US3018594A

US3018594A - Container filling and sealing machines

Info

Publication number: US3018594A
Application number: US852562A
Authority: US
Inventors: Phillips Harry; John J Maciejowski; Jr Wayne A Shafer; Robert D Tucker; Jr George A Fuller
Original assignee: Ekco-Alcoa Containers Inc
Current assignee: Ekco-Alcoa Containers Inc
Priority date: 1959-11-12
Filing date: 1959-11-12
Publication date: 1962-01-30
Anticipated expiration: 1979-01-30
Also published as: GB951598A; GB951599A; CH381594A

Description

Jan. 30, 1962 H'. PHILLIPS ETAL 3,018,594

CONTAINER FILLING AND SEALING MACHINES Filed Nov. 12, 1959 ll Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 30, 1962 H. PHILLIPS ETAL CONTAINER FILLING AND SEALING MACHINES l1 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 12, 1959 Jan. 30, 1962 H. PHILLIPS ETAL CONTAINER FILLING AND SEALING MACHINES 11 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 12, 1959 Jan. 30, 1962 Filed Nov. 12, 1959 H. PHILLIPS ETAL.

CONTAINER FILLING AND SEALING MACHlNES 11 Sheets-Sheet 5 350 3% 3&0

Jan. 30, 1962- H. PHILLIPS ETAL CONTAINER FILLING AND SEALING MACHINES 11 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed NOV. 12, 1959 Jan. 30, 1962 Filed NOV. 12, 1959 H. PHILLIPS ETAL CONTAINER FILLING AND SEALING MACHINES 11 Sheets-Sheet 7 Jan. 30, 1962 H. PHILLIPS ETAL 3,018,594

CONTAINER FILLING AND SEALING MACHINES Filed Nov. 12, 1959 ll Sheets-Sheet 8 Jan. 30, 1962 H. PHILLIPS ETAL 3,018,594

CONTAINER FILLING AND SEALING MACHINES Filed Nov. 12. 1959 11 Sheets-Sheet 9 /M Ail Z? /3 @A N w /5 I 1 I 7/ L J w i 24 Q & \r IE 1\ l w /0% flZD T 7 /ZZ/} 4 1 I m 4 I 4/2 s; M8

Jan. 30, 1962 H. PHILLIPS ETAL 3,018,594

CONTAINER FILLING AND SEALING MACHINES Filed Nov. 12, 1959 ll Sheets-Sheet 10 Jan. 30, 1962 H. PHILLIPS ETAL 3,013,594

CONTAINER FILLING AND SEALING MACHINES Filed Nov. 12, 1959 11 Sheets-Sheet 11 60 I00 I20 I40 I 200 220 Z40 Z60 E 300 320 340 360 VERTICAL HEA n I I Can MINER VACUUM //v TO V VACUUM AOUUM lAcuuM Orr airlines, and the like.

United States Patent 3,018,594 CONTAINER FILLING AND SEALING MACHINES Harry Phillips, Hamilton, John J Maciejowski, Wenham, Wayne A. Shafer, Jr., Hamilton, Robert D. Tucker, Beverly, and George A. Fuller, Jr., Wenham, Mass, assignors, by rnesne assignments, to Elmo-Alcoa Containers, Inc., Wheeling, lll., a corporation or lilinois Filed Nov. 12, 1959, Ser. No. 852,562 36 Claims. (Cl. 5372) This invention relates to packaging and more particularly to machinery for filling and sealing containers. The invention is illustrated herein as embodied in a machine for automatically depositing a unit portion of a product in a container and hermetically sealing it without human hands touching the container of its product. The use of a disposable container holding a small quantity of a product which is to be consumed without the container subsequently being rescaled presents a definite advantage over conventional packaging methods in the matters of convenience of handling and distribution when the protection aflorded by the container to its contents permits lengthy storage before use. For example, food products, such as jams, syrups, condiments, etc., packaged in quantities representing single servings or portions, in receptacles known as unit containers, are becoming increasingly more popular in restaurants, railroads, Since these containers most often are distributed directly to their ultimate consumers for immediate use they must be easily opened without the aid of tools, such as a conventional can opener.

In the past, unit containers have been made of flexible plastic material. However, a major disadvantage of a container made of this type of material is that it is susceptible to penetration by air, and accordingly its contents, if perishable, may spoil in a relatively short time. To overcome this and therefore provide a longer shelf life, unit containers are now being made of lightweight metals, such as aluminum, which, when hermetically sealed by plastic fusion with a cover of like material, afford protection to their contents for a considerably longer time and furthermore can be opened without the use of tools. Since the advantage of the system of unit portion distribution is predicated economically upon high quantity production, it is mandatory that reliable, relatively high speed machinery, either automatic or semiautomatic, be employed in the production and handling ofunit containers. Copending application Serial No. 751,519, now Patent No. 2,972,216, filed July 28, 1958, in the name of Rudolph Schmidt, is directed to a semiautomatic, hand-fed machine for filling and sealing such containers at a moderate rate of speed.

It is an object of this invention to produce a machine which, while intended to make the same ultimate product, as the Schmidt machine, to wit, a filled and sealed unit container, is fully automatic and capable of producing the filled and sealed containers at a substantially higher rate.

While unit containers may be used to package any product they are extremely useful as receptacles for foodstufis and an obvious advantage resides in the use of machinery which is capable of filling containers with food and completely capping and sealing the containers without the necessity of their ever being touched by human hands.

Therefore, another object of this invention is to provide a machine for automatically filling and sealing unit containers in a continuous and automatic process without the containers or their contents ever being touched. While there may be numerous sizes and shapes, a typical unit container is a shallow, cylindrical, cup-like recep- 'tacle fabricated preferably of aluminum and having a 3,018,594 Patented Jan. 30, 1962 ice flange extending radially around the open end. The interior of the cup and the upper surface of the flange are coated with a thermoplastic material, such as vinyl. An aluminum cap or cover which may be provided with a label if desired, and having a similar coating is hermetically sealed to the upper surface of the flange through fusing of the vinyl coatings on the mating surfaces of the flange and the cover. I

In accordance with the above objects and as a feature of this invention there is provided a machine for filling and hermetically sealing a unit container of the abovedescribed type. The machine comprises an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of carriers for transporting unit containers one at a time successively from a loading station to a filling station and a capping station. The conveyor carriers serve a plurality of purposes and each comprises a substantially hollow body having an open top which is defined by an annular supporting lip upon which the flange of the unit container rests with the body portion of the container extending into the hollow interior. The carrier contacts the container only at the flange and is relieved below the supporting lip whereby heat, which has been previously applied to the carrier body, is transmitted directly to the flange only and not to the main or cup-like portion of the container or its contents. The heat is applied to effect sealing when a cap having heat sensitive sealing material is pressed upon the upper surface of the flange.

Containers are loaded into the carriers at a loading station which comprises a second conveyor for moving the containers downwardly of an inclined raceway at the same linear speed as the carriers and spaced apart the same distance as the carriers are spaced on the main conveyor.

