CONTAINER CENTERING DEVICE

• US 3,856,059 A
• Filed: 03/07/1973
• Issued: 12/24/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Robert G. Hartness, Thomas P. Hartness, Thomas S. Hartness
• Original Assignee: Robert G. Hartness, Thomas P. Hartness, Thomas S. Hartness
• Inventors: Hartness, Thomas P., Hartness, Robert G., Hartness, Thomas S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bell, Jr., Houston S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Schmidt, Frederick R.
• Application Number:
  US05/338,990
• Time in Patent Office: 657 Days
• Field of Search: 53/367 141/62,165,166,168,171,172,177,269,311,312,369-374
• US Class Current: 141/165
• CPC Class Codes: B67C 2003/266 Means for centering the container with the filling head
• CPC Class Codes: B67C 3/22 Details

Abstract

An apparatus for centering open top containers, such as bottles, relative to elongated tubes so that when the container is raised to filling position the tube will be properly aligned with the opening in the container. The apparatus includes a positioning member having surrounding walls adjacent a bottom portion defining a recess with an inner camming surface of said surrounding wall being inclined upwardly towards the center of the positioning member. The positioning member is supported on a pivotal arm which permits the positioning member to be retracted as the article is raised to the filling position. An elongated camming surface is provided closely adjacent the container loading and unloading stations for raising the positioning member in order that the containers may be loaded and unloaded from stirrups utilized in the filling operation. A resilient member is used for forcing the positioning member downward on the top of the container for insuring proper alignment therewith.

Claims

1. An apparatus for centering an open top container so that an elongated tube of a liquid filling device can be inserted therein when filling said container with liquid, said liquid filling device including a movable stirrup which supports said container and is capable of being shifted vertically from a loading position to a filling position wherein said elongated tube is inserted in said container, said apparatus comprising:

a positioning member having a surrounding wall adjacent a bottom portion defining a recess, an inner camming surface of said surrounding wall being inclined upwardly towards the center of said positioning member, pivotal means supporting said positioning member above said container so that the top of said container engages said inclined inner surface of said positioning member for aligning said top of said container with said tube, and a cam means for engaging said positioning member for forcing said positioning member down on top of said container for insuring proper alignment of said container, whereby said positioning member aligns said container with said tube and is then retracted out of the path of said vertical movement of said container so as to not interfere with filling of said container.

2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said cam means is a spring biased member.

3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said cam means includes an elongated tongue shaped spring steel member which engages a top portion of said positioning member.

4. An apparatus for use on a bottle filling machine for aiding in positioning narrow neck bottles in alignment with elongated tubes forming part of a liquid filling apparatus as said bottles are shifted in a circular path on stirrups, said bottles being fed onto said stirrups at a loading station, filled with liquid as they are shifted in said circular path and then removed from said stirrups when said stirrups reach an unloading station, after said bottles are loaded on said stirrups, said stirrups are raised vertically from a loading position to a liquid filling position wherein said Tubes are inserted in said narrow neck bottles, said apparatus comprising:

positioning members having a recess in the bottom thereof defined by an inclined wall terminating in a vertical wall of a diameter greater than the diameter of the tops of said bottles being filled, pivotal means supporting said positioning members above said bottles in alignment with said tubes so that when said bottles are raised vertically on said stirrups the tops of said bottles engage said inclined walls of said positioning members which direct the top into the portions of the recesses defined by said vertical walls insuring proper alignment with said tubes, and slots extending laterally from the outer periphery of said positioning members to adjacent the center thereof for allowing said elongated tubes to extend into said bottles, and a support carrying said pivotal means adjacent said bottles for permitting said positioning member to be pivoted out of the path of said bottles as said bottles are shifted vertically beyond a predetermined point, whereby said positioning members aid in aligning said bottles with said tubes and are then retracted out of the path of said bottles so as not to interfere with filling said bottles.

5. The apparatus as set forth in calim 4, wherein said positioning member has an outer wall on an opposite side from said support which is inclined outwardly and upwardly from the bottom thereof so as to prevent the tops of said bottles from hanging on said support means after filling.

6. The apparatus as set forth in claim 4, further comprising:

resilient means carried adjacent said loading station engaging said positioning members for forcing said positioning members down on top of said bottles for insuring proper alignment of said bottles.

7. The apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said resilient means includes an elongated tongue shaped spring steel member which engages a top portion of said positioning members as they pass thereunder.

8. The apparatus as set forth in claim 7 wherein said positioning member has an inclined upper surface which said tongue shaped spring steel member engages when aligning said bottles.