EP0421543B1 - Apparatus for capping containers - Google Patents

Apparatus for capping containers Download PDF

Info

Publication number
EP0421543B1
EP0421543B1 EP19900202620 EP90202620A EP0421543B1 EP 0421543 B1 EP0421543 B1 EP 0421543B1 EP 19900202620 EP19900202620 EP 19900202620 EP 90202620 A EP90202620 A EP 90202620A EP 0421543 B1 EP0421543 B1 EP 0421543B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
cap
suction member
stacker
attached
rotary shaft
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.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP19900202620
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0421543A1 (en
Inventor
Takahiro C/O Shikoku Kakoki Co. Ltd. Sawabuchi
Masao C/O Shikoku Kakoki Co. Ltd. Nobuta
Tetsuya C/O Shikoku Kakoki Co. Ltd. Iuchi
Haruhiko C/O Shikoku Kakoki Co. Ltd. Sato
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Shikoku Kakoki Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Shikoku Kakoki Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Shikoku Kakoki Co Ltd filed Critical Shikoku Kakoki Co Ltd
Publication of EP0421543A1 publication Critical patent/EP0421543A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0421543B1 publication Critical patent/EP0421543B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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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

  • the present invention relates to an apparatus for capping containers.
  • Conventional apparatus of the type mentioned and disclosed e.g. in EP-A-238 421 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 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.
  • 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, characterized by 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.
  • 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.
  • the apparatus of the present invention reliably separates the caps fitting together even if the attraction therebetween is great.
  • 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 horizontal rotary shaft 13 attached to a lift member 12 so as to be movable upward and downward between the path and the cap stacker 11.
  • An L-shaped frame 14 is disposed at one side of the transport path and has a horizontal support plate 15 attached to the upper end of the frame 14 in a cantilever fashion and projecting above the path.
  • the horizontal plate 14a of the frame 14 and the support plate 15 are interconnected by a vertical guide rail 16 for guiding the lift member 12.
  • a vertical hydraulic cylinder 17 is attached as directed upward to the horizontal plate 14a and has a piston rod 18 coextensive with the guide rail 16.
  • the cap stacker 11 comprises a vertical hollow cylindrical frame 22 attached to and extending through the support plate 15 and a downwardly facing delivery opening 21, and a plurality of guide rods 23 provided upright on the upper end of the frame 22.
  • the stacker 11 contains a multiplicity of shallow dishlike caps L as stacked up and turned upside down.
  • the upper end of the piston rod 18 is connected to the lift member 12.
  • the horizontal rotary shaft 13 extends through the lift member 12 across the direction of transport of containers perpendicular thereto and is rotatably supported by the lift member 12.
  • the shaft 13 has a disk 24 attached to one end thereof and a cubic vacuum head 25 attached to the other end thereof.
  • a plurality of cutouts 26 are formed in the outer peripheral edge of the disk 24.
  • the vertical plate 14b of the frame 14 is provided with a plurality of rollers 27 arranged along the path of upward and downward movement of the disk 24.
  • the disk 24 moves upward or downward, with the cutout portions 26 coming into engagement with the rollers 27 successively, whereby the horizontal rotary 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.
  • a primary vacuum cup 31 is attached as directed upward to the upper side of the vacuum head 25.
  • a bracket 32 in the form of a cantilevered horizontal plate is attached to the bottom side of the vacuum head 25.
  • a vertical pipe 33 connected upright to the outer end of the bracket 32 has a secondary vacuum cup 34 attached as directed upward to the upper end of the pipe 33.
  • the primary vacuum cup 31 and the secondary vacuum cup 34 are arranged side by side and spaced apart by a predetermined distance.
  • the primary vacuum cup 31 is opposed from below to the central portion of the cap L at the lowermost position within the cap stacker 11, and the secondary 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 the stacker 11 is at a higher level than the peripheral portion thereof.
  • the attracting face of the primary vacuum cup 31 is at a higher level than that of the secondary vacuum cup 34.
  • Each of the primary and secondary vacuum cups 31 and 34 is made of rubber or like elastic material.
  • the secondary vacuum cup 34 is provided at its base portion with a bellows portion 35. The secondary vacuum cup 34 is inwardly contractable more greatly than the primary vacuum cup 31 by the contraction of the bellows portion 35 when attracting the cap.
  • the horizontal rotary shaft 13 is concentrically formed with an air channel 41 along its axis and has two communication ports 42, 43 formed in its peripheral wall defining the channel 41.
  • the vacuum head 25 is formed with a passageway 44 for holding the port 42 in communication with the primary vacuum cup 31.
  • An annular groove 45 communicating with the other port 43 is formed in the inner peripheral surface of the lift member 12 defining the shaft bore.
  • a primary air supply pipe 47 is connected by a union 46 to the lift member 12 in communication with the annular groove 45.
  • a secondary air supply pipe 48 branching from the union 46 is connected to the lower end of the vertical pipe 33 by another union 49.
  • 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)
EP19900202620 1989-10-03 1990-10-02 Apparatus for capping containers Expired - Lifetime EP0421543B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP1989116877U JPH088962Y2 (ja) 1989-10-03 1989-10-03 容器のキャッピング装置
JP116877/89U 1989-10-03

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0421543A1 EP0421543A1 (en) 1991-04-10
EP0421543B1 true 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 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
JP (1) JPH088962Y2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE69005963T2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DK (1) DK0421543T3 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
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
DE10154235B4 (de) * 2001-11-07 2005-06-02 Abro Weidenhammer Gmbh Vorrichtung zum Vereinzeln scheibenförmiger, biegsamer Materialzuschnitte
BRPI1014203A2 (pt) * 2009-03-26 2016-04-19 Nestec Sa "suporte de mandíbula para enchimento de bolsa."
CN114524116B (zh) * 2022-02-18 2025-06-10 杭州中亚机械股份有限公司 一种子母杯封口装置

Family Cites Families (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4276734A (en) * 1979-04-16 1981-07-07 Lykes Pasco Packing Company Rotary filling and capping apparatus
JPS5769350U (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) * 1980-10-14 1982-04-26
JPS59115203A (ja) * 1982-12-11 1984-07-03 株式会社　冨士製作所 薄板状蓋の供給装置
FR2594410B1 (fr) * 1986-02-19 1988-12-09 Lyonnaise Bouchage Procede de prepositionnement d'opercules sur le goulot des recipients sur lesquels ils doivent etre thermoscelles et dispositif pour sa mise en oeuvre
FR2607466B1 (fr) * 1986-12-01 1989-09-15 Remy & Cie E P Procede d'operculage automatique de recipients, tels que des gobelets, dispositif pour l'execution de ce procede et machine de conditionnement equipee de ce dispositif
US4848060A (en) * 1988-06-16 1989-07-18 Continental Can Company, Inc. Carton lid transfer assembly

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0421543A1 (en) 1991-04-10
JPH088962Y2 (ja) 1996-03-13
DK0421543T3 (da) 1994-02-14
JPH0356502U (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1991-05-30
DE69005963D1 (de) 1994-02-24
DE69005963T2 (de) 1994-05-19

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