US2109763A - Container capping machine - Google Patents

Description

March 1, 1938.

R. D. ANDERSON 2,109,763 CONTAINER CAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 50, 1953 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 1, 1938. R. D. ANDERSON 2,109,763

CONTAINER CAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 50, 1933 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 1, 1938. R. D. ANDERSON CONTAINER CAPPING MACHINE 7 Sheets- Shegt 5 Filed Dec. 30, 1933 0 M) ow 3 @Q 9 m w hm NQ Q Wm .Q NQ l W Q RMJN March 1, 1938. R, ANDERSON 2,109,763

CONTAINER CAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 30, 1953 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 CONTAINER CAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 30, 1935 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 &

a 5" II 25 E: F? 28 L w K=E' March I, 1938. R. D. ANDERSON 2,109,763

CONTAINER CAPPI NG MACHINE Filed Dec. 30, 1933 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 March 1, 1938. R. D. ANDERSON 2,109,763

CONTAINER CAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 50, 1933 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 4 I 175 1% [\e I v 72 x 117 152 Patented Mar. 1, 1938 co1-rrs1iv1:rt CAPPING MACHINE.

Richard D. Anderson, Baton Rouge, La., assignor to Standard Oil Development Company; a corporation of Delaware Application December .30, 1933, Serial No.. '7ll4,7.'72.

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for capping receptacles.

It is an object of this invention to mechanically dispose a grease plunger and cap upon a filled container. It is a further object of this invention to provide for the positive separation and placing of a grease plunger and container cap respectively into position upon the container. I

Other objects will be apparent from the specification and from the accompanying drawings in which latter- Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the device;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the device;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the'device;

Fig. 4 is a rear elevational view of the device;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line V-V of Fig. 3 and showing the barrel pistons in elevated position;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is a top plan view of the placing spider taken along the line VII-VII of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is. a top plan view along the line VIIIVIII of the structure illustrated in Fig. (I showing the capping head;

Fig. 9 is a rear detail view ofthe capping head column and spider; I.

Fig. 10. is a top plan view taken along the line X--X of Fig. 1 showing the driving mechanism; 30 Fig. 11 is av diagrammatic view of the mecha-' nism for actuating the spider; Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic view of the mechanism for efiecting the plunger movement;

Fig. 13. is a diagrammatic view of the mecha- 35 nism for efiecting movement of the capping head;

Figs. 14 to- 19, inclusive, are diagrammatic views showing the position of the apparatus for placing the grease plunger and can top into the containers at different stages. of their movement.

Fig. is a longitudinal sectional view taken.

along the lines XX-XX of Fig. 3 showing a barrel piston in, lowered position; and

Fig. 21 is a transverse sectional view taken. along the line }Q I-XXl of Fig. 20.

Referring particularly to Figs. 3 and '7 ofthe drawings, reference character A designates containers or cans which are fed from a guideway B into position to be engaged by a placing spider 50, C. The placing spider C is driven in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 3 and 7 in regular strokes, the intermission being longer than the moving time of the strokes. Each container A is positioned by the placing spider first 5 at. location X directly under a grease plunger positioning device D, plunger a isiitted into the container of grease. The grease plunger a facilitates the filling. of the grease gun during subsequent use of the. grease by a consumer.- The container A with its grease.

see Fig. 3, where a grease plunger 0. is next delivered to an inspection place Y during one stroke of the placingspider; andis. then delivered to a position 2 directly under mechanism F for positioning a containercapib upon the container. .The container is thendelivered by the placing spider to a discharge guide. wayv G The'framework table I which is supported by legs 2.from abase- 3. A center column. 4 is. carried by the base 13- and extends upwardly. throughthetable. l..

