Abstract: Apparatus for incremental feeding of soft metal, foil, paper or plastic strip into a machine. The apparatus employs a pair of gripping means which cooperate to advance the strip incrementally without marring or otherwise defacing the soft surface. The first gripping means reciprocates back and forth to advance the strip. The second gripping means is stationary and retains the advanced strip to prevent its retreat when the first gripping means returns for the next stroke.

Abstract: A pair of spinning nozzles for applying plastics sealant to a pair of openings in a can end such as a carbonated beverage or beer can end. The spinning nozzle has an annular opening, a circle of round openings, or a circle of small surgical steel pipes sized to be on the order of a hypodermic needle for delivering the adhesive in an upward direction against the bottom of an overlying can end. A shroud is provided to confine excessive adhesive, and a screen or field of vacuum-applying holes are positioned within the shroud and around the nozzles to suck excess adhesive back into a reservoir. A heater is used to keep the plastics soft and flowing.

Abstract: A feed mechanism for can ends having curled, peripheral edge portions includes means for disposing a multiplicity of can ends in a stack, and gate means for providing underlying support for the ends disposed in said stacking means and for individually releasing ends therefrom. The gate means employs a pair of blades to successively separate the lowermost end from the stack, each of which blades is configured and adapted to provide smooth separation of the ends, and avoid damage thereto. The mechanism is particularly suited for high-speed operation.

Abstract: A can end transfer mechanism for use in a highspeed machine includes a generally horizontal base with an end-receiving pocket and a pair of can end-engaging members disposed on opposite sides of the pocket. Each of the members has an inner end portion which projects into the pocket and is dimensioned and configured to engage an opposite side of an end, so as to cooperatively constrain it against rotation in the pocket. The engaging members are resiliently mounted on the base for movement along axes which are inclined toward the vertical axis of the pocket; this facilitates insertion and removal of an end into and from the pocket, while effectively maintaining the relative lateral position of an end when received therein. The mechanism is particularly useful where proper registry of work sequentially performed on the end tends to be of critical importance.