US2165132A - Means for capping bottles - Google Patents

Description

y 4, 1939. M. T. cuR'nN ,1

MEANS FOR CAPPING BOTTLES Filed Nov. 2a, 1958 28 l 26 #22 156 21 199 6 9 is $5 42 Q2 6 a J 21 49 r? '56 a6 l 41 as $20 7 e 4 u 98 415% e7 46 Patented July 4, 1939 UNITED STATES MEANS FOR CAPPING BOTTLES Marion T. Curtin, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to Germ-Proof Gap, Inc., Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 28, 1938, Serial. No. 242,843

10 Claims.

The invention relates to a rotary lift capping unit for bottle filling andcapping machines.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple, practical and comparatively inexpensive bottle capping unit of strong and durable construction designed for use in bottle filling and capping machines and capable of enabling a thin sheet metal cap of aluminum or other suitable material to be rapidly applied in sealing relation 0 to bottles with a quiet, smooth, silent movement devoid of jerk or strain and without liability of rupturing bottle caps of this character or chipping the bottles whereby the bottles may be used over and over again for a much longer period than heretofore.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bottle capping unit of this character adapted to compress with a spinning movement a cap of aluminum or other material into tight sealing engagement by rolling pressure and by means adapted at the completion of the capping operation when relieved of pressure to be automatically thrown out of engagement with and clear of the bottle by centrifugal force, whereby the bottle will be instantly freed or released, thereby materially lessening the time ordinarily required for capping a bottle.

Another object of the invention is to enable a bottle to be capped with a metal cap by spinning and pressure applying means entailing only rotary movement of such means and an upward movement of the bottle whereby the means for compressing the skirt or flange of a bottle cap into sealing engagement with the rim or head of the bottle will be caused to travel or have relative movement from the top of the cap to the lower edge of the flange or skirt of the cap, thereby pressing the flange or skirt of the cap against the rim or bead of the bottle and stretching the thin metal at the crotch or angle formed by the bead or rim and the neck of'the bottle to effect a tight sealing engagement of the cap with the bottle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rotary lift capping unit adapted to permit a lim ited initial upward movement of the bottle prior to applying pressure' to' the cap by the rotary spinning cap engaging means, whereby the rotary lift capping unit is adapted to accommodate itself to the variations in the size of the bottles.

It is also an object of the invention .tov improve the method of applying metal caps to bottles by spinning the flange of the cap on the bead or rim of the bottle under pressure of the spinning operation and in the presence of heat generated by friction due to the speed of the spinning operation and the pressure, whereby the flange of the cap is ironed out and stretched over and around the bead or rim of the bottle and snugly pressed in tight sealing engagement with the rim or bead.

With theabove and other objects in view, the 5 invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a rotary lift capping unit constructed in accordance with this invention and illustrating the arrangement of the parts when the same are in their initial position.

Figure 2 is a similar view illustrating the arrangement of the parts when the bottle is at the limit. of. its upward movement and the latch is tripped for releasing pressure on the bottle.

Figure 3 isa horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional vew taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a detail view of a portion of one of the roller carrying rotary spinning levers and the means for guiding the same.

In the accompanying drawing in which is i1- lustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, the rotary lift capping unit comprises in its'construction upper and lower telescoping plunger members I and 2 operating in a relatively fixed vertically disposed tubular guide 3 and adapted in the capping operation to be connected or locked together by apivoted latch 4 which is tripped by the means hereinafter described at the completion of the capping operation to release the upper plunger. member I and relieve the mechanism of the pressure produced by the upwardmovement of a bottle 5. The bottle 5, which is of standard shape, is filled in a bottle filling machine and is delivered in the usual manner to a. bottle carrier 6 having a shank 'lprovided with an anti-friction roll 8 arranged to run on an inclined track 9 in the ordinary manner to. produce an upward movement of the bottle and an operation of the rotary lift capping unit. As the means for filling the bottles and for transferring them from the bottle filling mechanism to the capping mechanism may be of the usual ordinary construction and is Well understood in the art, further illustration and description thereof are deemed unnecessary.

