US3365856A

US3365856A - Method and apparatus for applying closures to containers

Info

Publication number: US3365856A
Application number: US397109A
Authority: US
Inventors: Shepard L Harmon
Original assignee: Owens Illinois Inc
Current assignee: OI Glass Inc
Priority date: 1964-09-17
Filing date: 1964-09-17
Publication date: 1968-01-30
Anticipated expiration: 1985-01-30

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CLOSURES TO CONTAINERS Filed .Sept. 17, 1964 S. L. HARMON Jan. 30, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 m A Q N a M A Q E VH. w hd Pd WM J. o a M 0 "N t W, W w .T .m u s i 000000000 Y o M... H. B o o n J 00 x l .W o "we ah go 99 9a a 5 W 3 0 3 L w 7 a i M r 3 v .E) Wm 00 as as @Q @Q 9Q we Maia 0 9 o 0 Nu u EriLPsLFLLUrIL-HLUT h =1 4.

Jan. 30, 1968 s. 1.. HARMON 3,365,356

7 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CLOSURES TO CONTAINERS Filed. Sept. 17, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 VINVENTOR. SHEPARD L. .HARMON BY imam/M Jan. 30, 1968 s. L. HARMONI 3,365,856

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR APPLYING C LOSURES TQ CONTAINERS Filed Sept. 17, 1964 5 SheetsSheet 5 Z I'Q. 5 INVENTOR SHEPARD L HARMON VBY o 7/, QM 1 u) AiM ATroRNiSPS s. 1.. HARMON 3,365,856

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CLOSURES TO CONTAINERS Jan. 30, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 17, 1964 INVENTOR; SHEPARD L. HARmoN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CLOSURES T0 CONTAINERS Filed Sept. 17, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. SHEPARD L. HA RMON 3,365,856 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CLOSURES T CONTAINERS Shepard L. Harmon, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Owenslllinois, Inc., a corporation of Ohio Filed Sept. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 397,109 11 Claims. (CI. 53-38) This case relates generally to a method and apparatus for applying screw or lug type closures to containers and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for guiding closures from a cap chute and positioning them on containers preparatory to final sealing. For the purpose of the present invention, the term final scaling is defined as the action of rotating the closure on a container in a direction and with a force which will tighten it firmly thereon to provide a package ready for shipment to the consumer.

In the feeding of closures to containers, it is essential that each closure be loosely telescoped over the mouth of its associated container before the final sealing step takes place. The prior art is replete with methods and machines which act upon closures in a wide variety of ways during application to containers. Some of these are illustrated in the following United States patents: 1,669,- 726, 2,435,127, 2,876,605 and 3,071,909.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for applying closures to containers preparatory to final sealing.

It is another object of the present invention to provide apparatus adapted to apply closures to containers at a relatively high rate of speed.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a method of applying closures to containers in a manner which precludes the possibility of closures being in a cocked position relative to their respective containers as they proceed to the final sealing apparatus.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide apparatus for accomplishing this method.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for applying closures to containers in a manner which insures against broken or crushed threads on the container or deformed lugs on the closure.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction With the annexed sheets of drawings on which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view illustrating the overall mechanism for applying closures to containers.

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view, partly in section, of that fragmentary portion of the apparatus illustrated in FIGURE 1 which comprises the present invention.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken through line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken through line 4-4 of FIGURE 2 but showing the jar advanced to a position underlying the leveling plate.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken through line 5-5 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view, partly in section, illustrating a modified cap stop.

