CA2059557A1 - Outfitting machine for treating vessels - Google Patents

Abstract

An Outfitting Machine for Treating Vessels ABSTRACT

An outfitting machine for treating vessels of different shapes and/or outfits, comprising a rotary table, which is adapted to be rotatively driven, and at least one outfit-ting station, which is arranged at the circumference of said rotary table and which is followed by brush- and pres-sure-applying elements, said rotary table being provided with at least one rotatably supported rotary plate having associated therewith a plurality of control members, which are permanently in engagement with an equivalent number of cams and which, for changing over from one shape of vessels and/or type of outfit to the next, are adapted to be selec-tively brought into engagement with the rotary plate by means of a controllable clutch so as to execute various rotation programs.

Description

~RUNECKER, KINKELDEY, STOCKMAIR & PARTNER ~pVALTE
EUf~t7PeAN P/I~EI~IT a~TOi~N~vS
A GRU~I'CKER, DIPL I~ O
DR. H. KINKELDE~', DI~L
DR. W. STOC~M~IR. C~IPL IN13 ~e ~ ~C~T~C~
DR. K. SCI IUMANN. ~PL`~ 5 P H JAKOE3, DIPL I~IG
DR. G. BEZOLD, DIF'L C~EM
W. M~lSTEl~. DIPL ~
H. HILGERS~ DIPL I'-G
DR~ H~ ME:YER-PLATH. D11L`II`IG
A EHNOLD, Dll'L`II~10 T SCHUSTER~ DIDL '~YS
l~R~ W. LANGHOFF, DIF~-P~S
OR K GOLD~ACH, Dll'L I~
M. ~UFENANGER, DIPL WG
G. KLITZSC~, DIPL I~G

MAXIM)~ANSTRASS~ 58 ~R ZEICI II~ DUF~ REF U~ISER ZEIC~E~OIJR ~EF DArUM/D~r6 An Outfitting Machine for Treating Vessels DEBCRIP~ION

The present invention refers to an outfitting machine for treating vessels in accordance with the generic clause of claim 1.

It is known that, for applying outfitting material to ves-sels, these vessels are pushed onto a rotary plate, which is secured to a rotatively driven rotary table of an outfitting machine, the rotary plate, which is rotatably supported on said rotary table, being controlled by means of a roller with the aid of a guiding groove or a tooth curve, which is normally arranged in a stationary manner below the rotary : table and which includes a specific rotation program determined by the shape and the extension of said guiding groove or tooth curve. In particular in the case of bottles having a special shape or also in the case of costly out-fits, which are frequently used for alcoholic drinks, :
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various rotation programs, i.e. cams, are required so as to be able to perform special movements upon transferring the outfitting material and also upon applying the brushes and/or the pressure exerting elements. It is, for example, known that in the case of vessles having different diameters in the trunk and neck sections or a conical surface, the rotary plate can be caused to rotate in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the rotary table at the moment of label transfer, whereas in other cases the vessel is driven in a direction corresponding to the direction of rotation o~ the rotary table at the moment of label transfer so as to be a~le to transfer labels of maximum length to cylindrical surfaces. When standard outfits are used, the vessel can also pass through the transfer station, in which the label is applied, without rotating itself, i.e. in a stationary condition. The shape of the vessel and the re-spective outfit will also determine the extension of the brush- and pressure-element application path in the area after the outfitting station. In this area, the problems in question have hitherto been managed by providing the cam of a machine with an adequate section for each intended type of vessel and type of outfit, respectively; the brush-applying elements, sponge rollers, etc. were placed at this section, whereas the other sections were passed without being used.
This structural design shows the disadvantage that, due to the universal rotation program, the diameters of the ne-cessary cam and, consequently, of the rotary table had to be substantially larger than the diameters used in the case of a machine which was specially constructed for only one spe-cific type of vessel or type of outfit.

This applies e.g. to German-Offenlegungsschrift 33 07 662, which describes a labelling machine for enwinding vessels with a label extending all around the vessel. In the case of this machine, the labelling operation is carried out by 3 2 0 ~ 3 r5 7 removing a label from a label box by rolling a vessel, which has applied glue to its surface, over the foremost label in said label box. In order to be able to guarantee a slipfree rolling contact in the course of this process, the cam causing the rolling movement of the vessel will have to be specially adapted to the diameter of the vessel which is to be dealt with at the moment in question. In the case of this known labelling machine, adequate sections for the various shapes of vessels are provided in the cam below the rotary table, and the a~aptation is carried out by displacing the label box, i.e. the label box is placed at the cam section associated with the respective shape of the vessel.

