JP5300856B2 - Container cell, in particular a bottle cell, and a container cage having such a container cell - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a container cell of a container-cleaning machine, in particular bottle-cleaning machine, having a cell interior which is enclosed by a lateral cell surface and is intended for accommodating a container which is to be cleaned.

Description

  The present invention relates to a container cell according to the superordinate concept of claim 1 and a container cage corresponding to the superordinate concept of claim 6.

  Container cells or bottle cells as components of container cages or bottle cages in container cleaning machines or bottle cleaning machines are known and each container cleaning machine or bottle cleaning is carried out with a transport system formed from a number of container cages or bottle cages. It is used to contain containers as they are transported through various cleaning and processing zones of the machine (Patent Document 1).

  Furthermore, a container cell or a bottle cell is also known, which is made up of a member whose wall or cover is formed in a cylindrical or polygonal shape, and a subsequent tapered member. At that time, the tapered member (terminal region) and the part of the cylindrical or polygonal member accommodated in the cell carrier are completely made of plastic, while the terminal part protrudes beyond the cell carrier. Apart from the area, the partial parts of the cover are made of sheet metal or reinforced with sheet metal.

  In particular, the best formation for positioning and / or fixing in the container cell and / or for processing of the container in the container cell and / or for the flow of processing media in the container cell, in particular the structure of the inner surface of the cell In order to achieve shaping and / or shaping with easy manufacture of the container cells, it is also often common to manufacture such container cells entirely from plastic as mold parts. The disadvantage here is that such plastic container cells have a relatively large mass, in particular for reasons of stability, and thus a high heat capacity. This results in significant energy loss during operation of the container cleaning machine due to temperature differences between the various processing zones and due to the constant heating and cooling of the container cells as they are transported through the processing zones. .

German Patent Application DE 195 42 673 A1 German patent application DE 42 42 375 A1

  The object of the present invention is to have a reduced heat capacity at the same time as a cost-effective production possibility, a sufficiently high mechanical and thermal stability, in particular an internal surface best formed in terms of shape and structure Presenting a container cell.

  To solve this problem, a container cell corresponding to claim 1 is formed. A container cage consisting of a cell carrier and a plurality of container cells is the subject of claim 6.

  The container cell according to the invention is manufactured from foamed plastic, for example, a sufficiently strong thermoplastic or thermoset foamed plastic, as mold parts, for example, from PUR foam or PF, known to the person skilled in the art. Manufactured using a plastic foam system or method. The container cell according to the present invention is an ideal method for its formation and can be manufactured by an easy production method (this container cell in particular on its inner surface for processing or cleaning of the container and each Which is best configured and / or formed on the outer surface for positioning and fixing within the cell carrier) and combined with the benefit of reduced weight or reduced mass. Combined with the benefits of reduced heat capacity and the substantial energy savings in the operation of a container washing machine comprising a container cell according to the present invention. Furthermore, the reduced weight of the container cell also gives rise to a simple structure, in particular for the guide and holder of the container cage and for the drive of the transport element of the container washing machine comprising this container cage.

  Further configurations, advantages and applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the embodiments and the drawings described below. In so doing, all features described and represented in the drawings, in themselves or in any combination, do not depend on a grouping in the claims and in their citations, and are essentially the subject of the present invention. . Claim content is also created for the components of the specification.

The perspective partial view of a cell carrier and a plurality of bottle cells or container cells provided on the cell carrier. Partial view of the section by the wall of the container cell

  In the following, the invention will be described in detail according to an embodiment based on the figures.

  The container cage labeled with 1 throughout the drawings basically consists of a case-shaped cell carrier 2 made of, for example, a thin steel plate, preferably a corrosion-resistant thin steel plate, and a plurality of bottle cells or container cells 3. Become. This bottle cell or container cell is fitted so as to fit exactly within the accommodating part 2.1 of the cell carrier 2, and is held firmly and non-rotatably and accurately in this accommodating part by, for example, a lock part.

  The container cage 1 is a component of a container cleaning machine (not shown) for cleaning a bottle or a container formed in such a bottle shape, and in particular, a component of a transport system of the container cleaning machine. This transport system includes a number of similar container cages 1. The container cage is held by a fixed bracket 2.2 and is transported together with its own cell carrier 2 to a transport element that circulates at both ends, for example, a transport chain that circulates. Moved through zones and processing zones.

  The general modeling of the container cell 2 is roughly matched to the modeling of the container to be cleaned. That is, the cover or wall of each container cell 3 has an outer and inner cross-section with rounded polygonal or square corners in the embodiment shown, and in the representation of FIG. Tubular part 4 that opens at the top or forms the bottle cell end or container cell end that opens at that point, and is connected downward at the time of part 4 and cuts the tip It is composed of an end region or part 5 that is tapered and gradually narrows. Towards the part 5, each container accommodated in the bottle cell fits snugly in the end region of the container.

