In accordance with the present invention, methods and machinery are provided for automatically inspecting shaped, lined closures and rejecting those which fail to meet pre-established criteria for shape and seal. Specifically, shaped closures having concave interior portions and resilient sealing liners are supplied to an inspection station comprising one or more female inspection nests for receiving individual closures and one or more respective male inspection heads for insertion into the concave portions of respective closures. The inspection heads are provided with exterior shapes approximating the interiors of ideal closures so that penetration into the closure indicates the conformity of the closure to the ideal. Preferably, the inspection head is connected to a source of pressurized fluid for testing both the depth of penetration and the adequacy of the sealing ring. Closures capable of maintaining a seal at a predetermined level of pressure are automatically passed and closures failing to meet this test are automatically rejected. A preferred embodiment for accepting crown bottle caps from a plurality of lining machines is described in detail.

This invention discloses a conveyor table, including a supporting construction having a first supporting surface for supporting articles to be conveyed, a plurality of conveyor elements mounted to the supporting construction and defining a second supporting surface for supporting the articles to be conveyed, an actuator for selectively moving one of the supporting surfaces with respect to the other to selectively enable either the first supporting surface defined by the supporting construction to support the articles, or the second supporting surface defined by the conveyor elements to support the articles, and a drive for driving the conveyor elements to convey the articles in a predetermined direction when the articles are supported by the second supporting surface defined by the conveyor elements.

This invention discloses a conveyor table, including a supporting construction having a first supporting surface for supporting articles to be conveyed, a plurality of conveyor elements mounted to the supporting construction and defining a second supporting surface for supporting the articles to be conveyed, an actuator for selectively moving one of the supporting surfaces with respect to the other to selectively enable either the first supporting surface defined by the supporting construction to support the articles, or the second supporting surface defined by the conveyor elements to support the articles, and a drive for driving the conveyor elements to convey the articles in a predetermined direction when the articles are supported by the second supporting surface defined by the conveyor elements.