Furthermore, German-Offenlegungsschrift 33 23 919 already discloses a structural design in the case of which two com-plete guiding grooves, which can include different rotation programs, are provided below the rotary table for the pur-pose of controlling a rotary plate. This structural design is disadvantageous insofar as, for the purpose of changing over the rotation program, each rotary plate with its con-trol means, which is provided with a lever carrying a rol-ler, has to be released from the rotary table individually and by hand, whereupon it has to be raised and introduced into the second guiding groove. Rapid change-over of an outfitting machine from one type of vessel or outfit to a different type of vessel or outfit is hardly pos~ible in the case of this structural design, particularly since the guiding grooves are dimensioned very accuarately so as to avoid undesirable backlash so that especially the reintro-duction of the rollers will be problematical and may cause damage in the case of inappropriate handling. Moreover, dirt may penetrate into the guiding groove when the rotary plate is raised from the rotary table.

German-Utility Model 87 08 031.1 shows a machine whose 4 2~5~

guiding groove is equipped with controllable switches so that the rollers can selectively move along various branches of the guiding groove in sections. This solution is disad-vantageous insofar as the switches are susceptible to wear and insofar as, due to the joints existing in the guiding groove in the area of a switch, the rollers will be subjec-ted to heavy wear. Moreover, in cases in which the switch control fails, the whole machine may be damaged severely.

The present invention is based on the task of providing an outfitting machine for treating vessels of different shapes and/or outfits, which permits a user-friendly, rapid adapta-tion of the rotary plate control when the machine is changed over ~rom o~e type of vesse~ or outfit to a different one, with a plurality of individual, inaependently devisable ro-tation programs being available in the case of said machine.

This task is solved by the features disclosed in the characterizing clause of claim 1.

In view of the fact that, in accordance with the present invention, a plurality of cams including a complete, individual rotation program is provided, and in view of the fact that control members whose number corresponds to the number of cams are provided for each rotary plate, said control members cooperating permanently with said cams and being adapted to be selectively brought into driving engagement with the rotary plate, the structrual design of the individual cams can, to a large extent, be chosen independently of that of the respective other cams, and, when the machine is in operation, a simple change-over from one rotation program to a different one can be effected in a very comfortable manner.

Another advantageous aspect is the thus possible compact, 2 ~ 7 space-saving structural design of a rotary table for outfitting machines used for treating a great variety of vessels. For selectively changing over the control members any suitable controllable clutch can be used. It is, for example, possible to use claw clutches supported on the rotary plate shafts such that they are adapted t~ be dis-placed in the axial direction, sliding gears or draw-key clutches which are integrated in the rotary plate shafts.

In addition to clutch elements of the positive-engagement type, it is also possible to provide clutch elements of the frictional-engagement type, provided that it can be guaran-teed that no inadmissible deviations caused by slip will occur while the rotation program is being performed. This can be guaranteed by sufficiently high contact forces acting on the friction surfaces of the clutch.

Particularly simple and rapid handling of the clutches in the case of change-over will be possible, when these clutches are adapted to be centrally actuated in common and at the same time. Pneumatic, hydraulic, electric or magnetic actuating means, which merely require a ring system with only one central supply and actuating means, will be spe-cially suitable for this purpose.

A structural design of a rotary table provided with aeveral rotary plates and individually, i.e. independently, actuable clutches offers the advantage that, when specific switching points are passed during a revolution of the rotary table, alternate change-over between the control members from one cam to another one will be possible, if necessary. It is thus also imaginable to make neighbouring rotary plates~
execute different rotation programs so as to accomplish, for example, an alignment of vessels in groups before said vessels reach the exit of the outfitting machine. This can ,~
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be advantageous with regard to the subsequent packing process.

The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to special cams, but can ~e realized in the case of practically all types ~f cams, e.g. tooth curves ~r guiding gr~o~es, which are kn~wn in connection with labelling machines. It is, for example, possible to provide below the rotary table two tooth curves, which are arranged one below the other and each of which is engaged by one star wheel tipped with rollers per cam and rotary plate, i.e. in the case of two cams two star wheels tipped with rollers per rotary plate, which can be supported in a freely rotatable manner on the rotary plate shaft one below the other and displaced with respect to each other. 8y means of a clutch, which is secured against rotation but axially displaceable on the rotary plate shaft, a rotary connection between the rotary plate shaft and one of the two star whèels tipped with rollers can selectively be established via an associated actuating means. This type of structural design would be particularly advantageous for outfitting vessels of dif-ferent diameters with labels extending all around the ves-sel .

