Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6367301
-
Patent Number
6,367,301
-
Date Filed
Friday, September 15, 200024 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, April 9, 200222 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 413 2
- 413 6
- 413 10
- 413 12
- 413 31
- 053 331
- 053 334
- 053 488
- 072 94
- 072 102
- 072 111
- 072 4524
- 072 4525
- 072 4526
- 072 4527
- 074 568 R
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A crimping apparatus, comprising a revolving turret supporting a plurality of crimping heads, each crimping head operative to engage a closure on a container to create a crimp in the closure. The crimping head includes a cam follower riding on a stationary cam. The movement imparted by the cam profile to the cam follower is communicated to a crimping tool that engages the closure. The cam defines a plurality of cam follower receiving positions, each position establishing a different profile. The cam can be selectively displaced relative to the revolving turret to alter the position at which the cam follower engages the cam and thus the profile followed by the cam follower.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an apparatus for crimping closures applied on containers. The apparatus is characterized by a mechanism that allows the automatic adjustment of the position of the crimping heads of the apparatus.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is common practice to commercialize or distribute for use liquid pharmaceutical compositions in vials that are sealed with crimp-type closures. Typically, a crimp-type closure includes a resilient plug member that is surrounded by a metallic sleeve. When the closure is applied on the container, the resilient plug member is inserted in the mouth of the container to create a fluid-tight seal. The metallic sleeve fits outside the mouth of the container and has a length sufficient such as to extend below a radial projection formed on the container and located adjacent to its mouth. The purpose of the sleeve is to lock the closure on the container mouth and prevent the closure from being removed unless the sleeve is torn of otherwise pulled off the container. To lock the sleeve, the container is subjected to a crimping operation. During that crimping operation, the lower extremity of the sleeve is bent radially inwardly such as to interfere with the radial projection on the container neck if an attempt is made to pull the closure off.
Crimp-type closures are usually applied on the containers filled with the medicinal preparation by automatic capping machines. During the capping operation, filled containers are transported to a first processing station where crimp-type closures are dropped onto them. If necessary, a pressure is applied such as to forcibly insert the resilient plug member of the crimp-type closure in the mouth of each container. The last step of the capping operation is to crimp the closures. This is done by a crimping machine that has a revolving turret carrying a plurality of crimping heads, each crimping head being associated with a container to be crimped.
The crimping head comprises a crimping tool that is in the form of a circular blade. The circular blade registers with the closure at the location where the crimp is to be made. The crimping blade is then advanced against the container to initiate the crimping operation. At the same time, the container is rotated about its vertical axis to effect a complete revolution that will complete the crimp. The crimping head is then retracted and the container allowed to proceed toward the next processing station whereupon a further operation is performed such as the application of the label, etc.
A problem associated with existing crimping machines is the necessity to manually adjust the position of each crimping head on the revolving turret when the machine is being set up for a new production run. Since different size containers require a different geometrical relationship between the crimping tool and the neck of the container, the position of each crimping head on the revolving turret must be adjusted manually. This operation is time consuming. In addition, the operation must be performed by experienced personnel to avoid situations where one or more of the crimping heads are improperly positioned thereby resulting in improper crimping when the machine is run.
Against this background, it clearly appears that there is a need in the industry to provide an automatic crimping machine on which the crimping heads can be automatically adjusted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a broad aspect, the invention provides a crimping apparatus comprising a revolving turret, a cam, and a plurality of crimping heads supported by the revolving turret. Each crimping head includes a cam follower for engaging one of a plurality of possible cam follower receiving positions defined by the cam. When the revolving turret is in motion, the cam follower tracks the selected cam follower receiving position that is characterized by a certain profile. The profile determines the movement imparted to the crimping head by the cam follower. The cam follower can be located at a different cam receiving position on the cam by displacing the cam and the revolving turret one relative to the other.
The ability to set the cam follower at different cam follower receiving positions allows to quickly perform the necessary changes to the apparatus so as to set it for a production run. For instance, each cam follower receiving position can have a unique profile that makes it suitable for use with a particular container size or type. Thus, by selecting the proper cam follower receiving position the adjustment of the machine is quickly effected.
