US3302364A

US3302364A - Apparatus for applying carriers to bottles and the like

Info

Publication number: US3302364A
Application number: US325085A
Authority: US
Inventors: Harold B Rice
Original assignee: John Burton Machine Corp
Current assignee: John Burton Machine Corp
Priority date: 1963-11-20
Filing date: 1963-11-20
Publication date: 1967-02-07
Anticipated expiration: 1984-02-07

Description

Feb. 7, 1967 Filed Nov. 20, 1965 FIG. 2

B. RICE 3,302,364

BOTTLES AND THE LIKE .7 Sheets-Sheet 1 HNVENTOR. HAROLD B. RICE ATTORNEY i 26 X E 1 5 61m I 23 I K 22 r x 22 6 25 24' C I I I I 3 Feb. 7, 1967 H. B. RICE 3,302,364

' APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CARRIERS TO BOTTLES AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 20, 1963 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 VENTOR. HA R0 B. R I CE BY/QMOQ.

AT TORNE Y H. B. RICE Feb. 7, 1967 APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CARRIERS TO BOTTLES AND THE LIKE 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 20, 1963 INVENTOR. HAROLD 8. RICE ATTORNEY Feb. 7, 1967 H. B. RICE 3,302,364

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CARRIERS TO BOTTLES AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 20, 1963 7 Sheets-$heet 4 FIG. 9

XNVENTOR. HAROLD 8. RICE 3' BY $W w ATTORNEY H. B. RICE Feb. 7, 1 967 APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CARRIERS TO BOTTLES AND THE LIIKE Filed Nov. 20, 1963 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 a M R! m M N W8 0 L O R A E H g v Q m m2 m: s fi mm. mv hum mmi A- .I. m2 on m B 1 mm E 2 S ms mm I-I- I-I-l ATTORNEY Feb. 7, 1967 5, RICE 3,302,364

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CARRIERS TO BOTTLES AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 20, 1965 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 LFOITIJ I IIs l W- O it E i? I? i 5 I y l I y fI/J INVENTOR. J HAROLD B. RICE \J BY 9 4, CUM

ATTORNEY 7 Sheets-Sheet '7 H. B. RICE APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CARRIERS TO BOTTLES AND THE LIKE Feb. 7, 1967 Filed Nov. 20, 1963 HAROLD 8. RICE ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,302,364 APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CARRIERS T0 BOTTLES AND THE LIKE Harold B. Rice, Walnut Creek, Califi, assignor to John Burton Machine Corporation, Concord, Calif. Filed Nov. 20, 1963, Ser. No. 325,085 11 Claims. (Cl. 53-3) This invention relates to carriers for a plurality of containers and is particularly adapted for use on the six pack type of carrier for carrying six bottles. However, some features of the invention are applicable to other types of containers.

The present invention is particularly directed to an apparatus for applying carriers of the type shown in US. patent application Serial No. 170,757, now Patent No. 3,156,358, in the name of Randrup and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Said patent application discloses a carrier which is formed from a rectangular blank of semi-rigid sheet material such as paper board and supports the bottles therefrom by engaging the undersides of the sealing caps.

The main object of the present invention is the provision of a method and apparatus for applying the above mentioned type of carriers to bottles and the like in a speedy and eificient manner.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a method for speeding up the process of bottling beverages and the like so as to effect substantial savings over methods presently employed.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a method and apparatus to perform the steps of filling, sealing and applying carriers to bottles so as to minimize the possibility of damage to the bottles during the bottling process.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a method and apparatus for applying carriers to bottles-without removing the bottles from the case in which they are to be shipped.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and from the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of a case orcarton containing 24 bottles and showing the carriers applied thereto.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective showing the various steps performed in the method and apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a sheet composed of four integrally connected carriers.

FIGS. 4 to 8 are diagrammatic views showing the various steps in applying the carrier to the bottles.

FIG. 9 is a side elevation of the front side of the apparatus for applying the carriers to the bottles. The sheet feeding mechanism is omitted for clarity.

FIG. 10 is a vertical cross section at the delivery end of the apparatus of FIG. 9 taken in the plane indicated by lines 10--10 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged top plan view of a portion of the apparatus of FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a vertical cross section of the apparatus as taken in a plane indicated by lines 12-12 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 13 is a side elevation of the apparatus taken from the opposite side from that shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 14 is a greatly enlarged sectional view showing the manner in which the apparatus performs the step of folding the marginal portion of the carrier over the tops of the caps.

