Disc shaft for a loading and / or unloading device

Abstract

The invention relates to a disc shaft for a loading and / or unloading device for containers, a loading and / or unloading device for the parallel loading and / or unloading of containers, and a device for handling containers. In order to provide a disc shaft for a loading and / or unloading device, which has particularly high stability, is particularly well protected against corrosion and fouling, and in particular against mould formation, allows for assembly with particularly low variance and low time requirement, and allows for a particularly quick and simple change in the distribution (solution regardless of distribution), according to the invention, the disc shaft has multiple loading and / or unloading discs arranged on a common disc shaft axis for moving a respective container from a first position into a second position, wherein each loading and / or unloading disc is formed of at least two disc segments arranged around the disc shaft axis. The disc segments are secured to the disc shaft axis exclusively via clamping and / or connected exclusively to one another by means of securing means.

Description

[0001] Description Disc shaft for a loading and / or dispensing device

[0002] The invention relates to a disc shaft for a loading and / or dispensing device for container treatment, a loading and / or dispensing device for the parallel loading and / or dispensing of containers and a device for treating containers.

[0003] Loading and / or dispensing devices with a disc shaft are known in a variety of designs from the prior art and are commonly used to load containers to be treated, for example reusable bottles to be cleaned, into a container treatment device. For this purpose, such a loading device has a disc shaft with several loading and / or dispensing discs arranged on a common disc shaft axis for displacing one container at a time from a first position to a second position, wherein each loading and / or dispensing disc is typically formed from two individual and identical disc segments. The disc segments are each adapted to the container to be displaced and screwed to the disc shaft axis depending on the pitch.

[0004] A corresponding container cleaning machine is known, for example, from DE 38 35216 A1. Several drive fingers are secured along the circumference of a finger shaft by means of several screws that penetrate the drive fingers and are arranged in threaded holes in the finger shaft.

[0005] However, such a design has a number of disadvantages. First, the threaded holes in the finger shaft lead to reduced stability and the risk of foreign matter, especially liquids, penetrating the interior of the finger shaft, which can lead to corrosion and mold growth. Furthermore, the threaded holes in the finger shaft predetermine the pitch of the fingers, so changing the pitch is only possible with the replacement of the finger shaft, which is complicated and time-consuming, resulting in prolonged downtime.Finally, such a screw connection of the driving fingers to the finger shaft with a round cross-section leads to a considerable variance in the positioning of the driving fingers, so that either a complex alignment and positioning of the driving fingers must be carried out during assembly or, alternatively, the driving fingers are positioned and aligned imprecisely, which, however, increasingly leads to operational malfunctions.

[0006] The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a disc shaft for a loading and / or dispensing device which has a particularly high level of stability, is particularly well protected against corrosion and contamination and in particular against the formation of mould, allows assembly with a particularly low variance and little time expenditure and enables a particularly simple and rapid change of the pitch.

[0007] The object is achieved according to the invention by a disc shaft for a loading and / or dispensing device according to claim 1, by a loading and / or dispensing device according to claim 11, and by a device for treating containers according to claim 12. Advantageous developments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

[0008] The disc shaft according to the invention for a loading and / or unloading device for container handling, in particular for the parallel loading and / or unloading of containers, has a plurality of loading and / or unloading discs arranged on a common disc shaft axis for displacing a container from a first position to a second position, wherein each loading and / or unloading disc is formed from at least two disc segments arranged surrounding the disc shaft axis. The disc segments are secured exclusively by clamping to the disc shaft axis and / or are connected exclusively to one another by means of fastening means.

[0009] The loading and / or unloading device according to the invention for the parallel loading and / or unloading of containers, in particular for a container cleaning machine, has a disc shaft according to the invention, by means of which containers brought in are displaced from a first position to a second position.

[0010] Finally, the invention relates to a device for treating containers, in particular for cleaning the containers, with a first conveyor for feeding containers, a container treatment device downstream of the first conveyor, in particular a container cleaning machine, and with a second conveyor for guiding away the treated containers, wherein a feeding device according to the invention for feeding the containers into the container treatment device is arranged between the first conveyor and the container treatment device and / or a discharge device according to the invention for unloading the containers from the container treatment device is arranged between the container treatment device and the second conveyor.

[0011] The inventors recognized that clamping the disc segments or the entire feed and / or delivery disc to the disc shaft axis offers numerous advantages. Firstly, threaded holes in the disc shaft axis are eliminated, thus preventing the penetration of liquid and the resulting corrosion and / or mold formation due to contamination. Furthermore, the feed and / or delivery disc can be installed particularly quickly and easily on the disc shaft axis. Furthermore, the positioning of the individual feed and / or delivery discs or disc segments is freely selectable, since there are no specifications imposed by threaded holes in the disc shaft axis. In particular, the disc shaft axis is manufactured to be pitch-independent.

