GB2128954A

GB2128954A - Apparatus for transforming a plurality of rows of articles, such as bottles, into a single row

Info

Publication number: GB2128954A
Application number: GB08324073A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Karl-Heinz Achhammer
Original assignee: Krones AG; Krones AG Hermann Kronseder Maschinenfabrik
Current assignee: Krones AG
Priority date: 1982-09-16
Filing date: 1983-09-08
Publication date: 1984-05-10
Also published as: GB8324073D0; FR2533200A1; DE3234286C2; FR2533200B1; DE3234286A1; GB2128954B

Abstract

An apparatus for bringing together and accelerating a stream of upright bottles has a multi-row feed conveyor (1), a single-row removal conveyor, and between the feed and removal containers a multi-row intermediate conveyor (2) laterally successive sections of which are driven at speeds increasing in stages towards the removal conveyor. The surfaces of the intermediate conveyor, of the laterally adjoining end region of the feed conveyor and initial region of the removal conveyor are inclined at about 5 to 8 degrees, forming a common inclined plane rising from the feed conveyor towards the removal conveyor. A guide surface (11) extends obliquely over the feed and intermediate conveyors so as to push the oncoming bottles onto the faster sections, towards the removal conveyor. The ordering of the bottles is reinforced by the downward force (H) acting towards the guide surface to form a single continuous row. The arrangement reduces the noise produced by the articles clashing. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Apparatus for handling containers, such as bottles or the like The invention relates to an apparatus for handling containers, in particular for bringing together and accelerating a stream of upright containers, for example bottles, which are introduced on a relatively broad feed conveyor and are transferred through a staged speed intermediate conveyor to a narrower removal conveyor, with the aid of a guide that extends obliquely over the intermediate conveyor.

In filling plant for bottles or the like, it is necessary, at a plurality of points, particularly preceding high speed processing machines, such as inspection machines, filling machines or labelling machines, for bottles conveyed in a plurality of rows at a relatively low speed to be brought together in a single row and at the same time to accelerate them considerably.

These "bringings together" are among the most problematical points of a filling plant with regard to noise and operational reliablity.

The known means for bringing together generally work with two guide surfaces which narrow in a funnel-like manner and which forcibly jostle the stream of bottles together and transfer them to the single-row removal conveyor travelling faster (GB 930 345). One of the two guide surfaces is frequently constructed in the form of a roller railing as a result of which jamming and bridge formations of the bottles in the funnel for bringing them together is intended to be prevented (GB 1 342 452). It is true that the conveying function of these known means for bringing together is to some extent satisfactory but on the other hand the enormously high noise level is not. This is mainly attributable to the powerful dynamic pressure which is essential for forcing the bottles through the funnel to bring them together.

An apparatus of the type mentioned at the beginning is also already known wherein the bottles are pushed across the staged speed conveyor exclusively by a guide surface directed obliquely to the direction of travel of the conveyors and in the course of this are gradually accelerated and pressed together into a single row (DE-OS 30 04 259). The pressure of the bottles against one another and against the guide surface, caused by the shape of the guide surface and the graduation of the speed of the conveyor sections, and hence also the emission of sound, is less in this apparatus than in apparatus with two guide surfaces narrowing like a funnel.One disadvantage, however, is that as a result of the slight tendency of the bottles to get into line in the critical end region of the guide surface, where the inclination becomes ever less, achieving a closed row of bottles is practically impossible despite enormous conveying distances and structural lengths. Either greater or lesser gaps occur irregularly on the single-row removal conveyor or the bottles do not slip completely in between one another so that they ultimately nevertheless have to be pressed together into a single row in the funnel-like entry region of the removal conveyor by force and with a corresponding generation of noise.

In the further development of the abovementioned apparatus, there has therefore been a change over to accelerating the bottles temporarily to a considerably higher speed than would be necessary for a closed row of bottles, on a very long and broad intermediate conveyor with a guide surface which is set at a relatively small angle of obliquity (DE-OS 30 25 951). By this means, it is intended to provide an adequate number of sufficiently large gaps in order to give even unfavourably positioned bottles the opportunity to get into line in the single row of bottles so that no more crowding together is necessary. This method of operation has to be bought at enormous expense and with enormous space requirements, however.In addition, the bottles conveyed with relatively large gaps on the removal conveyor must first be closed up together on a further individual conveyor travelling considerably more slowly before they can be supplied to the following processing machine. This closing up at high speeds causes a considerable emission of noise and does so of all places in the entry region of the bottle processing machine where the operator normally stands.

