ES2243653T3 - STOPPER MACHINE WITH A STOPPER HEAD. - Google Patents

Abstract

Capping head for a capping machine, intended to fit caps onto bottles or the like, which is supported removably via connecting means (2) by a corresponding hollow sleeve (3) mounted peripherally on a rotating carousel of the said machine. Each head (1) is provided with actuator means (4) which rotate about a central axis (Z) of the head (1) so as to fit a cap on the top of a container, retaining it thereon by means of a screw-type connection. According to the invention, the connecting means (2) are formed by a first element (5) mechanically connected to the sleeve (3) and by a second element (6) mechanically connected to the top of the head (1), which elements can be removably coupled together by means of fast-fit engaging means (7). <IMAGE>

Description

Capping machine with a capping head.

Scope

The present invention relates to a machine capper with a capping head, according to the preamble of the claim 1, and which is designed to fix caps in containers, in particular, bottles or the like.

The machine in question is meant to be advantageously used in industrial installations of bottling of beverages, such as wine, whiskey, mineral water, juices, etc., in order to hermetically close the mouths of containers with caps or capsules that are normally retained in said containers by threading.

State of the art

As is known, the industrial facilities of bottled, which currently exist in the market, perform consecutively the various stages of packaging, such as washing, Filling and plugging. For this purpose, they use machines operation, designed to perform individual functions, and a series of wheels with grooves, screw feeders or ribbons conveyors to transport containers from a machine to other.

The final stage of packaging obviously provides for automatic closure of the containers using capping machines which, in general, are of the continuous rotating conveyor type. Numerous plug heads are peripherally mounted on top of the continuous conveyor, at the same distance from each other, and they close the containers when they mesh on them during its movement around the continuous conveyor.

It is known that there are different types of capping machines, said machines performing the closing of the packaging by means of operating heads equipped with specific mechanical devices designed according to the plug to be fixed and the container to be closed.

A first type of capping machine, a called capping machine, it performs the threading of capsules Thread type, usually made of plastic, on top Threading of a container.

A second type of capping machine is used, on the contrary, in order to adjust "punched caps", that is, plugs that form threads or simply notches in between of the deformation of its flange against a finish over the mouth of the containers

In the latter case each head is provided internally of threading rollers that are made to make a rotating movement, by means of the head itself, against the plugs to form threads on their flanges, as described in illustrates, for example, in US 4,086,747 and US 3,303,955.

However, in the case of machines capsulators grip devices are provided within each head to grab, in the first place, the capsules and, subsequently, thread them to the containers, making them rotate around of the spindle axis, as described and illustrated, for example, in the EP 248,145 and DE 3912324.

In any case, the heads are subject around the machine by means of a corresponding number of sleeves that have a diameter and height that are mostly Standardized For this purpose, the sleeves are threaded on the part bottom to allow the threading of the heads by means of Threaded ring gear.

The sleeves are generally connected to their time, mechanically, to the machine by means of mandrels capable of Turn them together with the heads.

The heads and sleeves have, arranged inside them, push means similar to a rod that, in In particular, in the case of screw capping machines, they help fix the caps, pushing them over the mouth of the containers, as consequence of the action of a spring. This favors closing airtight of the caps in the containers. On the other hand, these means thrust can simply slide axially inside the head and hollow sleeve to apply the threading rollers on the plugs or actuate the grip devices in the case of capping machines.

As it is known in the bottling sector and, in In particular, in the whiskey bottling sector, a requirement especially widespread is to frequently replace capping heads, depending on the type of cap or the type of bottle to be used

Currently, this operation is performed manually unscrewing each individual head of the sleeve corresponding by means of a wrench and replacing it by another head more suitable for the capping that is going to perform.

This operation is exhausting, very laborious and It results in the machine being idle during a lot of time.

Obviously, these circumstances affect negatively to the bottling results of all the industrial installation

It should also be remembered that each machine capper has, generally, several heads and that, so Therefore, it takes a long time to replace all of them. The assembly and disassembly operations result, in addition, even more difficult because of the fact that, before unscrewing each head from the sleeve, it is necessary to unscrew a safety screw from split head that is located on the threaded connecting ring and obviously re-tighten it once it has been reassembled The new head.

Such assembly and disassembly operations of the head require a lot of physical force that necessarily requires the use of especially strong staff.

It should also be taken into account that once that the connecting ring has engaged in the sleeve thread, is it is necessary to reduce the opposite pressure of the pushing means to complete the threading. This circumstance makes the task of replacing the heads.

