CA1139918A - Method and apparatus for assemblying tubular sleeve preforms and containers - Google Patents

Abstract

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLYING TUBULAR SLEEVE PREFORMS AND CONTAINERS ABSTRACT OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to method and apparatus fox producing a composite container having a neck label or tubular sleeve mounted temporarily thereon adapted to be shrunken into final surface covering position. The tubular sleeve is preformed of relatively-stiff material and flat-folded until ready for use when it is partially opened and conveyed into axial registry with a container therebeneath. The sleeve preform of heat-shrinkable plastic material is telescopically assembled onto the container while the latter is firmly retained at an upper region. The retention device for the container serves to both fully open the sleeve preform and align the preform and container into axial arrangement. A reciprocatable head contacts the preform while so retained and telescopes the preform at least partially over the container. After the retention device releases the container, a second reciprocatable head contacts the preform to more fully telescope the preform over the container to a finally-aligned position where it is then adapted to subsequent heat-shrinking in place in permanent conforming arrangement.

Description

,: 1 - BACK~:ROU~D OF THE INVENTION

FIELD OF T~E MVE~TIO~

,, This invention rela~es to the manufacture of container~
and primarily -to the preliminary assembly of a hollow sleeve ,; ~, .1 147~, 1 prefo.rm onto an upper extremity of a container for subse~uent shrinking in situ thereon. The preform is taken from a stored, flattened condition to a position ummediatel~ above the container ,. where it is fully opened into co-axial alignment with the con-tainer. The retention device for the container neck serves to ; fully open the preform and co~axially align the two components for their initial telescopic assembly. After such initial assembly with the container neck no longer retained, the preform ~ is then finally assembled onto the container neck by further telescoping movement. The final shrinking of the preform onto . the container, as can be performed by many appropriate physical conditions, is not part of this invention.

ii 2 ~ DESCRIPTIO~ OF PRIOR ART
' 1, ' ....................................................... ,~
.. This invention comprises an improvement over the methods ,~ and apparatus disclosed in issued U. S. Patents 3,767,496, issued Octo~er 23, 1973; 3,802,g42 issued April 9O 1974; and 3,959,065 issued May 25, 1976, all of which are commonl~ owned with the ¦l present application. In each of these disclosures, a tubular ! sleeve is formed which is telescopically assembled onto the 1 article ~rom below by a push-up mechanism. ~one o these dis-j. closures pertain to a sleeve which is stored in 1attened, pre~ I
jl fabricated condition and then telescoped over the container in ~.
i two stepwise, telescoping operations to permit efficient and rapid assembly.

25 1~ In many of the previously-disclosed processes and apparatus for making composite containers having an integral i rt ~13~

1 plastic base or sleeve thereo~, a manufactured glass bottle or ii jar is loaded onto a conveyor and pre-heated prior to mounting '.; the plastic sleeve. The plastic sleeves carried on an underlying , turret pass into alignment with the bottles and are moved ~er-tically upwardly into telescopic assembly over the lower endsof the bottles. The sleeves are then carried on the bottles into : a heating apparatus such as a tunnel oven wherein appropriate physical conditions shrink the sleeves into close-fitting confor-I m.ing arrangement over the bottle surfaces where assembled. ~he i heating apparatus commonly consists of a lengthwise oven ~hroughwhich the bottles are passed, the oven temperatures ranging from 1~ about 170 to 800F, depending upon the plastic material selected ! to comprise the sleeves. U. S. Patent 3,959,065, owned by the ~ common assignee of this application, di9closes method and appar-' atus which assure against dislocation o~ the sleeve on the bottle~
. without external handling mechanism be;ng required to hold thesleeve in place between its assembly point with -the bottle and the shrinking oven~ -!l i !i Tha cap sealing of bottles has been conventionally 20 1I performed in recent years to provide for reasons o~ sanitation, ¦l pilfer-proofing, safety and appear.ance, the further step of placing over and around the neck of the bottle~ as well as prefer ; ably over at least part of .its closure, a tubular sleeve of heat-.
Ij I
1 contracting synthetic resin material, severed to a prescr:~bed 1 length, and then sealing the sleeve to the bottle by thermal contraction. The s~nthetic resin tubing is usually pressed 1at ¦
and delivered in rolls in many produc-tion processes, and since ~' .
''1 ~3- !
I!

r~ ( C 14 7 2 6 1 , the tubing may or ma~ not stay fully flattened, particularly li where it is comprised of extremely flexi~le and resilient material, I inefficiencies can and do result when the severe~ lengths of tubing are fitted on-to the bottle necks In some cases, to facilitate the fittiIlg of the shortD fla~, tubular sleeves onto the necks of bottles, it has been common practice to preform the sleeves such as b~ putting perforations or scores along their ' fold lines. It is also possible to apply the tubes around the I bottle necks without preforming the materialO as tau~ht by U~ S.
I~ Patent 3,861,918 to Muto, however, such method requires the ap-plication of a bonding agent to the ~ottle nec~ ~or a~herence of the sleeve. The method and apparatus disclosed by this patent , are exceedingly more complex and prone to occasionally mis-~I apply a tubular band or label. U. S. Patent 2,852,899 to Murrell discloses a collar feeding mechanism which is designed to remove l only ~he lowermost collar from a nested stack by frictional en-gagement with its inner surface. The collars are preformed and ' nested tightly into a stack from which they are deliverable onto ¦, the container necks.

