Container capper and torque tester

Abstract

A container capper is provided which includes a container clamping mechanism for clamping previously-filled containers at a capping station that is positioned at a point along a container conveying means. The capper also includes an adjustable speed rotary motor which drives a capper head having a plurality of radially movable, cap-grasper jaws supported therein for grasping caps and rotating them relative to the containers. Motor speed adjustability and torque sensing are provided to give precise control of the amount of torque with which caps are applied to containers. The capper head is vertically movable from an upper, cycle start, position to an intermediate position, at which the jaws thereof may be loaded with a cap, and to a lower position, at which the loaded cap is placed onto the top of a clamped container and is rotated thereon until a predetermined torque is reached. The capper head is moved between its upper, intermediate and lower positions by means of a camming mechanism. Caps are delivered by a second conveying mechanism from an unscrambler, or cap orienter, to a conveyor terminus adjacent to the capper head, and a transfer arm is employed to transfer the lead cap at the terminus to the intermediate position of the capper head. The cap-grasping jaws are radially moved between a cap-grasping position and a cap-releasing position by means of another camming mechanism which includes a cam plate and cam followers that are carried by and coaxial with the capper head.