In detail, the first with reference to FIG. 2, the operation of the present invention may be summarized broadly as follows: Bottles are introduced into the conveyor system of the bottling plant Within a relatively heavy 3,302,364 Patented Feb. 7, 1967 paperboard case generally designated 1 which usually contains 24 bottles. By the present invention it is contemplated that said bottles are provided the bottling plant in a sanitary condition with either a layer of paper covering the open mouths of the bottles or with the caps of the bottles applied in a partially crimped condition so as to be readily removed during the filling operation. It is a relatively simple matter for the glassmaker to supply the sterilized bottles with caps thereon and also labels if necessary so that there is no necessity for the bottler to remove the bottles from the case. This is an important object of the present invention and the use of this method and the apparatus for achieving this result effects tremendous economies not possible by present methods and apparatus.

By passing the case 1 under a filling device generally designated 2 all of the bottles may be filled at one time. Thereafter, the caps may be crimped in the usual manner by well known apparatus (not shown).

The next step in the operation is to apply a sheet of paperboard as is shown in FIG. 3 over the open case and subsequently attached to six bottles. In FIG. 2 the sheets are indicated at 3 and by means of a conventional sheet feeding mechanism 4 they are applied one at a time over the open end of the case for application to the bottles in a manner that will be described later on in greater detail. At this point it will be noted that since the carriers shown in FIG. 3 merely grip the caps of the bottles it is unnecessary to remove the bottles from the case, and it is even unnecessary to shift the bottles relative to the case in order to apply the carriers.

Referring now to FIG. 3 it is seen that sheet 3 is cut to provide four carriers designated 4, 5, 6 and 7 which are substantially separated from each other but integrally connected together at two or three points so that the carriers may be separated from sheet 3 with very little effort.

The four carriers are all identical and only one (carrier 4) will be described in detail. Each is provided with a pair of end edges 12 and a. pair of side edges 13. As will subsequently be seen, each carrier supports six bottles in two rows of three each and the end edges 12 are adjacent the pair of bottles at each end of the two rows while the side edges 13 extend longitudinally of the package. Equally spaced from the longitudinal centerline of the carrier blank are folding creases 15 that are parallel with said side edges 13. These folding creases define limits of the central body of the blank that is horizontal and is to remain horizontal in a position extending over the main bodies of the bottle .after the package is formed. Adjacent each of the folding creases 15 are three neck receiving openings 16. These openings 16 may be conveniently circular but also may take a generally elliptical form as disclosed in the above noted application Serial No. 170,757, now Patent No. 3,156,358.

The marginal portions of each of the openings 16 are formed with a plurality of cuts or slits 20 that extend radially outwardly from the openings to permit said openings to expand as the blank is forced over the caps, of the bottles.

Oppositely outwardly of the pair of folding creases 15 are relatively wide marginal portions or extensions of the blank generally designated 21 each of which is formed with a pair of spaced folding creases 22, 23 that are parallel with creases 15. The marginal portions 21 are each formed with substantially semicircular similar cuts 24 that are aligned with the openings 16 in a direction across the blank along lines perpendicular to the above described folding creases. These cuts 24 are formed in the terminating outer marginal portions 25, thatlie between the a folding creases 23 and the side edges 13, and the ends of the cuts 24 in each portion 25 terminate on the crease 23. It will subsequently be seen that the outer marginal portions 25 may be considered margins of the relatively wider marginal portions 21. It will also be seen later on that said margins 25 are crimped under the bottle caps. Since it is desirable that the portions of said margins 25 that crimp under the bottle caps do so in a positive manner semicircular recesses 26 are provided along the side edges 13 so as to relieve said margins and prevent interference of the intermediate portions of the margins with the central body portion of the blank thereby ensuring that the material outwardly of the semicircular cuts 24 readily engages under the bottle caps.

The central portion of the carrier blank is provided with a pair of tabs 27 which are subsequently bent down to leave openings into which the fingers of a hand of a person may be inserted in order to carry the package.

