CN113724447A

CN113724447A - Cover mounting device

Info

Publication number: CN113724447A
Application number: CN202110440023.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 西川洋平
Original assignee: Fuji Electric Co Ltd
Current assignee: Fuji Electric Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-05-25
Filing date: 2021-04-23
Publication date: 2021-11-30
Anticipated expiration: 2041-04-23
Also published as: CN113724447B; JP7415795B2; JP2021185087A

Abstract

The present invention provides a lid mounting device for mounting a lid to a cup, comprising: a pair of movable parts which can move mutually along the horizontal direction; a lifting mechanism for lifting the pair of movable parts; a drive mechanism for moving the pair of movable portions between a closed position, a 1 st half-open position, a 2 nd half-open position, and an open position; and a pair of position restricting plates which move forward and backward relative to an upper region of the movable portion in conjunction with the movement of the pair of movable portions, wherein when the movable portion is disposed at the closed position and the open position, a distance between the pair of position restricting plates is larger than an outer diameter of the lid, when the movable portion is disposed at the 1 st half-open position and the 2 nd half-open position, the pair of position restricting plates press a side surface of the lid and hold the lid, before the movable portion is lowered to the lid mounting height position, the driving mechanism moves the movable portion from the closed position to the 2 nd half-open position, and when the lid is mounted on the cup at the lid mounting height position, the driving mechanism moves the movable portion from the 2 nd half-open position to the open position.

Description

Cover mounting device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a lid attachment device, and more particularly, to a lid attachment device that is applied to a cup-type vending machine that sells a beverage such as coffee, a refreshing beverage, and carbonated beverage in a state of being contained in a cup, for example, and that attaches a lid in a form of closing an opening on an upper surface of a cup in which the beverage is contained.

Background

Conventionally, as a lid attachment device applied to a cup-type vending machine that sells a beverage such as coffee, refreshing drink, carbonated drink, or the like in a state of being contained in a cup, for example, a device including a movable portion and a centering portion is known.

The movable portion is a pair of members horizontally opposed to each other and disposed in an area above a cup to be transported with a beverage contained therein. These movable portions are moved by a drive mechanism so as to be horizontally close to and away from each other.

More specifically, the movable portion is moved by the drive mechanism between the closed position and the open position via the intermediate half-open position. The closing position is a position where the movable portions approach each other and the supplied cap can be placed thereon. The half-open position is a position where the movable portions are separated from each other as compared with the closed position and a part of the edge portion of the cover can be placed. The open position is a position where the movable portions are separated from each other than the half-open position and the cover can be dropped from between the movable portions.

The centering portions are a pair of members coupled to the corresponding movable portions, respectively. Such a centering portion is provided to be capable of horizontally advancing and retreating relative to the cover mounted on the movable portion, and is configured to move forward and backward in conjunction with the movement of the movable portion in the horizontal direction.

When the movable portion moves from the closed position to the half-open position, the centering portion moves in and comes into contact with the side surface of the lid, thereby centering the lid with respect to the cup. When the movable portion moves from the half-open position to the open position, the centering portion maintains the moved state.

In such a lid attachment device, when a cup containing a beverage is conveyed while a lid is placed on the movable portion disposed at the closed position, the movable portion moves to the half-open position while descending toward the cup. Thereby, the centering portion moves into contact with the lid, and the lid is centered with respect to the cup.

When the movable part descends to the cover falling height position, the movable part stops descending and moves to the opening position. Thereby, the lid also leaves the centering portion and falls toward the cup. Thereafter, the movable portion is raised to a lid attachment height position and moved to a closing position, whereby the lid can be attached to the cup (see, for example, patent document 1).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent No. 4517989

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

Further, in the lid attachment device proposed in patent document 1, the centering portion moves in to center the lid with respect to the cup, but the lid is dropped toward the cup by moving the movable portion lowered to the lid drop height position from the half open position to the open position, and therefore there is a problem as follows.

When the movable portion moves from the half-open position to the open position, the posture of the relatively lightweight lid may be changed by a frictional force generated between the lid and the movable portion or a frictional force generated between the lid and the centering portion, so that the lid may not be mounted on the cup.

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a lid attachment device capable of attaching a lid to a cup satisfactorily.

Means for solving the problems

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cover attachment device including: a pair of movable portions that are disposed so as to face each other and are movable in a manner so as to be close to and away from each other in a horizontal direction; and a lifting mechanism for lifting and lowering the pair of movable portions so as to be close to and away from a cup transported in a state in which a beverage is contained, wherein the lid attachment device attaches a lid so as to close an upper surface opening of the cup, and is characterized by comprising: a drive mechanism that moves the pair of movable portions so as to be horizontally moved toward and away from each other between a closed position where the pair of movable portions are close to each other and a lid can be placed thereon, a 1 st half-open position where the pair of movable portions are spaced apart from each other by a distance greater than a distance between the pair of movable portions at the closed position and a part of an edge of the lid can be placed thereon, a 2 nd half-open position where the pair of movable portions are spaced apart from each other by a distance greater than a distance between the pair of movable portions at the 1 st half-open position and the lid can be dropped from between the pair of movable portions, and an open position where the distance between the pair of movable portions is greater than a distance between the pair of movable portions at the 2 nd half-open position; and a pair of position restricting members provided on the corresponding movable portions, respectively, and moving forward and backward relative to an upper area between the pair of movable portions in association with movement of the pair of movable portions in the horizontal direction, wherein when the pair of movable portions are arranged at the closed position and the open position, a distance between the pair of position restricting members in a state of moving backward from the upper area is larger than an outer diameter of the lid, and when the pair of movable portions are arranged at the 1 st half-open position and the 2 nd half-open position, the pair of position restricting members press a side surface of the lid in a state of moving forward toward the upper area to hold the lid in a centered state relative to the cup until the pair of movable portions are lowered to a lid placement height position by the lifting mechanism, the drive mechanism moves the pair of movable portions from the closed position to the 2 nd half-open position, and moves the pair of movable portions from the 2 nd half-open position to the open position when the lid is placed on the cup at the lid placement height position.

