US3408788A - Method and apparatus for securing closure caps to containers - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 5, 1968 E. GRECK 3,408,788

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SECURING CLOSURE CAPS TO CONTAINERS Filed July 18, 1966 6 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR age/v5 fezck ATTORNEY Nov. 5, 1968 E. GRECK 3,408,788

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SECURING CLOSURE CAPS TO CONTAINERS 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 18, 1966 mvsmon Eugen 5 QZECK ATTORNEY NOV. 5, 1968 GRECK 3,408,788

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SECURING CLOSURE CAPS TO CONTAINERS Filed July 18. 1966 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR 5090/15 256% BY ATTORNEY 6 SheetsSheet 4 E. GRECK METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SECURING CLOSURE CAPS TO CONTAINERS Nov. 5, 1968 Filed July 18, 1966 Nov. 5, 1968 E. GRECK 3,408,788

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SECURING CLOSURE CAPS TO CONTAINERS Filed July 18, 1966 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 I l 567 I 76 7f agar? INVENTOR ATTORNEY Nov. 5, 1968 E. GRECK 3,408,788

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SECURING CLOSURE CAPS TO CONTAINERS Filed July 18, 1966 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR EU9ENE yank ATTORNEY tates This invention relates to a method and apparatus for applying closure caps to containers and is particularly concerned with the automated application of closure caps to relatively large containers.

A need has arisen for a cap applying arrangement which can be integrated in a fully automatic container filling line, such containers falling generally in the one gallon and larger size .range. Although high speed rotary capping operations are common, particularly in conjunction with smaller containers, the apparatus required therefor is far too costly and complex for use in a slower in line operation for which the method and apparatus of the invention are particularly adapted' A more specific problem overcome by the method and apparatus of this invention is that of accurately maintaining the unsecured cap in place on the container neck from the time it is loosely placed thereon by the cap supply release mechanism until the final securing of the cap to the container neck is effected. The forces due primarily to sloshing or eifervesence of the contained liquid, tending to dislodge the cap during this interval must be counteracted. The intermittent type operation employed by the invention further accentuates this problem in that the conveyed containers must come to a stop while the permanent securing of the cap to the container neck by a stationary securing device is carried out. It is essential that accurate control of the cap be maintained during this interval.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a new and improved method for securing closure caps to containers.

Another object is to provide a new and improved apparatus for carrying out that method.

A further object is to provide an improved method and apparatus for the automated in line securing of closure caps to containers.

A more detailed object is to provide an improved method and apparatus for controlling the movement of caps during application and securement thereof to containers.

Further and more detailed objects of the invention will in part be obvious and in part pointed out as the description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing proceeds.

In that drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the cap applying apparatus in accordance with the invention and for carrying out the method thereof;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows with parts broken away for clarity;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the apparatus in crimping position and with further parts broken away'for clarity;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 55 of FIG. 4 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 showing the apparatus in crimping position.

The overall structure embodied in the apparatus of the invention, as seen in FIG. 1, comprises four upright sup- 3,408,788 Patented Nov. 5, 1968 porting legs 1, 2, 3 and 4 each having-secured thereto a bearing journal for supporting a pair of cross shafts 6 and 7 and connected at their upper ends on either shaft side by two supporting plates 8 and 9. Mounted on shaft 6 is an idler pulley 10 and on shaft 7 a drive pulley 11 for imparting movement to a flat conveyor belt 12 which is supported intermediate the pulleys 10 and 11 by a stationary guide plate 13 underlying the .upper reach of belt 12. Operatively connected to the drive pulley 11 is an electric clutch 14 driven by motor 15 through a drive chain 16. A photo cell 100 and light source 100a therefor are positioned adjacent the front ends of the supporting plates -8, and 9 and operatively connected to the electric clutch 14 so as to function in a manner more fully described hereinafter.

