Abstract: Apparatus for supplying tape from a roll with two alternately driven tape feed rollers and a motor driven drive system which produces a rotational movement has overrunning clutches arranged between the motor drive system and the tape feed rollers, respectively, said clutches making a continuous change of materials removed from a supply roll to another roll possible with a reversal in the rotational direction of the drive motor, whereby in one direction of motor rotation only one overrunning clutch makes a connection with its feed roller and in the other direction of motor rotation only the other overrunning clutch provides a rotational connection to its feed roller.

Abstract: A flattened tubular plastic tube having one pair of edge creases is withdrawn from a vertical axis reel and passed through horizontal axis rollers to impart a pair of intermediate creases. Cooperating rotating and stationary blades cut the plastic tube into short sleeves which are immediately gripped between actuator shoes on a pair of translating chains and a pair of translating frictional belts. The compressively interfaced actuator shoes and belts advance the sleeves to the inlet of a channel defined by laterally spaced apart slide members which have v-grooves into which opposite creased edges are inserted at the inlet whereupon hooks on another chain loop push the sleeves through the channel. The channel width converges so the sleeves open as they are pushed along the channel to be engageable by the head of a passing bottle.

Abstract: At the upper side of the star wheel bottle feeder of a bottle capping machine, a chamber which encompasses the bottle neck is attached at each pocket in the periphery of the star wheel in which the bottle neck is registered as it is transported in a circular orbit. At the top side, the chamber has an opening for a reciprocating sealing element which revolves with the star wheel. The chamber has a circular internal bore and an opening on its radially outermost side that allows bottles to be passed through it and into a pocket on the star wheel. There is a nozzle slot at the radial inside of the chamber diametrically opposite from the outside gas exit opening. The gas input slot has an elbow connected to it and the elbow is connected to a gas distributor valve which is, in turn, connected to a source of carbon dioxide.

Abstract: An adhesive applicator for a labeling machine. It consists of an adhesive roller, especially one with a resilient surface, of an adhesive-supply mechanism, of an adhesive doctor positioned behind the supply mechanism in relation to the direction that the roller rotates in, and of a label getter with an adhesive-pickup surface that is in particular rigid and that rolls over the surface of the adhesive roller.

Abstract: Containers such as bottles, which are to be filled with liquid from a tank pressurized with non-oxidizing gas, are coupled to a filling device and evacuated of air that is discharged to the atmosphere. Next gas from the tank is fed to the bottles. When gas pressure in the tank and bottle equalize, the liquid flows by gravity into the bottle to displace the gas and return it to the tank. After filling with liquid is cut off a charge of pure non-oxidizing gas is injected in the bottle to fill it to the top with pure gas. Excess pure gas is fed back into the tank to make up for the dilution of the gas that results from the evacuation of air from the bottles being necessarily imperfect. The bottles are uncoupled from the device after they are filled with pure gas and they are then sealed.

Abstract: A container labeling machine for applying one or the other of normal length body labels or extra-length boy labels has a rotating rotary table with container supporting controllable rotary plates. Adjacent its periphery is arranged a first labeling station for applying the normal length labels with a rotating labeling cylinder and a second labeling station for the extra-length labels with a stationary label container contacting the path of rotation of the containers. Two independent drives are provided for rotating the plates, one of which regulates the positioning and/or rotation of the rotary plates in the area of the first labeling station, and the second for continuous rotation of the rotary plates in the area of the second labeling station. The rotary plates are selectively connectible with the first or second drive. The two labeling stations and their common brush-on station overlap one another, whereby a very short total treatment stretch is possible.

Abstract: In the containing filling device the tank for the liquid to be dispensed into containers has gas somewhat over atmospheric pressure applied to the liquids surface. Each filling station has an outlet leading to the container being filled, a gas valve coupling the tank to the container and a fluid valve coupling the tank to the conveyor. The liquid above the tip of the tube that leads from the gas valve is forced back into the tank by means of gas pressure injected into the outlet after the filling operation is ended. In which case the fluid valve is forced closed and the gas valve is forced open. Because of the forced open gas valve the injection of gas takes place at very low pressure differential, causing neither disturbance of the liquid in the container and in the tank nor blow out of liquid below the level of the tank of the gas return tube.

Abstract: For cleaning container filling machines through utilization of cleaning-in-place (C.I.P.) canisters that are inserted between rotating filling valves and their matching lift cylinders, the lift cylinders are arrested in their lowest end position by the C.I.P. canisters acting as spacers to allow the cam follower rollers to pass under the stationary lifting cam at a slight distance, while the C.I.P. canisters are held against the filling valve under pressure. The C.I.P. canisters thus remain pressed against the filling valves during the full rotation of the filling machine without the follower rollers being acted on by the lift cam.

Abstract: In a vessel separating apparatus for use in particular in vessel handling machines, the worm conveyor (6) which cooperates with a conveyor belt (1) and a lateral guide means (2) is provided at least in the entrance region thereof with a great number of resiliently yieldable individual elements in the form of bristles (15) which are arranged on a core (13) and define a thread (16) entering between the vessels. Thereby a high degree of damping of shocks exerted on the vessels in the entrance region and, thus, a low-noise, gentle transport of vessels are obtained. The core (13) with the differently long bristles (15) distributed regularly about its circumference and over its length is releasably connected to a worm body (9) made of a solid material so that it can be replaced easily and quickly, if necessary.