The bottle cap I3, which may be constructed of thin sheet aluminum or other suitable sheet material, is'formed from a disk of metal and is shaped previously to being applied to the bottles and consists of a fiat body portion and an annular flange or skirt l l which is curved in cross section to conform substantially to the configuration of the convex annular surface of the bead or rim l2of the head or mouth of the bottle. The cap is preferably stamped out so that pressure will bring the'rolled flange of the cap to fit snugly underneath the rim or bead of the bottle, and terminate at the bottom of the bead or rim I2 contiguous to the neck of the bottle. The flange I I of the cap I is of sufiicient diameter to enable the caps to be readily placed on the bottles in the usual manner from a magazine, not shown. As the means for feeding the caps from a magazine to the filled bottles is old and well knownv in the art, illustration thereof is deemed unnecessary.

The .lower plunger member 2 is provided at its lower end with a head I3, which is adapted to engage the fiat body of the cap I0 and under pressure ofa coiled spring 2 hold the cap firmly on the bottle when the latter is moved upwardly into engagement with the head I3. The coiled spring 2 is disposed on the lower plunger member.2 and is interposed between the plunger head I3 and the lower end of the fixed tubular guide. The spring will maintain pressure on irregular contour of bottles and effectually prevent caps from slipping. When the lower plunger member is in its initial position as illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawing, the latch 4 is located a short distance below a shoulder I4 located at the top 'of a recess I5 and adapted to be engaged bythe latch in the upward movement of the lower member of the plunger. The lower member of the plunger has an initial movement or play of approximately of an inch to enable the plunger to adjust or accommodate itself to variations in the size of bottles and .the continued upward movement after said initial upward movement of the lower member of the plunger carries the latch into engagement with the shoulder I4 0 and connects the upper member of the plunger to the lower member and causes the two plunger members to move in unison for operating a plurality of cam levers I6. The upper'portion' l I of the lower plunger member 2 is tubular to receive a stem I 8 formed by reducing the lower portion of the upper plunger member, and the said lower plunger member is provided adjacent its upper end with an exterior shoulder I9 adapted to engage and rest upon the inner end of a set screw 23 mounted in the tubular guide 3 at the lower end thereof and projecting inwardly into the path of the shoulder I9 for limiting the downward movement or drop of the lower plunger member at the completion of a capping operation and after the bottle has been removed from beneath the head l3 of the lower plunger member. Theshoulder 2I formed by reducing. the lower portion of the upper plunger member to form the stem engages stop lugs 22 projecting inwardly intothe tubular guide and adapted to support'the upper plunger member in position for enabling it to be reengaged by the latch 4 after the same has been tripped and after the lower plunger member has dropped downwardly to its initial position. The latch 4 latch has an upwardly extending tooth or engaging portion and an outwardly extending trip arm which is carried into engagement with an adjustable latch tripping sleeve or ring 25 at the limit of the upward movement of the plunger members and at the completion of the capping operation for releasing the upper plunger member and relieving the mechanism of pressure. The latch tripping sleeve or ring 25 is adjustably secured to the exterior of the tubular guide I by a set screw 26, and when the latch is moved upwardly into engagement with the tripping sleeve or ring, the engaging portion of the latch is swung out of the recess I5 and out of engagement with the shoulder I4, which permits the upper plunger member to drop and move downwardly within the tubular guide I until its shoulder 2! comes in contact with and is sup ported by the stop lugs 22.

The tubular guide 3 is rigidwith a fixed bracket 21 and the cam levers I6, which are preferably three in number and equidistantly spaced around the tubular guide, consist substantially of an approximately segmental head pivoted by a pin 28 or other suitable fastening device in a hanger or bearing bracket 29 depending from the fixed support or bracket 21. The arm 30, which extends inwardly from the segmental head of the cam lever I6, is provided with a set screw 3| which projects from the lower edge of the arm and is engaged by the upper end of the upper plunger member for actuating each of the cam levers when the upper and lower plunger members are moved upwardly by the bottle during the cap-v ping operation. The set screws 3| enable the parts to be adjusted for regulating the pressure exerted by the cam levers on a floating abutment ring 32 arranged on thetubular guide and located above and adapted to actuate a floating cam ring 33 also mounted on the tubular guide. The two separate rings 32 and 33 are provided for enabling a cushion 34 to be interposed between the rings for cushioning the action of the outwardly and upwardly from the outer end of the eccentric curved edge 36 and arranged concentric with and forming a portion of a circle, of which the pivot 28 is the center, so that the continued movement of the cam lever will maintain the cam ring and the levers under the pressure produced by the eccentric cam edge 36 without subjecting the 'cam ring and the levers 35 to an added pressure.

