DESC:FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and non-stationary system for container washing and filling machines to track and report the compliance and efficiency of container cleaning procedures for each container. More specifically, the present invention relates to the field of assurance of qualitative safety of containers to be used for product filling, by tracking the compliance of the cleaning procedure using a multiplicity of sensors and by measuring the effectiveness of the cleaning procedure using a multiplicity of biosensors, pictorial analysis and artificial intelligence for each container before filling the product in it and to accept or reject the container based on hygiene and safety status.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the domain of hygiene for routine consumable items, packaged drinking water is often regarded as one of the most emphasized commodities and attracts a prominent presence on various platforms of public and non-public places, and chiefly known for the intentional act of counterfeiting through unauthorized tempering of seals and voluntarily refilling the water in the bottles. This, in turn, leads to the reparative use of disposable grade plastic bottles, being one of the primal causes of long-term detrimental effects on the human body.
Different materials and shapes of containers are used to pack any product. Based on the type of usage containers can be categorized into two categories 1) Single-use container, 2) Reusable containers. Majorly there are three types of disqualification that can occur, 1) Physical damage of the container, 2) Foreign particles, and 3) Microbial contamination.
It has long been recognized that cleaning of a container for securing the quality of the product packed, is advantageous in protecting the product against foreign particles and pathogenic microorganisms which might be present in the container.

