DE29901401U1 - Bottle conveyor - Google Patents

Description

G 299 Ol 401.0

Title: Bottle conveyor

The present invention relates to a device for conveying elongated objects, in particular bottles. The present invention relates in particular, but not exclusively, to a bottle conveyor which is specially designed for conveying plastic bottles, in particular PET bottles, and is therefore explained below using this application example. However, it should be emphasized that the invention can also be used for conveying other objects.

PET bottles are well known. They offer the important advantage that they can be refilled relatively often, that they are recyclable, and that they have a thin wall and therefore a relatively low weight, but are nevertheless very strong. They are also crystal clear. This clear quality must be maintained during conveying, which is why conveyors have to meet high requirements. Thanks to the low weight of PET bottles, they can easily be blown along with air, but they can also tip over quickly due to their low weight.

The airflow-based conveying of PET bottles is already known. The bottles hang on two parallel guides by their collars formed near the bottle neck and an air flow is blown against the bottles, causing the collar of a bottle to slide over these guides. However, known conveyors have some disadvantages.

In one example of such a known bottle conveyor, the air is blown into the bottle opening at the top; this has the serious disadvantage that dirt can be blown into the bottle.

A bottle conveyor 5 is also known in practice, in which the air is blown against the outside of the bottle, especially in the bottle shoulder area. It has been shown that in this case the driving effect of the

Air flow is not optimal.

In addition, known conveyors cannot, or at least cannot easily, be adapted to different dimensions of different bottle types. In practice, this can mean that a conveyor is actually only suitable for conveying a single bottle type.

Furthermore, well-known bottle conveyors have the

The disadvantage is that their assembly is rather complex and therefore requires many hours of work. Adapting them to a different type of bottle also takes a lot of time, which means that the conveyor line is idle for a long time.

The general object of the present invention is to overcome these disadvantages.

In particular, the present invention is intended to provide a bottle conveyor which is relatively easy to assemble and which can be adapted relatively quickly and easily to a type of bottle to be conveyed so that this conveying can take place in an optimal manner.

0 A more detailed explanation of these and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of a bottle conveyor according to the invention with reference to the drawing, in which like reference numerals designate like or comparable components, and in which:

Figure IA shows schematically a side view of a PET bottle;

Figure IB schematically illustrates the airflow-based conveying of a bottle;

Figure 2 shows schematically a perspective view of a bottle conveyor module according to the invention;

Figure 3A shows a cross-section of the module of Figure 2;

5 Figure 3B shows, on a smaller scale, a similar section to that in Figure 3A, showing the module in one possible configuration;

Figure 4A shows a longitudinal section of a part of the module of Figure 2;

Figure 4B shows an enlargement of a portion of Figure 4A;

Figure 5 shows a section along the line V-V in Figure 3A;

Figure 6A illustrates the coupling of successive air ducts in a straight line; and

Figure 6B illustrates the coupling of successive air ducts at a vertical angle.

Figure IA shows a schematic side view of a PET bottle 1. The bottle has a substantially cylindrical body 2 which is closed at the bottom by a base 3 and which at the top passes over a shoulder part 4 and a bottle neck 5 into a cylindrical opening 6 which is provided with a thread 7 for the purpose of using a screw cap. Between the thread part 7 and the neck 5, the bottle has an annular widening or collar 8.

As is known, the manufacture of such a bottle 1 is carried out by blowing and stretching a preform; this is not shown in the figures. After manufacture, the bottle must be conveyed from the production station to a subsequent station, for example a filling station. For this purpose, a bottle conveyor that operates on the basis of blowing air generally has two parallel guide rails 11 on which a bottle to be conveyed rests with its collar 8, with the body 2 of that bottle 1 pointing downwards; the bottle 1 thus "hangs" in the rails 11. For explanation purposes, Figure 1A also shows a sectional view of such rails 11. Figure 2 shows a schematic top view of the bottle 1, in which the rails 11 are also shown again. Due to the low weight of the bottle 1, it can slide along the rails 11 if a small horizontally directed driving force is exerted on this bottle, which is provided by an air flow acting on the bottle, indicated in Figure 1B by arrows 21, for which purpose blowing nozzles are arranged along the path formed by the rails 11.