[0012] According to the invention, the loading and / or unloading device is a device for moving a plurality of containers simultaneously from one position to another position in order to load the containers into another device or unload them from another device. The loading and / or unloading device for containers is preferably used in the field of industrial container filling and particularly preferably on a container cleaning machine. The displacement of each container from the first position to the second position can be a change in the orientation and / or spatial position of the container during loading and / or unloading, wherein pure rotation, pure translation or a superposition of a rotation and a translation can be used to get from the first position to the second position.

[0013] According to the invention, the disc shaft is formed from a plurality of loading and / or delivery discs arranged on the disc shaft axis. The disc shaft is also referred to as a loading, input, or output shaft. The loading and / or output discs are preferably arranged parallel to one another on the disc shaft and / or have an identical angular orientation, in particular with respect to the disc shaft axis. Likewise, all loading and / or output discs on the disc shaft are preferably arranged at the same distance from one another or from the adjacent disc. This distance is preferably greater than the diameter of a container and / or less than twice the diameter of the container.

[0014] The disk shaft axis can in principle be formed as desired and in particular have any desired cross-section. The disk shaft axis preferably has a non-circular cross-section. The disk shaft axis is further preferably formed as a shaft and particularly preferably as a hollow shaft. Although the disk shaft axis can also consist of a multiple component assembly, it is preferably formed in one piece. According to the invention, each loading and / or delivery disk is formed from at least two disk segments, with all disk segments of a loading and / or delivery disk together essentially surrounding the disk shaft axis. A loading and / or delivery disk preferably has 2-4 and particularly preferably 2-3 disk segments. Furthermore, all loading and / or delivery disks of the disk shaft are preferably formed from an identical number of disk segments.Particularly preferably, all the feed and / or discharge disks of the disk shaft are identical to one another. In a preferred embodiment, a disk segment is formed essentially in one piece, and in particular in one piece with a finger and / or with a back. Furthermore, it is also conceivable for a disk segment to be an assembly comprising several components.

[0015] To advantageously keep the moving masses particularly low, the loading and / or unloading discs, and in particular the disc segments, are preferably designed as a lightweight construction and have numerous recesses for this purpose. Particularly preferably, the loading and / or unloading discs, and in particular the disc segments, are formed in a framework or scaffolding-like manner. Most preferably, the material is removed from non-load-bearing areas and / or reduced to force-absorbing areas in the form of struts.

[0016] The disc shaft, the loading and / or dispensing discs, and / or the disc segments can, in principle, be made of any desired material, with the components of the disc shaft, in particular the loading and / or dispensing discs, the disc shaft axis, a frame, and / or other components, preferably being made of metal and particularly preferably of stainless steel. Furthermore, each disc segment can also have sections made of plastic, particularly in the areas that come into contact with a container.

[0017] The container can, in principle, be any vessel, with the container preferably being made of plastic or glass and / or being intended for holding a food item and, in particular, a beverage. Accordingly, the container is preferably a bottle. Furthermore, the container is preferably part of a reusable system and, accordingly, is particularly preferably a reusable bottle, in particular made of glass or plastic.

[0018] According to the invention, the disk segments and thus the entire supply and / or delivery disk formed therefrom are secured to the disk shaft axis exclusively by clamping. The disk segments, and in particular two disk segments or sections of at least two disk segments opposite one another with respect to the disk shaft axis, are arranged on both sides so that a force acts on a surface of the disk shaft axis, thereby achieving a rotationally and / or translationally fixed attachment to the disk shaft axis. Particularly preferably, the clamping is effected in such a way that a force is applied to each surface section along the circumference of the disk shaft axis and / or between the surface of the disk shaft axis and the disk segments.In order to achieve such clamping on the disk shaft axis, the disk segments forming a loading and / or delivery disk are arranged according to the invention to surround the disk shaft axis to at least part of the circumference and preferably substantially completely, wherein to enable the disk shaft to be fixed to the disk shaft axis by clamping, distances are provided between at least two, some or all of the disk segments in order to enable clamping, in particular by means of at least one fastening means, between two adjacent disk segments.

