Patent ID: 7140161

Claim:
A container handling machine ( 1 ) such as filler, rinser, or closer for the processing of containers that comprise a neck ring, said machine comprising a bottle processing device with a processing device rotatable carousel and processing stations for the containers ( 6 ), with at least one input star ( 4 ), with at least one output star and/or at least one transfer star, with a plurality of carrying pockets disposed at the rotatable carousel and/or the stars wherein each of the stars is disposed on a reference diameter that is smaller than the rotatable carousel related reference diameter of a transfer point of the container ( 6 ) between the rotatable carousel and the input star and/or the output star ( 4 ) and/or the transfer star; said processing device rotatable carousel comprising a plurality of carrying pockets to hold neck portions of bottles which neck portion is disposed adjacent and below the neck ring of the bottles in its said processing device; said processing device rotatable carousel further comprising processing device circular portions being disposed between said carrying pockets which circular portions separate said carrying pockets from one another; said processing device circular portions disposed about said processing device rotatable carousel comprising a diameter across said processing device rotatable carousel; said carrying pockets being sufficiently deep such that the outermost neck portions of the bottles disposed adjacent and below the neck ring of the bottles contained in the pockets are supported by the neck portion of the bottles, which outermost neck portions adjacent and below which the neck ring of the bottles are disposed are at a diameter being substantially equal to said diameter of said processing device circular portions of said processing device rotatable carousel; a processing device outer guide arrangement comprising a first portion configured to move the bottles fed into said processing device rotatable carousel from the input star delivering bottles to said processing device and into said pockets on said processing device rotatable carousel and a second processing device portion configured to guide the bottles around said processing device rotatable carousel; said processing device second portion of said processing device outer guide arrangement being disposed about said processing device rotatable carousel; and said second portion of said processing device outer guide arrangement having an inner diameter being substantially equal to said diameter of said processing device circular portions to form a gap between said inner portion of said second portion of said processing device outer guide arrangement and said processing device circular portions of said processing device carousel to minimize said gap between said processing device outer guide arrangement and said processing device circular portions.