Apparatus and method for producing a locking ring on a closure cap for a container

An apparatus for producing a locking ring on a closure cap for a container, comprising:

• a stationary fixture configured to accommodate at least one cutting knife and comprising a cutting blade extending extends along a cutting section;
• a transport installation configured to transport a support mandrel along the cutting section, wherein the support mandrel is configured to support at least one of a shell of a closure cap blank and a shell internal side such that the shell, during a cutting procedure, rolls on the cutting blade, and wherein the support mandrel comprises a rotatable mounting configured to mount the support mandrel such that the mandrel rotates about a rotation axis oriented perpendicularly to the cutting section;
• and
• wherein,
• the stationary fixture is configured to accommodate at least one cutting knife in a first configuration wherein the cutting blade comprises a first radial position relative to a path of the support mandrel and in a second configuration wherein the cutting blade comprises a second radial position relative to the path of the support mandrel, and wherein a radial distance of the cutting blade from a path of the support mandrel is larger in the second position than in the first position;
• the support mandrel includes at least one section running around a circumferential surface of the support mandrel in an angular range, wherein the section is made of a cuttable material;
• in the first configuration, the cutting blade of the at least one cutting knife is configured and arranged to engage with the cuttable material of the at least one section of the support mandrel so as to create a lasting groove in the cuttable material, the lasting groove having an axial extension;
• in the second configuration, the cutting blade of the at least one cutting knife is configured and arranged to engage with the shell of the closure cap blank to generate a slot geometry in the shell of the closure cap and to be received within the lasting groove, wherein a thickness of the cutting blade in the second configuration is smaller than the axial extension such that free space is defined in all directions between the cutting blade and walls of the lasting groove in the cuttable material;
• and
• the apparatus further comprises a synchronizing installation by which an advancing movement of the transport installation along the cutting section is able to be synchronized with a rotating movement of the support mandrel about the rotation axis.