US1188638A - Cap-placing machine. - Google Patents

Description

LE ROYHSHr v -CAP PLACING MACHINE.

APPLICATION. FILED DEC-1811914v Patented June 27, 1916.

' LE ROY FISH.

CA P PLACING MACHINE.

APPLICATION F |LED DEC. [8, 1914.

1,188,638. ,Pateme un-ew,1916,.

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CAP PLACING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 18, 1914.-

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LE ROY FISH. CAP'PLACING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 1'8, I914.

Patented June 27, 1916.

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7 LE' BOY FISH, F NEWYBERLIN, NEW YORK, ASSIGN'OR T0 BORDENS CONDENSED MI LK COMPANY, on NEW YORK, n. Y., A CORPORATION or NEW JERsEY.

v GAP-PLACING MACHINE.

pec i n o L s Patent Patentedflune 27, 1916.

'Application filed December 18, 1914. Serial No. 877,946.

To all whom it mag concern Be it known that I, Ln BOY of the United States, and a resident of New Berlin, in the county ofChen'ango and State of New York, have'invented a new and useful Cap-Placing Machine, of which the following'is a specification.

My invention, in its more general aspects, relates to the placing of caps on, and in, cans preparatory to their being crimped, or otherwise secured thereto, to produce airtight seams; and it relates particularly to thus automatically placing such relatively minute .caps as are usually employed in the seahng of such usually small, cylindrical, metallic,- cans as are, in great quantities, 'used as conf tainers for hermeticallysealed merchandise,

' for example, condensed milk.' Hitherto, I

believe, such placing, including its indispensable preliminary sorting and dehvery of the caps, hasfbeen manual. For example,

U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,029,326 to Burt Eugene Taylor, dated June 11,1912, disclose .automatic means to force such caps into, but

only an operator to manually place them on, the cansi The caps in question are, for the most part,small, attenuated, metallic, circular, ro1 1ghedged, disks, -say/about one inch in diameter, They are usually. had in' lots, or quantities, comprising mu1t1tud1nous morelor less nested Similar. members-j; I -"quickly and effectively separate these; onp by one, from theiraggregation, and iransfe'r the isolated member to, :and placeTit fw'ithinthe thereto closely fitting opening in'thetop of one of the filled cans awaiting its reception, not only requires exceptional adroitness, care, and skill, but also a delicacy of touch unattainable unless the operators fingers are so bare and unprointermixed, and

tected as to be toooften undesirably injured by friction from the rough edges, and with the consequent risk of germ-infecting the goods. A machine capable of dispensing with all handling of the caps by the operator hasv therefore long been a desideratum.

The object of my invention comprises pro- "vision of means whereby, without contact by the operator, a single. cap is, as often as required, sorted, in proper position, from its associates, transferred to the can-opening, placed thereon, and thereinto forced as required for subsequent sealing.

In a herewith contemporaneously filedap- .plicat-ion for patent Serial-Number $77,947

Frsn, a citizen" elements, and combinations of elements,

illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

in which:

Figure l is aside elevation of important elements of my machine and means for operating the same; the endless chain belt being-indicated, diagrammatically and in part, by a vertical section thereof; Fig. 2 is, on

in; section. on the line 22 of Fig. 1, ind1- eating particularly some of the means assistant in themoving of the cans, and in the supporting'them stationary; Fig. 3- is, on

reduced scale, a diagrammatic plan, partly enlarged scale, a central vertical sectional view of my cap-holder and plunger, and

showing also some" of the other therewith associated elements; Fig. 4 is a plan, partly in section,-of Fig. 3 taken on the line 44 of the latter; Fig. 5 is a detail, perspective view of-one of the movable segments of my capholder; Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are diagrammatic elevations,'part1y in central vertical section, illustrative of'successive phases in the move- .mentsof the longer, and some of its accessories, relat1vely to the cap and the can;