It has been shown that the point at which the air flow 21 acts on the bottle 1 is an important parameter with regard to effective conveying. If the air flow 21 acts on the shoulder 4 or the neck 5 of the bottle 1, the driving force of the air flow is lower. If the air flow 21 acts on the bottom, the bottle 1 tends to tip over.

Complications arise from the fact that there are different types of PET bottles with different lengths (heights). In order for a conveyor to be able to effectively convey all different types of bottles, the vertical position of the air flow 21 in relation to the bottle 1 should be easy to adjust over a relatively large adjustment range.

In known conveyors, such adjustability is not available or only insufficient and/or a relatively large number of actions are required. Similarly, different types of PET bottles have different diameters of the neck 5. Therefore, the distance between the guide rails should be easily adjustable. In known conveyors, such adjustability is not available or only insufficient and/or the adjustment is relatively complicated and time-consuming.

Figure 1A also shows that stabilizing guides 14 are arranged along the conveyor track, which are intended to prevent the bottles from tipping over in the transverse direction (i.e. perpendicular to the conveying direction), particularly in the case of large (tall) bottles. These stabilizing guides 14 should also be easily adjustable: if the distance between them is too small, the bottles can get stuck, but if the distance between them is too large, the stabilizing effect of the guides 14 is insufficient.

Known conveyors are designed for a single predetermined location. This means, on the one hand, that a new design is required for each location, and, on the other hand, that an existing conveyor cannot simply be

can be moved to another location. The assembly of more common conveyors is also complicated because components only fit together in one way.

A preferred embodiment of the conveyor according to the invention will now be discussed with reference to Figures 2 ff., which solves or at least reduces all of the problems mentioned.

According to an important aspect of the present invention, the construction of the conveyor is modular; Figure 2 shows schematically a perspective view of a conveyor module 100.

The conveyor module 100 comprises two elongated air ducts 110, 110'. The two air ducts 110, 110' are of equal length and essentially mirror-symmetrical, which is why the details of the construction of the ducts will only be discussed with reference to a single duct 110. Each duct 110 in the embodiment shown has a rectangular cross-section and comprises an upper wall 111, a lower wall 112, an outer side wall 113 and an inner side wall 114. In an embodiment that has proven suitable, the ducts 110 have a width of about 10 cm and a height of about 17 cm. The two air ducts 110, 110' are arranged parallel to each other, with the respective inner side walls 114, 114' facing each other, and are firmly connected to each other by means of two bridge pieces 120. The ends of the bridge pieces 12 0 are preferably firmly connected to the upper walls 111, 111' of the air channels 110, 110', for example by welding, but it will be clear that the ends of the bridge pieces 12 0 can also be detachably connected to the upper walls 111, 111' of the air channels 110, 110', for example by means of screws. The mutual distance between the air channels 110, 110' is greater than the largest expected diameter of the bottles to be conveyed.

Each bridge piece 120 is provided with mounting supports 122 which are preferably, and as shown, substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the air ducts 110 and extend over the outer side walls 113 of the air ducts

110. The mounting supports 122 are preferably designed as hollow tubes with a round cross-section. The module 100 can be easily positioned at the desired height relative to the floor surface by means of the mounting supports 122. Figure 3B illustrates an upright positioning, wherein the mounting supports 122 are each attached by means of a connecting piece 123 to vertical support posts 124, which are connected on their underside by a crossbar 125 and further rest on a support surface, such as a workshop floor 127, by means of a support 126. Instead, the mounting supports 122 can also be connected by vertical posts to a mounting platform above the module 100, for example a ceiling or a support beam arranged in a work space, as will be clear to the person skilled in the art and is not shown separately.

Furthermore, the module 100 comprises two guide rails 130, 130' arranged parallel to one another, the length of which is substantially equal to the length of the air ducts 110.

0 The guide rails 13 0 are attached to the two bridge pieces 120 by means of two adjustment elements. The adjustment elements 140 are designed in such a way that the adjustment of the guide rails 130, 130' relative to one another and to the air ducts 110 is made possible in a simple manner, as explained below with reference to Figure 3A.

