EP0572841A2 - Device for collecting empty bottles and refund the deposit - Google Patents

Abstract

Behind an insertion orifice for the bottles to be collected extends a push-in unit which is matched in length and cross-section to the bottle dimensions and which is equipped with mechanical means for recognizing the particular bottle pushed in. Furthermore, the push-in unit possesses a manually actuable bottle throw-off device, the actuation of which is cleared only when the means for recognizing the pushed-in bottle have recognized it as being "correct". Otherwise, the actuation of the bottle throw-off device remains blocked. Coupled to the bottle throw-off device is a deposit return device which ejects a predetermined deposit amount whenever a bottle is thrown off from the push-in unit. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a device for collecting empties bottles of a predetermined type and / or size and for returning deposit, with an input opening for introducing the bottles to be collected, with a collection container arranged behind the input opening, according to length and cross section Dimensions of the bottles to be collected adapted slide-in unit with releasable in a bottle receiving space, axially spaced buttons arranged as a means for recognizing each inserted bottle and with one of these buttons depending on whether a bottle in the slot is recognized as correct or incorrect or locked and otherwise manually operable bottle dropping device and with a deposit return device which is in operative connection with the bottle dropping device.

A device of this type is already known from DE-OS 14 74 874. This is a device for accepting packaging, in particular bottles, which compares the typical design features of the items to be accepted with a preset spatial shape by means of buttons which act on the items and, if they match, issues a predetermined deposit.

In this known device, special scanning and locking levers are mounted on the back of a front plate, which are connected in pairs via bearing shafts. If an inserted object, for example a bottle, corresponds to the preset spatial shape, the locking levers, due to actuation by the scanning lever recesses, face a grid plate which can then be pivoted and releases a part of a so-called test floor that supports the inserted object. The named part of the test floor then swings outwards and releases the inserted object, which then falls into a transport trough. The transport trough, which can be moved vertically by means of a parallel guide, is pivotably mounted, but is held in a position supporting the inserted object by means of a weight. If the transport trough lowers due to the dead weight of an inserted object, the counterweight hits objects already accumulated in the collecting space and pivots in such a way that the mounting of the transport trough is omitted and this pivots out the object previously picked up by pivoting.

The structure of the known device is extremely complicated and therefore complex, but especially in view of the large number of lever mechanisms acting together or depending on one another, they are highly susceptible to failure. The invention is therefore intended to provide a device which is simple in construction and is not susceptible to faults, for collecting reusable deposit bottles of a predetermined type and / or size, and for returning the deposit charge for such empties.

This object is achieved in that, in the device according to the preamble of patent claim 1, the bottle-ejecting device is designed as a drawer which can be moved transversely to a bottle-receiving space into a bottle-ejecting position, in that the pushbuttons act as probe pins projecting into the bottle-receiving space of the insert unit from above, which are guided through recesses on the top of the drawer and resettable against spring force into a position releasing this drawer, that longitudinal slots adjoin the recesses penetrated by the feeler pins, which extend in the direction of the displaceability of the drawer into the bottle-dropping position and whose width is smaller than the thickness of the styli, that each stylus is provided with at least one transverse notch arranged in such a way that the latter stands in the region of the upper recess of the drawer designed as a slide, penetrated by the respective stylus, and its displacement into the bottle n ejection position enables when a bottle received in the slide-in unit corresponds to the type and / or size of bottle intended for collection via this slide-in unit, and that the drawer has a base that supports the bottles inserted into the bottle receiving space and when the bottle ejection device is actuated into the drop position is pushed away transversely to the longitudinal extent of the bottle.

The invention is a collection container for accepting a specific type and / or size of empties bottles. A bottle inserted into the insertion unit through the input opening is sensed by mechanical means to determine whether it corresponds to the type or size of bottle intended for acceptance in this device. If a pushed-in bottle is recognized as belonging to the bottle type or size to be received in this device, the detection means release the bottle-ejecting device, which then, operated by hand, mediates the ejection of the bottle recognized as acceptable from the feed unit. The deposit return device is operatively connected to this bottle dropping device and, corresponding to the actuation of the bottle dropping device, ejects the deposit corresponding to the type of bottle received.

