US2920742A - Conveyer for bottles - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 12, 1960 e. LINGG CONVEYER FOR BOTTLES Filed Oct. 15, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENT 0R w 00 MW L 2 d W M @Q 5 6 United States Patent This invention relates to conveyers, and more specificallyto a powerdriven conveyer for bottles.

The present practice is to install racking or bottling plants, e.g. for beer bottles, at an elevated place such as the first floor of a building. So, the bottle cases may be kept separate from the bottling plant, for example on the ground-floor, since only the bottles are needed for the actual filling operation. problem of transporting the bottles individually to the first floor with the bottles standing upright, while at the same time ensuring high conveying capacities and a continuous operation and circulation, considering that the present bottling machines have a filling capacity of up to 18,000 bottles per hour.

To solve this problem, it has already been proposed to transport the bottles by means of a conveyer which 'is provided with vertically extending plates for supporting However, this presents the each individual bottle during the upward movement there- I V of. These plates are so arranged on the conveyer as to form a multiplicity of compartments. This construction,

however, necessitates the provision of complicated devices to deliver the individual bottles into and out of these compartments. It will be obvious that arrangements of this kind are subject to frequent faults and disturbances. As it is necessary to convey, for example, 18,000 bottles per hour, there is only very little time left for each bottle to pass into and out of a compartment.

It is, therefore, the object of the invention to improve and facilitate considerably the delivery of the bottles to and from the conveyer.

This is attained in that the conveyer, one side of which is or is not wholly or partly bordered by a lateral wall or railing, is provided with swingable partitions or separating members holding the individual bottla in upright position. This ensures an uninterruped and smooth delivery of the bottles to and from the conveyer without necessitating the use of any complicated devices for the delivery of the bottles.

According to theinvention, a power-driven endless conveyer, particularly for use with a bottlingor bottle cleaning plant, for transporting bottles from a lower level to an upper level and vice versa comprises a plurality of interconnected chain link-like carrier elements each adapted to receive a bottle in upright position within a region in which the conveyer extends horizontally, at least one separating member pivoted to each carrier element at one of the sides thereof which extend in the longitudinal direction of the conveyer, and means for intermittently swinging said separating member through an angle of about 100 between a substantially vertical position and a lower position.

Further features of the invention referring to the shape and arrangement of the separating members will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which two preferred embodiments are illustrated diagrammatically and by way of example and in which:

Fig. 1 is a rear view of a carrier element and asso;

ciated separating member seen in the conveying direction;

Fig. 2 is a side view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing a modification of the separating member;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a portion of the conveyor;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a section taken substantially on line VIIVII of Fig. 5, showing the manner in which the guide rail 10 causes movement of the separator; and

Fig. 8 is a section taken substantially on line VIII-VIII of Fig. 5, showing how the rail 10 raises the separator 2.

Referring now particularly to the drawing, an endless conveyer consists of a plurality of interconnected chain link-like carrier elements 1. Each carrier element 1 is adapted to carry a single bottle and is provided, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, at one of its sides which extend in the longitudinal direction of the conveyer with a partition or separating member 2 for supporting the bottle. The separating members 2 are mounted to swing through an angle of about about an axle or pin 7 extending approximately in the conveying direction.

As shown in Fig. 3, the separating member 2 is, in top plan view, -of substantial L-shape and has wall sections 3 and 4 connected through a rounded portion 5 and extending vertically to the conveying direction. The .wall section 4 is at its lower end pivoted to the carrier element 1 by means of lugs 8, a hinge 6 and the pin 7. The pin 7 extends in the horizontal plane at a slight angle with respect to the conveying direction.

' The wall section 4 of each carrier element has at its .upper end an outwardly bent and curved extension 9 as shown in Fig. 1, which is adapted to engage and slide on suitably shaped guide rails 10 arranged at predetermined points adjacent the conveying track. One of such guide rails 10 which is shaped in a manner Well known in the art to effect swinging movement of the separating members 2, is disposed at a point where it is desired to swing the separating members 2 from a normal position somewhat below the horizontal to a substantially vertical position. Another guide rail 10 is disposed at a subsequent point where the separating members 2 are to be swung back to their aforesaid normal position.

