WO2003084844A2

WO2003084844A2 - Coating installation

Info

Publication number: WO2003084844A2
Application number: PCT/EP2003/003491
Authority: WO
Inventors: Heinz Humele; Andreas Bartels
Original assignee: Krones Ag
Priority date: 2002-04-06
Filing date: 2003-04-03
Publication date: 2003-10-16
Also published as: DE10215217A1; WO2003084844A3; AU2003227562A8; DE20221449U1; AU2003227562A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a coating installation (1) comprising at least one bottle holder (2) for transporting a bottle (3) from a bottle supply station (4) to a bottle coating station (5) and a bottle discharge station (6). The coating installation is characterized in that a protective element supply station (7) and a protective element discharge station (8) for protective elements (9) of the bottle holder (2) is provided. The invention further relates to a method for coating bottles (3) or the like, whereby the bottles (3) are supplied to bottle holders (2), are held by the latter and are then supplied to a zone in which the bottles are coated. The method is further characterized in that if a bottle (3) is missing, the respective bottle holder (2) is supplied with a protective element (9).

Description

coating plant

description

The invention relates to a coating system according to the preamble of claim 1 and a method for coating according to the preamble of claim 16.

Such a coating system is known for example from DE 2429222. In this device, a bottle is held on a chuck and coated in a coating station. If a bottle is missing from a chuck, the area of the chuck can be covered with a cam cover plate, so that the chuck without a bottle when passing through the

Coating station is not coated or soiled. The cam cover plate is held by a holder arranged next to the chuck with its own conveyor. The disadvantage of this device has been the high mechanical outlay.

An improvement for this is disclosed in DE 10001976. In the absence of a bottle, a cover element can be placed in front of a bottle transport body, the cover element being movably arranged directly on the transport body instead of on a separate holder. This can be done with much less effort. However, the cover elements are themselves susceptible to contamination because they continuously pass through the coating area.

The object of the present invention is therefore a

Coating system and a method for coating, with which bottles can be attached in a simple manner Bottle holders can be guided through a coating station and contamination of the holder is reliably avoided in the absence of a bottle.

This object is achieved by a coating system according to claim 1 and a method according to claim 16. Preferred embodiments of the coating system and the method are disclosed in the dependent claims.

In the coating system according to the invention there is a protective element feed station and a

Protective element discharge station is provided, with which protective elements for bottle holders can be fed in and out. In the method according to the invention, a bottle holder, in which a bottle is missing, is supplied with a loose protective element instead of the bottle and temporarily attached to the bottle holder or a support tube surrounding it. The protective elements are designed such that they protect the bottle holder in the coating system or in the area for coating the bottles against inadvertent coating.

Similar to bottles, the protective elements can be held by the bottle holder instead of the bottles. They can be completely detached from the bottle holder or another conveyor and are only guided through the coating area if they are actually needed as protection. The pollution of the protective elements themselves is therefore kept as low as possible. Gluing or a magnetic holder is also possible.

The protective elements can be provided for single use, in particular if they are formed by self-adhesive film or are also reused. For this, the protective elements after passing through the coating system or after passing through the coating area from the bottle holders, cleaned and then stored temporarily or returned directly to the circuit.

Preferred embodiments of the various elements of the invention are explained with reference to the accompanying figures. It shows:

1 shows a schematic perspective illustration of a protective element,

2 is a schematic perspective view of a bottle holder,

3 is a schematic sectional drawing of a bottle holder with a protective element,

4 shows a schematic sectional drawing of a bottle holder with protective element,

5 is a schematic sectional drawing of a bottle holder in two different operating positions,

6 shows a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a coating system,

Fig. 7 is a schematic sectional drawing of a bottle holder in two different operating positions with another protective element.

1 to 3, a protective element 9, a bottle holder 2 and their interaction described. In Fig. 2 a bottle holder 2 is shown which has a head 16 with a substantially cylindrical shape, the lower edge being chamfered. Ring-like holding elements 17 with a clamping effect are arranged on the cylindrical surface, which can be made, for example, of elastic materials such as rubber, spring material, plastic, etc. An exact fit can also be provided as a holding element. A collar-shaped stop is provided above the holding elements 17, to which a holding rod 15 connects.

