Filing Information

Inventor(s)	Per Kåre Tvinnereim · Tom Steidel · Geir Hanevold ·
Assignee(s)	Tomra Systems ASA ·  View assignee updates
Attorney/Agent(s)	Rodman & Rodman ·
Primary Examiner	David H Bollinger ·
Application Number	US10808695
Filing date	03/25/2004
Issue date	10/23/2007
Prior Publication Data	US20040190765 - 09/30/2004
Predicted expiration date	11/17/2018
Patent term adjustment	495
U.S. Classifications	209/523  · 209/924  · 209/544  · 209/540  · 209/939  · 209/524  ·
International Classifications	B07C500  ·
Kind Code	B2
Foreign Priority	NO962949 - 07/12/1996 ·

Patent Family

Abstract

A device for use with conveyor means and a detector station, said conveyor means for moving empty beverage containers, suitably bottles of different shapes and sizes, past the detector station, and said detector station for providing characteristic data about the containers, and means which based on such data are capable of determining how the containers are to be handled subsequent to detection. At a downstream end of said conveyor there is located a bottle raiser capable of guiding transported bottles into a standing rest position bottom first, said raiser including a bottle stabiliser which on basis of said bottle data is held by means of a motor in a first position in contact freedom with a bottle as a function of data regarding the bottle, such as at least one of its diameter, height and weight, so that the bottle is freely guidable down towards said rest position, said stabiliser then movable to a second position for in a stabilizing step bearing against a portion of the bottle and for pushing the bottle against a stationary back wall, and releasing said bottle from the stabilizing step for onward movement on a further conveyor. There is further disclosed a method for moving the bottle to a standing rest position, stabilizing and pushing out the bottle for further conveyance.

Independent Claims | See all claims (15)

1. 1. A device for use with conveyor means and a detector station, said conveyor means for moving empty beverage containers, suitably bottles of different shapes and sizes, past the detector station, and said detector station for providing characteristic data about the containers, and means which based on such data are capable of determining how the containers are to be handled subsequent to detection, wherein said device at a downstream end of said conveyor means defines a bottle raiser capable of guiding transported bottles into a standing rest position bottom first, and wherein said raiser includes a bottle stabilizer which on basis of said bottle data is held by means of a motor in a first position in contact freedom with a bottle as a function of data regarding the bottle, including at least one of its diameter, height and weight, said stabilizer then movable to a second position for in a stabilizing step bearing against a portion of the bottle and for pushing the bottle against a stationary back wall, and releasing said bottle from the stabilizing step for onward movement on a further conveyor.
2. 8. A device for raising an empty beverage container received from a reverse vending machine in a lying position and with its bottom first, the device comprising a guide for guiding the container into a rest position where the container stands upright on its bottom, a motor operated stabilizer, which can assume a first position, in which the stabilizer is held in contact freedom with the container to allow the container to assume its rest position, and release the container for onward movement on a conveyor, wherein the first position of the stabilizer is dependent on data about the container provided by a detector station of said reverse vending machine, and that the stabilizer can assume a second position, in which the stabilizer bears against the container and pushes the container against a stationary back wall of the device to stabilize the container in its rest position before the container is released.