In a specific non-limiting example of implementation, the revolving turret and the cam are selectively displaceable one relative to the other along the axis of revolution of the revolving turret. More specifically, the axis of revolution is generally vertical. The cam is tapered and defines a plurality of cam follower receiving positions arranged along the direction of taper. A cam follower receiving position is the portion of the cam surface that the cam follower tracks during the revolution of the revolving turret. This portion of the cam surface is characterized by a certain profile. By displacing the revolving turret with relative to the cam, the cam follower engages a different portion of the cam, hence it tracks a different cam follower engaging position.
Under this specific and non-limiting example of implementation, the crimping apparatus comprises a second revolving turret which underlies the first revolving turret and which is associated with the first revolving turret. The second revolving turret, which rotates at the same speed as the first revolving turret, comprises a plurality of container seats which are associated with respective crimping heads. In operation, each container seat supports a container while its associated crimping head crimps the closure of the container.
The crimping heads, which are mounted to the first revolving turret at constant angular intervals, each include a substantially vertically extending body. Each crimping head's respective cam follower is mounted to an upper end of the body while the lower end of that same body includes an arm supporting a crimping too; the latter being typically in the form of a disk.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A detailed description of examples of implementation of the present invention is provided hereinbelow with reference to the following drawings, in which:
FIG. 1
is an illustration of a crimping apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a detailed perspective view of a revolving turret of the crimping apparatus shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 3
is a fragmentary elevational view of a container on which has been applied a closure that has not yet been crimped. This figure also shows the crimping tool of the crimping apparatus on the point of engaging the closure to perform the crimping operation;
FIG. 4
is a cross sectional view taken along line
4
—
4
of the revolving turret shown in
FIG. 2
; and
FIG. 5
is a side elevational view of a cam of the crimping apparatus shown in FIG.
2
. This figure also shows in stippled lines the cam follower receiving positions defined by the outer face of the cam.
In the drawings, embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of examples. It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings are only for purposes of illustration and as an aid to understanding, and are not intended to be a definition of the limits.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
illustrates a crimping apparatus
10
constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention. The crimping apparatus
10
includes an inlet conveyor
12
, a feed screw
9
, an infeed star wheel
7
, an upper revolving turret
14
(not shown for the sake of clarity), an outfeed star wheel
7
′, and an outlet conveyor
12
′. The inlet conveyor
12
is designed to transport a plurality of containers
16
in random sequence. Upon reaching a feed screw
9
, each container
16
individually engages a recess created by the threads of feed screw
9
as the latter rotates about a horizontal axis. Thus, feed screw
9
positions the containers in a single file, and transports them in equi-distant fashion toward an infeed star wheel
7
. Infeed star wheel
7
, which features a plurality of slots
5
along its outer periphery, rotates about a horizontal plane. The containers
16
are received within the slots
5
of infeed star wheel
7
and are thereby transported toward an upper revolving turret
14
, as shown in
FIG. 2
, which comprises a plurality of crimping heads
18
mounted along its periphery. More specifically, the containers
16
are transported toward a lower revolving turret
31
, which underlies the upper revolving turret
14
, and which includes a plurality of container seats
71
disposed about its periphery. The containers
16
, once deposited on respective container seats
71
, can then interact with the crimping heads
18
which crimp closures placed on their respective mouths. The containers
16
are shown in greater detail at FIG.
3
.
The container
16
includes a body
19
. In a specific example of implementation, the containers shown at
FIG. 3
are vials suitable for holding medicinal substances such as injectable liquids. Such vials are typically made of glass material. The container
16
has an upwardly projecting neck
20
that terminates at its upper end by an open mouth portion
22
. Immediately below the mouth portion
22
, the neck is provided with a radial projection
24
on which the closure used to seal the container
16
is affixed. The container
16
is designed to receive a crimp-type closure
26
. The crimp-type closure
26
has two principal elements, namely a central resilient plug (not shown in the drawings) that is inserted in the mouth
22
of the container in order to create a fluid-tight seal. The second principal element of the closure
26
is an outer metallic sleeve
28
that is placed outside the neck
20
of the container
16
. The sleeve
28
has a height sufficient such as to extend below the radial projection
24
. When the closure
26
is crimped, the portion of the sleeve
28
that extends below the radial projection
24
is bent inwardly along the entire circumference of the neck
20
to create a stop or abutment. This stop or abutment interferes with the radial projection
24
if one attempts to remove the closure
26
. Evidently, the closure
26
can be removed by tearing away the sleeve
28
. In certain kinds of crimp-type closures, the sleeve
28
from the container
16
so as to allow the user to remove the plug.
