Classifying – separating – and assorting solids – Sorting special items – and certain methods and apparatus for... – Sorting bottles – ampoules – jars – drinking vessels – or like...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-27
2004-11-23
Walsh, Donald P (Department: 3653)
Classifying, separating, and assorting solids
Sorting special items, and certain methods and apparatus for...
Sorting bottles, ampoules, jars, drinking vessels, or like...
C209S523000, C209S652000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06822181
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the handling of articles, such as beverage containers moving at high speed in modern production facilities. Of special interest is the use of the invention in the food and beverage industry and in particular the handling of bottles and cans containing alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Examples of such beverages include beer and beer-based drinks such as shandies; coolers and low or non-alcoholic beers; non-alcoholic soft drinks such as colas; water; fruit juices and the like.
2. Description of Prior Art
In many industries and, in particular, the beverage industry, product units such as bottles and cans are often transported in production facilities in lines or streams at high speed using conveyor systems. In some instances, the pathway defined by the conveyor is not much wider than the moving container but is sufficient to allow for free movement of the container along the conveyor. The conveyor is set up such that the containers generally travel along it adjacent to one sidewall or rail of the conveyor. This generally occurs even if the width of the conveyor is greater than the width of the container. For example, empty beer bottles, (very common articles to which the present invention relates) are generally required to be transported from a rinsing station to an automated filling device and, subsequently, to a bottle labeling device, often at rates of up to 1500 or more bottles per minute. Obviously, in an operation involving so many bottles processed at those rates, there are going to be a number of bottles which are commercially unacceptable for various reasons. For example, a bottle may be under-filled, or over-filled, with beer or the bottle label may be mis-aligned or even totally missing. Such bottles are not acceptable and must be separated from the acceptable bottles prior to the latter proceeding to a packaging station. There are many known systems for inspecting the stream of bottles and detecting any such unacceptable or defective bottles. (refer for example to U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,979,635 and 6,043,504) Once any unacceptable bottle has been detected it must be removed from the line or stream. It will be appreciated that commercial reality means that the production line cannot be stopped or generally even slowed down each time an unacceptable bottle has to be removed. It is also important to note that adjacent bottles in the moving line might be, and often are, in contact. This clearly complicates the removal of each unacceptable bottle since it must be removed without affecting the speed or direction of movement of the two adjacent and acceptable bottles and the effect the latter bottles may have on bottles adjacent to them and so on. Moreover, although in some instances, simple rejection to a rejection bin of unaccepted bottles is all that is required, there are instances when it is desirable to direct rejected bottles to one of several possible locations and in a controllable manner; in essence, sort the bottles. For example, a bottle, which has been found to have lower than the prescribed amount of beer, (i.e. it is a “low-fill”) might be re-directed to a station which empties the bottle of beer and the beer and the bottle are reclaimed. In another case a bottle with the label missing could result in the rejected bottle being returned to the labeller. In contrast, an unacceptable can is not usually reused (apart from being recycled for metal content) and hence, such sorting of rejected cans would probably not occur.
Many commonly used rejection or sorting systems involve an actuator assembly which includes a piston carrying a bottle-contacting member or pad which assembly is located adjacent the side of the conveyor, the actuator member being arranged to extend across the conveyor at right angles to the direction of travel of the bottles and to be retracted along the same path. As it advances, the pad contacts the body of the moving bottle to be diverted with more or less force depending on a number of factors. The bottles are essentially struck out of the moving line of bottles hopefully leaving the adjacent, and especially the immediately following, bottle unaffected as regards their velocity and direction. The diverted bottles may be directed off the conveyor to a collection receptacle or redirected on to another conveyor adjacent the first conveyor; refer, for example, to U.S. Pat. No. 3,133,640. A number of disadvantages are associated with this type of device. The use of a fluid, air in the case of a pneumatic activator, can be inconvenient and even cause problems not the least being the constant need to make adjustments to it for various reasons. For example, fluctuations and especially reduction in, or loss of, pressure can result if the device has to operate virtually continuously for an extended period and the air pressure becomes inadequate to sustain the desired piston rejecter stroke. In this situation, additional equipment such as an accumulator tank may be necessary. Such extended use situations can happen if the bottle filler is incorrectly adjusted and a large number of low-fills are produced. Another significant problem is that the pad is relatively narrow and, to be effective, must contact the moving bottle at virtually the longitudinal axis of the bottle to effect a clean redirect. It will be appreciated that with all the variables in this system fine tuning even to maintain a centre of bottle hit is a constant issue. Consequently, as can happen, the actuator is unavoidably triggered early or late, then the pad contacts the bottle off-centre possibly at the leading or trailing edge of the bottle and can cause same to spin or otherwise become unstable which, in combination with the “pull” from the conveyor, can result in toppling, hitting an adjacent bottle; etc. Also, the actuator is extended and withdrawn at right angles to the direction of travel of the bottles and both actions must occur prior to the bottle following the rejected bottle arriving at the actuator. If the actuator cycle is not fully completed in time, the next bottle will strike a part of the actuator assembly blocking the conveyor and this would definitely adversely disrupt the flow of bottles probably requiring the conveyor to be stopped. Systems of this type are called “boppers” or “bang-bang” systems because of their mode of action. In fact, the mode of action can result in cleanly rejected bottles being thrown over and cause significant problems downstream even if the bottles do manage to exit and remain outside of the path of the line of accepted bottles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,635 discloses a system of using a type of divertor assembly of the bopper-type as described above but with provision to extend the servoactivator in a controlled predetermined manner to a position adjacent to the article to be deflected where, preferably, it pauses prior to initiating the actual diversion of the article according to an ejection waveform. This is said to reduce the impact of the pad strike on the container and minimize the opportunity for the bottle to fall over. It does not, of course address other problems associated with this type of divertor. It also requires relatively complex and expensive equipment to detect the lateral position of the bottles on the conveyor. In an attempt to reduce any tendency to topple the bottles, the pad is usually constructed from a soft plastic material. This, however, introduces its own problems with respect to increased wear etc. loss of controlled contact with the bottle thus requiring relatively frequent maintenance.
In any event, all these fluid-based systems are subject to certain inherent or built-in delays in their operation in view of the several mechanical etc. steps in the system which steps need to be completed from the time the signal to reject is received by the device to the time the bottle contacting bopper is returned to its base position. In other words there are lags and overshoots inherent in such systems which are at best only minimized.
Ther
Labatt Brewing Company Limited
Levy & Grandinetti
Schlak Daniel K
Walsh Donald P
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