Patent GB-706204-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to bottle washing machines
IPC: B08B9/42
Filed: 1951-05-30
Abstract: 706,204. Step-by-step conveyers. SEITZWERKE, GEB. May 30, 1951. [Sept. 30, 1949], No. 12652/51.- Class 78 (1) [Also in Groups XXIII and XXIV] A bottle washing machine comprises a series of individual bottle baskets adapted to be carried through the machine, an unloading and loading device at the front of the machine, a pre-rinsing arrangement in the front portion of the machine and a transporting mechanism at the rear of the machine adapted to move the baskets from a lower to an upper guide rail, wherein the driving mechanism incorporates an intermittently rotated shaft for driving the loading, unloading and pre-rinsing devices and a continuously rotated shaft which drives the constantly circulating transporting mechanism of the machine. Bottles 18, Fig. 1, on a loading track 12 at the front of the machine are pushed by a rod 20 into a waiting bottle basket 17 which is then moved over the prerinsing device 13, being guided by intermittently driven spur wheels 15 and 16. The basket is then moved through the machine on the lower running rail 42 for treatment therein. At the rear end of the machine the bottle baskets are guided by means of continuously rotating spur wheels 41, 40 on to the upper running rail 43 on which they are pushed to the front of the machine again. The spur wheel 15 guides the baskets so that bottles are delivered on to an unloading track 11 which is then swung upwardly to deposit the bottles on a conveyor 19. Intermittent driving of the spur wheels 15, 16 and continuous driving of spur wheels 40, 41 is effected from a gear box 21. Within the box a constant speed worm 25, Fig. 1, drives a worm wheel 24, Fig. 4, keyed to a sleeve 26 on a shaft 22. The sleeve drives the shaft 22 through a shear pin 27 and disc 28 secured to the shaft. The shaft 22 is therefore driven at constant speed which motion is transmitted to a wheel 29 provided with two gear portions having teeth 32 and 34 (see Fig. 3) respectively. The wheel 29 drives a generally elliptically shaped plate 30 mounted on a shaft 23 and provided with six rollers 31 on one side and two rollers 33 on the other, the teeth 32 being engageable with the rollers 31 while the teeth 34 are engageable with the rollers 33. In the position of the drive shown in Fig. 3 the plate 30 is' locked by two rollers 31 engaging an untoothed sector 35 of that gear portion having teeth 32. As the wheel 29 rotates the plate 30 remains stationary until a tooth 34 engages a roller 33. At this point it will be seen that the plate 30 will be driven at a slower speed than the shaft 22 due to the ratio of gear pitch circles a and f. As the wheel 29 further rotates a tooth 32 on pitch circle o will engage a roller 31 on pitch circle b so that the plate and shaft 22 will be rotated at the same speed. On further rotation of wheel 29 the plate will then be driven faster than the shaft 22 due to the engagement of another tooth 32 with another roller 31 on the pitch circles d and c respectively. Before the.plate 30 is re-locked in position by the sector 35 the speed of the plate and shaft 22 are again made equal on pitch circles e and b. The intermittently driven shaft 23 drives a gear 36, Fig. 1, which in turn drives the gears 15, 16. The shaft 22 drives through bevel gears, a gear 39 to thus continuously drive the gears 40, 41. Although advantageous it is not essential to provide a variable speed drive for the loading and unloading devices. A constant speed intermittent drive could be employed. Specification 688,418 is referred to.