Capping chucks in general are removed from production or at least taken apart to make adjustment to the torque settings. This is costly because bottle capping is but one aspect of a production line of a product. This results in the loss of money and production time to adjust the torque setting.
This invention deals with a method and means by which capping chucks can be torque adjusted without removing the capping chuck from production or taking the adjustment assembly apart for setting the torque on the equipment.
This is accomplished by means of a spring loaded push button that operates vertically through the top of the adjustment assembly to release the locking mechanism for rotation of the adjustment assembly.
A horizontal spring loaded pushbutton means is known in the art as shown in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/259,419 filed Apr. 23, 2014. This version of a spring loaded push button assembly has certain disadvantages, in that, because of the horizontal drive, there has to be a large enough opening at the distal end of the push button, and this opening and surrounding area are susceptible to the influx of water during clean-up of the equipment which leads to corrosion and eventually seizure of the push button in the opening.
It has been discovered that a vertical spring loaded button can be used with success and overcomes this problem. A horizontal spring loaded push button concept can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/259,410, filed Apr. 23, 2014, currently pending.
This application incorporates by reference the following patents and patent applications for what they teach with regard to bottle capping chucks.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,181,892 that issued on Feb. 27, 2007 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,434,370 that issued Oct. 14, 2008.
Patent application Ser. No. 13/865,256 entitled “Bottle Capping Chucks”, filed on Apr. 18, 2013.
Patent application Ser. No. 13/445,185 entitled “Dairy Capping Headset and Chuck”, filed on Apr. 12, 2012.
Patent application Ser. No. 13/136,184 entitled “Bottle Capping Chuck”, filed on Jul. 26, 2011.
Turning now to
There is shown the housing 2, torque scale witness marks 3 on the bottom edge 18 of the housing 2, an adjustment assembly 4, and a single indicator mark 5 showing on the adjustment assembly 4 outside surface.
Turning now to
The spring loaded push button 12 as shown in
Turning now to
In operation, the operator wishing to change or adjust the torques on the capping chuck merely reaches into the interior of the adjustment assembly 4 and pushes the spring loaded button 12 which moves the teeth 8 past the teeth 9 of the adjustment assembly 4, and then the operator moves the adjustment assembly 4 according to the desired torque, and then, releases the button 12 to re-engage the teeth 8 and 9 and thereby lock the adjustment assembly 4 into place. If it is desired to keep the torque of the adjustment assembly 4 within certain bounds, the adjustment assembly 4 is equipped with small pins in openings 15 to provide such limits.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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7181892 | Henslee et al. | Feb 2007 | B1 |
7434370 | Scott | Oct 2008 | B1 |
20100077700 | DeLuca | Apr 2010 | A1 |
20150307338 | Scott | Oct 2015 | A1 |
Entry |
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U.S. Appl. No. 14/259,419, filed Apr. 23, 2014, Ariyanayagam, et al. |
U.S. Appl. No. 13/865,256, filed Apr. 18, 2013, Scott, et al. |
U.S. Appl. No. 13/445,185, filed Apr. 12, 2012, Schornack. |
U.S. Appl. No. 13/136,184, filed Jul. 26, 2011, Scott, et al. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20190218085 A1 | Jul 2019 | US |