In the cap mounting device, the pair of position regulating members are pivotally supported at their base ends so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis in a manner point-symmetrical to each other with respect to the center of the pair of movable portions, the base ends are formed with guide grooves into which the engaging convex portions formed in the corresponding movable portions enter, and the guide grooves guide the engaging convex portions so as to be slidable when the pair of position regulating members move forward and backward.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided a cover attachment device including: a drive mechanism that moves the pair of movable portions so as to be horizontally moved toward and away from each other between a closed position where the pair of movable portions are close to each other and a lid can be placed thereon, a 1 st half-open position where the pair of movable portions are spaced apart from each other by a distance greater than a distance between the pair of movable portions at the closed position and a part of an edge of the lid can be placed thereon, a 2 nd half-open position where the pair of movable portions are spaced apart from each other by a distance greater than a distance between the pair of movable portions at the 1 st half-open position and a position where the pair of movable portions are spaced apart from each other by a distance greater than a distance between the pair of movable portions at the 2 nd half-open position and a position where the pair of movable portions are spaced apart from each other; and a pair of position restricting members provided on the corresponding movable portions, respectively, and moving forward and backward relative to an upper area between the pair of movable portions in conjunction with the movement of the pair of movable portions in the horizontal direction, wherein when the pair of movable portions are disposed at the closed position and the open position, the pair of position restricting members are spaced apart from each other by a distance greater than an outer diameter of the lid in a state of moving backward from the upper area, and when the pair of movable portions are disposed at the 1 st half-open position and the 2 nd half-open position, the pair of position restricting members press a side surface of the lid in a state of moving forward in the upper area to center the lid relative to the cup to hold the lid, and the driving mechanism moves the pair of movable portions from the closed position to the 2 nd half-open position before the pair of movable portions are lowered to the lid placement height position by the lifting mechanism, when the lid is placed on the cup at the lid placement height position, the drive mechanism moves the pair of movable portions from the 2 nd half-open position to the open position, and therefore the lid can be placed on the cup in a desired posture without changing the posture of the lid or the like, and the lid can be satisfactorily attached to the cup.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing a part of a cup type vending machine to which a cover mounting device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and showing a structure of the cover mounting device and its surroundings.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the cover.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the cap shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where the lid shown in fig. 2 is attached to the cup.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the cover attaching apparatus shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the cover attaching apparatus shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of the cap mounting device shown in fig. 5 and 6.

Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing an internal structure of the cap attaching apparatus shown in fig. 5 and 6, and a part of the components are omitted.

Fig. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing an internal structure of the cap attaching apparatus shown in fig. 5 and 6, and a part of the components are omitted.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view schematically showing the internal structure of the cap mounting device shown in fig. 5 and 6.

Fig. 11 is a front view of the cap supply and pressing unit shown in fig. 7 to 10.

Fig. 12 is a front view of the cap supply and pressing unit shown in fig. 7 to 10.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view showing a main part of the cap supply and pressing unit shown in fig. 10 and the like.

Fig. 14 is a plan view showing a main part of the cap supply and pressing unit shown in fig. 10 and the like.

Fig. 15 is a plan view showing a main part of the cap supply and pressing unit shown in fig. 10 and the like.

Fig. 16 is a plan view showing a main part of the cap supply and pressing unit shown in fig. 10 and the like.

Fig. 17 is a plan view showing a main part of the cap supply and pressing unit shown in fig. 10 and the like.

Fig. 18 is a right side sectional view showing a state in which the cap supply pressing unit shown in fig. 10 and the like is cut at the center portion in the front-rear direction of the two movable portions.

Fig. 19 is a right side sectional view showing two movable portions in an enlarged manner.

Fig. 20 is an explanatory diagram sequentially showing the operation of the cover attaching apparatus.

Fig. 21 is a plan view showing a main part of the cap supply and pressing unit.

Fig. 22 is an explanatory diagram sequentially showing the operation of the cover attaching apparatus.

Fig. 23 is a plan view showing a main part of the cap supply and pressing unit.

Fig. 24 is a right side sectional view of a main part of the cap feeding and pressing unit shown in fig. 23.

Fig. 25 is an explanatory diagram sequentially showing the operation of the cover attaching apparatus.

Fig. 26 is a right side sectional view of a main part of the cap feeding and pressing unit shown in fig. 25.

Fig. 27 is a plan view showing a main part of the cap supply and pressing unit.