During the crimping operation of the closure
26
, the containers
16
are supported by container seats
71
. In addition to the function of supporting the container
16
, the container seats
71
also serve the purpose of accurately maintaining the registration of the individual container
16
with its corresponding crimping head
18
, as seen in FIG.
2
. At this end, the container seats
71
are mounted to lower revolving turret
31
which is adapted to rotate in a horizontal plane. Each container seat
71
is designed to impart a rotary movement to the container
16
about the vertical axis
32
shown in FIG.
3
. The various drive elements that cause the container seats
71
to rotate about their respective vertical axes have not been shown for the purposes of clarity, it being understood that such drive elements are well known to those skilled in the art and they are not critical to the success of the invention.
Although
FIG. 3
shows the container seats
71
as being adapted to the specific shape and size of the containers
16
, it should be expressly understood that the container seats
71
are capable of readily being changed in order to conform to containers of differing cross-sectional areas and shapes.
Both the lower and upper revolving turrets
31
,
14
are mounted to a drive system that enables them to rotate about a vertical axis. In one example of implementation, the drive system is an electric motor. Many other possibilities exist without departing from the spirit of the invention.
FIG. 2
shows that upper revolving turret
14
, which is in the form of a ring, carries a plurality of crimping heads
18
. The crimping heads
18
are disposed near the outer periphery of upper revolving turret
14
and they are equi-spaced. Upper revolving turret
14
also includes an inner circular aperture
40
through which a drive shaft
38
is mounted. Both the upper and lower revolving turrets
14
,
31
are mounted to the drive shaft
38
which functions to impart a rotary motion to both turrets. In this fashion, the speed of rotation of the upper revolving turret
14
is identical to the speed of rotation of the lower revolving turret
31
which thereby implies that a crimping head
18
will travel with a container
16
at the same speed and will remain physically associated therewith such as to perform the crimping operation.
The adjustment mechanism is mounted above the upper revolving turret
14
and, in
FIG. 2
is designated by the reference numeral
42
. The adjustment mechanism
42
includes a cam
44
and a drive unit
46
that can selectively displace the cam
44
vertically such as to change the profile that the cam
44
presents to cam followers of respective crimping heads
18
. The drive unit
46
comprises an electric motor
48
and a transmission system
50
(partially shown) that uses gears (not shown), to convert the rotary movement of the motor
48
into a transitional movement that is imparted to the cam
44
. Accordingly, by driving the motor in one direction of rotation, the cam
44
is caused to move horizontally up. By reversing the direction of rotation of the motor
48
, the cam
44
is caused to move down. The cam
44
, which is generally shaped as a truncated cone, includes an outer face
52
on which cam followers of the individual crimping heads
18
ride. More specifically,
FIG. 5
shows that cam
44
defines a plurality of possible cam follower receiving positions
57
. Although
FIG. 5
shows each respective cam follower receiving position
57
as being delimited by stippled lines, it should be expressly understood that no physical barriers per se define each section. The stippled lines shown have been arbitrarily chosen merely for illustrating the fact that cam
44
can include a plurality of cam follower receiving positions
57
. In an alternative embodiment not shown, cam
44
can feature a ridged outer face
52
in order to more clearly define each cam follower receiving position
57
. The truncated conical shape of cam
44
is disturbed only at two diametrically opposed locations
54
. As shown in
FIG. 4
, at these locations
54
the profile of a given cam follower receiving position
57
is divided into first and second segments
53
,
55
respectively. The first segment
53
is characterized by a smaller radius (with respect to the central vertical axis of cam
44
) than that which characterizes the second segment
55
.
