Container washing apparatus

Apparatus for forceably flushing labels from containers being conveyed in pockets through a container washing machine, and a system of fluid flow in the apparatus for extracting the flushed out labels from the washing solution so the latter solution may be recirculated to repeat the flushing cycle. The fluid flow system is arranged to operate in a manner that will conserve energy without impairing the effectiveness of the flushing action.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to container washing apparatus and is particularly 
directed to a system for filtering labels out of the washing fluid so the 
fluid may be reused, and to removing the labels as they collect. 
Apparatus for washing containers used in the soft drink, beer and beverage 
business is continually faced with the problem of removing the labels from 
the external surface of the containers, and the large capacity apparatus 
handles a tremendous quantity of containers so the label accumulation 
problem is acute. Since the containers must be carried through the washing 
apparatus in pockets, difficulty is usually encountered in removing the 
labels from the pockets. If the labels are not removed from the pockets 
there is the possibility that a certain percentage of the containers will 
have the labels reapplied before being discharged. Washing apparatus 
utilizes caustic washing solutions in order to penetrate the adhesives, as 
well as the label material for the purpose of detaching the labels as 
quickly as possible. The caustic solution is generally heated so that it 
will more quickly penetrate and loosen the adhesives, whereby the labels 
can be flushed out of the pockets as the containers are moved into and out 
of the washing solution. There still remains the difficulty of the soaking 
time which contributes to getting the labels off the bottles and out of 
the carrier pockets, and for this reason washing apparatus is usually made 
with multiple compartments which consumes a large floor area. Large 
apparatus is expensive to operate and frequently has to be shut down in 
order to remove the accumulation of labels. 
The present invention is directed to means of improving the operation and 
efficiency of washing apparatus, and is directed to positively flushing 
the labels from the carrier pockets at the time and place in the 
compartments when the hot caustic solution has effectively penetrated and 
loosen the adhesives. The hot caustic solution is delivered by suitable 
jets into the carrier pockets and over the containers therein so as to 
flush the labels out of the pockets. The flushing action is directed into 
a compartment which contains a rotating filtering screen mounted over a 
fluid inlet to a suction system for drawing the solution through the 
screen and thereby causing the labels to be strained out of the solution. 
The solution which has been freed of labels is recirculated back to the 
nozzles. The rotating screen is provided with an internal screen flushing 
manifold which is supplied with cleaned caustic solution, and the manifold 
delivers the solution outwardly through the screen to continually flush 
the labels off of the surface of the screen so as to avoid clogging the 
screen. The labels flushed off of the screen in this manner migrate to the 
bottom of the compartment where the accumulation can be continually 
removed by label removing apparatus of the character shown in my prior 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,162,204, granted Dec. 22, 1964. Accordingly the 
compartment is continually cleared of labels as they are flushed from the 
rotating screen and allowed to migrate toward the bottom of the 
compartment. 
The objectives of the present invention are to provide container label 
flushing filtering apparatus which may be incorporated in container 
washing apparatus at one or more compartments, to provide a filtering 
screen and flow system that will continually flush labels from the 
containers and carrier pockets and generally confine the labels to an area 
for efficient removal, and to provide a flushing system which will 
conserve energy by intermittent operation of the flushing jets so as to 
reduce the pump capacity, and to continually filter labels from the 
flushing solution so that the pump will not be clogged with labels.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS 
In FIG. 1 there is shown at 15 a fragmentary side elevational view of a 
container washing apparatus which is supported on a floor area by a 
sub-structure represented at 16. The apparatus encloses a roller chain 
conveyor represented by the phantom line 17, and this roller chain is 
trained over a series of sprockets 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 on its bottle 
conveying circuit, and is returned at the lower left corner around 
sprocket 23. The interior of the apparatus is divided into a number of 
compartments, and for the purpose of this disclosure it is believed 
sufficient to show a compartment 24 defined between vertical partition 
walls 25 and 26 and a bottom wall 27. Compartment 24 is located adjacent a 
larger compartment 28 which is defined by the partition wall 26 of the 
adjacent compartment 24, a partition wall 29 and a bottom wall 29A. The 
roller chain moves over the sprocket 19 and descends into compartment 24 
where it moves or loops around a bottom guide trough 30 and then travels 
upwardly around the upper sprocket 20 before again descending into 
compartment 28 where it turns or loops around a guide trough 31, travels 
upwardly over sprocket 21 before descending to move around a guide trough 
32, and then travels upwardly around the upper sprocket 22. It is 
understood that there are a pair of roller chains 17 mounted on rails 17A 
at the opposite side walls of the apparatus, and the carriers for the 
containers are suspended between the roller chains 17. FIG. 6 illustrates 
a fragmentary portion of roller chains 17 and a typical container carrier 
33 supporting containers C. This disclosure will of course be illustrative 
of the numerous container carriers 33 that will be attached to the roller 
chains 17 so that a continuous flow of containers will be carried through 
the compartments between the inlet mechanism and the discharge mechanism 
which have not been shown. 
