Droplet-guiding arrangement for forming a droplet-guiding terminal edge at a discharge opening of a container cleaning system

Abstract

The invention relates to a droplet-guiding arrangement (1) for forming a droplet-guiding terminal edge (2) at a discharge opening (3) of a container cleaning system (4) with a multi-row container guide. According to the invention, in order to provide a droplet-guiding arrangement (1) which enables all droplets to be completely drained off and reliably prevents dripping onto already-cleaned containers (16) and the associated contamination of the containers (16), the droplet-guiding arrangement (1) has at least one droplet-guiding plate (6) which has teeth (5), wherein a drip region (8) formed by a point (7) of each of the teeth (5) is designed for arranging between the container guide rows of the multi-row container guide, and wherein the droplet guide plate (1) has a droplet guide structure (9) for guiding droplets to the drip region (8) at the respective point (7).

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] Droplet guidance arrangement for forming a droplet-guiding edge at a discharge opening of a container cleaning system

[0003] The invention relates to a droplet guidance arrangement for forming a droplet-guiding end edge at a dispensing opening of a container cleaning system with a multi-row container guide.

[0004] In the prior art, container cleaning systems are used, for example, to clean containers, particularly glass or plastic beverage bottles, before use or reuse within a reusable system. This typically takes place within the closed container cleaning system using an aqueous cleaning solution. Following cleaning, the cleaned containers are discharged from the system through a discharge opening. In the simplest case, the discharge opening is an opening in the housing surrounding the container cleaning system, with the housing area in front of the discharge opening often consisting of a container guide plate to guide the containers along the bottom of the container to the discharge opening.However, this design has the disadvantage that drops of cleaning solution or fresh water used for rinsing can flow over the container baffle or other housing parts to the discharge opening and then drip back onto the containers cleaned by the container cleaning system and subsequently transported away. This leads to contamination of the already cleaned container.

[0005] Furthermore, it is already known for container cleaning systems with a multi-row container guide for the parallel cleaning of numerous containers to arrange a single, serrated drip tray at the transition from a container guide plate to the discharge opening of the container cleaning system, onto which the

[0006] 12268 WO from the container cleaning system. The tips of the individual prongs are arranged between the rows of containers in the multi-row container guide in such a way that the drops reaching the prong tips do not drip onto a cleaned container, but rather into a space between adjacent cleaned containers. However, this design also suffers from the disadvantage that it is not possible to reliably guide all drops, and especially those hitting the drip tray at high speed, to the prong tips. As a result, some drops still drip onto the cleaned containers transported below and contaminate them.

[0007] The invention is therefore based on the objective of providing a droplet guidance arrangement for forming a droplet-guiding end edge at a discharge opening of a container cleaning system, which enables the complete drainage of all drops and reliably prevents dripping onto already cleaned containers and the associated contamination of the containers.

[0008] The problem is solved according to the invention by a droplet guidance arrangement for forming a droplet-guiding end edge according to claim 1 and by a container cleaning system according to claim 16. Advantageous embodiments are specified in the dependent claims.

[0009] The droplet guide arrangement according to the invention is designed to form a droplet-guiding edge at a dispensing opening located in the dispensing area of ​​a container cleaning system with a multi-row container guide. For this purpose, it comprises at least one droplet guide plate with teeth, wherein a drip area formed by the tip of each tooth is arranged between the container guide rows of the multi-row container guide. Furthermore, the droplet guide plate has a droplet guide structure for directing droplets along the droplet guide plate to the drip area at the respective tooth tip.

[0010] 12268 WO The inventors have recognized that by reliably and completely diverting all droplets onto the teeth of the droplet guide plate into the discharge area, surface soiling and / or surface contamination of containers previously treated in a container treatment system can be effectively prevented. This can be achieved in a particularly simple manner by means of a droplet guide structure on the droplet guide plate, which is especially advantageous in the discharge area of ​​a container cleaning system.

[0011] A droplet guidance arrangement according to the invention can, in principle, be either a standalone component or fully and / or inseparably integrated into a container cleaning system. According to the invention, the droplet guidance arrangement is designed to provide a droplet-guiding edge at a discharge opening for dispensing cleaned containers from the container cleaning system. A droplet-guiding edge is understood to be a component that defines the edge of a discharge opening of the container cleaning system on at least one side and is designed such that liquid droplets entering the area of ​​the droplet guidance arrangement drip off in a targeted manner and, in particular, exclusively at designated positions, the drip zones.The droplet guidance arrangement is preferably at least, and particularly preferably exclusively, arranged at the edge of the discharge opening of the container cleaning system, over which the cleaned containers are transported in the direction of container movement in order to discharge them from the container cleaning system.

