The invention to which this application relates is to apparatus which is used in the movement of one or a plurality of articles, such as, for example, empty bottles or containers, which are to be moved from a first position to a second position.

The invention is particularly, although not necessarily exclusively, directed to apparatus which is used to move empty bottles or other containers which have been separated from a package and the apparatus is used to move one or a quantity of the same at a time to a subsequent position in which the bottles or containers can be processed and/or filled with material so as to form a retail pack.

In known apparatus, the articles are collated in a holding area and progressively moved towards the apparatus to which the application relates such that there is provided a leading row of the articles which are then sub sequently moved by the apparatus and typically, are moved in a direction which is perpendicular to that in which the articles are moved in the holding area. The movement of the leading row is achieved by the provision o f one or more pusher members which are mounted on one or a plurality of chains which are driven so that the pusher member contacts with one or more articles in the leading row to slidingly move the same in the desired direction. The chains are typically provided to pass around a first drive pulley at one end and around a second guide or drive pulley at a second end, with the pusher members located on said chains, typically at equally spaced intervals. The location of the pusher members is selected with regard to the particular articles which are to be moved and the general configuration of the apparatus with which the same are to be used. A known problem with conventional apparatus is that the chains which are used, and the associated components therefore, are relatively heavy and complex in terms of both initial assembly and also with regard to sub sequent maintenance. This therefore leads to the apparatus being prone to breakdown and/or requiring relatively frequent, and possibly expensive, maintenance schedules which, in turn, means that the apparatus can be out of use for a significant period of time which can be particularly problematic in manufacturing or filling facilities where relatively high throughput of articles is required.

The aim of the present invention is therefore to provide apparatus of the type described which has improved characteristics in terms of assembly, required maintenance and also in terms of operation with regard to the possible speeds which can be achieved and a reduction in power usage requirements.

In a first aspect of the invention, there is provided apparatus for the movement of articles from a first position to a second position, said apparatus including at least one pusher member to contact with and move at least one o f the articles at a time and wherein the said pusher member is located on at least one belt which is driven by drive means so as to move the said at least one pusher member along a predetermined path between the first and second positions to move said articles between said positions.

In one embodiment, a row of articles is provided to be moved by the pusher member at the same time and the pusher member contacts the last article in said row with regard to the direction of movement of the articles. In one embodiment, the at least one belt is a timer belt which, in one embodiment, has a relatively smooth outer surface and, on the inner surface, has a plurality of teeth formed thereon, said teeth provided to engage with matching teeth formations provided on at least one drive wheel so that the movement of the drive wheel can be transferred into movement of the said belt.

In one embodiment, the belt includes a guide formation and the longitudinal axis of the guide formation is sub stantially parallel with the direction of movement of the belt.

In one embodiment, the guide formation is a protruding ridge which is received in a guide slot which is formed in the at least one drive pulley and/or further pulley wheels and/or wear plate along which the said belt moves. It should be appreciated that although it is preferred that the protrusion be provided on the belt and the slot be provided on the wear plate, drive pulleys and/or other pulleys, that it is within the scope of the invention for the guide arrangement to be reversed in terms of the guide slot is provided in the belt and the guide protrusion is provided along the wear plate, drive pulleys and/or other pulleys.

In one embodiment, the teeth are formed such that the longitudinal axes of the teeth are perpendicular to the direction of movement of the belt.

In one embodiment, the pusher members are located on said belt using mechanical fixing means.

In one embodiment, a plurality of belts are provided, said belts arranged in parallel and in one embodiment the pusher members are located to both of said belts so as to secure the pusher members in location and also join said belts together at that location and hence ensure that the two belts move in a synchronised manner.

Typically both belt means have the same guide formation and teeth configuration.

In one embodiment, the apparatus moves said articles onto a conveying means.

In one embodiment, prior to movement of said articles onto the conveying means, at least the leading article in the row of articles which is being moved is subjected to an airflow which is created to draw at least the leading article towards the at least one belt.

In one embodiment, the airflow is created by a vacuum generating means located to the opposing side of the belt to which the articles are located, with the airflow passing through apertures, typically provided between the belts, if more than one belt is provided. In one embodiment, the apertures are located so as to allow the airflow to pass between the said belt so as to act on the said at least one leading article and/or can pass through apertures provided in the belt or belts themselves so as to allow the airflow to reach and influence the at least one article.

Typically, the vacuum generating means and apertures are located so that the airflow acts on at least the leading article in the row of articles which is moved at that time. The provision of the airflow is to maintain the article in the required orientation particularly when the same starts to move, and so prevent the same from toppling or falling over which is a common problem with conventional apparatus of this type. In one embodiment, the airflow generating means as described herein, acts to draw the article into contact with the one or more movement belts as the article is moved from the apparatus onto the conveying means.

In one embodiment, the airflow generating means described herein is provided in conjunction with apparatus which uses a chain drive rather than a belt drive and can still be used to advantage in maintaining the position of the at least one article in the row of articles which is to be moved.

In a further aspect of the invention, there is provided apparatus for the movement of one or more articles from a first position to a second position, said apparatus including at least one pusher member provided to contact with at least one of the articles to cause the movement of the articles in a desired direction, drive means connected to said pusher member to cause movement of the pusher member in the required direction and wherein an airflow generating means is provided to generate an airflow to act on at least one of the articles to encourage the said at least one article to stay in sub stantially the same orientation during movement of the same.

In one embodiment, the movement means is provided in the form of a belt or, alternatively, is provided in the form of a chain.

In one embodiment the said apparatus is provided as part of movement apparatus provided for the purpo se of moving the articles in the form of empty containers from a location at which the same are removed from packaging to a location at which the same are filled with a substance. In one embodiment the containers are moved by the said apparatus when empty. In one embodiment the substance with which the containers are filled is a liquid.

