MXPA99011620A - Device for introducing receptacles into and/or removing receptacles from a treatment area - Google Patents

Abstract

Un dispositivo para introducir envases a un espacio de tratamiento y/o retirar los envases de dicho espacio de tratamiento, que tiene al menos una rueda de descarga que puede girar, provista en la periferia con cámaras de descarga que están abiertas hacia el exterior, dicha rueda de descarga cuenta con sujetadores que pueden hacerse funcionar de manera directa mediante los envases o de manera indirecta mediante un dispositivo de control, asegurando los envases temporalmente en las cámaras de descarga, de preferencia suspendiendo los envases sin dejarlos entrar en contacto con las paredes de la cámara y sin proveer ningún soporte inferior;por lo tanto, es posible un traslado sin problemas, con un resultado muy superior sin dañar los envases, aun cuando los envases están muy sensibles a inclinación.

Description

DEVICE TO INTRODUCE CONTAINERS TO A TREATMENT AREA AND / OR TO REMOVE THEM FROM THE SAME DESCRIPTIVE MEMORY The present invention relates to a device for introducing containers into a treatment space and / or removing the containers from said treatment space, having at least one unloading wheel that can rotate provided on the periphery with discharge chambers that are open outward. Said devices are known in various embodiments, where the containers are inserted in the unloading wheel or are removed by the rotation of stellate wheels in combination with stationary guide rails (U.S. Patent No. 5,457,939), by means of rotary arms with stationary rotary shafts (US Patent No. 2,660,513) or by controlled radial slide elements, mounted on the unloading wheel in combination with stationary guide rails (US Patent No. 1,766,018). With the known devices, the containers remain with the lower surface on the corresponding supporting surfaces of the chambers during transport in the unloading wheel, and otherwise they can move freely in the chambers. Therefore, the position of the containers can be easily changed under the influence of the force of gravity and, optionally, with the supply and elimination of the gas acting in the chambers. This causes problems when removing the containers from the chambers, can cause damage to the containers and is only possible if the containers have sufficient stability; In addition, superior efficiency in transportation is impossible. The objective of this invention is the significant improvement of the transportation efficiency and the reliability of operation of a generic device with simple means even in the handling of containers with a low stability, and the elimination of damage to the containers. Said objective is achieved in accord with this invention because the unloading wheel has fasteners that can be operated directly by the containers and / or indirectly by means of a control device and, temporarily, secure the containers in the chambers of discharge. With a device in accord with this invention, reliable centering and stabilization of the containers in the unloading wheel is possible through the fasteners placed in the discharge chambers. The inclination of the containers, the damage due to the collision with the walls of the chamber or the defective transfer to the devices of transport of downward flow are avoided of reliable way and the efficiency of transport is possible. Various designs are possible for fasteners in the discharge chambers. A simple design in particular with secure fixing of the packages is possible by the embodiments of the invention in accord with claims 3 to 6. The embodiments of this invention according to claims 2, 7 and 8 allow reliable transportation at high speed. , even when handling unstable and lightweight containers in particular, such as PET bottles. In particular, it is convenient if the elements of the conveyor belt that work together with the unloading wheel have jaws to hold the containers with stability, so that, even at the highest processing speeds, it is possible to introduce the containers in the wheel. download and / or remove them from it. Suitable refinements of the present invention are characterized in claims 9 to 15. An embodiment of this invention is described below based on the figures, which illustrate: Figure 1, a top view of a device for introducing bottles into a space of treatment and remove them from the treatment space, partially in the form of sectioned diagrams; Figure 2, section A-B according to Figure 1; Figure 3, an enlarged top view of a single jaw of a star wheel; 4 shows an enlarged top view of a fastener of the discharge