FR3068955A1 - HOUSING FOR THE AUTOMATED MANIPULATION OF A BOTTLE - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a housing (30) for handling a container (10) having a cylindrical bottle (12) closed by a plug (14), the housing (30) having an open top face for introduction and housing the container (10) in a supine position and stored inside the housing (30), and container holding means (10) consisting of a resiliently deformable clip (44, 52) which cooperates with the plug (14) of the container (10). The resiliently deformable clamp is in particular axial clamping effect of the plug (14) which cooperates with portions vis-à-vis two opposite transverse faces (22, 28) of the plug (14).

Description

Box for automated handling of a bottle

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a case for handling and storing, or storing or storing, in particular automated, a container, comprising a body - such as for example a cylindrical bottle - containing a product, in particular liquid or in the form solid powder, granules, tablets, and which is closed by a stopper.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A very large quantity of products such as for example chemical or natural products and for example aromas or extracts of perfumes are contained in liquid or powdery form in bottles closed by reusable caps so as to be able to regularly withdraw certain necessary quantities in the preparation of mixtures or compositions.

It is thus necessary to be able to store a large quantity of containers whose contents are different and identified, to be able to take from such a stock one or more specific containers, then to store and re-arrange them for a new future use. .

In addition, the storage containers are generally in the form of a range, the bottles of which vary in their maximum capacity and their dimensions. They are for example generally cylindrical in rigid or semi-rigid material, and mainly in plastic or glass.

Thus, it appears desirable to be able to abandon as much as possible the manual manipulation of such containers for most of the operations mentioned above by resorting to automated manipulation - for example by means of an automaton or a robot.

For this purpose, it is necessary to take into account the different sizes of the containers, as well as the very great difficulty of gripping such containers by pliers, or by equivalent means, equipping a robot arm, when the vial bodies are circular cylindrical.

In addition, the simple installation or removal of a generally cylindrical container on its edge on a conveyor such as a conveyor belt provides no stability in movement of the container on the conveyor.

In addition still, the storage or the storage of each container on a shelf, or in a channel or a chute of a vending machine, is particularly complex.

Proposals have already been made, for example in document EP-A1-2.1 19.642, for a housing comprising means for retaining the container in the stored position lying in the housing consisting of an elastically deformable clamp which cooperates with the body of the container. However, such a solution is not suitable for a stock of containers of different dimensions.

The invention aims to propose a solution to the problems mentioned above which is simple and economical.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a housing for handling by means of a robot arm clamp and / or for storing a container comprising an axially oriented body, made of rigid or semi-rigid material, closed by a plug at one of its axial ends, the housing comprising:

- a horizontal bottom wall able to rest on a surface;

- an open upper face to allow the introduction and housing of a container in the supine position and stored inside the housing;

- Container retaining means in the stored position in the housing consisting of an elastically deformable clamp which cooperates with an associated portion of the container, characterized in that the elastically deformable clamp of the retaining means cooperates with the container cap.

According to other characteristics of the invention:

- The retaining means comprise at least one elastically deformable clamp with an axial clamping effect of the plug;

- The clamp with axial clamping effect cooperates with portions facing two opposite transverse faces of the plug;

- the clamp with axial clamping effect comprises a pair of opposite jaws, a first jaw of which cooperates with a portion facing a solid end face of the plug, and a second jaw of which cooperates with a portion of a screw -with an annular end face of the plug;

the first jaw is a first vertical plate of the housing, and the second jaw is a second vertical plate of the housing parallel to the first plate and which has a concave contour cut which is open for, in the stored position of the container in the housing, receiving at least in part an axial section of the body of the container adjacent to the stopper;

- The second vertical plate forming a jaw has surface portions inclined relative to the plane of the plate which constitute guide portions of the plug inside the clamp when the container is introduced into the housing;

- Each inclined surface portion is delimited by a section of the contour of the cutout which constitutes a guide chamfer when the axial section of the container body is introduced into the cutout;