The term "cleaning" is used in the sense of inactivation or killing of microorganisms and removal of foreign particles which might be detrimental to the quality of the product packed in the container. This process typically may involve brushing, rinsing, electromagnetic sterilization, for example, ultraviolet radiation, gamma radiation and beta radiation, etc.
The fitness of the container defines the safety of the material packed in it. Physical damage in containers can promote migration and leaching, foreign particle and Microbial contamination in containers can degrade the quality of the product packed. In the case of reusable containers, there is a higher risk of disqualification as compared to single-use containers but the single-use container increases the waste burden in landfills. Now with an increasing amount of single-use packing material waste, we have to shift the production and consumption pattern from a linear and recycle economy to a circular economy. Reuse of containers is the most effective way to adopt the circular economy principle. So in order to adopt the reusable container system for packing of products, a solution for assurance about the qualification of the container and automated tracking and reporting mechanism about qualitative parameters of containers to deal with increased risk in case of reuse of container is required.
According to a publication PMC7204880 by Carmen Curutiu, Florin Iordache, Petruta Gurban, Veronica Lazar, and Mariana Carmen Chifiriuc, titled “Main Microbiological Pollutants of Bottled Waters and Beverages” dated 22/02/2019 draws the conclusion that “the consumption of bottled waters and beverages is not free of any risks regarding microbial contamination and consequent water or foodborne disease, especially in countries where the legislation and control of these products are not strictly regulated and respected.” Some of the contaminant microbes mentioned in the said publication include Bacteria like Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli which cause Mild self-limiting gastrointestinal illness, Escherichia coli which cause Gastrointestinal illness and kidney failure, Helicobacter pylori which are known to cause Capable of colonizing human gut that can cause ulcers and cancer. Furthermore, apart from bacteria, viruses like Adenovirus, which cause Respiratory illness and occasionally gastrointestinal illness, Astrovirus, which cause Gastroenteritis in children, Caliciviruses (rotaviruses, noroviruses), which cause Mild self-limiting gastrointestinal illness; Protozoans including Cryptosporidium spp., which cause Enteric disease, Giargia lamblia, which cause Intestinal disease, diarrhea among children, Naegleria fowleri, which cause Primary amebic meningoencephalitis, Yeasts and fungi like Penicilium spp., Penicillium citrinum, P. glabrum, Aspergillus spp., Candida spp., Candida glabrata, and Candida albicans, Cladosporium spp., Cladosporium cladosporioides, Alternaria alternate, Rhizopus spp., etc.
Another instance where the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted a survey in which, as reported by The Times of India on 17/03/2018, “FDA drew 136 samples of packaged drinking water from Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Aurangabad, Amravati, Nagpur and Pune between March 1, 2016, and April 31, 2017. Of them, 48 samples were of poor quality, labels on some of the bottles were found to be tampered. The foremost concern is that the samples tested unsafe for human consumption.” Furthermore, “the samples from Pune were detected with rod-shaped bacteria, called coliform, in high proportion, exposure to which can cause abdominal cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting.” “Similarly, FDA drew 95 samples of packaged drinking water rom plants across the state from April 2014 to March 2015 and found 53% of them unsafe and substandard.”
As per a publication titled “Contamination of microbial foreign bodies in bottled mineral water in Tokyo, Japan” by H. Fujikawa, T. Wauke, J. Kusunoki, Y. Noguchi, Y. Takahashi, K. Ohta and T. Itoh, dated 18/07/1996, the reasons why the mineral water samples examined in Japan were contaminated could be as follows:
1. The sterilization processes used, filtration, ozonization and u.v. irradiation, may not be effective;
2. Some part of the processes used in producing the bottled mineral water may be susceptible to contamination with micro-organisms;
3. The bottles used to hold the mineral water may already be contaminated with micro-organisms;
4. When filling the bottles the water may be contaminated from the surrounding environment.
As indicated by the cited publications, the presence of contaminants including microorganisms is a highly common phenomenon across the globe and prominent reasons for such occurrence relate to the facility and processes implemented for the packaging and disinfecting of containers used for packaging of food products.
Considering the described situation, the present invention provides for a means to enhance the hygiene of food packaging facilities by ensuring more stringent implementation of the extant hygiene procedures of the said facilities. The present invention is capable of detecting microbial contaminants which are invisible to the naked eye thus tend to remain out of the awareness of the consumers. The said objective can be achieved by implementing a means of tracking each and every bottle or container travelling through the various processes of the facility. The said tracking can only be made possible if each and every said bottle or container can be identified which is a difficult task given the speed of movement of containers inside mass processing or packaging facilities and the issue of all the bottles and containers being identical.
So far packing and filling machines are designed largely from the perspective of dealing with virgin single-use containers, and compliance of execution of container cleaning procedure before the filling is not tracked at the individual container level to produce an audit trail or confirmation of compliance of cleaning procedure. Due to this limitation in prior arts, there is a scope that may be due to human error or machine error unwashed containers remain unreported and may be filled and served to consumers.
For example container washing, filling, and sealing devices contain the container cleaning facility and a container transportation system that moves the container from one station of operation to another station (manual/linear/rotary/gripper/elevator, etc.) but there is no mechanism to assure about the execution/compliance of washing procedure at the individual container level and absence of a mechanism to assess the fitness like hygiene level of the container. In those cases, it is assumed that the container cleaning activity has been executed but there is no tracking and reporting of its execution and effectiveness, while there could be a case where a container that is not cleaned before filling may be filled and consumed by consumers in lack of cleaning procedure compliance tracking and reporting. And because of this limitation many times it has been observed that foreign particles found in the sealed container or product packed in the container are found contaminated by microorganisms.
Several technologies are set forth by different practitioners in the field of providing means for assuring hygiene criteria for a re-usable type of containers, involving the use of features such as sensor-based filling lines, rinsing and brushing stages, and label based identification of containers, as annexed hereinafter; but, found incapable for providing a sustainable technology for having closed loop system for identifying completion of each of the intended set of hygiene operations.
Patent documents US20170166341A1, CN107601417A, CN208684372U, EP3530361A1, JP2019048291A, and US7612031 disclose several techniques for filing liquid in containers, moving containers between loading and unloading stations, and cleaning the containers using rinsing and scrubbing techniques.
Patent baring No. US20170190470A1, filed by: Cup-It Bottle Labels Ltd, dated: 22/06/2014, discloses different types of labels, and teaches a highly versatile label which includes a label body provided as a double layer and adapted to define at least one region which is removable from the label body and is adapted to define a drinking glass.
Patent bearing No. US20170270402A1, filed by: MEPS Real Time Inc, dated: 28/12/2012, teaches method for labelling containers, and discloses a wireless identification system and method for identifying medical vials having a metallic crimp includes an RFID tag having a first antenna element located at the crimp so as to be capacitively coupled to the crimp to increase the effective surface area of the RFID antenna, and a second antenna element mounted to the side of the vial between the ends of the labeling mounted on the vial so as to not mask any visually readable information of the labelling; Dielectric adhesive is used in one embodiment to couple the antenna element to the crimp; The invention is particularly useful for small vials; A manufacturing method in which the wireless tag is an integral part of the container is disclosed.
Patent bearing No. US9013307, filed by: MEPS Real Time Inc, dated 07/12/2009, teaches method for detecting labels of containers, and discloses a self-contained RFID-enabling drawer module includes a probe antenna to introduce a robust EM field into a container within a Faraday cage to activate RFID tags within the container, regardless of the container's resonant frequency. A receiving antenna and reader read the data of the activated RFID tags, and a processor and communications module transmit the RFID tag data to a remote processor. The RFID-enabling module is self-contained in that it needs only power and a data connection with which to operate. Where an Ethernet is used, power is obtained by PoE. The RFID-enabling module may be used to retrofit existing medication drawers of a medication cabinet or may be used during the construction of a new cabinet. The RFID-enabling system includes auto tuning of the antenna to dynamically compensate for loading changes on the EM field. Assembly and testing costs are reduced and serviceability of the system is increased.
However, such renowned technologies lack in one or other aspect been addressed by the present invention, which includes the provision of detection of damage/discontinuity in the containers, a numeral count-code printed at a part of the container, detection of completion of each element of hygiene process and use of adaptable frame structure for interchanging the sensors.
Therefore the present invention provides a method for tracking and reporting compliance with the cleaning procedure of containers before filling in the filling and sealing system to solve the above-described problems of the prior art.
Thereby, the general purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved combination of convenience and utility, to include the advantages of the prior art, and to overcome the drawbacks inherent therein.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The principal object of the present invention is to provide an automated system for facilitating tracking and reporting the compliance of cleaning procedure before filling of product in the container for performing qualitative analysis for identifying concurrent attributes of hygiene, for a container to accept or reject the container for filling based on the compliance status of cleaning procedure.
Consistent with the precedent object, the further object of the present invention is to provide a method encompassing means for examining and/or assigning elements of cleanliness, disinfection, and hygienization by way of performing a comparison with the pre-determined criterion of each of the elements.
Another object of the invention is to provide a compliance assurance of the cleaning procedure of the container before filling to accept or reject the container for filling based on the cleaning procedure compliance status and to keep the audit trail of compliance of cleaning procedure at the individual container level.
Another object of the invention is to provide a system for unique identification and unique traceability of individual containers based on container identification code or based on the positioning of containers in the system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a measurement methodology for performing container characterization, sequence of gathering data, and computing qualitative parameters based on the code engraved/imprinted/affixed onto the involved container or on the conveyor.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for performing loading/unloading of containers, hygienization of containers, engraving/imprinting/affixing a scripted code over the container, and conveying data related to the functional and final qualitative outcome of the overall process to the remote device using wireless communication module.
Another object of the present invention is to measure the efficiency of the cleaning procedure and measurement of real-time hygiene status of the container before filling.
Another object of the present is to provide a customizable machine set-up by virtue of which locational arrangement of sensors can be altered without dismantling the whole machine set-up.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved container washing and filling system for product packing whereby the disadvantages/limitations of container washing and filling without cleaning procedure compliance are obviated.
sIn a further aspect of the present hygiene system, an arrangement of sensors facilitating detection of the container, count of passes, and damage on the surface or sub-surface of the containers is employed prior to the hygienization chamber.
Another aspect of the present invention comprises a method of providing unique identification to a container or container holding location 10’ on a conveyor assembly. A unique identification code of the container or container holding location 10’ on a conveyor assembly is a coding of a container with Quick Response Code (QR Code), Bar Code and/or radio-frequency identification, printed, engraved, marked, and/or affixed on the conveyor machine or on the container with the help of any printing, fixing or marking technology. The container unique identification code facilitates the management of use and reuse of containers with container life tracking, and hygiene procedure compliance tracking.
In another aspect of the present hygiene system, wherein said hygienization chamber includes the use of at least one sensor vested for detecting placement/presence of the container over the working station, at least one sensor for fetching the encoded details engraved/imprinted/affixed over part of the container/container holding location 10’ for receipt of the control panel, at least one sensor for capturing visual perception of the container for gathering data related to successful completion of the predecessor operation, at least one sensor for fetching details from count-code, at least one sensor for determining characteristics of the working fluid, and at least one sensor for computing details of prevailing temperature condition in the system and at various parts of the system.
To summarise the present invention, a conveyor assembly can be considered where containers 10 are loaded onto container holding locations 10’ on the conveyor assembly. Each of the container 10 or the container holding location 10’ for holding of the said container 10 or both are tagged with static UID 1 which makes the said containers 10 and container holding positions 10’ uniquely identifiable. The static UID scanner 2 scans the containers 10 and their respective container holding location 10’ to correlate them for ease of tracking. The containers 10 are then progressed to the hygienisation stage where the said containers 10 are subjected to the various cleaning activities at the various cleaning stations. Each of the cleaning station is provided with a proximity sensor 3 which confirms the presence of the container 10 at the said station before initiating the said cleaning process. Activity confirmation sensor present at the cleaning station detect for the successful execution of the said cleaning process or the failure thereof. In case of success, the cleaned container 20 forwarded to the next cleaning process of hygienisation or the auditing stage. If an activity confirmation 4 detects a failure, the data regarding the same is collected by the control unit 200 in order to enable the analysis of the failure. Next, in the auditing stage, the effects of the cleaning stage are analysed by the audit sensors 5. The audit sensor 5 collects data on parameters specific to the cleaning method implemented. The said data is recorded by the control unit 200 and the same is compared to the range of the acceptable value of the said parameter stored in the control unit 200. If the said data for a particular container 10 lies within the acceptable range, the said container 10 is forwarded to product filling stage where the intended product of the facility is filled in the container 10. In case of failure, the failed container is prevented from progressing into the product filling stage. The data from the sensors present at every stage is recorded by the control unit 200 and is compiled into hygiene assurance data against each of the uniquely identifiable container 10. The said hygiene assurance data helps in monitoring the implementation and compliance of the hygiene related policies of a particular conveyor assembly. The hygiene assurance data also enables easy tracking of faults in the system and the maintenance of the same. The containers 10 which have been filled with the product are impressed by printer 6 with their individual hygiene assurance data along with the batch code to enable easy tracing back if and when required.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following more detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1a: Flow chart of the container loading stage;
Figure 1b: Flow chart of the container cleaning stage;
Figure 1c: Flow chart of the container hygiene audit stage;
Figure 1d: Flow chart of the product filling stage and the hygiene assurance stage
Figure 2a: Perspective illustration of a linear conveyor assembly employing the present invention
Figure 2b: Elevation illustration of a linear conveyor assembly employing the present invention
Figure 2c: Perspective illustration of a container rejection assembly
Figure 2d: Perspective illustration of the method of mounting of the present invention on a linear conveyor assembly
Figure 3: Plan illustration of a rotary conveyor assembly employing the present invention
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details.
Reference herein to “one embodiment” or “another embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in a specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Further, the diagrams representing one or more embodiments of the invention do not inherently indicate any particular order nor imply any limitations in the invention.
As used herein, the term “plurality? refers to the presence of more than one of the referenced items, and the terms “a”, “an”, and “at least” do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item.
It should be emphasized that the term “comprises/comprising” when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, or components, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.
The term ‘hygienization’ generally relates to the combined process of cleaning, disinfection, and sanitization, and the ‘hygienization chamber’ relates to a closed space from having means for performing the above-stated set of activities.
The term ‘container’ is used in the following description indicates any container with at least one opening such as a bottle, glass, can and Indian pot, etc. made of any material like glass, metal or any other material and in any shape, the term container also includes the term reusable container.
The term ‘BMR’ represents the ‘Batch manufacturing record’ in the following description.
The term ‘UID’ represents the ‘Unique identification’ in the following description.
The apparatus and method for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers 100 is composed of the following essential components:
1. Static UID 1: The static UID 1 is a unique identification mark printed or embedded on every container which makes all the containers uniquely identifiable by the system. The said static UIDs 1 may also provided on the various holding locations of the conveyor system where the bottles and containers are to be held. The static UID 1 can be selected from variety of types including barcode, Quick Response code, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) magnetic code, marking of pictorial, symbolic or alphanumeric kind or a combination thereof.

