Bottle gripper for packing and unpacking machines

Claim 1

A bottle gripper for use in packing and unpacking machines, comprising a vertically extending double collar including a vertically extending annular inner elastic wall and a vertically extending annular outer elastic wall spaced radially outwardly from and laterally enclosing said inner wall, said inner wall and outer wall being integrally connected together at their lower ends, a separate horizontally arranged connecting piece disposed horizontally and extending across the upper end of said outer wall and disposed in surface contact with said outer wall, said double collar includes a horizontally arranged section integrally formed with and extending across the upper end of said inner wall for forming a seal for forming a sealed closure for the upper end of the space laterally enclosed by said inner wall, the combination of said inner wall and said horizontally arranged section thereof along with said outer wall and connecting piece forming a closed space within said double collar which can be charged with a pressure medium and said connecting piece arranged to provide a passageWay for supplying the pressure medium into the closed space, wherein the improvement comprises that said horizontally arranged section integrally formed with said inner wall is spaced below and separate from said connecting piece, said outer wall has a circumferentially extending annular bead located adjacent to and spaced below its upper end, said connecting piece has an annular groove formed therein spaced intermediate its upper and lower horizontal surfaces and extending in the circumferential direction thereof and disposed in juxtaposition to said annular bead on said outer wall so that said annular bead seats within said annular groove, and an elastic sleeve tightly laterally encloses the radially outer surface of said outer wall and provides an inelastic support for the engagement of said annular bead in said annular groove, the radially inner surface of said inelastic sleeve located below the upper horizontal surface of said connecting piece being of a uniform diameter over its length and the radially outer diameter of said outer sleeve being of a uniform diameter for its length below said connecting member, the upper end of said outer wall being held against flexural displacement by the cooperating relationship of said outer wall with said connecting piece and inelastic sleeve so that the pressure medium introduced into the closed space formed within said double collar does not deform said inner and outer walls relative to a supporting or holding member whereby leakage through said double collar could develop due to failure at the locations of flexural displacement, a guide connected to and extending downwardly from the interconnected lower ends of said inner and outer walls, the inner surface of said guide having a frusto-conical configuration converging inwardly from the lower end thereof in the upward direction, said guide having a first outwardly facing surface extending from its lower end and disposed in contact with the inner surface of said inelastic sleeve and a second outwardly facing surface extending upwardly above and spaced radially inwardly from said first outwardly facing surface, a groove formed in said second outwardly facing surface, and a bead formed on the integrally connected portions of said lower end of said inner and outer walls and facing radially inwardly and being seated within the groove in said second outwardly facing surface of said guide.