Method for capping or closing containers and capping or closing machine
AssigneeKHS GmbH
InventorLudwig Clüsserath
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
This invention relates to a method and to a capping or closing machine for the capping or closing of bottles or similar containers filled with an oxygen-sensitive product.
Claims18
A method of closing or capping containers comprising bottles, cans or similar containers containing an oxygen-sensitive liquid, using a rotary closing or capping machine comprising a rotatable rotor and a plurality of closing or capping devices disposed around a perimeter of said rotor, said method comprising the steps of:
- forming an inert gas atmosphere in a chamber of said rotary closing or capping machine, which inert gas atmosphere comprises an inert gas which is essentially inert with respect to the oxygen-sensitive liquid, and which chamber being an annular chamber disposed around said perimeter of said rotor, which annular chamber comprising a plurality of wall elements essentially enclosing the entirety of an interior chamber space;
- said step of forming an inert gas atmosphere in said chamber comprising flowing inert gas in a laminar flow;
- rotating said rotor around its vertical machine axis, and thereby moving at least a top, circular, ring-shaped wall element, being connected to or forming part of said rotor, around said vertical machine axis;
- positioning solely a mouth or mouth portion of each of the containers within said interior chamber space in said chamber and thus in said inert gas atmosphere, while positioning a body portion of each of the containers outside of said interior chamber space;
- and
- activating closing or capping devices of said rotary closing or capping machine and applying closures or caps to the mouths or mouth portions in said inert gas atmosphere in said chamber.
A rotary closing or capping machine for closing or capping containers comprising bottles, cans or similar containers containing an oxygen-sensitive liquid, said rotary closing or capping machine comprising:
- a rotor being rotatable around a vertical machine axis;
- a chamber to contain an inert gas, which is essentially inert with respect to an oxygen-sensitive liquid in containers to be closed or capped, in an amount sufficient to form an inert gas atmosphere therein;
- said chamber being an annular chamber disposed around a perimeter of said rotor;
- said chamber comprising a plurality of wall elements that essentially enclose the entirety of an interior chamber space;
- at least a top, circular, ring-shaped wall element being connected to or forming part of said rotor and being movable by said rotor, and at least one other of said wall elements being separate from said rotor and being stationary with respect to said at least one of said wall elements movable by said rotor;
- a plurality of container handling devices to position solely mouths or mouth portions of containers within said interior chamber space in said chamber and thus in the inert gas atmosphere, and position body portions of the containers outside of said interior chamber space;
- and
- a plurality of closing or capping stations to apply closures or caps to mouths or mouth portions of containers in the inert gas atmosphere in said chamber, which closing or capping stations are disposed around the perimeter of said rotor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.