System and Method for Orienting the Rolling Direction of an End Shell in a Metal Container Manufacturing Process

Abstract

A system and method of orienting the rolling direction of metallic objects is provided. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods used to align the rolling direction of metallic objects in a predetermined orientation in a high-speed manufacturing system. The rolling direction is determined by sensing grinding marks on the metallic objects. The metallic objects may subsequently be formed by tools that have been adapted to work with, or transverse to, the rolling direction. Optionally, the tools may form the metallic objects into container end closures adapted to seal a container of a predetermined size and type.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for aligning a rolling direction of a metallic end shell to a preferred position, comprising:
 a transport system to move the metallic end shell through the system;   a sensor to sense an orientation of a grinding mark on the metallic end shell, wherein the grinding mark is associated with the rolling direction of the metallic end shell; and   an actuator to rotate the metallic end shell such that the rolling direction of the metallic end shell is within a predetermined angle with respect to a reference axis of the system.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a servo unit associated with the actuator to rotate the metallic end shell by a predetermined amount in less than approximately 60 milliseconds. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the actuator is operable to rotate the metallic end shell such that the rolling direction is within about 12° of the reference axis. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the actuator contacts a predetermined portion of the metallic end shell to rotate the metallic end shell. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a second sensor to sense a second orientation of the grinding mark after the actuator has rotated the metallic end shell by the predetermined amount. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , further comprising a second actuator to rotate the metallic end shell by a predetermined amount. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the second actuator is operable to rotate the metallic end shell such that the rolling direction is within about 3° of the reference axis. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 5 , further comprising an ejector to remove the metallic end shell from the system if the second orientation is not within the predetermined angle with respect to the reference axis. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a control system that receives information related to the orientation of the grinding mark from the sensor and determines an axial amount for the actuator to rotate the metallic end shell to orient the rolling direction of the metallic end shell within the predetermined angle. 
     
     
         10 . A method of orienting an end shell in a high-speed production process based on the metal rolling direction, comprising:
 receiving an unoriented end shell;   determining an orientation of a grinding mark present on the end shell, wherein the grinding mark is associated with the metal rolling direction of the end shell;   if the orientation of the grinding mark is not in a predetermined orientation, determining an amount of axial rotation required to properly orient the end shell; and   rotating the end shell by the determined amount of axial rotation such that the metal rolling direction is oriented in a predetermined position.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein rotating the end shell comprises engaging a predetermined portion of the end shell by an actuator. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the actuator is operable to rotate the end shell by the determined amount in less than approximately 60 milliseconds. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising a sensor operable to sense the orientation of the grinding mark on the end shell. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein a system controller determines the amount of axial rotation required to rotate the end shell such that the grinding mark is in the predetermined orientation. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the end shell is subsequently converted into a container end closure by a conversion press, the end closure adapted for interconnection to a neck of a container. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising determining a second orientation of the grinding mark of the end shell after rotating the end shell by the determined amount. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising ejecting the end shell if the second orientation of the grinding mark is not in the predetermined orientation. 
     
     
         18 . An orientation system operable to determine and align a rolling direction of a metallic work-piece in a metal forming process, comprising:
 a first sensor at a first index position to sense roll grinding marks in a metallic work-piece, the roll grinding marks used to determine a first orientation of the rolling direction of the metallic work-piece; and   a first actuator at a second index position to rotate the work-piece axially to substantially align the rolling direction with a reference axis of the orientation system.   
     
     
         19 . The orientation system of  claim 18 , wherein the metal forming process is a container end closure manufacturing process and the work-piece is a metallic end shell. 
     
     
         20 . The orientation system of  claim 18 , further comprising a control system that receives data from the first sensor and determines an amount and a direction of rotation for the first actuator to rotate the work-piece. 
     
     
         21 . The orientation system of  claim 18 , wherein the first actuator can rotate the rolling direction of the work-piece to within about 3° of the reference axis within less than approximately 60 milliseconds.