JP2000190904A - Cap fitting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a cap fitting device small, and reduce its cost. SOLUTION: A cap fitting device is provided with a base conveyor 15 carrying a packaging container P positioned at the given position determining pitch, an application head provided movably in the vertical and horizontal directions along the base conveyor 15, holding a cap, and sticking on a cap fitting section on a top wall of the packaging container P, and a driving means moving the application head in synchronization with the carriage of the packaging container P. The cap is stuck by the application head provided along the base conveyor 15, so a cam mechanism can be provided on the base. Not only the cap fitting device can be made small, but also the cost of the device can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cap mounting device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, brick-type packaging containers for storing liquid foods such as milk and soft drinks have a top wall provided with an openable / closable cap so that the liquid foods can be repeatedly poured out. Is provided. In this case, the cap is attached to the packaging container by a hot melt method, a heat sealing method, an ultrasonic sealing method, or the like by a cap attaching device.

In the hot melt method, a liquid adhesive is sprayed from a nozzle of a hot melt gun and sprayed on a packaging container, and a cap is pressed against the packaging container and stuck. In the heat sealing method, hot air is applied to the packaging container, and the cap is pressed onto the packaging container in a state where the film on the surface of the packaging material forming the packaging container is melted.

Further, in the ultrasonic sealing method, ultrasonic waves are applied to the cap while the cap is pressed against the packaging container, and the ultrasonic waves melt the film and the cap on the surface of the packaging material forming the packaging container. Then, attach the cap to the packaging container.

[0005]

However, in the conventional cap mounting apparatus, it is difficult to spray the adhesive accurately and evenly in the case of the hot melt method, and as a result, sufficient strength is obtained. The cap cannot be attached to the packaging container while being held. In addition, if the adhesive is sprayed excessively, the appearance and feel of the packaging container are impaired.

In the case of the heat sealing method, not only the time required for raising the temperature of the hot air becomes longer, but also the time required for melting the film becomes longer.
Processing speed decreases. In the case of the ultrasonic sealing method, it is necessary to dispose an ultrasonic generator, which increases the cost of the cap mounting device. Further, the time required to melt the film and the cap becomes longer, so that the processing speed becomes lower.

In view of the above, a cap mounting apparatus has been proposed in which a predetermined portion on the back side of the cap is heated and melted, and the cap is pressed against a packaging container and adhered. In that case, a package holder for holding the packaging container, a picking device for holding the cap, and an extruding device for pushing the packaging container out of the package holder are arranged at a plurality of locations on the peripheral edge of the index table, and the index table is driven by a drive motor. It is rotated intermittently by a predetermined angle. Then, the packaging container conveyed by the conveyor is positioned by pushing the packaging container into the package holder by a pushing device disposed along the conveyor, and the packaging container is moved by rotating the index table. After the cap is gripped by the picking device and heated according to the movement of the packaging container, the cap is pressed and adhered to the packaging container. Further, the packaging container after the cap is stuck is pushed out of the package holder by an extruder arranged at a position corresponding to each package holder on the index table.

However, in the cap mounting apparatus having the above-described structure, the cap is attached to the packaging container while being held by the package holder, so that eight picking devices are required for each package holder. Therefore, not only does the cap mounting device become larger,
The cost of the cap mounting device increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a cap mounting apparatus which solves the problems of the conventional cap mounting apparatus and which can be reduced in size and cost.

[0010]

For this purpose, in the cap mounting apparatus of the present invention, a base conveyor for transporting packaging containers positioned at a predetermined positioning pitch, and a vertical and horizontal direction along the base conveyor. And an application head for gripping the cap and attaching the cap to the cap mounting portion on the top wall of the packaging container, and a driving unit for moving the application head in synchronization with the transport of the packaging container. .

