CA1074723A - Bottle orientation unit - Google Patents
Bottle orientation unitInfo
- Publication number
- CA1074723A CA1074723A CA307,025A CA307025A CA1074723A CA 1074723 A CA1074723 A CA 1074723A CA 307025 A CA307025 A CA 307025A CA 1074723 A CA1074723 A CA 1074723A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- bottle
- gate
- orientation
- bottles
- turning
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Abstract
BOTTLE ORIENTATION UNIT
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
An infeed conveyor, including a pair of opposed and spaced belts coacting with the opposed sides of bottles passing there-between, moves bottles onto the main conveyor of a bottle orienta-tion unit which rotates through 180° any of the bottles not pro-perly oriented according to the disposition of a handle, label or other criteria, so that all bottles leaving the unit are identi-cally oriented for subsequent processing. The main conveyor, of conventional chain conveyor type construction with moving flights disposed beneath the bottles, transports the bottles to and through a bottle turning station. Upon entering the station one side of the neck of the bottle moves into contact with a stationary pad while the opposed side of the neck of the bottle is engaged by a belt moving in the direction of bottle movement but at twice the speed of the main conveyor. The combination of the stationary pad and a belt moving at twice the speed of the bottle, coacting to-gether upon the bottles neck result in a velocity on the bottle, in the direction of bottle movement, which is equal to the ve-locity of bottle movement. That is, the gradient of velocities between the stationary pad and the belt travelling at twice the speed of the bottle is a straight line gradient. Thus a bottle has no speed change imparted to it; but only a pure torque acting upon the bottle to turn the bottle in a predetermined manner and direction.
Every bottle, thus subject to the turning action, is urged to turn about an axis of rotation through the neck of the bottle as the bottle passes through said turning station. A gate unit dis-posed at the turning station, however, when in a forward position coacts with the units frame to define a path which is only wide enough for the bottle to pass through, but not wide enough to per-mit the bottle to turn. Accordingly, the torque action upon the bottle produces a slippage and the bottle is not re-oriented.
When the gate unit is in a retracted position, however, the path is widened and the torque action upon the bottle results in the bottle turning 180° and being re-oriented. A hold down belt acts upon the top of the bottle to urge it against the main conveyor and stabalizes the bottle as it passes to and through the turning station.
Suitable electrical controls, disposed and designed to sense the orientation of each bottle, are triggered by other controls which sense that the bottle neck is in a particular location with respect to the turning station. The output of the orientation sensing controls, in conjunction with the output from a control for sensing the positioning of the gate, determine whether the gate is to be moved from its current location and thus whether a bottle is to be turned or not.
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
An infeed conveyor, including a pair of opposed and spaced belts coacting with the opposed sides of bottles passing there-between, moves bottles onto the main conveyor of a bottle orienta-tion unit which rotates through 180° any of the bottles not pro-perly oriented according to the disposition of a handle, label or other criteria, so that all bottles leaving the unit are identi-cally oriented for subsequent processing. The main conveyor, of conventional chain conveyor type construction with moving flights disposed beneath the bottles, transports the bottles to and through a bottle turning station. Upon entering the station one side of the neck of the bottle moves into contact with a stationary pad while the opposed side of the neck of the bottle is engaged by a belt moving in the direction of bottle movement but at twice the speed of the main conveyor. The combination of the stationary pad and a belt moving at twice the speed of the bottle, coacting to-gether upon the bottles neck result in a velocity on the bottle, in the direction of bottle movement, which is equal to the ve-locity of bottle movement. That is, the gradient of velocities between the stationary pad and the belt travelling at twice the speed of the bottle is a straight line gradient. Thus a bottle has no speed change imparted to it; but only a pure torque acting upon the bottle to turn the bottle in a predetermined manner and direction.
Every bottle, thus subject to the turning action, is urged to turn about an axis of rotation through the neck of the bottle as the bottle passes through said turning station. A gate unit dis-posed at the turning station, however, when in a forward position coacts with the units frame to define a path which is only wide enough for the bottle to pass through, but not wide enough to per-mit the bottle to turn. Accordingly, the torque action upon the bottle produces a slippage and the bottle is not re-oriented.
When the gate unit is in a retracted position, however, the path is widened and the torque action upon the bottle results in the bottle turning 180° and being re-oriented. A hold down belt acts upon the top of the bottle to urge it against the main conveyor and stabalizes the bottle as it passes to and through the turning station.
Suitable electrical controls, disposed and designed to sense the orientation of each bottle, are triggered by other controls which sense that the bottle neck is in a particular location with respect to the turning station. The output of the orientation sensing controls, in conjunction with the output from a control for sensing the positioning of the gate, determine whether the gate is to be moved from its current location and thus whether a bottle is to be turned or not.
Description
~C~7~'723 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION-FIELD OF APPLICATION
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This invention relates to bottle orientation units; and more particularly to bottle orientation units disposed for coaction with bottles, being conveyed along a particular path, to sense the orientation of such bottles and to rotate particular ones of said bottles so that all such bottles are similarly oriented.
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1 747iZ3 IBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION-DESCRl~TION OF T~IE PRIOR ART
I _ _ __ _ _ ___ ,_ .. ___,_ ¦ It is most important at cer~ain stages in the processing of ¦bottled commodities ~such as beverages, ~leach, detergents, and ¦the like) that all bottles be similarly oriented. Such similar ¦orientation may be so that all bottle handles are pointed in t}e ¦sa~e direction; or so that all f~ont labels appear on the same ¦side of the bottles as they move along the conveyor, and con-¦sequently so that all back labels are likewi6e disposed.
¦ The need for said similar orientation may be required for a ¦further step in the processing of the bottles; such as labeling ¦or packaging thereof. The requirement to similarly orient see~s--¦to arise due to processing steps earlier on the procedure durin~
which only so~e of the bottles bec~me dis-oriented, or hecause ¦ the bottles were randomly placed into the processing procedure ¦ initially without regard to orientation.
~ he orientation of bottles by human operators is a most tir~
consuming process. It requires that the operator be alert and I quick; especially if the bottle conveying line is moving along a~
l a rapid pace. In fact most bottle conveyor lines today move so 20 ¦ quickly that hu~an operators cannot act quick enough to insure that all bottles after a particular point will, in fact,~be similarly oriented. This problem is not cured by utilizing more l people since there is a practical limit as to how many people car.
¦ be placed along a bottle line without unduly lengthening same.
¦ Existing bottle orienting equipment has likewise failed to ¦ satisfy the requirement that all bottles be similarly oriented ¦ after a particular conveyor line location; or in doing so either ¦ slow down the line speed and output, or requires use of highly c~mplex and costly eq~ pment.
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, ~ 47Z3 SU1~1~RY OF T~IE I~VENTION
It is therefore an object of this inventi~n to provide a new and improved orientation unit.
