CA1127109A - Bottle shifing apparatus - Google Patents
Bottle shifing apparatusInfo
- Publication number
- CA1127109A CA1127109A CA345,552A CA345552A CA1127109A CA 1127109 A CA1127109 A CA 1127109A CA 345552 A CA345552 A CA 345552A CA 1127109 A CA1127109 A CA 1127109A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- conveyor
- container
- plunger
- onto
- support frame
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
- B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
- B65G47/74—Feeding, transfer, or discharging devices of particular kinds or types
- B65G47/84—Star-shaped wheels or devices having endless travelling belts or chains, the wheels or devices being equipped with article-engaging elements
- B65G47/841—Devices having endless travelling belts or chains equipped with article-engaging elements
- B65G47/845—Devices having endless travelling belts or chains equipped with article-engaging elements the article engaging elements being pushers moving in parallel and independently from the supporting conveyor
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
- B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
- B65G47/52—Devices for transferring articles or materials between conveyors i.e. discharging or feeding devices
- B65G47/68—Devices for transferring articles or materials between conveyors i.e. discharging or feeding devices adapted to receive articles arriving in one layer from one conveyor lane and to transfer them in individual layers to more than one conveyor lane or to one broader conveyor lane, or vice versa, e.g. combining the flows of articles conveyed by more than one conveyor
- B65G47/71—Devices for transferring articles or materials between conveyors i.e. discharging or feeding devices adapted to receive articles arriving in one layer from one conveyor lane and to transfer them in individual layers to more than one conveyor lane or to one broader conveyor lane, or vice versa, e.g. combining the flows of articles conveyed by more than one conveyor the articles being discharged or distributed to several distinct separate conveyors or to a broader conveyor lane
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Attitude Control For Articles On Conveyors (AREA)
- Special Conveying (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A container shifting device shifts conveyed containers from one conveyor onto another. The device may be adapted to shift onto the other conveyor every other container to provide two rows of conveyed containers from an upstream single row. The device comprises a plurality of plunger pads which are mounted on a carrier for reciprocal movement across the first conveyor as they move along with the conveyor. A simple harmonic cam outline moves a plunger pad into gentle contact with a container to shift the con-tacted container onto a second conveyor. The position of the device relative to the conveyors is adjustable to accommodate shifting of containers of varying cross-sectional dimension by swinging the support frame for the device away from or towards the conveyors to provide for a smooth shifting of a particular size container onto the other conveyor.
A container shifting device shifts conveyed containers from one conveyor onto another. The device may be adapted to shift onto the other conveyor every other container to provide two rows of conveyed containers from an upstream single row. The device comprises a plurality of plunger pads which are mounted on a carrier for reciprocal movement across the first conveyor as they move along with the conveyor. A simple harmonic cam outline moves a plunger pad into gentle contact with a container to shift the con-tacted container onto a second conveyor. The position of the device relative to the conveyors is adjustable to accommodate shifting of containers of varying cross-sectional dimension by swinging the support frame for the device away from or towards the conveyors to provide for a smooth shifting of a particular size container onto the other conveyor.
Description
i~7~
Field of the Invention This inv~ntion relates to conveying apparatus and in particular a device which may be used to shift a conveyed container from a first conveyor onto a second conveyor.
Background of the Invention In many instances of bottle handling, there is a need to shift containers from one conveyor onto another. Such a situation may arise in the liquor bottling industry.
Many high speed automatic labelling machines are faster in operation than subsequent machines in the same production line or a conveyed row of containers needs to be split up and slowed down to facilitate visual inspection. It is, therefore, common to divide a single conveyed row of containers into two slower moving rows and, in the instance where subsequent machine steps are involved, to use two slower machines to handle the same number of containers per hour as the upstream faster processing machine. Other typical examples are bottling lines involving case packers as the final machine in the process. In some instances, for smooth operation to eliminate bottle rough handling and breakage, two case packers are provided to handle the flow of product from an upstream single row. At some time after labelling of the bottles, the flow must be separated from one line into two lines.
Ideally, this should be done at the labeller where the regis-tered spaced-apart positions of bottles on the conveyor i ~
~9 is known.
An approach, for forming two rows of conveyed containers from a single row, is to provide two additional conveyors overlapping and on each side of the main conveyor. A
paddle arrangement is located near the end of the bottle conveyor and is operated to deflect each container laterally onto a respective additional conveyor. This arrangement is satisfactory for slow speed operation; however, at higher speeds, the paddle arrangement can break the conveyed containers.
British patent 421,228 discloses a mechanized device for laterally shifting a container from one conveyor onto another. However, the device is not capable of shifting continuously conveyed containers and is, therefore, unsuitable for high speed operations. The device is stationary relative to conveyor travel as its Eam crosses the conveyor to push a container directly onto a side conveyor.
Another approach to shifting a known size of container onto another conveyor and then either leaving containers to remain on the main conveyor, or have those remaining con-tainers shifted onto anOther conveyor, is shown in Figure 1 of the drawings and identified as prior art. That device, as will be described in detail, effects a shifting of con-tainers by using reciprocal plunger pads which are synchro-nized with the movement of the conveyed containers and are extended outwardly to contact a container and shift it onto the laterally overlapping second conveyor. Providing that the same size container is always used on this conveying system and that the shifting apparatus is set up for that container, the system works relatively well. However, should a smaller size container be used, the plunger pads, as they move into alignment with the conveyed containers, are spaced significantly apart from the container, so that as a result, the plunger has an opportunity to move appreciably outwardly before contacting the container which can upset and break the container. In addition, because the device is fixed relative to the conveyor bed, even if the smaller containers are not knocked over by the plunger pad, the pad arrangement in its reciprocal movement does not extend sufficiently to move the smaller containers onto the second conveyor.
