CLAMPING DEVICE FOR HOLDING A CONTAINER IN A CONTAINER TREATMENT PLANT

Description

Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a clamping device for holding a container in a container treatment plant, in particular for holding a bottle in a beverage filling plant. Technical background

[0002] In beverage bottling plants, it is known to transport the containers to be filled or already filled containers through the individual treatment stations of the container treatment system using clamping devices. Different clamping devices are known, which hold the respective containers to be treated in different ways.

[0003] For example, passive clamping devices are known which are elastically pre-tensioned simply by inserting the respective container into the clamping device and then hold the container.

[0004] Active clamping devices are also known, in which the respective holding sections of the clamping device are actively opened and closed by means of an actuator. Such active clamping devices serve in particular to enable a safe and gentle transfer of the respective containers from a previous clamping device or to ensure an equally safe and container-friendly transfer of the containers to a subsequent clamping device. In particular, the active opening and closing of the respective clamping device can prevent increased friction on the respective container, which could, for example, lead to scratching of the container, and on the other hand, a predetermined holding force or clamping force can be set, which can be maintained within a predetermined tolerance range of the container dimension.

[0005] From EP 0 939 044 A1 (see Figure 3) a clamping device for holding a container in a container treatment plant is known. The clamping device comprises two clamp arms, each with a holding section for contact with the container to be held and each with a control section, on which a control cam acts to move the holding sections into an open position and / or into a closed position, wherein a leaf spring is arranged on the control section, on which the control cam acts, and the leaf spring is arranged in a recess of the clamp arm provided on the control section, is mounted on the control section and is held in the recess via a retaining lug.

[0006] EP 0 795 500 A2 describes a transport star for containers with a rotatable base body and several gripper arms in the form of double levers pivotably mounted on its circumference. Gripping surfaces for the containers are formed at the radially outward-facing ends of the gripper arms, and counter surfaces for expansion bodies movably mounted in the base body are formed at the radially inward-facing ends. The gripper arms consist of at least two articulated sections, at least one of which carries the gripping surface and another the counter surface. The counter surfaces for the expansion bodies are formed on inserts made of wear-resistant material that are detachably attached to the corresponding sections of the gripper arms.

[0007] DE 10 2005 014 838 A1 describes a clamp for holding containers. DE 299 15 927 U1 describes a bottle gripper. Description of the invention

[0008] Based on the known prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a clamping device for holding a container in a container treatment plant, which has an improved holding behavior.

[0009] This object is achieved by a clamping device having the features of claim 1. Advantageous further developments emerge from the subclaims, the present description and the figures.

[0010] Accordingly, a clamping device for holding a container in a container treatment system is proposed, comprising two clamping arms, each with a holding section for engaging the container to be held. The clamping arms each have a control section on which a control cam acts to move the holding sections into an open position and / or into a closed position. According to the invention, a rigid wear plate, on which the control cam acts, is arranged on the control section.

[0011] Because the control section has a rigid wear plate to absorb the forces exerted by the control cam, the wear behavior of the clamping device and thus the wear behavior of the control section can be improved. This can increase the service life of the clamping device, enabling trouble-free operation of the clamping device over a longer period of time.

[0012] Furthermore, the rigid wear plate can be used to reduce or prevent the probability of a defect in the control section.

[0013] Under "rigid" In this context, it is understood that the wear plate does not experience any or no relevant deformation when the forces applied by the control cam to the clamping device or to the control section of the clamping device occur, but - in the case of an elastic prestressing of the rigid wear plate - the forces are transmitted directly to the elastic prestressing elements.

[0014] The rigid wear plate is located in a recess provided in the control section of the clamp arm. This results in an efficient clamp arm design that still leads to improved clamping device performance.

[0015] The rigid wear plate is held in the recess by a retaining lug, which is preferably formed integrally with the clamp arm.

[0016] Furthermore, the rigid wear plate is mounted in a floating manner on the control section, preferably by means of a holder, a retaining bolt or a form-fitting element.

[0017] The floating bearing allows the rigid wear plate to move relative to the clamp arm in response to the forces applied by the control cam. The floating bearing allows the rigid wear plate to follow the force applied by the control cam, and the preload allows for a gentle yet reliable application of this force via the clamp arms to the holding section.

