Bottle Feed Station

Abstract

Station for feeding bottles (1) to devices (20) for handling said bottles comprising: a realignment centrifuge (100) fed randomly with the bottles (1) and having a tangential outlet (113); movement devices (12, 13, 14) extending in the same longitudinal direction (X-X) of advancing movement, in which: the bottles (1) leaving the realignment centrifuge (100) lie horizontally in the longitudinal direction (X-X) of advancing movement and the realignment centrifuge is operated at an operating speed (Vc) greater than the speed (Vp) of the filling machine, and said movement devices (12, 13) comprise at least a first device (12) operated at a first speed (V12) less than the speed (Vc) of the realignment centrifuge (100); a third device (14) operated at a speed (V14) greater than the speed (V12) of the first movement device (V12), depending on and synchronized with the speed (Vp) of the filling machine (40).

Description

The present invention relates to a feed station, an apparatus for continuously feeding bottles to devices for processing/handling said bottles and an associated method for feeding the bottles to said devices.

PRIOR ART

It is known that, in the technical sector relating to the handling of bottles to be filled and sealed using automatic filling machines, there exists the need to feed said bottles in a continuous and uniform manner at a constant speed dependent on the speed of filling machine itself.

It is also known that, for this purpose, feed apparatus have been developed such that bottles, initially arranged randomly in special containers, can be fed to said filling machines with said bottles arranged in an ordered sequence.

In greater detail said feeding apparatus comprise essentially:

• • generally cylindrical, upwardly open, receiving containers into which bottles to be filled are randomly loaded;
  • bottle extraction devices via which the bottles, previously loaded into the receiving container, are extracted already in the vertical position from the receiving device itself;
  • belts for conveying the extracted vertical bottles;
  • a screw feeder or equivalent device suitable for transporting and arranging the bottles in a queue, already correctly oriented, for feeding to the filling machine.

During operation, the receiving containers move with a rotational movement about a vertical axis and, inside them, the bottles are moved by means of the centrifugal force and frictional phenomena towards tangential shaped selectors (also known as pockets) which are provided on the side surface of the receiving container and in a lower position with respect to the bottom of said container.

An extraction device, which is arranged in a suitable position on the circumference of the cylindrical container and below it, extracts the bottles from the shaped selectors, being displaced so as to allow each bottle to fall in an erect position into a seat, for example of a Maltese cross device, suitable for transporting the extracted bottles.

In order to be able to extract in an erect position bottles of different shapes and sizes, the selectors may comprise adjustable retaining blades which may be associated with servomotors so as to be able to moved and adapted to the specific bottles to be extracted.

Although performing their intended function, these known feed apparatus have generally a number of problems which limit their effective efficiency since:

• • with each change in the form of the bottles it is required to perform a complex format change-over operation of the realignment machine with replacement of all the selectors for the falling movement or reprogramming of the position of their movable blades;
  • because of the irregular and random movement of the bottles loaded into the receiving container, not all the selectors are regularly filled with corresponding bottles, which means that the following conveying device has empty seats corresponding to selectors which previously were not filled.

The presence of these extraction “voids” therefore requires the incorporation, along the line, of a bottle queuing station, said station comprising, for example, a conveyor belt having a “buffer” function which ensures that the bottles are arranged in a continuous queue for the filling and sealing machine.

This means that, in order to obtain the desired technical effect, the queuing station must have a considerable length, which is often incompatible with the spaces available in the premises for installation of the entire plant;

• • a further drawback consists in the instability of the bottles, on the conveyor belt, which have an irregular shape and/or are round and/or are light; in fact, the greater instability, the greater the possibility that overturning of the bottles results again in discontinuous feeding to the filling station.

In order to solve this problem for those bottles which are difficult to keep in an erect position, the plant must also be provided with a machine which is arranged along the path towards the queuing station and which deposits the bottles into support cups which travel on the belt of the queuing station, transporting the bottles and preventing them from overturning.

• • In addition, in the case where the bottles must be correctly oriented so that they are always arranged in a predefined position, a further machine must be installed in the plant.

It is therefore clear from the above description how the plants, and in particular the bottle feeding apparatus designed according to the prior art, are substantially unable to ensure an efficiency close to 100%, having moreover a complex structure, being prone to malfunctions owing to the presence of a plurality of mechanical components which are subject to wear, and having large overall dimensions.

