A plant for filling and capping a container is disclosed. The plant comprises a transfer unit configured to feed the container along a feeding path. The transfer unit is connected to a filling drum via an outlet station, and connected to a capping drum via an inlet station. The transfer unit also has an outlet segment at the outlet station, which is straight and tangent to the filling drum, and an inlet segment at the inlet station, which is straight and tangent to the capping drum.

The invention relates, inter alia, to a device for transporting objects. The device has a guide track and at least one movement device having a main body and a bracket for holding an object. The bracket is connected to the main body pivotably about a pivot axis, and the pivot axis is oriented at an angle to a vertical axis of the at least one movement device. A pivoting device is arranged separately from the at least one movement device and is designed to cause the bracket to pivot about the pivot axis. The device makes it possible for different handling devices with differing requirements on an orientation of the object to be able to be run with just one movement device without it being necessary, in the meantime, to hand the object over from the movement device.

A container-treatment machine having plural treatment stations for treating containers includes a transport element that rotates about a vertical machine axis, thereby moving the treatment stations circumferentially. A first transfer star supplies untreated containers simultaneously to corresponding treatment stations that are next to each other in the circumferential direction. A second transfer star removes treated containers simultaneously from corresponding treatment stations.

A gripper system includes a gripper module carrier and a gripper module for holding containers or container preforms, the gripper module having a gripper base and two gripper arms with gripping elements for at least partially gripping around a holding region of containers or container preforms, the gripper arms being mounted on the gripper base such that they can pivot relative to one another, the gripper module being releasably connected to the gripper module carrier, wherein the gripper system further includes a locking device for locking the gripper module to the gripper module carrier, and wherein the locking device is movable into a locking position for locking the gripper module to the gripper module carrier.

A container-conveying segment includes a driving conveyor and a driven conveyor that couple to each other at a handoff area at which containers are transferred from one to the other. The conveyors comprise star wheels that rotate in opposite directions about their respective vertical machine axes. The rotors interact with one another at the handoff area. A drive couples to the driving conveyor but not to the driven conveyor. The driving conveyor transfers torque to the driven conveyor at a torque-transfer area.

The present invention provides a bottle conveyor for a filling machine, comprising multiple pairs of bottle-gripping members and a circulating chain conveyor mechanism, and a pair of bottle-gripping members is mounted, via an open-close modular mechanism, to a convey chain of the circulating chain conveyor mechanism. The open-close modular mechanism is provided with a rotary support capable of being opened as a V-shape, a synchronization mechanism configured to define the opened V-shape, an elastic mechanism configured to provide a bottle-gripping force to the bottle-gripping member and a self-restoring force for the opened V-shape, and an external force import mechanism. A mechanism configured to open the bottle-gripping members is provided respectively at a bottle entrance location and a bottle exit location of the bottle conveyor, and the mechanism configured to open the bottle-gripping members cooperates with the external force import mechanism to provide an external force. The bottle conveyor can rapidly open or close the bottle-gripping members on the circulating chain conveyor mechanism directly, thus improving the conveyance efficiency and speed, alleviating loading of a motor, and simplifying the structure of a robotic arm and the structure for opening or closing the bottle-gripping members in the filling machine.

An apparatus for transporting plastics preforms, having a first transport element that extends along a transport path of the plastics preforms and having a second transport element parallel to the first transport element. The first transport element and the second transport element are spaced apart from one another such that a gap is formed between the first transport element and the second transport element such that a base body of the plastics preforms can pass through this gap, but a support ring of the plastics preforms cannot pass through this gap. The apparatus has a hold-down device that is arranged above the transport elements and/or the mouths of the plastics preforms, wherein the hold-down device has a first hold-down element movable in two opposite directions in a longitudinal direction of the plastics preforms along with a drive device configured to cause these movements during a transport operation of the apparatus.

A holding device for holding a container, for example for holding a container in a transport device of a beverage filling plant is described. The holding device includes a fastening part and two gripping arms, which are pivotably connected to the fastening part and can be brought into a closed position in order to hold the container and can be brought into an open position in order to insert and remove the container. A preloaded elastic bow is disposed between the gripping arms, and the elastic bow can be brought into a first position, in which the gripping arms are in the open position, and into a second position, in which the gripping arms are in the closed position. The preload of the elastic bow in the first position holds the gripping arms in the open position and the preload of the elastic bow in the second position holds the gripping arms in the closed position.

A device for transporting containers in a beverage filling plant is provided. The device has at least one first clamp, which can be pivoted between an open switching position and a closed switching position and is disposed in a pivoting plane, for holding a container of a first container size, and one second clamp, which can be pivoted between an open switching position and a closed switching position and is disposed in the pivoting plane, for holding a container of a second container size. A first control cam is provided for controlling the switching position of the first clamp and a second control cam is provided for controlling the switching position of the second clamp. The first control cam is disposed in a first control plane parallel to the pivoting plane, and the second control cam is disposed in a second control plane parallel to the pivoting plane. The first control plane and the second control plane are spaced apart from each other.

Embodiments of the inventive technology disclosed herein may improve efficiency of conveyed bottle apparatus by providing bottle jam prevention guides that may be rotatable, whether freely or in response to a motorized force. Such guides may force downward a bottle that undergone excessive swing in a forward and/or rearward direction, and thus has jammed or is in an incipient jam condition. Advantages may include not only increased efficiency of a conveyed bottle process, but also reduction or even elimination of chatter.