It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved bottle orientation l~nit.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a bottle orientation unit which acts upon each bottle r,oving along a bottle line to turn some bottles through 180 of rotation, but not all such bottles.
It is yet still another object of this invention to provide a bottle orientation unit which imparts a turning torque to bottles moving along a bottle line without imparting a change to the forward speed of the bottles.
It is yet still a further objec~ of this invention to provide a bottle orientation unit which senses the orientation of all bottles moving along a bottle line to determine the orientation thereof against a particular criteria; and which triggers a re-orientation of any bottlès which do not correspond to the cri-teria considered to represent proper orientation.
This invention involves bottle orientation; and contemplates imparting a torque to the nec~s of bottles moving along a con-veyor line in such a manner that only a rotative torque is applied to the bottle and no forward speed change or gradient is imparted to the bottle during the process. Each bottle has a rotative torque applied to it, but due to a gate unit, the bottle path is restricted in width at a particular location to prevent some bottles from turning; while allowed to become wider at said loca-tion to allow selected bottles to be rotated 180. Appropriate sensing devices, suitably interconnected, are employed to operate the gate.
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-` ~7~3 Thus, the present invention provides a bottle orien~ation unit: comprising bottle feed means for moving bottles of predetermined con~iguration alony a predetermined path; orien-tation sensing means for sensing a predetermined characterist.ic of each bottle indicative of the bottles orientation as each bottle moves along the predetermined path; a bottle turning station located along the predetermined path; bottle turning means disposed for coaction with the neck of each bottle as the bottle passes through the bottle turning station and coacting with the bottle neck to apply a torque to each bottle tending to rotate the bottle about a predetermined axis of rotation; gate means, disposed at the bottle turning station, and operative between a ~irst condition wherein the predetermined path at the turning station is of a configuration and size to permit passage of a bottle there through but so as to prevent rotation of a bottle about the predetermined axis of rotation, and a second condition wherein the predetermined path at the turning station is of a configuration and size to permit passage of a bottle therethrough but so as to permit ro-tation of a bottle about the predetermined axis of rotation; and control circuit means responsive to the or.ientation sensing means and ~or controlling the gate means to operate the gate means and control disposition of the gate means to either the first condition i or the second condition to thereby determine whether a bottle will, or will not, be rotated by the bottle turning means about the predetermined axis of rotation as the bottle proceeds through the 26 tu~ning station.
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-` ~ 0~47Z3 Other objects, fcatures, and advantages of the invention in ¦its details of construction and arrangement of parts will be seen ¦from the above, from the following description of the pre~erred .
. . ¦embodiinent when considered with the drawings and from the appended ¦clai~.s.
.. l IBRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
I _~_ ¦ In the drawing:
¦ FIG. l is a perspective showing of a bottle conveyor in-¦cluding a bottle orientation unit incorporating the instant in-¦vention;
¦ FIG. 2 is a plan view of the bottle conveyor and orien-tation unit of FIG. l with parts cut away to better show details ¦ thereof;
. ¦ FIG. 3 lS a front elevational showing of the bottle con-¦ veyor and orientation unit of FIG. 2; 1 ¦ FIG. 4 is a side elevational showing of the bottle conve~or ¦ and orientation unit of FIG. 3; and :
¦ FIG. 5 is a schematic electrical circuit diagram for the ¦ conveyor and orientation unit of FIGS. 1-4. . .
¦ DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERREU E-~1BODI~lENT
¦ For convenience the invention will be described as applied to ¦ conveyor and orientation unit which moves plastic bottles along a .. ¦ predetermined path and; which incorporates a numbe~ of photocell ¦ sensing units to sense the position of the neck of the bottle, and ¦ the orientation of the bottle due to tbe position of the handle or front label on the bottle. Various belts and pulleys facilitate r,)ovement of the bottle onto a main conveyor and to and through a ¦¦ t=rrli=y statlon,~here n e~centrically mol~nled and intermittently ¦
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~ 7Z3 . driven wheel operates a gate to position sanle for the bottle orientation process. It should be understood, nevertheless, that without departing from the scope of this invention: that the bottles may be g].ass or other non-plastic material; that the sensing can be accomplished by other then photocells; that ~ea-tures other then the bottles neck, handle or ].abel may be sensed;
that the criteria for similar orientation can be other then the disposition of the bottles handle or a front labeI; that other means for moving the bottle along the line may be e~ployed; and that the gate may be operated by a piston, solenoid or other suit-. able mechanism.
With reference to FIG. 1 there is generally shown at 10 a bottle orientation unit: including a main frame assembly 12 (FIGS. 2 and 3) upon which is mounted a main bottle conveyor . assembly 14 (FIGS. 2 and 4) disposed on frame assembly 12 to receive bottles 16 (FIG. l) fro~ an infeed conveyor assembly 1~
(FIGS. 2 and 3) and for moving bottles 16 to and through a bottle turning assembly 20, disposed on main frame assemoly 12 proximate a bottle turning station 22.
An infeed conveyor assembly mounting bracket 30 ~FIGS. 2 and : 3) is secured by suitable means to main frame asse~lbly 12 and forms~the support for a deadplate 32 over which bottles 16 slide . due to the action of infeed belts 34 and 36 of infeed transport . assembly 38. Belt 34 is disposed about an idler pulley 40 carried by an arm 42 mounted to bracket 30; and is driven by a . .
- drive pulley 44 secured to the end of an infeed drive shaft 46 also suitably carried by bracket 30. The input power to drive shaft 46 is derived fro~. a belt 50 (FIG. 31 of an infeed conveyor power takeoff assembly 52; which, in turn, is driven by a belt 54 from a suitable motor 56 di posed upon a motor base 58 dis-. `'''. .
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1. 10747~3 ¦posed in main fra~e assembl.y 12. Belt 36 is ].ikewise disposed . ¦about an i~dler pulley 60 (FIG. 2) carried by an arm 62 mounted to ; ¦bracket 30; and is driven by a drive pulley 64 secured to the end ¦of an infe,ed drive shaft 66 also suitably carried by bracket 30.
¦Drive shaft 66 is, in turn, driven from infeed conveyor power ¦takeoff asseinbly 52 in a manner similar to that for drive shaft ¦46 of belt 34. A belt back-up unit 68 (FIG. 2) including a pair ¦of arms 70 is movably positioned on bracl~et 30 for coaction with ¦belt 34 to provide for adjustment of the spacing between belts ¦34 and 36. Such adjustment is facilitated by for~ing each arm 70 ¦with an elongated slot 72 through which securing means such as ¦bolts 74 are passed to attach arms 70, and units 68, to bracke~
130- Similarly a belt back-up unit 76, including a pair of arrns ¦78, is movably positioned on bracket 30 for coaction with belt 36 ¦ to provide for the adjustment of the spacing between belts 34 and 36. Elongated slots ~0 are formed in each ar~ 78 to recei~e ¦ bolts 82 in order to allow for the adjustment of arms 78, and u~it 76. ' I Main bottle conveyor assembly 14 includes a conventional .
l chain conveyor 90 (FIGS. 2 and 4) suitably interconnected to motor . I 56 to receive its power therefrom, and disposed totravel across a bedplate 92 (FIG. 4) of :~ain frame assembly 12. A bottle hold down belt ,100 (FIGS. 2 and 4~ is suitably carried by main frame . ¦ 12 to be positioned above chain conveyor 90 a distance corres- .