Placing spider 3 The placing spider C positions andfeeds the containers A through'the apparatus from. the guideway B having a trough 5 across the table top I to the discharge guideway G; Atransfer rail 6 guides thecontainerAinto the pathof the placing spider C. The placing spider C is moved in rotation around the columnfl'as anaxis in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3 by mechanism to belater described. The movement of the spider C is in, regular strokes with the intermission between strokes consum ing a longer period of. time than. does the moving time of the spider. The spider C. isprovided .in the preferred embodiment with. eight prongs 9 which protrude outwardly from acole lar o-r hub Ill. The prongs 9 of the spider are disposed in spaced relation to the table The collar ll! of the spider encircles? the column '4 and rests upon the capping table I. Thehuh or collar I0 is provided'within its innerperiphery with a notched ratchet ring 20. 1 V r The spider is driven in rotationthrough. the following arrangement of parts The eight point notched ratchet ring 20"is engaged by a ratchet pawl 23 which protrudes through a slot 25 in. the central column 4. The ratchet pawl 23 is'mounted in a head 28 on the top endof a shaft 29 within the column 4. The ratchet pawl is'driven in rotary reciprocating movement from a motor 32 as follows: See Figs. 10' and 11. The drive shaft of the motor 32 is geared to a worm 33 through gears 34 and 35 and worm shait 36. The worm 33 drives a worm gear 31 and a shaft 38. The shaft 38 through bevel gears 39 and 40, actuates the main drive shaft 4| of the machine. .Crankdisc 42 fixed to shaft 4| actuates a cro-sshead 43 in reciprocating movement in a guide of 'the apparatus includesa a link 89. The link 89 is 44 by means of a connecting rod 45. The crosshead 43 engages an arm 41 which latter is ful- Upon reversing the stroke of the pawl 23, the end of the pawl slides freely upon the inclined surface of the ratchet slot until it engages the base of the next adjoining slot. The pawl is forced radially outwardly from the head 28 by means of a helical spring 52. A spring stop 55 see Fig. 7 holds the spider in fixed position while the ratchet pawl 23 is making its return or clockwise movement.

Capping head A capping head is provided for positively feed' ing a grease plunger a upon the containers in the position a: and for positively feeding a container top b upon the containers while in a position a.

The capping head comprises a tubular frame 65,,

see Figs. 6, 8 which embraces and is mounted for reciprocation upon the center column 4. The tubular frame 65 is provided with radially extending arms 66 which carry thebarrels ,6! and 68, respectively. The capping head barrel6'l is adapted to be. loaded with a grease plunger a While in its elevated position. 7 The capping head ba rel 68 is adapted to be, fed with a container top b while in its elevated position. The capping head barrels are then lowered into position, see Figs. 20 and 21, to deliver the grease plunger and container top, respectively, upon the containers A. The barrels are guided by thecenter column 4 and key I25 to be later described.

Plunger and container top magazines Plungers a are fed into the plunger barrel 61 from a magazine 12, see F gs. 3, 14 to 20, inclusive. Container tops b are fed into. the capping head barrel 68 from a magazine 15. 'I'h 'e magazines I2 and 15 are supported in an inclined position by means of frame pieces I6, which in turn are supported by the table I. The magazines I2 and I5 are provided with discharge outlets which open into inlet openings 11 and 18 in the barrels 61 and 68 respectively, see Figs. 5 and 6. The delivery ends of the magazines I2 and 15 are semicrcular in shape as shown in Figures 3, 15, 17 and 19 and furnish a rest or slide for the grease plunger or can tops for the longest possible time.

The plungers a and container tops 27 are fed from the magazines l2 and I5, respectively, positively through the inlet openings TI and I8into the barrels 61 and 68 through the following arrangement of parts. The spider prongs 9 during each stage of rotation of the spider engage a pawl 89, see Figs. 1, 3 and 7, and move the pawl 89 in partial rotation; The pawl 89 is non-rotatably carried by a shaft 8|, which in turn-is supported by a suitable frame 82 carried by the table I. The shaft 8| carries a crank83 to which is attached a chain 84, which passes around a Wheel 85. The wheel 85 is rotatablymounted in a frame 86, extending from the under surface of the table I. The chain 84 is attached to an arm 81 which is non-rotatably mounted upon a shaft 88. The shaft 98 is non-rotatably connected to pivotally connected to a link 99 which in turn is pivotally connected to an arm 9|, which carries fingers 92. Similarly, the link 89 is pivotally connected through a link 93 to an arm 94, which in turn carries a plurality of fingers 95.