- the housing delimits a sealed internal lower cavity;

the housing is delimited axially by two opposite transverse end walls and transversely by two opposite axial walls, which extend vertically upwards;

- The first plate is a part of one of the two transverse end walls, and the second plate is an internal transverse partition of the housing;

- the opposite end and axial transverse walls are delimited by coplanar free upper edges;

- The housing has a horizontal upper wall portion;

- The housing is made by molding in one piece, made of plastic.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear during the reading of the detailed description which will follow for the understanding of which reference will be made to the appended drawings in which:

- Figure 1 is a side view of an exemplary design of a container in the form of a bottle capable of being handled by means of a housing according to the invention;

- Figure 2 is a view similar to that of Figure 1 in which the bottle cap is shown partially in section through an axial plane;

- Figure 3 is a perspective view which shows a first embodiment of a housing according to the invention;

- Figure 4 is a sectional view through a vertical and longitudinal median plane of the housing illustrated in Figure 3;

- Figure 5 is a view similar to that of Figure 4 which illustrates an alternative embodiment of the housing illustrated in Figures 3 and 4;

- Figure 6 is a perspective view which shows a second embodiment of a housing according to the invention;

- Figure 7 is a view similar to that of Figure 6 which illustrates the housing which houses a container in the supine and stored position, as well as another larger container illustrated in silhouette;

- Figure 8 is a top view of the housing illustrated in Figure 6;

- Figure 9 is a sectional view along the longitudinal and vertical median plane PVM of Figure 8;

- Figure 10 is a perspective view on a larger scale of the housing illustrated in Figure 10; and

- Figure 11 is a view similar to that of Figure 6 which illustrates an alternative embodiment of the housing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In the following description, elements having an identical structure or analogous functions will be designated by the same references.

In the following description, longitudinal, vertical and transverse orientations indicated by the trihedron L, V, T in the figures will be adopted without limitation. A horizontal plane is also defined which extends longitudinally and transversely.

There is shown in Figures 1 and 2 a bottle or container 10 which essentially consists of a bottle body 12 which, at its upper end (considering the orientation of Figures 1 and 2) is provided with a cap 14 of closure which, by way of nonlimiting example, is screwed onto the threaded upper neck (not visible in FIGS. 1 and 2) of the bottle body 12.

The bottle body 12 is for example of circular cylindrical section with central axis A and it is delimited by its convex cylindrical side wall 11a and by its bottom wall 11b of circular outline.

The bottle 12 can be made of glass or plastic.

The plug 14 is made of plastic and its convex cylindrical side wall 15 is here grooved to facilitate gripping for screwing and unscrewing.

The screw cap 14 is here of the type mainly comprising a cap body 16 and a ring or ring 18 called inviolability.

The cap 14 thus comprises a tamper-evident ring or ring 18 which breaks when the container or bottle 12 is first opened on which the cap body 14 is mounted to visually signal this first opening.

Such caps are increasingly used, both on containers containing food products and on those containing pharmaceuticals or chemicals, and, this, on glass or plastic bottles.

In new condition, the tamper-evident ring 18 is linked to the plug body by bridges of material (not shown) which break when, for example, under the action of unscrewing the plug 14, an internal flange of this ring tamper evident rests under a ring on the container neck.

After unscrewing and total extraction of the cap 14, the tamper-evident ring 18 generally remains around the neck 13 of the bottle 12 and it is impossible to extract it without effort or without sectioning.

The plug body 16 is axially delimited by a solid face with an upper end 22 and by an annular flat face 24, these two faces being parallel and separated by a distance E1 defining the axial thickness of the plug body 16 without its ring. inviolability 18.

The tamper-evident ring 18 is defined axially by an upper annular face 26 and by a lower annular face 28, these two annular faces being parallel and separated by a distance e defining the axial thickness of the tamper-evident ring 1 8.

Thus, the total axial thickness E2 of the complete plug 14 with its tamper-evident ring 18 is such that E2 = E1 + e and E2 is therefore greater than the axial thickness E1 of the single plug body 16.

