US660322A - Bottle-capping machine. - Google Patents

Description

' No. 660,322. E Patented oet. 23, |900.

c. G. BAUER.

BOTTLE cAPPlNG MACHINE.

(Application led Apr. 26, 1900.)

l(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

Panama` oct. 23, |900; c.' G. BAUER.

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE.

(Application led Apr. 26, 1900.)

2 sheets-sheet z.

(N0 Model rov UNITED STATES i PATENT OEEICE.

CHARLES G. BAUER, OF NEW YORK, N. ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN STOPPER COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

BOTTLE-CAPPING MACHIN E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 660,322, dated October 23, 1900.

' Application iiled April 26, 1900. vSerial No. 14,451. (No model.)

To (tl/Z whom it may concer-71,:

Be it known that I, CHARLES G. BAUER, a resident of New York, (Brooklyrn) in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle-Capping Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,

and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art. to which it pertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to vessel-capping machines, and has for its object to provide an efficient capping mechanism, includinga positively-actuated cap-holding and cap-turning clutch coperating with the actuating devices, all to secu re caps upon bottles and other vessels by relative rotation thereof to cause the engagement of locking devices.

The invention consists in the construction herein described and pointed ont.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective of the machine. Fig. 2 is a partial longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a front elevation. Fig. 4 is a section of a plunger on line 4 4 of Fig. 6. Fig. 5 is a perspective of a pin-guide. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of the plunger. Eig. 7 is a partial plan of a bottle-supporting shelf.

perspective of a bottle-holding arm. Fig. 9

is a partial rear elevation of the foot of the Fig. 10 is a section of the plungershell, showing a modified form of cam-face.

pedestal and operated by a treadle 4 to compressa returning-spring 5, seated on a pedestal diaphragm '6 and bearing upwardly against a disk 7, movable in the pedestal.

' 8 denotes a plunger movable in the pedestal and connected tothe treadle by the rod 3. It is provided witha neck 9, having a sleeve 10, from which depends a case or plunger-shell 11, containing the cap-clutch and connected mechanism.

12 denotes a bottle-supporting shelf suitably grooved to be adjustably held on a plate' or rib 13, liXed to the pedestal. f

14 denotes clamping-handles screwed on stems 15, which have arms or buttons 16, adapted to be turned behind the edge of the plate 13, the shelf being clamped to the plate by screwing the handles on the stems.

17 represents posts fixed to shelf 12 and each provided with an arm 18, adjustable about a post and fixed thereto by a set-screw 19 or 1S)X or by botn. The arms 18 embrace laterally the footof the vessel to be capped. 20 represents arms similarly adjustable to embrace the upper part of the vessel, as indicated. ings 21, of soft rubber or like material.

Within the plunger-shell is a ring 22, (see Fig. 6,) connected to said shell by pins 23, fixed to the ring and movable in slots 24 in the shell-wall. (See Fig. 1.) Through this ring passes the stern 25 of a plunger-cup 26. Said stem is movable through the ring and within a socket 27, formed in the shell.

28 is-a spring normally holding the ring 22 and its connected parts in their lowest or normal situation.

The plunger-cup in operation has a small rotary movementwithin the ring and shell, which latter do not rotate. The cup and its stem are rotatably held to the ring by the nut 56, which bears against the upper member of the housing of the antifriction-balls 29, the lower balls resting upon a ring or cone 53, screwed onto the cup-stem close to the cup.

The plunger-cap is yprovided with pins 31 and 32, which, if desired, may be provided with loose rollers or antifriction-rings 30. These operate in slots 33 and 34, respectively, said slots being formed in the foot and on opposite sides of the plunger-shell. Said slots These arms have inner faces or lin- 5 to act.

have, respectively, similar cam- faces 35 and 36, which, in cooperation with the respective pins 3l and 32 of the pl linger-shell, cause a partial rotation of the cup 26 when the plunger-shell is lowered by the treadle to carry the cup-and a contained cap upon the bottlemouth. This rotation ofthe cup is caused by the ineffective resistance of the pins ot' the l contained cap,and thereby-engaging suitable` cap-lugs with corresponding bottle-lugs and locking the cap upon the bottle. In this operation pin 3l is carried to the position indicated by the upper dotted lines in Fig. 10 in readiness to drop tothe lower dot-ted position as soon as spring 2S is released by freeing the treadle and permitting the returning-spring The dropping of the cup and its pin 3l in a direct line is insured by a spring guide-plate 37, fastened to the exterior of the shell ll at 38 and provided with a pin 39, playing freely in a suitable hole in the shell-wall. Said plate is not essential, and cam-faces,such as indicated in the drawings, operate successfully without it. In the before-described rotation of the cup the pin 3l bears against the thick part 37 of the guide-plate 37 (see Figs. 5 and l0) and presses it outwardly until it passes off` the plate,which thereupon springs back to its normal situation. The pin then passes down the end of the plate and along its bottom in the return movement, the first or vertical part of which is effected by spring 28 and the rotary part by the pin 32, forced to follow a cam-face 40 on the under side of a block 41, fixed to the pedestal. As soon as pin 32 passes off the cam it is lifted by spring 5 to its initial situation at the upper left-hand corner of the block, as indicated.in Fig. 4. The spring-plate 37 is not essential, and a cam, such as shown in Fig. 12, operates successfully without it.