2. Static UID Scanner 2: The static UID scanner 2 is provided at various stations of the conveyor system where various processes meant for the containers are executed. The said static UID scanners 2 scan the Static UID 1 present on the containers and the container holding location 10’s in the conveyor system. The Static UID scanner 2 tracks the uniquely identifiable containers as it moves through the conveyor assembly while being held at holding position which can be related to the specific containers the said holding positions were carrying due to the presence of static UIDs 1 on the containers and the holding positions of the conveyor assembly. The Static UID scanner 2 is selected as per the type of static UID 1 implemented. For Barcode, barcode scanner would be used, for QR code QR scanner would be used, so on and so forth.

3. Proximity Sensor 3: Proximity sensors 3 are used to sense the presence of an object in front of it at a particular distance. In the present invention, the proximity sensors 3 are used to sense confirm the presence of containers or bottles at the appropriate holding positions at the various process stations. In this manner, the proximity sensors 3 also count the number of containers moving through the system as well as each and every process. This helps collect an important data points like percentage of containers successfully passing through a particular process, the rate at which a certain activity is being completed etc. The proximity sensor 3 is also used to confirm the completion of activities like brush cleaning of containers where the proximity sensor detects for the successful deployment of the cleaning brush. A proximity sensor 3 may be selected from many types. Some varieties include infrared sensors, ultrasonic sensors, etc. In one embodiment of the present invention, ultrasonic thru-beam sensors with a high degree of chemical resistance are used as proximity sensors.

4. Activity Confirmation Sensor 4: As the name suggests, this sensor is implemented to confirm the successful completion of various hygienization processes. The selection of this activity confirmation sensor 4 depends on the type of the activity or process to be confirmed. To confirm the completion of brush cleaning activity, the present invention uses proximity sensor. For confirmation of rinsing of containers, flow meter is implemented to sense the flow of liquid used for rinsing the containers. Similarly, UV sensors are used to detect the successful completion of UV irradiation onto the containers for eradication of hazardous microbial life.

