GB1268275A - Improvements in or relating to the wrapping of the necks of bottles and like articles - Google Patents

Abstract

1,268,275. Labelling bottles; caps for bottles. H. KRONSEDER. 11 July, 1969 [12 July, 1968; 11 Sept., 1968], No. 35096/69. Headings B8F and B8T. A label 53 and a foil neck wrapper 55 are simultaneously applied to a non-rotating bottle 25 at a station 47, the top of the wrapper projecting above the bottle top. The wrapper is progressively wrapped and smoothed around the neck at stations 74, 81, 87, 100 and the top is progressively bent over the bottle top at stations 100, 108 and the bending over may be initiated at stations 86, 87, the bottle being rotated at all these stations. Bottles are fed by a spacing screw 28 to a star wheel 26 whence they are supplied to a rotary turret 36 where they are clamped on turntables by freely rotatable plungers 37. Labels 53 and wrappers 55 are extracted from reciprocating magazines by a glued transfer cylinder 49 and are transferred to a labelling cylinder 48 where they are retained by clamping fingers. The body labels are applied in conventional manner but the neck wrappers are initially applied by a cam actuated pad 67 and air jets 66. The bottles then pass a fixed flexible flap 73 which curls the leading edge of the wrappers round the bottle necks. A roller 75 and a fixed flap 77 then engage the bottles, which are now rotated, after which stationary flaps 82, 83 smooth the wrappers 55. The rolling-on of the wrappers is completed at stages 84, 86, 87 by rollers 85. At these stages, the upper rollers may be inclined to press the top margin of the wrappers 55 inwardly. The plungers 37 are then lifted and the bottles are transferred to a conveyer, with cradles 88 which accommodate bottles of different diameters, which cooperates with a stationary friction rail to rotate the bottles and convey them past the stations 100, 108 to complete the folding over and smoothing down of the wrappers. At station 108 the bottles pass under one or more floating smoothing bars (which may be mechanically vibrated by vibrators to enhance their effect) which have a tapered groove followed by a flat part at the end where the top of the wrapper 103 is twisted, centred and flattened against the top of the bottle. The floating bars accommodate bottles of different heights. The body labels 53 are smoothed concurrently by rollers 115, 116. In a modification, the smoothing bars comprise complementary parts hinged together at the point of entry of the bottles and spring- loaded at the exit end. Both crown capped and corked bottles may be processed. For bottles with corks, the clamping plungers 37 may have stop collars which can engage the bottle top even if the plunger fails to engage the cork. The foil wrapper may comprise aluminium foil bonded to a paper ply by wax.