Means in a reverse vending machine (RVM) for receiving, handling, sorting and storing returnable items or objects

Conveyor means for a facility for receiving returnable items, in particular containers such as bottles, cans and the like of plastic, glass or metal, the conveyor means comprising:

• a frame or housing having an upper portion,
• a drum (220) supported in said frame and adapted for coupling to a drum drive for rotating the drum, said drum having a circumferential surface and being rotatable about a central longitudinal axis (221) and said drum having, in an axial direction, an elongated and radially extending recess (222) being adapted to receive a returnable item, said radially extending recess having a mouth opening in a portion of the circumferential surface of the drum,
• a movable elongated element (223) provided in said radially extending recess (222), and movable in a piston-like way in a radial direction relative to said longitudinal axis between an advanced position and a retracted position, the movable elongated element providing a bottom of said radially extending recess when said movable elongated element is in the retracted position,
• means for rotating said drum to selected rotational positions, including a first rotational position and a second rotational position different from said first rotational position,
• an element drive (230) for moving said elongated element between said retracted position in said second rotational position of said drum and said advanced position in said first rotational position of said drum,
• an allocated input space or station (210) provided at the upper portion of said frame above said drum for receiving a returnable item for placement on a part of the circumferential surface of said drum facing towards the allocated input space, when the drum is in a rotational position with the mouth opening of the radially extending recess not facing the allocated input space, and when said drum is in said second rotational position the mouth opening of the radially extending recess faces upwards and towards the allocated input space to establish an open fall path extending from the allocated input space (210) to the bottom of the radially extending recess (222), to allow a selected returnable item at the allocated input space to fall freely into and be received in the radially extending recess,
• a first output (224) proximal to an outer surface level (228) of said drum, and covering an angular interval of the drum rotation that includes the first rotational position, and,
• means for enabling the drum drive, after establishment of the open fall path at the allocated input space, to rotate the drum from the second rotational position to the first rotational position while the elongated element is moved by the external element drive to the advanced position to forceably expel a selected returnable item received in the radially extending recess out of the radially extending recess through the mouth opening and to the first output.