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US 9,038,257 B2Granted
High-speed loading/unloading of objects
OwnerMartin Lehmanninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to methods and an apparatuses for loading and unloading objects into/from corresponding cavities in holders at a high count rate. For loading, a plurality of objects are present on an object path which mutually converges with a holder path. For unloading, the object path mutually diverges from the holder path. Integration of this method and apparatus respectively into a method of manufacturing unleaky containers and a corresponding apparatus for leak testing containers is also proposed.
Claims29
Method of manufacturing closed, unleaky containers comprising:
- manufacturing closed, untested, containers;
- loading said containers into holders, said loading including:
- conveying holders along a holder path, each holder comprising at least one cavity for receiving a container loaded into the cavity in a loading-direction;
- transporting the containers along an object path extending to a loading area;
- configuring said object path and said holder path to mutually converge in a direction parallel to said loading-direction as distance along said object path to said loading area decreases,
- loading a container into a cavity in said loading area;
- transporting a plurality of containers simultaneously at different positions along said object path and conveying a plurality of holders simultaneously at different positions along said holder path;
- leak-testing said containers in a leak-detection step;
- rejecting containers determined as leaking in said leak-detection step together with their corresponding holder;
- unloading unrejected containers from said holders;
- accepting said unrejected containers as unleaky containers.
8 more elements
Method of manufacturing closed, unleaky containers comprising:
- manufacturing closed, untested, containers;
- loading said containers into holders, said loading including
- conveying holders along a holder path, each holder comprising at least one cavity for receiving a container loaded into the cavity in a loading-direction;
- transporting the containers along an object path extending to a loading area;
- configuring said object path and said holder path to mutually converge in a direction parallel to said loading-direction as distance along said object path to said loading area decreases;
- loading a container into a cavity in said loading area;
- transporting a plurality of containers simultaneously at different positions along said object path and conveying a plurality of holders simultaneously at different positions along said holder path;
- leak-testing said containers in a leak-detection step;
- unloading said containers from said holders;
- rejecting containers determined as leaking in said leak-detection step;
- accepting unrejected containers as unleaky containers.
8 more elements
Apparatus for leak-testing containers comprising:
- an apparatus for loading objects into cavities in holders;
- comprising
- at least one holder conveyor defining a holder path for conveying holders to, through, and from a loading area, each holder having at least one cavity and each cavity having a loading-direction;
- a transport arrangement for transporting containers into cavities in said holder on the at least one holder conveyor in said loading-direction in the loading area, and comprising a plurality of moveable releasable object supports, positions of the object supports defining an object path for transporting containers into cavities in holders on the at least one holder conveyor, said object path and said holder conveyor being configured to mutually approach in a direction parallel to said loading-direction at decreasing distance to the loading area;
- a leak testing apparatus situated downstream of the apparatus for loading objects into cavities in holders;
- an apparatus for unloading objects from holders situated downstream of the leak testing apparatus;
- a rejection mechanism for rejecting containers determined as leaking by the leak testing apparatus and operated based on an output thereof, said rejection mechanism being situated either between the leak testing apparatus and the apparatus for unloading objects from holders, or being situated downstream of the apparatus for unloading objects from holders;
- a container input for providing containers as objects to, the apparatus for loading objects into in cavities in holders;
- a container output for receiving containers from the apparatus for unloading objects from cavities in holders in turn;
- a holder conveyor for conveying holders to, through, and from each of the apparatus for loading objects into cavities in cavities in holders, the leak detection apparatus, and the apparatus for unloading objects from holders in turn.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.