Each crimping head
18
includes a main body
56
that is secured in an aperture formed on the upper revolving turret
14
. At the upper end of the main body
56
is mounted a cam follower
58
. The cam follower
58
includes a roller
60
that continuously engages a cam follower receiving position
57
. The roller
60
is mounted to a short arm
62
. An internal shaft that extends within the body
56
and pivotally mounted therein is keyed to the short arm
62
. During a revolution of upper revolving turret
14
, the cam follower
58
of each crimping head
18
rides along the first and second segments
53
,
55
of cam
44
. As a result, when the roller
60
rides along a given cam follower receiving position
57
, the movement imparted to the short arm
62
such as when the roller
60
passes over a location
54
(i.e., which implies a transition from one segment to another) is communicated in the from of pivotal movement to the internal shaft.
At its lower extremity, the crimping head carries an arm
64
that extends generally horizontally and supports at one end a crimping tool
66
in the form of a disk. The arm
64
is keyed to the internal shaft. This causes the crimping tool
66
to move in unison with the cam follower
58
. In other words, the movement of the cam follower
58
imparted by the profile of the cam
44
are transmitted to the crimping tool
66
.
The internal shaft is engaged with a resilient member such as a spring mounted in the body
56
of the crimping head
18
, that at rest urges the cam follower
58
and the crimping tool
66
to pivot in a clockwise direction (when the crimping head
18
is seen from above). As a result, the spring urges the roller
60
in continuous engagement with cam
44
.
In addition to the array of crimping heads
18
, the upper revolving turret
14
also comprises an array of closure holders
68
, there being one closure holder
68
associated with each crimping head
18
. (Several closure holders
68
have been removed from the frontal portion of
FIG. 2
for the sake of clarity.) The function of closure holder
68
is to engage from the top a container
16
whose closure is being crimped such as to prevent the sleeve
28
from spinning on the container neck. Each closure holder
68
is a simple piston cylinder assembly (such as of the pneumatic type) that can reciprocate along a vertical axis. At its lower end, the closure holder
68
includes a generally cylindrical element
69
that physically engages the closure on the container. The cylindrical element
69
is free to rotate about the reciprocating axis of the piston cylinder assembly. More particularly, during the crimping operation, the piston cylinder assembly is extended such that the cylindrical element
69
engages the closure
26
while the crimping tool
66
creates the crimp. In light of the fact that the cylindrical element
69
can turn, the container
16
is free to rotate in spite of the fact that it is engaged by the closure holder
68
.
During the operation of the apparatus, the position of each crimping tool
66
should be accurately maintained with relation to the closure
26
of the container
16
to be crimped. If, during the crimping operation, the position of the crimping tool
66
is improper with relation to the neck of the container
16
, the crimping operation will not be performed correctly. Before each production run, the machine
10
must be properly set in accordance with the particular type of container
16
to be processed. The setting of the machine is performed by adjusting the vertical position of the cam
44
. By displacing the cam downwardly, all the cam followers
58
are caused to slightly pivot in a counter-clockwise direction which imparts the same motion to the crimping tools
66
. Stated otherwise, this movement brings the edge of the crimping disk closer to the container seats
71
. Such a position would be suitable when containers having small necks are to be crimped. In contrast, when containers with larger necks are to be crimped, the opposite adjustment is performed in order to retract the crimping tools
66
. It suffices to raise the cam
44
so as to allow the cam followers
58
under the effect of the internal springs to pivot slightly in a clockwise direction.
The adjustment mechanism
42
is very practical because it allows to quickly set the machine for different production runs. The adjustments are accurate and performed simultaneously on all of the crimping heads
18
.