[0012] In general, the droplet guidance arrangement is preferably also designed such that dripping in the discharge area of ​​a container cleaning system, and in particular at a finishing edge forming the edge of a discharge opening of a container cleaning system with a multi-row container guide, does not occur in an area above a container guided in one of the several container rows.

[0013] 12268 WO container. In particular, the droplet guidance arrangement is preferably designed to guide the droplets in such a way that dripping only occurs in an area between the container rows.

[0014] The droplets to be guided by the droplet guide arrangement can, in principle, be droplets of any liquid in or on the container cleaning system. Preferably, the droplets consist of an aqueous solution or water. They can, in principle, be droplets of a liquid used within the container cleaning system, such as rinse water, a cleaning solution, an aqueous cleaning fluid, and / or an aqueous solution of surfactants, for example, surfactants. In particular, they can be droplets of the fresh water used to rinse the cleaned containers before they are discharged from the container cleaning system. Alternatively or additionally, the droplets can also be condensation droplets.

[0015] According to the invention, the droplet guide arrangement is provided for on or as part of a container cleaning system. A container cleaning system is generally understood to be any container treatment system in which containers are cleaned and / or a liquid is applied to a surface, particularly an outer surface, of the container. While the primary purpose of the container cleaning system is preferably container cleaning, it can also have another primary purpose, with container cleaning being merely a further necessary process step. Accordingly, the container treatment system can initially be a system in which containers are cleaned after manufacture, before filling, and especially before reuse within a reusable system.However, the container cleaning system can also be part of a machine designed for another purpose, with the function of cleaning the containers before or after treatment. Such container cleaning is performed, for example, before or after filling.

[0016] 12268 WO conceivable before or after labeling and / or before packaging.

[0017] Although the droplet guide assembly can be positioned arbitrarily on the container cleaning system, it preferably forms an end or a closing edge of an enclosed wet chamber within the system. However, it is also generally conceivable that one or more container treatment stations are arranged between the cleaning system and the discharge opening containing the droplet guide assembly.

[0018] The cleaned and / or dispensed containers can be any type of container, preferably designed for holding food and especially preferably for holding beverages. Preferably, the container is a bottle made of any material, for example, glass or plastic, particularly polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Preferably, the container is reusable, especially preferably a reusable bottle, and most preferably a reusable beverage bottle.

[0019] The droplet guide arrangement can, in principle, be formed from any number of components and from any material. According to the invention, however, the droplet guide arrangement includes a droplet guide plate, which is formed either in one piece or in multiple pieces, in particular from any number of adjacent sections, so that the droplet guide plate can be extended as desired. Although the droplet guide plate can be made of any material, a design made of metal, in particular stainless steel, or a plastic, preferably polyethylene (PE) and especially preferably PE1000 or ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), is preferred.

[0020] To enable the drip-guiding function of the drip guide plate,

[0021] In patent 12268 WO, a section of the droplet guide plate has several adjacent teeth, with a lower edge of the droplet guide plate being particularly preferably toothed. This area of ​​the droplet guide plate, formed essentially by the teeth, is also referred to as the droplet guide section, the droplet guide section preferably extending in a plane and / or being flat. The teeth of the droplet guide plate are further preferably arranged directly adjacent to one another. It is also preferably that all teeth have identical lengths, widths, heights, and / or the extent of the lower edge of the teeth. It is particularly preferably that all teeth are identical to one another. Furthermore, it is preferred that all teeth are formed integrally with the droplet guide plate.

[0022] Each of the prongs is tapered to a point, preferably with all prong points being identical and / or arranged at the same height. Although the prong point can have any angle, it is preferred that the angle of the prong point, or of the two lower edges of the prongs meeting at the prong point, is between 80° and 150°, particularly preferably between 90° and 135°, most preferably between 100° and 130°, and most preferably between 110° and 120°.

[0023] Each of the serration points forms a drip area in which a droplet landing on the serration of the drip guide plate is intended to drip off. The serrations, and in particular the serration points, are arranged on the drip guide plate and / or the drip guide plate is fixed to the drip guide assembly in such a way that each serration point, and thus each drip area, can be positioned between the rows of containers in the multi-row container guide, ensuring that dripping occurs only in the gaps between the container rows.

[0024] According to the invention, the droplet guide plate has a droplet guide structure.

