Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
17~
The present invention relates yenerally to a
bo-ttle orientation system and, more particularl~, to
apparatus for aligning randomly oriented bottles of open-
end leading and open-end trailing dispositions in a train
of such bottles so that they are selectively inverted to
provide a train of bottles in which all of the bottles
therein have, in common, an open-end trailing disposition.
The object of utilizing mechanical means to
orient the bottles to succession, clearly, is to operate
upon as many of the bottles as possible in the least amount
of time. Each and every stage of manipulating the bottles
is a potential source of lost time and must be as efficient
as possible so as not to interfere with maximized output.
Clearly, when a bottle of open-end leading disposition is
in the process of being inverted from an open-end leading
disposition to an open-end trailing disposition, there results
a delay in the rate of advancement of bottles upstream of
(behind) the one being inverted, thereby restricting the
number of bottles that can be inverted and further advanced
in a given allotment of time.
The present invention is directed to a discriminating
means which successively transversely grasps each of the
; randomly oriented bottles in a train of such bottles,
accelerates each of the bottles upon their movement into
the discriminating means, selectively reorients those of
; the bottles therein which require reorientation, and releases
its grip on the bottles when they have completed their
passage through the discriminating means. The accelerated
movement into and controlled movement of the bottles
through the discriminating means prevents interference between
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the lead bottle in the upstream train and the trailing bottle
in the discriminating means and permits high speed operation
of the bottle sorting apparatus.
The present invention is also directed to the
arrangement for gripping the bottles during their passage
through the discriminating means comprising a roller having
axially spaced, elastomeric, radially elongated walls
which form a U-shaped or annular channel, the width of
which is slightly less than the body-width of each of the
bottles so that, upon entry of a bottle into the U-shaped
`` channel of the discriminating means roller, the elastomeric
walls frictionally grip the opposite walls of the bottle.
The peripheral speed of the discriminating roller walls
at their points of contact with the bottle is chosen to be
suitably higher than the velocity of the bottles in the feed
train upstream of the discriminating means so that each
bottle entering the discriminating means accelerates away
from the feed train. Also, take-off means which cooperate
with the discriminating means is provided for removing
uniformly oriented bottles from the discriminating means.
The invention will be better understood from the
following description taken in conjunction with the accompany-
; ing drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a fragmentary, front elevational view
of an assembly in which is incorporated the apparatus pursuant
to the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, plan view, taken in the
direction of the line 2~2 in Fig. 1, of a portion of the
assembly illustrated in Fig. l;
; 30 Fig. 3 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view, taken
along the line 3-3 in Fi~. 6, o a portion o the apparatus
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pursu~nt to the present invention;
~ig. 4 is an enlargedr cross-section view, taken
along the line 4-4 in Fig. 6, of a portion of khe apparatus
pursuant to the present invention;
Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, rear elevational
view of a portion of the assembly of the present invention;
Fig. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary, frontal
perspective view of a portion of the assembly illustrated
in Fig. l;
Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the
line 7-7 in FigO 6;
Fig. 8 is a schematic, cross-sectional view
taken along the line 8-8 in Fig. 7;
~s Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 6 of an
alternate embodiment of a portion of the discriminating
means of the present invention,
; Fig. 10 is an enlarged, fragmentary,frontal,
perspective view of an alternate embodiment of a different
"~ portion of the discriminating means of the present invention;
Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along
the line 11-11 in Fig. 10; ~`
Fig. 12 is an enlarged, fragmentary, front
elevational view of still another alternate embodiment
of the present invention;
Fig. 13 is a view of the embodiment illustrated in
Fig. 12 taken in the direction of arrow X;
Fig. 14 is a schematic, fragmentary, frontal view
of a varient of the embodiment of Fig. 13;
Figs. 15 through 17 are respective, fragmentary
;' ;
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views of partial variations of the embodiment of Fig. 14;
and
~ig. 18 is an enlarged, schematic ~iew of the
bottle-dragging means of Fig. 14.
Referring now to the drawings, and more partic-
ularly to Fig. 1, there is illustrated a bottle orienting
apparatus denoted generally by the reference character 10.
The apparatus 10 includes a lower frame portion 12 and an
upper frame portion 14 secured to and upon the frame
portion 12. The upper frame portion 14 supports a
platform 16 to which is secured an upstanding bracket
18. Pivotally connected to the bracket 18 is a bottle-
container or supply unit 20 having a base flange 22
which can be adjustably tilted about a pin 24 or the
like interconnecting the base flange 22 to the bracket
18.
The angular orientation of the base flange 22
relative to the bracket 18 may be selectively fixed by
means of a clamping screw 28 or the like which extends
through an arcuate slot 26 formed in the bracket 18 and
is threadedly constrained in a threaded aperture (not
shown) formed in the base flange 22 behind the bracket
18. Thus, the orientation of the supply un.it 20 can
be altered from one of a horizontal disposition (not ;
shown) to one of a tilted disposition as illustrated in
Fig. 1.