Referring now to the drawings, the apparatus of the present invention is adapted to apply closures 9 to containers or jars 10 moving on a conveyor belt 11 as illustrated in FIGURE 1. The conveyor 11 is powered by any desired means to continuously move the jars positioned thereon under the closure applying and sealing apparatus. The jars 10 are fed between a pair of spacedapart, parallel, endless chains 12 having a series of rubber grippers 13 secured thereto. The chains 12 are reeved about sprockets 14 rotatably mounted on shafts 15. The

nite States atet 3,365,856 Patented Jan. 30, 1968 ice shafts 15 are driven off a transverse shaft 16 by any desired coupling means, for example by miter gears. Power to rotate the shaft 16 is provided by a motor (not shown) connected to a spur gear 17. The spur gear 17 rotates a shaft 18 having a sprocket 19 mounted for rotation thereon. A chain 20 is reeved about a sprocket 19 on the shaft 13 and another sprocket 21 secured to the shaft to thereby rotate the shaft 16. The endless chains 12 are driven so that their inner opposing faces move in the same direction and at the same speed as the conveyor 11.

The shafts 15 and the endless chains 12 are supported on longitudinal supporting members 22. The longitudinal supporting members 22 are carried on a shaft 28 at one'end and on a dove-tail slide (not shown) at the other end. The shaft 28 is supported at each end on a supporting member 29. Connected between the respective supporting members are a pair of threaded shafts 23, the rotation of which serves to vary the spacing between such longitudinal supporting members 22 and thus the spacing between the rubber grippers 13. Ideally, the rubber grippers 13 are spaced apart a distance which will permit a jar 10 passing between opposite faces of the endless chains 12 to be firmly gripped by the rubber grippers 13. Such gripping serves the dual purpose of preventing tipping of the jars 10 and of preventing rotation of the jars during application of the closures thereto. In order to assure firm gripping of the jars 10 by the grippers 13, a backup bar 24 is positioned directly behind the endless chains 12. If desired, the threaded shafts 23 may be connected for rotation together to insure that the endless chains remain parallel throughout any spacing adjustment. Such connection may be effected by means of a chain 27 reeved about a pair of sprockets 25, one secured to each of the shafts 23.

The foregoing is conventional equipment and does not constitute part of the present invention.

Referring now to FIGURES 2 through 5, there is provided a cap chute 30 adapted to feed closures 9 onto the jars 16 as they pass thereunder on the conveyor belt 11. The cap chute 30 includes a lower plate 32 and an upper plate 31 between which the closures 9 are gravity fed. Supporting the upper and

lower plates

31 and 32 are a pair of spaced-apart side members 33 (see FIG. 5). The outlet end of the lower curved plate 32 may be provided with a series of apertures 34 connected to an inert gas or steam chamber 35 by means of a tunnel 36, the purpose of which is to introduce inert gas or steam into the jar 10 immediately before the closure is applied thereto. The introduction of inert gas or steam into jars during capping is well known in the art and requires no further description.

Adjacent the outlet end of the lower plate 32 are a pair of spaced-apart rails 37 which support the lower edges of the closures 9 on opposite sides thereof. The closures 9 are restrained from flowing freely out of the cap chute 30 by means of a pair of cap stops 38 which are pivotally mounted on pins 39 and which are urged inwardly by springs 40. Each of the stops 38 is elongated and has its inner face 41 contoured to form a cap receiving pocket 42 followed by an inwardly projecting point of minimum clearance 43. As best seen in FIG- URES 2 and 5, the end cap in the chute is retained in the pockets 42, being restrained from movement out of the chute by the inwardly projecting points of minimum clearance 43 of the cap stops which are urged inwardly by the springs 40. In this position, as shown most clearly in FIGURE 2, the cap is angled so that its leading edge is below the top rim of the jar 16 and its trailing edge is above such rim. The leading edge of the jar 10 passes under the cap trailing edge and engages the leading edge. Continued movement of the jar 10 as the conveyor belt 11 pulls the closures out of the cap receiving pockets causing the cap stops 38 to compress the springs 40 until the distance between the respective points of minimum clearance 43 is sufliciently great to permit the closure 9 to pass therebetween. Inasmuch as the springs 40 are continuously coacting against the cap stops 38, the respective inner faces 41 of such cap stops 38 are snugly engaged with the closures throughout such removal of the closure. Following the respective points of minimum clearance 43, the cap stops 38 are provided with ends 44 which taper gradually outwardly. The purpose of providing the gradually tapering ends on the cap stops 38 is to assist in maintaining the delicate balance between the closure and the container which is pulling it at this critical stage.