The adjusting members 140 each comprise a first support 141 and a second support 142. The first support 141 is essentially L-shaped, with a horizontal leg 143 and a vertically downward-pointing leg 144. The second support 142 is also L-shaped, with a horizontal leg 145 and a vertically downward-pointing leg 146. The horizontal legs 143, 145 of the two supports 141 and 142 are detachably attached to one another, so that the two supports 141 and 142 are arranged together in a substantially inverted U-shape. One guide rail 130 is attached to the vertical leg 144 of the first support 141, and the other guide rail 130' is attached to the vertical leg 146 of the second support 142, the latter

Guide rails 13 0, 13 0' are directed towards each other away from the supports 141, 142. It should be noted that each rail and the associated support can be designed as an integrated whole, but that due to the described construction, the materials of the supports and the rails can differ from each other.

A preferred material for the guide rails 13 0 is stainless steel, which offers the advantage over commonly used plastic rails that the rails and the bottles conveyed wear less quickly.

A substantially vertically directed rod 147 is attached to the horizontal leg 143 of the first support and is detachably attached to the center of a bridge 120. In the embodiment shown, the rod 147 extends through a vertical passage opening 148 in the bridge 120 and is clamped in the passage opening 148 by a clamping member. A suitable measure for the length of the rod is approximately 10 cm.

0 As already reported above, the

Rails 13 0, 13 0' for guiding bottles 1, whereby these bottles 1 slide with their collars 8 over the rails 130. The dimensions of the vertical legs 144, 14 6 of the supports 141, 142 are selected such that the vertical distance between the rails 13 0, 13 0' and the horizontal legs 143, 145 of the supports 141, 142 is so large that the bottle opening 6 can pass unhindered underneath. According to an important aspect of the present invention, the distance between the rails 130, 130' from one another can be quickly and easily adapted to the neck dimensions of the bottles to be conveyed. To do this, it is sufficient to separate the horizontal legs 143, 145 of the two supports 141, 142 from each other, adjust their mutual horizontal position, and then reattach the legs 143, 145 to each other. In the embodiment shown, a vertical hole is made in each leg 143, 145, the hole in the second leg 141 having an elongated shape, and the two legs 143, 145 are connected by means of the combination of a screw passing through the holes.

and a matching nut. Since the rails 130, 130' of a module 100 are only fastened to a bridge piece 120 by two adjustment elements 140, adjusting the rails 130, 130' of a complete module 100 requires only two adjustment operations.

Each air channel 110 is provided in its inner wall 114 with blowing nozzles 160 for blowing air 12 in the direction of the bottles to be conveyed. Figure 4 shows a side view of part of an inner wall 114. In the preferred embodiment shown, the blowing nozzles 160 each have a height of about 12 mm and are attached at a specific length position in groups of three with a vertical center-to-center distance of 19 mm, while the longitudinal distance of the successive groups from each other (center-to-center) is 35 mm. The distance from the center of the lowest blowing nozzle 160 to the lower wall 112 is about 30 mm.

Figure 4B shows a part of the view of Figure 4A0 on a larger scale, and Figure 5 shows a cross-section of a part of an inner wall 114 to illustrate details of the blow nozzles 160. The blow nozzles 160 are each formed by pressing an oval inner wall part 1615 into the interior of the channel 110 by means of a punching tool (not shown), making a cut 162 so that the inner wall part 161 is oblique in the longitudinal direction to the inner wall 114, as clearly shown in Figure 5. The cut 162 forms the passage opening of the nozzle 160.

An important advantage of this construction is that the blow nozzles 160 do not form any outward (towards the bottles) projections relative to the inner wall 114 of the air duct 110 and that the inner walls 114 retain their generally flat exterior so that they are convenient to clean.

During operation, an air flow 163 directed essentially in the longitudinal direction of the channel is created in each air channel 110. The inwardly directed wall parts 161 protrude into this air flow 163

whereby a portion of the air flow 163 leaves the channel 110 through the passage opening formed by the cut 162 in the inner wall 114 to form a propellant air flow 21 directed toward the bottles (Figure IB).

It is important for a good driving effect of the propellant air flow 21 that the point at which the propellant air flow 21 acts on the bottles 1 can be adjusted precisely and quickly within wide limits.

