CONTAINER TREATMENT DEVICE

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a container treatment device. US 2018 / 0290837 A1 is the closest prior art and shows a transport device for a production facility for cylindrical parts, in which two transport star wheels with movable rotation axes are arranged between two stationary transport star wheels. The position of the movable transport star wheels is adjusted via the speed of the stationary transport star wheels. The aforementioned container treatment device contains a container treatment machine, which can be, for example, a container manufacturing machine, such as a blow molding machine, a labeling machine, a cleaning machine, a filling or packing machine, or the like.The container treatment device further comprises at least one transport device arranged at least upstream of the container treatment machine, comprising at least two consecutively arranged transport star wheels with container receptacles arranged equidistantly around their circumference, which are designed to grip containers, in particular in their neck area, and feed them to the container treatment machine. The consecutively arranged transport star wheels transfer the containers, preferably bottles, to each other at a transfer point. It can now happen that in this transport device, which usually connects, for example, a container feed or another type of container treatment to the container treatment machine, the feed rate does not exactly match the processing rate of the container treatment machine itself, at least briefly.In cases of such short-term asynchronies, it is desirable to have a buffer to compensate for a brief surplus / shortage, for example, in the container feed upstream of the container processing machine and / or a brief drop / increase in the processing capacity of the container processing machine. WO 2017 / 097537 A1 and DE 10 2010 018 216 A1 disclose transport systems consisting of a plurality of orbiting star wheels. Switches can be used to switch between transport routes of different lengths and, if necessary, the number of transport elements involved when buffering is required. However, these highly reliable elements are not yet sufficiently precise.

[0002] This object is achieved by a container treatment device having the features of claim 1 and by a method for operating a container treatment device according to claim 7. Advantageous developments of the invention are the subject of the associated dependent claims.

[0003] According to the invention, the transport device comprises a plurality of transport starwheels arranged one behind the other, such that the containers run directly from an upstream transport starwheel to a downstream transport starwheel, with the transfer between the transport starwheels taking place at a transfer point. According to the invention, the position of the rotation axes of at least two consecutive transport starwheels can be moved in the horizontal plane between transport starwheels arranged fixedly upstream and downstream in the transport direction. The transfer point of the containers is changed by the movement of the transport starwheels. This makes it possible to set a sector or angular range of the circumference that the bottles run on the transport starwheel, i.e. the size of the circulation path. In other words, the degree of wrap by the transport path on the transport starwheels is changed.If the rotation axes of the movably arranged transport star wheels are shifted or pivoted in such a way that the total circulation distances on the moving transport star wheels and, if applicable, on neighboring transport star wheels become longer, the transport distance is extended, thus creating an additional buffer zone that can temporarily accommodate additional containers in the event of brief asynchrony in the container throughput at different points on the container handling device. Conversely, the buffer zone can be reduced by moving the movably arranged transport star wheels in such a way that the total circulation distances decrease. This is the case, for example, if the throughput of a container handling machine downstream of the transport device increases again.

[0004] According to the invention, the container handling device has at least one drive, controlled by a controller of the container handling device and / or the transport device, for moving the rotation axes in the horizontal plane. The drive is preferably designed to maintain the transfer points between the transport star wheels during the movement of the transport star wheels. In this way, the lengthening / shortening of the transport path for setting up / removing the buffer section can be easily controlled without interrupting the handling of the containers in the container handling device.

[0005] Preferably, the rotation axes of the movable transport star wheels arranged adjacent to the fixed transport star wheels are pivotable about the rotation axis of the correspondingly adjacent fixed transport star wheel. In this way, when pivoting the position of the rotation axis of the movably arranged transport star wheels, the transfer point between the fixed and the movably arranged transport star wheels is maintained.

[0006] The transport device preferably has a group of at least three movably mounted transport starwheels, of which the rotational axes of the outer two are pivotable and the rotational axis of the middle movable transport starwheel is linearly movable. In this way, on the one hand, the transfer points to transport means arranged in front of and behind the transport starwheels, e.g. fixed transport starwheels, can be easily maintained, particularly if pivoting about the rotational axis of the adjacent fixed transport starwheels is provided. The middle transport starwheel is then preferably linearly movable perpendicular to the connecting line between the rotational axes of the two pivotable transport starwheels, so that the orbital path on this middle movable transport starwheel can be varied additionally to a great extent. The scope for lengthening or shortening the transport path is thus considerably increased.

