IE69675B1 - Handling and processing plastics bottles - Google Patents

Description

Handling and processing plastics bottles* The invention relates to an integrated process for producing, handling and filling plastics bottles with carbonated beverages.

The equipment used for filling and labelling plastics bottles with carbonated beverages may be operated at a high throughput rate. It is vital therefore, for processing efficiency that empty plastics bottles are presented to such machinery on demand. It is possible, using blow moulding techniques, to produce plastics bottles at a relatively high speed, however, there is a problem in ensuring that the bottles are delivered from the blow moulding machines to the filling and labelling machines as required. This is particularly the case with smaller bottles such as those of 250ml capacity which, by virtue of their small size, are difficult to handle as they are generally inherently unstable, when empty.

This invention is therefore directed towards proving an improved process for producing, handling and filling such relatively small capacity plastics bottles. - 2 According to the invention there is provided a process for producing, handling and filling plastics bottles with carbonated beverages comprising the steps of:-* v * injection moulding a plastics bottle preform, conditioning the preform to a desired temperature, blow moulding a plurality of preforms to form plastics bottles of desired shape in a blow moulding machine having a turntable with a number of headers, each having a capacity for a plurality of plastics bottles, rotating the header with the formed bottles to position the plastics bottles over a conveyor having a flat area for receiving the base of the bottles, discharging the moulded bottles from the header onto the conveyor, pulling the base of the bottles onto the flat area to retain them in a desired upright orientation on the conveyor, delivering the plastics bottles to a silo downstream of the conveyor with the flat area and means for pulling the bottle bases onto the fiat area, the silo being sized to - 3 store a large number of empty bottles to provide a continuous supply of empty plastics bottles on demand, filling the bottles with a carbonated beverage, closing the bottles with a screw lid, labelling the bottles, and packaging the bottles into groups on a tray, and palletising the trays. - 4 In one embodiment of the invention the base of the bottles are pulled onto the flat area of the conveyor by an air vacuum applied between the flat area of the conveyor and the base of the bottle.

In a preferred arrangement the conveyor comprises a substantially flat belt conveyor having a plurality of spacedapart air holes through which air is drawn to pull the base of the bottles onto the belt of the conveyor.

Preferably, the conveyor is an endless belt conveyor having a 10 plurality of air holes spaced-apart along the length thereof.

Most preferably, there are at least two lines of air holes spaced transversely across the conveyor belt.

In a preferred arrangement, the conveyor belt is led over an elongate ducting having an upper inlet through which air is drawn and an outlet for air drawn through the air holes on the conveyor belt and through the duct.

In one embodiment of the invention, the loaded plastics bottles are initially delivered to a silo sized to store a large number of empty bottles to provide a continuous supply of empty plastics bottles on demand. Preferably, the plastics bottles are delivered from the conveyor to an intermediate - 5 hopper, and subsequently delivered by a further conveyor to the silo.

In a particularly preferred arrangement on discharge from the silo the bottles are descrambled and orientated in a desired upright configuration for filling and labelling.

Most preferably, the plastics bottle has a capacity of approximately 250ml. The bottles may be of any suitable plastics material, however, they are preferably of polyethylene terepthalate material.

The invention also provides plastics bottles whenever manufactured, filled, closed and labelled by a process as claimed in any preceding claim.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description thereof given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the process of the invention, 4 Figs. 2(a) and 2(b) are perspective views respectively of a preform and of a plastics bottle used in the process J of the invention, Fig. 3 is a plan view of a detail of the process, - 6 Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of part of the process, t Fig. 5 is a side, partially cross-sectional view of a conveyor used in part of the process, Fig. 6 is a plan view of the conveyor of Fig. 5, Fig. 7 is an end view of the conveyor of Fig. 5, Fig. 8 is a plan view of another part of the process, Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a silo used in the process, and Fig. 10 is an end view of the silo of Fig. 9.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated a process for producing, handling and filling plastics bottles with carbonated beverages. The process which is schematically illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises in a first step injection moulding a plastics bottle preform 20 as illustrated in Fig. 2(a), conditioning the preform to a desired temperature and blow moulding the preform into a plastics bottle 25 of desired shape as illustrated in Fig. 2(b). Preferably, the bottle 25 is of relatively small capacity, typically between 100ml and 500ml, most preferably approximately 250ml or 330ml capacity. The bottle is of any suitable plastics material such as PVC, polypropylene; polythene or, most preferably, polyethylene terepthalate. The •v bottle 25 may have an inverted dome shaped base commonly 5 referred to as a champagne shaped base or a castellated base including a number of projecting feet.

The plastics bottles 25 are discharged onto a conveyor 26 on which, as will be described in more detail below, the bottles are retained in a desired upright orientation. In this case, the bottles are then delivered to an intermediate hopper 27 and subsequently delivered by a conveyor 28 to a large capacity silo 29. Bottles 25 are drawn from the silo 29 on demand along a conveyor 30 to a descrambler unit 31 from which the bottles are delivered for filling with a carbonated beverage at a filling station 35. The bottles are then closed with a screw lid, labelled in a labelling station 36, packaged into groups on trays in a packaging station 37 and finally the trays are palletised in a palletising step 38.