On the other hand, if the same device were set up to handle small bottles and the conveying system were used to convey larger bottles, there would be interference between the plunger pads and the larger bottles. This would knock them off the conveyor and cause breakage.
The container shifting device, according to this invention, overcomes a number of the above problems to provide for a smooth shifting of conveyed containers from a first conveyor onto a second conveyor and is adapted to accommodate within a predetermined range varying sizes of containers to provide a greater degree of flexibility in container handling.
Summary of the Invention A container shifting apparatus, according to this invention, is provided for conveyors which convey evenly spaced-apart containers having first and second overlapping conveyors at the same level. The container shifting appara-tus shifts conveyed containers from the first moving conveyor onto the second moving conveyor. Theapparatus comprises a plurality of plunger pads mounted on a carrier for reciprocal movement across the first conveyor. The path of travel of the carrier is in the form of a loop which is above and essentially parallel to the conveying surfaces. The carrier is supported by the support frame with the plunger pads evenly spaced apart about the carrier.
Control means is provided for controlling reciprocal movement of the plungers. A swivel mounting at the end of the support frame provides for the mounting of the device onto the conveyor main frame alongside the first conveyor and opposite the second conveyor to permit swinging of the support frame toward and away from the second conveyor. A driveshaft for driving the carrier is located to rotate about the swivel axis. Means is provided for securing the support frame in any adjusted position relative to the first conveyor.
The control means comprises a cam of a simple harmonic ~z~u9 outline for controlling reciprocal movement of the plunger pads. Cam followers are secured to each plunger pad and ride along the cam, at least while travelling by the conveyor.
The movement of the carrier is synchronized with conveyed con-S tainer to be shifted onto the second conveyor. The cam con-tacts the plunger pad against a container and moves the plunger pad across the first conveyor to shift a contacted container onto the second conveyor, while the carrier moves the plunger pad along with the conveyed container.
By this arrangement, the device is adapted to accommo-date shifting of containers of varying cross-sectional dimensions, by swinging the support frame and securing it at a desired position relative to the first conveyor. For these various adjusted positions, the synchronized reciprocal movement of the plunger pads shift particular sized containers onto the second conveyor.
The shifting apparatus, according to this invention, may be set up to shift every other container of a first row of conveyed containers onto a second conveyor to form two rows The use of a simple harmonic outline for the cam, which controls the movement of the plunger in shifting the con-tainer, enhances the gentle contacting of plunger pads with container and controlled shifting of a conveyed container onto the second conveyor.
Brief Description of the Drawings Preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in E'igures 2 through 5 of the drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a top plan view of a prior art arrangement for shifting containers from a first conveyor onto a second conveyor;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a preferred embodi-ment of this invention for shifting containers;
Figure 3 is a top plan view of the device of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a section taken along lines 4-4 of Figure 3; and Figure 5 is a top plan view of the device shown in its two extreme adjusted positions for shifting the respective .
sizes of shown containers.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments Referring to Figure 1, a prior art device is shown for shifting containers from a first conveyor 10 onto a second conveyor 12, which overlaps a portion of the first conveyor 10 and is at the same level. Containers 14 are evenly spaced apart along conveyor 10, where the device generally designated 16 is arranged to shift every other container onto conveyor 12. The device 16 has a support frame 18 which is rigidly secured to the conveyor main frame (not shown) by bolts 20. The position of the device 16 is always fixed relative to the first conveyor 10. Chains 22, as trained about spaced-apart sprockets 24 and 26, have 1~2~U~
secured thereto block portions 28 on which reciprocal plungers 30 are mounted for reciprocal movement back and forth across the conveyor 10. Each plunger pad 30 has mounted thereon a cam follower 32 which rides on linear cam 34, as the reci-procal pad 30 moves into alignment with a container 14. The follower, as it rides up linear cam 34, contacts the container 14 where the chain movement~is such that the plunger pad moves along with the container as it shifts the con-tainer onto conveyor 12.
The head sprocket 26 for the chain 22 may be secured to a driveshaft (not shown). The drive is controlled to move the plunger guide blocks 28 at a linear speed which is synchronized with the movement of the conveyed containers.
It is apparent from Figure 1 that the plunger pad has been set up to contact a container 15, shown in dot, which is larger than the smaller container 14. With this set-up for shifting container 15, it is shifted to be centrally located at 15a on the conveyor 12. However, with the smaller container on conveyor 10, a space 36 is developed between the plunger pad 30 and container 14 before the plunger pad contacts the container. As a result, the plunger pad moves outwardly and slams in~o the container 14. This can cause upset of the smaller container 14 with consequent breakage.
A further drawback with shifting device 16 is that, even if the smaller container 14 remai~ upright, it is not pushed iI2nO~
centrally of the conveyor 12, as shown by position 14a on conveyor 12. In some instances with a relatively smaller bottle, it may not be pushed entirely onto conveyor 12 and remain partially on conveyor 10 which would be unsatisfactory.
Thus, with the prior art shown in Figure 1, it is only suitable for shifting a particular size of container and cannot be adjusted to accommodate other sizes.
Turning to Figure 2, the arrangement of the container shifting device, which effects a smooth shifting of a variety of container sizes from the first conveyor 10 onto a second conveyor 12, is shown. The device generally designated 40 has a support frame 42 with lower plate portion 42a which are interconnected by blocks (not shown). The support frame 42 is swivelly connected to a driveshaft 44 by bushing connections 46 and 48. The other end of the device 20 rests on a post 50 and is free to slide along the post 50. Thus, the support frame 42 swivels about the axis 52 of the driveshaft 44 inwardly and outwardly relative to the first conveyor 10. An adjustment securing device 54 is located at the other end of the shifting device 40 which con-sists of a bolt which, when tightened, holds the relative adjusted swung position of the support 42 relative to the conveyor 10.
