JP6054712B2 - Cap tightening device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention covers a metal cap such as aluminum directly on the mouth of a container such as a glass bottle or a rubber stopper on the mouth of the container, and the hem of the metal cap is in close contact with the container The present invention relates to a cap winding and tightening device that winds and tightens.

  The cap tightening device is placed on a container base with a metal cap on the mouth of the container, and while pressing the roller with the pressure block from above to rotate the container, the roller is pressed against the bottom of the metal cap, and the container mouth It is made to be bent according to the shape. A protruding portion is formed on the outer periphery of the mouth portion of the container, and the skirt portion of the metal cap is folded back to the lower surface side of the protruding portion. A cap tightening device having such a configuration is conventionally known (see, for example, Patent Document 1 to Patent Document 3).

  A container tightening device described in Patent Document 1 includes a thread roller that presses a cap along a threaded portion of a container to form a screw groove, and a skirt roller that performs tightening by bending the lower end edge of the cap. (Corresponding to the roller of the invention) is pressure-bonded to the container, once separated, and then pressure-bonded again. Further, the capping device described in Patent Document 2 includes two types of PP rollers (rollers of the present invention) for copying the lower end portion of the cap material to the base portion of the container, and the PP roller that performs temporary bending is provided. The lower end portion of the cap material is pressed against the bulging portion of the cap portion, and then the temporarily bent lower end portion is again pressed by a finishing PP roller having different diameter dimensions in the axial direction. The finish is bent in close contact with the bulge and neck. In the method of attaching the cap lid with the tab for opening described in Patent Document 3, the bottle is rotated by bringing the bending roller close to the lower end edge of the cylindrical portion of the cap lid while maintaining the pressing operation by the upper ram. Then, it is deformed so as to be placed on the annular step portion formed on the lower surface side of the flange of the bottle mouth over the entire circumference of the cylindrical portion by the action of the bending roller.

Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 61-44756 JP 2003-192093 A Japanese Patent Publication No.59-12553

  In any of the configurations of the invention described in each of the above patent documents, a roller that bends the skirt of the cap presses the skirt of the cap directly against the outer surface of the container with a single operation. In the configurations of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, two operations or two types of rollers are pressed. In either case, the inner surface of the skirt of the cap is moved to the outer surface of the container by one operation of the rollers. Pressed.

  If the container to which the cap is tightened is a small container such as a vial, or if the rubber stopper that is driven into the mouth of the container is soft, it will break or the stopper will be pushed into the container if pressed firmly from above. Therefore, only a weak load can be applied. Therefore, when the roller is pressed against the metal cap, the rotation of the metal cap and the container may be stopped, and the cap may not be tightened. In addition, if the stopper is made of a slippery material, if the cap is pressed close to the container with the roller approached, only the metal cap will not rotate with respect to the rotating container and stopper, and there is a risk that it cannot be tightened. is there. In addition, when tightened at a time, the finish may be poor, such as wrinkles on the skirt of the metal cap.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems. A metal cap that covers the mouth is covered with a container having a protrusion formed on the outer periphery of the mouth, and the bottom of the metal cap is attached to the protrusion. In a cap tightening device that bends and tightens downward, the container is placed between the mounting table on which the container covered with the metal cap is mounted and the metal table from above to hold the container. A contact member, a rotating means for rotating the container sandwiched between the mounting table and the abutting member, and a bending means that advances toward the rotating container and folds and tightens the skirt of the covered metal cap. The folding means includes a roller that abuts the skirt of the metal cap and an advance means that advances the roller toward the rotating container. The advancing means abuts the roller against the skirt of the metal cap. The skirt is advanced to a position before the inner surface of the hem comes into contact with the surface of the container and stopped at this position for at least one rotation of the container, and then the skirt of the metal cap is placed on the surface of the container. The roller is advanced to the contact position, and this contact state is maintained for at least one rotation of the container, and then the roller is retracted and separated from the metal cap.

