Apparatus for processing, filling and / or labelling hollow bodies, controller therefor, and method using same

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus for processing, filling and / or labelling hollow bodies, in particular preforms or containers, the apparatus having a collision avoidance mode (84). The apparatus comprises: a conveying path (33) for conveying the hollow bodies in a conveying direction (20); and a plurality of transport devices (30) arranged successively along the conveying path (33) in the conveying direction (20). A plurality or all of the transport devices (30) comprise: a conveying section (34), in particular a conveying wheel (36); at least one holder (38), arranged on the conveying section (34), for transporting a hollow body along a part of the conveying path (33); and an electric drive (43), associated with the conveying section (34), for moving the conveying section (34) such that the holder (38) is moved along a closed path, in particular a circular path (40). The apparatus also comprises a controller (56) for controlling angles of rotation of the drives (43), wherein at least one pair of transport devices (30), which are assigned to one another and follow one another in the conveying direction (20), can be defined in the controller (56), and, in the controller (56), one of the two conveying sections (34) of the pair can be set as the leading conveying section (52) and the other of the two conveying sections (34) of the pair can be set as the following conveying section (54), wherein, for each position of the leading conveying section (52) of the pair, permissible positional ranges (66) and / or impermissible positional ranges (68) for the following conveying section (54) of the pair can be stored in the controller (56), and the controller (56) is designed, in a collision avoidance mode (84), to control the drives (43) in such a way that the following conveying section (54) exits its impermissible positional range (68), enters its permissible positional range (66), does not enter its impermissible positional range (68), and / or remains within its permissible positional range (66). The invention also relates to: a method for operating an apparatus; a controller (56) for an apparatus; and a computer program product for an apparatus.

Description

[0001] Device for processing, filling and / or labelling hollow bodies and control therefor and method therewith

[0002] The invention relates to processing, filling and / or labeling lines for processing, filling or labeling hollow bodies, wherein the hollow bodies correspond, for example, to preforms or containers.

[0003] Preforms are hollow bodies made from a thermoplastic material using a primary molding process, such as injection molding. Such preforms serve as blanks for the production of containers, such as plastic bottles, for example, for beverages.

[0004] The preforms are therefore processed, with the processing initially comprising temperature conditioning. During temperature conditioning, the preforms are brought to a temperature suitable for forming. The preforms are then formed in a further processing step, for example in a blow molding process, in which the previously tempered preform is expanded against an external mold. The preform held in the external mold is stretched in the axial direction, for example with a stretching rod, and a pressurized fluid, for example a gas, is introduced into the preform in order to expand the preform under pressure until it assumes an inner contour of the external shape. Such expanded and stretched preforms can then also be referred to as containers.Such containers are then, for example, filled with a liquid, such as a beverage, labeled, and provided in containers in a subsequent process. During the forming, filling, labeling, or other processing steps of the hollow bodies, the hollow bodies are processed along a conveyor line in a conveying direction in various processing devices arranged along the conveyor line. Each of the processing devices comprises one or more processing stations with a transport device for further transporting the hollow body during processing.In addition to the processing devices, which include transport devices, other transport devices, such as transfer wheels, are also arranged along the conveyor line, which do not correspond to any processing device and serve to transfer the hollow bodies after they have left a processing device for entry into a processing device following in the conveying direction.

[0005] The transport systems, which must work together with great precision at high speed, are synchronized via their drives during normal processing. This synchronization ensures that the holders for each hollow body, which may include clamps or other holders for holding the hollow bodies, allow the hollow bodies to be transported by passing them along the conveyor line without the transport systems damaging each other through contact or collision.

[0006] To enable the aforementioned synchronization of the transport devices, the individual transport devices were originally mechanically coupled to one another. For example, the infeed and outfeed starwheels of a filler or labeling machine were rigidly connected to one another by direct, slip-free drive connections, i.e., gears, timing belts, and timing belt pulleys. With this solution, even a malfunction, such as a power failure, would only result in a machine downtime, but not in a loss of synchronization of the interconnected machine components.

[0007] However, nowadays the rigid coupling of the transport devices is often dispensed with in order to reduce wear on gears, belts and similar coupling devices. Instead, the individual transport devices, such as the aforementioned transport devices of the blow molding machine, namely the inlet starwheel, outlet starwheel and rotor, are each equipped with their own drives, preferably electric motors. The drives are, for example, electric motors, such as servo motors, which are preferably also equipped with rotary encoders. Rotary encoders report the current angle of rotation, namely the actual angle of rotation, back to a drive control system. In the event of deviations between a predetermined angle of rotation, namely a target angle of rotation, and the actual angle of rotation, a correction is made automatically so that the motor essentially always maintains the target angle of rotation.If all drives maintain their target angles of rotation, the transport devices run synchronously, especially in dynamic positioning tasks where rotary movements must occur simultaneously and synchronously with each other over several hours.

