A container-handling device includes two rotors, holders that are arranged around a periphery of the first rotor and receptacles around the first rotor such that as it rotates, the receptacles pass through distinct angular ranges. When a receptacle has a container, relative movement therebetween causes its centering element and its counter-bearing to clamp a container between them with the holder engaging the container above the counter-bearing A first partial-stroke occurs while the receptacle is in a first angular region and a second partial-stroke occurs after the receptacle has left the first angular region. During the first partial-stroke, the centering element bears against a container's mouth with a pressure, and, during the second partial-stroke, this pressure increases.

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.

Plastic container that is to be filled with a hot product includes a threaded neck portion, a base portion including a standing surface and a moveable element, and a body portion including a dome portion, first and second label stop portions, a supplemental vacuum panel and a sidewall relatively free of structural geometry that surrounds an interior of the body portion. During cooling, the hot product is contracted so as to create an induced vacuum. The supplemental vacuum panel is configured and operative to remove a first portion of an induced vacuum, and the moveable element is configured and operative to move from a first position to a second position to remove a second portion of the vacuum, wherein the first portion of the vacuum and the second portion of the vacuum constitute substantially the entire vacuum.

A rotary machine includes a main axis, a plurality of first stations and a plurality of second stations. Each first station rotates around the main axis and applies a first process to a container. Each second station rotates around the main axis and applies a second process to a processed container. The machine also includes an internal exit position, at which each first station is located once the first station has completed the first process and that is arranged to release the processed container. At an internal entry position, each second station is arranged to receive the released processed container. At least one transfer arm is adapted to seize a processed container and move the processed container between a first station located at the internal exit position and a second station located at the internal entry position.

A retaining unit (1) for retaining a container (4), comprising a supporting body (7), mountable on a movement unit (5), a gripping element (8) and a resting element (9) mounted on the supporting body (7), The gripping element (8) comprises a first arm (10) and a second arm (11), comprising respective gripping portions delimiting a housing (14) for the container (4), having a vertical main line of extension (15). The first arm (10) is movable between a first returned position and a first opened wide position. The resting element (9) has a resting portion (35), delimiting the housing (14), in part, and configured to make contact with a lateral surface of the container (4), is rotatably mounted on the supporting body (7) according to an axis of oscillation (36) transversal to the main line of extension (15), and can oscillate around this between multiple operating positions at each of which the resting portion (35) is positioned differently and delimits the housing (14) differently.

A gripper arm for a device for gripping, holding and guiding bottle-like containers having a bore to support a bearing pin to pivotably fix the gripper arm in the device and including an energy store for moving a gripping section of the gripper arm by a control cam from an open position into a gripping position and vice versa, wherein the energy store is spring tongue integrally formed on the gripper arm and elastically deflectable so as to operatively engage the spring tongue of another gripper arm of the device in a mirror-inverted configuration. The gripper arms produced from a fiber-reinforced plastic, so as to remain sufficiently free of contaminants and germs, and be easily cleaned as well as being faster and easier to produce.

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.

A filling device for a filling machine configured to fill receptacles with a pourable product, comprising: a tubular body having a longitudinal axis, defining a central flowing channel for the pourable product, and terminating at a lower end with an axial outlet opening adapted to deliver the pourable product to a receptacle to be filled, wherein the channel includes a tapered-section portion located at a given axial distance from, and above, the outlet opening and tapering towards the outlet opening up to a narrowed-section zone; a shutter movable within the channel; and at least one exhaust conduit arranged on an outer circumference than the channel with reference to the longitudinal axis; wherein the channel includes an enlarged-section portion located immediately below the tapered-section portion, having a larger diameter than the narrowed-section zone, and defining an expansion chamber receiving a bottom end opening of the exhaust conduit.

Disclosed is a unique knife plate structure for preventing rotation of a plastic container during the capping operation, wherein the container neck is provided with a finish ring or lip, wherein the knife plate is formed to provide laterally and vertically directed sharp edged or pointed container neck contact spikes each of which spikes penetrates (slightly) a portion of the plastic neck surface at the junction of the underside of the finish ring with the neck to hold the container in a fixed non-rotational position while the cap or lid is being rotationally applied.

A gripper assembly for gripping a portion of a container may include a spindle configured to rotate about a vertical axis. The assembly may also include an actuating plate disposed on or about the spindle. The actuating plate may be configured to actuate toward a central shaft in response to a force applied to a first cam follower. The assembly may also include a gripper configured to at least one of open and close in response to the actuating plate being actuated toward the central shaft and a locking cam configured to contact the first cam follower and in at least one position to limit movement of the actuating plate toward the central shaft.