JPH07330139A - Can barrel aligning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an aligning device for horizontally moving can barrels without falling so as to align them. CONSTITUTION:An air conveyer 10 in which several air jet holes are formed in a setting surface on which can barrels 1 in a sidelong condition are set, for advancing the can barrels 1 toward a mesh conveyer 20, is connected to the leading end part of the mesh conveyer 20, and an upper plate 13 is laid above the can barrel loading surface of the air conveyer 10 with a space therebetween so that the upper blade is slightly higher than the height of the barrels 1 and is in parallel with the can barrel setting surface of the air conveyer 10. Further, a shooter 6 for successively supplying can barrels 1 in an inverted posture is provided at the leading end part side of the air conveyer 10. A stopper 16 for intermittently inhibiting the advance of the can barrels 1 so as to direct the can barrels in a plurality of rows toward the mesh conveyer 20, is provided the trailing end side of the conveyer 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

This invention relates to a DI can (draw).
The invention relates to an aligning device that moves a cylindrical can body with a bottom such as an & ironing can in a width direction orthogonal to a feed direction to align the can body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Two-piece cans such as DI cans have been widely used as beverage containers.
Generally, after pressing, ironing, or deep-drawing a press material such as tin-plated steel plate or aluminum alloy plate, fin processing is performed on the opening end side, and lubricating oil is removed during drawing or ironing. In addition, in order to improve the adhesion of the paint, it is manufactured through steps such as degreasing treatment, water washing, chemical conversion treatment, water washing, washing with deionized water and drying, and coating treatment of the inner and outer surfaces with the paint.

When the can body that has been drawn and ironed is sent to the cleaning process, the can bodies are arranged in a large number of columns and a large number of rows in order to improve the cleaning efficiency. , The can bodies are delivered in a line, thus necessitating rearrangement of the can bodies before the cleaning process. An apparatus for aligning can bodies of this type is, for example, the actual Kaihei 4-561.
No. 26 specification. Explaining the outline with reference to FIG. 4, three conveyors 2, 3 and 4 on which the can body 1 is mounted and conveyed are sequentially arranged in series, and among them, the central conveyor 3 Is set to a lower speed than the other two conveyors 2 and 4. The can body 1 is randomly conveyed by the first conveyor 2, but stays here because the speed of the second conveyor 3 is slow, and as a result, the succeeding body 1 is stopped before the can body 1. 1 and is moved along its outer surface in the width direction orthogonal to the feed direction. In this way, the conveyor 3 is spread over the entire width and arranged in a zigzag manner. On the other hand, since the speed of the third conveyor 4 is high, the can bodies 1 which are spread and aligned in the width direction are forwarded by the conveyor 4 one row at a time from the leading ones with the following ones.

[0004]

In the cleaning process, a mesh conveyor using a mesh belt is used so that a cleaning liquid such as degreasing or rinsing is evenly applied to the can body which is continuously conveyed. As the loader conveyor for feeding the can body to the cleaning process, a mesh conveyor having a small mesh which allows the lubricating oil adhering to the can body to flow down is adopted. Conventionally, the above-described can barrel alignment is generally performed on this loader conveyor, which causes a problem that the can barrel falls over relatively frequently.

That is, in the cleaning process, in order to smoothly supply and discharge the cleaning liquid to and from the can body,
The can body is conveyed in an inverted state, that is, in a state where the open end faces downward, and therefore, the alignment work on the loader conveyor is also performed in this inverted state. However, the edge of the open end of the can body may have burrs due to thinning of the can body and trimming, etc., and movement in the width direction is performed by pressing the can bodies together. From
The open end edge of the can body is caught in the mesh of the mesh conveyor, and in that state, it is pushed and falls.

