US 4,126,163 AGranted

Centering device for bottle filling machines

OwnerThomas P. Hartness, Robert G. Hartnessinventors

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Abstract

A bottle centering and sealing device for use on a bottle filling machine which includes a centering cup having a nonmetallic housing with a conical shaped recess in the bottom thereof. A cylindrical seal is carried adjacent the top of the recess which provides a seal between the top of the bottle and the bottom of a filling tank when the bottle is raised for filling liquid therein. The centering cup is supported on a horizontally extending arm which rides up vertically on a guide rail. The centering cup is loosely carried within the horizontal arm for aiding in aligning the bottle relative to the filling spout and vent tube forming part of the filling mechanism. A bearing is interposed between said arm and said guide rail for producing a retarding force against the raising of said centering cup when a bottle strikes said centering cup off center.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A bottle centering and sealing device for use on a bottle filling machine provided with a filler tank, wherein a filler valve is carried in a bottom wall of said tank with a vent tube projecting vertically below said bottom wall of said tank, and wherein a platform is positioned below said filler valve which is elevated for vertically raising a bottle carried thereon to a filling position for being filled with liquid flowing through said filler valve from said tank, said bottle centering device comprising:

(a) a centering cup having a housing with a recess provided therein for receiving a top of a bottle when elevated on said platform;
(b) said recess having a conical shaped portion adjacent the bottom of said housing which terminates in a cylindrical upper portion, said conical shaped portion being inclined inwardly from the bottom of said housing towards the top of said housing;
(c) sealing means carried in said housing providing a seal between the top of said bottle and said tank when said bottle is in a filling position;
(d) a horizontally extending arm having one end supporting said centering cup;
(e) a vertically extending guide bracket;
(f) bearing means interposed between said vertically extending guide bracket and the other end of said arm permitting said centering cup and said horizontally extending arm to be raised in a direct vertical line by said bottle as said bottle is raised on said platform to a filling position;
whereby said bottle is aligned with said filler valve by said centering cup as the bottle is raised to said filling position.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.