Bottle conveying and cleaning apparatus

In a bottle orienting apparatus of the type having means for supplying a succession of bottles in random open-end leading and open-end trailing dispositions, mobile gripping means for frictionally engaging the opposite sides of a bottle for movement of said bottle with said gripping means along a path, and discriminating means for inverting each of said bottles which has an open-end leading disposition to open-end trailing disposition, said discriminating means including a generally vertically disposed lever having its upper portion pivotally supported on a bearing positioned above the path of movement of said bottles, said lever having a selective bottle engaging arm integral with said lever at the lower end thereof in the path of movement of said bottles, the improvement comprising:

• (a) fluid jet means for directing a stream of fluid at a point of said lever in a direction generally transverse of said lever;
• and
• (b) a vane mounted on said lever at said point, whereby said stream of fluid will impinge upon said vane and exert a force on said vane in the direction of flow of said stream, said jet means and said vane being so constructed and arranged that the force exerted by said stream on said vane will tend to move said lever about said bearing and bias said engaging arm in the upstream direction relative to the movement of said bottles.