Depending on whether one wishes to be able to retain and handle containers whose cap body 16 is or is not linked to its tamper-evident ring 18, the difference between the values E1 and E2 must be taken into account.

Furthermore, most ranges of containers for the same applications include containers whose dimensions and capacity of the bottle body vary widely, while the upper neck and the caps are always of the same model with constant and equal dimensions.

Depending on its dimensions, a case for handling must be capable of receiving containers of different dimensions belonging to a range of containers or bottles having a stopper of the same dimensions.

There are shown in Figures 3 to 11 different embodiments of a housing according to the invention for handling by means of pliers, for example belonging to an arm of a robot, or for storage, of a container such as a bottle 10 described above which is closed at one of its axial ends by its cap 14. By way of nonlimiting example, in each of the embodiments, the box according to the invention has a general symmetry of design in relation to a median longitudinal and vertical plane PVM which is notably indicated in Figure 8.

According to the first embodiment illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, a housing 30 has a general shape of rectangular parallelepiped is designed to rest horizontally on a flat or slightly inclined storage surface, belonging for example to a unit storage shelf designed for this purpose.

The housing 30 is delimited vertically downwards by a bottom wall 40, while its upper face is open upwards.

The housing 30 is delimited laterally by two transversely opposite side walls 42 each of which extends in a vertical and longitudinal plane and is of rectangular outline.

The housing 30 is delimited axially, in the longitudinal direction, by two axially opposite end walls front 44 and rear 46 each of which extends in a vertical and transverse plane and is of rectangular or square contour.

The front end wall 44 has an internal face 45.

Each axial or end wall is produced in the form of a thin plate and all these walls extend vertically upwards over the same height so that the housing 30 is delimited by a substantially continuous upper edge 48 of contour generally rectangular.

The housing 30 also comprises, here adjacent to the rear end wall 46, a small horizontal wall 50 which extends transversely between the two opposite lateral walls 42.

So as to constitute an elastically deformable clamp for retaining a container 10 by axial tightening of its stopper 14, in the vicinity of its front end wall 44, the housing 30 also comprises an intermediate vertical and transverse partition 52 which is notably delimited by its front internal face 54 and by its horizontal upper edge 56.

The intermediate partition 52 is in the form of a thin plate whose total height here is less than that of the opposite side walls 42 and end 44 and 46.

Thus, the upper edge 56 extends in a horizontal plane which is here offset downward relative to the plane in which the upper edge 48 of the housing 30 extends.

Alternatively, the total height of the thin plate 52 may be equal to that of the opposite side walls 42 and end 44 and 46

In its upper central part, the intermediate partition 52 comprises a cutout 58 of generally concave profile which is open vertically upwards to receive at least partially an axial section of the neck 13 of the bottle body 12 of the container 10.

To this end, the cutout 58 has a substantially semi-circular outline 60 which, at its two diametrically opposite ends, is extended by two rectilinear and vertical sections 62.

At the connection between each end of the concave semi-circular section 60 and the associated rectilinear section 62, a protuberance or a lug may be provided making the passage section more "narrow" to constitute a "hard point" during the 'insertion or extraction' of a bottle to ensure better retention in the stowed position by cooperation with the neck 13.

The two parallel and opposite vertical plates which constitute the front end plate 44 with its internal face 45 and the intermediate partition 52 with its internal face 54, are the two opposite jaws of an elastic clamp within the meaning of the invention which is able to hold and retain by axial tightening a plug 14 of a container 10 of the type described above.

To this end, the front end partition 44 - by its internal face 45 - constitutes a first jaw which is able to cooperate with all or part of the solid end face 22 of the body 16 of the plug 14.

Likewise, the intermediate partition 52 - by a part of its internal face 54 surrounding the semi-circular section 60 of the cutout 58 - constitutes the second jaw of the elastic face which is able to cooperate with part of the annular face end 24 of the body 16 of the plug 14, or with part of the annular end face 28 of the tamper-evident ring 1 8.

