Unit for housing and locking bottle cork muselets between subsequent working stations

Abstract

 The present invention refers to the field of manufacturing systems for the corkage of bottles, and in particular it concerns apparatuses for making wirehoods or retention muselets for equipping bottles of spumante, champagne and sparkling wine in general. Even more specifically, the invention concerns a unit that, in one of the aforementioned apparatuses, is intended for housing and locking the muselets between subsequent working stations of the muselets themselves.

Description

[0001] The present invention refers to the field of manufacturing systems for the corkage of bottles, and in particular it concerns apparatuses for making wirehoods or retaining muselets for equipping bottles of spumante, champagne, beer and sparkling wine in general. Even more specifically, the invention concerns a unit that, in one of the aforementioned apparatuses, is intended for housing and locking muselets between subsequent working stations of the muselets themselves.

[0002] The muselets for bottle corks are generally made up of a body and a bottom belt formed each by a respective part of metal wire. The body comprises a top ring member, which is intended to come into direct contact with the upper surface of the bottle cork or that defines a seating for housing a cap in thin sheet metal, which is intended for coupling with such a surface of the cork. The body also comprises a plurality of legs, normally four, that extend from the annular element, in a position where they are angularly equally spaced apart from one another, slightly diverging from one another and provided with respective eyelets at the ends thereof.

[0003] The belt, in turn, has an annular development and is mounted during the manufacturing by being inserted though the eyelets of the legs. It is suitable, in use, for allowing the muselets to lock around the neck of the bottle.

[0004] The muselets are formed in automatic machines comprising a plurality of work stations through which the semi-finished products are supplied one after the other stepwise. In particular, a first work station forms the body; the bodies are then supplied to a conveyor, generally with a rotating table, which transports the bodies through the subsequent stations for further manufacturing, like for example the insertion of the belt, the shaping of the eyelets, the insertion of the cap, the gauging.

[0005] Known conveyors are provided with units which are used for housing the products (finished bodies and muselets) locking them into position with devices for locking the products in their housing during the transfer between the various work stations.

[0006] One known solution from the Italian patent IT1285348 provides locking the muselets axially in the housings during the transfer between the various working stations by engaging them with a substantially C-shaped structure that develops for the entire path of the muselets between the various stations and that locks, with its folded edges, onto the top ring member of the muselets. Since the table on which the housings of the muselets are mounted rotates with respect to the C-shaped locking structure, there is a relative sliding with friction between the muselets and the structure and, since the muselets are painted and/or polished, the friction exerted in the mutual sliding seriously harms the painting/polishing quality on the surface of the muselets themselves.

[0007] Through European Patent Publication n. EP1944102 it is also known to provide locking devices in the form of magnets that are inserted in each of the single housing elements of the muselets; the magnets however are frequently incapable of correctly exerting their function of keeping the muselets in their seating and have the drawback of attracting all the iron dust that is near to the housings of the muselets, dirtying the environment in which the muselets are machined and making it necessary for there to be frequent cleaning operations of the environment itself with consequent stopping of the production cycle.

[0008] From Italian patent IT1072710 a locking device is also known that uses a mobile pin for each housing. Ramp means act on an appendage of the pin that projects from the housing so as to push it or hold it according to whether the muselet is in the housing or not. This system is complex and costly and requires the coordination of many members of the machine for it to operate; consequently, it does not ensure the necessary reliability in very fast machining cycles.

[0009] A further solution known from Italian patent IT1401210 provides for the axial locking of the muselets, during the transfer between the various working stations, in housings arranged with their longitudinal axis in a radial configuration with respect to the rotating table. Each housing comprises locking means for locking the muselets along said longitudinal axis made up of lever means that are pushed by elastic means for engaging the muselets in a releasable manner inside the housing itself. During the insertion of the body of the muselets, with this system, there is a sliding of the annular element and subsequently of the cap with respect to the relative teeth of the locking levers, generating friction between the muselets and the structure. Also in this case the quality of the surface finishing of the muselets is affected.