SUMM~RY OF THE IhVENTION

!l An object of this invention is to provide method and ¦l apparatus for positivel~ opening flat-formed, ~ubular, blank li sleeves of relatively-rigid material an~ placing the same teles- !
' copically over the top of the containers ~hile both are held in axial alignment and subse~uently moving the slee~e into further Ii il ~39~

1 I telescopic engagement over the container upper region while it is , unsupported at the neck region.

" The present invention is disclosed hereinafter in a specific preferrea embodiment, provides both method and apparatus for applying a preformed, relatively-rigid tubular band or sleeve " to an upper neck region of a container where it is frictionally retained prior to subsequent heat shrinking of the band.onto the container into final conformin~ relationship, The învention I, permits telescopic assemhly of.the band onto the container upper ~ region in two stages -- the first while the container neck and ~'~ band are held in co-axial alignment, and the second.while the band is ~ree-standing in partia:L telescopic arrangement on the container neck which is then unsupported. The bands formed of relatively-stiff material are stored in flat, folded condition 1 in a stack witll an open end lowermost adjacent a rotary turret ¦, adapted to retaIn the containers in spaced~apart relation.
pair o* partible jaws having concave, cylindrical surfaces is-adapted to both retain the container neck an~ fully open and 1!~ align an individual band prior to placing same telescopicall~
¦! over the upper extremity of the container by a reciprocatlng head ; mechanism. The band is adapted to temporary retention in place on the container neck until it is heat shrunken into con~orming, permanent relationship thereon~

!
. The apparatus provides a rotary.turret mechanism ' adapted to receive and retain a lower body portion o~ the con-jl tainer in spaced~apart container-receiving pockets. ~ rotary !

( ( 1~726 1 wheel mechanism having a series of ~acuum heads thereon is arranged so that it conforms -tangentially to a portion of the arcuate path of the rotary turret. The rotary turret has a , partible jaw mechanism at each container-receiving pocket adapted , to both retain the container neck and simultaneously open and align the tubular sleeve above the upper extremity of the con-tainer. ~he jaw mechanism permits precise axial alignment of a container neck and sleeve so that the sleeve is telescoped to I, an intermediate posltion on the container neck~

i Another feature of the invention is a vacuum pick-up device capable of delivery of an individual tubular preform in jl partially opened condition from a nested stack of flattened preforms to a second vacuum device for further openiny of the 1I preform prior to its complete opening in circular alignment by the pair of partible container retention jaws.

Il, ~ further feature o the invention is the provision o~
- extended dwell time o~ the vacuum pick~up device adjacent the stack of flattened tubular preforms -to assure delivery of an in-1l diviaual sleeve to the rotary ~urret even at accellerated rates 20 11 of operation oE the combined apparatus.

A still further eature of the invention is the two-stage telescopic movement of the tubular sleeve over the con- ;
tainer neck while supported and then unsupported at said neck I region for convenient and economical application thereof onto j containers at production speed prior to heat shrinkage of the sleeve onto the surrounded circ~unferential surface area which sleeve ma~ also provide a p:ilfer-proofing feature.

Il !

{ 14726 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRA~ GS

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a machine for applying plastic sleeves onto glass bottles incorporating the improvements of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a s~hematic view of the power source elements of the machine of Figure 1.

"
i Figure 3 is a plan view of the machine of Figure 1 with the upper portions of the incoming and outgoing starwheels broken away.

~ ¦, Figure 4 is a top view of the machine shown in , Figure 3 with some poxtions of the main turret broken away, 1! and others in broken lines, to illustrate the underlying details~

~ igure 5 is a partial perspective view of thè magazine devicQ or holding a substantial number of preformed sleeves.

' Figure 6 is a partial top view of the vacuum pick-up il and delivery device for the preformed sleeves with portions ,I brok~n away.