Still referring to FIG. 1 there is shown the arrangement of components 
which are organized on the outside of the wall 14 of the apparatus. 
Accordingly it is noted that there is a washing solution circulating pump 
34 carried on the frame of a driving motor 35, and these two components 
are mounted on a pad 36 in a position such that the suction inlet 37 of 
the pump 34 is connected to the vertical suction conduit 38, and the pump 
discharge side is connected to a delivery pipe 39. The suction conduit 38 
is connected into the bottom of a junction box 40 fixed on the side wall 
14 so as to be in alignment with the compartment 24 between partition 
walls 25 and 26. The discharge pipe 39 from the pump 34 is connected into 
a branch pipe 41, while the main portion of the pipe 39 continues on above 
the junction box 40 and enters the wall 14 at the elbow 42. The branch 
pipe 41 contains a control valve 43 and the pipe 41 continues upwardly 
into the junction box 40 for a purpose presently to be described. 
A second pump 44 is driven by a motor 45 and these two components are 
mounted on a pad 46 such that the pump suction 47 may be connected to a 
vertical conduit 48 which connects into a junction box 40A. The delivery 
side of the pump 44 is connected to a pipe 49 which rises vertically past 
a branch pipe 50 under control of a valve 51 and is divided at the upper 
end into a right hand branch 52 under the control of a valve 53, and a 
left hand branch 54 under the control of a valve 55. The branch 52 passes 
through the wall 14 at elbow 56 and the branch 54 enters the wall 14 at 
the elbow 57. It will be observed that the lower branch pipe 50 is 
directed into the junction box 40A for a purpose to be described 
presently. 
FIG. 2 discloses the principal components in the apparatus 15, and the view 
is similar to FIG. 1 but with the exterior wall 14 and the external 
components removed so as not to complicate the disclosure. It is observed 
that the roller chains 17 is caused to follow a path determined by a fixed 
guide sheet 58 which has a descending portion connected into the bottom 
guide 30 and a rising portion which forms a U-shaped path for the roller 
chains 17. The guide sheet 58 is interrupted cross-wise of the apparatus 
by a series of spaced bars 59 at one limited location below the upper 
sprocket 19. The containers C are caused to move across the bars 59 and in 
crossing the bars the containers are bathed in a stream of solution from a 
series of nozzles carried in a manifold 60. The manifold is provided with 
a feed pipe 61 which is connected to the elbow 42 shown in FIG. 1 and 
asssociated with the pump delivery pipe 39. 
The view of FIG. 5 is an enlargement of the arrangement of interrupting the 
guide sheet with a series of spaced bars 59, whereby the fluid jet stream 
issuing from nozzles 60A in the manifold 60 will direct the flow of the 
fluid over containers C and through the pockets of the carrier 33. This 
view also illustrates the roller chains 17 which is guided by the fixed 
rail 17A. It should now be clear that the jet stream issuing from the 
nozzles 60A bathes the container C and is directed into the pockets of the 
carrier 33 and passes through the space between the bars 59, carrying off 
the loosened labels in the process. 