[0007] Changing the position of a transport star's rotational axis is easily achieved if the rotational axis of the movable transport star can be pivoted in the horizontal plane. A pivot bearing is mechanically stable and can also be easily implemented using a pivot drive. Linear movement of a transport star's rotational axis can also be easily achieved using a guide rail.

[0008] In an advantageous development of the invention, the rotation axes of at least two consecutively arranged transport stars are movable, in particular pivotable. In this way, the total orbital distance on these consecutively arranged transport stars can be varied significantly, which considerably increases the capacity for lengthening or shortening the transport distance. Odd numbers of consecutively arranged transport stars, such as three, five, or seven, are preferably suitable for this purpose. In this way, the movable transport stars can interact more easily with the other stationary components of the transport device or the treatment device.

[0009] Accordingly, the transport device preferably has a group of three, in particular at least five, transport star wheels, at least two of which have movable rotation axes. For example, a group of several transport star wheels can also be moved jointly by a drive, whereby the moving transport star wheels can even be connected, for example, by a connecting strut. An extension or shortening of the transport path is then achieved by moving this entire group of connected transport star wheels relative to a fixedly positioned transport star wheel arranged in front of and behind it.

[0010] The container handling device has a controller designed to detect the container throughput at at least one point along the transport path and, depending on the result, adjust the position of the movably arranged rotation axes. The controller is thus capable of comparing the feed speed with the processing speed of the container handling machine and, depending on the result of this comparison, increasing or decreasing the transport path, i.e., the circulating path on the entire conveyor belt. In this way, capacity differences between the container feed and the container handling machine can be compensated, at least in the short term.

[0011] The invention also relates to a method for operating a container processing device as described above. According to the invention, the container throughput at at least one point along the transport path is detected based on the signals from a detector and / or at least one signal output of the container processing device, after which the length of the transport path is changed as a function of the signals from the detector / signal output by moving the rotation axis of at least two transport star wheels (20a-c; 30a-g) arranged one behind the other and movable in the horizontal plane and the corresponding change in the transfer points between the transport star wheels. With regard to the effects and advantages of the invention, reference is made to the description of the container processing device according to the invention.

[0012] Preferably, the position of the rotational axis of the transport star wheels arranged in front of and behind the movable transport star wheels is fixed. This allows the transfer point between the fixed and movable transport star wheels to be easily adjusted, particularly if the rotational axis of the movable transport star wheel can be pivoted around the rotational axis of the fixed transport star wheel.

[0013] Preferably, a group of at least three movably mounted transport star wheels is used, of which the rotation axes of the two outer movably mounted transport star wheels can pivot about the rotation axes of the fixedly arranged adjacent transport star wheels, so that they can easily maintain the transfer point to the fixedly arranged transport star wheels. The middle movable transport star wheel can then either be moved linearly transversely to the connecting line between the rotation axes of the pivotally arranged transport star wheels or can be pivoted such that the direction of the pivoting movement on the connecting line between the pivotally arranged transport star wheels runs perpendicular to this line.

[0014] Preferably, the transfer points between successive conveyor belts are maintained during movement of the movably arranged conveyor belts. This way, container handling does not have to be interrupted during a changeover of the movably arranged conveyor belts.

[0015] The variable length for shortening or lengthening the transport path can be increased if a group of at least three, in particular at least five, consecutive transport stars is used, of which at least two are movable.

[0016] The following terms are used synonymously: movable - movably arranged - movably mounted; transport - conveyor; transport route - total distances traveled by the transport star wheels arranged one behind the other;

[0017] It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that the above-mentioned device and process-related aspects of the different embodiments of the invention can be combined with one another in any desired manner.

[0018] It is also obvious to those skilled in the art that the container treatment device is designed for all types of containers and preforms. For example, disposable or reusable plastic containers, bottles, preforms, and cans.