A bottle 3 with its bottle head can be pushed onto the bottle holder 2 shown in FIG. 2 from below and held non-positively by the holding elements 17. This is particularly good with lightweight plastic bottles, e.g. B. PET bottles.

1 shows an embodiment of a stopper-like protective element 9. The protective element 9 has a pipe socket 20 and a continuous cover plate 26. In the area of the protective element 9 and preferably in the area of the pipe socket 20, an annular groove 19 can be provided, which is used for guiding, holding or handling the protective element 9. Pipe socket 20 and cover plate 26 are formed in one piece and consist of dirt-repellent, solvent-resistant plastic.

3 shows how the bottle holder 2 interacts with the protective element 9. The protective element 9 is attached with its pipe socket 20 on the head 16. It is held non-positively by the holding elements 17. A head tube 14 is arranged surrounding the head 16 and the holding rod 15. The support tube 14 also serves to protect the bottle holder 2 in the coating system, and as the actual support element, with its lower end face as Stop for the support ring of a bottle 3 and for the similarly shaped projecting annular surface of the cover plate 26 is used.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cover plate 26 of the protective element 9 lies sealingly against the support tube 14 in its lower region, so that the region of the bottle holder 2 is closed. If the bottle holder 2, which is provided with a protective element 9 in the manner shown in FIG. 3, is guided through an area in which bottles can normally be coated, the bottle holder 2 is protected, so that there is no coating or contamination the bottle holder 2 occurs.

An alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. Here, holding elements 18 are provided between the support tube 14 and the protective element 9, which can be designed similarly to the holding elements 17. For this purpose, the holding elements 18 can be provided both on the protective cap 9 and on the support tube 14. The holding elements 18 are preferably held in grooves either on a protective element 9 or in the support tube 14.

The part shown in FIG. 3 forms the lower part of FIG. 5a. In the upper part of Fig. 5a, the support rod 15 and the support tube 14 is shown. The support tube 14 adjoins an upper end 21, on which laterally arranged guide elements 22 are only shown schematically. The guide elements 22 serve to guide the upper end 21 together with the connected components, in particular the bottle holder 2, along guide rails, as can be provided in a conveyor. The holding rod 15 extends movably through the upper end 21 and is provided with a pressure element 23 at its upper end. A spring 24 is clamped between the pressure element 23 and the upper end 21. In the state shown in Fig. 5a, the spring 24 is largely relaxed compared to Fig. 5b.

By pressing the pressure element 23, the holding tube 15 can be pressed down relative to the upper end 21 against the force of the spring 24. This is shown in Fig. 5b. As a result, the head 16 of the bottle holder 2 is pushed down out of the area of the support tube 14. This can serve to receive or deliver a protective element 9 or a bottle 3.

An embodiment of a coating system according to the present invention is shown schematically in FIG. 6. The coating system 1 comprises an area 5 for coating, which may have a rotary atomizer. An endless chain-like conveyor 10 leads through the area 5 for coating. On the conveyor 10, several bottle holders 2 are arranged in support tubes 14, as shown in FIG. 5. The bottle holders 2 rotate with the conveyor 10. The bottles 3 are fed to the bottle holders 2 on the conveyor 10 via a rotating star wheel 4. Upstream of the star wheel 4 there is a bottle inlet, which is not particularly shown in FIG. 6.

In the left part in FIG. 6, a second star wheel 6 is arranged, with which bottles 3, which have passed through area 5 for coating, can be removed by conveyor 10 and fed to further processing, for example drying of the coating. The coating system 1 further comprises a protective element feed station 7 with which separate or loose protective elements 9 can be attached to the bottle holders 2 of the conveyor 10. Furthermore, a protective element discharge station 8 is provided, with which protective elements 9 can be removed from the conveyor 10. As shown in FIG. 6, the removed protective elements 9 are fed to a cleaning station 11, which is shown here by way of example with two brushes 12.

A memory 13 for protective elements 9 is arranged downstream of the cleaning station 11. In an advantageous embodiment, the memory is designed such that it can accommodate up to a few 100 protective elements 9. A protective element conveyor 29 leads from the storage device 13 to the protective element supply station 7, which is also designed here as a rotating star wheel.

