Carnaudmetalbox Plc

1 . . . Limited

Heineken Technical Services B.v.

Ed Frogerais Sa

Cambridge Mechatronics Limited

David Livingstone

Richard John Topliss

Peter Leslie Moran

Paul Simms

Nicholas Charles Martinek

Robin Fergusson

Mark Richard Shepherd

Anthony Hooley

Bernardus Cornelis Johannes Landman

Robert John Leedham

Mark Robson Humphries

Andrew Matheson

Gareth McKevitt

Richard Topliss

Anthony J Cronshaw

Christopher James Hodges

Stephen Peter Woodall

A camera lens actuation apparatus for driving motion of a camera lens supported on a support structure by a suspension system. The apparatus incorporates a subassembly comprising SMA wire connected to at least one mounting member which is mounted to the support structure. At least one pair of lengths of SMA wire are held in tension between the camera lens element and the support structure at respective acute angles to the optical axis applying a tensional force having a component along the optical axis. The lengths of SMA wire in the pair are held at angle as viewed along the optical axis. There may be plural pairs with a balanced arrangement in which the forces generated have no net component perpendicular to the optical axis and generate no net torque around any axis perpendicular to the optical axis. A control circuit controls heating of the SMA wire in response to a measure of its resistance.

Camera lens actuation apparatus

An equivalent to the spatial separation either side of a nominal median plane that is inherent in a bimorph (with one piezoelectric layer on one side, and the second on the other side of the plane) is attained by structurally shaping the cross-section of a simple, single piezoelectric layer () such that it has a multiplicity of piezoelectric portions arranged in two generally-planar groups one either side of a median plane, so that any dimension change undergone by a portion on one side of that plane will tend to bend the whole device in the opposite direction to the same sense dimension change undergone by a portion on the other side of that plane. The simple, single layer acts as though it were a bimorph if elongate and beam-like, bending along its length, one end moving up/down, or back/forth, relative to the other but with any need for an internal, electrode.

Piezoelectric structures

This invention provides a method and apparatus (,) for detecting small glass particles (,) in bottles (,) filled with beer (,). The beer (,) is caused to rotate with respect to the bottle (,), and successive images are obtained from the bottle by means of a CCD-camera (,) which is arranged such that its optical axis (,) makes an angle &agr; of about 135&deg; with the axis (,) of the bottle (,), which is illuminated from below. The successive images are subtracted from each other to detect refracted light emanating from glass particles. These measurements are repeated a plurality of times. The invention thus offers an improvement in sensitivity and reliability of a detecting method. An apparatus (,) comprises a carousel (,) with a plurality of cameras dedicated to a single bottle. A system is described to reduce costs by having eight cameras share one image processing unit.

Method and apparatus for detecting glass particles in glass bottles filled with beer

Apparatus for seaming an end E to an open end of a container body B in at least first and second seaming operations comprises a lifter pad to support the container body, a seaming chuck to support the end in place on the container body, and an annular seaming tool having at least first and second annular seaming profiles on its inner surface which surrounds the end. The apparatus includes drive means for providing relative rolling movement between the seaming tool and the end in which the drive means drives the annular seaming tool to gyrate around the can end. Means are also provided for causing relative movement between the end and the annular seaming tool, from a first relative position in which the first seaming profile can contact the end E to perform the first seaming operation, to at least a second relative position in which the second seaming profile can contact the end E to perform the second seaming operation.

Seaming apparatus

Apparatus for seaming a container end E to an open end of a container body B, comprises a pad to support the container body, a seaming chuck to support the end E in place on the container body B and cooperating with the pad to hold the container body and end one against the other, and an annular seaming tool having two annular seaming profiles on its inner surface which surrounds the end for progressively folding peripheral portions of the container body and end together to form a seam. The annular seaming tool is mounted on a tool holder and means are provided for supporting and driving the tool holder in orbiting motion such that the axis of the seaming tool follows a circular path around the axis of the seaming chuck. The seaming tool is mounted on the apparatus for free rotation about its axis such that when the seaming profile engages the peripheral portions of the container end, it is free to roll around the end to form the seam progressively.

A tablet making machine includes a rotor, one end, preferably the lower end, of which is detachably secured to a rotatable member of the machine so that the rotor rotates with the rotatable member in use of the machine; the configuration of the rotor being such that when it is detached from the rotatable member the rotor can be removed from the machine by generally horizontal sliding movement. The rotor may thus be easily and quickly removed from the machine by detaching the rotor from the rotatable member and sliding the rotor horizontally from the machine, thus significantly reducing the time taken to clean the machine between batches of tablets may be reduced and enabling ready replacement of punches and/or dies that are damaged or worn. Further, an alternative rotor with different punches can be substituted very quickly. In this way, machine downtime may be significantly reduced.

Tablet making machines

Growing community of inventors

Royston, United Kingdom

David Livingstone