Installation for treating bottles

Abstract

The invention relates to a treatment method and a bottle-treatment installation (1) consisting of one or more bottle producers (2), at least one bottle transfer device (4), several trays (5) for the bottles (26, 30), a transport device (11) and at least one treatment station (15). The bottles (26, 30) are transported in stackable trays (5) which have closed side walls (24) and surround the bottles (26, 30) sealingly on all sides. The box-shaped trays (5) are stacked on top of each other for transportation, the trays in the stack (27) sealingly closing each other and the top tray (5) being sealed with a lid (31). The trays are separated at the treatment stations (15) and then restacked after the bottle treatment.

Description

[0001] The present invention pertains to a bottle handling plant with the features described in the preamble of the principal claim.

[0002] Such a bottle handling plant has been known from WO 99/55604. It comprises at least one bottle producer, to which at least one bottle transfer unit is connected, which transfers the bottles produced onto individual trays or intermediate carriers, which can then be conveyed with a conveying means to a handling station, e.g., a filling plant or a palletizing unit or the like. A storage facility for the intermediate buffering of the empty trays or the trays loaded with bottles may be connected to the conveying means. The trays are conveyed individually on the conveying means in this prior-art bottle handling plant.

[0003] The object of the present invention is to further improve the bottle handling plant.

[0004] This object is accomplished by the present invention with the features in the principal claim. In the bottle handling plant, the trays are designed as stackable containers, which tightly and protectively surround the bottles. In the tray stacks stacked up, the trays can be conveyed on a corresponding conveying means within the plant and they can also transported over land. Plastic bottles, especially PET bottles, can be produced as a result in a central area with high production capacities and they can be conveyed in the tray stack in a protected manner and with small space requirement to the handling stations as well as to a stack storage facility within the plant, or they can be transported to external handling stations located at a greater distance. The bottles are accommodated in the tray stack in a protected manner and hygienically during the conveying and transport. In most cases, they do not require any additional protective measures, which also applies to the overland transport, i.e., transportation to points outside the plant and possibly over greater distances.

[0005] The stackable trays increase the capacity and the throughput of the bottle handling plant. Due to stacks being formed, the length of the conveying means can be reduced despite the high bottle throughput. In addition, the use of parallel main and secondary sections and of main and secondary sections connected with switches at the conveying means is advantageous for tying in the bottle transfer unit and the other handling stations. Jams at the loading and unloading points are avoided as a result.

[0006] The bottle producers and the handling stations are preferably connected to the conveying means via a tray circulation each. The trays are stacked up and unstacked at the bottle transfer unit in the tray circulation. The trays can thus be loaded and unloaded very rapidly.

[0007] The tray stacks can be conveyed directly by means of the conveying means to the handling stations, especially a filling plant, etc. As an alternative or in addition, it is also possible to tie in an intermediate storage facility, in which the trays are stored in the stack. Buffering and equalization of the capacities between the bottle producers producing over a rather long period of time and the handling stations operating more rapidly, especially filling plants, takes place via the intermediate storage facility.

[0008] Due to the suitable design of their side walls and their bottoms, the trays can be stacked directly one on top of another with a mutual positive-locking guiding. The positive-locking guiding is one of the possibilities of tightly surrounding and enclosing the bottles. An empty tray or a special cover may be put on for the upper tight closure of the tray stack.

[0009] The trays and the bottle handling plant are suitable for bottles of different types and sizes. Larger bottles can be transferred by the bottle transfer unit in the upright position in the manner known from WO 99/55605 and ordered to form one layer on the trays. As an alternative, small bottles, which are less suitable for an ordered transfer, can be filled by the bottle transfer unit randomly like bulk goods into corresponding suitable trays. The small bottles can also be stored intermediately in this layer, in which case they are removed from the trays by another bottle transfer unit before filling or another handling operation in a suitable manner and put up and ordered in a layer that is suitable for handling.

[0010] The present invention makes possible the better and more gentle handling of the relatively sensitive small PET bottles compared with the state of the art. The filling of the bottles into large silos, which has hitherto been usual, can be avoided. The smaller trays also have the advantage that the small bottles in the lower layers are not deformed and squashed by the own weight of the bottles weighing on them. Intermediate storage in smaller drums and trays is, in addition, more favorable for the further handling and especially the filling of the bottles. Moreover, the long conveyor belts for connecting silos and filling plants, which were usually used hitherto and are expensive to build, can be eliminated with the bottle handling plant according to the present invention and the standardized tray transport.

