EP0421543A1 - Apparatus for capping containers - Google Patents
Apparatus for capping containers Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0421543A1 EP0421543A1 EP90202620A EP90202620A EP0421543A1 EP 0421543 A1 EP0421543 A1 EP 0421543A1 EP 90202620 A EP90202620 A EP 90202620A EP 90202620 A EP90202620 A EP 90202620A EP 0421543 A1 EP0421543 A1 EP 0421543A1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- cap
- suction member
- stacker
- primary
- attached
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
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Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B7/00—Closing containers or receptacles after filling
- B65B7/16—Closing semi-rigid or rigid containers or receptacles not deformed by, or not taking-up shape of, contents, e.g. boxes or cartons
- B65B7/28—Closing semi-rigid or rigid containers or receptacles not deformed by, or not taking-up shape of, contents, e.g. boxes or cartons by applying separate preformed closures, e.g. lids, covers
- B65B7/2807—Feeding closures
Definitions
- Conventional apparatus of the type mentioned comprise a cap stacker disposed above a path of transport of containers and having a delivery opening facing downward, a horizontal rotary shaft attached to a lift member so as to be movable upward and downward between the path and the cap stacker, and a suction member attached as directed outward to the horizontal rotary shaft so as to attract the central portion of a cap at the lowermost position within the cap stacker when the lift member is at the upper limit position of its upward-downward stroke.
- the cap stacker contains a multiplicity of caps as stacked up, and it is likely that the adjacent caps are in fitting contact with each other. When such caps are to be withdrawn one by one from the lowermost position, a negative pressure is likely to occur between the cap in the lowermost position and another cap adjacent to this cap immediately thereabove, permitting at least the two caps to be withdrawn as fitted together.
- the edge portion of the stacker defining the cap delivery opening is conventionally provided with a separating claw having a tip partly projecting into the delivery opening for scratching a peripheral portion of the cap to be withdrawn to separate off the cap.
- An air jet nozzle 51 is suspended by a bracket 52 from the outer end of the support plate 15.
- the air jet nozzle 51 has an orifice 53 which is positioned close to the secondary vacuum cup 34 at a slightly lower level than the attracting face thereof.
- the primary vacuum cup 31 comes into contact with the lower surface of central portion of the cap L in the lowermost position within the stacker 11, with the secondary vacuum cup 34 coming into contact with the lower surface of a peripheral portion of the same cap L (FIG. 3 (a)).
- the two vacuum cups 31, 34 are brought into operation for suction, whereupon the central portion of the cap L is attracted to the primary vacuum cup 31 and the peripheral portion of the same cap L to the secondary vacuum cup 34.
- the bellows portion 35 of the secondary vacuum cup 34 contracts, so that the peripheral portion of the cap L is pulled downward as attracted to the secondary vacuum cup 34.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Closing Of Containers (AREA)
- Sealing Of Jars (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- The present invention relates to an apparatus for capping containers.
- Conventional apparatus of the type mentioned comprise a cap stacker disposed above a path of transport of containers and having a delivery opening facing downward, a horizontal rotary shaft attached to a lift member so as to be movable upward and downward between the path and the cap stacker, and a suction member attached as directed outward to the horizontal rotary shaft so as to attract the central portion of a cap at the lowermost position within the cap stacker when the lift member is at the upper limit position of its upward-downward stroke. When the lift member is at the upper limit position of its stroke, the suction member attracts thereto the central portion of the cap in the lowermost position within the cap stacker, whereupon the lift member descends, and the rotary shaft rotates through 180 degrees during the descent, whereby the cap is withdrawn from the cap stacker and fitted over a container transported to a position therebelow.
- The cap stacker contains a multiplicity of caps as stacked up, and it is likely that the adjacent caps are in fitting contact with each other. When such caps are to be withdrawn one by one from the lowermost position, a negative pressure is likely to occur between the cap in the lowermost position and another cap adjacent to this cap immediately thereabove, permitting at least the two caps to be withdrawn as fitted together. To preclude this, the edge portion of the stacker defining the cap delivery opening is conventionally provided with a separating claw having a tip partly projecting into the delivery opening for scratching a peripheral portion of the cap to be withdrawn to separate off the cap.