The carrier arrangement for the reciprocal plungers 56 consists of a pair of spaced-apart chains 58 and 60 which are trained about sprockets 62, 62a and 64, 64a. The carrier chains travel about a loop defined by the sprockets. The planes through which the chains travel are parallel to and *v~
spaced above the conveying surfaces of conveyors 10 and 12.
A guide block 66 is secured to parallel spaced-apart chains 58 and 60. The plunger pad 56 has a plunger rod 68 which is adapted to move inwardly and outwardly of and provide guidance for the movement of the plunger pad through an appropriately formed sleeve 70 in block 60. Spring members 72 are provided on the plunger pad and are secured to the block 66 to constantly urge the cam followers 74 and 74a, mounted on the plunger pad 56, against cam face 76 for determining the reciprocal movement of the plunger pad.
The container shifting apparatus may be located down-stream of a container labelling station and container orienting device or other devices which perform a certain operation on the conveyed containers. In order to perform the same function on each container, they are arranged to be equally spaced apart on the conveyor. The equal spacing of containers on conveyor permits coordination of the shifting device with conveyed container movement. Thus, the movement of the plunger pads may be synchronized with conveyed container movement to align each of them with a respective container to be shifted onto the second conveyor 12.
As shown in Figure 3, a plurality of evenly spaced-apart containers 80, 80a, 80b are conveyed on conveyor 10.
The driveshaft 44 for the carrier chains 58 and 60 is driven at a speed which moves the chains and, thus, the plunger pads ~o~
56 at the same linear speed as the conveyor lO. The spacing of the plunger pads 56 about the carrier chains 58 and 60 corresponds to the spacing between the first and third bottles on the conveyor, such as the distance between bottles 80 and 80b on conveyor 10. This establishes that the device shifts every other container onto conveyor 12.
The support frame 42 has formed integrally therewith the cam 76 which determines the reciprocal movement of the plunger 56. The outline for the cam is a simple harmonic form, having an entrance portion with a low slope portion 76a, a higher slope intermediate portion 76b and a low slope portion 76c. As is apparent from the position of the adjust-ment securing device 54, the support frame 42 is in its outermost position to accommodate the larger size containers 80 on the conveyor lO. The relative position of the device 40 to conveyor 10 for a predetermined plunger depth provides for the plunger pad to brush, or almost touch, the container 80a as it is moved into alignment therewith by the carrier chains. As is shown, the cam follower 74, as it rides on the entrande portion 76a, touches the face portion 82 of the plunger pad 56 to the external surface 84a of the container 80a. Thus, the use of a simple harmonic outline for the cam provides for this very gentle con-tacting of plunger pad face 82 with the container, so as to effect as explained this brushing of the pad against the ~Z~09 container face. As the carrier chains continue to move the cam follower 74 along the cam face 76, it commences to ride up the intermediate higher sloped section 76b of the cam.
This area accelerates movement of the bottle toward conveyor 12. However, this is not a problem since the entrance portion for the cam has assured contact between the pad and bottle. Thus, the speed at which the bottle is now moved onto conveyor 12 may be greater than that which could be accomplished with a linear cam arrangement, such as shown in Figure 1 of the drawings.
As the container moves onto conveyor 12, the cam follower 74 moves onto the deceleration segment 76c of the cam which slows down the outward movement of the pad and thus, the resultant deceleration in the movement of the bottle onto the conveyor 12. This deceleration of bottlemovement decreases its momentum and, thus, prevents it from continuing to slide further outwardly of the conveyor 12 against its extremity 86, as would be the case if a linear sloped cam of the type of Figures 1 were used at higher speeds. Thus, as the cam follower 74 rides onto the extremity 76d of the cam, the bottle movement is almoststopped as it is now positioned completely onto the conveyor 12.
The use of a simple harmonic-shaped cam outline has many advantages in providing a controlled shifting of the container from conveyor 10 onto conveyor 12. The container is gently contacted at the commencement of the shifting operation and once contacted by the pad, is accelerated quickly toward conveyor 12 and then lts movement decelerated to ensure proper positioning onto conveyor 12. This arrangement avoidsthrowing or projecting a bottle which causes bottle tilting and possible breakage of the bottle in its shifted movement.
The face portion 82 of the plunger pad 56 may be shaped to provide an arcuate portion 88 which conforms to the exterior shape of the container 80 and prevents the container from moving rearwardly of conveyor 10 as it is moved onto conveyor 12. This is particularly advantageous in instances where the conveyor 12 is moving at a slower speed than the container 10. The arcuate portion 88 of the pad face cups the container and prevents the container from moving rearwardly at it slides onto conveyor 12. In order to accommodate a touching of the plunger pad 56 with the con-tainer, as the pad comes around sprocket 62a and swings into alignment with the container 80, the leading portion 90 of the pad face 82 is curved inwardly. This permits the pad leading portion 90 to move past the container 80a, as the pad aligns with the container to contact portion 88 with the container wall 84a.
The section through line 4-4 of Figure 3 shows the sprockets 62a and 64b mounted in bearings 90 which are ~2~9 secured to the plates 42 and 42a. The entrance to cam 76, which is integral with plates 42 and 42a, is shown at 76a , where the cam followers are in contact therewith under the bias of spring members 72. The guide block 66 for the plunger pad 56 is secured to spaced-apart chains 58 and 60.
The block includes a sleeve 70 which, in this instance, is circular to receive the circular plunger rod 68. The solid lines for the plunger pad 56 show its retracted position with the cam follower 74 against cam portion 76a. This positions the face 82 of the plunger pad above the first conveyor 10, which was coincident with a container side.