[0008] However, in the event of a malfunction, the transport devices are switched off and free to rotate, for example to replace individual parts of a processing device in the processing line. If the processing line is to be restarted after this machine stoppage, either due to a malfunction or a planned shutdown, the conveyor devices are arranged in a non-synchronous manner. When the processing line is restarted, the control system returns the drives to their target rotational angles relative to each other and accelerates them from their non-synchronous positions. However, when the drives are accelerated to a target speed and then synchronized, there is a risk that elements of the individual transport devices, such as the aforementioned holders, could collide with one another.

[0009] To prevent such collisions, the state of the art already proposes taking mechanical precautions through the design of the individual transport devices and supports so that such collisions either do not occur or do not result in major damage. Nevertheless, collisions cannot be completely ruled out in certain situations during acceleration or resynchronization of the transport devices.

[0010] In the German patent application establishing priority, the German Patent and Trademark Office searched the following documents: JP 2022-094070 A, DE 10 2019 207 654 A1 , DE 10 2022 133 285 A1 , DE 10 2022 115 882 A1 and DE 10 2023 111 939 A1 .

[0011] The object of the present invention is therefore to address the problems of the prior art. In particular, the object of the present invention is to reduce or prevent collisions between the conveyors of transport devices of a device for processing, filling, and / or labeling hollow bodies. In any case, the object of the present invention is to find an alternative to what is known from the prior art. To this end, the invention comprises a device according to claim 1.

[0012] According to the invention, a device for processing, filling and / or labeling hollow bodies with a collision avoidance mode is proposed.

[0013] According to the invention, hollow bodies are, in particular, preforms or containers. Preforms are used to produce containers from a thermoplastic material, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Preforms are produced in a two-stage process, for example, by conventional injection molding. The finished preforms are later, for example after transport, first heated, particularly by infrared radiators, and then transferred into an external mold to produce containers such as bottles.

[0014] So-called one-stage processes are also known, in which the preform is fed into the forming process immediately after its injection-molded production. In the so-called two-stage process, the injection-molded production and the forming are separated in time, so that the forming does not take place immediately after the injection-molded production. Instead, the produced preform is first cooled and then heated to the forming temperature at a later time.

[0015] Both single-stage and two-stage processes are well known in the prior art. Various forming processes are also generally known in the prior art, both using a stretching rod and without. It is also known in the prior art to use a gaseous fluid, such as compressed air, or a liquid forming fluid, such as a filling material, in these forming processes.

[0016] A container produced from a preform as described above, for example, using a gaseous forming fluid, can be used, for example, for filling beverages. Accordingly, the invention also relates to containers, such as bottles, which are produced in particular from preforms. The hollow bodies thus preferably comprise hollow bodies made of a thermoplastic material, for example, PET. The preforms are also referred to as "preforms."

[0017] The device according to the invention for processing, filling, and / or labeling hollow bodies can correspond to one or more sections of a processing line, wherein the processing line generally corresponds to a series of consecutive processing devices for processing hollow bodies. However, a processing line can also consist of only one processing device for processing hollow bodies. Such processing devices include, for example, processing devices for carrying out the aforementioned forming process. Further processing devices in the processing line can include filling stations for filling the hollow bodies, for example with a beverage, processing devices for labeling the hollow bodies, and processing devices for closing the hollow bodies. Sorting devices, cleaning devices, or sterilizing devices can also be such processing devices.The above list of processing facilities is not exhaustive and is intended as an example.

[0018] The individual processing devices of a processing line comprise processing stations, such as a blowing wheel or rotor of a blow molding machine, which themselves have a transport device for conveying the hollow bodies. However, processing devices also comprise transport devices independent of the processing stations for conveying the hollow bodies within a processing device from one treatment station to the next or from one processing device to the next.Transport devices therefore correspond to transport devices of the processing stations of one or more processing devices of the processing line or transport devices which serve between individual processing devices or treatment stations of the processing line to convey the hollow bodies from one treatment station to the next treatment station or from one processing device to the next processing device.

[0019] Accordingly, the device according to the invention comprises a conveyor line for conveying the hollow bodies in a conveying direction and a plurality of transport devices arranged along the conveyor line. Several or all of the transport devices each comprise a conveyor section. The conveyor section is referred to as the section or part of the transport device that serves to convey the hollow bodies. The conveyor section preferably corresponds to a conveyor wheel.

[0020] One or more receptacles are arranged on the conveyor section, with one receptacle serving to transport a hollow body along a portion of the conveyor path. Furthermore, each transport device comprises an electric drive associated with the conveyor section of the transport device. The electric drive serves to move the associated conveyor section such that the receptacle is moved along a closed path, in particular a circular path.

[0021] A conveyor section therefore comprises receptacles arranged on the conveyor section, which are designed, for example, as conveyor pockets, conveyor tongs, or mandrels. The receptacles can also be referred to as holders and each serve to hold a hollow body.