Examples of machines used in the prior art according to the preamble of Claim 1 are for example described in EP 0,703,167 and WO 2009/190379.

The technical problem which is posed therefore is to provide a feed station comprising an apparatus for feeding bottles to devices for entry into the filling machine, which is able to provide a solution to the prior art problems described above, ensuring an optimum feeding efficiency, a reduction in the machine downtime due to the need for format change-over when there is a variation in the form of the bottles, and small overall dimensions.

Said technical problems are solved by an apparatus according to the characteristic features of claim 1.

These and other advantages of the invention will emerge more clearly from the description provided hereinbelow, of an example of embodiment, provided by way of a non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1: shows a functional block diagram of the feed apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 2: shows a perspective view of the devices forming the apparatus according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3: shows a perspective view of the realignment centrifuge of the apparatus according to FIG. 2;

FIG. 4: shows a schematic cross-section along a diametral vertical plane of the realignment centrifuge according to FIG. 3;

FIG. 5: shows a perspective view of the devices for conveying the containers of the apparatus according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 6: shows a perspective view of a first conveying device according to FIG. 5;

FIG. 7: shows a perspective view of a second of the conveying devices according to FIG. 5;

FIG. 8: shows a perspective view of a third of the conveying devices according to FIG. 5 and

FIG. 9: shows a functional block diagram of a unit for automatic control of the feed apparatus according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to the accompanying figures and assuming for the sole sake of convenience of description and without a limiting meaning a set of three reference axes in the longitudinal direction X-X, corresponding to the direction of advancing movement of the bottles on the conveyor devices, transverse direction Y-Y at right angle to the previous direction, and vertical direction Z-Z, as well as a part upstream with respect to the flow of the bottles, corresponding to the outlet from a realignment centrifuge, and a downstream part, opposite to the previous part, directed towards a processing station arranged upstream of a filling machine 40, a system for feeding and processing bottles 1 arranged randomly in a store at the start of the line comprises a feed station with a feed apparatus 10 which feeds bottles 1 to a station 20 for processing bottles 1, which orients the bottles correctly, depositing them on devices 30, normally in the form of a screw feeder, for entry into the filling machine 40 which operates at a predefined operating speed Vp.

According to the present invention it is envisaged that the feed station 10 comprises essentially;

• • a centrifuge 100 comprising a container 111, which is fed internally with the bottles 1 in a random manner and has an outlet mouth 113 from where the bottles 1 emerge in an ordered manner in the longitudinal direction X-X and arranged horizontally, i.e. with their longitudinal axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the conveyor devices arranged downstream of the realignment centrifuge.

According to preferred embodiments it is envisaged that the container 111 has a cylindrical shape and that the bottles 1 are fed, for example, by means of raising devices 112 which are associated with an inlet channel in the form of a hopper 112a and which are conventional per se and therefore only schematically shown in FIG. 2.

The centrifuge 100 also comprises a drive system 118 (FIG. 4) positioned below the container 111 and designed to move the various parts of the centrifuge.

With particular reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the container 111 comprises a side surface or containing sleeve 116 which is open tangentially in the zone where the outlet mouth 113 is located; internally, the container 111 comprises a bowl 117 which is open in its top portion and has a substantially frustoconical shape such that the area of its bottom base is smaller than the area of the opening; said bowl is arranged with its axis parallel to the vertical direction Z-Z of the centrifuge.

The cylindrical container 111 further comprises a disc-shaped element 119 which is mounted inside the bowl 117 with its axis inclined with respect to the bottom base of cylindrical container 111.

The disc-shaped element 119, as shown in detail in FIG. 4, has a cylindrical central portion 120 which is spaced from the sleeve 116.

This central portion 120 is concentric with a semi-conical side portion 121 which is situated close to the sleeve 116 and which has a central cavity inside which the said central portion 120 is seated.

In other words, the central portion 120 has a rectangular cross-section, while the side portion 121 has a triangular cross-section with its thickness decreasing from a value defined by the height of the rectangle, in the central portion 120, to a zero value in the vicinity of the edge of the bowl 117.

In the vicinity of its top open area the bowl 117 comprises a flat annular edge 122 extending on the outside and along the entire circumference of the bowl; the edge 122 is radially bounded on the inside by a perimetral profile 123 and on the outside by an annular containment wall 123a.