- The conventional apparatus encounters no problem if the attraction between the caps fitting together is relatively small but fails to reliably separate the cap from another if the attraction is relatively great.
- The main object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for capping containers which is adapted to reliably separate caps fitting together regardless of the magnitude of attraction between the caps.
- The present invention provides an apparatus for capping containers which comprises a cap stacker disposed above a path of transport of containers and having a delivery opening facing downward, a horizontal rotary shaft attached to a lift member so as to be movable upward and downward between the path and the cap stacker, a primary suction member outwardly stretchable and attached as directed outward to the horizontal rotary shaft so as to attract the central portion of a cap at the lowermost position within the cap stacker when the lift member is at the upper limit position of its upward-downward stroke, and a secondary suction member outwardly stretchable and attached as directed outward to the horizontal rotary shaft so as to attract a peripheral portion of the cap, the secondary suction member being inwardly contractable by an amount larger than the primary suction member when attracting the cap.
- With the container capping apparatus of the present invention, the central portion of a cap in the lowermost position within the cap stacker is attracted by the primary suction member, with a peripheral portion of the cap attracted by the secondary suction member, whereupon the secondary suction member inwardly contracts more greatly than the primary suction member, whereby the peripheral portion of the cap in the lowermost position is pulled down. This produces a clearance between the peripheral portion of the cap attracted to the secondary suction member and the peripheral portion of another cap immediately above the cap, permitting air to flow in between the two caps through the clearance to preclude occurrence of a nagative pressure therebetween.
- Accordingly, the apparatus of the present invention reliably separates the caps fitting together even if the attraction therebetween is great.
-
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view partly broken away and showing an apparatus embodying the invention;
- FIG. 2 is a view in vertical section of the apparatus; and
- FIGS. 3 (a), (b) and (c) are views for illustrating a capping operation.
- An embodiment of the present invention will be described next with reference to the drawings.
- The illustrated container capping apparatus comprises a
cap stacker 11 disposed above a path of transport of containers (in the direction of arrow C), and a horizontalrotary shaft 13 attached to alift member 12 so as to be movable upward and downward between the path and thecap stacker 11. - An L-
shaped frame 14 is disposed at one side of the transport path and has ahorizontal support plate 15 attached to the upper end of theframe 14 in a cantilever fashion and projecting above the path. Thehorizontal plate 14a of theframe 14 and thesupport plate 15 are interconnected by avertical guide rail 16 for guiding thelift member 12. A verticalhydraulic cylinder 17 is attached as directed upward to thehorizontal plate 14a and has apiston rod 18 coextensive with theguide rail 16. - The
cap stacker 11 comprises a vertical hollowcylindrical frame 22 attached to and extending through thesupport plate 15 and a downwardly facing delivery opening 21, and a plurality ofguide rods 23 provided upright on the upper end of theframe 22. Thestacker 11 contains a multiplicity of shallow dishlike caps L as stacked up and turned upside down. The upper end of thepiston rod 18 is connected to thelift member 12. The horizontalrotary shaft 13 extends through thelift member 12 across the direction of transport of containers perpendicular thereto and is rotatably supported by thelift member 12. Theshaft 13 has adisk 24 attached to one end thereof and acubic vacuum head 25 attached to the other end thereof. Although not described in detail, a plurality ofcutouts 26 are formed in the outer peripheral edge of thedisk 24. Thevertical plate 14b of theframe 14 is provided with a plurality ofrollers 27 arranged along the path of upward and downward movement of thedisk 24. With the upward or downward movement of thelift member 12, thedisk 24 moves upward or downward, with thecutout portions 26 coming into engagement with therollers 27 successively, whereby the horizontalrotary shaft 13 is reversibly rotated through 180 degrees in either direction. - FIG. 2 shows the