[0010] In general, one problem to deal with, and that is not solved with known devices, is that of combining the effectiveness of the locking, in terms of firmness, reliability and protection of the surface finishing, with a construction that is simple, and substantially with the requirement of leaving as much useful work space as possible for the machinery which is required for machining the muselets, such as the mechanisms for inserting the cap. With greater space available there is indeed the possibility of making the aforementioned machinery stronger and more precise.

[0011] The object of the present invention is thus that of providing a unit for housing and locking the muselets in a productive context like the one we referred to above, which makes it possible to lock the muselets in a precise manner in the relative supports, without scratching or deforming them, with a system that is cost-effective to produce and is easy to maintain.

[0012] In particular a further object of the present invention is to provide a unit of the aforementioned type that avoids having to install fixed mechanical supports (like for example in patent IT1285348) or movable supports (like for example in patent IT1401210), leaving the space necessary for installing more sophisticated mechanisms for inserting the cap which for their precision avoid producing surface irregularities (and jeopardising the quality of the muselets), or for carrying out a more correct and accurate gauging of the product, achieving higher quality in the finished product.

[0013] Such objects are achieved with a unit for housing and locking bottle cork muselets between subsequent working stations according to the invention, the essential characteristics of which are defined in the first of the attached claims.

[0014] According to the invention it is provided to lock the muselets in the relative supports/housings through particular mechanical devices that are assembled to the support itself. Such devices are not actuated by the muselet that, by sliding, opens the systems becoming thus locked, nor are they moved by mechanical cams that are located and operate along the entire productive cycle. The muselet is locked in the relative support by action of the devices on the inner side of the relative legs and only during the insertion and expulsion steps of the products, when necessary, the muselet (more precisely the body) is released without consequently damaging the wire with which the product is made.

[0015] The drive of the devices occurs thanks to an actuation of elementary nature (pneumatic, mechanical or electronic) which provides for exerting pressure on one or more sliders inserted inside the support which, in turn, move the devices or locking pegs that hold the legs. The supports/housings, which represent the structural component of the unit, are normally installed on a rotary table, on a conveyor belt or chain system.

[0016] The characteristics and the advantages of the unit for locking and housing bottle cork muselets between subsequent working stations according to the invention shall become apparent from the following description of an embodiment thereof, given as an example and not for limiting purposes, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

• figure 1 is an axonometric view of a unit according to the invention, in a locking configuration of the muselet, which is also represented;
• figure 2 is a side view of the unit of figure 1;
• figure 3 is a front view of the unit; and
• figure 4 is a section view of the unit according to the section plane indicated with IV-IV in figure 2.

[0017] With reference to said figures, a unit according to the invention comprises a body 1, in the example having the shape of a parallelepiped-like plate, in which a generically cylindrical housing 2 is formed having a central axis X that is orthogonal with respect to a main plane of development of the body 1. The housing 2 is suitable for stably receiving a muselet G, and for such a purpose it has, on the lateral surface, some grooves 21 that run along respective generatrices of the cylinder, according to the standard in a number of four and equally spaced apart (being it understood that there can be a different number and not necessarily at regular distances). The grooves 21 house respective legs Gm of the muselet, and thus have a bottom that evolves obliquely, so that there is overall a frustoconical support cavity, indeed according to the overall configuration of the muselet G, between a top ring member Ga and a belt ring Gc that are joined from the legs Gm and spaced thereby.

[0018] According to the main aspect of the invention, a locking device for locking the muselet G when inserted in the housing 2 comprises for at least two opposite grooves 21, or preferably, like in the example, for each groove 21, and therefore for every leg Gm, a relative sliding peg 3 which is suitable for engaging, with a substantially hook-shaped end 31, to the leg on the inner side, i.e. the one facing towards the centre of the housing. The pegs 3, in turn clearly in a number of four in the example, are slidingly arranged along their axis in respective seats 11 that are formed in the body 1 in opposite pairs with respect to the housing 2, with a development over a plane orthogonal with the axis X and such as to open near to the respective grooves 21, so as to allow the mechanical interference between the hook-shaped ends 31 and the legs Gm inserted in the grooves. In the example, the seats 11, and consequently the pegs 3, extend in two mutually parallel and opposite pairs so as to be substantially tangential to the circumferential section of the housing.