[0019] The invention is described below by way of example using an exemplary embodiment. In this example: Fig. 1 a plan view of a container treatment device according to the invention with a shortened transport path, Fig. 2 the container treatment device from Fig. 1with extended transport route, Fig. 3 a sketch for the mathematical calculation of the transport routes from the summation of the circulation routes of the containers on the individual transport stars, Fig. 4 a sketch for the representation of the variable transport route on a group of five transport stars arranged one behind the other, whereby the first and last transport stars are fixed, and Figs. 5 to 15 a successive representation of the positions of the rotation axes in a group of seven transport stars in the context of a reduction in the transport route in order to reduce the buffer capacity of the transport device.

[0020] The container treatment device 10 from Fig. 1contains a container feed 12 and a transport device 14, consisting of five transport stars 20a to 20e, by means of which the containers 23 are transported between the container feed 12 and a container handling machine 16. Each of the transport stars 20a to 20e rotates about its corresponding rotation axis 15a to 15e and has equidistantly arranged container receptacles (not shown) on its circumference. The transfer from the container receptacle of a transport star 20a - 20d to the container receptacle of a subsequent transport star 20b - 20e takes place at four transfer points 17a - 17d. The transport path 22 of the containers 23 in the transport device is formed by the added circulation paths of the containers 23 on each of the transport stars 22a - 22e between the transfer points 17a - 17d. The orbital distance of each transport star can be calculated using the orbital angle / 360° x radius x 2π.

[0021] The transport device contains a total of five transport star wheels, of which the first transport star wheel 20a and the fifth transport star wheel 20e have a fixed rotation axis 15a, 15e. Three transport star wheels 20b - 20d located between them are mounted on movable rotation axes 15b - 15d. They can be pivoted or linearly displaced, particularly in the horizontal plane. This makes it possible to change the relative arrangement of the transport star wheels in such a way that the transfer points 17a - 17d on the transport star wheels change, which affects the circulation path of the containers 23 on the transport star wheels 20a - 20e.

[0022] The container processing device 10 further includes a controller 18, which is connected via a data line 13 to a detector 24 for the feed rate in the area of ​​the container feed 12 and to the container processing machine 16, from which the controller 18 receives the container throughput or can calculate it using data from it. The data line or data connection 13 can be wired or wireless. In this way, the controller 18 can calculate any necessary extension / shortening of the transport path 22 serving as a buffer zone in the circulation paths of the containers on the transport star wheels 20a, 20e, which is caused by a possible short-term difference between the container feed rate determined by the detector 24 and the container throughput transmitted by the container processing machine 16.

[0023] The three middle movable transport stars 20b, 20c, 20d are then moved by means of a drive 26 in the direction of the arrows, whereby the Fig. 2 shown constellation is obtained, in which the total transport distance 22, ie the summed orbital distance on all three middle transport stars 20b, 20c, 20d is considerably larger than in Fig. 1 , so that the transport path 22 and thus the buffer zone in the transport device is extended to absorb a temporary capacity bottleneck of the container handling machine 16. In this way, a buffer is effectively formed. When the container handling machine can again operate at full capacity, this buffer can be removed by moving the three transport stars 20a, 20b, 20c in the opposite direction to the positions shown in Fig. 1 shown arrangement is brought.

[0024] Fig. 3 shows a similar arrangement as in the Figures 1 and 2, wherein identical or functionally equivalent parts are provided with identical reference numerals. The transport device here has two fixed outer transport stars 20a, 20e and two middle transport stars 20b, 20c between them.

[0025] The containers 23 run from the container feed 12 at a loading point 19a onto the first stationary transport star 20a. From there, they run via the wrap angle α1 to the first transfer point 17a onto the second pivoting transport star 20b. The containers 23 run in the container receptacles provided on the circumference of the transport star, via a wrap angle α2 to the second transfer point 17b, where they are transferred to the third movable transport star 20c. There, they run via the wrap angle α3 to the third transfer point 17d, where they are transferred to the fourth stationary transport star 20e. There, they run via the wrap angle α4 to the removal point 19b.

