DE29807325U1 - Device for collecting and palletizing bottles - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

Device for collecting and palletizing bottles 5

The invention relates to a device for collecting and palletizing bottles, in particular empty plastic bottles.

Collecting and palletizing devices for empty glass bottles are known from practice. They consist of a palletizer and an upstream collecting device which is connected to a bottle conveyor. The collecting device is used to take over and layer the bottles fed in rows by the bottle conveyor. The collecting device consists of a storage table or a storage belt on which the bottles are placed in rows by the bottle conveyor. The bottles then travel upright along the storage table or belt without guidance and are finally pushed together in the storage area to form a layer of bottles. Here the palletizer can grasp them layer by layer with bottle grippers and build them up on a pallet base by inserting intermediate and cover layers to form a bottle stack, the so-called pallet. This collecting and palletizing technology is suitable for heavy and stable bottles. However, it cannot be used with sufficient safety for lightweight plastic bottles, particularly so-called PET bottles. These types of bottles are difficult to handle due to their low weight, electrostatic charge and the high feeding speed of the bottle conveyor.

EP-A-O 472 909 shows a variant of the collecting device. The bottles fed in a row by the bottle conveyor are collected by a pivoting

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The distribution device places the bottles in a serpentine pattern on a conveyor table, which then pushes them into parallel guide channels of a layer former. At the end of these channels, individual layers of bottles are separated by layer separators and fed to a palletizer by means of a transverse displacement device. This arrangement has the same problems as the state of the art known from practice.

Packaging machines that pack and unpack bottles in crates are known in many different versions from DE-C-28 45 660, DE-A-33 39 045, DE-A-37 03 926, DE-C-42 04 993, DE-A-43 29 179 and DE-A-196 28 563. Here, the glass bottles delivered in normal bottle crates are unpacked, fed to a filling system and then packed back into the bottle crates. Bottle crates of the type that can be used here are known from DE-A-44 09 964 or DE-U-297 00 878. DE-A-39 42 2 69 shows a transfer device that can be used for such purposes. Within the filling system, pallets are used to pick up and transport the bottles in accordance with DE-U-76 23 086. These systems and devices cannot be used for the generic purpose and application area and are particularly not suitable for use with PET bottles or in conjunction with a blow molding machine or another bottle producer. With this state of the art, the bottle crates also represent the final packaging.

DE-A-44 05 227 deals with a method and a device for separating palletized PET bottles. The PET bottles are removed from the pallet layers and loaded row by row into an air conveyor, which transports them to a filling plant.

BE-A-39 26 650 shows a palletizing device for layers of bottles with the insertion of slip-on bottoms, which are set up from flat cartons using a corresponding device directly on the palletizer.

DE-A-32 35 223 shows a method and a device for transporting bottle crates or other containers through treatment stations, for example bottle unpacking, crate washing and bottle packing machines. This technology concerns the handling of the crates, which are transported on trays arranged in a pallet layer. The bottles are removed from the crates by unpackers for filling and then packed back into the crates. The filled bottle crates are then palletized again.

Finally, DE-A-37 00 506 shows a storage cabinet with height-adjustable shelves for glass bottles. A palletizing device for containers made of magnetically detectable material is also known from DE-A-36 23 342.

Furthermore, it is known in practice to transport PET bottles using air conveyors. These conveyors are very complex to construct, take up a lot of space and are expensive. In addition, considerable hygiene problems arise. The object of the present invention is to show a possibility for the reliable handling of these critical bottle types.

The invention solves this problem with the features in the main claim.
The arrangement of a collection facility in the immediate vicinity of a bottle producer makes it possible to save on the large air conveyors, which are expensive to build and take up a lot of space, and to use

short output conveyors. The bottles produced are therefore picked up very quickly, moved and placed on one or more moving intermediate carriers for further processing.

