EP3932852B1 - Capping device - Google Patents
Capping device Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP3932852B1 EP3932852B1 EP21173935.4A EP21173935A EP3932852B1 EP 3932852 B1 EP3932852 B1 EP 3932852B1 EP 21173935 A EP21173935 A EP 21173935A EP 3932852 B1 EP3932852 B1 EP 3932852B1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- cap
- container
- chuck
- threaded portion
- servomotor
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Active
Links
- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 claims description 10
- 230000003028 elevating effect Effects 0.000 claims 4
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 description 11
- 239000000945 filler Substances 0.000 description 7
- 238000011109 contamination Methods 0.000 description 5
- 230000001629 suppression Effects 0.000 description 5
- 239000012263 liquid product Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000002265 prevention Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000011347 resin Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229920005989 resin Polymers 0.000 description 2
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000002093 peripheral effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000011144 upstream manufacturing Methods 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
- B67B—APPLYING CLOSURE MEMBERS TO BOTTLES JARS, OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; OPENING CLOSED CONTAINERS
- B67B3/00—Closing bottles, jars or similar containers by applying caps
- B67B3/20—Closing bottles, jars or similar containers by applying caps by applying and rotating preformed threaded caps
- B67B3/2013—Closing bottles, jars or similar containers by applying caps by applying and rotating preformed threaded caps by carousel-type capping machines
- B67B3/2033—Closing bottles, jars or similar containers by applying caps by applying and rotating preformed threaded caps by carousel-type capping machines comprising carousel co-rotating capping heads
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
- B67B—APPLYING CLOSURE MEMBERS TO BOTTLES JARS, OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; OPENING CLOSED CONTAINERS
- B67B3/00—Closing bottles, jars or similar containers by applying caps
- B67B3/26—Applications of control, warning, or safety devices in capping machinery
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a capping device, in particular to a capping device that screws a cap onto a container made of a resin.
- a capping device has been known that is configured to screw a cap onto a container made of a resin (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-308380 ) .
- the capping device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-308380 is provided with a capping head employing a servomotor, and, more specifically, attaches the cap to a mouth of the container as follows. First, a chuck of the capping head holding the cap is lowered by a necessary distance to cover the mouth of the container with the cap in such a way that a lower end of a threaded portion of the cap comes in contact with a threaded portion of the mouth of the container, and then, in this state, the cap is rotated by the servomotor via the chuck, whereby the cap is screwed onto the mouth of the container.
- the capping device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-308380 lowers the chuck holding the cap to the position of the mouth of the container to bring the lower end of the threaded portion of the cap into contact with the threaded portion of the container, prior to screwing the cap onto the mouth of the container.
- "thread overriding" a phenomenon in which the threaded portion of the cap overrides the first thread and falls into the second thread of the threaded portion of the container, may occur.
- This "thread overriding" phenomenon may result in a problem of contamination of an inner face of the cap, the threaded portion of the cap, and the threaded portion of the container caused by spill of a filling liquid in the container due to impact of the overriding.
- JP 2000 168892 A discloses a capping device in accordance with the preamble of claim 1 and further a plurality of container grips and capping heads respectively above them provided at equal intervals in a circumferential direction on a rotating body rotated and driven by means of a motor.
- Spindles provided with the capping heads are respectively connected with servo motors working independently from the above-described motor and are rotated.
- Cam followers are respectively fitted on each of the spindles and elevation and lowering is performed by hooking these cam followers in cam channels of fixed cylindrical cams and moving them.
- a speed detecting means and an angle detecting means are provided on the rotating body and by these detected signals, a control means controls rotation of each servo motor. Rotation can be started before the capping head reaches the lowest position and it can cope with speeding-up.
- Such a configuration enables, when the conveying mechanism is operated at a predetermined operation speed, the cap to be lowered while being rotated to thereby cover the container with the cap, through advancement of the rotation start timing for rotating the servomotor.
- the impact from engagement between the threaded portion of the cap and the threaded portion of the mouth of the container can thus be alleviated.
- This enables suppression of occurrence of the aforementioned "thread overriding", and in turn prevention of contamination of the inner face and the threaded portion of the cap by the filling liquid spilled from the mouth of the container.
- FIGS. 1 and 2 1 denotes a filling system.
- the filling system 1 is provided with: a rotary filler 2 with a plurality of filling valves (not illustrated) at regular intervals on an outer periphery; and a rotary capping device 4 with a plurality of capping heads 3 at regular intervals on an outer periphery.
