Abstract:
A bottle cap orienting apparatus including a cap transfer assembly having a pair of opposing transfer belts each having curved first and second ends and upright facing straight sides opposingly spaced apart to define a gap sized to be equal to or greater than a height of the caps being transferred and reoriented for subsequent feeding into a bottle capping apparatus. A cap feed chute is positioned centrally between the first ends for conveying unoriented bottle caps in edge upright orientation into the gap. Each of the transfer belts have suction holes positioned along each of the transfer belts. A vacuum source within each belt draws air inwardly into the suction holes which holds caps against the belt. The belts move in unison to carry the bottle caps to the second ends where a cap stripper detaches each cap from the transfer belts.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable 
     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC 
     Not applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to bottling apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus for feeding bottle caps into the bottling apparatus in which the caps incoming are unoriented with respect to the open side of the caps and within which the caps are all uniformly oriented before being fed into the bottling apparatus. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     In bottling operations, after each bottle is filled with an appropriate amount of contents such as a beverage, caps are then screwed or clenched tightly onto the open beverage containers thus sealing them ready for further packaging and shipment. However, a prior step with regard to the caps is the proper orientation so that the open sides of the caps are all facing in an appropriate direction for installation onto the open bottle mouths. 
     Where the caps are magnetic, U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,069 to Ono teaches a feeding apparatus for magnetic caps in which the feeding apparatus includes a magnetic first conveyor belt which attracts and transfers the magnetic caps from a hopper to a second conveyor belt which separates wrongly positioned caps for conveyance into the bottling apparatus. Another feeder for bottling cappers is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,343 to Herzog wherein the conveyor housing may be angularly adjusted to cause bottle caps improperly oriented to fall by gravity to the bottom of the conveyor. This aspect of the Herzog teaching depends upon the offset center of gravity wherein the closed side of the cap being heavier than the open side, causes the improperly oriented caps to fall from the conveyor. 
     Another apparatus for orienting lids is taught by Bessels in U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,922 which includes first and second conveyor belts positioned in overlapping fashion and, by opposing movement of these belts, ensures that only properly oriented caps are attached to the second belt for conveyance into the bottling apparatus. Eitzinger in U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,007 also teaches an orienter apparatus for cup-shaped objects utilizing two rotating pin sorters positioned above and below the path of the unoriented caps, each of the pin sorters entrapping properly oriented caps for subsequent release for conveyance into a bottling apparatus. 
     An adjustable bottle gripper belt taught by Herzog in U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,228 discloses gripping a container or bottle while being capped filling apparatus disclosing two adjustable container grouper belt assemblies opposingly suspended on a tabletop between a conveyor. The gripper belts prevent rotation of the container while each cap is rotationally applied and tightened. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,345 to Spreen et al. discloses a method and apparatus for orienting and delivering dispenser cap assemblies. An apparatus for feeding closures provided with a tube to an operating unit is taught by Bianchini et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,748. 
     Evers, Jr. et al. teach a conveyor system for lifting and orienting bottle caps in U.S. Pat. No. 6,491,152. A conveyor apparatus used to orient objects such as closures, lids, caps, etc. is taught by Dotson et al. in U.S. Application Publication 2009/0166153. 
     The following U.S. patents have been identified as describing related structure and components to that of the present disclosure, although in no way rendering the present disclosure unpatentable in any sense.
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,437 to Rodenbaugh et al.   U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,343 to Herzog   U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,714 to Madden   U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,722 to Beswick   U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,719 to Piazza   U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,979 to Wysocki   U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,637 to Aidlin et al.   U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,184 to Schmitt   U.S. Pat. No. 7,228,953 to Perreault et al.   U.S. Pat. No. 7,322,458 to McDonald et al.   

