US3868960A

US3868960A - Machines for washing bottles and like containers and removing labels therefrom

Info

Publication number: US3868960A
Application number: US288554*[A
Authority: US
Inventors: Anthony Raymond Cove; Jack Tween
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Scott Technologies Inc
Priority date: 1971-09-16
Filing date: 1973-09-13
Publication date: 1975-03-04
Anticipated expiration: 1992-03-04
Also published as: JPS5638480B2; GB1398386A; FR2154096A5; NL7212518A; AU4675372A; BR7206425D0; DE2245667A1; BE788873A; AR194751A1; JPS4857774A

Abstract

A machine for washing bottles and like containers and for removing labels therefrom in which the bottles are encapsulated in pockets that are moved by a conveyor through a number of tanks containing cleansing liquids. In at least one, and preferably two, of the tanks, the conveyor moves the bottle pockets through a label removal zone in which the pockets follow an arcuately curved path shaped to bring the neck ends of the pockets into close proximity to one another. A bank of nozzles is disposed substantially at the center of curvature of the path to direct jets of cleansing liquid through openings at or near the neck ends of bottle pockets in the label removal zone so that said jets pass generally lengthwise through the pockets and entrain any previously detached labels that they contain. The punts of the bottles in the pockets bear against the bars of an open grid in the label removal zone so that the jets of cleansing liquid and entrained labels and label remnants can pass readily between the bars with a minimum of impedance.

Description

United States Patent [191 Cove et al.

[ Mar. 4, 1975 MACHINES FOR WASHING BOTTLES AND LIKE CONTAINERS AND REMOVING LABELS THEREFROM [76] Inventors: Anthony Raymond Cove, 413 Baker St., Enfield Middlesex; Jack Tween, 26 Crutchley Rd., Wokingham, Berkshire, both of England 22 Filed: Sept. 13,1973

211 Appl. No.: 288,554

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Sept. 16, 1971 Great Britain 43335/71 [52] US. Cl 134/73, 134/10, 134/23, 134/25 A, 134/32, 134/104, 134/125 [51] Int. Cl. B08b 3/02, B08b 9/08 [58] Field of Search 134/25 R, 25 A, 10, 18, 134/23, 32, 34, 60, 72. 73, 74, 75, 104, 110,

3,695,448 10/1972 .lohansson 210/403 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS 1,209,323 10/1970 Great Britain 134/32 Primary E.tan1inerS. Leon Bashore Assistant Examiner-Richard V. Fisher Attorney, Agent, or Fi:-m--Stevens, Davis, Miller & Mosher [57] ABSTRACT A machine for washing bottles and like containers and for removing labels therefrom in which the bottles are encapsulated in pockets that are moved by a conveyor through a number of tanks containing cleansing liquids. In at least one, and preferably two, of the tanks, the conveyor moves the bottle pockets through a label removal zone in which the pockets follow an arcuately curved path shaped to bring the neck ends of the pockets into close proximity to one another. A bank of nozzles is disposed substantially at the center of curvature of the path to direct jets of cleansing liquid through openings at or near the neck ends of bottle pockets in the label removal zone so that said jets pass generally lengthwise through the pockets and entrain any previously detached labels that they contain, The punts of the bottles in the pockets bear against the bars of an open grid in the label removal zone so that the jets of cleansing liquid and entrained labels and label remnants can pass readily between the bars with a minimum of impedance.

4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED 41975 suwznrg $3 QEQQ PATENTEUHAR 4197s 868 6 SHEET [1F 6 FIG-4 iiii MACHINES FOR WASHING BOTTLES AND LIKE CONTAINERS AND REMOVING LABELS THEREFROM This invention relates to machines for washing bottles and like containers and particularly to the removal of labels from such bottles and like containers.