- a feeding wheel (not illustrated) feeds an empty container 5 below each of the filling valves of the filler 2, and a gripper (not illustrated) provided in the filler 2 grips each container 5 while the filling valve fills the container 5 with a predetermined amount of a filling liquid. And then, each container 5 filled with the filling liquid by the filling valve of the filler 2 is released from the gripped state by the gripper of the filler 2 and handed over from the filler 2 to the capping device 4 via an intermediate wheel 6.
- the capping device 4 is provided with: a capping head 3 that holds a cap 8 by means of a chuck 7 in positions at regular intervals in the outer periphery; and an openable and closable gripper 4A that grips a neck portion 5A of the container 5 below each capping head 3.
- the container 5 handed over from the intermediate wheel 6 is filled with a filling liquid 9, of which liquid surface 9A is positioned slightly below a flange portion 5B of the neck portion 5A.
- the container 5 is conveyed at a predetermined height in a state in which the gripper 4A grips both sides of the neck portion 5A and supports the flange portion 5B formed on the neck portion 5A (see FIG. 2 ).
- a threaded portion 5D is formed on an outer periphery of a mouth 5C of the container 5, while a threaded portion 8A to be screwed onto the threaded portion 5D of the container 5 is formed on an inner periphery of the cap 8 (see FIGS. 2 and 4 ).
- an inner ring 5E is formed between the flange portion 5B and the threaded portion 5D of the container 5, while a detachment ring 8B is provided on a lower end of the cap 8 (see FIGS. 2 and 4 ).
- the capping head 3 As the capping device 4 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow, the capping head 3 is lowered by an elevation mechanism 11 from an ascent end to a descent end, while a servomotor 12 provided for each capping head 3 rotates the chuck 7 in a fastening direction at predetermined timing, whereby the cap 8 held by the chuck 7 is lowered to cover the mouth 5C of the container 5 and screwed onto the mouth 5C.
- the capping device 4 when the capping device 4 is operated at a speed no lower than a predetermined operation speed, it is configured to start rotation of the servomotor 12 to rotate the cap 8 in the middle of lowering the capping head 3 by the elevation mechanism 11, whereby occurrence of the aforementioned "thread overriding" is suppressed and a lower end 8A' of the threaded portion 8A of the cap 8 is smoothly engaged with the threaded portion 5D of the container 5.
- the container 5 to which the cap 8 has been attached by each capping head 3 of the capping device 4 is then released from the gripped state of the neck portion 5A by the gripper 4A, ejected from the capping device 4 to an ejection conveyor 14 in a state of being gripped by an ejection wheel 13, and then conveyed by the ejection conveyor 14 toward a processing device (not illustrated) on a downstream side (see FIG. 1 ).
- the capping device 4 is provided with: a rotary member 16 that is rotated clockwise to convey the container 5; the plurality of capping heads 3 arranged at regular intervals in a peripheral direction on an outer periphery of the rotary member 16; the elevation mechanism 11 that raises and lowers the capping head 3 in a predetermined region in a rotational direction of the rotary member 16; the gripper 4A that is arranged below the capping head 3 and grips the neck portion 5A of the container 5; and a control device 17 that controls driving of a driving source of the rotary member 16 and each servomotor 12.
- a conveying mechanism for conveying the container 5 comprises the rotary member 16 and the plurality of grippers 4A provided thereon. As described above, in a state in which the gripper 4A grips the neck portion 5A of the container 5 and supports the flange portion 5B of the container 5, the container 5 is conveyed at a predetermined speed as the rotary member 16 rotates.
- Driving of a motor (not illustrated) as the driving source of the rotary member 16 is controlled by the control device 17.
- a speed detection mechanism 18 encoder that detects the operation speed of the rotary member 16 is attached to the motor as the driving source of the rotary member 16.
- the conveying speed of the rotary member 16, i.e., the operation speed of the capping device 4, detected by the speed detection mechanism 18 is input to the control device 17.
- the operation speed at which, when the control device 17 rotates the rotary member 16 by means of a motor (not illustrated), the capping heads 3 conveyed by the rotary member 16 attach the caps 8 to 850 containers 5 in total is referred to as the "predetermined operation speed (850 bpm)".
- the control device 17 is configured to control driving of the motor as the driving source of the rotary member 16, to rotate the rotary member 16 at the operation speed (e.g., 750 to 650 bpm) lower than the predetermined operation speed (850 bpm) as necessary.
- the conveying speed (operation speed) at which the rotary member 16 is rotated is detected by the speed detection mechanism 18 and input to the control device 17.