By this mechanism each container is gradually settled into a carrier and upon leaving the raceway its flange is pressed into firm engagement with the carrier ,by a pressure applying member which is also provided with means for cleaning the container by vacuum. From the loading station the containers pass around a rotary filling machine which, per se, forms no part of this invention. Thereafter, the containers pass to a multihead capping station having cap applying heads which remove one cap at a time by vacuum from an associated magazine and forcibly places it in contact with the upper surface of the flange to form a hermetic seal. Thereafter, the head which placed the cap removes the container from the carrier and deposits it in a chute which conveys it to distributing mechanism which likewise, per se, does not form a part of the present invention.

Mechanism is provided for detecting the absence of a container from the carrier, or stool as it is sometimes called, as it approaches the various work stations, particularly the capping station. the cap applying head does not come into contact with the carrier. Furthermore, if a cap is not picked up by the head, the vacuum is automatically shut oil and the head likewise does not come into contact with the carrier or the container in it. From the capping station, the carriers pass through a heating mechanism which heats their bodies to a temperature sufficient to transmit heat to the flanges of the containers which are placed in them in the next machine cycle. There are also means provided for removing from the carriers any containers which inadvertently remain therein after leaving the capping station.

The above and other features of the invention, including various novel details of construction and combinations of parts will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims. It will be understood that the particular machine embodying the invent-ion is shown by If no container is present,

way of illustration only and not as a limitation of the invention. The principles and features of this invention may be employed in numerous embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the various work stations of a machine embodying the invention for automatically filling and sealing unit containers;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of portions of a container carrier and a cap applying head;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, of portions of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 with the cap applying head in sealing position;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a unit container with its cap removed;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the apparatus for loading unfilled unit containers into the carriers;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of an ejector mechanism for removing unit containers from their carriers as well as a plan view of the loading apparatus shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line VIIVII of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a plan view, partly in section, taken on the line VIIIVIII of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken on the line IX-IX of FIG. 13;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken on the line X-X of FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken on the line XIXI of FIG. 6;

FIG. 12 is a time chart of the operation of the ejector mechanism shown in FIGS. 6, 10 and 11;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of the container capping station;

FIG. 14 is a side elevation of the capping station shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of a portion of the capping station taken on the line XV-XV of FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a plan view, partly in section, taken on the line XVI-XVI of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 15 and taken on the line XVIIXVII of FIG. 13;

FIG. 18 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a vacuum control valve employed in the capping station in its normal position with the vacuum 01f;

FIG. 19 is a view of the vacuum control valve similar to FIG. 18 but with its operative parts in position whereby the vacuum is turned on;

FIG. 20 is a time chart of the operation of various elements of a capping station; and

FIG. 21 is a sectional view of a container detecting mechanism taken on the line XXIXXI of FIG. 13.

Referring first to FIG. 4, a unit container C will be seen comprising a cylindrical, cup-shaped body portion 2 which is made of aluminum and has a radially extending flange 4 around its open end. The interior of the body or cup, as it may also be called, as well as the upper surface of the flange 4, is coated with thermoplastic material, such as polyvinyl chloride. The coating on the flange may, as an alternative, be entirely pressure sensitive or both heat and pressure sensitive. A complete container includes an aluminum cap or cover 6 having substantially the same diameter as the flange 4 and a pull tab portion 8. A label 10 may be located on the upper surface, and on its lower surface the cap has a coating of heat and/or pressure sensitive material, similar to that on the flange. The cap is hermetically sealed to the upper surface of the flange 4 through fusing of the vinyl coatings or adhering of the pressure sensitive material after the container has been filled.

An essential feature of the invention is embodied in a plurality of container carriers 12, also called stools (FIGS. 2 and 3), which are constructed and arranged to carry unit containers one at a time through all of the Work stations of the machine. The carriers serve a plurality of purposes as will be more readily understood from the complete description of the machine and its operation appearing hereinafter. However, in essence, each carrier comprises a substantially hollow body 13 provided at its upper end with an annular supporting member in the form of a lip 14 defining the opening in the top. The interior of the carrier comprises an opening of larger diameter than that of the unit container body 2 whereby the unit container may be received in the carrier with its body 2 extending downwardly into the hollow interior 16, the undersurface of its annular flange 4 being supported on the annular lip 14. It will be noted also that the mass of the carrier body 13 is substantially greater than that of the unit container filled or unfilled. Adjacent the lip 14, the hollow interior 16 of the stool is provided with a downwardly diverging relieved portion 13 in order to provide an air space between the wall of the carrier and the wall of the container body 2, whereby the only contact between the carrier and the container is along the engaging surfaces of the flange 4 and the lip 14. The importance of this feature will be more apparent hereinafter. Each of the carriers has an opening 20 in the side wall below the open top in order to provide a passageway for a beam of light which serves to detect the absence of a container in a manner to be described in detail hereinafter. The opening 29 also serves to permit removal of any material, which inadvertently enters the interior 16 of the carrier, more readily than through the top.

A plurality of carriers 12 are secured to an endless chain conveyor 22 in upright position each by means of a depending stem 24 fitted into a link of the chain, as seen in FIG. 7. The carriers 12 and the chain 22 form the nucleus of a conveyor system which cooperatively interconnects all of the work stations of the machine. Referring to FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram of the conveyor and work stations, there will be seen at the extreme left-hand portion, a loading station raceway 26 provided for conducting preformed unit container bodies 2 to the machine. These bodies 2 may be supplied from a continuously operating forming press or from a supply of previously formed and stored containers. The raceway 26 directs the bodies 2 to a loading station 28 which automatically positions one container body in each carrier 12. From here the then loaded carrier is conducted to a pressing and vacuum cleaning device 30 which removes from the container by vacuum any contaminating material, such as metallic chips, dirt and the like, which may inadvertently have entered the container. Thence, the containers pass around an idler sprocket 32 which is provided with means for ascertaining whether or not a container is positioned in each carrier. If a container is not properly located in a carrier, appropriate safety devices (not shown) are actuated to prevent the carrier from being filled. The carriers next pass around a rotary filling station 36 whereupon they receive their contents. The filling station may comprise either single or multihead mechanism for filling either one or a plurality of containers simultaneously. Whereas the filling machine per se forms no part of the present invention, it will be understood that in combination with various other elements and stations of the machine, the filling station is considered to be an integral part of the invention and numerous commercially available filling machines may be employed for this purpose. From the filling station 36, the carriers with the then filled containers pass a second detector 38 which ascertains again whether or not a filled container is in each carrier and, if not, actuates appropriate safety mechanism for rendering inoperative the particular capping mechanism which would otherwise cap the container. The carriers and their filled containers next pass around a rotary capping station 40 whereupon a cap is positioned on each of the filled containers and hermetically sealed to its flange. After sealing has taken place, the filled and capped containers are removed automatically from the capping mechanism and deposited in a discharge chute 42 which conveys them away from the machine to appropriate packaging apparatus.

