Guides for aligning containers during capping
By designing independent guiding elements and actuation mechanisms, the problem of adapting to irregularly shaped bottles in existing technologies has been solved, achieving stable guidance and reducing the complexity of the capping machine, thus improving the adaptability and flexibility of the equipment.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- AROL
- Filing Date
- 2025-04-10
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-19
AI Technical Summary
Existing guiding devices are difficult to adapt to bottles of different sizes and shapes, especially irregularly shaped bottles such as rectangular bottles, which leads to misalignment of the caps and increased complexity of the equipment during the capping process, and makes it impossible to achieve flexible engagement/disengagement actions.
A guiding device is designed, including independent guiding elements such as cups or pins, which engage and disengage with containers via an actuation mechanism, adapting to bottles of different sizes, and operating independently of guiding devices for other containers.
It achieves stable guidance for irregularly shaped bottles, reduces the complexity and manufacturing cost of capping machines, and improves the flexibility and adaptability of the equipment.
Smart Images
Figure CN122249389A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to filling equipment, and more specifically, to a guide device for holding containers in the correct position during the operation of the filling equipment.
[0002] Preferably, but not exclusively, the present invention is applied to capping machines for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, and the following description will focus on this preferred application. Background Technology
[0003] As is well known, during the capping process, the bottle to be capped must be stably guided, especially to avoid shaking and maintain its axis at approximately perpendicularity. In fact, if the bottle is not properly aligned with the axis of the capping head, it may lead to cap misalignment, resulting in the scrapping of the bottle or container. Similar problems can occur in other processes in the filling industry. For example, during the filling process, incorrect alignment may lead to underfilling, product overflow from the bottle, resulting in product waste and equipment contamination.
[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to develop a guiding device that can automatically (or with minimal intervention and without replacing parts) adapt to bottle sizes and shapes.
[0005] Existing technologies have proposed devices that achieve this purpose by acting on the lower part of the bottle. Examples of this are disclosed in EP2684805A1 and WO2014 / 198824A1.
[0006] Both devices achieve guidance and centering through frustoconical recesses with approximately semi-circular cross-sections, formed along the outer periphery of the turntable and designed to accommodate corresponding portions of the outer surface of the respective bottles. Opposite the turntable is a frustoconical reverse guide, positioned at a certain distance to allow bottles contained in the recesses to abut against the inner surface of the reverse guide during capping. The reverse guide extends only along the angle through which the turntable rotates during capping, providing free access for bottles to be capped entering the recesses and for capped bottles to be removed from the recesses. Both the turntable and the reverse guides can slide vertically to accommodate bottles of different heights and diameters, which will be placed at different positions within the respective recesses.
[0007] The solutions proposed in these documents are optimal for handling cylindrical or at least roughly cylindrical bottles; however, they have serious limitations for irregularly shaped bottles (especially square bottles, and particularly rectangular bottles) when such bottles do not arrive with a constant and well-defined phase orientation around their own axis of symmetry. In fact, the shape of the external reverse guide is designed based on the original diameter of the capping machine, and therefore cannot properly hold rectangular bottles fed from any direction. Figure 1 As shown, two rectangular bottles, B1 and B2, are identical but rotated 90° relative to their axis. Bottle B1, located in the recess C, is tangent to the original diameter of the capping machine with its long side and may not be able to contact the external reverse guide G (and therefore cannot be properly guided under centrifugal force). Bottle B2, on the other hand, is tangent to the original diameter with its short side and is at risk of being squeezed onto the guide G and deformed.
[0008] To handle such bottles, capping machines must be equipped with orientation devices in the area where the bottles to be capped arrive. As those skilled in the art know, the installation and operation of such devices are complex and would significantly increase the manufacturing cost of the capping machine.