The capacity of the clamp constituted by the two jaws 44 and 52 to deform elastically results from the elasticity of the plates constituting the front end wall 44 of the intermediate partition 52.

The establishment of a bottle 10 inside a housing 30 is carried out by arranging the container 10 generally horizontally and by forcibly inserting its stopper 14, with or without a tamper-evident ring 18 between the opposite internal faces 45 and 54 with the axial section of the neck 13 which is partially housed inside the cutout 58.

If the cylindrical body of the bottle 12 has on its outer face means for recognizing its content, for example consisting of a label, the latter when the container 10 is placed in the housing 30 is oriented upwards so as to be visible from the open upper face of the housing 30.

Such positioning makes it possible in particular, by means of known means but not shown, to identify, for example by optical recognition of the label, the content of the bottle, possibly other parameters of the latter such as its capacity.

In a known manner but not illustrated in detail, the housing 30 may include, for example on an external face of one of its walls 42, 44 46, a marking such as for example a bar code or the like (not shown) which allows , in known manner, an automatic identification of the housing 30 with its associated code.

Thus, the box 30 has its own identification which, in particular for automated processing such as for example computer processing, can be associated with the identification of the bottle or container it contains.

In known manner, with a view to its manipulation by a robot, a box or a box such as the box 30 must allow recognition of its main dimensions and of its orientation in space relative to a surface on which it rests.

Such operations can easily be carried out from the different walls 40, 42, 44 and 46, as well as by virtue of the small horizontal upper wall 50 which in particular makes it possible to measure the distance separating the bottom wall 40 from the upper edge 48.

The design which has just been described of the housing 30 is such that the latter delimits, at least at its front part lying between the front end wall 44 the intermediate partition 52, a sealed internal lower cavity which allows, in the event of a leak of the container, and in particular in the event of the cap 14 being improperly closed, to contain the quantity of liquid leaking out of the bottle 12 by keeping it inside the housing 30, thereby avoiding soiling the surrounding space, for example the upper face of a shelf on which the box 30 is placed.

In the event of a greater leak, the liquid exiting through the neck of the bottle may extend and be contained inside the rear part of the housing 30 axially delimited by the intermediate partition 52 and by the rear end wall 46, after having overflowed into this rear part from the front part passing through the cutout 58.

In the variant embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the housing 30 comprises a pair of internal longitudinal partitions 64 which constitute reinforcing ribs for supporting the intermediate partition 52.

Each side wall 42 is here provided with a cutout 66 which allows the gripping of a container 10, for example with two fingers to extract it from the housing 30. The cutout 66 can also allow and / or facilitate the reading of a label affixed to the cylindrical wall 11 of a bottle 12 housed in the supine position and stored in the housing 30.

By lying position means a horizontal or substantially lying position close to the horizontal.

As can be seen in FIG. 5, the cutout 58 formed in the intermediate partition 52, is constituted by its concave semi-circular section 60, the 2 diametrically opposite ends of which extend by two short vertical rectilinear sections 62 each of which is extended by an inclined upper end section 63 so as to constitute a chamfer for guiding the neck 13 of the bottle 12 of the container 10 to facilitate its introduction into the cutout 58 and facilitate the vertical introduction from top to bottom of the cap 14 of the container 10 in its retaining clip.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, in which a bottle 12 of a first range of dimensions is shown in solid lines, the same box 30 can accommodate, for example, a bottle of another range of dimensions such as a larger bottle. large 12 'illustrated in silhouette.

In the embodiment illustrated in detail in FIGS. 8 to 11, by comparison with the previous embodiments, the small portion of upper wall 50 is produced here in two parts and it is arranged at the front axial end of the housing 30, each part extending horizontally between the front end wall 44 and the intermediate partition 52.

Also, in the vicinity of its upper end, the intermediate partition 52 comprises, on either side of the cutout 58, an inclined internal surface portion 70. Each surface portion 70 is inclined from bottom to top and from front to back. rear relative to the plane of the internal face 54 of the intermediate partition 52 as can be seen very particularly in FIG. 9.

