US2874526A - Capping apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 24, 1959 F. E. FAUTH ET AL CAPPING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 21, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 m w m Fnederick E. Fjudzh, R japrj SoJum 3 BY WQMJ 9 Z ATTORNEYS.

5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS:

Fnedezyiek E. Fpwllh, 2f Rob ea 5. BY

ATTORNEYS.

"b Q MM F. E. FAUTH ET AL CAPPING APPARATUS Feb. 24, 1959 Filed Sept. 21, 1956 Feb. 24, 1959 F. E. FAUTH ET AL 2,874,526

CAPPING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 21, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 1NVENTORS:'

E m f] Rolgeri' 15'. Jpomp,

Q w wwyww ATTORNEBS'.

CAPPING APPARATUS Frederick E. Fauth and Robert S. Jump, Baltimore, Md.,

assignors to Crown Cork 82 Seal Company, Inc., Baltimore, Md., a corporation of New York Application September 21, 1956, Serial No. 611,311 14 Claims. (Cl; 53-314) The present invention relates to a capping apparatus, and, more particularly, to a capping apparatus for applying lever-type caps to filled containers.

atent The present invention is particularly adapted for use 7 with a lever-type cap including a top sealing gasket, and

a skirt contractible by the downward movement of a pivoted locking lever operatively connected to a wire encircling the skirt which enables the cap to be firmly clamped upon the lip of a container mouth. Such a cap is usually loosely applied to a container by a cap applying apparatus, such as disclosed in the United States Patent No. 2,647,672, issued August 4, 1953, to M lo Burnell. The cap is loosely applied to a container, wlth the locking lever in its upward or non-locking position. After the cap has been loosely applied to the contamer and leveled thereon with its locking lever in an upward or non-locking position and in a desired position With respect to the circumference of a container by an apparatus such as disclosed in the aforementioned Burnell patent, the cap is forced straight down or axially upon the container to bring its gasket into sealing relation with the lip of the container mouth. Once the cap is in sealing engagement with the lipof the container mouh, the locking lever is swung downwardly and outwardly through substantially 180 to. contract the wire and the skirt of the cap aboutthe lip of the mouth of the container and thereby firmly lock the cap in place. The present invention relates to apparatus for forcing the lever-type cap axially into sealing position on the container and then moving the locking levers to locked posltion.

An object of the present invention is to provide a capping apparatus which can close containers with caps while the containers are continuously moving. through the capping apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a capping apparatus which is automatically operated to apply, seal and lock lever-type caps on containers without interrupting the flow of containers through the capping apparatus.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a capping apparatus having a capping head which moves in a plane in alignment with the plane of movement of containers and yet will move a cap axially of the container into sealing relationship with the container.

Ancillary to the preceding object it is an additional ob- I ject of the present invention to provide such a capping apparatus with means toautomatically swing the locking lever of the cap downwardly into locking position after the cap has been moved into sealing engagement with the mouth of'the container and without interrup- 1:

tion to the movement of the container on the container conveyor means;

A furtherobject of the present invention'is to provide a capping apparatus which accommodates itself to a normal container height variation, the locking lever of the capping head maintaining its important relationship to the presser foot and the cap lever.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a capping apparatus which is completely automatic in operation although the arrangement of parts and controls is simplified thereby resulting in lower manufacturing, operating and maintenance cost. Ancillary to the immediately preceding object,- by having the opera tion of the apparatus completely automatic,- a maximum output of capped containers is obtained as containers do not have to be slowed or stopped on the container conveyor means for the capping operation.-

These and other objects of the present invention will appear more fully in the following specification, claims and drawings, in which:

Figure 1' is a front elevational view of the capping apparatus, portions of the apparatus being broken away for purposes of clarity;

Figure 2- is a top fragmentary plan view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1, portions of the apparatus being omitted for purposes of clarity;

Figure 3 is a vertical section through the capping head of the present invention and showing the capping head just prior to engagement with a cap loosely positioned on a container mouth;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the capping head shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the capping head taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the capping head taken on line 66 of Figure 3;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the capping head on the line '7-7 of Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view of the capping. head of the present invention similar to Figure 3 but showing the presser foot of the capping head in engagement with the cap on a container, the presser foot having moved the same axially to a sealing position;

Figure 9 is a vertical sectional view of the capping head of the present invention similar to Figure 3 but showing the capping head in a position where the locking lever of the cap has been swung to the downward or locking position by the lever element of the capping head; 7

Figure 10' is a schematic view of the fluid pressure system for operating the capping head of the present invention;

Figure 11 is a schematic wiring diagram for the capping apparatus of the present invention.