Preferably, a single collection device with a capacity geared to bottle production is assigned to each individual bottle producer. For systems with a larger capacity with several bottle producers or blowing devices, several collection devices are provided accordingly. In the design according to the invention, the tendency for errors and failures when loading the intermediate carriers directly on the bottle producer is minimized as far as possible. This increases the operational reliability of the entire system. The capacity issue can be solved by connecting the collection devices to a common transport device and in particular by arranging an intermediate storage facility for the empty and/or loaded intermediate carriers. This enables in particular a central palletizer for the entire system and a further reduction in the risk of failure. On the one hand, the intermediate storage compensates for the different mass throughputs of the bottle producers and the central palletizer and, on the other hand, can also serve as a buffer in the event of failure or malfunction of individual system components. Above all, however, the bottle producer is decoupled from any disruptive influences from the palletizer or conveyor system area.

The invention ensures that the bottles always have a secure position and can also be positioned precisely, preferably by means of an essentially constant guidance of the bottles from the row holder on the bottle conveyor to the palletizer. The bottles can no longer fall over and can no longer cause operational disruptions. In particular, the

The device according to the invention is also able to pick up bottles at a very high feed speed, transfer them row by row, arrange them in layers and feed them to the palletizer on the intermediate carrier. The device according to the invention therefore has a very high performance capacity.

A particular advantage is that the row closure of the bottle rows fed with lateral spacing can also be

'The rows are closed during transfer within the gripping device by means of laterally adjustable row grippers. The bottles can then be arranged in the bottle layer ultimately formed on the intermediate carrier in a dense position suitable for the final palletizing. The device according to the invention can also be adjusted and converted to different bottle formats with relatively little effort.

When transferring or moving the rows of bottles, intermediate storage or buffering can take place via a storage table or similar. However, it is also possible to load the gripping device of the transfer device directly at the bottle conveyors or in the bottle producer and push the bottles directly into the row grippers. This enables very fast transfer and bottle layer formation.

Various designs for the bottle guides are specified in the subclaims. In the row holder, railing-like bottle guides that are adjustable in width ensure optimal lateral guidance. In addition, an axial guide can be created in the row holders using movable and controlled driven stops so that the bottles cannot fall over in any direction. In this case, a suitable offset of the stops

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Move the rows axially relative to each other so that they are arranged with a row offset and gaps between them and can be packed with maximum density in the bottle layer.

The preferred design of the bottle guide on the intermediate carrier allows the bottles to be connected closely to one another while still providing lateral guidance. This guide also makes it easier to insert the rows of bottles on the intermediate carrier and to pick up the bottle layer on the palletizer.

For high system performance, it is recommended to equip the collection device with several intermediate carriers and to move these back and forth in parallel or in a circular motion between the transfer unit and the palletizer. This means that the transfer unit is not interrupted by the intermediate carrier transport. It is also advantageous to arrange two or more layers of bottles on an intermediate carrier that correspond to the size of the pallet. This further increases the performance capacity and also creates a buffer in the event of any operational disruptions.

The Saramel and palletizing device according to the invention can be expanded to form larger bottle treatment systems, whereby the individual devices can overlap and complement each other. The number and allocation of the individual components, collecting device and palletizer can also be adapted in a suitable manner.

Despite its high level of safety, the collecting and palletizing device according to the invention requires relatively little construction and control technology. It also requires little space and can be expanded as required in the manner mentioned above. It can also be retrofitted to existing systems. The collecting and palletizing device according to the invention

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The palletizing device is not tied to specific materials or bottle formats, but can be used for any bottle. It also does not require specially trained operating personnel.

In the preferred embodiment, the intermediate carriers circulate within the bottle treatment system and are used to transport the empty bottles layer by layer between the bottle producer and the palletizer. In addition, the intermediate carriers can also circulate in a larger circuit by acting as a pallet component themselves and, together with the empty bottles, first reaching the filling system and from there, if necessary, further via the trade connections to the customer. From here, they can also be guided back into the bottle treatment system if necessary. This form of intermediate carrier with a preferably permanent bottle guide throughout the circuit facilitates the various bottle treatment processes and simplifies the construction and machine effort at the bottle producer, filler and logistics.

Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the subclaims.

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The invention is illustrated by way of example and schematically in the drawings. In detail:

Figure 1: a bottle treatment system with a collecting and palletizing system on a blow molding machine in a system diagram,

Figure 2: the collection facility of a collection and

Palletizing device in a perspective view,

Figure 3: a plan view of a variant of the collecting device of Figure 2 and

Figure 4: another variant of Figures 2 and 3 in an enlarged top view.

