阅读说明：本技术 用于容器封口的封口装置 (Sealing device for sealing container ) 是由 P·约斯特 于 2020-04-27 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种用于对容器(20)、尤其是瓶进行封口的回转结构式封口装置(1),其中,在多个封口元件中的至少一个上设置有至少一个壳形的收集装置(6、6’),该收集装置构造为用于收集在行程凸轮(4)上为了滚轮(5、5’)的滚动运行而使用的润滑剂,其方式是：至少一个收集装置以至少一个紧固区段(7、7’)至少在部分周边上设置、尤其是布置在至少一个封口元件的至少一个外周(3.1)上以及在滚轮下方。(The invention relates to a rotary closure (1) for closing containers (20), in particular bottles, wherein at least one shell-shaped collecting device (6, 6 ') is provided on at least one of the closure elements, said collecting device being designed to collect lubricant used for the rolling operation of rollers (5, 5') on a travel cam (4) by: at least one collecting device is provided with at least one fastening section (7, 7') at least on part of the periphery, in particular arranged on at least one periphery (3.1) of at least one sealing element and below the roller.)

1. A rotary-structure closure device (1) for closing containers (20) having a plurality of container-closing positions (BP, BP ') which are arranged on the periphery of a rotary device (2) which can be driven in a motor-driven manner about a vertical center axis (MA) of the closure device (1) and which are each provided with at least one closure element (3), wherein the closure elements (3) are positively guided in a rotary manner about the center axis (MA) by means of a travel cam (4) for height control, characterized in that at least one collection device (6, 6') in the form of a shell is provided on at least one of the plurality of closure elements (3), which is designed for collecting, in particular on the travel cam (4), for rollers (5), 5') in a rolling motion, by: the at least one collecting device (6, 6 ') is arranged with at least one fastening section (7, 7 ') at least on part of the circumference on at least one outer circumference (3.1) of the at least one sealing element (3) and below the roller (5, 5 ').

2. A closure device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one shell-shaped collecting device (6, 6') has a bottom surface (8) and a lateral surface (9) which surrounds the bottom surface (8) on the edge side, so that a shell-shaped collecting chamber (10) for lubricant which is laterally delimited by the lateral surface (9) is formed in the bottom surface (8).

3. Closure device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the base surface (8) is constructed in one piece, in particular integrally, with the associated side surface (9) and is made of plastic, in particular polyamide, or a metallic material, in particular stainless steel.

4. A closure device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a plurality of closure elements (3), preferably all closure elements (3), are equipped with at least one collecting device (6, 6 '), wherein the closure elements (3) equipped with the collecting devices (6, 6 ') are assigned to respective container closure positions (BP, BP ') which are arranged evenly distributed over the circumference of the swivel device (2).

5. A closure device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one closure element (3) has a plurality of collecting devices (6, 6') which are arranged offset and spaced apart along the closure element axis (VA).

6. A closure device (1) according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the plurality of collecting devices (6, 6') are each identically constructed to one another.

7. A closure device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one collecting device (6) has a fastening section (7) which is configured as a through-opening in the bottom face (8) which matches the outer circumference (3.1) of the associated closure element (3) over the entire circumference.

8. Closure device (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that the fastening section (7) is configured as a circular through-opening which is matched over the entire circumference to the outer circumference (3.1) and which surrounds the outer circumference (3.1) in a contact-locking, in particular force-locking and/or form-locking manner, so that the collecting device (6) is held stationary on the closure element (3).

9. A closure device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fastening section (7) has a sealing element on its circular free edge section facing the associated closure element axis (VA) at least on part of the circumference, or is alternatively made of sealing material.

10. A closure device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the at least one collecting device (6 ') has two fastening sections (7 ') which are each provided on part of the circumference, in particular are arranged on the respective outer circumference (3.1) between two adjacent closure elements (3) and below the roller (5, 5 ').

11. Closure device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6 or 10, characterized in that the two fastening sections (7 ') are configured on two opposite sides (9) of the collecting device (6'), wherein the two sides (9) are adapted to the outer circumference (3.1) of the closure element (3) at least in sections.

12. A closure device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, 10 or 11, characterized in that the collecting device (6') has a gripping element (11) on a side (9) facing away from the Machine Axis (MA).

