JPH024625A - Automatic can sampling apparatus for inspection - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To permit the judgement of the operating condition of seaming heads and hence the adjustment thereof by taking sampling cans by the number of seaming heads and inspecting the same in the order taken at an automatic sampling can inspection line. CONSTITUTION:A can is filled with its contents by a filler 1, seamed by a seaming turret 22, transferred onto a carry-out conveyor 5 through a discharge turret 23 and carried under the restraint of a dog chain 35 to a sampling position in a constant speed and pitch mode. When an instruction of the sampling is given, a seaming head detector 31 is on to sense a specific head carrying can 34 to be detected for generating a detection signal, whereby the can sampling operation is commenced after the lapse of time that the can positioned on said head reaches the sampling position. The sampling operation is repeated the number of times same as those of the heads or the number of times of integer multiples thereof, thereby forming the rows of the sampling cans by the number of the heads arranged in the same sequence of the seaming heads or the number of integer multiple thereof with the can seamed normally by the specific head first in the line and they are then carried by a conveyor to an automatic inspection chamber 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention provides an automatic sampling inspection system that automatically performs a sampling inspection in a can manufacturing line, in which cans are taken out after sealing is completed and the filling state and sealing state are inspected. Regarding.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, on a can manufacturing line, a certain number of consecutive cans (preferably the number of heads or an integral multiple thereof) are removed from the line and the filling amount and seaming condition of the cans are inspected. This checks the operating status of the filler and seamer. Therefore, it is desirable for these inspections to determine which filler head the canned can was filled with and which seamer head the canned can was sealed with. Therefore, in the conventional sampling inspection mentioned above, one person manually samples cans by looking at the seamer head number, arranges them in order of head, identifies the seamer head or filler head that acted on the can, and then The filling amount and sealing condition of canned goods were manually inspected. This manual sampling inspection may be carried out by experienced workers while the line is in operation, but in order to ensure that the heads are extracted in the correct order, the line must be temporarily stopped, which can reduce the line's operating rate. It had become. In addition, without stopping the line, the flow of empty cans to the filler is divided into one group of sampling cans with a dividing space before and after 1, and the first group of sampling cans is diverted to the bypass conveyor by the discharge conveyor of the seamer. A method has also been proposed for extracting the
Publication No. 287).

Problems to be Solved by the Invention The sampling method proposed above allows sampling without stopping the line conveyor, but even if the sampled cans are in the order of the seaming heads, it is difficult to fill or fill them with any head. I don't know if it was tied tightly or not. Therefore, if a canned food with poor filling or poor seaming is found through sampling inspection, there is a drawback that all the filler heads or seaming heads must be adjusted. In addition, in the past, inspections of sampled canned goods were all done manually, and the cans that were judged to be acceptable were returned to the canned food transport line individually, which resulted in poor inspection efficiency and the need for special inspections. Inspection personnel were required.

The present invention was created in view of the above circumstances, and
Even when canned goods are conveyed continuously at high speed, it is possible to identify the seaming head and sample the canned goods without stopping one canning production line, and it also automatically inspects the seaming condition of the sampling cans. In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic sampling inspection system for canned goods that can return products that have passed a non-destructive inspection to the production line.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above objects, the automatic sampling and inspection system for canned goods of the present invention is an automatic canned sampling and inspection system that samples and inspects sealed canned goods discharged from a seamer. In response to the sampling start signal, cans seamed with a specific seaming head of the seamer are detected and tracked until the cans arrive at the extraction position, and at the extraction position, a predetermined number of cans are sequentially removed from the cans by the extraction means. The sampling cans are transferred to the automatic sampling can inspection line, where the sampling cans are inspected in the order in which they are seamed with a predetermined seaming head, and based on the inspection results, the cans that pass are transported again to the conveyor position. It has a structure characterized in that it is returned to the transport conveyor.

By identifying the seaming head that seamed the first can in the row of canned goods to be extracted and successively extracting them, the seaming head that seamed and filled the cans and the filler head that filled them can be identified for all sampled cans. Therefore, if at least the number of canned samples taken out by the seaming head is inspected in that order on the sampling canned automatic inspection line, one canned sampling can sealed with each seaming head will be inspected. Check the operating status of the mixing head. Therefore, if a canned food with poor seaming occurs, all you need to do is rA* only the seaming head that seamed the canned food.