Fig. 9 is a top-plan view of the movable segmental parts of my cap holder in their retracted, or open, position; Fig. 10 is, on a still more enlarged scale, a top view of'my' inclined. cap chute containing caps with parts broken away to show my movable stops and certain of their accessories for supporting the caps and for separating and during their forward movement relatively to thetrip-lever whereby a can controls the op- .r'eleasing one of them at a time; Fig. 11 is ing, 'instrumentalities; Fig. 16 is a similar vi'ewof the, as yet, uncapped can-at the mo ,ment "when it has fully actuated the triple'ver whereby it controls't-he action of the. said instrumentalities and has arrlved at lts position of stationary support. Fig. l7is a .centra'l, vertical, section of part of a can and of a cap astherein placed. by my instrunie'ntalities. Fig. 18 is a'view of the parts 3 illustrated at Fig.1? after the flange of the cap has been 'crimped toform the joint be-.

tween the parts.

r ings, are of uniform dimensions, and of the I usual cylindrical type, having, in the top,

a circular concentric .opening 19', surrounded by the usual upwardly extending vertical flange 19 (Figs. 1 and 18); The

metallic caps, indicated as an entirety by 20,? are likewise ofthe usual circular type, consisting principally of a circular plane,

Y disk-like, body, or .portion, having a therefrom upwardly-extending annular neck 20 (dimensioned to closely fit the opening 19 in the can), and surrounded by a therefrom 5 horizontally outwardly flaring flange 20 (Figs, 17 and 18), the caps thus embodying a bowl or recess 20*.

The final function of. my herein claimed instrumentalities is to force the cap, previously thereby properly manipulated and placed, into the opening of the can in the position indicated by Fig. 17 thereby fitting. the parts to be crimped, or otherwise hermetically secured, together by any well known means, as for example by such a type ofrwell known rotary crimper as is shown and described in the above referred to Letters Patent No. 1,029,326 to .Burt Eugene Taylor; which changes the relation if the parts to each other as indicated in For the operation of my novel'devices I provide means to move, or feed, the filled, uncapped, cans, in procession, thereto, also to'support them stationary in operative relation thereto, and to move' themaway therefrom. Suchmeans may be of any of those now known for the purpose, but'T prefer those described and shown in said patent to Taylor, and have-accordingly, to

an extent diagrammatically, represented them in my drawings, in which A (Figs. 2, 15, 16, etc.) indicates a horizontally mov able endless sprocket chain, or endless-canconveyer, carrying a plurality of therefrom horizontally outwardly projecting equidis-,

tant flights, or fingers, A, A between which are, as shown, equal-to the diameters of the cans. A is also indicated, partly in vertical section, in Fig. 1.

.the interspaces Intermittent movements of'the endless conveyer are imparted thereto, and controlled Them'etal'lic cans 19, Shown in the draw statlonary, by coaction of the table insectsby, any convenient means g asffor exam- .ple, thesprocket wheels A A thelatter an idler, and the former. intermittently driven by aid of vertical shaft A (Figs. 1 and 2 carryin a disk A, provided with pins A, dispose to engage with pins A carried by adisk A, carried by a constantly rotating horizontal shaft A The pins on the respective disks'are, relatively to each other and to the other parts, so numbered,

spaced, and disposed as to cause the endless conveyer to advance, intermittently in the direction of the arrow a (Fig.2) a distance equal to that between the centers of two adjoining spaces A 1 B. s a stationary table, or horizontal support for the cans, disposed partly adjacent to, and under, the fingers A which move them thereover. Thecans, after having been filled, as, for example, with condensed milk, by any well known means, are moved toward the endless conveyer, and into the interspace between two of the fingers A, in any convenient manner, as, for'example, by aid of a can-carrying endless belt B, such as shown in said Patent No. 1,029,326, on which they ride'flush with the table B, and which is intermittently advanced by means timed to feed a can between .the fingers of the endless conveyer during a pause in the adva cc of the latter. The cans are fed to the belt B in. any desired manner. A procession of filled cans each disposed between a pair of fingers A, is, by the foregoing means, supported and moyed intermittently over the table a distance equal to that between the centers of any two of the, interspaces A between the fingers A. Wherever required, guarded against undue transverse movements by any desired form The cans are, as usual,