[0006] A can barrel that has fallen and turned to the side cannot be washed sufficiently, but there are also can barrels that not only fall but also become in a normal state by being inverted. In such a can barrel, the cleaning liquid accumulates inside. Since it is conveyed as it is, and when it is transferred from the conveyor to another conveyor, it falls and sprinkles the cleaning liquid inside, so that there is a problem that the surrounding can body and equipment are contaminated. Therefore, it is the actual situation that there is a demand for an aligning device that can surely align the can bodies without tipping over during loading in the cleaning process.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a can body that has been drawn and ironed can be moved laterally in an upside down state and in a width direction orthogonal to the feed direction without tipping over. An object of the present invention is to provide an aligning device that can be aligned.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention continuously feeds a bottomed cylindrical can body forward in an inverted state, and selectively advances the forward movement at a predetermined position. By blocking, the can barrel is moved and diffused in the width direction orthogonal to the forward feeding direction to be aligned, and a group of the can barrels spread in a predetermined range has a placing surface in a mesh shape. In a can barrel aligning device that is transferred to a mesh conveyor and sent to a cleaning step, an air conveyor that opens a large number of air blowing holes on a mounting surface on which the can barrel in the inverted state is mounted and advances the can barrel toward the mesh conveyor. Is arranged so as to be connected to the starting end of the mesh conveyor, with an interval slightly higher than the height of the can body above the air conveyor and in parallel with the can body mounting surface of the air conveyor. A plate is arranged, and a supply means for continuously supplying the can body in an inverted state is provided on the start end side of the air conveyor, and the advance of the can body is intermittently provided on the end side of the air conveyor. The present invention is characterized in that a stopper mechanism is provided to prevent the can body from advancing toward the mesh conveyor in every plural rows.

[0009]

In the present invention, the can body which has undergone forming such as drawing and ironing is continuously supplied in the inverted state on the air conveyor by the supply means. On this air conveyor, the can body is conveyed, that is, moved forward by the air jetted from the air blowing hole, and at that time, the can body is slightly floated from the mounting surface, and the upper end of the can body is upper. Since it abuts on the plate, it does not float up excessively and fall. In addition, since the upper plate has a smooth surface and the top end of the can body in the inverted state is the bottom and is a smooth surface, even if sliding occurs with the upper plate, it may cause a fall. It never happens. On the other hand, at the terminal end, that is, the leading end of the air conveyor, the stopper mechanism temporarily blocks the advance of the can body, so that the continuously supplied can body accumulates on the air conveyor. As a result, the succeeding can body comes into contact with the previously stopped can body and moves along the outer peripheral surface in the width direction orthogonal to the feed direction, so that the arrangement range of the can body expands in the width direction. To do. And the subsequent can bodies enter the recess between the stopped can bodies,
Finally, they are arranged in a staggered pattern. Even when the can bodies move in the width direction in this way, the can bodies are slightly lifted by the air conveyor, so that the can bodies do not fall over even if they move by pushing each other. And since the stopper mechanism operates intermittently, the aligned can bodies are fed to the mesh conveyor in multiple rows on the leading side,
Thereafter, similarly, the can bodies are intermittently sent out to the mesh conveyor every plural rows. Therefore, on the mesh conveyor, the can bodies do not press each other and move in the width direction, so that the can bodies do not fall over here.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will now be described based on the embodiments shown in FIGS. Alignment device 5 shown in these figures
Is a can body for DI cans that are formed by drawing and ironing.
Is placed prior to the loader conveyor for the cleaning process. The aligning device 5 mounts an air conveyor 10 for ejecting and moving air toward the opening of the can body 1 in an inverted state, and the can body 1 formed into a group of a substantially predetermined width from the air conveyor 10. A mesh conveyor 20 that is a loader conveyor that is placed and moved, and a control unit 30 that controls the flow of the can body 1 on these conveyors 10 and 20 are provided. Then, from a can body forming process (not shown), the can body 1 is turned upside down through a supply means such as a shooter 6 and introduced into the can body aligning device 5 for alignment.

First, the air conveyor 10 will be described. This air conveyor 10 is an air chamber 10
The upper surface of a is used as a mounting surface, and a large number of air blowing holes 10b are formed in the mounting surface from the air chamber 10a toward the front obliquely. Further, the air chamber 10a is connected to the discharge port of the blower 11, so that the air pressurized by the blower 11 is blown obliquely forward from the blowout hole 10b so that the can body 1 in the inverted state is slightly lifted from the mounting surface. To move in the direction of travel. And the air conveyor 1
Side guides 12, 12 are provided on the side of 0, and an upper plate parallel to the can body mounting surface of the air conveyer 10 is provided above the air conveyor 10 with a space slightly higher than the height of the can body 1. 13 are provided.