13. A closure device (1) according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 6 or 10 to 12, characterized in that the two side faces (9) which are designed as fastening sections (7 ') each form at least in sections a partially circular fastening section (7 '), by means of which the collecting device (6 ') is held between the respective outer peripheries (3.1) of two adjacent closure elements (3) in a position-fixed manner on the partial periphery and in a contact-locking, in particular force-locking and/or form-locking manner, between the adjacent closure elements (3).

14. A closure device (1) according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 6 or 10 to 13, characterized in that at least one collecting device (6 ') is provided between a plurality of adjacent closure elements (3), preferably between all adjacent closure elements (3), wherein closure elements (3) equipped with the collecting devices (6 ') are assigned to respective container closure positions (BP, BP ') which are arranged uniformly distributed over the circumference of the swivel device (2).

15. A closure device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the closure device (1) is a crown cork closure machine.

16. A closure element (3) of a rotary-structure closure device (1) for closing containers (20), the closure device (1) comprising a plurality of container closure positions (BP, BP ') which are arranged on the periphery of a rotary device (2) which can be driven in rotation about a vertical central axis (MA) by a motor, and a travel cam (4) for height control of the closure element (3), characterized in that at least one collection device (6, 6') in the form of a shell is provided on the closure element (3), which is designed for collecting lubricant used on the travel cam (4) for the rolling operation of a roller, in that: the at least one collecting device (6, 6 ') is arranged with at least one fastening section (7, 7 ') at least on part of the circumference on at least one outer circumference (3.1) of the at least one sealing element (3) and below the roller (5, 5 ').

17. Method for closing containers (20), in which method the containers (20) are closed with a closure cap, i.e. by means of a rotary-structure closure (1) having a plurality of container closing positions (BP, BP ') which are arranged on the periphery of a rotary device (2) which can be driven in a motor-driven manner about a vertical center axis (MA) and which are each assigned at least one closure element (3) and which has a travel cam (4) for the height control of the closure elements (3), characterized in that at least one collection device (6, 6') in the form of a shell is provided on at least one of the plurality of closure elements (3), by means of which in particular the lubricant used for the rolling operation of the rollers on the travel cam (4) is collected, the method comprises the following steps: the at least one collecting device (6, 6 ') is arranged with at least one fastening section (7, 7 ') at least on part of the circumference on at least one outer circumference (3.1) of the at least one sealing element (3) and below the roller (5, 5 ').

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a rotary closure for closing containers, in particular bottles, as well as to a closure element for such a closure and to a corresponding method for closing containers. The invention relates in particular to a rotary-structure sealing device designed as a crown cork sealer (Kronkorker).

Background

Different embodiments of container treatment machines in the form of closure devices for container closures are known from the prior art and are also referred to as container closure machines or sealers. Such closures are used, for example, in beverage filling plants and are usually arranged directly in space in direct connection with a filling station or a filling machine in the vicinity of the respective filling station or filling machine, so that the containers which have just been filled can be closed directly after filling.

A closure device of the type mentioned here can be designed for closing bottles or other containers by means of screw closures or as a so-called crown cork closure for closing bottles by means of a corresponding crown cork.

Rotary seal arrangements are known in particular, in which a plurality of container sealing positions are formed on the periphery of a rotor which is driven around a vertical machine axis or a central axis. In this case, each container closure position is assigned a closure element, which can also be understood as a closure tool or a closure punch.

The closing element or closing tool of such a closing device can be moved axially along a vertical closing element axis between a raised position and a lowered position by means of a lifting movement, wherein this axial lifting movement is also understood to be a feed stroke. The feed stroke is usually generated by stroke cams which are provided for the height control of the closing element. A sealing machine with a stroke cam-controlled sealing element is known, for example, from DE 102017112218B 3 or WO 2010/118806 a 2.

In the case of a corresponding height control by means of the travel cam, the closing element is guided in a rotationally forced manner in the travel cam, wherein the closing element for this purpose has usually connected rollers or rollers which run in a positively guided manner on the guide surface of the travel cam. In such a forced guidance of the stroke cam control, lubrication or roller lubrication, in particular lubricant application, is carried out in the region of the roller and/or guide surface of the stroke cam, wherein the lubricant application is preferably effected by an automated lubricant supply.