- the control device 17 is configured to recognize the operation speed of the capping device 4 on the basis of a detection signal being input from the speed detection mechanism 18.
- the capping head 3 is provided with: a cylindrical outer cylinder 21 provided on the outer periphery of the rotary member 16 so as to be vertically movable; a spindle 22 provided inside the outer cylinder 21 so as to be rotatable and vertically movable; the chuck 7 that is attached to a lower end of the spindle 22 and detachably holds the cap 8; an inner cylinder 23 that has a spline groove formed on an inner periphery thereof and is connected to an upper end of the spindle 22; a spline shaft 24 spline-fitted to the spline groove on the inner cylinder 23; and the servomotor 12 connected to an upper end of the spline shaft 24.
- the inner cylinder 23, the spindle 22, and the chuck 7 are vertically movable with respect to the outer cylinder 21 and are supported by a stepped portion 21A of the outer cylinder 21.
- a spring 26 is elastically mounted between a flange portion 22A of the spindle 22 and the aforementioned stepped portion 21A in the outer cylinder 21 facing the flange portion 22A. The repulsive force of the spring 26 biases the spindle 22 and the chuck 7 provided on a lower end thereof constantly downward with respect to the outer cylinder 21.
- a cam follower 27 is attached to an inner side of an upper portion of the outer cylinder 21, and rollably engaged with a cam groove 28A of an annular cam 28 arranged around the outer periphery of the rotary member 16.
- the elevation mechanism 11 that raises and lowers the capping head 3 comprises the annular cam 28 and the cam follower 27.
- the chuck 7 of the capping head 3 is raised and lowered between the ascent end and the descent end in accordance with the height of the cam groove 28A of the elevation mechanism 11 in a predetermined region within a rotation range, while the chuck 7 is rotated at predetermined timing by the servomotor 12 in the fastening direction at a predetermined cap-closing torque.
- the annular cam 28 of the elevation mechanism 11 is at the upper end, i.e., the top dead center; and then, the height of the annular cam 28 gradually lowers on an adjacent downstream side of the rotary member 16 in the rotational direction and reaches the descent end B, i.e., the bottom dead center (see FIG. 4 ).
- An intermediate region between the ascent end and the descent end of the annular cam 28 is defined as a descending region C in which the capping head 3 is lowered by the annular cam 28. Note that, in a region on an adjacent upstream side (not illustrated) of the handover position A, the annular cam 28 is configured to return from the descent end to the ascent end.
- Driving of the servomotor 12 that rotates the chuck 7 holding the cap 8 is controlled by the control device 17.
- An encoder 31 that outputs a pulse signal, and an ammeter 32 that detects an output current from the servomotor 12 are connected to a rotating part of the servomotor 12. Once the servomotor 12 is rotationally driven, the pulse signal output from the encoder 31 is input to the control device 17, while the current output from the servomotor 12 is detected by the ammeter 32 and a current value thereof is input to the control device 17.
- the control device 17 is configured to be capable of recognizing a rotational angle and a rotational speed of the servomotor 12 on the basis of the pulse signal detected by the encoder 31.
- the control device 17 is configured to detect the cap-closing torque applied to the chuck 7 on the basis of the current value detected by the ammeter 32 since the start of rotational driving of the servomotor 12, and to record the cap-closing torque in chronological order.
- the present embodiment is characterized in that the rotation start timing of the servomotor 12 is changed between: the case of operating the rotary member 16 of the capping device 4 at a speed no lower than the predetermined operation speed (850 bpm); and the case of operating the rotary member 16 at a speed lower than the predetermined operation speed.
- control device 17 is configured to, when the capping head 3 and the chuck 7 are lowered by the elevation mechanism 11, control the rotation start timing of the servomotor 12 as follows.
- the control device 17 recognizes that the rotary member 16 is operated at the predetermined operation speed on the basis of the input signal from the speed detection mechanism 18, and starts rotating the servomotor 12 when the chuck 7 (cap 8) is lowered by the annular cam 28 of the elevation mechanism 11 to a point X1 where the capping head 3 is at a middle position in the descending region C (see FIGS. 3 and 4 ).
- the cap 8 in a state of being pressed downward by the spring 26 is constantly rotated by the servomotor 12 in the fastening direction, whereby the threaded portion 8A of the cap 8 is screwed onto the threaded portion 5D of the container 5, thus completing attachment of the cap 8.
- the rotary member 16 is operated at the predetermined operation speed (850 bpm)
- some sort of trouble may occur in a processing device (not illustrated) installed on a downstream side of the ejection conveyor 14.