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a bottle treatment system (1) which includes at least one collecting and palletizing system (2). The collecting and palletizing system (2) consists of a collecting device (4) and a palletizer (7). The collecting devices (4) in turn have one or more transfer devices (5) and one or more movable or transportable intermediate supports (6) which connect the collecting device (4) to the associated palletizer (7). The collecting and palletizing system (2) receives the bottles (3) fed in one or more queues or strands (9) from a bottle producer (36) via one or more bottle conveyors (8), collects them in bottle layers (25) and stacks them into multi-layer pallets (35). One or more packaging devices and output stations (not shown) can be connected to the palletizer (7) on the output side.

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The bottle producer (36) consists of one or more blow molding machines for plastic bottles. It is preferably arranged in the immediate vicinity of the collecting and palletizing system (2). The bottle conveyors (8) are preferably designed as short and straight conveyors which transfer the bottles (3) produced and continuously dispensed by the bottle producer (36) in, for example, two queues or lines (8) to the collecting device (4) with the transfer device (5).

The bottle conveyor(s) (8) can be designed in any suitable manner. They can be short air conveyors, for example. However, they can also be any other suitable construction. The bottle conveyors (8) can preferably have a suitable and preferably small accumulation section or buffer section for transferring the bottles (3) continuously fed in queues one after the other to the intermittently operating transfer device (5). In a modified embodiment, the bottle producer (36) can also transfer its bottles (3) directly to the transfer device (5).

As Figure 1 further illustrates, the collection and palletizing system (2) also has at least one intermediate storage facility (37) which is arranged between the collection facility (4) and the palletizer (7). A transport facility (24) is provided for transporting the individually movable intermediate carriers (6), which preferably works in a circuit and has a feed line (41) and a return line (42). The transport facility (24) connects the collection facility (4) to the palletizer (7). In addition, the intermediate storage facility (37) is also connected to the transport facility (24) and preferably to its feed line (41).

The intermediate storage facility (37) can be designed in any suitable manner, e.g. as a high-bay warehouse. It can have one or more storage rows with one or more suitable storage conveyors (40). The individual storage areas each have an input (38) and an output (39) for the loaded intermediate supports (6), both of which are preferably connected to the feeder (41). The storage conveyor (40) then takes the intermediate supports (6) from the input within the rack and stores them in the designated storage positions. Conversely, the intermediate supports (6) are delivered from the storage conveyor (40) via the output (39). They then go directly to the palletizer (7) via the feeder (41).

On the return line (42), the palletizer (7) returns the unloaded and empty intermediate carriers (6) to the collection device (4) with the transfer device (5). The return line (42) can have a buffer section. However, a separate storage facility for buffering the intermediate carriers (6) can also be connected to the return line (42). This carrier storage facility is not shown for the sake of clarity.

The feed (41) and the return (42) are preferably designed as straight conveyor lines. These can be conveyor belts, roller conveyors or other suitable conveyors. At the end points, the intermediate carriers (6) are transferred via corresponding cross conveyors. At the end cross conveyor, the palletizer (7) takes over the bottle layers (25) from the intermediate carriers (6) so that the empty intermediate carriers (6) can then return to the return (42). At the front end, the "cross conveyor" is located in the area of the collecting device (4) or the transfer device (5). This means that fully loaded intermediate carriers (6) can be transferred to the feed (41) very quickly without interrupting the time or cycle.

removed and new empty intermediate carriers (6) are brought into the loading position.

The bottles (3) are preferably made of plastic, in particular polytetrafluoroethylene. These so-called PET bottles are thin-walled and lightweight. They have a collar that runs around the neck of the bottle and projects to the side, by which they can be gripped and guided while hanging, for example by the bottle conveyors (8). These bottles usually have a central indentation on the bottom and several notches running upwards on the surrounding edge, so that the base is formed by five support points distributed around the central axis of the bottle. The diameter of the base is smaller than the outside diameter of the bottles, so that the PET bottles have a certain instability. The bottles

(3) can also become electrostatically charged and thus repel each other. Due to their low stability and low weight, the bottles (3) are sensitive to mechanical shocks, air currents, etc. and tend to fall over.

