Neck gripping conveyor and link, and related rotary filler and system

A conveyor suitable for conveying objects such as containers to a processing station, the conveyor comprising:

• a plurality of connected links;
• at least one gripping member extending from each of the links, each gripping member movable relative to its respective link for gripping a container by the neck of the container;
• and
• a guide structure disposed on each link for mating a component of the processing station to the neck of the container for processing the container, the guide structure including an opening defined through the link.

A conveyor suitable for conveying objects such as containers to a processing station, the conveyor comprising:

• a plurality of connected links;
• at least one gripping member extending from each of the links, each gripping member movable relative to its respective link for gripping a container by the neck of the container;
• and
• a guide structure disposed on each link for mating a component of the processing station to the neck of the container for processing the container,
• wherein the processing station is one of a filler, a capper, a labeler, or a rinser, and the links include attaching structure for attaching the links to the processing station in registration with the components of the processing station.

A link for a conveyor suitable for conveying objects such as containers to a processing station, the link comprising:

• a link body, the link body defining openings for receiving connecting elements for connecting a plurality of the links so as to form a conveyor;
• at least two gripping members extending from the link body, the gripping members movable relative to the link body for gripping therebetween a container by the neck of the container, the gripping members being rotationally joined by gears;
• and
• a guide structure for mating a component of the processing station to the neck of the container for processing the container.

A link for a conveyor suitable for conveying objects such as containers to a processing station, the link comprising:

• a link body, the link body defining openings for receiving connecting elements for connecting a plurality of the links so as to form a conveyor;
• at least one gripping member extending from the link body, the gripping member movable relative to the link body for gripping a container by the neck of the container;
• and
• a guide structure for mating a component of the processing station to the neck of the container for processing the container, the guide structure including an opening defined through the link.

A link for a conveyor suitable for conveying objects such as containers to a processing station, the link comprising:

• a link body, the link body defining openings for receiving connecting elements for connecting a plurality of the links so as to form a conveyor, the link body including attaching structure for attaching the link body to the processing station;
• at least one gripping member extending from the link body, the gripping member movable relative to the link body for gripping a container by the neck of the container;
• and
• a guide structure for mating a component of the processing station to the neck of the container for processing the container.

A container conveying system, the system comprising:

• a rotary filler;
• a track extending along a conveying path, the track being formed in at least two portions, a first portion terminating at an input section of the rotary filler and a second portion beginning at an output section of the rotary filler;
• and
• a plurality of connected links, each link including at least one movable gripping member for gripping a container by the neck of the container;
• each link defining mating structure for following the track along the conveying path and attaching structure for attaching the links to the rotary filler, the mating structure configured for guiding the links along the first track portion and to the rotary filler, the attaching structure configured for attaching the links to the rotary filler for filling the containers while gripped by the gripping members, the mating structure configured for guiding the containers off the rotary filler and onto the second track portion after the containers are filled.

A conveyor suitable for conveying containers by the neck to a processing station, the conveyor comprising:

• a plurality of links, each link defining a guide opening therethrough for mating a component of the processing station with a neck of a container, each link defining two oppositely disposed cavities;
• connection elements connecting the links so as to form a conveyor, the connection elements including a plurality of joining elements, each joining element having two ends and a center portion between the two ends, each joining element being removably attached to an adjacent pair of the links, whereby one of the ends of the joining element is disposed in one of the cavities of one of the pair of links and the other of the ends of the joining element is disposed in one of the cavities of the other of the pair of links, thereby forming a series of connected links;
• and
• at least one movable gripping element for holding the conveyor with the neck in registration with the guide opening for aligning the container neck with the processing station component.