BEER CONTAINER WASHING AND FILLING APPARATUS

Abstract: A washing and filling line for beer containers includes container centering and transfer mechanisms for conveying the containers sequentially between treatment stations of the line. The centering mechanism includes relatively movable jaws (50, 52) movable above or below fixed skid rails (46) whereby, when a container has been conveyed onto the skid rails, the jaws may be actuated to place the container in a pre-determined position. The transfer mechanism includes conveyor members (36) slidably mounted on cooperating beams (24) and being vertically movable between three pre-determined positions. The conveyor (36) is sequenced to lift containers from the skid rails (46), transfer them from one treatment station to the next, and discharge a container from the final treatment station onto a discharge platform (68). The conveyor (30) also operates to push the container from the platform (68) onto supports (76) whereby the container may be conveyed away from the line.

Description: BEER CONTAINER WASHING AND FILLING APPARATUS This invention relates to a beer container washing and filling machine comprising a plurality of treatment stations between which beer containers are sequentially movable for receiving, for example, sequential treatments of washing, sterilizing and filling. A beer container washing and filling machine of this general type is described in EP-A-0019405 wherein containers to be treated are transferred sequentially between treatment stations by means of a pusher type conveyor; the containers being pushed along fixed skid rails from one treatment station to the next. Another similar machine is described in GB-A-1512395 wherein a walking beam conveyor is utilised to transfer beer containers sequentially between treatment stations. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved form of beer container washing and filling machine having walking beam conveyor means for transferring containers between treatment stations. In accordance with the invention there is provided a beer container washing and filling machine comprising a a plurality of treatment stations, container support means at each said treatment station and a walking beam conveyor for transferring containers sequentially between treatment stations characterised in that the conveyor comprises an upper support member selectively vertically movable between an uppermost position, an intermediate position and a lowermost position relative to the container support means, said support member being mounted also for horizontal reciprocating movement relative to said support means; the container supporting surface of said support member being at a level above that of the container supporting surface of said support means when said support member is in its uppermost position whereby containers may be transferred upon horizontal reciprocation of said support member and said surface of said support member being at a level below that of said surface of said support means when said support member is in both its intermediate and lowermost positions whereby said support member may be horizontally reciprocated in both its said intermediate and lowermost positions without interference with the containers at their treatment stations. The machine of the invention conveniently includes a centering mechanism for aligning each container in a predetermined position on a horizontally disposed entry transfer platform upstream of the first one of said treatment stations, said entry platform having an aperture therein; first and second jaws carried below said entry platform and being movable to an upper position projecting upwardly through said aperture and being movable to a lower position retracted below said entry platform, said jaws also being movable towards and away from one another whereby a container conveyed onto said entry platform may be moved by said jaws, when in their said upper position, to place said container in a predetermined position on said entry platform. Preferably the said jaws are movable between their said upper and lower positions and are movable towards and away from one another by respective fluid pressure actuated rams. Conveniently said upper support member of the conveyor is movable vertically to its said uppermost position to lift a container from its predetermined position on said entry platform and said support member is movable horizontally in its said uppermost position to transfer a said container from said entry platform to a said first treatment station. Conviently also said upper support member of the conveyor is movable horizontally in its said uppermost position through a predetermined horizontal distance to transfer containers carried thereon from one treatment station to the next succeeding treatment station, said support member being movable downwardly from its said uppermost position to locate said containers on said support means at the treatment stations. The machine of the invention may also include a generally horizontally disposed discharge transfer platform onto which a container is movable by said upper support member of the conveyor from a final one of said treatment stations, the level of the discharge platform being below that of the support member when in its said intermediate position but above that of the support member when in its said lowermost position whereby, upon horizontal reciprocation of the support member in its said intermediate position, a container is transferable off the discharge platform by the support member whilst other containers remain located on said support means at their treatment stations. In the machine as described in the preceding paragraph, a said container is preferably pushable off the discharge platform by the adjacent end of said support member upon horizontal reciprocation of the support member in its said intermediate position. The said discharge platform is conveniently pivotally mounted for movement between upper and lower positions about a horizontal pivot