[0025] 12268 WO for guiding droplets on the droplet guide plate to the drip area at the respective tooth tip. A droplet guide structure can, in principle, be any means designed to guide the path of a droplet in the area of ​​the droplet guide plate, in the droplet guide section, and / or on the teeth of the droplet guide plate towards the tooth tip. The droplet guide structure can, in principle, be a single droplet guide structure and / or extend continuously over the entire droplet guide plate, whereby it is preferred that the droplet guide structure is formed from several separate, spaced-apart, and / or independent droplet guide structures.Preferably, a droplet-guiding structure is also arranged in the region of at least one of the prongs, and particularly preferably, a droplet-guiding structure extends substantially only over one of the prongs. Furthermore, preferably, a droplet-guiding structure extends from a prong side edge or a region where two prongs meet, towards and / or to the center of the prong and / or the region of the prong tip. Particularly preferably, a droplet-guiding structure extends substantially over at most half the width of a prong.

[0026] In principle, a droplet guidance structure can be formed in any way and may consist, for example, of a hydrophobic or hydrophilic coating and / or a coating raised on the surface of the droplet guidance plate. Preferably, however, the droplet guidance structure is formed by a deformation and / or material recess extending in at least one surface area of ​​the droplet guidance plate. Furthermore, it is also conceivable that a droplet guidance structure is formed by defining independent droplet guidance structure elements on the surface of the droplet guidance plate, and in particular on the serrations. This can be achieved, for example, by means of strips welded or bonded to the droplet guidance plate. Furthermore, part or all of the droplet guidance structure can be...

[0027] 12268 WO The droplet guidance structure can also be formed by forming the material of the droplet guidance sheet, for example by stamping, bending, deep drawing or the like. Forming a droplet guidance structure by material removal, such as in the form of recesses, openings, bores and / or grooves, is also conceivable.

[0028] A preferred embodiment of the droplet guiding arrangement according to the invention provides that the droplet guiding structure completely penetrates the droplet guiding plate and is particularly preferably formed from a plurality of guide slots. A design of the droplet guiding structure with guide slots is particularly advantageous because it allows for particularly reliable guidance of a droplet and, optionally, also deceleration of the droplet. Preferably, the droplet enters the guide slot, is decelerated or slowed down therein by the increased surface contact with the surfaces of the droplet guiding plate in the region of the guide slot, and is then guided along the course of the guide slot and, optionally, also through the surface of the droplet guiding plate to the other surface side of the droplet guiding plate.

[0029] The guide slots can, in principle, be formed with a width that varies along their length, particularly tapering towards the tip of the tooth, although a constant width along the entire length of a guide slot is preferred. Even more preferably, all guide slots have the same width. The width of the guide slots is essential for optimal guidance and deceleration of the drops. A width that is too small can prevent a drop from entering the guide slot, causing it to flow along the guide slot in the direction of the slope of the droplet guide plate and thus not be guided by the slot. Conversely, a width that is too large can cause the drop to not follow the path of the guide slot but to drip off an edge of the guide slot. Preferably, the width of a guide slot is between 1.0 mm and 1.0 mm.

[0030] 12268 WO and 10 mm, particularly preferably between 1.5 mm and 6.0 mm, most preferably between 2.0 mm and 4.0 mm and particularly preferably between 2.0 mm and 3.0 mm.

[0031] In principle, the guide slots can be arranged arbitrarily on the drip guide plate, with the guide slots generally preferably being arranged such that a drop is guided through at least one guide slot towards the area of ​​the tooth tip, towards the area of ​​a lower edge of the tooth, and / or towards the drip area of ​​the tooth. The drip guide structure, and in particular the guide slots, are arranged sloping downwards, parallel to a lower edge of the tooth, converging towards the tooth tip and / or towards the drip area of ​​the tooth. Furthermore, it is preferred that each guide slot extends straight, linearly, and / or without a curve along the drip guide plate.

[0032] A preferred embodiment of the droplet guidance arrangement according to the invention provides that the guide slots are arranged on both sides of each prong, and particularly preferably in a mirror-symmetrical manner relative to each other, and especially converging towards the prong tip and / or the prong center. A double-sided arrangement of guide slots on a prong means that at least one guide slot, and particularly preferably several guide slots, extend on both sides of a surface of the prong relative to the prong center, or on both the first surface half and the second surface half of the prong separated from the first surface half by the prong center.However, the guide slots preferably do not extend to the center of the teeth, so that all guide slots adjacent to a region of the tooth tip terminate with a closed surface of the droplet guide plate, the closed surface preferably sloping linearly towards the tooth tip. The closed surface, and / or the surface without guide slots, preferably runs centrally on the tooth and / or...

[0033] 12268 WO - IQ - along the central longitudinal axis or the angle bisector of the spike.

[0034] Furthermore, it is preferred that the guide slots on all teeth of the droplet guide plate are arranged identically to one another. Although each tooth or each surface half of the tooth can have any number of guide slots, it is preferred that between 2 and 10, particularly preferably between 2 and 5, most preferably between 2 and 4, and particularly preferably exactly three guide slots are arranged one above the other. An arrangement of several guide slots one above the other means that more than one guide slot is arranged along the direction of container movement and / or along the slope of the droplet guide plate and correspondingly along a path of movement of a droplet on the droplet guide plate.