With further reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 it will be understood that the 
vertically directed pump delivery pipe 49 will deliver fluid to the branch 
pipe 52 and through the connection of elbow 56 (FIG. 2) will feed the pipe 
62; Pipe 62 is connected to the manifold 63 to supply fluid to a series of 
nozzles 64 which will direct the fluid over containers C moving past the 
series of bars 65 which interrupt the guide sheet 66 in the right hand 
loop of the conveyor travel between sprocket 21 and sprocket 22. The left 
hand branch 54 of the vertical pump delivery pipe 49 is connected with 
elbow 57 which delivers the fluid to feed pipe 67 and the manifold 68 for 
delivering fluid to nozzles 69 for flushing the containers C which are 
moved over the bars 70 which interrupt the guide sheet 71 in the left hand 
loop of the conveyor between the sprockets 20 and 21. The guide sheet 71 
is formed into a bottom loop trough 31 and the cooperating guide sheet 66 
is formed into a bottom loop or trough 32. The troughs 31 and 32 are 
similar to the previously described trough 30, and each of the troughs 
functions to collect the labels which are flushed off the containers and 
out of the carrier pockets. It is, therefore, necessary to continuously 
remove the collection of labels from each of the respective troughs and 
such means for the trough 30 is seen in FIG. 6. The description of this 
means will of course be the same as for the means associated with the 
troughts 72 and 73. 
In FIG. 6 the compartment 24 is closed at the bottom by wall 27 and by the 
opposite side walls 14. The trough is shown at 30 to extend between the 
side walls 14 such that the opposite ends are in connection with transfer 
ducts 74 positioned on the exterior of the walls 14. The ducts 74 have 
inlet ends 75 connecting with the trough 30 and outlet ends 76 connecting 
with the space below the trough 30 and above the compartment floor 27 so 
that there will be a way for the labels and the washing solution to pass 
from the trough 30 into the bottom of the compartment 24. 
FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate an arrangement of nozzles for causing the labels 
collecting in the trough 30 to continually migrate through the transfer 
ducts 74 into the bottom of the compartment 24. In the plan view of FIG. 7 
a pair of nozzles 77 are located at the opposite ends of trough 30 and are 
in opposed and offset positions so that fluid circulation from the nozzles 
will tend to establish a current indicated by the arrow 78. The nozzles 77 
are combined with cooperating nozzles 79 which are directed to point into 
the inlet opening 75 of the transfer ducts 74 so that there is a "venturi" 
effect produced to encourage and accelerate the movement or migration of 
the labels by creating currents of fluid movement in the transfer ducts 
74. The respective nozzles 77 and 79 at the right hand side of FIG. 7 are 
connected to a supply pipe 80 which is fed by a cross supply pipe 81 
running to the left side of the compartment to a supply connection 82 for 
the respective nozzles 77 and 79. Fluid for the nozzles on both ends of 
the trough 30 is delivered through the main pipe 83 from a source to be 
described presently in FIG. 8. In addition to the nozzles above described, 
the collection of labels on the floor 27 of the compartment 24 are 
substantially encouraged to migrate toward the drain outlet 84 by 
secondary nozzles 85 entering the bottom of the compartment 24 through the 
wall 14 opposite to the location of the drain 84. 
Attention will now be directed to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 for an understanding of 
the means at junction box 40 and 40A provided for supplying label free 
washing solution to the manifolds 60, 63 and 68 (FIG. 2). The view of FIG. 
3 is a detail taken in FIG. 1 for the compartment 24. A similar assembly 
is shown for the compartment 28 at the junction box 40A so it will not be 
necessary to repeat the description. The junction box 40 is mounted over 
an opening in the side wall 14 to enclose the outer end 86 of a rotating 
screen 87. There is a suitable bearing 88 for the open end 86 of the 
screen 87 and the screen projects into the compartment 24 a suitable 
distance so as to expose its perforated surface to the washing solution 
which will be contaminated with labels being flushed off the containers C 
and out of the carrier pockets by the nozzles mounted in the manifold 60. 