The specific description of the apparatus, to be subsequently related, will be better understood if the schematic views shown in FIGS. 4 through 8 are first c0nsidered. When the sheet 3 is positioned over the case containing 24 bottles, it is disposed fiat but is then bent in a manner shown generally in FIG. 4. Arranged partially Within the case of bottles are two pairs of

similar guides

30 and 31. It will be noted in FIG. 4 that the right hand guide 31 of the left hand pair cooperates with the left hand guide 30 of the right hand pair to provide an upwardly directed edge 32 which is adapted to engage the juncture between the two halves of the sheet 3 with the blanks 4, 5 on the right side and the blanks 6, 7 on the left side (see FIG. 3). At this point it will be apparent that when the opposite sides of the sheet 3 are urged downwardly over the sharp edge 32, the very slight integral connections betwen the two halves of the sheet will be broken so that the carrier blanks 4, 5 will be above one group of twelve bottles and the carrier blanks 6, 7 will be above the other group of twelve bottles. It will be recalled, in this connection, that case 1 contains four rows of six bottles each.

Supported for vertical movement above each group of twelve bottles is a vertically movable head generally designated 35 the function of which is to urge each pair of carriers downwardly past the caps of the associated bottles so that the slitted marginal portions around each opening 16 (FIG. 3) spring past the caps and then engage against the undersides of the caps as best seen in FIG. 6. The operations shown in FIGS. 4 through 6 are performed at station A indicated in FIG. 9. The manipulations of the blanks to be performed and shown in FIGS. 7, 8 are carried out at station B in FIG. 9.

Referring now to FIG. 7 it will be seen that the

pressure plates

121, 122 are moved toward each other from their original positions thereby folding over the marginal portions 25 of the carrier blanks to a generally horizontal position. Thereafter (FIG. 8), the head 120 moves downwardly to urge margins 25 (FIG. 3) past the caps 37 of the bottles and so that the semicircular cuts 24 engage under the caps as seen in FIG. 8 and as seen in the copending application Serial No. 170,757, now Patent No. 3,156,358.

Referring now to the actual apparatus employed (FIG. 9), a longitudinally extending central frame member 40 extends the length of the machine and serves to support a conveyor chain 41 that is spaced upwardly from said frame member 40 by a pair of angle bars 42 (FIG. 12). Openings are provided in the underside of the main frame member 40 for receiving therethrough the return run of the conveyor which may rest on the upper surface of the lower side of the frame member 40 as seen in FIG. 12. At the discharge end of the conveyor a driving sprocket 44 is provided rotatably mounted on main frame member 40 and at the opposite end an idler sprocket 45 is also rotatably mounted on main frame 40.

The apparatus'that is supported upwardly from the conveyor chain 41 for the purpose of inserting the carriers is supported on four frame support members indicated at 47. These support members extend transversely across the conveyor at points spaced upwardly therefrom and then extend downwardly and inwardly and secured to the main frame member 40. As best seen in FIG. 11, a pair of longitudinally extending angle bars 49, 50 are fixedly secured to the upper transversely extending portions of the supports 47 and said angle bars serve to support, on their vertically disposed flanges, a pair of air cylinders 51, 52 at the intake end of station A and a similar pair of

air cylinders

53, 54 at the discharge end of station A.

Air cylinders 51, 52 are provided with

operating rods

55, 56, respectively, and

air cylinders

53, 54 are similarly provided with

operating rods

57, 58, respectively. The operating

rods

55, 56 are supported for translatory movement within bearings 60, 61 secured to the support 47. In a similar manner the operating

rods

57, 58 of

cylinders

53, 54 are slidably secured within

bearings

62, 63.

Extending longitudinally of the machine between connecting

rods

55, 57 are a pair of elongated vertically disposed fiat guide plates 31 that are secured to connecting

rods

55, 57 by means of blocks 65. Plates 31 have been referred to above in connection with FIGS. 4 through 8. The vertically disposed guide plates 30 of FIG. 4 are connected, as seen in FIG. 11, to the operating

rods

56, 58 of

air cylinders

52, 54 in a manner similar to the connection of guide plates 31 to

rods

55, 57. It will be understood that the longer guide plates 30 are suitably apertured to receive

operating rods

55, 57 therethrough so that there is no interference between the two sets of operating rods and guide plates.