[0022] The device also includes a controller for controlling the drives.

[0023] According to the invention, the control system is designed such that at least one pair, i.e., one or more pairs, can be defined in the control system. Two transport devices arranged consecutively in the conveying direction are assigned to the or each of the pairs. The transport devices of the respective pair can also be referred to as mutually assigned transport devices. Accordingly, the or each of the pairs comprises two transport devices, two conveyor sections, each assigned to one of the conveyor sections, the receptacles arranged on the respective conveyor sections, and two drives, each assigned to one of the conveyor sections.

[0024] Furthermore, according to the invention, the controller is designed to define one of the two conveyor sections of a pair as the lead conveyor section and the second of the two conveyor sections of the same pair as the follower conveyor section. For each position of the lead conveyor section, permitted position ranges and / or prohibited position ranges for the follower conveyor section can also be defined in the controller. Accordingly, all rotation angles of the follower conveyor section can preferably be assigned either to a permitted or a prohibited position range. The assignment varies depending on the current rotation angle of the lead conveyor section. Accordingly, a separate assignment is preferably provided for each rotation angle of the lead conveyor section.It is sufficient if only the rotation angles of the subsequent conveyor section are assigned to a permitted position range, since all other unassigned rotation angles correspond to a prohibited position range, or if only the rotation angles of the subsequent conveyor section are assigned to prohibited position ranges, since all other rotation angles then correspond to permitted position ranges. The controller is also configured to execute a collision avoidance mode. In collision avoidance mode, the drives are controlled such that the subsequent conveyor section leaves a prohibited position range, does not enter the prohibited position range, enters its permitted position range, and / or remains within its permitted position range.

[0025] Accordingly, along the conveying path of the conveying direction, successive transport devices can be grouped in pairs of two directly consecutive transport devices. The conveying section of one of the transport devices in each pair can then be defined as the lead conveyor section, which directs the movement of the two transport devices. The second conveyor section of the respective pair, which follows the lead conveyor section of the respective pair, can then be defined as the follower conveyor section. The positions of the follower conveyor section are then controlled by the controller in such a way that they do not enter or leave prohibited positioning areas in a collision avoidance mode.

[0026] By defining prohibited position ranges depending on the position of the lead conveyor section, positions can be defined where there is a risk of collision, and positions where there is no risk of collision. This enables collision-free movement of the transport equipment by executing the collision avoidance mode, which is easy to implement and safe from a programming perspective.

[0027] According to a first embodiment, the conveying sections of all or several of the plurality of transport devices each correspond to a conveyor wheel. The conveyor wheels are each configured to move the receptacle(s) arranged thereon along a circular path. A transmission ratio is stored in the controller for each transport device whose conveying section corresponds to a conveyor wheel.

[0028] The gear ratio specifies the ratio of the gear ratio between the angle of rotation of the conveyor wheel and the angle of rotation of the drive associated with the respective transport device and thus with the conveyor wheel. The controller is preferably configured to set the angle of rotation of the conveyor wheel using the controller by converting the angle of rotation of the conveyor wheel into the angle of rotation of the drive as a function of the gear ratio. After the conversion, the angle of rotation of the electric drive is set to or equal to the converted angle of rotation. A conveyor wheel, for example, corresponds to a body that has an axis at its center and to which the drive of the transport device associated with the conveyor wheel is connected in order to drive the conveyor wheel. There is a gear ratio between the drive and the conveyor wheel, which is stored in the controller, for example as a numerical value.For example, a gear ratio with a numerical value of 40:1 corresponds to a coupling between drive and conveyor wheel in which one full rotation of the conveyor wheel, i.e. 360°, is achieved by 40 full rotations of the drive.

[0029] The control system is therefore configured to execute ten full revolutions of the electric drive at the aforementioned gear ratio of 40:1, for example, to move a holder by 90° on its circular path. By storing the gear ratio, the control system can precisely adjust the position, namely the angle of rotation, of the conveyor wheel and thus the position of the holder(s) on the conveyor wheel by controlling the drive.

[0030] According to a further embodiment, a rotation angle can be defined in the controller for each position of a lead conveyor section designed as a conveyor wheel. Permitted and / or prohibited position ranges of subsequent conveyor sections, each of which is also designed as a conveyor wheel, can therefore be stored in the controller as permitted or prohibited rotation angles or rotation angle ranges. Thus, if a conveyor section corresponds to a conveyor wheel, permitted positions correspond to permitted rotation angles, prohibited positions to prohibited rotation angles, permitted position ranges to permitted rotation angle ranges, or prohibited position ranges to prohibited rotation angle ranges. For each rotation angle of a conveyor wheel designed as a lead conveyor section, corresponding permitted and / or prohibited rotation angles or rotation angle ranges are stored in the controller.