Figure 2 illustrates the mouth or end area (10) of the bottle conveyor (8) at the collecting device (4).

Here the bottles (3) arrive in strands in rows or queues one after the other and are stopped by controllable closures (not shown) at the end of the conveyor (8). In this area there is a back-up or discharge section, in which the conveying air is also blown off, for example. The bottles (3) in the end area (10) are pushed forward from behind by the bottles pushing up behind them. Figure 2 also shows how the bottles (3) hang by the collar in the conveying channels.

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of the collecting device

(4) in detail. It consists of at least one series recording (12) and at least one converter (5)

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and preferably several intermediate supports (6). The collecting device (4) has several form-fitting bottle guides (13, 18, 21). As a result, the bottles (3) are taken over by the bottle conveyor (8) in rows, transferred to the intermediate support (6), grouped into a bottle layer (25) and then fed to the palletizer (7), wherein the bottles (3) are preferably and essentially constantly guided in such a way that they cannot fall over and can only move in a limited and controlled manner. The intermediate support (6) is stationary during the transfer and loading process.

The row holder (12) is connected to the end section (10) of the bottle conveyor (8). The row holder

(12) has a stationary storage table with several receiving lanes and railing-like bottle guides (13) which extend in the appropriate number and as an extension of the end areas (10) of the bottle conveyor (8) and guide the bottles (3) taken over by the bottle conveyor (8) laterally. The railings (13) are adjustable in their width and can be adapted to different bottle formats. In addition, they can be moved sideways in order to change their number and arrangement relative to the bottle conveyor.

(8). At the ends on the conveyor side, the railings (13) can have inclined guide surfaces for sliding and guiding the bottles (3).

The bottles (3) can slide along the accumulation table (12) while standing. Alternatively, the accumulation table (12) can also have a conveyor belt or the like instead of the stationary base, which moves in the conveying direction of the bottles (3). To accommodate the bottles (3), the closures of the end areas (10) are opened in cycles so that the rows of bottles (14) held here can be pushed onto the accumulation table (12). As soon as the specified row length is reached, the closures close again.

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Closures of the end areas (10) so that the next batch of bottles can build up.

The row holder (12) has at least one stop (15) in the area of the bottle guides (13). In the simplest embodiment, the stops (15) can be arranged stationary. They have a periodic axial offset from row to row, which is preferably half the bottle diameter. This means that the adjacent rows of bottles (14) are arranged offset from one another in such a way that a gap connection and, in the subsequent bottle position (25), the bottle packing is as dense as possible.

In the embodiment shown, the stops (15) are also axially movable and for this purpose have a controlled drive (16) which is arranged, for example, on a table extension or below the accumulation table (12). When a new load of bottles is taken on, the stops (15) are positioned immediately in front of the end area (10) of the bottle conveyor (8). As soon as the closures of the end area (10) open and the bottles (3) are pushed out, the stops (15) move back in a controlled manner and thus offer the picked up bottles (3) axial guidance. This means that the bottles (3) cannot be knocked over during picking up. Overall, the bottles (3) are guided in a form-fitting manner on four sides during picking up, with the rear guidance being provided by the next bottle (3) in the row.

After transfer, the rows of bottles (14) are ready for the transfer device (5) on the row holder (12). The transfer device (5) is preferably designed as a two- or multi-axis robot (11) with freely controllable and programmable axes and has a portal-like traverse (20) extending transversely to the rows of bottles (14), on which

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one or more gripping devices (17) can move back and forth and lift or transfer the rows of bottles (14) onto the intermediate carrier (6) provided on the feed line (41).

The gripping device (17) is designed as a gripping head that can move in multiple axes. It has several row grippers (18) that grip the rows of bottles (14) in the row holder (12) in a suitable manner in the head area, hold them and release them again on the intermediate carrier (6). The row grippers (18) consist, for example, of long gripping channels with lateral gripping arms that reach under the collars of the bottles and thereby hold them in a form-fitting manner.