     The present invention teaches a simple yet virtually foolproof apparatus for orienting bottle caps of virtually any size, regardless of material content, by the use of a pair of opposed moving belts rotating in unison together wherein each of the unoriented caps are fed between the belts atop a support surface which maintains the caps in height alignment with a row of holes formed in each of the belts just above the support surface equal to about half the diameter of the caps. A vacuum source from within each of the belts draws air into the suction holes to hold the open side of each of the caps by suction against the corresponding belt over one of the suction holes. The closed side of the caps, being slightly crowned, are unable to be suction held against one of the holes, will be attracted to an open hole on the opposite or facing belt and held in that orientation until detached from the corresponding belt at the far end of the apparatus for collection into a collection chute and properly oriented. 
     The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention is directed to a bottle cap orienting apparatus including a cap transfer assembly having a pair of opposed spaced apart continuous transfer belts each having curved first and second ends and upright facing straight sides opposingly spaced apart to define a gap preferably sized to be equal to or slightly greater than a height of the caps being transferred and reoriented for subsequent feeding into a bottle capping apparatus. Unoriented bottle caps are fed between the first end in edge upright orientation into the gap. Each of the transfer belts have spaced apart suction holes positioned along an edge of each of the transfer belts. A vacuum source within each belt draws air inwardly into the suction holes to hold caps against the belts, open side of each cap against the belt over one of the holes. The belts move in unison to carry the bottle caps therebetween to the second ends where a cap stripper detaches each cap from the corresponding transfer belt with the open ends of all of the caps facing in the same direction when being so detached and deposited into a collection chute. 
     It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a bottle cap orienting apparatus which will supply properly and consistently oriented bottle caps into a bottling apparatus. 
     Yet another object of this invention is to provide a bottle cap orienting apparatus which will properly orient bottle caps being fed into a bottling apparatus regardless of the type of material, whether magnetic, metal or plastic, being used to cap filled bottles in a bottling apparatus. 
     Still another object of this invention is to provide a bottle cap orienting apparatus which is easily adaptable to various bottle cap sizes. 
     The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described and illustrated in conjunction with systems, tools and methods which are meant to be exemplary and illustrative and not limiting in scope. In various embodiments one or more of the above-described problems have been reduced or eliminated while other embodiments are directed to other improvements. In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above, further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference to the drawings and by study of the following descriptions. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
         FIGS. 1 to 3  are perspective views of one embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a side elevation view of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a left end elevation view of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is a right end elevation view of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 7  is a top plan view of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 8  is a lower perspective view of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 9  is another perspective view of  FIG. 2  in operation with the cap collection chute cover removed for clarity. 
         FIG. 10  is an enlarged broken perspective view of  FIG. 1  showing one of the transfer belts carrying bottle caps therealong. 
         FIG. 11  is a top plan section view in the direction of arrows  11 - 11  in  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 12  is an enlarged view of the cap discharge end of  FIG. 11 . 
         FIG. 13  is a simplified perspective view of a reversible transfer belt adapted for use with multiple bottle cap sizes. 
         FIG. 14  is a view of  FIG. 12  with the addition of a preferred cap retainer plate. 
         FIG. 15  is a top plan view of an alternate and preferred embodiment of a portion of the apparatus and including a transfer belt tensioner arrangement. 
         FIG. 16  is a section view in the direction of arrows  16 - 16  in  FIG. 15 . 
         FIG. 17  is a top plan view of still another embodiment of the invention showing a bottle cap gap adjustment arrangement for maintaining a proper gap or spacing between the facing surfaces of the transfer belts. 
         FIG. 18  is a view similar to  FIG. 9  showing an alternate and preferred cap collection bin. 
         FIG. 19  is an end elevation view of  FIG. 18 . 
         FIG. 20  is a section view in the direction of arrows  20 - 20  in  FIG. 19 . 
     
    
    
     Exemplary embodiments are illustrated in reference figures of the drawings. It is intended that the embodiments and figures disclosed herein are to be considered to be illustrative rather than limiting. 