Thus, it has been found that termination of the cap stops 38 immediately after the points of minimum clearance 43 results in caps being shot forward as they move past the points of minimum clearance. This is caused by the inward urging of the cap stops against the skirt of the closure. Such shooting results in the cap moving faster than the jar. Even though this faster movement is for only an instant, it is sufiicient to result in its improper positioning on its container and increases the likelihood of cocked caps.

The left-hand cap stop 38 looking in the direction of cap travel is provided with a friction member 45 extending from the cap receiving pocket 42 past the point of minimum clearance 43 and along the major portion of the tapering end 44. The friction member 45 engages the skirt of the closure moving thereby and retards movement of that side of the closure relative to the other side which is engaged by the right-hand cap stop 38. The righthand cap stop does not have a friction member 45 but rather has a polished surface with a substantially lower coefiicient of friction than the friction member 45. As

a result, a reverse rotation is imparted to the closure 9 as they are drawn out of the cap stops 38 and as they change from an angled position to a horizontal position on their respective jars 10. This reverse rotation backs the cap off the threads slightly and serves the purpose of releasing lugs which may have become hooked under the threads of the jar. This, then, serves the important function of preventing cocked caps.

Between the cap stops 38 in an area overlying the path followed by the closures 9 upon their movement from the end of the cap chute 30 through the cap stops 38 is a hold down shoe 50. The hold down shoe 50 is supported by a boss 51 secured to a pivotally mounted arm 52. The arm pivots about pin 53. Integrally formed with the arm 52 is a counteracting arm 54 which is biased upwardly by means of a spring 55. The pin 53 is supported on a pair of spaced-apart arms 56 extending from a base block 57. As a result of the spring 55 biasing the counteracting arm 54 upwardly, the arm 52 is biased for clockwise rotation as shown in FIGURE 2. Thus, the hold down shoe 50 is biased downwardly to engage the respective closure top panels and hold them into telescoped contact with their respective jars.

Adjacent the hold down shoe is positioned a leveling plate 60 which is also adapted to be engaged by the closure top panel. The leveling plate 60 is provided with a supporting structure which permits it to be raised and lowered by the arcuate movement of a pivotally supported arm 61 secured thereto and yet have its lower surface maintained in a plane parallel with the mouths of the jars 10 throughout such movement. Such parallel motion of the leveling plate 60 is accomplished by providing an upstanding support 62 rigidly connected to the leveling plate 60. The upstanding support 62 is provided with an aperture 63 adapted to receive a pin 64 therein. The pivotally mounted arm 61 is provided with bores 65 (FIG. adapted to rotatably receive the pin 64 therethrough. Thus any up or down movement of the arm 61 will result in a similar movement of the leveling plate 69. The arm 61 is pivotally connected at its other end to the pivot pin 53.

Inasmuch as properly positioned closures 9 will always be in a substantially horizontal plane, it can be readily seen that the closures are in a very critical condition with respect to their positioning of the jars 10 as they pass from the hold down shoe to the leveling plate and that any unequal forces applied to the top of the closure may result in the closure 9 being forced into a cocked position on the jar It). In order to minimize the possibility of cocked caps, means are provided for maintaining the leveling plate 60 in a substantially horizontal position at all times throughout its up and down movement. The upstanding support 62 is provided near its free end with a bore 66 having a guide pin 67 positioned therein. Throughout its up and down movement, the guide pin 67 travels in an elongated slot 68 of a guide member 69. The slot 68 follows an arcuate path having the same radius as the are through which the pin 64 travels, namely the distance between the pivot pin 53 and the pin 63. The center of radius of the slot 68 is a point R positioned above the center of the pin 53 a distance equal to the distance between the pin 64 and the guide pin 67 lying on a line parallel to a line formed by connecting the respective centers of the pin 64 and guide pin 67.