Fig. 28 is a right side sectional view of a main portion of the cap feeding and pressing unit shown in fig. 27.

Fig. 29 is a right side sectional view of a main part of the cap supply and pressing unit at the cap placement height position.

Fig. 30 is a plan view showing a main part of the cap supply and pressing unit.

Fig. 31 is a right side sectional view of a main portion of the cap feeding and pressing unit shown in fig. 30.

Fig. 32 is an explanatory diagram sequentially showing the operation of the cover attaching apparatus.

Fig. 33 is an explanatory diagram sequentially showing the operation of the cover attaching apparatus.

Fig. 34 is an explanatory diagram sequentially showing the operation of the cover attaching apparatus.

Fig. 35 is an explanatory diagram sequentially showing the operation of the cover attaching apparatus.

Fig. 36 is an explanatory diagram sequentially showing the operation of the cover attaching apparatus.

Description of the reference numerals

1. A cup-type vending machine; 2. a cover mounting means; 4. a cup receiving station; 5. a control unit; 6. a height sensor; 21. a cap supply pressing unit; 22. a lifting mechanism; 41. a unit case; 42. a gate; 43. a drive mechanism; 44. a cover guide plate; 45. a nut portion; 45a, a flange portion; 46. a coil spring; 47. a guide shaft; 48. a position restricting plate; 481. a tip recess; 482. a guide groove; 51. a movable part; 51a, an engagement pin; 51H, upper region; 59. a detected board; 65A, 65B, a sensor; 70. a centering mount; 71. a counter part 72 and a cover placing part; 73. a cover abutting portion; 74. a cover mounting recess; 75. a cup abutting part, A and a cover; h1, lid receiving height position; h2, lid placement height position; h3, lid installation height position; u and a cup.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the cover attachment device of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The cup type vending machine 1 illustrated here sells a beverage such as coffee, refreshing beverage, carbonated beverage, or the like in a state in which the beverage is contained in the cup U, and before the beverage is provided to a purchaser, a detachable lid a (see fig. 2 and the like) is attached to the cup U in which the beverage is contained by the lid attachment device 2.

The cup-type vending machine 1 includes a lid storage and supply device 3 and a control unit 5 in addition to the lid attachment device 2, and the lid storage and supply device 3 is disposed above the lid attachment device 2, stores a plurality of lids a, and supplies the lowermost lid a to the lid attachment device 2 by separating it.

Although not clearly shown in the drawings, the cup vending machine 1 includes a cup storage device, a cup feeding device, a beverage producing device, and the like, as in a general cup vending machine. The cup storage device is used for storing a plurality of cups U. The cup conveying device is used for conveying the cup U received from the cup receiving device to a plurality of specified positions. The beverage generating device is used to generate a beverage selected by the purchaser and to supply it to or generate a beverage in the cup U.

In such a cup type vending machine 1, at the time of sales, the cup U containing the beverage generated by the beverage generating device is conveyed by the cup conveying device to the cup receiving station 4 provided below the lid attaching device 2.

The lid storage and supply device 3 is configured to include a lid storage 3a and a lid supply machine 3 b. The cap receiver 3a is configured to receive a plurality of caps a stacked in the vertical direction. The cap container 3a is configured to be rotatable about a vertical axis, and has a plurality of (e.g., 3 to 5) cap storage chambers (not shown) extending in the vertical direction around the axis.

The cap feeder 3b is provided below the cap container 3a, and is configured to separate the lowermost caps a one by one from the cap container 3a and feed them to the cap mounting device 2 below at the time of sale. The cap feeder 3b has a cap dropping ring (not shown) for separating the cap a from the cap a on the upper side thereof, and the cap feeder 3b separates and drops the lowermost cap a among the caps a stored in the cap storing chamber on the cap dropping ring at the time of sales. When all the caps a in the cap storage chambers on the cap ring are consumed, the cap receiver 3a rotates by a predetermined angle to move a new cap storage chamber in which a plurality of caps a are stored to the cap ring in order to deal with the next sale of a capped cup beverage.

The control unit 5 is configured to collectively control operations of the lid attachment device 2, the lid storage and supply device 3, and each unit constituting the cup vending machine 1, based on programs and data stored in a storage unit, not shown. The control Unit 5 may be implemented by software, hardware such as an IC (Integrated Circuit), or a combination of software and hardware, and may execute a program by a Processing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit).

Next, the lid a and the cup U used in the present embodiment will be described. The lid a is made of a thin plastic material, and as shown in fig. 2 and 3, the lid a is circular in plan view and has a certain height, and the lower surface of the lid a is open. A circular cover recess 11 having a predetermined diameter is formed in the center of the cover a, and a cover annular portion 12 having a predetermined width and projecting upward is formed around the cover recess 11. A lid fitting portion 13 having a predetermined shape to be fitted to a curl portion 14, which will be described later, of the cup U is formed in the peripheral edge portion of the lid a. The lid fitting portion 13 has a diameter slightly smaller than that of the curl portion 14. Therefore, the lid A can be attached to the upper surface opening 15, which is the opening portion of the upper surface of the cup U, by snap fitting (Japanese: スナップ insert め), and is not easily detached from the cup U in the attached state.