Finally, it is already known, in the two forms of apparatus previously described, to incline the conveying surface of the intermediate conveyor, including the adjacent regions of the feed conveyor and of the removal conveyor, transversely to the direction of travel, falling away from the guide surface towards the removal conveyor (DE-OS 30 04 259). The sole purpose of this inclination is to assist the rolling away of bottles lying down so that these topple over the edge of the intermediate conveyor or removal conveyor out of the normal conveying region. This inclination has the undesired side effect that it increases the risk of the bottles tipping towards the side in the accelerating region where the bottles are not supported by a railing and in addition precisely counteracts the getting into line of the bottles.

It is the object of the invention to render possible the formation of a closed single row of bottles over a short distance in an apparatus of the kind referred to at the beginning, while retaining the low-noise mode of operation.

According to the invention, there is provided an apparatus for bringing together and accelerating a stream of upright containers on an entry conveyor for said containers having a width permitting a plurality of the containers to stand abreast, the apparatus comprising an intermediate conveyor having parallel sections situated side by side which can be driven at a higher speed in stages towards one side, a narrower removal conveyor, and a guide which extends obliquely over the intermediate conveyor to push the oncoming bottles onto the sections travelling faster, the conveying surface of the intermediate conveyor being inclined transversely to the direction of travel such that said surface rises towards the section travelling faster so that the bottles are urged towards the guide surface by the gravity forces on them.

Thus, in handling a stream of bottles, the getting into line of bottles offset laterally to the row of bottles travelling along the guide is reinforced and accelerated by a downward force acting on all the bottles. To this must be added the fact that the bottles are moved uphill to some extent along the guide which contributes to a rapid closing up of gaps. A closed single row of bottles can therefore result even after very short conveying distances. An apparatus according to the invention can accordingly be constructed cheaply and compactly. At the same time, a low-noise mode of operation is retained as a result of the absence of a second guide exerting pressure on the bottles and jamming of bottles cannot occur. Since the bottles are inclined towards the guide surface, the risk of tipping over is considerably reduced. Bottles which have fallen over scarcely ever occur.

The transverse force acting on the bottles can be adjusted as desired by altering the angle of inclination. Preferably this is generally 5 to 8 degrees to the horizontal when conveying conventional glass bottles on lubricated hinged band chains of steel.

Advantageously the feed conveyor, at least in its downstream region, and/or the removal conveyor, at least in its initial region, is laterally adjacent to the lower and higher side respectively of the intermediate conveyor and its conveying surface is inclined in a simiiar sense to the conveying surface of the intermediate conveyor.

In this way the feed conveyor and the removal conveyor can either or both be included in the inclined plane, as a result of which the structural length of the apparatus can be further shortened. It should be emphasized that the downward force would also act on the bottles when these have reached the guides usually provided on a narrow removal conveyor parallel to the direction of travel.

Thus a falling into line of bottles is still possible in this region also, until the conveying surface of the removal conveyor is gradually brought into the horizontal position.

According to another advantageous feature, a guide-free gap may be formed between the feed conveyor and the removal conveyor in the higher region of the intermediate conveyor. By this means, a particularly satisfactory accessibility and a simple construction can be achieved.

One embodiment of the invention will be described below by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows the plan view of an apparatus for bringing bottles together, and Figure 2 shows the section A-B of Fig. 1.

The apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a feed conveyor 1, an intermediate conveyor 2 and a removal conveyor 3, all of which are constructed, in conventional manner, of hinged band chains 4 of stainless steel acted upon by lubricants, as well as frames 5.

The feed conveyor 1 has four hinged band chains 4 driven at the same speed viz for conveying upright beverage bottles in four rows side by side, while the removal conveyor 3 consists of a single hinged band chain 4 driven about four times faster at the speed va for conveying a single row of bottles. The feed conveyor 1 and the removal conveyor 3 are adjacent to the two opposite longitudinal sides of the intermediate conveyor 2 and extend parallel to this. It is, however, easily possible to connect the feed conveyor, for example, at right angles, to the longitudinal side of the intermediate conveyor 2, should this be necessary for reasons of space. This modification is indicated in broken lines in Fig. 1.

The intermediate conveyor 2 consists altogether of five hinged band chains 4 which are situated immediately beside one another and which are driven in synchronism, by a motorgear device 6, at speeds v, to v5 rising in stages towards the removal conveyor 3. The speed v, is somewhat greater than vz; the speed v5 is normally somewhat lower than va but may, however, also be equally high as or even somewhat higher than va. The reasons for this are explained below.