For this purpose, the height of the blow nozzles 60 can be made adjustable relative to the air channels 110. In the embodiment of the present invention shown, however, the vertical position of the guide rails 130 relative to the fixed air channels 110 is adjustable so that the vertical distance between the rails 130 on the one hand and the blow nozzles 160 on the other hand can be quickly and easily adjusted to the length of the bottles to be conveyed. To do this, it is sufficient to loosen the clamp 149 of the rod, adjust the position of the rod 147 in the hole 148 of the bridge part 120, and fix the clamp 149 again. In the embodiment shown, the clamp 149 is provided with a lever to enable manual adjustment without tools. Since the rails 13 of a module 100 are attached to a bridge piece 120 by only two adjustment elements 140, the adjustment of the height position of the rails 130 of a complete module 100 requires the performance of only two adjustment actions.

In the embodiment shown, the rails 130 can be raised above the level of the upper walls 111 of the channels 110. For this purpose, the bridges 120 are constructed essentially in an inverted U-shape, as can be clearly seen from Figure 3A, for example.

Figure 3A further illustrates that a module can be provided with auxiliary guide rails 150, 150', the purpose of which is to prevent a bottle from tipping in a direction transverse to the conveying direction. These auxiliary guide rails 150 can be designed as a stainless steel rod with a round cross-section, the length of which in

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is substantially equal to the length of the air channels 110 and are arranged substantially parallel to the channels 110. As clearly shown in Figure 3A, the distance between the auxiliary guides 150, 150' is slightly larger than the diameter of the bottles to be conveyed, for example approximately 5 mm larger, so that the bottles, when hanging vertically downwards, normally do not touch the auxiliary guides 150. Only when a bottle makes a slight tilting movement in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction will the bottle touch an auxiliary guide 150, thereby preventing further tilting in that direction.

The exact height position of the auxiliary guide 150 in relation to the guide rails 130 is not critical, but the distance between the auxiliary rails 150, 150' is preferably adjustable so that it can be adapted to the different diameters of different types of bottles. In the preferred embodiment shown, the auxiliary guides 150 are each provided near their end with a horizontally directed positioning rod 151 which is clamped in a clamping block 152 attached to the lower wall 112 of an air duct 110 by means of a screw 153 or any other suitable clamping device. To adjust the horizontal position of an auxiliary guide 150, it is therefore sufficient to loosen the two screws 153, move the positioning rods 151 in their respective clamping blocks 152, and tighten the screws 153 again.

The air flow 163 can be generated in the air ducts 110 of the module 100 by means of any suitable, known fan, which is not shown in the figures for the sake of simplicity, and which can be mounted on a module 100. Known fans generally have a single outlet opening; although it is possible to generate the air flows in the two different air ducts 110, 110' by means of two different fans, it is preferable to generate the air flows in both air ducts by means of an inverted Y-shaped coupling piece of a single fan.

In principle, each module 100 is suitable for mounting a blower on it, but in practice it is not necessary to mount a blower on each module. By arranging the modules in a line one behind the other, preferably by fastening them together, the air flow from one module can continue in the next module. It is sufficient to provide only a few modules with the blower, whereby the distance between the blowers can be 10 m or more, depending on their performance, the flow resistance of the air ducts and the number and size of the blower nozzles. It is of course advisable to arrange a blower in front of track sections where additional resistance is expected, for example immediately in front of a bend section.

Electricity is required to operate the various blowers. It may also be desirable to be able to switch the blowers on or off flexibly, which means that the blowers can be switched on individually and operated in one of several positions (full power, 0, half power, etc.). To do this, it is necessary to provide the bottle conveyor with supply cables for the electrical supply and control cables for control signals. In principle, such cables can be installed after the various modules of the conveyor have been assembled. Preferably, however, these cables are integrated into the modules as a bus system. The supply bus of a module then has an input connector for connection to an output connector of a previous module, an output connector for connection to the input connector of a subsequent module, and a tap connector for connecting a blower, if present. Preferably, the supply bus is further provided with a standard socket for connecting electrical devices in the event that work needs to be carried out on the module. Similarly, the control bus of a module has an input connector for connection to an output connector of a previous module, an output connector for connection to the input connector of a subsequent module and a

Tap connector for connecting a control signal line to a possible fan. A control unit (not shown for the sake of simplicity), such as a microprocessor, can then send out coded control signals via the control bus, which contain a uniquely assignable address code identifying a specific fan to be controlled, each fan being provided with a control element which receives the coded control signals and, when it recognizes the address code, controls the fan in question in accordance with the command given by the central unit. According to the invention, it is therefore particularly easy to install an additional fan if necessary or to attach a fan to another module.