[0035] Preferably, several guide slots of a tooth do not intersect, and particularly preferably, all guide slots of the droplet guide plate are spaced apart from one another and / or arranged so as not to touch each other. Furthermore, preferably, the guide slots of each tooth or of each surface half of the tooth are arranged parallel to one another. Also preferably, in a region between two teeth or in a region where two teeth meet with their side surfaces spaced furthest apart from the tooth tips, the guide slots are arranged such that no drop can flow in the direction of container movement and / or along the slope of the droplet guide plate without entering one of the guide slots. For this purpose, the guide slots are preferably spaced apart from one another but overlapping one above the other or in the direction of the slope.

[0036] To reliably ensure dripping only in the dripping area, i.e., in the area of ​​the serration tip, it is preferred that the serration tip is the lowest area of ​​the drip guide plate and / or the lowest area of ​​the drip guide arrangement along the slope of the drip guide plate. In particular, the drip guide arrangement is designed and / or the

[0037] 12268 WO The droplet guide plate is arranged on the droplet guide assembly such that the tip of the serration forms the lowest area along the slope of the droplet guide plate. Furthermore, the droplet guide plate is preferably formed with a continuous slope along the serrations up to the tip of the serration.

[0038] The droplet guidance arrangement according to the invention preferably comprises a container guide plate having a container guide surface for directing the containers from the container cleaning system to the dispensing opening and, in particular, through the dispensing opening to a dispensing unit, and having at least one dispensing finger for lowering the container with the dispensing finger in the area of ​​the container bottom out of the container cleaning machine, wherein the droplet guidance plate is arranged downstream of the container guide plate such that drops running off the container guide plate reach the droplet guidance plate. Preferably, the container guide plate has a watertight and / or completely closed surface, at least in the area of ​​the container guide surface, in order to retain liquid within a housing of the container cleaning system and / or to direct it towards the dispensing opening with the droplet guidance arrangement.

[0039] It is further preferred that the container guide plate has two sections angled towards each other and / or inclined towards the dispensing opening in one direction of container movement. The second section, which is closer to the dispensing opening in the direction of container movement and / or adjacent to the drip edge profile, is preferably inclined more steeply than the first section of the container guide plate. Both sections preferably slope downwards to guide a droplet towards the drip guide plate and / or a drip edge profile. The angle of the two sections of the container guide plate is preferably between 5° and 45°, particularly preferably between 10° and 30°, and most preferably between 10° and 20°.

[0040] 12268 WO In a preferred embodiment of the droplet guide arrangement according to the invention, the droplet guide plate, and in particular a droplet guide section of the droplet guide plate formed by the teeth, extends inclined in a direction opposite to the direction of container movement and / or opposite to a downward slope of the container guide plate. An orientation extending inclined in the opposite direction does not mean that the orientation is completely opposite to that direction, but rather that any inclined orientation with a component in the opposite direction is present. These are therefore not exactly opposite directions, but merely mean that the slopes of the two components have opposite signs.that one component is arranged sloping downwards in one direction and the other component is oriented or arranged rising in this direction and accordingly sloping downwards in the opposite direction.

[0041] The drip guide plate is preferably formed as an angled and / or bent sheet metal part and / or has a mounting section that is angled relative to the drip guide section with the serrations. This mounting section is designed to secure the drip guide plate to the container guide plate, optionally with an intermediately fixed and, in particular, clamped drip edge profile. Both sections of the drip guide plate preferably extend over the entire width or along the entire direction of travel of the drip guide arrangement.

[0042] An advantageous embodiment of the droplet guide arrangement according to the invention comprises a second droplet guide plate arranged parallel to the first droplet guide plate, wherein the teeth of the two droplet guide plates are preferably arranged congruently one behind the other and / or with one tooth tip in the area between two container guide rows. The first droplet guide plate is preferably used for draining rinse or fresh water from the container cleaning machine and / or the second

[0043] 12268 WO The drip guide plate is preferably provided for draining condensation that forms on the underside of the drip guide assembly. It is also preferred that the two drip guide plates, or the respective drip guide sections of the two drip guide plates, are identical to each other. However, a different design and / or a laterally offset arrangement is also conceivable, whereby it is still preferable that all tooth tips can be arranged between the container guide rows of the multi-row container guide.

[0044] Although the two droplet guide plates can each be separate components, it is preferred that both droplet guide plates are formed as a single component, which is particularly preferably formed with at least two, and especially exactly two, bends, so that both droplet guide sections are arranged parallel to each other. In particular, the two droplet guide sections are connected by a common fastening section arranged between them. Most preferably, the two droplet guide sections and the fastening section are formed by bending a single component, in particular a single metal sheet.

