FR3075185A1 - BOTTLE RECYCLING CONTAINER - Google Patents

Abstract

 Riddling container made up of a parallelepipedic frame having an opening delimited by a frame, including two uprights with which two sliding gates cooperate relative to each other:  - The sliding cooperation being associated with a movement of said doors relative to the frame through guide means, so that the sliding away from one door relative to the other generates the movement of said doors towards said container up to '' to come into a blocking position stabilized by blocking means,  - said two gates are linked through an elastic support device consisting of a rod and a spring,  characterized in that:  - Said locking means comprise, a sheath, of the same axis as the rod, in which is disposed said support spring of the rod, and a screw, screwed transversely in said end of the rod and cooperating with indexing means distributed over said sheath.

Description

The present invention enters the field of riddling containers for bottles, especially for bottles of sparkling wines produced by the traditional method.

In a known manner, document FR 2 837 805 discloses a container for a bottle intended for riddling. This container is box type. It consists of a multi-walled parallelepiped frame.

In particular, this container has an opening wall allowing the bottles to be placed in said container.

This opening wall consists of two front and rear gates.

These two gates each have lugs capable of cooperating with notches presented by said chassis so as to generate a displacement of said front and rear gates in the direction of the interior volume of the box towards its content, for example towards the bottles.

The two front and rear gates are capable of sliding relative to each other. More specifically, a device for resiliently supporting these two front and rear gates, of the spring jack type, makes it possible to exert on each of them a spacing force in the plane of the opening wall.

Through this spring jack, the front door can approach or move away from the rear door.

During the riddling operation, the bottles come to bear against these two gates. The front and rear gates being pressed against the bottles only due to the elastic spacing force exerted by the support device, the weight of the bottles will cause the gates to move back. This results in an increase in the clearance between the bottles, which can, in certain cases, cause disorganization of the storage of these bottles in said container. This is particularly troublesome when the container is unloaded automatically and the order and position of the bottles must remain unchanged, in particular for reasons of traceability, quality of riddling, etc.

To overcome these risks of disorganization of the bottles during the riddling operation, it is necessary to have means for blocking the sliding of the front and rear gates, even when the bottles are pressed against them. According to document FR 2 837 805, these two gates are locked in sliding with the aid of said elastic support device of the spring jack type having a protruding rod of the front door coming to bear against the spring of the rear door.

The sliding of the front door relative to the rear door within the plane of the opening wall is blocked by a clamp for locking the rod and two pins secured to the rear door.

However, this locking clamp solution is complicated to implement and economically expensive.

This is why it is necessary to find an alternative solution of means for blocking the sliding of a gate relative to the other. The purpose of this blocking means is to keep the two doors in a fixed position, even during the riddling operation and especially when the weight of the bottles pressed against these two doors changes their spacing. It is therefore advisable to find an alternative solution to the locking clamp which can maintain a fixed distance between the two gates.

The aim of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the state of the art, by proposing a riddling container for bottles, consisting of a parallelepiped frame having on one of its faces an opening,

said opening being delimited on the periphery by a frame, two opposite amounts of which have facing opposite faces, with which two gates cooperate in sliding,

each of the two gates being able to slide, between said uprights, one with respect to the other in distance or in proximity,

- the sliding cooperation being further associated with a displacement of said gates relative to the plane of said frame through guide means, so that sliding away from one gate relative to the other also generates the displacement of said gates towards the content of said container until it comes into contact with said content in a blocking position,

said blocking position being stabilized by blocking means,

- Said two doors are also linked to each other through an elastic support device consisting of at least one rod interposed between said two doors by its two ends, one of which ends abuts against a spring, said rod being movable in translation in the direction of sliding.

More specifically, according to the present invention, said locking means comprise, on the one hand, a sheath, of the same axis as the rod, in which is disposed said spring against which said end of the rod comes to bear, and on the other share a screw, screwed transversely into said end of the rod, said screw being able to cooperate with indexing means distributed longitudinally on said sheath, and able to be tightened so as to immobilize said rod relative to said sheath in the position blocking desired.