. 25 ¦ ponding to the height of bottles 16, so as to lightly press bottles 16 a,gainst chain conveyor 90 ~o insure stability of ¦ . ¦ bottles 16j while passing through bottle turning station 22, as ¦ will be heireinafter explained. A pair of idler p~lleys 102, 104 ¦ are rotata'bly carried by arr,ls 106 disposed on a sub-frame assem- .
¦ bly 108 mounted to main frame 12 and suitably support belt 100 ¦ for coa~tion with bottles 16. ~
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. , I . , ', ;~ . ~ . ( ' ' 1~ ~47Z3 Sub-frame asseobly 108 also fixedly positions a bottle tur~-ing pad 120 (FIGS. 2 and 4), of bottle turning assernbly 20, in op-posing and spaced ~elationship at bottle turning station 22 with a bottle turning belt unit 122 of assembly 20. Bottle tur~-ing unit 122 includes a plurality of idler pulleys 129, 126, 122, and 130 and a drive pulley 132 about which a turning belt 134 is disposed. Pulleys 124 and 126 are suitably car~ied by stub shafts 140, 142 suitably supported by sub-~rame 108. Pulleys 128, 130 are carried by stub sha~ts 144, 146, which are in turn carried by a mounting plate 148 adjustably disposed on sub-fra~e 108 through slots 150 and bolts 152 to facilitate adjust-ment of the spacing between turning belt 134 and pad 120. A
drive shaft 160 interconnects pulley 132 to a turning belt power take off unit 162 which is, in turn, driven from motor 56.
Also disposed at bottle turning station 22, for co-operaticn with pad l20 and belt unit 122 but spaced at a lower level with respect thereto, is a turning gate mechanism 180(FIGS. 2 & 4) of bottle turning assembly 20. Gate mechanism 180 is carried by a mounting plate 181 and includes a gate 182, slidably disposed in a pair of spaced rails 184, 186 for movement between a re-tractea position as shown in full lines in FIG. 2 and a ~orward position as shown in dot-dash lines in FIG. 2 for purposes to be hereinafter explained. An actuating arm lE8 is rotatably pinned at 190 to the body of yate 182, and is rotatably pinned at 192 to an output wheel l9g of a clutch/brake unit 196 (FIG. 3).
. Clutch/brake unit 196 is of conventionally available type and is secured in position on a mounting bracket 200 carried by main fra~e 12. The input drive to clutch/brake unit 196 is through a belt 202driven from a pulley 20~ of a clutch/brake power take-of~
206 which, iD turn, receives its drive from motor 56.
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4~Z3 A metal flay 220 (FIG, 2) is carried by wheel 19~ in align-¦ ment with a pair of spaced proximity s~titches 222, 224 of con-¦ ventional configuration and which are electrically interconnected ¦ into a control circuit for purposes and as will be hereinafter ¦ described.
¦ Mounting plate 181, for gate unit 180, is secured to main ¦ frarne 12 through an arm 230 and bolt 232. Arm 230 is formed with ¦ an elongated slot 23~ to facilitate adjustable positioniny of ¦ plate 181 and thereby gate unit 180.
¦ At tne end of each bottle sensing cycle ~ate mechanism 180 ¦will be at restj with gate 182 in either'its forward position'or ¦ its retracted position. The position of gate 182 will be reflec-¦ ted in the control circuit due to the coaction of metal flag 220 ¦ and proximity switches 222 and 2 2 4 .
l Assumins gate 182 is in its retracted position ~as shown in ¦ full lines in FIG. 2) and is required to be in its forward posi-¦ tion (as shown in dot-dash lines in PIG. 2) then clutch~brake unit ¦196 will be energized from said control circuit ~as will be here-¦in after explained).- The brake portion of unit 196 will disen-¦gage ~nd the clutch portion thereof engage to turn output wheel¦194 one-half a revolution. Since pin 192 is eccentricall~ dis-¦~osed, tne rotation of output wheel 194 through one-half a revGlu-; ¦tion will effeci a lnovement of arm 189 and gate 182 in the direc-¦tion of arrow A ~FIG. 2): thus moving gate 182 to its forward '25 ¦po's:ition. At this instance flag 220~will be sensed by proximity ~switch 224 and the clutch portion of clutch/brake unit 196 will ¦disengage and the ~rake portion thereof will re-enga~e. Therea~-' It-~r, if it is reouired that gate 182 ~e moved from its forward ' position to its retracted position, the~brake portion of unit 1~6 ` 30 will again disengage and the clutch portion will re-engage to ro-tate output wheel 194 'another one-half a revolution. Arn~ 18~ ar.d gate 182 will ~e drawn in the direction of arrow B unti~ ate '~2 moves into its retracted position.
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~ ~747Z3 A bottle neck sensing unit 250 ~FIG. 2) comprising a conven-tional photocell ~aechanism with a suitable light source 252 and photocell 254 responsive to said light source, is carried by said main ~rame assembly 12 for coaction with the bottle necks prior to said bottles 16 arriving at said turning station 22. The unit 250 is also electrically interconnected into the control circuit as will be he}einafter described. Sensing the bottle neck is a good manner of providing a "sense now" or "window" pulse for activating an orientation sensing unit 260 also carried by main frame 12. This is so because the bottle nec~ is j~st the right size to provide a window of proper duration to facilitate the proper sensing of the bottle orientation.
Orientation sensing unit.260 is alsoaconventionally available photocell type unit including a light source and a photocell responsive to said light source. Orientation sensing unit is carried by main frame asse~bly so as to either sense the position of a handle for bottle 16 or a particular area or a label on bottle 16. When sensing the handle, if the handle is one orien-tation, the light from the light source will pass through the handle and activate the light source~ If the handle is in the other orientation then the light source will strike the bottle itself and not activate the photocell. The operator may select either orientation as the proper orientation, and as such the other orientation will be the improper orientatïon. When sens;ng :
` . 25 orientation of a bottle that does not have a handle the arien-. tation sensing unit can be focused on an area of the bottle la~el or of the bottle itself which is peculiar to the bottles orienta-tion. If the bottle is in one orientation the light sourcet as . .
