“Crowntainer” was a trademark by the Crown Cork and Seal Company that was registered with the US Patent Office & Trademark Office (USPTO). The early Crowntainer cans carried a statement stating that the patent had been registered.

This marking appeared on Crowntainers until their patent was finally approved on September 15, 1945. After that date, the following patent statement appeared on all crowntainers. 

The inventors of the crowntainers were Amos Calleson and his son Edgar A. Calleson from Merrick, New York.  The two worked for the Crown Cork & Seal Company of Baltimore, Maryland.  They filed a design patent application for a new and original “Metal Bottle” with the United States Patent Office on June 23, 1937 and was assigned design patent number 109,311.  They also filed a patent application for their “Container” on May 13, 1940 and was assigned patent number 2,384,810.

In their patent application, they made 35 claims of innovation and/or improvements to “metal receptacles of the can type” for which they sought patent protection.  Some of the highlights of their patent application follow.

They created a metal container that did not have the conventional side and top seams.  This made the container strong, with a nice appearance, and was capable of simple and cheap production.

Their container had just two parts: (1) the body with an integral top, and (2) the bottom.

The mouth of the can, used for filling and pouring, was design to be sealed by a crimped cap known as a “crown”.

Another improvement was to be able to better decorate the can since the entire surface of the can could be painted.  With conventional tin cans, the seams and areas next to the seams could not be painted so that the seams could be soldered without ruining the paint.

The two-piece steel construction, without seams, made the container incredibly strong and could withstand the high heat and pressure for the sterilization and pasteurizing process without causing leaks or bulging the shape of the can.

more to come...