The major portion of the lower surface of the leveling plate 60 which contacts the top panel of the successive jar-mounted closures 9 is highly polished and thus has a very low coefficient of friction. A minor portion of the leveling plate 60 lower surface is provided with a friction member 71 which tends to retard the forward movement of that portion of the closure which contacts it. As may be seen by viewing FIGURES 2, 4 and 5, the friction member is positioned on the right-hand side when looking downstream. As a result, the forward movement of the side of the closure 9 thus engaged in impeded to thereby impart a small amount of clockwise rotation to the closure to orient it on the container and thereby insure that none of the closure lugs is resting upon the threads of the jar 10. Such orienting rotation is desirable in preventing crushed or deformed closures, lugs or possibly broken jar threads which would otherwise result upon the application, during final sealing, of downward pressure on a closure resting on such threads. As may be seen most clearly in FIGURE 5, the friction member 71 begins downstream from the terminal point of the cap supporting rails 37. Thus, during the period that the closure is undergoing the orienting, forward rotation caused by the friction member 71, it is engaged only by the leveling plate 60 and its friction member 71 at the top and by the jar 10 at the bottom and has no other member contacting it. The lack of other members contacting the closure 9 emphasizes the need for the leveling plate 60 being maintained in a substantially horizontal plane at all times regardless of its vertical positioning.

The lower surface of the friction member 71 is in substantially the same plane as the lower surface of the leveling plate 60. From a practical standpoint, to insure that the friction member adequately serves its intended purpose of imparting a slight amount of forward rotation to the closure 9, the lower surface of the friction member 71 may be slightly lower than the lower surface of the leveling plate 60. However, this is a matter of only a few thousandths of an inch and is not sufficient to upset the delicate leveling of the closure 9.

The cap chute 3t and the members secured thereto, such as the inert gas chamber 35, the hold down shoe 50, and leveling plate 60, may be supported by any desired means as by a supporting member 72. If desired, adjusting means may be provided for varying the height of the cap chute 30 and its appendages above the conveyor belt 11 to accommodate jars of varying heights.

After leaving the leveling plate 60, the jar 10 with its closure 9 thereon in a position for final scaling is carried to the final sealing mechanism 80. Briefly, such mechanism includes a pair of endless belts 81 each of which is reeved about a pair of sheaves, the belt 81 being reeved about

sheaves

83 and 85 and the belt 82 being reeved about sheaves 84 and a second sheave (not shown). The sheaves about which the left-hand belt 82 (looking downstream) is reeved are driven to move the belt 82 at a substantially faster rate than the conveyor belt 11. Such movement causes the closures 29 to be rotated clockwise into final sealing engagement with the jars. Such final sealing mechanism is described in detail in my copending application Ser. No. 397,108, filed Sept. 17, 1964, and requires no further description here.

Referring now to FIGURE 6, there is shown a modified embodiment utilizing cap stops which are formed and mounted differently from those illustrated in FIGURE 5. Thus, the embodiment of FIGURE 6 is provided with a pair of cap stops 87 each of which is mounted on a back up plate 88 secured to a flexure plate 89 by a pair of screws 90. The left-hand cap stop 87 (looking in the downstream direction) is formed of a material having a relatively high coefficient of friction, such as moldable urethane. The other cap stop (the right-hand one looking downstream) is formed of a material having a relatively low coeflicient of friction such as chrome-plated steel, for example. As a result of the ditference in the respective coefficients of friction, a closure being pulled between the cap stops 87 will have imparted thereto a reverse rotation as previously described in the first embodiment. The flexure plate 89 is formed of resilientmaterial such as spring steel, for example, and is secured to a flange 33a of the side member 33 by screws 91. The compression springs 4t) act to urge the cap stops 87 inwardly to prevent premature removal of the closures from the cap chute. As in the previous embodiment, the cap stops 87 are provided with points of minimum clearance 92 followed by gradually outwardly tapering end portions 93.

It is obvious from the foregoing that the prevent invention provides a method and apparatus extremely well adapted to apply closures to containers rapidly while minimizing the likelihood of jamming or of cocked caps.