In addition, according to other characteristics:

said sheath has a longitudinal opening slot, in which said screw can move, said slot being parallel to the uprights and comprising said indexing means, said indexing means consist of a rack, bordering said opening slot, with the notches which cooperate toothed elements associated with said screw;

said toothed elements are arranged in the periphery of a removable plate, said toothed plate being partially inserted into said longitudinal opening slot; the portion of the screw projecting from said toothed plate, on the side opposite to said portion of the screw passing through the end of the rod, comprises a gripping element of said screw, of wheel type, intended to facilitate its screwing and unscrewing;

said end of the rod abutting against said spring consists of a shoe, sliding tightly within said sheath, into which said screw is inserted.

According to other additional features of the invention:

- Said guide means consist of a system of lugs integrating into notches which comprise the uprights, said lugs projecting from the two gates, at their lateral slide which each of said two gates comprises and in the direction of the amounts;

- A detent spring upstream of the lug is placed within one of the lateral slides which comprises said gate which does not have said sleeve, so as to compensate for the pressure exerted by the other gate comprising the sleeve.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the detailed description which follows of nonlimiting embodiments of the invention, with reference to the appended figures, in which:

- Figure 1 schematically shows a side view of the riddling container of the invention containing the bottles to be stirred;

FIG. 2 schematically represents a top view of the opening of the riddling container of the invention provided with its two gates in the locked position,

FIG. 3A schematically represents a top view of the first door and FIG. 3B schematically shows a top view of the second door,

FIGS. 4A to 4B schematically represent the device for resiliently supporting the two gates 3A and 3B respectively,

- Figures 4A1 and 4A2 schematically show said sliding locking means of said two gates as well as the indexing means.

The present invention relates to a riddling container 1 for bottle 2, in particular a bottle of sparkling wines produced by the traditional method visible in FIG. 1.

These containers 1 are used in particular during the stage of production of sparkling wine. This step consists in stirring the bottles 2, grouped in a row of depth in said container 1, so as to gradually pass the dead yeasts, initially deposited on the side walls of the bottles, into the necks of the latter with a view to their elimination. higher.

Usually, said riddling container 1 consists of a parallelepiped frame 3 having on one of its faces an opening O. Said opening O makes it possible to position the bottles 2 inside the container 1 before the operation of riddling and take them out at the end of the operation.

Said opening O is delimited on the periphery by a frame of which two uprights 4, facing each other, have interior faces 41 facing each other.

In a known manner, two gates 5 cooperate in sliding with said interior faces 41 of said uprights 4 so as to obstruct said opening O thereby preventing the bottles 2 from leaving the interior volume of the container 1, as visible in FIG. 2.

Each of the two gates 5 is capable of sliding relative to one another away from or in approach between said uprights 4. In other words, these two gates 5 are capable of sliding in the plane of said frame delimiting said opening O so as to obstruct it.

Thus, these two gates 5 contribute to maintaining the bottles 2 in the interior volume of said container 1, in particular during the riddling operation.

Advantageously, said two gates 5 each comprise a mesh frame provided with two lateral slides 51. The latter are intended to slide between and along the faces 41 of the uprights 4.

In addition, said two gates 5 are linked to one another through at least one elastic support device 7, of the spring jack type, as visible in FIG. 2, partly in FIG. 4A and partly in FIG. 4B.

Said elastic support device 7 being present at the level of the lateral slides 51 of the gates 5. More specifically, said elastic support device 7 is distributed between the end of the lateral slide 51 of one of the doors 5 and l end opposite the lateral slide 51 of the other door 5.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the two gates 5 are linked to each other through two elastic support devices 7, each being distributed over the lateral slides of the gates 5 sliding along the amounts 4.

Said elastic support device 7 consists of at least one rod 71 bearing against a spring 72.

Said rod 71 is inserted between said two gates 5 by its two ends. One of the ends of said rod 71 bears against said spring 72.

Said rod 71 is movable in translation in the direction of sliding of a gate 5 relative to the other gate

5, so as to modify the value of the possible spacing between said two gates 5 within the plane of the frame delimiting the opening O.

Advantageously, the sliding cooperation of the two gates 5, one relative to the other between the uprights 4, is also associated with a displacement of the gates 5 relative to the plane of said frame in the direction of the content of the container 1. This movement of the gates 5 outside the plane of the frame delimiting the opening O is done through guide means

6.

