Capping Device

• US 20110271642A1
• Filed: 05/04/2011
• Published: 11/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Marchesini Group S.p.A.
• Original Assignee: Marchesini Group S.p.A.
• Inventors: MONTI, Giuseppe
• Granted Patent: US 8,789,344 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 53/319
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 3/003 Filling medical containers such as ampoules, vials, syringes or the like
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 7/2821 applying plugs or threadless stoppers for bottles or jars B67B1/04
• CPC Class Codes: B67B 1/04 by inserting threadless stoppers, e.g. corks

Abstract

A capping device for capping vials borne by a respective conveyor (101), with caps (3) which include an inserting portion (31), shaped for insertion into a mouth of the vial (2) and a head portion (32), which remains externally on the vial (2) after capping. The capping device (1) includes a pick-up zone (12) configured for supporting and containing the caps (3) to be picked up by contacting only the head portion (32) thereof, a conveyor (11) for supplying caps (3) to the pick-up zone (12), configured to carry the caps (3) by contacting only a head portion (32) thereof; and a pick-up and inserting device (13) configured and activatable for picking up at least one cap (3) at a time from the pick-up zone (12), contacting only the head portion (31), and for holding the cap only by the head portion (302) while transporting the cap to a respective vial (2), and then inserting at least a part of the inserting portion (301) into the mouth of the vial (2).

Claims

1. A capping device for capping vials borne by a conveyor (101) with caps (3), each cap having an inserting portion (31), shaped for insertion into a mouth (21) of a vial (2), and a head portion (32), which remains externally on the vial (2) after capping, the capping device (1) comprising:

a pick-up zone (12) configured for supporting and containing the caps (3) by contacting only the head portion (32) thereof;

conveyor means (11) for supplying caps (3) to the pick-up zone (12), configured for carrying the caps (3) by contacting only a head portion (32) thereof; and

pick-up and inserting means (13) configured and activatable for picking up at least one cap (3) at a time from the pick-up zone (12), contacting only the head portion (31) of the cap, and for transporting the picked-up cap (30), while retaining the cap only by the head portion (302) thereof, to a respective vial (2) to be capped, and for inserting at least a part of the inserting portion (301) of the picked-up cap (30) into the mouth (21) of the vial (2).

2. The capping device of claim 1, wherein the conveyor means (11) comprise at least a linear vibrator (4) for carrying the caps (3) resting on the respective head portions (32), with the respective inserting portions (31) facing upwards, said linear vibrator (4) configured for advancing the caps (3) towards the pick-up zone (12), in at least a linear row (300) with the caps (3) being adjacent to one another, the caps advancing up to a stop surface (5), against which the head portion (312) of a first cap (310) of the linear row (300) abuts.

3. The capping device of claim 2, wherein:

the pick-up zone (12) has a pick-up point (121) located between an internal end (41) of the linear vibrator (4) and the stop surface (5), and wherein

the linear vibrator (4), the stop surface (5) and the pick-up point (121) are reciprocally arranged in such a way that the linear row of caps (300) is maintained stationary both when the pick-up point (121) is occupied by the first cap (310), against which head portion (312) the head portion (322) of an adjacent second cap (320) abuts, and when the pick-up point (121) is occupied by a movable abutting element (71), against which the head portion (322) of the second cap (320) abuts, and such that the linear row (300) advances when the pick-up point (121) is free of caps (3) and of the abutting element (71).

4. The capping device of claim 1, wherein the pick-up and inserting means (13) comprise:

at least a housing (6) for receiving the picked-up cap (30) and for retaining the cap releasably only by a head portion (302) thereof,

at least a pick-up element (7) for collecting a cap (3) from the pick-up zone (12) and inserting the cap in the housing (6), and configured for picking up and carrying the cap (3) while contacting only the head portion (32) thereof,

at least a transfer mechanism (8), to which the housing (6) is fixed, activatable for moving the housing (6) between a receiving position (A) in which the housing can receive the picked-up cap (30) and a release position (R) in which the cap (30) retained in the housing (6) is brought to the vial (2), the transfer mechanism adjusting an orientation of the cap such that the inserting portion (301) of the cap (30) is facing the mouth (21) of the vial (2).

5. The capping device of claim 4, wherein:

the pick-up and inserting means (13) comprise at least a presser element (9) arranged with respect to the vials (2) so as to be activatable for pressing on only the head portion (302) of a cap (30) which is arranged with the inserting portion (301) facing the mouth (21) of the vial (2), and for inserting in the vial (2) at least a part of the inserting portion (301), through the mouth (21), and wherein

the transfer mechanism (8) is configured for arranging the housing (6) in the release position (R) in which the presser element (9) is movable to press on only the head portion (302) of the picked-up cap (30), thus extracting the cap from the housing (6) and inserting the inserting portion (301) at least partly into the vial (2).

6. The capping device of claim 5, wherein the housing (6) has an internal edge (61) which defines a through-hole (62), which through-hole (62) has a width greater than a width of the inserting portion (31) of the cap (3), the internal edge (61) having a shape and dimensions for forming the through-hole (62) such that the head portion (32) of the cap (3) is received and retained by an interference fit in the through-hole (62).