Figure 7 is a partial perspective view of the magazine !I device and vacuum picX-up and delivery device shown in Figures 5 1 and 6 with portions broXen away.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary top view of several pairs of partible jaws of the main machine turret.

i Figure 9 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A
, of Figure 8.

jl 7 1 Figure 10 is a partial perspective view of a single paix of partible jaws and container at one con~ainer-receiving statiorl of the machine with the jaws open, and container and ,, sleeve in place~

Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 10 showing another container-receivin~ station of the machine with the iaws closed around the container and the sleeve fully opened.

Figure 12 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view , taken along the line B-B of Figure 3.

' Figure 13 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view taken along the line C-C of Figure 3.

igure 14 is a fragmentary sectional elevati~nal view . taken along the line D-D of Figure 3 ! Figure 15 is a fragmentary sectional elevational vie~
~, ;
lS I taken along the line E-E of Figure 1.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIME~IT

i As shown in Fi~ure 1 of the drawings, ~he apparatus for i, producing containers with plastic sleeves thereon consists of !, xotary turret machine 10 which is adapted to receive an~ arcuately convey the containers 11 around at least a major portion o its ' full circumference~ The containers 11 preferably consist of rigid, hollow~ glass bottles which may or may not have a closure .
;j lla thereon, thus bein~ either in ~illed or unfilled condition, as desired.

.

il i ( ~ 14726 ~39:~3L~
1 As shown in Figure 1, the containers 11 are delivered Ito the rotary turret 12 of the machine 10 serially in spacecl~
laPart arrangement b~ a worm feed device 13 which is ro~ated in Isynchronism with movement of a linear conveyor 14. ~he conveyor ,14 and worm feed device 13 are of the conven~iona~ construction adapted to convey the containers in upright position between a :pair of parallel side rails 15~ The worm feed 13 is designed .to receive a lineal alignment o~ upright containers in physically-~.contactin~, close relation and separate the ~ame into e~ually-spaced arrangement or delivery to the xotary turret machine 10.Normally, the worm feed 13 has a continuous screw thread element 16 wit~ a pitch distance generall~ complemental to the desired ! spacing of the containers for delivery to the turret machineO
The axis of such thread element of the worm feed extends horiæon-¦!tally, the thread element replacing one of the`conveyor side'rails 15 for a limited distance~ .

The containers 11 are delivered by the worm feed 13 to ~a rotary starwheel 17 mounted between the conveyor 14 and the i~rotary ~urret 12 of the machine. The starwneel 17 has a station-20 . lary bottom plate on the same elevation as the conveyor 14 forsliding the containers 11 thereover. Starwheel 17 is mounted ~tangentially to both conveyor 14 and turret 12, 1 .
'I The containers are each received serially into a ¦¦container-receiving pocket 18 on the rotary turret 12. The turre-t 12 has a plurali.ty of e~ui-spaced pockets 18 extending I , I . I
!: -g fl I
il , , , ,, , 1~20 1 around its circu~ference. The pockets 18 are capable of surround-ing at least partially a major body portion of the container with a bottom support plate 19 for retaining each con-tainer in upright ., .
'' position. The plurality of pockets 18 on the turret 12 has , peripheral spacing which coincides radiall~ so that all pockets . are equi-spacea. Support plate 19 is adapted to receive and support the container bottoms while the containers 11 are retained upright on the turret 12 and extends therearound immediatel~
, below the pockets 18. The pockets 17a in starwheel 17 are z ~, arranged to mesh with the container-receiving pockets 1~ of the ,I turret 12 at all speeds of machine operation.
.l The turret 12 is mounted on a central vertical shaft 20 , which is rotated in con]unction with mnvement of the conveyor 14 ., ! and worm feed device 13. The turret 12 of the mach.ine is rotated f by an e~ectrical motor 21 and gear bo~.22 engaging a pin.~on gear Ij 23 through a suitable shaft which drives vertical shaft 20 of !¦ ~uxxet 12. ~11 are located beneath the turret 12 as shown in 1, ~igure 2. The main gear 24 of the turret 12 engages another gear , 25 which drives incoming starwheel 17 through a suitable shaft.
fl The starwheel shaft is connected to another gear 26 which drives Ij still another gear 27 through an idler gear 28. Gear 27 is con- ~
¦¦ nected to a shaft which drives a rotary wheel device ~0 for sleeve Il pick up and delivery. ~et another gear 29 interconnects with ~ turret main gear 24 on a suitable shaft to drive outgoing star-,~ , 1l wheel 70. This shaft is connected to gear 30 which through gear 31 drives the gear box of the worm feed loading device 13. The gears and driving mechanism are shown schematically in Figure 2.
~he incoming starwheel 17 is mounted in horizontal ! -lo- i .