In order to connect the air ducts 110 of the successive modules 100 to one another, coupling sleeves 170 are preferably used, as will be discussed below with reference to Figure 6, which schematically shows a longitudinal section of the adjoining end sections of two successive air ducts HO ₁ and HO ₂ of the modules 100 ₁ and 100 ₂ , respectively. A tubular coupling sleeve 170 is fitted around these end sections, the inner contour of which corresponds to the outer contour of the air ducts HO. The coupling sleeve 170 serves, on the one hand, to bring about a substantially airtight connection of the successive air ducts HO, and, on the other hand, to bring about an exact alignment of the successive modules. The coupling sleeve 170 is preferably fastened to each of the successive air ducts HO ₁ and HO ₂ , for example by means of screws, although this is not illustrated in the figures for the sake of simplicity.

As a variant, the coupling sleeve 170 could be installed inside the air ducts HO, whereby 5 the outer contour of the coupling sleeve would then correspond to the inner contour of the air ducts.

As a variant, each air duct 110 could be provided at its inlet end with a coupling collar&eegr; formed thereon, into which the outlet end of the previous

air duct fits.

The conveyor module 100 shown in Figure 2 forms a straight conveyor section of predetermined length. In a suitable embodiment, the invention provides modules of 1 m in length and modules of 3 m in length. If necessary, if the location where the conveyor is to be installed requires it, custom modules can be made, i.e. modules whose length can be selected; if necessary, a custom module can be made by sawing off a piece from a standard module.

In order to enable a flexible design of the conveyor, the present invention also provides bend modules, i.e. modules that form a bend in a horizontal position, as will be clear to the person skilled in the art. As standard, the invention provides bend segments for 30°, 45°, 60° and 90°, but it will be clear that, depending on the circumstances, fitting bend modules with other angular lengths can also be provided. It will be clear that in this case the components to which equal lengths were attributed to one another in the above also have equal angular lengths to one another.

In certain situations, it may be desirable for the conveyor to bridge a height difference, either upwards or downwards. For flexibility in this respect, the present invention provides coupling segments 180 designed to couple successive standard modules 100 together at a vertical angle. Figure 6B illustrates an example of such a coupling segment.

180, which comprises two pipe sections 181, 182 which are attached to each other at a vertical angle, for example by welding. The contour of the sections

181, 182 corresponds to the contour of an air duct 110. At the 5 free ends of the sections 181, 182, a connecting collar 183, 184 is attached to the outside, for example also by welding, the inner contour of which corresponds to the outer contour of the air duct 110. Figure 6B illustrates a case where one end of an air duct

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HO ₁ is introduced into a first connection collar 183 and one end of a subsequent air duct HO ₂ is introduced into a second connection collar 184, so that the two consecutive air ducts HO ₁ and HO ₂ , and consequently the entire modules 10O ₁ and 10O ₂ , respectively, enclose a vertical angle.

Analogous to what was discussed above with regard to the coupling sleeves 170, the coupling segment 180 serves, on the one hand, to bring about a substantially airtight connection of the successive air ducts HO and, on the other hand, to bring about an exact positioning of the successive modules at a predetermined vertical angle. Preferably, the coupling segment 180 is fastened to each of the successive air ducts HO ₁ and HO ₂ , for example by means of screws, but this is not shown in the figures for the sake of simplicity.

As a variant, the coupling segment 18 0 could be mounted inside the air ducts HO, whereby the outer contour of the collars 183, 184 of the coupling segment would then correspond to the inner contour of the air ducts.