[0019] At the end opposite with respect to the hooking end 31, the pegs 3 have heads 32 that project inside respective guide channels 12 (one for each pair of adjacent and parallel pegs) that run as well on the body 1 on the same plane of development as the seats 11 (plane parallel to the one defined by the main development plane of the same body) but with a direction that is orthogonal to the direction of the same seats 11. Inside the channels 12 respective sliders 4 run in a reciprocating fashion: The sliders 4 comprise arms on which respective seatings 41 are formed for accommodating the heads 32 of the pegs 3. Two spaced seatings 41 are thus provided in each slider.

[0020] More precisely, the seatings 41 (with particular reference to figure 4) have two portions 41 a, 41 b consecutively arranged along to the longitudinal direction of the slider, which also represents the sliding direction along its own channel 12. A first portion 41 a is deeper and, being the slider in an extracted or locking position (the position in figure 4), when such a portion corresponds to the relative peg, the latter is in turn allowed to retract so as to take up an extracted lock position (engagement of the hook-shaped end 31 with the respective leg Gm). A second portion 41 b, joined to the first with a curved cam profile, is on the other hand less deep and when a movement of the slider to a release position makes it correspond to the peg 3, by pressing on the head 32 the same peg is caused to advance (towards the inside of the housing 2) in a disengagement position from the legs Gm.

[0021] The less deep portion 41 b can indeed, like in the two higher seats in the embodiment as shown in the figures, degenerate to a flat excavation reaching the extremity of the arm. More generally speaking, different geometries can be made use of, to carry out an equivalent functional concept for transmitting the reciprocating movement from the sliders to the pegs.

[0022] The sliders 4 have ends 4a that project out of the body 1, on which drive means operate to actuate the movement from the locking position to the disengagement position. Such drive means, of pneumatic, oil hydraulic, mechanical or electronic nature are, as such, of obvious nature for a man skilled in the art and are not therefore described and represented. Also not shown, there are elastic hindering means, for example simple helical springs, which oppose the displacement of the pegs from the locking position to the disengagement position, thereby urging the motion towards the locking position, and the advancement of the sliders from the lock position to the release position, thereby urging the movement towards the lock position.

[0023] The operation of the unit according to the invention can be immediately understood from what has been described. Each unit, and more precisely the relative body 1, is mounted on a rotary table or on a conveyor belt or chain system, based upon the overall characteristics of the machining apparatus that it is intended for, according to what is obvious to a man skilled in the art.

[0024] When the muselet G reaches the unit, coming from a known forming group, it is received in the housing 2, and for such a purpose the pegs 3 are actuated towards the disengagement position, position in which they free up the grooves 21 and the legs Gm are allowed to be housed in them. At this stage the sliders 4 are displaced towards the release position. Consequently, the pegs 3 correspond to the section 41 a of the seating 41 and are free to retract towards the locking position. The hook-shaped ends 31 thus enter into engagement within the grooves hooking the legs Gm so as to fixedly stop the muselet as a whole in its position.

[0025] When the muselet must be expelled because it has defects, or when it must be removed because it has completed the machining cycle, the drive system again intervenes so as to bring the sliders 4 back into the release position. By pushing on the heads 32, the less deep section 41 a of each seating 41 arranges the pegs again in the initial disengagement position. The legs Gm are unlocked and the muselet is free to come out from the housing 2 without any sliding. It should be understood how the movement of the four pegs is coordinated, because the pegs of one pair are actuated by the same slider, and because the two sliders are actuated by a same and single driving movement.