Referring specifically to the drawings, wherein like character or reference numerals represent like or similar parts, the capping apparatus of the present invention is mounted on a frame structure generally designated as 19 and includes a container conveyor means 12 for continuously feeding filled containers D, a cap feedinghopper 14 (partially shown in broken lines in Figure 1) for a supply of caps C, a cap applying chute 16, a cap orienting and applying mechanism-1S, and a capping head 20 for sealing the cap on the container and then swinging the locking lever of the cap to a locked position. The lever-type caps C are fed fro-m the cap hopper 14 to the'cap chute 16 with the locking levers in an upward or non-locking position. The caps slide down the cap chute 16 to its outfeed end 22 which is positioned immediately above the mouths of containers D. At the outfeed end 22 of chute 16, the caps C are picked oil one by one by containers as the containers continuously move on the container conveyor means 12. Cap applying and orienting mechanism 18 loosely applies the caps C to the top of the containers and then orients the caps with respect to the circumference of the containers so that the locking levers'of the caps" are in a position where they can be engaged by means on the capping head for actuating them to a locked positioni Containers D, with the loosely applied caps C positioned thereon, are continuously moved in a linear direction beneath the capping head 20 which, when actuated in timed relationship to movement of containers therebeneath, moves the caps C axially of the container so that the gaskets of the caps are in sealed relationship with the container mouth. While the containers are being moved beneath the capping head 20 and it is being actuated to seal caps on the container, the capping head also locks the levers of the caps by swinging them from an upward position downwardly and outwardly through substantially 180 to a downward position. Containers C traveling on the container conveyor means 12 are continuously moved at a substantially constant linear speed beneath the cap applying mechanism 18 and capping head 20 and are not interrupted in their movement during the entire capping operation.

In more detail, the frame structure is mounted on suitable standards (not shown) and is provided with a table 24, the upper surface of which is adapted to receive the top run of an endless flat-top conveyor 26. The endless conveyor 26 which forms a part of the container conveyor means 12 receives filled containers from filling machines (not shown) and delivers the containers to the capping apparatus of the present invention. A pair of opposed endless container gripper belts 28 mounted on either side of the endless conveyor 26 also forms part of the container conveyor means 12. The gripper belts 28, which are spaced apart a distance slightly less than the diameter of a container, receive and grip the containers D therebetween and feeds them through the capping apparatus, thereby preventing the containers from being jarred or tipped over when caps are applied and sealed thereon. In other words, the side gripper belts 28 engage the containers D on their sides and, thus, the containers have more stability when passing through the capping apparatus. The linear speed of endless conveyor 26 and gripper belts 28 is substantially the same so that when the containers are received between the gripper there is no relative movement between the containers and the endless conveyors.

After the caps C are picked off by the containers D from the chute at its outfeed end 22, the containers with the loosely positioned caps pass under the cap applying and orienting mechanism 18. The mechanism 18, which is best shown in Figures 1 and 2, is of the type disclosed in the aforementioned Burnell patent and includes a spring plate 30 for leveling the positioned caps C on the containers D, a rotatable cap turner wheel 32 having cap receiving recesses 34 and a cap turner plate assembly 36. Containers D moving beneath mechanism 18 have their caps C received in the recesses 34 of the wheel or disk 32.

Continued linear movement of the container by the conveyor means 12 causes the wheel 32 to rotate in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 2 and the frictional engagement between the wire encircled portion of the cap C and the surfaces of the recess 34 causes the cap to rotate relative to the container to thereby position the locking lever to the rear of the containers, as viewed in Figure 1. Further linear movement of the containers D from beneath the cap applying and orienting mechanism 18 positions the containers beneath the capping head where the caps are sealed and locked onto the containers.

Capping head 20, as best shown in Figures 1 and 3, is pivotally mounted on a shaft 38 carried by frame structure 10. The pivot shaft 38 extends horizontally from a suitable bracket (not shown) on the frame structure 18 and its axis is transverse of the path of movement of containers D on container conveyor means 12. By mounting the capping head 20 on the pivot shaft 38 the entire capping head may pivot on the shaft 38 when a cap is being sealed and locked onto a container, and, consequently there is no interruption in the movement of containers while the closing operation is accomplished. A more detailed description of the pivoting of capping head 20 during the closing operation will appear later in the specification.