[0018] The rigid wear plate can preferably be pivotably and / or displaceably mounted on the control section, preferably pivotably and / or displaceably around one end of the wear plate.

[0019] Accordingly, the rigid wear plate can also be clamped at a position on the control section and / or in the recess, so that the rigid wear plate can move accordingly around this clamping.

[0020] Preferably, the rigid wear plate is elastically mounted on the control section - for example in the recess - preferably by means of an elastic prestressing element, a pressure piece, a spring, a magnet and / or an elastomer.

[0021] The rigid wear plate may be preloaded towards the control cam.

[0022] The elastic mounting of the rigid wear plate allows for smooth actuation of the clamping device via the control cam. Furthermore, the elastic mounting compensates for tolerances in the container size, allowing containers to be held securely within a certain tolerance range. This also allows for secure holding of incorrectly gripped containers within certain limits.

[0023] As an alternative to providing a pressure piece, the control section of the clamp arm can be designed to be elastic. This allows for elastic absorption of the force applied by the control cam via the wear plate to the clamp arm, despite the rigid design of the wear plate.

[0024] In order to achieve a particularly stable design of the clamping device, the material of the rigid wear plate is preferably harder than the material of the clamp arm. The rigid wear plate can be made of a material that has greater wear resistance than the material from which the rest of the clamp arm is made. In this way, on the one hand, the chamber arm can be designed to meet the requirements for durability, weight, cost, and cleanability or sterilizability. On the other hand, the rigid wear plate can be provided as a dedicated wear part that can be replaced separately. This means that in the event of increased wear on the control section, only the rigid wear plate needs to be replaced, not the entire clamp arm.

[0025] The rigid wear plate can be made of metal, preferably stainless steel, particularly preferably V4A stainless steel, and a control cam can be provided, which is made of a plastic material, preferably a PEEK material, in the region of its contact surfaces that contact the rigid wear plate. PEEK material is understood here to be a polyetheretherketone material.

[0026] In an alternative, the rigid wear plate can be made of a PEEK material and a control cam can be provided which, in the region of its contact surfaces contacting the rigid wear plate, can be made of a metal, preferably stainless steel, particularly preferably V4A stainless steel.

[0027] Preferably, each clamp arm is pivotably mounted on a pivot axis. Particularly preferably, a pretensioning device is provided between the holding section and the pivot axis, which pretensions the holding sections away from each other. The pretensioning device is preferably formed by a spring, an elastomer, or one or more magnets.

[0028] PEEK or V4A steel, for example, can be used as the material for the rigid wear plate. The rigid wear plate preferably has a material thickness that enables the rigid properties of the rigid wear plate.

[0029] A single elastic biasing element may be provided which extends over a certain area between the rigid wear plate and the control section of the clamp arm.

[0030] However, several elastic prestressing elements can also be provided, which provide the elastic prestressing of the rigid wear plate against the recess of the control section. The elastic properties and the closing properties of the clamping device can be adjusted accordingly via the design of the elastic elements and their geometric distribution along the length or along the surface of the rigid wear plate. In a preferred embodiment, the elastic prestressing elements are provided by a silicone-like elastomer with a hardness of approximately 40-60° Shore A. The elastic prestressing elements can also be designed in the form of a spring, a pressure piece and / or one or more magnets or combinations of these elements. Short description of the characters

[0031] Preferred further embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail by the following description of the figures. In the figures: Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of a clamping device in a first embodiment, Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of a partial area of ​​the clamping device, wherein only one of the clamp arms and a control cam are shown, and Figure 3 is a schematic representation of different clamp arm positions with a fixedly positioned control cam due to an elastic mounting of the rigid wear plate. Detailed description of preferred embodiments

[0032] Preferred embodiments are described below with reference to the figures. Identical, similar, or equivalent elements in the various figures are provided with identical reference numerals, and a repeated description of these elements is partially omitted to avoid redundancies.

[0033] In Figure 1 A clamping device 1 for holding a container (not shown here) in a container treatment plant is shown schematically in a plan view. The clamping device 1 is particularly intended for holding bottles in a beverage filling plant during their transport through the various treatment stations of the beverage filling plant or for holding them during transport from one treatment station to a subsequent treatment station.