There is a support beam 89 spanning the distance between the side walls 
14, and this beam carries a bearing bracket 90 having a fixed shaft 91 
extending into the bearing hub 92 which closes the inner end of the screen 
87. The hub 92 rotates relative to the shaft 91, and the rotation is 
achieved by positioning a sprocket 93 on the open outer end of the screen 
87 and connecting the sprocket by a drive chain 94 to a sprocket 95 
carried on a shaft 96 which extends out over a bottom wall 97 in the 
junction box 40 through a seal 98 to be supported in a bearing housing 99. 
The shaft 96 is driven from a sprocket 100 which is connected by a chain 
101 (FIG. 1) to the output sprocket of a motor 102 mounted on the side of 
the junction box 40. Since the screen 87 is opening at its outer end 86 
the washing solution will flood the junction box 40, and this requires 
that the shaft 96 must be quarded by a suitable fluid seal 98. 
The screen 87 is caused to rotate for the purpose of permitting the labels 
drawn and sucked on to the outer surface thereof to be flushed off so as 
not to unduly obstruct the cleaning or straining function of the screen. 
The interior of the screen 87 (FIGS. 3 and 4) is penetrated by a conduit 
103 which has an open longitudinal side facing toward the interior of the 
screen, and the open side is closed by a pair of longitudinal blocks 104 
which are spaced to form a longitudinal slot 105. The conduit 103 is 
connected near the open end 86 of the screen to a pipe 106 which has a 
fluid delivery pipe 107 extending through a suitable seal 108 in the 
junction box 40 to the exterior so as to connect with the pipe 41 
previously described in connection with FIG. 1. The end of the pipe 106 
located in the junction box 40 is formed with a cap 109 for the purpose of 
permitting an operating rod 110 to project through the cap, and rod 110 
extends for the full length of the pipe 103 with its end slideably mounted 
in a guide 111 on the outer closure cap 112 for the pipe 103. The closure 
cap 112 is suitably supported on the stationary shaft 91 and is formed 
with a back flush passage 113 in the shaft 91 for the purpose of flushing 
out sediment that might accumulate in the area inside the closure cap 112. 
The end of the rod 110 which projects through the cap 109 in the junction 
box is connected to one arm of a bellcrank 114, and the other arm of the 
bellcrank is connected to an actuating rod 115 which extends vertically 
out of the junction box through a standpipe 116 to the outer end above the 
liquid level line where an actuating handle 117 is provided. It will be 
observed that the portion of the rod 110 located in the pipe 103 is formed 
with a series of spaced scrapers or blades 118 which project into the slot 
105 between the spaced blocks 104. Periodical operation of the handle 117 
will cause the scraper blades 118 to sweep back and forth in the slot 105 
and dislodge any obstruction to the flow of fluid from the pump 37 and 
pipe 41, such flow being important to pass through the screen perforates 
and flush off labels. As the screen rotates the flushing action will 
suffice to keep the screen functionally active to deliver clean washing 
fluid into the junction box where it will flow by the outlet conduit 38 to 
the suction side of the pump 34. 
The foregoing description has related to the rotary screen and provisions 
for flushing labels off of the screen in compartment 24. The identical 
organization of components is mounted in the compartment 28 where the 
screen flushing means is supplied with fluid from pipe 50 connected to the 
delivery pipe 49 from pump 44. In each screen flushing assembly there is a 
control valve at 43 and 51 which will be manually regulated for the 
desired flow of fluid so that the rotating screen will be kept desirably 
free of labels. The pump 34 is connected by conduit 38 to the junction box 
40 for the purpose of establishing the suction flow of fluid through the 
screen 87, and the same arrangement is seen for compartment 28 where the 
suction conduit 48 for the pump 44 is connected to the junction box 40A. 
