Abstract:
A system for feeding container closures to a capper (which can be part of or separate from the system) in a beverage filling plant comprises a sorter, an elevating conveyor and an inspection device, where the inspection device is disposed before the elevating conveyor, which enables better access to locations where faults can potentially occur.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority from German Patent Application No. 20 2012 104 464.1, filed on Nov. 19, 2012 in the German Patent and Trademark Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Technical Field 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a device for feeding container closures to a capper in a beverage filling plant, preferably for feeding plastic screw caps to a screw capper, for closing plastic bottles having a closing thread by means of a screw cap. 
         [0004]    2. Related Art 
         [0005]    It is known to feed container closures, in particular plastic screw caps, via feeder devices to a capper. In this, the container closures are usually sorted into the correct orientation in a sorter, for example a cascade sorter, an inclined sorter, a vibration sorter or a centrifugal sorter, wherein these sorters are usually disposed close to the floor. After being sorted in this manner, the container closures are raised by an elevating conveyor to the height required for the corresponding capper. Air conveyors or inclined belt conveyors are usually used as elevating conveyors. From the height which they thereby reach, which is usually in the region of 10 meters above floor level, the closures are then fed to the capper via a suitable closure chute, which also serves as a closure buffer. Before the capper, the container closures are inspected for possible damage or incorrect orientation, with defective container closures then being removed from the stream. After the inspection device, the container closures are then fed to the actual capper, which carries out the closing of the beverage containers which are to be closed using the applicable capping heads. 
         [0006]    Access to locations where faults can potentially occur is difficult. This applies for example to access to the air conveyors or the long inclined belts. Furthermore, the height which can be reached is limited, particularly if air conveyors are used. 
         [0007]    From DE 10 2008 047 286 A1, a device for producing containers is known, in which a closing apparatus is provided, to which closures are fed via a feeder device in the form of a transport path or transport track. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    Proceeding from the known state of the art, a device for feeding container closures to a capper is provided, which enables better access to locations where faults can potentially occur. 
         [0009]    In one embodiment, the device for feeding container closures to a capper in a beverage filling plant comprises a sorter, an elevating conveyor and an inspection device. In one embodiment, the inspection device is disposed before the elevating conveyor. 
         [0010]    By means of the location of the inspection device before the elevating conveyor, and hence before the container closures are transported to the height required by the capper, the inspection device is disposed in an area which is usually easily accessible for operators. In one embodiment, the inspection device is disposed close to the floor. 
         [0011]    By means of the location of the inspection device in such a position, the sorter, which represents a particular source of faults, the conveyor to the inspection device, and the inspection device itself are correspondingly disposed close to the floor, with the result that the main locations in which faults occur are easily accessible for operators. In particular, the locations of faults can be cleared and the faults can be rectified before the container closures are conveyed via the elevating conveyor to an area which is more difficult to access. 
         [0012]    Furthermore, by means of an inspection in an area of the plant which is located at the beginning of the container closure transport stream, it is possible to prevent incorrectly oriented or incorrectly dimensioned container closures, or container closures whose properties are otherwise incorrect, from entering the downstream areas of the plant. Faults caused by such defective container closures can thereby be avoided. In other words, the fact that the inspection device is disposed before the elevating conveyor makes it possible to reject at this early stage, before they enter the elevating conveyor, any container closures that are damaged or do not conform to the specified dimensions, and which could consequently cause problems in the elevating conveyor or downstream thereof. 
         [0013]    The elevating conveyor, in one embodiment, is in the form of a chain conveyor, in order to avoid the use of an air conveyor or belt conveyor, which requires extensive maintenance and are fault-prone. Correspondingly, by the use of a chain conveyor, for example a chain conveyor in the form of a helix, it is also possible to achieve particularly compact dimensions along with an energy consumption which is significantly reduced at least in comparison with an air conveyor. The use of a chain conveyor may thereby be classified as significantly less fault-prone than the use of an air conveyor. Fault-free operation of the chain conveyor is further ensured by the fact that the container closures are pre-sorted and correctly oriented before they enter the chain conveyor, and also by the fact that all defective container closures have been rejected by means of the inspection device. 
         [0014]    Between the sorter and the inspection device, a separating device is provided in one embodiment, which separates the individual container closures before they enter the inspection device in order to permit separate inspection of each individual container closure to be carried out without problems. 
         [0015]    In a further example embodiment, the inspection device can, however, also be disposed before the sorter, so that defective container closures can be rejected before they enter the sorter, in which the closures are positioned in their correct orientation. 
         [0016]    In one embodiment, the inspection device is provided immediately before the elevating conveyor, such as a chain conveyor, in order to ensure that the container closures which reach the elevating conveyor, and are hence conveyed out of the operator&#39;s immediate area of influence, are correctly oriented and correctly dimensioned, and that therefore no defective container closures are transported. 
