Screw conveyor container filling system
AssigneeReagent Chemical & Research, Inc.
InventorAdam Thomas
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An improved container transportation and filling system and method is provided. The system can deliver cartridges and other containers, such as tubes, in a horizontal orientation. The containers can have a closed bottom end and an open top end. A screw conveyor(s) is used to engage the containers and urge them forward and into rotation around the axis of the screw conveyor, from horizontal to vertical. A guide engages an end of the containers. The guide acts as a camming surface and guides the end of the container downward as it is advanced by the screw conveyor, to orient the container vertically for filling, capping and sealing. A second mirror image downstream screw conveyor and guide can reorient the container from vertical to horizontal.
Claims22
A container transportation apparatus, comprising:
- a container delivery section constructed and arranged to deliver a plurality of containers having a closed bottom end, and an open top end opposite the bottom end, and a side portion extending from the bottom end to the top end, the container delivery section adapted to deliver the containers in a horizontal orientation with the top end and bottom end intersecting the same horizontal plane;
- at least a first rotatable infeed screw conveyor having a first end at the container delivery section and a helix defined by ridges and valleys between the ridges, the infeed screw conveyor positioned horizontally at the height of the container delivery section and extending downstream in a forward direction from the first end at the container delivery section to a second end, the infeed screw conveyor adapted to receive the containers in the valleys and move the containers in the forward direction as the infeed screw conveyor is rotated, from the first end of the infeed screw conveyor to the second end of the infeed screw conveyor;
- a second infeed screw conveyor positioned under the first infeed screw conveyor;
- and
- a declining guide rail positioned and adapted to cammingly engage the bottom end of the containers as the containers are moved in the forward direction and to guide the containers from the horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation as the bottom end declines with the guide rail and the top end rotates around the screw conveyor into an upwardly pointing direction.
A method for orienting containers between a horizontal and a vertical orientation, comprising:
- delivering containers in a horizontal orientation, the containers having a bottom end, a top end opposite the bottom end and sides extending from the bottom end to the top end;
- engaging the containers with one or more infeed screw conveyors, and moving the containers in a downstream direction of flow as they rotate;
- and
- engaging the bottom end of the containers and rotating the containers around the screw conveyor from the horizontal to a vertical orientation;
- and
- engaging the vertical containers with an outfeed conveyor and guiding the containers from the vertical orientation, to a horizontal orientation with the outfeed conveyor.
A container orientation and transportation apparatus, comprising:
- a container receiving section constructed and arranged to receive a plurality of horizontally oriented containers having a closed bottom, an open top and a side;
- at least a first rotatable infeed screw conveyor having a first end at the container receiving section, a second end opposite the first end and a helix from the first end to the second end;
- a guide positioned and adapted to cammingly engage the containers and guide the containers against and around the at least one rotatable infeed screw conveyor from the horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation;
- and
- an outfeed conveyor having a first end at the second end of the container transportation screw conveyor and a second end opposite the first end and a guide postioned and adapted to cammingly engage teh containers and guide the containers from the vertical orientation to a horizontal orientation as they travel from the first end to the second end of the outfeed converyor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.