JP6207954B2 - Container transfer system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a resin container transport system such as a PET bottle, and more particularly to a container transport system that performs processing such as filling or capping while transporting while holding the upper or lower portion of the neck of the container.

  Conventionally, the configurations disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known as a transport system that sequentially transfers resin containers to a rotary bottle processing machine such as a filler and a capper and performs processing such as liquid filling or capping. ing. These conveyance systems are configured to deliver containers having the same diameter at a specific delivery position.

JP-A-11-236123 JP 2003-276838 A

  In a conventional container transport system, when trying to transport a container having a diameter different from that of a container that is normally transported, the container and the gripper interfere with each other at the delivery position, and the delivery cannot be performed smoothly. Therefore, it is necessary to replace the gripper every time the container to be transported is changed, but there is a problem that the replacement work is not easy and takes time.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a container transport system capable of normally delivering a plurality of types of caliber containers without replacing the gripper when transporting a container having a diameter different from that of a container that is normally transported. It is aimed.

In the first container transport system according to the present invention, the first gripper that sandwiches the container is provided along the peripheral edge of the rotating foil, and the second gripper that sandwiches the container is the peripheral edge of the rotating foil. And a second transport means provided along the first and second grippers at the delivery position, wherein the first transport means engages with the first gripper. Cam means for holding and opening the container, and the cam means includes first and second cams for engaging and holding the container by engaging the first gripper, and the first cam has a delivery position. The second cam has a contact point between the rotary foil of the first transfer unit and the rotary wheel of the second transfer unit, and the second cam has a delivery position upstream or downstream of the contact point. The by switching, the delivery position when transferring the containers to the second conveyor means from the first conveying means, and the contact between the rotating wheel of the rotating wheel and the second conveying means of the first transport means, and upstream from the contact It is characterized by being switchable.

In the second container transport system according to the present invention, the first gripper for sandwiching the container is provided along the peripheral edge of the rotary foil, and the second gripper for sandwiching the container is the peripheral edge of the rotary foil. And a second transfer means provided along the first and second transfer means at the transfer position so as to transfer the container from the second gripper to the first gripper. The first transfer means engages with the first gripper. Cam means for holding and opening the container, and the cam means includes first and second cams for engaging and holding the container by engaging the first gripper, and the first cam has a delivery position. The second cam has a contact point between the rotary foil of the first transfer unit and the rotary wheel of the second transfer unit, and the second cam has a delivery position upstream or downstream of the contact point. The by switching, the delivery position when transferring the containers to the first conveying means from the second conveying means, and the contact between the rotating wheel of the rotating wheel and the second conveying means of the first transport means, downstream from the contact point It is characterized by being switchable.

The first and second container transport systems may include moving means for moving the first and second cams forward and backward.

  According to the present invention, when a container having a diameter different from that of a container that is normally transported is transported, it is possible to normally perform delivery of containers having a plurality of kinds of diameters without replacing the gripper.

It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the container conveyance system which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of an introduction foil roughly. It is a top view which shows the state which delivers the container whose diameter of a neck part is comparatively small. It is a top view which shows the state which delivers the container with a relatively large diameter of a neck part.

A container transport system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a container transport system, which includes an introduction foil (first transport means) 11, a filler (second transport means) 12, and a discharge foil (first transport means) 13. The introduction foil 11 receives the containers conveyed by the supply conveyor 14 one by one, rotates in the direction of arrow A, and delivers them to the filler 12. Filler 12 fills the container with liquid while rotating in the direction of arrow B, and delivers the container to discharge foil 13. The discharge foil 13 is rotated in the direction of arrow C to transfer the containers one by one to the discharge conveyor 15, and the discharge conveyor 15 conveys the containers to the next process.

  FIG. 2 schematically shows the configuration of the introduction foil 11. FIG. 2 shows a state where the introduction foil 11 is viewed from the upper left in FIG. 1, and shows a position where the container X is delivered from the introduction foil 11 to the filler 12. The disc-shaped rotating foil 21 is supported by a support body 22 and is driven by a drive source (not shown) to rotate around the support body 22. A first gripper 23 is provided at regular intervals along the peripheral edge of the rotating wheel 21. The first gripper 23 is provided to hold the neck portion of the container X, and is opened and closed by a cam as will be described later.

  The support shaft 24 of the first gripper 23 is provided at the peripheral edge of the rotary wheel 21, and the first gripper 23 rotates around the axis of the support shaft 24 to open and close. A distal end of the connecting member 25 is fixed to the lower end of the support shaft 24, and a cam follower 26 is provided at the other end of the connecting member 25. The cam follower 26 can be engaged with the first and second cams 31, 32, and the first and second cams 31, 32 are advanced and retracted by air cylinders (moving means) 33, 34 attached to a support base (not shown). Driven.