axis at that end thereof adjacent the final one of said treatment stations, said discharge platform in its said upper position being adapted to receive a container transferred thereto from said final treatment station and in its said lower position being adapted to transfer a said container onto output conveyor means. The said discharge platform is conveniently movable between its said upper and lower positions by means of a fluid pressure actuated ram. The said upper support member conveniently comprises a pair of horizontally spaced apart parallel elongate rails mounted for horizontal reciprocation upon cooperating beam elements by means of a fluid pressure actuated ram connected to said rails. Preferably, the said upper support member is movable selectively between its said uppermost, intermediate and lowermost positions by means of a fluid pressure actuated ram connected to said beam elements. Other features of the invention will become apparent from the following description given herein solely by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side general assembly view of a beer container washing and filling line showing the centering and transfer mechanisms Figure 2 comprises diagrammatic plan and side cross-sectional views of the centering mechanism Figure 3 comprises diagrammatic plan and side cross-sectional views of the transfer mechanism and Figure 4 is a diagrammatic side view of the discharge transfer platform. Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings there is shown a diagrammatic side view of one lane of a beer container washing and filling line wherein empty beer containers, in an inverted neck downward position, are transferred in a left to right direction off an input conveyor to the transfer mechanism of the invention and discharged therefrom, when filled with beer, to an output conveyor. In a typical installation in a brewery a plurality of such lanes will be located in side by side arrangement between the said input and output conveyors. The washing and filling lane comprises a fixed framework of upright and horizontal members between the uprights of which is located horizontally disposed transfer mechanism in accordance with the invention. As shown in Figure 1, the lane includes five treatment stations at each of which a container is clampable by a pneumatic ram 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 secured to an upper horizontal member 20 of the frame. The piston rod of each such pneumatic ram carries a clamping disc 22 thereon at its lower end which is engagable with that end face of the container which is remote from the neck. At the first, second, fourth and fifth treatment stations there is located a fixed treatment head 23 engagable by the usual valve closure unit in the neck of the container, each such treatment head having a pneumatically operable extendable probe therein for opening or closing the valves of the container closure units as desired. The third treatment station comprises a holding station wherein a container can rest on a fixed 5 support between treatment at the second and fourth stations as will be further described herein. Referring now to Figure 3 of the drawings, the transfer mechanism comprises a walking beam conveyor having a pair of horizontally spaced apart parallel 10 channel section beams 24 pivotally mounted on the upper ends of pairs of pivot arms 26 and 28. A duplex pneumatic ram 30 is connected between the pair of pivot arms 26 and a lower fixed frame member. Such duplex ram 30 comprises two rams in back to back relation with the 15 . piston rod 32 of one such ram pivotally mounted to the fixed frame element and the piston rod 34 of the other ram pivotally mounted to said pivot arms 26. Two horizontal spaced apart rails comprising support members 36 are mounted for horizontal sliding movement on the 20 respective beam channel members 24 by means of rollers 38 running within the channel sections. Referring to the top plan view of Figure 3, a long stroke pneumatic ram 40 is connected between a vertical frame element and a support bracket 42 carrying both of the members 36 25 whereby extension or retraction of the piston rod 44 within its cylinder will cause the members 36 to roll together horizontally of the beams 24. The duplex ram 30 is actuable to pivot the pivot arms 26 to which it is connected, and hence the beams 30 24 and members 36, between three pre-deter ined vertically spaced positions, namely an uppermost position, an intermediate position and a lowermost position in each of which positions the members 36 are slidable horizontally of the beams 24 by means of the long stroke ram 40. At the input end of the washing and filling lane there is located a centering mechanism shown more particularly in Figure 2 of the drawings. The centering mechanism comprises an entry transfer platform including a pair of fixed horizontally disposed skid rails 46 having a central aperture 48 therebetween. A first fixed jaw 50 and a second movable jaw 52 are mounted for sliding movement on a guide rail 54 pivotally mounted at one end 56 thereof relative to the fixed skid rails 46. Such second jaw 52 is connected by means of a pneumatic ram 58 to a fixed bracket 60 on the guide rail 54 whereby extension and retraction of the piston rod 62 will cause the second jaw 52 to move away from and towards said first fixed jaw 50. The bracket 60 mounting the cylinder of the ram 58 has the piston rod 64 of a further pneumatic ram 66 connected thereto movable in a vertical direction to pivot the guide rail 54 about its horizontal pivot axis 56 whereby the jaws 50 and 52 are movable vertically through the aperture 48 between the skid rails 46 to a level above or below the skid rail surface. Referring to Figure 4 of the drawings there is shown the discharge transfer platform located immediately downstream of the fifth treatment station. This platform comprises spaced horizontal skid rails 68 mounted on a support frame 70 itself pivotally mounted at that end 72 thereof adjacent to the fifth