Abstract:
An automated arrangement for filling a shipping rack structure with water bottles (or any other type of bottle) includes an elevator arrangement and a pusher component, both under the control of a programmed control element (such as a microprocessor), to automatically present a plurality of filled bottles to an open rack “column” and move (push) the bottles from the elevator into the rack. The loader system is pre-programmed with inputs including the array size of the rack being loaded (i.e., how many bottles “deep” along each rail, the number of rows in the rack and the number of columns in the rack). With this information, the elevator will thus lift the proper number of bottles into place to fill a column, and then stop. Once the elevator stops, the pusher component will advance to move the column of bottles into the rack. The pusher then retracts, the elevator is re-started, and the next column of filled bottles is loaded into the elevator.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/850,163, filed Oct. 6, 2006. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to an automated arrangement for loading filled water bottles into a shipping rack and, more particularly, to an automated arrangement that is processor-controlled to fill different types of racks without requiring a physical change in the loader system. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     As a result of less-than-satisfactory water quality in many cities in the United States (and elsewhere), individuals often purchase bottled drinking water that comes from a variety of different sources. Often, such customers buy spring water that is bottled in five gallon plastic containers and mounted on dispensing units in offices and homes, whereby the water in the bottles can be disposed into cups or the like that are placed under the spigot of the dispensing unit (water cooler). 
     Since a customer has to lift the filled water bottle and invert it onto the water cooler, the bottle itself must be manageable in terms of its weight and configuration. It has been found that the five gallon size of water bottle is preferred, if not mandated. Not counting the weight of the bottle itself, the water within a filled five gallon container weight approximately forty-four pounds—not an insubstantial amount to lift and guide into the top opening of a water cooler. For this reason, the water bottle itself is formed of a lightweight plastic and comprises a relatively thin-walled configuration (so that the bottle itself has a minimal weight, on the order of only a few pounds). 
     Due to the thin wall of the plastic bottles, coupled with the weight of the water, these bottles are somewhat fragile and must be handled with care to avoid rupturing the bottles and/or disturbing the seal of the cap. This fragility poses even more significant problems within the bottling and distribution aspects of the commercial water business. 
     Indeed, the delivery process for such bottle water typically involves filling the plastic bottles with spring water (or the like), capping the bottles with plastic caps, and loading the filled and capped bottles onto shipping racks for delivery to customers.  FIG. 1  is a side view of an exemplary prior art “five high” rack  10  including a plurality of support rails  12 - 1 ,  12 - 2 , . . . ,  12 - 5  for supporting bottles in a plurality of five rows  14 - 1 ,  14 - 2 , . . . ,  14 - 5 . As shown, prior art rack  10  is “two deep”, meaning that the depth D of rack  10  is sized to accommodate two water bottles. In such a two-deep rack, the bottles may be unloaded from either side to efficiently remove the water at its destination.  FIG. 2  is a front view of rack  10 , with one water bottle removed to illustrate an exemplary support rail  12 . In this exemplary embodiment, rack  10  is shown as having three separate columns  16 - 1 ,  16 - 2  and  16 - 3 . 
     It is to be understood that the array size of any such rack is matter of design and convenience. Indeed,  FIG. 3  is a side view of an alternative prior art rack  20 , in this case for supporting smaller (e.g., three gallon) bottles, where prior art rack  20  is formed to include a plurality of rails  22 - 1 ,  22 - 2  and  22 - 3  in a plurality of three rows  24 - 1 ,  24 - 2  and  24 - 3 . In this embodiment for supporting smaller bottles, rack  20  is formed to comprise a depth d sufficient to support a “three deep” arrangement (i.e., three water bottles supported on each rail  22 ).  FIG. 4  is a front view of prior art rack  20 , showing in this embodiment three columns  26 - 1 ,  26 - 2  and  26 - 3  being used to define the rack structure. Both racks  10  and  20  are formed to include spaced-apart tunnels  11  and  21 , respectively, to allow for the rack to be lifted and moved by a fork lift (not shown). 