In the cap a, a drinking hole 12a is formed at a predetermined position of the cap annular portion 12, and a holding region 11a for holding a closing member for closing the drinking hole 12a is formed in a central portion of the cap recess 11.

As shown in fig. 4, the cup U is a normal paper cup, and has a curled portion 14 formed in a curled shape at a peripheral edge portion of an upper surface opening 15. Then, the lid a is attached to the cup U in a state where the upper surface opening 15 is closed by fitting the lid fitting portion 13 to the curl portion 14.

Fig. 5 and 6 are perspective views showing the cap mounting device 2, fig. 7 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of the cap mounting device 2, fig. 8 and 9 are exploded perspective views showing the internal structure of the cap mounting device 2, and fig. 10 is a perspective view schematically showing the internal structure of the cap mounting device 2.

As shown in fig. 5 to 10, the cap attaching device 2 includes a lifting mechanism 22, and the lifting mechanism 22 lifts and lowers a cap supply pressing unit 21 for supplying and pressing the cap a to and from the cup U above the cup receiving table 4 in the vertical direction.

The lifting mechanism 22 includes: a lifting motor 31 mounted on the upper portion of the left side surface of a box-shaped housing 2a constituting the housing of the cover mounting device 2; and two lifting drive shafts 32, the two lifting drive shafts 32 being attached to the left front end portion and the right rear end portion in the housing 2a so as to extend in parallel with each other in the vertical direction and to be rotatable.

The casing 2a is opened widely from the left wall surface to the rear wall surface and the bottom wall surface, and the cup U containing the beverage is transported by the cup transporting device through the opened portion and placed on the cup receiving table 4. The cup receiving table 4 is attached to the front and right portions of the bottom wall portion of the housing 2a via a table attachment member 4 a.

The elevating motor 31 is disposed such that its rotation shaft protrudes upward from the top wall surface of the housing 2a, and a drive pulley 31a is fixed to the upper end of the rotation shaft. On the other hand, each of the up-and-down drive shafts 32 is also disposed to protrude upward from the top wall surface of the housing 2a, and a driven pulley 32a is fixed to the upper end portion of each of the up-and-down drive shafts 32. Guide pulleys 33 are rotatably attached to the left rear end portion and the right front end portion of the ceiling surface of the housing 2a, respectively. An endless timing belt 34 is wound around the 5

pulleys

31a, 32a, and 33. Therefore, the drive pulley 31a is rotated by the operation of the lifting motor 31, the two driven pulleys 32a are rotated by the timing belt 34, and the two lifting drive shafts 32 are rotated in synchronization therewith.

A male screw is formed on the surface of each of the elevating drive shafts 32, and a nut portion 45 described later of the cap supply pressing unit 21 is screwed to each of the elevating drive shafts 32. Therefore, the cap supply pressing unit 21 can be lifted and lowered by moving the nut portions 45 screwed to the two lifting drive shafts 32 along the lifting drive shafts 32 as the two lifting drive shafts 32 are rotated.

The lid supply pressing unit 21 supplies the lid a received from the lid storage and supply device 3 to the cup U conveyed to the cup receiving station 4 so as to be placed thereon, and presses the lid a from above, thereby attaching the lid a to the cup U.

The cap supply pressing unit 21 includes a unit case 41, a shutter 42 accommodated in the unit case 41 and configured to be openable and closable, and a driving mechanism 43 configured to drive the shutter 42.

The unit case 41 is formed in a box shape having a square shape in plan view and a predetermined height by bending a metal plate or the like. The center portions of the top plate portion 41a and the bottom plate portion 41b of the unit case 41 are each relatively large open.

As shown in fig. 7 to 9, a lid guide plate 44 is attached to the top plate portion 41a, and the lid guide plate 44 guides the lid a separated and dropped by the lid feeder 3b to the shutter 42. The cover guide plate 44 is formed by bending a metal plate having a predetermined shape or the like so that a portion between a front end portion and a rear end portion of the cover guide plate 44 (hereinafter referred to as an "intermediate portion") is formed higher than the front end portion and the rear end portion of the cover guide plate 44 by one step, and a guide hole 44a is formed in the intermediate portion. The guide hole 44a is formed in a circular shape having a diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the cover a, and the peripheral edge of the guide hole 44a is formed in a tapered shape facing downward. Further, at predetermined two positions of the intermediate portion of the cover guide plate 44, hanging portions 44b bent downward are provided. These hanging portions 44b are for preventing the floating of the tip end portions of a pair of position regulating plates (position regulating members) 48, which will be described later.

Through holes 41e larger than the diameter of the lifting drive shaft 32 of the lifting mechanism 22 are formed in the left and right rear end portions of the top plate portion 41a and the bottom plate portion 41b of the unit case 41, respectively, and the two lifting drive shafts 32 are inserted into these through holes 41e with play, respectively.

Further, two nut portions 45 that are screwed to the two lifting drive shafts 32 are provided inside the unit case 41. A flange portion 45a having an outer diameter larger than the through hole 41e of the unit case 41 is provided at an upper end portion of each nut portion 45, and the top plate portion 41a of the unit case 41 is supported from below by the flange portion 45a, whereby the unit case 41 is supported.