Referring now to Figure 3, the capping-head 20 is provided with an upper fluid pressure cylinder 40 and a lower fluid pressure cylinder 42. A piston element 44 is mounted in the upper cylinder 40 for vertical reciprocal movement by air pressure supplied from a suitable source of air pressure 46, as shown in Figure 10. The piston 44 is provided with the usual U-cup packing rings 48. A connecting or piston rod 50 connects the piston 44 to a presser foot 52 through the cam head element 54 (Figures 3 and 6). In more detail, the lower end 49 of piston rod 50 is received in a bore 51 provided in the cam head 54 and a draw bolt 56 passing through the cam head and the piston rod anchors the cam head to the piston rod. The presser foot 52 is connected to the lower end of cam head 54 by means of the screws 58.

Presser foot 52, which is made of metal, nylon, or like material, is provided with a lower downwardly facing planar surface 60 which is adapted to engage the top of cap C to force the cap axially onto the mouth of container D when the piston 44 is moved downwardly in the cylinder 40 by fluid pressure being applied to its upper side.

Lower cylinder 42 is carried on the capping head 20 immediately beneath the upper cylinder 40 and in axial alignment therewith. A piston 62 is carried in lower cylinder 42 for vertical reciprocal movement therein by fluid pressure applied to either its upper or lower side. The piston 62 is provided with an axial bore 64 therethrough so that it may move in cylinder 42 on and relative to the piston rod 50 of the upper piston 44. Piston 62 is provided with the usual U-cup packing rings 66 which engage the interior wall of cylinder 42. A tubular piston rod 68 extends downwardly from piston 62 and telescopes a portion of the piston rod 50. A collar 70 is threaded to the lower end of piston rod 68, the collar 70 being operatively connected to a downwardly extending actuator arm 72, which in turn is operatively connected to a throwdown arm or lever 74. The throw-down arm or lever 74 is provided with a body portion 76 having a pair of spaced studs 78 extending therethrough. The studs 78 are provided with rollers 80 on their extremity, the rollers 80 being adapted to ride in the cam tracks 82 and 84 of the cam head 54. A finger 86 extends outwardly from the body portion 76 of the lever element 74 between an upper horizontally extending pin 88 and a lower horizontally extending pin 90, both pins being provided on the lower bifurcated end 89 of the actuator arm 72. Movement of the piston 62 downwardly with respect to the piston 44 will cause the actuator arm 72 to move downwardly and the upper pin 88 of the actuator arm will bear against the finger 86 of the body portion 76 of lever element 74 causing the lever element to move downwardly following the contour of the cam tracks 82 and 84. The cam tracks 82 and 84 are so designed that the lever element 74 moves outwardly and downwardly from the position shown in Figure 3 to the position shown in Figure 9. Upward movement of the piston 62 with respect to the piston 44 will cause the reverse movement of the lever element 74.

The upper and lower fluid pressure cylinders 40 and 42 respectively, of the capping head 20, are bolted together as a unit by means of elongated bolts 92 which are threaded into a flange 98 on the lower end of cylinder 42 and extend upwardly through other suitable flanges on the air cylinders 40 and 42 and are fastened at their upper end by nuts 94. A bracket 96 is retained as an integral unit with the air cylinders 40 and 42 by means of studs 97 extending through suitable bores in the lower flange 98 of air cylinder 42 and threaded into the bracket, as shown in Figures 5 and 7. Bracket 96 is provided with a bore 100 which is adapted to receive the pivot pin or shaft 38 carried on a suitable bracket 102 which is attached to frame structure 10. Any suitable means may be used to retain the bracket 96 on the shaft 38 so long as the bracket, together with the other components of the capping head 20, may pivot about the axis of the shaft 38.

