Hold and centering device, container treatment device and method for treating containers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9994044-B2
Application number	US-201515309874-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 27, 2015
Priority date	May 9, 2014
Publication date	Jun 12, 2018
Grant date	Jun 12, 2018

Abstract

A holding-and-centering device for holding and centering a container has fixing section and holding-sections on opposite sides of the fixing section. The fixing section fixes the holding-and-centering device to a structure of a container-treatment machine but is also detachable from that structure. Each holding section picks up and holds a corresponding container.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising a holding-and-centering device for holding and centering a container, said holding-and-centering device comprising a fixing section, a first holding-section, and a second holding-section, wherein said fixing section enables said holding-and-centering device to be fixed to a structure of a container-treatment machine, said structure being selected from the group consisting of a treatment station and a transport element, wherein said first holding-section is configured to hold a first container, wherein said second holding-section is configured to hold a second container, wherein said first holding-section and said second holding-section are on opposite sides of said fixing section, and wherein said holding-and-centering device is detachable from said structure, said apparatus further comprising a source of pressurized fluid in fluid communication with an interior of at least one of said first and second containers.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of said first and second holding sections comprises a clamp for clamping a corresponding one of said first and second containers in a mouth region thereof.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a container transport path on which containers to be treated are moved in a transport direction from a container inlet to a container outlet, said container transport path being formed by at least one transport-and-treatment element that can be driven to rotate about a vertical machine axis and that has a plurality of treatment stations, wherein said holding-and-centering unit is one of a plurality of identical holding-and-centering units for at least one of holding, centering, aligning, and moving said containers at treatment stations during said treatment, wherein, as a result of their detachability, each of said holding-and-centering units is transferable, together with containers held thereon, from one transport-and-treatment element to a successive transport-and-treatment element.

4. An apparatus comprising a holding-and-centering device for holding and centering a container, said holding-and-centering device comprising a fixing section, a first holding-section, and a second holding-section, wherein said fixing section enables said holding-and-centering device to be fixed to a structure of a container-treatment machine, said structure being selected from the group consisting of a treatment station and a transport element, wherein said first holding-section is configured to hold a first container, wherein said second holding-section is configured to hold a second container, wherein said first holding-section and said second holding-section are on opposite sides of said fixing section, wherein said holding-and-centering device is detachable from said structure, wherein said first holding-section comprises a first axis-of-rotation for rotation of said first holding-section about said fixing section, wherein said second holding-section comprises a second axis-of-rotation for rotation of said second holding-section about said fixing section, and wherein said first axis-of-rotation is coincident with said second axis-of-rotation.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein said first holding-section is rotatable relative to said fixing section and wherein said second holding-section is rotatable relative to said fixing section.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein said fixing section is arranged between said first holding-section and said second holding-section.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 , further comprising an electromagnetic direct drive and a rotor section, wherein said rotor is coupled to at least one of said first and second holding-sections, wherein, as a result of said rotor, at least one of said first and second holding-sections is configured to develop an angular velocity relative to said fixing section.

8. An apparatus comprising a holding-and-centering device for holding and centering a container, said holding-and-centering device comprising a fixing section, a first holding-section, and a second holding-section, wherein said fixing section enables said holding-and-centering device to be fixed to a structure of a container-treatment machine, said structure being selected from the group consisting of a treatment station and a transport element, wherein said first holding-section is configured to hold a first container, wherein said second holding-section is configured to hold a second container, wherein said first holding-section and said second holding-section are on opposite sides of said fixing section, wherein said holding-and-centering device is detachable from said structure, wherein said holding-and-centering device further comprises a first clamp, wherein, after said first holding-section has been pushed by a section into a mouth region of said first container, said first clamp fixes said first container, wherein, to fix said first container, said first clamp moves radially outward to apply a pressure to an internal periphery of a wall of said first container, said apparatus further comprising a second clamp that moves radially outward to apply a pressure to an internal periphery of a wall of said second container after said second holding-section has been pushed into a mouth region of said second container, and wherein, as a result, said second clamp fixes said second container.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein said first clamp comprises a fluid-actuated clamp.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein said first clamp comprises a spring-loaded clamp for clamping said first container at a mouth region thereof.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein said first and second holding sections are configured to be pushed, at least by a section, through mouth regions of said first and second containers and into interiors of said first and second containers.

12. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein said first clamp comprises a pneumatic clamp, wherein said pneumatic clamp is a constituent of said first holding-section, and wherein said pneumatic clamp clamps a mouth region of said first container.

13. An apparatus comprising a holding-and-centering device for holding and centering a container, said holding-and-centering device comprising a fixing section, a first holding-section, and a second holding-section, wherein said fixing section enables said holding-and-centering device to be fixed to a structure of a container-treatment machine, said structure being selected from the group consisting of a treatment station and a transport element, wherein said first holding-section is configured to hold a first container, wherein said second holding-section is configured to hold a second container, wherein said first holding-section and said second holding-section are on opposite sides of said fixing section, wherein said holding-and-centering device is detachable from said structure, wherein said first holding-section is driven to engage in a first rotary-motion relative to said fixing section, wherein said second holding-section is driven to engage in a second rotary-motion relative to said fixing section, and wherein said first rotary-motion differs from said second rotary-motion in at least one of angular velocity and direction.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , further comprising a first rotor and a second rotor, wherein said first rotor is coupled to said first holding-section, wherein said second rotor is coupled to said second holding-section, wherein, as a result of said first rotor, said first holding-section is able to develop an angular velocity relative to said fixing section, wherein, as a result of said second rotor, said second holding-section is able t

Assignees

• Khs Gmbh

Inventors

• Schach Martin

Classifications

• B65G47/22

  Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors (during feeding B65G47/14) · CPC title

• B41J3/4073 Primary

  Printing on three-dimensional objects not being in sheet or web form, e.g. spherical or cubic objects (B41J3/283, B41J3/286 take precedence; building up a 3D object using individual droplets from jetting heads B29C64/112) · CPC title

• B65G17/323

  Grippers, e.g. suction or magnetic · CPC title

• B41J3/40733

  Printing on cylindrical or rotationally symmetrical objects, e. g. on bottles · CPC title