WO2008041172A1

WO2008041172A1 - Article unscrambling device

Info

Publication number: WO2008041172A1
Application number: PCT/IB2007/053980
Authority: WO
Inventors: Massimo Del Sarto
Original assignee: Simoni S.R.L.
Priority date: 2006-10-05
Filing date: 2007-10-01
Publication date: 2008-04-10
Also published as: ITBO20060685A1

Abstract

An unscrambling device (1) for articles (2) having at least one portion (3) where one wall is partly interrupted or is completely missing comprises at least two cylindrical brush elements (7) that rotate in the same direction; the brushes (7) act directly on the walls of the articles and positively rotate and orient the articles (2) in the required manner.

Description

TITLE: ARTICLE UNSCRAMBLING DEVICE

DESCRIPTION

Technical Field This invention relates to a device for unscrambling randomly oriented articles received in bulk from a production line or from a loading area, in particular an unscrambling device for orienting in a single direction articles having a portion with one wall at least partly interrupted or articles having a portion with one wall missing completely, such as bottle caps, for example. Prior Art

Numerous unscrambling and orienting devices are known in prior art. These are based on different article unscrambling and orienting concepts.

United States patent US-3 392 816 discloses an apparatus for unscrambling bottle caps and like articles where the caps are made to pass through jets of compressed air which act on the caps in different ways according to how the caps are oriented. In this way, the caps that are upside down with respect to the required orientation are rejected and sent back to a cap accumulation area upstream of the area where the air jets unscramble them. The apparatus described in patent US-3 392 816 is not very efficient because it does not act directly on upside down caps to turn them the right way up but simply rejects them and feeds them back to the bulk delivery area so they pass through the apparatus again. As a result, a large number of caps must be processed to dispense an adequate flow of correctly oriented caps. The apparatus according to patent US-3 392 816 is also cumbersome and relatively expensive. Other types of unscrambling systems include near vertical conveyors with grooves for accommodating the caps in the required orientation and allowing the caps that are not oriented in the correct manner to drop into a feed container.

These unscrambling devices are also rather cumbersome and require a regular and abundant supply of caps. Moreover, the presence of a near vertical conveyor conditions the layout of the machine where an unscrambling device of this kind is installed.

United States patent US-3 682 292 discloses an orienting apparatus comprising cylindrical brushes or rollers covered with a sponge-like material. The brushes or rollers rotate in opposite directions and are spaced in such a way as to form a narrow passage through which the caps to be oriented are-made to pass. The brushes or rollers engage each other in different ways on both sides of the caps so that as the caps move out of the passage between the brushes, they are dynamically rotated to a varying extent according to their initial orientation. The caps are thus discharged onto a conveyor at a speed such that they are all oriented in the same direction although they were fed to the orienting device in scrambled fashion.

The apparatus described in United States patent US-3 682 292 is suitable only for caps much larger in diameter than in height. Since the orientation of the caps is based on a dynamic action, it can be subject to errors and must be calibrated and set for a defined cap feed speed. Disclosure of the Invention

One aim of this invention is to improve upon unscrambling devices, especially devices for unscrambling bottle caps and the like.

Another aim of the invention is to obtain an unscrambling device that is more compact and allows greater machine lay-out freedom than prior art unscrambling devices.

A further aim of the invention is to obtain an unscrambling device that is more efficient and permits even small quantities of articles to be unscrambled and oriented. Yet another aim is to obtain an unscrambling device that is more silent and uses less energy than prior art unscrambling devices. Yet another aim is to obtain a device capable of unscrambling and orienting articles having any height to cross section ratio.

A yet further aim is to obtain a device capable of unscrambling and orienting articles at a high processing speed and with high reliability.

The invention accordingly provides an unscrambling device for articles having at least one portion where one wall is partly interrupted or is completely missing, the device comprising at least two brush elements and being characterized in that the at least two brush elements rotate in the same direction. Thanks to this aspect of the invention, it is possible to obtain an unscrambling device that is reliable and efficient.

Indeed, unscrambling is based on the different action of the brushes on the walls of the articles. Orientation is-accompNshed by the force of the brushes on the article to be unscrambled, which differs according to whether it is applied to the uninterrupted wall, to the wall that is partly interrupted or to the wall that is missing completely.