[0034] The clamping device 1 comprises two clamp arms 20, each having a holding section 22 designed to engage the respective container to be held. The holding sections 22 engage, for example, in the neck area of ​​a bottle to be filled in a beverage filling system in order to transport the bottle to the appropriate treatment position.

[0035] The clamp arms 20 are each mounted on a pivot axis 24 and pivotable about this axis to enable opening and closing of the clamping device 1. Accordingly, the holding sections 22 are moved into an open position or a closed position by pivoting the clamp arms 20. In the open position, a container to be held can be brought between the holding sections 22, and in the closed position, the holding sections 22 are brought into firm contact with the container to hold it. This ensures that the holding sections 22 actively engage the respective container to be held.

[0036] A control section 26 is provided in each clamp arm 20, which comes into contact with a control cam 3 in order to achieve an active movement of the clamp arms 20 and in particular to enable an active pivoting of the clamp arms 20 about the pivot axes 24.

[0037] The control cam 3 is controlled in accordance with the predetermined transport path of the container to be held in each case, so that an opening of the clamping device 1 can be achieved by a corresponding rotational position of the control cam 3, as well as an active closing of the clamping device 1 and in particular a bringing together of the holding sections 22 of the two clamp arms 20 such that a container to be held is held between the holding sections 22.

[0038] In the Figure 1 In the embodiment shown, a force applied by the control cam 3 in the radial direction is transmitted to the control section 26 via the control cam 3, so that a pivoting movement about the pivot axis 24 lying between the control section 26 and the holding section 22 results, which acts in the closing direction of the clamping device 1 and moves the holding sections 22 into the closed position.

[0039] In order to enable independent and defined opening of the clamping device 1 in another position of the control cam 3, in which it exerts no force on the control section 26, a pretensioning device 4 is provided, which is arranged between the holding section 22 and the pivot axis 24 and which drives the two clamp arms 20 apart into the open position. Accordingly, the clamp arms 20 are always pretensioned into the open position via the pretensioning device 4. Only by actively actuating the control cam 3 and applying a corresponding closing force to the control section 26 can the holding sections 22 then be brought into the closed position, counter to the pretension of the pretensioning device 4.

[0040] In the illustrated embodiment, the pretensioning device 4 is provided in the form of a spring. However, the pretensioning device 4 can also be designed, for example, in the form of a magnet, two mutually repelling magnets, or an elastomer.

[0041] In an alternative embodiment, the pivot axis 24 can also be provided in a different position relative to the holding section 22 and the control cam 3. In particular, it is also conceivable to provide the holding sections 22 and the control cam 3 on the same side with respect to the pivot axis 24. Accordingly, actuation of the control cam 3 exerts a force on the clamp arm 20, which then moves the holding sections 22 into the open position.

[0042] According to the invention, a rigid wear plate 5 is accommodated in the clamp arm 20 in the region of the control section 26. In the Figure 1In the embodiment shown, the rigid wear plate 5 is brought into direct contact with the control cam 3 in order to transmit the force of the control cam 3 via the rigid wear plate 5 to the control section 26 of the clamp arm 20.

[0043] In the illustrated embodiment, the rigid wear plate 5 is designed as a 2-4 mm thick V2A stainless steel plate. The areas of the control cam 3 that come into contact with the wear plate 5 are preferably made of a PEEK material, thus ensuring a particularly low-wear material combination. PEEK material is understood here to mean a polyetheretherketone material.

[0044] Alternatively, for example, the wear plate 5 can be made of PEEK material and the control cam 3 or the areas of the control cam 3 that come into contact with the wear plate 5 can be made of V4A steel, for example.

[0045] According to the invention, the rigid wear plate 5 is provided in a recess 28 of the clamp arm 20 provided in the control section 26.

[0046] According to the invention, the rigid wear plate 5 is mounted in a floating manner in the recess 28. Accordingly, the wear plate 5 can move at least in one direction within the recess 28, which corresponds to the direction of force action of the control cam 3 when the latter is brought into contact with the rigid wear plate 5.

