(2.3 (Q- By Attorney

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1 April 13, 1954 Filed Oct. 18, 1949 J. S. MADDAFORD 2,675,011 3 Skeets-Sheet l Joa/M s72 aa M Maa/212, (2.3 (Q- By Attorney

2 April 13, 1954 J. s. MADDAFORD 2,675,011 - Filed Oct. 18, Sheets-Sheet 2 By Attorney

3 April 13, 1954 J. S. MADDAFORD 2,675,011 Filed Oct. 18, Sheets-Sheet 3 A/G 3. Inventor /oa/ szaraaaav M-21241/C2/2 12-se- By Attorney

4 Patented Apr. 13, ,675,011 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,675,011 The invention relates to a bottle Washing process in which bottles are mounted in radially arranged carriers in a drum subject to Stepwise rotation about a horizontal axis and are carried by the drum through a soaking tank and past jets arranged around the drum, whereby the bot tles are soaked and sprayed internally and ex ternally with cleaning liquids, the mouths of the bottles facing inwards for this purpose. So as to ensure thorough cleaning it is necessary for the bottles to be treated with hot liquids. Machines at present available commercially comprise. a plurality of such drums, the bottles being passed successively from one drum to the next during their passage through the machine, the tempera ture of the cieaning fluids being different in the various soaking tanks and jets so that progres sive heating of the bottles is ensured. It is an object of the invention to provide a process which is carried out in a simpler, more compact and less expensive machine. In accordance with the invention each bottle is retained in its carrier for more than One ro tation of the drum and the drum is arranged to be rotated at each step through more than the distance between the axes of adjacent cal riers, and to bring each bottle to rest in dif ferent positions in two successive rotations of the drum. In this way a single drum may be employed to fulfil the function of two or more drums in machines at present available. The fact that the bottles come to rest in different positions during successive rotations make it possible so as to arrange the jets that progressive heating and cooling of the bottles is ensured. The invention also includes a machine for enabling this process to be carried Out. The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings in which, Figures 1 and 2 are end views partly in Section John Stephen Maddaford, Leicester, England, as signor to Gimson & Co. (Leicester) Limited, Leicester, England Application October 18, 1949, Serial No. 121,920 Clains priority, application Great Britain October 18, Claims. (Cl ) of the machine, Figure 3 is an enlarged detail view of a por tion of the drum shown in Figures 1 and 2, Figure 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of the drum viewed from the outside and Figure 5 is a section taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 4. Referring to the drawings the drum comprises a pair of flanged cast iron plates to held to gether by two rings of bolts, 2 and contain ing a plurality of sheet metal plates 3 threaded on the bolts, ; 2 and shaped to form radial carriers for bottles 4 which are inserted from outside a drum. Twelve bottles are accommo dated in each row of carriers and the machine O shown has 45 rows of carriers. The drum is Supported by rollers f 5 which are held in station alry end frames, the rollers 5 being accommo dated Within a channel in each end plate is of the drum. The lower end of each drum dips into a soaking tank. 8 and curved guides g are pro vided within the soaking tank to prevent the bottles falling out of their carriers. The drum is rotated by a Geneva, mechanism including pinions 8, 9, pin 28 a slotted disc 2 and pinions 22 and 23 the latter of which actuates a finai pinion 24 which engages the outer ring of bolts 2 on the drum and imparts the requisite step Wise rotation to the drum. The drum drive is SO arranged that the drum is rotated at each step through an angle corresponding to four of the bolts 2 or twice that between the axes of SS adjacent rows of bottles 4. In this way it is ensured that on the second of two successive rotations of the drum, each bottle comes to rest, at a position intermediate to successive rest, positions in the preceding rotation. Automatic bottle injecting and bottle ejecting mechanisms are provided these having a com mon disc 25 having a cam groove 26 in which a roller 27 engages driving a common linkwork 28, 29, 30 which ensures that the operation of the injector and ejector is correctly timed. The injector comprises pivoted links 3 and 32 which Operate a pusher bar 33, which engages the bot tom of bottles placed on table 34. The ejector comprises a frame made up of two slide bars 35 connected together by a channel member 35' which carries the bottle ejectors 36 which ejects Successive rows of bottles A on to the table 37. The injector and ejector mechanism are actu ated during each pause in the rotation of the drun, and are situated apart by an angle cor responding to twice the angular spacing between adjacent rows of carriers so that after a bottle has been inserted by the injector mechanism it is only engaged by the pusher bar 36 of the ejec. tor mechanism on the second rotation of the drun.. The SOaking tank 6 communicates With a filter tank 38 whence caustic soda is drawn by a pump 39 and Supplied to an external manifold 4 pro vided with jet nozzles 42, 43, 44, 45 and to an internal manifold 46 provided with jet nozzles A, 48, 49. Liquid from these jets drains back directly into the soaking tank S. - Hot Water is drawn by a pump i? from a tank 59 and passes through a pipe 52 to an external manifold 53 with rows of jet nozzles Sá, 55, 33, 57, and to an internal manifold 58 with rows of