~ 726 ~3~

1 tangential relation between the worm feed 13 and the turret peri-I phery over a s-tationary horizontal plate to facilitate entry of . the spaced containers into the turret pockets 18. Sta~heel 17 ' has a plurality of recesses 17a therein adapted to move the containers slidably over a-suitable dead plate aligned with bottom support plate 19 of the turret 12. When the starwheel 17 .
. is rota-ted in synchronism with the worm ~eed 13 and turret 12, being powered by turret 12 as aforesa.id, the containers are , aellvered seriall~ upright in spaced relation from recesses 17a into the plurality of pockets 18 on the turret 12.

~ urret 12 has a plurality of partible chucking devices ¦,. 35 located adjacent and immediately above each of the container-receiving pockets 18 and in vertical alignment therewith as shown i in Figures 1 and 4. Each chucking device 35 consists of a pair , of juxtaposed, concave, cylindrical jaws 36 and 37 which are adapted to physically contact and engage a portion of the con-tainer neck llb while the con-tainer is disposed with,n poc~et 18.
The jaws 36 and 37 have an appreciable height extending generally I co-extensive wi-th the container neck llb and closure lla, surroun~-~ ing the same when closed. The lower extremity of jaws 36 and 37has a lesser diameter than the greater upper portion thereabove to permit the jaw pairs to engage the-neck llb at its lower regionl.
. The jaw pairs have a slightly greater internal diameter at an ¦l upper region complemental to the con.tainer neck llb and closure I, lla to facilitate firmly pushing a tubular sleeve downwardly in J
li the annular space therebetween when the container neck llb is ! firmly retained~
I, . I

il i -- -- --~ 726 ~L~L3~

Each of the chucks 35 is thus comprised of a pair of matching concave semi cylindrical jaws 36 and 37 which are pivotally mounted and adapted to firm engaging con-tact with a container neck. The turret 12 possesses suitable camming mechanism 38 to swing the jaws closed around the container neck llb immediately following entry of a container into a turret pocket 18. As shown in Figure 9~ the mechanism consists of a pair of small gears 39 with each one mounted on a shaft connected to an upper region of each jaw assembly 36 and 379 the gears adapted to interengage with each other for jaw closing and open-, . , '.
ing. One of the gears 39 of each pair has a rigid arm 33 con-, nected thereto which has a cam roller 32 on the other end which moves within a cam track 34. Thus, when cam roller 32 turns the arm 33, the meshed gears 39 are rotated to close and open the ¦~ pair of jaws 36 and 37. Thus, upon entering the turret, the ,' body portion o~ the container is loosely held in pocket 18 and j~ the neck portion more rigidly held by the jaws 36 and 37 o the ` chuckins device when closed ! A horizontal wheel device 40 is mounted closely adjacent l~ and in tangential relation to ~he turret 12, as shown in Figures ! 1 4 and 8. The wheel aevice 40 ~arries a plurali~y of irst vacuum heads 41 in e~ui-spaced, radial alignment, the heads facing outwardly for engagement with a nested stack of preformed tubular sleeves 42 and their delivery to turret 12 Each of the heads 41 comprises a vacuum cup 43 mounted ver-tically connected to a vacuum line (not shown) which interconnec-ts with a rotary !~ vacuum manifold 45 at the center of the wheel. Each of the heads I' 1~ . i ! 1 ii i ~ ~; 14726 ~13~

1 41 is mounted on a suitable slide extending radially from the wheel cen-ter and is adapted to extended and re~racted movement ! f the head by ~ first camming mechanism 46, Camming mechanism 46 moves within a first cam track 47 extending around the wheel 5 I 4OD A second camming device 48 is also connected to each head 41 which moves within a second cam track 48 on the wheel~ the cam tracks being shown in Figure 4. The second camming mechanism 48 provides an extended dwell time of the vacuum cup 43 when ' facing outermost sleeve 42 at the retained stack. ~ormally il the vacuum cup 43 is moved radially outwardly by the first cam-! .
,~ ming mechanism 46 at the sleeve pick-up position and maintained in Il such position until delivery of the sleeve to the machine turret~
' The second camming mechanism 48 serves to swing the head 41 ;, through an arc with the cup 43 being delayed in passing the pic~-ll up position so that greater dwell time is achieved thereat. Thus~
positive pick-up of an individual sleeve b~ the vacuum cup 43 is Il ensured even at rapid rates of machine operation. Cup 43 ~, there~y is maintained in facing alignment with the outermost sleeve 42 in the nested stack for a longer period, I! i ¦I The stack of sleeves 42 is held in a suitable-holder 50 having dimensions closely complemental to the retained, nested stack of sleeves. The holder is slightly smaller at the sides of its exit area. The sleeves 42 are uniformly and tightly I aligned vertically with an open end lowermost in the stack, as , shown in Figures 5 and 7. The sleeves are retained tigh-tly . . , !, l ' ' .

