PRIOR ART Packaging containers of the type in question are often handled with the aid of air conveyors, i. e. containers are blown forwards in the intended trajectory with the aid of an air stream and at the same time the containers are supported with their neck collar on rails, one on each side of the neck. This constrained support does not permit direct removal of the containers from the conveyor belt. In order to be able to remove containers from the"stream"of containers, it is necessary to create interruptions, of the sluice type, at defined positions along the trajectory of the conveyor arrangement. Such sluices or sections in the belt increase costs and detract from the conveyor arrangement's overall flexibility, i. e. its adaptability to applications other than the one in question. Typically, air conveyor systems are therefore tailor-made systems for a single application.

As an alternative to air conveyors, or in combination with the latter, conveyor arrangements are used in which packaging containers are handled by what is called base support, i. e. the containers in the conveyor rest with their bottom against a conveyor chain or the like and are supported by the latter. Such conveyor arrangements have guide rails along the conveyor chain, two on each side of the latter. The upper rail in each pair usually lies at the shoulder height of the packaging container, i. e. at approximately two thirds of the

height of the container length, and the lower one is at a relatively short distance from the bottom section of the packaging container. This base support technique permits removal (with certain limitation depending on the container design) of packaging containers from the"stream"of containers at any desired position along the conveyor chain. The handling is also relatively problem-free as long as one keeps to stable, relatively heavy packaging containers having a bottom surface providing good support.

However, for environmental reasons, and because of harsh economic reality, development is towards increasingly lighter packaging container constructions which save on material. This results in thin-walled containers and, in order then to obtain sufficiently strong containers, recourse is often had to sophisticated designs which strengthen the bottom but which do not always give an optimum supporting surface for holding the containers upright on a conveyor chain.

The points mentioned above mean that base support of the conventional type causes problems in the conveyor belt because the containers tilt in the longitudinal direction of the chain, are pushed further and end up lying crosswise and finally create a total and unmanageable blockage.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is to use base support for trouble-free handling of packaging containers provided with a neck collar in a conveyor belt.

THE INVENTION The object of the invention is achieved with an arrangement according to attached Patent Claim 1, and the further developments of this are set out in Claims 2-4.

The neck collar support edge according to attached Claims 5-6 affords a particularly advantageous solution to the object of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is an outline diagram showing an advantageous embodiment of a base support arrangement according to the invention, Figure 2 is an outline diagram showing the maximum possible clearance between the neck collar of the containers and a neck collar support edge, Figure 3 is an outline diagram showing the base support arrangement on a larger scale and the adjustable nature of the guide rails in the horizontal direction, and Figure 4 shows an advantageous embodiment of a chain with comparatively small gaps between the chain links and intended to be used in the illustrated embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT In Figure 1, reference number 10 shows a hollow beam in cross section which is included in a beam system which can comprise both straight and curved beam sections which together form a slide surface for an endless chain 11 a, 11 b driven in the beam system. The chain part 11 a slides on the outside of slide edges 12a on the top of the beam 10, and the axle pins He of the chain part 11b slide on the inside of slide edges 12b on the underside of the beam 10.

Guide wheels/drive wheels (not shown) are located between the chain parts 11 a, 11 b, and the whole beam system is supported horizontally by arms 13 which are vertically adjustable in a stand 14.

Figure 1 shows a packaging container 15, in this illustrative embodiment a blow-moulded plastic bottle, which rests with its bottom against, and is supported by, the chain part 11 a. The bottle in the illustrative embodiment has a typical bottom design which strengthens its stability and which has a number of recesses 15a opening radially outwards. These recesses reduce the otherwise maximum possible stand surface. Together with the light- weight design of the rest of the bottle, with a long bottle length compared to width, it is probable that with a conventional base support this would give rise to the blockage problems mentioned at the outset.

In order to overcome this, according to the invention, the design of the bottle neck 15b, more specifically its collar 15c, is used in a way which is unique in this connection. As is shown in Figure 1, a neck collar support edge 16 is arranged horizontally, parallel to the chain part 11 a. The support edge has a substantially L-shaped cross section and its horizontal base part 16a lies with clearance under the collar 15c. (This clearance will be discussed in detail in connection with the outline diagram in Figure 2). The vertical part 16b of the L-shaped profile of the support edge is screwed securely to a holder 17 which is supported by the stand 14 so as to be adjustable in the horizontal and vertical directions. An adjustment device 18 provides for this adjustability.

