US2541601A - Container capping device - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 1s, 1951 T. A. NLSON 2,541,601

CONTAINER CARRYING DEVICE Fehn, 1951 -T,A,NELSON I 2,541,601

CONTAINER CARRYING DEVICE y Filed Sept'. 16, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet .2

lunmnm f8 Elllllllmf /7 1 ur 'f' BY l Feb. 13, 1951. T A NELSON 2,541,601

CONTAINER CARRYING DEVICE Filed Sept. 16, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Feb. 13, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONTAINER' CAPPING DEVICE? Thomas A. Nelson, Chicago, Ill.,

Application September 16, 1944, Serial No. 5545381 (Cl. 226f-83) l Claim.

--Myinvention relates to an improvement in containercapping device.

It is well knownv that container capping de vices of conventional design are relatively slow in,l operationfcomplicated and unwieldly,v having many moving and integrated parts, and that same are costly to make and to operate, and require the attendance of many and highly skilled workmen tooperate. It is also well known that duc to the complicated design of the conventional con-tainer capping machines, breakdowns of'saidmachines often occur, and repair and re- Plmnt of various parts is. required frequently. ltyisalSQ Well known that in the operation of convcllonal` machines a comparatively high` rate o fbreakage ofv containers occurs during the cap- Bmg process'. These conditions increase the cost ofiv Qafpprlg Aand decrease the production of cappedv containers.

It is further well known that container capping machines of conventionalv design are sOmeWhat hazardous to operateboth from the standpoint of the operation of the machines themselves and also because of container break'4 age, and consequently a container capping device which would lessen this hazard would be very desirable both from the manufacturersy and opcraters standpoints.

One object of my invention is to provide an improved, efcient, fast and reliable container capping device of simple construction and; operation.

Another object is to' provide a container capping machine inexpensive to produce and which would require the service of fewer endless skilled operators than is required with conventional capping devices.

V A further/object of my invention is to provide improved containerjcapping device which will ba safer to operate and cause a decreased amount of; breakage ofv containers being capped.

Other objects and advantages will appear as my invention is hereinafter developed.

y In one embodiment of my invention, a punch press of theJ usual construction, comprising a stand with a bed afxed to it andv having a punch slide,Y capable of descendingy or ascending at the willl o f the operator positioned. over said bed, is provided withl a capping device consistingof three main units, viz., a cylindrical housing having a hollow stemV extending therefrom which is adapted tobe tted into and. aflixed to the recip rocating member of the punch, press; a piston having an aperture in the center of its head is fittedv ireelv into. the crlindrical interior of the housing andf fastened` thereto` by springs. and guides so as to allow freedom of. movement o1; said piston in a line parallel and concentric withthe axis of the cylindrical` housing. Thehousing is vented to prevent entrapment of air betweenz the piston head and the cylinder head of the housing. PistonV has tapered internal` walls, the, taper being such that the internal diameter of the piston is smaller at the piston head than it; is at itsV lower extremity. A plunger is mounted with-in the piston with the stein extending through theE piston. head and into; the hollow stemv of` thenousing-- This plunger is. spring-. mounted to the housing by the insertion of a coil spring within, the hollow stem or, the: housing such a manner as toy encircle the plunger stem and allow free relative movement, between said parts so that the` plunger may move in a line parallel to and concentric with the axis ofthe cylindrical housing and piston.

There are many other possible arrangements and shapes of these threeY main units, as the housing, piston and plunger do not have to be,y cylindrical but could be elliptical, square, or any other shape, and such is the contemplation of' this invention. Likewise, the plunger` does not necessarily have. to` have a@ steml extending` there--` from but could instead be simply a diser spring mounted to the piston in which it operates. Also, the piston headr in this. case would not then have an aperture for the allowance of the introductionI of the plunger stem therethrough. Also, thecy lindrical. walls or the housing could be eliminated and still have this mechanism operated properly, andl that isy the contemplation of; this invention, itbeingclearly understood that the embodiment herein described ismsimply a preferred form1 of mechanism. and not` the only form that.` is; worhable.

A more completev understaruiingl of my inl/tenticnfmar be had from theiollcwius complete. de. scriptionin conj unction` with the appended draw, ings', in, which Figure. 1` is a side elevation of the. completeL container capping.y device including a motoroperated punch press... a. capping. unit, the con tainer, the. container cap. and the corniainer;` guidaA Figurez is a detailed elevation ot the, capping', unit in. which a cutaway view disclosing cross-sectional details. is shown.

Figure 3 is a planview of` thiscapping unit.

` Figure. lV isv a fragmentary detailed cross-sec,- tional view showing.A thecondition o the capiedge before. bending into,` gripping Contact with tnebd OIL i135. COIIQILBYL @mi Figure is the same approximate view as Figure 4 after the bending unit of the capping mechanism has bent the cap flange into gripping contact with the annular bead on the container.

My preferred form of improvementl in container capping device comprises a conventional punch press made up of a rigid stand 31, a punch press bed 32, affixed to said stand, a punch slide 38, guided byslide guide 4I, affixed to the'stand by bolts 42, and connected to crank shaft 5I through connecting rod 44, from bearing 43 in the punch slide to bearing 45 in the crank shaft, said crank shaft being rotated by movement of ywheel 55 through reduction gears. Flywheel 55 being rotated by electric motor 53 through pulley 51 connected to motor shaft 58. Power from said motor being transmitted to the flywheel from the motor by means of belt 54 connecting motor pulley 51 and flywheel pulley 53, the motor being anchored to standard 59 through its base 60. Ihe stamping reaction being transmitted through the capping device to the punch press slide 38 and through the train of shafts and bearings to the punch press stand 31 through the beam action of beam 52.