dicated by B in Fig. 2. Similarly my capplacing devices are located so as to deliver, place, and force a cap relatively to a can, concentrically with a station E (Fig. 2) located, in the pathway, in advance of the crimper, thus providing the latter with a can and cap ready prepared for itsoperation, which occurs while another-cap is, during the same pause in advance of the canconveyer, being placed in another can. At

.this last mentioned point, as indicated in Fig 2, each can is temporarily supplprted,

the lateral guide-rails A and A and, during i .a pause in .the advance of the conveyer A,

' by the two fingers A which at that time contact opposite sides of the can.

vanced to its stationary position bythe. end-.

less can-conveyer.

My novel means, the following devices, and combinations of devices, it being understood that formal, or.

equivalently functioning, variations therefrom are included in my invention. Disposed above, and in concentric alinement with, a can when temporarily supported asaforesaid at the station B I provide a vertically movable plunger 21, having a therewith concentric, removable, presser- 'foot- 21* insertible in the recess 20 of the caps 20.. The presser-foot comprises, as

shown in Fig. 3, a threaded shank 21 screwable into the plunger, thus providing for interchangeability of differently dimensioned presser-feet to meet requirements of differently diametered caps. The plunger is slid- .ably supported in a bearing C carried by the stationary frame C of the machine, and

is vertically reciprocated by aid of a leverarm 22 (Fig. 1) one end of which contains a usual slot (not shown) through which loosely passes a pin 22' carried by-theplunger. The opposite end of the lever arm 22 is o scillatably joined with the frame 0 by a -"pivotal connection 22*. The lever-arm carries a pin 22 and is intermittently oscillated as hereinafter described by}; link 23, in this instance horizontally-oscillatably joined by the pivotal connection 24* with a vertically-reciprocatable rod 24: slidably.

supported in the bearings C C carried by' the frame C. The rod 24'carries, adjacent its lower end, an arm 24 provided with a pin 24 normally bearing upon one of -a .plurality of concentric portions, 25*, of a cam-disk, 25, carried bythe shaft A and having a like plurality of intervening recesses, 25 The link 23 is constantly pulled downwardly by a retractable spring 26 con necting it with a stationary part, in this instance one of the bearings 0 Therefore as the disk25 is rotated the pin 24 is alternately raised and lowered and consequently also the link 23 can be vertically reciprocated.

- The lever arm 22 is operatively connected with the link 23 by means of an opening, 23, in.the latter, within which is looselyheld the-pin 22 of the former. This opening has, as shown in Fig. 1, a transverse, or horizontal, extension, and, at right angles herein claimed, comprise wardly extending arm 27. 27 pair of alike antifriction rollers 27 and 27 tothe latter, a vertical extension in parallelism with the link. It follows that when the pin 22 is in the horizontal portion of said opening the lever arm 22 will'be vertically oscillated by the vertical reciprocations of the link, and the plunger 21 and its connections correspondingly reciproca'ted, but that the said reciprocations will not occur when the'pin22 is in the vertical extension of the opening 23*. The link 23 is also provided with a .normally verticallyextending opening, or slot, 23, for a purpose soon to be described. By aid of this constructlon a can advancing through the pathway of the machine is enabled to con-' trol the movements of the plunger by the following means, viz ;-A trip-lever 27 oscillatably-carried on a part of the frame C by the pivotal'connection 0, comprises a' downwardly extending arm 27 and an upcarrles a (Figs. 1, 15 and 16) normally disposed to project into the pathway of the machine in the way of a therein advancing can. These rollers are, preferably, somewhat spacedapart as shown, and the medial line between them, atright'angles to the pathway, .is coincident (Fig. 16) with that of one of'the spacesA during apause in the advance of the endless can-carrier. The upwardly extending arm 27 b of the trip-lever 27 has an elongated slot 27 The trip-lever is adjustably connected with one end of'a link 28 by .a thereby carried bolt 28 passing through said slot and provided with a lock nut 28 .to bind the parts as required to regulate the throw. The opposite end of the link 28 is pivotally secured to the upper end of a lever 29 oscillatably carried by the frame C, and comprising an upper arm 29 and a lower arm 29". The lower arm 29 is pivotally connected, as indicate'd by dotted lines in Fig. 1, with one end of a link 30, the opposite end of which is, as similarly indicated, similarly connected with an oscillatable arm 31 rotatably supported on a pivot C carried by the frame C as also indicated "by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The arm 31 cartion, that a can advanced, as aforesaid,

