JP3600305B2 - Container cap supply device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial applications]
The present invention relates to a container cap supply device for supplying a cap to a wide-mouthed container such as a cup bottle or a can and covering the same.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A cap supply device that supplies a cap to a wide-mouth container such as a cup bottle and a can and covers the cap includes a chute that guides the cap along the longitudinal direction, and a mechanism that temporarily stops and holds the cap at the tip position thereof. In the middle of transporting a wide-mouthed container filled with liquid in a liquid filling machine by a transfer star wheel, at the container mouth portion, a flange of a cap held at the tip of a chute is taken out and taken out. Conventionally provided. Hereinafter, the cap supply device will be described with reference to FIG.
[0003]
In FIG. 7, reference numeral 51 denotes a cap chute for guiding the cap 62, which is fixed to a frame (not shown). Reference numerals 52a and 52b denote cap holding levers, each of which has an adjusting bolt 58 for adjusting the closing width thereof, is rotatably mounted on the tip of the cap chute 51 via a fulcrum shaft 53 of a fulcrum plate, and is capable of adjusting tension. The cap 62 is sandwiched by the tension spring 54 and is held at the tip of the chute 51.
[0004]
Reference numeral 56 denotes a transfer starwheel for transporting the liquid-filled container 61, which rotates in the direction of the arrow Z in synchronization with the rotation of the liquid filling machine. Reference numeral 57 denotes a sliding plate, which is fixed on a frame (not shown) on the circumference of the conveyance between the receiving part and the delivering part of the container 61 filled with liquid.
[0005]
Next, the operation of the conventional cap supply device will be described. The cap 62 continuously supplied to the cap chute 51 from the cap replenishing device (not shown) in the preceding step is fixed at a fixed position by the claws of the cap holding levers 52a and 52b at the tip of the cap chute 51 by the elasticity of the tension spring 54. Hold and stop.
[0006]
On the other hand, the cap holding levers 52a and 52b set the closing width of the tip with the adjustment bolt 58, and the tip of the cap 62 is moved by the transfer star wheel 56 on the rotational movement circle drawn by the center of the container 61 conveyed. Is adjusted in advance including the position of the cap chute 51 so as to be held at the fixed position by the tension of the tension spring 54.
[0007]
Next, the container 61 filled with the liquid in the previous step is temporarily conveyed by the transfer star wheel 56 on the sliding plate 57 while being held on the outside by a guide (not shown). The flange of the held cap 62 is hooked at the mouth of the container 61 and moved forward. Then, the cap holding levers 52a and 52b are pushed right and left on the outer periphery of the cap 62 to take out the container 61 and the cap 62 in a state where the cap 62 is put on the container 61, and the process of transporting and delivering to the next process is continuously performed. Do.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the conventional cap supply device, at the tip of the cap chute 51, the cap 62 held by the cap holding levers 52a and 52b is moved by the container 61 conveyed by the transfer star wheel 56 at the mouth thereof. The cap is forcibly hooked, and the cap holding levers 52a and 52b are pushed right and left to open and take out. Therefore, the opening / closing timing of the cap holding levers 52a and 52b does not match, causing dropping, deformation, and damage of the cap. The disadvantage that the cap 62 does not completely cover the container 61 is likely to occur. Further, when the container 62 tilts and vibrates due to the resistance to the removal of the cap 62, the liquid in the container 61 may overflow, or the mouth of the container 62 may be deformed.
[0009]
The above-mentioned inconveniences are further increased during the high-speed operation of the apparatus, resulting in a decrease in the operation rate of the apparatus.
[0010]
An object of the present invention is to always maintain the engagement position between the cap and the container at a fixed position and at a fixed timing so that the cap can be reliably engaged with the container without giving any resistance to the cap. An object of the present invention is to provide a supply device for a container cap which prevents occurrence of liquid overflow and is adapted to high-speed operation.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and the feature thereof is that in a cap supply device that supplies a cap to a mouth portion of a wide-mouthed container such as a continuously flowing cup bottle and a can, a cap is continuously supplied from a cap chute. The opening and closing of the cap holding lever that holds the cap to be opened and closed by the body of the container held and transported by the transfer star wheel is performed, and the cap is supplied to the container without giving resistance to the outer periphery of the cap. In addition, there is a cap supply device capable of performing capping work by preventing occurrence of dropping, deformation, damage, etc. of the cap by setting opening / closing timing of the cap holding lever by the container.
[0012]
Another feature of the present invention resides in that the transfer means for the container is constituted by a transfer star wheel rotated by a rotary drive mechanism, and further another feature is that the container holding means is provided. there lies in having a gripping lever for gripping the containers rotatable together with the fulcrum shaft mounted to the rotating plate, and a spring allowed to contact the gripping lever body of the container.