Turning now to FIG. 8 it is seen that the side of the apparatus 16 opposite 
that shown in FIG. 1 is utilized for connecting the troughs 30, 72 and 73, 
as well as the bottom area of compartment 28 and 24 to a label separator 
119. The separator is a generally vertically directed member having an 
interior helical screw, as disclosed in the before mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 
3,162,204, driven by a motor 120 and delivering labels substantially free 
of fluid through the upper outlet chute 121. A centrifugal pump 122 driven 
by a motor 123, is connected by a suction conduit 124 to the side of the 
separator 119 and the pump delivers cleaned washing solution through the 
delivery pipe 83. This pipe is connected in the manner shown in FIG. 7 to 
the system of nozzles disposed in the trough 30, and to the nozzles in the 
bottom of the compartment 23 seen in FIG. 6, for the purpose of 
continually causing the labels falling into the trough 30 to migrate into 
the bottom of the compartment 24 through the transfer ducts 74. While not 
shown, the troughs 31 and 32 are provided with a similar arrangement of 
nozzles which function in a like manner to continually cause the labels 
collecting in the troughs 31 and 32 to migrate through the transfer ducts 
74 into the bottom of the compartment 28. The action of the centrifugal 
pump 122 creates a suction flow in the drain collecting conduit 125, and 
this latter conduit is connected to the respective drain pipes 84 opening 
out of the bottom of the compartments. Control valves 126 are provided for 
the purpose of being able to apply the suction effect of the pump 122, in 
any desired order of selection, to any of the compartment bottom areas 
where the label collection is more profuse. 
In FIGS. 9 and 10 there is shown a modified arrangement of components for 
operating the rotary screen 127 which functions in substantially the same 
manner as the rotary screen 87 previously described in FIG. 3. In the 
modified arrangement, the rotary screen 127 is mounted in the wall of the 
tank 14 on a suitable bearing 128 adjacent the open end 129 which is 
surrounded by a sprocket 130. The sprocket is connected by a suitable 
chain 131 to a drive sprocket 132 mounted on shaft 133. This shaft is 
suitably connected to a drive motor in an arrangement similar to that seen 
in FIG. 3. The sprocket 132 has a secondary sprocket 134 mounted on the 
shaft 133 and the sprocket 134 is connected by a chain 135 to a sprocket 
136 fastened on the end of a shaft 137. The adjacent end of the shaft 137 
is carried in a suitably bearing 138 supported from the adjacent pipe 139. 
The opposite end of the rotary screen 127 projects into the compartment 
and is provided with a supporting hub 140 carried on a bearing 141, and 
the bearing 141 is supported on the spindle 142 of bracket 143, in turn, 
fastened to a suitable beam 144 extending across the width of the washer 
so as to be supported at its ends on the walls 14. It is also seen that 
the pipe 139 is connected to an open sided conduit 145 so as to deliver a 
fluid under pressure along the conduit and out to the closed end 146 where 
there is provided a back flush passage 147 in the spindle 142 so as to 
prevent accumulation of sediment in the outer end of the conduit 145. The 
end closure 146 is formed with a bearing socket 148 which receives the end 
of the shaft 137 so that the shaft is able to rotate between the socket 
148 and the bearing 138. 
It can be seen in FIGS. 9, 10 and 11A through 11D inclusive that the shaft 
137 is operatively mounted between a pair of blocks 150 seated in the open 
side of the conduit 145. The shaft 137 is formed with a series of slots 
which are spaced along the length of the shaft and are stepped around the 
circumference of the shaft at approximately 30.degree. of angular spacing. 
For example FIG. 11A shows that the shaft 137 is provided with a slot 151 
which opens a fluid flow passage from the interior of the conduit 145 to 
the perforated rotating screen 127 so as to permit fluid to be delivered 
from the inside of the screen for flushing labels off of the screen. The 
view of FIG. 11B depicts the position of the slot 151B turned away from 
the interior of the conduit 145 so that no fluid can be delivered to flush 
the screen 145. The view of FIG. 11C shows the slot 151C is displaced 
180.degree. from the slot 151 of FIG. 11A so that again fluid will be 
delivered to the inside of the screen to flush labels therefrom. The view 
of FIG. 11D shows the slot 151D in the shaft 137 positioned to cut off the 
flow of screen flushing fluid. It can be surmised from the foregoing 
description that rotation of the shaft 137 will periodically and 
sequentially cause the respective slots to register with the interior of 
conduit 145 so that fluid will be released through the respective slots 
for flushing labels off the screen 127 as the screen surface passes the 
location of the shaft 137. The speed of rotation of the screen and the 
shaft 137 is different. 