Further, at the end portion of the air conveyor 10, that is, the end portion on the mesh conveyor 20 side, the shut-off bar 1 driven by the air cylinders 14A and 14B, respectively.
5 and a stopper 16 are provided. The blocking bar 15 selectively blocks the traveling of the can body 1 across the traveling path of the can body 1, and the stopper bar 16 is used to block the traveling of the can body 1.
Is arranged on the front side in the traveling direction of the air cylinder 14A.
It is designed to move up and down. In addition, on the side surface of the blocking bar 15, that is, the side wall surface with which the can body 1 abuts,
Protrusions 15 having a semicircular cross section at intervals substantially equal to the diameter of the can body 1.
a is formed so that the can body 1 is inserted between the protrusions 15a to align the first row. The stopper 16 presses the can bodies 1 lined up at the end of the air conveyor 10 from above to prevent the can body 1 from moving forward. It is located in. The portions of the blocking bar 15 and the stopper 16 that come into contact with the can body 1 are made of a flexible material such as rubber or felt so as not to damage the can body 1.

The mesh conveyor 20 is for rotating and driving an endless mesh belt made of stainless steel as in the conventional case. The mesh conveyor 20 is continuously arranged at the end of the air conveyor 10 and is transferred from the air conveyor 10. The can body 1 is sent to the cleaning process further forward.

Next, the control means 30 will be described. The control means 30 includes a plurality of sensors 31, 32, 33, 34, which detect the can bodies 1 arranged on the conveyors 10, 20.
35 and a controller 36 that controls these signals. More specifically, the stopper operation sensor 3 is provided above the air conveyor 10, that is, on the upper plate 13 in order from the mesh conveyor 20 side.
1, a stopper release sensor 32, an air conveyor full sensor 33 are provided, a mesh conveyor full sensor 34 is provided at an appropriate position above the mesh conveyor 20, and a shutoff bar operation sensor 35 is provided at the mesh conveyor. It is provided at the beginning of 20.

Further, the controller 36 raises / lowers the shut-off bar 15 and the stopper 16 and starts / stops the blower 11 based on the input signals from the above-mentioned respective sensors, and further, the can barrel to the can barrel aligning device 5. 1 is configured to output a signal such as supply / stop, and is configured by a programmable controller as an example.

The operation of the can barrel aligning device 5 having the above structure will be described below. When the can body aligning device 5 is started in a state where the can body 1 is not aligned on the air conveyor 10, the air cylinder 14A is operated by the controller 36 to lower the blocking bar 15 and the other air cylinders 14 are moved.
B operates and the stopper 16 rises. In this state, when the can body 1 is supplied to the air conveyor 10 via the shooter 6 in an inverted state, the can body 1 is slightly lifted from the mounting surface by the air blown out from the air blowing holes 10b, and the air is forwardly moved. By being blown out toward the front, it is conveyed forward. In that case, the can body 1 is prevented from being excessively lifted by the upper plate 13. Further, even if the upper end, that is, the bottom of the can body 1 slides on the upper plate 13, since both surfaces are smooth, no catching occurs.

The can body 1 reaching the blocking bar 15 is guided between them by the projections 15a formed on the side wall surface thereof, and the following can body 1 is inserted between the projections 15a. It is laterally moved (moved in the width direction orthogonal to the feed direction) along the outer surface of the can body 1 and enters between the open protrusions 15a. In this way, the can body 1 is inserted between all the protrusions 15a, so that the first row of the body 1 is formed. The concavo-convex shape formed on the outer peripheral surface of the can body 1 in the first row is almost the same as the concavo-convex shape due to the projection 15a, and therefore the subsequent can bodies 1 are pressed against each other to press the cans in the first row. They enter between the torso 1 and are finally staggered. In this way, the can bodies 1 push each other and move laterally, but the air conveyor 1
Since the side guides 12 and 12 are provided on both sides of 0, the can body 1 does not drop from the air conveyor 10, and the can bodies 1 are arranged in a zigzag pattern over the entire width.

As the shut-off bar 15 is lowered, the staggered can bodies 1 gradually accumulate on the air conveyor 10. As a result, when the stopper actuation sensor 31 detects the can body 1, the air cylinders 14B act as stoppers. 16 is lowered to hold down the first row can body 1 to prevent its movement, and in this state, the blocking bar 15 is raised by the air cylinder 14A. Then, when the stopper release sensor 32 detects the can body 1, the air cylinder 14B operates and the stoppers 16 move up, and the can bodies 1 arranged in a staggered manner start from the first row at the beginning while maintaining the aligned state. The mesh conveyor 20 is advanced. In this way, when the plurality of rows (2 to 3 rows) of the can bodies 1 are transferred as a group to the mesh conveyor 20, the stopper 1
6 is lowered by the air cylinder 14b, and the leading one row of the succeeding can body 1 is pressed from above and stopped. The operation of raising and lowering the stopper 16 is timer-controlled and executed. Further, the reason why a plurality of rows are moved forward as a group is to surely align the can bodies 1 on the air conveyor 10 so that there is no so-called missing tooth.