In operation, when a container
16
that has previously received a closure
26
is deposited onto a closure seat
71
, it is associated with a crimping head
18
and with a closure holder
68
. Since the speed of the upper revolving turret
14
is equivalent to the speed of lower revolving turret
31
, the four elements, namely the container
16
, the crimping head
18
, the container seat
71
, and closure holder
68
move in unison. The closure holder
68
stands directly above the closure
26
and cylindrical element
69
is lowered to bear on the top face of the closure
26
. This locks the sleeve
28
in place and prevents it from spinning on the neck of the container
16
. It also stabilizes the container
16
on its respective container seat
71
. The cam follower
58
of the crimping head
18
engages the location
54
on the cam
44
and thereby travels along the second segment
55
. This causes the crimping tool
66
to move towards the neck of the container and bend inwardly the lower portion of the sleeve
28
. At the same time, the container
16
is being rotated by the container seat
71
. Thus, the crimping action is progressively extended to the entire circumference of the sleeve
28
. As a result, a complete crimp is formed which abuts against the radial projection and prevents the closure from being removed. After the crimp is completed, the cam follower
58
descends from the second segment
55
by engaging the diametrically opposed location
54
, and thereby travels along the first segment
53
, which causes the crimping tool
66
to move away from the container
16
. At the same time, the closure holder
68
is disengaged by raising it from the now crimped closure
26
. The container
16
, as depicted in
FIG. 1
, is then received within a slot
5
′ featured on the outer periphery of the outfeed start wheel
7
′ and is thereby transported toward outlet conveyor
12
′. The containers
16
can therefore be carried off toward another processing station such as a labelling station, a packaging station, etc.
Although various embodiments have been illustrated, this was for the purpose of describing, but not limiting, the invention. Various modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art and are within the scope of this invention, which is defined more particularly by the attached claims.
Claims
- 1. A crimping apparatus, comprising:a) a revolving turret supporting a plurality of crimping heads, each crimping head operative to engage a closure on a container to create a crimp in the closure; b) a cam; c) each crimping head, including: i) a cam follower for engaging said cam; ii) said cam defining a plurality of possible cam follower receiving positions; iii) each cam follower receiving position defining a certain profile; iv) when said turret revolves said cam follower moving along the profile of the cam follower receiving position at which said cam follower is located; v) a crimping tool associated with said cam follower, said cam follower imparting motion to said crimping tool when movement is communicated to said cam follower by said cam; d) said cam and said revolving turret being selectively displaceable one relative to the other as a result of a movement other than the revolution of said revolving turret to cause said cam follower to engage said cam at a different cam follower receiving position.
- 2. A crimping apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said revolving turret revolves about an axis of revolution, said cam and said revolving turret being selectively displaceable one relative to the other along said axis of revolution to cause said cam follower to engage said cam at a different cam follower receiving position.
- 3. A crimping apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said axis of revolution is generally vertical.
- 4. A crimping apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cam is tapered along said axis of revolution.
- 5. A crimping apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein the profile at a certain cam follower receiving position of said cam includes:a) a first segment; b) a second segment; c) said cam follower riding on said first and said second segments during a revolution of said revolving turret; d) said cam follower causing said crimping tool to move toward a closure on a container to create a crimp in the closure when said cam follower transitions from said first segment to said second segment.
- 6. A crimping apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein when said cam follower engages said first segment, said crimping head is at a position remote from a closure on a container to be crimped by said crimping head.
- 7. A crimping apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein the second segment of the profile of each cam follower receiving positions sets said crimping head at a selected position with relation to a container to be crimped.
- 8. A crimping apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said revolving turret is a first revolving turret, said crimping apparatus further comprising a second revolving turret underlying and associated to said first revolving turret, said first and second revolving turrets adapted to rotate at the same rotational speed.
- 9. A crimping apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said second revolving turret comprises a plurality of container seats, each container seat being associated with a respective crimping head.
- 10. A crimping apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein each container seat is operative to support a container while the closure of the container is being crimped by the respective crimping head.
- 11. A crimping apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein each container seat is operative to impart a rotating movement of a container received by the container seat.
- 12. A crimping apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein said first revolving turret includes a plurality of closure holders, each closure holder being associated with a respective crimping head, a closure holder being operative to engage the closure of a container to be crimped to prevent the closure from spinning on a neck of the container while the container is being rotated by the container seat.
- 13. A crimping apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said first revolving turret is disposed generally in a horizontal plane.
- 14. A crimping apparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein said crimping heads are mounted to said first revolving turret at constant angular intervals.
- 15. A crimping apparatus as defined in claim 14, wherein each crimping head includes a substantially vertically extending body, said cam follower being mounted to an upper end of said body.
- 16. A crimping apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein each crimping head includes an arm supporting said crimping tool, said arm being mounted to a lower end of said body.
- 17. A crimping head as defined in claim 16, wherein said crimping tool is a disk.
US Referenced Citations (6)