Patent GB-462807-A (GB)
Title: Cover applying machine for bottles or like containers
IPC: B67B3/02
Filed: 1936-08-20
Abstract: 462,807. Closuring - machines for bottles or like containers. JOHNSON, G. W. (Tamper-Proof Seal Corporation) Aug. 20, 1936, No. 22934. [Class 125 (ii)] A cover-applying machine for bottles or like containers, comprises means for holding a cover blank over the mouth of the container, means for folding portions of the blank down around the neck of the container, means for placing portions of the blank into overlapping relationship, and means for rolling the overlapped portions spirally together to effect a permanent union between them. The cap blank comprises a central body portion 1, with T-shaped fingers 2, 3, 4, Figs. 1, 2, 5, and intervening radial tabs 6, 7, 8, 9. The blanks are fed in ribbon formation, one finger 5 being connected to a finger 3 of the following blank. Printed matter and a waterproof coating may be applied to the blanks. Fingers 2, 3, 4, 5 have lateral extensions, those of fingers 2, 4 being of soft metal. The capping head comprises a plunger barrel 10 and curling table 12. Barrel 10 carries slidable plungers 13, 14, 15, 16, and table 12 has four radial guideways 17, 18, 19, 20, Fig. 7, for the rolling up mechanism. This mechanism is operated by rollers in a cam plate 21 rotated above the table 12 by a gear 22 meshing with pinion 23 on the shaft of wheel 24 driven by worm 25. Plunger 13 carries a flat head to clamp the blank on the bottle head, and has a stem slidable in a bore in plunger 14, urged outwardly by spring 26 and retained by pin 27 extending through plunger 14 into a slot in plunger 13. Plunger 14 has a cupped head with four short depending fingers, and a stem extending upwardly through the operating lever 30. Plunger 15 is urged downwards by spring 33 and has a flat head with four pivoted fingers 32. Plunger 16 is cupped and has a flange co-operating with lugs 37 on fingers 32. A vertical pin 35 holds plungers 15, 16 in alignment. The ribbon of blanks is fed to the machine, a blank severed and positioned, and the bottle is raised against the plunger 13 which is raised against the spring 26, the tabs 6, 7, 8, 9 being simultaneously folded down by fingers on the plunger 14. Continued upward movement causes plungers 13, 14 to move upwardly together and fingers 32 thereupon fold down the fingers 2, 3, 4, 5. Further upward movement abuts the head of plunger 14 against that of plunger 15 and all three now move upwardly as one unit, whereupon the flange of plunger 16 acts on the lugs 37 to move the fingers 32 inwardly and bring the fingers 2, 3, 4, 5 into snug engagement with the bottle neck. The curling mechanism comprises slides 40, Fig. 7, mounted in guides 17, 19. Heels 70 limit the total inward movement of the slides, each of which carries in a groove on its upper surface a Y-plate 41, normally held retracted by springs 42. Deeper angular grooves formed in the inner ends of the slides receive curling bars 44, in the rear ends of which the forks of the X-plate 41. fit. Pivoted on the underside of each slide 40 are a pair of crossed fingers 45, the front ends of which are thick enough to bring their tops flush with the bars 44 and Y-plates 41. Springs 47 in bores in each slide 40 urge the fingers 45 into the position shown in Fig. 7. Guides 18, 20 each carry a slide 52, with shoulders 71 operating a recesses in the guide, and with grooves to receive slidable Y-plates 53. Crossed deep grooves in the front of the slide receive paper spreader bars 54, urged towards the container by spring-pressed rods 55. Track 49 in cam plate 21 acts on rollers 48 on Y- plates 41 and slides 40 and causes the fingers 45 to engage the fingers 2, 4 with the metal clips s and conform them to the bottle neck, the ends s<1> of the clips being bent backwardly as shown in Fig. 9. The track 62 in cam plate 21 engaging roller 60 then moves the slide 52 inwardly, the concave face 59 at the inner end of the slide conforming the paper strips 3, 5 to the bottle neck. A spring-pressed pad 67 in cam track 57 now acts on rollers 56 and moves the Y-plates 53 inwardly relatively to the slides 52, thus causing the crossed fingers 54 to move up to the crossed fingers 44 and spread the ends t of the paper strips 3, 5 against the turned back ends s<1> of the metal clips on fingers 2, 4. Cam track 49 now moves the roller 48 further inwardly, moving Y-plate 41 with respect to slide 40, and causing the bars 44 with curling recesses 65, Fig. 9, to move tangentially of the bottle against the abutting spring-pressed fingers 54 and roll the metal tabs t with the end of the paper fingers 3, 5. Track 62 now presses rollers 60 outwardly and moves plate 52 outwardly a distance slightly greater than the diameter of the roll, whereupon track 49 moves Y- plate 41 outwardly and permits the spring- pressed fingers 54 to move to a position over and beyond the roll x as shown in Fig. 12. A spring-pressed pad in cam track 62 now strikes roller 60 a short hammer blow and causes the bars 54 to flatten the roll x. The spring mounting of the pad allows for variation in the size of the bottles. The surface of the bars 54 may be depressed or engraved to give any desired shape to the flattened roll. A 90 degrees movement of the cam plate 21 completes the operation, and next 90 degrees returns the devices ; then the cycle is completed in 180 degrees.