Patent ID: 6173827
Filing Date: 2001-01-16
Classification: B08B,B29C,B65G

Abstract:
Apparatus for inverting tubular articles closed at their lower ends and open at their upper ends, the apparatus comprising tubular housing elongated along an axis, rotary scroll elongated along an axis accommodated within the housing and extending coaxially with said housing, the scroll having a helical fin in which the space between successive turns is sized to freely accommodate an intermediate portion of each said article fed to the housing, said housing having a lateral inlet opening at an upstream end thereof, the opening being sized and positioned to enable a succession of said articles, in an upright attitude, to be fed into the spaces between successive turns of the helical fin, a stop extending along the axis of the scroll located inside the housing in the lower region thereof, the stop being so positioned and shaped as to be engaged by the lower portion of each said article thereby limiting displacement of said article within the housing about the axis of the housing and beyond the stop and thereby define a path for said article to travel along one lateral side of the scroll, and an upstream cam secured to and located within said housing at a predetermined upstream location in the said path for engagement with said article, the upstream cam having a leading face which is inclined to the advancing said article such that when it is engaged by said article, said article progressively rotates about the scroll axis until it becomes inverted and further rotation after it clears the upstream cam is halted by engagement with said stop, whereupon further rotation of the scroll, in cooperation with the stop, will cause said article to continue its travel along the scroll axis along a path on the opposite lateral side of the scroll in its inverted state.