- the rotary member 16 is operated at an operation speed (e.g., 600 bpm or 750 bpm) lower than the predetermined operation speed.
- the control device 17 recognizes that the operation speed is lower than the predetermined operation speed, from the speed detection mechanism 18.
- the control device 17 keeps the servomotor 12 in the stop state until the capping head 3 is lowered to the descent end B by the annular cam 28 of the elevation mechanism 11, and then, at the point X2 where the capping head 3 has been lowered to the descent end B by the elevation mechanism 11, starts rotating the servomotor 12.
- the control device 17 starts rotating the servomotor 12 to rotate the cap 8 in the fastening direction, thus attaching the cap 8 onto the mouth 5C of the container 5 (see FIGS. 3 and 4 ).
- the cap 8 is rotated in the fastening direction via the chuck 7, whereby the impact caused by the lower end 8A' of the threaded portion 8A of the cap 8 coming into contact with the threaded portion 5D of the container 5 from above is alleviated, thus enabling smooth engagement between the threaded portion 8A and the threaded portion 5D.
- the operation speed of the rotary member 16 is switched to the operation speed (e.g., 650 bpm or 750 bpm) lower than the predetermined operation speed, the rotation start timing of the servomotor 12 can be changed according to the operation speed by the control device 17.
- the rotation start timing of the servomotor 12 can be controlled accordingly at appropriate timing.
- FIG. 5 shows a result of an experiment of comparing contamination states of the cap 8 after the completion of attachment of the cap 8, between a case of using the conventional capping device and a case of using the capping device 4 of the present embodiment (present invention). Note that, in the experiment, the comparison was made between results obtained after the completion of attachment of the cap 8 according to the prior art and according to the present embodiment, without conveying the container 5, i.e., in a state in which the container 5 is stationary.
- the maximum amount of the filling liquid (liquid product) contaminating the cap 8 and the like is 51 mg.
- the capping device 4 according to the present embodiment enables, through suppression of the "thread overriding" phenomenon, effective suppression of contamination of the cap 8 and the like due to spill caused by the impact of the "thread overriding", in comparison to the conventional capping device.
- the predetermined operation speed is defined as 850 bpm in the aforementioned embodiment, the predetermined operation speed is not limited thereto and may also be 900 bpm or higher, for example 1000 bpm. In this case as well, it is configured to rotate the cap 8 in the middle of lowering in the descending region C for attaching the cap 8 to the container 5.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Sealing Of Jars (AREA)
Description
- The present invention relates to a capping device, in particular to a capping device that screws a cap onto a container made of a resin.
- Conventionally, a capping device has been known that is configured to screw a cap onto a container made of a resin (for example,
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-308380 - The capping device disclosed in
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-308380 - Incidentally, the capping device disclosed in
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-308380 - In addition, in recent years, for reduction in weight of the container and the cap, the threaded portion of the cap and the threaded portion of the container may not be sufficiently strong. For this reason, the aforementioned "thread overriding" occurring during attachment of the cap leads to a problem of damage of the threaded portion of the cap and the threaded portion of the container.
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JP 2000 168892 A - According to the present invention, there is provided a capping device as specified in claim 1.
- Such a configuration enables, when the conveying mechanism is operated at a predetermined operation speed, the cap to be lowered while being rotated to thereby cover the container with the cap, through advancement of the rotation start timing for rotating the servomotor. The impact from engagement between the threaded portion of the cap and the threaded portion of the mouth of the container can thus be alleviated. This enables suppression of occurrence of the aforementioned "thread overriding", and in turn prevention of contamination of the inner face and the threaded portion of the cap by the filling liquid spilled from the mouth of the container.