In another cap mounting device of the present invention, the application head may further include a first and a second application head.
And the first and second application heads are alternately moved. In still another cap mounting device of the present invention, the application head is moved vertically by a vertical cam mechanism and is moved horizontally by a horizontal cam mechanism.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cap attaching device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a frame of the cap attaching device, 12
Is a cap handling unit that transports a cap (not shown), 15 is an endless belt, is continuously driven by driving a driving unit (not shown), and is a base conveyor that transports the packaging container P in the direction of arrow D. A first packaging container transport unit 17 as a separating means for separating the packaging container P is disposed downstream of the first packaging container transport unit 16 in the transport direction of the packaging container P, and A second packaging container transport unit 18 for positioning on the base conveyor 15 finds the cap transported by the cap handling unit 12 and an index table as cap supply means for intermittently supplying the cap. Burner 20 for heating and melting a seal portion set at a predetermined position on the back surface of Wherein a cap bond portion for attaching the cap to the packaging container P.

The cap handling section 12 includes an elevator 21, a cap sheet picker 22, and a chute 2.
3, cap sheet conveyor 24, first cutter 25,
Inverter 26, cap web conveyor 27, second cutter 28, cap shooter 29, and cap picker 31
Consists of The cap is made of a thermoplastic resin, and is formed as an 8 × 12 matrix cap sheet (not shown) by injection molding. In the cap sheet, each cap is integrally connected to an adjacent cap by a break formed at one point on each side, and thus can be easily separated.

A plurality of the cap sheets are accommodated in an accommodating case (not shown) with the back surface facing upward, and are set in a loading portion set below the cap sheet conveyor 24. A feeder (not shown) is provided in the loading unit, and the storage case is set on a lifter of the elevator 21 by the feeder. When the storage case is set on the lifter, the elevator 21 raises the storage case by driving a driving unit (not shown) and stops at a predetermined picking position.

The cap sheet picker 22 is disposed above the elevator 21. The cap sheet picker 22 sucks the cap sheet in the storage case by negative pressure, and pushes the cap sheet in the direction of arrow A. It is conveyed and placed on the cap sheet conveyor 24. The cap sheet conveyor 24 is driven in a direction indicated by an arrow A by driving a driving unit (not shown). When the cap sheet is placed, the cap sheet is conveyed and sent to the first cutter 25. Since the cap sheet conveyor 24 is disposed at an angle with respect to the direction in which the cap sheet is conveyed, the cap sheet is urged toward the sheet feed guide 32 with the conveyance. Therefore, the cap sheet is accurately conveyed along the sheet feed guide 32, and is accurately positioned when it reaches the first cutter 25 disposed at the front end (the left end in the drawing) of the cap sheet conveyor 24.

A sensor (not shown) is provided on the cap sheet conveyor 24, and the remaining amount of the cap sheet is detected by the sensor. Is sucked and placed on the cap sheet conveyor 24. When all the cap sheets in the storage case are sucked, the empty storage case is discharged to the chute 23.

The first cutter 25 cuts (rows) the cap sheet to form an 8 × 1 band-shaped cap web (not shown). In addition, the inverter 26 includes:
After inverting the cap web and turning the surface up,
It is set on the cap web conveyor 27. The cap web conveyor 27 is provided with the cap sheet conveyor 2.
4 and is driven by a driving means (not shown) to convey the cap web in the direction of arrow B, and to a second end disposed at the front end (the lower end in the figure) of the cap web conveyor 27. Send it to cutter 28.

It is possible to eliminate the need for the inverter 26 by storing each cap sheet in the storage case with the back surface facing downward. The second cutter 2
8 cuts the cap web to separate the caps one by one, and sends the caps to the cap shooter 29. The cap shooter 29 conveys the separated caps one by one in the direction of arrow C, and sends them to a front end (right end in the figure) standby section. Then, the cap waits to be clamped by the cap picker 31 in the standby section.

The cap picker 31 clamps the cap waiting in the waiting section, moves the cap in parallel while clamping, and sets it on the index table 18. For this purpose, the cap picker 31 includes an upper arm and a lower arm (not shown), and clamps the cap by sandwiching the upper arm and the lower arm from above and below.