In more detail and referring to Figs. 3 to 7 the preforms 20 are moulded into bottles 25 in a blow moulding machine having a turntable 40 with four headers 41, each with a capacity of about 7 bottles and which, as the table 40 rotates, deliver the bottles to the various forming steps. When the bottles are formed the header 41 is aligned over the conveyor 26. - 8 The conveyor 26 comprises a substantially flat continuous belt 50 trained over wheels 51 including tensioning wheels 52. The endless belt 50, as will be particularly apparent from Fig. 6, has a plurality of spaced-apart holes 55 through which air is drawn by a vacuum unit (not shown). The endless belt 50 is trained over an elongate duct 60 having an upper inlet through which air from the holes 55 in the endless belt 50 is drawn and a side outlet 61 through which the air is drawn into the vacuum unit along hose lines 62. A vacuum is continuously applied to the duct 60 and hence to the endless conveyor 50 so that when plastics bottles 25 are discharged from the moulding machine they are delivered in their upright configuration onto the conveyor belt 26 on which they are retained, by virtue of the vacuum, in the desired upright orientation. This is essential in ensuring that the plastics bottles are led away from the blow moulding machine as quickly and as efficiently as possible. If a conventional non-vacuum type conveyor were used, because of the small size and lightness of the bottles, there is a substantial risk that the bottles will topple over which could cause a chain reaction along the conveyor and even more importantly could result in blockages of the moulding machine with a consequent downtime and loss of production.

The moulded bottles are then delivered into the intermediate hopper 27 which can be used as a point for supplying moulded bottles into the processing system if there are problems with the moulding equipment. From the intermediate hopper 25 the - 9 bottles are led by the conveyor 28 into a very large capacity silo 29 which is sized to hold several days production requirements. From the silo 29 the bottles are delivered by means of a vibrator 70 into the conveyor 30 which delivers them to a descrambiing unit 31 from which bottles 25, in a desired orientation for filling in a filling step 35, are delivered to be filled with carbonated beverages. The filled bottles are then led to the labelling 36, packaging 37 and finally to the palletising stations 38.

The particular plastics bottle handling arrangement described is especially advantageous in ensuring that an adequate supply of plastics bottles is available on demand by the filling and subsequent steps in the process. As already mentioned, the filling and subsequent steps are capable of being performed very quickly and the handling facility provides an arrangement which allows the moulding of bottles to take place on an almost continuous basis to provide the desired quantity of bottles while running the filling, labelling and packaging facilities for shorter time periods.

For example, the bottle moulding and handling arrangement may be run almost continuously on a three shift basis while the filling and subsequent process steps may be run on a single shift basis for maximum processing efficiency and minimum costs.

Many variations on the specific embodiments of the invention will be readily apparent and accordingly the invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described which may be varied in both construction and detail.

Claims (5)

1. A process for. producing, handling and filling plastics bottles having a capacity between 100 mi and 500 ml with carbonated beverages comprising the steps of:5 injection moulding a plastics bottle preform, conditioning the preform to a desired temperature, blow moulding a plurality of preforms to form plastics bottles of desired shape in a blow moulding machine having a turntable with a number of headers, 10 each having a capacity for a plurality of plastics bottles, rotating the header with the formed bottles to position the plastics bottles over a conveyor having a flat area for receiving the base of the bottles, 15 discharging the moulded bottles from the header onto the conveyor, pulling the base of the bottles onto the flat area to retain them in a desired upright orientation on the conveyor, 12 delivering the plastics bottles to a silo downstream of the conveyor with the flat area and means for pulling the bottle bases onto the flat area, the silo being sized to store a large number of empty 5 bottles to provide a continuous supply of empty plastics bottles on demand, filling the bottles with a carbonated beverage, closing the bottles with a screw lid, labelling the bottles, and 10 packaging the bottles into groups on a tray, and palletising the trays.

2. A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the base of the bottles are pulled onto the flat area of the conveyor by an air vacuum applied between the flat area of the 15 conveyor and the base of the bottle.

3. A process as claimed in claim 2 wherein the conveyor comprises a substantially flat belt conveyor having a plurality of spaced-apart air holes through which air is drawn to pull the base of the bottles onto the belt of the conveyor. 13

4. A process as claimed in claim 3 wherein the conveyor is an endless belt conveyor having a plurality of air holes spaced-apart along the length thereof. 5. A process as claimed in claim 4 wherein there are at least two lines of air holes spaced transversely across the conveyor belt. 6. A process as claimed in claim 4 or 5 wherein the conveyor belt is led over an elongate ducting having an upper inlet through which air is drawn and an outlet for air drawn through the air holes on the conveyor belt and through the duct. 7. A process as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the plastics bottles are delivered from the conveyor to an intermediate hopper, and subsequently delivered by a further conveyor to the silo. 8. A process as claimed in any preceding claim wherein, on discharge from the silo the bottles are descrambled and orientated in a desired upright configuration for filling and labelling. 9. A process as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the plastics bottle is of a capacity of approximately 250ml. 10. A process as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the bottle is of polyethylene terepthalate material. 11. A process substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

5. 12. Plastics bottles whenever manufactured, filled, closed and labelled by a process as claimed in any preceding claim.