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'Smart' glass bottle handling makes an impact

Wireless inspection system monitors Swedish bottling lines to help reduce breakage by determining handling abnormalities.

The yellow 'Smart Bottle' is conveyed on bottling lines to measure vibration and impact from the bottle's perspective.
The yellow "Smart Bottle" is conveyed on bottling lines to measure vibration and impact from the bottle's perspective.

If James Bond’s mission were to uncover areas on a bottling line that were causing damage to glass bottles, he might try the wireless glass-bottle inspection system used by member companies of the Swedish Brewers Assn.

The inspection system measures vibration and impact on glass bottles to identify handling abnormalities on bottling lines so that line personnel can take action to reduce glass bottle damage and breakage.

The customized system is supplied by Sensor Wireless. According to Sensor Wireless, the system was initially developed for use on Prince Edward Island, Canada, the supplier’s headquarters, where returnable glass bottles are used exclusively.

The system includes a cast-acrylic “Smart Bottle,” built to SBA’s specifications, that provides breweries and beverage makers in Sweden instant handling and performance characteristics from the perspective of a container on the bottling line. SBA member bottlers “borrow” the inspection system for use on their own lines.

Two sizes, 33 cL and 50 cL, are used to fit Sweden’s returnable glass bottle system (see sidebar, opposite page). One Smart Bottle is manufactured for both bottle sizes. The Smart Bottles are identical in size and shape to the clear and amber glass bottles that are conveyed through bottling lines at Swedish breweries, soft drink, water, and cider beverage plants. What differs is that the bright yellow Smart Bottles used by SBA member firms house built-in electronics, a radio-frequency transmitter, and single-axis accelerometers located at the shoulder and heel that measure vibrations and impact at any area on the bottle’s surface. These measurements help the Swedish brewers and beverage producers locate areas on the line that could cause bottle damage and breakage.

The vibrations detected by the system could emanate from an automated depalletizer; or as bottles move along the conveyor; during starting and stopping of the line; if they make contact with guiderails; as bottles contact other bottles at merge points; or at downstream packing equipment. Because they store sensitive electronic components, the Smart Bottles are not sent through rinsing, filling, or capping equipment.

Vibration and impact are measured by the amount of energy exerted on the bottle. These measurements are transmitted via radio frequency to the second key component of the system: a portable Palm® hand-held computer that delivers immediate feedback. The information can then be downloaded from the Palm to a personal computer equipped with specialized software to track bottle activity. The PC can display the data as an easy-to-interpret digital graph. The system costs just under $12ꯠ, according to Sensor Wireless.

Carlsberg drives Smart Bottle use

The Stockholm-based Swedish Brewers Assn. was made aware of the inspection system through its largest member, Carlsberg Breweries A/S. So far, Carlsberg and Spendrups are the only two SBA members to have used the Smart Bottle system.

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