Next, the index table 18 will be described. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the index table according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 18 denotes an index table, which is rotatably disposed around a shaft 35 and has pockets 36 at a plurality of positions in the circumferential direction, for example, at eight positions. Each pocket 36 has a U-shaped cross section and is formed by two fingers 37, 38 arranged tangentially and arranged in parallel with each other. An interval is formed between the fingers 37 and 38 so that the cap C can be supported at both edges.

Also, the index table 18
It is intermittently rotated at a speed of 140 steps per minute by a drive motor such as a servo motor (not shown).
In this case, the tact time is about 420 [ms] and the stop time is about 330 [ms], and the cap C is set during the stop time. Each pocket 36 is moved to the first station S by rotation of the index table 18.
1 to the eighth station S8, and the cap C at each of the first to fifth stations S1 to S5.
Are performed.

The first station S1 functions as a cap receiving section, and in the first station S1,
The cap C clamped by the cap picker 31 (FIG. 2) is inserted into the pocket 36. When the cap C is inserted into the pocket 36, the cap picker 3
The upper and lower arms (not shown) of 1 are separated,
The clamp is released.

Each of the packaging containers P is not always transported continuously on the base conveyor 15, but may be transported intermittently depending on the transport conditions of the base conveyor 15. Therefore, the packaging container P is detected by photoelectric switches 55 (FIG. 4) and 56 serving as packaging container detection means, which will be described later, provided on the exit side of the first packaging container transport unit 16, and the controller 57 detects the cap C It is determined whether or not the packaging container P to which the packaging container P has been passed has passed between the photoelectric switches 55 and 56. If the packaging container P has not passed, the cap picker 31 clamps the cap C at a predetermined timing. It is stopped so that the cap C is not set on the index table 18.

The second station S2 and the third station S2
Station S3 includes a first pre-heating unit and a second pre-heating unit, respectively.
The cap C is preheated by the heated air serving as a heating medium in the second station S2 and the third station S3. To this end, air nozzles (not shown) for blowing heated air to the back surface of the cap C are provided below the pockets 36 in the second and third stations S2 and S3, and are heated from the heated air source (not shown) to the air nozzles. Air is supplied. In the present embodiment, heated air is used as the heating medium, but a gas other than air may be used.

Further, the fourth station S4 functions as a main heating section, and in the fourth station S4,
A seal portion set at a predetermined location on the back surface of the cap C is heated and melted. To this end, a burner 19 is provided at the fourth station S4, the burner 19 is provided with a plurality of nozzles arranged in a pattern corresponding to the shape of the seal portion, and performs electrolysis in an electrolysis device (not shown). The hydrogen gas and oxygen thus generated are supplied to the burner 19 as a mixed gas and burned. Then, a micro frame is formed in each nozzle, and the seal portion is accurately melted by each micro frame. In this case, since it is not necessary to use a high-pressure gas container such as a cylinder, the safety of the cap mounting device can be improved.

The distance between the cap C and the burner 19 is 2.5 [mm], and the heating time is about 330 mm.
[Ms], and the supply amount of hydrogen gas is about 1.6 [l /
m], and the supply amount of oxygen is set to about 3.2 [l / m]. As described above, since the seal portion is heated after the cap C is sufficiently preheated, even if the temperature of the atmosphere in which the cap attaching device is provided, the temperature of the liquid food in the packaging container P, and the like fluctuate. Heated under certain conditions. Therefore, the sealing portion can be stably melted. In addition, the nozzle and the burner 19 can be fixed, and preheating and heating can be performed with the cap C stopped, so that sufficient preheating time and heating time can be secured. Therefore, the mechanism of the second station S2 to the fourth station S4 can be simplified.

The fifth station S5 functions as a cap take-out part. At the fifth station S5, the cap C is attached to the pocket 36 by an application head (not shown) as a sticking means provided on the cap sticking section 20. Taken out of In addition, the sixth station S6 to the eighth station S8 function as a standby unit, and the sixth station S6 to the eighth station S8
, The cap C is not transported.