The row grippers (18) can have one or more adjustment devices (19). In the embodiment shown, the adjustment device (19) allows a lateral movement of the row grippers (18), whereby the rows of bottles (14) can be moved closer together after being picked up. In the end area (10) and the row pick-up (12), the rows of bottles (14) are spaced apart from one another for format adjustment and other structural reasons. This lateral distance is greater than the distance desired in the bottle position (25). The lateral movement of the row grippers (18) allows the rows of bottles (14) to be guided close to one another and, depending on the desired packing density, can even bring them into contact with one another. The adjustment device (19) has a suitable drive for this purpose as well as a freely programmable control system.

In the embodiment shown, the rows of bottles (14) and the intermediate carrier (6) have the same length. To fill the intermediate carrier (6), the rows of bottles (14) are placed next to each other, with the gripping device (17) moving back and forth several times. In this embodiment shown,

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In this embodiment, the bottle layer (25) formed on the intermediate support (6) is as large as the pallet base.

In a modification of the embodiment shown, an intermediate support (6) can also have an extra length and accommodate two or more layers of bottles (25). This means that two or more rows of bottles (14) must be arranged one behind the other on the intermediate support (6). For this purpose, the adjustment device (19) can have additional mobility in the longitudinal direction of the row and for this purpose can have, for example, a telescopic device for extending the row grippers (18) (not shown). In addition, the adjustment device (19) carries out the lifting and lowering movements of the row grippers (18) required for transferring. During the transfer process, the row grippers (18) form the bottle guide.

A bottle guide (21) is also provided on the preferably trough-shaped intermediate support (6). It consists, for example, of a compartment in which the bottles (3) are guided in a standing and form-fitting manner, similar to the row holder (12). In the embodiment shown, the intermediate support (6) has a support edge (22) that is shaped to match the bottle contour and that also takes the row offset into account by means of corresponding projections. A large number of upright guide pins (23) are arranged in the interior of the intermediate support (6), each of which engages between four adjacent bottles (3). The support edge (22) and the guide pins (23) can have guide slopes to facilitate the insertion and insertion of the bottles (3). Alternatively, the bottle guides (21) can also be formed in any other way, e.g. by means of compartment webs or the like.

There are also different designs for the palletizer (7). The individual palletizer (7) has one or more palletizing stations (26) at which the

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Layers of bottles (25) are gradually stacked on a pallet base to form the finished pallet (35). The palletizing station (26) is arranged to the side next to the end position of the intermediate support (6) or the transport device (24). On the other side, one or more stacks of inserts (27, 28, 29) can be arranged in a row. These stacks contain the pallet bases and the intermediate layers or cover layers that are required for stacking the layers of bottles (25) and are referred to below as palletizing inserts. The intermediate and cover layers are, for example, cardboard boxes or other suitable flat materials that are placed between the layers of bottles (25).

The palletizer (7) has at least one gripping device (30, 31) for transferring the bottle layers (25) from the intermediate carrier (6) to the palletizing station (26) and for fetching and inserting the palletizing inserts from the stacks (27, 28, 29). In the preferred embodiment, separate gripping devices (30, 31) are provided in order to increase performance.

The palletizer (7) is also preferably designed as a linear multi-axis robot (11) which has a traverse (20) extending transversely to the rows of bottles for moving the gripping devices (30, 31). The gripping devices (30, 31) have suitable gripping heads which can at least be raised and lowered and possibly have additional axes of movement.

The gripping device (31) is designed as a bottle gripper, which preferably grips the entire bottle layer (25) and transfers it in one stroke ^to the palletizing station (26). The gripping device (31) can have additional axial adjustability in the form of a

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or the like.

The finished pallets (35) formed at the palletizing station (26) are fed to a packaging device (not shown) via longitudinal and transverse conveyors and are wrapped in plastic film and, if necessary, strapped for stabilization. At the subsequent output station, the packaged pallets (35) are made available for collection and from here

&iacgr;&ogr; for example, taken to an intermediate storage facility and then to the filling plant (not shown).

