US2911890A - Bottom seam squeezer for paper cups - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 10, 1959 Filed Jan. 2, 1957 W. L. MILLER BOTTOM SEAM SQUEEZEB FOR PAPER CUPS W c ail Mam,

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 NVENTOR ATTORNEYS Nov. 10, 1959 w. 1.. MILLER 2,911,890

BOTTOM SEAM SQUEEZER FOR PAPER CUPS Filed Jan. 2, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR WLJ/z'ZZer United States Patent BOTTOM SEAM SQUEEZER FOR PAPER CUPS William L. Miller, Kensington, Conn., assignor to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application January 2, 1957, Serial No. 632,115

11 Claims. (Cl. 93-55.1)

In seaming the bottoms of paper cups to the side walls, it is customary to form the seam by adhesively securing a flange of the cup bottom in a deep channel formation of the side wall. It is necessary to radially squeeze the seam to insure that the elements thereof be tightly secured against each other. This squeezing operation is performed by rolling the seam with pressure and in so doing either a pressure roller travels several times around the seam, or the cup is rotated while the roller is relatively stationary, or both rotating operations are simultaneously performed in opposite directions. Therefore, an expensive, complicated and hard to time mechanism is required and it is a rather diflicult matter to adapt it for cups of different sizes. Moreover, the area of contact of the pressure roller with the seam is very restricted as thisroller is necessarily of very small diameter compared with the cup diameter. Consequently, the roller has a tendency to somewhat deform'the seam and cause relative creeping of the seam elements with danger of producing a defective seam.

Various endeavors have been made to overcome such dilflculties as those above enumerated but insofar as I am informed they have not met requirements and seam squeezing is therefore still accomplished by means of a pressure roller.

Not only the present invention but some of its predecessors accept the desirability of radially squeezing the seam by means of an expansible sleeve, one end of which is surrounded by the seam. The present invention, however, aims to provide a new and improved construction and arrangement embodying such a sleeve but free from all shortcomings of generally similar prior mechanisms.

In carrying out the above end, one object is to provide a novel expansible sleeve having a mounting flange at its upper end, said sleeve being provided, from the region of said mounting flange to the lower end of the sleeve, with a multiplicity of spring fingers, said spring fingers having terminal portions to exert simultaneous and equal radial pressure on the seam when the sleeve is expanded.

A further object is to provide a novel assembly in which the flanged expansible sleeve is mounted in a novel manner within a hollow head at the seam-squeezing station of a paper cup fabricating machine, said head having a lower end wall'formed with a circular opening to snugly receive the bottom-carrying end of an inverted cup, said sleeve extending into said opening to radially press the bottom seam against the wall of said opening when the sleeve is expanded.

Another object is to make novel provision in the assembly to facilitate quick and easy substitution of a sleeve of different diameter and a head end 'wall having an opening of correspondingly different diameter, to adapt the mechanism for cups of a different size.

Yet another object is to form the aforesaid end wall of a top ring and a bottom ring secured together, said top ring having a smaller internaldiameter than said 2,911,890 Patented Nov. 10, 1959 opening with a shoulder to abut the bight of the bottom seam.

bottom ring to provide the wall of the cup-receiving A further object is to embody in the assembly a restraining ring which embraces the expansible sleeve between its ends and aids in holding the lower ends of the spring fingers in concentric relation with the opening in the lower end wall of the head.

A still further object is to make novel provision per mitting quick and easy substitution of a restraining ring of diiferent internal diameter when a sleeve of difierent diameter is installed.

Still another object is to provide a novel one-piece construction for the expansible sleeve, in which the lower ends of the spring fingers have radially widened terminal portions shaped at the outer periphery of the sleeve for contact with the bottom seam and shaped at theinner periphery of the sleeve for coaction with a reciprocable sleeve-expander.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claims and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing is a vertical longitudinal section through the assembly showing the relation of elements when a seam is being squeezed.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view partly in section and partly in elevation, showing the elements in the relation which exists between successive seam-squeezing operations.

Figure 3 is a lower end view of the expansible sleeve, partly broken away and in section.