There are many forms of bottle washing machines and, in one such known machine that is provided with an automatic or semi-automatic system for removing labels, a cleansing liquid in the form of a caustic soda solution, which may contain smaller proportions of other chemicals, is extracted from the actual bottle washing machine itself, is filtered to remove the loose labels and label remnants and is subsequently returned to the machine, this action taking place during short periods of continuous operation on each tank of the bottle washing machine in accordance with a predetermined program. A label removing system is also known in which the bottles are conventionally contained in individual bottle pockets carried through the various tanks of the whole machine by a conveyor chain, the labels being loosened within the pockets by soaking and being removed from the pockets in a random manner by the general movement of each bottle within its pocket and by agitation of the liquids in the various tanks of the machine by paddles. The labels eventually sink to the floors of the soaking tanks and also adhere to the conveyor chain and its guides, the labels and label remnants being removed from the floor of each soaking tank by pumping the contaminated cleansing liquid out of the tank, through the filter and then back to the tank, a programming device being provided which causes the extraction system to work on each soaking tank of the machine in turn for a short period in accordance with a program entered in the device.

The label removing system which has just been de scribed is expensive because a large machine having a correspondingly large number of soaking tanks can necessitate the employment of two basically separate label removing systems and programming devices because one such system is generally incapable of dealing effectively with more than four soaking tanks of a bottle washing machine.

A further disadvantage of the known label removing system briefly referred to above is the fact that the system tends progressively to mix the cleansing liquids from the different soaking tanks. The liquids in the tanks are required to have different temperatures and, usually, different concentrations of caustic soda but there is a tendency for both a uniform temperature and a uniform concentration of caustic soda to be reached because of the considerable residue of liquid in the label removing system and its associated pipework.

One of the objects of the present invention is to overcome, or at least minimise, the disadvantages of the known machines that have been referred to above. The present invention aims to provide a more positive label removal system which is such that the loosened labels are forcibly displaced from the bottle pockets in two precise regions or zones of the bottle washing machine, said labels, and label remnants, thence being transferred immediately to filtration points. A feature of the invention is the employment of two separate label removal regions or zones because experience has shown that 100% removal of all labels is never attained with a one shot system. However, the features of the invention can be applied to a machine having only a single label removal region or zone and such machines are, accordingly, within the scope of the invention.

The two label removal regions are so disposed within corresponding soaking tanks of the machine that they remove the labels from the bottle pockets and from the machine itself at the earliest possible moment so that the subsequent soaking tanks remain substantially wholly free from label contamination. Each of the two label removal regions has its own filtering unit so that the label removal system does not mix cleansing liquids from the corresponding soaking tanks of the machine. There is thus no temperature levelling or caustic soda concentration levelling that can be attributed to the label removing system of the machine.

It is well known in this art that, in order to detach the label from a bottle, soaking of sufficient duration is necessary to break down the label adhesive. The particular temperature of the soaking liquid and, to a somewhat less extent, its alkalinity, are effective in determining the soaking duration that is required. Since bottles are provided with labels of different textures that are stuck to the bottle surfaces with different adhesives, the point in a bottle washing machine at which label detachment occurs as a result of soaking is not very clearly defined. In a system embodying the present invention, label detachment will occur prior to the bottles reaching the first label removal region as the duration of soaking before reaching that region will be sufficient to ensure detachment of even stubbornly adhering labels. Since the labels become loose from the bottles before the first label removal region is reached, it is important that the labels should be kept in close proximity to the bottles and, to ensure this, encapsulating bottle pockets are used. The pockets encapsulate the bottles to such an extent that the punts of the bottles only protrude therefrom at some stages of the progress of the pockets through the machine, the design of the pockets being such as to provide openings adjacent the bottle necks through which cleansing liquid can be forced to effect positive removal of the labels from the pockets once the first label removing region is reached. The conveyor chain carrying the encapsulating bottle pockets moves along a guide which is disposed so close to the encapsulating pockets that the labels cannot leave those pockets until the first label removing region of the machine is reached at which point the guide no longer inhibits removal. This will be further described below.