[0011] The bottle handling plant according to the present invention is, moreover, substantially more flexible than prior-art plants. Besides the higher capacity, it also offers the advantage of greater diversification. Completely different types of bottles and bottle formats can be produced or introduced and intermediately stored or filled or handled in other ways within one plant. In particular, the particular amounts of the different bottles can also be set and handled as desired in this case.

[0012] Additional advantageous embodiments of the present invention are described in the subclaims.

[0013] The present invention is schematically described as examples in the drawings. Specifically,

[0014] FIG. 1 shows a top view of the bottle handling plant with a plurality of bottle producers, a conveying means for tray stacks and a plurality of handling stations,

[0015] FIG. 2 shows a schematic top view of a storage facility for tray stacks, which can be connected to the conveying means of the bottle handling plant according to FIG. 1,

[0016] FIG. 3 shows a broken-away side view of a tray stack,

[0017] FIG. 4 shows a variant of the trays for small bottles,

[0018] FIG. 5 shows another variant of the tray stacks according to FIG. 3, and

[0019] FIG. 6 shows a variant of the bottle handling plant according to FIG. 1.

[0020] FIG. 1 shows a schematic drawing of a bottle handling plant (1), which has one or more bottle producers (2), at least one conveying means (11) and one or more handling stations (15). In addition, at least one storage facility (17) can be connected to the bottle handling plant (1).

[0021] The bottle producers (2) may have any desired, suitable design. In the exemplary embodiment being shown, they are blowing machines for PET plastic bottles, which may be followed, if needed, by additional devices, e.g., a deburring means, not shown specifically, and a leakage testing device. At the end of the bottle producers (2), the bottles (26, 30) arrive from a discharge line (3), which may have any desired, suitable design, e.g., it may be a pneumatic conveyor.

[0022] As an alternative, bottle feed means may be provided as well. These take up new or used and recycled bottles (26, 30) made of plastic, glass or other materials, which are fed on pallets or in another way, they optionally unpack the bottles (26, 30) and guide them onto the discharge line.

[0023] In the embodiment being shown, the handling stations (15) comprise filling plants with checking and labeling means, optionally washing means and a downstream packaging means. For example, the palletizing units (22) shown in FIG. 1 may be connected on the output side to the processing stations (15). However, the palletizing units (22) may also act as handling stations (15) and be likewise connected to the conveying means (11). Furthermore, they may have a packing means, e.g., a so-called film bagging machine.

[0024] In one embodiment according to FIGS. 3 and 5, the individual bottles (26) are assembled on trays or intermediate carriers (5), forming upright bottle layers. These are larger bottles, which are independent and are able to stand upright. The trays (5) are preferably approximately as tall as the bottles (26) or taller. They form containers, which surround the bottles with closed walls at the bottom (23) and on the sides.

[0025] In the variant according to FIG. 4, smaller and more labile bottles (30) are filled into the trays (5) in a random layer and similarly to bulk goods. The bottles (30) have a volume of, e.g., 0.1 or 0.2 L. The trays (5) have a greater height here than the bottles (30) and are designed as boxes or containers. The height of the tray depends on the stability, especially the resistance to deformation of the bottles (30). The height of the tray or also the pile height is selected to be only just enough to prevent the bottles (30) lying at the bottom from being squashed or unacceptably deformed by the weight of the bottles (30) lying over them.

[0026] Tray stacks (27) are formed from the trays (5) for the transport. Stacking and unstacking takes place in a suitable manner at the bottle producers (2) and the handling stations (15). The stack height may have any desired, suitable value and amount, e.g., up to about 2 m.

[0027] Tray circulations (10), in which the trays (5) circulate, are associated with the bottle producers (2) and the handling stations (15). The tray circulations (10) contain a bottle transfer unit (4) each, which loads or unloads the trays (5) with the bottles (26, 30). The bottle transfer unit (4) may have any desired, suitable design for this.