The preferred construction has been shown in the drawings and will be rather specifically described but attention is invited to the possibility of making variations within the scope of the invention.

A vertically disposed cylindrical head 5 is shown, said head being adapted at 6 for mounting on a carriage (not shown) at the bottom seam squeezing station of a paper cup fabricating machine. This head is provided with a lower end wall 7 secured thereto, for downward removal, by screws 8. Abovethis lower end wall, the side wall 9 is provided with an internal downwardly facing shoulder The end wall 7 is formed with a central circular open ing 11 to snugly receive the bottom-carrying end of an inverted paper cup C preparatory to radial squeezing of the seam S which unites the cup bottom B with the side wall W.

The end wall 7 is formed from an upper relatively thin ring 12 and a lower and thicker ring 13, said rings being secured in contact with each other by the screws 8. The upper ring 12 is of less internal diameter than the lower ring 13, to project beyond the latter and form a shoulder 14 to abut the bight b of the seam S. Both rings .12 and 13 are countersunk snugly yet removably in the lower end of the side wall 9, as seen at 15.

Circular guiding means 1'6 for a sleeve-expanding plunger 17 is provided within the head 5 and includes a ring 18 under and abutting the shoulder 10. Under this ring 18 and disposed concentrically within the head 5, is the expansible sleeve 19, the upper end of said sleeve being provided with a continuous, lateral mounting flange 20. This flange 20 extends to the side wall 9 and contacts with the lower side of the ring 18. A flangeclampinig sleeve '21 lies removably against the inner periphery of the wall 9 and "extends from the end wall 7 to the mounting flange 20. Thus, the elements 7, 8

and 21 coact in tightly clamping the mounting flange 3 20 of the expansible sleeve 19 against the abutment means formed by the shoulder 10 and ling 18.

The lower end of the sleeve 19 extends into the opening 11 to exert radial pressure on the seam S when the sleeve is expanded by descent of the plunger 17, and said sleeve is divided, below the mounting flange 2:), by narrow circumferentially spaced longitudinal slits 22 into a multiplicity of spring fingers 23. These fingers have rigid vertically elongated and radially widened lower terminal portions 24 and said fingers are gradually thinned to said terminal portions 24. These terminal portions have outer surfaces 25 at the outer periphery of the sleeve and disposed in downwardly flared relation for contact with the inner peripheral side of the seam S. The terminal portions 24 also have inner surfaces 26 at the inner periphery of the sleeve and disposed in upwardly flared relation for contact with a downwardly tapered sleeve expander 27. This expander is removably secured by a screw 28 to the lower end of the plunger 17.

A restraining ring 29 embraces the sleeve 19 between the ends of the spring fingers 25 and aids in normally holding the terminal portions 24 of said fingers in uniformly spaced concentric relation (Figure 2) with the wall of the opening 11 in readiness for engagement with an approaching cup. The restraining ring 29 extends outwardly to the sleeve 21 and is supported by another sleeve 30 which lies against said sleeve 21 and rests on the lower end wall 7 of the head 5.

Each cup may well be turrent-fed into position under the head and the latter may be cam-lowered to seat the cup end in the opening 11 and the seam S between the terminal portions 24 of the fingers 23 and the wall of the opening 11, whereupon lowering of the plunger 17 will outwardly spring said fingers 23 and cause said terminal portions 24 to exert uniform radial pressure against the seam S to tightly squeeze this seam and insure fluid tight adhesion therein. While the surfaces 25 press only against circumferentially spaced areas of the seam, the spacing between said areas is so slight that the seam material between said areas cannot seriously bulge inwardly and cause any looseness. To insure against such bulging, the slits 22 are only about .030" wide, and the widening of these slits upon plunger descent is very slight. There are preferably sixteen of these slits and consequently sixteen of the spring fingers 23. The slits are of course uniformly spaced, giving uniform circumferential width to the spring fingers.

In manufacture, the sleeve 19 and its mounting flange 20 are turned to the desired shape, the slits 22 are then cut by sawing, and the unit is then heat treated to appropriately temper the fingers 23. The sleeve is preferably downwardly tapered.