[0031] According to a further embodiment, an initialization angle of rotation can be stored in the controller for each transport device whose conveyor section corresponds to a conveyor wheel. The initialization angle of rotation specifies a definable angle of rotation for the respective conveyor wheel of the transport device. The controller is configured, in particular to achieve production operation in an acceleration mode, to control the drives in such a way that the conveyor wheels are accelerated and / or synchronized from the respective initialization angle of rotation up to a target rotational speed, in particular synchronized during acceleration. The initialization angle of rotation can preferably be selected such that no collision of the receptacles occurs during acceleration.According to this embodiment, the controller is now configured to check, before executing the acceleration operation, whether the conveyor wheels each have their initialization angle of rotation. In the event that one or more of the conveyor wheels, in particular the conveyor wheels assigned to a pair, have a rotation angle that deviates from the initialization angle of rotation, the controller is configured to move or rotate the conveyor wheel(s) with the deviating angle of rotation up to the initialization angle of rotation. During this movement, the collision avoidance mode is activated or can be activated, so that the controller is configured to control each subsequent conveyor section such that its rotation angle leaves or does not enter permitted or prohibited positions or position ranges dependent on the rotation angle of the assigned lead conveyor section.The collision avoidance mode is preferably active at least until the conveyor wheels have reached their initial rotation angle. The initial rotation angle can also be referred to as the starting rotation angle.

[0032] Accordingly, an alignment of the conveyor wheels takes place before acceleration, whereby the collision avoidance mode is already active during the alignment of the conveyor wheels and thus possible collisions are already avoided during the alignment of the transport devices.

[0033] According to a further embodiment, the controller is configured to continuously, in particular periodically, detect the angle of rotation of the guide conveyor section(s) during the collision avoidance mode. In particular, the angle of rotation of a guide conveyor section is continuously detected while the guide conveyor section is driven and thus moved by its associated drive.

[0034] Furthermore, the controller is configured to determine a permitted angle of rotation or angle of rotation range and / or a prohibited angle of rotation or angle of rotation range for the associated subsequent section depending on the respectively detected angle of rotation. This means that the permitted angle of rotation or angle of rotation range and / or prohibited angle of rotation or angle of rotation range is redetermined at least each time the angle of rotation of the lead conveyor section is re-detected and, in particular, has also changed.

[0035] The control system is also configured to control the drives in such a way that the subsequent conveyor section(s) are each driven by the drive assigned to it in such a way that they assume the specific permitted angle of rotation or a rotation angle within the specific permitted angle of rotation range and / or they avoid or leave a specific prohibited angle of rotation or a rotation angle that lies within the prohibited angle of rotation range.

[0036] The determination of the permitted or prohibited angles of rotation or ranges of rotation depending on the detected angle of rotation can be carried out, for example, by means of a table that is or can be stored in the controller, or by means of a diagram that is or can be stored in the controller, by reading from the table or diagram. The diagram or table is preferably predefined and particularly preferably permanently stored in the controller for the device. The table or diagram can be determined through tests by determining and entering as prohibited angles of rotation or ranges of rotation of the subsequent conveyor section that, depending on the angle of rotation of the lead conveyor section, could lead to a collision, and all other angles or ranges of rotation are entered as permitted angle of rotation.This allows for quick and adaptable definition of the permitted and prohibited position ranges, and the control system can quickly determine the angle of rotation for the subsequent conveyor section with little computational effort.

[0037] According to a further embodiment, at least two pairs of transport devices are defined in the controller. The lead conveyor section of one of the pairs is defined in the controller such that it is assigned to the follower conveyor section of the second of the pairs.

[0038] Accordingly, it is possible to define several pairs of transport devices which are arranged, for example, one after the other in the conveying direction and so as to overlap one another. In this case, viewed in the conveying direction, for example, a first conveying section of a first transport device is assigned to a first pair as the lead conveying section. A second conveying section of a second transport device is assigned to the first pair as the follow-up conveying section. This conveying section is simultaneously assigned to a second pair as the lead conveying section, with the conveying section of a third transport device being defined as the follow-up conveying section of the second pair. This is continued, for example, in a row of transport devices arranged along the conveying route, so that collision-free positioning of all transport devices can be achieved.According to a further embodiment, several or all of the transport devices each comprise a conveyor section designed as a conveyor wheel with a number of receptacles movable along a circular path. The receptacles of each of the conveyor wheels are arranged such that the lengths of each circular arc on the respective circular path are identical between two adjacent receptacles. Accordingly, the receptacles are evenly distributed around the respective conveyor wheel and thus along the circular arc.

[0039] The center angle of the length of the circular arc between two receptacles is standardized in the control system to a 360° rotation angle of the conveyor wheel. This standardization is preferably achieved by the control system being configured to adapt the stored transmission ratio for the transport device.

