US1069948A - Bottle-capping machine. - Google Patents

Description

G. HARTWIG.

BOTTLE GAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 00w. 8, 1912.

1,069,948. PatentedAug. 12, 1913.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

G. HARTWIG.

BOTTLE GAPPING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED 001. s, 1912.

Patentd Aug.12,1913.

3 SHEET$SHEET 2.

G. HARTWIG. BOTTLE GAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 001?. a, 1912.

Patented Aug. 12, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

QWi/f/weowo an sitar arm t me CHARLES HARTWIG. OF NEW' YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO FREDERICK G. ZINSSER, 0F HASTINGS-UPON-HUDSON, NEW YORK.

BOTTLE-CAPPING MACHINE.

invented certain new and useful Improve-- ments in Bottle-Capping Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to bottle capping machinery of that character in which the bottle and the capping die or head reciprocate with respect to each other in order to apply a metal cap to the lnouth of the bottle.

The features of'improvement in my machine have to do with the means for automatically feeding the caps, one by one, from a reservoir containing the caps to the capping die. plishing this has comprised a reservoir for the caps anda chute or slide into which the caps are directed from the reservoir and by which they are conveyed, usually by gravity, to the capping die. The operation of this chute is not always satisfactory inasmuch as it is found that the caps sometimes become clogged therein and that the delivery from the exit of the chute to the capping die is not always regular and results in jamming the caps and stoppage of the machine.

By my invention I have. eliminated the chute entirely and have located the reservoir in such relation to the capping die that the caps are delivereddirectly from the reservoir to the capping die by a mechanism so simple that there is little or no liability of derangement of the apparatus or delay in its operation.

My invention contemplates a reservoir for the caps in which the latter are arranged one above the other in the form of a column which stands parallel and closely adjacent to the axis of the capping head, the lowermost cap in said column being on a level with the throat of the capping die at which point is located a reciprocating slide which carries the bottle caps from the reservoir to the die, whileother mechanism acts upon the column of caps to prevent its interference with the movement of the slide. Such an arrangement provides a compact and "simple structure of few parts, certain and efficient in operation.

My invention will be described in detail Specification of Letters Patent.

Heretofore the means for accom- Patented Aug. 12,1913.

Application filed. October 8, 1912. Serial No. 724,510.

with reference to the accompanying ings, in which Figure l is a front elevation of the improved capping head and cap reservoir and mechanism cooperating therewith. Fig. 2 is a plan-of the plate shown below the dotted line 00m in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan of the capping head and reservoir; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a vertical central section through the capping head and reservoir showing the slide in its forward position; Fig. 6 is asimilar section of the same parts showing the slide in a partially withdrawn position; and Fig. 7 is a horizontal section through the lower end of the cap retainer at the footof the cap reservoir.

The caps may be of the ordinary well. known shallow cup-shape having inside thereof, if desired, a disk of packing material and being represented in the various figures by 1. Any suitable form of capping drawwhile the latter is being forced axially through the die. This die 2 is contained 1n the casting 4 which is of cylindrical shape and provided with an axially arranged plunger 5 adapted to reciprocate vertically within the casting, it being forced upward by the pressure of the bottle, against its lower end and returned downward by the pressure of a spring 6. Below the die is arranged a tapered passage 7 which directs the mouth of the bottle against the cap which has been previously seated in the throat of the die upon the annular segmental seats 8 formed on the edges of the yielding plates 9, 10 and 11 Fig. 2), which plates are located in depressions formed 1n the bottom plate 12 secured to the die casting. The plates 9 and 11 are pivoted at 13'13 and normally held against stops 1et14 by springs 15-15, while plate 10 is held in a slidewa-y in which it has a yielding limited movement by reason of the pin 16, slot 17, and spring 18. The purpose of these plates is primarily to temporarily sustaln the cap centrally below the die just prlor to the upward movement ofv the bottle or the downward movement of the die, as the case may be, for the capping operation; and secondarily, these plates are adapted to yield laterally in case the neck of the bottle which is thrust between them and some distance there-abdve in the capping operation, should be so large as to strike the flanges or lips 8. 19 indicates another cylindrical portion of the casting formed integrally with part 4 and arranged with its axis parallel to that of the part 4. Within this part 19 is fixed a tube 20 being clamped rigidly by the bolt 21 which draws together the upper split port-ions of the casting. The tube 20 has its lower end notched or crenelated and joins the upper end of another tube 22 similarly notched and movable in an axial direction retainer which surrounds the lower portion of the tube 22 and projects slightly beyond radial or lateral movement.

