Method for pre-determinable orientation of label and capsule relative to each other on a bottle during the bottling procedure and apparatus therefor

Abstract: Method and apparatus for a pre-determinable orientation or label and capsule relatively to each other on a bottle during the bottling procedure, whereby the bottles are arranged to pass a positioning or orientation station, in which each individual bottle by mechanical or optical detection of at least one discontinuity or stationary marking on the bottle, on the sealing or on the label of the bottle is orientated in a predetermined position and releasably retained in this position during the following sealing or labelling of the bottle.

Description: The present invention relates to a method according to the preamble of claim 1 and to an apparatus according to the preamble of claim 2 for a predeterminable orientation of label and capsule of a bottle relative to each other during the filling procedure and apparatus therefor. The invention can be used for all types of known capsules of metal or polymers, such as, for example, screw capsules, capsules provided with tans protruding from the mantle portion of the capsule and adapted to be gripped by fingers for facilitating the opening of the closure, means for tearing off capsules adapted to be torn-off, or similar. In a wider sence the present application can also be used for containers, i.e. conventional packages for pharmaceutical preparation etc. The invention can also be used for bottles with labelling like stamped emblems or label-like impressions or pre-printed labels such as often are found on recoverable bottles. The predeterminable positional coordination of label and capsule according to the invention provides many advantages, of which should be mentioned in the first place the possibility to fix in position a certain marking or logo arranged on the upper part of the capsule relative to the labelling and, furthermore, the possibility to fix in position gripping tabs, holds for fingers or tearing-off means of the capsule relative to the labelling. The aforementioned parts protruding from the capsule may be coloured, for example, in the main colour of the label, whereby an excellent aesthetic effect is achieved. Nowadays most types of capsules are provided with safety devices to impede manipulation of the contents, for example capsules to be torn-off. The large number of existing technical solutions makes it desirable to give directions for how to open the capsule in order to provide for problemless opening. In regard to, e.g., tear-off capsules entirely new means for safeguarding easy opening are thus obtained. Such tear-off capsules are, for example, described in US 4,227,619 and are provided with a tear-off member connected to a flap protruding from the skirt of the capsule. The side edges of said flap are continuing in score lines extending over the skirt and the upper part of the capsule. On pulling the tear-off member the capsule is broken along these score lines. In certain cases such capsules are arranged so that they, after having been partially torn open, already can be removed from the neck of the bottle. Often such partial opened capsules may be used for a temporary dust-free reclosure of the bottle. In earlier used capsules the pulling tear-off member was just consisting of an extension of the protruding flat, i.e. of an elongated strip of metal. In order to avoid cut wounds originating from the cutting action of the tear-off strip when the capsule is opened, a great variety of score line designs were tried to achieve an opening as easy and safe as possible. The most widely used tear-off capsule of this kind is opened by pulling the tear-off member straight away from the bottle mouth by gripping said member between the thumb and the forefinger. In tear-off capsules developed more recently, such as those described in US 4,768,667, the earlier strip-formed metallic pulling member has been replaced by a plastic ring eliminating any risk for cuts, which, when used properly, also provides for a certain venting effect and thereby provides for an easier and safer opening of the capsule. Extensive instructions for opening such capsules obviously cannot be printed on the upper part of the capsule, due to the fact that said part of the capsule often is coloured and the limited space is needed for the identification of the product or the manufacturer and often also is used for a logo. It would be more natural if such opening instructions could be given on the label. For such instructions being sufficiently conspicuous at the right moment, the tear-off member and the label have to be positioned relative to each other in a way that the consumer, when opening the capsule, automatically faces the instruction given on the label. It has now been found that, by means of the present invention, the intended coordination between label and pulling member can be realized and that, thereby, for the first time a tear-off instruction can be given that is conspicuous to the person opening the closure at the very moment of opening, and which thus provides for a safer and easier opening procedure. EP-A-0 476 251 represents the closest prior art and discloses an orientation method and device for bottles with a stirrup-shaped lock element. The bottle is not supported on a flange