EP1508521A1

EP1508521A1 - Labeling machine with a device for centering bottles

Info

Publication number: EP1508521A1
Application number: EP04017864A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Franco Gugolati
Original assignee: P E Srl
Current assignee: P E Srl
Priority date: 2003-08-11
Filing date: 2004-07-28
Publication date: 2005-02-23
Anticipated expiration: 2024-07-28
Also published as: DE602004006472T2; EP1508521B1; DE602004006472D1; ITMN20030037A1

Abstract

A labeling machine (1) with a device for centering bottles, wherein each pan (3) has a depressed surface (11) on the bottom of a hollow (13) and is provided with a pin (14) that is pushed by elastic means (15) so as to protrude from the surface (11), means being provided which are adapted to produce the rotary motion of the pan while the pan traces the path comprised between a bottle loading position and a labeling start position, an abutment (24) being further provided which is adapted to support a bottle and is provided with means (25, 26) adapted to produce a translational motion thereof between an upper stroke limit, in alignment with the peripheral plane of the pan, and a lower stroke limit that lies below the depressed surface.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for centering bottles in a labeling machine.

Structure of machines for labeling bottles, where the term "bottle" designates any kind of containers, is known which comprises a rotating carousel provided with pans, each designed to support a bottle that is conveyed to the pan by an input star conveyor and is kept in position by an overlying pusher; during rotation of the carousel, the bottle makes contact with one or more assemblies, which apply labels, and is finally removed by means of an output star conveyor.

Some kinds of bottles have a surface that is contoured so as to require the application of one or more labels in a very specific position, and accordingly each bottle must be presented, at the beginning of the labeling operation, so that it rests on the corresponding pan and is oriented very precisely: the term "centering" is used to designate the operation that moves a bottle from the random orientation that it has on the pan when it is introduced thereon by the input star conveyor to the specific orientation required for correct labeling.

Conventional devices that provide bottle centering by utilizing the presence of a reference notch at the bottom of the bottles are not entirely satisfactory.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a centering device that is very simple and safe in operation.

This aim is achieved by a labeling machine with a device for centering bottles, according to the invention, the machine comprising a rotating carousel that supports, at its peripheral region, a plurality of pans, each adapted to receive and support a bottle that is conveyed by an input star conveyor and is kept in position by an overlying pusher, said bottle being provided with a reference notch at its bottom, characterized in that each pan has, at its central region, a surface that is depressed with respect to the peripheral plane and is formed on the bottom of a hollow that is adapted to accommodate the bottle, and is provided with a pin that is pushed by elastic means so as to protrude from said depressed surface, means being provided which are adapted to produce a rotary motion of the pan about its own axis which is substantially equal to a round angle, while said pan traces the path comprised between the bottle loading position and the labeling start position, an abutment being further provided which is adapted to support the bottle, is located in the central region of the pan and is provided with means adapted to produce exclusively a translational motion thereof between an upper stroke limit position, in alignment with the peripheral plane of the pan, and a lower stroke limit that lies below the depressed surface provided in said pan.

Further characteristics and advantages will become better apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the machine according to the invention, illustrated by way of nonlimiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of the machine according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a partial sectional plan view thereof;

Figure 3 is a view of a detail of a pan;

Figure 4 is a view of a detail of Figure 3, taken from a different viewpoint;

Figure 5 is a view of a bottle meant to be processed by the machine;

Figures 6, 7 and 8 are sectional views of the machine in different steps of operation.

With particular reference to Figure 1, the labeling machine is generally designated by the reference numeral 1 and comprises a rotating carousel 2, which is provided with pans 3, each designed to support a bottle, which is conveyed to the pan by an input star conveyor 4 and is kept in position by an overlying pusher 5 shown in Figure 6; the processed bottles are of the type designated by the reference numeral 6 in Figure 5, and have a reference notch 7 at the bottom.

During the rotation of the carousel 2, each bottle makes contact with an assembly 8, which applies a label, and is finally removed by means of an output star conveyor 9.

It is evident that the machine may equally comprise a plurality of labeling assemblies.

The pans are all identical and comprise, as shown in particular in Figures 3 and 4 and according to what can be seen also in Figures 6, 7 and 8, a body 10, which has, at its central region, a surface 11, which is depressed with respect to a peripheral plane 12 and is formed on the bottom of a hollow 13 that is adapted to accommodate a bottle: the body 10 comprises a pin 14, which is pushed by elastic means, such as a spring 15, so that it protrudes from the depressed surface 11.