[0009] Another drawback of the solutions described in these documents is that the cavity and the external reverse guide are each independent components that can only be adapted to different bottle shapes by adjusting their movement, and cannot achieve individual engagement / disengagement with the container. Therefore, they are very inflexible because they cannot compensate for the inevitable, minor dimensional differences within permissible tolerances between nominally identical bottles. Summary of the Invention
[0010] The purpose of this invention is to provide a guiding device that can overcome the shortcomings of known devices.
[0011] This objective is achieved by a guiding device formed as a separate unit from the devices in the equipment that guide other containers being processed simultaneously. The guiding device includes its own guiding element configured to engage with the container along the entire contour of the area where it mates with the container. The guiding element is associated with an actuation mechanism that, at least at the beginning and end of operation, independently of the guiding elements used to guide other containers being processed simultaneously in the equipment, actuates the guiding element to engage and disengage, thereby alternately stabilizing the container during container processing and during container handover at the beginning and end of the processing, including the supply of containers to be processed to the equipment and the removal of processed containers from the equipment.
[0012] In a first embodiment of the device, the guide element is a cup body having a generally conical or truncated cone-shaped cavity that gradually narrows downward to accommodate the lower end of the container, and having a side extending about 360° around the container axis.
[0013] The side of the cup is fixed relative to the bottom of the cup. In this case, in order to achieve the engagement and disengagement actions, the actuation mechanism is arranged to make the cup slide vertically so that its upper edge is located below the bottom of the container in the disengaged state.
[0014] In another embodiment, the side of the cup has a first portion fixed relative to the base and a second portion movable relative to the first portion, and, in order to achieve the engagement and disengagement actions, the actuation mechanism is configured to move the second portion in a first direction to put the cup in an open disengaged state, and move in the opposite direction to put the cup in a closed engagement state again.
[0015] In another embodiment of the device, the guide element is a pin with a tapered end whose shape complements the shape of an axial recess located at the center of the bottom of the container, and, to achieve the engagement and disengagement actions, the actuation mechanism is configured to allow the pin to slide vertically such that, in the disengaged state, its end is located below the bottom of the container.
[0016] For the setting action of adjusting the vertical working position of the guide element based on the specifications of the container to be processed, the actuation mechanism can be configured to operate independently of or in conjunction with the actuation mechanism of the guide element of each other container being processed simultaneously in the device.
[0017] In the latter case, for a rotary device, the guide element is carried by a rotary flange that also carries the guide elements for each of the other containers being processed simultaneously in the device, and the actuation mechanism is configured to adjust the vertical working position of the guide element by adjusting the vertical position of the flange.
[0018] Preferably, in this embodiment, during at least part of the container processing, the flange moves on a non-rotating cam, and the actuation mechanism is configured to adjust the vertical position of the flange by changing the vertical position of the cam. Attached Figure Description
[0019] Referring to the accompanying drawings, these and other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments given by way of non-limiting example, in which: Figure 1 A schematic plan view illustrating the aforementioned defects in the prior art is shown; Figure 2 According to a first embodiment of the present invention, a schematic diagram of a guiding device for a bottle is shown; Figure 3 Similar to Figure 1 , showed Figure 2 How does the device guide the rectangular bottle? Figure 4 This is a variation of the first embodiment of the present invention, showing a schematic diagram of a guide device installed in a rotary capping machine; Figure 5 Similar to Figure 2 This illustrates a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 Similar to Figure 5 A variation of the second embodiment of the invention is shown; and Figure 7 Similar to Figure 4 and Figure 6 The third embodiment of the present invention is shown. Detailed Implementation
[0020] refer to Figure 2 The diagram schematically illustrates a first embodiment of the guiding device 1 of the present invention. The bottle to be guided is denoted as B. As is known, industrial capping machines operate on multiple bottles B simultaneously, and each bottle is equipped with device 1. For clarity, the guiding device 1 used in a rotary capping machine (turntable) will be described as an example. This guiding device receives the bottle to be capped from an upstream conveyor star wheel, and during the capping process, at the end of the arc segment traveled by the turntable, conveys the capped bottle to a downstream conveyor star wheel.
