US1818072A - Capping bottles - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 11, 1931. E. R. LEIGHTON 1,818,072

CAPPING BOTTLES Filed Octf 25/1 8 Patented Aug. 11, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EUGENE R. LEIGHTON, OF NORTH ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO JENNIE E. LEIGHTON, OF NORTH ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS GAPIPING- BOTTLES Application filed. October 23, 1928. Serial No. 314,416.

This invention relates to mechanism for capping milk bottles and the like, and more particularly to mechanism of the general type disclosed and claimed in my application for Patent Serial No. 251,551, filed February 3, 1928. The present invention relates to improvements in such mechanism designed to increase its efficiency in operation and to render certain of the parts easier of access.

For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a mechanism embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view similar to Figure 3, but showing the mechanism in a clifferent position of operation.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary section of the lower portion of the apparatus showing the progress of a bottle cap therethrough'.

' Figure 6 is a section on the line 66 of Figure 2.

Figure 7 is a section on the line 77 of Figure 3.

Figure ejector.

Figures 9 and 10 are fragmentary vertical sections showing successive stages in applying a cover member to the mouth of the bottle and fixing it by means of a bottle cap.

: Figure 11 is a fragmentary elevation of a bottle showing this cover member applied.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 10 represents a magazine in the general form of an upright tub-e adapted to receive a stack 11 of bottle caps which maybe inserted, if desired, within a tubular holder 12 of paper or the like, in which they are commonly packaged. The bore of the holder 12 is large enough to receive the stack 11 with a relatively loose fit so that the caps will slide down through the magazine readily by their own weight. The bore of the magazine 10 is preferably tapered at its lower end as at 13 so that the opening at its lower end is just large enough to permit a cap to pass through. Secured 8 is a perspective view of the to the magazine 10 at its lower end is a base member 1 1 but instead of forming the upper face of this member with a bore approximately the size and shape of a cap, as shown in the application hereinbefore mentioned, it is provided with spaced lugs 15 outwardly of a pair of channels 171 within which are slidably guided runways 170 of a cap ejector 17. The lugs 15 are for attachment of this member to the low-er end of the magazine. The inner walls of the channels 171 are formed by ribs 16, the upper faces of which are spaced sufficiently from the lower face of the magazine to permit the cap ejector portion between the runways 170 to move freely therebetween and to permit a single cap only to pass between the lower face of the magazine and these ribs. From the forward face of this base member these ribs are widened so as to form oppositely disposed shelves 172 extending inwardly of the projected outline of the stack of caps in the magazine and onto which the caps may drop in succession and from the rear ends 173 of which they may be dislodged by the ejector as it is moved rearwardly across the lower face of the magazine. The ribs are narrowed back of these rear edges sufficiently to permit the caps to drop freely therebetween over the rear ends of the widened portions. The portion of the ejector 17 which engages the caps successively may be of any desired shape, but as shown in Figure 8, it comprises an arcuate edge 18 having a curvature substantially equal to that of the edges of the bottle caps.

In order to facilitate construction of the mechanism, the bottom of the magazine casting may be machined plane, the channels 171 and the clearance space for the slide 17 being cut in the upper face of the base member 14. The magazine is also shown as cut away at opposite sides from this bottom face asat 174 to facilitate access to the interior and to the ejector, these openings also permitting caps in bulk to be fed into the mechanism therethrough by hand. The cap as dislodged from the shelves 17 2 falls onto the downwardly curved face 19, which as shown in this application is provided with spaced upstanding ribs 20. These ribs support the cap along narrow zones and prevent it from engaging over substantial areas of the face 19, thus overcoming any tendency of the cap to stick thereto as was sometimes found to occur when the ribs were not used. These ribs are downwardly inclined and convex upwardly and the cap slides down on these ribs, and, due to the convexity, is turned to an inclined position as shown in Figures 1 and 5. The upper edge of the face 19 is cut away between the ribs as at 190 to provide plenty of room for the caps to turn and slide down the ribs and to facilitate access to the interior of the device. I

Positioned below the base member 1-1 is a block 21 which has a central aperture 22 slightly smaller than the size of the bottle cap. From the margin of the aperture 22, the wall of the block 21 rises with an outward flare in the shape of a cup. A portion of the wall may be extended up as at 23 so as to provide a convenient sloping surface preferably concaved as at 24.- in the path of acap sliding from the ribs 20 whereby the rotation of the cap is continued, the cup-shaped wall of the block 21 serving to center the cap over the aperture 22. The wall of the block 21 extends also downwardly from the aperture 22 and its inner surface is likewise flared in the shape of a cup adapted to rest on the top of a milk bottle and to center the aperture 22 over the mouth of the bottle, so that when a cap falls through the aperture 15, it is turned successively by the surfaces 19, 20 and 24- to an inverted position over the aperture 22 and consequently directly over the mouth of the bottle. The block 21 is connected to the magazine 10 and the base member 14: so as to be vertically reciproca'ble thereto. The connecting means may be in the form of a pair of suitable slides 25 which as shown in Figure 2 may be connected to the block 21 as by screws 26. Suitable vertical ribs 27 or other equivalent guiding means may be formed 011 or secured to the sides of the magazine 10 to guide the slides 25 and to maintain them in upright position. A plate 28 may be provided to maintain each slide 25 between its guides 27. In order to actuate the ejector slide 17 a pair of laterally extending lugs 29 may be provided thereon. Each of these lugs is adapted to project through a diagonal slot30 cut in a slide 25 and may be formed integrally with one of the guide runners 170. It will be at once apparent from Figure 2 that motion of the slides 25 up and down relatively to the magazine 10 will result in a lateral reciprocation of the ejector 17. The