through the pathway of the machine, will trip the lever 27 thereby moving the horizontal extension of the slot 23 to engage-the pin 22 in theposition illustrated by Fig. 1, and thus providing for the down-forcing of the plunger 21. Also that the next intermittent advance of the can by the can conveyer will remove its outward pressure on the trip-lever, whereupon the latter and its aforesaid connections are restored to normal position by the action of an expansile spiralspring 32 through which the link 28 is threaded and one end of which bears against a stop 32 carried by said link, and

the other end against a bracket 32 carried by the frame C, all. as indicated by dotted lines-in Fig. The pin 22 is thus restored to normal position, in alinement with the vertical extension 23 of the opening in the link 23, whereupon a compressible, or cushioning, spring, 33, interposed to bear agamst the lever arm 22 and a bracket 33" carried'by the frame C, will restore the lewar and thus the plunger 21 to normal position.-

llt will, of course, belunderstoodthat the relative proportions and dispositions of the .elements referred to are such as to time the descent of' the plunger only during -'the pause of the can centered as aforesaid thereunderat the station B Before the plunger can operate usefully, it'is, however,-essential-ythat. acap be separated from its fellows, conveyed. therefrom thus isolated, and

-placed,=and supported, in proper position,

relatively to the plunger and the opening I p .in the can. My present inventionincludes,- provision of means for these purposes as ,',30

follows. By the aid of the invention claimed in my aforesaid herewith contemporaneous application for Letters Patent,

the caps are brought,'out of their confused and disorderly aggregation, into the comparatively orderly, but still undesirably contacting, and mutually-supporting, procession, in which they are shown in Fig. 10, to

- wit, bearing against each other-in an invclined chute, '34:, having a pathway there-. for leading from the sorting, positioning,

and feeding, devices disclosed in my said Y Tapplication. To further. detach, release, and

advance a cap from this mutually contacting and supporting procession, ll provide, in

the chute, a plurality of vertically disposed. stops, or pins, in this instance two,-35 and 36 (Figs. 1213) independently movable,

as required, into, and out of, thepathway.

The chute 34 is adjustably, stationarily, supported by any convenient means, in this instance, as shown in Fig. 1, by the thereto secured bracket 34 having a slot 34 through which passes a threaded pin C carried by the frame C, the parts being clamped. together at the desired inclination by a lock-nut C The chute comprises a floor 34 (Figs. 13 and 14) inclined as shown in Fig. 1, also lateral guide-members, 34,

7 having cap-overlapping extensions 34 (Figs.