5. Audit Sensor 5: Audit sensors 5 are implemented to record the condition of the containers that have successfully passed through the various hygienization steps. The said containers are audited on various parameters. The said parameters are decided based on the processes the containers have undergone. In order to audit the result of the brushing and rinsing activities, vision sensors are implemented which capture images of the containers and then the said images are process to check for presence of foreign objects or particles in the containers. The said sensor also checks the containers for physical defects. Since in an embodiment of the present invention, the containers are irradiated with UV rays for the eradication of microbial life, optical biosensors are implemented to audit the effect of the UV irradiation. The said optical biosensor sense for microbiological activity by converting the biological activity into electrical signals. Infrared thermography sensors may also be implemented to detect the activity of specific microorganisms like Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.

6. Printer 6: After the containers have been audited and the said containers have been filled with the product, the filled containers progress to the stage of batching and hygiene assurance coding where the data collected each container at the various stages of the process by the control unit 200 is compiled into a user-readable format and the said hygiene assurance data is impressed onto the respective container, along with the BMR for the reference of the users. The printer 6 may be of the variety which puts a printed label on the outer surface of the container. The printer may also impresses the hygiene assurance data directly onto the surface of the container.

7. Control Unit 200: The control unit 200 contains and executes the logic to collect and records the data from the all the sensors and decides if the a particular container, as per the sensor data from a particular process, and decides if the said container is qualified to be forwarded to the next step of the process. Control unit 200 receives the Static UIDs 1 from the containers 10 and the container holding locations 10’, as scanned by the static UID scanner 2 and correlates them to establish which container holding location 10’ holds which container 10. The Control Unit 200 also records all the data received from the various sensors, regarding the success or failure of a container 10 at each of the stages of the process and the said data is compiled into an easily decipherable hygiene assurance data for the reference of the users.
The flow chart in the Figure 1a to 1d illustrate the logic and the method followed by the present invention as executed by the Control Unit 200. The logic implemented by the said Control System 200 broadly lies in five stages. The stage 201 is the container loading stage, where the containers 10 are manually placed over the conveyor. The proximity sensors 3 senses the presence of the said containers 10 and the static UID scanner 2 reads the static UID 1 present on the containers 10 and/or the static UID 1 present at the respective container’s holding location 10’ on the conveyor assembly and the same is recorded by the control unit 200. Static UID 1 is provided on every container 10 to be processed on the conveyor assembly and container holding location 10’ of the said conveyor assembly thus making all the containers and/or container holding locations uniquely identifiable.
After the position of the containers 10 is located, the said containers 10 move on to the next stage 202 which is the hygienisation stage where the containers 10 go through the various cleaning processes at their cleaning process stations wherein, once again, the proximity sensor 3 detects the presence of the containers 10. The hygienisation stage may contain multitude of various cleaning processes. The proximity sensor 3 is provided at each cleaning station of the hygienisation process to confirm the presence of a container 10 before initiating the said cleaning process. In one of the embodiments of the present invention, the first cleaning process involves brushing. Activity confirmation sensors 4 are implemented which confirm the successful completion of a certain cleaning activity. Activity confirmation sensor 4 is selected to be capable of sensing the execution of the respective cleaning process. If the said activity is completed, the container 10 is progressed to the next step, else the container 10 is prevented from moving on to the next stage. In this case, another proximity sensor is implemented which confirms if the brushing activity takes place. If as per the proximity sensor, the brushing activity is completed successfully, then the container 10 is forwarded to the next cleaning process. In case the brushing activity has not been completed successfully, a pop-up is raised in the system to inform the user regarding the same and the container 10 is stopped from entering into the next processes.
Similarly, the others step of the cleaning are executed as well, with proximity sensors 3 at the start of the process to detect the presence of the container 10 and appropriate activity confirmation sensor 4 to sense the successful completion of the said process. In an embodiment of the present invention the second step of the cleaning process is the rinsing stage therefore, a flow metre 4b is used to detect the activity of rinsing. The third stage of cleaning is UV-C radiation for which light sensor is implemented to detect the radiation of UV-C light onto the containers 10 by the UV emitter 12. In any of the said activities, if an activity confirmation sensor 4 is unable to confirm the execution of the said activity, then the container is prevented from moving forward to the next stage of the process.
The next stage after the cleaning stage 202 is the container hygiene audit stage 203 where the said where a cleaned container 10 is examined by an array of audit sensors. Audit sensor 5 is selected to be capable of examining a cleaned container 10 on a parameter specific to the respective cleaning method. In one embodiment of the present invention, a cleaned container 10 is first sensed by a proximity sensor 3 in order for its presence to be established, the container in scanned with a vision sensor 5a and then the scanned image is processed. If the scan is found to be acceptable then the container 10 is forwarded into the next step, else the container 10 is stopped from reaching the next step and eventually the filling station. The next step in the container hygiene audit stage 203 involves scanning of the containers 10 with an optical biosensor 5b. As done in the previous step, prior to conducting the scan a proximity sensor 3 detects the presence of the container. Once the data from the biosensor 5b is analysed and is found to be in the acceptable range, as stored in the control unit 200, the container 10 is sent forward to the product filling stage 204, otherwise the unacceptable containers are stopped from moving forward by a container rejection assembly.
For removal of unacceptable containers, a container rejection assembly may be implemented which would be instructed by the control unit 200 to push out the containers which have failed to successfully go through the cleaning or the auditing stages.
In the product filling stage 204, a proximity sensor detects the presence of the container at the appropriate position and then the container 10 is filled with the required product.
After each stage of the entire process, in the hygiene assurance stage 205 the control unit 200 records the data relating to each and every container’s passage through the various process and also the data pertaining to the health and performance of the different machineries carrying out the said processes. This hygiene assurance data helps in tracking of the individual containers 10 through the entire assembly and the successful completion of each step of the process or the failure thereof. The said hygiene assurance data helps in the pinpointing the faults in the system thus enabling speedy maintenance minimal turnaround. The hygiene assurance data is printed on container 10 along with the batch code to enable ease of tracking. The easy and convenient performance auditing of the entire facility is also enabled by the said database.
Once all the containers which have successfully passed through all the steps of hygienization are filled with the required product, the hygiene compliance data is collected and batched in the Control Unit 200. A proximity sensor sense the position of the filled container on the conveyor by reading the static UID. On successful sensing of the container and its position on the conveyor, the hygiene assurance data is printed on the container.