Figures 3 and 4 show modifications of the collecting device (4) and the transfer device (5). In both cases, the transfer device (5) with the gripping device(s) (17) can take over the bottles (3) directly from the bottle conveyors (8) without the need for an accumulation table (12). The row grippers (18) are arranged at the same height as the bottle conveyors (8), so that the bottles

(3) can be pushed directly and hanging into the row grippers (18). The adjustment devices (19) allow adjustment and precise positioning of the row grippers (18) on the bottle conveyors (8). -·' In particular, several bottle grippers can be used here.

(18) can be loaded simultaneously. In the embodiment shown, the gripping head (17) has two bottle grippers (18). However, the number can also be as high as desired. It can preferably correspond to the number of strands (9) or bottle conveyors (8). However, the number can also be different.

The intermediate supports (6) in Figure 4 can correspond to the embodiment of Figure 2. Figure 4 shows a modification of this. The intermediate supports (6) consist of trays that are open on one side with a base plate and three U-shaped support edges (22). Instead of the missing fourth support wall, a

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A transversely movable slider (43) with a suitable drive (44) is provided. The slider (43) forms the lateral bottle guide (21) together with the existing support edges (22). In this embodiment, the intermediate support (6) or its base plate does not have any guide pins (23) protruding in the middle area.

The slider (43) is also used to position and push the bottles (3) together on the intermediate carrier

(6) . The rows of bottles (14) can be placed on the intermediate carrier (6) by the transfer device (5) with a mutual lateral distance between them. The slider (43) is retracted slightly for this purpose and offers the necessary free space. The slider (43) then moves forward again and pushes the placed rows of bottles (14) onto the rows of bottles already stored, thereby creating the required packing density of the bottle storage (25). This procedure saves time for the transfer device (5), which benefits the preferred direct loading of the bottle grippers (18) on the bottle conveyors (8). In addition, the intermediate carriers (6) can therefore accommodate any bottle format. In this case, the carrier edges (22) are also designed as smooth walls without guiding profiles. In Figure 4, the bottle arrangement is only partially and purely schematically shown.

For further transport of the intermediate supports (6), the fourth support wall can be omitted. The bottle layer (25) is then guided on three sides around the remaining three support edges (22). Alternatively, the slide (43) can also be designed as a fourth support wall and connected to the drive (44) in a detachable manner. During loading, the support wall is unhooked and functions as a slide plate. At the end of loading, it is connected to the intermediate support (6) again in a suitable manner.

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A further variant of the bottle treatment system (1) is also possible with regard to the intermediate carrier circuit. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the intermediate carriers (6) circulate within the bottle treatment system (1) between the collecting device (4) and the palletizer (7). They are constantly loaded and unloaded, and they can also be temporarily stored in a loaded or empty state. In the modification mentioned, it is possible to also use the intermediate carriers (6) to form the pallet (35) and to release them from the bottle treatment system (1). In this case, the intermediate carriers (6) preferably have the bottle guides (21) shown in Figure 2. In addition, the intermediate carriers (6) can also have suitable mutual guides in order to be able to be stacked on top of one another in a simple and self-centering manner to form pallets. For this purpose, the palletizer (7) with its robot (11) is also suitably designed and instead of the individual bottle layers (25) it grabs the entire intermediate carrier (6) and moves it to form a pallet. In this variant, the intermediate carriers (6) circulate in a larger circuit that leads via the filling system, the intermediary(s) and the customer back to the bottle treatment system (1) via a reprocessing or cleaning system. The circulating intermediate carrier (6) not only picks up the empty bottles (3) loaded in the bottle treatment system (1), but also the full bottles after filling.

Modifications of the embodiment shown and described are possible in various ways. The bottle conveyor (8) can be designed in any suitable way. Instead of an air conveyor with hanging bottles (3) a standing conveyor can also be used.

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with rollers, conveyor belts or other suitable transport mechanisms. Furthermore, the number of rows of bottles (14) in the area of the bottle conveyor (8) and the row holder (12) or the transfer device (5) can vary. The number of rows between the said components does not always have to be the same. The same applies to the gripping device (31) for transferring the bottle layers (25) at the palletizing station (26). In one variant, this gripping device (31) can only grip and transfer part of the bottle layer (25). In the other variant with extra-long intermediate supports (6), it is possible to grip several bottle layers (25) at once. In the described embodiment, the bottle layer (25) is as large as the pallet base area. This size specification is a question of definition and can also be modified. Under certain circumstances, different pallet sizes and/or bottle formats are processed on a collecting and palletizing system (2), so that the intermediate support (6) is only partially filled.