The guide means 6 may for example consist of a system of pins 61 coming to be integrated in notches 62 as visible in FIGS. 1 and 2. The pins 61, projecting from the two gates 5 in the direction of the faces 41 of the uprights 4, are capable of being integrated into the notches 62 that the faces 41 of the uprights 4 have.

According to the invention, each door 5 has at least one lug 61 per side cooperating in sliding with the faces 41 of the uprights 4.

More specifically, each door 5 has at least one lug 61 on each of its lateral slides 51 cooperating with said faces 41 of the uprights 4.

The guide means 6 ensure that the sliding away from one door 5 relative to the other generates the displacement of the two doors 5 in the direction of the interior volume of said container 1.

Thus, the guide means 6 allow the two gates 5 to come into contact with the contents of the container 1 in a locking position, as soon as the pins 61 come into abutment against the notches 62.

Said locking position of the two gates 5 is stabilized by locking means 8.

More precisely, these blocking means 8 make it possible to maintain the two gates 5 in a fixed blocking position.

The term “fixed locking position” is understood to mean a fixed value for the spacing of one door 5 relative to the other, associated with a fixed position in the direction of the content of the container 1, that is to say at a position where the pins 61 are fixed within their respective notches 62.

Thus, even during the riddling operation, the gates 5 remain pressed against the bottles 2 in a fixed locking position, hence a possible clearance between the bottles 2.

According to a specific feature of the invention, said locking means 8 comprise on the one hand a sheath 81 and on the other hand a screw 82.

According to the invention, said sheath 81 is of the same axis as the rod 71 and integrates said spring 72 within it. In other words, said spring 72, against which one of the ends of said rod 71 bears, is disposed in said sheath 81.

More specifically, one of the two gates 5 comprises said sheath 81 at the part of its frame which comprises said elastic support device 7, that is to say at one of its lateral slides 51 , as visible in FIG. 4A and 4A1.

According to the invention, said screw 82 is screwed transversely into the end of the rod 71 bearing against said spring 72.

Consequently, said screw 82, positioned transversely in said rod 71, has the effect of blocking the translational movement of the latter.

Specifically, said screw 82 is able to cooperate with indexing means, the latter being distributed longitudinally on said sheath 81 as visible in FIG. 4A1.

Advantageously, said screw 82 is capable of being tightened so as to immobilize said rod 71 relative to said sheath 82 in the desired position, that is to say to reach the fixed locking position of the gates 5.

As visible in FIG. 4A1 which represents an enlargement of the sheath 81 of FIG. 4A, said sheath 81 has a longitudinal opening slot 811 within which said screw 82 can move.

According to the invention, said slot 811 is parallel to the uprights 4 and comprises said indexing means.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, said indexing means consist of a rack 91.

Said rack 91 borders said opening slot 811 by its notches. Said notches cooperate with corresponding toothed elements 92 which are associated with said screw 82.

In a particular embodiment, as visible in FIG. 4A2, said toothed elements 92 are arranged in the periphery of a removable plate 922. Said toothed plate 922 being partially inserted into said longitudinal opening slot 811.

Advantageously, said toothed plate 922 is traversed by said screw 82. Thus, said screw passes through said plate 922 and said end of the rod 71. In this way, the movement of said toothed plate 922 along the rack 91 goes allow the displacement of said screw 82 on the end of the rod 71. Thus, through this displacement, it will be possible to block the position of the rod 71 relative to the spring 72, therefore to block the gates 5 in a position fixed blocking.

Advantageously, the portion of the screw 82 projecting from said toothed plate 922, on the side opposite to said portion of the screw passing through the end of the rod 71, comprises a gripping element 10 of said screw 82.

Preferably, said gripping element 10 can be a knurling wheel intended to facilitate the screwing and unscrewing of the screw 82 of the toothed plate 922.

In this way, the unscrewing of said screw 82 makes it possible to separate the teeth 92 from the plate 922 of the rack 91, therefore to separate the plate 922 from the sleeve 81 so as to be able to move it elsewhere along the slot 811. This manipulation allows consequence of moving the screw 82 longitudinally along the slot 811, therefore modifying the position of the rod 71 relative to the spring 72 and modifying the fixed locking position of the two gates 5. These modifications allow precise and easy adjustment by a simple manual manipulation of the operator of the locking position of a door 5 relative to the other.