In various embodiments of the present invention, a system for exercising various hygiene processes is prescribed, wherein with the inclusion of various sensors data related to the flow of process and attributes of hygiene is fetched and submitted to the control device for governing of the overall system; wherein the said hygiene system is characterized by: a frame structure involving a hygienization chamber, a loading station prior to hygienization chamber having an arrangement of sensors of the bottles, count of a pass, and damage on the surface or sub-surface of the containers, further an unloading station situated after the hygienization chamber having means for printing process conformation over at least one part of the container.
Wherein, the flow of the process starting at the loading station includes several steps, amongst them essential steps would address the placement of container manually onto the loading station motion of the placed container towards the hygienization chamber, meantime of motion towards the hygienization chamber a sensor is likely to be installed at the intermittent location for confirming presence of the container, presence of damage/discontinuity at the container, which is to be verified using unique identification code printed on the container and determining the precedent cycle-count of the container so as to avoid the expenditure of subsequent steps; according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Further, post to the entrance of the container into the hygienization chamber a hygienization process shall be performed onto the container, which in some of the embodiments of the present hygiene chamber include steps of rinsing of the container in upright or bottoms-up position, scrubbing of the container by means of rotating or translating brush, followed by sterilization of a type moist heat sterilization or dry heat sterilization.
Wherein, in the hygienization chamber a sensor is installed to detect the completion of the individual steps of brushing, rinsing and sterilization by means of scanning a unique identification code printed on the container or on the container holding location 10’ on the conveyor and uploading data to the central or local server for the prosecution of the each of the steps, another sensor for identifying attainment of qualitative measures through visual technique, another sensor for detecting placement of container over the work station, another sensor for measurement of temperature, moisture, and pressure related parameters prevailing in the hygienization chamber.
Another embodiment of the present invention is to provide a method of tracking, recording and reporting of compliance of container hygiene procedure wherein the unique identification code of the container or of the container holding location 10’ on the conveyor is scanned by a code scanning device and the scanned code is recorded by the control unit for further processing like for confirmation of hygiene procedure compliance at filling station and for batch information printing and reports preparation.
Furthermore, after completion of the hygienization process said containers are transferred for further processing in which prior to removal of the container a sensor receiving information from the unique identification code printed on the bottle or on the container holding location 10’ on the conveyor informs the server using a wireless communication module about the completion of the hygienization process, and thereafter based on the consumed/remaining life of the container it assigns count-code to the part of the container using suitable printing means.
In one of the embodiments of the present hygiene system the container generally indicates the presence of glass, copper, and other material bottle of any shape capable to contain liquid or semi-liquid fluids in them, while re-usable containers denote the use of containers multiple times.
In some of the embodiments of the present hygiene system process for transferring containers from both the end points of the frame structure can be selected as manual addressing human intervention for shifting of the bottles, or using power means addressing the use of electrically assisted conveyor system.
Another embodiment of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for the hygiene of container and container holding location 10’s’s unique identification code-based hygiene procedure compliance tracking.
In another embodiment of the present hygiene system, the code affixed onto the part of the container or on the container holding location 10’ on the conveyor can be selected from a QR code, Bar code, NFC code, RFID code, or Data matrix.
In another embodiment of the present hygienic system, the static unique identification code is to be placed on at least a machine system or on the container.
In another embodiment of the present hygiene system, for transporting or for conveying the container from one station to another station the conveyor system is used such as the linear conveyor system or rotary conveyor system.
In some of the embodiments of the present hygiene system, it may involve the presence of a brushing station, a rinsing station, a sterilization station, a liquid filling assembly, and a capping assembly.
In another embodiment of the present hygiene system, the method for sterilizing the container includes the use of techniques such as ultraviolet radiation, application of heat and/or pressure, gas vapour sterilising medium, chlorine dioxide gas, and application of chemicals, in a separate manner or combined by one another.
In some of the embodiments of the present hygiene system, the operation of brushing and rinsing can be combined and performed at the common work station, with the incorporation of collapsible nozzles means having inbuilt scrubbing elements or using sequential operational manes.
In some of the embodiments of the present hygiene system, container holding means are incorporated for an upper portion and/or lower portion of the container, such that multiplicity of size or shapes can be accommodated using a singular gripping means.
In another embodiment of the present hygiene system sensors involved in the detecting presence of containers on the working station can be selected from the proximity sensor, IR sensor, NFC module, thermal imaging module, or electric resistance sensor module.
In another embodiment of the present hygiene system a control panel is employed for manipulating the operational parameters of the overall system can be selected from a button operated module embedded with a frame of the system, a pendent module wirelessly connected or hardwired with the system, or a smartphone device using a tailored mobile application.
In some of the embodiments of the present hygiene system, the details prescribed by the encrypted code printed onto the container may include liquid containing capacity of the container, type of fluids to which the involved container is likely to use, unique identification code for each of the bottles, and ideal life of the container in terms of available filling count.
In another embodiment of the present hygiene system, access to the identification code can be provided to the control device such as a smartphone equipped with a tailored application.
To summarise the present invention, a conveyor assembly can be considered where containers 10 are loaded onto container holding locations 10’ on the conveyor assembly. Each of the container 10 or the container holding location 10’ for holding of the said container 10 or both are tagged with static UID 1 which makes the said containers 10 and container holding positions 10’ uniquely identifiable. The static UID scanner 2 scans the containers 10 and their respective container holding location 10’ to correlate them for ease of tracking. The containers 10 are then progressed to the hygienisation stage where the said containers 10 are subjected to the various cleaning activities at the various cleaning stations. Each of the cleaning station is provided with a proximity sensor 3 which confirms the presence of the container 10 at the said station before initiating the said cleaning process. Activity confirmation sensor present at the cleaning station detect for the successful execution of the said cleaning process or the failure thereof. In case of success, the cleaned container 20 forwarded to the next cleaning process of hygienisation or the auditing stage. If an activity confirmation 4 detects a failure, the data regarding the same is collected by the control unit 200 in order to enable the analysis of the failure. Next, in the auditing stage, the effects of the cleaning stage are analysed by the audit sensors 5. The audit sensor 5 collects data on parameters specific to the cleaning method implemented. The said data is recorded by the control unit 200 and the same is compared to the range of the acceptable value of the said parameter stored in the control unit 200. If the said data for a particular container 10 lies within the acceptable range, the said container 10 is forwarded to product filling stage where the intended product of the facility is filled in the container 10. In case of failure, the failed container is prevented from progressing into the product filling stage. The data from the sensors present at every stage is recorded by the control unit 200 and is compiled into hygiene assurance data against each of the uniquely identifiable container 10. The said hygiene assurance data helps in monitoring the implementation and compliance of the hygiene related policies of a particular conveyor assembly. The hygiene assurance data also enables easy tracking of faults in the system and the maintenance of the same. The containers 10 which have been filled with the product are impressed by printer 6 with their individual hygiene assurance data along with the batch code to enable easy tracing back if and when required.

