Patent ID: 6112389
Filing Date: 2000-09-05
Classification: B23Q,B65G,F27B,F27D,Y10T

Abstract:
Plant for processing containers, comprising processing stations for cleaning (33) and coating (34, 39-41, 39'14 41') and drying (35,47), and conveyor means for conveying the containers (3, 103, 103') to the processing stations, wherein the conveyor means comprises at least one magnetic conveyor (6-8) and a magnetizable pallet (7,107,107') to be connected to the container for each container (3,103,103') to be conveyed, a joining pallet surface (122) of the pallet (7, 107, 107') engaging a moveable conveying surface (8) of the magnetic conveyor (6-8) and being held on the conveying surface (8) by the magnetic conveyor (6-8) by means of magnetic forces;wherein at least one of the following characteristics is provided:a) the conveyor means (6-8,107,107') comprise at least one, magnetic, belt conveyor (46) which forms an accumulation zone before a processing station (34), thus, retaining containers (3, 103, 103') which cannot be passed at times, the containers (3,103,103') being retained within said accumulation zone by retaining means, which are actuable, in particular by a barrier onto which the pallets (7,107,107') of the containers immediately adjacent to the retaining means abut, while the conveying surface (8) slidingly passes below the joining surfaces (122) of the pallets (7,107,107');b) the conveyor means (6-8,107,107') comprise guiding elements (10) which render the containers (3,103,103') guidable along a desired path, in particular by guiding contacts with the pallets (7,107, 107'), the guiding elements (10) being displaceable by actuating means;c) the conveyor means (6-8, 107,107') comprise at least one separating means for distributing the containers fed towards it to at lest two belt conveyors of partial lines leading each to a processing station;d) the conveyor means comprise at least one combining means for combining containers from at least two belt conveyors of partial lines; ande) at least two processing stations for carrying out the same processing step are arranged in parallel.