The engagement of the arm 9 of the spider against the pawl 89 forces the fingers 92 and 95 downwardly through a slot I99 in each magazine, to engage behind the grease plunger and the container top in the .magazine and deliver The capping head barrels 6'! and 68, respectively, are each provided with a pair of slides I95, see Figs. 5, 21, which are mounted for reciprocating horizontal movement through slots inthe side walls of the barrels into position to close the barrels below the openings I1 and 19. The slides I95 are pivotally connected to bell cranks I96 and I9! which are pivotally supported at I98 to bracket-I98a. The other arm of each bell crank is provided with a cam roll III], for a pur;

pose to be later described. When the capping head barrels are in their elevated position the slides I95 extend into the barrels to form a'supporting surface for the bottom cap and plunger which slide into the barrels. Only one plunger or one container cap or top can slide into'each barrel, the others being held back by the trigger I94. Each trigger I94 is provided with a head II2 which protrudes through a slot in the bottom' of the magazine, into position to engage the bottom plunger or container top respectively. Each trigger I94 is pivotally supported at II4 upon the frame I57 of the machine, a helical spring II5 normally functioning to maintain the head of the trigger zine.

projecting into the maga- The placing fingers 92 and 95 are'mounted on the magazines I2 and 15. The arms 9| and 93 work through two guides, one fastened on each side of the magazines. The guides are provided with the offset slots I99 so that when the fingers are pulled downward they are forced down into the bottom of the magazines I2 and I5. When the fingers are at the bottom end of their travel, the ends of the fingers are extending slightly past the inside of the barrels 61 and 68 of the capping head. At this point the fingers go out of control of the spacing spider and a spring III secured to the magazine and link 89 snaps the fingers into their elevated position. While each finger arm is coming back to its starting and resting position the offset slot I99 in the guides forces the fingers up out of the magazines 12 and I5. The placing fingers come in contact with only one plunger and one top. The placing fingers'place the plunger or top correctly in the barrels of the capping head, should they not slide to the proper place of their own weight.

Capping head operation The capping head barrels 61 and 68 carrying a plunger a and a container top b respectively are lowered from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Figs. 20 and 21, in which the barrels are telescoped over the containers.

The capping head 65 is. held in correct angular position to engage the cans by means of a vertically disposed key I25, see Fig. 20', in the center column 4. The lower portion of the barrels 6.1 and 6K are tapered internally as indicated at l26. in .Figs. 14-16 and 18. Consequently, when the barrels descend upon containers which are not perfectly cylindrical, the barrels shape the containers to a perfect cylindrical shape and thereby insure the correct fitting of the plungers andtons.

The capping head is operated in vertical reciprocating movement through the following arrangement of parts, see Fig. 13.- The main drive shaft 4i carries non-rotatably' a cam I 21 which is engaged by a cam follower I28 on a lever I29. The opposite end of the lever is. pivotally supported at I3I' from a support 532 depending from the table I. A lift rod I64. is connected to an intermediate portion of the lever I29, and to an intermediate portion of a. lever I36. The lever I36 is pivotally supported at one end by a bracket I31 projecting upwardly from the table I. The lever I36 is pivotally connected at I39 to the capping head 65.

At thev time the placing fingers 92 and 95 are snapped back into their withdrawn position, the cam I2! is withdrawn from the cam follower I28, permitting the capping head to descend by its own weight into the position illustrated in Figs. 20. and 21. This movement lowers the barrel slots .11 and I8 with respect to the delivery openings of the magazines which are closed by the outer surface of the barrel walls;-

As the barrels B1 and 68v descend, the grease plungers and container tops are perm ted to slide downwardly in the magazines, as follows: The barrels 6'! and 68 eachcarry an arm M4, see Figs. 1 and 20, to each. of which is secured a hook-shaped member I45. When the barrels descend, the hook-shaped members I45 engage a pin I46 upon thetriggers H34 andpull the ends of the triggers downwardly out of the way of the-plungers and topsin the magazines. Consequently, all of these plungers and container tops in the magazines slide down, with the bottom plunger and top coming to rest against the out-. side wall of the barrels G'l and" st respectively. I

Positioning pistons Pistons are provided to positively posit on the cated under this carriage with a tension greater than is necessary to put a top on a can, but not enough to crush the can, if the can is a little longer than necessary. The lever .I54'can come down to its extreme lower position without crushing the can. One end of the lever I54 is pivotally supported at I58 by means of a support I51 secured to the table top I. The other end of the lever I56 is driven by reach rods. I59. Each reach rod I59 is connected to across rod I60, which, in turn, is pivotally connected to one end of a lever I62, see Fig. 12. The lever I52 is pivotally mounted at I63 upon. a support I64. The-other end of the lever I62 carries a cam follower i '56 which is engaged by a cam I61 non-rotatablymounted upon the main drive shaft 4I:. Rotation of the cam I61. forces the pistons downwardly within the barrels at a faster rate than the barrels are moved downwardly.