In this case, the means from above into the bottle receiving space of the plug-in unit serve as means for recognizing a bottle that is inserted protruding stylus pins, which are in the position when receiving a bottle to be accepted via the respective slide-in unit, in which the transverse displacement of the drawer provided with recesses on the top and subsequent longitudinal slots in the direction of displacement into the bottle-ejecting position is possible. The edges of the longitudinal slots engage in the transverse notches of the styli. If, on the other hand, one of the styli is not at the level of the recesses mentioned with its transverse notch, the displaceability of the slide is blocked, so that the full cross section of the stylus in question prevents the drawer from shifting into the ejection position because the associated longitudinal slot is not in the region of the Cross notch of the stylus can slide along. In this case, the bottle identified as "wrong" must be removed from the insertion unit without being dropped into the collecting container.

The invention relates to a device for bottle return and deposit refund which is extremely simple in construction and is not susceptible to faults and which is inexpensive to produce and can be operated purely mechanically. Since no electrical supply connections are required, the device according to the invention can be set up at any location.

Further developments of the device according to the invention are specified in the subclaims.

Thus, in the interest of a particularly simple construction, it has proven to be expedient if the drawer is designed as a U-shaped slide, seen in cross section, the legs spaced apart from one another running horizontally and the upper leg with the recesses penetrated by the feeler pins and with them subsequent longitudinal slots is provided, while part of the lower leg forms the bottom of the bottle receiving space, i.e. supports the bottles inserted into the false receiving space, and the part of the lower leg adjoining the floor is provided with a bottle discharge opening which, when the slide is actuated, is in the dropping position comes under the bottle receiving space with the result that a bottle received in the latter falls down through the discharge opening and thus falls into the collecting container.

Another important embodiment provides that the deposit return device operatively connected to the bottle dropping device has at least one coin tube and a coin slide which is longitudinally movable under its dispensing opening and is provided with a continuous perforation adapted to the deposit and in view of its operative connection with the bottle dropping device when it is actuated into the The bottle dropping position is shifted from a position with the perforation under the delivery opening of the coin tube to a coin dropping position, taking the bottom coin of the coin tube with it, on the other hand, when the bottle dropping device is returned to its starting position, its perforation returns to the position under the coin tube.

Of course, within the scope of the invention, a plurality of coin tubes arranged next to one another can be assigned to a coin slide provided with corresponding perforations, so that the return of several and possibly different coins as deposit when a bottle recognized as correct is thrown into the collecting container and when the coin slide is actuated as a result succeed in a coin delivery position.

Finally, a further important embodiment of the invention provides that the collecting container is equipped with a bottle sorting arranged under the slide-in unit in the form of bars running in the direction of the slide-in longitudinal extension and parallel to one another in superimposed tiers, each at a distance from one another larger than the bottle cross-section and in each case on the next floor are offset by half a pitch between adjacent bars. This measure ensures that a deposit bottle dropped from the bottle ejection device into the collection container reaches the parallel bars of the top floor of the coin sorting after a short fall distance and then gradually falls from one bar to the next floor without being damaged or damage bottles when they hit bottles already in the collection container.

In this respect, it has also proven to be useful if the collecting container is equipped with a bottle removal device on the underside in such a way that when empty bottles are removed in the area of the bottom floor, the bottles picked up between the bars of the floors above them roll automatically from floor to floor without risk of damage and so on reach the removal area of the collection container.