The structural design of the technical components of the collecting and palletizing systems (2), in particular the row holder (12), the transfer device (5), the palletizer (7), the intermediate carrier (6) and the like, are also variable. In particular, the gripping devices for gripping the rows of bottles (14) can be designed in any suitable manner. The intermediate carrier (6) can be plate-shaped or have any other suitable design as a container or carrier for the layers of bottles.

- 19 LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

1 bottle treatment system

2 Collection and palletizing system 3 Bottle

4 Collection facility

5 converters

6 intermediate supports

7 palletizers

8 bottle conveyors

9 strand

10 End area

11 robots

12 Row holder, storage table 13 Bottle guide, railing

14 bottle row

15 stop

16 Drive

17 Gripping device, gripping head

18 Bottle guide, row gripper

19 Adjustment device

20 Traverse

21 Bottle guide

22 Carrier edge 23 Guide pin

24 Transport facility, shuttle

25 bottle position

26 palletizing stations

27 Stack of inserts on pallet base 28 Stack of inserts on intermediate layer

29 Insert stack cover layer

30 gripping device palletizing inserts

31 Gripper device bottle position

32 pallet conveyors

33 Packaging equipment

34 Output station

35 pallets

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36 Bottle maker, blowing machine 37 Intermediate storage 38 input 39 output 40 Rack conveyor 41 leader 42 Return 43 Slider 44 drive

Claims (14)

1. Device for collecting and palletizing bottles, in particular empty plastic bottles, with at least one palletizer and with at least one upstream collecting device for receiving the bottles fed in one or more queues one after the other, characterized in that the collecting device ( 4 ) is arranged in the immediate vicinity of a bottle producer ( 36 ) and has at least one transfer device ( 5 ) and one or more movable intermediate carriers ( 6 ). 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that a reciprocating or circular transport device ( 24 ) is provided for the intermediate carrier(s) ( 6 ), which extends from the collecting device ( 4 ) to the palletizer ( 7 ). 3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a storage ( 37 ) is provided for the temporary storage of filled and/or empty intermediate carriers ( 6 ). 4. Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the converter ( 5 ) and the intermediate supports ( 6 ) are equipped with bottle guides ( 13 , 18 , 21 ). 5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the bottle guide ( 21 ) of the plate-like intermediate carrier ( 6 ) has a shaped carrier edge ( 22 ) and several guide pins ( 23 ) in the inner region. 6. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the bottle guide ( 21 ) of the plate-like intermediate carrier ( 6 ) has a movable carrier edge ( 22 ) or an external slider ( 43 ). 7. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the converter ( 5 ) has at least one gripping device ( 17 ) with several laterally adjustable ( 19 ) row grippers ( 18 ). 8. Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the intermediate carrier ( 6 ) receives one or more layers of bottles ( 25 ). 9. Device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the palletizer ( 7 ) has a palletizing station ( 26 ) which is arranged between one or more insert stacks ( 27 , 28 , 29 ) and the intermediate carrier ( 6 ). 10. Device according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the palletizer ( 7 ) has separate gripping devices ( 30 , 31 ) for the palletizing inserts and the bottle layer ( 25 ). 11. Device according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the palletizer ( 7 ) has a gripping device for grasping and stacking intermediate carriers ( 6 ). 12. Device according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the converter ( 5 ) and the palletizer ( 7 ) are designed as linear multi-axis robots ( 11 ) with crossbeams ( 20 ) and gripping devices ( 17 , 30 , 31 ) that can be moved thereon and raised and lowered. 13. Device according to claim 12, characterized in that the gripping devices ( 17 , 30 , 31 ) can be moved transversely to the feed direction of the bottles ( 3 ) and the intermediate carriers ( 6 ). 14. Device according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that a bottle treatment plant ( 1 ) has several collecting and palletizing devices ( 2 ) arranged next to one another with common crossbeams ( 20 ).