In this case, it is disadvantageous that the lubricant is squeezed together over time during operation of the closure device and can cake or fall out. The squeezed together or caked lubricant material then flows out of the travel cam and drops downward. This is particularly problematic in closures whose closure elements are provided at the upper end with rollers and are therefore positively guided on the upper side in a travel cam, since in particular in this case agglomerated or falling lubricant material falls onto a container which is guided or held below. A significant disadvantage therefore arises when the rollers and the travel cams are arranged above the container mouth of the filled container to be sealed and the lubricant which may fall off can lead to contamination in the region of the container mouth.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a closure device for closing containers by means of a stroke-cam-controlled closure element, in which the ingress of lubricant into the sanitary region of the closure element, in particular also into the bottle treatment region, is avoided in a particularly simple manner.

To solve this object, a closure device for a container closure according to the features of claim 1 and a closure element having the features of claim 16 are provided. A method for closing a container is described in claim 17. Advantageous developments of the invention are given in the respective dependent claims. All described features are in principle a subject of the invention, as such or in any combination, independently of their generalization in the claims or their citations. Furthermore, the claims are made an integral part of the description.

According to a first aspect, the invention relates to a rotary closure for container closures, wherein the closure has a plurality of container closure positions which are arranged on the periphery of a rotary device which can be driven in a motor-driven manner about a vertical center axis of the closure, wherein each of the container closure positions is assigned at least one closure element. For height control, the closing element is forcibly guided in a pivoting manner about the central axis by means of a travel cam. According to the invention, it is provided that at least one of the closure elements is provided with at least one shell-shaped collecting device which is designed to collect lubricant used on the travel cam for improved rolling operation of the roller, in that: at least one collecting device is provided with at least one fastening section at least on part of the periphery, in particular is arranged on at least one periphery of at least one sealing element and below the roller.

A travel cam in the sense of the present invention is a travel cam of the kind familiar to the person skilled in the art. In this case, in principle, guide grooves can be provided as positively guided guide surfaces, which at least partially accommodate the rollers of the closure element. Likewise, the travel cam may have a substantially L-shaped cross section, wherein the horizontally oriented sides constitute or provide the guide surfaces. The outer periphery of the closure element is therefore to be understood as the outer peripheral surface, i.e. the outer lateral surface, of the closure element. The outer periphery thus forms the outer diameter of the closure element.

According to an advantageous embodiment variant, it can be provided that at least one shell-shaped collecting device has a base surface and a lateral surface which surrounds the base surface on the edge side, so that a shell-shaped collecting chamber for the lubricant which is laterally delimited by the lateral surface is formed in the base surface.

According to a further advantageous embodiment variant, it can be provided that the base surface is formed in one piece, in particular in one piece, with the associated side surface and is made of plastic, in particular polyamide, or a metallic material, in particular stainless steel.

According to a further advantageous embodiment variant, it can be provided that a plurality of closure elements, preferably all closure elements, are assigned at least one collecting device, wherein the closure elements assigned to the collecting devices are assigned to the respective container closure positions, which are arranged uniformly distributed over the circumference of the swiveling device.

According to a further advantageous embodiment variant, it can be provided that at least one closure element has a plurality of collecting devices arranged offset and spaced apart along the closure element axis.

According to a further advantageous embodiment variant, it can be provided here that the plurality of collecting devices are each of identical design to one another.

According to a further advantageous embodiment variant, it can be provided that at least one collecting device has a fastening section which is configured in the bottom surface in such a way that it matches the through-opening of the outer circumference of the associated closure element over the entire circumference.

According to a further advantageous embodiment variant, it can be provided that the fastening section is designed in a circular manner, is adapted over the entire circumference to a through-opening with the outer circumference, which surrounds the outer circumference in a contact-locking, in particular force-locking and/or form-locking manner, so that the collecting device is held stationary on the closure element.

According to a further advantageous embodiment variant, it can be provided here that the fastening section has a sealing element on its circular free edge section facing the associated closure element axis, at least on part of the circumference, or alternatively is made of a sealing material.

According to a further advantageous embodiment variant, it can be provided that at least one collecting device has two fastening sections which are each arranged on a partial circumference, in particular on a corresponding circumference between two adjacent closure elements, and below the roller.

According to a further advantageous embodiment variant, it can be provided that two fastening sections are formed on two opposite sides of the collecting device, wherein the two sides are adapted to the outer circumference of the closure element at least in sections.