After the filled and capped containers have been removed from the carriers 12, the conveyor 22, to which the carriers are permanently attached, passes through a heating station 44 which heats the bodies of the carriers 12. It is the residual heat in the mass of the carrier body which is conducted to the flange of the container by the annular lip 14 to efiect hermetic sealing of the cap at the capping station. From the heating station 44 the conveyor passes around an ejecting station 46 which serves to remove from the carriers any container which was not removed at the discharge end of the capping station 40. From this point the carriers re-enter the loading station 28 to receive another container and carry it through another cycle.

The loading station will now be described referring particularly to FIGS. to 8. The containers enter the machine from the loading station raceway 26 and pass onto a pair of spaced guide plates 50. The guide plates are located directly above the path of movement of the conveyor chain 22. After passing around a sprocket wheel 52, which is part of the ejecting station 46 (FIGS. 1 and 6), the conveyor chain moves in a straight path, being guided by a pair of chain guides 54 secured to the frame 56 of the loading station. As best seen in FIG. 7, the carriers 12, which extend upwardly from the chain 22 on their stems 24, likewise are guided by a pair of elongated carrier guides 58 which extend lengthwise of the machine and are supported on a pair of upstanding support members 60 secured to the chain guides 54. The elongated carrier guides 58 are made of selflubrioated material, such as nylon, Teflon or the like, and engage a hub 62 formed on the carrier stem 24. Thus, it will be seen in FIGS. 5 and 7 that the carriers are precisely guided along a predetermined linear path, each with its uppermost surface, as defined by the lip 14, in a horizontal plane.

Each container guide plate 50 is provided with a groove 64 (FIG. 7) to accommodate the flanges 4 of the unit containers. The guide plates 50 form a downwardly inclined container guideway 51 by being mounted in the machine so that they gradually descend from left to right, as viewed in FIG. 5, towardthe path of the carriers. Shortly after they reach the guide plates 50 from the raceway 26 the movement of each container C is interrupted by a pair of spring-pressed yieldable stop members 66 (FIGS. 7 and 8) which are adjustably secured in the frame of the machine.

Mounted directly above the guideway 51 on brackets 70 is a second conveyor 72 in the form of an endless chain. The left-hand end of the chain passes around a driving sprocket 74 and the right-hand end around an idler sprocket 76 adjustably mounted on the machine by a movable bracket 78. The driving sprocket 74 is keyed to a shaft 80 (FIG. 5) andis driven through gears 82, 84 by a shaft 86 which mounts the sprocket wheel 52 of the ejecting station 46. The driving chain 72 is provided with flat table top links 88. Located on every third link is a lug 90 in the form of a disk of rubber, nylon or other resilient material. The linear distance between the lugs 90 is exactly equal to the linear distance between adjacent carriers 12 on the conveyor chain 22.

The linear speed of the conveyor chain 72 likewise is equal to the linear speed of the main conveyor 22. The

.purpose of the lugs 90, is to cause entry of the containers into the carriers. As each unit container C proceeds from the raceway 26 to the guideway 51, its movement is retarded by the springbiased stop members 66 until it is engaged by one of the lugs 90 whereupon it is moved out of engagement with the stop members and down the inclined guideway 51, as seen in FIG. 5.

:The lugs 90 are located on the chain 72 so that the leading edgeo'f every lug is directly over the leading edge of the interior opening of the corresponding carrier 12. As the lug conducts the container downwardly of the inclined guideway 51, it gradually approaches the carrier and as it nears the lowermost end of the guideway 51, it begins to settle into the carrier. This will be seen taking place at the right-hand end of FIG. 5. By the time the containers C reach the idler sprocket 76 they have settled into the carriers with their flanges 4 resting upon the supporting lips 14 of the carriers and, as the conveyor chain 72 passes around the idler sprocket 76 the lugs are Withdrawn from the carriers, the containers being propelled entirely then by the carriers.

After becoming disengaged from the lugs 90 each of the carriers 12, which is then carrying an empty cont ainer, passes through the vacuum cleaning and pressing station 30 comprising a resilient presser member 92 which urges every container into firm contact with its carrier 12. Adjacent the presser member 92 is a conduit 94 which is connected to a source of vacuum. The diameter of the conduit 94 is slightly less than the outer diameter of the flange 4 of a container so that the lower surface 96 of the conduit which engages the flange 4 will prevent the container from being withdrawn from the carrier by the vacuum. However, any chip, dirt or other foreign material which may inadvertently have entered into the container is removed therefrom.

After the containers C have been loaded, one to each carrier, and are vacuum cleaned they are conducted to the filling station 36 by passing around the idler sprocket 32 which changes the direction of the chain in order that it may be in engagement with the periphery of the rotary filling station for about 180. As stated above, the filling station per se is not a part of this invention but may be of any convenient type. However, a multihead rotary filler is preferable.

After the containers have been filled, they are conveyed to the capping station 40 where the flat metallic cap 6 is sealed to the upper surface of the container body flange 4 by a fusing of the vinyl coatings on the contacting surfaces. The capping station 40 is best seen in FIGS. 13-47. The endless chain 22 which mounts the carriers passes around a large diameter continuously rotating sprocket wheel 100 which is an integral part of the capping machine. The carriers 12 occupy positions substantially on the pitch line of the teeth of the sprocket (see FIGS. 15 and 17). As each container passes around the periphery of the wheel, it receives a cap from a separate magazine 102. There are 36 magazines circumferentially spaced about the periphery of the sprocket wheel 100 located slightly inwardly radially of its pitch line. Each .rnagazine 102 comprises a substantially teardrop shaped container (FIG. 16) having an interior formed to accommodate the cap 6, that is, circular but having a projecting tab 8 on one side. The magazines 102 are formed of two pieces of sheet metal flanged as at 104 and welded together. Each of the magazines fits into a separate recess 106 in the sprocket wheel 100 and is is provided with a rod 110 surrounded by a spring 112, the rod passing through an arm 114 extending outwardly from a hub 116 which is keyed to the main vertical shaft 118 of the capping station. The shaft also mounts the sprocket wheel 100. One butterfly clamp 108 serves to hold two magazines in position, there being twice as many magazines as clamps. To refill the magazine, the butterfly clamp is rotated 90 and the magazine removed downwardly from the recess 106. A follower member 120 having a plurality of depending guiding legs 121 is positioned in each of the magazines 102 and is urged upwardly by acoiled compression spring 122. A stack of caps 6 is placed within the magazine above the followlying edges 124 of plates 126 (FIG. 16) secured to the wheel 100 between adjacent magazines. Depending fingers 128 of the plates 126 engage the magazines and serve to locate them accurately in the recess 106. The stack of caps is urged upwardly but cannot inadvertently come out of the magazine because of the presence of the plates 126. The uppermost cap is removed by vacuum by means now to be described.