[0019] Likewise according to the invention, the disc segments of a loading and / or unloading disc are connected exclusively to one another by means of one or more connecting means, in particular by means of screws. In the context of the invention, this means that each disc segment is connected to one or more further disc segments, in particular on one side or both sides to the disc segment arranged adjacently on the disc shaft axis and / or to one or more disc segments opposite one another with respect to the disc shaft, by means of at least one fastening means. Accordingly, connecting the disc segments exclusively to one another by means of a fastening means also means that the attachment to the disc shaft axis is fundamentally carried out without any fastening means.The fact that the disc segments are intended to be exclusively connected to each other does not initially preclude the attachment of additional components to the disc segments or the indirect attachment of the disc segments to each other. However, the attachment of the disc segments by means of a fastening device to the disc shaft axis, and in particular, screwing, should be excluded.

[0020] In an advantageous development of the disc shaft according to the invention, all disc segments are secured to the disc shaft axis by means of a prism clamp. Alternatively or additionally, each disc segment and the disc shaft axis are designed such that, upon securing, self-centering and / or forced alignment of all disc segments relative to the disc shaft axis occurs, thereby easily achieving particularly precise positioning and alignment of the loading and / or unloading disc on the disc shaft axis.

[0021] For this purpose, a particularly advantageous development of the disc shaft according to the invention provides that the disc shaft axis has a cross-sectional area in the form of a regular polygon, at least in the area for arranging the disc segments, wherein the polygon preferably has twice as many sides as disc segments are arranged surrounding the disc shaft axis and are particularly preferably fixed thereto by means of a prism clamp, whereby each disc segment advantageously rests on two sides of the disc shaft axis that are angled to one another and thus self-centering can be achieved at least in relation to the circumference of the disc shaft axis.It is particularly preferred that the cross-sectional area is consistent at least in the area where the disc segments are arranged, and most preferably over the entire length of the disc shaft axis, thereby allowing the loading and / or delivery discs to be freely positioned along the direction of the central longitudinal axis of the disc shaft axis. Alignment in this direction is preferably achieved during assembly of the loading and / or delivery disc using a dividing template arranged between two loading and / or delivery discs.

[0022] According to a preferred embodiment of the disc shaft according to the invention, each disc segment has a receptacle with two mutually angled and / or flat receiving surfaces, which can lie flat against two adjacent side surfaces of the disc shaft axis, thereby achieving a particularly large contact surface between each disc segment and the disc shaft axis and correspondingly a particularly stable clamping. In order to further achieve the largest possible contact surface, a further preferred embodiment of the disc shaft according to the invention provides that the receiving surfaces of a disc segment extend across the full width of the disc segment, in particular in the direction of the central longitudinal axis of the disc shaft axis. Furthermore, this achieves good stability against undesired tilting of the feed and / or discharge discs from a radial plane of the disc shaft axis.Most preferably, the area of ​​the receiving surfaces is the widest section of the disc segments.

[0023] In order to achieve particularly good clamping and in particular a good clamping force between the disc segments, an advantageous development of the disc shaft according to the invention provides that the receiving surfaces of a disc segment, in particular in the direction of the circumference of the disc shaft axis, are shorter than the associated side surface of the disc shaft axis. The difference between the length of the receiving surface and the side surface is preferably less than 10%, particularly preferably less than 5% and most preferably between 1% and 5% of the length of the side surface. Furthermore, it is preferred that no further parts of the disc segments are arranged in this area, i.e. in a gap between two adjacent disc segments of the loading and / or delivery disc, so that undesired support and thus a reduction in clamping force can be prevented.Most preferably, the individual disc segments of a loading and / or dispensing disc are not in any direct contact with each other.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment of the disc shaft according to the invention, the disc shaft axis, at least in the area where the disc segments are arranged and / or between two disc segments, and particularly preferably entirely, is free of openings, bores, threaded holes, and the like. This advantageously prevents the penetration of foreign substances and contaminants, in particular liquids, into the disc shaft axis, so that high stability and freedom from corrosion as well as compliance with hygiene standards, in particular freedom from mold, can be guaranteed even in the long term. If necessary, the two end openings of a disc shaft axis formed as a hollow shaft can remain open, since they are typically not located in an area that could come into contact with foreign substances and contaminants.

[0025] Furthermore, it is preferred that all disc segments are formed identically to one another and / or that each disc segment has at least one, preferably exactly one finger for raising or lowering a container in the region of the container base and at least one, preferably exactly one back for contacting a container side wall. Likewise preferably, all disc segments are arranged rotationally symmetrically around the disc shaft axis. Preferably, the at least one finger of a disc segment is provided to come into contact with a container in the region of the container base and in doing so to raise or lower the container or to displace it from the first position to the second position. Furthermore, the finger preferably comes into contact with the container exclusively in the region of the container base and / or a lower container edge. In this case, the finger is also referred to as a driver finger.