In this embodiment, the seal portion is heated by the micro frame. However, the seal portion can be heated by hot air. Further, the cap C is stuck by melting the seal portion, but the cap C can be stuck by an adhesive. Next, the first packaging container transport section 16 will be described.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the first packaging container transport section in the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the first packaging container transport section in the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, a cutting conveyor 41 is provided in the first packaging container transporting section 16 along the base conveyor 15 on the entrance side of the cap attaching device, and the cutting conveyor 41 is
The packaging containers P conveyed at an arbitrary interval on the base conveyor 15 are cut off one by one, and each packaging container P is sent out at a predetermined interval.

To this end, the separating conveyor 41 includes endless belts 43, 44 disposed on both edges of the base conveyor 15, and each of the belts 43, 44 includes driving pulleys 45, 46 and driven pulleys 47, 48. It is stretched between.
A drive motor 49 is provided adjacent to the separation conveyor 41, and an output pulley 51 of the drive motor 49,
A drive belt 52 is stretched between the drive pulleys 45 and 46 and the idle pulley 53.

Therefore, when the output pulley 51 is rotated by driving the drive motor 49, the drive pulleys 45 and 46 are rotated in the directions of arrows E and F, and the belts 43 and 44 are rotated in the directions of arrows G and H. You can run. Here, the traveling speed of the base conveyor 15 is V0,
Assuming that the traveling speed of the belts 43 and 44 is V1, the traveling speeds V0 and V1 are set so that V0> V1. The distance between the belts 43 and 44 on the base conveyor 15 is set slightly smaller than the width of the packaging container P.

Therefore, when the packaging container P transported by the base conveyor 15 at the traveling speed V0 reaches the first packaging container transport section 16, the packaging container P is moved to the belt 4
Since each of the packaging containers P is transported between the belts 43 and 44, the subsequent packaging container P catches up while being transported between the belts 43 and 44. By the way, photoelectric switches 55 and 56 are disposed on the exit side of the first packaging container transport unit 16, and the photoelectric switches 55 and
The packaging container P is detected by 56.
The detection signals from the photoelectric switches 55 and 56 are sent to the controller 57, and the controller 57 determines whether the packaging container P has passed between the photoelectric switches 55 and 56. When the controller 57 determines that the packaging container P has passed between the photoelectric switches 55 and 56,
At this timing, the drive motor 49 is stopped by the driver 58, and the running of the belts 43 and 44 is stopped. As a result, the subsequent packaging container P is braked by the belts 43 and 44 and stopped on the base conveyor 15.

During this time, since the base conveyor 15 continues to run, the packaging container P passing between the photoelectric switches 55 and 56 is transported in the direction of arrow D as it is. Subsequently, at a second timing when a set time has elapsed from the first timing, the controller 57 outputs the driver 58.
The drive motor 49 is driven by this, and the running of the belts 43 and 44 is started. As a result, the subsequent packaging container P is transported by the belts 43 and 44.

The packaging container P is a photoelectric switch 55,
After passing through the interval 56, the controller 57 causes the driver 58 to stop the driving motor 49 at the first timing, and stops the running of the belts 43 and 44 again. As a result, the subsequent packaging container P is braked by the belts 43 and 44 and stopped again on the base conveyor 15.

In this way, the drive motor 49 is intermittently driven, and the set time elapses after the packaging container P is unreeled from the first packaging container transport section 16 and passes between the photoelectric switches 55 and 56. Each time the subsequent packaging container P is fed out, each packaging container P is transported on the base conveyor 15 at a set transport pitch and is sent to the second packaging container transport unit 17 (FIG. 2). .