• Fig. 1 eine Vorrichtung zum Ansammeln von zwei verschiedenen Pfandflaschenarten in einer perspektivischen Gesamtansicht,
• Fig. 2 eine Frontansicht der Vorrichtung bei Weglassung der vorderseitigen Abdeckung der für das Ansammeln einer Flaschenart bestimmten Vorrichtungshälfte,
• Fig. 3 einen gegenüber den Fig. 1 und 2 vergrößerten Querschnitt durch die Einschubeinheit,
• Fig. 4 eine ausschnittsweise Draufsicht gemäß Pfeil IV in Fig. 3 auf die Einschubeinheit,
• Fig. 5 einen ausschnittsweisen Längsschnitt gemäß der Schnittlinie V-V in Fig. 3 durch die Einschubeinheit,
• Fig. 6 in einem vergrößerten Ausschnitt gemäß VI in Fig. 5 einen Taststift mit einer umlaufenden Quernut in einer derart angehobenen Vertikalstellung, daß ein als querbeweglich zur Einschubeinheit geführter Schieber in eine Flaschenabwurfstellung betätigbar ist,
• Fig. 7 die Münzgeld-Rückgabeeinrichtung mit zwei Münzröhrchen und einem unter diesen längsbeweglich geführten Münzschieber und
• Fig. 8 einen Sammelbehälter mit einer Flaschensortierung aus in übereinanderliegenden Etagen angeordneten Stäben in einer perspektivischen Ansicht.

An embodiment of the invention will be explained below with reference to the accompanying drawing. Schematic views show:

• 1 shows a device for collecting two different deposit bottle types in a perspective overall view,
• Fig. 2 is a front view of the device when omitting the front Ab covering the device half intended for the accumulation of a bottle type,
• 3 shows an enlarged cross section through FIGS. 1 and 2 through the plug-in unit,
• 4 shows a partial plan view according to arrow IV in FIG. 3 of the plug-in unit,
• 5 shows a partial longitudinal section along the section line VV in FIG. 3 through the insertion unit,
• 6 shows an enlarged section according to VI in FIG. 5, a stylus with a circumferential transverse groove in a vertical position raised in such a way that a slide, which is guided as a transverse movement to the insertion unit, can be actuated into a bottle-dropping position,
• Fig. 7, the coin return device with two coin tubes and a longitudinally movable coin slide and among them
• 8 is a perspective view of a collecting container with a bottle sorting from bars arranged in superposed floors.

The device 10 illustrated in its entirety in FIGS. 1 and 2 is intended for the collection of beverage bottles in two sizes that differ from one another and therefore consists of two departments separated from one another by a vertical central plane which, apart from their design, have the same design for different bottle sizes are. For example, the right half of the device can be used for collecting half-liter bottles, while the left half for beverage bottles with a capacity of 0.33 liters.

Each of these device halves has a bottle collecting container 11 and in the upper part behind an input opening 12 which can be closed by means of a flap, which is not further illustrated, an insertion unit 14 which extends perpendicularly from the input opening and whose dimensions are adapted to the bottles to be accepted in this insertion unit. The slide-in unit has a bottle receiving space 15 extending from the input opening in the front wall of the collecting container 11, the bottom of which is formed by part of a lower leg 16 of a U-shaped drawer 18, which in turn is designed as a slide which is displaceably guided transversely to the bottle receiving space. 3 protrude into the bottle receiving space 15 with approximately semicircular cutouts 19 and axially one behind the other arranged locking plates 20, which mediate a fixation of the bottle 21 indicated in dash-dotted lines in Fig. 3 in the bottle receiving space when the drawer 18 designed as a slide is in the from Fig 3 apparent position.

5, touch pins 24 protrude into the bottle receiving space 15, which are vertically movable in a manner not of interest here and not shown in detail, but are held in their positions projecting into the bottle receiving space by spring force and when a bottle is inserted 21 are pushed up into the bottle receiving space from its outer contour. The upper ends of these styli, which are arranged between the already mentioned locking plates 20, are passed through the stylus cross section adapted recesses 26 in the upper leg 17 of the drawer 18 forming the slide and extend from these guide recesses in the direction of the two legs 16, 17th of the drawer 18 connecting web longitudinal slots 27, the width of which is smaller than the cross section of the stylus pins and the guide recesses 26 penetrated by them.

