Installation for producing containers having a wheel for bypassing a coating station

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10369588-B2
Application number	US-201715730038-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 11, 2017
Priority date	Oct 12, 2016
Publication date	Aug 6, 2019
Grant date	Aug 6, 2019

Abstract

Disclosed is an installation for producing thermoplastic containers including: a container coating station including an input wheel and an output wheel; an upstream transfer wheel that is tangent with the input wheel in an input tangential zone; and a downstream transfer wheel that is tangent with the output wheel in an output tangential zone. The installation includes a bypass wheel that is directly tangent with the upstream transfer wheel in an upstream tangential zone and the bypass wheel that is directly tangent with the downstream transfer wheel in a downstream tangential zone.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An installation ( 20 ) for producing thermoplastic containers ( 18 ) comprising:
a container coating station ( 34 ) comprising an input wheel ( 38 ) and an output wheel ( 40 ), each of said wheels ( 38 , 40 ) being equipped with gripping elements ( 39 , 41 ) that are uniformly distributed on its periphery;
an upstream transfer wheel ( 42 A) that is equipped with gripping elements ( 44 A) that are uniformly distributed on its periphery, the upstream transfer wheel ( 42 A) being positioned to make possible the transfer of containers ( 18 ) by synchronized passage when a gripping element ( 44 A) of the upstream transfer wheel carrying a container coincides with a gripping element ( 39 ) of the input wheel ( 38 ) in an input tangential zone ( 54 A) between the two wheels ( 42 A, 38 );
a downstream transfer wheel ( 42 C) equipped with gripping elements ( 44 C) uniformly distributed on its periphery, the downstream transfer wheel ( 42 C) being positioned to make possible the transfer of containers ( 18 ) by synchronized passage when a gripping element ( 41 ) of the output wheel ( 40 ) carrying a container ( 18 ) coincides with a gripping element ( 44 C) of the downstream transfer wheel ( 42 C) in an output tangential zone ( 54 B) between the two wheels ( 42 C, 40 );
further comprising a bypass wheel ( 42 B) equipped with elements ( 44 B) for individual gripping of containers ( 18 ) that are uniformly distributed on its periphery, the bypass wheel ( 42 B) being directly tangent with the upstream transfer wheel ( 42 A) in an upstream tangential zone ( 49 A) and the bypass wheel ( 42 B) being directly tangent with the downstream transfer wheel ( 42 C) in a downstream tangential zone ( 49 B), the gripping element ( 44 B) of the bypass wheel being structured for cooperating with the gripping element ( 44 A) of the upstream transfer wheel for receiving the containers and for cooperating with the gripping elements ( 44 C) of the downstream transfer wheel for releasing the containers.

2. The installation ( 20 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the upstream tangential zone ( 49 A) between the upstream transfer wheel ( 42 A) and the bypass wheel ( 42 B) is positioned downstream from the input tangential zone ( 54 A) between the upstream transfer wheel ( 42 A) and the input wheel ( 38 ).

3. The installation ( 20 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the downstream tangential zone ( 49 B) between the bypass wheel ( 42 B) and the downstream transfer wheel ( 42 C) is positioned upstream from the output tangential zone ( 54 B) between the downstream transfer wheel ( 42 C) and the output wheel ( 40 ).

4. The installation ( 20 ) according to claim 3 , wherein two consecutive gripping elements ( 39 , 41 ) of each of the input and output wheels ( 38 , 40 ) are separated by a circumferential spacing (P 1 ) that is two times greater than the circumferential spacing (P 2 ) separating two consecutive gripping elements ( 44 A, 44 C) of each of the upstream and downstream transfer wheels ( 42 A, 42 C).

5. The installation ( 20 ) according to claim 1 , wherein each upstream and downstream transfer wheel ( 42 A, 42 C) is equipped with first gripping elements ( 44 A-i, 44 C-i) that are suitable for the gripping of containers having a first size that are arranged alternating with the second gripping elements ( 44 A-p, 44 C-p) that are suitable for the gripping of containers ( 18 ) having a second size.

6. The installation ( 20 ) according to claim 5 , wherein two consecutive gripping elements ( 44 B) of the bypass wheel ( 42 B) are separated by a circumferential spacing (P 1 ) that is two times greater than the circumferential spacing (P 2 ) separating two consecutive gripping elements ( 44 A, 44 C) of each of the upstream and downstream transfer wheels ( 42 A, 42 C).