     Small bottled water producers often load racks such as those shown in  FIGS. 1-4  by hand, with a crew receiving the filled bottles from a filling line, lifting the bottles and guiding them into the various compartments within the rack structure. At times, the bottles must be pushed toward the rear of the rack (e.g., when loading “two deep” or “three deep”). When the racks have compartments “four high” or “five high”, the crew must lift the filled bottle (weighing over forty pounds) over four feet in the air to place them in the racks. Such manual loading requires considerable physical exertion to load a single rack structure containing, for example, twenty-four or more bottles. Since the bottles are somewhat fragile, the crew must not “bang” the bottles against the rack or its rails, or the bottles could rupture or the seal caps be compromised. 
     Obviously, the labor-intensive manual loading of these bottles in racks places the crew at risk for injuries associated with the difficult and repetitive lifting involved. Larger bottled water producers have therefore resorted to large machines for automatically loading water-filled bottles into shipping racks, some machines costing upwards of a million dollars. Further, these machines often consume significant floor space and require high vertical clearances of two stories or more. Machines of this type are disclosed and described in detail in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,929,140 issued to Baker, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,330 issued to Tonjes. 
     Thus, a need remains in the art for an automated arrangement for loading filled bottles into a rack structure that is less expensive and more compact than the arrangements available in the prior art, allowing for small bottled water companies to utilize an automated system. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The need remaining in the art is addressed by the present invention, which relates to an automated arrangement for loading filled water bottles into a shipping rack and, more particularly, to an automated arrangement that is processor-controlled to fill different types of racks without requiring a physical change in the loader system. 
     In accordance with the present invention, an automated loader system has been developed that includes an elevator arrangement and a pusher component, both under the control of a programmed control element (such as a microprocessor), to automatically present a plurality of filled bottles to an open rack “column” and move (push) the bottles from the elevator into the rack. The loader system is pre-programmed with inputs including the array size of the rack being loaded (i.e., how many bottles “deep” along each rail, the number of rows in the rack and the number of columns in the rack). With this information, the elevator will thus lift the proper number of bottles into place to fill a column, and then stop. Once the elevator stops, the pusher component will advance to move the column of bottles into the rack. The pusher then retracts, the elevator is re-started, and the next column of filled bottles is loaded into the elevator. 
     In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the elevator arrangement is formed to include a plurality of “seats” for supporting each bottle as it enters the elevator. Preferably, the outer edge of each seat includes a lip sufficient to prevent the bottle from rolling off the seat as it is lifted. The elevator is preferably formed as a conveyor belt configuration, with the seats continuously rotating about the vertical axis to present an empty seat for the next-available filled bottle. 
     The pusher component preferably comprises a plurality of separate arms coupled to a single push rod, where each arm engages with an associated bottle for moving the bottle from the elevator into the rack. It is an aspect of the present invention that the use of the programmed control element allows for the pusher component to “know” the proper force for pushing the bottle, and for how far to move the arms forward as a function of how “deep” into the rack the bottles need to be moved. Further, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, each pusher arm further comprises an end cap of a material suitable for engaging the bottle at the “shoulders” surrounding the bottle cap, thus allowing for the bottles to be pushed by applying force to the bottle itself instead of the bottle cap (where in many prior art automated arrangements the bottle cap is “pushed” to move the bottles and damage occurs when the cap is dented or broken). 
     The conveyor support for the rack itself may be further configured to include “stop” elements that are used to register the movement of the rack at the completion of filling each column. Inasmuch as the stop elements may be controlled by the same programmed control element as the pusher and the elevator, the movements of each element may be sequenced to form a fully automated arrangement. 