wheel. The device according to figures 1 to 4, marked as 30 throughout the text, is designed to introduce containers in the form of PET bottles, hereinafter referred to only as bottles 1, to a treatment space 2 that is at the top vacuum, as well as to remove the containers from said treatment space, where said bottles 1 are coated to increase the barrier properties. The treatment space 2 is hermetically sealed to the environment by the walls 31 and has a continuously rotating conveyor belt 23 with mandrels 32 that can be inserted in the holes of the bottles 1, and advances the bottles 1 to the coating installations (not illustrated). The device 30 has a horizontal base plate 33 on top of which is mounted a central discharge wheel 4 and a total of four stellate wheels 17, 18, 19, 20, each with a perpendicular axis of rotation that works together with the discharge wheel 4. The discharge wheel 4 and the stellate wheels 17 to 20 operate continuously in the direction indicated by the arrow by means of pulse elements (not shown) placed below the base plate 33 in synchronization with one another and in synchrony with the conveyor belt 23, so they mesh with one another in the manner of gears. The discharge wheel 4 is equipped at the periphery with discharge chambers 3 which are only open radially outwards, but otherwise are hermetically sealed; The height, depth and width of these discharge chambers are slightly larger than the largest bottle 1 to be processed. The surfaces of the discharge wheel 4, which radially face towards and surround the discharge chambers 3, are placed on a cylindrical surface disposed concentrically with the axis of rotation and work together with the curved discharge walls a suitably cylinder mode 34a and 34b, which develop in the walls 31 a and 31 b of the treatment space 2 in an airtight manner. A rotary discharge is formed by the discharge wheel 4 and the discharge walls 34a and 34b which are rigidly connected to the base plate 33 at the bottom and to a cover plate 51 at the top, with the chambers of discharge that are open to treatment space 2 in the area adjacent to said treatment space, and that are open to the environment in the opposite peripheral area, while also being separated from treatment space 2, as well as from the atmosphere in the two peripheral areas in between. The sealing function can be improved by packaging (not illustrated) between the discharge wheel 4 and the discharge walls 34, 35 [sic; 34a, 34b]. In addition, the discharge chambers 3 may be connected to the lines for supplying and / or removing the gas in the area of the discharge walls 34a, 34b. Each unloading chamber 3 has its own fastener 6 with which the bottles 1 are centered and secured during transportation with the unloading wheel 4, mainly by suspension without any lower support and without coming into contact with the walls of the unloading chambers. 3. Each fastener 6 has two essentially parallel pivoting levers 8, 9 arranged in the manner of locking tongues in the horizontal plane of rotation of the discharge wheel 4 and essentially radially to the axis of rotation. The two rotary levers 8, 9 are mounted with pivots on a common support plate 12 by means of support bolts 35, 36. The support plate 12 is instead removably mounted by means of a screw in a horizontal radial alignment in a hollow 37 in the respective discharge chamber 3, providing a hermetic seal. As illustrated in particular in Figure 4, the rotary axes defined by the holding bolts 35, 36 are located approximately half of the swivel levers 8, 9, dividing them into an outwardly extending support arm and a kickback arm that faces inward. An elastic means 11 is inserted between the holding arms in the form of a rubber cushion that forcibly separates the holding arms and thus causes the fasteners 6 to tend to open. At the free ends of the clamping arms, the holes 38, 39 of approximately one quarter of a circle are formed, adapted to the diameter of the bottles 1 in the area to be fastened. In the present embodiment, that would be the neck of the bottle 1 just below a neck collar 7 or transfer ring provided on the head of the bottle. With the fastener 6 closed, the two holes 38, 39 extend more than 180 degrees around the neck of the bottle and are in contact with it with some force, so that the respective bottle 1 is held tightly and also by coupling by friction; therefore, an absolutely reliable method is attained to ensure even bottles 1 that run the great risk of leaning in discharge chambers 3, even at high transport speeds, high acceleration, etc., without holding the bottles in the lower area .