The supply unit 20 may be, for example, a con-
ventional tank-like device for containing a large number
of plastic bottles randomly predisposed therein, for ex- '!
ample, by hand or conveyor belt deIivery. The unit 20
is equipped with appropriate mechanism (not shown) for
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.
discharging the bottles in succession, one-by-one,
through an outlet port 30 .into a chute or conduit 32.
The unit Z0 may be, for example, of the type which ukilizes
a rotating cone or plate (not shown) to discharge the
. 5 bottles in succession, under slight pressure, through
. the port 30. A typical version of the unit 20 is, for
example, sold under the registered trademark CERTIFEED
by the firm Tangen Drives, Inc. of Clearwater, Florida.
. Communicating with the chute 32 of the unit 20
is a chute 34 defined by an elongate upper member 36 and
; an elongate lower member 38. The members 36 and 38 are
secured to one side face of a bracket 40 which is supported
in upstanding relation upon a lower platform 42 of the
frame portion 14. The conduits 32 and 34 have substan-
tially the same dimensions and are adapted to gulde the
advancement of bottles discharged from the port 30 of the
unit 20, such as the bottles 44, 46 and 48. The chute 32
is closed on four sides, whereas the members 36 and 38
are provided, preferably, with respective elongate lips
37, 39 preferably running their full length up to the
chute 32 (Fig. 4).
The bottles may be either flexible or riyid and
they may be either of shoulder and-neck or full-width-
neck construction. The bottles may have a round, oval
or rectangular cross-section so long as the diameter d
(Fig. 4), in the case of round bottles, or the vertical
height h (Fig. 3), in the case of oval or rectangular
bottles is slightly less than the height H (Fig. 1)
of the conduits or chutes 32 and 34. The bottles,
therefore, are capable of sliding loosely along the
chutes 32 and 34 as a train of randomly oriented bot-
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:
tles, each bottle pushing the next as a result of the
: force exerted by the unit 20 against the last o the
bottles issuin~ from the port 30.
Associated with the chute 34 is a pair of tim-
ing rollers 52, 54. The assembly of the timing rollers
52,54 and chute 34 constitutes a guide means for receiv-
ing and advancing a trai,n of successive, randomly ori- ~.
ented, bottles having each an open end and a closed end.
The timing rollers 52,54 function to control the rate of
advancement of the bottles outwardly of the chute 34 and
into contact with a discriminating roller 62 of a dis-
crimininating means, shown generally at 60.
The discriminating means 60 serves to successively
transversely grasp each of the randomly oriented bottles
in the train of bottles, accelerate each of the bottles
- upon their movement into the discriminating means, selec-
tively reorient those bottles having an open-end leading
disposition (such as the bottles 44 and 46) into an open-
end trailing disposition, and deliver all of the bottles
passing therethrough to a take-off means, shown generally ~:
at 63.
The take-off means 63 serves to remove uniformly
oriented bottles from the discriminating means 60 and in-
cludes a vertically oriented chute 64 defined by a pair ;
` 25 of parallel, spaced members 66 and 68 affixed to the
upstanding bracket 40. The memhers 66 and 68 are spaced
from one another by the distance T corresponding to the
height H of the chute 34. The chute 64 is associated
with a conveyor means denoted generally by the reference
character 65 in Fig. 1 for transferring the appropriately
oriented bottles to various stations (not shown) at ~hich
:
such bottles are treated ~urther, filled, and stored for
: eventual distribution.
The timing rollers 52 and 54 and the discrirninat-
.~ ing roller 62 are each provided, preferably, with elasto-
~: 5 meric bottle-contacting surfaces and are each rotatably
journaled (in a manner as will be described below) in
the upstanding bracket 40. The latter said rollers are
. also all commonly driven by a single drive means 70 in the
form of a conventional motor supported on and affixed to
- 10 the platform 16. The aforementioned rollers 52, 54 and
62 are all coupled to a pulley assembly 69 (Figs. 3 and
5) including a toothed drive pulley 72 which in turn is
driven by a toothed output pulley 74 of the motor 70.
The pulleys 72 and 74 are coupled with one another by
means of, for example, an endless toothed, positive drive
belt 76. It will be understood that the upstanding
bracket 40 (in Fig. 1) is cut away along the irregular,
generally U-shaped, line 78 for illustrative purposes
in order to schematically expose the drive means 70 for
viewing.
As each of the bottles is manipulated into an ~ -
open-end-trailing disposition by the discriminating means
60, each is permitted to fall one-by-one downwardly into
and along the chute 64. The chute 64 guides each of the
bottles into respecti~e bottle-constraininy spaces iso-
lated from one another by means of equidistantly spaced
spoke-like elements 71 (Fig. 2) extending radially out-
wardly from the periphery of a wheel 75 journaled upon
the platform 42 (Fig. 1) adjacent to the chute 64. ~s
illustrated in Fig. 1, the left member 68 of the chute
64 terminates in close proximity to the platform 42,
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.
whereas the rlght membex 66 of the chute 64 ~erminates
~:.
short of the platform 42 by a distance corresponding to
the axial thickness of the wheel 75. As a result, the
periphery of the wheel 75 can extend partially into the
chute 64 beneath the lower end 73 of the right member
66 so that the spoke-like elements 71 project into the
chute 64 as shown.