Associated with each of the magazines 102 is a cap applying head 130 or capping head as it is also called, which removes, by vacuum, the uppermost cap from the stack in the magazine and transports the cap upwardly and radially outwardly until it is positioned over the tfilled container which is located in the carrier 12 substantially on the pitch line of the sprocket wheel 100.

Each head 130 is mounted in and movable radially of the machine in a bell-shaped flange member 132 which is spaced above the sprocket wheel 100.

Hubs

136 and 134 on the member 132 and the sprocket wheel 100, respectively, as well as struts 138 separate the flange and the sprocket wheel. The struts likewise add rigidity to the structure. The

hubs

134 and 136 are keyed to the central main shaft 118 which is located at the vertical axis of the machine whereby all of the above-described elements rotate as a single unit.

The heads 130 move radially of the machine from positions directly above the magazine 102 (FIG. 17) to positions directly above the carriers 12 (FIG. 15). To obtain the radial movement, each head is mounted in a slide 140 movable in a guideway 141 in the member 132. A cam roller 142 journaled on the slide is positioned within a cam slot 144 formed in a wall member 146 'depending from an upper stationary circular top or cover member 148 of the machine. The shape of the cam slot 144 will be seen in plan view in FIG. 13. It is sutficient, at this time, to point out that the slides 140 and their heads 130 are caused to move radially inwardly and outwardly between the magazines 102 and the container carriers 12 and back again.

Each cap applying head 130, seen in section in FIGS. 15 and 17, as well as partially and in detail in FIG. 3, comprises an apertured disk 150 of rubber or like material containing a plurality of holes 152 leading to a bottom or suction surface 153. The disk is fitted within a receiver 154 which is recessed somewhat more than the vertical thickness of the disk thereby leaving a vacuum chamber 156 above the disk to provide a common communicating passageway between all of the holes 152. Likewise, communicating with the chamber 156 is an air fitting 158 attached to an air line 160.

The head 130 is yieldably mounted by a rubber connector 162 to the lower end of a plunger 164. The plunger is slidable vertically in a sleeve 166 (FIGS. 15 and 17) between limits controlled by a conventional slot and pin connection 168. The plunger 164 is maintained in a downward position relative to the sleeve 166 by a preloaded spring 170 compressed between the upper end of the plunger 172 and a plug 174 rotatably fitting in the upper end of the sleeve 166. Journaled in the upper bifurcated end of the plug 174 is a cam roller 176 which engages the lower face of a profile cam track 178 formed on the cover member 148. The sleeve 166 is urged upwardly relatively to a sleeve 180 by a spring 182. The sleeve 180 forms a part of the slide 140. The spring 182 is compressed between a cap 184 and a shoulder 186 at the base of the sleeve 180. The cap 184 has an inwardly projecting flange 185 held against a Washer 187 retained between the sleeve 166 and the plug 174. By this construction the cam roller 176 is forcibly urged into contact with the cam track 178. The cam track is concentric with the slotted cam track 144 so that the roller 176 never is out of engagement with the cam 178 when the carrier moves radially. A vertical slot 188 is formed in the plunger 1'64 and a locking pin 190, slidable radially in a horizontal plane in the slide 140, is

8 engageable with the slot to lock the plunger 164 and, consequently, the pressure applying capping head in an upper position out of engagement with the carrier 12 under circumstances to be described hereinafter. The locking pin 190 is provided with inner and outer annular grooves 192 and 194, respectively, which are engaged alternately, by a spring-biased detent 196, when the pin 190 is in either the outer or inner position. A head 198 is located on the outer end of the locking pin 190 to which head forces are applied by means hereinafter to be described to move the pin into and out of the locking position.

The pressure applying heads 130 operate to seal caps to the upper surfaces of the flanges 4 of the filled containers in the following manner. Referring particularly to FIGS. 13 and 20, the rotary capping cycle will be described in conventional manner with zero degrees rotation of the capping station 40 represented by the bottom of FIG. 13 and the left-hand end of the diagram of FIG. 20. At 265 each head 130 is in its lowermost position with the suction surface 153 of the disk in engagement with the uppermost cap in the magazine. The vacuum, it will be noticed, is turned on at 270 by means hereinafter to be described in detail, so that the uppermost cap in the magazine sticks to the lower suction surface 153 by vacuum. When the magazine 102 and head 130 have rotated to 320, the vertical movement of the capping head begins. It will be seen in FIG. 14 that the earn 178 is constructed with a rise 200 which permits the head to rise under the force of the spring 182. At this time the vacuum is still on and the capping head 130 is still in its inner position radially. The rise is complete at 340 whereupon the slide 140 begins to move outwardly in its guideway 141 under the action of the slotted cam track 144 until the capping head 130 is directly above the container in the carrier 12, as seen in FIG. 15. This takes place at 360 or 0 of rotation. At approximately 13 a slight downward slope 202 (FIG. 14) in the cam 178 causes the head 130 to be cammed downwardly whereby the cap 6 is pressed into contact with the upper surface of the flange 4 of the container C. The downward pressing movement is complete at 25 This is known as the sealing position and is shown in FIG. 3. In this position the cap becomes hermetically sealed to the flange, the vinyl coatings becoming fused. The heat for effecting fusing is transmitted to the flange 4 of the container by the carrier 12 itself. As stated above, the carrier has considerably greater mass than the container, but engages the container only at the undersurface of the flange, as seen in FIG. 3, the relieved portion 18 and the extra depth of the interior 16 preventing contact with the walls and bottom of the container body 2. Consequently, residual heat which was supplied to the carriers before they received their containers by means hereinafter to be described, is transmitted by the lip 14 to the flange 4 only. The sealing position continues between 25 and 95 rotation of the station.

When the container reaches the 95 point, another rise in the cam 178, not seen in the drawings, permits elevation of the head 130. The vacuum at this time is still on. Accordingly, the then sealed container is lifted physically from the carrier (FIG. 2) being stuck to the suction surface 153 of the disk 150. The removal is complete at 110 and the conveyor chain 22 is thereafter free to become disengaged from the sprocket wheel 100. Thereupon, the conveyor conducts its then emptied carriers away from the capping machine as seen in FIG. 13. However, the filled and capped containers are carried further around the periphery of the machine to the point where the vacuum is instantaneously turned off, causing the capped container to drop from the head 130. Arranged directly below the path of movement of the capping heads is a conveyor chute 204 (FIG. 2) down which the'then capped and sealed containers slide to appropriate cooling and packaging means not forming a part of this invention. The chute 204 may be conducted to a conveyor system such as that disclosed in copending application Serial No. 775,888, filled November 24, 1958, in the names of Wetherbee et al., which discloses mechanism for distributing the filled and sealed containers to cooling mechanism.