[0028] In a preferred embodiment for the larger bottles (26), the bottle transfer unit (4) has a design with a multiaxially and preferably essentially linearly movable gripping means and with a plurality of laterally adjustable row grippers corresponding to WO 99/55604. As an alternative, it is also possible to use a bent arm robot with a gripping tool. The bottles (26) are transferred now in the upright position and grasped one by one for this, e.g., at the neck of the bottle.

[0029] In another preferred embodiment for the small bottles (30), the bottle transfer unit (4) used for the loading is designed, e.g., as a shaking means, with which the bottles (30) arriving from the bottle producer (2) are filled or tipped directly into the container-like trays (5) made ready, and the chute may be movable in order to guarantee uniform filling.

[0030] The bottle transfer unit (4) used for the unloading has a means for emptying the trays (5), which preferably tilts over the trays (5) and tips the bottles (30) onto the support. A straightening machine or a so-called scrambler subsequently orders the bottles (30) lying randomly in a desired formation and stands them up in a position suitable for filling, while, e.g., one or more regular bottle rows are formed.

[0031] The trays (5) are separated at the bottle transfer unit (4) for the loading and unloading operations. A tray stacker (6), which places the individual trays fed in from the bottle transfer unit (4) one on top of another to form a tray stack (27) and stacks them up, is arranged downstream of the bottle transfer unit (4) in the direction of circulation of the tray circulation (10). The tray stack (27) is then moved on to a loading site in the tray circulation (10), at which it can be transferred to the conveying means (11) in the manner described below.

[0032] An unloading site (9), at which tray stacks (27) can be fed in by the conveying means (11) and transferred to the tray circulation (10), is located next to the loading site (8) in the tray circulation (10). A tray unstacker (7), which is located in front of the bottle transfer unit (4) in the direction of circulation and which separates the trays (5) from the tray stack (27) fed in for transfer to the bottle transfer units (4), is located downstream of the unloading site (9). The tray circulation (10) has suitable conveying means, e.g., roller conveyors, conveyor belts or the like for conveying the tray stacks (27) or the separated trays (5). The tray stackers (6) and the tray unstackers (7) have suitable grippers and lifting means, with which the trays (5) can be stacked up to form the tray stack (27) and can be removed during the separation. The loading sites (8) and the unloading sites (9) have suitable transfer devices, with which the tray stacks (27) can be transferred from the tray circulation (10) to the conveying means (11) and can again be taken over in the opposite direction.

[0033] The bottle producers (2) are connected with their discharge line (3) to the bottle transfer unit (4), which takes up the larger bottles (26) fed in one by one and in a row one after another row by row and transfers them onto the already stopped trays (5), while a complete bottle layer is formed in the trays (5). The small bottles (30) are filled, preferably tipped randomly, into the trays (5) in the above-described manner. The loaded trays (5) are then stacked up by the tray stacker (6) to form full tray stacks (27) and are transferred via the loading site (8) to the conveying means (11).

[0034] A reverse operation takes place at the handling stations (15). The tray stacks (27) filled with bottles are fed via the unloading site (9) to the tray unstacker (7), which separates the loaded trays (5) and feeds them to the bottle transfer unit (4). The bottle transfer unit (4) is connected to the input line (16) of the handling station (15). It unloads the trays (5) in the above-described manner and transfers the bottles (26, 30) in an ordered manner, preferably in rows, to the input line (16).

[0035] In the embodiment being shown, a separate tray circulation (10), which has a bottle transfer unit (4) each with a tray stacker (6) and with a tray unstacker (7) as well as a loading and unloading site (8, 9), is associated with each bottle producer (2) and with each handling station (15). This number and association of the devices may be changed as desired. Thus, a plurality of bottle producers (2) and/or handling stations (15) may be divided into a common tray circulation (10). The tray circulations (10) may have, moreover, a plurality of bottle transfer units (4), tray stackers and tray unstackers (6, 7) and loading and unloading sites (8, 9), which are arranged in parallel to one another in a suitable manner in this case.

[0036] As is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5, the bottles (26, 30) in the tray stack (27) are surrounded by the trays (5) tightly and enclosed on all sides. As a result, they are protected from external environmental effects, especially moisture, dust or the like. The protection of the bottles in the tray stack (27) on all sides makes it unnecessary to arrange additional packaging means, e.g., a film packaging means. However, such auxiliary means may nevertheless be present.