[0021] Apart from the presence of the guide device 1, the capping machine is entirely conventional and will not be described further. It should be noted that during the capping process, bottle B is typically also supported at the neck, especially at the bottle mouth (if any). The outline of this neck support is denoted by S.
[0022] The device 1 includes a cup body 2 having a generally conical or frustoconical cavity that tapers downwards to accommodate the lower portion of the bottle B, and the cup body 2 having a side surface 2a that extends 360° about the axis A of the bottle B. The frustoconical cup body 2 is shown in the figure.
[0023] The advantage of using a complete cup-shaped structure (instead of a semi-circular groove and reverse guides) is that, regardless of the orientation of the bottle (whether square or rectangular (or generally non-rotationally symmetric), it will always maintain contact at four points and will be correctly guided, such as... Figure 3 As shown.
[0024] In this embodiment, the side 2a of the cup body 2 is fixed relative to the bottom 2b.
[0025] To accommodate bottles B of different sizes, the cup body 2 is mounted to take on different vertical working positions. Specifically, the cup body 2 can move between a lower limit position (indicated by solid lines in the figure) and an upper limit position (indicated by dashed lines in the figure). At the lower limit position, the cup body guides the bottle B with the largest permissible size, and at the upper limit position, it guides the bottle B with the smallest size. This movement can be a continuous action or a step-by-step action. As can be seen from the figure, bottles B of different diameters abut against different positions on the inner surface of the cup body 2.
[0026] Regardless of the vertical working position determined based on the size of the bottle B to be processed, the cup body 2 must undergo a second vertical movement to freely transfer the capped bottle to the downstream conveyor wheel at the end of the capping process, and to re-engage the cup body 2 with the new bottle as it arrives from the upstream conveyor wheel. In the disengaged position, the upper edge of the cup body 2 will be located below the bottom of the bottle.
[0027] In summary, each cup 2 has two different types of vertical motion: The setting action performed when the specifications change adjusts the working height of the cup body 2 so as to properly engage with a bottle of a given height and diameter. Engaging and disengaging actions performed at the start and end of capping are used to alternately stabilize the bottle during the capping process and during the handover of the bottle to the upstream and downstream conveyor wheels.
[0028] The two vertical movements of the cup body 2 are independent of the movements of the other cup bodies 2 arranged in the turntable. The vertical sliding of the cup body is guided by a suitable guide element (not shown), for example, a bushing fixed to the rotating part of the capping machine and having a fixed height.
[0029] To achieve the aforementioned movement, the cup body 2 is mounted at the end of the vertical sliding spindle 3, as shown by arrow F1. The movement of this spindle can be controlled by two different systems, both of which are shown in the figure, although they can be interchanged: The cam system 4 includes a roller 4a associated with the lower end of the main shaft 3, which slides on the upper surface of a drum-shaped cam 4b during the capping of the bottle B. The profile of the drum-shaped cam 4b is capable of inducing the engagement and disengagement actions. Changes in the height position 4 allow for adjustment of the settings. This adjustment can be achieved in various ways, for example, by an electric actuator. An electric actuator (or electronic cam) 5, whose shaft 6 drives the two types of motion of the main shaft 3 in a completely conventional manner. The advantage of this scheme is that the motion of the two cups is driven and controlled by a single system.
[0030] It is also possible, but not mandatory, to place an elastic element of any form, such as a mechanical or pneumatic element (not shown), between the main shaft 3 and the cup body 2 to cushion the process of the cup body 2 approaching the bottle B and to compensate for any height difference between theoretically identical bottles within the blowing tolerance range. If the vertical movement of the cup body 2 is driven by the actuator 5, the actuator 5 can also perform the function of the elastic element by controlling the resistance load "sensed" by the actuator.