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. . ~74723 an example, may be set up to reflect ~ack on the photocell; while if the bottle is in another orientation the light source is set so as not to reflect bac~ on the photocell. Here again a selected orientation may be the proper one ana the other one the improper . 5 orientation. En~ossed lettering areas and srnooth or rough sur-faces may also be selected for sensing to determine the ~ottle's orientation.
The operation of orientation unit 10 will ~e explained in conjunction with the schematic circuit diagram of FIG. 5. A line cord 270 is provided for connecting a control circuit 272 to a source of suitable power. If desired, cord 270 may either be ccn nected to ~e source of power through a conventional plug or by di rect connection to the power line. An on/off switch 276 is provi ded for operators' use in turning unit 10 on and off. Appropri~t fusing 278 is also provided in circuit 272.
When unit 10 is turned on gate 182 will either be in a for-ward position or a retrac~ed position. If in a forward position, flag 220 on wheel 194 will be disposed in proximity to proximity sensor 224 which will provide an appropriate output; while if gate 182 is in its retracted position flag 220 will be disposed in proximity to proximity sensor 222 which will also provide an appropriat~ output. Contr~l circuit 272 will be conditioned ac-cordingly.
The activation of unit 10 will activate motor 56 providing rotative power to power take-offs 52, 162 and 206. These, in tuxn, will effect rotation of: :infeed drive belts 34, 36;
chain conveyor 9~ and ~old down belt 100; tuxning belt 134; and .
c1utch/b~a~e ~nit 196. ~o~t1es 16 placed upon deadplate 32 ' ' , I
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are thereafter fed by belts 34, 36 to main conveyor 90 which co-acts with hold down belt 100 to feed bottles 16 to and thro~gh turning station 22.
When the neck of a bottle 16 passes between neck sensing light source 252 and neck sensing photocell 254 of neck sensing unit 250 the light will be `cut off and circuit 272 will respond to activate orientation sensing unit 260. At this time either handle light source 262 will be illuminating handle photocell ,64 of orientation unit 260, if the handle of bottle 16 is positioned therebetween, or handle photocell 264 will be dark if the solid portion of bottle 16 is therebetween. One of these conditions ~photocell 264 illuminated or photocell 264 dark) will have previously been selected as indicative of proper orientation.
If bottle 16 is properly oriented and gate 182 lS in its forward position the vutput from proximity sensor 224 and orien-tation sensing unit 260 will combine and brake portion 198 of clutch/bxake unit 196 will remain.engaged. This prevents any movement of gate 182r and bottle 16 will pass through station 22 without being :~urned even though turning belt 134 and pad 120 are coacting to apply a rotative torque to the neck of bottle 16 as previously described.
Should a bottle 16 be in its forward position, then the olt-puts from proximity sensor 22~ and orientation sensing unit 260 . will combine to disengage bra~e portion 198 of clutch/bral;e un~t 196 and engage clutch portion 199 thereof. Output wheel 194 will rotate one half a revolution and arm 188 will draw gate 182 in the direction of arrow B to move gate 182 to its retracted ~
~¦ position. As bottle ves lnto turning station 2- belt 134 .` ' . ' ' .
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1~747Z3 fro~, proximit:y sensor 22~ and orientation sensing Imit 260 will combine to dise~gage brake portion l9g of clutch/brake unit 196 ana engage clutch portion 199 thercof Output wheel 194 will rotate one-half a revol~tion and arm 188 will draw gate 182 in the direction of arrow B to move gate 182 to its retractcd posi-tion. As bottle 16 moves into turning station 22 belt 134 and pad 120 will co-act with the neck of bottle 16 to apply a torqu~
tnereto and bottle 16 will be rotated 180 into its proper orien-tation.
If the following bottle 16 is also improperly oriented while gate 182 is in its retracted position the outputs from proxi~ity sensor 222 and orientation sensing unit 260 will so indicate, brake portion 198 of clutch/brake lnit 196 wil] remain engaged, and that bottle 17 will also be rotated 180 into its proper or-lS ientation. -When a properly oriented bot~le is thereafter sensed the com-bined outputs from proximity sensor 222 and orientation sensing unit 260 will combine to deactivate brake portion 198 of clutch~
brake unit 196 and to activate clutch portion 199 thereof. Out-put wheel 194 will again be rotated one-half a revolution to mo-~e gate 182 to i-ts forward position. The bottle 16 will then pass through turning station 16 without being turned.
It is important to note that the size of gate 182, in the direction of bottle travel, is selected so that bottles 16 can only turn through 180. Thereafter the width of the bottle patn i5 restricted so that bottles 16 can not turn any more. In addl-tion the size of pad 120 and of belt 134 i~ also selected so that ¦bottles 16 turn 1-~: more, no les-.
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A 074~Z3 ¦ The operation of orientation unit 10 will thus continue ~-¦til all bottles 16 have passed through turning station 22. Thus ¦bottles 16 leaving turning station 22 will all be properly or ¦similarly oriented and further processing thereof may be accom-¦plisned. Such furtner processing may entail placing labels upon ¦bottles 16, or putting already labeled bottles 16 in a case for ¦future shipment.
l The components of control circuit 272 are conventionally ¦available and interconnected in a conventional manner.
I From the above description it will thus ~e seen that there ¦ has been provided a novel and improved bottle orientation appara-tus; wnich apparatus utilizes relatively simple and inexpenSive components and circuitrv to insure that all bottles passing from ¦ the apparatus will all be properly or similarly oriented, even .
l though some of the bottles were not so oriented when entering the ¦ apparatus.
¦ It is understood that although I have shown the preferred form of my invention that various modifications may be made in the details thereof without departing from the spirit as compre-hended by the foll~w g claims.
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This invention relates to bottle orientation units; and more particularly to bottle orientation units disposed for coaction with bottles, being conveyed along a particular path, to sense the orientation of such bottles and to rotate particular ones of said bottles so that all such bottles are similarly oriented.
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1 747iZ3 IBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION-DESCRl~TION OF T~IE PRIOR ART
I _ _ __ _ _ ___ ,_ .. ___,_ ¦ It is most important at cer~ain stages in the processing of ¦bottled commodities ~such as beverages, ~leach, detergents, and ¦the like) that all bottles be similarly oriented. Such similar ¦orientation may be so that all bottle handles are pointed in t}e ¦sa~e direction; or so that all f~ont labels appear on the same ¦side of the bottles as they move along the conveyor, and con-¦sequently so that all back labels are likewi6e disposed.
¦ The need for said similar orientation may be required for a ¦further step in the processing of the bottles; such as labeling ¦or packaging thereof. The requirement to similarly orient see~s--¦to arise due to processing steps earlier on the procedure durin~
which only so~e of the bottles bec~me dis-oriented, or hecause ¦ the bottles were randomly placed into the processing procedure ¦ initially without regard to orientation.