7. The capping device of claim 6, wherein the internal edge (61) of the housing (6) comprises resilient means having a shape which releasably retains by interference the head portion (32) of the cap (3).

8. The capping device of claim 5, wherein the transfer mechanism (8) is activatable for tilting the housing (6) and the cap (30) received therein during passage from the receiving position (A) to the release position (R).

9. The capping device of claim 8, wherein

the pick-up element (7) comprises a lifting member (71) having a top (711) for supporting a cap (3) and a lateral surface (712), the lifting member (71) arranged at the pick-up point (121) and being vertically movable between a lower arrangement (I) in which the top (711) thereof can restingly receive the head portion (312) of the first cap (310) of the linear row (300), contacting only the head portion (312), the head portion (322) of the second cap (320) abutting with the head portion (312) of the first cap (310), and an upper arrangement (S) in which the first cap (310), which occupies the pick-up point (121), is raised so that the first cap is insertable in the through-hole (62) of the housing (6) when the housing (6) is in the receiving position (A), the inserting portion (311) freely passing through the through-hole (62), the first cap (310) contacting the internal edge (61) of the housing (6) only with the head portion (311), and wherein

the lifting member (71) constitutes the abutting element when the top (711) of the lifting member (71) is located superiorly of the linear vibrator (4), the head portion (322) of the second cap (320) of the row (300) abutting against the lateral surface (712) of the lifting member (71).

10. The capping device of claim 8, wherein the transfer mechanism (8) has a body (81) activatable so as to be rotatable with respect to a horizontal axis (O), and an arm (82) projectingly fixed to the body (81) and bearing the housing (6), which, when the body (81) is activated for rotation, is moved and describes an arched trajectory of 180 degrees, in passage thereof from the receiving position (A) to the release position (R), and vice versa.

11. The capping device of claim 10, wherein the presser element (9) of the pick-up and inserting means (13) comprises a vertically-movable cursor (91) having a stem (92) which terminates in a lower end (93) shaped for pressing a cap (3) from above in a downwards direction while only contacting the head portion (32) thereof, the stem (92) and the lower end (93) being dimensioned for passing through the through-hole (62) of the housing (6).

12. The capping device of claim 11, wherein the housing (6) has at least one passage (63) between an external edge (64) thereof and the internal edge (61) thereof, which defines the through-hole (62), the passage (63) being of greater dimensions than the stem (92) of the cursor (91), and being arranged so that after the housing (6) has been brought into the release position (R), together with the picked-up cap (30), and after the cursor (91) has extracted the cap (30) from the housing (6) by pressing the head portion (302), the body (81) of the transfer mechanism (8) is activatable in rotation for transferring the housing (6) towards the receiving position (A), with the stem (92) of the cursor (91) passing freely through the passage (63) of the housing (6).

13. The capping device of claim 8, further comprising a vertical guide (5, 51) located about the pick-up point (121), and having internal walls forming a lateral abutment to the head portion (312) of the first cap (310) of the linear row (300), while the cap is raised by the pick-up element (7), the vertical guide having an opening facing towards the linear vibrator (4), the opening enabling the caps (3) of the linear row (300) to accede to the pick-up point (121).

14. The capping device of 3, further comprising:

a plurality of linear vibrators (4) configured to advance the caps (3) in several linear rows (300), a stop surface (5) and a pick-up point (12) provided for each linear row (300) of caps (3), and wherein

the pick-up and inserting means (13) comprise;

a pick-up element (7) for each pick-up point (121), a housing (6) for each pick-up point (121), the plurality of housings solidly constrained together, and a movable cursor (91) for each housing (6).

15. An automatic machine for packing vials (2), comprising:

at least one capping device (1) for capping vials with caps (3), each cap having an inserting portion (31), shaped for insertion into a mouth (21) of a vial (2), and a head portion (32), which remains externally on the vial (2) after capping, the capping device (1) having a pick-up zone (12) configured for supporting and containing the caps (3) by contacting only the head portion (32) thereof, conveyor means (11) for supplying caps (3) to the pick-up zone (12), configured for carrying the caps (3) by contacting only a head portion (32) thereof; and

pick-up and inserting means (13) configured and activatable for picking up at least one cap (3) at a time from the pick-up zone (12), contacting only the head portion (31) of the cap, and for transporting the picked-up cap (30), while retaining the cap only by the head portion (302) thereof, to a respective vial (2) to be capped, and for inserting at least a part of the inserting portion (301) of the picked-up cap (30) into the mouth (21) of the vial (2),

at least one vibrator surface (102) for supplying the conveyor means (11) with caps (3),

at least one conveyor (101) having a step advancement for bringing the vials (2) in linear rows having a perpendicular direction to a conveying direction of the caps (3) from the vibrator surface (102) to the capping device (1), by the conveyor means (11), and

means for producing laminar flows of sterile air so as to sterilize the inserting portions (31) of the caps (3) at least during transport thereof by the conveyor means (11),

the capping device (1) being activatable for capping vials (2) when the vials (2) are maintained stationary by the conveyor (101).