According to a further advantageous embodiment variant, it can be provided here that the collecting device has a gripping element on the side facing away from the machine axis.

According to a further advantageous embodiment variant, it can be provided that the two sides of the fastening section each form a partially circular fastening section, by means of which the collecting device is held in a position-fixed manner between the adjacent closure elements, both on the partial periphery and in a contact-locking, in particular force-locking and/or form-locking manner, between the respective peripheries of two adjacent closure elements.

According to a further advantageous embodiment variant, it can be provided that at least one collecting device is arranged between a plurality of adjacent closure elements, preferably between all adjacent closure elements, wherein the closure elements provided with the collecting devices are assigned to corresponding container closure positions which are distributed uniformly over the circumference of the rotary device.

According to a preferred embodiment, the closing device is a crown cork closing machine.

The invention also comprises a closure element for a rotary-structure closure for container closures, comprising a plurality of container closure positions arranged on the periphery of a rotary device which can be driven in rotation about a vertical central axis by a motor, and a travel cam for height control of the closure element. In this case, according to the invention, at least one shell-shaped collecting device is provided on the closure element, which collecting device is designed to collect lubricant used on the travel cam for the sliding operation of the roller, in that: at least one collecting device is provided with at least one fastening section at least on part of the periphery, in particular is arranged on at least one periphery of at least one sealing element and below the roller.

The invention also relates to a method for closing containers, in which the containers are closed by means of a closure cap, in particular by means of a rotary closure having a plurality of container closing positions which are arranged on the periphery of a rotary device which can be driven in a motor-driven manner about a vertical center axis and which are each assigned at least one closing element, and having a travel cam for the height control of the closing elements. According to the invention, at least one shell-shaped collecting device is provided on at least one of the closure elements, by means of which collecting device the lubricant used on the travel cam for the rolling operation of the roller is collected, in that: at least one collecting device is arranged with at least one fastening section at least on part of the circumference on at least one circumference of at least one closing element and below the roller.

The expression "substantially" or "approximately" in the sense of the present invention means a deviation of +/-10%, preferably +/-5%, from the exact value and/or a deviation in the form of a variation which is not important for the function, respectively.

Further developments, advantages and possibilities of use of the invention can also be taken from the following description of exemplary embodiments and the drawings. All described and/or illustrated features are in principle a subject of the present invention, by themselves or in any combination, independently of their generalization in the claims or their citations. The content of the claims also forms part of the description.

Although some aspects have been described in connection with an apparatus, it should be understood that these aspects are also a description of a corresponding method, so that blocks or structural elements of an apparatus may also be understood as corresponding method steps or features of method steps. Similarly, aspects described in connection with or as a method step are also a description of a corresponding block or detail or feature of a corresponding device. Some or all of the method steps may be implemented by (or where hardware devices are used) hardware devices, such as microprocessors, programmable computers, or electronic circuits. In some embodiments, some or more of the most important method steps may be performed by such an apparatus.

Drawings

The invention is explained in detail below on the basis of embodiments with the aid of the drawings. The figures show:

figure 1 shows very schematically and only exemplarily one example of a capper according to the present invention,

figure 2 shows an exemplary embodiment variant of the collecting device arranged on a closure element which is only partially shown in a highly schematic side view,

figure 3 shows a very schematic top view of a plurality of collecting devices arranged around a central machine axis according to the embodiment variant of figure 2,

figure 4 shows a further embodiment variant of the collecting device in side view,

fig. 5 shows a very schematic top view of a plurality of collecting devices arranged around a central machine axis according to the embodiment variant of fig. 4.

In the figures, the same reference numerals are used for identical or functionally identical elements of the invention. Furthermore, for the sake of clarity, only the reference numerals necessary for describing the respective figures are shown in the respective figures. The invention is also only shown in the figures as a schematic illustration for illustrating the working mode. In particular, the drawings are only intended to illustrate the basic principle of the invention. For clarity, all components of the device are omitted from illustration.

Detailed Description

The closure device designated by "1" in fig. 1 is a rotary structure closure machine for closing containers 20, such as bottles or the like, with crown corks, the closure machine 1 therefore also being referred to as a crown cork closure machine (kronenkker).