In a position above said edge 122 the centrifuge comprises a circular rim section 124 which is arranged at a predefined distance from the edge 122 along the vertical direction Z-Z; said circular rim section has the function of supporting the perimetral top ring in order to prevent overlapping of the product during selection. Advantageously the circular rim section 124 is displaceable in a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the edge 122 so as to adjust the relative distance between the two elements.

The bowl 117 and the disc-shaped element 119 are moved rotationally about their axis in the same direction by means of respective drive members provided in the drive system 118.

This rotation of the bowl 117 and the disc-shaped element 119 produces a movement of the bottles 1 such as cause them to move up towards the annular edge 122 against which they are forced in the vertical direction by means of interference with the rim section 124, thus being arranged horizontally, i.e. with their axis corresponding to the larger dimension parallel to the plane of the longitudinal axis of the apparatus, being arranged aligned on the edge 122 and substantially in contact with each other, albeit with a random mouth/bottom orientation.

The rotation of the bowl 117 and the disc-shaped element 119 keeps the bottles 1, aligned on the edge 122, pushed towards the outlet mouth 113 from where they exit, in the horizontal position, in a continuous line without gaps due to a missing bottle, said gaps being prevented by the particular structure of the centrifuge which, feeding the containers in the horizontal position, is not conditioned by the correct entry of the bottles into vertical pockets as occurs in the prior art.

The speed of rotation of the bowl 117 and the disc-shaped element 119 also determines the speed of the centrifuge 100 in terms of bottles exiting per unit of time, said speed being dependent on and related to the operating speed Vp of the filling machine 40 arranged downstream and in series with the devices for handling and conveying the bottles towards the said filling station.

In particular, having defined Vp as the production speed of the line and Vc as the speed of rotation of the centrifuge expressed in metres/minute, it is required that Vc=Vp*Kc where Kc>1 so that the output speed of the bottles from the centrifuge is always greater than the speed of the filling machine.

The feed station according to the invention envisages that, downstream of the centrifuge 100, devices are arranged for moving the bottles 1 in a horizontal position from the outlet mouth 113 of the said centrifuge; in detail said devices for moving the bottles 1 comprise:

• • A first movement device 12 designed to move at a first speed V12=Vc*K12 with K12<1,namely with a speed less than the speed of rotation of the bowl 117 and the disc-shaped element 119 and therefore with a speed less than the output speed of the bottles from the centrifuge 100.

Preferably, the first movement device 12 comprises a conveyor belt 130, called an “accumulation belt”.

Preferably, the conveyor belt 130 has a low coefficient of friction so that each bottle is able to travel on the belt pushed by the next bottle and vary its relative position with respect to the bottle in front of it, so as to allow recovery of any relative spaces formed between bottles and ensure that a succession of containers exit at the downstream end 130b of the belt all in the horizontal position and always in contact with each other.

• • A second movement device 13 which is designed to receive the bottles 1 supplied by the first movement device 12 and compensate for any discontinuity of said bottles.

The second device 13 is designed to move at a second speed V13=V12*K13 where K13≦1; this means that the second speed V13 of the second movement device 13 is less than or the same as the speed V12 of the first movement device 12, acting substantially as a brake; this ensures that the bottles always remain in a compact arrangement on the belt and that no “voids” are formed between them. Preferably, this second movement device 13 comprises a high-friction conveyor is belt 140, called a “synchronization belt”.

The high degree of friction ensures that any disturbances affecting the centrifuge (knocks or jolts due to transients during feeding) do not cause the chain of bottles to slide forwards in an uncontrolled manner.

• • A third device 14 preferably comprising a conveyor belt 150, called loading belt, which receives the bottles from the second device 13 and conveys them inside the processing/handling unit 20 from where they are then removed and inserted into the screw feeder 30.

This belt 150 moves at a speed V14 greater than the speed V13 of the second belt 140 and synchronized with that of the bottle allocation screw feeder, depending on the speed Vp of the filling machine, so as to introduce a predefined relative spacing in the longitudinal direction of advancing movement of the bottles when they pass from the second belt to the third belt.

Preferably, a fixed base-piece 143 (FIG. 5) is arranged between the second conveyor belt 140 and the third conveyor belt 150 at the respective facing output/input ends 140b, 150a thereof.

Preferably, this fixed base-piece 143 has linear dimensions which are negligible compared to the linear dimensions of the conveyor belts.

The fixed base-piece 143 forms a stable connection between the second belt 140 and the third belt 150, ensuring safe passage of the bottles 1 from the second belt to the third belt and preventing any risk of sliding or falling from the production line.