When the assembly is to be changed for handling cups of a different diameter, this can be quickly and easily accomplished. Removal of the screws 8, permits withdrawal of the lower end rings 12 and 13, the sleeves 21 and 30, the expansible sleeve 19 and the restraining ring 29. Also, removal of the screw 28 allows removal of the expander 27. Then other corresponding elements, sized according to the diameter of the cups to be handled, can be installed with equal speed and ease. The same sleeves 21 and 30 may of course be employed during this installation.

Any appropriate means may be employed to operatd the plunger 17. In the present disclosure a shaft 31 is swivelled at 32 to the plunger 17, said shaft being mounted at 33 for oscillation and sliding. This shaft has a cam 34 cooperable with a stationary roller 35, to cause lowering of the plunger 17 (Figure 1) when the shaft is turned in one direction and raising of said plunger (Figure 2) when said shaft is turned in the other direction. A suitable cam arrangement (not shown) may well be employed for turning the shaft 31.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that novel and advantageous construction has been disclosed for attaining the desired ends but attention is again invited to the possibility of making variations'within the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a mechanism for radially squeezing the bottom seams of paper cups, a vertically disposed hollow cylindrical head having a lower end wall formed with a central circular opening to receive the bottom-carrying end of an inverted cup, an expansible sleeve disposed concentrically within said head and having a continuous lateral mounting flange at its upper end, means fixedly securing said mounting flange in said head and so positioning said sleeve that its lower end extends into said opening in spaced relation with the wall of this opening, a sleeve expander within the lower end of said sleeve, said sleeve expander and sleeve having coacting surfaces for expanding said expansible sleeve when said sleeve expander is forced downwardly, and an operating member extending downwardly within said sleeve and connected to said sleeve expander, said lower end wall being removably secured to said head: said securing means for said mounting flange comprising (1) said removably sesured end wall, (2) a flange-clamping sleeve in said head and extending from said end wall to said mounting flange, and (3) abutment means in said head and holding said mounting flange against upward movement in said head, said mounting flange being tightly clamped between said abutment means and the upper end of said flange clamping sleeve.

2. In a mechanism for radially squeezing the bottom seams of paper cups, a vertically disposed hollow cylindrical head having a lower end wall formed with a central circular opening to receive the bottom-carrying end of an inverted cup, an expansible sleeve disposed concentrically within said head and having a continuous lateral mounting flange at its upper end, means fixedly securing said mounting flange in said head and so positioning said sleeve that its lower end extends into said opening in spaced relation with the wall of this opening, a sleeve expander within the lower end of said sleeve, said sleeve expander and sleeve having coacting surfaces for expanding said expansible sleeve when said sleeve expander is forced downwardly, and an operating member extending downwardly within said sleeve and connected to said sleeve expander, said lower end wall being removably secured to said head, said head having a downwardly facing internal shoulder over said mounting flange, guiding means for said operating member including a ring snugly interposed between said shoulder and said mounting flange, and a flange-clamping sleeve extending from said mounting flange to said removably secured lower end wall: said shoulder, ring, flange-clamping sleeve and removably secured lower end wall constituting said securing means for said mounting flange.

3. In a mechanism for radially squeezing the bottom seams of paper cups, a vertically disposed hollow cylindrical head having a lower end wall formed with a central circular opening to receive the bottom-carrying end of an inverted cup, an expansible sleeve disposed concentrically within said head and having a continuous lateral mounting flange at its upper end, means fixedly securing said mounting flange in said head and so positioning said sleeve that its lower end extends into said opening in spaced relation with the wall of this opening, a sleeve expander within the lower end of said sleeve, said sleeve expander and sleeve having coacting surfaces for expanding said expansible sleeve when said sleeve expander is forced downwardly, and an operating member extending downwardly within said sleeve and connected to said sleeve expander, together with a rigid non-yielding restraining ring mounted in said head in fixed concentric relation with the wall of said opening and embracing and contacting said sleeve between the ends of the latter to aid in maintaining the lower end of said sleeve in concentric relation with to wall of said opening.