To suitably hold the cap in the cup, and particularly when the cap is rotated to lock it to the vessel-neck, clutch-lugs 42--ve in the present instance-are pivoted therein. These may have edges 43, adapted to engage similarly-shaped grooves in a corrugated capllange. The lugs 42 are suitably moved to clutch the cap by means of a plug 44, sliding in a recess 45, formed in the cup-stem 25. Said 'plug 44 has an enlarged foot 46, situated under the overhanging lug-fingers 47 of the clutch-lugs. Then the cup is forced down to seat the cap on a vessel-mouth, the latter The cap-cup rotates until its reacts to push up the plug and carry its foot 4G against the fingers 47, thereby turning the clutch-lugs on their pivots and causing their approxi matelyyertical faces to press on the cap-flange and hold it against independent rotation in the cup, whereby it is insured that when the cup is rotated by the above-de# cap-cup will have a shoulder, as indicated at 52, to receive a flange 53 of 'the lower ballhousing cone. The cone may have an extension 54 extending below said ange and surrounding the lower part of the cup, as shown.

The invention is notlimited to the particular form of cap-clutch nor, as respects other parts of the invention, to any specific means of holding the cap in the cup.

In operation the clutch-head comprising the cup descends upon the cap and the sliding plug is pushed up, with the effect to turn the clutch-lugs on their pivots and cause them to clutch and hold the cap as it is forced onto thevessel. Theinwardly-projectingcap-lugs rst descend in the vertical part of the bayonet-joint grooves and are then turned under their approximately-horizontal parts. The treadle, plunger, and connecting devices being then freed, the main or pedestal spring lifts the plunger-shell and permits the capclutch-plug spring to push down the plugand free the cap from the cap-clutch lugs. The plunger-shell is returned toits initial position by the cam on the standard-block coperating with the pin 32, as above explained.

The antifriction devices facilitate the rotation of the cap-seating cup, so that cams of moderate pitch act efficiently upon pins or like projections from the cup. The oppositely-situated cup-pins cooperate to give a steady movement. The ball-housing com prising the central ring is made movable in the plunger-shell to provide for the necessary lengthwise movement of the cup, and the spring returns the housing and cup lengthwise, and the cup-pin 32 by its engagement with the cam on the standard rotates the cup to return it circumferentially to its initial position.

The rubber liningsof the arms provide for irregularities in the articles embraced and guard against injurious contact.

Obviously the machine is not limited to the use of a treadle or to any source of power or to particular power-transmitting means. These and other operations and advantages are obvious and further description is unnecessary.

IDO

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a machine for capping bottles, the combination of a plunger comprising a cup to embrace'a cap and seat it upon the bottle, and devices to rotate the cup and turn the cap transversely after it is seated on said bottle.

2. In a machine for capping bottles, the combination of a plunger comprising a cup to embrace a cap and seat it upon the bottle, and devices to rotate the cup and turn the cap transversely after it is seated on said bottle, and a clutch to prevent the independent rotation of the cap.

3. In a machine for capping bottles, the combination of a plunger comprising` a cup to embrace a cap and seat'it upon the bottle, devices to rot-ate the cup and turn the cap transversely after it is seated on said bottle, and a clutch to prevent the independent rotation of the cap, said clutch being automatically* releasable by gravit-y.

4. In a machine for capping bottles, the combination of a plunger comprising a cup to embrace a cap and force it upon the bottle, and devices to rotate the cup and turn the cap seated on said bottle, said devices consisting of pins Xed to the cup and means for suitably moving them along cam-faces formed in the plunger-shell.

In a machine for capping bottles, the combination of a plunger comprising a cup to embrace a cap and force it Aupon the bottle, and devices to rotate the cup and turn the cap seated on said bottle, said devices consisting ot' pins fixed to the cup and means forsuitably moving them along cam-faces formed in the plunger-shell, and a guide movable out of the rotary path of one of the pins to permit its engagement with its cam-face and automatically returnable to said path to guide and hold the pin away from the cam, and mechanism for returning the pins tol their initial situation, said mechanism comprising a distinct cam in the path of one of the pins. f

6. In a machine for capping bottles, the vertically-movable plunger-shell, the plunger-cup rotatable independently of said shell and also independent-ly movable vertically,

and an antifriction-ball housing vertically movable in the shell a part of said housing being held non-rotatably by the shell and a part fixed to the rotatable plunger-cup stem.

7. In a machine for capping bottles, the

vertically-movable plu nger-shell, the rotatable cup movable with said shell and also'indepen dently movable vertically, antifrictionballs between the cup and shell, and a ballhousing fixed against rotation and movable lengthwisethe plunger, said housingincluding a ring fitting the exterior of the cup.

8. In a machine for capping bottles, a plunger-shell, a cap-seating cup carried by the tate the cap to lock it to the bottle, said mechanism comprising a plunger', a cap-holder, and an inclined bearing between the plunger and holder whereby when the capin the holder is forced on the bottle it is relatively rotated to engage the cap and bottle.

10. In a machine for securing caps upon bottles, a member to hold the cap, and a member to push the holding member and cap upon the bottle, said members being adapted to rotate the cap after it is forced upon the bottle, a clutch to preventthe independent rotation of the cap, said clutch comprising devices pivoted in the cap-holding member, a part movable in the cap-holder to turn said devices on their pivots, said movable part bearing on the cap when seated on the bottle, and a spring to move the said part and free the clutch devices after the cap is fastened upon the bottle.

Il. In a machine for capping bottles, the combination ot" the plunger-shell, the cuphaving a stem, the spring to press the cup downwardly, the plug movable in said stem, the spring to move the plug downwardly in the stem, and a cap-clutch operative within the cup, said plug when it is forced upon the cap being adapted to render the clutch operative, the clutch being inoperative when the plugis withdrawn.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. f

CHARLES G. BAUER.

Witnesses:

HUGH HoYT, HENRY S. RAsQUIN.

IOO

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