[0045] To enable even more reliable drainage of droplets by means of the droplet guide plate, in a preferred embodiment of the droplet guide arrangement according to the invention, a drip edge profile with a container sliding surface is arranged in the direction of container movement in front of the driplet guide plate and / or between the container guide plate and the driplet guide plate, wherein the drip edge profile preferably has droplet guide channels in the area of ​​the container sliding surface for directing droplets towards the dispensing opening and particularly preferably also for slowing down the droplets, thereby preventing droplets from reaching the driplet guide plate from an unfavorable direction and / or at too high a speed.

[0046] The drip edge profile can generally be made of one piece or in multiple pieces,

[0047] 12268 WO, in particular, can be formed from any number of adjacent segments, so that the drip edge profile I can be extended as desired. Although the drip edge profile can be made of any material, a design made of a plastic, preferably polyethylene (PE) and particularly preferably PE1000 or ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), is preferred.

[0048] The drip edge profile is preferably designed for placement directly on a container guide plate and is preferably formed as a strip. Furthermore, the drip edge profile has a container sliding surface designed to guide the cleaned containers, particularly in the area of ​​the container bottom. Specifically, the container sliding surface is designed to guide the containers, which are guided on the container guide plate within the container cleaning system towards the discharge opening, over the last surface section up to the end edge. Accordingly, the drip edge profile, and especially the container sliding surface of the drip edge profile, preferably forms the surface immediately adjacent to the end edge.Due to the contact of the container sliding surface with the containers, and in particular due to wear occurring during the sliding guidance of the container bottoms over the container sliding surface, the drip edge profile is designed as a replacement part that can be easily and quickly replaced, thus always ensuring a desired shape of the end edge of the discharge opening and consequently precise container discharge from the container cleaning system.

[0049] Preferably, droplet guide channels are provided in the area of ​​the container sliding surface to direct droplets towards the dispensing opening and preferably also to decelerate the droplets. Due to these droplet guide channels, the drip edge profile Is effectively prevents uncontrolled flow of droplets into the area of ​​the dispensing opening above the container and dripping onto a container surface. The guiding and, in particular, the deceleration of a droplet within a droplet guide channel occurs because

[0050] 12268 WO within the droplet guide channel the adhesion of the liquid to the three surfaces, in particular a bottom surface and the two droplet guide channel side walls of the droplet guide channel, is higher than on a surface of the drip edge profile, in particular on the container sliding surface.

[0051] Each of the droplet guidance channels can be formed in any way desired, with each droplet guidance channel preferably extending in a straight line and / or as a groove in the surface of the container sliding surface. Furthermore, preferably the droplet guidance channel does not penetrate the drip edge profile, particularly in the direction of the underside, so that a droplet entering the droplet guidance channel is guided along its entire length and / or in the direction of container movement along the entire drip edge profile and exits the droplet guidance channel in a controlled, directed, and / or decelerated manner in the area of ​​the closing edge.

[0052] In an advantageous embodiment of the droplet guidance arrangement according to the invention, the droplet guide channels are arranged parallel to each other and / or equidistantly along the drip edge profile and, in particular, along the lateral extent of the drip edge profile. An equidistant arrangement is generally understood to be an arrangement in which the distance of one, and in particular each, droplet guide channel to an adjacent droplet guide channel, and especially to the two adjacent droplet guide channels, is the same.

[0053] Although the droplet guide channel can, in principle, have any cross-sectional area, it is preferred that the cross-sectional area of ​​the droplet guide channel has a constant shape, in particular a rectangular shape, along its entire extent, wherein the height of the cross-sectional area and / or the depth of the droplet guide channel can vary along the course of the droplet guide channel at the drip edge profile. Particularly preferably, all droplet guide channels have an identical cross-sectional area. Furthermore, a design of the droplet guidance arrangement is preferred in which a droplet guide channel, and in particular each droplet guide channel, has two parallel and / or

[0054] 12268 WO has droplet channel sidewalls extending perpendicular to a base surface. Furthermore, preferably the droplet channel sidewalls and / or the base surface extend over the entire length in one plane.

[0055] A preferred embodiment of the droplet guidance arrangement according to the invention provides that the droplet guidance channel has a constant width along its entire length, and the distance between the two side walls of the droplet guidance channel is preferably between 1 mm and 10 mm, more preferably between 2 mm and 6 mm, most preferably between 3 mm and 5 mm, and most preferably between 3.5 mm and 4.5 mm. By appropriately selecting the width of the droplet guidance channel, the guiding and braking behavior of the droplet guidance channel can be adapted to the respective requirements. Although a constant width of the droplet guidance channel along its entire length is preferred, the droplet guidance channel can also be formed with a changing width and, in particular, with a continuously narrowing width.