As the cam follower 74 rides up the cam to its outermost position at 74d, the plunger pad 56 is moved to the position shown in dot at 56a to shift the container 80a onto the conveyor 12.
Figure 5 shows the shifting device in two extreme positions for handling container dimensions at both extremes of the anticipated container dimensions to be conveyed. The support frame 42 i5 shown in solid line to indicate its inner-most position relative to the first conveyor 10 and is shown in dot at 42b to indicate its outermost position relative to conveyor 10. The position for support 42, as secured by securing device 54, is set up to contact the smaller con-tainers 94 and shift every other one 94a onto conveyor 12.
For the shifting device 40 in the other position, it is set up to shift every other container 96 onto conveyor 12, as shown at 96a.
It can be seen by swinging the support frame 42 about the drive 44, the device 40 can be moved to a position such that when the plunger pads 56 move around, they touch a container of the appropriate size and by way of the cam 76, shift the container onto the other conveyor. This swinging movement also ensures that, regardless of the size and the range for which the unit is set up, it will shift either the larger or smaller container completely onto the conveyor 12, where the relative positions for each extreme in size are shown at 94a and 96a.
In swinging the support frame 42 about the axis of the drive 44, it can be seen that, with the smaller containers, the face 84 of the pusher pad 56 is inclined or angled towards the direction in which the smaller container is to be moved onto the conveyor 12. This inclining of the pusher pad face assists in reaching further around behind the smaller container to enhance resistance to any drag which may be induced by a slower moving conveyor 12. The swinging aspect of the support 42 for the shifting device 40, therefore, not only assists in accommodating various container sizes, it also ensures a better contact with smaller containers to effect a better shifting.
Angular movement of the cam, as the support is swung ~2~t~Q~
toward and away from the conveyor 12, provides a lesser movement in cam segment 76d compared to segment 76a.
~owever, when the support is swung inwardly about its end, for shifting the smaller container, segment 76d is moved inwardly with segment 76a to provide at the apex of cam follower travel a centering of the smaller container on conveyor 12, as shown in Figure 5. Thus, desired shifting of the full range of container sizes onto the second conveyor can be achieved by swinging the cam to the proper position and securing it there.
The face portions 84 of the pads of the plunger assem-bly 56 may be interchangeable so that sets of pads may be provided having various curvatures for different sized containers. Thus, a set of pad face portions having appro-priately contoured face portions would be installed for a particular bottle size. It is apparent that device 40 appreciably increases the flexibility of the conveyor system for shifting containers of varying sizes and always maintains a controller shifting.
~hen it is desired to provide two lanes of containers which are moving at a slower rate than the single lane of containers, an additional conveyor 98 may be provided inside of conveyor 10 relative to conveyor 12 and moving at the same speed as conveyor 12. A def ector arm may be positioned to move the containers remaining on conveyor 10 onto ~1~
conveyor 98 to thus provide two slower moving rows of con-veyed bottles. This is convenient in instances where visual inspection at slower speeds is needed.
Although various pr~eferred embodiments of the invention have been described herein iln detail, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.
Field of the Invention This inv~ntion relates to conveying apparatus and in particular a device which may be used to shift a conveyed container from a first conveyor onto a second conveyor.
Background of the Invention In many instances of bottle handling, there is a need to shift containers from one conveyor onto another. Such a situation may arise in the liquor bottling industry.
Many high speed automatic labelling machines are faster in operation than subsequent machines in the same production line or a conveyed row of containers needs to be split up and slowed down to facilitate visual inspection. It is, therefore, common to divide a single conveyed row of containers into two slower moving rows and, in the instance where subsequent machine steps are involved, to use two slower machines to handle the same number of containers per hour as the upstream faster processing machine. Other typical examples are bottling lines involving case packers as the final machine in the process. In some instances, for smooth operation to eliminate bottle rough handling and breakage, two case packers are provided to handle the flow of product from an upstream single row. At some time after labelling of the bottles, the flow must be separated from one line into two lines.
Ideally, this should be done at the labeller where the regis-tered spaced-apart positions of bottles on the conveyor i ~
~9 is known.
An approach, for forming two rows of conveyed containers from a single row, is to provide two additional conveyors overlapping and on each side of the main conveyor. A
paddle arrangement is located near the end of the bottle conveyor and is operated to deflect each container laterally onto a respective additional conveyor. This arrangement is satisfactory for slow speed operation; however, at higher speeds, the paddle arrangement can break the conveyed containers.
British patent 421,228 discloses a mechanized device for laterally shifting a container from one conveyor onto another. However, the device is not capable of shifting continuously conveyed containers and is, therefore, unsuitable for high speed operations. The device is stationary relative to conveyor travel as its Eam crosses the conveyor to push a container directly onto a side conveyor.
Another approach to shifting a known size of container onto another conveyor and then either leaving containers to remain on the main conveyor, or have those remaining con-tainers shifted onto anOther conveyor, is shown in Figure 1 of the drawings and identified as prior art. That device, as will be described in detail, effects a shifting of con-tainers by using reciprocal plunger pads which are synchro-nized with the movement of the conveyed containers and are extended outwardly to contact a container and shift it onto the laterally overlapping second conveyor. Providing that the same size container is always used on this conveying system and that the shifting apparatus is set up for that container, the system works relatively well. However, should a smaller size container be used, the plunger pads, as they move into alignment with the conveyed containers, are spaced significantly apart from the container, so that as a result, the plunger has an opportunity to move appreciably outwardly before contacting the container which can upset and break the container. In addition, because the device is fixed relative to the conveyor bed, even if the smaller containers are not knocked over by the plunger pad, the pad arrangement in its reciprocal movement does not extend sufficiently to move the smaller containers onto the second conveyor.