Although described in connection with a preferred example of embodiment which envisages the simultaneous presence of three movement devices, it is envisaged that solely the first device 12 arranged at the outlet of the centrifuge 100 and the third device 14 arranged downstream of the first device and moved at a speed V14 greater than the speed V13 of the first device, are essential for operation of the apparatus.

As shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 it is envisaged that in a preferred embodiment the conveying devices 12, 13, 12 comprise a pair of shoulders 132, 133 arranged on the two longitudinal sides of the said conveyor belts and displaceable relative to each other in the transverse direction Y-Y with respect to the transverse dimension of the bottles 1 in transit.

Advantageously, according to the invention, these shoulders 132, 133 ensure that alignment of the bottles 1 from the centrifuge 100 is maintained, therefore keeping these bottles in a position ideal for subsequent handling in order to perform orientation thereof.

Preferably, said shoulders are connected to a regulating handwheel 132a for mechanical displacement of at least one of the two shoulders 132, 133.

The handwheel 132a is able to operate a mechanism 132b for example of the rack and pinion type connected to at least one of the two shoulders.

Setting of the relative distance between two shoulders is performed by an operator who adjusts the aforementioned handwheel depending on the geometric characteristics of the bottles in the batch being processed.

It is possible to envisage replacing said shoulders with suitable thick belts having milled zones along the axis of movement so as to seat the bottles and keep them in position.

In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention it is also envisaged that means 600 for detecting the orientation of the horizontally lying bottle 1 are arranged along the path of the third conveyor device 14; these means 600 may, for example, comprise a telecamera which is arranged above the third belt 150 and which, directed at the bottle 1, detects whether its mouth 1a is arranged downstream or upstream in the direction of advancing movement X-X, generating a corresponding different signal for each case.

It is also envisaged that the telecamera 600 may also detect:

• • any angular misalignment of the bottle with respect to the axis of advancing movement X-X of the belt 150;
  • any slight advance or delay in the position of the bottle on the belt 150 with respect to a preset position,generating corresponding signals.

All the signals emitted by the telecamera 600 are sent to a control unit 500 which can then send this signal to the handling station 20 arranged downstream of the feed apparatus so that said handling station can correctly handle the bottle so that it is always made to assume the same condition with the mouth open upwards whatever the position in which it arrives at the handling unit.

According to the invention it is in fact envisaged that the apparatus is associated with a programming and control unit 500 which manages the various moving parts, receiving information from suitably positioned sensors, and compares the detected values with values which are programmed and stored in a memory module MEM and sends command signals to the various actuators for the movements and/or for adjusting variable parameters.

Preferably, the control unit 500 comprises a first operating module 541 configured to active supplying of the bottles 1 to the bowl 117 of the centrifuge 100, acting on the basis of a signal ΔL representing the variation in level of the bottles 1 inside the bowl 117 and emitted by a sensor 125 mounted inside the bowl and designed to detect the level of the bottles 1 actually present inside the latter.

In particular, when the level ΔL detected is less than a predefined level stored in MEM, the first operating module 541 activates supplying of the bottles 1 to the bowl 117 by means of the hopper 112a.

It is envisaged that, alternatively, activation and deactivation of loading of the bottles 1 may be timed independently of the level ΔL of the bottles inside the containing bowl 117.

The control unit 500 also comprises a second operating module 546 which is configured to set the distance between the flat edge 122 of the bowl 117 and the annular segment 124.

In other words, the operating module 546 is configured to calculate a value of the aforementioned distance depending on the corresponding dimension of the bottle to be processed and to generate a corresponding signal to be transmitted to a suitable actuator acting on the circular segment 124.

In addition to control of feeding to the realignment centrifuge, the control unit 500 envisages an operating module 542 which is configured to operate an actuator able to displace mechanically at least one of the two shoulders 132, 133 of the conveyor belts 130, 140, 150.

In particular, a distance sensor 136, configured to detect the relative distance existing between the displaceable shoulders 132, 133, is positioned along said conveyor belts 130, 140, 150 and, detecting said relative distance between the shoulders, sends a corresponding signal to an operating module 542 of the control unit 500.

When the control unit 500 receives the value detected by the distance sensor 136, the module 542 compares said value with the distance value stored in MEM in relation to the current batch of bottles and, depending on the difference calculated, emits corresponding signals for operating an actuator 142, which activates the mechanism so to cause the displacement of at least one of the two shoulders 132, 133 on the basis of the values received.