10 and 14 The floor of the chute is pro- .-vided with a downward extension 34: leading to a point of deliverybeneath the presser-foot 21, and also, each side its medial line, with transverse openings, or slots, 34 8t through which the pins 35. respec- -i.aa.e

tively extend and are movable in and out of the pathway. The pin 35 is carried. by

an oscillatable arm 35 and the pin 36, similarly, by a like arm 36, respectively oscil.-

latablyrheld to the under-part of the floor of the chute by pivots 35 and 36. Under neath, and reciprocatable'relatively to, the bottom of the chute, I provide a cam-plate 37 thereto slidably secured by headed screws 38. extending through longitudinal slots 38 f in 'said plate. The plate is also provided with angularly-extending openings, or Cam'- slots, 37337", through whichrespectively extend the pins 35 and 36. Thenormal po-' sition of the pins is as shown in Fig.10 in which'the pin 35 is stationary in the pathwayv of the procession of caps, the lowest member of which bears by gravity against" the pin" and thus assists in the supportand retention all its followers in the chute'. At this stage the pin' 36 is outside the pathways The aforesaid construction is such that when the cam-plate in its reciprocations' slides upward, (2. toward the left in Figs.

10 and 11, the pin 36 is moved into the pathway-to bear against the lower edge of the second'cap in the procession which, with its followers,.it forces slightly upward in the chute, thus separating the first cap from contact with the procession and holding back the latter, after which continued upward movement of the cam-platemoves the pin 35 .outof the pathway, thusreleasing the first cap which is then immediately conveyed by gravity down the inclined fioor of the chute, and its extension, to the place of lit its delivery, under the presser-foot 21 will be noted that thefirst cap is thus efi'ectively detached, and isolated, from the second, even though, as sometimes happens, the flanges 20 of the two are undesirably mutually overlapped as indicated in'Fig. 10.

ll provide means to reciprocate the camp'late'at the proper-time as follows z-Une end of a link 39 is secured tothe cam-plate l by a pivotal connection 39 (Fig. l) the opposite end being likewise secured to the,

shorter arm (shown in dotted lines) of 'lever 4:0 oscillatably-carried by a stationary pin 40 carried by a bracket 34c carried by I the chute 34. The long arm of the lever 40 is secured, by a pivotal connection t0 to the lower arm 29 of the above described advance of a cafe to its aforesaid station concentric with the plunger 21 and in ad- Vance ofthe descent of the latter.

The mere delivery by gravity, and as aforesaid, of a cap to a'place under the. presser-foot 21 cannot, however, be relied bottom plate, providing a floor, 41, carried screw, or feather "43, carried by thehub capause in the advance of the 1s, as 1 station check-rod C .011 to secure its proper placing, or insertion, by the latter, into the openmg of the' can; my invention therefore comprising also the following means to insure requisite accu# racy of presentation, and support, of the cap so delivered, the plunger. I provide a cap-holder D 8) yieldingly'carried concentrically by the plunger 21, and comprising a horizontaland during actlon thereon by To meet these requirements,

by'suspenders 42, carried by provided with' a hub 43 passes slidably the plunger 21. The late and its'hub contain a counterbore 43 Fig.

a top plate .43,

3) disposed partly within which, and bear-.

ing against awasher21 carried by the plunger, 1s a spiral cushioning spring 44 encircling the therein portion of the plunger and by means of whichit is enabled to yield ingly lift the cap-holder until the lattrs ascent is, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3, stopped by its contact with a stationary carried, vertically adjustably, by the frame C. The cap-holder is, without unduly limiting its vertical movement's relatively to the plunger, prevented from turning horizontally around the latter by means of a vertically extended recess, or slot,- 21, into which enters vertically slidably the 43; The cap holder may also, preferably, comprise a thereby carried member 45, (115- posed above the extension 34 of the chute,

[351 so as to intercept, deflect, and thus aid in to required position, a 'cap which may,as sometimes happens, unduly bounce upward from the chute. To aid in securing, and in maintaining, correct alinement of the 40: center of the cap with}. that of the opening in the can, and of theplunger during the Iatters descent, provide', movably supported uponthe floor 41 and constitutmg an unportant feature of my cap-holder, a plurallity of, in this instance four,-horizontally, ra-

dially, resiliently, movable, alike, segmental members 46, 46, 46", 46", normally concentric with the central vertical axis of the plunger and normally mutually contacting.

lEach of said-segments is, as shown in Flg.

