FR2585340A1 - APPARATUS FOR ORIENTATION OF CONTAINERS, IN PARTICULAR BOTTLES - Google Patents

Abstract

THE INVENTION CONCERNS AN APPARATUS FOR ORIENTATION OF CONTAINERS. IT RELATES TO AN APPARATUS IN WHICH THE CHUDS OF CONTAINERS 12 ARE CLOSED BETWEEN TWO BELTS 80, 90 WHICH MOVE AT THE SAME SPEED WHEN THE CONTAINER DOES NOT HAVE TO BE TURNED BUT AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS WHEN IT MUST BE TURNED. THIS SPEED DIFFERENCE IS CONTROLLED BY A SYSTEM 24 WHICH RECEIVES SIGNALS FROM SENSORS 110 WHICH INDICATE THE ORIENTATION OF THE CONTAINER BEFORE ENTERING THE ORIENTATION MECHANISM. APPLICATION TO THE ORIENTATION OF BOTTLES BEFORE LABELING OR FILLING.

Description

The present invention relates to a steering apparatus

  containers from a first position to a second.

  More precisely, it relates to an orientaLt device, s of containers for detecting. a first orientation of containers that do not have a generally cylindrical shape, moving on a conveyor, and rotating each container about its axis, by a predetermined amount, to a second common orientation, the importance of the rotation being a function of the signal of the sensors used

  for the detection of the first orientation.

  Container, bottle and container orientation devices are already known and are used

  with carriers who move them during their

  or subsequent inspection, labeling, packaging,

  lage, filling, etc. The terms "bottle", "bottle"

  and "container" may be used interchangeably

  in this memo in the context of

  of orientation, although it should be noted that the apparatus

  the orientation of molded glass containers,

  of plastics material and the like. In many applications

  cations, containers often have a random orientation when moving on horizontal conveyors, their axes being vertical. Some containers should be rotated about their respective axes so that all containers have the same orientation relative to the conveyor and that predetermined parts of the containers

  are properly placed in front of a labeling device

  quetting, filling, packing or other, placed near

of the ransporter.

  Many known device orientation devices

  t: cylindrical head require the use of a protrusion

  on a bottle hut. The projections come to the con-

  Sensitivity of corresponding ratchets carried by the belts, or control various switches. Although the protrusions are suitable in the case of cylindrical containers, they are not suitable when the containers

are not cylindrical.

  Another type of known device for orienting cylindrical containers is described in US Pat. No. 3,722,657, which discloses the use of parallel belts, moving continuously and intended to come into contact with containers. cylindrical such as boots. The relative directions and speeds of the belts can be modified so that each of the containers is transported in the transport station in two modes in rotation and in translation. This device removes

  the problem of instability (described later in

  US Pat. No. 3,493,096) although it is inflexible since it is mechanically complex and requires the use of various gear ratios which must be predefined according to the requirements of US Pat. special operations. Accordingly, each configuration of this device is suitable only in a limited number of applications. In addition, nothing is described for the detection of various prior orientations of

  containers before the transfer station and for determining

  rotation that is necessary for all containers to have the same uniform orientation. In addition, this device is not suitable for the orientation of non-cylindrical containers such as flasks, pitchers and

containers of rectilinear shape.

  Some non-cylindrical bottle orientation devices are already known. Thus, the principle described in U.S. Patent No. 3,493,096 is used in a vial orientation apparatus having fingers for detecting the presence and orientation of a vial at a dispensing station. and a device for subsequently moving rotating members to contact a cylindrical portion of the vial until a reset switch detects a proper orientation and de-energizes the circuit. The organs are then removed and allow the bottle to continue to move along the carrier. In this specification, the term "flask" refers to a wide and relatively flat container

  having a concave surface and a convex surface. A problem

  of such a device is the instability produced for each vial because of the abrupt contact and the

  abrupt separation of rotating members. Other inconveniences

  This device is due to the fact that it is limited to the single orientation of the bottle and is rather slow because of the inertia of its moving parts. Other types of non-cylindrical containers can not be

  oriented because of the use of the sensing fingers.