  One end of a spring 28 is connected to the lower end of the support member 27 attached to the rotating wheel 21. The other end of the spring 28 is connected to a pin 29 fixed to the end of the connecting member 25. The spring 28 constantly biases the connecting member 25 in a direction in which the cam follower 26 approaches the center side of the rotating wheel 21, that is, in a direction in which the first gripper 23 is closed.

  The first gripper 23 has a pair of gripping members 41 and 42 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). These gripping members 41 and 42 are interlocked via a gear (not shown) and open and close according to the displacement of the cam follower 26. That is, the gripping members 41 and 42 are opened and closed when the cam follower 26 is engaged with the first or second cams 31 and 32, and the container X is sandwiched or opened.

  Similarly, the filler 12 is provided with second grippers 52 at regular intervals along the peripheral edge of the rotating wheel 51. As is conventionally known, the second gripper 52 is configured to sandwich the container by the elastic force of the leaf spring 53 (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

  The first and second cams 31 and 32 are provided below the rotating wheel 21 and in the vicinity of the filler 12, that is, at the delivery position of the container X. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the outer peripheral surfaces of the first and second cams 31 and 32 both have a shape obtained by slightly deforming an arc centered on the axis of the rotating wheel 21. The container X is sandwiched by the first gripper 23 and is conveyed along the arrow A from above in FIGS. 3 and 4, and a fixed cam 35 is provided upstream of the first and second cams 31 and 32. The fixed cam 35 is an arc-shaped plate member centered on the axis of the rotating wheel 21 and extends from the most downstream portion of the supply conveyor 14 (see FIG. 1) to the vicinity of the first and second cams 31 and 32.

  The first and second cams 31 and 32 are set at positions where the first and second cams 31 and 32 can selectively move forward and engage with the cam follower 26. The first cam 31 is used when transporting a small-diameter container having a neck having a relatively small diameter, and the second cam 32 is used when transporting a large-diameter container having a neck having a relatively large diameter. When the first cam 31 is in the forward position, the outer peripheral surface of the upstream end of the first cam 31 is continuous with the outer peripheral surface of the fixed cam 35 as shown in FIG. The outer peripheral surface of the first cam 31 is recessed inward at a portion downstream by a predetermined amount from the upstream end portion, and bulges outward at the downstream side. When the cam follower 26 moves along this curved surface, the first gripper 23 is opened.

  The second cam 32 is retracted when the first cam 31 is in the forward position (FIG. 3), but is set at the forward position when the large-diameter container is transported (FIG. 4). The outer peripheral surface of the upstream end portion of this is continuous with the outer peripheral surface of the fixed cam 35. The second cam 32 is recessed inward at a portion downstream from the upstream end by a predetermined amount, and bulges outward at the downstream side.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, there are two types of containers filled with liquid in the filler 12, one is a large-diameter container whose neck has an outer diameter of, for example, 25 to 35 mm, and the other is a few millimeters whose neck has an outer diameter that is larger than a large-diameter container It is a small-diameter container that is about small. Both of these containers have a flange at the neck, the first gripper 23 holds the neck of the container above the flange, and the second gripper 52 holds the neck of the container below the flange. Alternatively, the first gripper 23 may sandwich the lower side of the flange, and the second gripper 52 may sandwich the upper side of the flange. Although the discharge foil 13 is not described in detail, the container delivery operation is the same as that of the introduction foil 11.

  In the conveyance of the small-diameter container, as shown in FIG. 3, the first cam 31 is set at the forward movement position, and the second cam 32 is at the backward movement position. The first gripper 23 holds the container X received from the supply conveyor 14 at the neck, and conveys the container X along the arrow A by the rotation of the rotating wheel 21. When the container X comes to the contact point P of the rotating wheels 21 and 51, the container X sandwiched between the first grippers 23 is pushed into the second gripper 52 of the filler 12 to be engaged therewith.

  When the rotating wheel 21 further rotates, the cam follower 26 is pushed outward by the first cam 31, whereby the first gripper 23 is opened, and the container X is held only by the second gripper 52 of the filler 12. As a result, the container X is delivered to the filler 12 and filled with liquid. The delivery from the filler 12 to the discharge foil 13 is the reverse of the delivery from the first gripper 23 to the second gripper 52. In other words, the gripper in the opened state of the discharge foil 13 approaches the container X held by the second gripper 52, closes, holds the neck of the container X, and conveys it to the discharge conveyor 15.

