METHOD AND DEVICE FOR APPLYING SPOUTS ON CONTAINERS THE SPOUTS BEING HELD BY A GRIPPING DEVICE OF AN APPLICATOR AND HAVING A FLANGE AND A SCREW CAP

A method and apparatus are represented and described for applying dispensing elements, fixed by means of a gripping device of an applicator and having a flange and a screw cap, onto packages, in particular cardboard/plastic composite packages for dispensable products, wherein each dispensing element is supplied to the gripping device in an aligned position, gripped by gripper jaws of a gripper of the gripping device and is applied by said gripping device by means of its flange onto a package and pressed on there. In order, in the case of the application, to achieve individual pressing of the dispensing elements adapted to the situation even on uneven gable surfaces of the packages with a uniformly distributed force in a single pressing operation, the method according to the invention provides the following steps: gripping a dispensing element by closing the gripper jaws, lowering each gripping device with gripped dispensing element onto a package transported therebelow into an application position, pressing the flange of the dispensing element onto the package by means of a pressing head for a predetermined time, wherein the pressing head is freely movable in the spatial environment by a predefined angle range and can be adapted to the respective form of the package gable in the case of pressing and in that the middle point of the intended adhesive surface remains immovable and raising each gripping device to receive a newly-supplied dispensing element.