JPH0940082A - Capper for aseptic system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent foreign objects from entering the inside of a container by a method wherein a spindle is relatively made to ascend or descend to an elevation case when a capping is being performed, or not being performed, and a sealed chamber of the elevation case is sealed. SOLUTION: When a capping is performed, an elevation case of a capping mechanism 16 is made to ascend by an elevation cam 26, and a spindle 32 is energized downward by a spring 36 for a head load. Then, a tilted part 32b under the larger diameter part 32a of the spindle 32 is pressed to a tilted part 18a on the internal surface at a lower part of the elevation case 18, and ascends together with the elevation case 18. In this case, a sealed chamber of the elevation case 18 is totally sealed from the inside and the outside by a seal packing 34 between the tilted parts 18a and 32b. Under a state wherein the capping is not performed, the spindle 32 is made relatively to descend to the elevation case 18, and the sealed chamber of the elevation case 18 is totally shut out from the outside. By this method, foreign objects can be surely prevented from entering the inside of a container.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a capper for an aseptic system, for example, a capper which is disposed in a clean room together with a filling machine or the like and is used in an aseptic filling system for performing aseptic filling and capping.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Aseptic filling systems in which a filling machine, a capper and the like are housed in a clean room and a container is filled with a liquid and capped in a sterile environment have been known. The capper provided in such an aseptic filling system is provided with a main body of the capper that generates these foreign substances so that foreign substances such as germs, lubricating oil, and dust do not enter the container filled with the liquid. It is necessary to maintain a clean environment by separating from the parts. In order to maintain such a clean environment, the rotation drive part or the sliding part of the capper is housed in the main body cover, and the inside of this cover is sucked and exhausted, so that foreign matter is contained in the container filled with the liquid. A capper exhausting device that prevents the entry of air has already been proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 4-
No. 201893).

The capper exhausting device described in the above publication describes that "a fixing exhaust duct 3 is provided outside the capper body cover 1 so as to cover the lower part of the roll-on chuck 2, and the fixing exhaust duct 3 is provided at the upper part of the capper C. Exhaust duct 3
Is connected to the exhaust blower by penetrating and fixing the duct hose 4 to the ceiling 5. With this configuration, "the mist generated from the roll-on chuck can be sucked and exhausted, so that the mist is not particularly scattered in the filling chamber,
Cleanliness can be maintained and mist can be prevented from entering the container. "

[0004]

In the exhaust system for the capper described in the above publication, the duct hose 4 is connected to the upper portion of the fixing exhaust duct 3 which covers the outside of the capper body cover 1 to connect the fixing exhaust duct 3 with the duct hose 4. Although the inside of the capper body cover 1 and the exhaust duct 3 are open, the inside of the capper body cover 1 is opened and foreign matter generated from the rotating portion and the sliding portion inside the capper body cover 1 is removed. ,
Lubricating oil, bacteria, etc. may be scattered and enter the lower container.

The present invention has been made in order to eliminate the above-mentioned problems. A part of the capping head is opened to enable rotation of the capping head only when capping is performed.
Aseptic system that can prevent foreign substances, lubricating oil, bacteria, etc. from entering the container by keeping the inside of the airtight cover completely closed while not capping. The purpose is to provide a capper for use.

[0006]

A capper for an aseptic system according to the present invention comprises a cylindrical case that penetrates a bottom surface of a chamber whose inside is closed so as to be movable up and down, and an elevating means for elevating the cylindrical case. Sealing means for sealing the sliding portion between the bottom surface of the closed chamber and the cylindrical case, a spindle capable of moving up and down relative to the case in the cylindrical case, and constantly urging the spindle downward. A spring, a rotating means for rotating the spindle, a cap holding means provided at the lower end of the spindle, and a close contact between the spindle and the cylindrical case when the spindle is relatively lowered to close the gap between the two and raise it. And a seal portion which is opened when the operation is performed.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an example of an embodiment of a capper for an aseptic system according to the present invention, and this capper is arranged in a clean room together with a filling machine (not shown) and constitutes an aseptic filling system. A tubular fixed shaft 2 is arranged upright in the center of the capper, and a table shaft 4 is fitted to the outer periphery of the tubular fixed shaft 2 on the lower side. A rotary table 6 is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the table shaft 4, and the rotary table 6 and the table shaft 4 integrally rotate around the cylindrical fixed shaft 2. This turntable 6
A container whose inside is filled with the liquid is supplied at a predetermined interval by a filling machine on the upstream side via a container conveyer, a star wheel, and the like (not shown), and capping is performed by a capping mechanism described later.