  In the conveyance of the large-diameter container, as shown in FIG. 4A, the second cam 32 is set at the forward movement position, and the first cam 31 is at the backward movement position. When the container X has been transported to a position slightly upstream of the contact point P of the rotating foils 21 and 51, the container X is pushed into the second gripper 52 of the filler 12 to be engaged therewith. At substantially the same time, the first gripper 23 starts to open due to the action of the second cam 32. In this way, the container X is delivered upstream of the contact point P because the outer diameter of the neck of the container X is larger than that of the small-diameter container, and thus the locus of movement of the center of the container X is relatively larger than that of the small-diameter container. This is because the container X approaches the second gripper 52 upstream of the contact point P.

  When the rotating foil 21 further rotates and the container X reaches the contact P, the first gripper 23 completely opens the container X as shown in FIG. 4B, and the container X is only the second gripper 52 of the filler 12. Held by. Thereafter, the container X is further conveyed downward in the drawing, the first gripper 23 is further opened, and the container X is detached from the first gripper 23, and the delivery operation is completed.

  The delivery from the filler 12 to the discharge foil 13 is the reverse of the delivery from the first gripper 23 to the second gripper 52. That is, the gripper of the discharge foil 13 approaches the container X held by the second gripper 52 on the downstream side of the contact point with the rotating wheel 21, closes and receives it, and sandwiches the neck of the container X to discharge the conveyor 15. Transport to.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the delivery between the filler 12 and the introduction foil 11 or the discharge foil 13 is normally performed with respect to a plurality of types of containers having different neck outer diameters held by the grippers 23 and 52. be able to. For example, even when the filling process is performed on a container having a neck portion larger in diameter than the neck part of the container normally filled in the filler 12, only the cams 31 and 32 are switched without replacing the gripper. Just do it. Therefore, the switching operation when the type of container is changed can be executed easily and in a short time.

  In the above embodiment, the first cam 31 and the second cam 32 are provided for conveying the small-diameter container and the large-diameter container, but only one cam may be provided. The configuration in this case will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The cam 32 may be rotationally displaced about the central axis of the rotating wheel 21 (FIG. 2). That is, the cam 32 is at the position shown in FIG. 4 when transporting the large-diameter container, and when transporting the small-diameter container, the cam 32 is displaced counterclockwise, and the recessed portion 32a of the cam 32 is moved downward in the figure. Thus, the first gripper 23 may begin to open the container at the contact point P.

11 Introduction foil (first conveying means)
12 Filler (second transport means)
13 Discharge foil (first transport means)
21 Rotating foil 23 First gripper 31 First cam 32 Second cam 52 Second gripper X Container

Claims (3)

A first conveying means in which a first gripper for sandwiching a container is provided along the peripheral edge of the rotating foil; and a second conveying means in which a second gripper for sandwiching the container is provided along the peripheral edge of the rotating foil. A container transport system for delivering a container from the first gripper to the second gripper at a delivery position;
The first transport means includes cam means for engaging with the first gripper to sandwich and open the container,
The cam means includes first and second cams for engaging and opening the container by engaging with the first gripper, and the first cam is located at the delivery position with a rotating wheel of the first conveying means. By making the second cam a contact point with the rotating wheel of the second conveying means, the second cam has the delivery position upstream or downstream of the contact point, and further switching between the first cam and the second cam, The delivery position when the container is delivered from the first conveying means to the second conveying means is determined by the contact between the rotating foil of the first conveying means and the rotating foil of the second conveying means, and upstream of the contact. A container transport system characterized by being switchable. A first conveying means in which a first gripper for sandwiching a container is provided along the peripheral edge of the rotating foil; and a second conveying means in which a second gripper for sandwiching the container is provided along the peripheral edge of the rotating foil. A container transport system for delivering a container from the second gripper to the first gripper at a delivery position;
The first transport means includes cam means for engaging with the first gripper to sandwich and open the container,
The cam means includes first and second cams for engaging and opening the container by engaging with the first gripper, and the first cam is located at the delivery position with a rotating wheel of the first conveying means. By making the second cam a contact point with the rotating wheel of the second conveying means, the second cam has the delivery position upstream or downstream of the contact point, and further switching between the first cam and the second cam, The transfer closed position when the container is transferred from the second transfer means to the first transfer means is defined as a contact point between the rotation wheel of the first transfer means and the rotation wheel of the second transfer means, and a position downstream of the contact point. A container transport system characterized in that it can be switched with. Container transport system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises a moving means for each forward and backward movement of the first and second cam.

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