~ he orientation of bottles by human operators is a most tir~
consuming process. It requires that the operator be alert and I quick; especially if the bottle conveying line is moving along a~
l a rapid pace. In fact most bottle conveyor lines today move so 20 ¦ quickly that hu~an operators cannot act quick enough to insure that all bottles after a particular point will, in fact,~be similarly oriented. This problem is not cured by utilizing more l people since there is a practical limit as to how many people car.
¦ be placed along a bottle line without unduly lengthening same.
¦ Existing bottle orienting equipment has likewise failed to ¦ satisfy the requirement that all bottles be similarly oriented ¦ after a particular conveyor line location; or in doing so either ¦ slow down the line speed and output, or requires use of highly c~mplex and costly eq~ pment.
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, ~ 47Z3 SU1~1~RY OF T~IE I~VENTION
It is therefore an object of this inventi~n to provide a new and improved orientation unit.
It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved bottle orientation l~nit.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a bottle orientation unit which acts upon each bottle r,oving along a bottle line to turn some bottles through 180 of rotation, but not all such bottles.
It is yet still another object of this invention to provide a bottle orientation unit which imparts a turning torque to bottles moving along a bottle line without imparting a change to the forward speed of the bottles.
It is yet still a further objec~ of this invention to provide a bottle orientation unit which senses the orientation of all bottles moving along a bottle line to determine the orientation thereof against a particular criteria; and which triggers a re-orientation of any bottlès which do not correspond to the cri-teria considered to represent proper orientation.
This invention involves bottle orientation; and contemplates imparting a torque to the nec~s of bottles moving along a con-veyor line in such a manner that only a rotative torque is applied to the bottle and no forward speed change or gradient is imparted to the bottle during the process. Each bottle has a rotative torque applied to it, but due to a gate unit, the bottle path is restricted in width at a particular location to prevent some bottles from turning; while allowed to become wider at said loca-tion to allow selected bottles to be rotated 180. Appropriate sensing devices, suitably interconnected, are employed to operate the gate.
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-` ~7~3 Thus, the present invention provides a bottle orien~ation unit: comprising bottle feed means for moving bottles of predetermined con~iguration alony a predetermined path; orien-tation sensing means for sensing a predetermined characterist.ic of each bottle indicative of the bottles orientation as each bottle moves along the predetermined path; a bottle turning station located along the predetermined path; bottle turning means disposed for coaction with the neck of each bottle as the bottle passes through the bottle turning station and coacting with the bottle neck to apply a torque to each bottle tending to rotate the bottle about a predetermined axis of rotation; gate means, disposed at the bottle turning station, and operative between a ~irst condition wherein the predetermined path at the turning station is of a configuration and size to permit passage of a bottle there through but so as to prevent rotation of a bottle about the predetermined axis of rotation, and a second condition wherein the predetermined path at the turning station is of a configuration and size to permit passage of a bottle therethrough but so as to permit ro-tation of a bottle about the predetermined axis of rotation; and control circuit means responsive to the or.ientation sensing means and ~or controlling the gate means to operate the gate means and control disposition of the gate means to either the first condition i or the second condition to thereby determine whether a bottle will, or will not, be rotated by the bottle turning means about the predetermined axis of rotation as the bottle proceeds through the 26 tu~ning station.
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-` ~ 0~47Z3 Other objects, fcatures, and advantages of the invention in ¦its details of construction and arrangement of parts will be seen ¦from the above, from the following description of the pre~erred .
. . ¦embodiinent when considered with the drawings and from the appended ¦clai~.s.
.. l IBRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
I _~_ ¦ In the drawing:
¦ FIG. l is a perspective showing of a bottle conveyor in-¦cluding a bottle orientation unit incorporating the instant in-¦vention;
¦ FIG. 2 is a plan view of the bottle conveyor and orien-tation unit of FIG. l with parts cut away to better show details ¦ thereof;
. ¦ FIG. 3 lS a front elevational showing of the bottle con-¦ veyor and orientation unit of FIG. 2; 1 ¦ FIG. 4 is a side elevational showing of the bottle conve~or ¦ and orientation unit of FIG. 3; and :
¦ FIG. 5 is a schematic electrical circuit diagram for the ¦ conveyor and orientation unit of FIGS. 1-4. . .
¦ DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERREU E-~1BODI~lENT
¦ For convenience the invention will be described as applied to ¦ conveyor and orientation unit which moves plastic bottles along a .. ¦ predetermined path and; which incorporates a numbe~ of photocell ¦ sensing units to sense the position of the neck of the bottle, and ¦ the orientation of the bottle due to tbe position of the handle or front label on the bottle. Various belts and pulleys facilitate r,)ovement of the bottle onto a main conveyor and to and through a ¦¦ t=rrli=y statlon,~here n e~centrically mol~nled and intermittently ¦
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~ 7Z3 . driven wheel operates a gate to position sanle for the bottle orientation process. It should be understood, nevertheless, that without departing from the scope of this invention: that the bottles may be g].ass or other non-plastic material; that the sensing can be accomplished by other then photocells; that ~ea-tures other then the bottles neck, handle or ].abel may be sensed;
that the criteria for similar orientation can be other then the disposition of the bottles handle or a front labeI; that other means for moving the bottle along the line may be e~ployed; and that the gate may be operated by a piston, solenoid or other suit-. able mechanism.
With reference to FIG. 1 there is generally shown at 10 a bottle orientation unit: including a main frame assembly 12 (FIGS. 2 and 3) upon which is mounted a main bottle conveyor . assembly 14 (FIGS. 2 and 4) disposed on frame assembly 12 to receive bottles 16 (FIG. l) fro~ an infeed conveyor assembly 1~
(FIGS. 2 and 3) and for moving bottles 16 to and through a bottle turning assembly 20, disposed on main frame assemoly 12 proximate a bottle turning station 22.
An infeed conveyor assembly mounting bracket 30 ~FIGS. 2 and : 3) is secured by suitable means to main frame asse~lbly 12 and forms~the support for a deadplate 32 over which bottles 16 slide . due to the action of infeed belts 34 and 36 of infeed transport . assembly 38. Belt 34 is disposed about an idler pulley 40 carried by an arm 42 mounted to bracket 30; and is driven by a . .
- drive pulley 44 secured to the end of an infeed drive shaft 46 also suitably carried by bracket 30. The input power to drive shaft 46 is derived fro~. a belt 50 (FIG. 31 of an infeed conveyor power takeoff assembly 52; which, in turn, is driven by a belt 54 from a suitable motor 56 di posed upon a motor base 58 dis-. `'''. .