Further, a coil spring 46 is provided inside the unit case 41, and in a state where the two up-and-down drive shafts 32 are inserted into the coil spring 46, an upper end portion of the coil spring 46 is in contact with the flange portion 45a of the nut portion 45, and a lower end portion of the coil spring 46 is in contact with the bottom plate portion 41b of the unit case 41.

Therefore, by rotating the two elevation drive shafts 32, the nut portions 45 move along the elevation drive shafts 32, and the cap supply pressing unit 21 is lifted and lowered accordingly, as shown in fig. 11 and 12.

A pair of left and right guide shafts 47 are provided inside the unit case 41, and the pair of guide shafts 47 are disposed at a predetermined interval in the left-right direction and extend parallel to each other in the front-rear direction. The front end of each guide shaft 47 is fixed to the front plate 41c of the unit case 41, and the rear end of each guide shaft 47 is fixed to the rear plate 41d of the unit case 41. The shutter 42 is slidably attached to these guide shafts 47.

As shown in fig. 9 and 10, the shutter 42 is constituted by a pair of movable portions 51 horizontally opposed to each other. The two movable portions 51 are made of plastic or the like and are formed symmetrically in the front-rear direction. Specifically, the two movable portions 51 are each formed in a substantially convex shape in plan view, and the protruding portions thereof are formed in an arc shape and are arranged on the opposite sides of the movable portions 51 facing each other. The shape of the inner side of the two movable portions 51 will be described later.

As shown in fig. 8 to 10, a pair of position regulating plates 48 for centering the lid a on the shutter 42 with respect to the cup U below is provided between the shutter 42 and the intermediate portion of the lid guide plate 44 above the shutter 42.

These position restricting plates 48 are disposed on both left and right sides of the guide hole 44a of the cover guide plate 44 so that the center of the guide hole 44a, which is the same as the centers of the two movable portions 51, is a center of point symmetry. Each position regulating plate 48 extends in the front-rear direction, and a base end portion thereof (an upper end portion in the position regulating plate 48 on the left side in fig. 8, and a lower end portion in the position regulating plate 48 on the right side) is rotatably attached to the top plate portion 41a of the unit case 41 via a support shaft 49 extending in the up-down direction. Further, a tip end concave portion 481 that opens so as to widen toward the guide hole 44a side is provided in a tip end side half portion of each position restricting plate 48, and a deformed guide groove (guide groove) 482 is formed in a base end side half portion of each position restricting plate 48. Further, an engagement pin (engagement convex portion) 51a provided to protrude from the movable portion 51 on the base end side of each position regulating plate 48 enters the guide groove 482 of each position regulating plate 48 so as to be slidable along the guide groove 482.

The guide groove 482 will be described. The guide groove 482 has a 1 st guide portion 482a, a 2 nd guide portion 482b, and a 3 rd guide portion 482c (see fig. 21 for details). The 1 st guide portion 482A extends so as to gradually become distant from the sliding region 42A of the shutter 42 as it goes toward the base end portion of the position regulating plate 48. The 2 nd guide portion 482b is continuous with the 1 st guide portion 482A, and extends so as to gradually approach the sliding region 42A of the shutter 42 as it moves away from the 1 st guide portion 482A. The 3 rd guide portion 482c is continuous with the 2 nd guide portion 482b, and extends so as to gradually come closer to the sliding region 42A of the shutter 42 as it goes away from the 2 nd guide portion 482 b.

As shown in fig. 13 and 14, the driving mechanism 43 includes: a driving motor 52; a drive gear 54 for rotating the drive gear 54 by driving the drive gear 54 via a gear box 53 by the drive motor 52; and an upper rack 55 and a lower rack 56, the upper rack 55 and the lower rack 56 being disposed to extend in the left-right direction above and below the drive gear 54, and meshing with the drive gear 54. The upper rack 55 is coupled to the movable portion 51 on the rear side of the shutter 42 (hereinafter also referred to as a rear movable portion 51) via a 1 st coupling member 57 having a predetermined shape, and the lower rack 56 is coupled to the movable portion 51 on the front side of the shutter 42 (hereinafter also referred to as a front movable portion 51) via a 2 nd coupling member 58.

As shown in fig. 13 and 14, a detection target plate 59 is attached to the lower rack 56. The 4

detection target pieces

59a, 59b, 59c, and 59d are provided to protrude from the rear in the left direction of the detection target plate 59 so as to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance in the front-rear direction.

Two

sensors

65A, 65B are provided on the front and rear sides of the gear box 53. These

sensors

65A and 65B are members for detecting whether or not the two movable portions 51 are located at the respective positions so as to stop the two movable portions 51 at appropriate plural predetermined positions, specifically, at the closed position (the position shown in fig. 14), the 1 st half-open position (the position shown in fig. 15), the 2 nd half-open position (the position shown in fig. 16), and the open position (the position shown in fig. 17). The

sensors

65A and 65B are each constituted by an optical sensor having a light emitting element and a light receiving element which are vertically opposed to each other, and the

detection target pieces

59a, 59B, 59c, and 59d of the 2 nd coupling member 58 are positioned between the two elements so as to be opposed to the light receiving elements, and detect the positions of the two movable portions 51 by blocking light from the light emitting elements to the light receiving elements.