  There is no known automatic mechanism for orienting non-cylindrical containers other than that described in the aforementioned U.S. Patent No. 3,493,096 and suitable only for vials. As a result, most non-cylindrical containers are manually oriented so that the necessary labor is important and the yield is very low. Consequently, it is necessary to have an automatic device for orienting non-empty containers.

  cylindrical, and the invention relates to such apparatus.

  It also relates to a container orienting apparatus having parallel belts moving at predetermined relative speeds, the device for ensuring belt speed changes being under the control of a control system which determines the importance of the necessary rotation of each container

before contact with the belts.

  It also relates to a container orientation apparatus having parallel belts rotating in opposite directions and intended to be used for the orientation of bottles and other containers generally

  a rectilinear body and not cylindrical.

  It also relates to a programmable control for a non-cylindrical container orientation apparatus, facilitating the use of the apparatus for various functions

orientation.

  More specifically, the invention relates, in a preferred embodiment, to a container orientation apparatus having a carrier for moving

  linearly a series of containers, a space device

  placing the containers, by a predetermined distance, a pair of endless parallel belts placed downstream of the spacing device, the belts being at a predetermined height above the conveyor so that they accommodate the cylindrical portion of the neck and / or the neck of each container, a device for rotating the belts in opposite directions so that they move each container in translation in the direction of travel

  of the carrier, a device intended to modify the

  its relative belts and a device for detecting the presence of each container enitre the belts, the apparatus comprising at least one orientation sensor for detecting the first orientation of each container before contact with the belts and intended to form, for each container, a first corresponding signal representative of your first orientation and a programmable command controlled by the first signal and the presence detection device and for forming a respective predetermined control signal, which control signal is intended to be applied to the relative speed changing device to be controlled and to rotate the corresponding container by a predetermined amount, thereby placing it at a second

  predetermined orientation, and a device for applying

  each of the respective predetermined control signals

  to the relative speed change device.

  Other features and advantages of the invention

  tion will become more apparent from the following description,

  with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of a preferred embodiment of apparatus according to the invention; Figure 2 is a diagrammatic front elevation of a portion of the apparatus of Figure 1; Figs. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D and 3E are diagrams of the control system shown in Fig. 1;

  Figures 4, 5 and 6 are illustrative flow diagrams

  tring the operation of the apparatus according to the invention; and Figure 7 is a mode selection chart

  representing examples of sensor states for different

  rents modes of operation of the apparatus according to the invention. We first refer to Figure 1; it shows schematically and in plan a device 10 orientation

  non-cylindrical containers 12 moving in a direction

  14 on a conveyor belt 16 which is continuously movable. The apparatus 10 generally comprises an orientation mechanism 20, a spacing portion 22

  and detection, and a computer control system 24.

  The invention is intended to be used with containers 12 that have a cylindrical neck portion and / or a neck, but bodies that do not have a cylindrical shape

  in general. The containers 12 may be for example

  vials having opposite concave and convex faces, or may have one or more flat faces 13, etc. It will be noted in FIGS. 1 and 2 that the steering mechanism 20 comprises motors 30 and 32 connected by angle reducers to driving pulleys 34 and 36 respectively. Pulley 34 is connected to

  pulleys 38 and 40 of clutch by a belt 42 of

  trailing, and the pulley 36 is connected to pulleys 44 and 46 of clutch by a drive belt 37. The motors 30 and 32 are mounted on a frame 50 so that the belts 37 and 42 are coplanar and at a predetermined height above and parallel to the conveyor belt 16. The frame 50 has several conventional members (not shown for the sake of simplicity) which may be necessary for the preservation of the relative positions of the various elements used according to the invention. The pulleys 38, 40, 44 and 46 are each mounted at one end of respective clutch shafts 60, 62, 64 and 66 which have two ends available. The other (lower) ends of the output shafts, vertically oriented, for each clutch, are connected to

  pulleys 70, 72, 74, 76 of secondary drive respectively

  all of which are in a plane delimited on the side of the clutches (opposite the plane of the pulleys 38, 44 and 46) near the conveyor belt 16. A tightening belt 80 passes over the pulleys 70 and 72 and onto pulleys crazy 82 and 84 (mounted on the frame by a device not shown). An articulated and movable arm 86 is intended to keep the belt 80 under tension. Likewise, the tightening belt 90 passes over the pulleys 74 and 76 and onto idle pulleys 92 and 94. A movable and articulated arm 96 keeps the belt 90 under tension. The belts 80 and 90 have parallel parts

  81 and 91 intended to be in contact with the containers 12.