Abstract: In an apparatus for machining polygon profiles, comprising a workpiece spindle and a tool spindle (12) driven in synchronism therewith and carrying an eccentric tool (22), wherein the transmission ratio between the workpiece spindle and the tool spindle as well as the lateral distance therebetween are adjustable, the invention provides for additional adjustment of the eccentricity of the tool. This permits one and the same tool to be employed for pre-cutting various polygon profiles of any standard nominal size in a rational manner and with close approach to the final profile shape. The cutting speed is increased by providing a disk-shaped counterweight (21) with adjustable eccentricity located on the tool spindle adjacent the tool. A common adjustment means (18, 24 to 27) is effective to automatically adjust the eccentricity of the counterweight in correspondence to the respective eccentricity of the tool.

Abstract: A labeling machine has a rotationally driven wheel on which there are can supporting disks supported for rotation on respective shafts. Each shaft has a gear composed of a circular member having angularly spaced apart rollers that engage in the teeth of stationary cam rings. Consecutive sections of the teeth have increasingly large pitches in the direction of wheel rotation so that by engagement of the rollers in the teeth the rotational velocity of the cans supported on the shafts increases. The label holder is mounted on an arm and is concentric with the axis of the wheel. By unclamping the arm and rotating it to proximity with one of the toothed cam sections, the can will be rotating with a particular peripheral velocity that results in a can of the proper diameter to roll onto a label without any skidding or slipping action such that the label will always be picked up at its leading edge by means of a glue strip which has been previously applied to the can.

Abstract: Air in the space above the fill level in the neck of a bottle or similar container is displaced before the closure is applied, by injection of a liquid or gaseous medium that causes the product to foam. The system consists of a filling station, a closure station, a star wheel to transfer bottles between the two stations, and a jetting device. The jetting device is mounted to a horizontal holding arm above the transfer star and pivots concentrically around the axis of the transfer star. The conveyor speed is automatically monitored by a tach generator. Its signal activates a servo motor which engages the holding arm and moves it together with the jetting nozzle along the bottle path according to the operating speed. The jetting device is moved closer to the closure station at lower operating speeds while its distance to the closure station is increased during higher speeds.

Abstract: A container rearranging station wherein bottles or other containers enter in single file and are discharged with several of them abreast of each other. The station is comprised of three parallel running conveyor sections. All the sections are tilted at the same angle so as to provide a smooth inclined plane. A supply conveyor on which the bottles arrive in single file is the highest of those on the inclined plane and runs at the highest speed of any of them. The adjacent intermediate conveyor runs at a slightly slower speed and the adjacent lower most discharge conveyors run at a uniform but still slower speed. Inclination angles of the conveyors between the input region of the station and the output region where the containers are abreast are preferably adjustable between 8.degree. and 11.degree. so that the containers drift from the supply conveyor through the intermediate conveyor to the discharge conveyor.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method and apparatus for transferring bottles arriving in an upright position and in laterally adjacent rows on a feed conveyor into a single row of bottles on a downstream or discharge conveyor. The bottles are shifted laterally solely under a gravity effect from the feed conveyor, across an intermediate conveyor whereat they are successively accelerated to the downstream conveyor.

Abstract: A labeling machine has a rotor on which several oscillatingly driven pallet shafts are supported. Each shaft has a carriage shiftable transversely to the shaft axis. Glue pallets having partly cylindrical surfaces for being coated with glue are mounted to the carriage and are thereby movable from a radially outward position to a radially inward or neutral position for, respectively, contacting a glue roller and a label in a stack successively and for being retracted to neutral position out of the path of the roller and stack. The shafts have an enlarged central section which is rectangular in cross section and a complementarily shaped channel on a sleeve that carries the curved pallets is supported for sliding transversely to the pallet shaft axis.

Abstract: A continuously rotating rotor has pockets in its periphery for transporting bottles. The rotor operates next to two star-wheel conveyors rotating at lower peripheral speed and oppositely of the rotor. With each second pocket of the rotor is correlated a cam controlled slide member which gradually transfers the vessels at a first transfer point into the more slowly travelling pockets of the first star-wheel conveyor. The other pockets of the rotor lying therebetween have cam controlled clamps which bring each second bottle to a second transfer point whereby means of two stationary guide members it is gradually transferred into the more slowly traveling pockets of the second star-wheel conveyor. Between the pitch circles of the rotor pockets and the pitch circles of the star-wheel conveyors there is a space somewhat less than the bottle diameter. By transfer of the vessels from the rotor into the two star-wheel conveyors, a perceptible reduction of the conveyor speeds is possible.

Abstract: In bottle transporting apparatus, noise resulting from bottles colliding with each other and noise emitted by the transport mechanism is suppressed by moving the bottles in a water bath which immerses the mechanism and at least partially immerses the bottles so the sound is absorbed and attenuated by the water. Means are provided for partially filling the bottles with liquid before they reach locations where noise would be generated and this further suppresses noise. Water jets are used to assist bottle movement where the bottles are transported on conveyors and the jets may be used as the sole propulsion force in apparatus wherein the bottles are simply pushed along smooth support surfaces.