The head 136 remains in its upper and outer position until it reaches the 215 point whereupon the slide 140 is again moved inwardly by the cam track 144. At 235 the head is again in its inner position above the magazine whereupon a down slope (not shown) in the vertical cam track 178 moves the head downwardly to its cap engaging position over the magazine 102. At 265 it is in engagement with the next cap in the magazine and the vacuum is again turned on at 270. The capping head, which has fully engaged the next cap in the magazine, is now ready to repeat the cycle on a container in another carrier. Since there are 36 capping heads and the machine operates continuously, 35 additional containers have been filled and capped in the interim between cycles of each individual head.

The vacuum employed at each of the heads 130 to pick up caps, etc., is controlled by a separate valve 206, one of which is shown in its operative position on the machine in FIGS. 15 and 17 and in detail in FIGS. 18 and 19. All of the valves 206 have a common valve body in the form of a ring 208 secured by clamps 210 to an upper portion of the flange member 132. An annular groove 212 formed in the ring 208 and covered by a plate 214 S61V6S as a chamber connecting all of the valves to .a common source of vacuum. Four air fittings 216 threaded in the plate 214 place the annular groove 212 in communication with a vacuum pump 218 (FIG. 14) by way of pipes 220 radiating from air fittings 222 in the main vertical shaft 118. A bore 224 in the shaft 118 communicates with the pump by appropriate piping 226 (FIG. 14). By this construction the annular groove 212 is at all times maintained in a state of vacuum or, at least, at a pressure below atmospheric.

Each of the valves 206, shown in detail in FIGS. 18 and 19, comprises the aforementioned common body portion 208 and a radial bore 232 in which slides a piston 234. Integral with the piston 234 is a plunger 236 provided with a head 238 having the shape of a truncated cone. A spring 240 in the closed end of the bore 232 acts against the end of the piston 234 to urge it to the right as viewed in FIG. 18. The bore 232 forms part of a passageway from the vacuum source to the capping head 136 and, depending on the location of the piston 234, the passageway is either blocked or the capping head is in open communication with the vacuum source. An annular chamber 242 in the body surrounding the bore 232 communicates with the bore by way of radial passageways 244 and with the chamber 212 by way of

passageways

246 and 248, the size of the latter being controlled by an adjustable needle valve 250. As stated above, the vacuum (or at least pressure less than atmospheric) exists at all times in the annular chamber 212 and hence in the annular chamber 242 as well.

The flexible line 160 which leads to the capping head 131) is joined to the valve body by a fitting 252 and communicates with the bore 232 by way of a passageway 254, an annular groove 256 and radial passageways 258. Larger radial passageways 260 extend from the outside of the valve into communication with the forward end of the bore 232. A necked area or annulus 262 surrounds the middle of the piston 234 and communicates at all times with the annular groove 256 which leads to the flexible line 160. This annulus also communicates with either the vacuum chamber 212 or with atmosphere via the passageways 260 depending upon whether or not the piston is in the FIG. 19 or FIG. 18 position. As stated above, the position of the piston 234 thereby determines whether or not the capping head is at vacuum or at atmospheric pressure.

A central counterbore 264 in the piston 234 is in communication at all times with the rear or left-hand end of the bore 232 where the spring 240 is located. It is likewise in communication at all times with the annulus or necked area 262 of the piston, the latter by way of radial passageways 266. Thus, the closed or left-hand end of the bore 232, where the spring 240 is located, will always be at the same pressure as the capping head 131) since the annulus 262 always communicates with the head 130. The spring 246 at all times tends to urge the piston 234 into the FIG. 18 or normal position whereby the line 160 and hence the capping head 130 are at atmospheric pressure. In this position the vacuum exists only in the chambers and

passageways

212, 248, 246, 242 and 244.

The vacuum is turned on at the capping head when the piston 234 is displaced to the left as seen in FIG. 19 by the conical head 238 of the plunger 236 being cammed inwardly by a fixed cam 270 (FIG. 13) attached to the frame of the machine at the 270 point, see also FIG. 20. When the piston is so displaced, i.e. to the FIG. 19 position, the necked area or annulus 262 in the piston unblocks the vacuum passageway between the vacuum chamber 212 and the line 160 leading to the capping head which, of course, creates suction at the head. However, it will be remembered that the spring 240 is constantly attempting to urge the piston back to the FIG. 18 position, but in spite of this force, the piston does not return because the left-hand end of the bore 232, which is always at the same pressure as the capping head, is now at vacuum by being in communication with the vacuum chamber 212 by way of the central counterbore 264, passageways 266, the annulus 262 and the chambers and

passageways

242, 244, 246 and 248. The spring 240 is designed so that its force on the piston 234 is less than the force of the vacuum or negative pressure, which it may also be called, which maintains the piston 234 in the FIG. 19 position.

As stated above, the vacuum is off when the plunger 236 is out and the vacuum is on when the plunger is in. With reference to FIG. 13 and the timing chart (FIG. 20), at the 160 point on the machine there will be seen a cam 272 which comprises an L-shaped bracket mounted on a plate 273. The depending leg of the plate extends downwardly and into the path of movement of the plungers 236 and is set at an angle whereby it engages the inner ends of the conical heads 238 on the plungers to withdraw the plungers and consequently the pistons 234 as they move by. The process is reversed in order to turn the vacuum back on by the above-mentioned cam 270 which has a depending curved camming surface engageable with the forward end of the headed portion 238 of each plunger. Thus, as the plungers move against the cam 270 they are urged inwardly to turn the vacuum on and against the cam 272 to turn the vacuum off.

Should the cap applying head 130 fail to pick up a cap for any reason, as for example, if the magazine 102 is empty, the suction at the capping head will be shut 01f automatically. It is obvious that if the capping head came down upon a container filled with a fluid or viscous substance, such as jam or ketchup, without having a cap in contact with the suction surface 153 of the rubber disk 150, the contents of the container would be drawn into the capping head 130 resulting in its becoming rather sticky and perhaps inoperative requiring extensive cleaning. However, if the rubber disk fails to pick up a cap, air will be drawn through the vertical bores 152 into the chamber 156 thence through the line 160 to the control valve 206. The air passes successively through the annular passageway 256, the radial passageways 258, annulus 262 of the piston, thence through the radial passageways 266 into the central counterbore 264 in the .piston and finally into the closedchamber to the left of 11 then no longer be at vacuum. Flow of low pressure air back to the main source of vacuum is restricted by the valve 2556 allowing pressure in the chamber to the left of the piston to approach atmospheric. Thus, the counterbalancing vacuum force on the piston no longer will exist and the spring 240 will immediately return the piston to the FIG. 18 or shut off position whereupon suction will no longer exist at the surface 153 of the capping head. All of the foregoing takes place, of course, after the earn 278 is no longer eflective to hold the plunger 236 inwardly. Thus it has been shown that under the two conditions of (a) Where there is failure to pick up a cap or (b) where there is no cap available to be picked up, the system automatically shuts off the suction before any damage takes place.