  The parallel portions 81 and 91 are pushed by a support plate recalled by a spring (not shown) so that the clamping of the containers by the belts is facilitated. The spacer portion 22 includes a star wheel 99 for feeding (driven by a device not shown) and a shaft encoder 102 for transmitting synchronization pulses as described below. The starwheel drive and the shaft encoder are both connected to the computer control 24. The star wheel 99 is placed near

  of the conveyor belt 16 upstream of the steering portion

  20. The fingers 104 of the star wheel co-operate

  with parallel bars 106 and 108 for guiding the

  housing to provide spacing of the containers 12 in a predetermined manner so that only one container at a time is finally brought into contact with the belts and 90 therebetween. Guide rails 106 and 108 are arranged so that the containers pass between

  them only with one of several different orientations.

  the number of possible orientations depending on the configuration of the container. For example, a bottle passes with its concave side facing the star wheel or in the opposite direction, a container with four straight sides (equal) can pass with one of four orientations, etc. The apparatus 10 further comprises a computer control 24 connected to a plurality of orientation sensors 110

  containers (identified individually by the

  A, B, C, D, etc.) and a sensor 113 for the presence of a container. Only three sensors 110 are shown although it should be noted that any number can be used as described below. Although the preferred embodiment uses optical sensors 110, it should be noted that any other type of sensor may be used provided that the sensors perform a similar sign detection function. The positioning of each sensor is also schematically represented in FIG. 1; the positioning criteria are described later in this memo. Although the control 24 is also connected to all motors and clutches mentioned above, the various connections have been removed for simplicity. The sensor 113 is shown only schematically in Figure 1 for simplicity. Although various presence sensors can be used, an arrangement

  advantageous embodiment, in this preferred embodiment, is

  2 is shown in greater detail with a lever 200 hinged about an axis 202. The lever 200 is placed between the parallel belts and pivots when the

  neck or the cylindrical part of the neck of each container.

  pient that passes. A simple bolt or metal rod 204 is attached to the upper side of the lever 200 and, when the lever pivots under the control of a container, the bolt 204 moves and can be detected by a sensor 206 or proximity sensor which then transmits a signal to the control system 24. The sensor output signal

  proximity is through a processing circuit (not shown).

  24) so that the variations of the output signal of the sensor 206, caused by a lowering of the lever 200 below the rim of the container and towards

  the top of the other side do not affect the operation.

  As indicated in FIGS. 3A to 3E, the control system 24 comprises two microcomputers 100 and 101 which, in the preferred embodiment, are conventional eight-bit microcomputer flakes programmed according to the program indicated by the flowcharts of the figures. 4 to 6. Of course, only one computer can be used. In the preferred embodiment, two computers are used because they allow parallel processing which increases the working speed of the control system. The computer 100 receives the data from the optical sensors A, B, C and D, each being connected to the computer by a circuit identical to the other circuits (so that only one circuit is described in the following). The signal

  The output of the sensor is transmitted by a digital switch

  analog-105 whose position depends on the nature of the sensor used. In the case of analog sensors, the switch 105 is put in the analog position and the output signal of the sensor is transmitted by a circuit

  107 amplifier and signal preparation, and a comparison

  109, to an amplifier 110 and then to the terminal

  of a D 112 rocker. In the case of a digital sensor,

  In all cases, after detection of a sign chosen by a particular sensor, the output Q of the rocker 112 associated with this sensor, the output signal of the sensor is bypassed with respect to the circuit 107 and the comparator 109. transmits an output signal to the logical state

  1 or 0 to the computer 100. Each sensor has a photo diode

  corresponding indicator emissive 114 connected to the computer so that the operator has a visual display of the operation of the system. As indicated below, the computer 100 counts the number of pulses from each flip-flop 112 in an inspection window and maintains a rotation instruction signal when this

  number exceeds a programmed value indicated by a

quantization input.