The operation to open and close the fasteners 6 at the desired locations in the revolution path of the discharge wheel 4 is carried out by a control device marked as 5 throughout the text, the design of which is described below. A control cam 10 is rotatably disposed between the kickback arms of each pair of revolving levers 8, 9. If it remains essentially in radial position to the axis of rotation of the unloading wheel 4 (open position), the kickback arms can approaching each other to the maximum degree under the influence of the elastic means 1 1 and the fastener 6 opens. However, if the control cam 10 is essentially tangential to the axis of rotation of the discharge wheel 4 (closed position), as shown in FIG. 4, it causes the kickback arms to be separated to the maximum extent, so as to that the clamping arms with the holes 38, 39 can be brought to the maximum proximity and the fastener 6 is closed accordingly. Each control cam 10 is placed on the lower end of a cam arrow 40 which is rotatably mounted on the discharge wheel 4 and parallel to the axis of rotation of the discharge wheel and projects slightly upwards. A control lever 41 is placed on the projection end so that the control cam 10 can move between the open position and the closed position, which are stabilized in a self-limiting manner. The control levers 41 work together with four stops similar to stationary pins 13 to 16, which are placed on the cover plate 51 which covers the discharge wheel 4 on top and projects into the revolution path of the levers of control 41. The control levers 41 and stops 13 to 16 are in the normal atmosphere, as is the annular space of the discharge wheel 4 between the rays in the discharge chambers 3. Therefore, the arrows of the the cams 40 are hermetically sealed and therefore do not allow any gas exchange between the discharge chambers 3 and the environment. The four star wheels 17 to 20 have the same basic design as described below based on the first star wheel 17. A horizontal star plate 43 is mounted on a vertical motor shaft 42 and has eight angled levers 44 evenly distributed around the circumference and mounted so that they can rotate about the axes 45 placed in a position parallel to the motor shaft 42. A first cam roller 46 is placed on the inner leg of each angle lever 44 and is engaged in a first cam cam 47 which is placed in a stationary assembly below the star plate 43 and controls the rotational movement of the angled levers 44 during a rotation of the star plate 43. A sliding part 48 is mounted so that it can be moved longitudinally on the outer leg of each lever at an angle 44 moving approximately radially to the motor shaft 42. This sliding part has a second cam roller 49 which can be engaged in a second cam cam 50, which is placed in a stationary assembly on the star plate 43 and controls the radial movement of the sliding part 48. A jaw 24 is placed at the end of each sliding part 48 pointing radially outward and projecting out of the angle lever 44. This jaw has oscillating arms 25, 26 arranged like scissors in the horizontal plane of rotation of the star wheel. These oscillating arms 25, 26 are mounted with pivots on the sliding part 48 by means of holding bolts 52, 53 and are subjected to tension in the closing direction by means of an elastic means 27 in the form of a tension spring. The legs of the oscillating arms 25, 26 pointing radially outwards are bent in a quarter circle shape and are adapted to the diameter of the area of the bottles 1 to be fastened, covering more than 180 degrees. In this embodiment, this is the neck area between the upper part of the neck collar 7 and the lower edge of the thread of the head of the bottle. A bottle 1 can be clamped and reliably secured at this point without allowing the bottle to slip in the axial direction. The bottles 1 also move without any lower support in the area of stellate wheels 17 to 20, so that no adjustment part is necessary for the different heights of the bottles, and thus damage to the surface of the bottle is avoided. Although the control device 5 indirectly operates the fasteners 6, the bottles 1 operate the jaws 24 directly. To do this, the free ends of the oscillating arms 25, 26 have beveled control faces 28, 29 which press the oscillating arms 25, 26 to separate them, against the force of the elastic means 27, when a bottle 1 is pushed in the area between the rotary arms 25, 26 until the bottle 1 has been completely put in place between the oscillating arms 25 , 26. Conversely, swing arms 25, 26 [sic; 25, 26] are opened once again due to their figure in the form of a quarter circle when a bottle 1 is pulled against the force of the elastic means 27 until the bottle 1 has completely left. As shown in Figure 1, the first star wheel 17 is in the normal atmosphere outside the treatment space 2; takes the bottles 1 from a feed conveyor belt 21 in the form of an air conveyor in whose final area, the bottles 1 are held at a distance and are cycled into the system by two parallel feed screws 54a, 54b driven in synchrony with the star wheel 17. By the combined rotation and radial movements of the sliding parts 48 controlled by the two splined cams 47 and 50, the jaws 24 are placed in the bottles 1; then, the bottles 1 in the first star wheel 17 are slightly accelerated and brought to a greater distance by a mainly rotating movement of the sliding parts 48, and finally they are inserted in a controlled manner in the holes of the discharge chambers 3 and they are accurately inserted into the open fasteners 6. Upon reaching the final position, the fasteners 6 are closed by the stop 13 in the manner described above, after the jaws 24 are pulled out of the bottles 1 by predominantly radial movement and they are extracted from the discharge chambers 3. Since the fasteners 6 are below the neck collar and the jaws 24 on the neck collar 7 act on the bottles 1, therefore there is no problem of transfer between these elements. The fourth star wheel 20, like the first adjacent star wheel 17 is in the normal atmosphere outside the treatment space 2. It takes the bottles 1 from the discharge wheel 4 and transfers them to the discharge conveyor 22 in the form of an air conveyor. By appropriately controlling the sliding parts 48, by means of slotted cams 47 and 50, the jaws 24 hold the bottles 1 that are still supported by the fasteners 6 in the discharge chambers 3, where the fasteners 6 are opened by the stop 16 in the manner already described. Then, the bottles 1 in the star wheel 20 are delayed and the distance is reduced until they are inserted in the discharge conveyor 22 with a relatively short distance. The second star wheel 18 and the third star wheel 19 are in an adjacent position in the treatment space 2. The second star wheel 18 takes the bottles 1 from the fasteners 6 of the discharge wheel 4 and transfers them at a distance and speed reduced to the mandrels 32 of the conveyor belt 23. In doing so, the fasteners 6 are opened by the stop 14. The third star wheel 19 takes the bottles 1 from the mandrels 32 of the conveyor belt 23 and transfers them at a distance and speeds greater than the fasteners 6 of the discharge wheel 4. The fasteners 6 are closed here by the stop 15. The desired change in distance and speed of the bottles 1 is also carried out in the area of stellate wheels 18 and 19, and similarly, the adaptation between the different pitch and distance of the discharge wheel 4 on one side, and the conveyor belt 23 on the other, is carried out through an appropriate design. or of the two channeled cams 47 and 50, exactly as is the predominant radial movement to insert and remove the bottles 1.