Here, assuming that the set time is τ1 and the transfer pitch is p1, the transfer pitch p1 is p1 = τ1 · V0. In addition, the packaging container P is the first packaging container transport unit 1
6 may be withdrawn for sampling before reaching 6 and may not be placed on the base conveyor 15, in which case it will not be continuously fed to the first packaging container transport 16.
Therefore, the distance between the predetermined packaging containers P may be longer than the transport pitch p1, but not shorter than the transport pitch p1.

Next, the second packaging container transport section 17 will be described. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a second packaging container transport unit according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a conceptual perspective view of a main part of the second packaging container transport unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawing, the second packaging container transport section 17 is set in first and second areas AR1 and AR2 downstream of the first packaging container transport section 16 in the transport direction of the base conveyor 15. . In the second packaging container transport section 17, a transport conveyor 61 is disposed along the base conveyor 15 in the first and second areas AR1 and AR2, and is disposed along the base conveyor 15 in the first area AR1. Acceleration conveyor 6
2 are provided. The transport conveyor 61 positions the packaging container P (FIG. 4) at the sticking position corresponding to the position of the cap C on the index table 18. Also,
The acceleration conveyor 62 is run at a higher speed than the transport conveyor 61, and accelerates to position the packaging container P at the sticking position. The transporting conveyor 61 and the accelerating conveyor 62 constitute a positioning means.

The transport conveyor 61 includes endless belts 63 and 64 disposed on both edges of the base conveyor 15.
And the belts 63 and 64 are stretched between the driving pulleys 65 and 66 and the driven pulleys 67 and 68. A drive motor 69 is disposed adjacent to the conveyor 61, and a drive belt 7 is provided between the output pulley 71 of the drive motor 69, the drive pulleys 65 and 66, and the idle pulley 73.
The transport conveyor 61 can travel by driving the drive motor 69. In the vicinity of the upper edges of the belts 63 and 64, positioning pieces 75 and 76 as positioning members are formed so as to protrude at an equal pitch. In this case, assuming that the positioning pitch of the positioning pieces 75 and 76 is p2, the positioning pitch p2 is shorter than the transport pitch p1 and longer than the length of the packaging container P.

In this embodiment, the belt 6
Positioning pieces 75 and 76 are formed at the positions 3 and 64.
The positioning piece 76 can be formed on only one of the belts 64 because it is located on the side. In this case, since the packaging container P can be positioned at a portion close to the cap mounting portion, the mounting accuracy of the cap C can be increased.

The accelerating conveyor 62 includes endless belts 8 provided on both edges of the base conveyor 15.
3 and 84, and each belt 83 and 84 is
5 and 86 and the driven pulleys 87 and 88 are stretched. Here, the traveling speed of the base conveyor 15 is V0,
The running speed of the belts 63 and 64 is V2, and the belt 8
Assuming that the traveling speed of the vehicle 3 and 84 is V3, the traveling speeds V0 and V
2, V3 is set so that V0 = V2 <V3, and the acceleration conveyor 62 is run at a higher speed than the transport conveyor 61. In addition, each belt 8
The distance between 3 and 84 is set slightly smaller than the width of the packaging container P.

Therefore, when the packaging container P fed out from the first packaging container transport section 16 at the transport pitch p1 reaches the first area AR1 of the second packaging container transport section 17,
It comes into contact with the belts 83 and 84, is accelerated, is conveyed at the traveling speed V3, and approaches the second area AR2. The front wall of the packaging container P hits the positioning pieces 75, 76 of the belts 63, 64 running at the running speed V2,
Thereafter, the paper P passes below the index table 18 and is transported at the traveling speeds V0 and V2 at the positioning pitch p2. In this case, since the positioning of the packaging container P is performed based on the front wall of the packaging container P, even if the dimensions of the packaging container P vary, the sticking accuracy of the cap C does not decrease.

In this manner, the packaging container P is transported by the transport conveyor 61 while the base container 15 is being transported.
It is positioned at a predetermined sticking position above. In this case, as described above, the distance between the packaging containers P does not become shorter than the transport pitch p1 set by the first packaging container transport unit 16, and the positioning pitch p2 is the transport pitch. It is made shorter than p1. Therefore,
Two or more packaging containers P do not enter between adjacent positioning pieces 75 and 76.