4. In a mechanism for radially squeezing the bottom seams of paper cups, a vertically disposed hollow cylindrical head having a lower end wall formed with a central circular opening to receive the bottom-carrying end of an inverted cup, an expansible sleeve disposed concentrically within said head and having a continuous lateral mounting flange at its upper end, means fixedly securing said mounting flange in said head and so positioning said sleeve that its lower end extends into said opening in spaced relation with the wall of this opening, a sleeve expander within the lower end of said sleeve, said sleeve expander and sleeve having coacting surfaces for expanding said expansible sleeve when said sleeve expander is forced downwardly, and an operating member extending downwardly Within said sleeve and connected to said sleeve expander, said lower end wall comprising an upper ring and a lower ring, said upper ring being of less internal diameter than said lower ring to provide a stop shoulder to abut the bight of the cup seam and align the bottom seam of the cup with the lower ends of said sleeve.

5. In a mechanism for radially squeezing the bottom seams of paper cups, a vertically disposed hollow cylindrical head having a lower end wall formed with a central circular opening to receive the bottom-carrying end of an inverted cup, means removably securing said lower end wall to said head and permitting downward removal of said end wall, said head having a downwardly facing internal shoulder spaced above said lower end wall, cir cular plunger-guiding means within said head and including a ring under and abutting said shoulder, an expansibe sleeve disposed concentrically within said head and having a continuous lateral mounting flange at its upper end, said mounting flange extending to the side wall of said head and abutting the lower side of said ring, the lower end of said sleeve extending into said opening in spaced relation with the Wall of the latter, a flange-clamping sleeve extending from said removable end wall to the lower side of said mounting flange and clamping the latter against said ring, a restraining ring embracing said expansible sleeve between the ends of the latter, the peripheral edge of said restraining ring being in contact with the inner side of said flange-clamping sleeve, a third sleeve contacting with the inner side of said flange-clamping sleeve and extending from said lower end wall to the lower side of said restraining ring to support the latter, and a plunger slidable in the aforesaid plunger guiding means, said plunger and the lower end of said expansible sleeve having coacting surfaces for expanding the lower end of said sleeve when said plunger is forced downwardly.

6. A structure as specified in claim said lower end wall being composed of an upper and a lower ring contacting with each other, said upper ring being of less internal diameter than said lower ring to provide a stop shoulder to abut the bight of the cup seam.

7. In a mechanism for radially squeezing the bottom seams of paper cups, a vertically disposed hollow cylindrical head, said head having a lower end wall formed with a central circular opening to receive the bottomcarrying end of an inverted cup, a spring metal sleeve disposed concentrically within said head and having a continuous lateral mounting flange at its upper end, means fixedly securing said mounting flange in said head and so positioning said sleeve that its lower end extends into said opening in spaced relation with the wall of this opening, said sleeve being longitudinally divided from the region of said mounting flange to the lower extremity of said sleeve into a multiplicity of spring fingers, a sleeve expander within the lower end of said sleeve, said expander and the lower end of said sleeve having coacting surfaces for expanding said spring fingers when the sleeve expander is forced downwardly, and an operating member extending downwardly within said sleeve and connected to said sleeve expander, said lower end wall being removably secured to said head: said securing means for said mounting flange comprising (1) said removably secured end wall, (2) a flange-clamping sleeve in said head and extending from said end wall to said mounting flange, and (3) abutment means in said head and holding said mounting flange against upward movement in said head, said mounting flange being tightly clamped between said abutment means and the upper end of said flange clamping sleeve.