  The computer 100 may be programmed by the operator via switch sets 120 through 125 to

  encoder wheels (best shown in Figure 3B). obviously

  a keyboard or other suitable input device

  can be used. Although the operation of these

  In this section, it is useful to list the switching functions as soon as possible. The switch 120 allows the operator to select the number of shift register positions between the wheel 99 and the point at which the parallel belts come into contact with the container. The operator can

  program the system to accept and follow manufacturers

  cations of various dimensions. The switch 121 allows the operator to select predetermined and pre-programmed display formats. The display device 140 may be selected to provide various displays corresponding to such information as the speed of the chain, in containers per minute, the number of containers passing through the apparatus, the position of the encoder, the number of already oriented articles and the number of containers to be oriented, etc. The switch 122 also facilitates the operation of the installation for various article sizes, since it allows the operator to adjust the number of containers in the star wheel 99 at any time. The 123 switch

  transmits the threshold signal of the number of

  The above-mentioned quantification or quantification allows the sensitivity of the system to be adjusted to various amounts of letters or other signs appearing on the containers. (A separate quantization signal may be transmitted as appropriate for each sensor 110). The switch 124 is

  orientation mode switch used for prepa-

  the computer to accept the various combinations of

  The number of sensors listed in Figure 7. The switch

  allows operator selection of window durations

  inspection by setting an associated counter. The opera-

  The controller can also reset all count readings

  With the switch 126 and it can operate the apparatus 10 for a series of containers moving to the left or right with the switch 128. As indicated below, the computer 100 also controls a

  window indicator light 130 indicating that a container

  located in the chosen inspection window (or must be there), and is therefore ready to accept and scan

the data of the sensors 110.

  In the preferred embodiment, the computer

  has a function to adjust the spacing of articles.

  The signals necessary for this function are derived from jamming and circulation sensors 144. The signals from the sensors 144 trigger the computer 101 to control accordingly a relay 146 for controlling the spacer wheel. The sensors 144 may be for example a manual switch (not shown) and photodetectors (not shown) placed upstream and downstream of the system 10. The manual switch allows local control of the star wheel. The upstream detector ensures the continuous transmission of the containers to the star wheel 99 so that the detection fingers can not be jammed. Thus, when an unusually large space is detected between the adjacent bottles, the wheel stops rotating until several containers have been accumulated. Similarly, when a jamming is detected by the downstream detector, the wheel is stopped so

  that the circulation of the containers stops.

  The computer 100 essentially has the role of processing the various real-time signals produced by the system and their integration with the various signals transmitted by the operator so that the output signals of the sensors 110 are coordinated on the corresponding rotation instructions. preserved in his memory. As indicated below, each particular set of output signals from the sensors 110 corresponds to a desired amplitude for the rotation required to orient each corresponding container to a common orientation. These rotation instructions are successively transmitted to the computer 101 by lines 150 when the particular container 1 1 corresponding to the rotation instruction is detected between the parallel belts. This bottle detection condition is transmitted to the computer 101 by the sensor 113 via the amplifier 152. An output signal from the computer 101, along the line 164, indicates to the computer 100 that it can transfer associated rotation instructions. The computer 101 transmits a signal via the line 160 so that it activates the clutches 60, 62,

  64 and 66 in a predetermined manner for a period of time

  determined so that the desired rotation is obtained, this rotation corresponding to the rotation instructions from

of the computer 100.

  During operation, the computer 101 is calibrated

  in a part of an organization program. This standard

  Swimming is permitted only during organization, when the switch 170 is closed so that the photoemissive diode 112 is powered. Meanwhile, the potentiometer 174

  rotation control transmits a signal to the conver-

  analog-digital transmitter 176 whose digitized signal is representative of a time required for the rotation of a control container of 180. The converter 176 may for example give a resolution of 256 bits for ten revolutions of the potentiometer 174. At each execution of the program by the apparatus 10, the signal of the converter 176 is used as a reference for a rotation of 180 and the others

  rotation amplitudes are calculated accordingly.

