Claims
- 1. A bottle gripping device for gripping a crown neck of a bottle during cleaning, capping, and filling, wherein the device is adapted to contact the bottle at discrete points comprising less than 25% of the total circumference of the crown neck.
- 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the bottle has a 360° circumference and the discrete points comprise less than 90° of arc.
- 3. The device of claim 2, wherein device contacts the bottle at 4 distinct points.
- 4. The device of claim 3, wherein the device has a stationary gripping member and a biased gripping member.
- 5. The device of claim 4, wherein the biased gripping member is biased toward the stationary gripping member by at least one spring.
- 6. The device of claim 5, wherein the biased gripping member is adapted to move away from the stationary gripping member as a result of pressure from the bottle.
- 7. The device of claim 6, further comprising a guide upon which the biased gripping member slides between a gripped configuration and a released configuration.
- 8. The device of claim 7, wherein the stationary gripping member has a groove that cooperates with the crown neck to hold the bottle.
- 9. A method of cleaning, filling, or capping a bottle, comprising:
providing a bottle having a neck with a circular cross section; and gripping the bottle by contacting the neck at four discrete points along the circumference of the neck.
- 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of gripping the bottle further comprises using the bottle to apply pressure to a biased gripping member.
- 11. The method of claim 8, further comprising a step of using pneumatic fingers to release the bottle.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 60/416045 filed on Oct. 3, 2002 incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60416045 |
Oct 2002 |
US |