According to the invention, there is provided a machine for washing bottles and like containers and comprising a plurality of encapsulating bottle pockets arranged so as to be movable sequentially through a plurality of tanks, wherein said bottle pockets are guided through an arcuately curved path in a label removal zone of at least one of said tanks in such a way that the neck ends of said pockets are brought into close proximity to one another in said zone, and wherein a bank of nozzles is disposed substantially at the center of curvature of said path in such a position that jets of liquid issuing therefrom during the use of the machine will pass into openings in and/or adjacent the neck ends of pockets then located in said zone and substantially lengthwise through said pockets to entrain and remove labels and label remnants therefrom, the punts of the bottles or like containers within the pockets in said zone bearing against the bars of an open grid which prevents them from leaving said pockets while presenting minimal impedance to the jets of liquid then passing through those pockets.

For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the acompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section through a bottle washing machine illustrating first, second and third soaking tanks in which latter two tanks the first and second label removal regions are situated,

FIG. 2 is an external side elevation of the first, second and third soaking tanks and illustrates the general arrangement of two label separators,

FIG. 3 is a vertical section through the label removal region of the second soaking tank of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section taken through the same tank as that forming the subject of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5A is a part-sectional front elevation and FIG. 5B is a vertical section of one of the label separators forming part of a machine in accordance with the invention, and r FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view, to an enlarged scale, illustrating the disposition of the guide against which the bottles bear in one of the label removal regions of the machine.

Referring to the drawings, dirty bottles, some or all of which may carry labels, are loaded automatically and substantially continuously into encapsulating bottle pockets 1 at a loading station D that is shown only in outline in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The bottle pockets 1, which may be of a wholly synthetic plastics construction, are arranged in transverse rows (see FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawings) between the carrying chains 2 of an endless conveyor. The pockets 1 are in continuous motion and are carried downwardly by the chains 2 into a first soaking tank A where they enter cleansing liquid of the kind previously mentioned at a point E. The pockets 1 follow a generally U-shaped looped path through the tank A during which time the hot alkaline cleansing liquid in the tank acts upon the bottle labels and their adhesive to an extent such that, by the time the bottles leave the tank A at a point H, a large proportion of the labels will have become detached from the corresponding bottles and be merely trapped in the corresponding pockets 1 ready to await forcible removal from those pockets. The remainder of the labels will have become detached by the time that the pockets I reach a first label removal zone of a following tank B.

A solid sheet steel bottle guide 3, which acts principally to prevent the bottles from leaving the pockets 1 and also as a guard against premature label release, extends through the first soaking tank A from a point F to a point G. The construction is such that the clearance between the punt ends 1A of the bottle pockets and the surface of the bottle guide 3 is minimal, said clearance being so small that very few indeed, if any, labels or label remnants escape into, and thus contaminate, the cleansing liquid in the tank A. The cleansing liquid in the tank A also softens and loosens any dirt adhering to both the interiors and exteriors of the bottles and it will be noted that the bottles are substantially inverted where their pockets 1 leave the tank A at the point H so that the cleansing liquid from the tank A, with which they and their pockets 1 are then filled, immediately drains back into the tank A.

After leaving the first soaking tank A, the bottle pockets and their contents move downwardly into the second soaking tank B and enter the cleansing liquid with which it is filled at a point 1. The pockets 1 follow another looped path through the tank B and, throughout a large part of the length of that path, the punt ends 1A of the pockets 1 are closely spaced from a combined bottle guide and guard 4 whose construction and function is the same as that of the previously described bottle guide 3. The guide 4 extends in an unbroken condition from the entry point J to a point K located at the upper end of an upwardly directed convex bend of the conveyor path. Commencing at the point K as regards the direction of movement of the pockets 1 through the tank B, the conveyor path enters a label removal zone of the machine and executes a concave bend that extends between the point K and a further point L. The arcuately curved bend which hasjust been mentioned is so dimensioned as to bring the neck ends of the pockets 1 that are passing through the bend into close proximity to one another at a location towards the center of curvature of said bend, which location also lies adjacent a bank of submerged nozzles 6. These nozzles 6 are disposed so as to inject the cleansing liquid continuously and forcibly into the previously mentioned openings formed near the tops (neck ends) of the bottle pockets 1. The jets of cleansing liquid from the nozzles 6 pass through the pockets 1 around the bottles and carry with them the previously soaked off labels that are still trapped in the pockets.