If no cap has been picked up by the head 136 when it is cammed downwardly into sealing position, the surface 153 of the rubber disk 150 would engage the upper surface of the flange 4 of the container. Since the upper surface of the flange is coated with a pressure and/ or heat sensitive material, the flange 4- would adhere to the surface 153 of the head thereby rendering it inoperative. To prevent the head from moving downwardly into engage ment with the container under these conditions, a safety locking mechanism is provided and is best seen in FIG. 15. A trip finger 286 is secured to the lower end of a shaft 282 pivotally mounted in a boss 234 on the top 148 of the machine. A depending stationary arm 286 is secured to the lower end of the boss. When the plunger 236 is in the extended or vacuum shut off position, its head 238 will pass to the right of the stationary arm 286 and contact the trip finger 280 causing the shaft 282 to pivot. The resistance offered by the arm 280 could normally urge the plunger 236 back in but the arm 286 engaging the inner surface of the head 238 prevents such return movement. Adjustably attached to the upper end of the shaft 282 is 'a lever arm 288, the position of which is controlled by an adjustable stop screw 289 (FIG. 13). The lever arm 288 and, consequently, the trip finger 280 are urged in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 13, into engagement with the adjustable stop screw 289 by a tension spring 290. The opposite end of the lever arm 288 engages the plunger 292 of a microswitch 294 which switch is Wired in series with a solenoid 296. The plunger 298 of the solenoid is connected to a bell crank 300 by an adjustable connecting rod 302. A second bell crank 304 fulcrumed at 306 to a portion 308 of the machine frame is connected to the bell crank 309 by a connecting rod 310. The upper arm 312 of the bell crank 304 is curved and terminates in position, as seen in FIG. 15, opposite the path of movement of the head 198 of the locking pin 190 in the slide 140.

The mechanism operates in the following manner. If the plunger 236 of the control valve 206 is in its outer or vacuum shut off position the trip finger 280 is pivoted thereby actuating the microswitch 294 which closes the circuit to the solenoid 296, which, through the bell crank 300, pivots the bell crank 304 in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in FIG. 15, thereby driving the locking pin into the slot 188 in the plunger 164 of the capping head 130. This locks the plunger in an upper position with the head 130 out of engagement with the container in the carrier, or, if there is no container in the carrier, out of engagement with the annular lip 14 of the carrier.

In order to permit the capping head to operate in a normal manner in the next cycle, the locking pin 190 must be withdrawn from the slot 188. This is accomplished by a cam 314 (FIG. 13) which engages the inner surface of the head 198 of the locking pin 190, pulling it outwardly. The location of the cam 314 is such that the locking pin is only withdrawn during that portion of the cycle wherein the head 130 is normally elevated, to wit, between 115 and 235.

If there is no container in the carrier 12 when the capping head carrying a cap is urged downwardly, it would 12 seal the cap to the upper heated flange or lip 14- of the carrier which is obviously to be avoided since the carrier would then no longer be able to receive containers. Appropriate detecting means now to be described are provided to prevent this from occurring.

Slightly in advance of the capping station, as seen in the lower left-hand corner of FIG. 13 and in detail in FIG. 21, is an electric-eye container detecting device comprising a lamp 320 and a photoelectric cell 322. As seen in FIG. 21, the lamp is mounted on a bracket 321 slightly to one side and below the carrier 12 as it is conveyed by the chain 22 toward the capping station. The photoelectric cell 322 is mounted on a bracket 323 above and on the other side of the carrier whereby if there is no container in the carrier, the light will shine through the opening 20 in the side wall of the carrier and out through the open top to actuate the photo cell. Cooperating with the light source and cell is a shutter mechanism 324 mounted for rotation in a plane slightly above the top of the carrier. The shutter is provided with blades 326 and is rotated at a peripheral speed equal to that of the chain 22 whereby each blade passes between adjacent carriers so as to block off the light source from the cell. This assures that the only time the cell will be actuated is when there is a container missing from the carrier and not by the gap between carriers, such as would be the case if there were no shutter. The shutter is fixed to a shaft 327 to which there is also attached a sprocket 328 of equal diameter which engages the chain 22 to drive the shutter mechanism.

The photo cell 322 actuates a solenoid 329 (FIGS. 13 and 17) by means of a conventional thyratron triggering circuit (not shown). The solenoid 32-9 is adjustably connected to a bell crank 330 which is pivoted on the top 148 of the machine and has an arm 331 extending downwardly to the level where the vacuum control valves 206 are located. A trip lever 332 is pivoted at the lower end of the bell crank 330, a spring 334 urging the trip lever into engagement with an adjustable stop 336. A depending finger 338 on the trip lever 332 is located slightly inwardly of the normal path of the heads 238 of the plungers' 236 of the vacuum control valves. When the photo cell detects an empty carrier, the solenoid 329 is actuated pivoting the bell crank 330 in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in FIG. 17, whereupon finger 338 engages behind the head 238 of the valve pulling it outwardly shutting off the vacuum.

Since the vacuum has been turned off by the bell crank 330 at 310 (FIGS. 13 and 20), the cap which would have been picked up is not lifted from the magazine but the head begins to rise without it. Upon reaching the trip finger 280 at 360 the head 238 of the then projectmg valve plunger 236 pivots it, causing the locking pin to be driven into the slot 188 of the capping head 130 in the manner explained above, thereby locking the head upwardly out of position. This prevents the head from descending upon the empty but heated carrier 12 which could cause damage to the head.

Thus, it has been seen that if there is no container C in a carrier 12, the vacuum is shut off and the capping head 130 does not descend. Secondly, if there is no cap in the magazine 102, the vacuum is shut off and furthermore the head is prevented from descending upon the filled and heated container. Likewise, if the head 130 should fail to pick up a cap even though its magazinc is full, the vacuum is shut off and the head prevented from descending upon the container. It has also been shown that, whereas each of these safety devices becomes fully operable for any of the above reasons during one cycle before the next cycle has begun the head 130 is unlocked and is returned to its operative position and the system returned to normal. It is also to be noted that shutting off of the vacuum at one head or the locking of one head in elevated position in no way afiects the operation of the remaining 35 heads or their vacuum control valves 206. Accordingly; the malfunction of either one carrier, one magazine or one head does not cause any down time of the complete machine or the other heads.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 9 and 13, the means for heating the carriers 12 will now be described. After the carriers 12 pass out of engagement with the capping machine and after the filled and sealed containers are elevated from them and are dropped into the delivery chute 204, the carriers 12 pass through the heating station 44 which comprises an elongated tunnel-like structure or housing 340 of metal which is mounted on a suitable frame member 342. The housing 34th is designed with a heat reflecting interior and extending lengthwise of the housing above the carriers 12 are a plurality of Calrod units 344- which are heated by any appropriate electrical source. The Calrod units radiate heat directly to the carriers as they pass through the interior of the housing 340. The carriers are of sufficient mass that after initially being heated they remain relatively hot imparting only a small amount of their total heat to the flanges of the containers whereby the subsequent passages through the heating tunnel or housing 340 need be of only short duration which in no way slows down the operation of the machine.