As further illustrated in Fig. 1 the wheel
75 is mounted upon a shaft 77 which is freely journaled
at its lower end in an appropriate bearing support 79.
The bearing support 79 is attached to and rests upon
a lower platform 80 of the lower frame portion 12. Af-
fixed to the shaft 77, is a toothed pulley 82 which
when rotated is adapted to transmit rotation to the shaft,
the latter which in turn transmits rotation to the wheel
75. The pulley 82 is driven by a drive means 84 in the
form of, for example, a motor having a toothed output
drive pulley 86 coupled with the pulley 82 through the
- intermediary of an endless chain or band 88.
The drive means 84 is adapted to effect contin-
uous rotation of the output pulley 86. Thus, the pulley
82 and wheel 75 are continuously rotated in unison at
a prescribed rate such that the spaces between adjacent
ones of the spoke-like elements 71 are moved in succession
across the chute 64 ~or receiving the bottles descending
from the chute 64. The wheel 75, thus, withdraws the
; descending bottles ~rom the chute 64, and moves the bottles ;
horizontally along an arcuate path to a conveyor belt
92 illustrated in phantom in Fig. 2. The beIt 92 moves
in the direction of arrow A linearly substantially at the
same rate at which the spoke-like elements 71 are rotated
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,.
by the wheel 75, and is thus capable of extracting the
bottles from between the spoke~like elements 71.
In this respect, as illustrated in Fig. 2, a
bottle 90 illustrated in phantom is disposed between
the spoke-like elements 71a and 71b. When the bottle
90 reaches the position illustrated in Fig. 2 in the
course of counterclockwise rotation of the wheel 75,
the bottle 90 moves onto the conveyor belt 92. Once
the bottle 90 rests upon the moving belt 92, continued
movement of the belt 92 with the spoke-like elements 71a
and 71b effectswithdrawal of the bottle 90 for advance-
ment to a processing station (not shown) where it can
be filled or otherwise treated.
Referring now to Fig. 3, there is illustrated
the details of construction of the pulley assembly 69 for
rotating the discriminating roller 62 and the timing
rollers 52 and 54. As shown, the drive pulley 72 of
the pulley assembly 69 is affixed to a shaft 94 which
in t~rn is journaled in a bearing assembly 96 supported
by the frame portion 40. As a result, the drive pulley
72 and the shaft 94 are rotatable together relative to
the frame portion 40. ~ffixed to and adapted to rotate
with the drive pulley 72 and the shaft 94 is a second,
but larger, toothed pulley 100 which, by means of respec-
tive endless toothed belts or the like (as will be dis~
cussed below), transmits rotation to the timing rollers ;
52 and 54. The discriminating roller 62, however, as
` illustrated in Fig. 3, is affixed to an extension 94a
of the shaft 94 and is caused to rotate as the shaft 94
rotates. ;
Illustrated in Fig. 4 is the mechanical drive
,
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' ' ,';' .. ' ', .1 ' '
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,
;`
arrangement for the timing rollers 52 and 54. ~s shown,
the roller 52 is affixed upon a shaft 102 which in turn
is rotatably journaled in a bearing assembly 104 secured
to the frame portion 40. At the opposite end of the
shaft 102 is a toothed pulley 106 which is operatively
associated with the pulley 100 (Fig. 3) via an endless
toothed band or the like. Similarly, the roller 54 is
affixed to a shaft 108 rotatably journaled in a bearing
assembly 110 secured to the frame portion 40. At the
opposite end of the shaft 108 is a toothed pulley 112
which, like the pulley 106, is operatively associated
with the pulley 100 via an endless toothed band or the
like. It will be seen, that the respective peripheries
of the rollers 52 and 54 are closer to one another than
is the spacing H (Fig. 1) between the members 36 and 38.
- The rollers 52 and 54 are, thus, capable of engaging the
` diametrally opposite side portions of the bottles advanc-
ing therebetween ~Fig. 4).
Referring now to Fig. 5, there is illustrated
the operative association of the various pulleys with
one another and with a pair of endless bands or belts
denoted, respectively, by the reference characters 138
; and 140. This association of parts exists on the rear
` side face of the frame portion 40 that is opposite of
the side face thereof illustrated in Fig. 1. The endless
belt 138 is operatively associated with the driven
pulley 100 and with the driven pulleys 106 and 112 of
the timing rollers 52 and 54, respectively. The belt
138 is also operatively associated with a pair of -toothed
tension control pulleys 142, 143 freely journaled on
respective brackets 144 and 145, the bracket 144 having
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a pair of slotted openings 146 to provide for adjustabil-
ity of the pulley 142 relative to the frame portion 40.