The portion of the bottle guide and guard 4 that extends between the points K and L takes the form of an open grid 7 afforded by a plurality of relatively spaced circular cross-section bars 8 that are curved as previously described so as to have their centers of curvature substantially coincident with the bank of submerged nozzles 6. As shown in FIG. 6, the bars 8 extend in substantial alignment with the longitudinal axes of the bottle pockets 1 which move therepast and, accordingly, the punt ends of the bottles in those pockets will bear against the bars and be prevented from leaving the pockets. However, as an alternative, there may be two relatively spaced bars 8 in register with each pocket 1 when the machine is to deal with bottles of appreciably different sizes and/or shapes. In either case, the large open spaces of the grid 7 between the bars 8 allow the cleansing liquid forcibly ejected from the submerged jets 6 through the bottle pockets 1 to emerge readily between the bars 8 carrying along the labels and label remnants that were previously trapped in the pockets 1 because of the substantial closure of the punt ends 1A thereof by the bottle guide and guard 4. It has been found that the described shape of the bars 8 tends to minimise turbulence of the cleansing liquid in the region of the grid 7. It will be realised that the previously described curvature of the grid 7 between the points K and L, which brings the neck ends of the bottle pockets 1 into close proximity with one another in the region of the nozzles 6, ensures that a large proportion of the cleansing liquid issuing from the nozzles 6 actually passes through the openings in the neck ends of the bottle pockets 1 into the interiors thereof rather than being rendered ineffective by merely flowing around the external surfaces of the pockets.

It will be noted that, as the bottle pockets 1 pass the point K, they are approaching vertical dispositions which is desirable because it prevents the bottles contained therein from bearing hard against the trailing inner surfaces of the pockets since that would tend to trap any labels sandwiched therebetween. The jets of cleansing liquid from the submerged nozzles 6, and the labels and label remnants that are entrained therein, pass downwardly through the grid 7 into a label collecting area of the tank B, which area is encompassed by the bottle guide and guard 4 between the points J and K with the exception of an air space M extending between the guide and guard 4 and a plate 5, said space M being provided only to enable the carrying chains 2 of the endless conveyor to be given the correct path through the tank B.

The jets of cleansing liquid and entrained labels and label remnants pass downwardly into the label collecting area of the tank B and do not contact any surface until they reach substantially the bottom of said label collecting area. This arrangement dissipates a large proportion of the kinetic energy of the jets of cleansing liquid by passage of that liquid through the relatively static or slowly moving liquid already in the label collecting area. Any turbulence caused by the jets striking an impeding surface is thus brought to a minimum so that there is very little tendency indeed for such turbulence to carry labels and label remnants back through the grid 7 into the bottle pockets 1.

Further transverse jetting nozzles 9 whose positions can be seen in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 of the drawings are arranged adjacent the bottom of the label collecting area of the tank B and at one lateral side of that area. The opposite lateral side of the tank B from said jetting nozzles 9 is provided with a large suction exit 10 and it will be seen from FIG. 4, in particular, that the jets issuing from the nozzles 9 are directed transversely towards the suction exit 10 to carry labels and label remnants in the collecting area of the tank B towards said suction exit 10.