lift member 12 immediately before reaching the upper limit of its upward and downward stroke. In this state, aprimary vacuum cup 31 is attached as directed upward to the upper side of thevacuum head 25. On the other hand, abracket 32 in the form of a cantilevered horizontal plate is attached to the bottom side of thevacuum head 25. Avertical pipe 33 connected upright to the outer end of thebracket 32 has asecondary vacuum cup 34 attached as directed upward to the upper end of thepipe 33. Theprimary vacuum cup 31 and thesecondary vacuum cup 34 are arranged side by side and spaced apart by a predetermined distance. Theprimary vacuum cup 31 is opposed from below to the central portion of the cap L at the lowermost position within thecap stacker 11, and thesecondary vacuum cup 34 is opposed from below to an outer peripheral portion of the same cap L. The central portion of the cap L within thestacker 11 is at a higher level than the peripheral portion thereof. In corresponding relation with this, the attracting face of theprimary vacuum cup 31 is at a higher level than that of thesecondary vacuum cup 34. Each of the primary andsecondary vacuum cups secondary vacuum cup 34 is provided at its base portion with abellows portion 35. Thesecondary vacuum cup 34 is inwardly contractable more greatly than theprimary vacuum cup 31 by the contraction of thebellows portion 35 when attracting the cap. - The horizontal
rotary shaft 13 is concentrically formed with anair channel 41 along its axis and has twocommunication ports 42, 43 formed in its peripheral wall defining thechannel 41. Thevacuum head 25 is formed with apassageway 44 for holding theport 42 in communication with theprimary vacuum cup 31. Anannular groove 45 communicating with the other port 43 is formed in the inner peripheral surface of thelift member 12 defining the shaft bore. A primaryair supply pipe 47 is connected by aunion 46 to thelift member 12 in communication with theannular groove 45. A secondaryair supply pipe 48 branching from theunion 46 is connected to the lower end of thevertical pipe 33 by anotherunion 49. - An
air jet nozzle 51 is suspended by abracket 52 from the outer end of thesupport plate 15. Theair jet nozzle 51 has anorifice 53 which is positioned close to thesecondary vacuum cup 34 at a slightly lower level than the attracting face thereof. - The cap supply operation of the apparatus will be described next with reference to FIGS. 3 (a) to (c).
- When the
lift member 12 moves up to the upper limit of its upward-downward stroke, theprimary vacuum cup 31 comes into contact with the lower surface of central portion of the cap L in the lowermost position within thestacker 11, with thesecondary vacuum cup 34 coming into contact with the lower surface of a peripheral portion of the same cap L (FIG. 3 (a)). Subsequently, the twovacuum cups primary vacuum cup 31 and the peripheral portion of the same cap L to thesecondary vacuum cup 34. With the suction operation, thebellows portion 35 of thesecondary vacuum cup 34 contracts, so that the peripheral portion of the cap L is pulled downward as attracted to thesecondary vacuum cup 34. This creates a clearance between the cap L and the peripheral portion of another cap L immediately thereabove. Simultaneously with this, air is forced out from theair jet nozzle 51 into a space between the two caps L through the clearance (FIG. 3 (b)). Thelift member 12 then descends, whereby the cap L is lowered as held attracted to the twovacuum cups rotary shaft 13 is rotated through 180 degrees while thelift member 12 subsequently descends to the lower limit of its stroke, whereby the twovacuum cups
Claims (4)
a cap stacker disposed above a path of transport of containers and having a delivery opening facing downward,
a horizontal rotary shaft attached to a lift member so as to be movable upward and downward between the path and the cap stacker,
a primary suction member outwardly stretchable and attached as directed outward to the horizontal rotary shaft so as to attract the central portion of a cap at the lowermost position within the cap stacker when the lift member is at the upper limit position of its upward-downward stroke, and