[0037] The sealed accommodation of the bottles (26, 30) in the tray stack (27) can be achieved in different ways. In the embodiment being shown, the trays (5) have a closed bottom (23) and closed peripheral side walls (24). As a result, the trays (5) acquire the shape of boxes or cases open on one side with, e.g., a rectangular base. The opening of the box is tightly closed by the bottom (23) of the superjacent tray (5). The bottoms (23) and the top edges of the side walls (24) form a suitable peripheral and positive-locking guide (25) for this purpose. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the bottoms (23) have, e.g., a downwardly projecting, peripheral edge, and the side walls (24) have retracted edges on the top side, via which the bottoms (23) engage the tray stack (27) in a positive-locking manner.

[0038] In the variant of the positive-locking guide (25) according to FIG. 4, the side walls (24) have at the lower edge an outwardly projecting, strip-like projection or bead (28). which engages a correspondingly bulging support (29) at the top edge of the side walls (24) of the lower tray (5) in a positive-locking manner during stacking. Any other desired designs are also possible instead of the embodiment being shown.

[0039] The topmost loaded tray (5) in the tray stack (27) can be closed by a cover (31) put on or by an empty tray (5). If covers (31) are used, suitable handling devices for putting on, removing and storing the covers (28) (not shown) are arranged at the tray circulations (10).

[0040] As an alternative, the other trays (5) in the tray stack (27) can also be closed with a cover (31), in which case the cover forms the positive-locking guide (25). FIG. 5 shows this variant, in which, e.g., the tray bottoms (23) have retracted foot parts (33) and the covers (31) have an edge-side peripheral bead (34), which engage one another in a positive-locking manner.

[0041] For transport, the tray stacks (27) may be secured with a transport securing means (32), which holds together the tray stack (27). This may be, e.g., the shrink film shown in FIG. 5, which surrounds the tray stack (27) at least on the lateral surfaces and additionally also ensures sealing against external environmental effects. As an alternative, the stack securing means (32) may also be designed as a clamp, as a peripheral strap or in any other suitable manner. In particular, the stack securing means (32) may also be reusable.

[0042] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conveying means (11) connects all bottle producers (2) and all handling stations (15), wherein the tray stacks (27) are circulated on suitable conveying means, e.g., roller conveyors, conveyor belts, etc. Depending on the design of the bottle handling plant (1), a plurality of conveying means (11) with corresponding branches and connections may be present as well.

[0043] To accelerate the conveying of the stacks, the conveying means (11) has a main section (14) for the continuous and circulating conveying of the tray stacks (27). A plurality of parallel secondary sections (13) are connected to the main section (14) via suitable switches (12). The loading sites (8) and the unloading sites (9) are located at the secondary sections (13). For loading and unloading, the tray stacks (27) are discharged from the main section (14) to the corresponding secondary section (13). As a result, the loading and unloading operations can take place on the side from the main section (14) in an undisturbed manner. The other tray stacks (27) located on the main section (14) can be conveyed farther past the secondary sections (13) as a result without hindrance and without backup and they can reach their destination. In addition, conveying at different speeds and the setting of priorities for tray stacks (27) are possible due to the secondary sections (13). Tray stacks (27) moving at a higher speed or tray stacks (27) needed sooner can overtake slower tray stacks (27) as a result if these evade on the secondary sections (13).

[0044] The storage facility (17) shown in FIG. 2 is used to store filled or empty tray stacks (27). It may be connected to the conveying means (11) in any desired, suitable manner. In the embodiment being shown, the conveying means (11) and the storage facility (17) are located at different levels. The connection is made via two intermediate conveyors (18) at the loop ends of the conveying means (11).

[0045] A separate conveying means (19), which is designed for the conveying means (11) and has main and secondary sections (14, 13), is associated with the storage facility (17). The conveying means (19) may be designed as a finite section or as a closed endless loop path (represented by broken lines). It is used to convey the tray stacks (27) to the individual areas of the storage facility.

[0046] The storage facility (17) is preferably designed as a high-bay storage area and has a plurality of aisles, in which storage facility material handling equipment (21), here floor-bound high-bay warehouse storage and retrieval equipment, move. Each storage area has a loading and unloading site (20) with a secondary section (13) belonging to it.

