MXPA98001744A - Device for the suspended transportation of containers that possess necklaces - Google Patents

Abstract

The device belongs to the category of transport devices and refers to a conveyor for containers that have protruding collars and that are moved by means of their suspension from the neck in which jale elements are connected with driving elements in such a way that the active marginal extremity of said pull elements on which the collars protruding from the container rest to be pulled, whose movement describes a trajectory that is substantially identical even in curved sections, to that described by the driving elements have substantially the same curvature and movement to through a plane of movement that is different from that of the driving elements

Description

DEVICE FOR SUSPENDED TRANSPORTATION OF CONTAINERS THAT HAVE OUTGOING NECKLACES DESCRIPTIVE MEMORY The object of the present invention is a device capable of transporting containers with projecting collars by suspending them from them. The use of air-powered transport devices for transporting plastic and non-plastic containers that have protruding rings around the neck area, typically bottles made of PVC, which require the use of support guides on which are placed the protruding necklaces. They are then moved by a series of fans placed at intervals of approximately 5 to 7 meters from each other and designed to blow air in the direction of transport. However, the disadvantage of this system is that the fans set in motion large amounts of air resulting commonly in the contamination of the containers. A further disadvantage is the considerable noise level generated, the high energy installation and the high levels of energy consumption. The Italian patent for industrial invention No. 1190535 shows a mechanical device for the forward movement of suspended plastic bottles, in which a conveyor belt extending over the complete transport distance is equipped with a bottle carrying mechanism that is fixed under the projection on the neck of the bottle suspending it and transporting it through a guide channel extended along the length of the transport. The aforementioned document anticipates, for the means providing the forward movement, the use of devices that possess at least one mechanical drive mechanism that holds the bottles that will be transported and that may be constituted of the lateral marginal band of a conveyor or cable conveyor or a series of push elements that act on the area of the opening of the bottle on the collar. However, the aforementioned devices have not found a practical application since they have numerous difficulties, especially in the curved or ascending tracts of the transport system. In fact, the described transport systems include a motorized element, typically a band or belt combined with an additional element (e.g., a rubber coated band) that interacts with the collars of the containers. This last element is not coaxial or is detached in any way from the motorized element so that, in the curved parts of the transport, it describes a curve different from that of the motorized element. It is obvious that this causes numerous operational problems in the placement, tensioning and calculation of the dimensions of said transporters. Another conveyor that uses push mechanisms is the one described in the Italian patent application No. 40029A / 90, in which use is made of the movement of the active branch of a closed chain adapted with lateral elastic projecting push elements to one side of the containers and placed near a pair of longitudinal guide elements. However, if there were an accumulation of containers as a result of stopping the downstream machine, this would then generate a high level of noise and could cause damage to both the pushing elements and the containers derived from the sliding force that continues being exerted by the push elements on the containers. Document EU-A-3 934 993 describes a treatment and handling equipment for glass articles, in which glass bottles are transported along a straight path by means of two endless parallel chains provided with fingers-making fasteners spring that are juxtaposed and diverted towards each other to attach the neck of the bottle, which is suspended from the endless conveyor chain. That document has the same disadvantages already mentioned, because it does not transport the bottles in curved trajectories and can damage the bottles if there is an accidental stoppage of the bottle flow.

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the above difficulties and in particular to make available a conveyor for the suspended transport of containers with projecting collars that continues to operate in curved and ascending sections of the transport, being then capable of the effective replacement of the transportation systems that they use air as their driving force, with a significant reduction of energy consumption and installation of energy without the problems that arise from the accumulation of containers in the case of stopping the transport movement. Said objects are completely satisfied by the transport device that is the subject of the present invention, characterized by the descriptions that appear in the subsequent claims and in particular because the trajectory followed by the marginal extremity of the pull elements for the containers is substantially identical (also has the same curvature) that described by the motorized elements of the device, kinetically connected to said pull elements and placed at a different level of the latter. These and other characteristics should be observed more clearly from the following description of the two preferred embodiments, which should be taken only as non-limiting examples, illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which: Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the device in a view which is partially cut along the axis of movement according to two different modalities; Figure 3 illustrates the device in a side view substantially perpendicular to that of Figure 1; Figure 4 illustrates a view of the device from above, which is partially cut along line A-A of Figure 3; Figure 5 illustrates the device in a top view in a curved section of the transport device. Referring to Figure 1, the 1 indicates in detail a frame or guide of containment for a chain conveyor consisting of a pair of closed chains type roller 2 that move in a plane that is substantially horizontal or with an inclination of less than 20 degrees transversely towards the direction of movement, and with an even greater inclination along the direction of movement in parts in which the transport is raised or lowered. Fixed by the use of suitable means 10 which could be, for example, screws, to the guide 1, there is a counter guide 4 for the purpose of supporting the chains and of creating a channel of movement for these between the guide and the counter guide. The roller chains 2a and 2b are moved in the direction indicated by the arrows 8 by means of a motorization not illustrated because it is of a known type, and which moves the chains by means of, for example, pulleys adapted in a pair to rotating arrows , the chains being wound around said pulleys afterwards. Rollers 3, which constitute first movable elements, are placed from behind with supports 7 in the form of a "C", thus constituting second elements on which lower ends 7a of the marginal area projecting from the collar 6 of each container 5 are placed, axial to the central bars of said rollers. The supports 7 are in fact anchored from above to the rollers 3 of the chains and are configured in such a way that their active lower end 7a which provides support for the container is arranged so that it substantially forms part of the same plane passing through them. axes of the pair of rollers corresponding to which the support 7 is connected. Each support 7 is connected to a pair of rollers 3 of a chain. With the support 7 positioned in this way, the trajectory followed by the active lower end 7a which functions as supports and transport mechanisms, is substantially identical to that of the rollers of the relevant chain, with an identical curvature. In this way it is possible to eliminate all the difficulties that arise during the use of traditional devices in curved sections of the transport, since with the use of the present device, the path described by the first mobile elements, namely the chains, is completely identical to that of the lower limbs 7a in said curved sections. To obtain said result, the plane through which the containers move (the plane described by the movement of the relative collars), marked with a 9 in figure 1, has been moved downwards, placed below the plane through the which chains move. The particular arrangement of the guide 1 and the counter guide 4 results in a significant increase in the stiffness of the structure of the device and avoids the unwanted bending of the supports 7, and furthermore makes the device easy to adapt to the containers with neck and collar of different diameters. It is easy to envision the use of a plurality of blocks or spacers for insertion into the interior of the divisions of the guide to reduce the width of the central channel 11 and another series of corresponding retractable dividers from the counter guide 4 to reduce its lateral dimension. In the variant model illustrated in figure 2, there is no counter guide 4 and the chains are adapted with support elements 12 from above, anchored to the rollers and running on a milling seat inside the guide 1 with the function of holding the chain. According to a further embodiment not illustrated here, it is possible to envisage, for both solutions proposed in figures 1 and 2, the use of a single chain 2 adapted with movable supports 7 coupled with a support guide fixed to the collars on the side opposite.

