Patent ID: 7331157

Claim:
A capping device for fitting caps onto containers by applying an axial force to the caps as they are threaded onto the containers, said device comprising; a drive member for rotating about an operational axis, a capper body slidably coupled to said drive member and rotatably fixed to said drive member such that said capper body slides relative to said drive member along said operational axis during use and rotates with said drive member about said operational axis during use, a biasing member urging said capper body away from said drive member with a biasing force, an adjustment mechanism operatively coupled to said biasing member for adjusting said biasing force thereby adjusting the axial force applied to the caps as they are threaded onto the containers, and a retaining mechanism including a locking element movable between a latched position to prevent adjustment of said biasing force and an unlatched position to allow adjustment of said biasing force, said retaining mechanism including a plurality of discrete catches disposed radially outwardly on said drive member wherein said locking element is disposed in one of said plurality of discrete catches in said latched position to prevent adjustment of said biasing force and said locking element is movable out of said one of said plurality of discrete catches in said unlatched position to allow adjustment of said biasing force.