In the same way, it is, however, also possible to combine cams of different structural designs with one another, e.g.
a tooth curve with a star wheel tipped with rollers and below said tooth curve a guiding groove with a lever car-rying a roller, so that a rotary plate can selectively be driven such that it will carry out a rotating or an oscil-latlng movement in accordance with a respective program.

In the following, two embodiments will bedescribed on the ba~is of the figures, in which - -; ~ . .

7 2 ~

Fig. 1 shows a top view of an outfitting machine without the top of said machine, Fig. 2 shows a vertical section through the outer ring of the rotary table in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 shows a horizontal section through part of the rotary table along the line A-B in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 shows a vertical section through the ring of a rotary table according to a second embodiment, Fig. 5 shows a horizontal section through part of the rotary table along the line C-D in Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 shows a horizontal section through the rotary plate shaft in Fig. 4 in the disengaged condition.

As clearly shown in Fig. 1, the vessels 45 which are to be fitted out and which are supplied by a conveyor belt are first spaced apart to match the spacing of the outfitting machine, and then they are pushed into the right position on a rotary table 2, which supports rotary plates 6, by means of a feeder 1 constr~cted as a rotating star. Before an incoming vessel 45 is released from the feeder 1, said ves-sel will be fixed axially between the rotary plate 6 re-ceiving the vessel bottom and a centering bell, which is controlled by means of a cam and which is lowered onto the vessel head from above. For this purpose, the centering bells are normally secured to an upper part, which is not shown in Fig. 1, at the adequate position relative to the rotary plates, said upper part rotating synchronously with the rotary table. Immediately afterwards, a first oufitting station 23 provides the vessel e.g. with a trunk label and a 8 ~ ~ 5 9 ~ ~ Y~

tin foil for the neck of the bottle. Subsequently, the ves-sel passes through a channel where brushes and rollers are applied thereto, said channel being equipped with stationary brushes 4 and sponge rollers 5, which are excha~geably ar-ranged at the circumference of the rotary table 2. Just as guide sectors and other format-dependent parts of the machine, these brush and pressure-applying elements will be exchanged, when there is a change of vessels or a change of outfits. Adequately adapted rotation proqrams for the rotary plate 6 will have to be available in these areas. This applies in the same way to a second outfitting station 24, where e.g. a back label can additionally be applied, which, on its way to the unloading unit 3, is again brushed on or pressed on by means of brushes 4 and sponge rollers 5. The vessel provided with the labels is transferred from the rotary table 2 to an unloading belt by means of an unloading unit 3 cooperating with a guide sector 25, and in the course of this process a finishing treatment of the tinfoil by means of rotating brushes or the like can additionally be carried out.

A first embodiment of a control means for driving a rotary plate 6 is shown in Fig. 2.

A rotary plate 6 is rotatably supported on the housing of the rotary table 2, which is adapted to be rotatively driven by a machine drive. The rotary plate shaft 8, which is con-nected to the rotary plate 6 such that it is secured against rotation relative thereto, carries a first gear 9 and below said first gear 9, in axially spaced relationship therewith, a second gear 10. Both gears 9 and 10 are supported on the rotary plate shaft 8 in a freely rotatable manner, and they are secured against displacement in the axial direction. The 9 2~59~

sides of the gears 9 and 10 which face each other have ar-ranged thereon pinlike claws 11, which can selectively be brought into engagement with the holes 12 of the switching ring 13 provided between the two gears 9 and 10. For this purpose, the switching ring 13 is guided on teeth 14 on the rotary plate shaft 8 such that it is secured against rota-tion relative thereto, but still axially displaceable. The switching ring 13 is actuated by a selector fork 15, which has pins 16 secured thereto, said pins 16 engaging an an-nular groove 17 which is provided on the switching ring 13 for this purpose.

The embodiment of a rotary plate control means shown in Fig.
2 comprises two radially juxtaposed guiding grooves 18 and 19 formed in a sta- tionary guiding groove carrier 7. The shape of the guiding grooves 18 and 19 is traced by rollers 20. The roller 20 engaging the radially outer guiding groove 18 is connected to a first toothed segment 21 such that it is secured against rotation relative thereto; said first toothed segment 21 is supported in a freely pivotable manner on a bearing neck 26, which is secured to the rotary table 2 and which rotates therewith, and is in mesh with the upper gear 9, whereas the roller 20 engaging the radially inner guiding groove 19 is connected to a second toothed segment 22, which is in mesh with the lower gear 10. Just as said first toothed segment 21, said second toothed segment 22 is pivotably supported on a bearing neck 26 secured to the rotary table 2.

