SORTING APPARATUS

Abstract: An apparatus for sorting containers comprises a feeder device (1) for receiving containers in bulk and individual discharge of the containers in a feeding direction which is substantially parallel with the longitudinal direction of the containers. The apparatus also includes a rotation device (2) for rotating the containers about their longitudinal axes. A sensor unit (3) is provided for sensing a marking and a separator device is provided for transferring the containers to either of at least tow receptacles in response to the marking which was sensed. At least one additional sensor device is provided for sensing additional markings for identifying unauthorised containers. A sensor unit (3) for sensing a marking on a container includes a first sensor device for sensing a first type of marking and at least one additional sensor device for sensing additional types of marking.

Description: SORTING APPARATUS TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an apparatus for sorting containers, such as bottles, and comprising a feeder device for receiving the containers in bulk and for discharging them individually in sequence in a feeding direction which is substantially parallel with the longitudinal direction of the containers and at a first speed, a rotation device for rotating the containers substantially about their longitudinal axes, a sensor unit which is sited in the area of the rotation device for sensing a marking on the rotation of the containers, a separator device which is operable for transferring the containers to either of at least two receptacles in response to the contents of the marking sensed by the sensor unit BACKGROUND ART There is a multiplicity of types of feeding and sorting apparatuses for containers such as bottles or cans on deposit and recycling of them. For environmental reasons, it is vital to be able to recover and recycle as large a proportion as possible of those containers which are sold within a given region, normally a country. Even if the same rype of container is sold in many different countries, they are not. however, included in the same deposit and return system. 3 general, the deposit and return systems are nationally constructed and aά iαistered by, for example, retailers, beverage manufacturers or the manufacturers of the containers. When a product has been purchased by a consumer, .the consumer pays a minor sum of money for its package. When the contents have been consumed, the package is returned and the deposit is reclaimed. For this system to function in the long term, it is important that money be refunded only for such containers for which the consumer had previously paid a deposit. Granted, it could be possible for environmental reasons, to take care or recycle a bottle which is not included in any type of deposit and return system or which is included in the deposit and return system of a foreign country, but if this takes place on far too large a scale it will involve serious economic losses, since deposit is incorrectly refunded and since the management of an excessively large number of "foreign" bottles unnecessarily burdens the system. ϊn order to distinguish "foreign" containers, it has hitherto been the practice to read existing bar codes such as EAN codes. With the aid of these codes, a product can be identified and it may be ascertained whether the product belongs to the deposit and return system of a given country or not One example of such a per se well functioning apparatus is disclosed in SE 508 326. A problem w th this apparatus and other similar apparatuses is that it is relatively easy to cheat the machine into accepting a container which is not actually included in the national deposit and return system. This is possible by gluing a label with an approved bar code onto fee container, possibly on top of an already existing bar code. The problem with this is, as was entioned above, that deposit will be incorrectly refunded and, in. the long ' term, this will entail that the deposit and return system makes a loss, since overly large sums must be refundεd. The problem could per se be solved if a manual inspection of each bottle were to be carried out, it thereby being possible to ascertain whether the bottle was included in the pertinent deposit and return system. However, such a reversion to manual mspection from automatic treatment of containers is not desirable. The possibility has been discussed of providing the bottles with different types of security markings, but there has hitherto not been any method for checking such markings in an automatic proσess. PROBLEM STRUCTURE The present invention has for its object to realise an apparatus which makes for the rapid, reliable, automatic sorting of containers where unauthorised containers are detected and may be separated off- SOLUTION The object forming the basis of the present invention will be attained if the apparatus intimated by way of introduction is characterised in that at least one further sensor device is provided ήi the region of the rotation device for sensing at least one additional marking or code on containers for identifying unauthorised containers. Further advantages will be attained according to the present invention if the apparatus is given one or more of the characterising features as set forth in appended Claims 2 to 13. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS The present invention will now be described in greater detail hereinbelow, with particular reference to the accompanying Drawings. In the accompanying Drawings: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus according to the present invention; and Fig. 2 shows the apparatus according to the present invention seen obliquely from above. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The apparatus according to the present invention comprises a feeder device 1 which is intended for receiving the containers, preferably plastic bottles in bulk, i.e. the bottles are not sorted or oriented in any predetermined manner. The feeder device 1 is disposed to discharge the bottles individually in a predetermined direction in sequence after one another. The feeding direction from the feeder device is, in the preferred embodiment, such that the containers are fed substantially parallel with their longitudinal axis. The apparatus further includes a rotation device 2 past which the bottles pass one by one. The rotation device 2 is disposed to cause the containers to rotate about their longitudinal axis so that the entire surface of the container is exposed to a sensor unit 3. In such instance, codes and other markings which are on the container or its label are also exposed. The rotation device 2 is further disposed so that it both rotates and accelerates the container so that the discharged containers are given increased spacing from each other. The sensor unit 3 is connected to a control unit (not shown) which is operative for controlling a separator device 4 in which a given container is guided to one of two or more receptacles in response to the codes or markings on precisely this container which had been read-off by the sensor unit 3. to. addition to the bar code which has previously been read-off, another read-off is made of same other marking or other property in the container, in order by such means to ensure that only such containers as are included in a given deposit and • return system are accepted. Consequently, the sensor unit 3 includes more than one ' sensor device. The sensor unit 3 is disposed in the region at the rotation device 2, preferably above it. The sensor unit 3 suitably includes a bar code reader, since such codes are normally provided on the containers or their labels already on their manufacture or filling. The read-off bar codes are registered and may, for example, be employed for statistical purposes. As was previously mentioned, the read-off of bar codes is not sufficient to decide whether a container is actually included in a given deposit and return system, since cheating is a common occurrence. Thus, additional inspections of the container must be made. To this end, the containers can be provided with one or more additional markings which are considerably more difficult to fake than the bar codes employed hitherto. Special types of printing ink may be used, in which event codes or other patterns which are not visible in daylight can be printed- However, the properties of the ink are such that the pattern can be read off using special sensors or in a certain type of ilium-nation, for example UV ligh The label of the container may also be provided with a water mark which is inspected with the aid of permeating light and a specifically adapted detector. The container or its label can further be provided other types of markings which are to be found on valuables such as banknotes. The only limitation in such instance is that the marking must be difficult to fake but relatively simple to produce and read off, on condition that there is access to suitable equipment. A special type of sensor is the type which is geared to sensing the material included in the container- Different types of plastic materials have per se different optical properties and it is also possible to affect these properties with minor additions of a substance which is normally not included in the plastic. Correspondingly, sensors can be developed for detecting different types of metals. Since it will become far too difficult and costly to imitate the above-outlined types of markings or other corresponding markings, the risk that a deposit is incorrectly refunded for containers which are not included in the pertinent deposit and return ' system is reduced. For an rrnitation or a fake of a marking to be possible at all, it is however necessary that their presence be known, which is not always the case with markings that are invisible to the naked eye. For transport from the sensor unit 3 to the separator device 4, a conveyor belt 5 is provided. An ejector 6 is included in the separator device 4 and is movable transversely of the direction of movement of the conveyor belt 5 in accordance with the arrow 7 (Fig. 2). The ejector 6 is drivable under the action of a prime mover, preferably a piston and cylinder assembly. A plurality of identical ejectors 6 may be provided in sequence after one another and the control system decides which of these ejectors is to be activated for each respective container. In response to the contents in the codes and markings which are read-off by the sensor unit 3, a container which is transported along the conveyor belt 5 will either be ejected laterally by the action of one of the ejectors 6 or be allowed to pass up to the end of the conveyor 5. The various receptacles in the form of collection skips or vessels or the like are thus located beside the conveyor belt 5 in register with the ejectors <5 or at the discharge end of the conveyor belt 5. As was mentioned previously, a larger number of fractions than two has been made possible in that more than one sensor is provided in the sensor unit 3. DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS In the foregoing, an apparatus was disclosed where the bottles are supplied in bulk and are discharged individually at the same time as codes and other markings are read-off by means of two or more sensors. Naturally, the need to disclose "false" or "foreign" bottles also exists in other types of feeder devices. One example of an apparatus in which the sensor unit 3 according to the invention may be embodied is the feeder device which is described in SE 514 102. This apparatus includes a conveyor belt which moves upwards from a receptacle space. Incorrectly aligned or superfluous containers are separated off and returned to the receptacle space on rails on both sides of the conveyor belt Discharged containers are then processed further, for instance in the above-described sensor unit 3 and are thereafter conveyed to a separator device of substantially the same type as that described above. A further modification of the subject matter of the present invention is that the sensors included in the sensor unit 3 are placed discrete and separate from each other. Certain containers can be separated off already at an early stage, for example already after a bar code read-off. hi such instance, those containers which are approved in this step pass further for additional read-offs in subsequent sensors. This would entail that not all bottles need to undergo all read-offs. Suitably, the most time- and resource-consuming read-offs are placed last, so that the processing of the containers is not unduly delayed. If the sensors are placed a great distance from each other, it may possibly be necessary to provide additional rotation devices 2. The present invention may be further modified without departing from the scope of the appended Claims.