[0026] The rotational axis 15b of the second transport star 20b is pivotally mounted along a circle with radius ra around the rotational axis 15a of the first transport star 15a. In this way, the second transport star 20b always remains connected to the first transport star in a transfer position 17a when the second transport star is pivoted to change the length of the transport path. The rotational axis of the third transport star 20c is pivoted by a radius rb around the fixed rotational axis 15e of the adjacent last transport star 15e to change the length of the transport path 22. In this way, the transfer point 17c between the third and fourth transport stars 20c, 20e is always maintained. Finally, the two middle transport stars 20b and 20c are pivoted relative to each other such that their common transfer point 17b is always maintained.In this way, the treatment of the containers 23 in the device 10 can take place without interruption, even if the transport route is changed by pivoting the two middle transport stars.

[0027] The rotation axes 15b, 15c are pivoted by means of the drive 26, according to the requirements for an extension or shortening of the transport path 22. The mechanism of the drive 26 is easy to implement by adjusting two pivot arms to which the pivotable rotation axes 15b, 15c are hinged.

[0028] Fig. 4 shows again a transport device 14 almost identical to the device from Fig. 1 . In contrast to Fig. 1The middle transport star 20c is much larger than the two adjacent movable transport stars 20b and 20d. The middle transport star 20c is linearly movable transversely to the connecting line between the first and last fixed transport stars 20a, 20c, which are arranged at a fixed distance d from each other. The two adjacent pivoting transport stars 20b and 20d are pivotable about the rotation axes of the adjacent fixed transport stars 20a, 20e, analogous to Fig. 3 This figure shows, on the one hand, the change in the transfer points in different positions of the transport stars. It can also be seen that when the large central transport star 20c is moved between the fixed transport stars 20a, 20e, the two pivoting transport stars 20b, 20d must be pivoted away to make room.

[0029] Ice is advantageous, but not absolutely necessary, for maintaining the transfer points while moving the transport stars. In principle, it would also be possible to break the contact between the transport stars when rearranging them, and only bring the transport stars back into contact with each other once the desired final position of all transport stars has been reached. However, this would have the disadvantage that the adjustment of the transport stars' arrangement could not be performed during the ongoing treatment process.

[0030] The Fig. 5 to 15 show analogous to the Fig. 1 to 4 a group of seven transport stars 30a to 30g with their corresponding rotation axes 32a to 32g. Of these seven transport stars 30a to 30g, three transport stars 30c, 30d and 30e are mounted on their pivoting rotation axes 32c, 32d and 32e, which are movable in the horizontal plane. The sequence of Figures 3 to 13shows the adjustment of the three movable transport stars 30c, 30d and 30e in the context of a shortening of the transport route, which finally results in Fig. 15 is completed.

[0031] In the initial situation of the Fig. 5 The seven transport stars 30a to 30g are arranged very interlaced relative to each other, so that the transport path 22 includes a very large total orbital path on all transport stars 30a to 30g. The middle three transport stars 30c, 30d and 30e are mounted on pivoting rotation axes, and the Fig. 6 to 15 show how the pivoting of the three rotation axes 32c, 32d, 32e takes place relative to the fixed adjacent rotation axes 32b and 32f of the adjacent transport stars 30b and 30f. As shown at the end of the movement sequence in Fig. 13As can be seen, the transport path 22 in the final position after the three movable transport stars 30c, 30d and 30e have been repositioned on a substantially shorter path over the entire group of the seven transport stars 30a to 30g than at the beginning in Fig. 5 In this way, a large amount of buffer distance is reduced, for example, if, during a short asynchronous period, the handling capacity of the container handling machine 16 is greater than the feed rate from the container feed 12, whereby the length of the transport path and thus also the buffer distance is reduced. The increase in the buffer distance then takes place in the opposite direction from Fig. 15 towards Fig. 5 .

[0032] The three pivotable rotation axes 32c, 32d, 32e can be moved by means of a linear drive, e.g. by means of guides, instead of being pivotably hinged.

