Patent ID: 7322165

Claim:
A closing cone for screwing closures onto containers, comprising: a receiving part having an inner surface that defines a generally conical shape; a pick ring disposed at least partially in said receiving part, said pick ring including a plurality of movable segments, each of said movable segments having a surface that defines a conical shape complementary to said inner surface of said receiving part and that establishes a cone-taper coupling between said pick ring and said receiving part; an actuation system that at least one of adjusts said movable segments to establish a maximum an inner diameter of said pick ring and limits motion between said pick ring and said receiving part generally along a central axis of the closing cone; a pick-up system including a spring system that establishes a biasing force on said movable segments of said pick ring toward said central axis of the closing cone, wherein said movable segments of said pick ring are operable to expand against said biasing force of said spring system to accept one of the closures; and said pick ring operable to move relative to said receiving part generally along said central axis of the closing cone to close the cone-taper coupling and squeeze together said movable segments of said pick ring; wherein said spring system holds at least one ball in an opening formed in at least one of said moveable segments and wherein a portion of said ball extends into said inner diameter of said pick ring.