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1. 10747~3 ¦posed in main fra~e assembl.y 12. Belt 36 is ].ikewise disposed . ¦about an i~dler pulley 60 (FIG. 2) carried by an arm 62 mounted to ; ¦bracket 30; and is driven by a drive pulley 64 secured to the end ¦of an infe,ed drive shaft 66 also suitably carried by bracket 30.
¦Drive shaft 66 is, in turn, driven from infeed conveyor power ¦takeoff asseinbly 52 in a manner similar to that for drive shaft ¦46 of belt 34. A belt back-up unit 68 (FIG. 2) including a pair ¦of arms 70 is movably positioned on bracl~et 30 for coaction with ¦belt 34 to provide for adjustment of the spacing between belts ¦34 and 36. Such adjustment is facilitated by for~ing each arm 70 ¦with an elongated slot 72 through which securing means such as ¦bolts 74 are passed to attach arms 70, and units 68, to bracke~
130- Similarly a belt back-up unit 76, including a pair of arrns ¦78, is movably positioned on bracket 30 for coaction with belt 36 ¦ to provide for the adjustment of the spacing between belts 34 and 36. Elongated slots ~0 are formed in each ar~ 78 to recei~e ¦ bolts 82 in order to allow for the adjustment of arms 78, and u~it 76. ' I Main bottle conveyor assembly 14 includes a conventional .
l chain conveyor 90 (FIGS. 2 and 4) suitably interconnected to motor . I 56 to receive its power therefrom, and disposed totravel across a bedplate 92 (FIG. 4) of :~ain frame assembly 12. A bottle hold down belt ,100 (FIGS. 2 and 4~ is suitably carried by main frame . ¦ 12 to be positioned above chain conveyor 90 a distance corres- .
. 25 ¦ ponding to the height of bottles 16, so as to lightly press bottles 16 a,gainst chain conveyor 90 ~o insure stability of ¦ . ¦ bottles 16j while passing through bottle turning station 22, as ¦ will be heireinafter explained. A pair of idler p~lleys 102, 104 ¦ are rotata'bly carried by arr,ls 106 disposed on a sub-frame assem- .
¦ bly 108 mounted to main frame 12 and suitably support belt 100 ¦ for coa~tion with bottles 16. ~
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. , I . , ', ;~ . ~ . ( ' ' 1~ ~47Z3 Sub-frame asseobly 108 also fixedly positions a bottle tur~-ing pad 120 (FIGS. 2 and 4), of bottle turning assernbly 20, in op-posing and spaced ~elationship at bottle turning station 22 with a bottle turning belt unit 122 of assembly 20. Bottle tur~-ing unit 122 includes a plurality of idler pulleys 129, 126, 122, and 130 and a drive pulley 132 about which a turning belt 134 is disposed. Pulleys 124 and 126 are suitably car~ied by stub shafts 140, 142 suitably supported by sub-~rame 108. Pulleys 128, 130 are carried by stub sha~ts 144, 146, which are in turn carried by a mounting plate 148 adjustably disposed on sub-fra~e 108 through slots 150 and bolts 152 to facilitate adjust-ment of the spacing between turning belt 134 and pad 120. A
drive shaft 160 interconnects pulley 132 to a turning belt power take off unit 162 which is, in turn, driven from motor 56.
Also disposed at bottle turning station 22, for co-operaticn with pad l20 and belt unit 122 but spaced at a lower level with respect thereto, is a turning gate mechanism 180(FIGS. 2 & 4) of bottle turning assembly 20. Gate mechanism 180 is carried by a mounting plate 181 and includes a gate 182, slidably disposed in a pair of spaced rails 184, 186 for movement between a re-tractea position as shown in full lines in FIG. 2 and a ~orward position as shown in dot-dash lines in FIG. 2 for purposes to be hereinafter explained. An actuating arm lE8 is rotatably pinned at 190 to the body of yate 182, and is rotatably pinned at 192 to an output wheel l9g of a clutch/brake unit 196 (FIG. 3).
. Clutch/brake unit 196 is of conventionally available type and is secured in position on a mounting bracket 200 carried by main fra~e 12. The input drive to clutch/brake unit 196 is through a belt 202driven from a pulley 20~ of a clutch/brake power take-of~
206 which, iD turn, receives its drive from motor 56.
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4~Z3 A metal flay 220 (FIG, 2) is carried by wheel 19~ in align-¦ ment with a pair of spaced proximity s~titches 222, 224 of con-¦ ventional configuration and which are electrically interconnected ¦ into a control circuit for purposes and as will be hereinafter ¦ described.
¦ Mounting plate 181, for gate unit 180, is secured to main ¦ frarne 12 through an arm 230 and bolt 232. Arm 230 is formed with ¦ an elongated slot 23~ to facilitate adjustable positioniny of ¦ plate 181 and thereby gate unit 180.
¦ At tne end of each bottle sensing cycle ~ate mechanism 180 ¦will be at restj with gate 182 in either'its forward position'or ¦ its retracted position. The position of gate 182 will be reflec-¦ ted in the control circuit due to the coaction of metal flag 220 ¦ and proximity switches 222 and 2 2 4 .
l Assumins gate 182 is in its retracted position ~as shown in ¦ full lines in FIG. 2) and is required to be in its forward posi-¦ tion (as shown in dot-dash lines in PIG. 2) then clutch~brake unit ¦196 will be energized from said control circuit ~as will be here-¦in after explained).- The brake portion of unit 196 will disen-¦gage ~nd the clutch portion thereof engage to turn output wheel¦194 one-half a revolution. Since pin 192 is eccentricall~ dis-¦~osed, tne rotation of output wheel 194 through one-half a revGlu-; ¦tion will effeci a lnovement of arm 189 and gate 182 in the direc-¦tion of arrow A ~FIG. 2): thus moving gate 182 to its forward '25 ¦po's:ition. At this instance flag 220~will be sensed by proximity ~switch 224 and the clutch portion of clutch/brake unit 196 will ¦disengage and the ~rake portion thereof will re-enga~e. Therea~-' It-~r, if it is reouired that gate 182 ~e moved from its forward ' position to its retracted position, the~brake portion of unit 1~6 ` 30 will again disengage and the clutch portion will re-engage to ro-tate output wheel 194 'another one-half a revolution. Arn~ 18~ ar.d gate 182 will ~e drawn in the direction of arrow B unti~ ate '~2 moves into its retracted position.
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~ ~747Z3 A bottle neck sensing unit 250 ~FIG. 2) comprising a conven-tional photocell ~aechanism with a suitable light source 252 and photocell 254 responsive to said light source, is carried by said main ~rame assembly 12 for coaction with the bottle necks prior to said bottles 16 arriving at said turning station 22. The unit 250 is also electrically interconnected into the control circuit as will be he}einafter described. Sensing the bottle neck is a good manner of providing a "sense now" or "window" pulse for activating an orientation sensing unit 260 also carried by main frame 12. This is so because the bottle nec~ is j~st the right size to provide a window of proper duration to facilitate the proper sensing of the bottle orientation.