     LIST OF COMPONENTS 
     
         
           10 . bottle cap orienting apparatus 
           12 . frame 
           14 . cap transfer assembly 
           16 . cap feeder 
           18 . motor/vacuum 
           20 . vacuum conduit 
           20   r . right-hand conduit 
           20   l . left-hand conduit 
           22 . left-hand transfer belt 
           24 . right-hand transfer belt 
           26 . suction hole 
           28 . cap support surface 
           30 . suction holes 
           34 . belt gap 
           36 . cap collection chute 
           36 ′. chute frame 
           38 . cap outlet 
           40 . right-hand belt drive 
           42 . left-hand belt drive 
           44 . left-hand belt sheave shaft 
           46 . left-hand belt sheave shaft 
           48 . right-hand belt sheave shaft 
           50 . right hand belt sheave shaft 
           52 . left-hand solid area 
           54 . right-hand solid area 
           56 . left-hand vacuum chamber 
           58 . right-hand vacuum chamber 
           60 . left-hand chamber extension 
           62 . right-hand chamber extension 
           64 . left-hand cap stripper 
           66 . right-hand cap stripper 
           68 . cap collection chamber 
           70 . reversible transfer belt 
           72 . small suction holes 
           74 . large suction holes 
           76 . cap retainer plate 
           78 . retainer pin 
           80 . adjustment slot 
           82 . cap transfer assembly 
           84 . right-hand transfer belt 
           86 . left-hand transfer belt 
           88 . left-hand belt sheave 
           90 . right-hand belt sheave 
           92 . left-hand belt sheave shaft 
           94 . right-hand belt sheave shaft 
           96 . belt tensioner wheel 
           98 . tensioner adjust arm 
           100 . tensioner roller 
           102 . belt take up 
           104 . left-hand belt centering bead 
           106 . right-hand belt centering bead 
           108 . suction hole 
           110 . suction hole 
           112 . left-hand top plate 
           114 . left-hand bottom plate 
           116 . left-hand intermediate plate 
           118 . left-hand vacuum chamber 
           120 . right-hand top plate 
           122 . right-hand bottom plate 
           124 . right-hand intermediate plate 
           126 . right-hand vacuum chamber 
           130 . cap transfer assembly 
           132 . gap adjust 
           134 . threaded shaft adjustment 
           136 . fixed block 
           140 . cap collection bin 
           142 . bin frame 
           144 . transparent cover plate 
           146 . bin intermediate plate 
           148 . cap discharge chute 
           150 . cap outlet 
           152 . air inlet tube 
           154 . air inlet 
           156 . air chamber 
           158 . air ports 
           160 . air flow plenum 
       
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, and firstly to  FIGS. 1 to 8 , one embodiment of the invention is there shown generally at numeral  10  and includes a metal frame  12  having an upper cap support surface  28  atop which is affixed a cap transfer assembly  14 . A cap feeder  16 , which is preferred, is oriented and attached to the cap support surface  28  in general alignment with a belt gap  34  formed between the left-hand and right-hand transfer belts  22  and  24  of the cap transfer assembly  14 . A cap collection chute  36 , generally preferred, is attached in upright orientation second or at the discharge end of the cap transfer assembly  14 . 
     Attached to the frame  12  beneath the cap support surface  28  is a motor/vacuum  18  which suctions air and produces a vacuum within vacuum conduit  20  and right-hand and left-hand conduits  20   r  and  20   l . Right-hand and left-hand belt drives  40  and  42  are attached to the bottom surface of the cap support surface  28  in belt-driving engagement within the second ends of the transfer belts  22  and  24  as best seen in  FIG. 8 . 
     As best seen additionally in  FIGS. 11 and 12 , each of the transfer belts  22  and  24  are formed of flexible material and include a row of suction holes  26  formed completely therearound extending along the lower edge of each of the belts  22  and  24 . These transfer belts  22  and  24  are drivingly rotated in the direction of the arrows best seen in  FIGS. 9 and 10  about upright sheave shafts  44 / 46  and  48 / 50 , the drive mechanism being described herebelow. 