  When the cap is tightened by pressing the roller against the skirt of the metal cap, the roller is advanced, the roller is advanced and abutted against the skirt of the metal cap to bend, and the inner surface of the skirt is the surface of the container. Stop at least once during the rotation of the container to a position where it does not come into contact with the roller, and then further advance the roller to a position where the skirt of the metal cap contacts the surface of the container. Since the state is maintained, when a large load cannot be applied by the upper abutting member (pressure block), such as when the container is small or the stopper is soft, it is easy to slip between the stopper and the metal cap. Even in the case of the material, the skirt of the metal cap can be securely tightened. Moreover, the finish of the metal cap is better than when tightened at once.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall arrangement of a cap tightening device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Example 1 FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the cap tightening device. 3A to 3C are diagrams for sequentially explaining the operation of the cap tightening device.

  The rotating shaft is supported so as to be movable up and down and rotated in a holding block and a cylindrical member fixed to a rotating plate attached to the outer periphery of the main rotating shaft. A container base for placing the container on the upper end of the rotating shaft is fixed, and a rotating portion for rotating the rotating shaft is provided on the lower side. Furthermore, the lower end portion of the rotating shaft is rotatably supported via a ball bearing on a cup-shaped rotating support attached to a piston rod of an air cylinder housed in the lower portion of the cylindrical member. A cam follower is attached to the air cylinder with the rotating plate facing outward, and the cam follower is fitted in the cam groove of a lifting cam fixedly arranged along the rotation path. The cylinder moves up and down. The rotating shaft rotates while the rotating portion comes into contact with the belt, and moves up and down as the air cylinder moves up and down according to the shape of the groove cam. Above the container base, a pressure block is rotatably mounted in a vertical direction via a mounting plate fixed to the upper part of the main rotating shaft. When the container base is raised by the groove cam, The container placed on the table comes into contact with the upper pressure block. The air cylinder is in a state in which the supply air pressure is adjusted in advance so as to have a predetermined pressing force, and the container can be held with a predetermined pressure by the upper pressure block and the lower container base.

  Bending means for bending the skirt of the metal cap placed on the mouth of the container is disposed adjacent to the radially inner side of the container base unit having the container base attached to the upper end of the rotating shaft. The bending means includes a roller that abuts on the bottom of the metal cap and bends the bottom, and a forward means that rotates the swing shaft to which the roller is attached to advance the roller toward the container. The advancing means includes a cam follower attached to the lower end of the swing shaft, a swing cam that swings the cam follower, and a torsion coil spring that urges the cam follower to constantly press the cam follower.

  The container base is lowered to supply a container with a metal cap on the container base, and the rotating shaft and the container base are raised. The container placed on the container table abuts on the upper pressure block and is sandwiched from above and below by the pressure block and the container table. At this time, a predetermined air pressure acts on the air cylinder, and a metal cap placed on the mouth of the container is pressed against the upper pressure block to apply a predetermined load. In this state, the rotating part is brought into contact with the belt to rotate the rotating shaft and the container base. The roller is advanced toward the rotating container according to the shape of the swing cam, and the roller is pressed against the bottom of the metal cap. When the roller is first pressed against the metal cap, the roller is stopped at a position where the inner surface of the metal cap does not contact the surface of the container (the lower surface of the protruding portion formed on the outer periphery of the mouth of the container). This stopped state is maintained for at least one rotation (spinning) of the container. Thereafter, the roller is further advanced in the direction of the container and pressed to a position where the inner surface of the skirt of the metal cap contacts the lower surface of the flange of the container. In this manner, the cap is wound by advancing the roller in two stages. By adopting such a configuration, even when a large load cannot be applied by the pressure block, or even when the plug is made of a slippery material, the skirt of the cap is securely bent and brought into close contact with the lower surface of the protruding portion of the container. The purpose can be achieved.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. A container 4 (refer to FIG. 2) conveyed by the supply conveyor 2 is supplied via an introduction wheel 6 to a cap tightening device (indicated by reference numeral 1 as a whole) according to this embodiment. The container 4 to be supplied has a flange 4a formed as a protrusion at the periphery of the opening at the upper end of the mouth, and a rubber plug 8 is driven into the mouth, and further covers the flange 4a and the rubber plug 8 at the mouth. Thus, the metal cap 10 is covered. In the cap tightening device 1, the skirt portion 10 a of the metal cap 10 placed on the container 4 is tightened and then discharged onto the discharge conveyor 14 via the discharge wheel 12 and sent to the next step.