[0013]
[Action]
Since the present invention is configured as described above, the container filled with the liquid in the filling machine in the previous process is transferred to the transfer star wheel, and the container is held by the container holding means including a cam, a link mechanism, a holding lever, and a spring. It is gripped in a pocket of the transfer star wheel in a stable state and rotated and transported.
[0014]
The cap placed on the liquid-filled container is guided down by the cap chute at a certain angle from the cap supply mechanism in the previous process, and waits while being held by the claw of the cap holding lever at the tip of the cap chute. Then, by opening the cap holding lever to the left and right by the body of the container conveyed by the transfer star wheel (conveying means), the cap held by the cap holding lever falls so as to be pulled to the mouth of the container, and the container It is fitted to the mouth and transported to the next step.
[0015]
Further, the opening and closing of the container gripping means is performed via a link mechanism by the cam follower movement of the other end (base end) of the container gripping lever in contact with the outer periphery of the cam fixed concentrically with the rotation axis of the transfer star wheel. .
[0016]
【Example】
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cap supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the cap supply device, FIG. 3 is a plan view of a container holding device, FIG. Is a plan view showing the closed state of the holding lever, and FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the opened state of the holding lever.
[0017]
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a cap chute for guiding a cap 62 supplied from a previous process, and is fixed to a frame (not shown) at a certain angle. Reference numerals 2a and 2b denote cap holding levers. Open / close guide portions 3a and 3b are adjusted and fixed to the lower end portions of the caps, and are rotatably mounted on the fulcrum plate 8 of the cap chute 1 via the fulcrum shaft 4. Have been.
[0018]
Reference numeral 5 denotes a tension spring whose tension can be adjusted by a tension spring length adjusting device (not shown). The tension spring 5 is installed between the cap holding levers 2a and 2b, and the cap 62 is adjusted by the tension spring length adjusting device. The holding force can be adjusted. Reference numeral 6 denotes an adjustment bolt for adjusting the opening / closing width of the cap holding levers 2a and 2b.
[0019]
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 7 denotes a cap retainer which prevents the cap 62 covered by the container 61 from rising, and is rotatably mounted on the hinge 1a of the cap chute 1 via the storage shaft 9. 81 is an adjusting bolt for adjusting the height of the cap.
[0020]
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 20 denotes a gripping lever for gripping the container 61 in a pocket 11a formed in the transfer starwheel 11, and the same number as the number of pockets 11a of the transfer starwheel 11 on the circumference via the fulcrum shaft 16. And is supported by a rotating plate 10 described later. The gripping lever 20 constitutes a "<"-shaped link mechanism by one lever side 20a that grips the container 61 and the other lever side 20b that contacts the fixed cam 25 via the cam follower 22 .
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 4, the star wheel 11 is fixed to the upper outer periphery of the rotating plate 10 via a plurality of spacers 12, and a ring 15 is fixed to the inside of the star wheel 11 via a spacer 14. .
[0022]
A gripping pad 21 is attached to a portion of the gripping lever 20 that grips the container 61 on one side 20a of the gripping lever 20 in order to firmly hold the container 61 and prevent the container 61 from being damaged. In addition, a cam follower 22 that is in contact with the fixed cam 25 is mounted on the other side 20b of the other lever.
[0023]
The fulcrum shaft 16 is rotatably attached to the rotating plate 10 via bearings 13. Further, the gripping lever 20 is press-fitted and fixed to the fulcrum shaft 16, and the tension lever 17 is press-fitted and fixed to the upper portion. Accordingly, the tension lever 17, the fulcrum shaft 16 and the grip lever 20 rotate together with the fulcrum shaft 16.
[0024]
The tension lever 17 is always tensioned in the direction of the arrow W in FIG. 3 by a tension spring 23 provided between a spring hook 17a provided at a lower end of the tension lever 17 and the ring 15, and the tension of the tension spring 23 is as follows. The cam follower 22 operates so as to always contact the fixed cam 25.
[0025]
Next, the operation of the cap supply device configured as described above will be described. First, the operation of the cap holding levers 2a and 2b will be described with reference to FIGS. The cap holding levers 2a and 2b are adjusted so as to open equally to the left and right with fulcrum shafts 4 and 4 provided on the left and right sides of the cap chute 1 as fulcrums. When the body of the container 61 fed by the transfer star wheel 11 comes into contact with the opening / closing guides 3a / 3b, the cap holding levers 2a / 2b integrated with the opening / closing guides 3a / 3b are pushed open with the fulcrum shaft 4 as a fulcrum. It is. When the holding levers 2a and 2b are opened, one of the caps 62 continuously supplied from the cap chute 1 is put on the mouth of the container 61 in accordance with the movement of the container 61.
[0026]
Next, when the container 61 has passed the opening / closing guides 3a and 3b, the cap holding levers 2a and 2b are adjusted by the adjusting bolts 6 at positions where the both sides of the cap chute 1 and the adjusting bolts 6 come into contact with each other. It is pulled and closed by the tension spring 5 to the position, and holds the next supplied cap 62.
