The invention relates to an apparatus for combining bottles or similar objects fed on an inlet conveyor on which they forπ inclined rows in a single row on an ou let conveyor. Such so-called bottle single filers are used e.g. in breweries in front o f the machinery in a bottling line vhich requires single file ^' inlet, such as filler crooners, labelling machines and inspecting machines.

Generally, single filing of a wide stream of bottles

> takes place gradually through the aid of converging rails simultaneously with the bottles being transferred to conve ors of greater speed. In such conventional bottle single 'filers blocking or bridge formations are frequent. As the mutual coefficient of friction

( ,u) bottle to bcttle of cleaned and v:et return bottles is particularly great ( , > 0.8 } , blockings occur especiall often in return bottle plants, even if a ery small single filing angle is used.

When transported in several rows on traditional con¬ veyors, the bottles tend to occupy as little space as possible, correspon ing to a so-called triangulation pattern in v. 1eh the central points of adjoining bottles, projected on s horizon &1 plane, form corners in equilateral triangles. It can be shown that the condition to be met to bring objects of a circular cross- section cut of triangulation b>- .rail reaction alone is t h a t 3. -

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BAD ORIGINAL

- δHE

In traditional return bottle single filers, mechanical aids, such as horizontally working vibrators and excentric-controlled rail movements are therefore used or measures are taken in order to reduce the risk of blocking.

The drawbacks of the traditional bottle single filer increase with increasing capacity and include

1. poor operational reliability,

2. high level of noise, which even when acoustically attenuated exceeds 90 dB(A),

3. generation of wear rings on the bottles because of wedge effect, and

4. great space requirement in the longitudinal direction.-

The object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the present type which can single file bottles on a short transport stretch without any risk of blocking and with¬ out using vibrators or other means to move the rails.

This object is achieved by constructing the apparatus so that it has a plurality of oblong separators mounted and controlled so as to extend across the inlet conveyor substantially in parallel with the rows of bottles and to move in a closed path in which, from above, they move down between two rows of bottles and follow them during the last part of their movement on- he inlet conveyor towards an inclined guide rail which forms a smaller angle with the inlet conveyor than the separators and transfers the bottles to the outlet conveyor. In this construction the separators, which are

"

moved in bet een the inclined rows of bottles, serve to control the indi idual bottles, to thereby prevent the above-mentioned bridge formation of the bottles on the conveyor. It has been found that such a bottle single filer, even with a great capacity, improves the operational reliability significantly.

Even though empty spaces should occur in the triangula¬ tion pattern, this will not produce blocking. Likewise, normally occurring out of round portions or other minor deviations usually do not cause interruptions in the operation.

The circumstance that the bottles are separated by the separators, which can expediently be made of a plate of steel coated with plastics as stated in claim 4, partly reduces the noise level in the single filing area significantly, partly eliminates overloading of the bottl which in traditional single filers takes place by wedge effect combined with mechanical aids.

It has moreover been found that the length required to . incorporate an embodiment of the stated single filer to combine five rows of beer bottles to a single row, can be reduced to approximately 1 m, 'while a corresponding traditional single filer requires a length of 3 to 5 m.

When the path of movement of the separators is circular, a particularly simple construction can be obtained. An embodiment of such a construction is characterized ^• in that each separator is secured in a separator shaft which is rotatably journalled in a control disε,- which itself is rotatably journalled and disposed in a vertical plane parallel with the travelling direction of the inlet conveyor, that the separator shafts are eςuidistantly spaced along a circle on the co trol disc, and that said

separator shafts, through connecting springs ofequal lenght, are connected to their respective shafts on an auxiliary disc rotatable about an axis which is parallel with and offset from the axis of the control disc so that the separators move translatorily during the rotation of the discs. This embodiment also causes the movement of the separators to be translatory so that separators, such as those defined in claims 4 and 5, remain in a vertical orientation during all phases of their movement.