treatment station whereby the skid rails 68 are movable vertically through a limited distance by means of a pneumatic ram 74 acting between a fixed frame member and the other end of the support frame 70. The support frame 70 also carries a plurality of spaced apart supports 76 between which run the chains of the output conveyor (not shown) . At the input end of the washing and filling lane there is located a chain input conveyor (not shown) and input means (also not shown) of similar construction to the discharge transfer platform shown in Figure 4. As shown in Figure 1, a pneumatic ram 78 is mounted on an upper horizontal frame member 20 and is connected, via a roller carriage 80, to a vertically depending cradle having a pair of arms 82 for embracing a container. The cradle is operable by the said ram 78 to push an empty container off the input conveyor, when the container has been raised therefrom by the input means, onto the fixed skid rails 46 of the centering mechanism at which time the container is ready to commence its sequence of processing through the treatment stations as will now be further described in more detail. At the commencement of one complete sequence of operations, the beams 24 and their associated support members 36 are at the intermediate position with the members 36 extended to their extreme left hand position with reference to Figure 1, the two members 36 thus being located on either side of the centering mechanism skid rails 46 and below the surface thereof. An empty container, which has been pushed onto the centering mechanism skid rails 46 by the ram 78 and cradle arms 82, is then resting on the skid rails with its neck aligned with the aperture 48 between the skid rails 46. At this commencement time, the jaws 50 and 52 are in their vertically retracted position below the skid rails 46 and the movable jaw 52 is in its horizontally extended position. The ram 66 is then actuated to raise the jaws 50 and 52 through the aperture 48 and the jaw 52 is then retracted by means of the ram 58 to push the container along the skid rail surfaces until the neck thereof contacts the jaw 50. The movable jaw 52 is then again extended and the jaws are lowered clear of the skid rails 46 ready to centre the next empty container. The beams 24 of the transfer mechanism are then raised to the uppermost position by the ram 30 thereby lifting the container off the skid rails 46 of the centering mechanism at which time the container is in a pre-determined position on the members 36. The members 36 are then indexed through a pre-determined horizontal distance by the ram 40 to roll horizontally of the beams 24 to bring the empty container to the first treatment station which is a first washing station. The beams, and hence the members 36, are then lowered to the lowermost position by the ram 30 bringing the valve of the closure unit of the container into co-operation with the fixed treatment head 23 at the first washing station. At this time the corresponding clamping ram 10 is actuated to apply a firm clamping pressure to maintain the container in sealing engagement with the treatment head. The members 36 are then retracted horizontally by the ram 40 to their extreme left hand position with reference to Figure 1 and are raised on their beams 24 to the said intermediate position by ram 30 and are reciprocated horizontally on the beams 24 through a single cycle for a purpose which will be further described. In this intermediate position of the members 36, their upper surfaces are below the uppermost surface of the treatment heads 23 and below the level of the centering mechanism skid rails 46. At the end of horizontal reciprocation of the members 36, whilst in their intermediate position, they will have returned to their commencement position ready to transfer the next incoming empty container from the centering mechanism, after it has been centered, to the first washing station. The cycle is repeated as incoming empty containers are transferred onto the members 36 and moved thereby from one succeeding treatment station to the next at each of which, except the third station, the container is lowered onto a fixed treatment head 23. The second treatment station comprises a second washing station whilst the third station is not a treatment station but is a sterilizing position having a fixed support surface (not shown) for retaining a container .which has been filled with steam at the preceding treatment station. The containers are then sequentially moved through the fourth and fifth treatment stations which comprise respectively a pre-fill station and a filling station. After treatment at the final racking station, a filled container is moved by the members 36, when in their uppermost position, onto the discharge transfer platform rails 68. As will be appreciated, after transfer of the filled container onto the discharge platform, the members 36 are lowered to their lowermost position and moved to the left with reference to Figure 1 and, as described above, they are then moved vertically upwards into their intermediate position at which time the extreme right hand ends 84 of the members 36 will be positioned to the left of the container positioned on the transfer platform. The aforementioned single horizontal reciprocation of the mem.bers 36 whilst in their intermediate position will then cause the ends 84 of the members 36 to push the filled container along the transfer platform rails 68 onto the spaced supports 76 above the output conveyor chain. At this time the transfer platform is in its raised position permitting the container to be pushed onto the supports 76 clear of the conveyor chain subsequent to which the platform is lowered by means of its ram 74 whereby the filled container is lowered onto the conveyor chains and removed from the washing and filling line. As will be appreciated from the above description, after the single horizontal reciprocation of the members 36 whilst in their intermediate position, the members 36 are then again in their extreme left hand position ready to transfer an empty incoming container which has been centred by the centering mechanism.