Claims
- 1. A sealing apparatus comprising:
- a fixed frame structure including a base, vertical supports extending upward from said base, and a horizontal beam supported on said vertical supports;
- a container support including a container receiver;
- telescopically interfitting rails for shiftably mounting said container support to said fixed frame structure;
- an upper heater platen floatingly suspended from said horizontal beam above said support, said upper heater platen being vertically shiftable to press a container and lid on said support and being pivotable relative to said horizontal beam so as to slightly rock and thereby uniformly engage a peripheral region of the container and lid on said container support; and
- an air actuator positioned between said horizontal support beam and a central location on said platen to cause said platen to apply equal force against said container support over the platen area, wherein said container support is horizontally shiftable between a load/unload position and a sealing position below said platen and said rails are vertically downwardly shiftable against a bias, and the apparatus further includes fixed stops below said support to limit this downward shift.
- 2. The sealing apparatus as defined in claim 1 and further including spring elements for biasing said container support upwardly from said fixed stops.
- 3. The sealing apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said upper heater platen includes two rods extending vertically upward and passing through respective apertures in said horizontal support beam.
- 4. The sealing apparatus as defined in claim 3 and further including a biasing mechanism for biasing said upper heater platen toward said horizontal support beam and away from said container support.
- 5. The sealing apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said two rods each include a washer on an upper end and said biasing mechanism includes two biasing springs extending around said rods between a bottom surface of said washers and an upper surface of said horizontal support beam so as to compress when said air actuator is activated.
- 6. The sealing apparatus as defined in claim 1 and further including a biasing mechanism for biasing said upper heater platen toward said horizontal support beam and away from said container support.
- 7. A sealing apparatus comprising:
- a base frame;
- a container support including a container receiver, said container support being slidably disposed on said base frame so as to be horizontally movable between a sealing position and a loading/unloading position;
- an upper heater platen suspended above said container support at the sealing position;
- a first actuator above said upper heater platen actuable to force said upper heater platen downwardly onto a container and lid on said container support to seal the lid onto the container on said support; and
- a second actuator connected between said base frame and said container support, for moving said container support from the sealing position toward the loading/unloading position after said first actuator is deactivated so as to raise said upper heater platen.
- 8. The sealing apparatus as defined in claim 7, wherein said first actuator is an air actuated actuator.
- 9. The sealing apparatus as defined in claim 7 and further including a cam switch positioned to be actuated by said container support when moved to the sealing position, for controlled activation of said first actuator.
- 10. The sealing apparatus as defined in claim 7, wherein said second actuator is a gas spring.
- 11. The sealing apparatus as defined in claim 7, wherein said first actuator is an air actuated actuator and said second actuator is a gas spring.
- 12. The sealing apparatus as defined in claim 11 and further including:
- a cam switch positioned to be actuated by said container support when moved to the sealing position; and
- an air logic circuit for activating said first actuator to lower said upper heater platen in response to actuation of said cam switch, and for deactivating said first actuator and activating said gas spring to raise the upper heater platen and move said container support to the loading/unloading position a predetermined time after said cam switch is actuated.
- 13. A sealing apparatus for sealing a lid onto a container, the sealing apparatus comprising:
- a container support for supporting a container;
- a frame having horizontal guides upon which said container support may be slid between a loading/unloading position and a sealing position;
- a heater platen suspended from said frame above said container support when said container support is in the sealing position, said heater platen being vertically shiftable so as to be forced downwardly onto a container and lid on said container support and seal the lid onto the container and to subsequently be lifted back upward from the sealed container; and
- a spring connected between said frame and said container support for biasing said container support toward the loading/unloading position and ejecting said container support from the sealing position when said heater platen is lifted upward from the sealed container.
- 14. The sealing apparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein said spring is a gas spring.
- 15. The sealing apparatus as defined in claim 13 and further including an air actuator mounted to said heater platen and said frame, for forcing said heater platen downward to seal a lid on a container when activated and for lifting said heater platen upward away from the sealed container when deactivated.
- 16. The sealing apparatus as defined in claim 15 and further including a cam switch positioned to be actuated by said container support when slid into the sealing position for controlled activation of said air actuator.
- 17. The sealing apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein said spring ejects said container support from the sealing position when said air actuator is deactivated.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation of U.S. Patent application Ser. No. 08/629,269 now Pat. No. 5,784,858 filed on Apr. 8, 1996, entitled DRAWER ACTION TRAY SEALING MACHINE, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
629269 |
Apr 1996 |
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