Fig. 1 shows only one particular embodiment of a capper 1 according to the invention by way of example, wherein for reasons of clarity only a few components of the entire capper 1, i.e. components which are important for the description of the invention, are explicitly illustrated, and for this purpose reference numerals are provided in fig. 1. Other parts and elements of the capper 1 not particularly important in connection with the present invention are not discussed in detail here for reasons of clarity.

In this type of closing machine 1, a filling machine, not shown in detail in the figures, is usually provided upstream in the transport direction for the spatially close filling of the containers 20 with the liquid filling material. The containers 20 filled by the filling machine are transported by a transport device, for example a transport belt, to the closing machine 1 and are transferred here on the inlet side by a transport element, for example an inlet star, which is also not shown in detail, to the actual closing machine 1. After having passed the capper 1, i.e. after having capped each container 20 with a respective crown cork, the containers 20 thus capped are received at the outlet side of the capper 1 by a further conveying element, not shown, for example an outlet star, which is arranged downstream of the capper 1 in the transport direction, and are transported away in a manner known to the person skilled in the art. For reasons of clarity, the supply and supply of the respective crown cork stoppers to the capper 1 is not shown in the drawings, as this can also be achieved in a manner known per se.

The closure device 1 has a stationary center post extending along the vertical center axis MA, on which at least one motor-driven swiveling device 2 is arranged, which swivels in a motor-driven manner in the direction of rotation indicated by the rounded double arrow. On the periphery of the carousel 2, a plurality of container closure positions BP, BP' are arranged, of which only two are shown in fig. 1 for the sake of clarity.

Each container closure position BP, BP' has at least one closure element 3, which extends over its length along a respective vertically oriented closure element axis VA. The closing element 3 can be moved axially between the raised and lowered position, i.e. vertically up and down, by means of a lifting movement when the swiveling device 2 swivels. The closure element 3 in the container closure position BP shown in fig. 1 occupies a raised position, whereas the closure element in the container closure position BP' shown in fig. 1 is in a lowered position. The axial lifting movement is also understood to be the feed stroke and forms a height control of the closure element 3.

For this height control, a travel cam 4 is provided, by means of which the closure element 3 is guided in a rotationally forced manner about the center axis MA. For this purpose, the closing element 3 has a roller 5 on the upper side, i.e. at its upper end, which runs in a guided manner on a guide surface 4a of the travel cam 4. The roller 5 therefore interacts with the guide surface 4a of the stroke cam 4 on its running surface 5a, which in the sense of the present invention is understood to mean that the roller 5 runs on the guide surface 4a of the stroke cam 4, but also that the roller 5 runs along the guide surface 4a of the stroke cam 4.

Since so-called dry running of the roller 5 on the travel cam 4 is not possible at present, in order to make running of the roller 5 easier, lubrication, in particular the application of a lubricant, for example grease, is provided in the region of the travel cam 4 and the roller 5. Herein, the term "roller lubrication" or "lubricant application" is used synonymously with the term "lubrication". Due to the positive guidance of the roller 5 in the stroke cam 4, an axial lifting movement of the closing element 3 along the closing element axis VA is carried out during the pivoting of the closing element 3 about the central axis MA for its height control, which is therefore referred to herein as a stroke cam-controlled height adjustment or as a stroke cam height control.

The stroke cam 4 of the exemplary closure device 1 has a substantially L-shaped cross section with a horizontal side and a vertical side, wherein the horizontally oriented side constitutes or provides the guide surface 4 a. On the periphery of the travel cam 4, the vertical extent, in particular the length of the vertical side, which has the smallest length in the container closure position BP shown and the largest length in the container closure position BP', varies. The outer circumference 4.1 of the travel cam 4 is defined by an approximately vertically oriented end face of the horizontally oriented side, which also forms an outer, in particular radially outer, circumferential surface and thus specifies the outer diameter of the travel cam 4.

In the example shown in fig. 1, in addition to the roller 5, a further roller 5' is arranged on the closing element 3, which further roller is opposite the roller 5 with respect to the guide surface 4a of the stroke cam 4 and acts on the lower side on the horizontal side of the stroke cam 4.

In order to avoid lubricant used for lubrication from falling out of the region of the travel cam 4 and thus reaching the sanitary region of the closure device 1, i.e. the region of the containers 20 passing under the closure elements 3, in particular at the container mouths of these containers 20, in the present closure device 1 at least one shell-shaped collecting device 6 is provided on at least one closure element 3 of the container closure position BP, BP'.