         [0017]    In a further embodiment, the chain conveyor is followed by a closure buffer, in which interim storage of the container closures can take place if there is a mismatch between the supply of the container closures and the consumption of the container closures. This enables the bridging of the gaps caused by short-term disruptions in the plant affecting either the conveying of container closures or the capper itself, so that continuous operation of the plant is possible. 
         [0018]    The closure buffer can either be provided immediately following the chain conveyor, or alternatively there can be an additional cross-transport device between the chain conveyor and the closure buffer. As an additional cross-transport device, a chain cross conveyor is again suitable, being particularly unsusceptible to faults. 
         [0019]    In a further embodiment, the closure buffer is disposed between the inspection device and the elevating conveyor. It can also be ensured in this manner that the container closures that are stored temporarily in the closure buffer are both correctly oriented and correctly dimensioned, and that there are no defective container closures in the closure buffer. 
         [0020]    The closures, which are either conveyed via the chain conveyor to the closure buffer or are conveyed from the closure buffer via a further cross-transport device, for example a chain cross conveyor, are finally fed to the actual capper from above via a known closure chute with the required feed pressure. Before the capper, in one embodiment, an additional treatment device for treating the container closures can be provided, for example a rinsing device or a disinfecting device in order to supply the capper with hygienically acceptable container closures. 
         [0021]    In a further embodiment, the treatment of the closures can also take place in any other location, for example before the elevating conveyor, before the closure buffer, or before a cross-transport device; in these cases, the components that are provided downstream of the applicable closure treatment device may operate within an isolator or sterile housing, in order not to compromise the prior sterilization or initial cleaning of the container closure in the course of its subsequent transport. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0022]    Further embodiments and aspects of the present invention are more fully explained by the description below of the figures. 
           [0023]      FIG. 1  is a schematic representation of a first embodiment of the device for feeding container closures to a capper; 
           [0024]      FIG. 2  is a schematic representation of a second embodiment of a device for feeding container closures to a capper, and 
           [0025]      FIG. 3  a schematic representation of a third device for feeding container closures to a capper according to one embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0026]    Examples of embodiments are described below with the aid of the figures. In the figures, elements which are identical or similar, or have identical effects, are designated with identical reference signs, and repeated description of these elements is in part dispensed with in the description below, in order to avoid redundancy. 
         [0027]    In  FIG. 1 , a schematic representation of a device  1  for feeding container closures to a capper  10  according to one embodiment is shown. The device  1  feeds the container closures, which are not shown here, to a capper  10  which, by means of suitable capping heads, attaches the closures that are fed to it to, for example, containers filled with a beverage. The capper  10 , in one embodiment, is a screw capper, which serves to screw plastic screw caps onto, for example, the neck finish threads of PET bottles or other plastic bottles which have screw threads. Such screw cappers are known in principle from the state of the art. 
         [0028]    Before the capper  10 , a closure treatment device  12  is provided, which serves to clean or sterilize the container closures that are fed to it, and/or fill and/or surround them with a protective gas atmosphere. This closure treatment device  12  for treating the container closures is particularly important when beverage containers are filled in a sterile environment, and accordingly at least the inside of the container closure, which is in direct contact with the filled product after closing, must be sterile or aseptic and hygienically acceptable. 
         [0029]    The container closures are first conveyed, via a conveying apparatus which is not shown, to a sorter  2  in which the container closures are oriented correctly. The sorter  2  can be for example a cascade sorter, an inclined sorter, a vibration sorter or a centrifugal sorter. The above-mentioned sorters use the asymmetric mass distribution of container closures, for example of plastic container closures, to achieve a suitable orientation. 
         [0030]    After being sorted into the correct orientation by the sorter  2 , the container closures are conveyed via a closure chute  20  to a separating device  3 , which then deposits the separated container closures onto a cross-transport belt  30 . The separating device is for example in the form of a notched wheel, which thereby serves to separate the container closures that are conveyed to it. 
         [0031]    The cross-transport device  30  is, in on embodiment, in the form of a chain conveyor, since such a horizontally oriented chain conveyor has a low probability of being the source of faults. 
         [0032]    The correctly oriented, separated container closures are then conveyed to an inspection device  4 , which carries out checks of the container closures, including checks for defects. Such defects can be for example imperfect circularity of a container closure, nicks or molding flash. The defects can also include deformations of the container closures caused by collision and/or abrasion, and/or torn-off tamper-evident bands. The container closures can also be subject to deviations in their overall dimensions, or other material defects which result for example in reduced weight. Container closures that are recognized by the inspection device  4  as defective are removed from the stream. The container closures that are not recognized by the inspection device  4  as defective are then conveyed to an elevating conveyor  5 , by means of which the container closures are raised to the height required for the subsequent procedure of feeding them to the capper  10 . The elevating conveyor  5  is, in one embodiment, in the form of a chain conveyor, which is significantly less prone to faults in comparison with the air conveyors which are usually used. 