  When the apparatus 10 is to be set for articles of different size, the star wheel 99 or the fingers 104 can be changed, thus requiring an adjustment of the switch 122 by the operator so that the signal of the encoder 102 corresponds to the number of wheel housings. In an advantageous embodiment, the encoder 102 transmits a quadrature output signal having 480 pulses per revolution, as well as an indexing pulse once per revolution. In an ideal case, the number of wheel housings is still divisible by 960 pulses per revolution so that an even number of encoder pulses are available for each housing. The encoder 102 may be synchronized to the wheel 99 so that the indexing pulse (and accordingly each number of encoder pulses indicating the beginning of each housing) appears for a desired position of the wheel. This position is chosen during the organization or installation of the system, with

  the positioning of the sensors 110 so that each pulse

  beginning of housing (corresponding to the number of

  Encoder locations at the beginning of each slot) correspond to when the container is in the proper (or must be) position so that the sensors 110 detect selected signs as appropriate. The control system 24 defines an inspection window in the form of a predetermined number of encoder pulses from the beginning of a particular housing (i.e., for a predetermined number of pulses of the encoder ), the window ending at a certain point in the slot, as indicated by the window duration switch 125. Each window

  starts X pulses after the beginning of the previous window

  dente, X being equal to 960 divided by the number of windows per turn. Several windows can be used for each container. In each inspection window, the signals of the sensors 110 are validated and accepted or read by the computer 100. Each output signal of a sensor is kept by the corresponding flip-flop 112 and is read in the computer before erasing the rockers. (at the clock frequency) before the transition to the next state of the sensor. In the preferred embodiment, each

  sensor is an optical detector that creates a signal

  from its proximity to its target area. This target area

  may be formed of raised letters molded into the recess

  pick, by a handle, an edge, etc. As a result, following

  the condition detected by each sensor, a predetermined number of

  Sensor transitions may be required in a given inspection window before a rotation instruction can be determined. The quantization or pulse number threshold switch 123 is intended to eliminate the effect of certain transitions and

  it can also be used for example to make

  tinction between a container side having many letters

  and another side having a smaller number of letters.

  The variation in the length of the inspection window allows the use of a long time for the inspection ensuring the detection of letters on the surface of a container which

  must contain a certain amount of letters (and in

  sequence a number of sensor transitions) or

  shorter time for a temporary inspection

  to determine whether a handle or other characteristic

  very sharp at a particular position.

  In operation, the clamping belts 90 are driven at identical speeds in opposite directions so that along their parallel faces, through which they are in contact with the neck portion or neck of the containers, they move the containers in the direction 14. In this configuration, the "normal" clutches 62 and 64 are engaged and, as their driving pulleys 40 and 44 are identical, the speeds of the belts

  are the same. The clutches 60 and 66 are then disengaged.

  When a rotational training instruction is trans-

  put by the computer 101 by the line 160, the clutches 62 and 64 are disengaged and the "rotation" clutches 60 and 66 are engaged. Since the driving pulley 46 has a diameter smaller than that of the pulley 38, there is a difference in speed, the belt 90 accelerating and the

  80 decelerating belt. In the absence of a rotational instruction

  clutches 62 and 64 remain engaged and the container passes into the apparatus while undergoing a transla-

  only, without rotation. When a rotation instruction is received, the clutches 60 and 66 are disengaged only for a predetermined time which is sufficient for the cylinder to rotate a predetermined number of degrees during its simultaneous displacement in translation. Prior to the exit of the container from the belts 80 and 90, the clutches and 66 are disengaged and the clutches 62 and 64 engaged again so that the rotation stops, with a rotating braking effect, improving the stability. In any case, when a container undergoes a simple translation or a translation and a rotation under the control of the belts 80 and 90, its linear speed before, during and after its contact with these belts remains substantially

  the same. As shown in Figure 2, the conveyor belt

  16 is raised along its length just before

  the containers do not reach the orientation mechanism.

