Automatic film insertion device
US6505457B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 10, 2001 |
| Grant date | Jan 14, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 10, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB65B61/22
- WIPO fieldHandling
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An automatic film insertion device automatically unwinds a predetermined amount of plastic tubing from a roll, measures the required length, cuts and automatically inserts the cut piece into the mouth of filled pharmaceutical bottles. In one embodiment, a set of rollers receives a sheet of tubing, which is passed to a mandrel that opens the tubing. A guillotine cuts the tubing, and the tubing is pushed by a plow into a receiving member. The tubing is held inside the receiving member via friction until a plunger pushes the tubing out of the receiving member and into the bottle. The plunger then forces the tubing to buckle and remain in the bottle. In a second embodiment, the receiving member comprises a reciprocating tube attached to a shuttle cylinder. During the film advance portion of the cycle, the tube is positioned under a film feed station adjacent a cutting assembly. The film is fed vertically downward by rollers into the receiving member and cut. The film is then pushed from the tube into the headspace of the container, after which an actuator actuates a rod that forces the buckled film below the underside of the container neck so that it does not bounce out of the mouth of…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.