Abstract: On an inspection machine for bottles or the like with an inward conveyor and arranged thereon a first lateral inspection device, with an outward conveyor and arranged thereon a second lateral inspection device, and with an intermediate conveyor which spans a gap between the latter and arranged thereon a base inspection device, the inward conveyor and the outward conveyor are arranged at an angle with respect to one another, whereas the intermediate conveyor incorporating two endless conveyor mechanisms adapted to be driven at the same speed extends at least partly in an arc. This enables the two lateral inspection devices to check different peripheral zones of the bottles without the bottles rotating independently and the malfunctions thereby caused, so as to achieve a high level of inspection accuracy.

Abstract: In order to be able to carry out in a vessel cleaning machine with a circulating conveyor chain a safe, reliable and fast inspection of the interior of the vessel cleaning machine, an inspection device is arranged on the conveyor chain. The inspection device is provided with sensors and/or cameras.

Abstract: In order to provide a rotary filling machine, as used for bottling liquids, by means of which high-purity bottling conditions can be maintained, an ultraclean room is provided and implemented in the area of the path on which the bottles circulate, the upper ceiling wall of said ultraclean room being defined, at least partially, by the lower surface of an annular vessel storing the liquid to be bottled and by the lower surface of the filling valves arranged immediately below said annular vessel.

Abstract: In an inspection machine for containers comprising a feed conveyor, a discharge conveyor, and an intermediate conveyor which is arranged thereinbetween and transfers the containers without any self-rotation, and a rotary conveyor which imparts a rotational movement to the containers and is provided at the feed conveyor, a first side inspection device is arranged at the feed conveyor in front of the rotary conveyor, a second side inspection device is arranged at the discharge conveyor after the intermediate conveyor, and a bottom inspection device is arranged in the area of the gap existing between the feed conveyor and the discharge conveyor. A very efficient container transport and a high inspection accuracy are achieved with such an assembly.

Abstract: In a method for filling a liquid volume into receptacles wherein liquid is admitted into a volumetric metering chamber by opening an inlet valve, the inlet valve is closed when an upper switching level is reached, the liquid is discharged from the metering chamber into a receptacle by opening the outlet valve, and the outlet valve is closed when a lower switching level is reached, the upper filling level actually obtained after closing of the inlet valve is measured, as well as the lower filling level actually obtained after closing of the outlet valve. With the values obtained thereby, the upper and lower switching levels are corrected, whereby the desired liquid volume can exactly be observed independently of pressure and flow conditions.

Abstract: When carrying out a method for sterile bottling of beverages, which comprises the steps of cleaning the bottles first in a cleaning station by means of lye, transporting them then to a separate filling station, filling them in said filling station with the previously sterilized beverage, and closing them finally in a closing station, the sterilization of the interior of the bottles by introducing steam and/or hot water is carried out several times successively in spatially separated stations. This fractional sterilization of the bottles achieves a very high germ destruction rate, the amount of energy consumed being low and the bottles being treated carefully. In addition, measures against a reinfection of the bottles in the area of transport between the stations can be dispensed with so that a good accessibility of the transport area is guaranteed.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process and a device for removing shrinking casings or encircling labels from containers, particularly bottles, glasses, cans, or the like, in which, first of all, a separating line which proceeds essentially transversely to the direction of circumference is produced and the shrinking casing or the encircling label is then removed by means of a fluid stream which is directed against the container. During the removal of an encircling label or of a shrinking casing which has been cut through, the containers are preferably held, in a bottom-free manner, near the area of the head, and at least one fluid stream is directed, in an angular manner, from above, essentially axially to the wall of the container, against the container, and preferably above the upper edge of the shrinking casing or of the encircling label.

Abstract: In a device used for filling liquids in portions into bottles, cans or similar receptacles and having a plurality of volumetric dosing chambers, which are arranged on a rotor and which are connected to a storage reservoir for the liquid via a controllable inlet valve and to a filler neck via a controllable outlet valve, at least two sensors responding to different filling levels are arranged in each dosing chamber, the sensor arranged on a higher level closing the inlet valve when the filling level has risen to a specific height, and the sensor arranged on a lower level closing the outlet valve when the filling level has dropped to a specific height. The volume of one portion of the liquid to be canned or bottled is thus defined in a simple manner by the vertical distance between the two sensors, or rather the measuring points of said sensors.

Abstract: A closure member for crown cork applicators, which comprises a closure cone and an ejector engaging the longitudinal bore of said closure cone, is provided with an observation opening connecting the bore to the outside thereof, said observation opening having an aperture angle of at least 180.degree. and being dimensioned such that the ejector is located completely within said observation opening. The large observation opening defined in this way permits the best possible access to the particularly critical areas of the closure member for the purpose of examination, cleaning, disinfection or the like.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process, as well as a device which is suited for the same, for the processing of containers, particularly of bottles or the like, into which a fluid is injected for the expulsion of the air from the head room of the bottles after the filling, before the aperture of the container is closed, in a sealing manner, by means of a closure cap. After the injecting of the fluid, a closure cap is first of all moved forward to the opening of the container and held, for a certain period of time, in a position above the opening, in such a manner that the open aperture is covered by the closure cap, but that gas can exit from the container between the opening and the closure cap. After that, the closure cap is attached to the container in a sealing manner.

