Claims
- 1. In a vessel closing apparatus having means for transporting closing caps to a vessel closing cap position in said vessel closing apparatus from a closing cap supply source, said closing caps having top, bottom and side surfaces, said transpiration means including a conveying chute for feeding said closing caps from said source to a discharge position at a discharge end of the chute in line and in side-by-side relationship and engaging mans moving in a path of travel adjacent the discharge end of the chute and transverse to the direction of discharge of said closing caps from said chute for engaging closing caps discharged from the chute and conveying them one at a time in said path to said vessel closing cap position, the improvement comprising a guide channel having a slide surface over which said closing caps can slide and a pair of spaced guide elements extending parallel to each other along opposite sides of said path of travel of the engaging means, said guide elements being spaced apart a distance slightly larger than the distance between opposite side surfaces of said closing caps, said guide channel having an entrance end adjacent the discharge end of said chute and guiding said closing caps for sliding movement only in said path of travel while they are being conveyed by the engaging means to the vessel closing cap position, and transfer means for transferring closing caps from the discharge position at the discharge end of the conveying chute one at a time to a holding position at least partly into said entrance end of the guide channel and between the guide elements thereof, said transfer means holding a closing cap in said holding position until the closing cap is engaged by the engaging means.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the discharge end of said conveying chute and the entrance end of said guide channel are in the same plane and are interconnected by a transfer slide surface.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said plane is horizontally arranged and hold down means are provided between the discharge end of said conveying chute and said guide channel for holding said caps on said transfer slide surface while they are being transferred by said transfer means.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said discharge end of said conveying chute, said guide channel, said transfer slide surface and said hold down means are part of a common guide plate.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said holddown means are lateral guides spaced vertically from said slide transfer surface that guide said caps as they enter said guide channel.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein an end of the guide element of the guide channel closest to the discharge end of the conveying chute at the entrance end of the guide channel forms a rounded corner with a side wall of said conveying chute.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein an end of the guide element of the guide channel farthest from the discharge end of the converging chute extends across and opposite from said discharge end forming a stop for closing caps discharged from said conveying chute.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said closing caps are of metal and said transfer means comprises at least one magnet.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said transfer means comprises two permanent magnets of different magnetic force, a magnet of weaker magnetic force being positioned opposite the discharge end of said conveying chute, and a magnet of stronger magnetic force at the entrance end of said guide channel, whereby said magnets, in combination, slide closing caps, one at a time, from the discharge position of the conveying chute along said transfer slide surface into said entrance end of the guide channel.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said transfer means comprises a multiple of permanent magnets of equal magnetic force, said magnets being arranged between the discharge end of said conveying chute and the entrance end of said guide channel with a greater concentration of said magnets nearer said entrance end, whereby said magnets, in combination, slide the closing caps, one at a time, from the discharge position of the conveying chute along said transfer slide surface into said entrance end of the guide channel.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 9 or 10, wherein said magnets are located beneath said transfer slide surface.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said engaging means engages a side of said closing caps while between said guide elements that extends in a plane at right angles relative to the sides of said closing caps guided by the guide elements of said guide channel.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the engaging means comprises a pin that moves along said path of travel and projects downwardly into said guide channel between said guide elements to engage a closing cap.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said holding position for said closing caps in said entrance end of the guide channel locates more than half of the closing cap between said guide elements of said guide channel prior to engagement by the engaging means.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
9104140 |
Apr 1991 |
DEX |
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Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/862,713, filed Apr. 3, 1992, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (6)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2147770 |
Mar 1972 |
DEX |
2734599 |
Aug 1979 |
DEX |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
862713 |
Apr 1992 |
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