[0026] The at least one finger and the at least one back of a disk segment can in principle each be a separate component or formed in one piece and thus each be a section of a common component. In particular, the finger and the back can merge continuously into one another. A finger of a disk segment of the disk shaft is preferably longer in the radial direction, particularly preferably at least 1.5 times longer and most preferably 2 times longer than the back. As an alternative to the arrangement of a finger and a back on a disk segment, a disk segment can also have just one finger or one back, in which case disk segments with a finger and with a back are particularly preferably arranged alternately along the circumference of the disk shaft axis.In principle, the finger and the back can be made of any material, although it is preferred that the finger and / or the back be made of a plastic. Likewise, the disc segments preferably form a frame for receiving or securing a finger and / or a back as a separate and preferably replaceable component, in particular as a one-piece component and / or a component made of plastic.

[0027] The connection of the individual disc segments of a loading and / or delivery disc according to the invention can be achieved using one or more fastening means, with one or more screws being preferred as the fastening means. Particularly preferably, the connection between two adjacent disc segments is achieved using exactly one screw, so that the number of screws corresponds to the number of disc segments of a loading and / or delivery disc. Likewise, each screw is preferably in direct contact exclusively with the two interconnected disc segments and, in particular, not with the disc shaft axis.

[0028] In order to be able to arrange the connecting means in a particularly protected manner and to enable easy cleaning of the supply and / or discharge disc, a preferred embodiment of the disc shaft according to the invention provides that each disc segment has precisely one screw channel for receiving a screw as a fastening means for securing the disc segments to one another, as well as precisely one threaded bore for receiving the screw tip of another disc segment. The screw channel preferably penetrates the disc segment completely. To prevent foreign bodies and liquids from penetrating the screw channel, the end of the channel facing away from the screw is closed by means of a closure element, in particular a closure plug.

[0029] Several embodiments of the loading and / or dispensing device according to the invention, as well as of disc shafts, are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings. The figures show:

[0030] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a loading and / or dispensing device for container treatment,

[0031] Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a disc shaft of the loading and / or dispensing device shown in Fig. 1,

[0032] Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a loading and / or delivery disc of the disc shaft shown in Fig. 2,

[0033] Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the loading and / or dispensing disc shown in Fig. 3,

[0034] Fig. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a loading and / or dispensing disc, and Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the loading and / or dispensing disc shown in Fig. 5.

[0035] In an embodiment of a loading and / or dispensing device 2 shown in Fig. 1, a disk shaft 1 for the parallel loading and / or dispensing of containers is arranged inside a housing, which disk shaft is rotatable by means of a drive device 18 arranged on a stationary frame 17.

[0036] The disc shaft 1 is formed from a plurality of loading and / or dispensing discs 4 arranged parallel to one another on a disc shaft axis 3 (see Fig. 2). Each individual loading and / or dispensing disc 4 is formed from two disc segments 5 which together essentially completely surround the disc shaft axis 3. Each of the disc segments 5 has a finger 11 for lifting or lowering a container in the region of the container bottom and a back 12 for supporting the container in the region of a container side wall. In this first embodiment of the disc shaft 1, the finger 11 and the back 12 are each formed as a section of the one-piece disc segment 5 made of a plastic (see Fig. 3).

[0037] In order to be able to fix each feed and / or delivery disc 4 in a precise position on the disc shaft axis 3, the disc shaft axis 3 has a square cross-sectional area 7 with four side surfaces 10 of equal length. One of the disc segments 5 is supported on each two adjacent side surfaces 10 of the disc shaft axis 3 by means of a holder 8. The holder 8 has two holder surfaces 9 which have the same angle to each other as the two side surfaces 10 of the disc shaft axis 3. The holder surfaces 9 of the disc segments 5 are somewhat shorter, preferably 1 - 10 mm shorter, than the side surfaces 10 of the disc shaft axis 3, so that the two disc segments 5 arranged on the disc shaft axis 3 cannot touch each other, particularly in the area of ​​the holder 8.In order to enable the two disc segments 5 to be clamped to the disc shaft axis 3 by means of a fastening means 6 between the two disc segments 5, each disc segment 5 has a screw channel 13 and a threaded bore 15, wherein the screw channel 13 and the threaded bore 15 are positioned such that, when two disc segments 5 are arranged on a disc shaft axis 3, a screw channel 13 and a threaded bore 15 are arranged opposite one another, so that a connection of both disc segments 5 to form a feed and / or discharge disc 4 is possible by means of one, in total two, screws 14 (see Fig. 4). In order to prevent contaminants from penetrating the screw channel 13, both screw channels 13 are each closed by means of a closure element 16 in the form of a closure plug.