If there is no bottle in the bottle receiving space 15, the lower ends of the styli 24 protrude into the bottle receiving space. When a bottle is inserted, which is guided through the recesses 19 on the underside of the locking plates 20 which are adapted to the bottle contour, the bottle contour gradually hits the feeler pins 24 and urges them upwards against the action of the return springs 25. Each stylus, as shown in Fig. 6, is provided with a transverse notch 28 in the form of a circumferential groove, which is then exactly at the level of the upper leg 17 of the drawer 18 designed as a slide when the bottle 21 received in the bottle receiving space 15 corresponds to certain bottle size for the accumulation via this plug-in unit 14.

While the recesses 26 in the upper leg 17 of the drawer 18 formed as a slide and penetrated by the feeler pins are adapted to the cross section of the feeler pins 24, the cross section remaining in the region of the annular grooves 28 forming the transverse notches 28 is the width of the width extending in the upper leg 17 of the drawer Longitudinal slots 27 adapted. In the position shown in Fig. 6 of the stylus 24, which is only achieved when there is a bottle 21 to be accepted via this insert unit in the bottle receiving space 15, the slide 18 designed as a slide can be moved in the direction of arrow 30, whereby the Bottom of the bottle receiving room bil The end of the lower leg 16 of the drawer is pushed away from under the bottle and the bottle in the drawer comes into the region of an ejection opening 31 which is located between the rear web of the drawer 18 and the part forming the bottom in the lower leg 16.

As soon as this position of the manually operated slide is reached, the bottle 21 falls down from the bottle receiving space 15 and the drawer is actuated back into the position shown in FIG. 3. This can be done by hand or automatically by means of spring force, as is the shift into the bottle dropping position, which is not shown further. When the drawer 18 has regained the position shown in FIG. 3, the styli 24 are located in the recesses 26 arranged at the ends of the longitudinal slots 27 and, due to the spring restoring forces acting on them, reach their original positions in which the lower stylus ends protrude into the bottle receiving space 15.

It can be seen that an actuation of the drawer 18 designed as a slide is blocked in the bottle-dropping position if only one of the feeler pins 24 has not assumed the unlocking position shown in FIG. 6. This is always the case when the bottle receiving space is empty or a bottle is inserted, the size and / or shape of which differs from the type of bottle to be collected via the slide-in unit in question.

The deposit return device 34 shown in FIG. 7 is directly mechanically coupled to the drawer 18 of the plug-in unit 14, which is designed as a slide. For this purpose, an elongated coin slide 35 is firmly connected to the upper leg 17 of the U-shaped drawer 18 The insertion unit distal end extends under two coin tubes 36, 36 'with coin discharge openings on the underside.

This coin pusher is equipped at the end remote from the insertion unit with two through holes which, in the position shown in FIG. 7, which corresponds to the position shown in FIG. 3 of the drawer 18 designed as a pusher, are located directly below the coin discharge openings of the coin tubes. The thickness of the coin slide is equal to the thickness of the coins received in the coin tube, so that in the position of the coin slide 35 shown in FIG. 7, the lowest coin of each coin tube is received in the recess of the coin slide. When the drawer 18, which is designed as a slide, of the plug-in unit is actuated into the bottle dropping position, the coin slide 35 experiences a corresponding actuation in the direction of the arrow 36 such that the recesses in the coin slide, each loaded with a coin, pass through a funnel 37 and are dropped there. A coin guide channel 38 adjoins this funnel and extends to a deposit return pocket 40 in the front cover of the collecting container. After a bottle inserted into the insertion unit has been ejected and the coin ejected as a result, the deposit can be removed from the return compartment 40.

It can be seen in particular from FIGS. 2 and 8 that a bottle sorting 42 is arranged under the slide-in unit 14 within the collecting container 11, which consists of rods 43 running parallel to one another in superimposed floors. The distance between the bars in the individual floors is slightly larger than the cross section of the bottles to be collected and the bars on the next floor are arranged exactly between the bars of the floor above and / or below. The vertical distance between the individual levels is also larger than the bottle cross-section.