[0047] In the embodiment being shown, the bottle producers (2) has a lower hourly capacity than the handling stations (15) or filling plants. The bottle producers (2) operate, e.g., in a 24-hour operation, whereas the handling stations (15) or the filling plants are in operation for 12 hours a day only. The bottles produced are stored intermediately with the tray stacks (27) in the storage facility (17) during the downtimes. The stock in the storage facility is again removed at least partially during the filling operation, and tray stacks (27) are fed as a mix to the handling stations (15) or filling plants from the bottle producers (2) and from the storage facility (17). The design of the conveying means (11) and the conveying means (19) with main and secondary sections (14, 13) makes possible the smooth introduction and removal of intermediately stored tray stacks (27).

[0048] The small bottles (30) are produced by the bottle producers (2) in especially large numbers and at a high pace and are filled into the trays or containers by the associated bottle transfer unit (4). These small bottles (30) may likewise be stored first intermediately in a storage facility (17) before the filling operation. However, as an alternative, they may also be sent first to a handling station (15), e.g., a labeling station and optionally also to a checking station. After labeling or checking, they are then again filled into the trays (5) and are subsequently sent to the storage facility (17). Moreover, the small bottles (30) are produced in various colors. In this case, they are stored in the storage facility (17) separated according to type for rapid access. The types are preferably also separated within the tray stacks.

[0049] FIG. 6 shows a variant of the bottle handling plant according to FIGS. 1 and 2. In the embodiment according to FIG. 6, the bottle producers (2) or the bottle feed means are arranged separated in space from the handling stations (15). The bottle producers (2) may form, e.g., a central production center here, which supplies a plurality of external filling plants (15) distributed at various locations. The bottles (26, 30) are filled at the production center into the trays (5) in the above-described manner and are then brought in tray stacks (27) to the palletizing unit (22) or film bagging machines. These may also be discharge and loading stations of a completely different design. The tray stacks (27) are loaded at these on suitable conveying means (11), e.g., road vehicles and transported on these over land to the other external parts of the bottle handling plant (1). Depending on the distance, this transport may also be at least partially air transport or water transport. At the external parts of the handling plant (1), the tray stacks (27) are then unloaded and brought to the handling stations (15) via a conveying means (11) present there in a suitable manner. Unstacking and optionally also repeated stacking again take place now at suitable sites.

[0050] The trays (5) are designed as reusable packagings and may be returned as empties to the bottle production center. As an alternative, the trays (5) may, however, also be transported with the filled bottles to the retail outlets and to the end users, from where they are returned as empties to a recycling plant and back to the bottle feed means.

[0051] Various modifications of the embodiment being shown are possible. The technical components of the bottle handling plant (1) may have any desired design. This applies to both the machines and the trays (5). The mutual arrangement and association of the components of the plant may vary. For example, additional components, e.g., checking stations or the like, may be arranged in the discharge line (3) between the bottle producers (24) [sic-Tr.Ed.] and the bottle transfer units (4).

[0052] Furthermore, the storage facility (17) may also be associated with the bottle producers, which is especially advantageous for a production center with other external parts of the bottle handling plant (1) which are arranged at a distance in space. As an alternative, a separate storage facility (17) may likewise also be eliminated. Furthermore, the storage facility (17) may have any other design. The bottle handling plant (1) being shown is designed for high production and filling capacities. It may also be correspondingly scaled down or diversified. As a variant of the above-described exemplary embodiments, a mixture of the embodiments according to FIGS. 1 and 6 is also possible, in which case the bottle producers (2) according to FIG. 1 have excess capacity or are designed as a production center and also supply other external filling plants by truck transport or the like besides the connected filling plants of their own.