On the other hand, if the same device were set up to handle small bottles and the conveying system were used to convey larger bottles, there would be interference between the plunger pads and the larger bottles. This would knock them off the conveyor and cause breakage.
The container shifting device, according to this invention, overcomes a number of the above problems to provide for a smooth shifting of conveyed containers from a first conveyor onto a second conveyor and is adapted to accommodate within a predetermined range varying sizes of containers to provide a greater degree of flexibility in container handling.
Summary of the Invention A container shifting apparatus, according to this invention, is provided for conveyors which convey evenly spaced-apart containers having first and second overlapping conveyors at the same level. The container shifting appara-tus shifts conveyed containers from the first moving conveyor onto the second moving conveyor. Theapparatus comprises a plurality of plunger pads mounted on a carrier for reciprocal movement across the first conveyor. The path of travel of the carrier is in the form of a loop which is above and essentially parallel to the conveying surfaces. The carrier is supported by the support frame with the plunger pads evenly spaced apart about the carrier.
Control means is provided for controlling reciprocal movement of the plungers. A swivel mounting at the end of the support frame provides for the mounting of the device onto the conveyor main frame alongside the first conveyor and opposite the second conveyor to permit swinging of the support frame toward and away from the second conveyor. A driveshaft for driving the carrier is located to rotate about the swivel axis. Means is provided for securing the support frame in any adjusted position relative to the first conveyor.
The control means comprises a cam of a simple harmonic ~z~u9 outline for controlling reciprocal movement of the plunger pads. Cam followers are secured to each plunger pad and ride along the cam, at least while travelling by the conveyor.
The movement of the carrier is synchronized with conveyed con-S tainer to be shifted onto the second conveyor. The cam con-tacts the plunger pad against a container and moves the plunger pad across the first conveyor to shift a contacted container onto the second conveyor, while the carrier moves the plunger pad along with the conveyed container.
By this arrangement, the device is adapted to accommo-date shifting of containers of varying cross-sectional dimensions, by swinging the support frame and securing it at a desired position relative to the first conveyor. For these various adjusted positions, the synchronized reciprocal movement of the plunger pads shift particular sized containers onto the second conveyor.
The shifting apparatus, according to this invention, may be set up to shift every other container of a first row of conveyed containers onto a second conveyor to form two rows The use of a simple harmonic outline for the cam, which controls the movement of the plunger in shifting the con-tainer, enhances the gentle contacting of plunger pads with container and controlled shifting of a conveyed container onto the second conveyor.
Brief Description of the Drawings Preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in E'igures 2 through 5 of the drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a top plan view of a prior art arrangement for shifting containers from a first conveyor onto a second conveyor;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a preferred embodi-ment of this invention for shifting containers;
Figure 3 is a top plan view of the device of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a section taken along lines 4-4 of Figure 3; and Figure 5 is a top plan view of the device shown in its two extreme adjusted positions for shifting the respective .
sizes of shown containers.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments Referring to Figure 1, a prior art device is shown for shifting containers from a first conveyor 10 onto a second conveyor 12, which overlaps a portion of the first conveyor 10 and is at the same level. Containers 14 are evenly spaced apart along conveyor 10, where the device generally designated 16 is arranged to shift every other container onto conveyor 12. The device 16 has a support frame 18 which is rigidly secured to the conveyor main frame (not shown) by bolts 20. The position of the device 16 is always fixed relative to the first conveyor 10. Chains 22, as trained about spaced-apart sprockets 24 and 26, have 1~2~U~
secured thereto block portions 28 on which reciprocal plungers 30 are mounted for reciprocal movement back and forth across the conveyor 10. Each plunger pad 30 has mounted thereon a cam follower 32 which rides on linear cam 34, as the reci-procal pad 30 moves into alignment with a container 14. The follower, as it rides up linear cam 34, contacts the container 14 where the chain movement~is such that the plunger pad moves along with the container as it shifts the con-tainer onto conveyor 12.
The head sprocket 26 for the chain 22 may be secured to a driveshaft (not shown). The drive is controlled to move the plunger guide blocks 28 at a linear speed which is synchronized with the movement of the conveyed containers.
It is apparent from Figure 1 that the plunger pad has been set up to contact a container 15, shown in dot, which is larger than the smaller container 14. With this set-up for shifting container 15, it is shifted to be centrally located at 15a on the conveyor 12. However, with the smaller container on conveyor 10, a space 36 is developed between the plunger pad 30 and container 14 before the plunger pad contacts the container. As a result, the plunger pad moves outwardly and slams in~o the container 14. This can cause upset of the smaller container 14 with consequent breakage.
A further drawback with shifting device 16 is that, even if the smaller container 14 remai~ upright, it is not pushed iI2nO~
centrally of the conveyor 12, as shown by position 14a on conveyor 12. In some instances with a relatively smaller bottle, it may not be pushed entirely onto conveyor 12 and remain partially on conveyor 10 which would be unsatisfactory.
Thus, with the prior art shown in Figure 1, it is only suitable for shifting a particular size of container and cannot be adjusted to accommodate other sizes.
Turning to Figure 2, the arrangement of the container shifting device, which effects a smooth shifting of a variety of container sizes from the first conveyor 10 onto a second conveyor 12, is shown. The device generally designated 40 has a support frame 42 with lower plate portion 42a which are interconnected by blocks (not shown). The support frame 42 is swivelly connected to a driveshaft 44 by bushing connections 46 and 48. The other end of the device 20 rests on a post 50 and is free to slide along the post 50. Thus, the support frame 42 swivels about the axis 52 of the driveshaft 44 inwardly and outwardly relative to the first conveyor 10. An adjustment securing device 54 is located at the other end of the shifting device 40 which con-sists of a bolt which, when tightened, holds the relative adjusted swung position of the support 42 relative to the conveyor 10.