Secured to each of the supporting plates 8 and 9 are a pair of upright members 17, 18 and 19, 20 respectively connected at their upper ends by top plate 21. Mounted above the top plate 21 is a double acting air cylinder 22 also activated by the photo cell 100 and having air supply lines 23 and 24. A vertical shaft 25 driven by air cylinder 22 extends downwardly therefrom and terminates in a collar 26 formed at the upper end of a crimping head 27. Centrally positioned inside the head 27, as seen in FIG. 3, is a hollow sleeve 28 provided with an upper chamber 29 and an enlarged lower chamber 30 terminating at its lower end in a cap receiving nest 30a and separated from the chamber 29 by an apertured partition 28a. A cap hold down member 31 is slideably housed Within chamber 30 and connected to a rod 32 extending through the partition 28a into the upper cham ber 29 and terminating at its upper end in an enlarged disc 33. The cap hold down member is urged to a vertically downwardly extended position as seen in FIG. 4 by a coil spring 34 housed within the chamber 29. Surrounding the sleeve 28 is a supporting member 35 about which depends a plurality of annularly arranged crimping jaws 36 each of which is provided with a sealing anvil 37. As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4 the lower inner end portion 27b of the crimping head housing 27a cams the jaws radially inwardly upon axial downward displacement of the housing 27 relative to the jaws 36.

A horizontally disposed two piece bracket 38 is clampingly engaged, by means of bolts 39, about the shaft 25 at one end and at its other end to a vertical cam pin 40 having a conical camming surface 41 at its lowermost end. A flat plate 42 is secured to the upright members 17 and 20 and is provided with an opening 43 to allow passage of the cam pin 40. Secured to the undersurface of the plate 42 is an elongated block 44 having a central vertical bore therethrough for reception of a pivot pin 45. A pair of scissor elements 46 and 47 are pivotally secured to the pin and extend outwardly through. a laterally extending passage 48 in the block 44. As further seen in FIG. 4, scissor element 46 is provided with an upper hinge collar 49 and scissor element 47 is provided with a lower hinge collar 50 so that the two elements can pivot away from each other about the pin 45. A spring 51 surrounds the lower end of pin 45 and is held thereon by nut 52. This spring 51 is formed with two upstanding arms 53 and 54 which engage the scissor elements 46 and 47 respectively urging them towards their closed position. Each of the scissor elements 46, 47 is provided with a roller cam follower 55 mounted on a pin 56 so that the cylindrical bearing surfaces of the rollers abut where the scissors are in closed position as shown in FIG. 2. A downwardly extending arm 57 is connected to the distal end of each of the elements 46 and 57 by a screw 58. A cap retainer plate 59 is in turn secured to each arm 57 by a screw 60. Formed in each plate 59, for a purpose fully described hereinafter, is a curved cutout 61 along the 3 inneredge thereof and an upwardly facing inwardly and downwardly tapered recess 62 directly under the cap hold down member 31.

Surrounding the collar 26 of thecrimping head 27 is an eldngated plate 63 extending't'ransversely of the conveyor 12;:A earn block 64 is secured to each 'end of the plate 63fhaving a downwardly and inwardly facing camming surface 65 A hearing block '66 is secured by screws 67 fo the upper surface of each supporting; plate 8 between the uprights 17, 18 and 19, respectively. A slidevvay '68 having aninverted T-sha'ped cross sectional configuration asviewed lin FIG. '1, is formed in block 66 for reception of a shuttle member 69. A container neck locatin'g arm70 is'pivotally secured by pin 71 to the inner end of each shuttle member 69 and normally forms a horizontal continuation of that member b'utfas seen in FlGljllmay pivot upwardly to accommodate an oversize or elevated container if necessary. At the leading end of each arm 70 is a' V-shapedcontainer neck engaging cutout72.1

1 Secured to the upper surface of each shuttle member 69 so as to extend upwardly out of the T-shaped slideway 68 is a foot 73 provided at its upper end with a cam follower roller 74 rotatably mounted on pin 75. Looking at FIG. 2, it can be seen that as the crimping head 27 and plate 63 move downwardly the cam surfaces 65 on blocks 64 contact the rollers 74 causing the arms 70 to move inwardly. A guide block 76 having a vertical channel shaped slideway 77 is secured by screws 78 on top ofthe outer end of each bearing block 66. Rearward biasing of the shuttle member 69 is effected by a spring 79 secured at one end to an upstanding pin 80 in the rear end of the shuttle member 69 and secured at the other end to a pin 81 extending upwardly from the distal end of an arm 82 secured by screws 83 to supporting plates 8 and 9 respectively.