The slides: I55 of each barrel are withdrawn.

laterally fromthe barrel to: permit descent of the. plunger and top as follows, see Figs. 20 and 21 The. rolls H6 of the bell cranks, I05 and I161 are moved downwardly upon descent of the pistons by engagement with cam surfaces H0 upon the links i521 Further descent ofthe piston heads l50 forces the'plunger a in the grease plunger barrel li'lv intothe container and forces the top b. into the container that is disposed beneath the container topping barrel 68. The piston head I583. in the container topping barrel- 88 is flat while the piston head I 50 in the plunger placing barrel has a its proper position.

top, the piston actuating cam l2! lifts the capping head to its elevated position. Simultaneously the triggers IM are released so that the trigger heads rise in the magazines to a position to block ofi descent of all of the plungers and tops in the magazines except the ones that are resting against the outside wall of, the magazines.

The triggers I-Il lduring their upward movement 7 push the plungersand; tops upward in the,

crank H1 is connected to a helical spring I18,

which is attached also to the table top I. Upon release of the piston mechanism by cam I61 the spring I18 liftsv the pistons. The slides [85 thus released are moved latera lyinto the barrels by means ofhelicalsprings I80: I 7

By the construction described mechanism is provided for the positive feeding oiia-grease p unger and a cover from magazines containing the same. The grease plunger and cover are fed mechanically to a mechanism for positively posi-. tioning them successively upon the open end of a container.

projection I12; of suificient length to press the plunger down in the can to 20 Subsequently to positioning the plunger-and- Various changes may be made within the scopeof the appended claims in which it is desired to claim all novelty inherent in the invention as broadly as. the prior art permits.

I claim:

.1. In a container capping machine, a magazine for covers, the bottom wall of which is inclined at an angle to the vertical to a delivery opening at its lower end, a side wall ofthe magazine having a slot extending longitudinally of the maga-.

zine and an intermediate portion of which is inclined toward the bottom wall of themagazine, an arm extending into the slotand carrying a finger within the magazine, and meansfor-actuating the arm longitudinally of the slot toward the lower end of the magazine whereby the finger is forced by the inclined portion toward the bot-' tom wall of the magazine into engagement with a cover and longitudinally'ofthe magazine toforce the cover through the delivery opening.

2. In a container capping machine, a magazine for grease plungers, the bottomwall of which is inclined at an angle to the vertical to a delivery opening at its lowerend, a side-wall of the. megazine having a slot extending longitudinally of the magazine and an intermediate portion of which is inclined toward the bottom wall of the magazine; an arm extending into the slot and carrying a finger within the magazine, means for actuating the arm longitudinally of the slot toward the lower end of the magazine whereby the finger is forced by the inclined portion toward the bottom wall of the magazine into engagement with a plunger and longitudinally of the magazine to force the plunger through the delivery opening, a capping head, adjacent and in close proximity to the delivery end of said magazine including a tubular body portion having an inlet opening, and a discharge opening; and a transversely extending removable partition in the tubular body portion between the inlet and discharge openings; means for feeding a grease plunger from the magazine through the inlet opening into the tubular body portion; means for'positioning a container substantially co-axial with said tubular body portion with its open end adjacent to the discharge opening thereof, means for telescoping the discharge end of the tubular body portion over the open end of the container, means for removing the partition from the body portion, and means for ejecting the plunger from the tubular body portion into said container.

3. In a container capping machine a magazine for grease plungers, the bottom wall of which is inclined at an angle to the vertical to a delivery opening at its lower end, a side wall of the magazine having a slot extending longitudinally of the magazine and an intermediate portion of which is inclined toward the bottom wall of the magazine; an arm extending into the slot and carrying a finger within the magazine: means for actuating the arm longitudinally of the slot between the lower end of the magazine whereby the finger is forced by the inclined portion toward the bottom wall of the magazine into engagement with a plunger and longitudinally of the magazine to force the plunger through the delivery opening, a capping head, adjacent and in close proximity to the delivery end of said magazine including a tubular body portion, having a discharge opening and with an inlet opening in its side wall through which the plunger is ejected from the magazine into the tubular body portion, a partition extending transversely of the tubular body portion to support the plunger, means for positioning a container substantially co-axial with said tubular body portion and with its open end adjacent to the discharge opening thereof, means for telescoping the discharge end of the tubular body portion over the open end of the container, means for removing the partition from the body portion, and means for ejecting the plunger from said tubular body portion so as to be positioned within the open end of said container.