When a sheet 3 is fed from the feeding device 4 to the station A, its forward movement is stopped by shoulder 70 (FIG. 13) provided on guide plates 30 and which shoulders 70 define the forward end of a recess formed on the upper edge of guide plates 30 and which recess terminates at its opposite end in a similar shoulder 71. The recess defined between shoulders 70, 71 of guide plates 30 is duplicated in the other guide plates 31 so that the sheet 3 has a well defined position above the case of bottles therebelow.

Secured along the lower edges of the

guide plates

30, 31 are strips 72 (FIGS. 11, 12) which are preferably formed of a plastic material that permits hinging of each strip about its point of securement and at the same time retaining sufficient rigidity to engage the necks of the adjacent bottles and hold them in a predetermined position. As best seen in FIG. 12, the strips 72 are secured as by machine screws 73 along the bottom edges of the

guide plates

30, 31 and are directed oppositely inwardly of each group of twelve bottles that is composed of two rows of six each.

Referring now to FIG. 11 each strip 72 is provided with a plurality of bottle-neck receiving recesses 74 which are longitudinally spaced apart in registration with the necks of the bottles in the case 1.

From FIGS. 11 and 12 it will be apparent that upon movement of each set of

guide plates

30, 31 toward each other from the position of FIG. 4, the neck engaging strip 72 will engage the necks of the bottles immediately below the caps and fixedly position them relative to the frame so that the carriers may be inserted on the bottles with exact registration between carriers and bottles.

Since the

plates

30, 31 and their associated air cylin ders move only horizontally it is necessary to raise the case before the above described steps may be performed. This step of raising the case is carried out by providing a platform generally designated 78 (FIGS. 9, 12). Said platform 78 comprises a pair of

plates

79, 80 positioned on opposite sides of the chain conveyor 41 and fixedly secured to four downwardly extending angle supports 81 secured at their lower ends to rectangu

lar plates

82, 83 which in turn are slidably received on opposite sides of a vertically extending .post 85 fixedly secured at its upper end to the main frame 40 and at its lower end to a longitudinally extending base member 86 and a transverse base member 87.

Vertical movement of the case platform 78 is effected by means of an air cylinder 90 (FIG. 13) which extends between the transverse base member 87 and a lug 91 carried by the plate 83. As best seen in FIG. 13, when air pressure is applied to the bottomv of cylinder 90', the

plates

82, 83 and the vertical supports 81 together with the upper case supporting platform 78 are moved upwardly so that the guide bars 30, 31 are partially received within the case 1 as clearly shown in FIG. 12. To reduce the friction between the

plates

82, 83 and the vertical post 85, rollers 52 may be secured to said

plates

82, 83 by means of brackets 93. The method of energizing the air cylinder 90 will subsequently be described, but at this point it will be noted that the conveyor chain 41 may be driven continuously and that by, raising the case to the position shown at station A in FIG. 9 the first operations of applying the carrier may thus be carried out with the case stationarily supported.

The case shown at station A in FIGS. 9, 13 is positioned in its correct position longitudinally of the conveyor by the preceding case and, as seen in FIG. 13, said preceding case is in turn positioned by a stop member 95 secured to the case platform of station B in a manner that will subsequently be described. With respect to the sheet 3 that is fed onto the mechanism of station A, said sheet is fed in a forwardly and downwardly direction in a customary manner and, as pointed out above, its position is exactly determined in a direction longitudinally of the conveyor by shoulders 70 on

guide plates

30, 31. The exact positioning of the sheet 3 transversely of the mechanism is obtained by means of two angle shaped guides 96, 97 secured to angle bars 49, 50 (FIG. 12).