The control unit 500 is configured to set also the values of the speed Vc of rotation of the centrifuge 100 and the speeds V12, V13, V14 of the devices 12, 13, 14 for conveying the bottles from the outlet of the centrifuge 100 to the outlet of the said conveyors.

For this purpose, the control unit 500 comprises an operating module 547 which, on the basis of a production speed Vp envisaged for a filling machine in series with the feed unit, calculates the speeds Vc, V12, V13, V14 in accordance with the following relations:

Vc>Vp

V12=Vc/K12(K12>1)

V13=V12*K13(K13≦1)

V14=V13*K14(K14>1)

where Vc and Vp are expressed in products per minute and K13 is a dimensionless factor with an absolute value less than one so that the speed of the centrifuge is always greater than the production speed of the line in view of the fact that the centrifuge has a value for processing of the products per unit of time, which is statistical and non-deterministic, while K14 has a value greater than one so that the speed of the third belt is always greater than the speed of the second belt.

With these relations between the speeds of the belts the control unit 500 causes the belt 130 to move at a speed adjusted by a factor K13 with respect to the speed of the centrifuge so that the bottles are compacted in the longitudinal direction.

The speed of the third belt 150 is also continuously modulated so that the bottles are released onto the third belt 150 suitably spaced within a predefined tolerance margin which is then detected by the telecamera and compensated for by the handling device.

A photocell associated with the belt 150 allows the distances of the bottles to be detected and the speed V14 to be modulated.

Preferably the movement of this device is performed by means of a spacing motor 145 (FIG. 5) which may be operated by the control unit 500.

The third belt 150 is driven by the control unit so that it is always synchronized with respect to the speed of the screw feeder for the bottle end application, this meaning that in terms of bottles per minute the two systems must be always aligned.

In general, it must be noted that in the present context and in the following claims the control unit 500 will be presented as divided into memory modules and operating modules which are separate for the sole purpose of describing in a clear and complete manner the functions of the said units.

In reality these functions may be performed by a single electronic device, which has been suitably programmed, and the various modules may correspond to hardware items and/or software routines forming part of the programmed device.

Alternatively or in addition, these functions may be performed by a plurality of electronic devices among which the modules may be distributed.

The devices involved may also make use of one or more microprocessors in order to carry out the instructions contained in the memory or memories MEM.

Furthermore, the memory and operating modules may be distributed among different local or remote computers based on the architecture of the network in which they reside.

It is therefore clear how the feed station according to the invention is able to ensure:

• • optimum efficiency due to the fact that basically 100% efficiency is guaranteed at the centrifuge outlet which does not create “voids” in the line of bottles being output towards the movement devices;
  • a high degree of flexibility in the event of a variation in the geometric characteristics of the bottles, it no longer being required to carry out complicated format change-over operations of the centrifuge, this also resulting in a significant reduction in the production downtime of the entire line;also being structurally more simple, more compact and more flexible, while ensuring an optimum filling efficiency even in the absence of a queuing station, as well as overall lower costs.

The present invention relates further to a method for feeding bottles to a filling station operating at a speed Vp, which comprises the steps of:

• • feeding bottles (1) to a centrifuge (100);
  • setting a speed (Vc) for extraction of the bottles from the centrifuge (100) greater than the speed (Vp) of the filling machine;
  • extraction, from the centrifuge (100), of bottles (1) arranged horizontally and aligned in a longitudinal direction (X-X) of advancing movement;
  • entry of the horizontally arranged bottles (1) leaving the centrifuge (100) onto a first movement device (12);
  • movement of the bottles (1) in a longitudinal direction (X-X) of advancing movement and at a first speed (V12) less then the speed (Vc) at which they leave the centrifuge;
  • transfer of the bottles (1) from the first movement device onto a third movement device (14);
  • movement of the third feed device (14) at a speed (V14) greater than the speed of the first movement device (13) and depending on the speed (Vp) of the filling machine.

Preferably the method according to the invention comprises the further steps of:

• • transfer of the bottles leaving the first movement device (12) onto a second movement device (13);
  • operation of the second movement device (13) at a second speed (V13) less than or the same as the first speed (V12) of the first movement device;
  • transfer of the bottles leaving the second movement device (13) onto the third movement device (14).