Brief Description of the Drawings The invention can be better understood and implemented with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate an embodiment of it by way of example without restricting the scope of the invention and in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of an unscrambling device according to the invention; Figure 2 is a schematic side view of the unscrambling device of Figure I;

Figure 3 is a schematic front view of the unscrambling device of Figure I;

Figure 4 is a schematic side view of another version of the unscrambling device according to the invention;

Figure 5 is a schematic side view of a version of the articles to be unscrambled; and

Figure 6 is a schematic side view of another version of a detail of the unscrambling device according to the invention.

Embodiments of the Invention

The accompanying drawings illustrate a device 1 for unscrambling and orienting articles 2 having a portion 3 with one wall is at least partly interrupted or a portion 3 where one wall is missing completely, such as, for example, bottle caps and the like.

The unscrambling device 1 may be installed in a machine where the articles 2 have to be arranged in orderly fashion, according to the same orientation, so that they can be packaged or applied to other products. For example, the caps may be used for capping bottles in a bottling machine and must therefore be fed to the capping unit in orderly fashion, with the same orientation, so that they can be correctly applied to the bottles.

In the versions illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the unscrambling device 1 is fed by a hopper 4 to which the articles 2 are supplied in bulk, arranged haphazardly. A hopper is just one example of how the articles 2 can be fed and the unscrambling device 1 might be supplied by any other suitable feed means.

In the version of Figures 1 to 3, the hopper 4 has an outlet opening 5 on one side, from which the articles 2 are delivered to the unscrambling device 1 by a conveyor belt 6. The conveyor belt 6 may be horizontal or inclined downwards slightly so as to facilitate the movement of the articles 2 towards the unscrambling device 1.

In the version of Figure 4, the feed hopper 4 has an outlet opening 5 onJhe bottom of it, positioned directly above the unscrambling device 1.

With reference to Figures 1 to 3, the unscrambling device 1 comprises at least two cylindrical brush elements 7 whose axes 8 are substantially parallel and positioned along a line X. The brush elements 7 rotate about the axes 8 in the same direction of rotation. The brush elements comprise cylindrical brushes 7 separated by gaps 9. The width H1 of each gap 9 is slightly smaller than the height H of the articles

2 to be unscrambled. The width H1 is, however, such as to allow the articles 2 to pass because the bristles of the brushes 7 are relatively flexible.

The brushes 7 engage the walls of the article 2 in a different manner. Where the portion 3 is missing completely - or is partly interrupted - the action of the brushes 7 prevails over their action on the portions of the articles 2 where the walls are present and uninterrupted. Looking in more detail at the version of Figure 3, each gap 9 has one side where one brush has bristles moving upwards and another brush has bristles moving downwards.

In Figure 3, since all the brushes 7 rotate anticlockwise, as indicated by the arrows F, the brush 7 bristles on the right-hand side of each gap 9 move downwards, while the bristles on the left-hand side of the gap move upwards. Rotation of the brushes 7 in anticlockwise direction therefore causes the articles 2 to rotate in clockwise direction.

Next, as soon as the bristles that move downwards engage the portion 3 of the article 2 where the wall is missing completely - or is partly interrupted - the article 2 passes through the gap 9 and is discharged into an area below. It should be noticed that the bristles that move upwards do not obstruct the downward passage of the articled because their action on the uninterrupted walls of the article 2 is relatively limited.

Thus, in the version of Figure 3, sinca the bristles on the right-hand side of all the gaps 9 move downwards, all the articles 2 will be oriented in the same direction, with the portion 3 where the wall is missing or partly interrupted facing right.

Considering the version of Figure 3, but inverting the_dkection rotation of the brushes 7 - that is to say, making the brushes 7 rotate clockwise - the articles 2 will be oriented in such a way that the portion 3 faces left.

In the versions of Figures 1 to 4, the unscrambling device 1 comprises four cylindrical brushes 7 separated by three gaps 9; there may, however, be any number of brushes 7 and gaps 9 between one brush 7 and another, with a minimum of at least two brushes 7 and one gap 9: the higher the number of brushes 7 and gaps 9, the greater the article 2 unscrambling capacity of the device.

In the version of Figure 4, the feed hopper 4 comprises guide means 10 located at the infeed end of the unscrambling device 1. The guide means 10 determine a preferable orientation of the articles 2', as explained in more detail below.

Figure 5 illustrates an article 2' having an axis 11 and a height H' that is greater than the transversal dimension D of the article 2. This is the case of certain types of cap having a collar for securing it to the bottle.

Since the height H is greater than the transversal dimension D, the article 2' would tend to be positioned with its axis 11 parallel to the axes 8 of the cylindrical brushes 7. Thus, the article 2' would tend to roll between the cylindrical brushes 7 or to pass through the gap 9 between the brushes 7 without being oriented. The guide means 10 therefore position the articles 2' with their respective axes 11 substantially parallel to.a line Y that is in turn perpendicular to the line X.