The endless belt 140 is operatively associated
with the driven pulley 72 that transmits rotation to the
discriminating roller 62, and with the drive pulley 74
of the motor drive means 70. It is the drive pulley 74
that moves the belt 1~0, the latter in turn transmitting
rotation to the pulleys 72 and 100 in unison to drive
the discriminating roller 62 and the timing rollers 52
10 and 54.
Although not shown, the belt 140 is provided
with teeth on the inner one of its opposite faces to
provide for positive drive of the toothed pulleys 72
and 74 it engages, whereas the belt 138 is provided
15 with teeth on both of its opposite pulley-engaging
~ faces to provide for positive drive of the toothed `
: pulleys 106 and 112 it engages.
As viewed in Fig. 5, the drive pulley 74 is
rotated clockwise and, thus, it moves the belt 140 in
~0 the direction of arrow B. The belt 140, thereby, ro-
tates the pulleys 72 and 100 in unison clockwise. In
turn, as a result, the belt 138 is driven in the direc-
tion of arrow C. Since the belt 138 contacts the left
side of the pulley 112 and the right side of the pulley
25 106, the pulley 112 is caused to rotate clockwise, where-
as the pulley 106 is caused to rotate counter-clockwise.
Accordingly, the upper pulley 106 of the timing roller
52 rotates in an opposite direction from that of the
lower pulley 112 of the timing roller 54. The timing
30 rollers, thus, rotate in opposite directions to coopera-
tively control the advancement of the bottles alon~ the
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chute 34.
Referring now to Fig. 6, there is illustrated a
perspective view of the frontal face of the frame por
tion 40. This view best shows the association of the
timing rollers 52 and 54 with the discriminating roller
62 and with the remainder of the discriminating means 60
of the present invention. The pulley-and-drive arrange-
ment illustrated in Fig. 5 causes the roller 52 to ro-
tate clockwise, and the roller 54 and discriminating
roller 62 each to rotate counter-clockwise.
As further illustrated in Fig. 6 (and also in
Fig. 4~, the timing roller 52 projects slightly through
a cut-out 160 formed in the upper plate member 36, where-
as the lower timing roller 54 projects slightly through
a cut-out 162 formed in the lower plate member 38. As a
result, the respective peripheries of the rollers 52 and
54 are frictionally engageable with bottles advancing
under pressure offered by the supply unit 20 downwardly
along the chute 34. Since the bottles have a thickness
corresponding to (but slightly less than) the width of
the chute 34, the rollers 52 and 54 are adapted to
slightly pinch the bottles advancing therebetween~
As still further illustrated in Fig. 6 (and in ;
Figs. 7 and 8), the remainder of the discriminating means
60 includes an inverting means or lever 200 constructed
and arranged to selectively engage the downstream end
portion of each open-end leading bottle in the discrimi-
nating means for selectively inverting each such open-
end leading bottle to an open-end trailing disposition.
The lever 200, which may also be considered a bottle-
catching means, is affixed to a block 202 that is
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` pivotall~ arranyed via a ball-bearing assembly 203 on
an axle-stub 204. The stub 204 is affixed to a bracket
206 which in turn is affixed to the fra~e portion 40 via a
bolt 208 or the like that is arranged in a vertical slot
207 of the bracket 206. Between the block 202 and the
bracket 206, there is interpositioned a second block 210
that functions to limit the angular swing of the block
202 and, thereby, of the lever 200. The block 210 is
provided with a cut-out 212 that extends along the per-
iphery thereof, for example, over approximately forty-
five degrees. The block 210 can be angularly positioned
and fixed on the stub 204 via a clamping bolt 214 to fix
the relative position of the cut-out 212.
The block 202 is provided with a cantilevered
; 15 rod 216 that projects into the cut-out 212 (Figs. 7 and
8) of the block 210. The rod 216 is engageable with the
end walls 212a and 212b of such cut-out 212 to define and
limit the maximum angular swing of the block 202. The
;1 block 210 is provided with a coil spring 218 (Fig. 8)
that at one end is connected to a pin 220 affixed to
the block 210 (or alternatively to the bolt 214) and
at its other end is connected to the rod 216. The
spring 218 has an at-rest, unexpanded, condition in a
bifurcated portion 210a of the block 210 such that the
rod 216 is constrained against the left wall 212a of
the cut-out 212, and the lever 200 is constrained in
the position 200A shown in phantom in Fig. 8. However,
the spring 218 can be expanded when the lever 200 is
forced angularly in a clockwise direction to the respec-
tive illustrated positions 200B and 200C thereof. The
rod 216 in turn moves correspondingly first to a position
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midway in the cut-out 212 and then into engagement with
the right wall 212b, the spring 21~ in the meankime
continually exerting a force against the rod 216 to urge
and return the lever 200 to the at-rest position 200
thereof.