the lower end of thesame, being formedat its edge into an inwardly-directed annular wedge-shaped head 25. The upper edge of this retainer is provided with a grooved outer flange 26 which rests upon the upper edge of a bushing 27, between which bushing and the outer surface of the tube 22 is a chamber 27 in which the lower ends of the segments of the retainer may have a limited Around the lower edge of the retainer is an external groove containing a spring 28 which tends to draw the segments radially inward, and a similar but lighter spring 29 occupies the groove in the flange 26 tending to draw the upper edges radially inward, these motlons being permitted by the curved inner surface of'the retainer rolling on the exterior surface of the tube. When the tube 22 is moved downward, its lower beveled edge presses against the inclined upper face of the bead 25 and forces the lower ends ofthe segments Outward until said bead is outside of the bore of the tube. When the tube 22 1s free to rise, the spring 28 forces the bead 25 inward until it enters the bore of the tube forming an annular'shelf around the same,

I of the caps from being obstructedby the abutting edges of the tubes when there is a separation between the ends of the tube due with a pin 32 which projects therefrom outward through a slot 33 in'the casing 4 and enters the forked or slotted end 34 of a lever 35. This lever is fixed to a rock-shaft 36 mounted to turn in suitable bearings 37 in the casting l9, which-shaft also carries a cam 38 which is provided with a concentric track 39 and a shoulder 40. On this same shaft 36 adjacent to the'cam is a crank-arm 41 and in the end of this crank-arm as well as in an intermediate portion of the lever 35 is an adjustable screw 42l2 arranged to bear respectively upon the two pins 30 which are attached to the tube 22. Thus when the lever 35 is swung downward by the downward movement of the cap plunger 5, the tube 22 is forced downward and the bead 25 on the retainer is forced outside of the bore of tube 22. The screws 42 are adjustable in orderto determine the exact moment in the downward stroke of the lever 35 when the pins 30 shall be moved. Above the shaft 36 there is mounted another shaft 43 in bearings 44 formed in the casting 19, which'shaft carries a disk 45 having a shoulder 46 adapted to be engaged by the shoulder 40 on cam 38 inorder to rotate shaft 43 when lever 35 y is lifted. When the disk 45 has been rotated to the position shown in- Fig. 6, cam 38 may thereafter continue to swing to the right without further rotating the disk since the concentric track 39 of the cam thereafter rides u on the end of shoulder 36. Shaft 43 also barries'a bent arm 47 which reaches downward under the cap reservoir and is provided at its extremity with a hook 48. On-the rearwardly-projecting end of shaft 43 is a torsion spring 49 connected at'one end to the shaft and at the other end to the disk 45 for the purpose of rotating the shaft in a direction contrary to that in which it noemeee the slide 51 by means of a cross-pin 52 fixed in the slide, the hooked end of the arm 47 engaging directly with the said pin; thus the movements of the arm 47 are communicated to the slide. The forward end of the slide is rovided with an arc-shaped face 53 which gs adapted to impinge against the edge of a cap 1 to force the latter along the plate 12 into the throat of the capping head where it is deposited upon the lips 8 under the die.

Pivoted upon the front of the casting 19 upon a stud is a latch 55 which extends laterally under one of the pins 30 and is then off-set so that its extremity will extend alongside of the lever 47. A spring 56 acts upon the latch with a tendency to throw its free end upward, the-stroke being limited by a pin 57 The lever 47-carries a 'lug 58 with which the end of latch '55 is adapted to engage when the latter is in its upper position in order to prevent movement of the lever 47 under the action of spring 49.

For the purposes of this machine the bottle caps are put up in capsules or paper tubes containing, say, 100 each, and these capsules are bodily inserted into the upper end of tube 20 as indicated at 59 in Fig. 6,'the lower end of the capsule being first opened to allow the caps therein to drop downward into and fill the tubes 20 and. 22. The bottle to be capped and which is indicated in the drawing by 60, may be placed upon a fixed table 6-1 and the capping head caused to move downward toward it to perform the capping operation, or, the bottle may be placed upon a movable table and the latter forced upward to the stationary capping head. As contemplated, however, and as shown in the drawing, it is intended that the table shall be stationary and the capping head movable, Fig. 3 showing a bracket 62 reaching rearwardly from the casting 4 and fixed to the upper end of a rod 63 to which a vertical reeiprocatory movement may be imparted in any desired manner.

