for receiving can shells, wherein the first transport belt defines at least one first active molding lane for transporting the can shells to one or more first molding stations and the first tab staking station, and the can shells are formed into tabbed can ends as they are transported along the at least one first active molding lane. The step of removing the first cartridge assembly from the conversion press is This includes the steps of removing the first upper mounting plate from the ram and removing the first lower mounting plate from the bolster of the frame, The above method further, The process includes the step of installing a second cartridge assembly in the conversion press in place of the first cartridge assembly, wherein the second cartridge assembly is Second upper mounting plate, Second lower mounting plate, One or more second molding stations, The system comprises a second tab staking station and a second transport belt for receiving can shells, wherein the second transport belt defines at least one second active molding lane for transporting the can shells to one or more second molding stations and the second tab staking station, and the can shells are formed into tabbed can ends as they are transported along the at least one second active molding lane. The step of installing the second cartridge assembly into the conversion press is, The process includes the steps of removably connecting the second upper mounting plate to the ram and removably connecting the second lower mounting plate to the bolster of the frame, method.
13. The first cartridge assembly further comprises a first down stacker assembly having at least one first can shell supply device for supplying can shells, the first transport belt receiving the can shells from the at least one first can shell supply device, The second cartridge assembly further comprises a second downstacker assembly having at least one second can shell supply device for supplying can shells, and the second transport belt receives the can shells from the at least one second can shell supply device. The method according to claim 12.
14. The process further includes removing the first tab forming feeder from the conversion press, wherein the first tab forming feeder is configured to sequentially form first tabs onto a first tab feeder and to supply the first tab feeder having the formed first tabs to the first tab staking station, where the first tabs are separated from the rest of the first tab feeder and coupled to the can shell being transported on the first transport belt of the first cartridge assembly. The process further includes the step of installing a second tab forming and feeding device within the conversion press, wherein the second tab forming and feeding device is configured to sequentially form second tabs onto a second tab supply material and to supply the second tab supply material having the formed second tabs to the second tab staking station, where the second tabs are separated from the rest of the second tab supply material and coupled to the can shell being transported on the second transport belt of the second cartridge assembly. The second tab forming feeder includes at least one of the following: a different output volume of formed tabs from that of the first tab forming feeder, or tooling for forming tabs that differ from those formed by the first tab forming feeder in size or shape, at least one of the following: The method according to claim 12 or 13.
15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the first and second upper mounting plates are removably coupled to the ram, respectively, using mechanical fasteners or magnetic fastener assemblies, and the first and second lower mounting plates are removably coupled to the bolster of the frame, respectively, using mechanical fasteners or magnetic fastener assemblies.
16. The step of installing the second cartridge assembly into the conversion press is, Prior to the steps of removably coupling the second upper mounting plate to the ram and removably coupling the second lower mounting plate to the bolster, the process further includes positioning the second cartridge assembly in a desired position using a positioning guide pin assembly fixed to the frame, With the second cartridge assembly in the desired position, the second upper mounting plate is removably coupled to the ram and the second lower mounting plate is removably coupled to the bolster, and the second upper and lower mounting plates are appropriately positioned so that the one or more second forming stations and the second tab staking stations can form can shells supplied by the at least one second can shell feeding device into tabbed can ends. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15.
17. A step of removing the first drive drum of the first cartridge assembly from a drive shaft fixed to the frame, wherein the drive shaft is configured to drive the first drive drum to rotate the first transport belt; A step of removably coupling the second drive drum of the second cartridge assembly to the drive shaft, wherein the drive shaft is configured to drive the second drive drum to rotate the second transport belt, It further includes, The first drive drum is coupled to the first lower mounting plate, and the second drive drum is coupled to the second lower mounting plate. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16.
18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 17, further comprising the step of extending the ram to a position such that one or more spacer blocks are positioned between corresponding pairs of lower and upper stop blocks, prior to the step of removing the first upper mounting plate from the ram, wherein one or more of the lower stop blocks are coupled to the first lower mounting plate, and one or more of the upper stop blocks are coupled to the first upper mounting plate.