6, the protective element feed station 7 is designed such that the protective elements 9 are fed directly to the bottle holders 2 on the conveyor 10, it is also possible according to the invention to design the protective element feed station 7 such that the protective elements 9 are fed to the bottle feed station 4, for example , It is also possible according to the invention to design the protective element discharge station in such a way that the protective elements 9 are removed in the area of the bottle discharge station 6.

The protective element feed station 7 can also be designed such that it feeds the protective elements 9 into the flow of the bottles 3 in the area of the inlet to the bottle feed station 4. Likewise, the protective element discharge station can also be designed such that it protects the protective elements downstream Bottle removal station 6 removes, wherein the protective elements can be bottle-like.

For the case shown in FIG. 6, in which the protective element feed station 7 having a rotating star wheel is provided such that the protective elements 9 are fed directly to the bottle holders 2 on the conveyor 10, the bottle holders 2 can be located in the area in which the protective elements 9 be attached to the bottle holders 2, can be provided lowerable. The lowering takes place in that pressure is exerted on the pressure element 23, so that the head 16 is lowered and inserted into a protective element 9, which is held ready by a star pocket of the star wheel 7 and supported by a stationary guide bend 30, so that it receives this protective element 9 and it holds (see Figure 5b). A corresponding control curve can be arranged on the conveyor 10 for the lowering, pressure being exerted on the pressure element 23 by the control curve from above when the bottle holder 2 is being conveyed below the control curve. A plunger can also be provided which presses down the pressure element 23. Such a control cam or plunger can also be provided in the bottle feed or bottle discharge station and in the protective element discharge station.

A sensor 25 is arranged on the bottle feed station 4 and is designed to detect the absence of a bottle 3. This sensor 25 can be implemented by a light barrier, by a mechanical lever or a comparable device, by an inspection camera, etc. The sensor 25 for the detection of missing bottles can also be arranged at the inlet in front of the bottle feed station 4. It is also possible that the sensor 25 for detecting missing bottles is arranged in such a way that it detects the missing bottle in the conveyor 10. The device according to the invention can further comprise a control unit, not shown, with which, in the absence of a bottle 3, which is registered by the sensor 25, the supply of a protective cap 9 is triggered at a corresponding point in time.

6, the protective element supply station 7 is arranged upstream of the bottle supply station 4 with respect to the conveyor 10, the protective element supply station 7 can also be arranged downstream of the bottle supply station 4. Likewise, the protective element discharge station 8 can also be arranged upstream of the bottle discharge station 6, instead of downstream of the bottle discharge station 6, as shown in FIG. 6.

The protective cap removal station 8 comprises two stationary guide rails 31a, 31b, which are indicated by dash-dotted lines in FIG. 5b. These guide rails 31a, 31b engage at opposite points in the annular groove 19 of a protective element 9 after the bottle holder 2 has been lowered. Then the bottle holder 2 is raised and pulled out of the protective element 9. The protective elements 9 stripped in this way are transported further to the cleaning station 11 through the conveying channel formed by the guide rails 31a, b, be it by means of a slope or transport means, not shown.

An embodiment of the method according to the invention is to be explained below with reference to the figures.

As shown in FIG. 6, bottles 3 are fed to a bottle feed station 4. The bottle feed station continuously picks up a certain number of bottles 3 and delivers the bottles 3 to a conveyor 10. On the conveyor 10 there are bottle holders 2, as in FIG. 2 shown, arranged. The bottle 3 is now held on the bottle holder 2 and is guided into the coating area 5. In this area for coating, the bottle is coated with a liquid coating agent, e.g. B. coated polyvinyl alcohol in aqueous solution. Coating can be done with a rotary dusting device by spraying etc. After the bottles 3 have left the coating area 5, they are removed from the bottle holder 2 and removed at the bottle removal station 6.