51 i ~ 726 ,,~,~ ~

1 ' enough in the holder 50 so that vacuum cup 43 must exert some pulling pressure on the outermost sleeve to pull it from ~he restricted exit area of the holder and in so doing par~ially - `., opens the sleeve. The cup 43, by action of second camming mechanism 48, is delayed in passing the pick-up point when near~
est to and facing the outermost sleeve 42 to ensure posi-tive engagement therewi-th even at high rates of rotation of wheel 40.
ThusO each cup 43 is able to positively engage an upper region ! f a flat facing surface area of the sleeve 42 t~ carry the same I. through an arc into tangential relation with the machine turret 12.
Il A vacuum line extends from a central vacuum man~Fold 45 at the i ~enter of wheel 40 to each vacu~um cup 43 mounte~ on head 41.
!~ Thus~ negative pressure is main~.ained on the face of each cup 43 ¦I during operation of the machine. The vacuum wheel 40 and turxet J,i 12 are interconnected throuyh starwheel 17 by interlockin~ ring ¦ gears therebeneath so that each of the vacuum cups 43 is moved ~' into precise facing alignment with a container pocket 18 to , permit delivery of a partially opened sleeve ~2 to a pcsition at ¦l least partially above and within an expanse of an open pair of 1 par-tible jaws 36 and 37.
1~ . , . I
,~ The sleeves 42 are preferably comprised of ~oamed, medium-impact polystyrene having a wall thickness ranging from 0.005 to 0~020 inch, The material has a preferred density of 2 ~; to 30 pounds per cubic foot with the primary orientation extending 2S 1~ in a circumferential direction around the pxeformed sleeves~ The Il preformed sleeves are relatively-rigid or semi-rigid having a ~1 ' ,,.
.

t . :
` ~ ~13~ 14726 1 s-tiEfness in Taber units of 22 to 26 around the sleeve circum-ference, and 7 to 11 in the axial direct;on of the sleeve, Taber units are a well known measure of stiffness used in the paper industry A photoelec-tric cell device 51 is mounted facing the pockets 17a of starwheel 17 adapted to load the pockets 18 of main turret 12. This device is employed to detect the presence of a container 11 in each of starwheel pockets 17a. Device 51 ,i .
Iis interconnected to an electrically-operated hydraulic cylinder ~device 55 having an arm 54 facing the outermost sleeve ~2 of the Iretained, nested stack in the holder 50~ When device 51 in-!
dicates that a container 11 is not being delivered to the main ¦turret 12, arm 54 operates upwardly by the small h~draulic licylinder and piston rod assembly 55p as shown in Figure 5~ The ¦`arm 54 then positively retains the outermost sleeve so that the ~,vacuum is broken when cup 43 contacts the sleeve outermost surface.
Thus~ a sleeve 42 is then not deliverea to turret 12 in the absence of a container.

I A second vacuum cup 60 is mounted in reciprocatable, Ivertical re1ation on the turret 12 immediately above each pair ¦if jaws 36 and 37 and in alignment therewith. The first vacuum cup 43 brings a sleeve 42 into facin~ alignment with the second ''vacuum cup 60 and the jaws. Such second cup contacts the opposite ¦~side of the sleeve then held vertically by cup ~3 to pull the sleeve apart and more fully open. Cup 60 is mounted on a hori-jzontal piston rod 61 ~hich is moved within a stationar~ s ideblock 62 on the turret, as shown in Figure 9, A vacuum line G7 ~connects with second vacuum cup 60 through slide block 62. A

ii . , { ~ 1~726 cam roller 63 is mounted on the inner end of rod 61 which roller operates within a cam track 64~ A rod 61 extends the cup 60 to its fully-extended position as the cup 43 approaches the partible jaws o~ chucking device 35D A~ individual sleeve 42 is thus carried a short arcuate distance by the two cups 43 and 60 contacting opposite ex-terior surfaces of the sleeve.
At this time, the second cup 60 is retracted by piston rod 61 to cause the sleeve to be more fully opened between the cups~ ;

. ~ .
¦, The sleeve 42 is delivered partially open by the juxta-~' posed vacuum cups within the confines of an open pair of ~aws 36 1 and 37 which also at least partially surround a container 11 held ! loosel~ in the container-receiving pocket 18, This is shown !~ in Figure 10. Immediately following delivery of the sleeve 42 ¦i within open jaws 36 and 37, the jaws are swung pivotally closed ¦ by camming device 38 to engage both the container neck region llb ¦~ and to simultaneousl~ fully open the sleeve 42. Figure 9 has ¦, the near gear 39 removed to show the rear gear and arm 33. The fold lines of the partially open sleeve 42 are ~hen positioned , facing the concave jaw surfaces so that closing the jaw presses ~0 ~' the fold lines together and forms the sleeve sides into semi- ¦
~I cylindrical con~iguration. This is shown in Figure 11. The I sleeve in circular configuration is then fully retained by the i' slightly-larger, internal diameter of the jaw cylindrical surfaces in a position just above the container closure lla or the con I tainer top extremity when uncapped. The internal diameter of the jaws is designed to be closely complemental to the sleeve (~ C 14726 ~3~

1 d.iameter to permit ~ully opening the sleeve therewithin and ver-tically sliding the sleeve downwardly in the intermediate annular space between jaws and container neck. The jaw-surfaces are preferably smooth and continuous to permit such sliding contact.