[0040] Preferably, therefore, for a transport device whose conveyor section comprises, for example, four receptacles, so that the circular arc between two of the receptacles is 90°, the standardization is such that a rotation angle range of 90° is standardized to 360°. Thus, one full rotation of the conveyor wheel corresponds to four rotations of 360°. Preferably, the transmission ratio is adjusted accordingly in the control system for standardization. If, for example, the transmission ratio corresponds to a transmission ratio of 40:1, as in the example already explained above, such a transmission ratio is changed by a factor of 4 to a transmission ratio of 40:4 in order to achieve standardization.

[0041] This makes it easy to periodically determine permitted and prohibited positions or ranges, regardless of the number of recordings. Permitted and prohibited positions or ranges are thus easily defined.

[0042] According to a further embodiment, reference positions for one or each of the pairs of transport devices are definable or defined in the controller. For example, the reference position describes a position of the two conveyor wheels of a pair in which two receptacles of the different conveyor wheels of the two transport devices are aligned with each other in such a way that a hollow body can be transferred. The reference position can therefore also correspond to a synchronization position.

[0043] The angles of rotation of the two conveyor wheels in a pair are defined in the control system at their reference positions as identical angles of rotation of the two conveyor wheels. This identical angle of rotation in the reference positions corresponds, for example, to 0° for both conveyor wheels. By previously standardizing the angles of rotation and defining the angles of rotation as identical angles of rotation in the reference positions, simple control of the drives is possible. For example, the current angle of rotation of the lead conveyor section can be directly defined as the permitted angle of rotation of the follower conveyor section, plus a tolerance range as the permitted angle of rotation. Essentially, only tolerance ranges, which result in the permitted angle of rotation ranges, need to be stored in a table or diagram.

[0044] According to a further embodiment, the controller is configured to set conveyor wheels of a pair to substantially identical angles of rotation in collision avoidance mode. The conveyor sections of a pair are thus controlled by the controller such that they exhibit substantially the same standardized angle of rotation at all times. This enables simple control of the drives for collision avoidance.

[0045] Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for operating a device according to one of the aforementioned embodiments and to a controller for a device according to one of the aforementioned embodiments.

[0046] Furthermore, the invention relates to a computer program product for a device according to one of the aforementioned embodiments, which is configured to execute the method according to one of the embodiments. Preferably, the computer program product is configured to receive inputs from a user in order to standardize the rotation angles of the conveyor sections of transport devices, in particular by adjusting the gear ratios of the transport devices.

[0047] Further embodiments are illustrated in the figures.

[0048] Figure 1 shows a processing line with an embodiment of the device,

[0049] Figure 2 two pairs of transport devices following one another in the conveying direction,

[0050] Figure 3 is a diagram showing the determination of permitted and prohibited positions of a subsequent conveyor section depending on the main conveyor section and

[0051] Figure 4 Steps of the process. Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a processing line 10 using the example of a blow molding machine 12. Preforms (not shown) are fed to a loading station 14 from a preform conveyor 16. The loading station 14 places the preforms onto mandrels of a conveyor section of a linear furnace 18 in order to convey them through the linear furnace 18 along a conveying direction 20. After the preforms have been heated, they are fed via a transfer station 22, which is also referred to as a transfer star, inlet star or transfer wheel, to a blow wheel 24, which is also referred to as the rotor of the blow molding machine. In the blow wheel 24, the preforms are formed into containers and transferred to a filling station via a further transfer station 26 and a transfer wheel 28. The transfer station is also referred to as a transfer star, outlet star or transfer wheel.

[0052] The transfer stations 22 and 26 and the transfer wheel 28 as well as the blowing wheel 24 or at least a part of the blowing wheel 24 each correspond to a transport device 30 for transporting hollow bodies along a conveyor path 33 formed by the transport device 30 in the conveying direction 20. Each of the transport devices 30 comprises an axis 32 around which a conveyor section 34, namely a conveyor wheel 36, rotates in order to move receptacles 38 on a circular path 40. Drives 43, which are each arranged on the axis 32, serve to drive the conveyor wheels 36 and are controlled by a controller 56.

[0053] Figure 2 shows three transport devices 30 of an exemplary processing line to clearly describe an embodiment. The three transport devices 30 correspond, as viewed in the conveying direction 20, to a first transport device 42, a second transport device 44, and a third transport device 46. The first transport device 42 and the second transport device 44 are assigned to a first pair 48 of transport devices 30. The second transport device 44, together with the third transport device 46, is also assigned to a second pair 50 of transport devices 30.

[0054] The three transport devices 30 shown in Figure 2 each comprise a conveyor section 34 designed as a conveyor wheel 36. Accordingly, the conveyor wheels 36 of the first transport device 42 and the second transport device 44 are conveyor wheels 36 of the first pair 48, and the conveyor wheels 36 of the second transport device 44 and the third transport device 46 are conveyor wheels 36 of the second pair 50. According to this exemplary embodiment, the conveyor wheel 36 of the first transport device 42 corresponds to a lead conveyor section 52 of the first pair 48. The conveyor wheel 36 of the second transport device 44 corresponds to a follower conveyor section 54 of the first pair 48. At the same time, the conveyor wheel 36 of the second transport device 44 corresponds to a lead conveyor section 52 of the second pair 50. Finally, the conveyor wheel 36 of the third transport device 46 corresponds to a follower conveyor section 54 of the second pair 50.