5, concentrically, downwardly, beveled, as at 46 toward their common central vertical axis, which is, normally, identical with that of the plunger and of the can during the latter when it aforesaid, laterally supported, at the B bycoaction of the guard rail A, the flights A and the rollers 27, 27, in the position indicated in Fig. 16. Each segment 0 is radially slidably supported, on the floor 41, by means of a therein radially disposed slot, 46" (Fig. 4) through which passes loosely a set-screw 41 secured in the floor 41. The segments are, in this instance,

yieldably forced toward, and held in, their (Figs. 3,6, 7 and Y through which normal position,by means of the spiral con; tractile spring 47 disposed to surround, and bear equally against, the outward segmental periphery of each, and the tension of which is suflicient to resist their outward radial displacement by pressure from the plunger until after the cap-holder has contacted, and bears upon, a can, Y

To insure correct, horizontal, posing and presentation to the presser-foot, 21", of an irregularly, or, as shown in Fig. 3, obliquely delivered and deposited cap, I provide a yieldable follower, 48,- in-the form of a countersunk cylinder concentric with, resting normally on, supported by, and projecting slightly below, the resser-foot, as shown in Fig. 3. A spiral, easily-compressible, spring 49, encircling the shank 21 of the presser- .foot, bears against the follower and the plunger 21 thus delicately tempering the pressures imparted by the follower to such a misplaced cap inthe path 'of its. downward descent w1th the presser-foot.-

The operation of my machine may be outlined as follows :As a can is moved forward by the can-conveyer it encounters and bears against the roller 27 thus actuating the trip-lever 27 and is then centered, and,

during the pause of the can-conveyer, held stationary under the pressure-foot and capholder. While the centering is occurring ;the movement of the trip-lever has caused the separation of a cap from its associates in the chute, and its release, whereupon it slides by gravity into the bowl-like concavity presented thereto 'bythe beveled innerv edges of the segments of the cap-holder. The mechanisms are so timed that over the cap thus delivered the descent-ofthe-plun- 105.

ger begins; thus resulting, as is progresses,

in firstly, administering to the cap the cor ward, between the segments of the cap holder which radially make way' for its there-.

presser-foot enters the bowl of v 7 The continued by further guided passage therethrough, 3

into the can-opening into'which it is finally forced, into required position for crimp ing, by the conclusion of the plungers downward stroke as shown in Fig. 8. This done,

the advance of the can by the conveyer is resumed thus liberating the trip-lever with consequent return of the instrumentalities to normal position ready forthe next can and cap as per thev constructions heretofore described.

It will bejnotedthat each .of theoperations of my above described dev ces are inmeans controlled by fcap into required position in said can.

'bers and in said floor dispensable to the cap-placing function of I my machine as an organized entity, and are controlled by the advance to position of a can without which they cannot normally operate. They are accurate and expeditious, are non-in urious to goods, cans,

' ters Patent is the following, viz; v a I 1. In a machine for placing caps in cans means to move a can; means to support against gravity a plurality of mutually-contacting caps; means controlled by said can to separate a cap from said plurality; means controlled by said can to withdraw its said supporting means from said cap; means to guide toward said canthe resulting descent of said cap; means controlled by said can to position said cap relatively thereto; and said can to force said 2. In a machine for placing caps in cans means to. move a can; means controlled by a can to positiona cap relatively thereto;

and means controlled by said can to force said cap into required position insaid can.

3.-In a machine for placing caps in cans, a chute having a'pathway. for the caps in procession on an inclined, floor between lateral guiding members and in said floor a transversely-extending opening; projecting into said pathway through said opening a stop carried byan underneath pivoted arm;

an underneath movable plate comprising an 'angularly-extending opening within which said stopextends, and means to reciprocate said plate whereby said stop is moved in said openings into and out 0 said pathway.