The guide means may comprise partitions 10 substantially parallel to the line

Y. The partitions 10 define downfeed channels 13 for the articles 2', the width of the channels 13 being slightly larger than the transversal dimension or diameter D of the articles 2' but smaller than the height H, so that each article 2' is forced into a position such that its axis 11 is substantially parallel to the line Y.

Next, the articles 2' are processed and oriented by the brushes 7 in the manner described above. by-acting on each article 2' differently according to whether they act on uninterrupted-walls or on a wall that is missing - or is partly interrupted. To prevent groups of articles 2' stacked in the channels 13 of the guide means and in the hopper 4 from jamming whiie_the articles 2' are fed downwards or while they are being oriented by the brushes.7, time-switched means may be provided for loading the articles 2'.

This prevents large quantities of articles 2' from building up: the articles 2' are fed into the hopper 4 or directly into the guide means 10 in controlled manner as the articles 2" are unscrambled and discharged from the device 1.

For rotating the brush elements 7, motor means, not illustrated, such as, for example, an electric motor, are provided. The brush elements 7 are connected to the motor means and to each other by transmission means 12. The transmission means 12 may comprise a cascade gear set or a set of toothed belts positioned in such a way as to make all the brush elements 7 rotate in the same direction.

Figure 6 illustrates another version of a brush 7. The brush 7 comprises a central core 14 and bristles that are inclined tangentially with respect to the core 14 or with respect to the axis 8. Figure 6 also shows the direction of rotation F, such that the bristles 15 are inclined backwards with respect to the rotation direction F.

Notice that the unscrambling device 1 described above is extremely compact and efficient in orienting the articles.

The brush elements act directly on the walls of the articles, causing the articles to rotate positively in the required manner and thus making the unscrambling process particularly fast and effective. Further, thanks to the brush elements, the unscrambling device according to invention is relatively silent and has a low energy requirement, especially in comparison with prior art compressed air unscrambling devices.

Claims

1. An unscrambling device (1) for articles (2; 2') with at least one portion (3) having one wall partly interrupted or missing completely, said articles (2; 2') having a height (H; H'), a transversal dimension (D) and an axis (11), the device comprising at least two brush elements (7) with axes of rotation (8) positioned along a line (X) and the device being characterized in that the at least two brush elements (7) rotate in the same direction.

2. The unscrambling device according to claim 1 , wherein the brush elements comprise cylindrical brushes (7).

3. The unscrambling device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the brush elements (7) have radial bristles (15).

4. The unscrambling device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the brush elements (7) comprise a core (14) and have radial bristles (15) that are inclined tangentially with respect to the core (14) or with respect to the axis (8).

5. The unscrambling device according to any of the foregoing claims, comprising at least one gap (9) of width (H 1), located between the at least two brush elements (7), said gap (9) being designed to allow the articles (2; 2') to pass through it.

6. The unscrambling device according to claim 5, wherein the width (H 1) of the gap (9) is slightly smaller than the height (H; H') of the articles (2; 2").

7. The unscrambling device according to any of the foregoing claims, comprising guide means (10) located at the infeed end of the unscrambling device (1) and designed to determine a preferable orientation of the articles (2; 2').

8. The unscrambling device according to claim 7, wherein the guide means comprise partitions (10).

9. The unscrambling device according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the guide means (10) comprise downfeed channels (13) for the articles (2, 2').

10. The unscrambling device according to claim 9, wherein the width of the downfeed channels (13) is slightly larger than the height (H; H') of the articles (2; 2").

11. The unscrambling device according to any of the claims from 7) to 10), wherein the guide means (10) orient the articles (2; 2') in such a way that their respective axes (11) are substantially parallel to a line (Y) perpendicular to the line (X).

12. The unscrambling device according to any of the claims from 8) to 11), wherein the partitions (10) are substantially parallel to a line (Y) perpendicular to the line (X).

13. A method for unscrambling and orienting articles (2; 2') with at least one portion (3) having one wall partly interrupted or missing completely, said articles (2; 2') having a height (H; H'), a transversal dimension (D) and an axis (11), the method comprising the step of causing the articles (2; 2') to pass through at least one gap (9) between at least two brush elements (7) with axes of rotation (8) positioned along a line (X), the method being characterized in that the step of causing the articles (2; 2') to pass through is accomplished by the brush elements (7) rotating in the same direction.