A cylindrical slide column 8 is fitted on the outer periphery of the upper portion of the table shaft 4.
On the flange portion 8a formed at the upper end of the, a closed chamber 14 composed of a rotary closed cover 10 and an annular bottom plate 12 forming the bottom thereof is fixed. These closed chambers 1
4 and the slide column 8 are the table shaft 4 described above.
And it rotates integrally with the rotary table 6. The closed chamber 14 and the slide column 8 can be moved up and down with respect to the table shaft 4 and the rotary table 6 in order to adjust the height according to the size of the container. Further, an oil stop seal 8b is attached to the lower end of the slide column so that oil for lubrication and other foreign substances do not leak out from the sealed chamber 14.

The bottom plate 12 of the closed chamber 14 includes
A plurality of capping mechanisms (generally indicated by reference numeral 16) are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. The capping mechanism 16 will be described with reference to FIG. A cylindrical lifting case 18 is slidably fitted in a circular hole 12a formed in the bottom plate 12. A cam follower 20 is attached to the upper end of the lifting case 18. An elevating cam 26 is arranged on the inner peripheral side of the capping mechanism 16 via a connecting cylinder 22 fixed to the upper end of the central fixed cylinder 2 and an outer cylinder 24 integrally fixed to the lower part of the connecting cylinder 22. The above-mentioned lifting case 1
The cam follower 20 of No. 8 is engaged with the ascending / descending cam 26 and ascended and descended. The key 28 is provided on the inner surface of the upper connecting tube 22.
Is fixed and is engaged in an axial key groove 2a formed on the outer periphery of the central fixed cylinder 2, and the connecting cylinder 22 and the outer cylinder 24
The rotation of the lift cam 26 and the like is restricted by the key 28, and the fixed cylinder 2 is moved as the closed chamber 14 moves up and down.
You can move up and down.

A bellows 30 is telescopically mounted between the lower end of the elevating case 18 extending outside the closed chamber 14 and the lower surface of the bottom plate 12 of the closed chamber 14,
Airtightness is maintained between the inside of the closed chamber 14 and the outside of the clean room, and from the sliding portion between the inner peripheral surface of the circular hole 12a of the bottom plate 12 and the outer peripheral surface of the elevating case 18, foreign matter such as germs and oil is removed. Are not leaked out.

Inside the lifting case 18, the spindle 3
2 is fitted so as to be rotatable and relatively movable up and down. On the inner surface of the lower portion of the elevating case 18, a tapered inclined surface 18a is formed. On the other hand, near the lower part of the portion of the spindle 32 located in the lifting case 18,
Large-diameter portion 32a and inclined portion 3 tapering downward
2b are formed. The inclination of the inclined portion 32b provided on the spindle 32 substantially matches the inclination of the inclined surface 18a of the elevating case 18, and when the spindle 32 descends relative to the elevating case 18, the inclined portion of the spindle 32 moves. 32b comes into close contact with the inclined surface 18a of the elevating case 18. The seal packing 34 is fixed to at least one of the inclined portion 32b of the spindle 32 and the inclined surface 18a of the elevating case 18, and when the both 18a and 32b come into close contact with each other as described above, the seal packing 34 allows the sealed chamber 14 to be closed. The inside and outside of the can be completely isolated.

A head loading spring 36 is mounted between the upper surface of the large diameter portion 32a formed near the lower portion of the spindle 32 and the stepped portion 18b of the recess formed on the inner surface of the elevating case 18. The spindle 32 is always urged downward with respect to the elevating case 18, and normally, the inclined portion 32b of the spindle 32 is pressed against the inclined surface 18a of the elevating case 18. A chuck 38 holding a cap (not shown) is fixed to a portion of the lower end of the spindle 32 projecting downward from the elevating case 18, and the cap is screwed into the mouth portion of the container by the rotation of the spindle 32. To do. A spring 40 is provided above the chuck 38 for cushioning when the cap is taken out.

An upper portion 32c of the spindle 32 has a cylindrical shape, and a spline is formed on the inner surface of the cylindrical upper portion 32c. On the bottom plate 12 of the closed chamber 14, upright fixing rods 42 and 43 are provided,
On top of these rods 42, 43, spacers 42a,
Two annular plates 44 and 46, which are separated by a predetermined distance, are fixed via 43a. Lower annular plate 46
A large-diameter hole 46a is formed in the center of the connecting cylinder 22, and the connecting cylinder 22 fixed to the upper end of the fixed cylinder 2 is inserted through the central hole 46a with a gap. The inner peripheral side of the upper annular plate 44 is rotatably supported by the outer periphery of the connecting cylinder 22 via a ball bearing 47.
These two upper and lower annular plates 44 and 46 are used for the closed chamber 1
It rotates together with the rotation of 4.