  In the cap tightening device 1, a rotating plate 18 is horizontally fixed to the outer periphery of a main rotating shaft 16 arranged upright in the center, and a plurality of containers are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction near the outer peripheral portion of the rotating plate 18. A base unit 20 is attached. Each container stand unit 20 is configured as follows. That is, a circular hole 18a is formed near the outer peripheral portion of the rotating plate 18, and a cylindrical holding block 22 is fixed upright in the circular hole 18a. A cylindrical member 24 is fixed to the outer periphery of the lower end portion of the holding block 22 that projects downward from the rotating plate 18. A rotating shaft 28 that supports a mounting table (hereinafter referred to as a container table 26) of the container 4 is inserted into the cylindrical holding block 22 so as to be rotatable and liftable. A large-diameter rotating portion 28 a for rotating the rotating shaft 28 is provided below the rotating shaft 28. The belt 30 is in contact with the rotating portion 28a, and the belt 30 travels to rotate the rotating shaft 28. A cutout 24a is provided at a portion of the cylindrical member 24 where the belt 30 abuts against the rotating portion 28a.

  An air cylinder 32 is accommodated in the lower part of the cylindrical member 24 so as to be movable up and down. A cam follower 34 is attached to the air cylinder 32 on the radially outer side of the cap tightening device 1. An annular cam 36 is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the rotation path of the cylindrical member 24 by the rotation of the rotating plate 18. The cam follower 34 is fitted in a groove cam 36a formed in the annular cam 36, and the air follower 34 moves up and down along the groove cam 36a as the rotating plate 18 rotates, so that the air cylinder 32 is cylindrical. It rises and falls within the member 24. A portion of the cylindrical member 24 where the cam follower 34 attached to the air cylinder 32 protrudes outward is provided with a vertical cutout 24b so that the air cylinder 32 and the cam follower 34 can be moved up and down. As the air cylinder 32 moves up and down, the rotary shaft 28 and the container base 26 move up and down.

  A cup-shaped rotary support 38 is fixed to a piston rod 32 a facing upward of the air cylinder 32, and the lower end small-diameter portion 28 b of the 28 rotary shaft is inserted into the rotary support 38 via a ball bearing 40. And is supported rotatably. A container base 26 on which the supplied container 4 is placed is fixed to the upper end of the rotating shaft 28. A recess 26 a for holding the container 4 to be placed is formed on the upper surface of the container base 26. A cylindrical cover 42 is attached to the outer periphery of the lower end of the container base 26, and the lower end portion of the cylindrical cover 42 is fitted to the upper outer periphery of the cylindrical holding block 22 with a gap therebetween. The cylindrical cover 42 of the container base 26 moves up and down and rotates along the outer peripheral surface of the block 22. A table 44 is fixed above the rotating plate 18 fixed to the central main rotating shaft 16. A circular through hole 44a is formed in the table 44 at a position corresponding to each container base unit 20, and the container base 26 is located in the through hole 44a.