[0026] Thanks to the invention a unit for housing and locking muselets is thus provided that stops the muselets in an extremely precise manner, without deforming them and without substantial degradation of the quality of the surface finishing, because the locking is not carried out through sliding of the muselets themselves and it also acts in areas on the inner side, which in the finished product are not exposed and in which even possible small scratches are widely tolerable.

[0027] The system according to the invention is also structurally and functionally simple, even in terms of maintenance. The locking pegs and relative actuation sliders are configured so as to leave (see figure 2) the front side and the rear side of the support body, from which the two axial ends of the muselet project, completely free. Therefore, there is maximum work freedom without interference for machinery, even when bulky and sophisticated, suitable for machining steps like the positioning of the cap or gauging.

[0028] The present invention has been described so far with reference to its preferred embodiment. It should be understood that there can be other embodiments that belong to the same inventive concept within the scope of protection of the following claims. For example, the system with two sliders can be replaced by an equivalent actuation system, or in any case by a single slider the stem of which diverges as a fork so as to engage with the pegs 3 on the two sides. The pegs can also operate through pressing or pulling the respective legs and can be made up of movable elements in a different manner with respect to the sliding, that represents nonetheless a preferred solution, of the illustrated embodiment.

Claims

1. A unit for housing and locking bottle cork muselets between subsequent working stations, a muselet (G) comprising a plurality of legs (Gm) that extend between a top ring member (Ga) and a bottom belt ring (Gc), the unit comprising a support body (1), a housing (2) for a muselet formed in said body (1) and having an axial-symmetric shape around a central axis (X), and releasable lock means (3, 4) for locking said muselet inside said housing (2), characterized in that said locking means comprise at least two pegs (3) movable with respect to said body (1) in a mutually coordinated manner between a locking position and a disengagement position of respective legs (Gm), and drive means (4) adapted to control the movement of said pegs between said positions.

2. The unit according to claim 1, wherein said housing (2) provides for a plurality of grooves (21) adapted to accommodate respective of said legs (Gm), said pegs (3) being slidable in seats (11) formed in said body over a plane orthogonal with said central axis (X), so as to open in said housing adjacent with said grooves.

3. The unit according to claim 2, wherein said disengagement position is a position of the pegs (3) displaced forwards to the inside of said housing and said locking position is a rearwards displaced position to the outside of the body, the pegs (3) comprising respective hook-shaped inner ends (31) adapted to enter the grooves, engage with the legs (Gm) and pull them in said locking rearwards displaced position.

4. The unit according to any of the previous claims, wherein said pegs (3) comprise at least two pegs (3) in positions that correspond respectively to two legs (Gm) mutually opposed and not consecutive.

5. The unit according to claim 4, wherein said pegs comprise four pegs (3) arranged in two mutually opposed pairs of parallel pegs.

6. The unit according to claim 4 or 5, wherein said drive means comprise one or more sliders (4) reciprocating within guide channels (12) formed in said body over the same plane but in orthogonal directions with respect to the direction of motion of the pegs (3), the sliders being shaped to mechanically engage with heads (32) at outer end of the pegs, thereby a movement of the sleds (4) between a lock position and a release position there responds the movement of the pegs (3) the locking position and the disengagement position.

7. The unit according to claim 6, wherein respective seatings (41) are formed in said sliders (4) for accommodating said heads (32) of said pegs (3), said seatings having two portions (41 a, 41 b), the motion of the pegs between the locking and the disengagement position being responsive to the correspondence of the heads with either section of the respective seating (41).

8. The unit according to claim 6 or 7, wherein said sliders (4) have ends (4a) adapted to engage with actuation means for actuating the movement of the same sliders between said lock position and said release position.

9. The unit according to any of the claims from 6 to 8, comprising hindering means for opposing the movement of the pegs from the locking position to the disengagement position, thereby urging the motion towards the locking position, and for opposing the motion of the sliders from the lock position to the release position, thereby urging the movement towards the lock position.

10. The unit according to claim 9, wherein said hindering means comprise elastic means.

Drawing