Closure top buffer with an inspection unit
AssigneeKrones AG
InventorWolfgang Hahn
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus for producing containers may include a transport unit which transports the containers along a specified transport path, at least one handling unit which handles the containers in a specified manner, a closing unit which is located downstream of the handling unit in a transport direction of the containers and which fits closure tops onto the containers, and a feeding unit which feeds the closure tops to the closing unit. An inspection unit may be provided upstream of the feeding unit in a transport direction of the closure tops. The inspection unit inspects the closure tops and emits at least one signal which is characteristic of the physical condition of the closure tops.
Claims21
An apparatus for producing containers, comprising:
- a transport unit configured to transport containers along a specified transport path;
- at least one handling unit configured to handle the containers in a specified manner;
- a closing unit downstream of the handling unit in a transport direction of the containers, the closing unit being configured to fit closure tops onto the containers;
- a feeding unit configured to feed the closure tops to the closing unit;
- and
- an inspection unit upstream of the feeding unit in a transport direction of the closure tops, the inspection unit being configured to inspect a physical condition of the closure tops themselves and emit at least one signal which is characteristic for a faulty physical condition of the closure tops themselves, wherein the inspection unit includes a removal device configured to remove defective closure tops, wherein the closure tops are guided in the feeding unit one immediately following another in a closure top stream, wherein by the removal of defective closure tops at the removal device the closure top stream between the feeding unit and the closing unit downstream from the removal device is not interrupted and no gaps form in the closure top stream.
A method of producing containers, comprising:
- transporting the containers along a specified transport path;
- handling the containers in a specified manner along the transport path;
- feeding, at a feeding unit, closure tops to a closing unit;
- fitting the closure tops onto the containers;
- inspecting the closure tops before feeding the closure tops to the closing unit;
- and
- emitting at least one signal to indicate a specified physical condition of the closure tops in response to said inspection of the closure tops, wherein the closure tops are guided in the closing unit one immediately following another in a closure top stream, wherein defective closure tops are removed at a removal device, and wherein the removal of the defective closure tops at the removal device the closure top stream between the feeding unit and the closing unit downstream from the removal device does not interrupt the closure top stream and no gaps form in the closure top stream.
An apparatus for producing containers, comprising:
- a transport unit configured to transport containers along a specified transport path;
- at least one handling unit configured to handle the containers in a specified manner;
- a closing unit downstream of the handling unit in a transport direction of the containers, the closing unit being configured to fit closure tops onto the containers;
- a feeding unit configured to feed the closure tops to the closing unit;
- and
- an inspection unit upstream of the feeding unit in a transport direction of the closure tops, the inspection unit being configured to inspect a physical condition of the closure tops themselves and emit at least one signal which is characteristic for a faulty physical condition of the closure tops themselves, wherein the closure tops are guided in the feeding unit one immediately following another in a closure top stream, wherein by removal of defective closure tops the closure top stream between the inspection unit and the closing unit is not interrupted and no gaps form in the closure top stream, and wherein the faulty physical condition of the closure tops is selected from a group of faulty physical conditions, which comprises faulty threads and missing threads of the closure tops.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.