Beverage Can End Closure Chuck Wall Strengthening Bead Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Beverage container end closures face challenges in withstanding high internal pressures from carbonated beverages while minimizing material usage and manufacturing costs, with existing solutions often being unreliable and requiring expensive new equipment.
Innovation Solution
A container end closure design featuring a concave arch chuck wall with a transition zone and distinct radius curvatures, allowing for reduced material usage and compatibility with conventional manufacturing equipment, which enhances strength and durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional end closure designs are used, then manufacturing reliability is improved, but material costs and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing a strengthening bead only in the critical countersink region where stress concentration occurs during double seaming, rather than uniformly thickening the entire end closure. This localized reinforcement maintains manufacturing reliability while minimizing material usage and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The strengthening bead incorporates curved geometric features including a first radius of curvature at the transition from chuck wall to countersink, and a second radius of curvature at the transition from countersink to central panel. These curved transitions eliminate sharp corners that would cause stress concentration, thereby maintaining structural integrity with reduced material.
2Quantity of substance
If end closure thickness is reduced to save material, then material costs decrease, but strength and pressure resistance worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The end closure employs non-uniform thickness distribution with a strengthening bead that locally increases material presence only where needed for strength, allowing the overall structure to use less material while maintaining pressure resistance at critical locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The curved geometry of the strengthening bead with controlled radii of curvature distributes stress more evenly through the structure, preventing stress concentration that would occur with sharp transitions. This allows thinner overall material while maintaining strength at critical stress points.
3Strength
If chuck wall angle is increased to improve structural integrity, then strength improves, but manufacturing complexity and equipment requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies a particular chuck wall angle range (30°-60°) that optimizes structural integrity while remaining compatible with conventional double seaming equipment. The strengthening bead further reinforces the chuck wall region, allowing use of standard manufacturing equipment rather than requiring complex specialized tooling.
4Ease of manufacture
If end closure geometry is simplified to reduce manufacturing costs, then manufacturing ease improves, but reliability and leak resistance worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The strengthening bead incorporates smooth curved transitions with specified radii of curvature at all corners and transitions. This eliminates sharp corners that would cause stress concentration and potential leakage, while the continuous curved geometry is compatible with conventional forming processes, maintaining manufacturing ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies the strengthening bead specifically in the countersink region where leakage is most likely to occur during double seaming, providing localized leak prevention without requiring complex geometry throughout the entire end closure structure.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention describes a beverage can end which utilizes less material and has an improved internal buckle strength based on the geometric configuration of a chuck wall, inner panel wall and central panel, and which, in one embodiment utilizes an arcuate shaped chuck wall with a radius of curvature between about 0.150 inches and 0.250 inches with at least one transition zone positioned between an upper and lower end of the chuck wall.