Methods and apparatus for rotating a container delivered to a container manipulation system on a conveyor are described. In some embodiments, first and second carriages are positioned on opposite sides of the conveyor, each carrying respective forward and rear clamp arms. Each clamp arm is selectively independently moveable and carries at least first and second vertically spaced-apart wheels. All of the wheels are engageable with the container on the conveyor. At least two wheels on the first carriage are power-driven and selectively rotatable. The remaining wheels are free-spinning. Additional methods, systems and apparatus are also disclosed.

A device for holding a container in a container handling device, for example for holding a bottle without a support ring while a screw closure or a press-on closure is applied, including a carrier and a first holding arm and a second holding arm, which are arranged on the carrier and are configured to hold the container, wherein the first holding arm and the second holding arm are arranged on the carrier in such a way that they can be moved between an open position for receiving and releasing the container and a closed position for holding the container, wherein, for movement between the closed position and the open position, the first holding arm and the second holding arm can each be pivoted about a pivoting axis and rotated about a rotation axis oriented transversely to the pivoting axis.

A capping head for applying pre-threaded caps to containers includes a rotating and translating shaft, a first electric motor for driving the rotary motion of the shaft, the motor having a stator and a rotor coaxially arranged around the shaft and mounted in a stationary housing so as to be decoupled from the shaft as far as the translational motion is concerned, and a first bushing, which is mounted at one end of the stationary housing, is passed through by the shaft and is arranged to transfer the rotary motion of the rotor to the shaft. The head further includes a second bushing that is mounted at a second end of the stationary housing, opposed to the first one, to seal the internal cavity thereof also at that second end, and is passed through by the shaft that is mounted in the same bushing in a freely rotatable manner.

A closing apparatus for closing a container with a container closure, for example for closing a container with a screw cap in a beverage filling plant, includes a gripping mechanism for gripping the container closure with at least one gripping arm pivotable about a bearing, an actuating unit for actuating the gripping mechanism, and a detection unit for detecting a stroke of a stroke element of the actuating unit acting on the gripping mechanism. A corresponding method is also described.