Abstract:
An apparatus for use in a conveying system having carriages guided on a guide of a first conveying segment, each of which has a wheel catcher that includes a conveying wheel having carriage catching areas, each of which is associated with one of several entrainers disposed along a periphery of the conveying wheel. Each entrainer has a carriage-catching surface that faces the rotation direction and that cooperates with a wheel catcher on a carriage. The entrainers are all independently controllable.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This is the national stage, under 35 USC 371, of PCT application PCT/EP2014/067785, filed on Aug. 20, 2014, which claims the benefit of the Sep. 12, 2013 priority date of German application DE 102013110081.3, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention relates to a container processing system, and in particular, to a conveying wheel. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Conveying systems with carriages transported on a self-contained conveying segment are suitable for a large number of applications, in particular also in the sector of the food and/or beverage industry, in particular with devices or systems for the conveying and/or handling of containers. 
         [0004]    With such conveying systems it is frequently necessary for the carriages to be moved further, for example, in the area of deflections in the conveying segment, with the aid of conveying wheels, that are driven to rotate in a conveying direction of rotation. 
         [0005]    If such a conveying wheel in a conveying device is located upstream of a conveying segment section, at which the onward movement of the carriages takes place with a feeding or conveying system located there, for example, with a feed chain, a transfer from the conveying segment stretch to the conveying wheel must take place. This transfer is often problematic, in part because, in the course of operating the conveying system, the feed chain&#39;s length may change slightly. These changes can arise, for example, from wear and/or loading have occurred in the feeding system or feed chain. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The invention provides, among other things, a conveying wheel that promotes problem-free transfer of carriages to the conveying wheel. 
         [0007]    A particular feature of the conveying wheel according to the invention lies in the fact that the catch areas comprise guiding and entraining elements, hereafter referred to as “entrainers.” In some embodiments, these entrainers are fingers. The entrainers promote onward movement of the carriages with the conveying wheel when catch elements of the carriages come in contact with them. The entrainers can be controlled individually relative to the conveying wheel in the conveying wheel&#39;s direction of rotation and against this direction of rotation. As a result of this, in a conveying system in which a chain carries a carriage along a conveying segment section upstream of the conveying wheel, each carriage is accelerated after its catch element has run into one of the catch areas of the conveying wheel. This acceleration arises from the entrainer&#39;s controlled. As a result of this acceleration, it is possible to reliably release the carriage from the feed system or the carriage chain or feed chain, and to do so even if the chain&#39;s length has changed as a result of wear and/or loading in the feeding system. 
         [0008]    In one aspect, the invention features an apparatus for use in a conveying system that comprises a plurality of carriages guided on a guide of a first conveying segment, each of the carriages comprising a wheel catcher. The apparatus includes a first conveying wheel that rotates in a rotation direction about a wheel axis and that has carriage catching areas, each of which is associated with one of a plurality of first entrainers. The first entrainers are disposed along a periphery of the first conveying wheel. A typical first entrainer has a carriage-catching surface that faces the rotation direction and that cooperates with a wheel catcher on one of the carriages. A typical entrainer is controllable independently of other entrainers. The entrainers are to move a catch surface thereof in a direction opposite the rotation direction. 
         [0009]    Among the foregoing embodiments are those in which the first first-entrainer is pivotable about an axis parallel to the conveying wheel axis. 
         [0010]    In other embodiments, entrainers are paired up with one and configured to pivot synchronously. Among these are embodiments in which the two entrainers pivot opposite each other. Among these are embodiments in which entrainers of a pair pivot in opposite directions and those in which one lags behind the other in the direction of rotation of the first conveying wheel. 
         [0011]    Other embodiments feature a plurality of tooth arrangements for coupling pairs of entrainers together. 
         [0012]    In other embodiments, a control point at which pivoting of the first first-entrainers takes place relative to the first conveying wheel is adjustable. Among these are those that have an adjustable control curve for adjustment of the control point. 
         [0013]    In other embodiments, the first conveying wheel comprises comprising a star wheel that comprises cut-out apertures formed on a circumference thereof. These cut-out apertures are open into a space radially beyond the star wheel. The first entrainers are pivotable relative to the star wheel and define fingers that protrude into corresponding ones of the cut-out apertures. The entrainers define fingers that protrude into corresponding cut-out apertures. 
         [0014]    In other embodiments, carriages can be moved on a closed movement path along the first conveying segment that has a deflection region. The first conveying wheel has carriage-catching areas around a circumference thereof. These carriage-catching areas engage the wheel catchers so as to propel the carriages while the carriages are in the deflection region. 