It will be readily apparent that an arrangement of this kind necessitates no compartments and special devices for delivering the individual bottles into and out of such compartments. To transfer the bottles from one band to another band continuing in linear direction, a conventional guide plate may be used, while the transfer from one band to another parallel band may be efifected by a conventional deflector positioned at an angle of about 45.

Due to their inclined hinge connection 6, 7 and their sweeping shape, the separating members 2, when swinging in upward direction, will effect the proper placing of the' bottles. The members 2 are provided with noselike forward edges 11 which are adapted to engage the bottles below the labels thereof so that there is no frictional contact with the labels and the latter are reliably prevented from being damaged. The upward swinging movement of the separating members 2 is effected slowly over a length of track of, for example, 1 to 1.5 m., so that the bottles, assisted by their round shape, are continuously and smoothly placed in the compartments formed by the separating members swinging into their vertical position. It might happen that a separating memberstrikes upon a bottle in such a manner that, in the presence of a wall or some other boundary extending along the opposite side of the conveyer, said bottle gets stuck temporarily. However, since the separating member moves along with the conveyer while the wall or boundary remains stationary, occurrence of the slightest friction will effect a relative displacement between the bottle and conveyer so that, even under most unfavorable conditions, proper placing of each bottle is ensured.

To discharge the bottles from the conveyer, each separating member 2 is swung in outward direction slowly and continuously over a certain length of track, so that no special and complicated mechanisms for discharging the bottles are required.

Fig. 4 shows, as a modification, a separating member 2a which is of substantial U-shape to ensure a better hold of the bottles standing on carrier element 1.

In most cases, there will be provided a rigid railing or an elastic wall 15 extending along the conveyer at the side opposite the separating members. However, such railing or wall 15 may be dispensed with if, for example, a second separating member 2 or 2a is provided on each carrier element 1 at the side opposite the first separating member.

The individual carrier members 1 are preferably linked to each other by link pins 12. which may be provided at their outer ends with rollers 13 running in rails 14, as indicated by dot and dash lines in Fig. l.

The loading and unloading of the conveyor is not a direct function of the separating plates 2 or 2a. These plates have the function of separating or arranging the bottles which may have been placed at random upon the conveyor and maintaining them in an upright position, particularly when the conveyor moves angularly from one level of a building to another. The separators prevent damage to tl e labels on the bottles as they are conveyed from'one level to another.

From the above detailed description of the invention, it is believed that the construction will at once be apparent, and while there are herein shown and described two preferred embodiments of the invention, it is nevertheless to be understood that minor changes may be 51 made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. A power-driven endless conveyor of the type described for use in transporting bottles from one level to another level comprising a plurality of flexibly interconnected chain link-like carrier elements, each carrier element comprising a bottle support means and a bottle separating plate means pivotally secured to said bottle support means along an axis substantially parallel both to the normal plane of said support means and the normal directional movement of said support means and means for intermittently swinging said separating plate means through an angle of about between a substantially vertical position and a position transverse thereto, said means comprising a wall section on said separating plate means provided with a curved extension at the upper part thereof and a fixed guide rail means disposed adjacent said conveyor and slidably engageable with said curved extension on said plate means, the lengthwise configuration of said guide rail means being such as to cause pivotal movement of the separating plate means on each carrier element about the pivotal axis thereof as the plate means slides along the guide rail means.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein each separating plate means is substantially L-shaped.

3. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein each separating plate means is substantially U-shaped.

4. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the pivotal axis of each separating plate means is laterally inclined at a slight angle with, respect to the normal longitudinal movement of the carrier element with which it is associat-ed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,642,212 Currivan June 16, 1953

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