As clearly seen in FIG. 4, the closure cap here being applied is indicated by numeral 84 and generally comprises a cup shaped body portion having a fiat panel 85 surrounded by a depending skirt 86. An annular gasket 87 of suitable resilient gasket material is provided at the juncture of the top 85 and skirt 86. Extending away from the free edge of the skirt is a tearing ear 88. It is to be noted, however, that the method and apparatus of the invention are not limited in any way to this particular closure cap since other and dilferent closures could just as well be applied in accordance with the invention. The caps 84 are fed open face down and ear trailing along a cap feed chute 89 secured by screws 90 to plate 42 and which, except for the bottom slot 91 through which the cap ear 88 projects, forms a closed conduit. A gravity actuated detent 92 is pivotally mounted at 93 adjacent the lower most end of the feed chute 89 and acts to push the cap leading portion downwardly into positive locking engagement with the container neck. Also provided at the lower end of the chute 89 is a pair of spring buttons 89a, one at either side of the chute which lightly pinch the cap skirt therebetween and prevent the cap from falling out under the influence of gravity alone. A container neck guide member 94 is secured through bracket 95 and screws 96 to each side of the chute 89 so as to depend therebelow and form a channel into which the container necks are directed for reception of the cap 84.

Considering now the overall method of operation of the above described apparatus it can be seen that the cap 84 is here shown, for the purpose of illustration only the influence of the conveyor 12 the neck 98 is directed between the guide members 94 and accurately centered in alignment with the chute 89. As the container continues its travel the neck lip 99 engages the inner surface of the cap skirt 86 and pulls the cap through the spring buttons 89a. The detent 92, which has tilted the cap down to assure positive engagement by the lip 99, is then pivoted upwardly as the container pulls the cap out of the chute and the cap becomes positioned on the lip 99. It is at this stage, after the cap is placed on the container neck and before the permanent securing of the cap is effected, that accurate control and retention of the cap is important. Provision for such control is particularly necessary in those container capping operations where the filling liquid has a tendency to eflervesce and, in a sense, blow the cap off.

In order to prevent such blow off or partial dislodgement of the caps from the container neck, the cap loose- 1y seated on the lip 99 moves underneath the lower bearing surface of the closed cap retainer plates 59 and is thus limitedto very slight vertical movement until the final crimping position is reached. At that position the leading edge of the container 97 is sensed by the photo cell 100 causing the electric clutch 14 to disengage thereby stopping the conveyor 12. Simultaneously with the disengagement of clutch 14 the photo cell circuit also activates the double acting air cylinder 22 causing the shaft 25 to descend carrying with it the crimping head 27, the cam blocks 64 and the cam pin 40. As the cam surfaces move downwardly the cam rollers 74 move inwardly causing the locating arms to converge on opposite sides of the container neck 98 and accurately center the same in axial alignment with the cap hold down member 31. Normally the arms 70 will remain in their straight horizontally extended position during this movement, however should the top surface of the container become elevated for any reason the arms will simply pivot upwardly about pins 71 to accommodate that height variation. As the shaft 25 continues its downward movement the cap hold down member 31 extends into the tapered recess 62 in the cap retainer plates 59. At the same time the cam surface 41 of pin 40 contacts the rollers 55 forcing the plates 59 to swing open. The hold down member 31 then extends between the plates 59 and contacts the cap top 85 and partially compressing the cap gasket 87 under the pressure of spring 34 as downward movement of the crimping head continues. At this point the locating arms 70 have reached the limit of their inward travel so that the cutouts 72 firmly and accurately position the container neck in axial alignment with the cap receiving nest 30a and, as seen in FIG. 3, the roller 74 leaves the cam surface and moves up along the inner edge of the block 64. When the cam surface 41 of pin 40 moves downwardly past the axis of the rollers 55 the plates become fully opened and, as seen in FIG. 6, the cutout sections 61 allow the crimping head to pass therebetween so that the nest 30a seats upon the cap 84 and fully compresses the cap gasket 87. In the final increment of downward movement the crimping head housing 27a moves relative to the rest of the crimping mechanism causing the jaws 36 to be pivoted radially inwardly due to the camming action imparted by the portion 2711. This action forces the sealing anvils 37 in and not in a limiting sense, as being applied to a cylindrii cal keg-like container 97 provided with an upstanding, otf center neck 98 which terminates at its upper cap receiving end in an enlarged lip 99. The containers 97 are preferably fed on a transfer conveyor from the container filler (not shown) so as to ride right on to the about the cap skirt 86 forming the skirt in tight sealing engagement with the under surface of the container neck lip 99.