Many changes and modifications to the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of applying a skirted, rotatable closure to the mouth of a container while moving said container along a predetermined path comprising the steps of:

(a) supporting said closure in an angled position overlying said predetermined path with its skirt lower marginal edge at the leading end thereof in a plane below the plane of said container mouth and its skirt lower marginal edge at the trailing end thereof in a plane above the plane of said container mouth,

(b) engaging the leading edge of the mouth of said moving container against the inner surface of said skirt leading end to move said closure therewith,

(c) imparting a reverse rotation to said closure while simultaneously changing said closure from said angled position to a substantially horizontal position telescoped over said container mouth,

(d) imparting an orienting rotation to said closure in the direction of sealing, and

(e) rotating said closure into sealing engagement with said container.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said reverse rotation is imparted simultaneously with the initial contact of the closure by the jar.

3. The method of applying a skirted, rotatable closure to the mouth of a container while moving said container along a predetermined path comprising the steps of:

((1) imparting an orienting rotation to said closure in the direction of sealing,

(e) maintaining said closure in a substantially horizontal plane throughout said orienting rotation, and

(f) rotating said closure into sealing engagement with said container.

4. The method of applying a skirted, rotatable closure to the mouth of a container while moving said container along a predetermined path comprising the steps of:

(a) supporting said closure in an angled position overlying said predetermined path with its skirted lower marginal edge at the leading end thereof in a plane below the plane of said container mouth and its skirt lower marginal edge at the trailing end thereof in a plane above the plane of said container mouth,

(c) immediately upon said engaging step, imparting a reverse rotation to said closure while simultaneously changing said closure from said angled position to a substantially horizontal position telescoped over said container mouth,

(d) frictionally engaging an off-center portion of the top panel of said closure to impart an orienting rotation thereto in the direction of sealing,

(f) rotating said closure into sealing engagement with said container.

5. Apparatus for applying skirted, rotatable closures to containers while moving said containers along a predetermined path comprising:

(a) means for supporting said closure in an angled position overlying said predetermined path with its skirted lower marginal edge at the leading end thereof in a position to be engaged by the leading edge of the mouth of said moving container,

(b) means for imparting a reverse rotation to said closure while simultaneously changing said closure from said angled position to a substantially horizontal position telescoped over said container mouth,

(c) means for frictionally engaging an off-center portion of the top panel of said closure to impart an orienting rotation thereto in the direction of sealing, and

(d) means for rotating said closure into sealing engagement.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein said means for frictionally engaging an off-center portion of the top panel of said closure comprises a leveling plate having a friction member on the lower surface thereof and means for mounting said leveling plate for up and down movement throughout a series of substantially horizontal planes, said mounting means including an arm rotatable about a pivot point, a pivotal connection between said arm and said leveling plate, a cam element fixedly connected to said leveling plate, and a cam guide directing the movement of said cam element along an arcuate path having a radius equal to the distance between said pivot point and said pivotal connection and having a center of radius located from said pivot point a distance equal to the distance between said pivotal connection and said cam element and located from said cam element a distance equal to the distance between said pivot point and said pivotal connection.

7. Apparatus for applying skirted closures to containers as said containers move through a predetermined path on a conveyor comprising a chute overlying said conveyor for dispensing said closures, means for releasably retaining a closure in an angled position over said conveyor with its trailing edge above and its leading edge below the plane defined by the mouths of said containers, said retaining means including a pair of spaced-apart cap stops contoured to define a cap-receiving pocket having a point of minimum clearance, said cap stops having an end portion extending in the direction of container travel beyond said point of minimum clearance, said end portions tapering gradually outwardly from the line of cap travel, means for urging said cap stops inwardly, friction means on one of said cap stops for imparting a reverse rotation to said closure upon its withdrawal therefrom, means for changing said closure from said angled position to a horizontal position during said reverse rotation, a leveling plate adapted to engage the top panel of said closure, friction means on said leveling plate for imparting forward rotation to said closure as it moves thereunder, means for resiliently biasing said leveling plate downwardly against said closure top panel, and means for supporting said leveling plate in a substantially horizontal position while permitting its resilient biasing.

