Patent ID: 7754990

Claim:
Conveyor means for a facility for receiving returnable items, in particular containers such as bottles, cans and the like of plastic, glass or metal, the conveyor means comprising: a drum ( 220 ) adapted for coupling to a drum drive, said drum having a circumferential surface and being rotatable about a central longitudinal axis ( 221 ) and having in an axial direction an elongate and radially extending recess ( 222 ) being adapted to receive a returnable item and having a mouth opening in a portion of the circumferential surface of the drum, a movable elongate element ( 223 ) provided in said radially extending recess ( 222 ), which movable elongated element ( 223 ) is adapted to be movable in a piston-like way in a radial direction relative to said drum between a retracted position and an advanced position, an element drive ( 230 ) adapted to provide a movement of said elongated element between said retracted position in a second rotational position of said drum and an advanced position in a first rotational position of said drum, said second rotational position being different from said first rotational position of said drum, an allocated input area ( 210 ) located above said drum for allowing a returnable item received in the input area to be placed on a part of the circumferential surface of said drum facing towards the input area, when the drum is in a rotational position with the mouth opening of the radially extending recess not facing the input area, and a first output ( 224 ) proximal to an outer surface level ( 228 ) of said drum, and covering an angular interval of the drum rotation that includes the first rotational position, wherein the element drive is adapted to position the elongate element in the retracted position when the drum is positioned in the second rotational position with the mouth opening of the radially extending recess facing upwards and towards the allocated input area, and the conveyor means ( 200 ) is adapted a) to establish an open fall path extending from the allocated input area ( 210 ) to a bottom of the radially extending recess ( 222 ), said bottom of the radially extending recess being provided by the movable elongate element ( 223 ) in the retracted position when the drum is in the second rotational position with the mouth opening of the radially extending recess facing upwards and towards the allocated input area so as to allow a returnable item having been deposited in the allocated input area to fall freely into and be received in the radially extending recess, and b) to rotate the drum, upon establishment of the open fall path, from the second rotational position to the first rotational position while moving the elongated element to the advanced position to forceably drive a returnable item received in the radially extending recess out of the radially extending recess through the mouth opening and to the first output.