The lever 200 has an L-shaped configuration as
illustrated in Figs. 6 and 8, or, alternatively, a J-
shaped configuration as illustrated in an alternate
embodiment thereof in Fig. 9 and denoted by the reference
character 200'. The L-shaped lever 200 is used, for
example, in conjunction with bottles advancing along the
chute 34 having a wide mouth corresponding in size to
the size of the body thereof. On the other hand, the
J-shaped lever 200' is used, for example, in conjunc-
tion with bottles advancing along the chute 34 having a
narrow mouth stemming from a tapered neck 44' of reduced
diameter. As shown in Fig. 6, the L-shaped lever 200
terminates in a bent arm 220 projecting in a direction
generally longitudinally of the chute 34, whereas, as
shown in Fig. 9, and J-shaped lever 200' terminates in a
hook-like, bent arm 220' projecting in a direction
generally laterally of the chute 34.
Referring once again to Fig. 3, this time in
conjunction with Figs. 6 and 9, the discriminating roller
62 includes a hub 230 affixed to the drive shaft portion
94a, and a pair of flexible, bottle gripping discs 232
that are also, by c3nventional means, affixed to the shaft portion
94a and separated from one another through the interme-
diary of the hub 230. The hub 230, thus, provides for
an annular space between the discs 232 into which freely
; projects a tongue 234 of the member 38 of the chute 34 ``
(Figs. 6 and 9) and a tongue 236 of the member 66 of the
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' ' ' ' '' '
chute 64. Such tongues 234 and 236 are spaced from the
hub 230 and the discs 232 so as not to frictionally in-
terfere with the rotation of the roller 62. It will also
- be seen in Figs. 6 and 9, that the member 68 of the chute
64 includes a bent flange 238 that is inclined away from
the axis of rotation of the roller 62, whereas the tongue
236 of the member 66 is bent towards the axis of rotation
of the roller 62.
Referring now to Figs. 10 and 11, there is illus-
trated an alternate embodiment 62l of the discriminating
roller 62. The embodiment 62' includes a hub 240 af-
fixed to the drive shaft portion 94a in a manner akin
to that of the hub 230 of the roller 62. In this in-
` stance, however, the hub 240 is associated with a second
hub 242 (Fig. 10) that is freely journaled on an axle-
stub 243 affixed to the frame portion 40 to idle or ro-
tate freely in response to the rotation of the hub 240.
The hubs 240 and 242 are coupled to one another through
the intermediary of a flexible, endless, belt-like, con-
veyor 244 that is fit snugly over the hubs 240 and 242
and causes the hub 242 to rotate in response to the rota-
tion of hub 240.
The conveyor 244 is provided with a pair of
; flanged walls 246 (Fig. 11) that define cooperatively
an annular bottle-receiving space therebetween. The walls
246 each includes a plurality of finger-like, bottle-
gripping, segments 248 (Fig. 10), adjoining ones of which,
on the same run, from the base of the conveyor 244,
separably flare away from one another as they move onto
the hubs 240 and 242 beyond the generally horizontally~
oriented runs 246a thereof.
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.
In the alternate embodiment 62', as in the ~irst
described embodiment 62, the member 3~ o~ the chute 34 has
a tongue 234 that projects into the annular space between
` the conveyor walls 246, and the member 66 of the chute
64 has a tongue 236 that projects also into the annular
space between the walls 246. Such tongues 234 and 236
are out of contact with the conveyor 244 so as not to
frictionally interfere with the movement thereof.
Initially, the supply unit 20 is filled by hand
with many bottles which in succession are discharged
under pressure by the supply unit 20 through the port
30 as a train of bottles into the chutes 32 and 34 in
communication with one another. During this period, the
drive means 70 causes the drive pulley 74 to turn, there-
by transmitting rotation to the identically sized timingrollers 52 and 54, and to the larger discriminating
roller 62. The timing rollers 52 and 54 act as a brake
with respect to the train of bottles advancing along the
chute 34 and serve to feed the bottles one-by-one in a
timed sequence to the discriminating roller 62 (Fig. 6),
and force in succession each leading bottle between the
flexible discs 232 thereof (or between the flexible
finger-like segments 248 of the conveyor 244 in Fig. 9).
The trailing bottles are prevented from being dislodged
from between the plate members 36 and 38 by the elongate
lips 37 and 39 which, preferably, run the full length of
the chute 34 up to the chute 32 (Fig. 4).