  In the part 4, the partial part 4.1 protrudes beyond the upper surface of the cell carrier 2, and the partial part 4.2 is accommodated in the cell carrier 2. Part 5 protrudes beyond the lower surface of the cell carrier. In order to enable processing of the containers accommodated in each container cell 3, openings 6 and 7 are provided in the wall of the container cell 3, and in particular, a large number of openings 7 are formed at the bottom of the part 5. Is provided. The bottom is thus formed in a grid.

  The uniqueness of the container cell 3 is that the container cell is made entirely from foamed plastic as a mold part, and in particular, the container cell 3 is closed in its entire outer surface, ie closed and smooth. It is in the point which is manufactured with the layer without the hole which forms the surface. The thickness of this layer can be adapted to the respective requirements by controlling the process parameters. Plastic materials for producing the container cell 3 include thermoplastics or thermosetting plastics known to those skilled in the art, or plastics such as PUR rigid foams or PFs used to produce mold parts from rigid plastic foams. Foaming systems and plastic foaming methods are suitable. The parameters are adjusted during production, for example by properly cooling the foam used during production, the container cell 3 is a closed cell in all surface areas by preventing foaming of the plastic material. In addition to being formed in the shape, i.e. with a smooth surface, the container cell 3 also has a sufficiently high strength in its surface area, in particular impact strength and wear strength, for example, By having a sufficient thickness in the cross-sectional area, foaming of the plastic material is avoided or significantly reduced. Foam formation can occur by various methods, particularly by additives that affect the foaming of the plastic.

  Despite being manufactured from foamed plastic, it is possible to finish a container cell 3 with a sufficiently high stability. Since the total mass of the container cell 3 is kept low by the foaming of the plastic material, the container cell 3 has a significantly reduced heat capacity compared to a container cell not made from conventional foamed plastic, This comes with the advantage of significant energy savings when operating the container cleaning machine.

Manufacturing the container cell 3 as a mold part from foamed plastic
A reduction in the specific weight and the specific heat capacity of the container cell 3, and
-It has the advantage of producing a container cell 3 that is cost-effective.

Furthermore, the container cell 3 may be formed in a simplified manufacturing process with respect to a functional element (for example, see the member 8 in FIG. 2) and the like formed by a modeling process related to its shape, outline, and structure. it can. This is necessary, for example, in particular for:
a) For the best positioning and holding of the container to be cleaned, in particular for sandwiching containers, in particular plastic bottles.
b) for the best flow of cleaning media or processing media in the container cell 3; Also, to improve the flow with spin and stripping off the label or the rest of the label. To improve cleaning of parts of the container that are difficult to reach, such as the neck of the container.
c) To handle the container with care.

  Furthermore, a particularly closed end of each container cell 3 can be realized in a simple manner with openings 7 formed in a lattice-like structure there.

  Thus, with the structure according to the invention, the benefit of simplified manufacturing is the best shaping of the container cell and the best shaping of the inner surface of the container cell with a significantly reduced heat capacity, as well as operating the cleaning machine associated therewith. This leads to significant energy savings.

  The invention has been described according to one embodiment as described above. Obviously, numerous modifications and variations are possible without departing from the inventive idea on which the invention is based.

  Thus, by appropriately controlling the manufacturing parameters in the formation of the container cell 3, for example, the density, ie the number of pores and the number of holes in the foamed plastic material, is adjusted so that the required closed and as smooth as possible. Where not only the external surface occurs but where each container cell 3 is subject to high mechanical demands in situations where it is used in a cleaning machine, and / or where the container cell 3 is formed with a filigree, In other words, high mechanical strength is obtained at a place where the formation of the container cell 3 is created by a narrow and / or thick wall portion, such as a lattice-like structure formed in the region of the opening 7. Will have.

1 container cage
2 Cell carrier
3 Container cell or bottle cell
4, 5 Container cell parts
4.1, 4.2 Partial parts
6, 7 opening
8 formed functional elements

Claims (3)

A container cleaning machine or the bottle cleaning machine vessel cells, for containing the washing to containers or bottles, a container cell having a cell internal space surrounded by the cell cover,
In a container cell in which the container cell is formed from foamed plastic as a mold part, at least in the region of the cell cover (4, 5), but over at least the majority of the container cell length ,
Closed end with cell cover (4, 5) having an open end for removing and carrying each container or bottle and an opening (7) for receiving each container or bottle to be cleaned A container cell characterized in that the plastic material has a high density in the region of the closed end and forming the part . 2. A container cell according to claim 1 , wherein the density of the foam plastic decreases with each increasing distance from the outer surface of the container cell. A container cage for a cleaning machine, comprising a cell carrier (2) and a plurality of container cells (3) provided on the cell carrier (2), wherein the container cell is formed according to claim 1 or 2. container cage, characterized in that that.

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