Immediately following -the jaw closing, an overhead reciprocatable first alignment plate 65 which i~ preferably flat and circular having a diameter slightly greater than sleeve 42 is cammed downwardly to cause the sleeve 42 to be telescoped over the upper extremity of the container 11 and closure lla when present within the closed jaw~ The sleeve is lowerea by the flat surface of plate 65 contacting the upper surface of -the sleeve 42 which moves it downwardly in an axial direction. A
~, similar plate 65 is mounted above each pair of partible jaws 36 ~, and 37, extendi.ng normal to ~he jaw working surfaces~ Plate 65 ; is arranged in centered relation over the closed jaws so that 1' when second vacuum cup 60 is fully retracted, and the sleeve I, , ~ fully opened by the jaws, the plate i~ capable of positive down-ll ward movement lowering the sleeve axiall~ within the jaws to a j lowered region where the sleeve bottom either contacts or is 1 adjacent the jaw portions engaging the container neck llb. This i! is shown in Figures 11 ana 13 ',1 ' ' i ! The plurality of flat plates 65 is each mounted on the j ¦ lower end of a veriical rod 66 which is spring loaded to be held , 1, normall~ in a raised position. This is shown in Figures 11 and 12. The rods 65 each have a roller cam 67 mounted on an upper portion which cam is moved in a cam track 68 by rotation of turret 12. The plates 65 are each moved by the cam track to -17- , 1~ 1 .. ~ ( ~.
3~

1 lower the rod and thus the sleeve 42 into an annular space between jaws and container neck. This is shown in Figure 13 The cam track 68 extends in a circular arrangement completely around an upper area of the turret 12 so tha-t plates 65 are moved downwardly during an interval when the jaws 36 and 37 are closed and a sleeve is in an upper aligned position. This is shown in Figure 14. The plates are moved upwardly when the ~aws are ;' opened.
!
i After the sleeve 42 is fully lowered to the lowermost position permitted by the lower extremities of the jaws, the jaws , are opened by the pair of small gears 39 being cammed to rotate through an arc. With the jaws open, the container 11 having the i sleeve 42 mounted on an upper region in free-s-tanding relation is 1 then loosely held in container-receiving pocket 18 adapted to be 15 ¦I further rotated around turret 12.

Another turret 70 comprising a starwheel is mounted ! . , .
- closely adjacent and tangential to main turret 12 in a region ¦ where the jaws 36 and 37 are maintained in open position. The I turret 70 carries a plurality of second flat, circular ali~nment ~ plates 71 which serve to furthex lower the sleeve 42 onto the container neck llb in final arrangemen-t. Each of the plates 71 is mounted on a reciprocatable vertical support rod 72 which has a roller cam 73 attached to an upper region which is moved in contact with a circular cam track 74 at the top of turret 70O
~ When the -turret 70 is rotated by gear 29 in-terconnected to main ¦I gear 24 on turret 12, the pla-tes 71 are moved downwardly when in l -18-( ~ 14726 ~3~:'9 lL~

1 tangential relation to turret 12 as the containers 11 are moved " thereby in pockets 18. The containers are then moved onto turret 70 which constitutes the outgoing starw~eel of the machine. The ~, sleeve 42 is ~urther lowered by plates 71 from its free-standing position to be held by friction on the container neck in precise axial al.ignment for heat-shrinking thereon in another ~peration~

; The containers 11 having sleeves 42 mounted temporarily thereon are then moved back onto conveyor 14 ~y turret 70 for ~i further -transport to a heat-shrinking operation Depending upon ' ~he selection of thermoplastic sheet material for sleeve 42, the l~ containers and sleeves are passed through a tunnel oven (not ~i shown) having a temperature ranging from about 170 to 800~F.
¦, The sleeves then rapidly shrink and conform to the surface areas 1, therebeneath in tightly-fitting arrangemen~

lS ~i The main turret 12 of the machine is adapted to receive l~ and handle containers 11 at a wide ~ariety of speeds of operation.
3 At all speeds, the incominy starwheel is adapted to deliver con-~, tainers serially into the container-receiving pockets 18 by theîr, Il intermeshing with recesses 17a. The sleeve delivery wheel 40 is 20 ¦1 adapted to deliver an individual sleeve 42 at ~he chucking device~
35 at all sucll speeds. The outgoing starwheel 70 is adapted to receive and finally align the free-standing sleeve 42 on each t container prior to its,return to conveyor 1~ and heat shrinking I of the sleeve in place on the container, Various modifications may be resorted to wit~in the , spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

