US2596452A - Illuminating device for inspection of contents of bottles - Google Patents

Description

ILLUMfNATING DEVICE FOR INSPECTION OF CONTENTS OF BOTTLES Filed June so, 1949 y 13, 1952 P K WEHMILLER ETAL 2,596,452

INVENTORS PAUL K .WEHMILLER WILLIAM J. NEKOLA BYWAL QMQ ATTORNEY Patented May 13, 1952 ILLUMINATING DEVICE FOR INSPECTION OF CONTENTS OF BOTTLES Paul K. Wehmiller, Kirkwood, and William J.

Nekola, Normandy, Mo., assignors to Barry- Wehmiller Machinery Company, St. Louis, Mo.,

a corporation of Missouri Application June 30, 1949, Serial No. 102,348

This invention relates to devices for inspection of contents of bottles and the like, and more particularly to an illuminated device which exposes foreign particles or impure conditions in 1 Claim. (CI. 88-14) said belt being supported on horizontal angle bars 4. However, the conveyor may be of any suitable type adapted to carry bottles or the like at any desired speed from a source of supply the contacts of traveling bottles, jars and othe 5 and through the inspection zone. For example, transparent or translucent containers. an ordinary endless belt conveyor may be em- Prior to our invention, a commonly used in ployed. spection apparatus has included a lamp located We have shown upright bottles B seated on the at the rear of traveling bottles, directly opposite traveling conveyor belt 3. In actual practice, for the eyes of the inspector, which results in a high speed production, the bottles can be very highly objectionable glare affecting the eyes and close together as very little time is required for reducing the efficiency of the inspection. Under accurate inspection. such conditions, an inspector is required to take 5 designates a horizontally elongated backrather frequent rests to relieve eye strains which ground located at one side of, but substantially not only impair his faculty for prolonged inspecseparated from the conveyor 3. To avoid a glartion, but may also tend to generally affect his ing reflection of light and also aid the inspectors vision. vision, this background may have a dull surface. An object of the present invention is to more by which is meant a surface without gloss or clearly expose foreign particles and other objecsheen. In practice it is a dull wheat color, or tionable conditions in the containers, thereby a pastel tan or green. A horizontally elongated increasing the accuracy of the inspection, while greatly reducing the eye strain. Another object is to provide for a relatively long inspection time, permitting prolonged examinations of bottles wherein the contents may appear doubtful.

In the preferred form of the invention, a lamp device is beamed to produce a very clear lighted effect throughout the contacts of traveling bottles, which appear as the brightest objects in the visual field of the inspector. never casts its rays of light directly into the eyes of the operator, and there is no distracting nearby glare to tire and confuse the operators vision. Under these conditions, traveling bottles can be accurately inspected in a very short period of .i;

time to meet the present high production speeds, while avoiding the usual excessive eye strains.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention comprises the novel combination and arrangement of specific details shown in the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a desirable form of the invention. However, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention extends to variations and modifications covered by terms of the claims hereunto appended.

Fig. l is a front view of an inspection device embodying features of this invention, including a diagrammatical illustration of a traveling conveyor.

Fig. 2 is a side view, with the conveyor shown The lamp device .1

elevated hood 6 is located above the space between the conveyor 3 and background 5 to receive a suitable illuminating device, said hood being open at the bottom to direct rays of light downwardly toward the traveling conveyor.

The illuminating device herein shown comprises a series of inclined electric lamps 1 arranged within the elongated elevated hood, the center lines of said lamps being inclined in a direction toward the conveyor 3, as suggested at 8 in Fig. 2, so as to direct inclined beams of light to the bottles on the conveyor.

The elevated hood shown in the drawings has a rear wall member 9 extending upwardly from the background 5, a top wall member ID extending forwardly from said rear wall member, and an inclined front baffle wall II extending downwardly from the top wall member. The background 5 and the wall members 9, l0 and H can be conveniently formed by a single sheet of material bent to the shape shown in Fig. 2, and suitably connected to vertically elongated end walls 82. The front baffle member ll terminates in a line substantially above the conveyor 3 to conceal the lamps from the inspector and provide an open space for the traveling bottles. The conveyor 3 is lower than the inclined lamps 1, where it will not intercept the light projected directly from the elevated lamps to the bottles. In this unique device, the advantage of extreme simplicity coupled with very high efiiciency is gained by deliberately avoiding the use of any device which would alter the eifect of the illumination in the clear, unobstructed space in front of the background wall 5.

' throughout the contents of the bottles.

To illustrate a simple adjustable support for the elevated hood and its lamps, we have shown an elongated horizontal bar I3 having upturned ends I4 connected to the end Walls I2, a post l5 extending downwardly from said bar l3, and a base I6 telescoped with the lower end'portionof said post to provide for upward and downward adjustments of the background, hood and lamps with relation to the horizontal conveyor 3. The tubular upper portion of the base I6 is split and provided with ears I! to receive a clamping bolt is whereby the background, hood and lamps. are secured in positions to which they are adjusted. However, it is to be understood that other suite able adjustable elements may be employed for convenience in accurately locating the inspectiondevice during its initial installation, and also in making selective adjustments for clear and easy inspection of the contents of bottles, jars, and the like, having various difierent dimensions.

In Fig. 2, an eye of the inspector is suggested at. [9, with an inclined line 2.9 leading therefrom to the bottom of the baflle wall H which conceals the elevated lamps from the visual field. The inclined beams of light are directed away from the background, 5 and projected downwardly onto 7 rear. portions of the traveling bottles, thereby effectively illuminating the contents of the: bot: tles. In this arrangement, the top. faces of shoulders of the bottles are directly exposed to downwardly projected rays of light, and this specific condition enhances the lighting effect Foreign particles and impure conditions are very clearly exposed, so the usual inspections can be easily made with, a high degree of accuracy, and in very brief periods of time. However, a doubtful bottle can be subjected to prolonged inspection while it progresses through. the elongated inspection zone, while the conveyor travels at a relatively high speed to provide for the usual rapid inspections.

In actual commercial practice, the new device has been successfully employed on a large scale to inspect beer (an amber fluid) in amber bottles, with the result of actually obtaining the aforesaid outstanding advantages.

We claim: 7

An illuminating device for use at the rear side of a conveyor-whereon transparent containers are presented for inspection, said device comprising a vertically directed wall having a relatively light colored. dull surface extending above the level of the conveyor and spaced from the conveyor to provide a clear space in front of said wall surface, a hood positioned across the upper portion of said wall directly above said clear space, said hood havinga front inclined wall portion located with its lower free edge spaced above the rear side of the conveyor and clear of the top of the containers presented for inspection, and illuminating means located within said hood behind said inclined wall portion above the lower free margin thereof, said hood and inclined wall portion cooperating to direct the light without ob- .REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,051,946 Hewlett Aug. 25, 1936 2il74.8f4& Stahm'er Oct. 3,-1939 2,3 3,350. Ellison Jan. 30, 1945

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