When the mesh conveyor full sensor 34 arranged on the mesh conveyor 20 detects a predetermined amount or more of the can body 1 on the mesh conveyor 20, the controller 36 stops the blower 11 and stops the air conveyor 1.
Stop 0. In this way, the mesh conveyor 20
In order to prevent the can body 1 from overcrowding and to prevent the can body 1 from tipping over and being damaged, air is not blown to the can body 1 waiting on the air conveyor 10 for a predetermined time or longer, and a lubricant is used. Drying of (press oil) etc. is prevented and cleaning in the subsequent process is facilitated. Further, when the air conveyor full sensor 33 of the air conveyor 10 detects more than a predetermined amount of the can body 1 on the air conveyor 10, the aligning device 5
The supply of the can body 1 to the can body 1 is stopped so that a certain amount or more of the can body 1 is not retained on the air conveyor 10, and as in the above, the air is not blown to the can body 1 for a predetermined time or longer.

Furthermore, if the supply of the can body 1 is temporarily interrupted during the operation of the aligning device 5, for example, a phototube is provided at an appropriate position in the passage of the can body 1 to detect the can body 1 for a certain period of time. If not, the shut-off bar operation sensor 35 senses that all the can bodies 1 on the air conveyor 10 have been transferred to the mesh conveyer 20, lowers the shut-off bar 15, and shifts to the standby state.

Therefore, in the above-described aligning device 5, the opening edge (trim edge) of the can body 1 on the air conveyor 10 hardly slides on the mounting surface of the air conveyor 10,
Further, since the arrangement of the can bodies 1 is almost completed on the mesh conveyor 20, the can bodies 1 do not move laterally. Therefore, the amount of relative sliding between the can body 1 and the mesh conveyor 20 is reduced, and since the can bodies 1 are arranged around the can body 1, the balance is not easily lost, and the tipping accident of the can body 1 is prevented. can do. Furthermore, since air is not unnecessarily blown onto the can body 1, the dry fixing of the lubricating oil or the like is prevented, and the cleaning in the subsequent process does not become difficult.

Needless to say, magnetic sensors, optical sensors, and the like can be appropriately used for various sensors in this embodiment.

[0023]

As described above, according to the can barrel aligning device of the present invention, the operation of aligning the can barrels forwardly conveyed in a widthwise direction by pressing each other so that they are laterally moved from the mounting surface. It is performed on an air conveyor that blows out air, and the feeding from the air conveyor to the mesh conveyor is configured so that it is performed for each predetermined multiple rows by a stopper that is driven intermittently. It is possible to perform the aligning operation accompanied by the movement without causing the can body to fall, and without causing so-called missing teeth, which in turn can reduce the monitoring work by the operator and prevent contamination accidents in the cleaning process. It can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional side view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a shape of a protrusion provided on the blocking bar.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a conventional can barrel aligning and supplying device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 can barrel 5 can barrel aligning device 6 shooter 10 air conveyor 10b air blowout hole 13 upper plate 15 blocking bar 16 stopper 20 mesh conveyor

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] July 15, 1994

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Correction target item name] All drawings

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 1]

[Figure 3]

[Figure 4]

[Fig. 2]

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A bottomed cylindrical can body is continuously fed forward in an inverted state, and the forward movement thereof is selectively blocked at a predetermined position so that the can barrel is orthogonal to the forward feed direction. Aligned by moving and diffusing in the width direction, and a group of the can bodies that have spread to a predetermined range, in a can body aligning device that is transferred to a cleaning process by being transferred to a mesh conveyor having a mesh surface. An air conveyor that opens a large number of air blowing holes on the mounting surface on which the can body in the inverted state is placed and advances the can body toward the mesh conveyor is arranged while being connected to the starting end of the mesh conveyor, An upper plate is arranged above the air conveyor with a space slightly higher than the height of the can body and in parallel with the can body mounting surface of the air conveyor, and the start end side of the air conveyor. Is provided with a supply means for continuously supplying the can body in an inverted state, and at the terminal end side of the air conveyor, the can body is intermittently prevented from advancing, and the can bodies are directed to the mesh conveyor every several rows. A can barrel aligning device, which is provided with a stopper mechanism for moving forward.