In more detail, a shell-shaped collecting device 6 provided on at least one of the closure elements 3 is designed to collect lubricant for the rolling operation of the rollers 5, 5' on the travel cam 4, in that: at least one collecting device 6 is provided with at least one fastening section 7 at least on part of the circumference, in particular arranged on the outer circumference 3.1 of at least one closing element 3 and below the rollers 5, 5'.

Within the scope of the present invention, the outer periphery 3.1 of the closure element 3 is understood to mean the outer peripheral surface, i.e. the outer lateral surface, of the closure element 3, so that the outer periphery 3.1 thus forms or corresponds to the outer diameter of the closure element 3.

The shell-shaped collecting device 6 has a bottom 8 which is designed essentially flat or planar and a lateral surface 9 which surrounds the bottom 8 on the edge side, so that a shell-shaped collecting chamber 10 for the lubricant is formed in the bottom 8, which is laterally delimited by the lateral surface 9.

The side surfaces 9 form wall surfaces which point with their free edge sections, i.e. not connected to the base surface 8, essentially in the direction of the rollers 5, 5'.

The base surface 8 preferably extends in a plane E, which is oriented perpendicularly or substantially perpendicularly to the respective closure element axis VA of the respective closure element 3. The side faces 9 preferably enclose an obtuse angle with the plane E running in the base face 8 of less than 120 °, particularly preferably between 95 ° and 90 °. In this case, the base surface 8 is advantageously of substantially trapezoidal design in plan view.

In this case, the bottom 8 of the collecting device 6 is advantageously produced in one piece, in particular in one piece, with the associated side 9 and consists, for example, of plastic, in particular polyamide, or a metal material, in particular stainless steel. The respective collecting device 6 can thus be cleaned simply and hygienically of the falling lubricant.

Furthermore, at least one collecting device 6 is provided with at least one fastening section 7 at least on part of the circumference, in particular arranged on at least one outer circumference 3.1 of at least one closure element 3 and below the rollers 5, 5'. In the embodiment variant of fig. 2, the fastening section 7 is designed as a through-opening through the base 8, which is adapted over the entire circumference to the outer circumference 3.1 of the at least one closure element 3. The fastening section 7 is advantageously configured here as a circular through-opening matching the outer periphery 3.1, which surrounds the outer periphery 3.1 over the entire periphery in a contact-locking, in particular force-locking and/or form-locking manner, so that the collecting device 6 is held in a fixed position, i.e. in a positionally fixed manner, on the closure element 3. The collecting device 6 is therefore configured exchangeably on the outer circumference 3.1 of the closure element 3 and can be removed simply axially upwards or downwards along the closure element axis VA for cleaning or emptying purposes during the removal of the closure element 3. This also makes it possible to easily retrofit already installed and set-up closures 1 during maintenance work.

It can also be provided here that the fastening section 7 has, on its circular free edge section facing the closure element axis VA, at least on part of its circumference, a sealing element, for example in the form of a circumferential sealing lip, or alternatively is made of a tight or sealing material, for example an elastically deformable plastic.

However, it is particularly advantageously provided that the fastening section 7 has, over its entire circumference, on its circular free edge section facing the closure element axis VA, a sealing element, for example in the form of a circumferential sealing lip, or alternatively is made of a tight or sealing material, for example an elastically deformable plastic. This ensures that no lubricant enters via the fastening section 7 in the direction of the sanitary area or the mouth area, i.e. flows down over the outer periphery 3.1 of the closure element 3.

In this case, it can advantageously also be provided that a plurality of closure elements 3, preferably all closure elements 3, each have at least one collecting device 6, wherein the closure elements 3 equipped with the collecting devices 6 are assigned to the respective container closure positions BP, BP', which are arranged uniformly distributed over the circumference of the rotary device 2.

It is also possible here for at least one closing element 3 to have a plurality of, preferably two, collecting devices 6 arranged offset and spaced apart along the closing element axis VA. In other words, according to this embodiment variant, a collecting device 6 is provided which is arranged above and further below the closing element 3 with respect to the closing element axis VA.