[0038] A second embodiment, shown in Figures 5 and 6, differs from the first embodiment only in the design of the disc segments 5. Firstly, the disc segments 5 are formed as a framework-like lightweight construction and have numerous recesses to reduce the mass of the rotating components and in particular of the loading and / or unloading disc 4. Secondly, the finger 11 and the back 12 are no longer formed integrally with the disc segment 5, but rather the disc segment 5 forms a receiving frame for arranging the finger 11 and the back 12 thereon. The receiving frame of the disc segment is made of stainless steel, while the finger 11 and the back 12 are each integral plastic parts. Finally, in this second embodiment, the two disc segments 5 are secured by means of screws 14, which are open and not arranged within a screw channel 13. List of Reference Symbols

[0039] 1 disc shaft

[0040] 2 Loading and / or dispensing device

[0041] 3 Disc shaft axis

[0042] 4 Loading and / or delivery disc

[0043] 5 disc segment

[0044] 6 fasteners

[0045] 7 Cross-sectional area

[0046] 8 Recording

[0047] 9 Recording area

[0048] 10 side surface

[0049] 11 fingers

[0050] 12 backs

[0051] 13 screw channel

[0052] 14 Screw

[0053] 15 threaded hole

[0054] 16 locking element

[0055] 17 frames

[0056] 18 Drive device

Claims

Claims 1. Disc shaft (1) for a loading and / or dispensing device (2) for container treatment, with a plurality of loading and / or dispensing discs (4) arranged on a common disc shaft axis (3) for displacing a container from a first position to a second position, wherein each loading and / or dispensing disc (4) is formed from at least two disc segments (5) arranged surrounding the disc shaft axis (3), characterized in that the disc segments (5) are fixed exclusively by clamping to the disc shaft axis (3) and / or the disc segments (5) are connected exclusively to one another by means of fastening means (6).

2. Disc shaft for a loading and / or dispensing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the fixing of all disc segments (5) to the disc shaft axis (3) is carried out by a prism clamp and / or each disc segment (5) and the disc shaft axis (3) are formed in such a way that during fixing a self-centering and / or a forced alignment of all disc segments (5) relative to the disc shaft axis (3) takes place.

3. Disc shaft for a loading and / or dispensing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the disc shaft axis (3) has a cross-sectional area (7) in the form of a regular polygon, wherein the polygon preferably has twice as many sides as disc segments (5) are arranged surrounding the disc shaft axis (3).

4. Disc shaft for a loading and / or dispensing device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each disc segment (5) has a receptacle (8) with two receiving surfaces (9) which are angled relative to one another and which lie flat against two adjacent side surfaces (10) of the disc shaft axis (3).

5. Disc shaft for a loading and / or dispensing device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the receiving surfaces (9) of a disc segment (5) extend over the full width of the disc segment (5).

6. Disc shaft for a loading and / or dispensing device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the receiving surfaces (9) of a disc segment (5) are shorter than the associated side surface (10) of the disc shaft axis (3) in order to enable clamping of the disc segments (5) relative to the disc shaft axis (3).

7. Disc shaft for a loading and / or dispensing device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the disc shaft axis (3) is free of openings and threaded bores. Disc shaft for a loading and / or dispensing device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that all disc segments (3) are formed identically to one another and / or each disc segment (3) has exactly one finger (11) for raising or lowering a container in the region of the container bottom and exactly one back (12) for bearing against a container side wall. Disc shaft for a loading and / or dispensing device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each disc segment (3) has exactly one screw channel (13) for receiving a screw (14) for securing the disc segments (3) to one another and exactly one threaded bore (15) for receiving the screw tip of another disc segment (3).Disc shaft for a loading and / or dispensing device according to claim 9, characterized in that the screw channel (13) completely penetrates the disc segment (3) and / or is closed at the end facing away from the screw (14) by means of a closure element (16), in particular a closure plug. Loading and / or dispensing device (2) for the parallel loading and / or dispensing of containers, in particular for a container cleaning machine, comprising a disc shaft (1) according to at least one of claims 1-10. Device for treating containers, with a first conveyor for feeding containers, a container treatment device arranged downstream of the first conveyor, in particular a container cleaning machine, and a second conveyor for guiding away the treated containers, characterized in that - between the first conveyor and the container treatment device there is arranged a feeding device (2) according to claim 11 for feeding the containers into the container treatment device and / or between the container treatment device and the second conveyor a discharge device (2) according to claim 11 for unloading the containers from the container treatment device.

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