     Each of the conduits  20   l  and  20   r  are in vacuum communication with left-hand and right-hand vacuum chambers  56  and  58  within the perimeter of the racetrack-shaped transfer belts  22  and  24 , respectively. These vacuum chambers  56  and  58  are at a height above the cap support surface  28  generally equal to about half of the diameter of the bottle caps being oriented so as to be in vertical alignment with the row of suction holes  26  and  30  of the respective transfer belts  22  and  24 . The vacuum chambers  56  and  58  extend around the semi-circular curved second or discharge ends of the transfer belts  22  and  24  to chamber extensions  60  and  62 , respectively. By this arrangement, each of the metallic or non-metallic bottle caps will be suction adhered over one or two of the aligned suction holes  26  or  30  with the open side of each of the caps facing toward and covering the corresponding suction holes. Conversely, the slightly crowned closed end of each of the caps, when positioned over one or more of the suction holes  26  or  30  will not be vacuum adhered against the transfer belt in this manner as vacuum leakage around the crowned closed end of the cap will fail to maintain sufficient suction adhesive to hold the cap, crowned side there against. 
     As best seen in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the caps L and R are fed into the cap feeder  16  on edge and moved downwardly by gravity in the direction of the arrow. The discharge end of the cap feeder  16  is positioned at the beginning of the gap  34  defined between the upright facing straight sides of the transfer belts  22  and  24 . The size of the gap  34  is established to be equal to or slightly larger than the height of the bottle caps such that, when the open side of each of the caps are suction attached over one or more of the corresponding suction holes  30  and  26 , the caps will move along in the direction of the arrow supported atop the cap support surface  28 . Regardless of the orientation of the caps as they are fed downwardly along the cap feeder  16 , the open side of each of the caps CR and CL will be suction adhered to one of the transfer belts  22  or  24  with the open side of the cap facing thereagainst. 
     As best seen in  FIGS. 10 ,  11  and  12 , the caps CL and CR are held over one or more of the corresponding suction hole(s)  26  and  30  through about half of the length of the semi-circular discharge end of the corresponding transfer belt  22  or  24 . At that point, as also seen in  FIG. 9 , the caps CL and CR strike or abut against the corresponding left-hand or right-hand cap stripper  64  or  66  and are released from suction engagement over the corresponding suction hole(s)  26  or  30 . The caps CL and CR then fall by gravity downward into a cap collection chamber  68  of the cap collection chute  36  shown in  FIG. 9  with the chute cover removed at  36 ′ for clarity. The caps CL and CR then accumulate for discharge from the cap outlet  38  of the cap collection chute  36  to the next stage of the bottling apparatus (not shown). 
     Referring now to  FIG. 13 , an alternate embodiment of the transfer belt is there shown generally at numeral  70  and is formed of thin, flexible material generally in the shape of a racetrack as previously described. However, in this transfer belt embodiment  70 , two separate rows of suction holes  72  and  74  are there provided. Each of these rows of suction holes  72  and  74  are preferably evenly spaced apart one to another and extend around the corresponding margin of the transfer belt  70  and at a distance from the corresponding edge or margin of the transfer belt  70  a distance generally equal to half of the diameter of the bottle cap being oriented for conveyance to the bottle capping apparatus (not shown). However, the larger suction holes  74  will typically be larger in diameter to accommodate and facilitate suction attachment of larger, heavier caps and will also be correspondingly spaced slightly further from the upper edge of the transfer belt  70  so as to be positioned at the approximately above the cap support surface  28  about half of the diameter of the bottle cap being transferred. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 14 , a preferred cap retainer plate  76  is there added so as to assist in maintaining each of the caps CL and CR in the suction-adhered position against the curved second end of the corresponding transfer belt  22  and  24  as the caps CL and CR are moved around the semi-circular radius of the second or discharge end of the transfer belts  22  and  24 . The cap retainer plate  76  is adjustably movable in the direction of the arrow on retainer pin  78  within adjustment slot  80  so as to avoid excess friction contact against the closed end of the caps as they move in arcuate fashion to be released against cap strippers  64  and  66  as previously described. Again, note that all of the caps L and R are oriented in the same direction as they are stripped away from the transfer belts  22  and  24 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 15 , the left-hand and right-hand transfer belts  84  and  86  rotate about, and are driven by, left-hand and right-hand belt sheaves  88  and  90  on left-hand belt shaft  92  and right-hand belt shaft  94 , respectively. These transfer belts  84  and  86  will typically either have or develop excess length due to manufacturing tolerances and/or stretch which is dealt with by a belt tensioner wheel  96  pin connected to a tensioner adjust arm  98  connected within the corresponding transfer belts  84  and  86 . The belt tensioner wheel  96  acts between tensioner rollers  100  and, by adjustment of the positioning of the tensioner adjust arm  98 , proper transfer belt tensioning against the belt sheaves  88  and  90  is maintained. 