In the apparatus of the invention, the separator disc may be motor-driven, but it may also be driven solely by the pressure of bottles arriving on the inlet conveyor— In both cases, the separators should during the portion of their path of movement in which they con- tact bottles desirably have a substantially constant, horizontal speed component in the conveyor direction corresponding to the normal speed of the bottles in the triangulation pattern, the rotary speed of the separator disc being kept substantially constant. Since the separators form an angle with their shafts, pro¬ vision is made for a compensating control of the speed component of the separators in the transport direction by constructing the apparatus so that the separators are mounted and controlled such that they can move a limited distance transversely to the inlet conveyor.

One practically expedient embodiment of means for main¬ taining a constant, horizontal speed component of the separators during a part of their movement is characterized in that each separator is connected to a curve roller so that the two members are immovable with respect to each other in the axial direction of the control disc, a circular or arc-shaped guide track or cai being provided to cooperate with the curve roller.

In such a construction the desired cons an , horizontal

speed component of the separators during a part of their movement can be obtained by shaping the guide track or cam in consideration of the contour of the bottles. Particularly the apparatus may be so arranged 5 that the portion of the guide track which corresponds to the inlet conveyor stretch where the row of bottles is transferred to the outlet conveyor, guides the separators axially inwards toward the control disc.

10 An expedient embodiment of transfer sections between the side rails on the two conveyors is one in which the two sections are formed so that the bottles are gradually accelerated during the transfer and that the distance between the sections after the separation-

1.5 is smaller than the double bottle diameter.

When the apparatus is suspended from or supported by a lifting cylinder, the whole .apparatus ^" can be lifted free so that it can be pivoted sideways and is thus readil accassible for inspection and repair.

0 In an embodiment of the apparatus a spring means is secured at the inner end of each separator, said spring means being arranged and mounted so as to laterally support the bottle rows on a stretch of the transfer area where the transfer section is removed. Such acon- 5 struction is instrumental in ensuring a smooth and regu¬ lar transfering process.

The invention will be explained more fully below with reference to the drawing, in which

fig. 1 is a top view of an embodiment of the apparatus 0 of the invention, fig. 2 is a section taken along the line II-II in fig. 3, illustrating the two discs with the separator devices removed, and a part of the inlet conveyor and a support

frame seen in a direction perpendicular to the con¬ veyor,

fig. 3 is a section taken along the line 111—111 in fig. 2 with two separator devices shown in a neutral axial position,

fig. 4 is a vertical fragmentary view corresponding to a part of fig. 3, but shows the separator displaced axially inwards,

fig. 5 is an enlarged section taken along the line V-V in fig. 3, and

fig. 6 is a horizontal view corresponding to a part of fig. 1, but shows a modified embodiment of the appara¬ tus.

The embodiment shown in the drawing is adapted to combine beer bottles 10, which are advanced in the direction indicated by an arrow x, into four rows in a triangulation pattern on an inlet conveyor 11. In this pattern of densel crowded bottles each transverse row of bottles forms an angle of 60 with the travelling direction of the con- veyor and its side rails 12 and 13 having an internal spacing of d(l --- (z - 1) cos 30), where d is the diameter of the bottle and z the number of bottles in a transverse row of bottles. In tne embodiment shown z = 4.

Seside the outlet end of the inlet conveyor 11 and at the same level is mounted an outlet conveyor 14 which travels in the same direction x as the inlet conveyor, but at a speed four times as great, and this outlet con¬ veyor only accomodates a single row of bottles. The side rails 15 and 16 of the outlet conveyor are connected to the rails 12 and 13, respectively, through specially

designed rail sections, viz. a transfer section 17 and a ^' back support section 18, respecti ely.

Beside and spaced above the inlet conveyor 11 is a pair of control discs 19 having a common central hub 20 5 rotatably journalled on a crank 21 in a vertical plane in parallel with the transport direction. The crank 21 is carried by a crank arm' 22, which in turn is secured to on end of a shaft 23 which is parallel with the crank, the other end of the shaft being clamped in a clamping member 10 24 on the upper portion of a lifting cylinder 25. A pair of auxiliary discs 26 having a central hub 27 is rotatabl journalled on the shaft 23.