[0055] A rotation angle of the conveyor wheel 36 of the first transport device 42 determines permitted or prohibited positions or position ranges for the conveyor wheel 36 of the second transport device 44 according to the assignment to the pairs and the definition as a lead conveyor section 52. At the same time, the rotation angle of the conveyor wheel 36 of the second transport device 44 determines permitted or prohibited positions or position ranges of the conveyor wheel 36 of the third transport device 46.

[0056] Also shown as examples are receptacles 38 of the conveyor wheels 36 of the three transport devices 30 shown in Figure 2. The first transport device 42 comprises four receptacles 38, the second transport device 30 comprises two receptacles 38, and the third transport device 46 comprises four receptacles 38. In the controller 56, the angles of rotation of the conveyor wheels 36 are standardized with respect to the number of receptacles. This means that the controller 56 controls associated drives 43 of the three transport devices 30 shown in Figure 2 depending on the standardized angles of rotation.

[0057] The standardization will first be described using the first transport device 42 as an example. Without standardization, one full rotation of the conveyor wheel 30 of the first transport device 42 corresponds to a rotation of the conveyor wheel 30 by 360°. With a gear ratio between the drive 43 and the axle 32 of the first transport device 42 of, for example, 40:1, this means that in order to move one of the receptacles 38 to the position of the adjacent receptacle 38 in the direction of rotation 58, the drive 43 of the first transport device 42 must be brought into contact with the conveyor wheel 36, which corresponds to a motor rotation of 3600°, i.e., ten full revolutions. Standardization standardizes the central angle 60, which results from the circular arc between adjacent receptacles 38, as a 360° angle. This is done by dividing the ratio, here for example the mentioned ratio of 40:1, by the number of shots, 38.Accordingly, a ratio of 40:4, or abbreviated to 10:1, is stored in the controller 56 for the drive 43 of the first transport device 42 in order to implement the standardization. If the controller 56 now wants to execute the same movement of one of the receptacles 38 to the position of the adjacent receptacle 38, the controller 56 considers this a 360° rotation, whereby this rotation by a standardized 360° also requires the drive 43 to be controlled by 360° via the adjusted transmission ratio and is executed by the controller. The drive 43 is therefore driven identically by the controller 56, whereby only a different angle is considered for the movement of the conveyor wheel 36.

[0058] The standardization for the second transport device 44 and the third transport device 46 is carried out accordingly. This standardization, which is preferably carried out by simply adjusting the transmission ratios stored in the controller 56, allows the collision areas shown in Figure 3, namely permitted or prohibited positions or position ranges, to be periodically stored in a simple manner in diagram or table form.

[0059] Figure 3 shows diagrams that can be stored or are stored in the controller according to one embodiment to determine permitted and prohibited rotation angle ranges. The diagrams refer, by way of example, to standardized rotation angles of the first transport device 42 and the second transport device 44 of the first pair 48 from Figure 2.

[0060] Time is plotted on the horizontal axes 64 of the two diagrams shown in Figure 3, so that the horizontal axes 64 correspond to time axes. In the upper diagram, the angle of rotation between 0° and 360° of the first conveyor wheel 36, namely the lead conveyor section 52, of the first transport device 42 is shown on the vertical axis 65. It can be seen that the conveyor wheel 36 rotates over time. In the lower diagram, the angle of rotation of the second conveyor wheel 36, namely the follower conveyor section 54, of the second transport device 44, between 0° and 360° is plotted on the vertical axis 67. The lower diagram then shows permitted position ranges 66 and prohibited position ranges 68, which here correspond to permitted rotation angle ranges 70 and prohibited rotation angle ranges 72.

[0061] Depending on the angle of rotation of the lead conveyor section 52, the permitted angle of rotation range 70 or the prohibited angle of rotation range 72 for the follower conveyor section 54 changes. Accordingly, the controller 56 controls the drives 43 of the first pair 48, as shown in Figure 2, such that the follower conveyor section 54 does not enter the prohibited angle of rotation range 72 or, in the event that the angle of rotation of the follower conveyor section 54 lies in the prohibited angle of rotation range 72, enters the permitted angle of rotation range 70 from the prohibited angle of rotation range 72 and also remains in the permitted angle of rotation range 70 over time.