[0033] As a regular alternative, one or more fixed track or guide curves can be provided for the movement guidance of the pivoting or movable transport stars, in which these transport stars are positively guided. Furthermore, additional or alternative drive means can be provided that are not fixed in or on one of the transport stars, via which the pivoting and / or moving movement of these transport stars is initiated.

[0034] It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that the embodiments described above should not be understood as limiting the inventive idea, but rather the latter is limited by the scope of protection of the following patent claims. List of reference symbols:

[0035] 10Container handling device 12Container feed 13Data lines 14Transport device 15a,eFixed rotation axes of the transport stars 15b,c,dMovable rotation axes of the transport stars 16Container handling machine or transport element 17a to dTransfer points between the container receptacles of successive transport stars 18Control 19aFeed point 19bRemoval point 20a,b,cTransport stars or transport wheels 22Transport path of the containers through the sequence of transport stars 23Container receptacles of the transport stars 24Detector 26Drive 30a to gTransport stars of a group 30c,d,eMovable transport stars 32a to gRotation axes of the transport stars 32c,d,eOf which pivotable rotation axes

Claims

1. Container handling device (10) with a container handling machine and with at least one transport device (14), arranged upstream of the container handling machine and comprising several transport stars (20a-c; 30a-g) arranged one behind another, which have container receivers (23) at their circumference which are designed to grip containers, wherein the several transport stars (20a-c; 30a-g) are arranged one behind another in such a way that a container is transferred at a common transfer point from one upstream transport star (20a-c; 30a-g) to a following downstream transport star, wherein the position of the axes of rotation (32c-e) of at least two transport stars (20a-c; 30c-e) following one another sequentially are driven by a motor and can be moved in a controlled manner in a horizontal plane between transport stars which are arranged securely upstream and downstream in the direction of transport, and wherein the container handling device (10) comprises a drive device, controlled by a control unit of the container handling device (10) and / or of the transport device (14), in order to move the axes of rotation (32c-e) in the horizontal plane, characterised in that the container throughput can be detected at at least one point on a transport path on the basis of the signals from a detector (24) and / or at at least one signal output of the container handling device, and, depending on this, the movement of the axes of rotation (32c-e) of the transport stars (20a-c; 30c-e) can be controlled.

2. Container handling device (10) according to claim 1, characterised in that the axes of rotation of the movable transport stars, which are arranged adjacent to the fixed arranged transport stars, can be pivoted about the axis of rotation of the corresponding adjacent fixed arranged transport star.

3. Container handling device (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the axes of rotation (32c-e) can be pivoted or moved linearly in the horizontal plane.

4. Container handling device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the drive device is designed in such as to maintain the transfer point between the transport stars when the transport stars are moved.

5. Container handling device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the transport device (14) has a group of at least three movably mounted transport stars (20a-c; 30a-g), of which the axes of rotation (32c-e) of the two outer stars can be pivoted and the middle axis of rotation is movable linearly.

6. Container handling device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it comprises a control device (18), which is designed to detect the container throughput at at least one point on the transport path, and, depending on the result, to adjust the position of the movably arranged axes of rotation (32a-g).

7. Method for operating a container handling device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the container throughput is detected at at least one point on the transport path on the basis of the signals from a detector (24) and / or from at least one signal output of the container handling device, and that the length of the transport path is changed in the horizontal plane depending on the signals from the detector / signal output (24) by the movement of the axis of rotation of at least two movably mounted transport stars (20a-c; 30a-g) and the corresponding position of the transfer points between the transport stars, by means of a drive device controlled by a control unit of the container handling device (10) and / or of the transport device (14) for moving the axes of rotation (32c-e) in the horizontal plane.

8. Method according to claim 7, characterised in that the position of the axes of rotation (32c-e) of transport stars arranged upstream and downstream of the movably arranged transport stars (20a-c; 32c-e) is fixed.

9. Method according to claim 7 or 8, characterised in that a group of at least three movably mounted transport stars (20a-c; 30a-g) is used, of which the axes of rotation of the two outer movably mounted transport stars can be pivoted about the axis of rotation of the fixed adjacent transport stars.

10. Method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterised in that the transfer points between transport stars following one another are maintained during a movement of the movably arranged transport stars.