Patent GB-715496-A (GB)
Title: Improvements relating to bottle cleaning machines
IPC: B08B9/42
Filed: 1952-01-04
Abstract: 715,496. Bottle-cleaning machines. WALLACE, W. J. Jan. 1, 1953 [Jan. 4, 1952], No. 342/52. Class 138(1) A bottle-cleaning machine comprises a conveyer for supporting inverted bottles, part of said conveyer being arranged to move in a circular arc about a fixed centre, a pair of side arms pivoted about said fixed centre and a cross-bar retractably mounted between the arms and carrying at least one cleaning fluid nozzle, wherein the arms are adapted to be moved in synchronism with the conveyer over the circular arc and means are provided to cause the nozzle to be moved into the neck of a bottle while the arms are so moved. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the conveyer 10 comprises a pair of chains 14, passing over sprockets 11, 12 and 13 and having secured therebetween, at equally spaced intervals, bars ,15, each formed with collars 16 to receive the necks of bottles 17. Spring steel strips 18 are connected between the bars 15 in alignment with the collars 16 to hold bottles up within a loading shoot 19 until the collars are positioned below the shoot. Nozzles 24 are mounted on a hollow cross-bar 23. slidable in slides 27 on a pair of arms 22 pivoted about the axis of the sprocket 12 and angularly movable between fixed stops 32, 30 against the action of springs 31. The cross-bar 23 is connected to the piston rod 33 of a piston movable in an air cylinder 34 fixedly mounted relative to the arms 22, to cross-bar 23 and the cylinder 34 having compressed air inlets 47 and 45, 46 respectively. The conveyer is constrained to move through a part of its course in a circular arc concentric with the axis of the sprocket 12 by means of guides 20. Supply of compressed air to the nozzles and cylinder is controlled by means of a cam 38, on the shaft 37 of the sprocket 11, coacting with follower 39 secured to a plunger 40 for actuating a number of valves in a casing 41 having outlets 42, 43 and 44 connected by flexible pipes to the inlets 45, 46 and 47 respectively. In operation dogs 28 on the sides of the chain 14 at the positions of the bars 15 engage spring-loaded dogs 29 mounted in the arms 22 and thus move the arms and nozzles in the direction of conveyer movement. During this movement the cam 38 is arranged to actuate the valves so that the nozzles are raised into the bottle necks and the nozzles supplied with compressed air whilst in the bottles and for the nozzles to be withdrawn after the bottles are cleaned. Bottles are prevented from lifting from the nozzles by means of fixed guides 21. When the arms reach the stops 30 the dogs 28 disengage the dogs 29 and the arms are returned to their initial position by the springs 31, in readiness for their next actuation. The cleaned bottles are deposited on to a discharge shoot 48. In another embodiment the cross-bar 23 is connected to slides slidable in the arms 22, and each having a roller engageable in a fixed cam groove so that as the arms 22 are angularly moved the rollers cause the raising and lowering of the nozzles. A pivoted pawl is provided at the beginning of the cam groove to ensure that the roller enters the correct portion of the groove. The cross-bar slides are urged downwardly by springs.