A head casting 104 is bolted to the bracket 96 by means of the studs 106, the head casting providing a guide for the downwardly extending actuator arm 72. A capping head slide 108 is bolted to the lower end of the casting 104 by means of the bolts 110, as best shown in Figures 3 and 6. The capping slide 108 provides a guide for the cam head element 54 so that the cam head element and the presser foot 52, when they are moved by the piston 44, will have stability and no lateral movement to the axis of the piston. 7

Referring next to Figure 10, the air cylinders 40 and 42 of capping head are operated by fluid pressure such as compressed air or, the like, the fluid pressure being supplied from any suitable source of fluid pressure 46 in accordance with the sequence of operation to be subsequently described. A conduit or line 112, extending from the source of fluid pressure 46 through suitable filters 114 and 116 to a four-way fluid pressure solenoid-operated valve generally indicated at 118, supplies compressed air to one or the other side of the pistons 44 and 62 of cylinders and 42 respectively, depending on the sequence of operation. A pressure regulator and indicator 120 may be provided in the conduit or manifold 112 so that the operating pressure for the cylinders may be adjusted depending on particular operating conditions. The fourway valve 118 is'provided with a T-fitting 124 connected to one of its ports, as shown diagrammatically at 122. The T-fitting 124 connects the port of valve 118 to the upper side of each of the pistons 44 and 62 through the conduits or lines 126 and 128 respectively. The lower sides of the pistons 44 and 62 are connected to a T-fitting 130 on another port of the four-way valve 118, by the conduits or lines 132 and 134 respectively. An adjustable restrictor valve 136 is provided in the conduit 134 for restricting the flow through this conduit, the purpose of which will be explained later in the specification. An exhaust conduit line 138 is connected to still another port on the four-way valve 118 and is provided with a muffler unit 140 to muifle and filter the exhaust air from the cylinders 40'and 42. It is important to provide a muffler to reduce noise and filter the entrained oil from the exhausted air so that there will be no chance of contaminating the air immediately adjacent to the capping apparatus.

Referring now to Figure 11, the schematic wiring diagram for operating the solenoid-operated four-way valve 118 is disclosed. A suitable transformer 142 has its primary coil 144'connected to a suitable source of electrical supply which is normally 220 volts. A secondary coil 146 of the transformer 142 is used to supply current to operate the four-way valve 118 at a reduced voltage so as to eliminate the danger to the operating personnel of the capping apparatus. In the circuit for the solenoid-operated four-way valve 118, a normally open container-actuatedcontact switch 148 is provided in series with a normally closed capping head actuated cut-off switch 150. A warning light 152 is also provided in series with the switches 148 and 150 and the solenoid 154 of the fourway valve 118 whereby the operator of the capping apparatus is advised that the circuit is energized. As shown in Figure 2, switch 148 is supported on the frame structure 10 by a suitable bracket 149 just forward of the cap ping head 20. A pivoted switch-operating arm 156 mounted on a vertical pivot 157 extends into the path of containers D traveling on the container conveyor means 12 and is adapted to be pivoted by the containers to close the switch 148.

Closure of switch 148 energizes the electrical circuit, thus, energizing the solenoid 154 of the four-way valve 113 to thereby move the valve to a position where compressed air flowing into the valve through the conduit 112 is directed out'of the valve through its port having T-fitting 124. The compressed air flows through the conduits 126. and 128to the upper side of the pistons 44 and 62 in the air cylinders 4.0 and 42 respectively. Fluid pressure entering the cylinders 40 and 42 on the upper sides of pistons 44 and 62, first moves the piston 44 downwardly to thereby cause the presser foot 60 to engage cap C loosely positioned on the container D and move it axially with respect to the container into sealing relationship with the container. Piston 62 does not move immediately upon the application of pressure to its upper side because of the restrictor valve 136 in the line 134. The restrictor valve restricts the exhaust from the cylinder 42 on the downward stroke of the piston 62 and, thus, there is a time lag between movement of the upper piston 44 and the lower piston 62. After the lower piston has moved downwardly and pressure has built up sufliciently in the cylinder 42 to move the lower'piston 62, this piston moves downwardly causing the locking, lever throw-down arm 74 to move downwardly and outwardly,. thereby pivoting the locking lever on the cap C to a locking position. During thedownward strokes of pistons 44 and 62, the air on the lower sides of the pistons is exhausted through the conduits 132 and 134 through the four-way valve 118 and conduit 138 to the mufller 140. V