As shown in Fig. 5, the diameter of the pulley
: lO0 is substantially twice the size of the diameter of
the pulley 72 and, thus, the peripheral speed of the
pulley 100 is substantially twice the peripheral speed
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of the pulley 72. Thus, the endless belt 138 associated
with ~he pulley 100, and the pulleys 106 and 112 associ-
ated with the endless belt 138, are driven ak the same
peripheral sp0ed as the pulley 100 which is substan-
S tially twice as fast as the belt 140 associated withthe pulleys 72 and 74. However, the portions 232' of
the discs 232 (Fig. 3), or the portions 246' (Fig. 11)
of the conveyor 244, which grip the bottles in succes-
sion have respective diameters which are greater than
twice the size of the diameters of the timiny rollers ;
52 and 54. As a result, these effective bottle-gripp~ng
portions 232'(and 246'~ have rotary speeds which are
greater than the rotary speeds of the timing rollers
52 and 54. Accordingly, the bottles are advanced by
the discriminating roller 62 at a faster rate than they
are advanced by the timing rollers 52 and 54. Thus,
the bottles can be said to be "accelerated" away from
the chute 34 by the discriminating roller 62, and can
be said to be "braked" by the timing rollers 52 and 54.
The timing rollers 52 and 54, thus, function to
slow down the rate of advancement of the bottles dis-
charged into the chute 34 to provide sufficient time
for the discriminating roller 62 and the lever 200 to
invert those bottles of open-end leading disposition
(such as the bottles 44 and 46 illustrated in Fig. 6)
to ones of open-end trailing disposition (such as the
bottle 48 illustrated in Fig. 6). Generally, those bot-
tles having an open-end leading disposition are inverted
in the manner schematically illustrated in phantom in ~;
Fig. 6 (and Fig. 9) wherein, for example, the bottle 44
is discharged by the timing rollers 52 and 54 from the
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, , . : ,
chute 34 to initially engage, with its open-end, the arm
220 (Fig. 6) of the lever 200 (or the bent hook 220' in
Fig. 9) adjacent to discriminating roller 62. ~n this
disposition of the bottle 44, the portion of the bottle
44 behind the open end thereof is frictionally held by
: the discs 232 of the discriminating roller 62 (or the
finger-like segments 248 of the conveyor 244 in Fig.
10) and is frictionally moved by the latter so that the
open-end of the bottle swings upwardly by the lever 200
along the bent flange 238 to the disposition shown in
phantom and denoted by the reference character 44a.
More specifically, in the instance of the em-
bodiment of the lever 200 illustrated in Fig. 6 which
includes the bent hook 220 projecting in the direction
generally longitudinally of the chute 34, as the bottle
44 is frictionally gripped by the opposing, flexible
discs 232 and accelerated toward the lever 200, the
leading, wide, open-end or mouth of the bottle 44 is
caught by the bent hook 220. Continued movement of
the bottle 44 forwardly by the opposing, flexible discs
232, which continuously retain their frictional hold on
the bottle 44, results in the swing of the lever 200
from the position thereof illustrated in solid line to
`~ the position thereof illustrated in broken line. Such
swing extends angularly over approximately forty-five
` degrees as a result of the cooperation of the canti-
livered rod 216 with the walls 212a and 212b of the
cut-out 212 (Fig. 8).
As the lever 200 swings angularly, the bent
hook 220 thereof lifts the wide, open-end of the bot-
- tle 44 upwardly and into engagement with the bent
.
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flange 238 of the chute 64. The bottom of the bottle
44 is, thereby, caused to pivot ~rictionally relative
to the flexible discs 232 and to move downwardly into
engagement with the bent flange 236. Continued rota-
tion of roller 62 moves the bottle 44 to ~he position
shown at 44a and finally the bottle 44 is cammed by
flange 236 to the vertical disposition shown at 44b
wherein it is released from both the lever 200 and the
flexible discs 232 and falls into the chute 64. Once
the bottle 44 is released by the lever 200 and the
discs 232, the spring 218 (Fig. 8) returns the lever
200 to the position 200A thereof to await the oncoming
` bottle 46 and convert it, too, from a bottle having an
open-end leading disposition to one of an open-end trail-
ing disposition.
It will be understood, that when bottles having
; an open-end trailing disposition, such as that of the
bottle 48, are accelerated by the discriminating roller
62 (or the alternate embodiment 62' in Fig. 10) into en-
gagement with the lever 200 (or the lever 200' in Fig.
9), the respective leading closed ends thereof simply
brush aside the lever 200, 200' and tilt into contact
with the bent flange 236 of the chute 64, whereupon
such bottles are "cammed" into a v~rtical disposition
and fall into the chute 64.
With respect to the embodiment of the lever 200'
illustrated in Fig. 9, it functions, with a slight dif-
ference, in a manner described above ~`ith regard to the
lever 200 (Fig. 6). The difference is that the bent
hook 220 7 thereof, which extends in a direction genex-
ally transversely of the chute 34, does not penetrate
19
'
~7~6
.
the tapering, leading open-ends of the bottles reaching
it. On the contrary, the bent hook 220' successively
catches the narrow necks ~' of such bottles from their
exteriors before swinging them upwardly to reorient
their open-end leading dispositions to open-end trail-
; ing dispositions. The bent hook 220l could, in an
alternative embodiment, comprise a closed ring (not
shown) having a diameter slightly larger than the
outside diameter of the narrow neck ~4' of the bot-
tles 44.