[0056] To ensure a sufficient volume of liquid or a sufficient flow rate, and consequently a sufficient number of drops, a sufficient number of droplet guide channels with a sufficiently large internal volume must be provided. However, it is equally important that the surface area of ​​the container's sliding surface is not too small, as otherwise reliable and precise guidance of the container to the dispensing opening is no longer possible, and wear in the area of ​​the end edge increases. Accordingly, a preferred embodiment of the droplet guide arrangement according to the invention is one in which the ratio of the width of the droplet guide channel to the distance between two adjacent droplet guide channels is between 1:1 and 1:10, preferably between 1:2 and 1:6, particularly preferably between 1:3 and 1:5, and most preferably between 2:7 and 2:9.Furthermore, the width of the areas of the container sliding surface between two adjacent droplet guide channels is preferably between 5 mm and.

[0057] 12268 WO 50 mm, particularly preferably between 10 mm and 30 mm, most preferably between 10 mm and 20 mm and particularly preferably between 15 mm and 20 mm.

[0058] To prevent individual droplets from flowing exclusively in the area between two adjacent droplet guide channels on the container's guide surface, and thus being neither guided nor slowed down, it is preferred that the droplet guide channels run obliquely on the drip edge profile and / or in relation to the direction of the longitudinal extent of the drip edge profile and / or to the direction of container movement, such that every possible path of movement of a droplet along the slope of the container's guide surface intersects at least one droplet guide channel over the entire longitudinal extent of the drip edge profile. For this purpose, the angle of the droplet guide channels to a leading edge of the drip edge profile is preferably between 2° and 45°, particularly preferably between 5° and 30°, most preferably between 10° and 20°, and most preferably approximately 15°.

[0059] Finally, a preferred embodiment of the droplet guide arrangement according to the invention provides that a liquid passage slot is arranged on the droplet guide plate in the area between a droplet guide section and a mounting section of the droplet guide plate and / or in the area of ​​a lower edge of the drip edge profile. The liquid passage slot preferably serves to allow a droplet that has already reached the droplet guide section of the droplet guide plate in the area of ​​an upper edge to first reach the inner surface of the droplet guide plate and then subsequently flow into one of the guide slots, thereby further reducing the risk of uncontrolled dripping from the surface of the droplet guide plate, particularly in a curved section on the upper side of the droplet guide section.The liquid passage slot can, in principle, have any length and width, with the width of the liquid passage slot preferably being the.

[0060] 12268 WO The width of the guide slots corresponds to the length of the drip guide plate. The liquid passage slot preferably extends over at least 75%, particularly preferably over at least 85%, and most preferably over at least 95% of the length of the drip guide plate. Most preferably, the liquid passage slot extends over the entire length of the drip guide plate, interrupted essentially only by retaining ribs or other short sections for fixing it in place.

[0061] An embodiment of a droplet guiding arrangement according to the invention for forming a droplet-guiding edge is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings. The figures show:

[0062] Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of the components of a container cleaning system in the area of ​​a dispensing opening with a droplet guidance arrangement according to the invention.

[0063] Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a section of a drip guidance arrangement according to the invention.

[0064] Fig. 3 shows a front view of a section of the droplet guide arrangement shown in Fig. 2,

[0065] Fig. 4 shows an enlarged section of the front view of the droplet guide arrangement shown in Fig. 3,

[0066] Fig. 5 shows a bottom view of a section of the droplet guidance arrangement shown in Fig. 3,

[0067] Fig. 6 shows a side sectional view of the droplet guidance arrangement shown in Fig. 3 with a section plane in the area of ​​a droplet guidance channel of a drip edge profile, and

[0068] Fig. 7 shows a lateral sectional view of the droplet guidance arrangement shown in Fig. 3 with a section plane shifted compared to Fig. 6 in the area of ​​a container guidance surface between two droplet guidance channels of the droplet edge profile.

[0069] 12268 WO A droplet guide arrangement 1 is arranged to form a droplet-guiding end edge 2 at a dispensing opening 3 in the dispensing area of ​​a container cleaning system 4. The dispensing opening 3 serves to dispense cleaned containers 16 in the form of reusable beverage bottles made of plastic or glass. For this purpose, the container cleaning system 4 has a closed interior, within which the containers 16 are cleaned using a cleaning solution and subsequently rinsed with fresh water. The part of the housing of the container cleaning system 4 adjacent to the dispensing opening 3, which closes the interior, is formed by the droplet guide arrangement 1 and, in particular, by a container guide plate 15 of the droplet guide arrangement 1 (see Fig. 1).