Orientation sensing unit.260 is alsoaconventionally available photocell type unit including a light source and a photocell responsive to said light source. Orientation sensing unit is carried by main frame asse~bly so as to either sense the position of a handle for bottle 16 or a particular area or a label on bottle 16. When sensing the handle, if the handle is one orien-tation, the light from the light source will pass through the handle and activate the light source~ If the handle is in the other orientation then the light source will strike the bottle itself and not activate the photocell. The operator may select either orientation as the proper orientation, and as such the other orientation will be the improper orientatïon. When sens;ng :
` . 25 orientation of a bottle that does not have a handle the arien-. tation sensing unit can be focused on an area of the bottle la~el or of the bottle itself which is peculiar to the bottles orienta-tion. If the bottle is in one orientation the light sourcet as . .
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. . ~74723 an example, may be set up to reflect ~ack on the photocell; while if the bottle is in another orientation the light source is set so as not to reflect bac~ on the photocell. Here again a selected orientation may be the proper one ana the other one the improper . 5 orientation. En~ossed lettering areas and srnooth or rough sur-faces may also be selected for sensing to determine the ~ottle's orientation.
The operation of orientation unit 10 will ~e explained in conjunction with the schematic circuit diagram of FIG. 5. A line cord 270 is provided for connecting a control circuit 272 to a source of suitable power. If desired, cord 270 may either be ccn nected to ~e source of power through a conventional plug or by di rect connection to the power line. An on/off switch 276 is provi ded for operators' use in turning unit 10 on and off. Appropri~t fusing 278 is also provided in circuit 272.
When unit 10 is turned on gate 182 will either be in a for-ward position or a retrac~ed position. If in a forward position, flag 220 on wheel 194 will be disposed in proximity to proximity sensor 224 which will provide an appropriate output; while if gate 182 is in its retracted position flag 220 will be disposed in proximity to proximity sensor 222 which will also provide an appropriat~ output. Contr~l circuit 272 will be conditioned ac-cordingly.
The activation of unit 10 will activate motor 56 providing rotative power to power take-offs 52, 162 and 206. These, in tuxn, will effect rotation of: :infeed drive belts 34, 36;
chain conveyor 9~ and ~old down belt 100; tuxning belt 134; and .
c1utch/b~a~e ~nit 196. ~o~t1es 16 placed upon deadplate 32 ' ' , I
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are thereafter fed by belts 34, 36 to main conveyor 90 which co-acts with hold down belt 100 to feed bottles 16 to and thro~gh turning station 22.
When the neck of a bottle 16 passes between neck sensing light source 252 and neck sensing photocell 254 of neck sensing unit 250 the light will be `cut off and circuit 272 will respond to activate orientation sensing unit 260. At this time either handle light source 262 will be illuminating handle photocell ,64 of orientation unit 260, if the handle of bottle 16 is positioned therebetween, or handle photocell 264 will be dark if the solid portion of bottle 16 is therebetween. One of these conditions ~photocell 264 illuminated or photocell 264 dark) will have previously been selected as indicative of proper orientation.
If bottle 16 is properly oriented and gate 182 lS in its forward position the vutput from proximity sensor 224 and orien-tation sensing unit 260 will combine and brake portion 198 of clutch/bxake unit 196 will remain.engaged. This prevents any movement of gate 182r and bottle 16 will pass through station 22 without being :~urned even though turning belt 134 and pad 120 are coacting to apply a rotative torque to the neck of bottle 16 as previously described.
Should a bottle 16 be in its forward position, then the olt-puts from proximity sensor 22~ and orientation sensing unit 260 . will combine to disengage bra~e portion 198 of clutch/bral;e un~t 196 and engage clutch portion 199 thereof. Output wheel 194 will rotate one half a revolution and arm 188 will draw gate 182 in the direction of arrow B to move gate 182 to its retracted ~
~¦ position. As bottle ves lnto turning station 2- belt 134 .` ' . ' ' .
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1~747Z3 fro~, proximit:y sensor 22~ and orientation sensing Imit 260 will combine to dise~gage brake portion l9g of clutch/brake unit 196 ana engage clutch portion 199 thercof Output wheel 194 will rotate one-half a revol~tion and arm 188 will draw gate 182 in the direction of arrow B to move gate 182 to its retractcd posi-tion. As bottle 16 moves into turning station 22 belt 134 and pad 120 will co-act with the neck of bottle 16 to apply a torqu~
tnereto and bottle 16 will be rotated 180 into its proper orien-tation.
If the following bottle 16 is also improperly oriented while gate 182 is in its retracted position the outputs from proxi~ity sensor 222 and orientation sensing unit 260 will so indicate, brake portion 198 of clutch/brake lnit 196 wil] remain engaged, and that bottle 17 will also be rotated 180 into its proper or-lS ientation. -When a properly oriented bot~le is thereafter sensed the com-bined outputs from proximity sensor 222 and orientation sensing unit 260 will combine to deactivate brake portion 198 of clutch~
brake unit 196 and to activate clutch portion 199 thereof. Out-put wheel 194 will again be rotated one-half a revolution to mo-~e gate 182 to i-ts forward position. The bottle 16 will then pass through turning station 16 without being turned.
It is important to note that the size of gate 182, in the direction of bottle travel, is selected so that bottles 16 can only turn through 180. Thereafter the width of the bottle patn i5 restricted so that bottles 16 can not turn any more. In addl-tion the size of pad 120 and of belt 134 i~ also selected so that ¦bottles 16 turn 1-~: more, no les-.
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A 074~Z3 ¦ The operation of orientation unit 10 will thus continue ~-¦til all bottles 16 have passed through turning station 22. Thus ¦bottles 16 leaving turning station 22 will all be properly or ¦similarly oriented and further processing thereof may be accom-¦plisned. Such furtner processing may entail placing labels upon ¦bottles 16, or putting already labeled bottles 16 in a case for ¦future shipment.
l The components of control circuit 272 are conventionally ¦available and interconnected in a conventional manner.
I From the above description it will thus ~e seen that there ¦ has been provided a novel and improved bottle orientation appara-tus; wnich apparatus utilizes relatively simple and inexpenSive components and circuitrv to insure that all bottles passing from ¦ the apparatus will all be properly or similarly oriented, even .
l though some of the bottles were not so oriented when entering the ¦ apparatus.
¦ It is understood that although I have shown the preferred form of my invention that various modifications may be made in the details thereof without departing from the spirit as compre-hended by the foll~w g claims.