A servo motor 48 is attached to the lower annular plate 46 of the two annular plates 44 and 46. A spline shaft 52 for rotating the spindle 32 is connected to the output shaft of the servo motor 48 via a joint 50.
2 and a spline formed in the cylindrical upper portion 32c of the spindle 32 are coupled to transmit rotation. Therefore, by operating the servo motor 48, the spindle 32 can be rotated via the spline shaft 52, and the servo motor 4 arranged above can be rotated.
The spindle 32 can be moved up and down with respect to 8.

A hole 10a penetrating inside and outside is formed on the upper surface of the rotary hermetic cover 10, and a rotary manifold 54 is fixed in the hole 10a. The rotary manifold 54 includes a vertical support member 5 fixed to the lower portion.
6, is mounted and supported on the upper annular plate 44 through the horizontal plate 58, the vertical support member 60, and the like. A passage member 63 fixed to the upper portion of the rotary connector 62 penetrates through a through hole formed in the axis of the rotary manifold 54. An air passage 63a that penetrates vertically is formed in the passage member 63, and the upper side of the air passage 63a is connected to an upper air supply / exhaust pipe 66 via a bellows 64.

Ball bearings 68 and 69 are arranged between the inner surface of the rotary manifold 54 and the outer surface of the passage member 63 fixed to the upper portion of the rotary connector 62, and the rotary connector 62 and the supply / exhaust pipe 66 on the fixed side are arranged. On the other hand, the rotary manifold 54 side fixed to the closed chamber 14 is rotatably supported. A cover 70 is fixed to the outer surface of a portion of the passage member 63 fixed to the upper portion of the rotary connector 62, which protrudes upward of the rotary manifold 54, and covers a portion to which the upper bearing 68 is attached. The cover 70 is connected to the fixed side 74 via a rotation stopping member 72, and regulates rotation of the rotary connector 62 side.

Passage member 6 above the rotary connector 62
Inside 3, an oil passage 63b is formed in the axial direction. The oil passage 63b is opened to the outer surface of the passage member 63 through the passage hole 63c, while the annular groove 54a is formed at the position corresponding to the passage hole 63c on the inner peripheral surface of the rotary manifold 54. O-rings are fitted on the upper and lower sides of the ring-shaped groove 54a to maintain liquid tightness in the annular groove 54a. The annular groove 54 a is provided on the upper annular plate 44 via the oiler oil supply pipe 76.
8 is connected. The oiler 78 sends oil to a rotating part and a sliding part such as a bearing provided inside the sealed chamber 14 via a pipe 80 and the like to lubricate the oil.

The operation of the capper having the above structure will be described. When performing a normal capping operation, the air in the closed chamber 14 is exhausted through the air supply / exhaust pipe 66 connected to the upper portion of the closed chamber 14, and the inside thereof is kept at a weak negative pressure. A container filled with a predetermined amount of liquid in a filling machine provided on the upstream side of the capper is conveyed by a container conveyer and is supplied into the capper via a star wheel or the like. Bottle stands are provided on the rotary table 6 of the capper at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and the filled containers are sequentially placed on each bottle stand. Above the bottle bases, the capping mechanism 16 having the above-mentioned configuration is provided.
And a chuck 38 attached to the lower end of the spindle 32 of each capping mechanism 16.
Receives and holds the cap supplied from the cap supply means (not shown). After that, the lower rotary table 6
While the upper closed chamber 14 is integrally rotated, the container is capped.

At the position where the container is supplied onto the bottle base, the elevating case 18 of the capping mechanism 16 moves the elevating cam 2
6 and the spindle 32 is
The inclined portion 3 formed below the large diameter portion 32a is urged downward by the spring 36 for head load.
2b is pressed against the inclined surface 18a formed on the inner surface of the lower portion of the elevating case 18, and rises together with the elevating case 18. At this time, the seal packing 34 between the two 18a, 32b is used to close the closed chamber 14 of the lift case 18.
The inner and outer sides of the are completely sealed.