8. In a mechanism for radially squeezing the bottom seams of paper cups, a vertically disposed hollow cylindrical head, said head having a lower end wall formed with a central circular opening to receive the bottomcarrying end of an inverted cup, a spring metal sleeve disposed concentrically within said head and having a continuous lateral mounting flange at its upper end, means fixedly securing said mounting flange in said head and so positioning said sleeve that its lower end extends into said opening in spaced relation with the wall of this opening, said sleeve being longitudinally divided from the region of said mounting flange to the lower extremity of said sleeve into a multiplicity of spring fingers, a sleeve expander within the lower end of said sleeve, said expander and the lower end of said sleeve having coacting surfaces for expanding said spring fingers when the sleeve expander is forced downwardly, and an operating member extending downwardly within said sleeve and connected to said sleeve expander, said lower end wall being removably secured to said head, said head having a downwardly facing internal shoulder over said mounting flange, guiding means for said operating member including a ring snugly interposed between said shoulder and said mounting flange, and a flange-clamping sleeve extending from said mounting flange to said removably secured lower end wall; said shoulder, ring, flange-clamping sleeve and removably secured lower end wall constituting said securing means for said mounting flange.

9. In a mechanism for radially squeezing the bottom seams of paper cups, a vertically disposed hollow cylindrical head, said head having a lower end wall formed with a central circular opening to receive the bottomcarrying end of an inverted cup, a spring metal sleeve disposed concentrically within said head and having a continuous lateral mounting flange at its upper end, means fixedly securing said mounting flange in said head and so positioning said sleeve that its lower end extends into said opening in spaced relation with the Wall of this opening, said sleeve being longitudinally divided from the region of said mounting flange to the lower extremity of said sleeve into a multiplicity of spring fingers, a sleeve expander within the lower end of said sleeve, said expander and the lower end of said sleeve having coacting surfaces for expanding said spring fingers when the sleeve expander is forced downwardly, and an operating member extending downwardly within said sleeve and connected to said sleeve expander, together with a rigid nonyielding restraining ring mounted in said head in fixed concentric relation with the wall of said opening and embracing and contacting said sleeve between the ends of the latter to aid in maintaining the lower end of said sleeve in concentric relation with the wall of said opening.

10. In a mechanism for radially squeezing the bottom seams of paper cups, a vertically disposed hollow cylindrical head, said head having a lower end wall formed with a central circular opening to receive the bottomcarrying end of an inverted cup, a spring metal sleeve disposed concentrically within said head and having a continuous lateral mounting flange at its upper end, means fixedly securing said mounting flange in said head and so positioning said sleeve that its lower end extends into said opening in spaced relation with the wall of this opening, said sleeve being longitudinally divided from the region of said mounting flange to the lower extremity of said sleeve into a multiplicity of spring fingers, a sleeve expander within the lower end of said sleeve, said expander and the lower end of said sleeve having coacting surfaces for expanding said spring fingers when the sleeve expander is forced downwardly, and an operating member extending downwardly within said sleeve and connected to said sleeve expander, said lower end wall comprising an upper ring and a lower ring, said upper ring being of less internal diameter than said lower ring to provide a stop shoulder to abut the bight of the cup seam and assuring alignment of the cup bottom seam with said spring fingers.

11. In a device for radially compressing the bottom seams of paper cups, a one-piece spring metal sleeve having an integral continuous lateral mounting flange at its upper end, the lower end of said sleeve being sized for engagement with the inner peripheral side of a cup seam, said sleeve having a multiplicity of very narrow longitudinal slits extending from the region of said mounting flange to the lower extremity of said sleeve, said slits being equally spaced circumferentially of the sleeve, the metal between said slits constituting a multiplicity of spring fingers extending from the region of said mounting flange to the lower extremity of the sleeve, said spring fingers having rigid radially widened lower terminal portions, the outer peripheral surfaces of said rigid terminal portions being disposed on a circle concentric with the sleeve to abut the inner peripheral side of the cup seam when the sleeve is expanded, said rigid terminal portions having inclined inner peripheral surfaces for coaction with a sleeve expander, said sleeve being downwardly tapered, said spring fingers being gradually decreased in radial thickness from their upper ends to said radially thickened terminal portions, said outer peripheral surfaces of said terminal portions being disposed in downwardly flared relation with each other, said inner peripheral surfaces of said terminal portions being disposed in upwardly flared relation with each other.

References Cited ,in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,608,617 Reifsnyder Nov. 30, 1926 2,049,419 Barbieri Aug. 4, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS 648,563 Germany Aug. 6, 1937

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