[0047] The recess 28 is accordingly preferably designed such that the gap formed between the wear plate 5 and the material of the clamp arm 20 delimiting the recess 28 corresponds, for example, to the material thickness of the wear plate 5.

[0048] In order to prevent the wear plate 5 from falling out in the direction of the control cam 3, the recess 28 in the clamp arm 20 is formed via retaining lugs 280 such that the rigid wear plate 5 remains in this recess 28 despite its floating mounting in the recess 28, regardless of the respective positioning of the clamping device 1. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the rigid wear plate 5 is further held in position in the recess 28 by means of two retaining bolts 29. The rigid wear plate 5 is thus prevented from falling out in the recess 28 in the direction of the control cam 3 by means of the retaining lugs 280 and is prevented from falling out in a plane perpendicular thereto by the retaining bolts 29.

[0049] The rigid wear plate 5 is held or mounted in a floating manner in the recess 28 by means of the retaining bolts 29 and the retaining lugs 280. The rigid wear plate 5 can thus be both pivoted and displaced. Displacement of the rigid wear plate 5 can be achieved, for example, along the retaining bolts 29. Pivoting of the rigid wear plate 5 can be carried out, for example, around one of the ends of the rigid wear plate 5 formed in the longitudinal extension of the holding arm 20.

[0050] In order to enable replacement of the rigid wear plate 5, one of the retaining bolts 29 is removable in the embodiment shown, so that the rigid wear plate 5 can be removed and replaced by a new rigid wear plate 5.

[0051] In the illustrated embodiment, the rigid wear plate 5 is preloaded by one or more pressure pieces 6 toward the control cam 3. The pressure pieces 6 thus also press the rigid wear plate 5 against the retaining lugs 280 of the recess 28 such that, in the relaxed state of the clamping device 1, i.e., when the control cam 3 exerts no force on the rigid wear plate 5, the rigid wear plate 5 rests against the retaining lugs 280, so that a gap is formed between the rigid wear plate 5 and the material of the holding arm 20 that delimits the recess 28.

[0052] The pressure piece 6 or the pressure pieces 6 are preferably made of an elastic material, for example, an elastomer material. The elastomer material of the pressure piece 6 can be, for example, a silicone-based elastomer material with a hardness of 40-60° Shore A. Alternatively or additionally, an elastic preload can be applied to the rigid wear plate 5 in the direction toward the control cam 3 by means of an elastic preload element in any other known manner, for example, by means of a spring or a magnet.

[0053] Accordingly, the force applied by the control cam 3 to the rigid wear plate 5 when closing the clamping device 1 can be smoothly transferred to the clamp arms 20 in the control section 26. In particular, force peaks are absorbed here by the elastic preload.

[0054] Depending on the requirements, a single elastic preload element or two, three, or a plurality of elastic preload elements can be provided. The characteristics of the closing process when actuating the control cam 3 can be adjusted by selecting the elastic preload elements—in particular, by the respective hardness of the elastic preload element.

[0055] Furthermore, it is possible to vary the characteristics throughout the closing movement by combining different elastic preload elements. For example, if the elastic preload element that lies below the contact point during the initial contact of the control cam 3 with the rigid wear plate 5 is softer than the adjacent elastic preload element that only lies below the contact point later, a particularly soft approach can be achieved when the holding sections 22 are first applied to the respective container to be held, with the exerted holding force then increasing.

[0056] Furthermore, the provision of the pressure piece(s) 6 makes it possible for the force applied via the holding sections 22 to the respective container to be held (within a tolerance range) to be independent of the dimensions of the gripped container.

[0057] In Figure 2a clamp arm 20 of the clamping device 1 is shown again in a detailed representation.

[0058] In the area of ​​the control section 26, the rigid wear plate 5 is arranged, which has a thickness d 1 . In the exemplary embodiment shown, the thickness of the wear plate 5 corresponds approximately to the distance d 2 between the rigid wear plate 5 and the material of the clamp arm 20, which defines the recess 28. Accordingly, the wear plate 5 can move within the recess 28 by a maximum distance d 2 from the control cam 3. However, a limitation is imposed here by the pressure pieces 6, since complete compression of these pressure pieces 6 is not possible.