Claims

1) Station for feeding bottles (1) to devices (20) for handling said bottles, said devices being associated with a filling machine (40) operating at an assigned speed (Vp), comprising: a realignment centrifuge (100) fed randomly with the bottles (1) and having a tangential outlet (113) extending in a longitudinal direction (X-X) of advancing movement of the bottles (1);movement devices (12, 13, 14) extending in the same longitudinal direction (X-X) of advancing movement, arranged downstream of said realignment centrifuge (100) and able to convey the bottles (1) leaving the realignment centrifuge (100) and vary the speed of advancing movement thereof;

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said movement devices (12, 14) comprise a respective conveyor belt (130, 140) forming a closed loop in the longitudinal direction (X-X) of advancing movement of the bottles (1).

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that said first conveyor (130) is made of material with a low coefficient of friction.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said movement devices comprise a second device (13) arranged downstream of the first device (12) and operated with a speed (V13) less than or the same as the speed (V12) of the first movement device.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that said second movement device (13) comprises a respective conveyor belt (140) forming a closed loop in the longitudinal direction (X-X) of advancing movement of the bottles (1).

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that it comprises a fixed base-piece (143) arranged between the second conveyor belt (140) and third conveyor belt (150).

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that said conveyor belts (130, 140, 150) comprise a pair of side shoulders (132, 133) extending in the longitudinal direction (X-X) of advancing movement and displaceable relative to each other in the transverse direction (Y-Y).

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that said side shoulders (132, 133) are operated by means of a mechanism operated by a handwheel (132a).

9. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 5, characterized in that it comprises detection means (600) associated with the devices for the advancing movement and able to detect the downstream or upstream orientation of the mouth (1a) of the horizontally arranged bottle (1) advancing in the longitudinal direction (X-X) and emit a corresponding different signal.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that said detection means (600) comprise a telecamera (600) associated with the third conveying device.

11. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a programming and control unit (500) connected to detection sensors (125, 136) and to actuators for the movements and/or for adjusting variable parameters.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that it comprises a sensor (125) mounted inside the realignment centrifuge (100) and able to detect the level of the bottles (1) actually present inside said centrifuge and emit a corresponding signal (ΔL) representing the variation in level of the bottles (1).

13. Apparatus according to claim 12, characterized in that said control unit (500) comprises a first operating module (541) configured to activate supplying of the bottles (1) to the realignment centrifuge (100) depending on said signal (ΔL) representing the level detected.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that said control unit (500) comprises an operating module (547) configured to receive a signal representing the production speed (Vp) of the filling station (40) operationally associated with the feed apparatus (10).

15. Apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that said operating module calculates the speeds (Vc) of the realignment centrifuge and the speeds (V12, V13, V14) of the movement devices (12, 13, 14) in accordance with the following relations: Vc>Vp V12=Vc/K12(K12>1)V13=V12*K13(K13≦1)V14=V13*K14(K14>1)

16. Apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that it comprises a distance sensor (136) able to detect the relative distance existing between the displaceable shoulders (132, 133) and send a corresponding signal to the control unit (500).

17. Apparatus according to claim 16, characterized in that the control unit comprises an operating module (542) which, upon receiving the value detected by the distance sensor (136), emits corresponding signals for operating an actuator (142) which activates the mechanism so as to cause the displacement of at least one of the two shoulders (132, 133).

18. Method for feeding bottles to a filling station operating at a speed Vp, which comprises the steps of: feeding bottles (1) to a centrifuge (100);setting a speed (Vc) for extraction of the bottles from the centrifuge (100) greater than the speed (Vp) of the filling machine;extraction, from the centrifuge (100), of bottles (1) arranged horizontally and aligned in a longitudinal direction (X-X) of advancing movement;entry of the horizontally arranged bottles (1) leaving the centrifuge (100) onto a first movement device (12);movement of the bottles (1) in a longitudinal direction (X-X) of advancing movement and at a first speed (V12) less then the speed (Vc) at which they leave the centrifuge;transfer of the bottles (1) from the first movement device onto a third movement device (14);movement of the third feed device (14) at a speed (V14) greater than the speed of the first movement device (13) and depending on the speed (Vp) of the filling machine.

19. Method according to claim 18, characterized in that it comprises the further steps of: transfer of the bottles leaving the first movement device (12) onto a second movement device (13);operation of the second movement device (13) at a second speed (V13) less than or the same as the first speed (V12) of the first movement device.