The sliding portion between the outer peripheral surface of the elevating case 18 and the circular hole 12a formed in the bottom plate 12 of the closed chamber 14 has a bellows 30 mounted between the two.
Further, the space between the lifting case 18 and the spindle 32 is completely sealed by the seal packing 34, and the space between the table shaft 4 and the slide column 8 is also attached to the lower end of the slide column 8. Since it is sealed by the oil stop seal 8b, the inside of the closed chamber 14 is completely shut off from the outside (in a clean room (not shown)) when the machine is in operation and no capping is performed. Foreign matter such as dust generated from the sliding part or rotating part inside 14
Lubricating oil, bacteria, etc. do not drop on the rotary table 6 on which the lower container is placed, and the sterilized state can be maintained.

As the closed chamber 14 and the rotary table 6 rotate, the elevating case 18 is gradually lowered by the elevating cam 20 toward the lower container. Since the spindle 32 is also urged downward by the head loading spring 36, the inclined portion 32b below the spindle 32 is brought into close contact with the inclined surface 18a of the elevating case 18 and descends together in a sealed state. The lifting case 18 and the spindle 32 are integrally lowered, and the chuck 3 attached to the lower end of the spindle 32
When the cap held by 8 hits the mouth of the container, the elevating case 18 continues to descend, while the lowering of the spindle 32 is restricted, so the spindle 32 resists the head loading spring 36. And rises relative to the elevating case 18. As a result, the slanted portion 32b of the spindle 32 and the slanted surface 18a of the elevating case 18 that were in close contact
And the spindle 32 becomes rotatable. Even when the spindle 32 and the elevating case 18 are separated from each other and the inside and the outside of the closed chamber 14 communicate with each other in this way, it is a short time only during the capping process, and the upper supply / exhaust pipe 66 is not connected. Since the inside of the closed chamber 14 is evacuated to a weak negative pressure, foreign matters such as bacteria and lubricating oil in the closed chamber 14 may be discharged to the outside of the closed chamber 14 and enter the container. Absent.

Here, the spindle 32 is rotated by the servo motor 48, and the cap held by the chuck 38 is tightened to the mouth of the container with a predetermined tightening torque. After the capping is completed, the chuck 38 releases the cap, and the lifting case 18 is lifted by the lifting cam 20. When the elevating case 18 starts to rise, the spindle 3
2 is urged downward by the head loading spring 36, so that it is lowered relative to the ascending / descending lift case 18, and the inclined portion 32b comes into close contact with the sloped surface 18a of the lift case 18 and stops. The inside of the closed chamber 14 and the outside are shut off again. The container filled with the liquid is capped while the aseptic state is maintained, and is discharged onto the conveyor via the discharge star wheel.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, a cylindrical case that penetrates the bottom surface of a chamber whose inside is closed so as to be able to move up and down, an elevating means for moving the cylindrical case up and down, and the closed chamber. Sealing means for sealing the sliding portion between the bottom surface of the case and the cylindrical case, a spindle capable of moving up and down relative to the case in the cylindrical case, and a spring for constantly urging the spindle downward. Rotation means for rotating this spindle,
A cap holding means provided at the lower end of the spindle, and a seal portion that comes into close contact with the spindle when the spindle descends relative to the cylindrical case, closes the gap between the two, and opens when the spindle rises Allows the spindle to be raised relative to the lifting case relative to the lifting case only while the spindle is rotating and capping, and lowers the spindle relative to the lifting case when not capping. By sealing between them, the rotating and sliding parts of the capper body can be completely shielded from the external clean environment, and foreign matter can be reliably prevented from entering the container.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a capper for an aseptic system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 Bottom of Sealed Chamber (Bottom Plate) 14 Sealed Chamber 18 Cylindrical Case 26 Elevating Means (Elevating Cam) 30 Sealing Means (Bellows) 32 Spindle 34 Sealing Part (Seal Packing) 36 Spring 38 Cap Holding Means (Chuck) 48 Rotation means (servo motor)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cylindrical case penetrating through a bottom surface of a chamber whose inside is hermetically movable, an elevating means for elevating the cylindrical case, and sliding of the bottom surface of the sealed chamber and the cylindrical case. A sealing means for sealing the part, a spindle capable of moving up and down relative to the case in a cylindrical case, a spring for constantly urging the spindle downward, a rotating means for rotating the spindle, and a spindle A cap holding means provided at a lower end, and a seal portion which is closely attached to the cylindrical case when the spindle is lowered relative to the cylindrical case, closes a gap between the two, and is opened when the spindle is raised. Aseptic system capper.