Patent ID: 8789344

Claim:
A capping device for capping vials borne by a conveyor with caps, each cap having an inserting portion, shaped for insertion into a mouth of a vial, and a head portion, which remains externally on the vial after capping, the capping device comprising: a pick-up zone configured for supporting and containing the caps by contacting only the head portion thereof; a conveyor for supplying caps to the pick-up zone, configured for carrying the caps by contacting only a head portion thereof; and pick-up and inserting means configured and activatable for picking up at least one cap at a time from the pick-up zone, contacting only the head portion of the cap, and for transporting the picked-up cap, while retaining the cap only by the head portion thereof, to a respective vial to be capped, and for inserting at least a part of the inserting portion of the picked-up cap into the mouth of the vial; wherein the pick-up and inserting means comprise: at least one housing for receiving the picked-up cap and for retaining the cap releasably only by a head portion thereof, at least one pick-up element for collecting a cap from the pick-up zone and inserting the cap in the housing, and configured for picking up and carrying the cap while contacting only the head portion thereof, at least one transfer mechanism, to which the housing is fixed, activatable for moving the housing between a receiving position in which the housing can receive the picked-up cap and a release position in which the cap retained in the housing is brought to the vial, the transfer mechanism adjusting an orientation of the cap such that the inserting portion of the cap is facing the mouth of the vial; at least one presser element arranged with respect to the vials so as to be activatable for pressing on only the head portion of a cap which is arranged with the inserting portion facing the mouth of the vial, and for inserting in the vial at least a part of the inserting portion, through the mouth; wherein the transfer mechanism is configured for arranging the housing in the release position in which the presser element is movable to press on only the head portion of the picked-up cap, extracting the cap from the housing and inserting the inserting portion at least partly into the vial; and, wherein the housing has an internal edge which defines a through-hole, the through-hole having a width greater than a width of the inserting portion of the cap, the internal edge having a shape and dimensions for forming the through-hole such that the head portion of the cap is received and retained by an interference fit in the through-hole.