7. The installation ( 20 ) according to claim 5 , wherein two consecutive gripping elements ( 44 B) of the bypass wheel ( 42 B) are separated by a circumferential spacing (P 2 ) that is identical to the circumferential spacing (P 2 ) separating two consecutive gripping elements ( 44 A, 44 C) of each of the upstream and downstream transfer wheels ( 42 A, 42 C).

8. The installation ( 20 ) according to claim 7 , wherein the bypass wheel ( 42 B) is equipped with first gripping elements ( 44 B) that are suitable for the gripping of containers ( 18 ) having the first size that are positioned alternately with the second gripping elements ( 44 B) that are suitable for the gripping of containers ( 18 ) having the second size.

9. A method for using, in a mode for bypassing the coating station ( 34 ), the installation ( 20 ) made according to claim 1 , wherein the upstream transfer wheel ( 42 A) and the downstream transfer wheel ( 42 C) have each an even number of gripping elements ( 44 A, 44 C) so as to comprise a series of even gripping elements alternating with a series of odd gripping elements, the method comprising:
distributing containers on each even gripping element of the upstream transfer wheel ( 42 A), the odd gripping element of the upstream transfer wheel ( 42 A) being left empty, the bypass wheel ( 42 B) rotating in a synchronized manner with the upstream and downstream transfer wheels ( 42 A, 42 C).

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the method further comprises synchronizing the input and output wheels ( 38 , 40 ) from the transfer wheels ( 42 A, 42 C), the gripping elements ( 39 , 41 ) of said input and output wheels ( 38 , 40 ) able to interfere with the passage of the containers ( 18 ) being removed.

11. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the method comprises synchronizing in rotation the input wheel ( 38 ) and the output wheel ( 40 ) with the transfer wheels ( 42 A, 42 C) so that the gripping elements of the input and output wheels ( 38 , 40 ) coincide with the empty gripping elements ( 44 A, 44 C) in the input and output tangential zones ( 49 A, 49 B).

12. The installation ( 20 ) according to claim 2 , wherein the downstream tangential zone ( 49 B) between the bypass wheel ( 42 B) and the downstream transfer wheel ( 42 C) is positioned upstream from the output tangential zone ( 54 B) between the downstream transfer wheel ( 42 C) and the output wheel ( 40 ).

13. The installation ( 20 ) according to claim 2 , wherein each upstream and downstream transfer wheel ( 42 A, 42 C) is equipped with first gripping elements ( 44 A-i, 44 C-i) that are suitable for the gripping of containers having a first size that are arranged alternating with the second gripping elements ( 44 A-p, 44 C-p) that are suitable for the gripping of containers ( 18 ) having a second size.

14. The installation ( 20 ) according to claim 3 , wherein each upstream and downstream transfer wheel ( 42 A, 42 C) is equipped with first gripping elements ( 44 A-i, 44 C-i) that are suitable for the gripping of containers having a first size that are arranged alternating with the second gripping elements ( 44 A-p, 44 C-p) that are suitable for the gripping of containers ( 18 ) having a second size.

15. The installation ( 20 ) according to claim 4 , wherein each upstream and downstream transfer wheel ( 42 A, 42 C) is equipped with first gripping elements ( 44 A-i, 44 C-i) that are suitable for the gripping of containers having a first size that are arranged alternating with the second gripping elements ( 44 A-p, 44 C-p) that are suitable for the gripping of containers ( 18 ) having a second size.

16. The installation ( 20 ) according to claim 2 , wherein two consecutive gripping elements ( 44 B) of the bypass wheel ( 42 B) are separated by a circumfe

Assignees

• Sidel Participations

Inventors

• Feilloley Franck
• Danel Laurent
• Linglet Stephane

Classifications

• B65G47/904 Primary

  provided with rotary movements only · CPC title

• B65G47/80

  Turntables carrying articles or materials to be transferred, e.g. combined with ploughs or scrapers · CPC title

• B05C13/025 Primary

  relatively small cylindrical objects, e.g. cans, bottles · CPC title

• B29C49/4273 Primary

  Auxiliary operations after the blow-moulding operation not otherwise provided for · CPC title

• B65G47/64

  Switching conveyors · CPC title