[0031] Preferably, the side 2a of the cup body 2 is made of a rigid material such as hard plastic or steel, which will not deform due to any shaking of the bottle, especially when the bottle is placed into the cup body. If it is necessary to protect the bottle material, the rigid material can be covered, or a flexible material, such as rubber, can be covered on the inner surface of the cup body.
[0032] Figure 4 A variation of a first embodiment of the guide device 101 of the present invention is shown, which is mounted in a turntable schematically represented by its rotation axis 100.
[0033] In this variant, the cup body 2 and its main shaft 3 are supported by a flange 10, which also supports the cup body 2 and main shaft 3 of the guide device 101 corresponding to other bottles within the device. The flange 10 is fixed to the rotating shaft 100 and rotates with it, and can be translated vertically relative to the rotating shaft to adjust the vertical working position of all cup bodies. During rotation, the flange 10 is supported by an outer cam or plate 11, which is not driven by the rotational motion. The flange 10 rests on the outer cam or plate 11 via a series of rollers 12 with vertical axes. The rollers 12 are fixed to the flange 10 or cam 11 by corresponding spindles 13 and are distributed circumferentially along the flange. The cam 11 is mounted on the shaft 16 of the electric actuator 15, similar to... Figure 2 The actuator 5 in the middle can vertically move the cam 11 when the working position of the cup body 2 needs to be changed due to a change in specifications. During the upward movement, the plate 11 drives the flange 10 to move together, and when the plate 11 descends, the flange 10 will descend under the action of gravity.
[0034] Alternatively, a second cam parallel to the cam 11 may be provided, which is also actuated by actuators 15 and 16 and configured such that roller 12 rests on the surface of the second cam facing the cam 11. Thus, during the descent of the flange 10, the second cam applies a thrust to the roller 12 to ensure that the cam 11 and the flange 10 do not lose synchronization.
[0035] During translation, the flange 10 may be guided by, for example, a guide post 14, which may also be used to transmit the rotational motion of the shaft 100 to the flange 10.
[0036] The cam 11 may not extend 360°. However, its extension range must be sufficient to ensure that the roller 12 resting on the cam 11 can ensure the horizontal stability of the flange 10 during rotation.
[0037] This arrangement decouples the two types of vertical motion of the cup body 2: The setting action is performed by vertically translating the flange 10; The engagement and disengagement actions are achieved by moving the cup body 2 relative to the flange 10. The latter action can be achieved by engaging... Figure 2 One of the described methods is used to achieve this. For the sake of brevity, Figure 4 The method of driving this action is not shown in the diagram.
[0038] and Figure 3 Compared to the embodiment shown, this embodiment has the advantage of reducing the travel distance that the cup body 2 must travel, thereby allowing for the use of shorter guide elements.
[0039] It should be noted that a flange similar to flange 10 but vertically fixed can be used as a support for the element used to guide the vertical sliding of the cup body in the solution shown in Figure 2.
[0040] Figure 5 A second embodiment of the invention is shown, applicable to a bottle B with a concave bottom or central conical recess 7 at the bottom Ba. This feature is very common in PET bottles.
[0041] In this second embodiment, the guide device 201 applies guidance via a pin 8 mounted at the end of the main shaft 3, the pin 8 having a tapered end 8a complementary to the shape of the recess 7. The axial and radial dimensions of the mating parts 7 and 8a should prevent the bottle from wobbling. In terms of operating cycles, pin 8 position adjustment, and related actuation systems, this embodiment is similar to... Figure 2 The implementation shown is similar. In this case, an intermediate elastic element may also exist between the spindle 3 and the pin 8.
[0042] The advantage of this solution is that it is completely independent of the shape of bottle B because it works on a component with a standardized shape (bottom) and is placed in a position that does not cause difficulty for the person creating the bottle outline.