The carrier arrangement for the reciprocal plungers 56 consists of a pair of spaced-apart chains 58 and 60 which are trained about sprockets 62, 62a and 64, 64a. The carrier chains travel about a loop defined by the sprockets. The planes through which the chains travel are parallel to and *v~
spaced above the conveying surfaces of conveyors 10 and 12.
A guide block 66 is secured to parallel spaced-apart chains 58 and 60. The plunger pad 56 has a plunger rod 68 which is adapted to move inwardly and outwardly of and provide guidance for the movement of the plunger pad through an appropriately formed sleeve 70 in block 60. Spring members 72 are provided on the plunger pad and are secured to the block 66 to constantly urge the cam followers 74 and 74a, mounted on the plunger pad 56, against cam face 76 for determining the reciprocal movement of the plunger pad.
The container shifting apparatus may be located down-stream of a container labelling station and container orienting device or other devices which perform a certain operation on the conveyed containers. In order to perform the same function on each container, they are arranged to be equally spaced apart on the conveyor. The equal spacing of containers on conveyor permits coordination of the shifting device with conveyed container movement. Thus, the movement of the plunger pads may be synchronized with conveyed container movement to align each of them with a respective container to be shifted onto the second conveyor 12.
As shown in Figure 3, a plurality of evenly spaced-apart containers 80, 80a, 80b are conveyed on conveyor 10.
The driveshaft 44 for the carrier chains 58 and 60 is driven at a speed which moves the chains and, thus, the plunger pads ~o~
56 at the same linear speed as the conveyor lO. The spacing of the plunger pads 56 about the carrier chains 58 and 60 corresponds to the spacing between the first and third bottles on the conveyor, such as the distance between bottles 80 and 80b on conveyor 10. This establishes that the device shifts every other container onto conveyor 12.
The support frame 42 has formed integrally therewith the cam 76 which determines the reciprocal movement of the plunger 56. The outline for the cam is a simple harmonic form, having an entrance portion with a low slope portion 76a, a higher slope intermediate portion 76b and a low slope portion 76c. As is apparent from the position of the adjust-ment securing device 54, the support frame 42 is in its outermost position to accommodate the larger size containers 80 on the conveyor lO. The relative position of the device 40 to conveyor 10 for a predetermined plunger depth provides for the plunger pad to brush, or almost touch, the container 80a as it is moved into alignment therewith by the carrier chains. As is shown, the cam follower 74, as it rides on the entrande portion 76a, touches the face portion 82 of the plunger pad 56 to the external surface 84a of the container 80a. Thus, the use of a simple harmonic outline for the cam provides for this very gentle con-tacting of plunger pad face 82 with the container, so as to effect as explained this brushing of the pad against the ~Z~09 container face. As the carrier chains continue to move the cam follower 74 along the cam face 76, it commences to ride up the intermediate higher sloped section 76b of the cam.
This area accelerates movement of the bottle toward conveyor 12. However, this is not a problem since the entrance portion for the cam has assured contact between the pad and bottle. Thus, the speed at which the bottle is now moved onto conveyor 12 may be greater than that which could be accomplished with a linear cam arrangement, such as shown in Figure 1 of the drawings.
As the container moves onto conveyor 12, the cam follower 74 moves onto the deceleration segment 76c of the cam which slows down the outward movement of the pad and thus, the resultant deceleration in the movement of the bottle onto the conveyor 12. This deceleration of bottlemovement decreases its momentum and, thus, prevents it from continuing to slide further outwardly of the conveyor 12 against its extremity 86, as would be the case if a linear sloped cam of the type of Figures 1 were used at higher speeds. Thus, as the cam follower 74 rides onto the extremity 76d of the cam, the bottle movement is almoststopped as it is now positioned completely onto the conveyor 12.
The use of a simple harmonic-shaped cam outline has many advantages in providing a controlled shifting of the container from conveyor 10 onto conveyor 12. The container is gently contacted at the commencement of the shifting operation and once contacted by the pad, is accelerated quickly toward conveyor 12 and then lts movement decelerated to ensure proper positioning onto conveyor 12. This arrangement avoidsthrowing or projecting a bottle which causes bottle tilting and possible breakage of the bottle in its shifted movement.
The face portion 82 of the plunger pad 56 may be shaped to provide an arcuate portion 88 which conforms to the exterior shape of the container 80 and prevents the container from moving rearwardly of conveyor 10 as it is moved onto conveyor 12. This is particularly advantageous in instances where the conveyor 12 is moving at a slower speed than the container 10. The arcuate portion 88 of the pad face cups the container and prevents the container from moving rearwardly at it slides onto conveyor 12. In order to accommodate a touching of the plunger pad 56 with the con-tainer, as the pad comes around sprocket 62a and swings into alignment with the container 80, the leading portion 90 of the pad face 82 is curved inwardly. This permits the pad leading portion 90 to move past the container 80a, as the pad aligns with the container to contact portion 88 with the container wall 84a.
The section through line 4-4 of Figure 3 shows the sprockets 62a and 64b mounted in bearings 90 which are ~2~9 secured to the plates 42 and 42a. The entrance to cam 76, which is integral with plates 42 and 42a, is shown at 76a , where the cam followers are in contact therewith under the bias of spring members 72. The guide block 66 for the plunger pad 56 is secured to spaced-apart chains 58 and 60.