         [0015]    Other embodiments include a chain. In these embodiments, the first conveying segment has a first conveying segment section extending along a conveying direction. Meanwhile, the chain moves the carriages along the first conveying segment section. When a wheel catcher of a carriage engages a carriage-catching area of the first conveying wheel, a carriage-catching surface of the first first-entrainer moves in the rotation direction of the first conveying wheel, thereby accelerating the carriage. 
         [0016]    Other embodiments have a second conveying wheel identical to the first conveying wheel. The two conveying wheels are disposed at opposite ends of the first conveying segment with each being at a corresponding deflection region thereof. These two deflection regions define opposite ends of a first conveying segment section of the first conveying segment. 
         [0017]    Yet other embodiments include a second conveying segment that is a mirror image of the first conveying segment about a plane that is disposed halfway between the first and second conveying segments. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]    These and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying figures, in which: 
           [0019]      FIG. 1  shows a top view of a conveying system having a plurality of carriages moved on a closed movement path; 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  shows details of one of the carriages from  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0021]      FIGS. 3-5  show different views of one of the conveying wheels of the conveying wheel shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  shows entrainers from the conveying wheel from  FIGS. 3-5 ; 
           [0023]      FIG. 7  shows a guide curve for the curved pivoting of the entrainers shown in  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0024]      FIG. 8  shows a conveying system similar to that shown in  FIG. 1  with a further conveying segment; and 
           [0025]      FIGS. 9 and 10  show views of an alternative embodiment similar to that shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0026]      FIG. 1  shows a conveying system  1  having a plurality of carriages  2  spaced apart along a conveying direction A on a self-contained conveying segment  3  that moves the carriages  2  along the conveying direction A. The conveying segment  3  has first and second conveying-segment sections  3 . 1 ,  3 . 2  and first and second deflection sections  3 . 3 ,  3 . 4 . The first and second conveying-segment sections  3 . 1 ,  3 . 2  extend along straight lines. The first and second deflection sections  3 . 3 ,  3 . 4  are where the conveying segment  3  changes direction. 
         [0027]    The conveying system  1  also has first and second chains  6 ,  7 . Each of the first and second chains  6 ,  7  has feed links  8 , best seen in  FIG. 2 . The first conveying segment  3 . 1  uses the first chain  6  to move carriages  2  along the conveying direction A. Similarly, the second conveying segment  3 . 2  uses the second chain  7  to move carriages  2  in a direction parallel to but opposite the conveying direction A. The first and second chains  6 ,  7  can be carriage chains or feed chains. Each chain  6 ,  7  forms an endlessly running closed loop, the loop plane of which is perpendicular to a horizontal plane defined by the conveying segment  3 . 
         [0028]    Referring now to  FIG. 2 , the carriage  2  has guide rollers  4  that engage a guide  5  to guide the carriage  2  along the conveying segment  3 . Each carriage  2  also has a chain catcher  9  to engage feed links  8  of the first or second chain  6 ,  7  so that the chain  6 ,  7  can move the carriage  2  along the first or second conveying segment section  3 . 1 ,  3 . 2 . 
         [0029]    Referring back to  FIG. 1 , when a chain  6 ,  7  brings a carriage  2  to a deflection section  3 . 3 ,  3 . 4  there is a handover to a conveying wheel  10 . This handover results in the carriage  2  being propelled by the conveying wheel  10  instead of by the chain  6 ,  7 . 
         [0030]    Each conveying wheel  10  rotates synchronously with the first and second chains  6 ,  7  about a conveying wheel axis TA perpendicular to the plane of the conveying segment  3 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . In the illustrated embodiment, the conveying wheel axis TA is vertical or essentially vertical. 
         [0031]    In the embodiment shown, the two conveying wheels  10  are identical. Along its circumference, each conveying wheel  10  forms carriage-catching areas  11  for engaging a wheel catcher  12  on the carriage  2 . In  FIG. 2 , the wheel catcher  12  is a pin on the carriage  2 . 
         [0032]    A handover occurs in which the carriage  2  disengages from the chain  6 ,  7  and engages the conveying wheel  10 . This handover occurs in such a way that, as soon as the carriage&#39;s wheel catcher  12  has fully engaged the wheel&#39;s carriage-catching area  11 , the chain  6 ,  7  dips so that the carriage&#39;s chain catcher  9  can disengage itself from chain&#39;s feed link  8 . The carriage  2  then accelerates as a result of having engaged the wheel  10 . 