     As seen in  FIG. 16 , each of the transfer belts  84  and  86  include inner facing centering beads  104  and  106 , respectively. These centering beads  104  and  106  mate within a correspondingly formed edge of each of the belt sheaves  88  and  90  to enhance deriving engagement therebetween. This sheave centering bead arrangement also prevents upward or downward movement of the transfer belts  84  and  86  while the apparatus  10  is in operation. The left-hand and right-hand vacuum chambers  118  and  126  are formed between bottom plates  114  and  122  and intermediate plates  116  and  124  such that the row of suction holes  108  and  110  are in alignment therewith. This arrangement insures that air will be suctioned inwardly in the direction of the arrows through the suction holes  108  and  110  for the purpose above-described, i.e., suction-holding an open end of a bottle cap thereagainst. Top plates  112  and  120  serve as an additional transfer belt guides and supports and enclose the remainder of the interior of each of the transfer belts  84  and  86 , the lower margins of the transfer belts being positioned in close proximity above the cap support surface  28  as previously described. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 17 , the cap transfer assembly  130  is preferably provided with a pair of spaced apart gap adjusts  132  which establish and control the size of the gap between the transfer belts  22  and  24 . Again, the gap is preferably sized to generally equal or be slightly larger than the overall height of the bottle cap being transferred and oriented. Adjustment of the size of the gap is made by rotating the gap adjust  132  and threaded shaft adjustment  134  in the direction of the arrows within fixed block  136 . 
     Referring lastly to  FIGS. 18 ,  19  and  20 , an alternate and preferred embodiment of the cap collection bin is there shown generally at numeral  140 . In this collection bin  140 , a rectangular frame  142  is provided which supports an inner upright bin intermediate plate  146  in spaced apart relationship with a transparent outer cover plate  144 . The caps CR&amp;L fall downwardly by gravity after being stripped from the curved second or discharge ends of each of the transfer belts  22  and  24  as previously described. The caps CR&amp;L fall downwardly against the lower portion of the bin frame  142  for discharge from a cap outlet  150  of cap discharge chute  148 . To assist in and expedite cap discharge in this manner, pressurized air produced by the motor/vacuum  18  previously described is fed into an air inlet tube  152  and into an air chamber  156  through air inlet  154  in the direction of the arrows in  FIG. 20 . This pressurized air is then forced through air ports  158  which are angularly oriented in spaced relationship through the intermediate plate  146 . These elongated sloping air ports  158  force air in the direction of the arrows and against each of the caps in the direction of the broken line arrow to accelerate and force the caps to more quickly discharge from the cap discharge chute  148 . 
     While a number of exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those of skill in the art will recognize certain modifications, permeations and additions and subcombinations thereof. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims and claims hereinafter introduced are interpreted to include all such modifications, permeations, additions and subcombinations that are within their true spirit and scope.