Patent ID: 9108803
Filing Date: 2015-08-18
Classification: B08B,B65B,B65G,B67C

Abstract:
1. A method of handling containers in a rotary container handling machine, said method comprising: moving the containers from a container input to a rotor; rotating said rotor and moving containers handled thereby over an angular distance greater than 360° by moving the containers from a first path on said rotor to at least one other separate path on said rotor and then to said first path; said step of moving containers comprises moving containers into said rotor at an inlet point, then moving the containers away from said inlet point on said first path, and then moving the containers past said inlet point; treating the containers during movement of the containers by said rotor; moving the containers from said rotor to a container output; and said step of moving the containers along said paths comprises: said first path comprises an outer path and said at least one other path comprises at least one inner path disposed radially closer to the central rotational axis than said outer path; said step of moving containers along said paths comprises: said rotor comprises a plurality of container holding devices disposed about a peripheral area of said rotor, wherein said container holding devices each comprise a plurality of container receptacles, each of which is configured to receive and hold one of the containers; said step of moving the containers from said container input to said rotor comprises moving each of the containers in a single-track container stream into one of said container receptacles; said step of moving the containers along said paths comprises moving the containers and their respective container receptacles between paths; said step of moving the containers from said rotor to said container output comprises moving each of the containers out of its container receptacle to said container output in a single-track container stream; said step of moving the containers and their respective container receptacles comprises rotating each of said container holding devices about a rotational axis, which rotational axis is parallel or substantially parallel to the rotational axis of said rotor and radially offset and equidistant from its container receptacles; and said step of rotating each of said container holding devices comprises moving a first container receptacle from said outer path to one of said at least one inner path, and moving a second container receptacle from one of said at least one inner path to said outer path.