The modules to be installed at a slight incline or decline angle can be identical to the standard modules discussed in detail above. If necessary, if the incline angle requires an increased driving force or if the decline angle allows a reduced driving force, such a module can be provided with a higher or lower number of blowing nozzles 160. For this purpose, the number of blowing nozzles 160 per group can be increased to, for example, four or more, or reduced to two or one, but the distances between successive groups can also be reduced or increased.

Preferably, each module 100 is provided with cover plates mounted above the bridges to prevent dirt from falling from above into the open openings 6 of the bottles 1 to be conveyed; these cover plates are not shown in the figures.

The expert will understand that the

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The scope of the present invention is not limited to the examples discussed above, but various modifications and variations thereof are possible without going beyond the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For example, the channels do not have to have a rectangular cross-sectional shape. Furthermore, for example, the height dimension of the channels can be changed, in which case the height dimension of the U-shaped bridge 120 can be adjusted in order to keep the height position of the blowing nozzles 160 constant.

Furthermore, the adjustment members 140 may each comprise a subframe, wherein the separate supports are adjustably attached to the subframe rather than to each other, and wherein the subframe is adjustably attached to a bridge 120 in the vertical direction.

Claims (13)

- 16 -PATIENT CLAIMS: 1. Module (100) for a bottle conveyor with: - two parallel air ducts (110, 110'), each air channel (110) having a wall (114) with blowing nozzles (160) arranged therein; - at least one bridge piece (120) connecting the two air channels (110, 110') to one another; - two to each other and to the air ducts (110, 110') parallel guide rails (130, 130'); and - means (140) for adjustable positioning of the guide rails (130, 130') relative to the blowing nozzles (160) . 2. Module according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment means (14 0) comprise a substantially vertically directed rod (14 7) which is detachably attached, preferably by means of a clamp (149), to a bridge piece (120). 3. Module according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the adjustment means (140) comprise a first carrier (141) coupled to a first guide rail (130) and a second carrier (142) coupled to a second guide rail (130'). 4. Module according to claim 3, wherein the first support (141) is substantially L-shaped, with a horizontal leg (143) and a downwardly directed vertical leg (144) attached to the first rail (13 0); wherein the second support (142) is constructed in a substantially L-shaped manner with a horizontal leg (145) and a downwardly directed vertical leg (146) attached to the second rail (130'); 0 and wherein the two horizontal legs (143; 145) of the two supports (141; 142) are detachably connected to one another. 5. Module according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a blowing nozzle (160) is formed by an inwardly pressed Wall part (161) of the inner side wall (114) of an air duct (110). 6. Module according to one of the preceding claims, wherein two auxiliary guide rails (150, 150') are provided, which are arranged below the level of the blowing nozzles (160) parallel to the air ducts (110), and wherein means (151, 152, 153) are provided for adjusting the mutual distance of the two auxiliary guide rails (150, 150'). 7. Module according to claim 6, wherein the adjustment means (151, 152, 153) comprise a horizontal positioning rod (151) coupled at one end to an auxiliary guide rail (150), a clamping block (152) preferably fastened to a lower wall (112) of an air duct (110), and a clamping member (153) for clamping the positioning rod (151) in the clamping block (152). 8. Module according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a supply bus for electricity and a signal bus for control signals are provided for a fan that may be connected. 0 9. Module according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a bridge piece (120) is provided with two mounting supports (122) in order to position the module at a desired height relative to the ground surface. 10. Module according to claim 9, wherein the mounting supports (122) are directed perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the air ducts (110) and protrude beyond the air ducts (110). 11. Modular bottle conveyor with at least two modules (100) coupled to one another according to one of the preceding claims. 12. Modular bottle conveyor according to claim 11, wherein two consecutive, aligned air ducts (HO ₁ , HO ₂ ) of two consecutive modules (10O ₁ , 10O ₂ ) are coupled together by means of a coupling sleeve (170). 13. Modular bottle conveyor according to claim 11, wherein two consecutive air channels (HO ₁ , HO ₂ ) of two consecutive modules (10O ₁ , 10O ₂ ) are coupled to one another by means of a coupling segment (180) forming a vertical angle between the two consecutive air channels (HO ₁ , HO ₂ ).