lower portion of the base member 1 1 is suitably shaped asat 31 to form a plunger adapted to be projected downwardly through the aperture 22 and thus to force a bottle cap through the aperture and to seat it in the mouthof a bottle therebeneath, and in order to facilitate this action it is shown as provided with a small rounded boss 82 which acts to dish the cap slightly, thus to contract its margin and ease it through the aperture 22 and with the bottle neck. The lower end of this plunger is always sufficiently close to the block 21 to prevent a cap which has slid thereunder from turning completely over thus to limit the cap to a single inversion. This plunger is sufficiently short, also, to clear the bottle cap ledge so that it cannot injure it when a cap is being set.

The operation of the mechanism is as follows: \Vhen a stack of caps have been insorted in the magazine, the magazine may be raised relatively to the block 21. This retracts the ejector 17 to the position shown in Figure 3. The magazine 10 is thereupon lowered to the position shown in Figure 1, this motion causing the sidewise displacement of the bottommost cap in the stack by the ejector 17 which cap falls onto and slides down the ribs 20 until its edge stubs the surface 24. The magazine is thereupon lifted to elevate it with relation to the block 21 and thus to retract the ejector 17, whereupon the cap slides down the surface 2 1, its upper edge tilts outwardly about the lower edges of the ribs 20 as a fulcrum, and it then slides downwardly in inverted position over the aperture 22. The mechanism is then placed over a milk bottle to be capped and the magazine 10 is thrust downwardly. This causes the plunger 31 to force the cap which is over the aperture 22 through the aperture and into its seat in the mouth of the milk bottle. Simultaneously with this action, the ejector 17 displaces another cap from the bottom of the stack as shown in Figure 1, this cap proceeding to fall into place over the aperture 22 as the magazine is raised into position to be seated on a bottle on the next downward stroke of the magazine. Thus the operation may be repeated as long as a supply of caps is maintained in the magazine. Inasmuch as each cap is inverted before being inserted in a bot tle mouth, it is obvious that the caps should be inserted in the magazine upside down so that any printing matter thereon will be on their bottom faces as they are positioned in the magazine. This is convenient to the operator who naturally opens the top of a container of a stack of caps to see that the cor rect printed matter is thereon, then in the case of a machine capper inverts the stack and inserts its top end downmost into the magazine, whereupon the magazine is ready for operation. lVhere the capping is done by hand, it is usually more convenient to invert the capper and "bring it down over the stack holder 12, the top end of which has been opened. The ca'pper and holder are then turned right side up and the holder 12 slight- 'ly withdrawn to bring its lower edge above. the tapered portion of the lower end of the magazine bore to free the lowest caps. Due

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to the fact that the base member 14 is entirely open above the face 19 and between the ribs 16 easy access may be had to the cap-reversing mechanism, particularly when the magazine is in raised position, so that any improperly positioned cap may be readily dislodged, and the provision of the ribs over which the cap slides during the first part of its inversion minimizes any tendency for the caps to become stuck or otherwise improperly positioned.

It will be noted that when the capping de vice is presented to the top of the bottle to be capped, the block 21 bears thereon only by its weight and by the weight of the slides carried thereby, until the magazine impinges on the block as the cap is set. This relatively small pressure on the top of the bottle permits the device to fix to the bottle at the capping operation a piece of sheet material such as paper, the margin of which, outwardly of the cap, may be brought down over the top of the milk bottle and around its outer face. This is shown in Figures 9, 1O 11. Referring to these figures, a sheet of paper, or other suitable material, as 40, which preferably is initially formed to substantially cup shape, as by pleats or crimps 41 formed in its margin about a central base portion 42, is placed over the top of the bottle, and when cup shaped in inverted position, as shown in Figure 9, and the capping mechanism is brought down thereover so as to present a cap 43 thereover. By the operation of the mechanism the cap is then set in position on the bottle, driving the central portion 42 of the sheet material down into sealing engagement with the usual disk supporting internal annular ledge 44 of the bottle beneath its upper end. The sheet material is drawn over the top of the bottle inwardly as the cap is set in position, this drawing of the sheet material being permitted because of the relatively light pressure with which the block 21 bears down thereon.

The sheet is thus sealed in position beneath the cap, as shown in Figure 10, the cap or disk 43 pressing it firmly against both the internal ledge 44 of the bottle and against the inner wall of the bottle above this ledge. The pleated marginal portion may then be brought down about the outer side of the bottle in close contact therewith, as shown in Having thus described certain embodiments of this invention, it should be evident to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications might be made therein without departing from its spirit or scope as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A device of the class described comprising a support for a stack of milk bottle caps, and means for taking the lowermost cap from the stack, inverting it, and fixing it in the mouth of a milk bottle, said means including longitudinally convex spaced ribs with which one face of said cap engages and along which it is moved during a portion of its inversion.

2. A device of the class described comprising a support for a stack of milk bottle caps, a member having an upwardly convex downwardly inclined face having spaced downwardly inclined ribs thereon, means for takingathe lowermost cap from said stack and dropping it onto said ribs to permit said cap to slide down said ribs and be turned to an inclined position, and means acting to complete the inversion of the cap and for fixing said: cap to a milk bottle.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

EUGENE R. LEIGHTON.

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