Specifically, the rear sensor 65A detects the rearmost detection piece 59a (hereinafter, also referred to as the 1 st detection piece 59a) and thereby detects that the two movable portions 51 are located at the closed position. On the other hand, the front sensor 65B detects the frontmost detected piece 59d (hereinafter, also referred to as the 2 nd detected piece 59d) to detect that the two movable portions 51 are located at the 1 st half-open position, detects the 2 nd detected piece 59c (hereinafter, also referred to as the 3 rd detected piece 59c) from the front to detect that the two movable portions 51 are located at the 2 nd half-open position, and detects the 3 rd detected piece 59B (hereinafter, also referred to as the 4 th detected piece 59B) from the front to detect that the two movable portions 51 are located at the open position. In the following description, the rear sensor 65A is referred to as a "closed sensor 65A", and the front sensor 65B is referred to as a "half-open/open sensor 65B".

Further, coil springs 63 are provided on the guide shafts 47 between the front movable portion 51 and a part of the 2 nd coupling member 58 and between the rear movable portion 51 and a part of the 1 st coupling member 57, respectively (see fig. 10). By these coil springs 63, both the front movable portion 51 and the rear movable portion 51 are urged toward the other side.

By the driving mechanism 43 configured as described above, the front movable part 51 and the rear movable part 51 move to approach and separate from each other along the two guide shafts 47 in synchronization with each other, and the shutter 42 opens and closes. In conjunction with this, the pair of position regulating plates 48 rotate about the support shafts 49 at the base ends thereof.

Fig. 18 is a right side sectional view showing a state where the cover is cut at the center in the front-rear direction of the two movable portions 51 and supplied to the pressing unit 21, and fig. 19 is a right side sectional view showing the two movable portions 51 in an enlarged manner. As shown in fig. 18 and 19, portions of the two movable portions 51 on the sides facing each other (hereinafter, also referred to as facing portions 71) are formed symmetrically with respect to a plane C that passes through the center between the two movable portions 51 and is orthogonal to the moving direction (the left-right direction in the drawing) of the two movable portions.

More specifically, the facing portion 71 of each movable portion 51 is composed of a cover placing portion 72 and a centering attachment portion 70, the cover placing portion 72 has a small thickness and is used for placing the cover a in a state of facing the guide hole 44a of the cover guide plate 44, and the centering attachment portion 70 is protruded downward from a base end portion of the cover placing portion 72 and is used for centering and attaching the cover a on the cup U with respect to the cup U.

The centering attachment portion 70 is provided with, at a position closer to the facing portion 71: a cover contact portion 73 hanging down from the bottom surface of the cover placement portion 72; a cover attachment recess 74 that is continuous with a lower end of the cover contact portion 73 and opens to the opposite movable portion 51 side; and a cup contact portion 75 that protrudes toward the other movable portion 51 so as to be continuous with the lower portion of the lid attachment recess 74.

The lid contact portion 73, the lid attachment recess 74, and the cup contact portion 75 are formed in an arc shape having substantially the same curvature as the curvature of the side surfaces of the lid a and the cup U in a plan view. As will be described later, the upper surface of the cap mounting recess 74 functions as a cap pressing portion 74a for pressing the cap a from above.

In addition, in the cap attaching apparatus 2 configured as described above, in addition to the above-described closing sensor 65A and half-opening/half-opening sensor 65B, a height sensor 6 for stopping the cap supply pressing unit 21 at a predetermined height is provided.

The height sensor 6 is a member for detecting the height position of the shutter 42 (the pair of movable portions 51) provided in the cap supply pressing unit 21. More specifically, the height sensor 6 transmits corresponding information to the controller 5 when detecting that the cap supply/pressing unit 21 (shutter 42) is disposed at the cap receiving height position H1 which is the upper limit position, when detecting that the shutter 42 is disposed at the cap mounting height position H2 which is the lower limit position, and when detecting that the shutter 42 is disposed at the cap mounting height position H3 between the cap receiving height position H1 and the cap mounting height position H2.

In addition to the height sensor 6, a drop sensor (not shown) for detecting whether or not the cover a has dropped onto the shutter 42 is provided.

Next, the operation of attaching the cover a by the cover attaching device 2 will be described in order. Fig. 20 shows the cap supply pressing unit 21 in a standby state. In this standby state, the cap supply-and-press unit 21 is located at the cap receiving height position H1, which is the upper limit height thereof, and the two movable portions 51 are located at the closing position. Specifically, the cover placement portions 72 of the two movable portions 51 extend into the inside of the guide hole 44a of the cover guide plate 44 and abut against each other, whereby the shutter 42 formed by the two movable portions 51 is completely closed. In this case, the two position restricting plates 48 are located outside the guide hole 44 a.

In this standby state, when the lowermost cover a is separated by the upper cover feeder 3b, the cover a falls onto the shutter 42 through the guide hole 44a of the cover guide plate 44, and is placed on the cover placement portions 72 of the two movable portions 51 in a state straddling therebetween as shown in fig. 21.

When the drop sensor detects that the cap a drops onto the shutter 42, the two movable portions 51 move horizontally in a state where the cap a is placed and are separated from each other. Then, as shown in fig. 22 to 24, when the 2 nd detection piece 59d is detected by the half-open/close sensor 65B, the two movable portions 51 stop at the 1 st half-open position.