[0059] In Figure 3 is the one in Figure 2The part of the clamping device 1 shown is shown again in a first position A, in which the wear plate 5 rests directly against the control cam 3 and also against the retaining lugs 280 of the recess. Accordingly, the rigid wear plate 5 is in a defined position, and the force exerted by the control cam 3 on the wear plate 5 does not exceed the force exerted by the pressure pieces 6, so that there is no compression of the pressure pieces 6.

[0060] In Figure 3the clamping device 1 is shown in a second position B, in which the holding area 22 has been moved slightly further outwards, and a corresponding compression of the pressure piece 6 has taken place. The rigid wear plate 5 is thus moved against the preload applied by the pressure pieces 6 in order to move the holding area 22 of the clamping arm 20 outwards into position B against the elastic preload by the pressure pieces 6. This accordingly results in the enlarged opening, which has been opened further by a distance D and which, with a predetermined position of the control cam 3, also makes it possible to hold a container with an enlarged diameter.

[0061] The two enlarged sections A and B show once again the behavior of the rigid wear plate 5 when a force is applied that leads to compression of the pressure pieces 6.

[0062] In this way, slightly deviating radii or even incorrect grips, in which the holding sections 22 do not engage exactly at the intended location on the container, can be compensated.

[0063] In an alternative, instead of the pressure pieces, the control section 26 of the clamping arm 20 can also be designed to be elastic, so that the forces applied to the rigid wear plate 5 by means of the control cam 3 can then still be transferred elastically to the clamping arm 20. List of reference symbols

[0064] 1 Clamping device 20 Clamping arm 22 Holding section 24 Swivel axis 26 Control section 28 Recess 280 Holding nose 29 Holding bolt 3 Control cam 4 Pre-tensioning device 5 Rigid wear plate 6 Elastic pressure piece d 1 Thickness of the rigid wear plate d 2 Depth of the gap The extended opening angle

Claims

1. A clamping device (1) for holding a container in a container treatment plant, comprising two clamping arms (20), each with a holding portion (22) for contact with the container to be held and each with a control portion (26) on which a control cam (3) acts to move the holding portions (22) into an open position and / or into a closed position, wherein a rigid wear plate (5) is arranged on the control portion (26), on which the control cam (3) acts, and the rigid wear plate (5) is arranged in a recess (28) of the clamping arm (20) provided on the control portion (26), is mounted in a floating manner on the control portion (26) and is held in the recess (28) by a retaining lug (280).

2. The clamping device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the retaining lug (280) is formed integrally with the clamping arm (20).

3. The clamping device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rigid wear plate (5) is mounted in a floating manner on the control portion (26) by means of a holder, a retaining bolt (29) or a positive-locking element.

4. The clamping device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the rigid wear plate (5) is pivotably and / or displaceably mounted on the control portion (26), preferably mounted so as to be pivotable about one end of the wear plate (5) or displaceable relative thereto.

5. The clamping device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rigid wear plate (5) is elastically mounted on the control portion (26), preferably by means of an elastic preloading element, a pressure piece (6), a spring, a magnet and / or an elastomer.

6. The clamping device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rigid wear plate (5) on the control portion (26) is preloaded against the control cam (3).

7. The clamping device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control portion (26) of the clamping arm (20) is configured to be form-elastic.

8. The clamping device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the material of the rigid wear plate (5) is harder than the material of the clamping arm (20).

9. The clamping device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rigid wear plate (5) is made of metal, preferably stainless steel, particularly preferably V4A stainless steel, and a control cam (3) is provided which is made of a PEEK material in the region of its contact surfaces contacting the rigid wear plate (5).

10. The clamping device (1) according to any of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the rigid wear plate (5) is made of a PEEK material and a control cam (3) is provided which, in the region of its contact surfaces contacting the rigid wear plate (5), is made of a metal, preferably stainless steel, particularly preferably V4A stainless steel.

11. The clamping device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that each clamping arm (20) is pivotably mounted on a pivot axis (24).

12. The clamping device (1) according to claim 11, characterized in that a preloading device (4) is provided between the holding portion (22) and the pivot axis (24), which device preloads the holding portions (22) away from one another, wherein the preloading device (4) is preferably formed by a spring, an elastomer or magnets.