  This facilitates the rotation without the friction presented during the rotation of certain containers when they are in

  support on the conveyor belt.

  Referring now to FIGS.

  feel several flowcharts illustrating the implementation of programs needed to control computers

  and 101, according to the foregoing description.

  Figures 4 and 5 show flow charts representing

  in a general way the operation of the computer, and Figure 6 represents the flowchart relative to

the computer 101.

  Although the preferred embodiment implements a control system implementing software, it should be noted that analogous functions may be

  filled with wired type control devices.

  The program starts at the initial box 400 and goes through an initialization program 402. To the box

  404 of the decision, the program determines (from the

  formation present in line 164, as shown in Figure 3A) if a bottle is detected at the belts by the sensor 113 or not. When the answer

  is positive, the number of bottles contained in a re-

  segregated register progresses to box 406 for future reference. From boxes 404 and 406, the program goes to box 408 and determines

  if the clock pulse is an indexing pulse pro-

  from the encoder 102. In the positive case, the program sets the zero wheel position counter to box 410 and resets the line speed timer to block 412 and then returns to box 414 so that It reads the quadrature signals from the encoder. These signals are used by the decision box 416 for the determination of the direction of rotation of the wheel, if any, and for the progression or regression of a wheel counter to boxes 418 and 420. Box 422 represents a sub-number. program for calculating the position of a particular housing of the wheel relative to a reference point. This calculation takes into consideration the number of bottles in the wheel (switch 122) and the wheel position counter data. The program then proceeds to block 502 of FIG. 5, and various conditions relating to the inspection window are then determined. Box 502 compares the current position of the wheel with the inspection window parameters set by the switch 125

  and according to the results of the comparison, certain

  rations are executed. At the beginning of the window, the box 504 erases the various signals coming from the sensors 110, the box 506 extinguishes the corresponding photodiodes associated with these sensors, the box 508 empties the individual counters associated with each sensor 110, the box 510 takes an initial reading the sensor and box 512 raises a flag indicating

  that the beginning of the window is exceeded.

  When the position of the wheel is determined as

  located in the inspection window, box 520

  the 522 reads the various sensors 110 and the box 524 updates the various counters

sensors.

  When the correct number of the encoder has been reached and indicates that the end of the inspection window has been reached, box 530 determines which sensor has exceeded

  programmed sensitivity and box 532 controls the power supply

  the light emitting diode associated with this sensor.

  Then, in block 534, the program reads the indicated mode

  by switch 124 and in box 536 determines the

  the rotation required to obtain the

  the final desired common end, given the particular adjustment

  mode switch and the appropriate sensor data. Box 536 therefore gives a set of instructions for the bottle currently in the window, the instruction set being the combination of the control signals that must be applied to the various elements to

  ensure the desired rotation. The use of this game of ins-

  tructions must of course wait for the moment when the particular bottle has reached the belts and, consequently, the oldest rotational information associated with a previous container is extracted by box 538 in advance

  shift register (at the beginning of each dwelling) contains

  this item, at box 540. When the system is started, the first

  in the star wheel gives a set of rotating instructions

  associated when passing through the inspection window.

  The container moves before its rotation instruction because it does not reach the belts that rotate before a certain time. As a result, the rotation instruction

  corresponding to this first container (and to all

  the following points) must be delayed so that the instruc-

  the belts only when the receptacle cor-

  spawning gets there too. As many containers may be on the conveyor belt between the wheel

  and the parallel belts, the program commands the extrac-

  in box 538, the oldest rotary instruction for controlling the rotation of the container between the belts. When this old information was transmitted to the computer 101, the new

  rotation information corresponding to the current container-

  The light emitting diode display 142 is shifted to box 544 so that it gives the operator a visual indication of the containers.

  who advance and turn when they have reached the

rotational drive belts.