In the 1 st half-open position, the distance between the centering attachment portions 70 of the two movable portions 51, that is, the distance between the cup abutting portions 75 and the distance between the lid abutting portions 73 are both larger than the outer diameter of the upper surface opening 15 of the cup U, but the distance between the lid placement portions 72 is smaller than the outer diameter of the lid a, and a part of the edge portion of the lid a is placed on the lid placement portions 72. Thereby, the cover a is placed across the two movable portions 51.

In conjunction with the movement of the two movable portions 51 from the closed position to the 1 st half-open position, the two position regulating plates 48 rotate as the engagement pin 51a slides on the 1 st guide portion 482 a. More specifically, the pair of position regulating plates 48 rotate so as to move toward the upper region 51H between the pair of movable portions 51, press the side surfaces of the lid a from both sides by the opening edge portion of the distal end recess 481, and hold the lid a in a centered state so that the center of the lid a is aligned with the center of the guide hole 44a of the lid guide plate 44, that is, the centers of the two movable portions 51.

Then, the cap supply pressing unit 21 is lowered from the cap receiving height position H1, and as shown in fig. 25 and 26, when the cap placing portions 72 of the two movable portions 51 approach the upper end of the cup U, the two movable portions 51 are horizontally moved so as to be separated from each other. Then, as shown in fig. 27 and 28, when the 3 rd piece 59c is detected by the half-open/close sensor 65B, the two movable portions 51 stop at the 2 nd half-open position.

In the 2 nd half-open position, the distance between the centering attachment portions 70 of the two movable portions 51 and the distance between the cover placement portions 72 are both larger than the outer diameter of the cover a. On the other hand, in conjunction with the movement of the two movable portions 51 from the 1 st half open position to the 2 nd half open position, the engagement pin 51a slides on the 2 nd guide portion 482b, but since the 2 nd guide portion 482b extends in the front-rear direction, the state is maintained in which the two position restricting plates 48 are rotated so as to move into the upper region 51H. Therefore, the two position regulating plates 48 press the side surfaces of the lid a from both sides by the opening edge portions of the tip end concave portions 481, and hold the lid a in a centered state so that the center of the lid a is aligned with the center of the guide hole 44a of the lid guide plate 44, that is, the centers of the two movable portions 51. Thereby, the lid a is centered with respect to the cup U directly below the guide hole 44 a.

Thereafter, as shown in fig. 29, when the height sensor 6 detects that the cap supply pressing unit 21 is disposed at the cap placement height position H2, which is the lower limit position, the downward movement of the cap supply pressing unit 21 is stopped. At the lid placement height position H2, the lid a held by the two position restricting plates 48 is placed on the cup U.

Then, the two movable portions 51 at the 2 nd half-open position are moved so as to be further apart from each other. As shown in fig. 30 and 31, when the 4 th detection piece 59B is detected by the half-open/close sensor 65B, the two movable portions 51 stop at the open position.

The engagement pin 51a slides on the 3 rd guide portion 482c in conjunction with the movement of the two movable portions 51 from the 2 nd half-open position to the open position. Since the 3 rd guide portion 482c extends so as to approach the sliding region 42A of the shutter 42 as it goes toward the base end portion of the position restricting plate 48, the two position restricting plates 48 are rotated so as to retreat from the upper region 51H and are disposed outside the guide hole 44 a. Thus, as shown in fig. 32, the cover a held by the two movable portions 51 is placed on the cup U away from the two position restricting plates 48.

As shown in fig. 33, thereafter, the cap supply pressing unit 21 is raised to the cap mounting height position H3 and stopped in a state where the two movable portions 51 are held at the open position. Specifically, the cap supply pressing unit 21 stops at a position where the cap placing portions 72 of the two movable portions 51 are higher than the upper end of the cap a and the cap abutting portion 73 does not exceed the upper end of the cap a.

Next, the two movable portions 51 at the open position move so as to approach each other toward the closed position. By the movement of the two movable portions 51 toward the closed position, as shown in fig. 34, the cover abutting portion 73 of each movable portion 51 abuts on the side surface of the cover annular portion 12 of the cover a, and the cup abutting portion 75 of each movable portion 51 abuts on the side surface of the upper end portion of the cup U. Thereby, the lid a and the cup U are centered in such a manner that the center of the lid a and the center of the upper surface opening 15 of the cup U are aligned. In this case, the two position regulating plates 48 are disposed outside the guide hole 44a while being rotated so as to retreat from the upper region 51H.

As described above, after the lid a and the cup U are centered, the two elevating drive shafts 32 of the elevating mechanism 22 are rotated in a predetermined direction, and the lid supply pressing unit 21 is lowered. Fig. 35 shows a state in which the top surface of each of the cap attaching recesses 74 of the two movable portions 51, i.e., the cap pressing portion 74a, has just come into contact with the cap fitting portion 13 of the cap a from above. When the two elevation drive shafts 32 are further rotated from this state, as shown in fig. 36, the nut portions 45 screwed to the respective elevation drive shafts 32 are lowered, and the two movable portions 51 are biased downward by the coil springs 46 sandwiched between the two nut portions 45 and the bottom plate portion 41b of the unit case 41 of the lid supply pressing unit 21. Thus, a predetermined load (for example, 8kg to 10kg) acts on the lid fitting portion 13 of the lid a from above via the lid pressing portions 74a of the two movable portions 51, and the lid a is attached to the upper surface opening 15 of the cup U by snap fitting. After the lid a is attached to the cup U as described above, the two movable portions 51 are separated from each other until the half-open position is reached, and then the lid supply pressing unit 21 is raised to the lid receiving height position H1. Then, in response to the next mounting of the cap a, the cap supply pressing unit 21 returns to the standby state shown in fig. 20.