The suction exit 10 communicates with a label separator 11 whose position is shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings. The label separator 11 comprises a pump 12 that creates a difference in level, and thus a hydraulic head, between the cleansing liquid in the tank B and that in the separator 11 itself. The pressure side of the pump 12 supplies the bank of submerged nozzles 6 in the first label removing region, and also the transverse jetting nozzles 9 in the label collecting area, of the tank B. The label separator operates continuously and it will be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings that a third soaking tank C is provided to follow the second soaking tank B and that said third tank C has a second independent label removing system which comprises submerged jets 6 and a grid 7 of similar dispositions to those already described and also a label collecting area having further jetting nozzles 9 and a suction exit 10. The nozzles 9 and suction exit It) of the tank C communicate with a second label separator 11 which can be seen towards the right'hand side of FIG. 2. Apart from the configuration of the endless conveyor path in the tank C, the label removal system associated therewith is substantially identical in general arrangement and operation to that which operates in association with the tank B. The difference in the configuration of the endless conveyor path in the tank C is necessary because, as can be seen in outline in FIG. 1 of the drawings, a bank of upwardly directed nozzles is located above the liquid level in the tank C to flush out the interiors of the bottles that are carried therepast in the pockets 1. This liquid falls back into the tank C after flushing the interiors of the bottles.

One of the two label separators 11 that are shown in outline in FIG. 2 of the drawings has the label separating mechanism thereof illustrated in greater detail in FIGS. 5A and 5B of the drawings. The purpose of the parts of the label separator 11 that are shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B is to receive cleansing liquid containing detached labels and label remnants from the soaking tank B or C and to separate those labels and remnants from the liquid, with the removal from the labels of as much liquid as possible, and subsequently to discharge the waste labels and label remnants into a waste receptacle, the cleansing liquid being returned to the tank B or C in a label-free condition. A fault of some known label separators is that the labels which they discharge as waste are still very wet with cleansing liquid and some known separators even discharge free cleansing liquid with the waste labels. The loss of alkaline cleansing liquid is most undesirable because of the considerable extra cost involved in its unnecessary replacement. Moreover, the disposal of labels that are very wet with highly alkaline solution presents problems that are much greater than when the labels are merely slightly damp or wet with only slightly alkaline liquid.

The label separator which forms part of the bottle washing machine that is being described is designed to remove a large proportion of the absorbed cleansing liquid from the labels and label remnants before the discharge thereof to waste, to ensure that substantially no free alkaline cleansing liquid is brought to the label discharge point, and to return the label-free cleansing liquid to the corresponding soaking tank. Cleansing liquid contaminated with labels and label remnants reaches a separator tank 35 of the label separator 11 from only the corresponding tank B or C by way of an entry pipe in connection with the corresponding suction exit 10. The mouth of the entry pipe 30 is located internally of a cylindrical sieve drum 31 and beneath the level of the cleansing liquid within the separator tank 35. The cylindrical sieve drum 31 is closed at one end only by a circular hub plate 32, the center of which plate is fastened to a substantially horizontal shaft 33 that is turnably mounted in opposite upright walls of the tank 35 with the aid of fluid-tight bearings 34. A sprocket wheel 36 is secured to one end of the shaft 33 externally of the tank 35 and is rotated by a transmission chain driven from, for example, an electric motor fitted with a speed reduction gear. Alternative driving means could, of course, be provided.

The entry pipe 30 opens internally of the sieve drum 31 in a lower region AA of that drum and, at the end of the drum remote from its hub plate 32, said drum is entered between two semicircular labyrinth strips 37 and 37A that extend between locations just above the liquid level in the tank 35 to prevent labels and label remnants from finding their way out ofthe lower region AA of the interior of the drum 31 into the surrounding tank area BB. A suction entry pipe 38 opens in the tank area BB and communicates with the suction side of the corresponding pump 12. The sieve drum 31 is slowly but continuously rotated by the shaft 33 in the direction indicated by an arrow F in FIG. 5A and the arrangement is such that the labels and label remnants reaching the lower internal region AA of the drum are sucked into engagement with the internal surface of the drum and remain there because the sieve holes in the drum are too small for any but the most minute solid particles to pass through the drum.