Similarly, if a poorly filled canned food occurs, it is only necessary to adjust the filler head that filled the canned food.

After the inspection is completed, the canned goods that pass are automatically returned to the discharge conveyor. Since these operations are performed automatically, sampling inspection can be performed very efficiently without the need for special specialized personnel.

Embodiment The drawings show an embodiment of the automatic sampling inspection system of the present invention.

Figure 1 shows the overall layout, in which 1 is a filler, 2 is a seamer, 3 is a sampling device, 4 is a supply conveyor that conveys filled cans from the filler to the seamer, and 5 is a canned can that has been seamed. This is the discharge conveyor that transports the waste to the next process.

Reference numeral 10 indicates an automatic inspection line for sampling canned goods, which includes a sampling conveyor 11 that conveys the sampled canned goods from the discharge conveyor 5 to the inspection room 9, a first inspection conveyor 12 branched from the sampling conveyor 11, a second inspection conveyor 13. and a return conveyor 14 for returning the inspected cans to the discharge conveyor 5 of the can production line.

Reference numeral 15 indicates a seaming outer dimension inspection machine arranged along the first inspection conveyor 12, and 16 indicates a seaming inner dimension inspection machine. Further, 17 is a filling amount inspection machine arranged on the second inspection conveyor. These inspection machines employ conventional automatic inspection machines to automatically and non-destructively inspect cans conveyed by an inspection conveyor. 18.19 is a gas volume measuring machine and a concentration measuring machine (Qn) for destroying and inspecting cans, and is installed at the end of the sampling conveyor.

In addition, although two inspection conveyors are arranged in the above-mentioned sampling canned automatic inspection line, the number of inspection conveyors should be arbitrarily determined to enable the most efficient inspection according to the inspection measurement speed of the inspection and measuring machine. Even one inspection conveyor is sufficient. In that case, it can be configured with one continuous conveyor from the sampling conveyor to the return conveyor. Further, the types and arrangement of the inspection machines are not limited to those described above, and inspection and measurement machines necessary for sampling inspection may be arbitrarily arranged according to the type of canned food. Also,
It is not necessarily necessary to compartmentalize the automated measurement laboratory.

The sampling device 3 is a device that extracts cans from a discharge conveyor to a sampling conveyor so that the seaming head and filler head acting on the cans can be seen. An example of this device is shown in FIG. It is shown. The sampling device 3 in this embodiment is as follows.

Seaming head detector 31 and constant pitch conveying device 32
and a can extracting means 33 consisting of an appropriate ejecting means such as an air cylinder. The seaming head detector 31 is provided at a predetermined position on the outer circumferential side of the seaming turret 22 and detects a specific seaming head (for example, Nα1
It detects the detected object 34 provided in the head).
It is turned on by the sampling signal, and the detected object 34
When the canned food passes the position of the detector 31, it outputs a detection signal.Also, the constant pitch conveying device 32 detects when the canned goods being transferred from the discharge turret to the discharge conveyor slip and are out of phase and cannot be accurately tracked. A dog chain 35 having equal pitch dogs is passed between a driving sprocket fixed to the discharge turret shaft and a driven sprocket 36 provided on the side of the discharge conveyor. It becomes. Note that 21 in the figure is a cap feed turret.

A sampling inspection of canned goods is carried out using the apparatus as follows.

The cans filled with the filler 1 are seamed at the seaming turret 22, transferred to the discharge conveyor 5 via the discharge turret 23, and restrained by a dog chain 35 on the discharge conveyor. It is conveyed to the extraction position at a quick pitch, and is normally conveyed as is to the next process by a discharge conveyor.

Now, when a sampling command is issued, the seaming head detector 31 is turned on, and when a specific head equipped with the detected object 34 passes, it detects it and issues a detection signal. After the time has elapsed for the cans located in the specific head to reach the extraction position (this time is always constant because the cans are conveyed at a constant pitch and speed), the operation of the can extraction means is started. If the extraction means is operated a number of times equal to the number of heads or an integral multiple thereof, sampling canned goods consisting of the number of heads arranged in the order of the seaming heads or an integral multiple thereof, always starting with cans seamed with a specific head. A row is formed and transported to the automatic inspection laboratory 9 by a sampling conveyor. Therefore, for each sampled can, it is possible to identify the filler or seaming head that acted on it.