19. A quick-change cartridge assembly for a conversion press, One or more molding stations, Tab Stake Station and, A transfer belt that defines at least one active molding lane for transporting can shells to one or more molding stations and the tab staking station during use of the conversion press incorporating the quick-change cartridge assembly, A quick-change cartridge assembly equipped with [a specific feature/feature].
20. The down stacker assembly further comprises at least one can shell feeding device for supplying can shells during use of a conversion press incorporating the quick-change cartridge assembly, The transfer belt receives the can shells from the at least one can shell supply device. The quick-change cartridge assembly according to claim 19.

Description

This invention relates to a conversion press including a cartridge assembly for forming can ends, and a method for replacing the cartridge assembly in the conversion press. For example, metal containers for holding products such as food and beverages (e.g., cans) typically have an easily openable can end, on which a pull tab is attached to a tear strip or a detachable panel (e.g., riveted). The detachable panel is defined by a score line on the outer surface (e.g., the public side) of the can end. The pull tab is configured to be lifted and/or pulled to detach the score line, deflect the detachable panel and/or remove it, thereby creating an opening for dispensing the contents of the can. According to one embodiment, a conversion press for forming tabbed can ends is provided. The press comprises a frame, a ram movably coupled to the frame, and at least one cartridge assembly detachably coupled to the bolster and ram of the frame. Each cartridge assembly comprises one or more forming stations, a tab staking station, and a transport belt for receiving can shells. The transport belt defines at least one active forming lane for transporting can shells to one or more forming stations and tab staking stations. The can shells are formed into tabbed can ends as they are transported along at least one active forming lane. At least one cartridge assembly may include an upper mounting plate removably coupled to the ram and/or a lower mounting plate removably coupled to the frame bolster. The down-stacker assembly and transfer belt may be coupled to the lower mounting plate. At least one cartridge assembly may include any one or more of the following: an optical tester assembly for checking the molded tabbed can end for defects; a drive drum detachably coupled to the drive shaft of a conversion press for driving a transfer belt; or a scrap chopper device for cutting the remaining portion of the tab feed material into scrap material. The conversion press may further include a scrap chute device for discharging scrap material from the scrap chopper device. The conversion press may further comprise a tab forming and feeding device configured to sequentially form tabs onto a tab supply material and to supply the tab supply material having the formed tabs to a tab staking station, where the tabs are separated from the rest of the tab supply material and bonded to the can shell. At least one cartridge assembly may comprise two cartridge assemblies. The first cartridge assembly may include the same number of active molding lanes as the second cartridge assembly, or a different number of active molding lanes. The first cartridge assembly may form a first can end having a first tab, and the second cartridge assembly may form a second can end having a second tab. The first can end may have the same size and shape as the second can end, or at least one of a different size and shape. One or more molding stations may include one or more of the following: a primary bubble station, a secondary bubble station, a score and button station, a panel and button restrike station, or a tab wiping station. At least one cartridge assembly may comprise an upper mounting plate removably coupled to the ram using mechanical fasteners or a first magnetic fastener assembly, and a lower mounting plate removably coupled to the frame bolster using mechanical fasteners or a second magnetic fastener assembly. The number of can shell feeders in each cartridge assembly may correspond to the number of active molding lanes in the corresponding cartridge assembly. At least one cartridge assembly may include a lower mounting plate, and two or more of the following—downstacker assemblies, one or more forming stations, tab staking stations, or transfer belts—are coupled to the lower mounting plate. At least one cartridge assembly may include a lower mounting plate, to which the down-stacker assembly, one or more forming stations, a tab staking station, and a transfer belt are coupled. At least one cartridge assembly may further include an optical tester assembly for checking the formed tabbed can ends for defects, and a drive drum detachably coupled to the drive shaft of the conversion press for driving the transfer belt; the optical tester assembly and the drive drum may be coupled to the lower mounting plate. According to one embodiment, a method is provided for replacing a cartridge assembly in a conversion press comprising a frame and a ram movably coupled to the frame. The method includes removing a first cartridge assembly from the conversion press and installing a second cartridge assembly in place of the first cartridge assembly within the conversion press. The first cartridge assembly comprises a first upper mounting plate, a first lower mounting plate, one or more first forming stations, a first tab staking station, and a first transport belt. The first transport belt receives can shells and defines at least one first active forming lane for transporti