As the continuing rotation of the drum 31 carries the internally adhering labels upwards out of the cleansing liquid within the tank 35, the curved sieve wall of the drum 31 passes between a large internal roller 39 and a smaller external roller 40 which nip the sieve drum 31 and adhering labels therebetween thus squeezing most of the cleansing liquid out of the labels in the manner of a mangle. All, or almost all, of the labels transfer their adherence from the perforated surface of the sieve drum 31 to the smooth unperforated surface of the internal roller 39. The external roller 40 is rotatably mounted between the side walls of the separator tank and is maintained in rotation by its contact with the external surface of the sieve drum 31. The internal rol' ler 39, on the other hand, is positively rotated by a transmission chain and sprocket wheel drive shown in outline in FIG. SE at the end of the shaft 33 remote from the sprocket wheel 36, the smooth internal roller 39 being cantilever mounted upon the tank 35 in such a way that it extends throughout the width (axial length) of the sieve drum 31. The transmission is so arranged that the contacting regions of the drum 31 and roller 39 move at the same speed.

The labels that adhere to the smooth surface of the internal roller 39, after being squeezed nearly dry, rotate with that roller until they are scraped from the surface thereof by a doctor blade 40A that extends throughout the width (axial length) of the roller 39. The doctor blade 40a is steeply inclined and the detached labels slide steadily or intermittently over that blade to fall into a label discharge chute 41 in communication with a waste receptacle (not shown).

Any small label particles that become lodged in the sieve holes of the sieve drum 31, and that are not transferred onto the smooth surface of the roller 39, continue to be carried along with the otherwise label-free inner surface of the drum 31. However, a bank of water jets 42 extends throughout the width (axial length) of the sieve drum 31 at the exterior of that drum but above the receiving end of the chute 41. Water issues under pressure from the jets 42 and passes through the holes in the sieve drum 31 carrying with it any small label particles, and exceptional complete labels and larger particles, into the chute 41. The supply of fresh water to the jets 42 is taken from a source unconnected with the label separator and maintains the chute 41 in a wet and slippery condition so that the labels will slide easily down the chute. Any accidental build up of alkaline cleansing liquid which might possibly occur would be diluted to an extent such as to render it harmless by the fresh water from the jets 42. The two chutes 41 from the two separate label separators 11 may communicate with a common receptacle but it will be remembered that by far the greater number of labels will be separated from the bottle pockets 1 in the tank B leaving only a very few exceptionally stubborn labels for removal in the tank C.

Label-free bottles from the tank C into further washing and rinsing tanks and are eventually automatically unloaded from the pockets 1 and discharged from the machine in a completely clean condition. As an alternative to the form of label separator that is shown in FIGS. 5A and B and described above, the tank 35 may communicate with an entry pipe that opens into the tank at the exterior of the rotary sieve drum 31. The

suction entry pipe 38 consequently communicates with the interior of the drum and the labels and label remnants are caused to adhere by suction to the exterior of the rotating drum. A rotary brush that turns in the opposite direction to the drum 31 contacts the convex cylindrical surface of the drum beneath a shield at a level above that of the liquid in the tank 35 and displaces the labels and label remnants from the drum onto an inclined chute. The labels and label remnants are washed down the chute which leads to the bite between a lower steel roller and an upper rubber-coated roller. These rotating rollers squeeze the labels and label remnants nearly dry, discharging the liquid back into the tank and the labels and label remnants to the exterior of the tank. A secondary wash-off jet bank, equivalent to the jet bank 42, is preferably provided to ensure that the drum 31 does not become clogged with large or small label particles.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for washing bottles and removing labels therefrom, comprising:

a washing tank for containing a cleaning fluid;

a conveyor for conveying bottles into and through said tank;