After the bottles are accelerated into the
chute 64, they are in succession removed from the chute
64 by the wheel 75 which in cooperation with, for example,
the conveyor belt 92 (Fig. 2) advances the bottles to
other apparatus (not shown) at which the bottles may be
treated or filled, and packaged or stored.
Referring now to Figs. 12 and 13, there is
illustrated still another embodiment of the discrimina-
ting means of the present invention. In this regard,
the discriminating means is denoted generally by the
Eeference character 300. It includes the aforementioned
discriminating roller 62 arranged upstream of the chute
64 defined by the plates 66 and 68, the roller 62 being
comprised of the aforementioned discs 232 and the hub
230. The difference between the instant embodiment
of Figs. 12 and 13 and those of Figs. 1-11 is that
in Figs. 1-11 there is provided a bottle-catching means
or lever 200 downstream of the discriminating roller 62
for assisting the latter to invert bottles having an
open-end leading disposition. The embodiments of Figs.
1-11 are to be used preferably with bottles having wide
-20-
. i
~7~
,
and/or elongated open ends.
In the embodiment of Figs. 12 and 13, no such
bottle-catching means is provided upstream or downstream
of the roller 62. On the contrary, a bottle-dragging
means comprised of a pair of pulley-driven endless belts
or bands 302 and 304 is provided to cooperate with the
roller 62 and effect the necessary bottle inversion of
such bottles of the narrow open-ended, bulbous, conical
or pyramidal, etc., varieties.
The belts 302 and 304 may be toothed or other-
wise, and are mounted each on a respective pair of pulleys
306 and 308 which correspondingly may be toothed or other-
; wise. At least one pulley of each pair 306 and 308 is driven
by conventional means (not shown) at a prescribed rate
identical to the other. The belts 302 and 304 are arranged
just upstream of the roller 62, the upper belt 302 being
substantially longer than the belt 304 and extending beyond
and to the left of a vertical centerline L (Fig. 12) of
the roller 62. The lower belt 304 supports the bottles
it advances cooperatively with the upper belt 302, and
turns counterclockwise. The upper belt 302, on the other ~-
hand, turns clockwise. Thus, the lower run of the belt
302 and the upper run o~ the belt 304 move in the same ~ ;~
direction at substantially the same speed toward the
roller 62.
~pstream of the belts 302 and 304 is a second
~ -
pair o~ belts 310 and 312, each mounted on a respective
pair of pulleys 314 and 316. At least one pulley of
each pair 314 and 3I6 is driven by conventional means
(not shown) at a prescribed rate identical to the other.
The lower run of the beIt 310 and the upper run of the
~21-
., .
L7~
belt 312 are driven to the left toward the roller 62 at
a rate that is preferably slower than the rate at which
the belts 302 and 304 are driven. In turn, the belts
302 and 304 are driven at a rate that is slower than
the rate o~ the discriminating roller 62 at the portions
: of the discs 232 which yrip bottles advancing thereto
in succession by the belts 302, 304, 310 and 312.
It will be understood that the runs of the belts
302, 304, 310 and:312 cooperatively form a moving
extension to the conduit 34 of, for example, Fig. 1,
and, as pairs, frictionally grip opposite sides of
the bottles they advance toward the discriminating
roller 62.
In operation of the instant embodiment,
the belts 310 and 312 grip, in succession, bottles
issuing from the conduit 34, and move such bottles
to the belts 302 and 304. In turn, the faster moving
belts 302 and 304 move such bottles in succession to
the roller 62. The rotary speed of the roller 62,
and particularly of the portions of the discs 232
thereof which grasp and remove the bottles in
. succession from the belts 302 and 304, is greater ::
than the speed of the belts 302 and 304. As such,
` the longer, upper belt 302 exerts a "drag" on, or
~; 25 frictionally restrains, the upper side portion of
each bottle it contacts, thereby causing each such
bottle to pivot clockwise relative to the portions
of the discs 232 gripping same. -~
If such a bottle issues from between the
belts 302 and 304 in a closed~end leading disposition~
the trailing open end thereo~ pivots clockwise into .:
, ,, - . ~ .
. -22-
. .
:
engagement with the hub 230 of the roller 62 and no
further. The roller 62, thus, will in its counter-
clockwise rotary course carry such a bottle to the
chute 64, whereupon the flange 236 will free the
bottle from between the discs 232 and cause it to
fall closed-end-first into the chute 64.
On the other hand, if a bottle issues from
between the belts 302 and 304 with an open-end leading
disposition, such as the bottle 320, the leading open
end thereof will be turned clockwise into engagement, or
near engagement, with the belt 302, such as at 322. This
- occurs as a result of the difference in speed between
the relatively moving surfaces of the belt 302 and those
of the discs 232, the latter moving more rapidly than the
former. Thus, the open-end leading bottles, such as the
bottle 320, are caused to pivot about a horizontal axis
perpendicular to the discs 232. Such pivotal motion ~;
is effected until the open end of such bottles engages,
or is in close proximity to, the belt 302. Continued
rotation of the roller 62 moves the bottle 322 to a
position 324 at which the flange 238 of the chute
plate 68 is engaged by the bottle. Such engagement
"cams" the bottle into an open-end-up disposition, where- ~ ~;
; upon the bottle is then cammed free from the roller 62
by the flange 236 to fall into the chute 64. ~-
A variant of the embodiment of Figs. 12 and
13 is illustrated in Fig. 14 in schematic fashion.