         [0033]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , each conveying wheel  10  comprises identical first and second star wheels  13  arranged coaxially with the conveying wheel axis TA with cut-out apertures  14  open on the circumference thereof. Referring now to  FIG. 4 , each cut-out aperture  14  has associated first and second guiding and entraining elements  14 ,  15 , hereinafter referred to as “entrainers.” As shown in  FIG. 6 , the wheel  10  rotates in a conveying direction B in such a way that the first entrainer  15  arrives at a specified angular position after the second entrainer  16  has already arrived there. For this reason, the first entrainer  15  is the “lagging” entrainer and the second entrainer  16  is the “leading” entrainer. 
         [0034]    The first and second entrainers  15 ,  16  are mounted on the star wheels  13  so that they can pivot about respective first and second entrainer axes  15 . 1 ,  16 . 1  parallel to the conveying wheel axis TA, as shown in  FIG. 9 . 
         [0035]    As shown in  FIGS. 6 and 9 , the first and second entrainers  15 ,  16  define fingers that extend into the cut-out aperture  14 . These fingers pivot individually between a first state, in which their sides face one another, which form catch and guiding surfaces for the wheel catchers  12 , are located in the area of the side surfaces of the apertures  14 , and exhibit a greater distance interval from one another, and a state running in the opposite direction, in which the guiding and entraining elements  15  are pivoted laterally into the respective aperture  14 , and their surfaces facing one another exhibit a distance interval from one another that is equal to or slightly greater than the cross-section of the wheel catchers  12 . The entrainers  15 ,  16  therefore form between them a contact and guide area that is radially open in relation to the conveying wheel axis TA. Pivoting the entrainers  15 ,  16  out of the first state into the second state accelerates a carriage  2  at the time of the handover to the conveying wheel  10  by way of the first entrainers  15  and the wheel catcher  12 , 
         [0036]    A tooth arrangement  17  connects the first and second entrainers  15 ,  16 . The connection with the tooth arrangement  17  is such that pivoting the first entrainer  15  and the wheel catcher  12  pivots the associated second entrainer  16  in the opposite direction. 
         [0037]    Referring now to  FIGS. 7 and 10 , a control curve  18  causes individually controlled pivoting of the first and second entrainers  15 ,  16  of each carriage-catching area  11 . It does so when it engages a bolt  19  at one end of the first entrainer  15 , as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 9 , and in side view in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0038]    The control curve  18  shown in  FIGS. 7 and 10  is on a machine frame that does not rotate with the conveying wheel  10 . Ideally, the control curve  18  has at least one adjustment element  20  that adjusts an angular position  21 . 1 ,  21 . 2  of a control point at which the bolt  19  engages the control curve  18 . Such adjustment permits the control curve  18  to accommodate for changes in length of the carriage chains or feed chains  6  due to wear or the influence of heat. 
         [0039]      FIG. 8  shows an alternative conveying system  1   a  that differs from the conveying system  1  having first and second conveying segments  3 ,  3   a  that are mirror images of each other about a plane of symmetry E oriented parallel to the conveying segment sections  3 . 1  of the first and second conveying segments  3 ,  3   a  and perpendicular to a plane defined by the first and second conveying segments  3 ,  3   a.    
         [0040]    The conveying system  1   a  thus has a pair of first chains  6 , a pair of second chains  7 , and two pairs of conveying stars  10 ,  10   a , all of which are synchronized so that the first and second conveying segments  3 ,  3   a  move carriages  2  at the same speed and in the same directions and so that carriages  2  carried by the first conveying segment sections  3 . 1  of the two conveying segments  3 ,  3   a  remain opposite each other as they move together in the conveying direction A along the plane of symmetry E. 
         [0041]    As  FIGS. 9 and 10  show, the control curves  18  and the arrangements of entrainers  15 ,  16  of the two conveying wheels  10 ,  10   a  differ from each other such that both conveying wheels  10 ,  10   a  will accelerate carriages  2  at handover in the same way. 
         [0042]    The conveying systems  1 , la described herein are well-suited for widely differing applications, including, but not limited to, conveying and/or handling of containers carried by the carriages  2 . The conveying system  1   a  shown in  FIG. 8  is also well-suited for assembling containers into container groups and/or for compacting container groups. In this case, the containers are moved on a container conveyor in the conveying direction A between the two conveying segment sections  3 . 1  and are assembled and compacted with function elements provided at the carriages  2  to form container groups. Within these container groups, the containers butt up against each other. 
         [0043]    The invention has been described through several exemplary embodiments. However, numerous alterations and derivations are possible, without thereby departing from the inventive concept underlying the invention, which is described in the attached claims.