According to a particular embodiment visible in Figure 2, said end of said rod 71, bearing against said spring 72, consists of a pad 73. In this particular embodiment, said pad 73 slides tightly within said sheath 81 Advantageously, in this embodiment, said screw 82 is inserted into said pad 73, so that a displacement of the screw 82 can generate a displacement of the pad 73 within the sheath 81, therefore a change in the fixed position for blocking a gate 5 relative to the other.

According to another particular embodiment of the invention, on the gate 5 not having said sheath 5 81, is placed within the lateral slide 51, a detent spring 11 upstream of the lug 61 so as to compensate the pressure exerted by the other gate.

The present invention therefore presents an effective alternative in terms of locking means which has the advantage of being inexpensive and easy to implement. In addition, the tightening of the screw 82 being carried out manually, no tool is necessary for the operator who can precisely adjust the tightening as a function of the content of the container 1 without risking damaging it or damaging the locking means in himself. This solution 15 of locking means makes it possible to guarantee a fixed and stable spacing between the two gates while limiting the risk of play of the gates under the pressure of the bottles.

Claims (9)

Claims 1. Riddling container (1) for bottle (2), consisting of a parallelepiped frame (3) having on one of its faces an opening (O), said opening (O) being delimited at the periphery by a frame, two uprights (4) of which face each other have interior faces (41) facing each other, with which two gates (5) cooperate in sliding, each of the two gates (5) being able to slide, between said uprights (4), one with respect to the other in distance or in proximity, - the sliding cooperation being further associated with a displacement of said gates (5) relative to the plane of said frame through guide means (6), so that the sliding away from a gate (5) relative to the other also generates the displacement of said gates (5) in the direction of the content of said container (1) until it comes into contact with said content in a blocking position, said blocking position being stabilized by blocking means (8), - Said two gates (5) are also linked to each other through an elastic support device (7) consisting of at least one rod (71) interposed between said two gates ( 5) by its two ends, one of the ends of which abuts against a spring (72), said rod (71) being movable in translation in the direction of sliding, characterized in that: - Said locking means (8) comprise, on the one hand, a sheath (81), of the same axis as the rod (71), in which is disposed said spring (72) against which said end of the rod (71) comes to bear, and on the other hand a screw (82), screwed transversely into said end of the rod (71), said screw (82) being able to cooperate with indexing means distributed longitudinally on said sheath (81) , and able to be tightened so as to immobilize said rod (71) relative to said sheath (81) in the desired locking position. 2. Riddling container (1) for bottle (2) according to the preceding claim characterized in that said sheath (81) has a longitudinal opening slot (811), in which can move said screw (82), said slot (811) being parallel to the uprights (4) and comprising said indexing means. 3. Riddling container (1) for bottle (2), according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said indexing means consist of a rack (91), bordering said opening slot (811), with the notches which cooperate toothed elements (92) associated with said screw (82). 4. container for riddling (1), according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said toothed elements (92) are arranged in the periphery of a removable plate (922), said toothed plate (922) being partially inserted in said longitudinal opening slot (811). 5. container for riddling (1) for bottle (2), according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the portion of the screw (82) projecting from said toothed plate (922), on the side opposite to said portion of the screw (82) passing through the end of the rod (71), comprises a gripping element (10) of said screw (82), of wheel type, intended to facilitate its screwing and unscrewing. 6. Riddling container (1) for bottle (2), according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said end of the rod (71) bearing against said spring (72) consists of a pad (73 ), sliding tightly within said sheath (81), into which said screw (82) is inserted. 7. riddling container (1) for bottle (2), according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said guide means (6) consist of a lug system 5 (61) integrating into notches (62) that comprise the uprights (4), said pins (61) projecting from the two gates (5), at their lateral slide (51) and in the direction of the uprights (4). 10 8. Riddling container (1) for bottle (2), according to the preceding claim, characterized in that a detent spring (11) upstream of the lug (61) is placed within one of the slides side (51) that comprises said gate (5) not having said sheath (81), so as to compensate for the 15 pressure exerted by the other door (5) comprising the sheath (81).