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Claims (25)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows-

1. Combined apparatus for assemblying tubular, heat-shrinkable thermoplastic sleeves telescopically onto hollow containers comprising a rotary turret having a plurality of container-receiving pockets thereon, means to deliver serially individual containers to each of said pockets, holding means for retaining a plurality of tubular sleeves in flattened condition nested in a stack, means for serially removing the outermost sleeve from said stack one at a time, delivery means for moving the individual sleeve into axial alignment with a container retained in said container-receiving pocket, a pair of reciprocat-able partible jaws mounted on each of said container-receiving pockets, means to reciprocate said jaws to enclose an upper region of said container and simultaneously fully open an individual sleeve by compressing the same at its fold lines while axially aligning the two components, first telescoping means to effect at least partial telescopic engag-engagement of said sleeve and said container while retained by said jaws, said jaws acting as guides for the movement of said sleeves and container and second telescoping means to precisely align said sleeve on said container subsequent to its release by said jaws and prior to subjecting said sleeve and container to appropriate physical conditions to shrink the sleeve tightly in place on said container.

2. Combined apparatus in accordance with Claim 1 wherein said means fox serially removing the said outermost sleeve from said stack comprises a plurality of vacuum heads adapted to engage and deliver by said delivery means individual sleeves to each of said jaw pairs for fully opening said indiv-idual sleeve and obtaining axial alignment with a prescribed container.

3. Combined apparatus in accordance with Claim 1 wherein said pairs of partible jaws are adapted to partially engage an intermediate area of the container neck and the fold lines of said tubular sleeve for opening the latter, and said first telescoping means being adapted to at least partially telescope said sleeve over said container while the latter is retained by said pair of partible jaws.

4. Combined apparatus in accordance with Claim 1 wherein said first and second telescoping means comprise recipro-catable alignment plates adapted to contact an upper region of a tubular sleeve to lower the same telescopically stepwise into precise axial alignment with said container.

5. Combined apparatus in accordance with Claim 2 including a second set of vacuum heads mounted in reciprocatable position immediately adjacent and above each of said pairs of partible jaws to extend an individual sleeve into at least partially-opened relation with one of said first set of vacuum heads prior to its being contacted and fully opened by said jaw pairs.

6. Combined apparatus in accordance with Claim 1 wherein said sleeve is comprised of relatively-rigid foamed polystyrene sheet material which is flat-folded into a tubular preform.

7. An improved apparatus for applying heat-shrinkable complemental tubular bands to the necks of containers comprising a first rotary turret having a plurality of container-receiving pockets thereon in equi-spaced arrangement, delivery means adapted to deliver individual containers in spaced-apart relation to said container-receiving pockets of said turret, retention means for retaining a stack of flattened tubular bands nested with an open end lowermost, first vacuum means for serially removing the outer-most band from said retention means and delivering same to a tangential position above an individual container retained in a container-receiving pocket, second vacuum means mounted in axial alignment with said container-receiving pocket on said turret to at least partially open said band when said first and second vacuum means are juxtaposed in near facing alignment, a pair of partible jaw members having concave cylindrical opposing surfaces mounted at each container-receiving pocket adapted to engage an intermediate neck area of the container and simultaneously contacting said band to fully open the said band above said ccntainer with the two components in axial alignment, a first reciprocatable head mounted over each of said container-receiving pockets for urging said band telescopically downwardly over the container neck retained there below by said jaw in said container receiving pocket, said jaws acting as guides for the movement of said band into said container, each said container receiving pocket retaining said container with said band at least partially telescoped over the upper neck region of said container while being held by said jaws on said first rotary turret, and a second reciprocat-able head for urging said band further telescopically downwardly into precise axial alignment following release of said container by said pair of partible jaw members.

8. An improved apparatus in accordance with Claim 7 wherein each said pair of partible jaws is pivotally mounted having matching concave cylindrical internal surfaces at least partially complemental to the diameter of said tubular band in fully open arrangement and to an intermediate neck area of lesser diameter of said container when said jaws are in their closed position.

9. An improved apparatus in accordance with Claim 7 including means to prevent removal of a tubular band from said band retention means by said first vacuum means when said container-receiving pocket is devoid of a containers

10. An improved apparatus in accordance with Claim 7 wherein said first vacuum means comprises a secondary rotary wheel mounted in tangential relation to said first rotary turret and having a series of spaced-apart vacuum heads thereon adapted to interact in timed relation with the plurality of spaced-apart jaw pairs at said container-receiving pockets in said first rotary turret.