Currently, particularly in the case of heads for a capping machine, it is possible to adjust the force of torsion, with which the cap is threaded to the bottle, modifying the distance between suitable electromagnetic coupling means or regulating suitable friction clutch means, as describes, for example, in WO 00/02810, US 5,490,369 and WO 96.07611.

However, these adjustments themselves are not always enough to avoid having to replace the heads completely by other more suitable heads to satisfy specific capping requirements.

Currently, machines are also known capsulators in which some pieces (usually the portion bottom) can be easily replaced to adapt the operation to different packages and / or different caps.

In this sense, for example, the GB patent 2332195 describes a quick replacement coupling for a head of closure comprising drive means for placing the cap over the mouth of the containers, held by a hollow sleeve, to through quick-adjusting gear means comprising a first element and a second element coupled together.

This solution that is designed solely for capping heads is not easily suitable for use with other types of heads and in any case does not fully satisfy the current need for versatility of capping machines, which can only be satisfied by completely replacing Heads

More particularly the gear means of rapid adjustment of patent GB 2332195 does not take into account mechanical problems associated with the presence of pushing means in rod form whose purpose is to cooperate operationally with the drive means for fixing the plugs.

Description of the invention

In this situation the task, which forms the basis of the present invention, is to eliminate the drawbacks mentioned above of the known technique providing a capping machine, designed to fix caps in containers, in particular bottles or similar, which allows the replacement of a capping head very easily and over a period of time very short, without ever pretending a spring of the pushing means in the form of a rod designed to cooperate operationally with the drive means for fixing the plugs.

Another object of the present invention is provide a capping head that does not require a certain physical strength to replace it.

Another object of the present invention is provide a capping head that allows extreme use Versatile capping machine.

A further object of the present invention is to design a capping head provided with connection means for the replacement thereof, which are structurally simple and Operationally fully reliable.

These and other objects are achieved with the machine capper with a capping head comprising the distinctive features of claim 1.

As a consequence of this capping head is possible to quickly adapt the capping machine to work with bottles and / or caps that have different characteristics, such As the size or shape.

Brief description of the drawings

The technical characteristics of the invention, according to the objects mentioned above, they can be set clearly from the content of the indicated claims then the advantages of it will be clearly appreciated at from the detailed description that appears below, in relationship with the attached drawings, which illustrate a form of embodiment only by way of example and not limiting it and in which:

Fig. 1 shows a schematic view in perspective of a head according to the invention with the means of connection to connect to a sleeve, shown in one position closed, highlighted,

Fig. 2 shows a schematic view in perspective of the head according to Fig. 1 connected to the sleeve,

Fig. 3 shows a schematic side view of the head and sleeve according to Fig. 1,

Fig. 4A shows a first schematic view side of the head and sleeve according to Fig. 2,

Fig. 4B shows a second schematic view side of the head and sleeve according to Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 shows a schematic view in section of the head and sleeve according to Fig. 1,

Fig. 6 shows a schematic view in section of the head and sleeve according to Fig. 2.

Detailed description of a preferred embodiment

In relation to the attached drawings, the number 1 indicates, in its entirety, a capping head to fix caps in containers, in particular, bottles and the like, that make up the object of the present invention.

Said head is arranged in a way fully conventional peripherally in the continuous conveyor rotating of a capping machine (not shown) and, therefore, it is used during the final stage of the procedures of industrial bottling to hermetically seal containers of caps or capsules.

As is known, these facilities comprise, normally, a washing machine, a filling machine and a capping machine all of continuous conveyor type, that is, each provided with a plurality of operating heads peripherally mounted on the associated continuous conveyor, respectively, to wash, fill and plug the passing containers Through the installation.

The transition of the packaging of a machine to other, as well as between the installation and the feeding means and expulsion (consisting mainly of feeders of screw), is usually done by means of several wheels Motorized with slots.

The continuous conveyor of the machines cappers rotates around its central axis of rotation Z which is substantially vertical and is provided with guide means for extract the containers upstream directly from the discs of filler machine support or from a wheel with grooves arranged just downstream of the filling machine itself. He continuous conveyor releases the downstream containers, which have been covered during movement around the central axis of rotation Z, to a screw feeder or a conveyor belt that Transport outside the facility.

The capping heads 1, in addition to turning around the axis of the machine, they also revolve around its axis central Z and, for this purpose, are subject to the machine, so removable, by means of connection means 2 by a hollow sleeve 3.