The lifting cylinder 25 has a do n- _' -ardly directed p.iston rod 28, whose lower end portion is secured (not shown in 5 details) to a frame 29, which itself is secured to the conveyor rail 30, and have height adjustable supporting legs 31, in such a way as to permit adjustment of the lifting cylinder in three dimensions.

The control discs 19 and the auxiliary discs 26 are 0 identical, and each of these discs is shaped as a star wheel comprising a plurality, sixteen in the shown embodiment, of radial, equiangularia spaced fingers 32, which are punched from stainless spring steel and whose inner ends are clamped between clamping discs 33 at the ends 5 of the hubs 20 and 27. An outer hub 35 is fixed between the outer ends of each pair of oppositely disposed finger 32 by means of clamping discs 34.

A control shaft 36 is rotatably jcurnalled in each auxiliary disc outer hub 35, and each control disc outer 0 hub rotabably mounts a carrier shaft 37 for a bottle separator 38 which is secured to the cuter end of the shaft 37 and is composed of an oblong steel plate

coated with plastics. Said steel plate is disposed in a vertical plane and extends across the inlet con¬ veyor 11 in a direction parallel with the rows of bottles, i.e. at an angle of 60 with the conveyor. As shown in fig. 5, the lower edge of the separators has a bevelled rear edge.

A connection spring 39, which in fig. 2 is moved slightly away from the discs for clarity, is fixed between each control shaft 36 in the auxiliary disc 26 and a corresponding separator carrier -shaft 37 in the control disc 19. The connecting spring 39 is a flat spring of a substantially Λ-shaped cross-section which permits- compensation for minor variations in the shaft distance.

The control disc pair 19 is located at such a_ level with respect to the conveyor 11 as will cause the separators 38 at the lower portion of the. disc to be disposed betwee and to separate adjacent rows of bottles, and these separators will therefore be urged forwards by the pressure of bottles arriving on the conveyor so that the control disc 19 will be rotated by the bottle pressure. The auxiliary disc 26 and its connections with the separator shafts 37 through the flat springs 39 cause the separators 38 to move translatorily during the rotation of the control disc 19 and to remain in vertical planes and at the same angle of 60 with the conveyor 11 during all phases of their movements.

Each individual bottle separator and associated control disc hub 35, connecting spring 39 and auxiliary disc hub form a unit which can be axially displaced because of the spring characteristics of the fingers 32. Each contro disc hub 35 has secured to it a bracket 40 which extends radially with respect to the control disc and carries

a curve roller 41 at its outer end. This cu e roller runs in a guide track 42 in an arc-shaped curve guide 43 hich extends along a lo er portion of the periphery of the control disc pair 19 and is secured to the supportin structure by means of carrier rods 44 and brackets 45. In the embodiment sho n, the curve guide 43 covers only the active portion of the path movement of the separator but can if desired enclose the control discs completely.

On that portion of the closed path of movement of a bott separator in which it is in contact ith bottles, its axial position with respect to the control disc pair 19 is determined by the shape of the guide trac 42. This shape is adapted in consideration of the shape of the bottles so that the horizontal component in the travelling direction of the conveyor of the seperator speed, which is the resultant of the regularly rotary movement of the separator together with the control disc pair and- its axial movement with respect to the control disc pair, is substantially constan and equal to the regular feeding rate of the bottle stream on the inlet convevor 11.

The barrier formed by the transfer section 17 is arranged so that the bottles in each row are pressed towrads the outlet conveyor at a gradually increasing speed.

Overturning of the bottles is prevented b an overhead back support plate 46, which in the entire length of the transfer section provides a support for the bottle neck of the innermost bottle in the row. The plate 46 is ad¬ justable in the height by being suspended from -two fork prongs 47 which are connected to a sleeve 43 fixed to the end of the crank 21 so as to be adjustable in the trans¬ erse direction of the con evor.

-To provide for correct protrusion of the separators between the rows of bottles, there has to be a certain minimum spacing between the separators, which puts a lower limit to the diameters of the control discs 19 and the auxiliary discs 26.

