Patent ID: 7946839

Claim:
Apparatus comprising: a forming device for compression moulding of caps made of plastic material, said forming device being provided with a plurality of moulds that rotate about a vertical axis along a circumference, each mould comprising a die provided with a cavity that is shaped according to the external geometry of a cap, and a punch arranged above the die and adapted to reproduce the internal geometry of said cap; a transferring wheel arranged for receiving said caps from said forming device, said transferring wheel being located below said punches, each cap being removed from a punch and delivered to the transferring wheel, wherein each cap being adapted to fall from the respected punch on the transferring wheel, said transferring wheel being configured to receive an end surface of each cap that is opposite to a hollow portion of the cap in which a bottle neck has to be inserted; an evacuation wheel arranged for transferring said caps from said transferring wheel to an exit zone; a first suction device arranged for keeping said caps associated with said transferring wheel along a suction section comprised between a collecting position of said caps from said forming device and a delivering position of said caps to said evacuation wheel, said first suction device comprising a first passage through which an operating fluid is conveyable, said first passage passing through a plate portion of said transferring wheel and leading out on a surface of said plate portion for keeping said caps adherent to said plate portion at least along said suction section, wherein said surface comprises an upper surface of said transferring wheel, a second suction device arranged for keeping said caps associated with said evacuation wheel along a further suction section comprised between said delivering position and said exit zone, said second suction device comprising a second passage through which an operating fluid is conveyable, said second passage passing through a further plate portion of said evacuation wheel and leading out on a further surface of said further plate portion for keeping said caps adherent to said further plate portion at least along said further suction section, said further surface being opposite to said surface at least in said delivering position, said further surface comprising a lower surface of said evacuation wheel to which the cap adheres at a further end surface of the cap opposite said end surface, at least one of said first and second passages ending on at least one wheel of said transferring and evacuation wheels near a seat for said caps.