Depending on the selected pitch diameters on the gears 9 and 10 and the toothed segments 21 and 22, a sufficiently high transmission ratio can be achieved so that only comparati-vely small pivoting angles of the toothed segments are necessary for controlling the rotary plate 6. The space required for the guiding grooves 18 and 19 can thus be re-~9~
duced in the radial direction.

The actuating means required for axially displacing theswitching ring 13 along the rotary plate shaft 8 is shown more clearly in Fig. 3. The selector fork 15 is fastened to a selector shaft 27 such that it is secured against rotation relative thereto, said selector shaft 27 being pivotably supported in the radially outer housing wall 28 of the rotary table 2 and carrying a lever with a roller 29 at its end projecting outwards beyond the rotary table 2. By means of a curve element ~not shown), which is arranged in the circulatory path of the lever equipped with the roller 29, each rotary plate 6 can selectively be brought into positive engagement with one of the two gears 9 or 10 and, conse-quently, with the guiding grooves 18 and 19 by displacing the switching ring 13.

Fig. 2 shows the switching ring 13 in an intermediate posi-tion during a change-over operation; at the m~ment shown, none of the pinlike claws 11 is in engagement with the holes 12 of the switching ring 13. Deviating from this embodiment, the length of the claws can also be dimensioned such that, in the course of a change-over operation, the claws of one gear will not be released until the opposite claws of the second gear have come into contact with the switching ring 13 so that the rotary plate 6 cannot carry out undefined rotary motions at any time. In order to achieve this, it will be necessary that the guiding grooves 18 and 19 have a section in which the claws 11 are in axial alignment with each other for changing over the switching ring 13.

~eviating from Fig. 3, it will also be possible to fasten the switching rings 13 of all rotary plates 6 of a rotary table 2 to one common, e.g. annular support body, so that all rotary plates 6 can be changed over simultaneously by 2 ~ rJl actuating the common support body. In this case, it would, however, be necessary to construct either the claws 11 or the switching rings 13 such that they yield in the axial direction so as to permit the claws 11, which are not yet in alignment with the holes 12 at the moment of changing over, to snap in.

Fig. 4 to 6 show a second em~odiment of a rotary plate control means. In the case of this embodiment, the cams 30 and 31 are arranged one below the other and in axially displaced relationship with each other. Each of the two cams 30 and 31 is traced by two rollers 32, which are jointly secured to a carrier means 33 and 34, respectively, such that they are freely rotatable. The carrier means 33 is secured to an internally toothed ring 35 and the carrier means 34 is secured to an internally toothed ring 36 positioned below said carrier means 34. Both internally toothed rings 35 and 36 are pivotably supported on the rotary plate shaft 37, which is, in turn, rotatably sup-ported by the rotary table 2. When the machine is in opera-tion, the internally toothed rings cannot be displaced axially with respect to the rotary plate shaft 37.

As Fig. 5 and 6 show in a particularly clear manner, the internally toothed rings 35 and 36 are equipped with a plurality of axially extending grooves 39. These grooves 39 can positively be engaged by balls 40, which are guided such that they are radially movable in radially extending holes of the rotary plate shaft 37. The radial position of the balls 40 is determined by a draw key 38, which is guided in an axially displaceable manner in an internal hole 41 of the rotary plate shaft 37. The draw key 38 is provided with sections having different outside diameters so that, in the case of an axial displacement of the draw key 38, the sec-tion having the larger outside diameter can be displaced in ~2 2~

one of the two ball planes, whereas the other ball plane has simultaneously associated therewith a draw key section having a smaller diameter. In Fig. 4, the section of the draw key 38 having the larger outside diameter is located at the lower position, and, consequently, it forces the balls 40 which are located in the plane associated with the lower internally toothed ring 36 radially outwards so that these balls will positively engage the grooves 39 of the internal-ly toothed ring 36, whereby a rotary connection will be established between the lower cam 31 and the rotary plate shaft 37. In view of the fact that the section of the draw key 38 associated with the balls 4G ~ the upper t~thed ring 35 has, simultaneously, a smaller outside diameter, the balls 40 lying in this plane are located at a radially inner position and are not able to establish any connection between the rotary plate shaft 37 and the internally toothed ring 35. Hence, the internally toothed ring 35 and the carrier means 33 associated therewith can - undisturbed by the rotary motion of the rotary plate shaft 37 determined by the lower cam 31 - follow their own cam 30. This will become understandable on the basis of Fig. 6, which shows a horizontal section through the rotary plate shaft 37 and the internally toothed ring 35 in Fig. 4. There is no rotary connection between the internally toothed ring 35 and the rotary plate shaft 37.