[0043] As shown in the figure, in order to drive the engagement / disengagement of pin 8, in addition to... Figure 2 In addition to the cam system 4 arranged in the illustrated embodiment, an alternative arrangement of the cam system can also be seen, in which the cam follower roller 40 is attached to the pin 8 above the rotating flange, for example, near the tapered end 8a. Clearly, this arrangement can also be used to control the translation of the cup body 2.
[0044] refer to Figure 6 This illustrates a variant 301 of the previous embodiment, which is similar to... Figure 4 The variant of the first embodiment shown is completely similar. Similar to... Figure 4 As shown, the cup body 2 and main shaft 3 are similar, with the pin 8 and main shaft 3 supported by a common flange 10, identical to the flange 10 in Figure 4, and driven in the same manner. In this case, the required travel distance of the pin 8 and main shaft 3 will strictly adhere to the travel distance required for engaging and disengaging the bottle. This will significantly shorten the length of the pin 8 and the axial guide system. For more details, please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 4 The description.
[0045] Figure 7 A third embodiment of the invention is shown. In this embodiment, the guiding device 401 again applies a centering and guiding effect to the bottle B via the cup body 22, and... Figure 4 Like the cup body 22 in the illustrated embodiment, the cup body 22 is supported by a flange 10 shared by all cup bodies 2 in the turntable. Similar to... Figure 2 and Figure 4 Unlike the cup body 2 in the figure, the side of the cup body 22 is not fixed relative to the base, but is composed of two parts or half-cups 22' and 22" respectively. One of them (the inner half-cup 22' with its convex surface facing the shaft 100) is fixed relative to the base, while the other (the outer half-cup 22" with its convex surface facing away from the shaft 100) can move relative to the inner half-cup. For example, the outer half-cup 22" can be hinged to a pin 9 having a horizontal axis (as shown in the figure) or a vertical axis, and can rotate as shown by arrow F2 so that it can enter the inner cavity of the cup body 22 during the handover step and close it after the handover is completed.
[0046] The solid line in the diagram shows the 22" half-cup arranged vertically (closed cup), corresponding to the engaged state, while the dashed line shows the 22" half-cup rotating downwards (open cup), corresponding to the disengaged state. The opening and closing of the cup can be driven by various types of mechanical systems, independent of the systems of other cups.
[0047] In this case, the adjustment of the cup height required due to the change in specifications is achieved by vertically translating the flange 10. Figure 4 as well as Figure 6 The solution shown differs from the one provided in that it does not provide the engagement and disengagement action of the cup body with each rotation of the capping machine, but instead uses the closing and opening of the outer half of the cup (22") to replace it.
[0048] In this case, an elastic element that can cushion the process of the cup body 22 approaching the bottle B and compensate for any slight differences in the height of the bottle can also be provided between the flange 10 and each cup body 22.
[0049] and Figure 4 and Figure 6 Compared to the technical solution shown, the advantage of this technical solution is that the fixed inner half-cup 22' can suppress shaking during the bottle handover process and help stabilize it.
[0050] Obviously, the above description is provided as an example only, and various variations and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the scope of protection of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
[0051] Specifically, if the engagement and disengagement of the cup body 2 or the pin 8 is driven by a drum-shaped cam located at the bottom of the main shaft 3, the cam can be fastened to the cam 11, thereby adjusting the height together with the cam 11.
[0052] Furthermore, for the openable cup body 22, opening and closing can be achieved by vertically translating the outer half of the cup 22" instead of rotating it around the pin 9.
[0053] Finally, the setting action of the openable cup body 22 can also be as shown in Figure 2 to 2023. Figure 6 The integrated cup body 2 or pin 8 shown can be independently controlled.