11. An improved apparatus in accordance with Claim 7 wherein said retention means for guiding a stack of flattened tubular bands in nested relation comprises a hollow holder com-plemental to the dimensions of said bands and adapted to retain a substantial number of bands mounted with an open end lowermost facing said first vacuum means for individual removal thereby.

12. An improved apparatus in accordance with Claim 7 wherein said pairs of partible jaws are adapted to simultaneous physical engagement around prescribed areas of both said container neck and said tubular band, and means mounted on said first rotary turret to open and close said partible jaws to attain axial alignment of said tubular band and container neck when in the closed position.

13. An improved apparatus in accordance with Claim 7 wherein said first reciprocatable head mounted over each of said container-receiving pockets comprises a flat surface arranged normal to the band axis for urging said band-telescopically downwardly over an individual container.

14. An improved apparatus in accordance with Claim 7 including an additional retention means for retaining said container with said band at least partially telescoped thereover and which comprises a second rotary wheel, and a plurality of second reciprocatable heads mounted in spaced relation on said secondary rotary wheel for urging said band telescopically downwardly into precise alignment on said container.

15. An improved apparatus in accordance with Claim 10 wherein the series of vacuum heads on said first rotary wheel have camming means to permit extended dwell time of each vacuum head of said first vacuum means when juxtaposed adjacent the outermost band retained by said retention means for said stack of flattened tubular bands.

16. The method of assemblying heat-shrinkable tubular bands on the neck. portion of containers comprising the steps of delivering serially to a rotary turret machine individual containers in upright spaced-apart relation, positioning each of said containers within a container-receiving pocket for movement at least partially around said rotary turret machine, retaining a substantial number of said tubular bands in flattened; nested condition in a suitable holder with one open end lowermost, delivering an individual tubular band in partially-opened condition to a tangential position above said container retained within said pocket on said rotary turret machine, engaging said container at an upper neck region by a pair of partible pivoted jaws located above and in alignment with said pocket and simul-taneously fully opening said band thereabove by said jaws while moving the band into axial alignment with said container, moving said hand telescopically downwardly to surround at least a portion of the container neck while retained by said jaws therebelow, said jaws acting as is for the most of said band onto said container, disengag-ing said jaws from contact with said container neck and said band, and moving said band telescopically further downwardly into precise alignment on said container neck for subsequent heat-shrinking in place thereon.

17. The method in accordance with Claim 16, including the steps of delivering said tubular band from said holder to a position above said container in timed relation by a first vacuum head adapted to move through an arc between such pick-up and delivery positions.

18. The method in accordance with Claim 16, including the step of opening said tubular band more fully by a second juxtaposed vacuum head mounted in reciprocatable position above said pair of partible jaws at said container-receiving pocket.

19. The method in accordance with Claim 16, including the step of utilizing relatively-stiff, foamed polystyrene sheet material which is flat folded into two-ply relation as the heat-shrinkable tubular band, and fully opening said band by closing said partible pivoted jaws and thereby contacting and compressing the fold lines of said tubular band.

20. The method in accordance with Claim 16. including the step of determining when a container is to be received within a container-receiving pocket and permitting delivery of a tubular band only when said container is present therein.

21. The method in accordance with Claim 16, including the step of at least partially opening said tubular band with a juxtaposed pair of vacuum heads at least temporarily disposed over said container and more fully opening said band by said jaws compressing same at its fold lines.

22. The method in accordance with Claim 16, including the step of engaging serially a number of tubular bands by a plurality of first vacuum heads mounted on a rotary wheel device adapted to rotate in timed relation and tangential to said rotary machine having a plurality of container-receiving pockets thereon, and delivering one tubular band into axial alignment with an individual container in said pocket during its arcuate movement.

23. The method in accordance with Claim 16, including the step of moving said tubular band downwardly into telescopic engagement with the container neck in two stages, the first stage while the said container neck and said tubular band are retained in axial alignment by contact with said pair of partible pivoted jaws and the second stage following release of said container neck and said band from contact with said pair of jaws while the band is free-standing on said container neck.

24. The method in accordance with Claim 23, including the step of moving said tubular band downwardly stepwise into telescopic engagement with the container neck by a primary re-ciprocatable flat surface mounted normal to the band axis and operable from above during said first stage, and by a secondary reciprocatable flat surface mounted and operable similarly during said second stage.

25. The method in accordance with Claim 23 wherein said band has a diameter closely complemental to said container neck for a slip fit and frictional retention thereon, thus being alignable in final position without further support or slippage prior to heat shrinking thereon.