The floating cam ring has a' downwardly tapered portion presenting an inclined annular surface .38 which rides on an inclined edge or surface 39 of each of the levers 35. The levers 35,.which depend from and are carried by a horizontal gear wheel 30, operate in slots 4! of the gear Wheel and are preferably four in number and are equidistantly spaced around the gear wheel, the members of each pair of the levers 35 being located diametrically opposite each other, as clearly illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawing. Each of the levers 35 is mounted on a horizontal pivot 42 located adjacent the upper end of each lever 35 to form a relatively short upper arm which extends above the gear wheel 48 and a relatively long lower arm which depends from the gear wheel 40. The lower ends 43 of the levers 35 are angularly disposed and extend downwardly and inwardly and have pivoted to them, by pins 44 or other suitable fastening devices, yokes 45 which constitute holders for rollers 46-. The rollers 46, which are designed to be constructed of soft yielding rubber or other suitable material, are circumferentially concave and are arranged in an inclined position above the head of the bottle and the cap I0 when the parts are in their initial position, as illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawing. In this position, the flat horizontal portion of the cap is located approximately of an inch below the lower edges of the inclined concaved rollers, and, at the completion of the initial upward movement of the bottle, the latch l engages the shoulder l4 and the rollers are swung inwardly into engagement with the cap by the action of the cam levers, the floating cam ring and the levers 35 which are arranged to swing radially in relation to the bottle. The gear wheel 49 is continuously rotated by the means hereinafter described and, when the rollers 46 are carried into engagement with the cap, they engage the cap at the juncture of the flat body portion and the depending flange or skirt H and operate on the flange or skirt with a spinning action to compress the flange or skirt against the rim or bead of the bottle and, as the bottle moves upwardly, the rollers have a relatively downward movement on the flange or skirt of the cap and thereby operate on the same from the upper edge of the flange or skirt to the lower edge thereof progressively and, with said spinning action, tightly compress the flange or skirt against the bead or rim. This rotative movement of the rollers under pressure, coupled with the spinning operation around the rim or bead of the bottle neck in the presence of heat produced by the speed of the spinning operation and the friction incident thereto, facilitates ironing out of the flange of the cap on the rim or bead of the bottle neck, although an effective seal is effected in the absence of generating of heat incident to the spinning operation. This results in a slight stretching of the flange or skirt and a tight sealing of the same against the bottle at the crotch formed by the bead and the neck of the bottle. It has been found that this spinning operation sometimes irons out and stretches the flange or skirt of the bottle cap as much as one-quarter of an inch and a tight sealing of the bottle is thereby effected. The concave periphery of the rollers conforms substantially to the configuration of the bead or rim of the bottle, as clearly illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawing, and during the latter portion of the capping operation, while the arcuate edges 31 of the cam levers are in engagement with the abutment ring 32, the pressure of the rollers against the flange of the cap remains constant, and, at the completion of the capping operation at the limit of the upward movement of the bottle, the latch t is tripped by the tripping ring 25 and the levers 35 are thereby relieved of pressure and are automatically thrown outwardly clear of the bottle and free of the cap by centrifugal force and the parts returned to their initial positions illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawing.

The depending radially movable roller carrying spinning levers 35 are guided in their inward and outward movements in slots 4'! of horizontal guide lugs or arms 48 of a tubular member 49, consisting of a ring or drum depending from the horizontal rotary gear 48 and formed integral with or otherwise suitably fixed to the same. The horizontal rotary gear 46 rotates freely on the tubular guide 3 and is supported by a shoulder 50 thereof and any suitable form of bearing may, of course, be provided for the gear wheel Ml if desired. The gear wheel 15 is continuously rotated by means of an electric motor El mounted upon the bracket 21. The motor shaft is provided with an extension 52 depending from the support 21 and having mounted on its lower end a pinion 53 which meshes with the gear wheel 49 and rotates the same during the operation of the rotary lift capping unit. Any other suitable means, however, may be employed for imparting rotary movement to the gear wheel or rotary element All which carries the radially movable spinning levers. Any suitable means may be em ployed for supporting the roller-carrying spinning arms of the levers 35 in their initial position. In the drawing, the slots or openings ll in the horizontal gear wheel are shown inclined and the walls thereof may be conveniently employed for limiting both the inward and outward radial swinging movement of the levers 35.