As mentionedabove, the capping head 20 is adapted to pivot on the shaft 38 during the capping operation. As shown in the full line position in Figure 1, the capping head is on an angle to the vertical and is in a position prior to the engagement of the presser foot 52 with a cap loosely applied and properly positioned on a container D. When the container moves to a position, so as to actuate the switch-operating arm 156 to close switch 148, the capping headbegins its operation as described above. When the presser of the capping head engages the cap C of the container D, the capping head will move or pivot about the shaft 38 because of the continued movement of the container D on the container conveyor means 12. After the capping head has completed both the sealing and the locking operation it will be in a position where it is substantially vertical, as shown in the dotted line position of Figure 1. When in this position, the capping head engages and opens the normally closed switch 150 which breaks the circuit to the solenoid 154 of the four-way valve 118. The four-way valve returns to its normal inoperative position and, thus, compressed air flowing into the valve through the conduit 112 will flow out of the port having the fitting through the conduits 132 and 134 to the lower side of each piston 44 and 62. The restriction 136 in conduit 134permits the fluid pressure in conduit 132 to first actuate the piston 44 to return it upwardly. After the piston 44 has returned upwardly, moving the presser foot 60 from engagement with the cap C on the container D, the air will have built up in the lower cylinder 42 beneath the piston 62 so as to return the locking lever 74 to its upward position;

As soon as the presser foot 52 has moved out of engagement with the cap C due to the upward movement of piston 44 in cylinder 40, a spring 155, connected to the capping head 20 above the pivot pin 38 and to a bracket 158 supported on the frame structure 10, returns the capping head to the full line position of Figure 1.

Referring now to Figure 8, the capping head 20 is disclosed in an operating position just after fluid pressure has been applied to the upper side of the piston 44 in cylinder 4t Note that the piston 44 has moved downwardly, moving with it the presser foot 52. The presser foot is now in engagement with the top of cap C on container D and has moved the cap axially into sealing engagement with the lip of the container. The throw-down arm 74 has not as yet moved downwardly following the cam tracks 82 and 84.

Figure 9 discloses the capping head 20 with the presser foot 52 in its most downward position, as well as the throw down arm 74 in a position where the locking lever of the cap C is pivoted to lock the cap to the container. In Figure 9 both piston 44 and 62 have moved to the downward-most position of their strokes and thus the operation of capping the container is complete. It is in this position that the capping head 20 will have pivoted to the dotted line position 52 against the tension of spring 155. The normally closed switch 150 is engaged by the capping head and opened so as to break the circuit to the valve 118 in order that the capping head may return to a position to receive another container with a loosely applied cap.

By having the capping head pivot with the movement of the containers on which a cap is being sealed and locked, there need be no interruption to the flow of containers from a filling machine and, consequently, resulting in increased production. The sequence of operation between the sealing of the cap on the container by the presser foot 52 and the locking motion of the throw-down arm 74 is such as not to delay the container in its movement on container conveyor means 12 nor result in the delay of a successive container.

The terminology used in this specification is for the purpose of description and not limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

We claim:

1. In a capping apparatus for sealing loosely positioned caps on containers, a frame structure, a container conveyor means for continuously moving containers, a cap-' ping head mounted on said frame structure above said container conveyor means, means to mount said capping head for pivotal movement on a horizontal axis transverse to the movement of containers by said container conveyor means, means actuated by containers on said container conveyor means and positively causing said capping head to move toward said container conveyor means, said last mentioned means causing said capping head to positively engage a loosely positioned cap on a container passing beneath the capping head to thereby seal the cap on the container while the container is continuously moved beneath the capping head to cause pivotal movement of the capping head about its horizontal pivotal axis, and means actuated by pivotal movement of said capping head to cause said capping head to move out of engagement with the cap on the container.

2. A capping apparatus of the character described in claim 1, wherein said capping head includes a presser foot for engaging the top of a cap and a lever element for engaging the locking lever of a lever-type cap and swinging it into locking position, said lever element being operated to lock the locking lever of the cap after said presser foot has sealed the cap on the container.

3. In a capping apparatus -for closing containers with locking lever-type caps, a frame structure, a container conveyor means for continuously moving containers with the caps loosely positioned thereon, a capping head mounted on said frame structure above said container conveyor means for pivotal movement on a horizontal axis transverse to the path of movement of the containers, said capping head including a presser foot reciprocally movable with respect to said container conveyor means for engaging a cap and sealing the same on a container moving beneath said capping head and a lever element for engaging the locking lever of the cap and swinging it into locking position, said presser foot after engaging the cap causing said capping head to pivot on its horizontal axis with movement of the container on said container conveyor means, means to cause positive reciprocal movement of said presser foot and means to cause swinging movement of said lever element after said presser foot engages and seals the cap on the container and when said capping head has pivoted to substantially a vertical position.