The block includes a sleeve 70 which, in this instance, is circular to receive the circular plunger rod 68. The solid lines for the plunger pad 56 show its retracted position with the cam follower 74 against cam portion 76a. This positions the face 82 of the plunger pad above the first conveyor 10, which was coincident with a container side.
As the cam follower 74 rides up the cam to its outermost position at 74d, the plunger pad 56 is moved to the position shown in dot at 56a to shift the container 80a onto the conveyor 12.
Figure 5 shows the shifting device in two extreme positions for handling container dimensions at both extremes of the anticipated container dimensions to be conveyed. The support frame 42 i5 shown in solid line to indicate its inner-most position relative to the first conveyor 10 and is shown in dot at 42b to indicate its outermost position relative to conveyor 10. The position for support 42, as secured by securing device 54, is set up to contact the smaller con-tainers 94 and shift every other one 94a onto conveyor 12.
For the shifting device 40 in the other position, it is set up to shift every other container 96 onto conveyor 12, as shown at 96a.
It can be seen by swinging the support frame 42 about the drive 44, the device 40 can be moved to a position such that when the plunger pads 56 move around, they touch a container of the appropriate size and by way of the cam 76, shift the container onto the other conveyor. This swinging movement also ensures that, regardless of the size and the range for which the unit is set up, it will shift either the larger or smaller container completely onto the conveyor 12, where the relative positions for each extreme in size are shown at 94a and 96a.
In swinging the support frame 42 about the axis of the drive 44, it can be seen that, with the smaller containers, the face 84 of the pusher pad 56 is inclined or angled towards the direction in which the smaller container is to be moved onto the conveyor 12. This inclining of the pusher pad face assists in reaching further around behind the smaller container to enhance resistance to any drag which may be induced by a slower moving conveyor 12. The swinging aspect of the support 42 for the shifting device 40, therefore, not only assists in accommodating various container sizes, it also ensures a better contact with smaller containers to effect a better shifting.
Angular movement of the cam, as the support is swung ~2~t~Q~
toward and away from the conveyor 12, provides a lesser movement in cam segment 76d compared to segment 76a.
~owever, when the support is swung inwardly about its end, for shifting the smaller container, segment 76d is moved inwardly with segment 76a to provide at the apex of cam follower travel a centering of the smaller container on conveyor 12, as shown in Figure 5. Thus, desired shifting of the full range of container sizes onto the second conveyor can be achieved by swinging the cam to the proper position and securing it there.
The face portions 84 of the pads of the plunger assem-bly 56 may be interchangeable so that sets of pads may be provided having various curvatures for different sized containers. Thus, a set of pad face portions having appro-priately contoured face portions would be installed for a particular bottle size. It is apparent that device 40 appreciably increases the flexibility of the conveyor system for shifting containers of varying sizes and always maintains a controller shifting.
~hen it is desired to provide two lanes of containers which are moving at a slower rate than the single lane of containers, an additional conveyor 98 may be provided inside of conveyor 10 relative to conveyor 12 and moving at the same speed as conveyor 12. A def ector arm may be positioned to move the containers remaining on conveyor 10 onto ~1~
conveyor 98 to thus provide two slower moving rows of con-veyed bottles. This is convenient in instances where visual inspection at slower speeds is needed.
Although various pr~eferred embodiments of the invention have been described herein iln detail, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.
Claims (12)
PROPERTY OF PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. Apparatus for shifting conveyed containers from a first moving conveyor onto a second moving conveyor, which is at the same level as a first conveyor, said apparatus comprising a support frame, a plurality of plunger pads mounted on a carrier for reciprocal movement across a first conveyor, the path of travel of said carrier being in the form of a loop which is above and essentially parallel to conveying surfaces, said carrier being supported by said support frame with said plunger pads evenly spaced-apart on said carrier, control means for controlling reciprocal movement of said plungers which are mounted on said support frame, a swivel mounting at an end of said support frame for mounting said device onto a conveyor main frame alongside a first conveyor and opposite a second conveyor to permit swinging of said support frame toward and away from a second conveyor, a drive for said carrier rotating about the swivel axis of the support frame, securing means for securing said support frame in any adjusted position, said control means comprising a cam having a simple harmonic outline for controlling reciprocal movement of said plunger pads, cam follower means secured to each plunger pad rides along said cam, the movement of said carrier being synchronized with conveyed container movement on a first conveyor to position a plunger opposite a conveyed container to be shifted onto a second conveyor, said cam causing a gentle contacting of said plunger pad against a container for secured adjusted position of said support means, moving said plunger pad across a first conveyor to shift a contacted container onto a second conveyor while said carrier moves said plunger pad along a first conveyor with the container and causing said plunger pad to withdraw for return and contacting of another conveyed container, said apparatus being adapted to accommodate shifting of containers of varying cross-sectional dimension by swinging said support frame and securing it in a desired position relative to a first con-veyor at which the synchronized reciprocal movement of said plunger pads smoothly shift particular sized container onto a second conveyor.
2. In apparatus of claim 1, said carrier comprising a chain system trained about spaced-apart sprockets to define its looped travel, a plurality of plunger guide blocks secured in evenly spaced-apart manner to said chain system, each block being adapted to slidably receive a plunger rod to define said reciprocal movement when spring means urges each plunger pad into its respective plunger guide block, said cam follower means being associated with each plunger pad and located to ride up said cam to move said plunger pad out-wardly and ride down said cam to withdraw said plunger pads as influenced by said spring means.
3. In apparatus of claim 2, one of said sprockets being a drive sprocket which rotates about said swivel axis, said drive being a rotatable shaft secured to said drive sprocket and mounted to rotate about said swivel axis, the drive for said drive sprocket being synchronized with conveyor move-ment to align pusher pads with respective conveyed containers.
