US2607106A - Colar decapper applying machine - Google Patents

Description

Aug- 19, 1952 R. E. REARDON COLLAR DECAPPER APPLYING MACHINE 2 SHEETSh-Sl-{EET l Filed April 27, 1946 F l a. l.

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INVENTOR ug- 19, 1,952 R. E. REARDON COLLAR DECAPPER APPLYING MACHINE 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed April 27, 1946 Fl s. 3.

INVENTOR Patented Aug. 1x9, 11952 UNITED STATES OFFICE coLIAn nocifs-EPEE APPIMNG Robert'vEd-win ,Reardom, Canitlem Application April-2 7,A 1946,;,seriarNoi 665,535?

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21Claimsr.Y 1.

My invention relates toL improvements -i`n= machines for formingl and applying'V accessory de'-v vicesv to-bottles or other'containers and particularly relates to a machine for formingand apply'- ing= an individual decapper izo-'bottles and similar containers, especially thosedesigned*- for closure- This application is a re-presentationiny partof mjy priorapplica/tionl led March 28, 1936; Ser. No. 712,481-, on Collar Decappers-a-nd Forming of' Same, which issuedas Patent 2,183,588 on (L'ollar Decappers, December 19, 1939.

The object of my inventionis toprovidea col-- lardecapper applyingemachinehaving means forV receiving aplurality ofdecapper blanks of thiny sheetV metal or equivalent material'y which have` been" partiallyfpre-formed for economy" andfacility of handling in such-condition; feed'ingsaid7 blanks toa readily changeable shaping arbor and dien therefor, designed toA impartl any desiredinal formation' to t the-headl andneckc'nish ofthe bottle or other container towhichtheyare toV bev appliedp including embossrnent of a label or-advertising design if-sodesired; and then; after-the final formation is impartedin this case thatofl a collar-passing the' finished'decapperto means' for' momentarily intercepting thebottlesor other containers as they-pass on a chain conveyor ad'- jacentto which my machine has been adjusted,

and placing one of'saidY decapper collars on each- Fig. 1, prior to the action of the shaping die on a pre-formed blank and the shaping arbor;

Fig. 3 is a horizontalsection on the line 2`21of Fig. 1-, showing the action of theshaping die on a blank and the shaping arbor- Fig. '4 is' a facial elevation of the shaping die; on line 1 4 of Fig. 2. n

Fig; 5 is a horizontal section on linel 5 5 'of Fig. l, showing'the': application of'a fully formed decapping collar to a bottle.

Fig. 6 is a rear lelevation of a Dref-formedfdecapper blank.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation` 'offa bottle head with acc'oll'ar decapper. applied thereto, fully formed fromy the. pre-formed@ blank;

Fig. v8 is a rear'elevation of a collar decapperrasl applied to abottle'..

Similar numeralsi indicate4 similar parts?` forward; of sa-meon thelbasefis erected'fa-tubularlesser standard@ that is attached?y` to the main standardfat its upper endby a bracket 4 extended from.the@saidimainstandardf. Slidablyfmountedi upon. said. tubular lesserf standard and adj uste-v able vertically on. saine'. tov suit the: heightoi" la bottle conveyor;v by 'm'ea'ns ofi aslide collarand? a setlscrewl 5;. isaab'racketi Ewhioh terminally braces1 the` 'chain conveyor.` "FS byI-'the 'upwar'd exetension ofan. end? arm. 8f, adu'stable byset screwwhich. may act as'. a. gud'ef. an'dbackv support for the bottles. or. other; containers travellingfon the 'ch-ainpconveyorr! On bracketA 6i' opposite 'said endf; arm 83 is. rotatably mounted? a;v star wlieelft'l with its. arr-ns extending=over-tlrecliain conveyor 1 to intercept vandi engage 'a passi-ng' bottle* or` other 'contai-nor@andE rotateas it' moves along, the endfarm 8. cot-operating toconta'ctually center the contanerin andi betweei-i-fthet embracing arm's-4 of the: star wheel 91. at: one point of-ffthe rotation* of"- sa-r'ne. The: stem of' star wheel'S-isf moi-rnted` bracket 6: and extends througlrY Yits; bearingv toA mount' on-V its. lower endal bevel gear wheel' I'- which. 'engages 'a'. train of' "gears Hf' in which is included?. a. sprocket wheel@ If-Z-f-frornwhich -adrive;- chain i236 extends-.l to a source# o'f-v motive power.V Includedy in said: gearftrain 'Ifli" afh-ubmc"tinted horizontally/.rotating gear wheelf M which# .has a squared'. centra-l? aperture traversing 'its airisA of rotation, Saidge'ar trainflfl terminates ,adjacent the-lesser" standard- '3l the bracket 6i' in; a 'ilat diski wheel, |52 having a. transversiye. aperture ci? center in itsaiface which engagesa pivot studon-` thelower enfoiar driving-bar I-'l that extendsfupwardf therefrom to.. pii'votally engagel a, vertically adjustalrlez.'collary tu: which i'sfslidablymgour entire-'shank A|29 ofthe dedapperapplying mech*- the: decapper applying Yrnci':llfa nisiii to vsuit thel heightfoi'rtheffbdfttles.or other containers to which Y raisingI and lowering the applierfffronand intosteadying headzfcontact with. the bottles vfair-othercontainers passing on conveyor 1. The tubular shank I9 of the applying mechanism supports a head portion comprised of a bracket 2| which extends forwardly over the lower bracket 6 and carries the decapper applying means. A hubmounted bevel gear wheel 22 rotates horizontally on said bracket 2| and has a square central aperture traversive of its rotative axis, similar to that in gear wheel on bracket 6 which is immediately below said wheel 22 and in vertical axial alignment with same. Geared at right angle to said wheel 22 and pivoted on bracket 2| is a vertically rotative gear wheel 23 of larger diameter which has a fiat face on which is pivoted, suitably off center, one end of a driving bar 24 the other end of which is pivoted to a horizontally reciprocative plunger 25, which moves to and fro in a runway formed in bracket 2| by rail bearings 26 and 21 as said gear wheel 23 rotates. The forward end 28 of said plunger 25 is vertically hollowed and spring hinged in the center of said hollow are two horizontally extendable arcuate' face plates 28A, preferably of hard rubber or the like, which are designed to resiliently contact the finished decapper collar, without defacing same, and push it upon a bottle neck when the bottle is intercepted by the intercepting mechanism below, until the laterally resilient decapping collar snaps into place on the bottle, as shown in Figure '7. In the forwardly projected terminal of bracket 2|, at the end of the upper bearing rail 26 of the applying plunger 25, is

mounted invertedly a shanked cone 29, of hard rubber or the like, preferably, held in place by insertion of its shank in the bracket frame, that is designed to descend into the mouth of the bottle intercepted and steady it while the plunger thrusts a collar decapper upon the bottle. Rearward of this steadying cone 29 a tubular shaft 30 extends upward through the bracket frame,

forming an opening in and above the runway of the applying plunger to permit a fully formed decapper collar to drop in front of the said applier when the latter is in receded position, or

temporarily rest upon the top of said applier if it is in forward position at the moment. Partly housed in said tubular shaft 30 is a metal slide post 3| down which the full formed decapper collars may embracingly slide within the said shaft 30. Vertically above and in alignment with the container intercepting mechanism, a bracket 32 extends from the main standard 2 and the upper end of said slide post 3| is attached to one side of a trap opening 33 in the lower side of said bracket 32. Adjacent the opening'33 and rearward of same there is mounted in the frameof bracket 32 for horizontal rotation a bevel gear wheel 34 that is in axial alignment with the square holed gear wheels |5 and 22 in the container intercepting and collar applying mecha` nisms below it on vertically adjustable brackets 6 and 2 l, which slide on and in the tubular lesser standard 3. structurally integral with said gear wheel 34, which is hub mounted, is a square drive diagonally in said bevel gear wheel 34 is a transf mission shaft 36 that has gear Wheel terminals 31 and 38 which engage said wheel 34 and a bevel gear 39 on the front face of a vertically rotative disk wheel t@ pivoted above and rearwardly of said wheel 3d, the said disk wheel 40 having a sprocket wheel 11| mounted on its reverse side. The said wheel |10 is pivoted centrally opposite a runway 42 formed thereat in bracket 32 by bearing rails i3 and 4t. In said runway 42 is detachably mounted for reciprocative movement therein a compound shaping die comprised of various hinged and otherwise assembled co-operative parts, as 136, 41, 48, 49, 5|) and 5i, in Figs. l, 2, 3 and 4, and adapted to wrap a semi-formed decapper blank, as 52, around a detachably mounted shaping arbor 53, by contact therewith, said shaping arbor being fixed in the path of the shaping die travel by securing means, such as pin 54, andV readily changeable for a differently shaped .arbor if desired, as by withdrawal and replacement of said pin 5t. A forked driving vbar 55 pivotally and detachably engages the rear body of the compound die, t5, as by means of studs 56 at the fork ends engaging apertures in said body. The flat rearward end of said driving bar 55 is pivoted on the at face of the sprocket wheel 4| on the reverse side of the disk wheel 4Q, suitably olf the center of same. 'The shaping 'die d5 thus moves to and from the arbor 53 as the disk wheel 40 rotates, and bothdie and arbor may be readily removed and replaced if others of different shape are desired to give final form to decapper blanks to fit the neck and head finish of diiferent bottles. In the lower bearing 4 of the Shaper runway 42 there is located, suitably distant from the arbor 53, the exit opening driving bar 55, beyond the radius of disk wheel 4|), isv pivoted the lower end of an agitator bar 59 the upper end of which is pivoted as at 60 on the shank of a feed drum 6| with a domed top that is vertically and rotatively movable in the funnel shaft 62 of funnel shaped upper feed hopper 63 that is adapted to receive semi-formed decapper blanks and direct them intoA vertical grooves, as 6d, of suitable formation to receive blanks in desired position, that are formed on and in the circumference of said feed drum 6|, between same and the inner wall of said funnel shaft B2, the bottom of which grooves are closed, except at one discharge port 65, by a collar 66 mounted upon said feed drum body below said grooves and supported as by pins 61, but held in the funnel shaft S2-as by screw head 58 in a wall slot in said shaft. This permits the collar 55 a limited vertical movement with the feeddrum Si but no rotative movement with it, as

such lateral movement wouldblock the discharge A around `the lower ungrooved portion 1| 'of the drum body. Above this'rack 69 on the drum body is freely pivoted a pawl 13 that is adapted to engage the rack 69 except when the feed drum ascends into hopper 63 to the limit of its vertical movement in the funnel shaft by action of the agitator bar 53. Then the'pawl clears engagement with the rack and drops into 'rack teeth more vertically below its pivotal point.

Thus

5. when the feedl drum; descends.- .by downward movement. of the agitator bar- 59. the new tooth engagement of pawl 13 with th'erack operates toV rotate the drum aspace laterally, 13.0. both induce entrance of further blanksinto the-drum grooves from.,the funnel hopper 63 above and also move another vertical chute towards. the dischargeport 6.51. ,Fr-om. the sprocket. wheel 41:- on the'reverse off.' wheeldisk 49a drive chain ascends diagonally to. the driving. sprocket. 15 of. av sprocketwheel 1f5thati's ,pivoted at the top ofmain standard 2, adjacent the funnelhopper edge.l This wheel-.16 oir its main sprocket. carries? a conveyor .chainof linked segments, 11, that passes down the inner side of main standard 2 and around a suitable sprocket wheel 18 that is pivoted on the main standard adjacent its base, thence ascending along the rear face of the standard through a lower hopper 19-preferably usable for feeding blanks because most accessible, that is mounted on the standard 2 rear face and designed to feed its contents against the ascending conveyor chain 11, the linked segments of which are designed to engage decapper blanks in desired position and lift them to the upper funnel feed hopper 63, discharging them into same as the chain links invert in going over the sprocket wheel 15 adjacent the edge of said funnel hopper.

The operation of my decapper forming and applying machine as shown is effected as fol- I lows: First it is assumed that the machine is set up beside a chain conveyor for bottles and its connection therewith established by adjustment of brackets 6 and 2| to engage said conveyor and suit the height of the bottles used, the latter adjustment providing that the steadying cone on bracket 2l will have enough rise and fall to enter and lift clear of the bottle mouths. Vertical adjustment of the brackets 6 and 2| is, of course, effected through their slidable mounting on and in the lesser standard 3 and the collar I8 and use of set screws 9 and 20. Then, preferably, the lower hopper 19 is filled with semi-formed decapper blanks-the upper hopper, not being so .accessible for feeding but usable in emergency,

normally functioning as a feeding reservoir of blanks passing to feed channels. The ascending conveyor chain 11 then passing upward on the inner wall of said lower hopper 19 engages a succession of decapper blanks in its linked segments and carries them up to the top of main standard 2, where the .conveyor chain inverts its linked segments as it passes over the sprocket wheel 15 at the edge of upper hopper 63 and thus dumps the carried blanks into said hopper, one after the other, in the best position to facilitate their descent down the funnel-like wall of said upper hopper to the shaft 62 in same and the top of feed drum 6i. There it either immediately enters one of the vertical grooves or slideways of the drum, as B4, or awaits proper entrance thereto alone or as one of an accumulation of blanks thereat, through the rise and rotative fall of said feed drum in the funnel shaft by operation of the mechanism below same: the agitator bar 59; driving bar 55; disk wheel 49; pawl 13; and rack collar 69. The decapper blank, as 80, having entered and descended to the bottom of one of said slide grooves, as 64, awaits rotation of that groove to the discharge port 65, where it slides down a discharging slideway 3|; dives headfrst into an opposed opening or trip hole 82 in the frame of bracket 32 at that point which is suit- -ably smaller than the blank body, so that the vbody weight causes the blank to swing around,

througlrtheopening 59 abovethef. stop ledge- 53, .toi

come tofrestpn 'said ledgefinfrontfofe arbor` 53ina propels .position for; shaping. d'ejactioni-. shaping@g,diev 4E then advances. against the; .de

capper blank by; operation. ofdrivebar- 5:51 and its eccentric: pivoting: ons wheel; 40, and; pusheathe: blankagainsttarbor Contact witharbor-stops:4 they central di'e member: 41'.' and causes wings 41k; and.- 49. of?` the to; converge under the: advanciin'g pressure ofthe: die body; 5tl on them. through spring plate. 51:, as the die bodyfslides" alongv the shankof: the retarded'. central. member 41,. which abi'itsther blank? andarbor, and the wings v48 and 49 press the blank sides forward and around the shaping arbor. Then in the withdrawal of the shaping die from the arbor the central member 41 of the die is static, and the wings 48 and 49 have no rear pressure upon them other than that exerted by the weak plate springs 5IA and are diverged largely by the wedging effect of the arbor curvature upon their outer ends, thus pulling the fully formed blank off the arbor by engagement of the wing recesses with the ears 83 now extending laterally from the fully formed collar decapper. This engagement of the wings of the shaping die with the ears of the formed collar pulls the collar back from the arbor to a point where the wings release it above the exit well 33, by central die member 41 butting at rear end against a stud 41A while the shaping die body recedes farther. Then the formed collar, em-

bracive of the slide post 3l in said exit well 33,

slides down, to come to rest upon the top of the applying plunger 24-and drop off same as it recedes-or land immediately in front of said plunger if it is already receded sufficiently. The next forward movement of the applying plunger 24 then pushes fully formed collar decapper onto the neck and head finish of the bottle travelling on chain conveyor 1. which has at that moment reached the peak of its interception on said conveyor by thel arms of star wheel 9 and the backing offered by the end arm 8 of bracket 6. The bottle, with collar decapper duly applied to it, then continues on its way to filling and capping operations--and the action is repeated.

While one preferable embodiment of my invention is illustrated and described herein, it is obvious that various embodiments and adaptations of it are practicable without departure from the spirit of the invention.

Iclaim:

1. A machine for applying decappers to bottles, wherein the decappers are preshaped as to their fundamental structure but require nal curvature shaping to conform to the individual shape of a particular bottle neck so that the decappers conform to, extend around, and grip the neck to a greater extent than degrees, said machine comprising; a feed for preshaped decappers; a detachable arbor of a shape corresponding to the individual shape of the particular bottle neck to which the decapper is to be applied; means for transferring decappers from said feed to said arbor and conforming the same thereto for obtaining the final curvature, and means for transferring said final contoured decappers from said arbor to a bottle neck and for applying the same thereto.

2. A machine for applying decappers to bottles, wherein the decappers are preshaped as to their fundamental structure but require nal curvature shaping to conform to the individual shape of a particular bottle neck so that the decappers conform to, extend around, and grip the neck to e; greater extent than 180 degrees, said machne comprising; a feed for preshaped decappers; afdetachable arbor-.of a shape corre.- sponding to the individualfshape of theparticular bottle neck to which the decapper is to be 5 applied, said arbor being less in diameter than said bottle neck; means for transferring decappers from said feed to said arborand conforming the same thereto for obtaining the nal curvature, and means for transferring said nal 10 contoured decappers from said arbor to a bottle neck and for applying the same'thereto.

ROBERT EDWIN REARDON,

REFERENCES oI'rE The following references are of record in the' file of this patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Lewis Oct. 6, 1874 Mann Sept. 6, 1898 Mafera July 22, 1930 Forney Nov. 3, 1931 Oestnaes et a1. Oct. 25, 1932 Andreoli Sept. 28, 1937 Pooleet al. July 21, 1942

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