If a bottle 3 is now missing from the bottle feed station 4, this is detected by the sensor 25. A control unit (not shown) then triggers the supply of a protective element 9 by the protective element supply station 7. The protective element 9 is attached to the bottle holder 2 on which is located downstream

Bottle feeding station no bottle 3 will be attached. To feed the protective element 9 to a bottle holder 2, a plunger can press the pressure element 23 at the protective element supply station, thereby lowering the holding tube 15 and inserting the head 16 into the protective element 9 provided. A quick and short lowering can be achieved with a plunger. As a result, a stationary or slowly moving protective element 9 can also be accommodated by the moving bottle holder 2. Pressure can also be exerted on the pressure element 23 with a control curve in order to lower the head 16. A protective element 9 can only be present if one is to be placed on the lowered head 16. The bottle holder 2, to which a protective element 9 has already been fed, is then no longer fed to bottle 3. A protective element 9 is thus held on the bottle holder 2 and passes through the area for coating 5 together with the bottle holder 2, so that the bottle holder 2 is protected against undesired coating.

After the bottle holder 2 with a protective element 9 has emerged from the area 5 for coating, it is removed by the conveyor 10 at the protective element discharge station 8. The bottle holder continues to rotate on the conveyor 10 and picks up a bottle again at the bottle feed station. The removed protective element 9 is fed to a cleaning area 11, in which the coating applied in the area for coating 5 can be removed. The protective element 9 is thereby cleaned. Brushes 12 that rotate can be used for cleaning. The cleaned protective elements 9 are fed to a memory 13. Protective elements 9 that are not currently required are stored in the memory 13. The protective elements 9 are fed from the memory 13 to the protective element supply station 7. Overall, a closed circuit of protective elements is thus realized.

According to the invention, however, it is also possible that protective elements 9 are not reused.

In another embodiment of the method, the protective element 9 can be fed to a bottle holder 2 after no bottle has already been fed to the bottle holder 2, but a bottle should have been fed. For this purpose, the bottle feed station 4 can be arranged upstream of the protective element feed station 7 with respect to the conveyor 10. The protective element feed station 7 can also feed the protective element to the bottle feed station 4 if a lack of a bottle 3 has been detected there or upstream of the bottle feed station 4. A protective element 9 could also be supplied upstream of a bottle feed station 4.

For an advantageous embodiment of the device, two systems, as in FIG. 6, can be connected in series in order to apply two different coatings on one bottle. Accordingly, one embodiment of the method according to the invention can comprise executing the method described with reference to FIG. 6 two or more times.

In the embodiment according to FIGS. 7a and 7b, the disk-like protective element 9a consists of a circular section of a flexible plastic film which is coated on the top with a pressure sensitive adhesive 32. The protective element 9 is attached by a dispensing unit 33 of conventional design for

Self-adhesive labels which, instead of the transport star 7 and the guide 30 according to FIG. 5b, are arranged under the path of movement of the bottle holder 2 and the protective tubes 14. The dispensing unit 33 is activated by the bottle sensor 25 and a control device (not shown) if there are gaps in the bottle supply and closes the bottle-free protective tubes 14 in the manner of self-adhesive labeling by pressing on the self-adhesive protective elements 9a, which are fed on a carrier tape 35 moved in the direction of the arrow.

The protective element 9a can either be attached directly to the annular lower end face of the protective tube 14, as shown in FIG. 7a, so that no lowering of the rods 15 with the bottle holder 2 is necessary. To get dirty to avoid the dispensing unit 33, it can be arranged to be lowered and the trajectory can only be raised tangentially if a protective element 9a is stuck on. In general, however, it is sufficient to apply the dispensing edge S of the dispensing unit 33 stationary at a small distance below the path of movement of the end face of the protective tube 14. The small distance is then bridged by the inherent rigidity of the protective element 9a, supported by an elastic pressure roller 34.

It is also possible to first attach the protective elements 9a centrally to the bottle holder 2 lowered according to FIG. 7b and then to bring them into contact with the lower end face of the protective tubes 14 by lifting the bottle holder 2 and, if necessary, additionally to press them there.

The protective elements 9a can also be removed after use with the bottle holder 2 raised according to 7a, e.g. by suction or brushing. Another possibility is to first detach the protective element 9a from the protective tube 14 by lowering the bottle holder 2 and then to suction and / or brush off the bottle holder 2 in an attacking manner on the protruding outer edge.

It is not necessary to clean the protective elements in the case described above, since the sheet-like protective elements 9a are extremely inexpensive and can be easily disposed of.

