Importance

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Abstract

A chuck apparatus for threading a cap having a spout onto a bottle has a chuck with opposing gripping jaws for gripping the cap; a chuck rotating assembly for rotating the chuck to thread the cap on the bottle; a shaft connected with the chuck and an assembly for epicyclically rotating the shaft about a central axis; a raising and lowering assembly for raising and lowering the chuck out of and into engagement with the cap; a coupling rotatably connected with the shaft, and a cam assembly for raising and lowering the coupling; a spout alignment assembly for maintaining the spout at a first predetermined orientation with respect to the bottle while the chuck is rotated to thread the cap on the bottle, and including a saddle for engaging the spout, and a rod extending coaxially and rotatably through the shaft, for supporting the saddle above the gripping jaws in the first predetermined rotational orientation; and a chuck aligning assembly for aligning the chuck in a second predetermined orientation with respect to the spout after the chuck has threaded the cap on the bottle and for locking the chuck at the second predetermined orientation, such that the chuck can be raised away from the cap without interference from the spout when the chuck is locked at the second predetermined orientation, the chuck aligning assembly including a finger for preventing rotation of the shaft, and an actuating arrangement for moving the finger to rotationally lock the shaft or to permit rotation of the shaft.

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First Claim