Abstract: Apparatus for reconditioning drums has a conveyor extending through a series of equally spaced stations. The conveyor has a series of members, each in the form of a forwardly opening V and with the members so spaced that when any one is at a station, other members will be at the other stations. Drums are placed, one at a time, and inverted, on the infeed end of the conveyor with the bung of each in a position to be caught and held centered by one of the members and pulled thereby along the center line of the conveyor. The conveyor is moved by steps with each step advancing a conveyed drum to a station at which the bung is in vertical alignment with a vertically disposed, subjacent spray nozzle. Dwells between the steps are provided of a predetermined duration during which the nozzles are elevated to an extent entering them within a drum and the drums at stations are tilted fowardly. At each station, a reconditioning fluid is discharged through the associated nozzle if a drum is in fact present.

Abstract: A high speed container placement apparatus is provided for use in combination with a high speed filling equipment for consumer products, such as instant coffee. A container separating device introduces groups of containers to a container placement and removal device for sequencing therethrough. The individual members of a group are transferred from a high speed annular turntable of the container placement and removal device to separate stationary work positions on a deck plate where they undergo a processing step such as filling the container by weight with an appropriate amount of product. Following this processing step, the containers are removed from their respective stationary work positions and returned to the high speed annular turntable to be ultimately discharge from the container placement and removal device. Simultaneously, the next group of containers is fed into the apparatus to replace the fully processed group.

Abstract: For the metered filling of bulk material, especially liquids, into receptacles, especially glass receptacles, there is provided a filling station to which a conveying device leads the receptacles, which are to be filled, individually or in groups. A weighing device determines before the start of the filling operation the tare of the receptacles which are to be filled, and blocks the feeding of bulk material when a specified gross weight has been reached. The conveying device moves the receptacles preferably by means of worm conveyers which are lifted off the receptacles during the weighing and filling operation.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for positioning a filler opening of a drum into alignment with a filler. A wheel on the end of a probe driven by a pneumatic motor is moved in a circular path on the surface of the drum and falls into and is captured by the filler opening. The probe continues to move, rotating the drum and the filler opening toward alignment with the filler. Alignment between the probe and filler is sensed and used to reverse the direction of movement of the probe, causing it to withdraw from the filler opening.

Abstract: An improved bung alignment mechanism for liquid filling apparatus is characterized by an infrared sensor which aligns the vertical axis of the filling lance and bung. The apparatus includes a wheeled carriage which moves along a stanchion, the carriage being operatively associated with the filling lance. A wiper ring assembly, a drip collection assembly, and a fume disposal assembly which contains or entraps substantially all sources of fume generation are also provided as part of the filler apparatus.

Abstract: An improved apparatus is disclosed for filling containers with a liquid. The apparatus is very efficient and the containers may be filled in a small fraction of the time formerly required. The flow of liquid into the containers may be controlled with great precision and without spilling or wasting the liquid. The filling spout has the added advantage of being dripless. The apparatus is especially useful in filling a large number of small open top containers such as communion cups with a liquid such as grape juice.

Abstract: An apparatus for filling viscous substances into hard gelatin capsules, while heating and stirring the viscous substances to be filled. The apparatus is entirely simplified in construction, reliable in operation and inexpensive. The apparatus includes a hopper, a pumping mechanism and a capsule body loading board being operatively connected with respect to each other. A reciprocating feed mechanism transfers the capsule body loading board from a preliminary operating station to a filling station. An intermittent rotary mechanism sequentially aligns accommodating holes in the capsule body loading board with a filling nozzle for dispensing the viscous substance into the gelatin capsules.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for safely destroying aerosol containers are disclosed. The movement of the container is restrained. Inert media is disposed about a point of puncture, and the container is punctured at the point of puncture.

Abstract: A turntable rotatably supports a plurality of filled paint containers beneath a conventional paint colorant dispenser to permit sequential dispensation of a quantity of colorant into each container from one of the dispensers.

Abstract: An apparatus for automatically degassing a five gallon container commonly known in the beverage industry as a FIGAL is described. In order to open the lid of a FIGAL container it is necessary to first depressurize or degas the container since the lids of these containers open inwardly. The apparatus described herein automatically degasses and opens the containers which are moving substantially continuously along a conveyor. The FIGAL containers moving along a conveyor are sequentially transferred onto a ten station turntable. Associated with the ten station turntable is an indexing mechanism which rotates the containers to the proper orientation to achieve alignment between one of a pair of valves on the top of the container and a degassing socket which engages the valve.

Abstract: A tray indexing apparatus is disclosed for indexing trays containing rows of containers to be filled beneath a filler head. The apparatus includes means for supporting trays for movement along a predetermined path, means for indexing the supported trays beneath a filler head where the respective rows of containers are filled, and means for successively moving the supported trays along the predetermined path to a position for indexing by the indexing means and moving indexed, supported trays containing filled containers further along the predetermined path.

Abstract: Containers having their bodies made from laminate material, such as paper board/plastic foil/metal foil laminates, readily tend to distort and this results in unreliable application of metal foil closure caps used to seal the mouths of the containers. The present invention provides apparatus for successively advancing cylindrical containers of this type beneath a cap-applying device and for restoring distorted containers to their true circular cross-sectional to enable correct application of the caps to the container mouths. The apparatus comprises two star wheels, having equal pitch circle diameters, which are mounted side-by-side with their axes of rotation parallel and spaced apart by a distance less than the common pitch circle diameter of the two wheels. The latter have equal numbers of part-circular recesses in their peripheries for engaging containers.

Abstract: An apparatus for automatic insertion of a valved bag of paper or other flexible sheet material on to a charging nozzle of a machine adapted to fill the bag with material in granular or powder form, in which the bags are fed from a supply thereof sequentially by means of a distributing device to an inserting device. The inserting device includes means for picking up a bag from the distributing device, means for opening the valve and for testing the operativeness of the valve, means for discarding a bag with an inoperative valve and means for feeding a bag with an operative valve to the charging nozzle of the bag-filling machine.

Abstract: A machine is provided for filling containers with a liquid, which comprises a container infeed section, a container filling section and a container discharge section, the infeed section being equipped with empty container transfer means capable of receiving and releasing containers by twos in a substantially radial alignment with respect to the axis of the transfer means; the filling section comprising an annular tank for liquids, rotatable around its own symmetry axis, having a number of pairs of filling valves, the valves of each pair being arranged substantially over a radius of the said symmetry axis and having underneath each pair of valves support mechanism for containers, rotatable in conjunction with the valves, which receives containers from the transfer means in a first transfer section between the infeed and the filling sections, the support mechanisms comprising moreover apparatus capable of changing vertical position to connect and disconnect the mouth of the containers with the valves before the

Abstract: In a system for sequentially processing batteries with battery processing equipment an apparatus is described for retaining each of said batteries in at least one standby position, for advancing each of said batteries to at least one battery processing position, for aligning each of said batteries with respect to said battery processing equipment during the operation of said equipment, and for allowing the discharge of each of said batteries from said battery processing position. Said apparatus comprises a conveyor surface defined by a plurality of transverse rollers, at least two of which rollers which are spaced apart by a distance at least as great as the longitudinal dimension of said batteries to be processed, are adapted for movement with respect to said surface between first normal positions and second stop positions, whereby longitudinal movement of at least two of said batteries along said surface is halted at said standby and said battery positions by said rollers and said stop positions.