     Other and further aspects and embodiments of the present invention will become apparent during the course of the following discussion and by reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Referring now to the drawings, 
         FIGS. 1-4  contain various views of exemplary prior art rack structures for supporting and transporting filled water bottles; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an exemplary automated loader system formed in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a portion of the elevator component of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  contains a side view of the elevator component of the automated loader system of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a side view of an exemplary pusher component of the present invention, comprising a plurality of push rods and associated end caps; 
         FIG. 9  shows an end cap/push rod disposed in place over a filled water bottle, showing the end cap in place against the “shoulder” of the bottle; 
         FIG. 10  is a front view of the combination of a water bottle and end cap, illustrating the location of the end cap with respect to the bottle cap; and 
         FIG. 11  is an isometric view of an exemplary conveyor support system for a rack structure, including automated stops for controlling the advancement of a rack as it is being filled in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 5  is an isometric view of an exemplary automated rack loader system  30  formed in accordance with the present invention. Automated rack loader system  30  is illustrated as comprising an elevator element  32 , a pusher element  34  and a process control unit  36 . An exemplary rack structure  40  is shown in position adjacent to elevator  32  of system  30 , ready to receive a load of filled water bottles. In this case, rack structure  40  is shown as being a ‘two deep’, ‘five high’ rack. 
     In overall operation, filled water bottles are presented in a horizontal orientation to elevator  32 , where as elevator  32  rotates, the bottles will roll into an empty “seat”  38  of elevator  32 . In accordance with the present invention, the positioning of sets  38  along elevator  32  is configured to match up with the openings in rack  40 . Once the five elevator seats adjacent to the compartments in rack  40  are each supporting a filled water bottle, elevator  32  will be deactivated (preferably via process control unit  36 , as discussed below). At this point in time, pusher element  34  is activated to urge the bottles off of seats  38  and into the open compartments of rack  40 . Once the bottles are loaded in place, pusher element  34  will retract, and the process begins again with elevator  32  put in motion to accept the next set of filled water bottles. Inasmuch as rack  40  of  FIG. 5  is a ‘two-deep’ configuration, two columns of bottles will be placed in each section of rack  40  before advancing the rack to align the next column with elevator  32 . As will be discussed in detail below, a set of mechanized stops  42  may be inserted along the conveyor supporting rack  40  and used to control the advancement of the rack during loading. Advantageously, stops  42 , elevator  32  and pusher element  34  are all controlled by process control unit  36 , as described below, to provide the proper automated sequence of movements for each element. 
       FIG. 6  is a detailed view of a portion of elevator  32 , illustrating three seats  38  and their attachment to elevator  32 , where  FIG. 7  is a simplified side view of the complete assembly of elevator  32 , showing the movement of seats  38  as the conveyor structure is rotated under the control of process control unit  36 . Referring back to  FIG. 6 , each seat  38  is shown as bolted to a chain drive  50  that is used to provide the conveyor motion. Other types of conveyor arrangements may be used in accordance with the present invention. Seats  38  are shown as being slightly concave (best seen in  FIG. 7 ) to accommodate the rounded shape of the bottles. Preferably, each seat  38  is formed to include a raised edge  39  as a type of “lip” to prevent the bottle from rolling off of the seat as elevator  32  is raised. Importantly, raised edge  39  needs to be high enough to prevent the bottles from rolling, while not so high as to prevent the bottle from rolling onto seat  38  in the first instance. 
     In the embodiment as shown in  FIG. 7 , a motorized gear  52  is used to engage with chain drive  50  and control the rotation of elevator  32 . A control line  54  coupled between motorized gear  52  and process control unit  36  provides the signals used to activate and de-activate the movement of elevator  32 . In particular, a control signal is used to allow the conveyor structure to rotate at a predetermined speed to allow, for example, a set of five water bottles to be placed in an associated set of five seats  38 . Once all five seats are occupied, the control signal will change to deactivate the movement of elevator  32 . Alternatively, if the rack being used is “four-high” instead of “five-high”, the control signal will allow for a set of four seats to be filled, then turn “off” elevator  32 . Advantageously, the use of process control unit  36  will allow for this activation/deactivation to occur automatically, as a function of the input signals applied to unit  36 . In particular, the input data will define the parameters of the rack currently being loaded in terms of the number of columns, the number of rows, and the depth of each opening. With this information, unit  36  is able to properly sequence the operation of each element within the system in an automated fashion. 