In turn, the latter is connected mechanically to the machine by means of a mandrel driven by adequate driving means capable of causing it to rotate, together with head 1, around the common central axis Z of turn.

The drive means 4 (not shown in detail) are mounted on head 1 and are also transported rotatably around the central axis Z of the sleeve 3, to fix the caps on the top of the containers, fixing them by means of a thread type connection, as will be described more clearly below.

According to the present invention, the means 2 of connection comprise a first element 5, which is connected mechanically to sleeve 3, and a second element 6, which is mechanically connected to head 1, elements that can be couple together removably by means 7 of quick adjustment gear.

The first and second elements 5 and 6 are connected by threading, respectively, to the lower end from sleeve 3 and to the upper end of head 1, to be coaxially mounted with respect to the central axis Z of the head itself 1. For this purpose, according to Figures 5 and 6, the first and second element 5 and 6 are respectively provided with a thread external and an internal thread intended, accordingly, to engage by threading on the external thread of sleeve 3 and on the thread internal formed at the top of head 1.

In more detail, the gear means 7 of quick adjustment comprise a profiled end piece 8 that extends protruding, at the bottom of the first element 5, by on top of a cylindrical section 9 that is coaxial with respect to the sleeve 3 provided with two legs 10 connected transversely to the free end of the cylindrical section 9 and a guide 11 provided on top of the second profiled element 6 to receive the legs 10 of the profiled end piece 8.

Once they have been introduced in guide 11, the legs 10 cooperate with the latter to retain the two elements 5 and 6 that are united together forming a single piece.

Advantageously, the gear means 7 of quick adjustment also comprise fixing means 12 capable of securely retain the legs 10 inside the guide 11. Said means comprise two protruding heels 13 that are fixed in diametrically opposite positions, above the second element 6 and a movable ring 14 attached to the first element 5 and provided with two accommodation 15.

The ring 14 is able to slide axially over a cylindrical part 16 of the first element 5 between a first lower position with the housings 15 engaged in both heels 13 and a second upper position with housings 15 disengaged heels 13.

It is planned to use a spring 17 which is mounted externally in the cylindrical part 16 of the first element 5 and that it rests, on the one hand, against the ring 14 and, on the other hand, against a flange 18 (upper matching element) mounted fixed on the first element 5.

In this way, the spring 17 pushes the ring 14 against a lower matching element 19 which also forms a single piece with the first element 5.

The latter may, for example, be formed by two diametrically opposite segments that protrude so transverse and annular of the cylindrical part 16.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the two opposite segments 19 define, together with the ring 14, the housings 15 within which the heels 13. The latter also define, at the bottom, by middle of a groove, the guide 11 into which they are introduced the legs 10 of the profiled end piece 8.

The drive means 4 above mentioned, are of a type already known, and for this reason not they have been shown in detail since they are within the scope of Any expert in the art.

In particular, depending on the type of head, a plurality of thread rollers can be provided (offset angularly) that are made to perform a rotating movement by means of sleeve 3 against the caps, to form threads in their flanges or a plurality of devices can be provided grip capable of gripping caps (or capsules) already provided with a internal thread and thread them on the external thread of the containers, rotating around the axis of the head 1.

In the attached figures, the number 20 indicates schematically push rod-shaped means whose purpose is to cooperate operationally with the drive means 4 to fixing the plugs. They are coaxially arranged within the head 1 and sleeve 3 and are actuated, to compress the cap in a tight way in the mouth of the container due to the action of a spring 40. The latter is mounted on the rod 41 of the means 20 thrust and is properly prestressed during the assembly of the first element 5. Therefore, the prestressing of the spring 40 is done only once and not every time the head 1.

The pushing means 20 are provided, in the bottom, of a gear element 42, especially of tubular shape, which is inserted into a housing 43 similarly formed in head 1.

However, it should be borne in mind that, if either the present invention is advantageously suitable for use in screw capping machines, it can also be associated to heads for capping machines of a different type, such as, for example, capping machines.

The capping head for a capping machine, intended to fix caps in containers, described so far from a mainly structural point of view, allows the use as illustrated below in the present specification.

If it is necessary to replace a head 1 with another head capable, for example, of working with bottles or caps of different size, hoop 14 is raised first, reducing the opposing force of spring 17 until it rises above the two heels 13, disengaging them from the housings 15.

At that time it will be possible to turn head 1 around the central axis Z to make the legs 10 of the piece profiled end 8 exit guide 11 defined by grooves formed at the base of heels 13.