List Of Reference Numbers

[0053] 1 Bottle handling plant

[0054] 2 Bottle producer

[0055] 3 Discharge line

[0056] 4 Bottle transfer unit

[0057] 5 Intermediate carrier, tray

[0058] 6 Tray stacker

[0059] 7 Tray unstacker

[0060] 8 Loading site

[0061] 9 Unloading site

[0062] 10 Tray circulation

[0063] 11 Conveying means

[0064] 12 Switch

[0065] 13 Secondary section

[0066] 14 Main section

[0067] 15 Handling station, filling plant

[0068] 16 Input line

[0069] 17 Storage facility, stack storage facility

[0070] 18 Intermediate conveyor, lifting station

[0071] 19 Conveying means

[0072] 20 Loading and unloading site

[0073] 21 Storage facility material handling equipment

[0074] 22 Palletizing unit

[0075] 23 Bottom

[0076] 24 Side wall

[0077] 25 Positive-locking guide

[0078] 26 Bottle, large

[0079] 27 Tray stack

[0080] 28 Projection, bead

[0081] 29 Support

[0082] 30 Bottle, small

[0083] 31 Cover

[0084] 32 Stack securing means, shrink film

[0085] 33 Foot part

[0086] 34 Bead

Claims

1. Process for handling and especially conveying bottles in a said bottle handling plant (1), comprising at least one said bottle producer (2) or a bottle feed means, at least one said bottle transfer unit (4), a plurality of said trays (5) for the said bottles (26, 30), a said conveying means (11) and at least one said handling station (15), characterized in that the said bottles (26, 30) are conveyed in said stackable trays (5), which have said closed side walls (24) and tightly surround the said bottles (26, 30).

2. Process in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the said trays (5) are stacked on one another for the conveying, being tightly closed against each other in the said tray stack (27), and the said topmost tray (5) being closed with a said cover (31).

3. Process in accordance with claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the said tray stacks (27) are transported within the plant or over land from the said bottle producer (2) or a bottle feed means to a said handling station (15).

4. Process in accordance with claim 1 or 2 or 3, characterized in that the said tray stack (27) is held with a said stack securing means (32), preferably a shrink film, for overland transport.

5. Bottle handling plant, comprising at least one said bottle producer (2) or a bottle feed means, at least one said bottle transfer unit (4), a plurality of said trays (5) for the said bottles (26, 30), a said conveying means (11) and at least one said handling station (15), characterized in that the said trays (5) are designed as containers that can be stacked up on one another, which have said closed side walls (24) and tightly surround the said bottles (26, 30).

6. Bottle handling plant in accordance with claim 5, characterized in that at least one said tray (5) has a said removable cover (31).

7. Bottle handling plant in accordance with claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the said bottoms (23) and the top edges of the said side walls (24) of the said trays (5) have a said, mutually positive-locking guide (25).

8. Bottle handling plant in accordance with claim 5, 6 or 7, characterized in that the said tray stack (27) is held during transport by a stack securing means, preferably a shrink film.

9. Bottle handling plant in accordance with one of the claims 5 through 8, characterized in that a said tray stacker (6) is arranged downstream of the said bottle producer (4), the said bottle feed and the said handling station (15), and a said tray unstacker (7), which is arranged at the said bottle transfer unit (4) in a said tray circulation (10), is arranged upstream.

10. Bottle handling plant in accordance with one of the claims 5 though 9, characterized in that the said tray circulation (10) is connected to the said conveying means (11) via a said loading site (8) and a said unloading site (9) for the said tray stacks (27).

11. Bottle handling plant in accordance with one of the claims 5 through 10, characterized in that the said conveying means (11) is designed for the conveying of said tray stacks (27) and is connected to one or more said handling stations (15).

12. Bottle handling plant in accordance with one of the claims 5 through 11, characterized in that the said handling station (15) has at least one said input line (16), which is connected to the said tray circulation (10) via a said bottle transfer unit (4).

13. Bottle handling plant in accordance with one of the claims 5 through 12, characterized in that the said loading sites (8) and the said unloading sites (9) are arranged at a said secondary section (13) each of the said conveying means (11), which extends in parallel to the said main section (14) and is connected to same via said switches (12).

14. Bottle handling plant in accordance with one of the claims 5 through 13, characterized in that the said conveying means (11) is connected to at least one said storage facility (17) for the said tray stacks (27).

15. Bottle handling plant in accordance with one of the claims 5 through 14, characterized in that the said conveying means (11) is connected to a said conveying means (19) associated with the said storage facility (17) by at least one said intermediate conveyor (18).

16. Bottle handling plant in accordance with one of the claims 5 through 15, characterized in that the said storage facility (17) has a said loading and unloading site (20), which is arranged at a said secondary section (13) of the said conveying means (19), which is connected by said switches (12) to a said main section (14) extending in parallel.