  The system has a timer internal circuit (not shown) for transmitting offset signals

  alternative to the shift register so that a correlation

  lation is maintained between the rotation instruction and the associated container in case of stopping the wheel 99 for any reason. These replacement signals are desirable when the wheel stops rotating because it stops transmitting offset signals so that the rotation instructions do not advance into the shift register. These replacement shift signals are

  products at a time interval equal to the shortest

  time range between the eight preceding signals

  offset. Thus, even if the wheel stops turning, the

  rotational truction associated with the last container transmitted by the wheel is shifted into the register and suitably

  applied to rotating drive belts.

  When box 502 determines that the position of the wheel is outside the inspection window, the program stops feeding the window indicator

in box 550.

  It should be noted that all parallel paths of

  Figure 5 ends in box 560, which allows the display

  chage to the particular format chosen by the switch 121

  and then goes to point 2 as shown on the bottom

Figure 4.

  Reference is now made to Figure 6 for the descrip-

  the flowchart describing the operation of the computer

  101. It should be noted that this program works in cooperation with the program described with reference to the figures

  4 and 5, the two computers interacting on each other.

  The program of the computer 101 begins at step 600 and proceeds to a boot program at step 602. The step 604 decision determines whether the installation or startup mode was chosen by the switch 170 (better represented in figure 3D) and, when the answer is positive, box 606 allows the use of the potentiometer

  174 rotation adjustment for system calibration.

  When the installation mode has not been chosen, the program goes to box 608 and reads the set of rotation instructions from box 538. As previously described, as it is the rotation information the older, it corresponds to the information associated with the bottle that must be rotated first. The program goes to box 610 and reads potentiometer 174 and calculates, through step 612, the duration of the command

  clutch required to obtain rotation of am-

  desired intensity. The program goes to box 614 decision so that the appearance of a bottle at the belts is expected. When no bottle is detected, the program returns to box 604. When a bottle is detected at the level of the belts, the program goes to

  box 615 and indicates to the computer 100 that it must

  put its oldest rotation instruction set to the computer 101. (The output signal of the presence sensor 113 is also prepared at this time as previously described so that the possibility of occurrence of signals

  errors due to the depression of the lever 200 is limited).

  The program then moves to box 618 and decides

  mine if the rotation was inhibited by the switch 171 (best shown in Figure 3D). When the answer is positive, the program returns to box 604, and in

  the contrary case, the bottle then in contact with the cour-

  is rotated during box 620. The program then returns to box 604 while waiting for

the next bottle.

  FIG. 7 represents several possible configurations of the sensors 110 during the detection of various

* conditions associated with different types of containers.

  FIG. 7 represents the position of the mode switch, in the first column, the condition to be detected, in schematic form according to the type of container to be oriented, in a corresponding mode, in the second column, a table of states of the sensors. in the third column, and the associated rotation instruction due to the particular combination of sensor output signals, in each of the modes, 0 indicating the absence of rotation. The last

  column is an example of implementation.

  In all the modes of operation described with reference to FIG. 7, the different containers are presented to the sensors 110 with an iris orientation chosen from a number. As a result, the sensors only have to detect specific orientations of the containers because of the construction of the conveyors used for the handling of the containers. For example, in the case of the bottle having only one flat side, shown in Figure 7 in the zero mode (as well as in the figure

  1), the containers have one of only two orientations.

  This is also true in the case of the bottles shown in the mode 10. In the case of the four-sided containers represented in the mode 11, any one of the four orientations is obviously possible. Those skilled in the art may note that a number of definite orientations are possible in that a distinctive part of the shape of the container can be detected. In all cases, each container to be oriented by the apparatus 10 has at least a substantially cylindrical portion intended to cooperate with the parallel belts. The cylindrical portion is generally a neck or a finishing portion and, as

  shown in Figure 7, the neck is not mandatory-

symmetrically axially.