After the sheet 3 has been positioned over the case prior to taking the position shown in the schematic view in FIG. 4, the air cylinder 90 is actuated to urge the case platform 78 upwardly to the position of FIGS. 9, 12 so that the heads 35 may then be urged downwardly to force the individual carriers of the sheets over the caps of the bottles as previously described in connection with FIGS. 4 through 6. The manner in which heads 35 are actuated will now be described. Extending upwardly from the base of the machine at the rear side thereof is a relatively long post 1110 that extends well above the top of the machine and which is provided with a carriage generally designated 1111 and which is reciprocally mounted for vertical movement along post 101) by means of rollers 182 (FIG. 9). Extending inwardly from the carriage 101 toward the center of the machine are relatively heavy bars 104 (FIGS. 2, 12) to which are secured longitudinally extending bars 105. Adjacent the opposite ends of bars 105 the same are apertured to slidably receive therethrough elongated bolts 187 which are threadedly secured at their lower ends within the heads 35 (FIG. 12). Interposed be tween the heads 35 and the bars 105 are relatively strong compression springs 108 which serve to maintain the heads 35 and the bars 105 in a predetermined spaced apart relationship and which springs deflect only when an unusual amount of load is impressed thereon so as to avoidbreakage of the bottles in the event that the heads 35 and the bottles are not in proper registration. The manner of driving the heads 35 will now be described.

Extending transversely through the main frame member 41) is a shaft 116 (FIGS. 9, 12, 13) which is rotatably supported in bearings 111 secured to the inner sidewalls of main frame member 40. As best seen in FIG. 13, the end of the shaft 110 that is at the rear side of the machine is provided with a crank arm 112 which in turn is connected to a connecting rod [113 pivotally connected at its upper end to the underside of carriage 101. It will be apparent that upon rotation of shaft 110 at a uniform rate of speed the carriage 101 and therefore the heads 35 will reciprocate vertically in uniformly timed cycles. The manner in which the proper timing of such reciprocation of heads 35 is effected will subsequently be described. At this point it will be noted that as each case is fed onto conveyor 41 (FIG. 9) the platform 78 is in a down position with the upper surfaces of

plates

79, 80 substantially coplanar with the upper surface of the conveyor chain 41 so that the case may proceed to the position of station A before the upward movement of platform 78 in response to actuation of air cylinder (FIG. 13). The downward movement of heads 35 is then initiated as above described to apply the carriers onto the bottles.

As best seen in FIG. 11, each head 35 is provided with oppositely outwardly opening recesses 113 which are positioned so as to register with the bottle caps in order to press the carrier blanks past the caps in the manner shown in FIG. 12.

After a complete cycle has been performed at station A and the heads 35 have been elevated and the case support 78 lowered, the case proceeds automatically to station B at which station the final steps of applying carriers are carried out. The case is stopped at station E by its engagement with the forward end of an elongated arm 116 (FIG. 13). Arm 116 is pivotally connected to frame 40 by pivot 117 and an integral extension 118 of said arm extends upwardly and rearwardly of the conveyor from pivot 117. This structure is such that when a case depresses the upper end of extension 118 the succeeding case is stopped by arm 116. However, when a case moves away from extension 118, the weight of arm 116 causes it to swing downwardly around pivot 117 and permits the case at station B to proceed on the conveyor 41.

The apparatus at station B is similar to that at station A in that there are provided vertically reciprocating heads 120 (FIGS. 7, 8, 11) for engaging the bottle carrier blanks. However, in this case the heads 120 are only about half as wide as the heads 35 since their only purpose is to crimp the margins 25 of the blanks under the bottle caps.

As best seen in FIG. 11, there are provided two pairs of

pressure plates

121, 122 that are similar to guide plates 39, 31 (station A) in that they are moved by means of air cylinders 124 so as to fold over the marginal portions of the blank as best seen in FIGS. 7, 14. When air cylinders 124 are actuated to move the

pressure plates

121, 122, the lower edges of said plates break the carrier blank along the crease lines blank so that said marginal portions assume a substantially horizontal position as shown in FIGS. 7, 14. In order to ensure the proper inward movement of the marginal portions 21 of the blanks and thereby make certain that the heads 120 crimp the margins 25 of the blanks under the bottle caps, a relatively rigid yet resilient strip of phenolic plastic or the like indicated at 126 is fixedly secured to the outer sides of each of the pressure plates and, as best seen in FIG. 14, said strips extend downwardly below the lower edges of

pressure plates

121 and 122 so as to engage the carrier blanks and urge the upper marginal portions 21 inwardly toward each other as the associated pressure plate folds the blank at a right angle to the short vertically extending portion 127 (FIG. 14) between folding creases 15 and 22 (FIG. 3).