[0070] The container guide plate 15 has a container guide surface 14, which is closed and watertight and is designed for guiding containers 16 in the area of ​​a container bottom. In the direction of container movement 18, the container guide plate 15 has two mutually angled sections of the container guide surface 14, both of which slope downwards towards the discharge opening 3. The second section of the container guide surface 14 is inclined at a greater angle of approximately 15° than the first section, so that drops coming onto the container guide plate 15 are accelerated towards the discharge opening 3 and thus exit the interior of the container cleaning system 4 (see Fig. 2).

[0071] To prevent uncontrolled dripping onto already discharged and cleaned containers 16 from the upper edge 2 of the container cleaning system 4, the drip guidance arrangement 1 also includes a drip guidance plate 6. The drip guidance plate 6 has a drip guidance section 17, which is essentially formed from a sheet metal plate with a lower edge 11 having serrations 5 (see Figs. 3, 4 and 7). The serrations 5 are formed and arranged on the drip guidance plate 6 such that each

[0072] 12268 WO the tooth tips 7 of adjacent teeth 5 have a distance from each other that corresponds to the width of a container guide lane for multi-row container guidance in and after the container cleaning system 4. This allows the tooth tips 7, which each form the drip area 8 of the respective tooth 5, to be arranged above a space between the container guide lanes in such a way that dripping onto one of the cleaned containers 16 conveyed away from the container cleaning system 4 in the container guide lanes is reliably prevented.

[0073] To ensure that all drops reaching the drip guide plate 6 are reliably directed to the drip area 8 at the tip of the prong 7, each prong 5 has a drip guide structure 9 in the form of several guide slots 10 (see Figs. 4 and 5). The guide slots 10 penetrate the drip guide plate 6 completely and run one above the other and spaced apart from each other on both the right and left sides of the prong center 12, and parallel to each other and to the lower edge 11 of the prong 5. Accordingly, the individual guide slots 10 also slope downwards towards the prong center 12, so that a drop flowing over the surface of the drip guide plate 6 enters one of the guide slots 10 and is guided there towards the prong center 12, while also being slowed down due to the interaction with the side walls of the guide slot 10.At the end of the guide slot 10, the liquid of the drop then reaches the closed surface area 13 in the center of the tooth 12 and flows from there following the slope of the drop guide plate 6 to the drip area 8 at the tip of the tooth 7 (see Fig. 6 and 7).

[0074] Furthermore, to prevent condensation forming on the underside of the drip guide assembly 1 from dripping onto a cleaned container 16, a second drip guide plate 19 is provided, which, like the first drip guide plate 6, is also formed with serrations 5 (see Figs. 2 and 5-7). The two drip guide plates 6 and 19 are thus connected as a

[0075] 12268 WO Component made of sheet metal, wherein a fastening section 24 extends between the two droplet guide plates 6, 19 for fixing to the droplet guide arrangement 1. The two droplet guide plates 6, 19 are angled relative to the fastening section 24 such that the two droplet guide plates 6, 19 extend parallel to each other and inclined against the direction of container movement 18, thus directing the drops away from the dispensing opening 3 (see Figs. 6 and 7).

[0076] A drip edge profile 20 is arranged directly adjacent to the container guide plate 15. This profile is designed to slow down droplets flowing from the container guide plate 15 towards the drip guide plate 6 and to direct them at a defined angle onto the drip guide plate 6, which is located immediately downstream of the drip edge profile 20. The drip edge profile 20 is clamped to the container guide plate 15 and to the mounting section 24 on the drip guide plates 6 and 19.

[0077] The drip edge profile 20 has a container sliding surface 21 formed from two mutually angled sections, over which the containers 16 can be moved up to the end edge 2. Within the container sliding surface 21, drip guide channels 22 are arranged parallel to each other and inclined to the container movement direction 18. These channels slope linearly in the container movement direction 18 towards a lower edge 25 of the drip edge profile 20 and correspondingly towards the upper area of ​​the drip guide plate 6, so that the drip guide channels 22 direct the drops precisely to this area. In order to direct the liquid from the drip guide channels 22 directly onto an inner surface of the drip guide plate 6, a liquid passage slot 24 preferably extends parallel to the lower edge 25 of the drip edge profile 20 in the transition area of ​​the mounting section 24 to the drip guide plate 6.