Claims (10)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS

1. - The device for introducing containers into a treatment space and / or removing the containers from the treatment space with at least one unloading wheel that can rotate and has discharge chambers that are open to the outside to receive the containers placed around the container. the periphery, characterized in that the discharge wheel 4 has fasteners 6 that can be operated directly by the containers 1 and / or indirectly by means of a control device 5 and, temporarily, secure the containers in the discharge chambers 3. The device according to claim 1, further characterized in that the containers 1 are held suspended by the fasteners 6 in the discharge chambers 3 without any lower support, preferably without coming into contact with the walls of the chambers. . 3. The device according to claim 1 or 2, further characterized in that each fastener 6 has at least two rotary levers 8, 9 placed in the manner of clamping tongues, arranged essentially parallel to the plane of revolution of the unloading wheel 4 and projecting at least partially into the respective discharge chamber 34. - The device according to claim 3, further characterized in that a rotating control cam 10 and an elastic means 1 1 are placed between the rotary levers 8, 9 of each fastener 6 and together perform the opening and / or closing movement of the fasteners 6. 5. The device according to claim 3 or 4, further characterized in that the rotary levers 8, 9 of a fastener 6 are mounted on a support plate 12, which instead is removably attached to the discharge wheel 4 in the area of the internal wall of the respective chamber 3. 6. The device according to claim 4 or 5, further characterized in that the control cams 10 are opened and / or closed by stops 13 to 18 placed on a stationary assembly in the revolution path of the discharge wheel 4, with the fasteners 6 being stabilized in the open or closed position in the area of revolution between the top is 13 to 16 by the control cams 10 and / or the elastic means 1 1. 7. The device according to one of claims 1 to 6, further characterized in that the fasteners 6 act on the peripheral area of the containers, preferably the neck or head area, in an adjustment and / or friction coupling manner. 8. The device according to claim 7, further characterized in that the fasteners 6 act in an area that is below a neck collar or transfer ring 7 provided in the head area in the transportation of PET bottles 1 9. The device according to one of claims 1 to 8, further characterized in that a single unloading wheel 4 is provided which causes the containers 1 to enter the treatment space 2 and are removed from the treatment space

2. , and at least four stellate wheels 17 to 20 that can be controlled in synchrony with the unloading wheel, but in the opposite direction of rotation are placed in the rotation area of the unloading wheel 4, two stellate wheels within the space of treatment 2 and two external treatment spaces 2 which transfer the containers 1 in the proper step towards the fasteners 6 of the discharge wheel 4 or which receives the containers 1 of the fastener 6 of the ru download 4 at the appropriate step. 10. The device according to claim 9, further characterized in that the star wheels 17, 20 placed on the outside of the treatment chamber 2, work together not only with the discharge wheel 4, but also with a conveyor belt of feed 21 for the unprocessed containers and a discharge conveyor 22 for the processed containers 1, while the two steerable wheels 18, 19 placed within the treatment space 2 work together with a conveyor belt 23 which transports the containers 1 through of the treatment space 2. The device according to claim 9 or 10, further characzed in that the star wheels 17 to 20 have jaws 24 that can be operated directly through the containers 1 and / or indirectly by means of a control device , and preferably act in a peripheral area other than the containers 1 unlike the fasteners 6 of the discharge wheel 4. 12. The device according to claim 11, further characzed in that each jaw 24 has at least two arms oscillating 25, 26 which are placed in the manner of scissors and move essentially parallel to the plane of revolution of the unloading wheel 4 and temporarily and at least partially enthe unloading chambers 3 of the unloading wheel. 1

3. The device according to claim 12, further characzed in that an elastic means 11 is provided between the oscillating arms 25, 26 of each jaw 24 and applies tension on the oscillating arms 25, 26 in the closing direction, and the rounded or bevelled control surfaces 28, 29 are formed at the free end of the swing arms 25, 26, separating them against the force of the elastic means 11 when a package 1 is pressed into the jaws 2

4. 14. The device in accordance with one of claims 1 to 13, further characzed in that the jaws 24 of at least one star wheel 17 to 20 can move in a controlled manner essentially in the radial position and / or essentially in a tangential position with respect to the axis of rotation, so that the The radial position or the mutual spacing and the speed of the jaws 24 can be varied in a cyclic manner during one revolution of the stellate wheels 17 to 20. 15.- The device according to one of claims 8 to 15, further characzed in that the jaws 24 act by means of the neck collar or transfer ring 7 provided in the area of the head in the transportation of PET bottles.