It will be understood that when the case approaches station B the carrier blanks are already on the bottles but it is still important to center the case relative to the chain conveyor so as to ensure that the heads 120 register with the carrier blanks and the bottles to which they are connected. To this end there is provided a centering device best seen in FIG. 10. Along one side of the path of travel of the case 1 there is provided a fixed guide 130 and a movable guide 131. This movable guide 131 is secured to the upper end of a vertically disposed lever arm 132 which is pivotally supported at its lower end by pivot pin 133 secured to lug 134 carried by the station B case support generally designated 135. This case support 135 is substantially identical to the case supporting platform 78 hereinbefore described in connection with station A.

The upper end of the vertically extending lever arm 132 is provided with a camming surface 136 and, when the case platform is in its upper position as shown in FIG. 10, the arm 132 is engaged by the plunger 137 of an air cylinder 138 to urge the guide 131 against the case thereby squeezing the case against the fixed guide 130. This step is done before the heads 120 move downwardly into engagement with the marginal portions of the carrier blanks so that exact registration of said heads and the bottles to which the blanks are secured is achieved.

The heads 124 (station B) are secured to a carriage 142 (FIG. 13) which is reciprocally mounted on vertically extending post 143 in substantially the same way as the carriage 101 of station A is mounted on post 100. In a similar manner the carriage 142 is driven by connecting rod 144 which in turn is operably connected through crank 145 to rotating shaft 146 extending through frame in like manner as shaft 110.

The two

shafts

110 and 146 are provided with sprocket wheels 1511), 151, respectively, connected by chain 152 so that both shafts rotate at the same speed (FIG. 13). Shaft 146 is provided with another sprocket wheel 153 which is driven by a chain 154- from a sprocket wheel 155 fixed to shaft 156 that also supports the driving sprocket 44 of the conveyor chain (FIG. 13). As best seen in FIG. 9, the driving shaft 156 of the conveyor chain is driven by a sprocket 157 connected by chain 158 to the output shaft of a variable speed drive 159.

It will be apparent from the above described power connections that the

shafts

110 and 146 which actuate stations A and B respectively are driven at the same speed and are synchronized with the speed of the conveyor chain.

The actuation of the various air cylinders above mentioned is along conventional lines and includes an air supply (not shown), a valve 162 (FIGS. 9, 12) for controlling station A and a valve 163 (FIG. 9) for controlling station B. Mounted on shaft 110 of station A are a pair of radial cams 164 which coact with the operating shafts of valve 162 to actuate

air cylinders

51, 52, 53 and 54 once for each rotation of said shaft 110. Also controlled by said cams and the valve 162 is the air cylinder 90 (FIG. 13) which raises and lowers the case supporting platform 78 at station A. In a similar manner a radial cam 165 secured to shaft 146 at station B serves to actuate air cylinders 124 and 138 (FIG. 9).

Since the vertical movement required of the case support platform 135 at station B (FIG. 10) is not very great, a radial cam 16% is secured to shaft 146 and cooperates with a roller 169 on the case platform 135 to raise and lower said platform once during each rotation of shaft 146. By arranging platform 135 so that it drops slightly below the upper surface of the conveyor chain, the case stop 95 may thereby be lowered to permit the next case to proceed to station B.

It will be apparent that the above described method and apparatus for applying the carriers permits great economies to be effected since it is unnecessary to remove the bottles from the case to apply the carriers. The particular apparatus above described and representing the preferred form of the invention should not be taken as restrictive of the invention since it will be apparent that various modifications of a design nature may be resorted to by those skilled in the art without departing from the following claims. For example, the particular method by which the cases are fed to stations A and B may take some other form of conveyor such as, for example, a feed screw.

Although no specific step has been described for Separating carrier blanks 4 and 6 from carrier blanks 5, 7 (see FIG. 3), it will be understood that a very slight force is required to do this, either at the plant or at the point of sale.

It will also be apparent that the particular manner in which the carrier engaging heads 35 and are actuated is not critical and it will be understood with respect to the application of one carrier blank to a plurality of bottles the specific method and apparatus disclosed may be employed regardless of whether the bottles are within a case or arranged in groups. In other words, the invention contemplates the use of two heads for performing the steps of stations A and B on six bottles only for example.