The feed conveyor 1 and the removal conveyor 3 are provided with lateral railings 7, 8, 9, 10 to guide the bottles. The railing 7 of the feed conveyor 1, situated at the side of the intermediate conveyor 2, ends immediately after reaching the intermediate conveyor 2. Following on the opposite railing 8 of the feed conveyor 1 is a curved guide surface 11 which extends obliquely over the feed conveyor 1 and over the intermediate conveyor 2 and merges continuously into the railing 9 of the removal conveyor 3, situated at the side of the intermediate conveyor 2. The opposite railing 10 of the removal conveyor 3 begins with this conveyor so that a gap free of guide surfaces or without railings remains between the railings 7 and 10. The purpose of the guide surface 11 is to push the bottles running against it away from the feed conveyor 1 onto the intermediate conveyor 2, over this in the direction of the sections travelling faster and finally onto the removal conveyor 3. In the course of this, the stream of bottles arriving in four rows is increasingly accelerated and, as a result of pushing the bottles in between one another and jostling them, is narrowed down to a single row of bottles on the removal conveyor 3.

As Fig. 2 shows, the conveying surfaces of the intermediate conveyor 2 over its whole length, of the feed conveyor 1 in its end region following laterally on the intermediate conveyor 2 and of the removal conveyor 3 in its initial region following laterally on the intermediate conveyor 2, are inclined by an angle that is preferably substantially between 5 to 8 degrees in relation to the horizontal transversely to the direction of travel of the hinged band chains 4, these surfaces forming a common inclined plane rising from the feed conveyor 1 to the removal conveyor 3.

Thus due to gravity a downward force H acts as a constant transverse force on all the bottles in the region of the inclined plane and tends to move the bottles towards the oblique guide surface 11. As a result of the downward force H, the falling into line of the bottles in the gaps produced by the sections of the intermediate conveyor 2 travelling more quickly is accelerated in the row of bottles travelling along the guide surface 11. The downward force H still also acts to the full extent when the bottles are brought together from two rows to one in the end region of the guide surface 11 which is increasingly less obliquely set, and finally also in the initial region of the removal conveyor 3 when the guide surface 11 has already merged into the railing 9 of the removal conveyor 3, which railing is disposed parallel to the direction of travel.To this must be added the fact that the bottles are moved somewhat uphill along the guide surface 11 which counteracts the formation of relatively large gaps. All these factors, together with an appropriate graduation of the conveying speeds v, to v5, contribute to the fact that a single row of bottles without any gaps is formed at the end of the guide surface 11 or in the initial region of the removal conveyor 3 and can be conveyed directly into the following processing machine.

With a relatively large angle of inclination, it may be advisable to select the speed v5 somewhat greater than the speed v8 so that an adequate propelling force is produced in order to convey the bottles uphill without gaps. The inclined bottles are supported at the lower side of the inclined plane by the railings 8 and 9 as well as the guide surface 11 and therefore cannot tip over. Should bottles nevertheless fall over, then these can be tipped off the removal conveyor 3 in conventional manner by an appropriately high disposition of the railings 9, 10.

Claims

1. An apparatus for bringing together and accelerating a stream of upright containers on an entry conveyor for said containers having a width permitting a plurality of the containers to stand abreast, the apparatus comprising an intermediate conveyor having parallel sections situated side by side which can be driven at a higher speed in stages towards one side, a narrower removal conveyor, and a guide which extends obliquely over the intermediate conveyor to push the oncoming bottles onto the sections travelling faster, the conveying surface of the intermediate conveyor being inclined transversely to the direction of travel such such that said surface rises towards the sec- tions travelling faster so that the bottles are urged towards the guide surface by the gravity forces on them.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the angle of inclination of the conveying surface of the intermediate conveyor amounts to substantially 5 to 8 degrees to the horizontal.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the feed conveyor is laterally adjacent to the lower side of the intermediate conveyor and its conveying surface is inclined, at least in its downstream end region, rising towards the intermediate conveyor transversely to the direction of travel.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 together with claim 3, wherein said inclined conveying surface is at an angle of substantially 5 to 8 degrees to the horizontal.

5. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the removal conveyor is laterally adjacent to the higher side of the intermediate conveyor and its conveying surface is inclined, at least in its initial region, rising from the intermediate conveyor transversely to the direction of travel.

6. An apparatus according to claim 2 together with claim 5, wherein said inclined conveying surface is at an angle of substantially 5 to 8 degrees to the horizontal.

7. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a guide-free gap is formed between the feed conveyor and the removal conveyor in the higher region of the intermediate conveyor.

8. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the highest speed section of the intermediate conveyor is arranged to be driven at a higher speed than the removal conveyor.

9. An apparatus for bringing together and accelerating a stream of upright containers, constructed and arranged for use and operation substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.