Another possibility is to temporarily fix the plate-shaped or disk-shaped protective elements to the protective tube 14 by means of magnetic force. It is also possible, if necessary, to dispense with the adhesive coating of the protective elements 9a if the adhesion to the protective tube 14 existing coating agent is sufficient, for example PVA which has not yet dried completely.

Claims

claims

1. Coating system (1) with at least one bottle holder (2) for transporting a bottle (3) from a bottle feed station (4) to a bottle coating station (5) and a bottle discharge station (6), characterized in that

A protective element feed station (7) and a protective element discharge station (8) for protective elements (9, 9a) of the bottle holder (2) are provided.

2. Coating system (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottle holder (2) is arranged on a rotating conveyor (10).

3. Coating plant (1) according to one of claims 1 or

2, characterized in that the bottle feed station (4) and / or the bottle discharge station (6) is designed as a star wheel.

4. Coating plant (1) according to one of claims 1 to

3, characterized in that the protective element feed station (7) is designed as a star wheel.

5. Coating plant according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the

Protective element feed station is designed as a dispensing unit (33) for self-adhesive labels.

6. Coating plant (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the Protective element feed station (7) for feeding protective elements (9) is formed directly on bottle holders (2) or on supporting tubes (14) surrounding them,

7. Coating system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the protective element feed station (7) is designed for feeding protective elements (9) to the bottle feed station (4).

8. Coating system (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the protective element feed station is provided on a feed conveyor to the bottle feed station (4).

9. Coating plant (1) according to one of claims 1 to

8, characterized in that the

Protection element discharge station (8) comprises a conveying channel (31a, b).

10. Coating plant (1) according to one of claims 1 to

9, characterized in that the

Protective element discharge station is designed as a branch.

11. Coating plant (1) according to one of claims 1 to

10, characterized in that a cleaning device (11) for cleaning protective elements (9) is provided.

12. Coating system (1) according to claim 11, characterized in that the cleaning device (11) comprises at least one brush (12) and / or at least one feed line for water and / or solvent.

13. Coating plant (1) according to one of claims 1 to

12, characterized in that a memory (13) for protective elements (9) is provided.

14. Coating plant (1) according to one of claims 1 to

13, characterized in that a sensor (25) is provided for the detection of missing bottles (3).

15 coating system (1) according to one of claims 1 to

14, characterized in that the coating system (1) is designed for a closed protective element circuit.

16. A method for coating bottles (3) or the like in which bottles (3) bottle holders (2) are supplied, held by this and an area

(5) for coating bottles, characterized in that in the absence of a bottle

(3) the corresponding bottle holder (2) and / or a surrounding support tube (14) a protective element

(9, 9a) is supplied.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that the bottle holders (2) are moved with a conveyor (10).

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that a protective element (9, 9a) of a bottle holder (2) or a support tube (14) is supplied if the bottle holder (2) is not supplied with a bottle (3).

19. The method according to claim 16 or 18, characterized in that a bottle holder (2) or a support ring (14) is supplied with a protective element (9, 9a) if no bottle (3) has been fed to the bottle holder (2).

20. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that the supply of the protective element (9, 9a) is triggered by detection of a missing bottle (3).

21. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 20, characterized in that the bottle holder (2) is supplied with a protective element (9, 9a) by lowering the bottle holder (2) into or onto a protective element (9, 9a) held ready.

22. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 21, characterized in that the protective element (9, 9a) is removed from the bottle holders (2) after passing through the area for coating bottles.

23. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 22, characterized in that the protective element (9, 9a) is removed from a supply (13) and is detachably attached to the bottle holder (2) or a support tube 1 surrounding it.

24. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that the protective element (9, 9a) is removed with a branch (8).

25. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 24, characterized in that a removed protective element (9, 9a) is returned for reuse.

26. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 25, characterized in that the protective element (9, 9a) is cleaned after removal.

27. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 26, characterized in that the protective element (9, 9a), preferably the removed protective element (9, 9a) and even more preferably the cleaned protective element (9, 9a) is stored.

28. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 27, characterized by the use of plug-like protective elements (9).

29. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 27, characterized by the use of disk-like protective elements (9a).