Now, when inspecting the filling amount of canned goods to check the condition of the filler, the row of canned goods is switched from the sampling conveyor to the second inspection conveyor 13, and the weight is measured by the filling amount inspection machine 17. The filling amount is checked by The test results are displayed or recorded for each filler head. Then, the passed cans filled with a predetermined amount are conveyed from the inspection machine to the discharge conveyor position by the return conveyor 14, and then returned to the discharge conveyor 5 and conveyed to the next process. When inspecting, a row of sampled canned goods is transferred to the first inspection conveyor 12, each is inspected by a seaming outer dimension inspection machine 15 and a seaming inner dimension inspection machine 16, and passing cans are returned to the production line. Incidentally, defective canned goods are discharged from the sampling canned automatic inspection line by an appropriate discharging means (not shown). Alternatively, the occurrence of a defect may be notified by an alarm or the like. In addition, when performing destructive tests such as gas volume tests on canned beverages that generate internal pressure, such as beer, the sampling conveyor 1
1 and transported to the inspection 8118 located at the tip of the
Perform each inspection.

In addition, as a means of tracking the canned food to the extraction position after detecting the specific seaming head, in addition to the time as described above, the number of canned goods from the detection position to the extraction position is always constant, so Any suitable method can be used, such as by counting the number of cans passing by or by counting the number of revolutions of a sprocket wheel shaft. Further, in the above embodiment, if a can detector is provided together with the seaming head detector, even if a can is extracted from an arbitrary seaming head position, the seaming head that seamed each sampled can can be identified. You can do something like that. Furthermore, as another method, a marking device is provided to mark cans seamed with a specific seaming head using timing based on the detection signal of the seaming head detector, and a marking can detector is provided downstream from the marking device. It can also be specified by providing. Further, as the constant pitch conveying device, an appropriate device such as a timing spiral can be employed.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but can also be applied to sampling inspections on seaming lines for empty cans.

Effects The present invention is configured as described above, and has the following remarkable effects.

To automatically and accurately extract a specific canned food without stopping the canned food production line even if the canned food production line is a high-speed line.

For each sampled can, the filler head that filled it or the seaming head that sealed it can be determined, and the defective head can be identified based on the inspection results, so only that head can be adjusted. There is no need to adjust all the heads.

Since cans can be automatically inspected on the sampling inspection line and passed cans can be automatically returned to the can discharge conveyor, inspection efficiency can be dramatically improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the sampling system of the invention,
FIG. 1 is a layout diagram of the entire system, and FIG. 2 is a layout diagram of the sampling section. 1: Filler-2 Nizimer 3: Sampling device
9: Inspection room lO: Sampling canned production line
11: Sampling conveyor 12: First inspection conveyor 13: Second inspection conveyor 14 Return conveyor 15: Sealing outer dimension measuring machine 16 Second seaming inner dimension measuring machine
17: Filling amount inspection machine 18: Gas volume measuring machine 19: Concentration measuring machine 21: Cap feed turret 22: Seaming turret 23: Discharge turret 31: Seaming head detector
32: Fixed pitch conveying device 33: Canned food extraction means Patent applicant Toyo Seikan Co., Ltd. Applicant agent Patent attorney Fumio Sato (and 2 others)

Claims (1)

[Claims] This is an automatic can sampling inspection system that samples and inspects seamed cans discharged from a seamer, and detects cans that have been seamed with a specific seaming head of the seamer in response to a sampling start signal, and extracts the cans. The canned goods are tracked until they reach the position, and at the sampling position, a predetermined number of canned goods are sequentially transferred from the canned cans to an automatic sampling can inspection line using a sampling means, and are seamed with a predetermined seaming head on the automatic sampling canned inspection line. This automatic canned sampling inspection system is characterized by sequentially inspecting sampled canned goods, and based on the inspection results, passing canned goods are again transported to a transport conveyor position and returned to the transport conveyor.