The following examples describe the present invention as it functions in context of particular types of conveyor assemblies and their respective configuration thereof.
Example 1: Linear Conveyor
The Figure 2a illustrates a linear conveyor assembly 300 where the present invention has been installed. Static UID 1 is present at every holding location on the conveyor belt 301 where the containers or bottles 10 will be held for processing.
The container 10 is manually loaded onto the conveyor belt 301, where the proximity sensor 3 confirms the presence of the said containers 10. The said containers 10 are then conveyed forward where the static UID scanner 2 scans the static UID 1 of the container/bottle 10 as well as its respective container holding location to uniquely identify the containers along with their position on the conveyor belt 301. Further, the container 10 is conveyed forward to the brush cleaning stage where another proximity sensor 3 confirms the position of the container 10 and then the said container 10 is scrubbed with the brush 11. An Activity Confirmation Sensor 4a is provided which scans for the deployment of the brush 11 for the scrubbing of the container 10. Considering the nature of the said activity, the Activity Confirmation Sensor 4a provided is a proximity sensor which is illustrated in Figure 2b. Successful deployment of brush or failure thereof is recorded by the control unit 200. In one embodiment of the present invention, the container 10 progresses to the next step which is the rinsing stage where, again, a proximity sensor 3 scans to confirm the presence of a container 10 at the respective holding position on the conveyor belt. As the container 10 is rinsed with liquid, the successful execution or failure of the said rinsing is confirmed by the Activity Confirmation Sensor 4b which for this specific activity is a flow meter which scans for the flow of the rinsing liquid. Further, the position of the container is again confirmed by a proximity sensor 3 and the said container 10 is subjected to UV-C radiation by the UV-C emitter 12 in order to eradicate the harmful microbial life in the container 10. The execution of the said UV treatment is confirmed by the Activity Confirmation Sensor 4c (not shown) which for this activity is a UV light sensor.
After the completion of the cleaning stage, the conveyor belt 301 carries the containers 10 forward to the auditing stage where first a proximity sensor 3 confirms the presence of a container at the holding position on the conveyor belt 301 and then Audit sensor 5a which is a vision sensor for sensing physical defects in the container and the presence of foreign objects or contaminants in the said container 10. Next, the conveyor belt 301 moves forward to carry the container 10 to the next audit sensor 5b which is an optical biosensor which scans the container 10 for microbiological activity.
If a specific container 10 successfully clears the auditing stage, the said container 10 if forwarded by the conveyor belt 301, as commanded by the control unit 200, to the filling stage where the container is filled with the intended product.
If a container 10 fails to clear the auditing stage, then the said container 10 is prevented from reaching the filling stage by the container rejection assembly 302 as illustrated in Figure 2c where the rejection arm 303 pushes the containers which have failed the auditing stage, off the conveyor belt 301 on to the reject lane 304. The rejection assembly as instructed by the Control unit 200 to push out only the containers with the specific static UID 1 which have failed the auditing stage.
Figure 2d shows an embodiment of the present invention for linear conveyors where a manner of affixing the various sensors and hygienization equipment have been illustrated. An array of ultrasonic thru-beam proximity sensors 3 has been assembled on a mounting strip 305 on which holes are drilled or punched to create openings 306 for the proximity sensors 3 where the same are held. The sensing end of the proximity sensors 3 is oriented such that it is able to scan the presence of the bottle. The static UID scanner 2 is attached to a mounting plate 307 whose distal end is in turn attached to the mounting strip 305. The height of the mounting plate 307 is decided as per the dimensions of the container 10 and the position of the static UID 1 on the said container. Similarly, the inward projection of mounting plate 307 will be based on the dimensions of the container and the type of static UID 1 and the static UID scanner 2 implemented. The dimensions and design of the mounting plates 307 are selected considering the dimensions of the equipment to be mounted and the required distance of the sensing element from the object to be sensed. Mounting of the other cleaning process equipment like the UV-C emitter 12 activity confirmation sensors 4, audit sensors 5 and printer 6 along the length of the Linear conveyor 300 also follows the same method as the mounting of the static UID scanner 2, i.e., attachment of the said equipment or sensor to a mounting plate 307 where the distal end of the said mounting plate 307 is attached to the mounting strip 305. The control unit 200 would preferably be located away from the moving parts of the linear conveyor assembly 300, where the said control unit 200 is conveniently accessible for monitoring and maintenance purposes.

Example 2: Rotary Conveyor
The sequence of the various equipment and sensors for a rotary conveyor assembly 400 would be the same as in the linear conveyor assembly 300 exemplified in the Example 1, if the same process are to be followed. The arrangement of the said equipment and sensors along the conveyor would follow a circular orientation as opposed to the linear orientation in the linear conveyor assembly 300. To exemplify the present invention in context of a rotary conveyor assembly 400, the exact same processes and sensors as in Example 1 have been considered. Therefore, the description of the sequence of the processes is not being repeated.
As illustrated in the Figure 3, the rotary conveyor assembly 400 contains conveyor discs 401 which contain holding notches 402 at their peripheries, wherein the containers 10 are held at the said holding notches for conveying and processing. Adjacent to the said holding notches 402, static UID 1 are provided by which the individual holding notches 402 are identified. Static UID 1 (not visible in Figure 3) are also provided on the lateral surface of the containers 10 for the identification of individual containers 10.
For the mounting of the various static UID scanners 2, cleaning equipment, proximity sensors 3, activity confirmation sensors 4, audit sensors 5 and printer 6 a mounting rail assembly 403 is provided wherein the said mounting rail assembly 403 goes around the periphery of the conveyor discs 401 while remaining parallel to the said periphery throughout the length. The various devices to be mounted including, UID scanners 2, cleaning equipment, proximity sensors 3, and activity confirmation sensors 4, audit sensors 5 and printer 6 maybe mounted directly onto the mounting rail assembly 403 or the same could be attached via attachment arms or plates wherein one end of the said attachment arm or plate would be fastened to the device to be mounted and the other end would be attached to mounting rail assembly 403. The dimensions of the attachment arms or plates would depend on the dimensions of the device to be mounted and the required distance of the sensing element from the object to be sensed. The control unit 200 would preferably be located away from the moving parts of the rotary conveyor assembly 400, where the said control unit 200 is conveniently accessible for monitoring and maintenance purposes.
The rotary conveyor assembly 400 may also employ a container rejection assembly similar to container rejection assembly 302 of the linear conveyor assembly 300 to prevent unfit containers 10 from reaching the filling station.