4. In apparatus of claim 1, said securing means being positioned on said support frame remote from said swivel axis and adapted to secure said support frame to said conveyor main frame in a desired adjusted position.
5. In apparatus of claim 1, said plunger pads each having a replaceable face portion, the face portion being contoured to conform to a portion of the exterior shape of a container to be contacted, said support frame being secured in a position which locates said plunger pad face portion proximate a container as said cam follower rides onto said cam, the leading segment of said face portion being curved inwardly of the plunger face to clear a container as the plunger pad moves around the carrier loop to contact such container.
6. In apparatus of claim 1, said cam being integral with said support frame.
7. In apparatus of claim 1, said cam configuration being such to ensure for a first support frame secured position the largest anticipated container size is shifted completely onto a second conveyor and for a second support frame secured position the smallest anticipated container size is shifted completely onto a second conveyor.
8. In apparatus of claim 7, for shifting round bottles of diameters ranging from 5 cm up to 15 cm, said shifting apparatus being adjustable to accommodate shifting of any bottle in such size range onto a second conveyor.
9. In apparatus of claim 1, each of said pusher pads having a face portion which is adapted to resist rearward movement of container as it is shifted from a first conveyor onto a slower moving second conveyor.
10. In apparatus of claim 9, said face portion having a trailing outwardly extending portion to engage a container and resist its rearward movement relative to a first con-veyor as such container is shifted onto a second conveyor.
11. In apparatus of claim 10 adapted to shift smaller diameter containers, such adjusted position enhancing the engagement between plunger face portion and contacted container by virtue of swinging the support frame towards a second conveyor to slightly angle said face portion in the direction of container travel across conveyors.
12. In apparatus of claim 1 or 11, adapted to shift every other container on a first conveyor onto a second conveyor.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA345,552A CA1127109A (en) | 1980-02-11 | 1980-02-11 | Bottle shifing apparatus |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA345,552A CA1127109A (en) | 1980-02-11 | 1980-02-11 | Bottle shifing apparatus |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1127109A true CA1127109A (en) | 1982-07-06 |
Family
ID=4116231
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA345,552A Expired CA1127109A (en) | 1980-02-11 | 1980-02-11 | Bottle shifing apparatus |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1127109A (en) |
Cited By (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4804076A (en) * | 1987-05-14 | 1989-02-14 | Formost Packaging Machines, Inc. | Piece-spacing transfer mechanism |
| WO1991009799A1 (en) * | 1989-12-29 | 1991-07-11 | Apv Douglas Machine Corporation | Tray loading machine |
| EP1123884A1 (en) * | 2000-02-10 | 2001-08-16 | Michael Dipl.-Ing. Horst | Device for diverting articles, in particular containers, from a path of travel |
| WO2005110716A2 (en) * | 2004-05-07 | 2005-11-24 | Graham Packaging Pet Technologies Inc. | Take out and cooling system and method |
| EP1882651A1 (en) * | 2006-07-27 | 2008-01-30 | INDAG Gesellschaft für Industriebedarf mbH & Co. Betriebs KG | Device and method for separating a flow of articles |
| EP2159174A1 (en) * | 2008-08-26 | 2010-03-03 | Eurosort B.V. | An apparatus for transport and controlled discharge of products |
-
1980
- 1980-02-11 CA CA345,552A patent/CA1127109A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (14)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4804076A (en) * | 1987-05-14 | 1989-02-14 | Formost Packaging Machines, Inc. | Piece-spacing transfer mechanism |
| WO1991009799A1 (en) * | 1989-12-29 | 1991-07-11 | Apv Douglas Machine Corporation | Tray loading machine |
| EP1123884A1 (en) * | 2000-02-10 | 2001-08-16 | Michael Dipl.-Ing. Horst | Device for diverting articles, in particular containers, from a path of travel |
| WO2005110716A2 (en) * | 2004-05-07 | 2005-11-24 | Graham Packaging Pet Technologies Inc. | Take out and cooling system and method |
| WO2005110716A3 (en) * | 2004-05-07 | 2006-03-16 | Graham Packaging Pet Tech | Take out and cooling system and method |
| US7632089B2 (en) | 2004-05-07 | 2009-12-15 | Graham Packaging Pet Technologies, Inc. | Take out and cooling system and method |
| EP1927561A1 (en) * | 2006-07-27 | 2008-06-04 | INDAG Gesellschaft für Industriebedarf mbH & Co. Betriebs KG | Device and method for splitting object flows |
| EP1882651A1 (en) * | 2006-07-27 | 2008-01-30 | INDAG Gesellschaft für Industriebedarf mbH & Co. Betriebs KG | Device and method for separating a flow of articles |
| KR100933276B1 (en) * | 2006-07-27 | 2009-12-22 | 인다크 게젤샤프트 퓌어 인두스트리에베다르프 엠베하 운트 코. 베트리브즈 카게 | Apparatus and method for dividing the flow of the object |
| CN102070015A (en) * | 2006-07-27 | 2011-05-25 | 英达格工业设备股份有限公司 | Device and method for dividing flow of objects |
| TWI409205B (en) * | 2006-07-27 | 2013-09-21 | Indag Gmbh | Device and method for dividing a flow of objects |
| CN102070015B (en) * | 2006-07-27 | 2015-11-18 | 英达格工业设备股份有限公司 | Distribute the apparatus and method of object stream |
| EP2159174A1 (en) * | 2008-08-26 | 2010-03-03 | Eurosort B.V. | An apparatus for transport and controlled discharge of products |
| NL2001922C (en) * | 2008-08-26 | 2010-03-11 | Eurosort B V | An apparatus for transport and controlled discharge of products. |
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| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |