GB2208380A

GB2208380A - Container for empty bottles

Info

Publication number: GB2208380A
Application number: GB8718677A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen J Smith
Original assignee: MASTERNET Ltd
Current assignee: MASTERNET Ltd
Priority date: 1987-08-06
Filing date: 1987-08-06
Publication date: 1989-03-30
Also published as: GB8718677D0

Abstract

A close-packed array of tubes 19 slope downward from a front panel 18 through which bottles 20 are inserted to slide to the back ends of the tubes. Here the bottles are held by transverse rods which extend across the rear ends of the tubes until drawn out to one side by means of their heads 27 to enable the container to be unloaded. At other times the heads 27 of the rods are held in place by a clamp plate 30 secured by a lock which engages a lug 32. The transverse rods are supported by vertical bars with apertures through which the rods pass. Of these bars two are fixed at opposite sides and one in the centre and a further bar is free to move between the centre bar and one of the side bars. The array of tubes 19 is enclosed by a housing having panels 12, 14 and 16 and a lifting loop 17. <IMAGE>

Description

CONTAINER FOR EMPTY BOTTLES The present invention relates to containers for empty bottles.

So-called "bottle banks" are widely used for collecting empty bottles which can be broken down and used in the glass-making industry as cullet. They usually consist of a container with one or more openings through which the bottles can be dropped into the container and the bottles are likely to be broken as they are deposited in the container. They are not suitable for collecting bottles for re-use and such collection is at present usually carried out only by people delivering milk in bottles to customers or by retailers of beer, cider and other drinks.

The present invention seeks to provide a container for empty bottles which can be used in the manner of a bottle bank to collect bottles for re-use.

In accordance with the invention such a container comprises an array of tubular or part-tubular receptacles each capable of holding a number of bottles end to end, the receptacles being inclined to the horizontal so that a bottle inserted at the higher or front end of a receptacle can easily slide down towards the lower or back end, a series of holding rods extending across the back ends of the receptacles to prevent bottles falling out of a receptacle until the corresponding rod is withdrawn, and means for locking the holding rods in position to hold the bottles until the container is to be un-loaded.

A front plate may be provided with apertures aligned with the front ends of the tubes and provided, if required, with flaps or other coverings which protect the open ends of the tubes. The array of receptacles is preferably enclosed in a housing with an open back across which the holding rods extend. The holding rods can pass through openings in two bars at opposite sides of the housing and one or more additional bars between the side bars.

Preferably one of the additional bars is "floating" so that as a holding rod is removed it pulls the floating bar with it along the other rods, thus ensuring that the rod being withdrawn is supported at two spaced positions throughout its movement.

The invention will be described in more detail with the aid of an example illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a back view of a container in accordance with the invention, Fig. 2 is a side view of the container of Fig.1, and Fig. 3 is a detail on an enlarged scale of part of Fig. 1.

The container illustrated has an outer housing 10 with vertical side panels 11 and 12 joined by inclined panels 13 and 14 and roof panels 15 and 16. A hoop 17 is provided to enable the container to be lifted for transport and installation. The housing 10 has a front panel 18 but is open at the back. Within the housing 10 a multiplicity of tubular receptacles 19 are packed closely into an array in which the receptacles 19 support one another. Each receptacle 19 is a simple length of tube or pipe of synthetic plastics material having an internal diameter sufficient to receive a milk bottle or other type of bottle to be collected. The open front ends of the tubular receptacles 19 are aligned with corresponding openings in the front panel 18 through which the bottles can be inserted. The openings in the front panel may be covered by lids or flexible flaps or simply left open.

As clearly seen in Fig. 2 the tubular receptacles 19 all slope downwards from front to back at an inclination to the horizontal such that bottles 20 inserted through the openings in the front panel 18 at the high front end of a receptacle will tend to slide towards the lower rear end. At the rear end the bottles 20 come to rest against one of a number of horizontal holding rods 21 which extend across the rear ends of the tubes 19. The ends of the rods 21 are supported in openings 22 (see Fig.3) in bars 23 and 24 which are arranged at opposite sides and follow the contour of the panels 11 and 13 or 12 and 14. The rods 21 also pass through openings in a fixed central vertical bar 25 and a movable vertical bar 26 located between the central bar 25 and the side bar 24.

At the end supported by the side bar 24 each of the rods 21 has a head 27 so that the rods can be withdrawn from that side.

As each rod is withdrawn it successively opens the rear end of each of the tubes 19 in one horizontal row. A collector in the form of an extension pipe or gutter of a length to receive one or more bottles may be placed against the rear end of each tube before the rod is withdrawn so that the bottles slide out into the collector.

It may be convenient to have a step at the rear end of each tube which prevents the bottles falling out until a collector has been put in position. Alternatively the stop may hold the bottles until they are individually removed by hand. While each rod 21 is being withdrawn it is supported by the central bar 25 and the side bar 24 until it passes the centre and thereafter by the movable bar 26 and the side bar 24. When the tubes 19 in one row have been emptied the rod 21 is re-inserted and the rod for the next row is progressively withdrawn. The central bar 25 is removable in order to allow access to the bottles held in tubes across the rear end of which it passes.

To prevent unauthorized removal of bottles a clamp plate 30 engages the head 27 of the rods 21 and is held in place by a lock (not shown) passing through an opening 31 in a lug 32 attached to the side bar 24. The lug 32 passes through an aperture 33 in the clamp plate 30.

While the construction described uses tubular reeceptacles it will be apparent that part-tubular receptacles, e.g. gutters of semi-circular section could be used if they were suitably suppoorted and mounted within the housing. The gutters may be formed by a series of moulded trays in each of which a number of parallel grooves are formed which slope down from the front to the back of the container.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A container for empty bottles comprising an array of tubular or part-tubular receptacles each capable of holding a number of bottles end to end, the receptacles being inclined to the horizontal so that a bottle inserted at the higher or front end of a receptacle can easily slide down towards the lower or back end, a series of holding rods extending across the back ends of the receptacles to prevent bottles falling out of a receptacle until the corresponding rod is withdrawn, and means for locking the holding rods in position to hold the bottles until the container is to be un-loaded.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1 having a front plate provided with apertures aligned with the front ends of the receptacles.

3. A container as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the array of receptacles is surrounded by a housing having an open back across which the holding rods extend.

4. A container as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 in which the rods pass through openings in two bars at opposite sides of the housing.

5. A container as claimed in claim 4 having an additional bar between the two side bars with openings through which the rods pass.

6. A container as claimed in claim 5 having two additional bars, one located in a central position, the other displaceable along the rods.

7. A container as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the receptacles in each horizontal row are formed by grooves in a moulded tray.