4. In a container capping machine, a magazine for grease plungers, the bottom wall of which is inclined at an angle to the vertical to a delivery opening at its lower end, a side wall of the magazine having a slot extending longitudinally of the magazine and an intermediate portion of which is inclined toward the bottom wall of the magazine; an arm extending into the slot and carrying a finger within the magazine; means for actuating the arm longitudinally of the slot toward the lower end of the magazine whereby the finger is forced by the inclined portion toward the bottom wall of the magazine into engagement with a plunger and longitudinally of the magazine to force the plunger through the delivery opening; a'capping head, adjacent said magazine, including a tubular body portion with an inlet opening in its side wall through which the plunger is ejected from the magazine into the tubular body portion, the body portion having a discharge opening, a partition extending transversely of the tubular body portion to support the plunger, means for positioning a container substantially co-axial with said body portion and with its open end adjacent the discharge opening thereof, means for effecting longitudinal movement of the tubular body portion whereby the delivery opening is closed by the side wall of the tubular body portion, and the discharge end is telescoped over the open end of the container, means for removing the partition from the body portion, a piston movable longitudinally of the tubular body portion to eject the portion through the discharge opening into the open end of said container, a latch for supporting the next to the bottom plunger within the magazine, and means associated with the capping head adapted to disengage the latch upon travel of the body portion transversely away from the magazine to permit the plungers to drop downwardly within the magazine.

5. In a container capping machine, a magazine for grease plungers, the bottom wall of which is inclined at an angle to the vertical to a delivery opening at its lower end; an arm having a finger extending into the magazine; means for actuating the arm toward the bottom wall of the magazine into engagement with a plunger and longitudinally of the magazine to force the plunger through the delivery opening; a capping head including a tubular body portion having an inlet opening and a discharge opening; a transversely extending removable partition in the tubular body portion between the inlet and discharge openings; means for positioning a container substantially co-axial with said body portion with its open end adjacent the discharge opening thereof, means for feeding a grease plunger from the magazine through the inlet opening into the tubular body portion; means for telescoping the discharge end of the tubular body portion over theopen end ofthe container; and means for removing the partition from the body portion and for ejecting said plunger from the body portion into the open end of the container.

6. In a container capping machine, a magazine for grease plungers, the bottom wall of which is inclined at an angle to the vertical to a delivery opening at its lower end, a guideway having a guide surface extending longitudinally of the magazine, an intermediate portion of the guide surface being inclined toward the bottom wall of the magazine, an arm in slideable engagement with the guide surface and carrying a finger within the magazine, and means for actuating the arm longitudinally of the guide surface toward the lower end of the magazine whereby the finger is forced by the inclined portion toward thebottom wall of the magazine into engagement with a grease plunger and longitudinally of the magazine to force the grease plunger through the delivery opening.

7. In a container capping machine, a magazine for grease plungers, the bottom wall of which is inclined at an angle to the vertical to a delivery opening at its lower end, a guideway having a guide surface, an intermediate portion of the guideway being inclined toward the bottom wall of the magazine, an arm in slideable contact with the guide surface and carrying a finger within the magazine, means for actuating the arm longitudinally along the guideway toward the lower end of the magazine whereby the finger is forced by the inclined portion toward the bottom wall of the magazine into engagement with a grease plunger and longitudinally of the magazine to force the grease plunger through the delivery opening, and means for snapping the fingeiinto its elevated position at the end of its downward stroke.

8. A machine for positioned application to the open end of a container, of a series of closure elements of which series each element is separately applied in sequence comprising, a series of magazines for the respective closure elements each of said magazines having a downwardly inclined bottom wall and a discharge end, said magazines being disposed in spaced relation to each other and to a conveyor means for containers; a tubular capping head associated with each magazine and with said conveyor means, having an inlet opening adjacent the discharge end of the magazine and a discharge opening adjacent said conveyor means, and transverse removable partitions disposed within the head between said openings; a means for positioning each container, substantially co-axial with each capping head in the series of magazines and heads, with its open end adjacent the discharge opening of each head in the sequence; means for discharging single elements from the magazine into the capping head; means for telescoping said head over the open end of the container adjacent thereto; and means for removing the partitions in said head and for ejecting the elements therein into said container.

RICHARD D. ANDERSON.

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