As described above, the cover attachment device 2 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes: a drive mechanism 43 that moves the pair of movable portions 51 so as to be horizontally close to and away from each other between a closed position where the pair of movable portions 51 are close to each other and the lid a can be placed thereon, a 1 st half-open position where the pair of movable portions 51 are spaced apart from each other by a distance greater than the distance between the pair of movable portions 51 at the closed position and a part of the edge of the lid a can be placed thereon, a 2 nd half-open position where the pair of movable portions 51 are spaced apart from each other by a distance greater than the distance between the pair of movable portions 51 at the 1 st half-open position and the lid a can be dropped from between the pair of movable portions 51, and an open position where the distance between the pair of movable portions 51 is greater than the distance between the pair of movable portions 51 at the 2 nd half-open position; and a pair of position restricting plates 48 provided on the corresponding movable portions 51, respectively, and moving forward and backward relative to an upper region 51H between the pair of movable portions 51 in conjunction with the movement of the pair of movable portions 51 in the horizontal direction, wherein when the pair of movable portions 51 are disposed at the closed position and the open position, the pair of position restricting plates 48 are spaced apart from each other by a distance greater than the outer diameter of the lid a in a state of being moved backward from the upper region 51H, and when the pair of movable portions 51 are disposed at the 1 st half-open position and the 2 nd half-open position, the pair of position restricting plates 48 press the side surface of the lid a in a state of being moved forward in the upper region 51H to center the lid a relative to the cup U to hold the lid a, and when the pair of movable portions 51 are lowered to a lid placement height position H2 by the lift mechanism 22, since the driving mechanism 43 moves the pair of movable portions 51 from the closed position to the 2 nd half-open position and the driving mechanism 43 moves the pair of movable portions 51 from the 2 nd half-open position to the open position when the lid a is placed on the cup U at the lid placement height position H2, the lid a can be placed on the cup U in a desired posture without changing the posture of the lid a, and the lid a can be attached to the cup U satisfactorily.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made.

In the above embodiment, the pair of position restricting plates 48 that rotate in conjunction with the movement of the two movable portions 51 are used, but the position restricting member of the present invention may be moved forward and backward relative to the upper region between the movable portions in conjunction with the movement of the two movable portions, and may not necessarily rotate.

Claims

1. A cover attachment device is provided with: a pair of movable portions that are disposed so as to face each other and are movable in a manner so as to be close to and away from each other in a horizontal direction; and

a lifting mechanism for lifting the pair of movable parts in a manner of approaching to and separating from the cup conveyed in a state of containing the beverage,

the cover mounting device is used for mounting a cover in a mode of sealing the upper surface opening of the cup, and is characterized in that,

the cover mounting device is provided with:

a drive mechanism that moves the pair of movable portions so as to be horizontally moved toward and away from each other between a closed position where the pair of movable portions are close to each other and a lid can be placed thereon, a 1 st half-open position where the pair of movable portions are spaced apart from each other by a distance greater than a distance between the pair of movable portions at the closed position and a part of an edge of the lid can be placed thereon, a 2 nd half-open position where the pair of movable portions are spaced apart from each other by a distance greater than a distance between the pair of movable portions at the 1 st half-open position and the lid can be dropped from between the pair of movable portions, and an open position where the distance between the pair of movable portions is greater than a distance between the pair of movable portions at the 2 nd half-open position; and

A pair of position regulating members provided on the corresponding movable portions, respectively, and moving forward and backward relative to an upper area between the pair of movable portions in conjunction with movement of the pair of movable portions in the horizontal direction,

wherein when the pair of movable portions are arranged at the closed position and the open position, a distance between the pair of position regulating members in a state of retreating and moving from the upper region is larger than an outer diameter of the lid, and when the pair of movable portions are arranged at the 1 st half-open position and the 2 nd half-open position, the pair of position regulating members press a side surface of the lid in a state of moving toward the upper region to center the lid with respect to the cup and hold the lid,

the drive mechanism moves the pair of movable portions from the closed position to the 2 nd half-open position before the pair of movable portions are lowered to a lid placement height position by the lift mechanism, and moves the pair of movable portions from the 2 nd half-open position to the open position when the lid is placed on the cup at the lid placement height position.

2. The lid mounting apparatus according to claim 1,

the pair of position regulating members are pivotally supported at their base ends so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis in a manner point-symmetrical to each other with respect to the centers of the pair of movable portions, and guide grooves are formed in the base ends, into which the engagement convex portions formed in the corresponding movable portions enter, and guide the engagement convex portions so that the engagement convex portions are slidably guided by the guide grooves when the pair of position regulating members move forward and backward.