In addition, the plurality of collecting devices 6 are advantageously each configured identically to one another. As can be seen from fig. 3, a plurality of collecting devices 6 of identical design can be arranged essentially in a circular manner around the central center axis MA and in contact-locking contact with one another on the respective closure element 3. In this respect, it is advantageous if the collecting devices 6 are arranged substantially in a common plane.

Fig. 4 and 5 show a further embodiment variant of a collecting device 6 ' which is provided with at least one fastening section 7 ' at least on part of the circumference, in particular is arranged on the outer circumference 3.1 of at least one closing element 3 and below the rollers 5, 5 '. In more detail, the embodiment variant of fig. 4 and 5 has two fastening sections 7 'which are each arranged on part of the circumference, in particular on the respective circumference 3.1 between two adjacent closure elements 3, and below the rollers 5, 5'.

In particular, the fastening sections 7 'are formed on two opposite sides 9 of the collecting device 6'. In more detail, the fastening section 7', which is embodied here as a side face 9, is adapted at least in sections to the outer circumference 3.1 of the closure element 3.

The opposing fastening sections 7 ' provided as the side faces 9 are preferably each formed at least in sections as partial circular fastening sections 7 ' by means of which the collecting device 6 ' is held between the respective peripheries 3.1 of two adjacent closure elements 3 in a contact-locking, in particular force-locking and/or form-locking, positionally fixed, i.e. positionally fixed, manner on the partial peripheries and on the contact-locking, in particular force-locking and/or form-locking, manner between the adjacent closure elements 3.

The collecting device 6' is therefore configured exchangeably on the outer circumference 3.1 of the closure element 3 and can be simply inserted between the respective outer circumferences 3.1 of two adjacent closure elements 3 and also removed again during the removal of the closure element 3 for cleaning or emptying purposes. This also makes it possible to easily attach the already installed and set-up closure 1 during maintenance work.

For this purpose, the collecting device 6' can have a gripping element 11, for example in the form of a holding tab, on the side 9 facing away from the machine axis MA.

Furthermore, it can advantageously be provided that at least one collecting device 6 ' is provided between a plurality of adjacent closure elements 3, preferably between all adjacent closure elements 3, wherein the closure elements 3 equipped with the collecting devices 6 ' are assigned to the respective container closure positions BP, BP ', which are arranged uniformly distributed over the circumference of the swiveling device 2.

The above example relates to a closure device 1 configured as a crown cork closure machine. Of course, a corresponding closure device 1 for closing containers 20 by means of a rotary or screw closure, in particular a so-called plastic screw driver (Kunststoffschrauber), is also encompassed by the invention. In such mechanical plastic screwdrivers, the lubrication of the running surfaces 5a of the rollers 5, 5' of the closing element 3 on the travel cam 4 is similar to that in crown-cork sealers, except that in such plastic screwdrivers there is an absolutely smaller rolling load than in crown-cork sealers. The collecting device 6 described above can therefore also be used in a plastic screwdriver.

In principle, the described collecting device 6 collects to the greatest possible extent lubricant, for example grease, which drips down or flows down along the outer periphery 3.1 of the closure element 3, thereby preventing grease from falling into the sanitary region of the container mouth of the container 20 passing under the respective closure element 3. The accessibility for possible conventional manual cleaning operations is maintained above the carrier plate of the closure element 3, i.e. in the region of influence for the grease lubrication of the running rollers 5.

The invention has been described above in terms of one embodiment. It will be understood that numerous changes and modifications may be made without departing from the inventive concept on which the invention is based.

The invention is therefore particularly designed to prevent the lubricant used for improving the rolling operation of the rollers (5, 5') from collecting on the travel cam (4) before it reaches the sanitary area of the device or even the mouth or mouth of the container. This is shown in detail in the description.

However, according to the invention, it is also provided that the shell-shaped collecting device is also provided for collecting further lubricant which accumulates and drips off the closure device.

For example, also for collecting lubricant for lubricating the compression spring of the actual closure mechanism.

List of reference numerals

1 sealing device

2 slewing gear

3 sealing element

3.1 outer periphery

4-stroke cam

4a stroke cam guide surface

4.1 outer periphery of stroke cam

5. 5' roller

5a running surface of roller

6. 6' collecting device

7. 7' fastening section

8 bottom surface

9 side wall

10 collecting chamber

11 gripping element

20 container

BP, BP' container sealing position

MA Central axis

VA seal element axis.