By the way, in order to make the traveling speed V3 of the belts 83, 84 higher than the traveling speed V2 of the belts 63, 64, the driving pulleys 85, 86 and 65,
The driving pulleys 85 and 86 are rotated at a higher speed than the driving pulleys 65 and 66 by a transmission means (not shown). In order to make the traveling speed V3 higher than the traveling speed V2, the driving pulleys 85 and 86 can be rotated by another driving means. Further, the rotational speeds of the drive pulleys 85 and 86 are made equal to the rotational speeds of the drive pulleys 65 and 66, and the diameters of the drive pulleys 85 and 86 are made equal to each other.
It can be larger than the diameter of.

When the packaging container P reaches the first area AR1 and is accelerated by the accelerating conveyor 62, the first container AR and the positioning pieces 75 and 76 do not interfere with each other. The distance between the belts 63 and 64 and the distance between the belts 83 and 84 in the area AR1 are set to gradually decrease from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction of the packaging container P. For that purpose, the contact plates 91 and 92 are arranged in contact with the inside portions of the belts 63 and 64 in the first area AR1, and the inside portions of the belts 63 and 64 are deflected by the contact plates 91 and 92. . Also,
The positions of the driven pulleys 67, 68, 87, and 88 are set slightly outside the positions of the drive pulleys 85 and 86 in the width direction of the base conveyor 15. The distance between the belts 63 and 64 in the first area AR1 is set so as to gradually decrease from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction of the packaging container P, and the distance between the belts 83 and 84 is set to the width of the packaging container P. It can be set slightly smaller.

A packaging container preheater (not shown) is disposed above the base conveyor 15 in the first area AR1. The packaging container P is heated by the heated air injected from the nozzle of the packaging container preheater. Is preheated, and water droplets adhering to the top wall are blown off. In this way, when the packaging container P is positioned at a predetermined sticking position on the base conveyor 15, it is taken out of the index table 18 by the application head disposed on the cap sticking section 20 (FIG. 2). The cap C is attached to the cap mounting portion on the top wall of the packaging container P.

When the cap C is attached to the top wall, the cap C is pressed against the top wall with a predetermined pressing force. Therefore, a backup belt can be run on both edges of the base conveyor 15 so that the packaging container P is not deformed by the pressing force. In the present embodiment, the packaging container P is accelerated by the acceleration conveyor 62, and the front wall of the packaging container P is brought into contact with the positioning pieces 75 and 76. Positioning piece 7 is positioned on the front wall of packaging container P.
5, 76. In that case, the traveling speed of the transport conveyor 61 is set lower than the traveling speed of the base conveyor 15. Further, the acceleration conveyor 62 becomes unnecessary. Note that the belts 63 and 64 may be arranged in two stages, upper and lower, or a side plate may be arranged in place of the belt 64.

Next, the cap attaching section 20 will be described. FIG. 1 is a front view of a cap attaching portion according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a state of a first driving unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state of the drive unit of FIG. 2, FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a vertical cam mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a horizontal cam mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a cap attaching portion,
Are the upper frame, and 96 and 97 are moved alternately above the base conveyor 15 to grip the cap C (FIG. 6) and adhere to the cap mounting portion on the top wall of the packaging container P. Application head. The first,
The second application head 96, 97 is attached to the tip of the bracket 98, 99, and the bracket 98,
It is moved while drawing a predetermined trajectory above the base conveyor 15 together with 99. To this end, the brackets 98 and 99 are vertically moved by first and second driving units 101 and 102 disposed on the left and right sides of the base conveyor 15, respectively, and are moved along the traveling direction of the base conveyor 15. To be moved horizontally.