After passing through the heating station 44 the carriers are again ready to receive containers at the loading station 23 but not before each carrier is automatically sensed at the ejecting station 46 to determine the presence of any previously capped and/or filled container which may inadvertently not have been lifted from the carrier by the capping head 13%. At the time each carrier passes around the sprocket wheel 52 which is located at the advanced or left-hand end of the loading station 28, each carrier is probed mechanically from below with ejector fingers which serve to remove containers from them. The ejector station 46 will best be seen in FIGS. 5, 6 and through 12. Referring particularly to FIG. 6, it will be seen that each of the carriers is provided with a pair of openings 350 in its bottom arranged one at each side of the stem 24. The openings 350 are arranged to receive a pair of fingers 352 for probing and lifting the container in the manner shown in FIG. 11. The fingers are the bifurcated ends of a plate 354. Each plate 354 is attached to the upper end of a vertical rod 356 which is slidable in a hub 358 in the sprocket Wheel 52. The inner end of the plate 354 is slotted as at 360, which slots cooperate with a vertical pin 362 to assure alignment of the fingers 352 with the openings 359 in the carriers 12 when the lifting fingers are caused to rise through the carriers. The plates 354 and consequently the fingers 352 are elevated by a stationary slotted cam 364 mounted below the sprocket wheel 52, a roller cam follower 366 on the lower end of each of the rods 356 engaging the slotted cam 364. As the carriers pass around the sprocket wheel 52, the rollers 366, at 195 (FIG. 12), engage the slotted cam 364 whereupon the fingers 352 are cammed upwardly through the carriers in the manner shown in FIG. 11, lifting any inadvertently remaining container from the carriers. Located above the carriers but interposed in the path of an elevated container is a deflector 368 which engages and deflects ,the container into a downwardly inclined chute 370 which leads to any convenient collecting point. After passing the chute 370, the cam track 364 slopes downwardly, causing the fingers to descend through the open ings 355} in the carriers, returning to their normal position at 320. At this point all of the carriers are therefore positively assured of being free of containers and as seen in FIG. 6, again pass to the loading station 28 whereupon the cycle is begun again.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a container filling and capping machine, an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of carriers for trans- 75 porting containers successively from a loading station to a filling station and a capping station, a plurality of cap applying heads at the capping station for applying caps to filled containers, means for operating each of said cap applying heads to remove filled and capped containers from their carriers, and ejecting means located after the capping station and in advance of the loading station for removing from each carrier any container inadvertently remaining therein after leaving said capping station.

2. In a machine for continuously filling and capping flanged containers, an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of carriers for transporting containers successively to a plurality of work stations, a capping station having means for applying a cap to the flange of each container by heat and pressure, each carrier having a body portion and means for transmitting residual heat from the body portion directly only to the flange of the containers, and a station for heating each carrier after the preceding capped container has been removed and before the next container is filled, whereby heat is transmitted to the flange of the container from the carrier.

3. In a machine for filling and capping flanged containers, an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of carriers for transporting containers successively from a loading station to a filling station and a capping station, the carriers having means to transmit heat to the flanges of the containers only, means at the capping station for sealing caps to the flanges of the containers by heat and pressure, said heat transmitting means being constructed and arranged for supporting the container against the pressure of the capping operation without pressure being applied to the filled contents of the container, and means for heating the carriers when no container is located therein, whereby the heat for sealing is conveyed directly to the flanges of the containers from the carriers.

4. In a machine for filling and sealing flanged containers, means for transporting containers successively to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of carriers, each carrier comprising an open-top body having a hollow interior, annular supporting means defining the opening in the top and engageable with the undersurface of the container flange to support the flange with the container extending into the body, the interior of the body being substantially larger than the container, whereby contact between the carrier and the container takes place only between the supporting means and the flange.

5. In a machine for filling and sealing flanged containers, means for transporting containers successively to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of carriers, each carrier comprising a hollow, open-top body, and annular supporting means defining the opening in the top and engageab'lewith the undersurface of the container flange with the container extending into the carrier, the hollow interior of the carrier body being relieved adjacent the annular supporting means, thereby to provide a space between the inner body wall and the container except where the container flange engages the supporting means.

6. In a machine for filling and sealing flanged containers, means for transporting containers successively to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of carriers, each carrier comprising an open-top body having a hollow interior of substantially larger volume than the container it is to carry and having an annular lip defining the opening in the top and engageable with the flange of the container to support the flange with the container extending into the carrier body, and means for heating the carrier body, the mass of the carrier body being substantially greater than the container carried therein, whereby the heat applied to the carrier will be rapidly transferred to the flange of the container by the engaging lip.

7. In a machine for filling and sealing flanged containers, means for transporting containers successively to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of carriers, each carrier comprising an open-top body having a hollow interior and having an annular lip defining the opening in the top and engageable with the flange of the container to support the flange with the container extending into the carrier body, means for heating the carrier body, the mass of the carrier body being substantially greater than the container, the hollow interior of the carrier body being substantially larger in volume than the container and relieved adjacent the annular lip thereby to provide an insulating space between the carrier and the container, whereby heat will be transferred from the body to the container flange only.

8. In a machine for filling and sealing flanged containers, means for transporting containers successively to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of carriers, each carrier comprising a substantially hollow, open-top body for receiving a container and having an annular lip defining the opening in the top and engageable with the undersurface of the container flange to support the flange with the container extending into the hollow interior of the body, at least one opening in the bottom of the carrier, and means for projecting a container ejector rod through the bottom opening after the carrier has left the last work station to remove any containers inadvertently remaining in the carriers.

9. In a machine for applying caps to discrete flanged containers, an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of spaced container carriers, each container carrier comprising an open-top body having a hollow interior and having annular supporting means defining the opening in the top and engageable with the flange of a container to support the flange with the container extending into the carrier body, a cap applying head associated with each carrier and having an apertured surface connected to a source of vacuum, means for moving the head into engagement with a supply of caps to remove a cap therefrom by vacuum, means to urge the head against the carrier thereby to press the removed cap against the flange for sealing the cap to the container, photoelectric means for detecting the absence of a container from the body, and means responsive to the photoelectric detection means for disconnecting the head from the source of vacuum, whereby no cap will be removed if no container is present in the body.

10. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means for transporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one station comprising capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads, a cap magazine associated with each head, means for operating each head to remove a cap from the magazine and seal it to a container in a carrier, and means for operating each head to remove the container from the carrier after the container has been scaled.

11. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means for transporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one station comprising capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads, a cap magazine associated with each head, vacuum means associated with each head, means for operating each head to remove a cap from the magazine by vacuum and seal it to a container in a carrier, and means for operating each head to remove the container by vacuum by vacuum from the carrier after the container has been scaled.

12. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means for transporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one station comprising capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads, a cap magazine associated with each head, vacuum means associated with each head, means for operating each head to remove a cap from the magazine by vacuum and seal it to a container in a carrier, means for operating each head to remove the container by vacuum from the carrier after the container has been scaled, and means for rendering the capping head inoperative if there is no container in the carrier, whereby a cap is not sealed to the empty carrier.

13. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means for transporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one station comprising capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads, a cap magazine associated with each head, vacuum means associated with each head, means for operating each head to remove a cap from the magazine by vacuum and seal it to a container in a carrier, means for operating each head to remove the container by vacuum from the carrier after the container has been sealed, and means for rendering the vacuum means inoperative if there is no container in the carrier, whereby no cap will be removed from the magazine.

14. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means for transporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one station comprising capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads, a cap magazine associated with each head, vacuum means associated with each head, means for operating each head to remove a cap from the magazine by vacuum and seal it to a container in a carrier, means for operating each head to remove the container by vacuum from the carrier after the container has been sealed, means for rendering the vacuum means inoperative if there is no container in the carrier whereby no cap will be removed from the magazine, and means responsive to the inoperatively rendered vacuum means for rendering the capping head inoperative, whereby the capping head will not engage the empty carrier.

15. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means for transporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one station comprising capping mechanism having a plurality of presure applying capping heads, a cap magazine associated with each head, means for operating each head to remove a cap from the magazine and seal it by pressure to a container in a carrier, means for operating each head to remove the container from the carrier after it has sealed the cap to it, and means for maintaining the capping head out of engagement with the container if it has not removed a cap from the magazine.

16. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means for transporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one station comprising capping mechanism having a plurality of pressure applying capping heads, a cap magazine associated with each head, means for operating each head to remove a cap from the magazine and seal it by pressure to a container in a carrier, means for operating each head to remove the container from the carrier after it has sealed the cap to it, and means for maintaining the capping head out of engagement with the carrier if no container is in the carrier.

17. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means for transporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one station comprising rotary capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads spaced around the station, a slide mounting each capping head for movement radially of the capping station, a cap magazine associated with each capping head, means for locating a container carrier adjacent each cap magazine, each capping head having means for removing a cap from the magazine and for sealing it to a container in the carrier, and means for moving each slide radially from a position in which its capping head is aligned with the magazine to a position wherein it is aligned with the associated carrier.

18. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means for transporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one station comprising rotary capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads spaced around the station, a slide mounting each capping head for movement radially of the capping station, a cap magazine associated with each capping head, means for locating a container carrier adjcent each cap magazine, each capping head having means for removing a cap from the magazine and for sealing it to a container in the carrier, means for moving each slide radially from a position in which its capping head is aligned with the magazine to a position wherein it is aligned with the associated carrier, and means for moving the capping head into engagement with a cap when it is aligned with the magazine and, after it has removed a cap, to move said cap into forceable engagement with the container in the carrier when it is in alignment therewith.

19. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means for transporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one station comprising a rotary capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads spaced around the station, a slide mounting each capping head for movement radially of the capping station, a cap magazine associated with each capping head, means for locating a container carrier adjacent each cap magazine, each capping head having means for removing a cap from the magazine and for sealing it to a container in the carrier, means for moving each slide radially from a position in which its capping head is aligned with the magazine to a position wherein it is aligned with the associated carrier, means for moving the capping head into engagement with a cap When it is aligned with the magazine and, after it has removed a cap, to move said cap into forceable engagement with the container in the carrier when it is in alignment therewith, means for detecting the absence of a container from the carrier, and locking means on the slide for looking the capping head out of engagement with the carrier if no. container is located therein.

20. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means for transporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one station comprising rotary capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads spaced around the station, a slide mounting each capping head for movement radially of the capping station, a cap magazine associated with each capping head, means for locating a container carrier adjacent each cap magazine, each capping head having means for removing a cap from the magazine and for sealing it to a container in the carrier, cam means for moving each slide radially from a position in which its capping head is aligned with the magazine to a position wherein it is aligned with the associated carrier, second cam means for moving the capping head into engagement with a cap when it is aligned with the magazine and, after it has removed a cap, to move said cap into forceable engagement with the container in the carrier when it is in alignment therewith, means associated with the capping head for detecting it a cap has not been removed from the magazine by the head, and locking means on the slide for locking the capping head out of engagement with the carrier if no cap has been removed from the magazine.

21. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means for transporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one station comprising capiii) ping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads, each head comprising a vertical plunger mounting at its lower end a vacuum head engageable with a cap, a cap magazine associated with each head, a valve for controlling the vacuum at each head, means for locating a carrier adjacent the cap magazine, and a slide mounting the head for movement firom a position in which it is aligned with the magazine to a position in which it is aligned with the carrier.

22. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means for transporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one station comprising capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads, each head comprising a vertical plunger mounting at its lower end a vacuum head engageable with a cap, a cap magazine associated with each head, a valve for controlling the vacuum at each head, means for locating a carrier adjacent the cap magazine, a slide mounting the head for movement from a position in which it is aligned with the magazine to a position in which it is aligned with the carrier, and a locking pin in the slide for looking the plunger and its vacuum head out of engagement with the carrier if no cap has been picked up by the vacuum head.

23. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means for transporting containers to a plurality of Work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one station comprising capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads, each head comprising a vertical plunger mounting at its lower end a vacuum head engageable with a cap, a cap magazine associated with each head, a valve for controlling the vacuum at each head, means for locating a carrier adjacent the cap magazine, a slide mounting the head for movement from a position in which it is aligned with the magazine to a position in which it is aligned with the carrier, first cam means for moving the slide, and second cam means for moving the plunger and its vacuum head relatively to the slide into and out of engagement with the container.

24. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means for transporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, one station comprising capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads, each head comprising a vertical plunger mounting at its lower end a vacuum head engageable with a cap, a cap magazine associated with each head, a valve for controlling the vacuum at each head, means for locating a carrier adjacent the cap magazine, a slide mounting the head for movement from a position in which it is aligned with the magazine to a position in which it is aligned with the carrier, first cam means for moving the slide, second cam means for moving the plunger and its vacuum head relatively to the slide and into and out of engagement with the container, and locking means in the slide for locking the plunger with its vacuum head out of engagement with the carrier if no container is located therein.

25. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means for transporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising an endless conveyor mounting a plu rality of container carriers, one station comprising capping mechanism having a plurality of capping heads, each head comprising a vertical plunger mounting at its lower end a vacuum head engageable with a cap, a cap magazine associated with each head, a valve for controlling the vcuum at each head, means for locating a carrier adjacent the cap magazine, and a slide mounting the head for movement from a position in which it is aligned with the magazine to a position in which it is aligned with the carrier, the vacuum valve having means for automatically shutting oh the vacuum at the head if it has not picked up a cap.

26. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means for transporting containers to a plurality of work