[0062] Figure 4 shows the steps of a method according to an exemplary embodiment. In a step 80, all transport devices 30 of a device for processing and / or filling hollow bodies are stationary. In a step 82, a collision avoidance mode 84 is activated. In step 86, a controller 56 checks whether all transport devices 30 have an initialization angle of rotation 88 stored in the controller. In step 90, at least the conveyor sections 34 of the transport devices 30 that do not have the initialization angle of rotation are moved, taking the collision avoidance mode into account. Moving conveyor sections 34 that correspond to lead conveyor sections 52 thus also cause a movement of the conveyor sections 34 that correspond to subsequent conveyor sections 54, even if they had already assumed their initialization angle of rotation.

[0063] Accordingly, in step 92, the positions of one or more lead conveyor sections are detected, in step 94, permitted and / or prohibited positions or position ranges for all subsequent conveyor sections are determined, and in step 96, all subsequent conveyor sections are transferred from prohibited positions or position ranges to permitted positions or position ranges. In step 98, at least one or more lead conveyor sections 52 are then moved toward their initialization position, with all associated subsequent conveyor sections 54 being controlled in step 100 such that their angles of rotation remain within permitted position ranges or at permitted positions. After all conveyor sections 34 have assumed their initialization position, the controller accelerates all drives 43 in step 102 until the transport devices each have a target rotational speed.

[0064] List of reference symbols

[0065] 10 processing line

[0066] 12 Blow molding machine

[0067] 14 Loading station 16 Preform conveyor

[0068] 18 linear furnace

[0069] 20 Conveying direction

[0070] 22 transfer station

[0071] 24 Blowing wheel 26 Transfer station

[0072] 28 Transfer wheel

[0073] 30 Transport device

[0074] 32 Axis

[0075] 33 Conveyor line 34 Conveyor section

[0076] 36 conveyor wheel

[0077] 38 recording

[0078] 40 circular track 42 first transport facility

[0079] 43 Drive

[0080] 44 second transport device

[0081] 46 third transport device 48 first pair

[0082] 50 second pair

[0083] 52 Lead conveyor section

[0084] 54 follow-up funding phase

[0085] 56 Control 58 Direction of rotation

[0086] 60 central angle

[0087] 62 circular arcs

[0088] 64 horizontal axes

[0089] 65 vertical axis 66 permitted position ranges

[0090] 67 vertical axis

[0091] 68 unauthorized position areas

[0092] 70 permitted angle ranges 72 prohibited angle ranges

[0093] 80 Standstill of transport equipment

[0094] 82 Activation of collision avoidance mode

[0095] 84 Collision avoidance mode 86 Check by control whether all transport devices have an initial rotation angle

[0096] 88 Initialization rotation angle

[0097] 90 Movement conveyor sections

[0098] 92 Recording positions of one or more lead conveyor sections 94 Determination of permitted and / or prohibited positions or position ranges for all subsequent conveyor sections

[0099] 96 Transfer of subsequent conveyor sections from prohibited positions or position ranges to permitted positions or position ranges

[0100] 98 Movement of leading conveyor sections 100 Control of subsequent conveyor sections

[0101] 102 Acceleration Drives

Claims

Claims 1. A device for processing, filling, and / or labeling hollow bodies, in particular preforms or containers, with a collision avoidance mode (84), the device comprising: a conveyor line (33) for conveying the hollow bodies in a conveying direction (20) and a plurality of transport devices (30) arranged successively along the conveyor line (33) in the conveying direction (20), wherein several or all of the transport devices (30) comprise: a conveyor section (34), in particular a conveyor wheel (36), at least one receptacle (38) arranged on the conveyor section (34) for transporting a hollow body along a part of the conveyor line (33), and an electric drive (43) associated with the conveyor section (34) for moving the conveyor section (34) such that the receptacle (38) is moved along a closed path, in particular a circular path (40).and the device further comprises: a controller (56) for controlling angles of rotation of the drives (43), wherein at least one pair of transport devices (30) assigned to one another by the pair and arranged one after the other in the conveying direction (20) can be defined in the controller (56), and in the controller (56) for the pair or each of the pairs, one of the two conveyor sections (34) of the pair can be defined as the lead conveyor section (52) and the other of the two conveyor sections (34) of the pair can be defined as the follower conveyor section (54), wherein for each position of the lead conveyor section (52) of the pair, permitted position ranges (66) and / or prohibited position ranges (68) for the follower conveyor section (54) of the pair can be stored in the controller (56), and the controller (56) is configured to control the drives (43) in a collision avoidance mode (84) such that the follower conveyor section (54) exceeds its prohibited position range (68). leaves,enters its permitted position range (66), does not enter its prohibited position range (68) and / or remains in its permitted position range (66).

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein for several of the transport devices (30) the conveyor section (34) corresponds in each case to a conveyor wheel (36) which is designed to move the receptacle (38) arranged thereon on a circular path (40), wherein in the control (56) a transmission ratio between a rotation angle of the drive (43) and an angle of rotation of the associated conveyor wheel (36) can be stored, wherein the controller (56) is preferably designed to set an angle of rotation of the conveyor wheel (36) with the controller (56) by converting the angle of rotation of the conveyor wheel (36) into an angle of rotation of the drive (43) as a function of the transmission ratio and setting the angle of rotation of the electric drive with the converted angle of rotation.