A specific embodiment of the invention is now described with reference to the accompanying drawings; wherein

Figure 1 illustrates part of apparatus which is used to move articles from a first location to a second location including apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

Figures 2 and 3 illustrate front and rear perspective views of the apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 4 illustrates a cro ss section view of one of the belts of the apparatus along line A-A.

Referring firstly to Figure 1 , there is illustrated apparatus 2 for the movement of articles. In this case, the apparatus is provided for the movement of articles in the form of empty bottles or containers which are initially held in a holding area 4 and which are encouraged by conventional movement means to move in the direction of arrow 6 towards the apparatus 8 provided at the end 10. The articles in the holding area 4 are moved such that as they approach the apparatus 8, a leading row of the articles will be provided at the front end thereof and which row has a longitudinal axis 10. The purpo se of the apparatus 8 in accordance with the invention is to then allow that leading row of articles to be moved in a direction 12 which is parallel to the longitudinal axis 10 such that each of the articles leave the apparatus and pass onwardly to conveying means 14 so that the same can then be passed to, typically, filling apparatus which allows the articles to be filled, with for example milk, then passed onwardly for sealing to form a retail pack. The movement of the row of articles is achieved by the provision of a pusher member 1 6 which is moved so that the leading face 1 8 of the same contacts with the rear surface of the last of the articles in the row such that a continued movement of the pusher plate causes the row of articles to move in the direction of arrow 12. Typically, a number of pusher members 16 will be positioned at equally spaced intervals on the apparatus, with each pusher member being brought into contact with the rear surface of the last article in successive rows as each of the rows is moved into position.

Figures 2 and 3 illustrate front and rear views of the apparatus 8, and Figure 3 illustrates the side 8' along which the articles are moved and Figure 2 illustrates the return side 8" which allows the pusher members 16 to be moved back to a position to contact the rear face of the last article in the leading row of articles and which position is illustrated in Figure 3.

In accordance with the invention the apparatus comprises two belts 20 and 22 which, in this case, are joined together at locations by the pusher members 1 6 which are mechanically located to both of the belts. The location of the pusher members to both of the belts firstly, ensures that the pusher member 1 6 is located accurately and, secondly, allows the synchronicity of movement of the belts to be improved. Each of the belts on the inner face includes a plurality of teeth, a portion of which are indicated in Figure 2 for illustration purposes. However it should be appreciated that the external face 24 is relatively smooth and in this embodiment it is only the internal face which has the teeth formed thereon. In addition to the teeth, there is also provided a guide formation 26 in the form o f a ridge and the purpo ses of this will be described sub sequently. The teeth 28 of the belt are provided to engage with matching teeth formations formed on the drive means components in the form of the drive wheel 30 and pulley wheel 32. The drive wheel 30 and pulley wheel 32 are spaced apart so as to define the length of the forward and return paths of the belt as shown respectively in Figures 3 and 2. The drive wheel 30 can be driven by a suitable motor such as a servo motor, inverter motor or the like in order to ensure the synchronised movement of both of the belts. The provision of the teeth formation on the drive and pulley wheels and the engagement of the same with the teeth 28 on the belts ensures that the drive is imparted efficiently to the teeth 28 on the belts 20,22 so as to cause the movement of the same and hence the pusher members.

The belts are provided in this embodiment, as stated previously, with guide formations 26 which are shown in the form of a raised ridge protrusion. The protrusion is provided to be received within guide slots which are formed in any or any combination of wear plates 34, drive wheels 30 and /or pulley wheels 32. It is preferred that the guide slots are provided in each of the above components as the purpo se of the same is to ensure that the movement of the belt is guided in the required path.

Figure 4 illustrates a cross sectional view through one of the belts and the wear plate so as to illustrate the arrangement between the guide formations along the line XX and illustrates how the guide ridge protrusion 26 is located within a guide slot 36 in the wear plate 34 and this therefore prevents movement of the belt 24 with respect to the wear plate 34 in directions other than the intended direction of movement and thereby ensures correct location of the belt with the apparatus as a whole.

With the articles being moved in the direction 12, as illustrated in Figure 3, it will be appreciated that when the pusher member 16 contacts the last article in the row, and then continues to move in the direction of arrow 12, there is a risk that one or more articles at the leading end of the row may topple as the movement is exerted thereon and particularly when one considers that the articles are relatively light weight as they are typically empty at the time of movement using the apparatus in accordance with the invention. In order to alleviate this problem, the apparatus is provided with a vacuum generating means 38 which is located between the wear plates 34 of the apparatus. The vacuum generating means is provided with apertures 40 which, in this case, are located so as to lie to the top and bottom of, and between, the belts 24. The airflow generated by the apertures and vacuum generating means contacts with and acts directly on the article or articles which are po sitioned adjacent to that part o f the apparatus and which, in this case, are the leading articles in the row. The provision of the vacuum generating means and the air flow created thereby, causes articles at that point to be drawn towards and typically into contact with the belts 24 so as to encourage the articles to remain in the preferred orientation for movement.

In another embodiment, further or alternative apertures may be formed in the vacuum generating means and wear plates and also in the belts themselves so as to allow air to pass through the apertures in the belt and influence the orientation of the articles accordingly.

There is therefore provided in accordance with the invention, apparatus which has significant advantage over the prior art as the use of the belts in the manner described, ensures that the location and use of the same to move the pusher members is achieved and controlled whilst, at the same time, the use of belts rather than chains, means that the overall apparatus is lighter and less complex to operate. In turn, the maintenance of the same is less complex and therefore co st savings can be achieved.