of a star wheel and rotated by cooperation of a guide list and rollers, but is rotated on an individual rotating disc against which it is axially clamped by a clamping head. The arrangement, and thus the specific problems inherent in that arrangement, differs substantially from that according to the invention. The present invention refers to a method for arranging label and closure of a bottle in a predeterminable position relative to each other, said bottle being one in a row of bottles provided with closures having a member protruding from the closure, being transported towards a labelling station and being, after completion of the step for mounting the closure, fed to a orientation station. The method is characterized in that said bottle is fed to the orientation station by a star wheel, the bottle being received in a recess on the star wheel for rotation in the recess by abutment against rollers and a list peripherally positioned in respect of the star wheel, said rollers being guide rollers arranged for passive rotation and said pulling member being a pulling member of a tear-off capsule which is brought into abutting contact with a stationary locking means arranged at the star wheel exteriorly of the recess to make the rotation of the bottle cease immediately and the bottle to be held in a fixed orientation for transportation to the labelling station. It also refers to an apparatus for predeterminable orientation in an orientation station of label and capsule of a bottle relative to each other during a bottling procedure for a row of such bottles being transported from a capsulating station to a labelling station via said orientation station or vice versa, said capsule having a part extending exteriorly of its skirt, comprising a star wheel, having at its periphery a number of sets of upper and lower recesses for receiving individual bottles, said sets of recesses being arranged in equally spaced intervals, and a pair of passive guide rollers, arranged on either side of said lower recess. The apparatus is characterized in that it further comprises a flat flange for supporting said bottles peripherally extending from the star wheel, said flange optionally being provided with a supporting rim at its periphery, a guide rail arranged at the periphery of the star wheel and at such a distance from it that a bottle disposed between the star wheel and the guide rail is brought into abutting contact with said guide rollers for imparting a rotational movement to the bottle, and a locking or braking means at each upper recess having a base plate being movably and resiliently mounted on the star wheel and carrying a resiliently arranged locking arm extending towards the recess and being restricted in its lateral movement, the locking arm having a frontal free end arranged for abutting contact with the capsule for positional fixation of the bottle. In the following the invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings illustrating various embodiments of the invention: Fig. 1 is a schematic top view of an apparatus according to the invention cooperating with a labelling station, Fig. 2 is a side view in perspective of the orientation station shown in Figure 1, Fig. 3 is a sectional view, in part in perspective, of the orientation station shown in Figure 1, Fig. 4 is a schematic top view of a bottle maintained in the predetermined position according to Figure 3, Fig. 5 is a schematic view of a locking means used for the positional of the bottle in a recess of the star wheel and Fig. 6 is a schematic view of an alternative apparatus according to the invention for a pre-determinable orientation of a bottle and means for maintaining the bottle in said position. Fig. 1 illustrates the principle construction of an apparatus proposed according to the invention cooperating with standard-type sealing and labelling stations. A row of capsulated bottles 2 arrive in an outfeed trench 1 from a capsulation station not shown. By an infeed screw 3 arranged on one side of said outfeed trench 1 and a guide rail 4 arranged on is other side and opposite to the screw 3, the arriving bottles 2 are fed to hemicircular recesses 6 arranged along the periphery of an infeed wheel 7 rotating in the direction of arrow A and, further, from the infeed wheel 7 to corresponding recesses 27, 28, 28a along the periphery of a star wheel 8 rotating in the direction of arrow B. The star wheel 8 constitutes the central component of the apparatus proposed according to the invention. Along a part of its periphery, the infeed wheel 7 cooperates with a guide rail 9 arranged at a distance from the periphery of the infeed wheel 7 and extending from the infeed trench 1 to the spot where the bottles 2 are fed into the recesses 27, 28 28a at the star wheel 8. During their transport by the star wheel 8 the bottles become positionally fixed in the way described below and thus positionally fixed are arranged to pass a labelling station 10, a station 11 for smoothing out the labels and, lastly, a station 12 for final fixation of the labels, whereafter, via an outfeed wheel 13 cooperating with the star wheel 8 and rotating in the direction indicated by arrow C and of a design essentially similar to that of infeed wheel 7, the labelled bottles 2 are delivered to an outfeed trench 14. The labelling station 10 consists suitably of a traditional arrangement of rollers 15, 16, 17 by which the individual labels are fetched from a supply pipe 19, and one-by-one are transferred to a positionally fixed passing bottle 2. The smoothing-out station 11 may suitably consist of traditional brush arrangements 20, 21, and the station 12 of suitable pressure rollers 23, 24. Figs. 2, 3, and 4 illustrate in more detail how the positional orientation and fixation of the bottles 2 is achieved prior to labelling. The specific embodiment of the apparatus shown in these Figures is particularily suitable for bottle closures of the tear-off capsule type, that is, metal capsules with tear-off members extending from the capsule skirt. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2 - 4 the bottles 2 have been sealed with metal capsules according to US 4,768,667 in which a pulling ring 26 made of plastic is fixed at a flap extending from the capsule skirt, which pulling ring 26 and flap cooperate with score lines (not shown) provided on the capsule and, via the capsule skirt, extending to the flat top portion of the capsule. Along its periphery and arranged in equally spaced intervals, the star wheel 8 has a number of upper semicircular recesses 27 as well as a number of pairs of central and lower recesses 28, 28a of somewhat larger diameter than that of the upper recesses 27. Each set of recesses 27, 28; 28a are centered around a common axis and arranged for partial abutment with the neck portion 29, the central portion and the bottom portion of the bottle 2, respectively. The bottom 31 of the bottle 2 rests on a flat flange 32 peripherally extending from the star wheel 8, which flange 32 suitably may be provided at its periphery with a supporting rim 32a extending upwards from the flange 32; for the sake of clarity, the support rim 32a is not shown in Fig. 2 but only in Fig. 3. One each of a pair of guide rollers 33, 33a are arranged on either side of the lower recess 28, 28a. The guide rollers 33, 33a are suitably of bobbin-like form and with their rotational axes equidistantly arranged in respect of the axis of the bottle 2 resident in the recesses 27, 28, 28a, to make them abut the bottle 2 with their respective end flanges. At some distance from the star wheel 8 and along its periphery an outer peripheral a guide rail 35 is arranged. But also several, preferably two, of such guide rails can be arranged at some distance from each other, said distance being determined by the length or width of the labels. The distance between the guide rail 35 and the star wheel 8 is dimensioned in a way that a bottle 2 placed in-between them is brought into abutting contact with guide rollers 33, 33a to automatically impart to the bottle 2 a rotational, counter-clockwise movement during its transport by the star wheel 8 - see arrows D - while the guide rollers 33, 33a are made to rotate in the opposite direction, cf. arrows E. The bottle is rotated until the pulling ring 26 extending from the capsule shirt is brought to abut against a locking means 36 extending with its front edge into the narrow space between the pulling ring 26 and the neck of the bottle 2, thereby stopping the rotation of the bottle 2 to effect the intended positional fixation prior to the bottle 2 arriving at the labelling station 10. As evident from Fig. 5, the locking means 36 of each upper recess 27 consists of a base plate 37 arranged on the upper portion of the star wheel 8, one end portion 38 of the base plate 37 arranged for rotational movement around a tap 39 and the other, opposite end portion 40 cooperating with a leaf spring 41 fixed thereto, which, with its free end 42, is mounted in a retainer 43 fixed to the star wheel 8. Arranged on the base plate 40 is a locking arm 44 mounted for restricted movement and extending in the direction of the recess 27. The rear end of the locking arm 44 is movable around a tap 45. The lateral movement of the locking arm 44 is limited by stop pins 46, 46a arranged on either side of it and extending upwards from the base plate 40 to which they are fixed. The front portion of the locking arm 44 adapted for cooperation with the capsule 25 is designed as a locking shoulder 47, a part of which rises over the upper border of the recess 27. The entire locking arm 44 is spring-loaded by means of a spring 48 of which the rear end portion 48a is retained by the tap 39, and which cooperates, with its other end portion 48b, with the rear side of the locking shoulder 47. A gentle braking action and positional fixation of the bottle 2 is achieved in the way described above. The apparatus described above and shown in Figs. 2 - 5 can, of course, be used for other capsules than the tear-off capsules according to US 4,768,667, such other capsules comprising capsules made entirely of plastic material having gripping means extending from the skirt as well as capsules provided with any sort of external shoulder facilitating their opening. The principle disclosed by the invention can, however, also be used for capsules of an entirely different type, for example, capsules to be screwed on the bottle. A suitable apparatus for positional fixation of bottles provided with such capsules is shown in Fig. 6. The bottle 2 shown in Fig. 6 has been sealed by a traditional screw capsule provided on its external skirt surface with a