3. Device according to claim 2, wherein in the control (56) for each position of a lead conveyor section (52) designed as a conveyor wheel (36) a rotation angle of the lead conveyor section (52) designed as a conveyor wheel (36) can be defined and for the follower conveyor section (54) designed as a conveyor wheel (36) permitted position ranges (66) can be stored in the control (56) as permitted rotation angles or rotation angle ranges (70) of the follower conveyor section (54) designed as a conveyor wheel (36) and / or prohibited position ranges (68) can be stored as prohibited rotation angles or rotation angle ranges (72) of the follower conveyor section (54) designed as a conveyor wheel (36).

4. Device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein in the controller (56) for the conveyor wheels (36) of the transport devices (30), whose conveyor section (34) corresponds to a conveyor wheel (36), at least one initialization angle of rotation (88) can be stored, wherein the controller (56) is configured to control the drives (43) in an acceleration mode such that the conveyor wheels (36) are accelerated and / or synchronized from the respective initialization angle of rotation (88) up to a desired rotational speed, wherein the controller (56) is configured to check, before executing the acceleration mode, whether the conveyor wheels (36) each have their initialization angle of rotation (88) and to move the conveyor wheels (36) that have a rotational angle deviating from the initialization angle of rotation (88) up to the initialization angle of rotation (88), wherein the controller (56) is configured to activate the collision avoidance mode (84) during the movement, at leastuntil all conveyor wheels (36) have reached the initialization angle of rotation (88).

5. Device according to one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the controller (56) is configured to continuously, in particular periodically, detect the angle of rotation of a lead conveyor section (52) during the collision avoidance mode (84), to determine a permitted angle of rotation or angle of rotation range for the follower conveyor section (54) as a function of the respectively detected angle of rotation and to drive the follower conveyor section (54) such that it assumes the determined angle of rotation or a rotation angle in the determined angle of rotation range.

6. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least two pairs of transport devices (30) are defined in the controller (56) and the lead conveyor section (52) of one of the pairs corresponds to the follower conveyor section (54) of a second of the pairs.

7. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein several of the transport devices (30) each comprise a conveyor section (34) designed as a conveyor wheel (36) with a number of receptacles (38) which are movable on a circular path (40), wherein the length of each circular arc (62) on the circular path (40) between two adjacent receptacles (38) of a transport device (30) is identical and the center angle (60) of the length of the circular arc is standardized in the control (56) to a 360° angle of rotation of the conveyor wheel (36), wherein the standardization is preferably carried out by adapting the transmission ratio stored in the control (56).

8. Device according to claim 7, wherein for a pair of transport devices (30) a reference position for both conveyor wheels (36) of the transport devices (30) can be defined and the angles of rotation of the two conveyor wheels (36) in their reference positions in the control (56) can be set as identical angles, for example 0°.

9. Device according to claim 8, wherein the controller (56) is configured to control the drives (43) of a pair in the collision avoidance mode (84) such that substantially identical angles of rotation of the conveyor wheels (36) of the pair are set.

10. A method for operating a device according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the device is operated in a collision avoidance mode (84) in which drives (43) are controlled such that the subsequent conveyor section (54) of a pair of transport devices (30) leaves its prohibited position range (68), enters its permitted position range (66), does not enter its prohibited position range (68) and / or remains in its permitted position range (66).

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein a rotation angle of a lead conveyor section (52) is detected continuously, in particular periodically, during the collision avoidance mode (84), a permitted rotation angle or rotation angle range for the associated follower conveyor section (54) is determined as a function of the respectively detected rotation angle, and the drive (43) of the follower conveyor section (54) is controlled such that the follower conveyor section (54) assumes the determined permitted rotation angle or a rotation angle in the determined permitted rotation angle range (70).

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein, before carrying out an acceleration operation with the controller (56), it is checked whether the conveyor wheels (36) each have their initialization angle of rotation (88) and the conveyor wheels (36) which have a rotation angle deviating from the initialization angle of rotation (88) are moved up to the initialization angle of rotation (88), wherein the controller (56) activates the collision avoidance mode (84) during the movement, at least until all conveyor wheels (36) have reached the initialization angle of rotation (88).

13. A controller (56) for a device according to one of claims 1 to 9, which is configured to carry out the method according to one of claims 10 to 12.

14. A computer program product for a device according to one of claims 1 to 9, which, when executed on a controller (56), in particular according to claim 13, of the device, is configured to carry out the method according to one of claims 10 to 12.

15. The computer program product according to claim 14, wherein the computer program product is configured to receive inputs from a user in order to normalize angles of rotation of the conveyor sections (34) of transport devices (30), in particular by adjusting the gear ratios of the transport devices (30).

Images