  Fig. 7 illustrates the use of up to four optical sensor numbers (A, B, C, and D) having predetermined heights above the

  conveyor belt and intended to see predetermined parts

  completed each container. In each of the modes, the detectors transmit signals to the control system 24,

  these signals being representative of the signs or conditions

  which must be detected. For example, in zero mode, the sensor A is arranged to detect letters carried by each container and the control system 24 determines whether the detection exceeds a determined threshold of the number of pulses, the state of the sensor then giving an output signal that reaches a predetermined portion of the control signal corresponding to a rotation instruction of 180. Mode 10 represents a type of arr ...

  a similar sensor system for detecting

  S tions of a bottle. Mode 11 represents a type of arrangement

  sensors to detect the handle of containers

  similar to pitchers. It should be noted that a number

  A variety of different sensor arrangements may be appropriate in that the combination of sensor signals of any arrangement can be directly correlated to a particular rotation instruction. It should be noted that occasional irregularities of the molded containers can cause the transmission of erroneous signals by the sensors. For example, a slight bulging of the surface of a bottle may prevent accurate detection of the passage

  from the edge of the concave surface of the bottle by a sensor.

  This type of problem, as well as others, can be

  reduced by using another sensor placed above or below the first and intended to detect the same characteristic. It is unlikely that the same defect will appear at two locations on the bottle. A greater number of sensors can obviously be used in delicate parts, for example at the filling lines of containers, etc. As shown in Fig. 7, for each of the modes, predetermined combinations of the sensor output signals control predetermined rotational instructions. The control system 24 can obviously be programmed to correlate a

  particular combination of sensor states and an instruc-

particular rotation.

258534o

Claims (7)

  Container orientation apparatus for individually orienting containers (12) having at least one neck or neck, the apparatus having a transport device (16) for moving a series of containers (12), a apparatus (22) for spacing the containers by a predetermined distance, a pair of endless parallel belts (80, 90) positioned downstream of the spacer, the belts being at a predetermined height above the conveyor and being intended to house the at least one neck or cylindrical neck of each container, therebetween a device (30, 32) for rotating the belts in opposite directions so that they move in translation each container in the direction of movement of the conveyor, a device (24) for modifying the relative speeds of the belts so that selected containers are subjected to   a movement of rotation and translation, and a device   detecting the presence of each of the containers between the belts, characterized in that: at least one orientation detection device (A, B, C, D) detects the first orientation of each container prior to contact with the belts and creates a first corresponding signal representative of its first orientation, a programmable control (24) controlled by each of the first signals and by the detection device   product presence, for each container, a residual signal   predetermined control level, the control signal being intended to be applied to the gearshift device so that it controls the latter and makes   turn the corresponding container by a predetermined amount   to take a second predetermined orientation   the respective predetermined command signal is applied to the gearshift device,   a synchronization device associated with the device   tif (22) generates timing signals for correlating each predetermined control signal to a corresponding container, and   a device controlled by synchroia signals   sation creates an inspection window, the signals of orientation detection devices only being active in this window.   2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized   in that the device for producing the window of   pection is variable so that the duration of this window can be adjusted.   Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the programmable control (24) comprises: a first control device (100) controlled by the orientation detection devices (A, B, C, D) so that it forms the predetermined control signal, said first control device having a memory for storing a plurality of predetermined control signals, and a second control device (101) controlled by the presence detector and the first device   command and for controlling the exchange device. speed.   Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the programmable controller (24) comprises: a first computer (100) connected to the orientation detection device and for determining, for   each container, the difference between the first   and second orientation, for associating said difference with a predetermined control signal, and a second computer (101) connected to the first and the shifter and for forming an output signal corresponding to said predetermined signal. control.   5. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the containers (12) is suspended above the conveyor during the contact of the container with the belts. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the programmable controller (24) comprises: a memory for storing a plurality of predetermined control signals, each control signal corresponding to a predetermined value of rotation, and a device controlled by each first signal and for determining which of the predetermined control signals to be applied to the shifter so that the corresponding container   set to the second predetermined orientation.   Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized   in that the programmable control comprises: a mode control device (124) connected to each of the orientation detection devices and intended to form predetermined combinations of the first signals, and a switching device for selectively validating the one of the predetermined combinations and   thus to allow the programmable control to be sensi-   the selected combination of the first signals.