[0027]
Next, the operation of the container gripping lever 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The gripping lever 20 for gripping the container 61 in the pocket 11a of the transfer starwheel 11 rotates about a fulcrum shaft 16 on which one side 20a of the lever and a gripping pad 21 fixed thereto are supported by the rotating plate 10. As a result, the containers 61 which are continuously conveyed are held at the respective fixed positions of the pockets 11a of the transfer star wheel 11.
[0028]
The cam follower 22 attached to the end of the other lever side 20b that constitutes the gripping lever 20 has a transfer star wheel 11 and a ring 15 that moves integrally therewith due to the tension of a tension spring 23 via a tension lever 17. Even if it rotates, it always moves in contact with the outer periphery of the fixed cam 25. Then, the rotation of the transfer star wheel 11 and the ring 15 causes the cam follower 22 to move in accordance with the shape of the fixed cam 25, thereby being fixed to the gripping lever 20 via the cam follower 22 and the other lever side 20 b. The gripping pad 21 performs an operation of gripping or releasing the container 61 in the pocket 11 a of the transfer star wheel 11.
[0029]
Next, the operation of the entire cap removing device will be described. The cap 62 descends while being guided by the cap chute 1 from the previous process, and is temporarily held by being caught by the claws of the cap holding levers 2a and 2b at the tips. The container 61 is filled with liquid in the previous process and delivered to the transfer starwheel 11, and is gripped and transported by the gripping pad 21 in the pocket 11a of the transfer starwheel 11 in a stable manner by the operation of the gripping lever 20 as described above. Is done.
[0030]
In the middle of the conveyance, the cap holding levers 2a and 2b are held by the cap holding levers 2a and 2b at the tip of the cap chute 1 and engaged with the cap 62 in a standby state. It is opened by contact with the torso. At the same time, the flange of the cap 62 falls onto the mouth of the container 61 while being hooked at the mouth of the container 61, and the container 62 is covered with the cap 62.
[0031]
Thereafter, the container 61 moves forward while the cap 62 placed on the opening of the container 61 is suppressed by the cap retainer 7 whose height has been adjusted by the adjustment bolt 8. Thereafter, when the container 61 passes, the holding levers 2a and 2b are closed by the elastic force of the tension spring 5, and the next cap 62 is held.
[0032]
By repeating the above operation, the container 61 covered with the cap 62 is continuously delivered to the next step. In the above-described embodiment, the cap is supplied while the container 61 is being conveyed by the transfer star wheel 11. However, the present invention is applicable to the case where the container 61 is conveyed by a screw, or conveyed by any conveyor such as a conveyor. Covering of the cap with the cap supply device is possible.
[0033]
【The invention's effect】
Since the present invention is configured as described above, it is possible to hold the engagement position for taking out the container at a fixed position, and to operate the opening and closing of the container holding lever by the body of the container when taking out the container. The cap can be put on the container without giving any resistance to the cap, so that there is no deformation or damage of the cap, and by taking the engagement timing with the container, there is no mistake in dropping the cap.
[0034]
Further, by providing the container holding means, the container is stably held at the center of the star wheel pocket, so that there is no liquid overflow due to the inclination and vibration of the container when removing the cap, and high-speed operation can be supported.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cap supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the cap supply device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the container holding device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the container holding device according to the embodiment of the present invention, taken along line IV-IV shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a closed state of the container holding lever according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an open state of the container holding lever according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional cap supply device.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cap chute, 2a / 2b ... Cap holding lever, 3a / 3b ... Opening / closing guide, 5 ... Tension spring, 10 ... Rotating plate, 11 ... Star wheel, 15 ... Ring, 16 ... Support shaft, 17 ... Tension lever, 20 ... grip lever, 21 grip pad, 22 cam follower, 23 tension spring, 25 fixed cam, 61 container, 62 cap.

Claims (3)

For supplying a cap to the mouth of a wide-mouthed container such as a cup bottle or a can which is continuously conveyed by a conveying means, wherein a cap continuously supplied from a cap chute connected to the cap supplying means is held. An opening / closing guide that is brought into contact with the body of the container to be conveyed is provided integrally, and a cap holding lever that is opened / closed by bringing the body of the container into contact with the opening / closing guide, A container holding means for gripping and transferring the cap to an engagement position with the cap. 2. The container cap supply device according to claim 1, wherein the container conveying means is constituted by a transfer star wheel rotated by a rotation driving mechanism. It said container holding means, the gripping lever for gripping the containers rotatable together with the fulcrum shaft mounted to the rotating plate, according to claim 1 comprising a spring which allowed to contact the gripping lever body of the container Or the cap supply apparatus for containers described in 2.

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