An existing facility with a conveyor assembly could be retrofitted with the present invention in order to accentuate the degree of compliance of the said facility with the respective hygiene standards. Alternatively, brand new bottling or packaging facilities can be constructed where the apparatus for hygiene auditing as described by the present invention is an integral part of the constructed assembly.
Furthermore, if the present invention has already been employed at a particular assembly, the same can be modified for additional steps in the existing processes given the modular nature of the apparatus. For instance, if a facility decides to add more cleaning steps or more auditing steps, the respective activity confirmation sensors and audit sensor can be added to the existing apparatus. The modular nature of the present invention ensure that it remains capable of adapting to future changes.

The present invention has been studied against a bottling facility where the apparatus and the method implemented by the present invention has not been implemented and the comparative data has been tabulated further. The comparative analysis has been done in two scenarios to test on two criteria:-
1. Bottle disqualification scenario: In this scenario the competing systems are tested in order to compare their ability to analyse an array of bottles and identify bottles which are not acceptable for filling. In the said array of bottles, a certain number of bottles have been deliberately rendered unfit wherein the nature of unacceptability is of various types.

2. Cleaning process malfunction scenario: In this scenario the competing systems are analysed to compare their compliance with the hygienization process implemented within the said system. The hygienization procedure in the competing systems has been kept equivalent for ease of comparison. In the said systems, certain hygienization steps have deliberately been introduced with malfunctions in order to test for compliance.

Table 1: Testing of bottle disqualification scenario
UID Characteristics of bottle Machine with our assembly Machine without our assembly
1 Acceptable Accepted for filling Accepted for filling
2 Not acceptable: Foreign Particle Rejected by vision sensor Accepted for filling
3 Acceptable Accepted for filling Accepted for filling
4 Not acceptable: Crack on wall of bottle Rejected by vision sensor Accepted for filling
5 Acceptable Accepted for filling Accepted for filling
6 Not acceptable: Microbial contamination Rejected by biosensor Accepted for filling
7 Acceptable Accepted for filling Accepted for filling
8 Not acceptable: Foreign Particle Rejected by vision sensor Accepted for filling
9 Not acceptable: Foreign Particle Rejected by vision sensor Accepted for filling
10 Acceptable Accepted for filling Accepted for filling

Referring to the table above, in this scenario, 10 number of bottles have been passed through the competing systems. Out of these 10 bottles, 5 number of bottles have been deliberately rendered unfit. As evident, the bottling assembly with the present invention implemented is able to single out the bottles which are unacceptable and prevents them from reaching the filling station, as opposed to the assembly, without the implement the present invention, which approves all the bottles for filling.
Therefore the present invention is able to prevent the bottles containing hazardous impurities from public consumption.

Table 2: Testing of cleaning process malfunction scenario
Machine with our assembly
Cleaning
Process UID
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Brushing Pass Malfunction Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Malfunction Malfunction
Rinsing Pass Pass Malfunction Pass Pass Malfunction Pass Pass Pass Pass
UV-C Sterilization Malfunction Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Malfunction Pass Pass
Accept/
Reject Rejected due to UV-C malfunction Rejected due to Brushing malfunction Rejected due to Rinsing malfunction Accepted for filling Accepted for filling Rejected due to Rinsing malfunction Accepted for filling Rejected due to UV-C malfunction Rejected due to Brushing malfunction Rejected due to Brushing malfunction
Machine without our assembly
Cleaning
Process UID
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Brushing Pass Malfunction Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Malfunction Malfunction
Rinsing Pass Pass Malfunction Pass Pass Malfunction Pass Pass Pass Pass
UV-C Sterilization Malfunction Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Malfunction Pass Pass
Accept/
Reject Accepted for Accepted for Accepted for Accepted for Accepted for Accepted for Accepted for Accepted for Accepted for Accepted for
filling filling filling filling filling filling filling filling filling filling

In the above-tabulated scenario the competing systems are tested with 10 bottles for their compliance with the in-built hygienization procedures out of which 7 procedures have been deliberately rendered to malfunction. It can be concluded that the bottling assembly with the present invention implemented is able to detect the steps of the cleaning process which have failed to be implemented successfully and thus is able to identify the bottles which have not aptly undergone the said malfunctioning process which are then prevented from reaching the filling station. In contrast, the assembly which does not implement the present invention allows all the 10 bottles to reach the filling station regardless of whether the said bottle has undergone the requisite cleaning process.
Thus, in this scenario as well unhygienic bottles are prevented from reaching the public.
Although a particular exemplary embodiment of the invention has been disclosed in detail for illustrative purposes, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that variations or modifications of the disclosed invention, including the rearrangement in the configurations of the parts, changes in steps, and their sequences may be possible. Accordingly, the invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations as may fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.
,CLAIMS:We claim:
1. An apparatus for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers comprising:
a. at least one static UID 1 provided on a location selected from the body of the container 10 or at the container holding location 10’ or at a combination thereof;
b. at least one static UID scanner 2 for scanning the Static UID 1 present on the containers 10 or the container holding location 10’ or at both the locations;
c. at least one proximity sensor 3 to confirm the presence of containers 10 at container holding location 10’ of a conveyor assembly where the Static UID 1 of the said containers 10 or the said container holding location 10’ or both are scanned by the static UID scanner 2 and recorded by the control unit 200;
d. at least one activity confirmation sensor 4 to confirm the successful execution of cleaning processes on containers 10 held at the container holding location 10’ or failure thereof, where the said container 10 or the container holding location 10’ or both have static UID 1;
e. at least one audit sensor 5 to record the condition of containers 10 after the said containers 10 have been confirmed by activity confirmation sensor 4 as to have successfully passed through cleaning processes;
f. control unit 200 to store and execute the method to be followed by the described apparatus.