[0078] 12268 WO Reference List

[0079] 1 Droplet guidance arrangement

[0080] 2 End edge

[0081] 3. Drop-off opening

[0082] 4 container cleaning system

[0083] 5 points

[0084] 6 drip guide plates

[0085] 7-pointed tip

[0086] 8 Draining area

[0087] 9 droplet guidance structure

[0088] 10 guide slots

[0089] 11 Lower edge of the tooth

[0090] 12 Point Center

[0091] 13 closed surface area

[0092] 14 Container guide surface

[0093] 15 Container guide plate

[0094] 16 containers

[0095] 17 Droplet guide section

[0096] 18 Container movement direction

[0097] 19 second drip guide plate

[0098] 20 drip edge profile

[0099] 21 Container sliding surface

[0100] 22 Droplet guide channel

[0101] 23 Liquid passage slot

[0102] 24 Fastening section

[0103] 25 Lower edge of the drip edge profile

[0104] 12268 WO

Claims

Claims 1. Droplet guidance arrangement (1 ) for forming a droplet-guiding end edge (2) at a discharge opening (3) of a container cleaning system (4) with a multi-row container guide, with a droplet guide plate (6) having at least one tooth (5), wherein a drip area (8) formed by a tooth tip (7) of each of the teeth (5) is formed for arrangement between the container guide rows of the multi-row container guide, characterized in that the droplet guide plate (6) has a droplet guidance structure (9) for guiding drops to the drip area (8) at the respective tooth tip (7).

2. Droplet guidance arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the droplet guidance structure (9) is formed by a deformation and / or material recess extending into at least one surface area of ​​the droplet guidance plate (6).

3. Droplet guidance arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the droplet guidance structure (9) completely penetrates the droplet guidance plate (6) and is formed from a plurality of guide slots (10).

4. Drop guidance arrangement according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guide slots (10) are arranged sloping, parallel to a lower edge (11) of the tooth (5), converging towards the tooth tip (7) and / or converging towards the drip area (8) of the tooth (5). 12268 WO 5. Droplet guidance arrangement according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guide slots (10) are arranged on both sides of each tooth (5) and preferably in a mirror-symmetrical manner towards the tooth tip (7) and / or towards the tooth center (12).

6. Droplet guidance arrangement according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that all guide slots (10) end adjacent to a closed surface area (13) of the tooth tip (7), which preferably slopes linearly towards the tooth tip (7).

7. Droplet guidance arrangement according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guide slots (10) on all teeth (5) of the droplet guidance plate (6) are arranged identically to each other and / or between two and four guide slots (10) are arranged one above the other and / or the guide slots (10) run parallel to each other.

8. Droplet guidance arrangement according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the toothed tip (7) is the lowest area of ​​the droplet guidance plate (6) and / or the lowest area of ​​the droplet guidance arrangement (1) along the slope of the droplet guidance plate (6).

9. Droplet guidance arrangement according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by a container guide plate (15) having a container guide surface (14) for guiding the containers (16) from the container cleaning system (4) to the dispensing opening (3), wherein the droplet guidance plate (6) is arranged downstream of the container guide plate (15) such that drops running off the container guide plate (15) 12268 WO onto the drip guide plate (6).

10. Droplet guidance arrangement according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a droplet guidance section (17) of the droplet guidance plate (6) formed from the teeth (5) extends inclinedly against the direction of movement of the container (18) and / or against a downward direction of the flow of the container guide plate (15).

11. Droplet guidance arrangement according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by a second droplet guidance plate (19) arranged parallel to the first droplet guidance plate (6), wherein preferably the teeth (5) of the two droplet guidance plates (6, 19) are arranged congruently one behind the other and / or each with a tooth tip (7) in the area between two container guide rows.

12. Droplet guidance arrangement according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by a drip edge profile (20) arranged in the container movement direction (18) in front of the drip guide plate (6) and / or between the container guide plate (15) and the drip guide plate (6) with a container sliding surface (21), wherein the drip edge profile (20) has drip guide channels (22) in the area of ​​the container sliding surface (21) for directing drops in the direction of the dispensing opening (3) and preferably also for slowing down the drops.

13. Droplet guidance arrangement according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a liquid passage slot (23) is arranged on the droplet guidance plate (6) in the area between the droplet guidance section (17) and a fastening section (24) of the droplet guidance plate (6) and / or in the area of ​​a lower edge (25) of the drip edge profile (20). 12268 WO 14. Droplet guidance arrangement according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the droplet guidance channels (22) are arranged parallel to each other and / or equidistantly on the drip edge profile (20) and / or the ratio of the width of the droplet guidance channel (22) to the distance between two adjacent droplet guidance channels (22) is The ratios are 1:3 and 1:

5.

15. Droplet guidance arrangement according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the droplet guidance channels (22) extend obliquely along the drip edge profile (20) and / or in relation to the container movement direction (18) such that, over the entire longitudinal extent of the drip edge profile (20), every possible path of movement of a droplet along the slope of the container sliding surface (21) intersects at least one droplet guidance channel (22).

16. Container cleaning system (4) with a droplet guidance system (1) according to one of the preceding claims. 12268 WO

Images