  An abutting member (pressure block 48) facing the vertical direction is attached to an upper portion of the main rotating shaft 16 disposed at the center via a horizontal attachment plate 46 so as to be rotatable (spinning). On the lower surface of the pressure block 48, a recess 48 a having a diameter slightly larger than the top surface of the metal cap 10 is formed so as to hold the metal cap 10 placed on the mouth of the container 4. The mouth side of the container 4 placed in the recess 26a formed on the upper surface of the container base 26 is pressed by the recess 48a of the pressure block 48, and the container 4 is sandwiched from above and below by the rotation of the rotary shaft 28. The pressure block 48 and the container base 26 rotate integrally.

  Bending means 50 for tightening the metal cap 10 is provided on the radially inner side of the container base unit 20 on which the container base 26 is provided. The bending means 50 includes a roller 52 that is in contact with the bottom skirt 10 a of the metal cap 10, and a forward means 54 that advances the roller 52 toward the rotating container 4. A small diameter circular hole 44b is formed on the inner side of the table 44 in the radial direction of the through hole 44a into which the container base 26 is fitted, and an upright swinging shaft 56 is inserted therethrough. The swing shaft 56 is rotatably supported via a ball bearing 58 disposed in a support hole 18b provided in the rotary plate 18. A roller 52 is attached to an upper end portion of the swing shaft 56 extending above the table 44 via a horizontal attachment member 60 so as to be rotatable (spinning). When the container base 26 is pushed up by the air cylinder 32 and the container 4 is pressed against the pressure block 48, the roller 52 is configured to cover the skirt 10 a of the metal cap 10 that covers the mouth of the container 4. It is located at a height that can be pressed against the lower surface side of the flange 4a of the container 4.

  A cam follower 62 is attached to the lower end of the swing shaft 56, and a swing cam 64 that swings the roller 52 is fixedly disposed at the height of the cam follower 62. A spring seat 66 is fixed slightly below the rotary plate 18 of the swing shaft 56, and a torsion coil spring 68 is attached between the spring seat 66 and the lower surface of the rotary plate 18. The cam follower 62 is constantly urged in the direction in which the cam follower 62 is pressed against the swing cam 64. The rocking cam 64 and the cam follower 62 constitute the advance means 54.

  The operation of the cap tightening device 1 according to the above configuration will be described. The containers 4 conveyed by the supply conveyor 2 are supplied to the cap tightening device 1 via the introduction wheel 6. The cap tightening device 1 is provided with a plurality of container bases 26 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and the containers 4 delivered from the introduction wheel 6 are sequentially placed in the recesses 26 a of the container base 26. . When the container 4 is supplied, the container base 26 attached to the upper end of the rotary shaft 28 is lowered by the elevating cam 36 so that the upper surface of the table 44 and the upper surface of the container base 26 are positioned at substantially the same height. The container 4 is placed on the container base 26 without interfering with the upper pressure block 48 (see FIG. 3A). In the supplied container 4, a rubber stopper 8 is driven into the opening of the mouth part, and a metal cap 10 covering the mouth part of the container 4 and above and around the rubber stopper 8 is covered. The metal cap 10 has a flat top surface portion placed above the rubber stopper 8 and a cylindrical portion extending downward from the periphery of the top surface portion, and a lower portion (hem portion 10a) of the cylindrical portion is a container. 4 extends downward from the flange 4a.

  When the container 4 is placed on the container base 26, the air cylinder 32 to which the cam follower 34 is attached rises due to the shape of the cam groove 36 a formed in the annular elevating cam 36. The upper rotating shaft 28 and the container base 26 are raised. In the container 4 placed on the container base 26, the top surface of the metal cap 10 is fitted in the concave portion 48 a of the upper pressure block 48. At this time, since a predetermined air pressure acts on the air cylinder 32 to support the container base 26 via the rotating shaft 28, the metal cap 10 covering the mouth of the container 4 is attached to the pressure block 48. The concave portion 48a is pressed with a predetermined pressing force. The force for pressing the container 4 against the pressure block 48 is set according to the type, size, and other conditions of the container 4, and can be easily changed by adjusting the supply air pressure acting on the air cylinder 32.

