Method and apparatus for applying sealant to a seam in a container

An apparatus for applying sealant to a seam in a container formed by overlapping portions of the sidewall, said apparatus including:

• conveying means operable for moving a container to and away from a first sealing station;
• first detecting means positioned adjacent to a portion of said conveying means and being operable for detecting the rotational position of a container sidewall;
• first drive means positioned adjacent said first detecting means and being operable for selectively rotating a container to a predetermined rotational position;
• first sealant dispensing means positioned adjacent said conveying means at the first sealing station and being operable for dispensing sealant onto at least a portion of said seam, said first sealant dispensing means cooperating with means for providing relative movement between a portion of the first sealant dispensing means and the container, said sealant dispensing means including a nozzle;
• a support;
• a carriage;
• first means mounting the carriage on the support for reciprocal movement;
• power means operably connected to the carriage for selectively effecting reciprocal movement of the carriage;
• a hub;
• second means rotatably mounting the hub on the carriage;
• drive means operably connected to the second means operable for effecting rotation of the hub;
• at least one wiper secured to said hub, said wiper being of a resilient material and projecting outwardly from the hub and being adapted for wiping material from a nozzle during rotation of the hub by having a surface of the wiper engage the nozzle;
• and
• third means carried by the support and being operable for selectively engaging the surface of the wiper and removing from the surface of the wiper at least a portion of the material wiped from the nozzle.

A method of removing liquid from an exterior surface of a nozzle, said method including:

• moving a surface of a wiper blade on a rotatable hub into engagement with an exterior surface of a nozzle adjacent a discharge opening of the nozzle;
• rotating the hub to move the surface of the thus engaged wiper blade relative to the exterior surface of the nozzle and transferring at least a portion of liquid on the nozzle to the surface of the wiper blade;
• further rotating the hub to move the surface of the wiper blade out of engagement with the exterior surface of the nozzle;
• and
• further rotating the hub so that the surface of the wiper blade comes into contact with means for engaging the surface of the wiper blade to remove therefrom at least a portion of the liquid wiped from the nozzle thereby removing at least a portion of the liquid on the surface of the wiper blade therefrom.

A method of applying sealant to a seam in a container formed by overlapping portions of a sidewall, said method comprising:

• moving a container to a first sealing station;
• detecting the rotational position of the container sidewall of the thus moved container;
• selectively rotating the container from the thus detected rotational position to a predetermined rotational position;
• moving a sealant applying nozzle from a first position to a second position relative to the container at the thus predetermined position and dispensing sealant onto at least a portion of said seam;
• moving the nozzle back to the first position;
• moving a surface of a wiper into engagement with an exterior surface of the nozzle adjacent a discharge opening of the nozzle when said nozzle is in said first position;
• moving the surface of the wiper relative to the exterior surface of the nozzle and transferring at least a portion of liquid on the nozzle to the surface of the wiper;
• and
• moving the surface of the wiper out of engagement with the exterior surface of the nozzle.