Such a variant is denoted generally by the reference
character 400 and includes the aorementioned discrimi-
nating roller 62 just upstream of the chute 64. In
this ins~tance, however, the bottle-dragging means is
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'
., , . ~ . , . ~
.
96
provided in the form of a lever 402 pivotally connected
- at 404 to the frame portion 40. At the opposite end
of the lever 402, there is provided a roller means 406.
The roller means 406 is rotatably supported by the
lever 402, and includes a peripheral surface having
a relatively high coefficient of friction. For
example, the roller means 406 may be made of rubber
- or some other elastomeric material. The combined
axial extent or width of th~ roller means 406 and
the lever 402 is less than the axial extent of the
hub 230 of the discriminating roller 62 (and, thus,
of the axial space between the discs 232 of the
roller 62). As a result, the end portion of the
lever 402 supporting the roller means 406, and the
- 15 roller means 406, are together insertable, and fitwith substantial clearance, between the discs 232
of the discriminating roller 62.
In this regard, reference is now made to
Figs. 15 through 17. In Fig. 15, the roller means
406 is shown as a single disc element. In Fig. 16,
the roller means 406 is shown as a pair of identical
discs 406A arranged on either side of the lever 402.
In Fig. 17, the roller means 406 is covered by an
elastomeric~ endless, drive belt 410. In each of
the instances of Figs. 15 through 17, the elements
of the roller means 406, are well spaced from the
~ discs 232 of the discriminating roller 62 so as
`'~ not to interfere with the rotation of the latter.
Referring now to Fig. 18, there is shown
a drive system for turning the roller means 406.
The drive system includes, for example, a wheel 412,
.~ -2~-
~ .
''~'' ~` ' 1 ' ` ' ' , . .
''3t~
toothed or otherwise, rotatably arranged at the end
of the lever 402 that is pivoted to the frame
portion 40. Cooperating with the wheel 412 is,
for example, the aforementioned endless belt 410
having, for example, corresponding teeth lnot
shown) on its internal surface. The belt 410
cooperates with the roller means 406 via, for
example, a second, correspondingly toothed,
wheel 414, which is ~ffixed to the roller means
406 and adapted to transmit rotation thereto.
The structure illustrated in Fig. 18, for example,
corresponds to the structure illustrated in Figs.
15 and 16. On the other hand, with respect to
Fig. 17, the toothed wheel 414 of Fig. 18 is
replaced by the roller means 406 itself, the
latter having a toothed periphery for cooperation
with the toothed belt 410.
In operation of the variants illustrated
in Figs. 14 through 18, by conventional means
(not shown), the toothed wheel 412 is rotated
clockwise to effect rotation of the roller means
406 also clockwise. The weight of the lever 402
and roller means 406 provides for a normal force
against bottles advanced thereto by, for example,
the timing rollers 52 and 54. Preferably, the i ;;
periphery of the roller means 406 engaging the
bottles is turned more slowly than the portions
of the discs 232 of the discriminating roller 62
that subsequently grip the bottles in succession.
As a result, the roller means 406 retards the
advancement of the upper side of each of the bottles
~25-
.
relative to the lower side, and causes such
bottles to pivot clockwise about a horizontal
axis norma:L to the discs 23Z.
If a given one of the bottles has an
open-end leading disposition, the bottle will
be pivoted until the open end thereof engages,
or nearly engages, the roller means 406.
Rotation of the discriminating roller 62 counter-
clockwise will in turn transfer the pivoted bottle
from an open-end-up disposition, such as at 420,
to the disposition shown at 422, whereupon such
bottle will fall into the chute 64 bottom-first.
If a given bottle is gripped by the discriminating
roller 62 bottom-first, the bottle will still be
` 15 pivoted clockwise by the roller means 406, but
only until the open end thereof engages, for
example, the hub 230 of the discriminating roller
; 62. As such, any bottle having a closed-end
leading disposition emerging from the timing rollers
52 and 54 will be transferred without a change in
its disposition by the discriminating roller 62
to the chute 64, whereupon it will fall bottom-
first thereinto.
It will be understood, although not
shown, that springs and/or other control devices
may be utilized for urging the lever 402 down-
wardly toward the train of bottles so as to enable
the roller means 406 to frictionally retard the -~ ~
advancement of each bottle with a preferred ;
; 30 pressure. It will also be understood, although
not shown, that appropriate abutment means is
-26-
~ ~7~
provided to limit the downward swing of the
lever 402 to a preferred distance from the dis-
criminating roller 62.
. ~ ~
~, ~
'