         [0033]    Accordingly, the inspection device  4  is disposed immediately before the elevating conveyor  5 , to ensure that the container closures conveyed to the elevating conveyor  5  have been classified by the inspection device as acceptable. In particular, the container closures that are conveyed have the correct orientation, dimensions and surface properties. Consequently, the elevating conveyor  5  is free of faults that would have resulted from the entry into it of defective container closures. 
         [0034]    The fact that the sorter  2 , the separating device  3  and the inspection device  4  are disposed before the elevating conveyor  5  further implies that these components are disposed in an area of the plant which is significantly lower than the upper end  50  of the elevating conveyor  5 . Accordingly, the sorter  2 , the separating device  3  and the inspection device  4  are usually disposed close to the floor or on the floor area of the device  1 , so that operating staff have easy access to these components. The areas of the plant that are classified as fault-prone, namely in particular the sorter  2 , the separating device  3 , and the inspection device  4  with its device for removing closures from the stream, can thus be disposed in the floor area, so that operating staff have direct access to them and are thereby able to rectify quickly any faults that occur. 
         [0035]    After being raised by the elevating conveyor  5  to the upper end  50  of the elevating conveyor  5 , the container closures are then conveyed to a closure buffer  6 , which serves to buffer the container closures if a mismatch arises between the supply of container closures from the sorter  2  and the uptake of container closures by the capper  10 . The location of the closure buffer  6  above the elevating conveyor  5 , and in particular after the inspection device  4 , ensures that the closure buffer  6  also receives only correctly oriented, correctly dimensioned container closures with the correct properties. The container closures are then conveyed from the closure buffer  6  via a closure chute  60  to the closure treatment device  12  that was described above. The closure chute  60  is usually inclined, so that conveyance by gravity takes place. Since, however, the container closures that are conveyed through the closure chute  60  have already been recognized by the inspection device  4  as correctly oriented, correctly dimensioned and having the correct material properties, the closure chute  60  is also significantly less fault-prone than in a conventionally arranged plant. 
         [0036]      FIG. 2  shows a further example embodiment of a device  1 ′, in which the sorter  2  with the downstream closure chute  20  supplies the pre-sorted closures to the separating device  3 , wherein the separating device  3  deposits the closures that have been separated in this manner onto the cross-transport device  30 . The correctly oriented and separated closures are then conveyed to the inspection device  4 , which directly transfers the closures that are found to be correct to the chain conveyor  5 . The chain conveyor  5  in turn transports the closures to the upper end  50  of the chain conveyor, then transfers them to a cross-transport device  52 , which is preferably in the form of a chain conveyor or a belt conveyor. 
         [0037]    Because the inspection device  4  has already ensured that the container closures are correctly oriented and correctly dimensioned, faults also do not occur on the cross-transport device  52 , which subsequently discharges into the closure buffer  6 . Downstream of this is again the closure chute  60 , which facilitates the feeding of container closures to the closure treatment device  12  and finally to the capper  10 . 
         [0038]    Here too, the location of the inspection device  4  before the elevating conveyor  5  is an essential precondition for disposal of the sorter  2 , the separating device  3  and the inspection device  4 , with its device for removing closures from the stream, in an area to which operating staff have easy access. Consequently, the places in which faults most frequently occur are easily accessible, with the result that staff can intervene quickly if a disruption of the plant&#39;s operation occurs. 
         [0039]      FIG. 3  shows a further embodiment of the device  1 ″, in which the container closures are again sorted by the sorter  2  into the correct orientation and conveyed via the closure chute  20  to the separating device  3 . The separated container closures are then conveyed via the cross-transport device  30  to the inspection device  4 , and those container closures that are thereby found to be correctly oriented and to have the correct properties are conveyed via the elevating conveyor  5 , which is again formed as a chain conveyor, to the closure buffer  6  disposed at the upper end  50  of the elevating conveyor. From the closure buffer  6 , the correctly oriented and dimensioned container closures are conveyed, via a cross-transport device  62  which is again for example in the form of a chain conveyor or belt conveyor, to the closure chute  60 , where the container closures are then fed to the closure treatment device  12  and finally to the capper  10 . 
         [0040]    By means of the compact arrangement of the sorter  2 , closure chute  20 , separating device  3 , cross-transport device  30  and inspection device  4  before the elevating conveyor  5 , a compact arrangement which also provides an economical use of space is achieved. 
         [0041]    In addition to the conveying of the plastic screw caps that are mentioned here by way of example, closures of any other kind can be conveyed by the applicable device, for example natural corks, crown caps or other types of screwed closures. The conveying of preforms and bottles is also possible. 
         [0042]    To the extent applicable, all individual features described in the individual example embodiments can be combined with each other and/or exchanged, without departing from the field of the invention.