4. A capping apparatus of the character described in claim 3, wherein said presser foot moving means includes a fluid pressure-operated piston operable in sequence with the movement of a container beneath said capping head.

5. A capping apparatus of the character described in claim 3, wherein said lever element operating means includes a fluid pressure-operated piston operable in sequence with the operation of said presser foot.

6. A capping apparatus of the character described in claim 3, wherein said presser foot moving means includes a fluid pressure-operated piston operable in sequence with the movement of a container beneath said capping head and wherein said lever element operating means includes a fluid pressure-operated piston operable in sequence with the operation of said presser foot, and a unitary source of fluid pressure for operating each of said pistons.

7. A capping apparatus of the character described in claim 3, including spring means between said capping head and said frame structure, said spring means being acted against by said capping head when said capping head is pivoted by engagement of said presser foot with the cap on the container.

8. In a capping apparatus for closing containers with locking lever-type caps, a frame structure, a container conveyor means for continuously moving containers with the caps loosely positioned thereon, a capping head mounted on said frame structure above said container conveyor means for pivotal movement on a horizontal axis transverse to the path of movement of containers on said container conveyor means, said capping head including a first cylinder and piston movable therein and a second cylinder and piston movable therein, a presser foot carried by said capping head and operatively connected to the piston of said first cylinder and reciprocal with respect to said container conveyor, said presser foot being movable into engagement with a cap on a container passing beneath said capping head to thereby seal the cap on the container, a lever element carried by said capping head and operatively connected to the piston of said second cylinder, said lever element being movable by the piston of said second cylinder to swing the locking lever of the cap into locking position after said presser foot has sealed the cap on the container, a unitary source of fluid pressure for operating the pistons of said first and second cylinders, and means to retard operation of the piston in said second cylinder until after operation of the piston in said first cylinder.

9. A capping apparatus of the character described in claim 8, wherein said lever element is carried in a cam track provided in said capping head and wherein movement of the piston operatively connected to said lever element causes said lever element to move in said cam track to thereby swing the locking lever of the cap to locking position.

10. In a capping apparatus for closing containers with locking lever-type caps, a frame structure, a container conveyor means for continuously moving containers With the caps loosely positioned thereon, a capping head mounted on said frame structure above said container conveyor means, said capping head including a first cylinder and a piston reciprocal therein and a second cylinder and piston reciprocal therein, a unitary source of fluid pressure for reciprocating the pistons of said first and second cylinders, valve means connected to said unitary source of fluid pressure, a first fluid connecting means between said first cylinder and said valve means for applying fluid pressure selectively to each side of the piston therein, a second fluid connecting means between said second cylinder and said valve means for applying fluid pressure selectively to each side of the piston therein, a presser foot carried by said capping head and operatively connected to the piston of said first cylinder and reciprocal with respect to said container conveyor means, a lever element carried by said capping head and operatively connected to the piston of said second cylinder, means to retard operation of the piston in said second cylinder until after operation of the piston in said first cylinder, means actuated by a container on said container conveyor means for operating said valve means to permit fluid pressure to move the piston in said first cylinder and said presser foot into engagement with a cap on the container to thereby seal the same thereto and to permit fluid pressure to move the piston in said second cylinder and said lever element to swing the locking lever of the cap into locking position, said retarding means delaying operation of the piston in said second cylinder until after operation of the piston in said first cylinder, and means actuated by said capping head after the cap has been sealed and locked on the container to operate said valve means to permit fluid .pressure to return the pistons of said first and second cylinders and thereby move said presser foot and locking lever to their normally inoperative position.

11. An apparatus of the character described in claim 10, wherein said valve means includes a solenoid for operating the same and wherein said container-actuated means includes a normally opened switch closed by said container to energize said solenoid.

12. A capping apparatus of the character described in claim 11, wherein said capping head-actuated means is 10 a normally closed switch opened by said capping head to deenergize the solenoid of said valve means.

13. A capping head of the character described in claim 10, wherein said retarding means includes a restrictor valve in said fluid-connecting means for said second cylinder, said restrictor valve restricting the flow of fluid pressure to said second cylinder.

14. A capping apparatus of the character described in claim 10, wherein said capping head is mounted on a horizontal pivot pin carried by said frame structure, said capping head being normally at an angle to the vertical and capable of being pivoted to the vertical by engagement of said presser foot with a cap on a container moving on said container conveying means.

Mair June 13, 1944 Kerlin May 19, 1953

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