As has been stated, the support edge 16 extends parallel to the chain part 11 a. The support edge consists of a number of interconnected sections and is made of a material, for example an acetyl polymer, for example POM, which together with the illustrated L-shaped profile affords sufficient flexibility to follow the curvature of the chain part 11 a.

Following this description of the characteristics of the support edge and its general relation to the chain part 11a, it is now time to more precisely define said clearance between the support edge and the neck collar.

Figure 2 shows the bottle 15 transverse to the running direction of the chain part 11a and thus transverse to the extent of the support edge part 16a. The line 11 a in Figure 2 thus represents said chain part and the line 16a represents said support edge part.

Reference number 19 in Figure 2 indicates the centre of gravity of the bottle, and number 20 indicates the vertical line.

In the tilted position in the direction of the chain part 11 a in Figure 2, the left- hand part of the collar 15c in the figure bears against the support edge 16. At the same time, the vertical line 20 intersects an imaginary line which wholly or partly forms the radially outer supporting line of the supporting surface of the bottom which holds the bottle vertically.

The tilt position in Figure 2 is the maximum tilt position at which the bottle, without retaining force, returns by itself to the vertical position. The optimum and at the same time maximum permissible clearance between the support edge part 16a and the collar 15c can thus be easily determined, from said empirical starting point, for the bottle type in question, and, by means of the adjustment device 18, the neck collar support edge is positioned at the corresponding height.

The support edge 16 thus effectively prevents tilting of the bottle in the longitudinal direction of the chain part 11 a, both backwards and forwards. In order to prevent tilting in the transverse direction, an upper guide rail 21 and a lower guide rail 22 are located on the right side of the chain part 11 a in Figure 1. The upper rail is placed approximately at the transition between the bottle shoulder and the bottle body. Both the rails lie with clearance from the

bottle when the latter has the position centred on the chain part 11 a in Figure 1. To complete the protection against tilting in the transverse direction, a further guide rail 23 is provided on the left side of the chain part 11 a shown in Figure 1, at a height position approximately half way between the positions of the rails 21, 22.

As is shown diagrammatically in Figure 3, all three of these guide rails can be adjusted in the horizontal direction (and vertical direction) by means of adjustable arms 24a, 24b, 24c supported by the stand 14.

In the introduction, mention was made of recesses provided in the bottom of the bottle which impair its stability and make its handling more difficult.

In order to optimize trouble-free operation and further improve the base support, a special type of conveyor chain has been produced according to the invention. Part of this chain 25 is shown in Figure 4, and, as can be seen from the figure, the gaps 26a, 26b formed between adjacent chain links 25a are of medium size. A bottle 15 is also indicated in Figure 4. It will be seen that the gaps between the chain links interfere minimally with the supporting surface of the bottle. For the bottle, the chain forms a substantially plane, "comfortable"supporting surface. A further feature which can be added, if need be, to the arrangement according to the invention is the dust guard 27 shown in Figure 1. This consists of sections which are joined together by suitable connecting members in tracks 27a. The dust guard is not fitted at those positions where bottles are to be removed or are otherwise to be accessible, for example for inspection.

The arrangement according to the invention is intended in particular for applications with a high production volume per unit of time, a volume of the order of 10-50000 packaging containers per hour, and with its special design it to a very great extent satisfies the requirements concerning operational reliability which are stipulated in such contexts.

The arrangement also permits particularly flexible and application-adapted construction of the conveyor system, in principle without the need for "tailored"and specially designed construction elements.

With the specific single side neck support which the invention offers, it is additionally possible, at any chosen position along the conveyor belt, to remove a packaging container simply by lifting the container more or less straight up.

Inspection points and other access points can thus be arranged at any chosen positions.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a specific embodiment, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited thereto, and modifications and alternative embodiments are instead possible within the scope of the attached patent claims.