The first drive unit 101 is composed of a pair of bars 111 movably slidable in the vertical direction with respect to the upper frame 95, and a connecting piece for connecting between upper ends of the bars 111. 112, a guide bar 113 for connecting the lower ends of the bars 111 and guiding the bracket 98 in the horizontal direction, a vertical cam mechanism 103 for moving the bracket 98 in the vertical direction, and a horizontal for moving the bracket 98 in the horizontal direction. A cam mechanism 104 is provided. In addition,
The vertical cam mechanism 103 and the horizontal cam mechanism 104 constitute a cam mechanism.

The second drive unit 102 includes a pair of bars 121 slidably disposed in the vertical direction with respect to the upper frame 95, a connecting piece 122 for connecting between upper ends of the bars 121, While connecting between the lower ends of the bars 121,
A guide bar 123 for guiding the bracket 99 in the horizontal direction;
A vertical cam mechanism 133 for vertically moving the bracket 99 and a horizontal cam mechanism 134 for horizontally moving the bracket 99 are provided.

Next, the vertical cam mechanisms 103 and 133 and the horizontal cam mechanisms 104 and 134 will be described. Since the vertical cam mechanisms 103 and 133 have the same structure, and the horizontal cam mechanisms 104 and 134 have the same structure, the vertical cam mechanism 103 and the horizontal cam mechanism 104 have the same structure.
Will be described only. The vertical cam mechanism 103 is rotatably supported by the lower frame 141, has a cam 142 having a cam surface 142 a of a predetermined shape, and is swingably supported by the lower frame 141, and has a first arm 14.
6 and a cam arm 143 having an "L" shape and having a second arm 147, and is stretched between the second arm 147 and the base 148.
A spring 144 biasing clockwise at 0;
And a rod 145 connecting between the second arm 147 and the guide bar 113. A cam roller 151 is rotatably disposed on the first arm 146, and the cam roller 151 is pressed against the cam surface 142a by the urging force of the spring 144. The rod 1
45 is swingably supported by the guide bar 113 and the second arm 147.

Therefore, by driving the driving means (not shown) in synchronization with the transport of the packaging container P,
When the cam 142 is rotated, the cam roller 151 moves along the cam surface 142a while rotating, and the cam arm 143 is swung. As a result, the rod 145 is moved in the vertical direction, and accordingly, the guide bar 113 is moved.
And the bracket 98 are moved up and down.

The horizontal cam mechanism 104 is rotatably supported by the lower frame 141 and has a cam 162 having a cam surface 162a of a predetermined shape.
41, the first arm 166,
“T” including the second arm 167 and the third arm 168
A cam arm 163 having a U-shape and a spring 164 extending between the second arm 167 and the base 148 to urge the cam arm 163 clockwise in FIG. A cam roller 171 is rotatably disposed on the first arm 166.
71 is pressed against the cam surface 162a by the urging force of the spring 164. Further, the third arm 168 is swingably supported by an engagement portion 173 attached to the lower end of the bracket 98. for that reason,
A pin 175 is formed on the third arm 168, and a long groove 174 extending in the vertical direction is formed on the engagement portion 173, and the pin 175 and the long groove 174 are engaged.

Therefore, by driving the driving means (not shown) in synchronization with the conveyance of the packaging container P,
When the cam 162 is rotated, the cam roller 171 moves along the cam surface 162a while rotating, and the cam arm 163 is swung. As a result, the engaging portion 173 is moved in the horizontal direction, and accordingly, the bracket 98 is moved.
Is moved horizontally.

Assuming that the traveling speed of the base conveyor 15 is V0 and the traveling speed of the brackets 98, 99 in the horizontal direction is V5, the traveling speed V0 and the traveling speed V5 are set so that V0 = V5. Is done. Therefore, the cap C can be attached while the packaging container P is being conveyed by the base conveyor 15. In this case, based on the position of the cap C, the positions of the belts 63 and 64, that is, the positions of the positioning pieces 75 (FIG. 7) and 76 are adjusted so that the position of the packaging container P matches the position of the cap C. Is done.