5 2,675, jet nozzles 59, 6, 8, 62. Beneath the nozzles 54, 55, 59, 6 is a drain tray 63 whence the water passes through pipe SA to waste. Beneath the nozzles 56, 5, 6, 62, is a drain tray 65 whence water is returned to the tank 5 through a pipe 66. Cold Water drawn from the Inains passes through a pipe 62 to an external manifold 68 having rows of jet nozzles 69, 70 and an internai manifold having a single row of jet nozzles 72, below which is a drain tray 73 whence the drainings pass to waste through a pipe is a branch of which passes through valve is tank is and enables a portion of the water froin the drain tray 73 to be used for replenishing the hot Water circuit and to replace hot Water lost through pipe 64. During the operation of the machine each row of bottles is injected by the pusher bar 33 and is carried twice through the soaking tank 6 and twice past all the jet nozzlies before it 2 is ejected. It will however be appreciated that Since the drum rotates at each Step through all angle corresponding to twice the angular spac ing between adjacent rows of bottles, the bottles of a given row will come to rest, in different po sitions in successive rotations aid Will not be sprayed internally by those jets which they pass without Stopping. During the first rotation the bottles will conne to rest opposite the internal jets 3 and 39, where they are sprayed internally with fluid fron the tank 6 and which drains back into the tank, and With hot water from the jets 3. The bottles do not come to rest opposite the remaining jets A8, 69. 6f 62 and E2. In the second rotation the bottles are sprayed internally first With cle33 ing fiuid from the jet 48, then with hot, water from the jet 58, whereby traces of cleaning fluid are removed and pass to Waste, agai(). With hot Water from the jets S and 32, the hot Water being recycled, and finally with cold water fro2n the jets 72. The bottles are then ejected by the pusher bar 36. It will be appreciated that the primary purpose of the jets 54, 55, 39, 8 is to remove traces of cleaining fluid and prevent coinia air ha tion of the contents of tank 56. The machine as shown is Suitable for the cleaning of bottles which are not heavily Soiled and the cleaning fluid in the tank 6 may be maintained at about C. and the hot War. ter at approximately the same temperature for this purpose. Where heavily soiled bottles are to be cleaned however it may be necessary to heat the cleaning fluid to higher tempellatures, e. g. 60 C. or more and in this case it is nec essary to pre-rinse the bottles with water at about 35 C. This may be effected either on a separate machine, or in a manner known for other rotating drum machines, whilst the boi tles are on the table 34, by means of a jet mounted externally on the Wall of the soaking tank 6. For Such pre-rinsing Waste Water Inay conveniently be drawn from the pipe 64. The hot water rinse from jets 54, 55, 59, 52 then acts as a Stage in the cooling of the heated bottles. It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to a two rotation, single drum ma chine. I claim: 1. A bottle Washing machine comprising a O drum mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis, bottle carriers imounted therein for ac commodating bottles mouth inwardly and spaced in an uneven number of rows around the p3 riphery of Said drum, means for imparting step Wise rotational movement to the drum, a Soak ing tank through which the drun passes and spray jets arranged internally and externally of the drutin, in which inachine the drunn driv ing means is arranged to rotate the ciruin at each step through an angle corresponding to twice the angle between the axes of adjacent carriers, so that in the second of two successive rotations of the drun a bottie comes to rest, at positions between those at which it came to rest in the preceding rotation. 2. A bottle Washing machine as claimed in claim i, in which automatic-bottle injecting and ejecting mechanism are provided adjacent the drum and Spaced apart by a distance corre Sponding to an even number of times the dis tance between the axes of adjacent carriers, whereby each bottle is carried by the drum for more than one rotation before it is ejected. 3. A bottle Washing machine connprising a dium Incuted for rotation about a horizontal axis and Suspended by Stationery rollei's, a Soaking tank Surrounding the lower part of the druin, plates mounted Within the drum around the periphery thereof and shaped to form an un even number of equally spaced rows of carriers for accoinnodating icottles with their mouths inwards, ists innounted outside and inside the di'un, means for Supplying the jets witin at least two different cleaning liquids, recycling means for circulating Said cleaning fluids and including Separate receptacles in said diru in for receiving different used liquids fron said jets, a driving nechanisin for the drum for rotating the drum StepWise through an angle corresponding to twice the angle between adjacent rows of carriers, au tornatic bottle injecting and bottle ejecting mechanisms Spaced apart by an angle corre Sponding to a multiple being an even whole num ber of the anglar spacing between adjacent rows Of Carriers, so that each bottle is retained in the drum for more than one rotation of the drum, and in the second of two successive iro tations connes to rest in positions different froil its resting positions in the first rotation. 4. A machine as clained in clairn 3 in which the angular spacing between the bottle injector and bottle ejector mechanisms is twice that be tween the axes of adjacent bottle carriers, so that each bottle is only ejected during the Sec ond rotation of the drun. References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Nure Name date 838,927 Wickham Dec. 18, ,740 Meye' July 2, ,161,467 Gallup Nov. 23, ,212,459 IaWSOn Jain. 16, ,232,175 Baenninger July 3, ,442,006 Schmidt Jan. 9, ,493,914 Zangerlu May 13, ,735,539 Krause Nov. 12, ,880,257 Kiefer Oct. 4, ,024,373 Ladewig Dec. 17, 1935