4. In a machine for placing caps in cans, means to move a can, a chute having a pathway for the caps in procession on an inclined floor between lateral guiding mema transversely-extend ing opening; projecting into said pathway through said opening a stop carried by an underneath pivoted arm; anunderneath movable plate comprising an angularly-extending opening within which said stop extends, and means controlled by a canto reciprocate said plate whereby said stop is moved in said. opening into and out of said pathway.

5. In a machine for procession on an-inclined floor between latneath pivoted arm; an underneath movable plate comprising two langularly-extending openings within one of which one of said into said-pathway'while the out,"and vice versa. 1

and caps,

' plunger.

placing caps in cans, a chute having a pathway for the caps in pins extends, and means to reciprocate said plate whereby one of said stops 1s moved 6. In a machine for placing caps in cans means to move'a can, a chute having a pathwayfor the caps 1n procession on'an in other is moved clined floor between lateralguiding members and in said floor way through each of said openings a "pin two singularly-extending openings within one 7. In a machine for placing caps in cans,

means to move a can; a support for a can; above a can thereon supported a vertically ,two' transver' sely e'x tending openings, projecting into said path-j 1 each carried on an underneath pivoted arm, an underneath movable plate comprising of which one of said pins extends, and means movable plunger; and means controlled by said can to force downwardly said plunger.

8. In amachine for placing caps in cans, means to move a can; a supportfor a can; above a can thereon supported a cap-holder comprising a plurality of horizontally radially movable segments; above said holder a vertically movable plunger; and means con-- trolled by said can to force downwardly said plunger between said segments toward said can.

9. In a machine for placing 'caps in cans, means to move acan; a support for a can; above a can thereon supported a cap-holder comprising a plurality of horizontally yielding segments; means to return them to nor- 'malposition; normally above said holder a movable plunger; and means convertically said can to force downwardly said trolled by 10. In a machine for placing caps in cans, means to move a can; a-vertically movable plunger; projecting normally below said plunger a therewith concentric vertically yielding follower; and means controlled by said can to force downwardy saidplungen.

thereafter said can; means to restore said plunger and follower to normal posltion; and means to restore said segments to their normal 'p' osi tion,

therewith concentric verti-- men'ts toward said can until said folli'iwer contacts a cap in 'said holder and until said plunger has forced said capiinto H 12. In a machine for placing caps in cans, a support for a can; above a can thereon supported a cap-holder comprising a plurality of horizontally yielding segments; normally above said'holder a vertically movable plunger; projecting .normally below said plunger a therewith concentric vertically-yielding follower; means controlled by said can to force downwardly said plunger between said segments toward said can until said follower contacts a cap in said holder and further until said plunger has forced said cap into said can; means to restore said plunger and follower to normal position; and means to restore said segments to their normal position.

13. In a machine for placing caps in cans,

' means to movea can, a support for a can;

above a can thereon supported a cap-holder comprising a plurality of horizontally yielding segments; adjacent said holder means to support against gravity a plurality of mutually-contacting caps; means controlled by said can to separate a cap from said plurality means controlled by said can to withdraw its said supporting means from said cap; means to guide the resulting descent of said cap into said holder; normally above said holder a vertically movable plunger; and means controlled by said can to force downwardly said plunger against said cap until it is forced into said can.

14. In a machine for placing caps in cans, means to move a can; a support for a can; above a can thereon supported a cap-holder comprising a plurality of horizontally yielding segments; adjacent said holder means to support against gravity a plurality of mutually-contacting caps; means controlled by said can to'separate a cap'from said plurality; means controlled by said can to withdraw its said supporting means from said I cap; means to guide the resulting descent of said cap into said holder; normally above said holder a vertically movable plunger; projecting normally below said-plunger a therewith concentric vertically-yielding follower; means controlled'by said can to force downwardly said plunger between saidscgments toward said can until said follower contacts said cap in said holder and further until said plunger has forced said cap into said can; means to restore said plunger and follower to normal position; and means to restore said segments to their normal position.

LE ROY FISH.

Witnesses:

WALTER ENGELs,

WILLIAM J. HorKms.

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