a secondary suction member outwardly stretchable and attached as directed outward to the horizontal rotary shaft so as to attract a peripheral portion of the cap, the secondary suction member being inwardly contractable by an amount larger than the primary suction member when attracting the cap.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP116877/89U | 1989-10-03 | ||
JP1989116877U JPH088962Y2 (en) | 1989-10-03 | 1989-10-03 | Container capping device |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0421543A1 true EP0421543A1 (en) | 1991-04-10 |
EP0421543B1 EP0421543B1 (en) | 1994-01-12 |
Family
ID=14697847
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP19900202620 Expired - Lifetime EP0421543B1 (en) | 1989-10-03 | 1990-10-02 | Apparatus for capping containers |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0421543B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JPH088962Y2 (en) |
DE (1) | DE69005963T2 (en) |
DK (1) | DK0421543T3 (en) |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5946886A (en) * | 1997-09-17 | 1999-09-07 | Sweetheart Cup | Systems for transferring and repositioning container lids |
FR2831879A1 (en) * | 2001-11-07 | 2003-05-09 | Abro Weidenhammer Gmbh | Individualization device for removing disc shaped blanks comprises two parallel vacuum grippers controlled so that one gripper sucks blank to raised position whilst second gripper supports blank on opposite side |
Families Citing this family (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
AU2010230040A1 (en) * | 2009-03-26 | 2011-09-29 | Nestec S.A. | A jaw support for a pouch filler |
Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO1980002271A1 (en) * | 1979-04-16 | 1980-10-30 | Lykes Pasco Packing Co Inc | Rotary filling and capping apparatus |
EP0238421A1 (en) * | 1986-02-19 | 1987-09-23 | Manufacture Lyonnaise de Bouchage Société Anonyme | Device for positioning covers on container necks on which they must be heat-sealed |
EP0274296A1 (en) * | 1986-12-01 | 1988-07-13 | E.P. Remy Et Cie | Method for automatically lidding containers, such as cups, device for carrying out this method, and packaging machine equipped with this device |
US4848060A (en) * | 1988-06-16 | 1989-07-18 | Continental Can Company, Inc. | Carton lid transfer assembly |
Family Cites Families (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPS5769350U (en) * | 1980-10-14 | 1982-04-26 | ||
JPS59115203A (en) * | 1982-12-11 | 1984-07-03 | 株式会社 冨士製作所 | Feeder for sheet-shaped cover |
-
1989
- 1989-10-03 JP JP1989116877U patent/JPH088962Y2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
1990
- 1990-10-02 DE DE1990605963 patent/DE69005963T2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1990-10-02 DK DK90202620T patent/DK0421543T3/en active
- 1990-10-02 EP EP19900202620 patent/EP0421543B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Patent Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO1980002271A1 (en) * | 1979-04-16 | 1980-10-30 | Lykes Pasco Packing Co Inc | Rotary filling and capping apparatus |
EP0238421A1 (en) * | 1986-02-19 | 1987-09-23 | Manufacture Lyonnaise de Bouchage Société Anonyme | Device for positioning covers on container necks on which they must be heat-sealed |
EP0274296A1 (en) * | 1986-12-01 | 1988-07-13 | E.P. Remy Et Cie | Method for automatically lidding containers, such as cups, device for carrying out this method, and packaging machine equipped with this device |
US4848060A (en) * | 1988-06-16 | 1989-07-18 | Continental Can Company, Inc. | Carton lid transfer assembly |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5946886A (en) * | 1997-09-17 | 1999-09-07 | Sweetheart Cup | Systems for transferring and repositioning container lids |
FR2831879A1 (en) * | 2001-11-07 | 2003-05-09 | Abro Weidenhammer Gmbh | Individualization device for removing disc shaped blanks comprises two parallel vacuum grippers controlled so that one gripper sucks blank to raised position whilst second gripper supports blank on opposite side |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
DK0421543T3 (en) | 1994-02-14 |
EP0421543B1 (en) | 1994-01-12 |
JPH0356502U (en) | 1991-05-30 |
DE69005963T2 (en) | 1994-05-19 |
JPH088962Y2 (en) | 1996-03-13 |
DE69005963D1 (en) | 1994-02-24 |
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