At the end of these operations, head 1, It will therefore be separated from sleeve 3 and can be replaced by another head, performing the same sequence of operations in the reverse order.

In particular, the rotation of the second element 6 on the first element 5, to introduce the final piece 8 in the guide 11, ends when heels 13 come into contact with the 19 segments of coincidence.

Transmission of the torque between the sleeve 3 and the head is secured exactly thanks to said contact and fixing means 12.

Finally, it should be borne in mind that connection means 2 do not need to make specific adjustments to the connection of the sleeve 3, which in fact is not modified in the most minimum, allowing the heads according to the present invention to be can easily be mounted on any capping machine that is provided with sleeves 3 of the conventionally standardized type in the sector.

Therefore, the invention conceived in this way achieve the objectives defined above.

Obviously, you can also acquire, in its form of practical realization, forms and configurations different from those which have been illustrated above without departing from the Present scope of protection.

In addition, all parts can be replaced by technically equivalent elements and dimensions, shapes and Materials used may be in accordance with the requirements

Claims (13)

1. Capping machine with a capping head which is intended to fix caps in containers, in particular bottles or the like, and which is removably secured by means of a corresponding hollow sleeve (3) of said machine through means ( 2) of connection comprising at least a first element (5), mechanically connected to said sleeve (3), and at least a second element (6), mechanically connected to the upper part of said head (1), being able, said first element (5) and said second element (6), being removably coupled together by means of quick-adjusting gear (7), said machine comprising driving means (4) capable of rotating about an axis center (Z) of the head (1) for fixing a cap on the top of a container, retaining it therein by means of a thread type connection, characterized in that said actuating means (4) form a thread in said cap, which compress l on the lateral surface thereof against a finish of the mouth of the containers and because push rod-shaped means (20) are arranged coaxially within said head (1) and said hollow sleeve (3) and can be actuated to compress said stopper in the mouth of said container and are intended to cooperate operationally with said actuating means (4) in order to fix said stopper in the package itself, and in which said rod-shaped thrust means (20) comprise a rod (41) having, mounted on it, a spring (40) that is prestressed during the assembly of the first element (5). 2. Capping machine according to claim 1, characterized in that said quick-adjusting gear means (7) comprise at least one profiled end piece (8) fixed to said first element (5) and at least one guide (11) provided in said second element (6) and profiled to receive said profiled end piece (8), cooperating with it in a mutual retention arrangement. 3. Capping machine according to claim 2, characterized in that said quick-adjusting gear means (7) comprise fixing means (12) for retaining said profiled end piece (8) in said guide (11). 4. Capping machine according to claim 3, characterized in that said fixing means (12) comprise at least one heel (13) fixed in a projecting manner in said second element (6) and at least one movable ring (14) which is provided of at least one housing (15), connected to said first element (5) and capable of being displaced between a first position, in which said housing (15) meshes with said heel (13) and a second position, in which said housing (15) is disengaged from said heel (13). 5. Capping machine according to claim 4, characterized in that said ring (14) is able to slide axially over a cylindrical part (16) of said first element (5) between said first position and said second position, the latter position being defined by the support contact of said ring against a fixed matching element (19) forming a single piece with said first element (5). 6. Capping machine according to claim 5, characterized in that said fixing means (12) comprise at least one spring (17) capable of pushing said ring (14) towards said coincidence element (19). 7. Capping machine according to claim 5, characterized in that said matching element (19) defines said housing (15) together with said ring (14). 8. Capping machine according to claim 4, characterized in that said guide (11) is formed in said heel (13). 9. Capping machine according to claim 4, characterized in that said first and second elements (5, 6) are arranged coaxially with respect to the axis of said head (1) and because said profiled end piece (8) is capable of being introduced into said guide (11) by rotating said second element (6) with respect to said first element (5) around the central axis (Z) of said head (1). 10. Capping machine according to claim 9, characterized in that said rotation of said second element (6) with respect to said first element (5), for the introduction of said profiled end piece (8) in said guide (11), ends with the support contact of said heel (13) against said coincidence element (19). 11. Capping machine according to claim 1, characterized in that said first element (5) is threadedly connected to a lower end of said hollow sleeve (3). 12. Capping machine according to claim 1, characterized in that said second element (6) is threadedly connected to the upper part of said head (1). 13. Capping machine according to claim 1, characterized in that said rod-shaped thrust means (20) are provided, at the bottom, with a gear element (42) capable of being introduced into a profiled housing (43) of the likewise formed in the head (1) after the coupling of said first element (5) with said second element (6).