With particular reference to FIG. 4, the portion of the marked tip 7a 71 is substantially formed in the shape of an isosceles trapezoid while it is attached to this marked portion 72 in substantially round shape. Said shape of the limbs or appendages 7a of each support element 7 creates a unified support surface for the necklaces protruding from the containers on both sides of the collar, and allows the preservation of the continuity of the level of said surface even in the curved sections in which the continuity is maintained thanks to the partial overlap of the trapezoidal part of a support, immediately following the rounded part of the support. The part in the form of an isosceles trapezoid 71 has its longer side giving the central channel 11 through which the containers 5 are moved. It is obvious that the chain conveyors 2 can be replaced by other types of conveyors, for example, driven by bands or cables to which supports have been fixed in such a way that an active support extremity for the container is present, describing a trajectory substantially identical also in the curved sections and with the same curvature as that described by the initiating element of the conveyor, either a band or a cable. The term "substantially identical" is used to describe a trajectory of the limbs 7a that is coaxial with the transport path, or that has the same curvature, at least with a lateral clearance of less than 20 mm.

Claims (1)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS

1. - A device for the suspended transport of containers (5) that have projecting collars (6) of a type that includes: at least one guide (1, 4) fixed with a support of one or more moving elements (3) whose movement is activated through a first plane of movement by a driving motor, said first elements (3) are associated and kinetically connected to second elements on which each container rests by contact with the lateral area of its projecting collar; further characterized in that said second elements (7) are associated with the first elements (3) such that said first elements (3) and an active marginal end (7a) of said second elements on which the collar (6) of the container (5) it rests to be pulled, they are located coaxially on a same vertical plane that passes through the axes of said first elements (3) and that follows two curved trajectories that have identical radii placed on two different planes of movement, respectively the first plane of movement and second plane of movement (9). 2 - A device according to claim 1, further characterized in that the first movable elements are constituted of at least one closed chain (2) formed in turn of rollers (3), and said second elements (7) are arranged in such a way that its active marginal end (7a) on which the collar (6) of the containers (5) carried by the device rests, shares substantially the same plane as that which passes through the axes of the pair of rollers (3) that hold said marginal area (7a) of the second element (7). 3. A device according to claim 2, further characterized in that the dimensions of the possible movement of the ends (7a) of the second elements (7) in relation to the axes of the respective rollers (3) of the chain does not exceed 20 mm 4. A device according to claim 1, further characterized in that each second element (7) is configured substantially in the form of a "C", one end thereof being fixed to at least a first element (3), while that the other end (7a) acts as a resting surface for the projecting collar (6) of a container (5). 5. A device according to claim 4, further characterized in that the part of each second element (7) acting as a supporting or resting surface for the projecting collar (6) of a container (5) is an appendix (7a) which partially overlaps other adjacent appendages (7a) together with the other appendages, a single continuous support surface for the collar of a container in both straight and curved sections of the transport. 6. A device according to claim 5, further characterized in that said appendix (7a) comprises a trapezoid substantially isosceles (71) with its longer base turned towards the container, said trapezoid (71) has two blunt parts (72) which serve for a partial overlap with the adjacent appendices (7a). 7. A device according to claim 1, further characterized in that it includes a counter guide (4) for the support of the first moving elements (3) and the second elements (7) and a plurality of blocks or separators that will be used in the adaptation of the guide (1) and of the counter guide (4) to the containers with collars and collars (6) of different diameter.