This configuration of the bottle sorting 42 ensures that each bottle ejected from the insertion unit 14 by actuating the drawer 18 designed as a slide falls in the longitudinal direction of the bars 42, in each case between adjacent bars on one floor and then onto the one below it arranged rod of the next floor. The bottle then rolls to one side or the other, in order to then gradually fall through the individual levels in the same way until it hits bottles already accumulated in the collecting container 11. This braked falling of the accumulated bottles in the collection container ensures that the bottles do not suffer any damage during the ejection process and that bottles already accumulated in the collection container are not damaged.

In a manner not shown, the collecting container 11 is equipped in its lower area with a bottle removal device, through which bottles accumulated in the area of the lower level of the bottle sorting 42 can be removed. When the bottle is removed, bottles that have accumulated in the area of the upper floors gradually come down by means of a slowed down falling movement, so that bottle damage cannot occur even when the bottle is removed.

Claims (5)

1. Device for collecting empties bottles of a predetermined type and / or size and for returning deposit, with an input opening for introducing the bottles to be collected, with a collecting container arranged behind the input opening, according to length and cross section, the dimensions of the bottles to be collected adapted slide-in unit, with buttons projecting axially spaced apart from one another in a bottle receiving space as a means for recognizing each inserted bottle, and with one of these buttons depending on whether a bottle in the slide-in is recognized as correct or incorrect, can be released or locked and in the remaining hand-operated bottle dropping device and a deposit return device which is operatively connected to the bottle dropping device,
characterized,
that the bottle discharge device is designed as a drawer (18) movable transversely to a bottle receiving space (15) into a bottle discharge position. that it is in the buttons as from above into the bottle receiving space (15) of the plug-in unit pushing pins (24) which are guided through recesses (26) on the top of the drawer (18) and can be reset against spring force into a position releasing this drawer that connect to the recesses (26) penetrated by the fast pins longitudinal slots (27) which run in the direction of the displaceability of the drawer (18) in the bottle dropping position and whose width is smaller than the thickness of the stylus (24) that each stylus with at least a transverse notch (28) is provided in such a way that the latter stands in the area of the upper recess (26) penetrated by the respective stylus of the drawer (18) designed as a slide and enables its displacement into the bottle ejection position when a bottle received in the insertion unit is suitable for the accumulation via this plug-in unit corresponds to certain bottle type and / or size cht, and that the drawer (18) has a bottom (16) which supports the bottles inserted into the bottle receiving space (15) and is pushed away when the bottle ejection device is actuated into the ejection position transversely to the longitudinal extent of the bottle. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the drawer (18) is designed as - seen in cross section - U-shaped slide, the spaced legs (16, 17) of this slide extending horizontally and the upper leg (17) is provided with the recesses (26) penetrated by the stylus pins (24) and the longitudinal slots (27) adjoining them, while part of the lower leg (16) forms the bottom of the bottle receiving space (15) and the part of the bottle adjoining the latter lower leg (16) is provided with a bottle ejection opening (31) which, when the slide is actuated, reaches the ejection position under the bottle receiving space. 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the deposit return device (34) operatively connected to the bottle dropping device (18) has at least one coin tube (36, 36 ') and a coin slide (35) which is guided longitudinally under its dispensing opening and which provided with a continuous perforation adapted to the deposit and given its operative connection with the bottle ejection device when it is actuated into the bottle ejection position, it is moved from a position with the perforation under the dispensing opening of the coin tube to a coin ejection position while taking a coin received in the perforation, on the other hand when resetting the Bottle ejection device in its starting position again with its perforation in the position under the coin tube. 4. Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the collecting container (11) with a arranged under the insert unit bottle sorting (42) in the form of in the direction of the longitudinal extension and parallel to each other in superposed floors (43) is equipped , each spaced apart from one another by a greater than the bottle cross-section and offset on the subsequent floor by half a division between adjacent bars. 5. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that the collecting container (11) is equipped with a bottle removal device on the underside in such a way that when empty bottles are removed in the area of the bottom floor, the between the bars of the above Roll the bottles picked up on the floors automatically and without risk of damage from floor to floor.

Images