I claim:

1. The method of applying six pack carriers to the twenty-four filled and sealed bottles within a case comprising the steps of:

forming a sheet of semirigid sheet material to provide four integrally connected carrier blanks, disposing said sheet over said filled case, moving said blank downwardly to engage the sea-ls of said twenty-four bottles and simultaneously separating said sheet into four carrier blanks, and thereafter securing of said four blanks to the seals of six of said twenty-four bottles.

2. Apparatus for applying a bottle carrier blank to a plurality of vertically disposed sealed bottles arranged in two parallel rows comprising:

means for moving a horizontally disposed carrier blank downwardly past the seals of said bottles for engaging said blank with said seals, means for urging the marginal portions of said blank that are outwardly of said rows upwardly and inwardly over said seals to a position overlying said seals while the latter are so engaged by said blank, and

means for urging the free margins of said portions downwardly under said seals while the remainders of said portions are so overlying said seals.

3. Apparatus for applying a bottle carrier blank to a plurality of vertically disposed filled and capped bottles arranged in two parallel rows, said blank being generally rectangular and of the type provided with two parallel rows of openings adapted to receive therethrough the caps of said bottles, and said blank being provided with opposite marginal portions adapted to be folded over said caps with the free margins of said portions engaging under said seals, said apparatus comprising:

means for moving a horizontally disposed carrier blank downwardly past said caps whereby said caps are received through said openings,

means for urging said marginal portions of said blank that are outwardly of said rows upwardly and inwardly over said caps to a position overlying said caps while the latter are received through said open ings, and

means for urging the free margins of said portions downwardly under said seals while the remainders of said portions are so overlying said caps.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said first mentioned means comprises a generally rectangular plate provided with recesses along the opposite edges thereof for receiving said caps therein.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said second mentioned means comprises a pair of vertically disposed folding elements, and power means for urging said folding elements toward each other for folding said marginal portions over said caps.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said third mentioned means comprises a second generally rectangular plate adapted to engage said free margins and including recesses formed along said opposite edges for receiving said caps therein,

7. Apparatus for applying carriers to a plurality of filled and capped bottles arranged in parallel rows within a case, comprising:

a magazine for containing a stack of generally rectangular sheets of semirigid sheet material each formed to provide a plurality of integrally connected blanks adapted to be secured respectively to a plurality of groups of bottles in said case,

means for positioning a sheet from said stack over said case,

means for moving said sheet downwardly toward said bottles,

means for separating said sheet into a plurality of blanks during said movement, and

means for securing said blanks to the caps of said groups of bottles.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said separating means comprises a horizontal elongated element extending parallel to said rows and against which said sheet is urged for so separating the same.

9. In an apparatus for applying carriers to twenty-four bottles arranged in four parallel rows within a case, said carriers being of the type formed from rectangular blanks of semirigid sheet material, each blank being provided with six openings for receiving the caps of six filled bottles therethrough,

means for positioning a sheet of semirigid material comprising four integrally connected blanks over a case filled with twenty-four filled and capped bottles,

means for moving said sheet downwardly toward said bottle and for simultaneously separating said sheet into two pairs of integrally connected blanks extending parallel to said rows,

an elongated splitting element positioned between the central pair of said four parallel rows for so separating said sheet during said movement,

and means for securing each pair of integrally connected blanks to a group of twelve bottles.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 in which said moving means includes a pair of generally planar heads each adapted to engage a pair of integrally connected blanks.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said securing means includes a pair of generally planar heads each adapted to urge the opposite free margins of each pair of blanks under the associated caps of said bottles.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,183,781 5/1916 Vanleir 53299 2,252,235 8/1941 Snelling 206-65 3,073,644 1/1963 Baker et a]. 206-65 3,085,682 4/1963 Paupitch 20665 FRANK E. BAILEY, Primary Examiner.

R. L. FARRIS, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

7. APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CARRIERS TO A PLURALITY OF FILLED AND CAPPED BOTTLES ARRANGED IN PARRALLEL ROWS WITHIN A CASE, COMPRISING: A MAGAZINE FOR CONTAINING A STACK OF GENERALLY RECTANGULAR SHEETS OF SEMIRIGID SHEET MATERIAL EACH FORMED TO PROVIDE A PLURALITY OF INTEGRALLY CONNECTED BLANKS ADAPTED TO BE SECURED RESPECTIVELY TO A PLURALITY OF GROUPS OF BOTTLES IN SAID CASE,