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FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main section ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the main section ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 4 is a lateral view showing lowering of the cap in respective positions shown inFIG. 3 and the rotation start timing for the cap; and -
FIG. 5 shows a result of an experiment carried out for comparing weights of the filling liquid contaminating the cap after the completion of attachment of the cap, between a conventional capping device and the capping device of the present invention. - The embodiment illustrated in the drawings is described hereinafter. In
FIGS. 1 and2 , 1 denotes a filling system. The filling system 1 is provided with: arotary filler 2 with a plurality of filling valves (not illustrated) at regular intervals on an outer periphery; and arotary capping device 4 with a plurality ofcapping heads 3 at regular intervals on an outer periphery. - When the
filler 2 and thecapping device 4 rotate in respective directions indicated by arrows, a feeding wheel (not illustrated) feeds anempty container 5 below each of the filling valves of thefiller 2, and a gripper (not illustrated) provided in thefiller 2 grips eachcontainer 5 while the filling valve fills thecontainer 5 with a predetermined amount of a filling liquid. And then, eachcontainer 5 filled with the filling liquid by the filling valve of thefiller 2 is released from the gripped state by the gripper of thefiller 2 and handed over from thefiller 2 to thecapping device 4 via anintermediate wheel 6. - The
capping device 4 is provided with: a cappinghead 3 that holds acap 8 by means of achuck 7 in positions at regular intervals in the outer periphery; and an openable andclosable gripper 4A that grips aneck portion 5A of thecontainer 5 below each cappinghead 3. - The
container 5 handed over from theintermediate wheel 6 is filled with a fillingliquid 9, of whichliquid surface 9A is positioned slightly below aflange portion 5B of theneck portion 5A. Thecontainer 5 is conveyed at a predetermined height in a state in which thegripper 4A grips both sides of theneck portion 5A and supports theflange portion 5B formed on theneck portion 5A (seeFIG. 2 ). - In addition, a threaded
portion 5D is formed on an outer periphery of amouth 5C of thecontainer 5, while a threadedportion 8A to be screwed onto the threadedportion 5D of thecontainer 5 is formed on an inner periphery of the cap 8 (seeFIGS. 2 and4 ). - Furthermore, an
inner ring 5E is formed between theflange portion 5B and the threadedportion 5D of thecontainer 5, while adetachment ring 8B is provided on a lower end of the cap 8 (seeFIGS. 2 and4 ). - As the
capping device 4 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow, the cappinghead 3 is lowered by anelevation mechanism 11 from an ascent end to a descent end, while aservomotor 12 provided for each cappinghead 3 rotates thechuck 7 in a fastening direction at predetermined timing, whereby thecap 8 held by thechuck 7 is lowered to cover themouth 5C of thecontainer 5 and screwed onto themouth 5C. - As described later in detail, in the present embodiment, when the
capping device 4 is operated at a speed no lower than a predetermined operation speed, it is configured to start rotation of theservomotor 12 to rotate thecap 8 in the middle of lowering thecapping head 3 by theelevation mechanism 11, whereby occurrence of the aforementioned "thread overriding" is suppressed and alower end 8A' of the threadedportion 8A of thecap 8 is smoothly engaged with the threadedportion 5D of thecontainer 5. - The
container 5 to which thecap 8 has been attached by each cappinghead 3 of thecapping device 4 is then released from the gripped state of theneck portion 5A by thegripper 4A, ejected from thecapping device 4 to anejection conveyor 14 in a state of being gripped by anejection wheel 13, and then conveyed by theejection conveyor 14 toward a processing device (not illustrated) on a downstream side (seeFIG. 1 ). - The
capping device 4 is provided with: arotary member 16 that is rotated clockwise to convey thecontainer 5; the plurality of cappingheads 3 arranged at regular intervals in a peripheral direction on an outer periphery of therotary member 16; theelevation mechanism 11 that raises and lowers thecapping head 3 in a predetermined region in a rotational direction of therotary member 16; thegripper 4A that is arranged below the cappinghead 3 and grips theneck portion 5A of thecontainer 5; and acontrol device 17 that controls driving of a driving source of therotary member 16 and eachservomotor 12. - A conveying mechanism for conveying the
container 5 comprises therotary member 16 and the plurality ofgrippers 4A provided thereon. As described above, in a state in which thegripper 4A grips theneck portion 5A of thecontainer 5 and supports theflange portion 5B of thecontainer 5, thecontainer 5 is conveyed at a predetermined speed as therotary member 16 rotates. - Driving of a motor (not illustrated) as the driving source of the
rotary member 16 is controlled by thecontrol device 17. In addition, a speed detection mechanism 18 (encoder) that detects the operation speed of therotary member 16 is attached to the motor as the driving source of therotary member 16. The conveying speed of therotary member 16, i.e., the operation speed of thecapping device 4, detected by thespeed detection mechanism 18 is input to thecontrol device 17. - In the present embodiment, the operation speed at which, when the
