Bottle loading machine

A machine for loading bottles into cases comprising, in combination, bottle conveyor means for continuously conveying upstanding bottles through a bottle retrieving station;

• grouping means for grouping together into a preselected arrangement a plurality of upstanding bottles on said bottle conveyor means;
• case conveyor means for continually conveying open cases through a case loading station;
• and gripper means for gripping and carrying a grouped plurality of upstanding bottles as they move through the bottle retrieving station off of said bottle conveyor means and for subsequently depositing the gripped group of bottles into an open case as it passes through the case loading station upon said case conveyor means, said grouping means comprises a cellular collar and drive means for reciprocally elevating and lowering said cellular collar.

A machine for loading bottles into cases comprising, in combination, bottle conveyor means for continuously conveying upstanding bottles through a bottle retrieving station;

• grouping means for grouping together into a preselected arrangement a plurality of upstanding bottles on said bottle conveyor means;
• case conveyor means for continually conveying open cases through a case loading station;
• and gripping means for gripping and carrying a grouped plurality of upstanding bottles as they move through the bottle retrieving station off of said bottle conveyor means and for subsequently depositing the gripped group of bottles into an open case as it passes through the case loading station upon said case conveyor means, said gripper means comprises a locking sleeve, an actuating member coupled with an upper portion of said locking sleeve, spring biased means biasing said locking sleeve downwardly, and a plurality of bottle gripper fingers movably housed within said locking sleeve.

In a bottle loading machine a mechanism for lifting an assembly of free standing bottles comprising, in combination, a conveyor, gripper means carried by said conveyor means for imparting vertical movement to said gripper means;

• said gripper means including a finger suspension member, a plurality of bottle gripping fingers pivotably suspended from said finger suspension member about an open space for mutually convergent and divergent movement towards and away from the open space, respectively;
• a finger locking sleeve mounted about at least a portion of said finger suspension member and said plurality of bottle gripping fingers;
• and means for imparting relative movement between said finger suspension member and said finger locking sleeve in a generally vertical direction while said gripper means is also being moved vertically.

In a bottle loading machine a mechanism for lifting an assembly of free standing bottles comprising, in combination, a finger suspension member;

• a plurality of bottle gripping fingers pivotably suspended from said finger suspension member about an open space for mutually convergent and divergent movement towards and away from the open space, respectively;
• a finger locking sleeve mounted about at least a portion of said finger suspension member said plurality of bottle gripping fingers;
• means for imparting relative movement between said finger suspension member and said finger locking sleeve in a generally vertical direction, and a compression spring mounted between an upwardly facing surface of said locking sleeve and a downwardly facing surface of said finger suspension member.