Upon completion of the downstroke the other side of the piston of double acting cylinder 22 is automatically activated and the above described movements are reversed. Upward travel of the cam surface 41 allows the retainer plates to close again under the influence of spring 51. Similarly the locating arms 70 are returned to their initial retracted position by the spring 79 as the roller 74 moves back along the cam surface 65. At the termination of the-return stroke the apparatus is automatically recycled commencing with the engagement of electric clutch 14 which causes the conveyor to move the capped container out of sealing position and onto an exit transfer conveyor (not shown) at the same time the next container picks up a cap 84 and moves into sealing position where the crimping cycle is repeated.

Changes in and modifications of the construction and difierent embodiments of the invention as might suggest themselves to those skilled in the art could be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is accordingly intended that all matter contained in the above description, or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as being illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In container capping apparatus, a cap applying station for loosely placing caps over container neck openin gs, a cap securing station for sealing caps to container necks, a conveyor for transporting containers from said cap applying station to said cap securing station, cap retainer means extending from said cap applying station into said cap securing station for holding an unsecured cap in place on a container neck during said transporting and means for releasing the cap from said retainer means at said cap securing station to enable said securing to be eifected.

2. In container capping apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said cap retainer means includes a flat bearing surface in overlying relationship with respect to said container neck at said securing station.

3. In container capping apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said cap retainer means includes a pair of laterally displaceable members in overlying relationship with respect to said container neck at said securing station.

4. In container capping apparatus as in claim 1, and including container neck locating means for properly centering said container neck within said securing station.

5. In container capping apparatus as in claim 1, and including means operatively connected with said conveyor for stopping a container at said cap securing station while said securing is elfected.

6. In container capping apparatus an axially moveable cap securing head for sealing caps to container necks positioned axially below said head, cap retainer means positioned in overlying relationship with respect to said container neck and in the axial path of said cap securing head, and means responsive to the axial movement of said cap securing head for displacing said cap retainer means out of the path of said cap securing head to enable said securing to be effected.

7. In container capping apparatus as in claim 6, said cap securing head including an axially disposed mounting member and a plurality of circumferentially arranged sealing members operatively connected to said mounting member.

8. In container capping apparatus as in claim 7, and including a downwardly spring biased cap hold down member extending axially from said support member to a position spaced below said sealing members.

9. In container capping apparatus as in claim 6, said cap retainer means including a pair of elongated parallel plates pivotally interconnected adjacent one end remote from said cap securing head.

10. In container capping apparatus as in claim 6, and including container neck locating means responsive to the axial movement of said cap securing head for properly centering said container neck in axial alignment with said securing head.

11. The method of capping containers comprising loosely placing a closure cap over the opening of a container neck at a cap applying station, conveying the con tainer and loosely applied cap to a cap securing station, restraining said cap against dislodgement from said container neck during said conveying, releasing said cap after said container has fully reached said securing station and securing said closure cap onto said container neck.

12. The method of capping containers as in claim 11, and terminating said conveying while said securing is efiected.

13. The method of capping containers as in claim 11, and centering said container neck at said securing station so that said securing is properly and accurately effected.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,912,677 6/1933 Williams 53-367 X 3,071,909 1/1963 Elleman 53-315 3,075,331 1/1963 Stanley 53-348 WILLIAM W. DYER, IR., Primary Examiner. R. L. FARRIS, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

11. THE METHOD OF CAPPING CONTAINERS COMPRISING LOOSELY PLACING A CLOSURE CAP OVER THE OPENING OF A CONTAINER NECK AT A CAP APPLYING STATION, CONVEYING THE CONTAINER AND LOOSELY APPLIED CAP TO A CAP SECURING STATION, RESTRAINING SAID CAP AGAINST DISLODGEMENT FROM SAID CONTAINER NECK DURING SAID CONVEYING, RELEASING SAID CAP AFTER SAID CONTAINER HAS FULLY REACHED SAID SECURING STATION AND SECURING SAID CLOSURE CAP ONTO SAID CONTAINER NECK.

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