marking 50 that is darker than the rest of the skirt. The positional fixation of the bottle 2 rotating in the recess 27 of star wheel 8 is controlled by means of an optical sensor means 51 fixed in place and arranged at the level of the capsule skirts of passing bottles, detecting changes in light reflectance such as the decrease in reflectance when the bar moves into the optical field of the sensor 51 provided with fiber optics. Suitably, the sensor means 51 is arranged to be in a sensing state only when a passing capsule 49 moves into its optical field, and only as long as the capsule 49 remains in the field. During the active sensing period for a capsule 49 of an individual bottle 2, the sensor means 51 will detect a decrease in the intensity of reflected light when the darker marking moves into the optical field. This change in reflectance is translated to a change in electrical signal in the sensor means 51, which signal is amplified and used to activate the electrically operated locking means 52 provided with an electromagnet, to make them abut against the essentially flat top portion of the capsule 49, thereby locking the bottle 2 in the position selected by the sensor means 51. Instead of the sensor means with fiber optics described above, any other optical or meachanical sensor means can be used. The marking need not be placed on the skirt of the capsule but can be arranged in any suitable place. The locking means can be designed in a variety of ways but should preferably comprise an element having a surface with suitable frictional properties to be brought into contact with the top portion of the capsule. The locking means can also be designed for blocking the rotation of the bottle by abutting frictional contact against the neck portion or the mantle portion of the bottle. The locking means can also be driven by an electrical motor or by compressed air. According to a further embodiment not shown in the drawings, the principle of the invention can also be applied to bottles or other essentially rotationally symmetric containers having labels, logos, imprints, pre-prints, marks, stamps or any sort of such or other markings on the outer surface of the container or being detectable from outside. In such case these markings can be used for positional orientation and fixation of the bottle or rotationally symmetric container in such way that the capsule is put on in a predetermined position in relation to the position of the marking on the bottle or container.

Claims: A method for arranging label and closure of a bottle in a predeterminable position relative to each other, said bottle being one in a row of bottles provided with closures having a member protruding from the closure, being transported towards a labelling station and being, after completion of the step for mounting the closure, fed to a orientation station, characterized in that said bottle is fed to the orientation station by a star wheel, the bottle being received in a recess on the star wheel for rotation in the recess by abutment against rollers and a list peripherally positioned in respect of the star wheel, said rollers being guide rollers arranged for passive rotation and said protruding member being a pulling member of a tear-off capsule which is brought into abutting contact with a stationary locking means arranged at the star wheel exteriorly of the recess to make the rotation of the bottle cease immediately and the bottle to be held in a fixed orientation for transportation to the labelling station. An apparatus for predeterminable orientation in an orientation station of label and capsule (25) of a bottle (2) relative to each other during a bottling procedure for a row of such bottles (2) being transported from a capsulating station to a labelling station via said orientation station or vice versa, said capsule (25) having a part (26) extending exteriorly of its skirt, comprising a star wheel (8) having at its periphery a number of sets of upper (27, 27a) and lower (28) recesses for receiving individual bottles (2), said sets (27, 27a; 28) of recesses being arranged in equally spaced intervals, a pair of passive guide rollers (33, 33a) arranged on either side of said lower recess (28, 28a), characterized in that it futher comprises a flat flange (32) for supporting said bottles (2) peripherally exending from the star wheel (8), said flange optionally being provided with a supporting rim (32a) at its periphery, a guide rail (35) arranged at the periphery of the star wheel (8) and at such distance from it that a bottle (2) disposed between the star wheel (8) and the guide rail (35) is brought into abutting contact with said guide rollers (33, 33a) for imparting a rotational movement to the bottle (2), and a locking or braking means (36) at each upper recess (27) having a base plate (40) being movably and resiliently mounted on the star wheel (8) and carrying a resiliently arranged locking arm (44) extending towards the recess (27) and being restricted in its lateral movement, the locking arm (44) having a frontal free end (47) arranged for abutting contact with the capsule (25) for positional fixation of the bottle (2).

Inventors: LOEFGREN SVEN, LOEFGREN, SVEN, Löfgren, Sven
Applicants: PRIPPS BRYGGERIER AB, AB PRIPPS BRYGGERIER
Application year: 1992
Main classification: B65C9
IPC codes: B65C9