The first and second application heads 96 and 97 have suction ports (not shown) as suction means formed on the lower surfaces thereof, and the suction ports are selectively communicated with a vacuum source (not shown). The cap C is received at the fifth station S5 (FIG. 3) of the index table 18, and is moved downward while the cap C is sucked by the negative pressure formed at the suction port.
Is pressed against the top wall of the packaging container P. At this time, since the sealing portion on the back surface of the cap C is melted, the cap C is stuck to the top wall. Since the packaging container P is formed of a packaging material whose surface is covered with a film, the film is also melted when the cap C is attached.

The packaging container P to which the cap C has been attached in this way is discharged from the second packaging container transport section 17. In this case, two first and second application heads 96 arranged along the base conveyor 15,
97, the cap C is attached, so that the vertical cam mechanisms 103 and 133 and the horizontal cam mechanism 10 are attached.
4, 134 may be disposed on the base 148.

Therefore, not only can the size of the cap mounting device be reduced, but also the cost of the cap mounting device can be reduced. Also, the vertical cam mechanism 103,
Since it is not necessary to move the 133 and the horizontal cam mechanisms 104 and 134 with the transport of the packaging container P, the vertical cam mechanisms 103 and 133 and the horizontal cam mechanisms 104 and 134 can be simplified. Further, the vertical cam mechanisms 103, 1
The mechanical accuracy of the 33 and the horizontal cam mechanisms 104 and 134 can be increased, and the adjustment is facilitated.

The operation of the cap picker 31 (FIG. 2), the running of the belts 63 and 64, and the operation of the first and second application heads 96 and 97 are performed by driving the same driving means. The means is driven in synchronization with a drive motor for rotating the index table 18. As described above, since the packaging container P is transported by the base conveyor 15 and only moves in the linear direction, the transport state of the packaging container P can be stabilized. Therefore, since the packaging container P can be reliably positioned, the sticking accuracy of the cap C can be increased.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be variously modified based on the gist of the present invention, and they are not excluded from the scope of the present invention.

[0061]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, in the cap mounting device, the base conveyor for transporting the packaging containers positioned at the predetermined positioning pitch, and the base conveyor along the base conveyor. An application head that is disposed so as to be movable in the horizontal and horizontal directions, grips the cap, and sticks it to the cap mounting portion on the top wall of the packaging container, and a drive that moves the application head in synchronization with the transport of the packaging container Means.

In this case, since the cap is stuck by the application head arranged along the base conveyor, the cam mechanism can be arranged on the base. Therefore, not only can the cap mounting device be reduced in size, but also the cost of the cap mounting device can be reduced. Further, since it is not necessary to move the cam mechanism along with the transport of the packaging container, the cam mechanism can be simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a cap sticking section according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cap attaching device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an index table according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a first packaging container transport unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a first packaging container transport unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a second packaging container transport unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of a second packaging container transport unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a state of a first driving unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state of a second driving unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a vertical cam mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a horizontal cam mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 15 Base conveyor 96, 97 First and second application head 103, 133 Vertical cam mechanism 104, 134 Horizontal cam mechanism C Cap P Packaging container

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission Date] January 14, 1999 (1999.1.1)
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 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yukihisa Kumeda 6-12 Kioicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Inside Tetra Pak Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazutaka Ueda 377-1 Yodomizu-cho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto F-term (reference) in Kyoto Works, Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A base conveyor for transporting a packaging container positioned at a predetermined positioning pitch, and (b) a cap disposed movably up and down and horizontally along the base conveyor. An application head that is gripped and attached to a cap mounting portion on the top wall of the packaging container,
(C) a cap mounting device, comprising: driving means for moving the application head in synchronization with the transport of the packaging container. 2. The application head according to claim 1, wherein the application head comprises first and second application heads, wherein the first and second application heads are moved alternately.
4. The cap mounting device according to claim 1. 3. The cap mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the application head is moved vertically by a vertical cam mechanism, and is moved horizontally by a horizontal cam mechanism.