Claims: WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. An apparatus for sorting containers, such as bottles, and comprising a feeder device (1) for receiving the containers in bulk and for discharging them mdividually in sequence in a feeding direction which is substantially parallel with the longitudinal direction of the containers and at a first speed, a rotation device (2) for rotating the containers substantially about their longitodinal axes, a sensor unit (3) which is sited in the area of the rotation device (2) for sensing a marldng on the rotation of the containers, a separator device (4) which is operable for transferring the containers to either of at least two receptacles in response to the contents of the marking sensed by the sensor unit (3), characterised in that at least one additional sensor device is provided for sensing at least one additional marking or code on the container, whereby unauthorised containers are identified. 2. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that the sensor devices include, in addition to a bar code reader, one or more of, for example, a CCD camera, an IR light reader, a UV light reader, a reader for holograms, a reader for water marks, a sensor of embossed relief patterns, an identification device for metals or the like. 3. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the sensor devices are integrated in the sensor unit (3). 4. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the sensor devices are disposed discrete and separate from one another, 5. The apparatus as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the rotation device is disposed to accelerate the containers to a second feeding speed which is faster than the first, whereby the containers, after the acceleration, assume positions a distance from each other. 6. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 5, characterised in that the separator device (4) includes a conveyor (5) which has a third speed which is equal to or faster than the second speed and along which the containers are transportable substantially in their longitudinal directions, there being d sposed, in association with the conveyor, an ejector (6) in order, in response the contents of the codes or other markings sensed by the sensor unit (3), to remove certain containers from the conveyor. 7. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 5 or 6, characterised in that the second speed is 2 to 3 times faster than the first speed. S. The apparatus as claimed in any of Claims 5 to 7, characterised in that the rotation device (2) includes a second conveyor which has its direction of transport transversely directed in relation to the discharge direction of the containers out from the feeder device (1). 9- The apparatus as claimed in Claim 8, characterised in that the second conveyor clines u ards in its direction of transport. 10. A sensor unit for sensing a marking on a container in sorting thereof, comprising a first sensor device for sensing a first type of marking, characterised in that at least one additional sensor device is included in the sensor unit (3) for sensing additional types of marking or codes. 1 The sensor unit as claimed in Claim 10, characterised in that the sensor devices included, consist of one or more of, for example, a bar code reader, a CCD camera, an TR light reader, a UV light reader, a reader for holograms, a sensor of embossed relief patterns, an identification device for metals or the like. 12. The sensor unit as claimed in Claim 10 or 11, characterised in that the sensor devices included are disposed in association with each other in a single unit (3). 13. The sensor unit as claimed in Claim 10 or 11, characterised ixi that the sensor unit is divided into at least two sub-units which are disposable in spaced apart relationship from each other.

Inventors: JANVER KRISTER, NEWMAN RUNE, JANVER, KRISTER, NEWMAN, RUNE
Applicants: ELEIKO SANERA AB, JANVER KRISTER, NEWMAN RUNE, JANVER, KRISTER, NEWMAN, RUNE
Application year: 2001
Main classification: B07C5
IPC codes: B07C5