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A beer container washing and filling machine comprising a plurality of treatment stations, container support means (23) at each said treatment station and a walking beam conveyor (24, 36) for transferring containers sequentially between treatment stations characterised in that the conveyor comprises an upper support member (36) selectively vertically movable between, an uppermost position, an intermediate position and a lowermost position relative to the container support means (23) , said support member being mounted also for horizontal reciprocating movement relative to said support means; the container supporting surface of said support member being at a level above that of the container supporting surface of said support means when said support member is in its uppermost position whereby containers may be transferred upon horizontal reciprocation of said support member and said surface of said support member being at a level below that of said surface of said support means when said support member is in both its intermediate and lowermost positions whereby said support member may be horizontally reciprocated in both its said intermediate and lowermost positions without interference with the containers at their treatment stations. 2. A machine as claimed in Claim 1 further characterised by the inclusion of a centering mechanism for aligning each container in a predetermined position on a horizontally disposed entry transfer platform (46) upstream of the first one of said treatment stations, said entry platform having an aperture (48) therein; first and second jaws (50 and 52) carried below said entry platform and being movable to an upper position projecting upwardly through said aperture and being movable to a lower position retracted below said entry platform, said jaws also being movable towards and away from one another whereby a container conveyed onto said 5 entry platform may be moved by said jaws, when in their said upper position, to place said container in a predetermined position on said entry platform. 3. A machine as claimed in Claim 2 further characterised in that said jaws are movable between their 10 said upper and lower positions and are movable towards and away from one another by respective fluid pressure actuated rams (66 and 58) . 4. A machine as claimed in either one of Claims 2 or 3 further characterised in that said upper support member 15 of the conveyor is movable vertically to its said uppermost position to lift a container from its predetermined position on said entry platform and said support member is movable horizontally in its said uppermost position to transfer a said container from said 20. entry platform to a said first treatment station. 5. A machine as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4 further characterised in that said upper support member of the conveyor is movable horizontally in its said uppermost position through a predetermined horizontal 25 distance to transfer containers carried thereon from one treatment station to the next succeeding treatment station, said support member being movable downwardly from its said uppermost position to locate said containers on said support means at the treatment 0 stations. 6. A machine as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5 further characterised by the inclusion of a generally horizontally disposed discharge transfer platform (68) onto which a container is movable by said upper support member of the conveyor from a final one of said treatment stations, the level of the discharge platform being below that of the support member when in its said intermediate position but above that of the support member when in its said lowermost position whereby, upon horizontal reciprocation of the support member in its said intermediate position, a container is transferable off the discharge platform by the support member whilst other containers remain located on said support means at their treatment stations. 7. A machine as claimed in Claim 6 further ' characterised in that a said container is pushable_off the discharge platform by the adjacent end (84) of said support member upon horizontal reciprocation of the support member in its said intermediate position. 8. A machine as claimed in Claim 7 further characterised in that said discharge platform is pivotally mounted for movement between upper and lower positions about a horizontal pivot axis (72) at that end thereof adjacent the final one of said treatment stations, said discharge platform in its said upper position being adapted to receive a container transferred thereto from said final treatment station and in its said lower position , being adapted to transfer a said container onto output conveyor means. 9. A machine as claimed in Claim 8 further characterised in that said discharge platform is movable between each said upper and lower positions by means of a fluid pressure actuated ram (74) . 10. A machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims further characterised in that said support support member comprises a pair of horizontally spaced apart parallel elongate rails (36) mounted for horizontal reciprocation upon cooperating beam elements (24) by means of a fluid pressure actuated ram (40) connected to said rails. 11. A machine as claimed in Claim 10 further characterised in that said upper support member is movable selectively between its said uppermost, intermediate and lowermost positions by means of a fluid pressure actuated ram (30) connected to said beam elements. 12. A beer container washing and filling machine constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Inventors: GOLDING CYRIL GEORGE, WIGGIN ANTHONY JOHN, GOLDING, CYRIL, GEORGE, WIGGIN, ANTHONY, JOHN
Applicants: GKN SANKEY LTD, GKN SANKEY LIMITED
Application year: 1987
Main classification: B67C3
IPC codes: B08B9, B65G25, B67C3, B67C7