Steel one-piece necked-in aerosol can

Abstract

A one-piece, steel, aerosol can formed by a draw and iron process with varying wall thicknesses, including a main body of a first wall thickness, a cone area above of a greater second wall thickness and a curl area above of a third thickness smaller than the second thickness and adapted to fit a standard aerosol valve. A process for shaping the can with the respective wall thickness sections. The process includes necking the can near the top end. The bottom of the can may be supported to maintain a shape during necking. The can interior may be pressurized during necking to resist permanent deformation of the can during necking.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A steel can adapted for necking and adapted for use as an aerosol can, the can comprising:
 a can body comprised of a can wall;   a lower region of the can wall having a first thickness and being of a first diameter;   a cone area of the can wall above the lower region, and the cone area having a second wall thickness;   a curl area of the can wall above the cone area, the curl area having a thinner third thickness than the second thickness of the cone area, wherein the second and third thicknesses are selected for enabling necking of the can wall at the cone area and the curl area and for enabling forming a curl of the can wall at the curl area after the necking.   
     
     
         2 . The can of  claim 1 , wherein the third thickness of the can wall at the curl area is different than the first thickness of the lower region of the can body. 
     
     
         3 . The can of  claim 2 , wherein the second thickness is different than the first thickness. 
     
     
         4 . The can of  claim 1 , wherein the can body has a closed bottom and an open top having the curl area at the top, and the can wall is necked to a smaller second diameter opening at the curl area. 
     
     
         5 . The can of  claim 4 , wherein the can body and bottom are integral. 
     
     
         6 . The can of  claim 4 , wherein the can body and bottom are of one piece. 
     
     
         7 . The can of  claim 1 , wherein the can body is of one piece. 
     
     
         8 . The can of  claim 7 , wherein the can body is formed by a draw and iron process. 
     
     
         9 . The can of  claim 1 , wherein the can is an aerosol can. 
     
     
         10 . The can of  claim 1 , wherein the can has an opening and the can further comprising an aerosol dispensing valve secured into the opening of the can at a base of the curl area. 
     
     
         11 . A process for forming a one-piece steel can with a narrow opening, the method comprising
 forming a can body having a can wall with a lower region of a first wall thickness, a cone area of the can wall above the lower region with a second wall thickness and a curl area of the can wall above the cone area with a third thickness smaller than the second thickness, the curl area surrounding and defining an opening into the can body;   necking the can by applying force to the can for reducing the diameter of the can at the curl area to a smaller diameter than the diameter of the lower region and forming the can body in the cone area to define the smaller diameter for the curl area for shaping the opening for receiving an aerosol valve after necking and curling.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the can body is formed in a draw and iron process. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising forming the second thickness to be different than the first thickness. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising forming the third thickness to be different than the first thickness. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising forming the third thickness to be different than the first thickness. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising installing an aerosol valve in the opening at the curl area. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the can body has a can bottom below the lower region of the can wall;
 the method further comprising supporting the can bottom on a shaped die or mandrel which resists deformation of the can bottom during can necking.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising applying pressure inside the can body during the step of necking to assist the can body in resisting permanent deformation during the can necking.