       FIG. 8  contains a detailed view of an exemplary embodiment of pusher element  34 , illustrating its placement with respect to an associated elevator  32  of automated system  30 . In this particular embodiment, pusher element  34  includes a plurality of arms  60 - 1 ,  60 - 2 , . . . ,  60 - 5 , vertically disposed in aligned fashion with an associated plurality of seats  38 - 1 ,  38 - 2 , . . . ,  38 - 5  of elevator  32 . The plurality of arms  60  are joined together by a horizontal tie bar  62 , with a hydraulic push rod  64  coupled to tie bar  62  to control the back and forth movement of the plurality of arms  60 . Additional stability is provided in this configuration by a front brace member  66  and rear brace member  68  and associated guide wheels  63 ,  65 ,  67  and  69 . The additional stability allows for the horizontal movement of arms  60  to remain in alignment with elevator  32  during repetitive motions of both elements. A control signal line  70  is coupled between program control unit  36  and pusher element  34  to activate/deactivate hydraulic push rod (or other suitable mechanism) to control the motion of arms  60  in the proper sequence with the loading of the filled water bottles onto elevator  32 . 
     Shown in particular in the illustration of  FIG. 8  is the utilization of a set of end caps  72  at the termination of push arms  60 , where end caps  72  are used to contact the filled bottles and provide the momentum to push the bottles from elevator  32  into rack  40 . One known problem with some prior art automated rack filling systems is that the “push” force is applied to the caps of the bottles. The strength of this push force has been known to compromise the integrity of the cap and/or its seal, causing the bottle to rupture and necessitating the shut-down of the automated system. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a push arm has been developed that includes an end cap for surrounding the cap of the bottle and resting against the “shoulders” of the bottle, pushing the bottle instead of the cap to move the bottle into the rack. 
       FIG. 9  is a side view of an exemplary end cap  72  around bottle  100 , resting as shown against shoulder region  100 -S of bottle  100 .  FIG. 10  is a front view, showing the locations of shoulder  100 -S and cap  100 -C of bottle  100 . The utilization of such an encapsulating, end cap arrangement thus shifts the point of contact between the pusher arm and the bottle from the bottle cap  100 -C to the bottle shoulder area  100 -S, spreading the push force across a wider area that is better able to withstand the pressure and prevent rupture during loading. 
       FIG. 11  illustrates a portion of a support structure  80  used to advance rack  40  as it is being filled, where rack  40  is illustrated in phantom in this view. In accordance with another aspect of the automated system of the present invention, a plurality of “stops”  42  are utilized along support structure  80  to control the advancement of rack  40  during filling. Stops  42  are mechanized via a control signal along line  82  from process control unit  36  so as to be in the raised position, as shown in  FIG. 11 , during the filling process. Once a complete column of rack  40  is filled (either two-deep or three-deep, as the case may be), stops  42  are lowered (at essentially the same time that pusher element  24  is retracted). When stops  42  are lowered, rack  40  advances via gravity action until the next empty column is in place. By knowing the time it takes for one section of rack  40  to advance, the control signal along line  82  is again activated to raise stops  42  and thus hold rack  40  in place for the next round of filling. The raising and lowering of stops  42  is repeated for each column of rack  40  until the entire rack has been filled. Once the rack is completely filled, stops  42  are again lowered to allow for the rack to exit the system (while the next empty rack is positioned in place). Again, since process control unit  36  uses input data defining the various dimensions of the rack (in terms of depth, rows and columns, for example), the movement of stops  42  can be easily controlled. 
     The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although a few exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the claims. Therefore, it is to be understood that the foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limited to the specific embodiments, and that modifications to the disclosed embodiments, as well as other embodiments, are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. The invention is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.