8. The apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said supporting means includes an arm rotatable about a pivot point, a pivotal connection between said arm and said leveling plate, a cam element fixedly connected to said leveling plate, and a cam guide directing the movement of said cam element along an arcuate path having a radius equal to the distance between said pivot point and said pivotal connection and having a center of radius located from said pivot point a distance equal to the distance between said pivotal connection and said cam element and located from said cam element a distance equal to the distance between said pivot point and said pivotal connection.

9. Apparatus for mounting a member for oscillating movement throughout a series of parallel planes comprising an arm rotatable about a pivot point, a pivotal connection between said arm and said member, a cam element fixedly connected to said member, and a cam guide directing the movement of said cam element along an arcuate path having a radius equal to the distance between said pivot point and said pivotal connection and having a center of radius located from said pivot point a distance equal to the distance between said pivotal connection and said cam element and located from said cam element a distance equal to the distance between said pivot point and said pivotal connection.

10. Apparatus for mounting a member for oscillating movement throughout a series of parallel planes comprising an arm rotatable about a pivot point, a pivotal connection between said arm and said member, a cam element fixedly connected to said member, and a cam guide directing the movement of said cam element along an arcuate path having a radius equal to the distance between said pivot point and said pivotal connection and having a center of radius located at the intersection of two lines, the first of said lines passing through said pivot point and being parallel to a line between said pivotal connection and said cam element and the second of said lines passing through said cam element and being parallel to a line between said pivot point and said pivotal connection.

11. For use in apparatus for applying closures to containers preparatory to sealing, an improved leveling head comprising a leveling plate having a lower surface adapted to engage the top panel of said closures, and means for supporting said leveling plate for up and down movement while maintaining the lower surface thereof substantially horizontal, said supporting means including a generally upwardly directed guide shaft rigidly secured to said leveling plate, an arm rotatable about a pivot point, a pivotal connection between said arm and said guide shaft, a cam element on said guide shaft and a cam guide for directing the movement of said cam element upon the rotation of said arm through an arcuate path having a radius equal to the distance between said pivot point and said pivotal connection, the center of said radius being positioned above said pivot point a distance equal to the distance between said pivotal connection and said earn element.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 266,309 10/1882 Pike 741 2,658,654 11/1953 Schweizer 53-318 2,732,991 1/1956 De Bastos et al. 53-314 3,012,388 12/1961 Stover 53315 3,071,909 1/1963 Elleman 53-315 TRAVIS S, MCGEHEE, Primary Examiner.

FRANK E. BAILEY, Examiner.

R. L. FARRIS, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. THE METHOD OF APPLYING A SKIRTED, ROTATABLE CLOSURE TO THE MOUTH OF A CONTAINER WHILE MOVING SAID CONTAINER ALONG A PREDETERMINED PATH COMPRISING THE STEP OF: (A) SUPPORTING SAID CLOSURE IN AN ANGLED POSITTION OVERLYING SAID PREDETERMINED PATH WITH ITS SKIRT LOWER MARGINAL EDGE AT THE LEADING END THEREOF IN A PLANE BELOW THE PLANE OF SAID CONTAINER MOUTH AND ITS SKIRT LOWER MARGINAL EDGE AT THE TRAILING END THEREOF IN A PLANE ABOVE THE PLANE OF SAID CONTAINER MOUTH, (B) ENGAGING THE LEADING EDGE OF THE MOUTH OF SAID MOVING CONTAINER AGAINST THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID SKIRT LEADING END TO MOVE SAID CLOSURE THEREWITH, (C) IMPARTING A REVERSE ROTATION TO SAID CLOSURE WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY CHANGING SAID CLOSURE FROM SAID ANGLED POSITION TO A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL POSITION TELESCOPED OVER SAID CONTAINER MOUTH, (D) IMPARTING AN ORIENTING ROTATING TO SAID CLOSURE IN THE DIRECTION OF SEALING, AND (E) ROTATING SAID CLOSURE INTO SEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CONTAINER.