Attention will again be directed to FIGS. 6 and 7 for the details of means 
to improve the control of the migration of labels collecting in the 
respective troughs 30, 31 and 32. The view in the drawing concernings the 
trough 30 and as indicated therein the mid portion of the trough 30 
between the walls 14 is provided with a vertically directed divider plate 
152 which is mounted to extend longitudinally and approximately in the 
center line of the trough. The plate 152 is so located that it will 
prevent the head on collison of the horizontal jetstreams generated from 
the nozzles 77, the jetstreams being indicated by the arrows 78. The plate 
152 thereby forces the current of label flushing fluid to setup low 
velocity circulating currents shown by the arrows 153, and these currents 
circulate around the opposite ends of the plate 152. The plate 152 extends 
upwardly above the elevation of the nozzles 77 so as to prevent the 
streams 78 from being able to cross over the plate 152 and reduce the 
desired control of fluid movement within the trough 30. Without the 
divider plate 152, the nozzle streams 78 are able to fan out horizontally 
and impinge on each other with the result that the colliding streams would 
move vertically and tend to keep the labels in a constant vertical 
circulating path. This undesirable action is avoided by the divider plate 
152 and an exceptionally efficient label removing result has been obtained 
by the divider plate and with the assistance of the auxiliary nozzles 79 
pointed into the transfer ducts 74. 
The foregoing description relating to the system for supplying clean fluid 
to the respective label flushing nozzles 60A as seen in FIG. 5 has been in 
regard to the position of these nozzles below the liquid level L as seen 
in FIG. 2. This location is important to avoid creating foam in the 
caustic solution, as foam would detract from the efficient flushing result 
desired. In certain instances where foam is not a problem, the flushing 
nozzles may be located above the liquid level, and some of the latter 
instances would be exemplified by intermittent jetting. Turning now to 
FIGS. 12 and 13 it can be seen that the junction box 40A is connected by a 
suction conduit 155 to the suction inlet 156 of the centrifugal pump 157 
driven by a motor 158. The delivery side of the centfifugal pump is 
represented by the pipe 159 having a main branch 160 leading upwardly past 
a control valve 161 to a rotary valve 162. A secondary branch pipe 163 is 
connected through a control valve 164 into the junction box 40A for 
supplying fluid to flush labels off of the rotary screen associated with 
the junction box in the manner heretofor shown and described in connection 
with FIG. 3 or FIG. 9. The rotary valve 162 is formed with a rotating core 
165 connected by shaft 166 into a gear box 167 which receives its power 
from motor 168. The rotating core 165 sequentially connects the fluid 
supply pipe 160 to the feed conduits 169 and 170 which extend through the 
wall 14 and are connected to a pair of flow dividing manifolds 171 
associated with the feed conduit 170, while the feed conduit 169 is 
similarly connected to manifolds 172. The respective manifolds are 
provided with nozzles for delivering a jet of fluid over the containers C 
carried in the carriers 33 past the zone where the guide sheets 66 are 
interrupted by the spaced bars 65. The rotary valve 162 possesses the 
characteristics of the flow control valve heretofore disclosed in the 
application of Momir Babunovic et al, Ser. No. 547,236, filed Feb. 5, 
1975, and assigned to the assignee of this application. In that prior 
application the rotary valve had more than 2 outlets subject to the 
sequential control of a rotor, while the present installation of the rotor 
is modified to establish sequential flow to the feed conduits 169 and 170, 
whereby the flushing jets are caused to be intermittent for the purpose of 
conserving energy by reducing the required output from the centrifugal 
pump 157, as compared to the requirements for the pumps disclosed in FIG. 
1. 
The foregoing description has set forth certain preferred arrangements of 
components in container washing apparatus, and these components are 
particularly directed to means for flushing labels off of containers 
carried in pockets, means for removing the collection of flushed off 
labels from the operating zone of the container carrying conveyors, and 
control of the circulation of fluid which desirably moves the labels out 
of the washer completely. It is of course understood that modifications 
may be made after the details of the foregoing disclosure has been 
understood, and it is the aim to include these modifications within the 
scope of the disclosure.