control device 17 rotates therotary member 16 by means of a motor (not illustrated), the capping heads 3 conveyed by therotary member 16 attach thecaps 8 to 850containers 5 in total is referred to as the "predetermined operation speed (850 bpm)". - The
control device 17 is configured to control driving of the motor as the driving source of therotary member 16, to rotate therotary member 16 at the operation speed (e.g., 750 to 650 bpm) lower than the predetermined operation speed (850 bpm) as necessary. - The conveying speed (operation speed) at which the
rotary member 16 is rotated is detected by thespeed detection mechanism 18 and input to thecontrol device 17. Thecontrol device 17 is configured to recognize the operation speed of thecapping device 4 on the basis of a detection signal being input from thespeed detection mechanism 18. - As shown in
FIG. 2 , the cappinghead 3 is provided with: a cylindricalouter cylinder 21 provided on the outer periphery of therotary member 16 so as to be vertically movable; aspindle 22 provided inside theouter cylinder 21 so as to be rotatable and vertically movable; thechuck 7 that is attached to a lower end of thespindle 22 and detachably holds thecap 8; aninner cylinder 23 that has a spline groove formed on an inner periphery thereof and is connected to an upper end of thespindle 22; aspline shaft 24 spline-fitted to the spline groove on theinner cylinder 23; and theservomotor 12 connected to an upper end of thespline shaft 24. - The
inner cylinder 23, thespindle 22, and thechuck 7 are vertically movable with respect to theouter cylinder 21 and are supported by a steppedportion 21A of theouter cylinder 21. Aspring 26 is elastically mounted between aflange portion 22A of thespindle 22 and the aforementioned steppedportion 21A in theouter cylinder 21 facing theflange portion 22A. The repulsive force of thespring 26 biases thespindle 22 and thechuck 7 provided on a lower end thereof constantly downward with respect to theouter cylinder 21. - A
cam follower 27 is attached to an inner side of an upper portion of theouter cylinder 21, and rollably engaged with acam groove 28A of anannular cam 28 arranged around the outer periphery of therotary member 16. Theelevation mechanism 11 that raises and lowers thecapping head 3 comprises theannular cam 28 and thecam follower 27. - As the
rotary member 16 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow inFIG. 1 , thechuck 7 of thecapping head 3 is raised and lowered between the ascent end and the descent end in accordance with the height of thecam groove 28A of theelevation mechanism 11 in a predetermined region within a rotation range, while thechuck 7 is rotated at predetermined timing by theservomotor 12 in the fastening direction at a predetermined cap-closing torque. - As shown in
FIGS. 3 and 4 , in a handover position A where thecontainer 5 is handed over from theintermediate wheel 6 to thecapping device 4 and a position on an adjacent downstream side thereof, theannular cam 28 of theelevation mechanism 11 is at the upper end, i.e., the top dead center; and then, the height of theannular cam 28 gradually lowers on an adjacent downstream side of therotary member 16 in the rotational direction and reaches the descent end B, i.e., the bottom dead center (seeFIG. 4 ). An intermediate region between the ascent end and the descent end of theannular cam 28 is defined as a descending region C in which thecapping head 3 is lowered by theannular cam 28. Note that, in a region on an adjacent upstream side (not illustrated) of the handover position A, theannular cam 28 is configured to return from the descent end to the ascent end. - Driving of the
servomotor 12 that rotates thechuck 7 holding thecap 8 is controlled by thecontrol device 17. Anencoder 31 that outputs a pulse signal, and anammeter 32 that detects an output current from theservomotor 12 are connected to a rotating part of theservomotor 12. Once theservomotor 12 is rotationally driven, the pulse signal output from theencoder 31 is input to thecontrol device 17, while the current output from theservomotor 12 is detected by theammeter 32 and a current value thereof is input to thecontrol device 17. - The
control device 17 is configured to be capable of recognizing a rotational angle and a rotational speed of theservomotor 12 on the basis of the pulse signal detected by theencoder 31. In addition, thecontrol device 17 is configured to detect the cap-closing torque applied to thechuck 7 on the basis of the current value detected by theammeter 32 since the start of rotational driving of theservomotor 12, and to record the cap-closing torque in chronological order. - As described above, the present embodiment is characterized in that the rotation start timing of the
servomotor 12 is changed between: the case of operating therotary member 16 of thecapping device 4 at a speed no lower than the predetermined operation speed (850 bpm); and the case of operating therotary member 16 at a speed lower than the predetermined operation speed. - More specifically, the