The inclined surface portions 70 constitute guide portions of a plug 14 of a container 10 inside the clamp during the axial introduction vertically from top to bottom of the container 10 into the housing 30.

This characteristic is in particular advantageous in that it makes it easier to introduce and guide a plug 14 into its retaining clamp by axial tightening whether or not this plug 14 is provided with its tamper-evident ring 18.

The invention is not limited to the design of a housing associated with a single container.

It is indeed possible to design a housing which houses several containers, for example adjacent and parallel, each of which is retained in the stowed position in the housing by an associated elastically deformable clamp which cooperates with the cap of the associated container.

In a variant which is not shown, depending on the applications and the dimensions, a recess can be provided in the horizontal bottom wall making it possible to act on a bottle to facilitate extraction from the case by pushing vertically thereon.

One can also provide, for example in the rear vertical wall 46, a vertical slit or cut for example vis-à-vis the bottom wall 11b of a bottle 10, so as to be able to carry out a measurement or a visual identification of the level of the contained in the container.

Claims (13)

1. Housing (30) for handling by means of a robot arm clamp, and / or for storing, a container (10) comprising an axially oriented body, of rigid or semi-rigid material, closed by a plug (14) at one of its axial ends, the housing (30) comprising: - A horizontal bottom wall (40) able to rest on a surface; - an open upper face to allow the introduction and the housing of a container (10) in the supine position and stored inside the housing (30); - container retaining means (10) in the stowed position in the housing (30) consisting of an elastically deformable clamp which cooperates with an associated portion of the container (10), characterized in that the elastically deformable clamp of the retaining means cooperates with the cap (14) of the container (10). 2. Housing (30) according to claim 1, characterized in that the retaining means comprise at least one elastically deformable clamp with axial clamping effect of the plug (14). 3. Housing (30) according to claim 2, characterized in that said clamp with axial clamping effect cooperates with portions facing two opposite transverse faces (22, 24, 28) of the plug (14). 4. Housing (30) according to claim 3, characterized in that the clamp with axial clamping effect comprises a pair of opposite jaws of which a first jaw (44, 45) cooperates with a portion opposite a solid end face (22) of the plug (14), and a second jaw (52, 54) of which cooperates with a portion opposite an annular end face (24, 28) of the plug (14) . 5. Housing (30) according to claim 4, characterized in that the first jaw is a first vertical plate (44, 45) of the housing (30), and the second jaw is a second vertical plate (52, 54) of the housing (30) parallel to the first plate and which has a cutout (58) of concave outline which is open so that, in the stored position of the container (10) in the housing (30), at least partially receive an axial section (13) of the body (12) of the container (10) adjacent to the stopper (14). 6. Housing (30) according to claim 4, characterized in that the second vertical plate (52, 54) forming the jaw has surface portions (70) inclined relative to the plane of the plate (52, 54) which constitute guide portions of the plug (14) inside said clamp during the introduction of the container (10) into the housing (30). 7. Housing (30) according to claim 6, characterized in that each inclined surface portion (70) is delimited by a section of the contour of the cutout which constitutes a guide chamfer during the introduction into said cutout of said axial section of the container body (10). 8. Housing according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (30) defines a sealed internal lower cavity. 9. Housing (30) according to claim 8, characterized in that the housing (30) is delimited axially by two opposite transverse end walls (44, 46) and transversely by two opposite axial walls (42), which s extend vertically upwards. 10. Housing (30) according to claim 9 in combination with any one of claims 5 or 6, characterized in that said first plate (44) is a part of one (44) of the two walls (44, 46 ) opposite end transverse, and in that said second plate (52) is an internal transverse partition (52) of the housing (30). 11. Housing (30) according to claim 9, characterized in that said transverse end walls (44, 46) and opposite axial walls are delimited by free upper edges (48) coplanar. 5 12. Housing according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a portion of horizontal upper wall (50). 13. Housing (30) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is produced by molding in one piece, made of plastic.