2. The apparatus for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers as claimed in claim 1, wherein a printer 6 is provided to impress a container’s 10 hygiene assurance data on the said container 10.

3. The apparatus for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers as claimed in claim 1, wherein the Static UID 1 can be selected from barcode, Quick Response Code, Radio Frequency Identification, magnetic code, marking of pictorial, symbolic or alphanumeric kind or a combination thereof.

4. The apparatus for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers as claimed in claim 1, wherein if the static UID 1 is provided on all the containers 10 which are to undergo hygienisation, then each of the said containers 10 is uniquely identifiable.

5. The apparatus for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers as claimed in claim 1, wherein if the static UID 1 is provided on all the container holding locations 10’ which are to hold the containers which are to undergo hygienisation, then each of the said container holding locations 10’ is uniquely identifiable.

6. The apparatus for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers as claimed in claim 1, wherein the proximity sensor 3 is selected from ultrasonic sensor, infrared sensor, magnetic sensors, Hall Effect sensor, capacitive displacement sensor or a combination thereof.

7. The apparatus for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers as claimed in claim 1, wherein a proximity sensor 3 is provided at each cleaning station of the hygienisation process to confirm the presence of a container 10 before initiating the said process.

8. The apparatus for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers as claimed in claim 1, wherein an activity confirmation sensor 4 is selected to be capable of sensing the execution of the respective cleaning process.

9. The apparatus for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers as claimed in claim 1, wherein the activity confirmation sensor 4 is selected from a selection of proximity sensor for sensing brush scrubbing of container 10, flow meter for sensing rinsing of the container 10, vision sensor for sensing visual defects in the container 10, UV sensor for sensing UV radiation on the container 10, optical biosensor for detecting microbiological activity in the container 10 or a combination thereof.

10. The apparatus for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers as claimed in claim 1, wherein the audit sensor 5 is selected to be capable of examining a cleaned container 10 on a parameter specific to the respective cleaning method.

11. A method for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers comprising of steps:
a. confirmation by the Proximity sensors 3 of the presence of containers 10 in container holding locations 10’ of a conveyor assembly after the said containers 10 have been loaded on to the conveyor assembly;
b. scanning by the static UID scanner 2 of the static UID 1 present on the container 10 or the container holding location 10’ or both and recording the same at the control unit 200;
c. at the cleaning stage, confirmation by the proximity sensors 3 of the presence of containers 10 at a cleaning process station after the conveyor assembly has carried the said containers 10 to the said cleaning process station;
d. confirmation by the activity confirmation sensors 4 of the execution of the cleaning processes of the hygienisation on the containers 10 wherein
i. if the confirmation is successful, a container 10 is allowed by the control unit 200 for undergoing the execution of the next steps;
ii. else if the confirmation is unsuccessful, the container 10 is prevented by the control unit 200 from undergoing the execution of the next steps.
e. examination of the containers 10, which have undergone the hygienisation stage, by the audit sensor 5 on the parameters specific to the respective cleaning processes and recording of the examined data wherein
i. If the recorded data for a container 10 lies within the acceptable range stored in the control unit 200, the said container 10 is allowed by the control unit 200 for undergoing the execution of the next steps;
ii. If the recorded data for the container 10 lies outside the acceptable range stored in the control unit 200, the said container 10 is prevented by the control unit 200 from undergoing the execution of the next steps;
f. collection of the success or failure data at each step of the process against individual container 10 and compilation of the said data into user-readable hygiene assurance data by the control unit 200;
g. impressing of the hygiene assurance data related to the individual containers 10 on the said containers which have successfully cleared by all the audit sensors 5.

12. A method for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers as claimed in claim 11, wherein hygienization may contain multiple processes of cleaning.

13. A method for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers as claimed in claim 11, wherein activity confirmation sensor 4 is provided for each cleaning process of hygienisation.

14. A method for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers as claimed in claim 11, wherein audit sensor 5 is provided for each cleaning process of hygienisation.

15. A method for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers as claimed in claim 11, wherein the hygiene assurance data is printed on container 10 by printer 6 along with the batch code to enable ease of tracking.

16. A method for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers as claimed in claim 11, wherein the hygiene assurance data enables tracking the health and performance of the various cleaning equipment and sensors.

17. A linear conveyor assembly incorporating apparatus for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers, wherein
a. the proximity sensors 3 are affixed along the length of the linear conveyor assembly 300 with a mounting strip 305 in the openings 306 of the said mounting strip 305;
b. the static UID 2, activity confirmation sensors 4, audit sensor 5 are mounted on the mounting strip 305 via mounting plates 307 by attaching one end of the mounting plate 307 to the equipment to be affixed and attaching the distal end of the said mounting plate 307 to the mounting strip 305.

18. A linear conveyor assembly incorporating apparatus for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers as claimed in claim 17, wherein the dimensions and design of the mounting plates 307 are selected considering the dimensions of the equipment to be mounted and the required distance of the sensing element from the object to be sensed.

19. A rotary conveyor assembly incorporating apparatus for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers, wherein a mounting rail assembly 403 is provided for the mounting of the static UID 2, proximity sensors 3, activity confirmation sensor 4, audit sensor 5.

20. A rotary conveyor assembly incorporating apparatus for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers as claimed in claim 19, wherein static UID 2, proximity sensors 3, activity confirmation sensor 4, audit sensor 5 maybe mounted directing on mounting rail assembly 403 or via an attachment arm depending on the dimensions of the device to be mounted and the required distance of the sensing element from the object to be sensed.

21. A rotary conveyor assembly incorporating apparatus for tracking and enhancing hygiene assurance for batch processing of containers as claimed in claim 19, wherein the mounting rail assembly 403 goes around the periphery of the conveyor discs 401 while remaining parallel to the said periphery throughout the length.

Dated this 16th day of July, 2022.

To Controller of Patents,
The Patent Office,
At Mumbai.