Box capping machine

Claim 2

Apparatus for automatically placing a lid on a box, said apparatus comprising a frame, means for intermittently moving a box to a box positioning station associated with said frame, means for positioning and holding the box in a fixed predetermined position at said box positioning station, a lid pickup station located adjacent to said frame, means for supplying a preformed lid having an uppper portion and a downwardly extending lower portion to said lid pickup station, carriage means movably mounted on said frame, lid holding mechanism carried by said carriage means, means for raising and lowering said lid holding mechanism relative to said carriage means, means on said lid holding mechanism for positively engaging the upper and lower portions of said lid, and means on said frame for moving said carriage means so that the lid carried by said lid holding mechanism overlies and is in alignment with the box at said box positioning station, whereby said lid holding mechanism is operated to remove a lid from said lid pickup station, said carriage means is moved along said frame until the lid is disposed above said box, and thereafter said lid holding mechanism is lowered to place the lid oN the box while the box is in fixed position.

Claim 3

The structure of claim 1 in which said means for positively engaging said lid includes pressure plate means resiliently engaging the upper portion of the lid, and a plurality of movable finger means for engaging the lower portion of the lid selectively.

Claim 4

The structure of claim 1 including a lid holding station located adjacent to said frame, means for supplying lids to said lid holding station, a lid pickup mechanism carried by said carriage means in a position remote from said lid holding mechanism, and means on said lid pickup mechanism for selectively engaging a lid at said lid holding station, whereby when said carriage means is moved along said frame said lid pickup mechanism places the lid from said lid holding station onto said lid pickup station.

Claim 5

The structure of claim 3 in which said means for selectively engaging the lid at said lid holding station includes a pair of clamping members hingedly mounted on opposite sides of said carriage means, and fluid cylinder means for operating said clamping members simultaneously.

Claim 6

The structure of claim 4 in which said means for supplying lids to said lid holding station includes conveyor means, and means for interrupting movement of said conveyor means when a lid is located at said lid holding station and operating said conveyor means after a lid has been removed from said lid holding station.

Claim 7

The structure of claim 1 in which said means for positioning and holding the box at said box positioning station includes a plurality of pad means, and means for selectively moving said pad means into engagement with the sides of said box to move the box to a predetermined position.

Claim 8

The structure of claim 6 in which said means for intermittently moving a box includes a conveyor for boxes, a frame supporting said box conveyor, said pad means being hingedly mounted on said conveyor frame, a disk rotatably mounted on said conveyor frame, link means connecting each of said pads to said disk, and means for rotating said disk selectively, whereby said pad means are operated simultaneously to move a box to a predetermined position.

Claim 9

The structure of claim 7 in which said box conveyor includes an in-feed section for supplying boxes to said box positioning station, and an out-feed section for removing boxes from said box positioning station after a lid has been placed on the box.

Claim 10

The structure of claim 8 including switch means on said in-feed section for operating said conveyor after a box has been moved to said box positioning station.

Claim 11

The structure of claim 1 in which said lid holding mechanism includes a housing, ring means adjustably supported by said housing, operating means carried by said housing for moving said ring means relative to said housing, pressure plate means carried by said ring means, said pressure plate means being resiliently mounted for limited movement, a plurality of finger means swingably carried by said ring means, and means on said ring means for selectively moving said finger means to engage a lid.

Claim 12

The structure of claim 10 in which said ring means includes a downwardly and outwardly extending skirt for supporting said plurality of fingers, said fingers being located outwardly of the inner surface of said ring means in retracted position and having portions which extend inwardly of the inner surface of said ring means to a position to engage the lower portion of a lid when the fingers are operated.

Claim 13

Apparatus for automatically placing a lid on a box, said apparatus comprising a frame, first conveyor means for moving a box to a box positioning station adjacent to said frame, means for positioning and holding the box in a fixed predetermined position at said box positioning station, a lid ready pickup station mounted on said frame, a lid holding station located adjacent to one end of said frame, second conveyor means for supplying preformed lids having an upper portion and a downwardly extending lower porTion to said lid holding station, a carriage movably mounted on said frame, said carriage having a lid holding mechanism at one end and a lid pickup mechanism at the opposite end, said lid pickup mechanism including selectively operable clamping means for engaging a lid at said lid holding station and placing said lid on said ready pickup station when the carriage is moved, means for selectively raising and lowering said lid holding mechanism, said lid holding mechanism including means for positively engaging the upper and lower portions of a lid at said ready pickup station, means for moving said carriage so that the lid carried by said lid holding mechanism is in alignment with the box at said box positioning station and can be placed thereon by said raising and lowering means, and means for temporarily holding the lid on the box while said means for positively engaging the lid is released.

Claim 14

Apparatus for automatically placing a lid on a box, said apparatus comprising a frame, first conveyor means for moving a box to a box positioning station adjacent to said frame, means for positioning and holding the box in a fixed predetermined position at said box positioning station, a lid ready pickup station mounted on said frame, a lid holding station located adjacent to one end of said frame, second conveyor means for supplying preformed lids having an upper portion and a downwardly extending lower porTion to said lid holding station, a carriage movably mounted on said frame, said carriage having a lid holding mechanism at one end and a lid pickup mechanism at the opposite end, said lid pickup mechanism including selectively operable clamping means for engaging a lid at said lid holding station and placing said lid on said ready pickup station when the carriage is moved, means for selectively raising and lowering said lid holding mechanism, said lid holding mechanism including means for positively engaging the upper and lower portions of a lid at said ready pickup station, means for moving said carriage so that the lid carried by said lid holding mechanism is in alignment with the box at said box positioning station and can be placed thereon by said raising and lowering means, and means for temporarily holding the lid on the box while said means for positively engaging the lid is released.

Claim 15

The structure of claim 12 including means for operating said first conveyor means to move a box adjacent to said box positioning station, limit switch means for interrupting operation of said first conveyor when a box is located adjacent to said box positioning station and energizing said operating means when the box on said conveyor means has been moved to said box positioning station.

Claim 16

The structure of claim 12 including means for operating said second conveyor means, limit switch means for interrupting operation of said second conveyor when a lid is located at said lid holding station and energizing said operating means when the lid has been removed from said lid holding station by said lid pickup mechanism.

Claim 17

The structure of claim 12 including guide means at said lid holding station for locating lids on said second conveyor means in a predetermined position.