Bottle collar applying mechanism

Claim 1

THE COMBINATION WITH A BOTTLE CONVEYOR HAVING A BOTTLE COLLARING STATION, OF APPARATUS FOR APPLYING TAPERED, TUBULAR COLLARS TO THE BOTTLES AT SAID BOTTLE COLLARING STATION, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING (A) MEANS FOR SUPPORTING A STACK OF COLLARS AT SAID BOTTLE COLLARING STATION NESTED WITH THEIR SMALLER ENDS CLOSEST TO A BOTTLE TO BE COLLARED, (B) MEANS FOR DETECTING A BOTTLE READY TO BE COLLARED AT A PREDETERMINED POINT ON THE CONVEYOR, (C) GRASPING MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID DETECTING MEANS FOR GRASPING THE END COLLAR IN THE NEST, (D) MEANS OPERABLY CONNECTED TO SAID GRASPING MEANS FOR MOVING IT THROUGH A CYCLE OF RECIPROCATION HAVING A COLLAR TRANSFERRING STROKE AND A RETURN STROKE, SAID MEANS BEING PIVOTALLY MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT IN A VERTICAL PLANE FOR MOVING SAID GRASPING MEANS FROM COLLAR GRASPING POSITION TO COLLAR APPLYING POSITION, (E) MEANS FOR TURNING SAID GRASPING MEANS DURING ITS COLLAR TRANSFERRING STROKE SO THAT A COLLAR HELD THEREBY ASSUMES A LARGE-END-DOWN POSITION, AND (F) MEANS FOR RELEASING THE COLLAR FROM SAID GRASPING MEANS OVER THE NECK OF THE BOTTLE BEING COLLARED, (G) WHEREBY THE ENTIRE TRANSFERRAL OF SAID COLLAR BETWEEN THE NEST AND THE BOTTLE IS EFFECTUATED BY A SINGLE COLLAR GRASPING MEANS.