When the latch is tripped and the levers 35 are relieved of pressure and are thrown outwardly by centrifugal force, the upper member of the plunger descends and is supported by the stop lugs 22. As soon as the bottle is removed from beneath the head of the lower member of the plunger, the lower member and the head drop to their initial position and are supported by the set screw 20. In this position of the lower member of the plunger, the latch 4 is located below the shoulder I4 and its engaging portion has moved into the recess I5 under the influence of a spring 54 and the latch is again in position to pick up the upper plunger member when the lower plunger member moves upwardly beyond its initial movement. During the initial upward movement of the bottle, there is no pressure exerted by the rollers against the sides of the flange or skirt of the cap, and the rollers are free from and out of engagement with the flange of the cap, so that no pressure from the rollers of the spinning arms will be applied to the bottle cap during such initial upward movement of the bottles to be capped.

When the bottle has completed the initial inch play on upward movement, the rollers apply pressure to the cap, that is, the lower ends of the rollers are carried into engagement with the cap at the top or upper edge of the annular flange or skirt, and the cap is subjected to the spinning action of the rollers simultaneously with their pressure. This combined spinning action and pressure action begins at the limit of said initial upward movement of the bottle and is applied first at the juncture between the flat top of the cap and the top of the annular flange or skirt, the pressure continuing during the spinning action as the rollers are carried downwardly throughout the entire exterior surface of the flange or skirt of the cap from the top thereof to the lower edge of the cap.

The spinning action of the rollers against the aluminum cap begins at the highest'point on the flange of the cap and the spinning arms, and the rollers will stretch the flange portion of the aluminum cap over the exterior of the rim or bead of the bottle by a pressure application thereof which gradually increases with the inward move ment of the spinning arms and which is maintained without added pressure during the latter portion of the capping operation due to the concentric portion of the cam levers. No pressure from the spinning arms is applied to the bottle cap until the rollers are adjacent the rim or bead of the bottle and until the cap is held firmly in position on the bottle by the head of the lower plunger member so that there is no liability of the cap being accidentally displaced from its proper position on the bottle.

The concave peripheries of the rollers conform substantially to the configuration of the curvature of the rim or bead of the bottle and the flange of the cap is pressed tightly into sealing engagement with the rim or bead of the bottle and is spread or ironed out at the bottom of the bead or rim at the crotch between the same and the neck of the bottle, thereby efiecting a tight sealing engagement between the flange of the cap and the bottle. The flexing and stretching of the flange of the cap by the rollers is effected without danger of rupture of the cap and there is no danger of rupturing or breaking the cap at the end of the spinning action as the rollers are automatcally thrown outwardly by centrifugal force and are carried awayirom the cap as soon as the sealing of the bottle is effected and the spinning arms relieved of pressure by the tripping of the latch which maintains the upper and lower plunger members in connected relation during the bottle sealing operation. The two-part plunger, besides permitting this tripping action, also enables the mechanism to accommodate itself to variations in the size of bottles. There is no stretching of the flat body portion of the cap for the reason that it is held down firmly on the upper edge of the neck of the bottle by the head of the lower plunger member and the sealing of the bottle in this manner provides additional space within the bottle to permit expansion of the contents of the bottle due to freezing, thereby lessening the liability of the cap being ruptured or forced off the neck of the bottle by the freezing of the contents thereof.

What is claimed is: c

1. A bottle capping unit including a plurality of radially swinging spinning arms having means for engaging the flange of a bottle cap, means for rotating the spinning arms around the bottle cap, and mechanism for applying pressure to the spinning arms for moving the arms inwardly into engagement with the flange of the bottle cap, said mechanism including an actuating cam, upper and lower plunger members adapted to be moved into actuating engagement with the cam by the upward movement of a bottle, and a latch for holding the upper and lower plunger members in connected relation until the completion of the capping operation.

2. A bottle capping unit including a plurality of radially swinging spinning arms having means for engaging the flange of a bottle cap, means for rotating the spinning arms around the bottle cap, and mechanism for applying pressure to the spinning arms for moving the arms inwardly into engagement with the flange of the bottle cap, said mechanism including an actuating cam, upper and lower plunger members adapted to be moved into actuating engagement with the cam by the upward movement of a bottle, a latch for holding the upper and lower plunger members in connected relation until the completion of the capping operation, and means for tripping the latch at the completion of the capping operation to relieve the spinning arms of pressure and permit the spinning arms to be thrown outwardly by centrifugal force.

3. A bottle capping unit including a plurality of radially swinging spinning arms having means for engaging the flange of a bottle cap, means for rotating the spinning arms around the bottle cap, and mechanism for applying pressure to the spinning arms for moving the arms inwardly into engagement with the flange of the bottle cap, said mechanism including an actuating cam, upper and lower plunger members adapted to be moved into actuating engagement with the cam by the upward movement of a bottle, and a latch for the holding the upper and lower plunger members in connected relation until the completion of the capping operation, said latch permitting an initial upward movement of the lower plunger member prior to latching the upper and lower plunger members in connected relation.

l. A bottle capping unit including a plurality of radially swinging spinning levers pivotally mounted intermediate of their ends and provided at one end with means for engaging a bottle cap, an annular cam for engaging the levers at the other end thereof for applying pressure to the levers, cam levers for actuating the annular cam, upper and lower plunger members mounted for simultaneous and independent movement, the lower plunger member being provided with latching means for connecting it to the upper plunger member, said plunger members being adapted to be actuated in connected relation by upward movement of a bottle whereby a bottle cap is firmly held on the bottle and pressure is applied to the spinning levers for moving the same into engagement with the cap for compressing the flange of the cap into sealing engagement with the bottle.

5. A bottle capping unit including a plurality of radially swinging spinning levers having means for engaging the flange of a bottle cap, a gear wheel carrying the said levers, a motor, geared means actuated by the motor for rotating the gear wheel, an annular floating cam arranged to engage the levers for applying pressure to the same to move the levers into engagement with the bottle cap, and means actuated by the upward movement of a bottle for operating the floating cam including members in latched connection during upward movement of a bottle being capped, and means for releasing the latched connection between said members when the bottle reaches the limit of its upward movement.

6. A bottle capping unit including a plurality of radially swinging spinning levers having means for engaging the flange of a bottle cap, a gear wheel carrying the said levers, a motor, geared means actuated by the motor for rotating the gear Wheel, an annular floating cam arranged to engage the levers for applying pressure to the same to move the leversinto engagement with the bottle cap, a plurality of cam levers arranged to operate the floating cam for actuating the spinning levers to move the same into engagement with the bottle cap, and means actuated by the upward movement of a bottle for operating the cam levers.

7. A bottle capping unit including a plurality of radially swinging spinning levers having means for engaging the flange of a bottle cap, a gear wheel carrying the said levers, a motor, geared means actuated by the motor for rotating the gear wheel, an annular floating cam arranged to engage the levers for applying pressure to the same to move the levers into engagement with the bottle cap, a plurality of cam levers arranged to operate the floating cam for actuating the spinning levers to move the same into engagement with the bottle cap, and upper and lower plunger members mounted for simultaneous and independent movement and adapted to be actuated by the upward movement of a bottle, the lower plunger member having latching means for connecting it with the upper plunger member, and means for automatically tripping the latching means to disconnect the plunger members and relieve the spinning levers of pressure at the completion of the capping operation.

8. A bottle capping unit, a horizontal gear mounted for rotary movement and provided with depending guides, a plurality of radially movable spinning levers mounted on the gear wheel and operating in the guides and provided with means for engaging a bottle cap, a motor, means actuated by the motor for rotating the gear wheel, a floating cam arranged to actuate the spinning levers for applying pressure to the same to move the levers into engagement with the bottle cap, a plurality of cam levers for operating the floating cam, and plunger means arranged to be actuated by the upward movement of a bottle for operating the cam levers.

9. A capping unit including a radially movable spinning member having means for engaging the flange of a bottle cap, means for rotating the spinning member around the bottle cap and mechanism for applying pressure to the spinning member for moving the spinning member inwardly into engagement with the cap, said mechanism including a spring controlled plunger comprisinng a pair of members, one member having a cap engaging end adapted to hold by spring pressure a cap firmly on the neck of a bottle, a latch automatically connecting said members during upward movement of the plunger, and means for automatically releasing said latch when the plunger reaches the limit of its upward movement.

10. A bottle capping unit including a plurality of radially swinging spinning arms having means for engaging the flange of a bottle cap, means for rotating the spinning arms around the bottle cap and mecahnism for applying pressure to the spinning arms for moving the arms inwardly into engagement with the flange of the bottle cap, said mechanism including a plurality of pivoted cams equidistantly spaced and havinng a concentric actuating portion and an arcuate portion concentric with the axis of the cams for maintaining the pressure on the spinning arms without adding additional pressure thereto.

MARION T. CURTIN.

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