Abstract: In order to permit a method of determining the shape of a body, which comprises the step of detecting a contour of said body, to be executed rapidly and with little computing effort, the contour of the body is converted into a contour function which is independent of the position of said body, and said contour function is compared with a predetermined reference contour function for a known shape.

Abstract: The invention concerns a container filling machine with a supply chamber for a fluid and a compressed gas, onto which at least one filling device is attached. This device possesses a discharge opening, a fluid valve, a compressed gas valve body arranged on its valve body and a probe which determines filling height held on this compressed gas valve body. It leads out of the lower end of the compressed valve body in a gastight arrangement. Hereby is a container filling machine achieved with higher filling accuracy, greater versatility, more cleanability and low production costs.

Abstract: An inspection machine for transilluminatable bottles inspects the sidewalls of bottles by transmitting a diffused beam of light through the sidewall and using a plurality of mirrors appropriately arranged for detecting or recording the images emergent from the bottle in different directions in the same image recording camera. The arrangement requires at least two separate beam paths and mirrors in each path directing the bottle emergent beams to the camera while the bottles are being conveyed through a position in which they are illuminated. In an improved arrangement, there is a separate cooperating series of beam deflecting mirrors which generate at least three independent beam paths that impinge from different directions on the sidewall of the bottle being inspected. The recording device is preferably a camera having a charge coupled device image plate.

Abstract: Bottles to be cleaned are fed in succession to an infeed starwheel from which they are transferred to a rotor on which there are circumferentially spaced apart cam operated bottle inverting devices that grip the bottles and invert them with their mouths over a nozzle that injects cleaning fluid into them. The gripping devices have on them gripper fingers which are V-shaped and are molded, respectively, of a resilient and deflectable synthetic resin such as a polyamide. There is an upper gripper having finger tips spaced apart to engage the neck of a bottle and a lower gripper having finger tips or the like that grip or support the cylindrical body of the bottle.

Abstract: Bottles made of transparent plastic material or glass are subjected to at least one stationary examination device and further for detecting impurities or damage to the bottom, side wall or mouth regions of vessels. To be able to detect defects which may cause the bottles to leak, and which cannot be detected reliably by optoelectronic devices, the vessels are inspected additionally using a leak test by developing pressures.

Abstract: A process and a device for the sterile filling of beverage liquids. In the process and device a bottle is sterilized by passing steam into it through a short feed pipe. All other phases such as CO.sub.2 flushing, counter-pressurizing and return gas discharge also take place through the feed pipe. During the filling process the liquid to be filled flows into the bottle around the feed pipe.

Abstract: Containers containing a mixture of acceptable and unacceptable bottles are conveyed to a removal station in the path of movement of a carrier head that has at least one group of gripping elements that are adapted to selectively grip and remove acceptable bottles and at least another group of gripping elements that are adapted to grip and remove unacceptable bottles. In one implementation, the carrier head picks up the acceptable bottles from incoming containers and simultaneously picks up unacceptable bottles from containers from which acceptable bottles have been removed and transfers the respective groups of bottles to individual outfeed conveyors.

Abstract: First, second and third linear conveyors are arranged in alignment with each other in the stated order. Bottles to be inspected are conveyed standing on their bottoms on the first linear conveyor through an inspection station followed by an ejector for those bottles which fail to match specified characteristics of an acceptable bottle model. The second conveyor has spaced apart parallel translating conveyor belts for frictionally gripping the bottles by their bodies between them to make their mouth ends and bottoms clear for inspection. The bottle discharge end region of the first conveyor and the bottle inlet end region overlap to achieve an overall shorter machine. The second conveyor has a bottle discharge region that overlaps the bottle inlet end region of the third conveyor to achieve a shorter machine.

Abstract: In an apparatus for filling bottles with liquid, the liquid supply tank has several bottle filling adapters mounted to its body and providing a valve seat for liquid to flow from the tank to a bottle. The seat is proximate to a vertically movable valve body which has an integral tubular stem extending upwardly from it and a gas tube extending downwardly from it so gas can be conducted downwardly into a bottle and upwardly for being exhausted or returned to the tank. In the bore of the tubular combination gas conducting tube and valve stem there is a wire constituting a filling level probe. The tip of the wire is exposed in the gas tube to liquid in the bottle and the body of the wire is insulated and runs upwardly through the bore of the tubular stem where it is terminated in a cylindrical conductive element that enters an electrical connector. The connector provides a lead to a microprocessor based controller.

Abstract: Containers are transported on rotatable support plates which are arranged in a circle on a rotating turntable. The leading edge of a label is adhered to a container as it orbits past a vacuum-type label transfer drum. A curved guide which is tangential to the cylindrical body of the container as the orbiting and rotating container passes it causes the label to wrap completely around the container. One of a circular array of heat sealing elements which are rotating with the turntable adjacent each support plate is cammed radially outwardly of the turntable into contact with the region on the container where the trailing end overlaps the leading end of the cable. This fuses the ends of the labels together. The cam profile is adjustable in length to keep the time during which the heat sealing member is in contact with the label ends overlap constant independently of the rotational speed of the turntable.