The body 10 is connected, by way of quick couplings such as 16, to an underlying footing 17 inserted in a support 18, which is fixed to the plane of the carousel 2 so that it can rotate about its own axis.

For this purpose, the body 10 is provided with a pinion 19, which is rigidly coupled thereto and is shaped complementarily to a toothed sector 20, which is actuated, by means of a wheel 21, by a fixed cam 22 formed in a frame 23 of the machine, so as to provide a rotary motion of the pan about its own axis that is substantially equal to a round angle, i.e., 360°, while the pan travels along the path comprised between the bottle loading position and the labeling start position, as mentioned further in the description of operation.

The reference numeral 24 further designates an abutment, which is adapted to support a bottle, is located in the central region of the pan, and is provided with means that are adapted to produce exclusively a translational motion thereof between an upper stroke limit position, in alignment with the peripheral plane 12 of the pan, shown in Figure 6, and a lower stroke limit position arranged below the depressed surface 11, shown in Figure 8, as better detailed in the description of operation.

Such means comprise a wheel 25, which operates in combination with a fixed cam 26 formed in the frame 23 of the machine and is derived from an arm 27, which is fixed by means of a clamp 28 to the stem of the abutment 24 and is associated with a guide 29 so as to prevent rotary motions about the axis of said abutment.

Finally, the reference numeral 30 designates a compensating spring.

Description of operation begins by considering the situation that occurs when a bottle arrives on a pan, shown in Figure 6; this is the situation that occurs in the position of Figure 2, designated by the reference numeral 31.

The bottle moves so as to rest on the abutment 24 arranged at the upper stroke limit and is retained by the pusher 5, and the reference notch provided on its bottom is in a random position: merely by way of example, it is shown at the left end of the figure, in the opposite position with respect to the pin 14 that skims said bottom; the pan does not rotate.

As the motion of the carousel 2 advances, the situation changes as shown in Figure 7, which relates to a position that follows directly the position designated by the reference numeral 31 and precedes the position designated by the reference numeral 32 in Figure 2; the pan still does not rotate, but the abutment 24 has descended, actuated by the cam 26, to an intermediate position, and so has the bottle, which is still motionless, entering the hollow 13 and loading the spring 15, which pushes the pin 14 against the bottom of the bottle.

In the positions that follow, such as the ones designated by the

reference numerals

32 and 33 in Figure 2, the pan rotates, being actuated by the toothed sector 20: the pin 14 slides on the bottom of the bottle, which remains motionless until said pin enters the reference notch provided on the bottom; from that moment, the bottle is turned and the rotation continues until the motion of the pan is completed, such motion, as mentioned, covering an angle of 360° so as to ensure that in any case the pin 14 encounters the reference notch.

Centering is completed: the bottle is in the position 34 of Figure 2, which faces the labeling assembly 8, which can start to operate because the bottle is positioned correctly, and the situation is the one shown in Figure 8, with the pin 14 inserted in the reference notch and the bottom of the bottle rested on the depressed surface 11.

The described machine according to the invention is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims; all the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application no. MN2003A000037, from which this application claims priority, are incorporated herein by reference.

Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

A labeling machine with a device for centering bottles, comprising a rotating carousel that supports, at its peripheral region, a plurality of pans, each adapted to receive and support a bottle that is conveyed by an input star conveyor and is kept in position by an overlying pusher, said bottle being provided with a reference notch at its bottom, characterized in that each pan has, at its central region, a surface that is depressed with respect to the peripheral plane and is formed on the bottom of a hollow that is adapted to accommodate the bottle, and is provided with a pin that is pushed by elastic means so as to protrude from said depressed surface, means being provided which are adapted to produce a rotary motion of the pan about its own axis which is substantially equal to a round angle, while said pan traces the path comprised between the bottle loading position and the labeling start position, an abutment being further provided which is adapted to support the bottle, is located in the central region of the pan and is provided with means adapted to produce exclusively a translational motion thereof between an upper stroke limit position, in alignment with the peripheral plane of the pan, and a lower stroke limit position that lies below the depressed surface provided in said pan.
The machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the means adapted to determine a rotary motion of the pan about its own axis comprise a toothed sector, which is mated with a pinion that is rigidly coupled to the pan and is actuated by a fixed cam provided in the frame of the machine.
The machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the means adapted to produce exclusively a translational motion of the abutment adapted to support the bottle comprise a wheel that is derived from said abutment and is designed to work in contact with a fixed cam that is provided in the frame of the machine.
The machine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wheel designed to work in contact with a fixed cam is derived from the abutment adapted to support the bottle, with the interposition of an arm that is associated with a guide that prevents rotary motions about the axis of said abutment.