control device 17 is configured to, when thecapping head 3 and thechuck 7 are lowered by theelevation mechanism 11, control the rotation start timing of theservomotor 12 as follows. - In the case of operating the
rotary member 16 at a speed no lower than the predetermined operation speed (850 bpm), thecontrol device 17 recognizes that therotary member 16 is operated at the predetermined operation speed on the basis of the input signal from thespeed detection mechanism 18, and starts rotating theservomotor 12 when the chuck 7 (cap 8) is lowered by theannular cam 28 of theelevation mechanism 11 to a point X1 where thecapping head 3 is at a middle position in the descending region C (seeFIGS. 3 and 4 ). - Consequently, while the
capping head 3 is lowered by theelevation mechanism 11 from the point X1 to the descent end B, thecap 8 is rotated in the fastening direction, whereby thelower end 8A' of the threadedportion 8A of thecap 8 being rotated is smoothly brought into contact with the threadedportion 5D of thecontainer 5 from above, such that the threadedportion 8A and the threadedportion 5D are engaged. - After the threaded
portion 8A and the threadedportion 5D are thus smoothly engaged, thecap 8 in a state of being pressed downward by thespring 26 is constantly rotated by theservomotor 12 in the fastening direction, whereby the threadedportion 8A of thecap 8 is screwed onto the threadedportion 5D of thecontainer 5, thus completing attachment of thecap 8. - In other words, in the present embodiment, in the case of operating the
rotary member 16 at a speed no lower than the predetermined operation speed (850 bpm), at the point X1 where thelower end 8A' of the threadedportion 8A of thecap 8 is not yet in contact with the threadedportion 5D of thecontainer 5, rotation of theservomotor 12 is started from a stop state. - Consequently, the
lower end 8A' of the threadedportion 8A of thecap 8 is smoothly engaged with the threadedportion 5D of thecontainer 5, thus enabling effective suppression of occurrence of the aforementioned "thread overriding". - On the other hand, in the state in which the
rotary member 16 is operated at the predetermined operation speed (850 bpm), some sort of trouble may occur in a processing device (not illustrated) installed on a downstream side of theejection conveyor 14. In such a case, therotary member 16 is operated at an operation speed (e.g., 600 bpm or 750 bpm) lower than the predetermined operation speed. At that time, thecontrol device 17 recognizes that the operation speed is lower than the predetermined operation speed, from thespeed detection mechanism 18. - The
control device 17 keeps theservomotor 12 in the stop state until thecapping head 3 is lowered to the descent end B by theannular cam 28 of theelevation mechanism 11, and then, at the point X2 where thecapping head 3 has been lowered to the descent end B by theelevation mechanism 11, starts rotating theservomotor 12. In other words, at the point X2 where thecap 8 has been lowered to the descent end B to bring thelower end 8A' of the threadedportion 8A of thecap 8 into contact with the threadedportion 5D of thecontainer 5, thecontrol device 17 starts rotating theservomotor 12 to rotate thecap 8 in the fastening direction, thus attaching thecap 8 onto themouth 5C of the container 5 (seeFIGS. 3 and 4 ). - As described above, in the present embodiment, in the case of operating the
rotary member 16 of thecapping device 4 at the predetermined operation speed (850 bpm), rotation of theservomotor 12 is started at the point X1 where thecapping head 3 has been lowered by theelevation mechanism 11 to a middle position in the descending region C in which thecapping head 3 is being lowered. As a result, as thechuck 7 is being lowered to the descent end B, thecap 8 is rotated in the fastening direction via thechuck 7, whereby the impact caused by thelower end 8A' of the threadedportion 8A of thecap 8 coming into contact with the threadedportion 5D of thecontainer 5 from above is alleviated, thus enabling smooth engagement between the threadedportion 8A and the threadedportion 5D. - Eventually, effective suppression of occurrence of the "thread overriding" during attachment of the
cap 8 to thecontainer 5 is enabled. And in turn, prevention of the contamination of the inner face of thecap 8 and the threadedportions liquid 9 in thecontainer 5 due to impact of the "thread overriding" is enabled. - In addition, during operation of the
rotary member 16 at the predetermined operation speed (850 bpm), the operation speed of therotary member 16 is switched to the operation speed (e.g., 650 bpm or 750 bpm) lower than the predetermined operation speed, the rotation start timing of theservomotor 12 can be changed according to the operation speed by thecontrol device 17. - Given this, when a trouble occurs in a processing device on the downstream side and the operation speed of the
rotary member 16 is switched from the predetermined operation speed to a lower operation speed, the rotation start timing of theservomotor 12 can be controlled accordingly at appropriate timing. -
FIG. 5 shows a result of an experiment of comparing contamination states of thecap 8 after the completion of attachment of thecap 8, between a case of using the conventional capping device and a case of using thecapping device 4 of the present embodiment (present invention). Note that, in the experiment, the comparison was made between results obtained after the completion of attachment of thecap 8 according to the prior art and according to the present embodiment, without conveying thecontainer 5, i.e., in a state in which thecontainer 5 is stationary. - As can be seen from the data in