During the transfer operation the separators 38 in con¬ nection with the shape of the back support rail 18 and the distance to the transfer section 17 ensure that only one bottle row at a time can be transferred to the outlet conveyor 14 so no jamming will o.ccur. Moreover, the separators prevent collision between the bottles during the single row transfer, and thus prevent both bottle- noise and bottle wear.

The projection of the curve of the separator movement path is shown by a dashed line in fig. 1.

The accelaratϊon imparted to the bottles along the transfer section 17 depends upon the angle between the separators 38 and the transfer section, but also upon the speed components of the separators in the conveyor direction of the conveyor as well as in the transverse direction.

The guide track 42 is shaped so that a bottle row under transfer gets a component in the direction x as great as possible and a relatively small component in the direction of the separators.

Ϊ

The axial travel of the separators during the transfer - motion causes the spacing bet een the separators to ide whereby the bottle row may be broken, as shown in fig. 6, where the bottles in the rou in question are designated by 10 1 , 102, 103 and 104. The frictional contact with the back support section 18 causes the

4 outermost bottle 10 to rotate in the direction shown by an arrow 49 and the adjacent bottle 10 to rotate in the opposite direction. When at the location in question the innermost bottle 10 contacts the transfer section

2

17, the second innermost bottle 10 will be caused to rotate counterclockwise, i.e. in the opposite direction of its adjacent bottle 10 . This may entail that the bottle 10 2 leaves the row and gets in front of the bottl 10 . This is avoided by the embodiment of fig. 6 In whic a portion of the transfer section 17 is removed at the stretch in question and the innermost bottle 10 is late rally supported by a plastics tab 50, which is fitted at the end of substantially hairpin-shaped flat spring secured to the inner portion of the separator 38. The advantage of this construction is that the spring 51 applies an even, yieldable pressure to the bottle row and thus compensates for variations in the bottle dia¬ meter, and that the rotation imparted to the outermost bottle 10 3 by the outer bottle 104 being urged against the back support section 18 will cause the adjacent bottl

10 to move so as to get in front of the inner adjacent bottle 10 as sho.--n, to promote a smooth and regular transfer process. Also, the noise level is significantly reduced.

The details of the separator mechanism sho n and de¬ scribed in the foregoing can be modified in many 'wa s. For exarriple. the path o f movement of the separator shafts does not ha e to be circular as these shafts can be sup-

ported by a chain or by two chains running in parallel. Nor do the control discs have to be disposed In a plane parallel with the transport direction, but may e.g. form an angle with the inlet conveyor.

Instead of being parallel with the inlet conveyor 11, the outlet conveyor 14 may form an angle with it, e.g. corresponding to the barrier direction.

Also the number of separators may be varied. The most favourable number depends e.g. on the form of the bottles It can be s cr.π that the optimum number of separators for treatment of standard beer bottles is sixteen.

The curve guide 43 may be divided into two sections, the first of ---h.ich corresponding to a specific bottle shape is replaceable, while the second corresponding to the transfer notion described is fixed.

Moreover, autcmatic control mechanisms may be provided to facilitate the start of the apparatus. In fig. 1, the dotted lines illustrate a manually operable battle barrie 52 which up.or. start Is pushed over the inlet conveyor 11 to block- it. The lifting cylinder 25 is lifted and the inlet conveyor is started by this operation. In the lifted positicn the apparatus can be pivoted about the axis of the lifting cylinder and thus be made readily accessible fcr adjustments and the like. When the bottle barrier 52 is ^■ .-.ithdrawn, the inlet conveyor 11 stops and the lifting c Under is lowered, ϊ-hile the rotary plane is automatically positioned In a plane which Is parallel with the transpert direction. Furthermore, the angle of rotation of t~ ^' e control discs can be positioned to ensure that the separat-αrs will correctly engage the compact tri anαulation oattern when the apparatus is lowered.

The constructional details of the structures shown and described can be modified in other ways too. The appara¬ tus can also perform operations being the reverse of single filing as it can distribute bottles arriving in a single, file into several, more slowly moving files.