Two piece container

Abstract

A two piece container having a hidden peripheral seam is described. The seam between the upper portion and the lower portion of the container is formed of mating flanges on the upper and lower portions of the container and it is effectively hidden from view by placing the seam at the base of the neck in containers having a relatively long slender neck above a relatively larger diameter main body portion or by placing the seam immediately below a relatively larger diameter shoulder near the base of the upper section of the container so that the seam is visually obscured by the shoulder section. Other complimentary decoration and finishing techniques for reducing the visibility of the seam on such a container are also described.

1 . A two piece container having a hidden peripheral seam between an upper portion and a lower portion and a long neck profile comprising a drawn and ironed lower portion having a main body section with a first diameter, a transition section between said main body section and a relatively short necked-in section having a second diameter substantially smaller than said first diameter, said necked-in section being adapted to attach to the lower peripheral edge of a separate relatively long neck upper portion having a top edge adapted to seal with a closure for retaining a product within said container:  
     
     
         2 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the long neck upper portion is formed by cutting a circular blank, drawing the blank one or more times to form a boss of the desired height, removing a portion of the end wall of the boss and curling the remaining portion of the end wall.  
     
     
         3 . The container of  claim 1  wherein said first diameter of said main body section is between about 5 centimeters (2 inches) and about 8.9 centimeters (3.5 inches) and said second diameter of said necked-in section is between about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) and about 5 centimeters (2 inches)  
     
     
         4 . The container of  claim 1  wherein said necked-in section is formed by die necking, spin necking or a combination thereof.  
     
     
         5 . The metal container of  claim 4  wherein said die necking is performed in about 1 to about 50 stages.  
     
     
         6 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the long neck upper portion and the lower portion are made from aluminum.  
     
     
         7 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the long neck upper portion is adhesive bonded to the lower portion.  
     
     
         8 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the long neck upper portion is welded to the lower portion.  
     
     
         9 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the lower peripheral edge of the long neck upper portion surrounds the short necked-in section of the lower portion.  
     
     
         10 . The container of  claim 1  adapted for use as a beverage container for a carbonated beverage.  
     
     
         11 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the container is decorated to cover a substantial portion of the long neck upper portion, the main body section or the transition section.  
     
     
         12 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the container is decorated to cover a substantial portion of the long neck upper portion.  
     
     
         13 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the container is decorated to cover a substantial portion of the long neck upper portion and the transition section.  
     
     
         14 . The metal container of  claim 1  wherein container is decorated to cover a substantial portion of the main body section.  
     
     
         15 . The container of  claim 1  wherein container is decorated to cover a substantial portion of the transition section.  
     
     
         16 . The container of  claim 6  through  10  wherein the decoration comprises a shrink wrap sleeve.  
     
     
         17 . The container of  claim 6  through  10  wherein the decoration comprises a lacquer coating.  
     
     
         18 . A two piece container having a hidden peripheral seam between an upper portion and a lower portion which seam is formed of mating flanges on the upper and lower portions of the container, one of said flanges being attached to a transition section between said flange and the remainder of said upper portion or lower portion which transition section is selected from the group consisting of a transition from a substantially smaller diameter inner mating flange to a substantially larger diameter bottom portion and a larger diameter shoulder section between a smaller diameter inner mating flange and a conical top portion.  
     
     
         19 . A container of  claim 18  in which the transition section is a larger diameter shoulder section between a smaller diameter inner mating flange and a conical top portion.  
     
     
         20 . The container of  claim 19  wherein the diameter of the shoulder section is larger than the diameter of the mating flange on the lower portion plus twice the thickness of said mating flange.