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Claims (10)
1. A bottle orientation unit: comprising (a) bottle feed means for moving bottles of predeter-mined configuration along a predetermined path;
(b) orientation sensing means for sensing a predeter-mined characteristic of each bottle indicative of the bottles orientation as each bottle moves along asid predetermined path;
(c) a bottle turning station located along said pre-determined path;
(d) bottle turning means disposed for coaction with the neck of each bottle as the bottle passes through said bottle turning station and coacting with the bottle neck to apply a torque to each bottle tending to rotate the bottle about a pre-determined axis of rotation;
(e) gate means, disposed at said bottle turning sta-tion, and operative between a first condition wherein said pre-determined path at said turning station is of a configuration and size to permit passage of a bottle there through but so as to prevent rotation of a bottle about said predetermined axis of rotation, and a second condition wherein said predetermined path at said turning station is of a configuration and size to permit passage of a bottle therethrough but so as to permit ro-tation of a bottle about said predetermined axis of rotation; and (f) control circuit means responsive to said orien-tation sensing means and for controlling said gate means to op-erate said gate means and control disposition of said gate means to either said first condition or said second condition to there-by determine whether a bottle will, or will not, be rotated by said bottle turning means about said predetermined axis of rota-tion as the bottle proceeds through said turning station.
(b) orientation sensing means for sensing a predeter-mined characteristic of each bottle indicative of the bottles orientation as each bottle moves along asid predetermined path;
(c) a bottle turning station located along said pre-determined path;
(d) bottle turning means disposed for coaction with the neck of each bottle as the bottle passes through said bottle turning station and coacting with the bottle neck to apply a torque to each bottle tending to rotate the bottle about a pre-determined axis of rotation;
(e) gate means, disposed at said bottle turning sta-tion, and operative between a first condition wherein said pre-determined path at said turning station is of a configuration and size to permit passage of a bottle there through but so as to prevent rotation of a bottle about said predetermined axis of rotation, and a second condition wherein said predetermined path at said turning station is of a configuration and size to permit passage of a bottle therethrough but so as to permit ro-tation of a bottle about said predetermined axis of rotation; and (f) control circuit means responsive to said orien-tation sensing means and for controlling said gate means to op-erate said gate means and control disposition of said gate means to either said first condition or said second condition to there-by determine whether a bottle will, or will not, be rotated by said bottle turning means about said predetermined axis of rota-tion as the bottle proceeds through said turning station.
2. The bottle orientation unit of claim 1: wherein said bottle feed means comprises a flight conveyor upon which the bot-tles ride and includes, for at least a portion of said predeter-mined path, hold-down means disposed for coaction with an upper portion of a bottle so as to urge the bottle towards said flight conveyor.
3. The bottle orientation unit of claim 1 wherein said or-ientation sensing means: comprises (a) position sensing means operative in response to the movement of a bottle into a predetermined location along said predetermined path to provide a position signal for said control circuit means; and (b) orientation sensing means operative in response to said position signal to sense for said predetermined charac-teristic of each bottle and to provide a characteristic signal for said control circuit;
(c) said gate means being responsive to said position signal.
(c) said gate means being responsive to said position signal.
4. The bottle orientation unit of claim 3 wherein said gate means includes gate position indicating means for use by said, control circuit means to indicate whether said gate means is in said first condition or said second condition.
5. The bottle orientation unit of claim 4 wherein said gate means: includes (a) a sliding gate movable between a first position when said gate means is in said first condition and a second position when said gate means is in said second condition; and (b) a clutch/brake unit for coacting with said slid-ing gate to either retain same in one of said positions or to move said sliding gate to its other position;
(c) said gate position indicating means including a metal flag movable, as said gate moves, between a first flag position and a second flag position with proximity sensing means responsive to disposition of said flag to provide an appropriate signal indicative thereof to said control circuit means.
(c) said gate position indicating means including a metal flag movable, as said gate moves, between a first flag position and a second flag position with proximity sensing means responsive to disposition of said flag to provide an appropriate signal indicative thereof to said control circuit means.
6. The bottle orientation unit of claim 5 wherein said position sensing means senses the disposition of the neck of a bottle at said predetermined location and said orientation sen-sing means senses the disposition of a handle of the bottle.
7. The bottle orientation unit of claim 6 wherein said po-sition sensing means and said orientation sensing means are light responsive photocell devices appropriately interconnected into said control circuit means.
8. The bottle orientation unit of claim 1 wherein said bottle turning means: includes (a) a bottle turning belt driven about a predeter-mined axis of rotation and at a predetermined speed by a bottle turning belt drive; and (b) a pad spaced from said belt a distance corres-ponding to the size of a neck of a bottle;
(c) said bottle turning belt and said pad being dis-posed to receive and coact with the neck of a bottle as the bot-tle moves through said turning station and so as to apply said rotative torque to said bottle.
(c) said bottle turning belt and said pad being dis-posed to receive and coact with the neck of a bottle as the bot-tle moves through said turning station and so as to apply said rotative torque to said bottle.
9. The bottle orientation unit of claim 8: wherein said pad is stationary and said predetermined speed of said belt is twice the speed of said bottle feed means.
10. The bottle orientation unit of claim 1 including an in-feed conveyor for moving bottles into cooperation with said bot-tle feed means.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA307,025A CA1074723A (en) | 1978-07-07 | 1978-07-07 | Bottle orientation unit |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA307,025A CA1074723A (en) | 1978-07-07 | 1978-07-07 | Bottle orientation unit |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1074723A true CA1074723A (en) | 1980-04-01 |
Family
ID=4111860
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA307,025A Expired CA1074723A (en) | 1978-07-07 | 1978-07-07 | Bottle orientation unit |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1074723A (en) |
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4653628A (en) * | 1984-03-23 | 1987-03-31 | Emhart Industries, Inc. | Apparatus for orienting containers |
| CN108016843A (en) * | 2017-12-23 | 2018-05-11 | 河南大学 | One kind utilizes air-flow arrangement edible mushroom device |
| CN113443193A (en) * | 2021-06-25 | 2021-09-28 | 山东马克智能科技有限公司 | Medicine bottle boxing machine and method thereof |
-
1978
- 1978-07-07 CA CA307,025A patent/CA1074723A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4653628A (en) * | 1984-03-23 | 1987-03-31 | Emhart Industries, Inc. | Apparatus for orienting containers |
| CN108016843A (en) * | 2017-12-23 | 2018-05-11 | 河南大学 | One kind utilizes air-flow arrangement edible mushroom device |
| CN108016843B (en) * | 2017-12-23 | 2019-07-05 | 河南大学 | It is a kind of to arrange edible mushroom device using air-flow |
| CN113443193A (en) * | 2021-06-25 | 2021-09-28 | 山东马克智能科技有限公司 | Medicine bottle boxing machine and method thereof |
| CN113443193B (en) * | 2021-06-25 | 2023-03-14 | 山东马克智能科技有限公司 | Medicine bottle boxing machine and method thereof |
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