US1751022A - Bottle-capping machine - Google Patents

Description

March 18,1930. J. ASKEY ,7

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Sept. 13, 1926 .9 I g 2 2 X 5 Q 9* 12 Patented Mar. 18, 1930 UNITE TAT-s JAMES ASKEY, OF LONDON, ENGLAND BOTTLE-GAPPING MACHINE Application filed September 13, 1926, Serial No. 135,273, and in Great Britain April 30, 1926.

A well known type of cap closure for securement over the mouths of bottles or other containers is a closure of simple cap forma tion and is adapted to be secured over the mouth of a complementary container formed with an over hanging shoulder around its neck, by virtue of the skirt of said cap having its edge inwardly turned so that it engages under said shoulder.

The present invention relates to, and has for its object the provision of improvements in bottle capping machines and particularly to means for securing cap closures of this kind in situ over the mouths of such complementary containers.

The invention consists broadly of a capping device comprising means adapted to abut against the top of said closure when the same is in situ over the mouth of the con- 2 tainer and a number of annularly arranged parts adapted subsequently to close in radially upon said skirt of said closure and thereby turn the edge of said skirt inwardly so that it engages under the shoulder of the con 95 tainer as above described.

Preferably said annularly arranged parts are adapted to be spun around their common centre as said parts close in, and thus a smooth finish of the turned over edge of said skirt is obtained.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of a capping device in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a similar view of the same with the so called tool holder shown in section so that the so called tool element is visible.

Figure 3 is an under plan of the same.

Figure 4 is a cross section of the so called tool element.

Referring to these drawings said capping device comprises a number of equal segmental pieces 1 of an annulus, which segmental pieces are separately supported from a base ring 2 by means of respective flat springs 3 in such a way that, as clearly shown, said segmental pieces form the said annulus except for small clearances which exist between them, the base ring 2 being coaxial with said annulus and said flat springs 3 being substantially parallel to the common axis of said said normal position (shown in the drawings) base ring and annulus. Said fiat springs are sufficiently flexible easily to permit the segmental pieces'to close in radially and thus reduce the effective circumference of the annulus.

Said segmental pieces 1 are formed each with a part 1 such that the several parts 1* constitute for the complete annulus a skirt extending from the side remote from said base ring. These parts 1 moreover are formed as at 1 so that at its outer periphery said skirt expands, in the manner of a bell, as it approaches its edge, and said parts are further formed with flanges 1 such as to constitute at the inner periphery of said skirt an inwardly projecting ridge adjacent its edge.

Located within said annulus is a thrust member 4 which is of generally cylindrical form and is arranged with its axis coincident with the axis of said annulus and said base ring 2. Said thrust member is supported it to rotate about its axis but which restrain it from movement longitudinally of said axis. Said thrust member has an enlarged head 4 at its lower end which head is circumscribed by the aforesaid skirt of said annulus with its lower surface at a level above the lower edge of said skirt as shown. 9

The whole structure above described constitutes the tool element hereinbefore referred to. This tool element is carried by the tool holder hereinbefore referred to, which tool holder comprises a hollow cylinder 5 having one end substantially closed and the other end open. The tool element is carried within said hollow cylinder with the base ring 2 towards the closed end thereof and separated-from said closed end by means of a helical spring 6, and with the skirt of the annulus projecting out of the open end of said cylinder. The tool and the tool holder are maintained at a definite normal relative position by virtue of the fact that said helical spring 6 presses said base ring 2 outwardly against a screw'stop 7 projecting inwardly through the wall of said cylinder. In the the skirt of the annulus. projects some distance beyond the open end of the vcylinder closure.

and the segmental pieces are held by the flat springs far enough apart to permitthe skirt of the annulus to surround the skirt of the When however the tool element'is pressed further into the cylinder in opposis tion to the said helical spring the segmental piecesl-are closed in radiallytowards one another by the'co operation of the skirt of the annulus (which as aforesaid expands at its outer periphery in the manner of a bell) with the outer edge of said hollow cylinder. y

In operation the device by means of the'tool holder, is pressed, while at the same time being spun aboutits axis, down onto the closure, until the head a of the thrust member 4 rests on-the topof said closure with the skirt otsaid annulus surrounding the skirt of said closure. .1 The'downward and rotary movement of the tool holder is continued after the said head 4* has thus abutted against the closure and thus said tool element is pressed further into said cylinder and said segmental pieces are closed in towards one another as above described; In this way the said ridge on the inner periphery of the skirt of the annulusis made to close in upon the skirtoi the closure andbend the edge of the same inwardly so that it engages under the shoulder roundthe neck of the container. The thrust element What. I claim anddesire to secure by Let ters" Patent is 1; The combination with a thrust member having an upper head and a lower head, of a having a complementary interior, annular,

flaring face. r p r 2. The combination with'a thrust member having a lower annular head and an upper 7 head, of a rotatable ring and ball bearings between'sa1d ring and upper head, a compressible ring surrounding the lower head and comprisingoutset segments, fiat springs suspending the segments from the rotatablering, V

a depressible, rotary, tool-holder and a spring:

between said holder andsaid rotatable ring, said holder having a lower open end and an inner flaring face at its lower edge, and said segments having complementary v outer tapered' faces. j p I r In witness whereof-lath): my signature. 1

I, .JAMES ASKEY,

4 will cease spinning when it engages the top of said closure, but the remainder including the segmental pieces will continue spinning owing to the engagement of the screw stop 7": Y with one of the adjacent flat springs 3 and the segmental pieces will be spinning when they close in upon the skirt of the closure and turn the edge. of said skirt inwardly; A smooth surface of said turned forebe obtained. a

over edge will there- Describing nowcertain constructional details'of the device the thrust member tis retained against downward movement relative to the base ring 2 by means of a nut'8 screwed on a reduced extension from the upper end of said member 4 and a flat retaining ring 9 surrounding said reduced extension and interposed between said nut 8 and the upperv end of said base ringi2. Against upward movement relative to sald base ring said thrust member is retained bymeans of ballfbearings 10 interposed between an annular flange 11 formed integrally around said 7 thrust member and a second retaining ring 12 supported by the underside of said base ring 2. The ball bearings only become operative when the thrust member is pressed upwardly relative to said base ring but it will be clear that in the present case this is all that is: required. I ;"'The tool holder is adapted to be secured to the machine by which it is spun andpressed down, by means of an arm l3 having an enlarged lower end '13 screwed into the upper end of saidcylinder 5;

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