Inserted in the punch press slide 38 and aflixed thereto is the capping device, said capping device consisting of a cylindrical housing II having a hollow stem Ill extending therefrom. A piston I2 is mounted to said cylindrical housing by means of bolts and springs 2l, said springs being inserted in indentations 22 in the housing and indentations 23 in the piston head, the bolts 20 acting as guides to allow the piston to move in a line parallel to the axis of the housing and concentric with same. The springs 2| under compression force the piston head away from the cylinder head of the housing but allow this gap to be closed upon proper relative pressure being brought to force the piston head into closer conjunction with the cylinder head of the housing. In order to avoid entrapment of air in the space included between the piston head and the cylinder head of the housing, vents 25 have been introduced into the housing. The interior walls 24 of the piston I2 are tapered so that the internal diameter of the piston at its head is smaller than the internal diameter of the piston at its lower edge.

"A plunger I3, having a stem I4 extending therefrom is inserted into the interior of the piston so that plunger stem I4 extends through the aperture 26 in the piston head. Said plunger stem further extends through the hollowstem III of the housing. The diameter of the plunger stem I4 is enoughsmaller than the internal diameter ofthe hollow stem I0 of the housing to allow the introduction-of-compression spring I 5 in such a manner as to encircle plunger stem I 4 and tend to forcev the plungerv I3 downward until stop nut I1,-secured in-place by lock nut I8, comes into contact with the upper surface of the housing I6, which said stop nut I1 determines the maximum thrust downward of the plunger I3. Expansion and impact strains in the housing are taken up through the circular groove 21 cut into the cylin-v drical housing at the base of the housing stem. A'container 29 having a cap 28 covering the opening in same and extending beyond said opening,

and having an annular bead 30 aflixed to or monolithic with the exterior edge of its opening is placed on bed 32 against guide 34 which in turn is bolted to bed 32 by bolts 31B through shaft 33. This guide has adjustable slots through which thev bolts 36 extend in order to allow adjustment in placing. Plunger I3 descends upon cap 28 and holds it firmly in place on container 29 over the opening in said container, the outer fiange 3| extending beyond the annular bead 30 and being reinforced by serrations 6I. Piston I2 having internally tapered wall 24, upon further descent presses flange 3|, serrations 5I and cap edge indentations 62 into gripping contact with annular bead 30 permanently fastening cap 28 to container 29.

Upon assent of punch press slide 38 the capping unit is withdrawn from contact with the cap and container, said capped container then being left free for removal from the machine.

Other modifications and adaptations of the above disclosures are contemplated, and it is understood that my invention is limited only by the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

In combination, a container capping` press comprising a stand, a reciprocating member mounted on said stand, means for causing the re" ciprocating member to descend and rise, a bed mounted below said reciprocating member, und guide afxed to said bed elTective to determine the proper placing of a container thereonfor capping, and a capping device comprising a stemmed base member, the upper portion of which is a hollow cylindrical stem of relativelyI small diameter adapted to be affixed to the rel-l ciprocating member and the lower portion of which is a hollow cylinder of a large diameterx'- edly attached to the stemmed portion and havingH vent and ,guide holes in the head of the lower cylinder, a hollow cylindrical piston-like capv bending member tted within the lower cylinder of the base member having vertical exterior walls and tapered internal walls and having an operi'-l ing in the'center of its head, said cap bending member being flexibly mounted to the base member and guided by the contact of its exterior walls with the interior walls of the base member' so as to be movable only in a line parallel to the'v axis of the stem of the base member, rigid'protuberances affixed to the head of the capbend-v ing member and extending upwardly therefrom into and through the guide holes in the base member elective to mechanically stabilize the limiting of the movement of the cap bending member to a direction parallel with the vertical axis of the stem of the base member and control said movement so as to prevent descent of the cap bending member beyond ar vpredeterr'ninled position, and a stemmed plunger spring mountedv within the base member by extensionV of the stem 4 upwardly through the center hole in the capfjf bending member and into and through the hollow? stem of the base member effective to limitthe movement of the plunger to a line parallely withfthe vertical axis of the stem of the base memberand prevent its descent beyond a predetermined position, the foregoing capping device being effective, upon descent of the reciprocating member, to cause the plunger to vdescendupon and hold a cap firmly in place on a container over its opening without causing excessive pressure on such cap and upon further descent of the recip rocating member to causethe cap bending mem-y s 2,541,601 the reciprocating member to release such capped container for removal from the capping device.

UNI'I'ED STATES PAJI'ErI'rSJ Number Name Date THOMAS A NELSON 850,288 Beyer Apr. 16, 1907 f 949,478y Hicks Feb. 15 1910 REFERENCES CITED 1,348,908 Taylor Aug. 10,' 1920 The following references are of record in the 1,434,415 Taylor Nov. '7, 1922 le of this patent: 2,142,302

Burrell Jan. 3, 1939

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