' Referring now to Figs. 1 and 5, the parts are there shown in the position they occupy just before the capping head makes its downward stroke. It will be seen that cap 1 is in position upon the lips 8 in'the throat of the capping die and that the slide 51 is in its extreme position to the left having just deposited the cap in the position described. The lowermost cap in the cap reservoir is resting upon the top of slide 51. The tube 22 is in its lowermost position and holding the bead 25 on the retainer outside of the bore of the tube. The plunger 5 is in its lowest position the latch 55 is out of engagement with the lug 58 and is in its lowest position while lever 35 is likewise in its lowest position wit-h the caln shoulder 40 against the shoulder 46 on disk 45. The capping head now makes a stroke downward which brings the cap against the mouth of the bottle, and by a continuance of the motion, the bottle forces plunger 5 rela tively upward while the flanges of the cap are being turned downward around the mouth of the bottle by the die 2. As the plunger rises, pin 32 thereon lifts lever 35, causing shoulder 40 on cam 38 to press against shoulder 46 on disk 45, rotating the latter and the shaft 43 and swinging lever 47 to the right, which carries with it the slide 51. As the levers 35 and 41 are thus lifted from the pins 30, freeing the tube 22, the spring 28 is permitted to force the segments of the cap retainer inward against the lower edge of the tube causing it to rise, and the bead 25 on the retainer, to enter the annular space between the flanges of the two lower caps in the reservoir. This occurs just before the slide completes its motion to the rightor when it has reached substantially the position shown in Fig. 6. Just before the completion of the stroke of the lever 47 to the right, as seen in Fig. 6, the latch 55 is released by pin 30 and springs in front of the lug 58 to prevent the return movement of the lever. At the completion of the stroke of lever 47 to the dotted lines position shown in Fig. 6 and which is determined by the movement when the concentric cam track is presented to the end of shoulder 46, the lowermost cap in the reservoir drops down in front of the slide to the position shown in Fig. 2 while the remaining caps in the reservoir are retained therein by the inwardly-projecting bead 25. Any further movement of the lever 35, which may be more or less, dependent upon the length of the bottle, will occur without any response by the lever 47. On the return stroke, that is, when the capping head lifts, the plunger 5 relatively moves downward as the bottle passes out of the throat of the die under the action of spring 6, and levers 35 and 41 move downward until the concentric (track 39 of the cam passes to the left beyond the end of shoulder 46 on disk 45. At this moment arm 47 commences to move to the left but is soon stopped by the latch, 55. The adjustable screws 42 which in the meantime have been forcing the pins 30 downward, finally carry one of the latter against the latch 55, and forces it away from the lug 58 at the instant when the bottle neck has fully cleared the throat in. the die. Lever 47 then being free, is quickly forced to the left by the torsion spring 49, and in making such movement carries the cap 1 with it and deposits the same upon the lips 8 in the throat of the die. By the time the latch 55 releases the lever 47 the tube 22 has moved downward sufliciently to force the cap retaining bead 25 outside of the bore of the tube, allowing the column of caps in the tube to feed downward onto the ,top of the slide at the instant *when the slide is traveling to the left.

It will be seen'that while the capping die vis adapted to cap bottles of varying length as they are presented to it by reason of the fact that the plunger 5 yields upward to any required extent, the feeding of the caps which is controlled by the stroke of the plunger is nevertheless timed so that a cap will never be presented to the throat of .the die until the bottle has withdrawn therefrom. This is accomplished by means of the cam 38 provided with the concentric track which limits the movement of the slide to the right, regardless of the length of stroke of plunger 5, and by the latch 55 which releases lever 47 only at the instant when the plunger 5 reaches its lowest position, as seen in Fig. 5, and the bottle neck has passed out of the throat of the die.

Having. described my invention, I claim: 1. In a bottle capping machine, the combination of a die provided with a reciprocatingplunger having a variable stroke, a cap reservoir, feeding mechanism for delivering caps from said reservoir to the die,

- means whereby said plunger will actuate cap reservoir adapted to receive a column of caps, said tube beingadapted to reciprocate, an annular cap retainer surrounding said tube and provided with a bead adapted to enter the bore thereof, a spring adapted to force said bead inward and another spring acting upon said tube to force the bead of the cap retainer outward, for the purpose set forth.

4. In a bottle capping machine,"a cap reservoir in the form of a tube, a cap retainer having a cam surface adapted to engage said tube, means for moving the cap retainer to-a position'where it will engage the caps of the tube and at the same time bodily move the tube, and means for moving the tube in the opposite direction to' alter the position of the cap retainer.

5. In a bottle capping machine, a cap reservoir comprising a tube through which the caps feed, said tube being movable in an axial direction, in combination with a cap retainer adapted tobe moved in one direction by the movement of the tube, and by its own movement in one direction adapted to move the tube, for the purpose of clearing and obstructing respectively the passage through the tube.

6. In a bottle capping machine, the combination of a capping head provided with a plunger having a stroke depending upon .the length of the bottle operated upon, a

cap reservoir, a reciprocating slide for conveying caps from thereservoir to the head, a pivoted lever adapted to be moved by said plunger, a cam moved by said lever, and a swinging arm connected with said slide, the cam being adapted to actuate the swinging arm during a predetermined part of the stroke of the plunger;

In witness whereof, I subscribe my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES HARTWIG.

1 Witnesses:

WALDO M. CHAPIN, WILLIAM C. LARY.

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