FIG. 5 , with the conventional capping device configured to rotate thecap 8 after lowering thecap 8 to the descent end to bring the lower end of the threaded portion of thecap 8 into contact with the threaded portion of thecontainer 5, the maximum amount of the filling liquid (liquid product) contaminating thecap 8 and the like is 51 mg. - On the contrary, in the case of the present embodiment configured to rotate the
cap 8 in the middle of lowering in the descending region C for attaching thecap 8 to thecontainer 5, the amount of the filling liquid (liquid product) contaminating thecap 8 and the like is 1 mg. As is obvious from the result of the experiment shown inFIG. 5 , it is possible to presume that thecapping device 4 according to the present embodiment enables, through suppression of the "thread overriding" phenomenon, effective suppression of contamination of thecap 8 and the like due to spill caused by the impact of the "thread overriding", in comparison to the conventional capping device. - Note that, although the predetermined operation speed is defined as 850 bpm in the aforementioned embodiment, the predetermined operation speed is not limited thereto and may also be 900 bpm or higher, for example 1000 bpm. In this case as well, it is configured to rotate the
cap 8 in the middle of lowering in the descending region C for attaching thecap 8 to thecontainer 5. -
- 3 Capping head
- 4 Capping device
- 5 Container
- 5C Mouth
- 5D Threaded portion
- 7 Chuck
- 8 Cap
- 8A Threaded portion
- 8A' Lower end of threaded portion
- 9 Filling liquid
- 11 Elevation mechanism
- 12 Servomotor
- 16 Control device
- 18 Speed detection mechanism
Claims (1)
- A capping device (4) comprising: a conveying mechanism that conveys a container (5); a capping head (3) that has a chuck (7) for holding a cap (8) and attaches the cap (8) to a mouth (5C) of the container (5) being conveyed by the conveying mechanism; a servomotor (12) that rotates the chuck (7) of the capping head (3); an elevating mechanism (11) that raises and lowers the capping head (3); and a control device (16) that controls driving of the servomotor (12) and the conveying mechanism,in which the capping head (3) holding the cap (8) at the chuck (7) is configured to be lowered by the elevating mechanism (11) while rotation of the chuck (7) is started from a stop state by the servomotor (12), whereby the cap (8) held by the chuck (7) is rotated to be screwed onto the mouth (5C) of the container (5),wherein the capping device (4) comprises a speed detection mechanism (18) that detects conveying speed of the container (5) conveyed by the conveying mechanism; andthe control device (16) is configured to postpone rotation start timing for rotating the servomotor (12) in a case in which the conveying speed of the conveying mechanism detected by the speed detection mechanism (18) is lower than a predetermined operation speed,wherein when the conveying mechanism conveys the container (5) at the predetermined operation speed, the control device (16) is configured to start rotating the servomotor (12) at a moment at which the chuck (7) of the capping head (3) is being lowered by the elevating mechanism (11), and a threaded portion (8A) of the cap (8) held by the chuck (7) is not yet in contact with a threaded portion (5D) of the container (5),characterized in thatwhen the conveying mechanism conveys the container (5) at an operation speed lower than the predetermined operation speed, the control device (16) is configured to start rotating the servomotor (12) at a moment at which the chuck (7) of the capping head (3) has been lowered by the elevating mechanism (11), and the threaded portion (8A) of the cap (8) held by the chuck (7) is in contact with the threaded portion (5D) of the container (5).
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP2020112138A JP2022011168A (en) | 2020-06-29 | 2020-06-29 | Capping device |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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EP3932852A1 EP3932852A1 (en) | 2022-01-05 |
EP3932852B1 true EP3932852B1 (en) | 2023-10-18 |
Family
ID=75936781
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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EP21173935.4A Active EP3932852B1 (en) | 2020-06-29 | 2021-05-14 | Capping device |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
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EP (1) | EP3932852B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2022011168A (en) |
Family Cites Families (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP4106784B2 (en) * | 1998-12-08 | 2008-06-25 | 澁谷工業株式会社 | Rotary capper |
JP2002308380A (en) | 2001-04-13 | 2002-10-23 | Shibuya Kogyo Co Ltd | Method and apparatus for capping |
-
2020
- 2020-06-29 JP JP2020112138A patent/JP2022011168A/en active Pending
-
2021
- 2021-05-14 EP EP21173935.4A patent/EP3932852B1/en active Active
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JP2022011168A (en) | 2022-01-17 |
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