a plurality of bottle pockets open at both ends mounted to said conveyor for holding said bottles while being conveyed through said washing tank, said pockets being arranged in a plurality of substantially aligned rows across at least a portion of the width of said conveyor;

means for retaining said bottles in said pockets while being conveyed through said washing tank;

nozzle means located in said washing tank adjacent said conveyor for expelling jets of fluid into and through said bottle pockets being conveyed past said nozzle means; and

means for bringing the neck portions of said bottle pockets, and bottles contained therein, in adjacent rows into close proximity with each other, and for correspondingly diverging the bottom portions of said adjacent bottle pockets and therein contained bottles, in the path of said fluid jets being expelled from said nozzle means, including a bottle guide mounted in said tank and having an arcuate portion for guiding bottles held in said pockets through an arcuate path, the center of curvature of said arcuate portion being substantially coincident with the location of said nozzle means.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: said nozzle means are mounted in said tank below the normal fluid level and are disposed to direct said jets of fluid in a substantially downward direction; and said arcuate portion of said bottle guide further comprises a plurality of substantially parallel arcuate members defining an open floor arrangement in said guide through which said fluid jets pass after passing through said bottle pockets.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

label collecting means located in said tank below said open floor arrangement and defined at least partially by said bottle guide;

a suction exit located at one lateral side of and adja cent the lowermost portion of said collecting means;

further nozzle means located at the opposite lateral side of and adjacent the lowermost portion of said label collecting means for expelling jets of fluid transversely across said collecting means in the direction of said suction exit; and

separating means coupled to said suction exit to draw label containing fluid out of said collecting means and to separate said labels from said drawn out fluid.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

label collecting means located in said washing tank below said open floor arrangement and defined at least partially by said bottle guide; and

separating means for drawing label containing fluid out of said collecting means for separating said labels from said drawn out fluid, said separating

Claims

1. An apparatus for washing bottles and removing labels therefrom, comprising: a washing tank for containing a cleaning fluid; a conveyor for conveyIng bottles into and through said tank; a plurality of bottle pockets open at both ends mounted to said conveyor for holding said bottles while being conveyed through said washing tank, said pockets being arranged in a plurality of substantially aligned rows across at least a portion of the width of said conveyor; means for retaining said bottles in said pockets while being conveyed through said washing tank; nozzle means located in said washing tank adjacent said conveyor for expelling jets of fluid into and through said bottle pockets being conveyed past said nozzle means; and means for bringing the neck portions of said bottle pockets, and bottles contained therein, in adjacent rows into close proximity with each other, and for correspondingly diverging the bottom portions of said adjacent bottle pockets and therein contained bottles, in the path of said fluid jets being expelled from said nozzle means, including a bottle guide mounted in said tank and having an arcuate portion for guiding bottles held in said pockets through an arcuate path, the center of curvature of said arcuate portion being substantially coincident with the location of said nozzle means.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: label collecting means located in said tank below said open floor arrangement and defined at least partially by said bottle guide; a suction exit located at one lateral side of and adjacent the lowermost portion of said collecting means; further nozzle means located at the opposite lateral side of and adjacent the lowermost portion of said label collecting means for expelling jets of fluid transversely across said collecting means in the direction of said suction exit; and separating means coupled to said suction exit to draw label containing fluid out of said collecting means and to separate said labels from said drawn out fluid.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: label collecting means located in said washing tank below said open floor arrangement and defined at least partially by said bottle guide; and separating means for drawing label containing fluid out of said collecting means for separating said labels from said drawn out fluid, said separating means including: a separating tank, conduit means coupling said label collecting means to said separating tank to draw label containing fluid out of said label collecting means and into said separating tank, a rotary sieve drum rotatably mounted in said separating tank and partially submerged in the fluid in said tank, means contacting said drum for removing excess liquid from labels adhering to said drum, and means for removing said labels from said drum after the removal of said excess liquid from said labels.