Positioning apparatus for containers during filling and packaging

In a container filling apparatus adapted to fill a container with a product which includes a filling station operative to sequentially dispense product into containers, a rotary drive assembly operative to rotatably orient said containers, a sensing assembly operative to sense a selected rotational position for said containers, a sealing station operative to seal said containers and a conveyor operative to move said containers therebetween, an improvement comprising a plurality of rotors rotatably mounted to said conveyor at spaced-apart locations therealong on respective rotor axes to define container holding stations, each said container holding station including a holder adapted to receive a container in a supported state as a supported container with the supported container being aligned along the rotor axis such that said supported container may be rotated about the rotor axis, said rotary drive assembly operative to selectively engage said rotor assembly and the supported container for rotatably orienting said supported container with respect to the rotor axis, each said holder including a plurality of rails mounted on said rotor and a first collar supported on said rails in spaced relation to said rotor and operative to receive a respective container, each said rotor being mounted on said conveyor so that said rotor and its associated said rails and said first collar are mounted for common rotational movement about its respective rotor axis.

A positioning apparatus operative to advance and rotationally orient elongated tubular containers during packaging of a product wherein said containers have a closed end and an open end, comprising:

• (a) a conveyor;
• (b) a plurality of rotors each mounted on said conveyor for rotational movement about a respective rotor axis;
• (c) a plurality of rails mounted on each said rotor as a rail set;
• and
• (d) an annular first collar supported on each said rail set in spaced relation to its respective said rotor and operative to receive the container with said container being aligned along a respective rotor axis, said rotor being mounted on said conveyor so that said rotor, said rail set and said first collar are mounted for common rotational movement about the rotor axis, each said collar being slideably adjustable along said rails of the rail set whereby containers of differing lengths may have their respective open ends positioned in a common imaginary plane located in spaced relation above said conveyor, and including means for releasably locking each said first collar in a selected position along said rails.