In the case of the embodiment according to Fig. 4, the draw key 38 is actuated pneumatically. The draw key 38 can selec-tively be acted upon at its upper or at its lower end by compressed air or by a vacuum and can thus be displaced axially in the internal hole 41 of the rotary plate shaft 37. For this purpose, the rotary plate shaft 37 has rotatably supported thereon upper and lower ring-type distributor means 42 and 43. Each of the two ring-type distributor means 42 and 43 has an internal paæsage 44, the , " . ,, ' 13 2~9~;7 connection holes 46 integrated in the rotary plate shaft 37 leading into said internal passage 44 from the upper and from the lower end of said internal hole 41. If an outfit-ting machine is equipped with a source of compressed air as well as with a vacuum source, the lower ring-type dictri-butor means 43 can be dispensed with, since the change-over operation can be carried out by selectively applying over-pressure or a vacuum to a single ring-type distributor means. One of the two ring-type distributor means 42 and 43 can also be dispensed with in cases in which one of the two possible axial positions of the draw key 38 can be adjusted by means of a spring ~spiral spring). In this case, an external~y contrcl7a~1e source of compressed air or vacuum source wil~ on~y be necessary for reaching the position in the direction opposite to the direction in which the force of the spring is effective.

The internal passages 44 of the upper ring-type distributor means 42 as well as those of the lower ring-type distributor means 43 can either be supplied individually by separate lines, which are not shown, whereby independent, selective change-over of the individual rotary plates will be necessary, or they can be supplied by a ring system combining the neighbouring ring-type distributor means of the other rotary plates, said ring system being adapted to be supplied and controlled centrally and permitting simul-taneous change-over of all rotary plate control means. In the case of both feasible embodiments, a rotary distributor means (not shown) i8 required in the area of the hub of the rotary table for the purpose of applying compressed air or a vacuum.

Claims (8)

An Outfitting Machine for Treating Vessels PATENT CLAIMS

1. An outfitting machine for treating vessels (45) of dif-ferent shapes and/or outfits, in particular bottles, com-prising a feeder (1), a rotary table (2), which is adapted to be rotatively driven and which is provided with at least one outfitting station (23, 24) arranged at the circum-ference of said rotary table and followed by brush- and pressure-applying elements (4, 5), and further comprising an unloading unit (3), said rotary table (2) being provided with at least one rotatably supported rotary plate (6) having associated therewith a control member (20, 32) which cooperates with a stationary cam (18, 19, 30, 31), characterized in that there are provided at least two dif-ferent cams (18, 19, 30, 31), which are each equipped with a rotation program for the rotary plate (6), which is a com-plete program for one revolution of the rotary table (2), each rotary plate (6) having associated therewith a number of control members (20, 32) equivalent to the number of cams (18, 19, 30, 31) provided, said control members (20, 32) being permanently in engagement with the respective as-sociated cams (18, 19, 30, 31) and being adapted to be selectively brought into engagement with the rotary plate (6) by means of a controllable clutch (11, 12, 13, 38, 40) so as to effect change-over from one shape of vessels and/or type of outfit to the next.

2. An outfitting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the cams (30, 31), which are ade-quately associated with the respective control members (32), are arranged below the rotary table (2) parallel to the plane of rotation thereof one below the other and displaced with respect to each other.

3. An outfitting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the control members (32, 33, 34) or at least parts thereof are supported on a joint shaft (37) in a freely rotatable manner and in axially displaced re-lationship with each other, said shaft (37) being connected to the rotary plate (6).

4. An outfitting machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the clutch (11, 13, 38, 40) or at least parts thereof is/are constructed such that it/they are adapted to be displaced axially along a joint shaft (8, 37).

5. An outfitting machine according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the clutch is constructed as a controllable claw clutch (11, 13).

6. An outfitting machine according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the clutch is constructed as a draw-key clutch (38, 40).

7. An outfitting machine according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, in the case of a rotary table (2) with a plurality of rotary plates (6), the change-over from one shape of vessels and/or one type of outfit to the next is effected centrally and simultaneously for all rotary plates (6) in common.

8. An outfitting machine according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterised in that, when a change-over operation is carried out, a control member (20, 32) associated with one cam (18, 19, 30, 31) will not be released by means of the controllable clutch (11, 13, 38, 40) until a control member associated with a different cam has come into engagement with the rotary plate (6).