  With the container 4 sandwiched from above and below by the lower container base 26 and the upper pressure block 48, the rotating part 28 a provided at the lower part of the rotating shaft 28 is brought into contact with the traveling belt 30. The rotating shaft 28 is rotated. The rotation of the rotating shaft 28 causes the container base 26, the pressure block 48, and the container 4 held between them to rotate integrally. The roller 52 is moved in the direction approaching the container 4 rotating in this way by the advancing means (the swing cam 64 and the cam follower 62). A cam follower 62 provided at the lower end of the swing shaft 56 to which the roller 52 is attached is pressed against the swing cam 64 by a torsion coil spring 68, and the cam follower 62 swings according to the shape of the swing cam 64, and the roller 52 advances toward the container 4. In the cap tightening device 1 according to this embodiment, the roller 52 is advanced in the direction of the container 4 in two stages, and in the first stage, the metal cap 10 is in contact with the skirt 10a and bent. The inner surface of the skirt 10a is not advanced to a position where it is pressed against the flange 4a of the container 4 (see FIG. 3B). With the roller 52 pressed against the skirt 10 a of the metal cap 10 as described above, the roller 52 is stopped at a position in contact with the metal cap 10 for at least one rotation of the container 4.

  After the first stage of bending is performed in a state where the inner surface of the skirt portion 10a of the metal cap 10 is not pressed against the surface of the container 4, the roller 52 is further advanced so that the inner surface of the skirt portion 10a of the metal cap 10 is moved to the container. 4 surface (in this embodiment, the lower surface side of the flange 4a formed in the mouth of the container 4). In this state, the contact state is maintained for at least one rotation of the container 4. Thereafter, the roller 52 is retracted and separated from the metal cap 10 (see FIG. 3C). Since the roller 52 is advanced at a time with a strong force in this way and the skirt 10a is not pressed against the surface of the container 4, the skirt 10a of the metal cap 10 is bent with a weak force by advancing in two stages. Even when the small container 4 which cannot apply a large load, or when the stopper 8 and the metal cap 10 are made of a slippery material, the skirt portion 10a of the metal cap 10 can be securely wound. In the present embodiment, a case has been described in which a flange is formed as a protruding portion at the periphery of the mouth opening, and a metal cap is wound around a container in which a rubber stopper is driven into the mouth. The form is not limited to this, and may be one in which a rubber stopper is not driven, or may be a container in which a screw is formed on the outer periphery of the mouth part and a protruding part is formed in the lower part thereof. . For a container in which such a screw is formed, the apparatus of the present invention can be employed as a means for tightening the skirt of the metal cap instead of a thread roller for forming a screw on the metal cap.

4 Container 4a Protruding part (flange)
10 metal cap 10a hem 26 mounting table (container table)
28a Rotating means (rotating part)
30 Rotating means (belt)
48 Contact member (pressure block)
50 Bending means 52 Roller 62 Advance means (cam follower)
64 Advancement means (swing cam)

Claims (1)

In a cap tightening device that covers a container with a protrusion formed on the outer periphery of the mouth, covers a metal cap that covers the mouth, and folds and tightens the bottom of the metal cap to the lower side of the protrusion,
A mounting table on which a container covered with a metal cap is mounted; a contact member that contacts the metal cap from above and sandwiches the container between the mounting table; and the mounting table and the contact member. A rotating means for rotating the sandwiched container; and a folding means that advances toward the rotating container and folds and wraps the skirt of the covered metal cap;
The folding means has a roller that contacts the skirt of the metal cap and a forward means for advancing the roller toward the rotating container. The advancing means folds the roller by contacting the skirt of the metal cap. A position where the inner surface of the skirt is advanced to a position before it contacts the surface of the container, stops at this position for at least one rotation of the container, and then the skirt of the metal cap contacts the surface of the container. The cap is tightened by moving the roller forward and maintaining the contact state during at least one rotation of the container, and then retracting the roller away from the metal cap.

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