Claims
1. A device (1; 101; 201; 301; 401) for guiding a container (B) during operation of a filling apparatus, the device being configured to perform a guiding action by cooperating with the lower part of the container (B), characterized in that: The device (1; 101; 201; 301; 401) forms a unit independent of the device (1; 101; 201; 301; 401) for guiding other containers (B) being processed simultaneously in the device and includes its own guide element (2; 8; 8a; 22), which is configured to engage the container (B) with the complete outline of the area along which the guide device (1; 101; 201; 301; 401) mates with the container (B); and the guide element (2; 8a; 22) ;8a;22) is operated by actuation mechanisms (3, 4; 40; 5, 6; 11, 12, 13, 15, 16), and can engage and disengage independently of the guide elements (2; 8, 8a; 22) of the device (1; 101; 201; 301; 401) that guides other containers (B), at least at the beginning and end of the operation, thereby alternately stabilizing the containers during container handling and during container handover at the beginning and end of the handling with the provision of containers to be processed to the device and the removal of processed containers from the device.
2. The apparatus (1; 101; 401) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The guide element (2; 22) is a cup body having a generally conical or truncated conical, downwardly narrowing cavity that can accommodate the lower end of the container (B) and has a side (2a; 22', 22'') extending about 360° around the axis of the container (B).
3. The apparatus (1; 101) according to claim 2, characterized in that: The side (2a) of the cup body (2) is fixed relative to the bottom (2b) of the cup body; and the actuation mechanism (3, 4, 4a, 4b; 40; 5, 6) is configured to make the cup body (2) slide vertically to perform the engagement and disengagement actions, so that in the disengaged state, the upper edge of the cup body (2) is located below the bottom of the container (B).
4. The device (401) according to claim 2, characterized in that: The side of the cup body (22) has a first part (22') fixed relative to the bottom and a second part (22'') movable relative to the first part; and the actuation mechanism is configured to perform the engagement and disengagement actions, moving the second part (22'') in a first direction to put the cup body (22) in an open disengaged state and moving the second part (22'') in the opposite direction to put the cup body (22) in a closed engagement state again.
5. The apparatus (201; 301) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The guide element (8, 8a) is a pin (8) with a tapered end portion (8a) whose shape is complementary to the shape of the axial recess (7) located at the center of the bottom (Ba) of the container (B); and the actuation mechanism (3, 4); 40; 5, 6) are configured to allow the pin (8) to slide vertically to perform the engagement and disengagement actions, such that in the disengaged state, the end portion (8a) of the pin is located below the bottom (Ba) of the container (B).
6. The apparatus (1; 201) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The actuation structure (5, 6) is configured to adjust the vertical working position of the guide element (2; 8, 8a; 22) according to the specifications of the container (B) to be processed, and the actuation mechanism operates independently of the actuation mechanism of the guide element (2; 8, 8a; 22) of each other container (B) being processed simultaneously in the device.
7. The apparatus (101; 301; 401) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: For the setting action of adjusting the vertical working position of the guide element (2; 8, 8a; 22) according to the specifications of the container (B) to be processed, the actuation mechanism (11, 12, 13, 15, 16) is configured to operate in conjunction with the actuation mechanism of the guide element (2; 8, 8a; 22) of each other container (B) being processed simultaneously in the device.
8. The apparatus (101; 301; 401) according to claim 7, characterized in that: The guide elements (2; 8, 8a; 22) are carried by a rotating flange (10), which also carries guide elements (2; 8, 8a; 22) of other containers (B) being processed simultaneously in the device; and the actuation mechanisms (11, 12, 13, 15, 16) are configured to perform the setting action by adjusting the vertical position of the flange (10).
9. The apparatus (101; 301; 401) according to claim 8, characterized in that: During at least a portion of the rotation cycle, the flange (10) moves on a non-rotating cam (11); and the actuation structures (11, 12, 13, 15, 16) are configured to adjust the vertical position of the flange (10) by changing the vertical position of the cam (11).
10. The apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims (1; 101; 201; 301; 401), characterized in that: It includes an elastic element disposed between the guide element (2; 8, 8a; 22) and the actuation mechanism (3, 4, 4a, 4b; 40) that drives the engagement and disengagement actions, to cushion the impact of the guide element (2; 8, 8a; 22) on the container (B).