JP2000313519A - Container direction aligning device and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make easily and surely performable the directional aligning of containers with a simple constitution by providing a container supporting body revolving the containers by a rotation means and a guide body having abutting bodies locked to screwing starting end parts at container mouths on the upper side. SOLUTION: This device aligns the directions of containers (b) with the male screws b2 threaded on the container mouths b1 which are closed by caps. A container supporting body 1 is revolved by a rotation means 3 by mounting the containers (b) and the containers (b) are supplied one by one. A guide body 2 is provided on the upper side corresponding to the container mouths b1 of the container supporting body 1 and has abutting bodies locked on screwing starting end parts of the male screws b2 provided spirally at the container mouths b1. The containers (b) are rotated in one direction, the screwing staring end parts are abutted on stationary abutting bodies, a non-transmission means 3a works and further rotation is stopped. Therefore, positions where the screwing starting end parts are abutted on the abutting bodies become positions where the containers (b) are directionally aligned.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for aligning a container in which the direction of the container can be easily and reliably determined.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a container having front and back sides, for example, a container having a label surface on one side surface, requires that the label surface be aligned in a certain direction, and the operation is performed by various methods. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a large number of containers 61 conveyed continuously or intermittently by a conveyor 60 are supplied to the containers 6 by a sensor 62 such as a camera.
When the first surface 63 is detected and a surface other than the label surface 63a is detected, the container 61 is rotated by a rotating member 64 at a predetermined angle to position the container 61 in a predetermined direction.

However, in this case, in the case of the container 61 in which the label surface 63a can be reliably identified, a good detection result can be obtained. However, in the case of the container without the label surface 63a, or in the case where it is difficult to identify, the uniformity is obtained. May not be aligned properly.

[0004] Further, when the orientation of the container is randomly transferred, it is difficult to set a rotation angle for aligning the direction of each container. And other various problems.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. The present invention has been made in consideration of the position of the screwing start end of a male screw threaded at the container mouth, the direction in which the container is desired to be aligned. The container or guide body is determined by using the fact that the guide body having the abutment body to be engaged with the screw start end portion is based on the screw start end portion of the male screw, using the fact that they always match. An object of the present invention is to provide a container direction aligning apparatus and a method thereof, which can be easily and reliably performed by rotating the container by a rotation angle so that the container can be aligned in a simple direction.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for aligning the direction of a container with respect to a container to be closed with a cap attached to a male screw by a cap. A container support on which the container is placed and the container is turned by a rotating means, and a male screw provided on the container mouth above the container support corresponding to the container mouth of the container support, and And a guide body having a contact body engaged with the screwing start end.

In a device for aligning the direction of a container with respect to a container whose mouth is covered with a male screw by a cap and closed, a container support for mounting the container, A guide body having an abutment body provided above and corresponding to the container mouth of the body and engaged with a screwing start end of a male screw screwed into the container mouth, and a rotating means for rotating the guide body. And a container direction aligning device provided.

In a method for aligning the direction of a container with respect to a container whose mouth is covered with a male screw by a cap and closed, a container placed on a container support, A guide body that stands by above the mouth, one or both of the container and the guide body move, and the external thread of the vessel mouth and the contact body of the guide body correspond to each other; The container orientation aligning method for positioning the direction of the container when the container is stopped by rotating the screw to start the screwing start end of the external thread of the container mouth against the contact member of the guide body.

Further, there is provided a method of aligning the direction of a container with respect to a container whose mouth is covered with a male screw by a cap and closed, comprising: a container placed on a container support; A guide body that stands by above the mouth, and one or both of the container and the guide body move to make the external thread of the vessel mouth correspond to the contact body of the guide body; After the body is rotated and the contact body of the guide body comes into contact with the screwing start end of the external thread of the container mouth, the container is further rotated by rotating the guide body at a predetermined angle, There is a container direction alignment method for positioning the direction of a container.

[0010]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an apparatus and a method for aligning a container according to the present invention. FIG.
4A is a container direction aligning apparatus employing the container direction aligning method according to one embodiment of the present invention, wherein a container opening b1 is shown.
The container direction is aligned with respect to the container b which is attached to the male screw b2 with a cap (not shown) and closed, and in the case of the first embodiment shown in FIG. It is basically composed of the body 1 and the guide body 2. In addition, the container b shown in FIG. 2 (b) is the one before the filling of the contents, and the container mouth b1 is provided with a covering portion b5 at the time of molding.

The above-mentioned container support 1 mounts the container b and turns the container b by the rotating means 3. The containers b transported by the transfer means 4 are supplied one by one.
The transfer means 4 is, for example, as shown in FIG.
The container b sequentially taken in the vertical chute 5 is intermittently fed onto the container support 1 by the regulating member 6,
The container support 1 is provided with a holder 7 called a hakama in the case of a container b or the like having an unstable self-sustainability, and is placed via the holder 7.

The above-mentioned rotating means 3 is linked to the container support 1 and uses a given rotating member such as a motor to rotate the container b forward or backward in the longitudinal direction by a predetermined rotation angle. The container support 1, that is, the container b is turned, and slips when a constant rotational torque is received, and incorporates a non-transmission means 3 a such as a torque limiter that makes the rotation non-transmission state. The non-transmitting means 3a does not require the slip mechanism as long as it is a rotating means 3 capable of accurately obtaining the predetermined rotation angle. In this case, the non-transmitting means 3a can be, for example, numerically controlled. This is performed by accurately setting the rotation stop position using a simple servomotor or the like.

The above-mentioned guide body 2 is provided above and corresponding to the container opening b1 of the container support 1, and the container opening b1 is provided.
The contact body 8 is engaged with the screwing start end b3 of the external thread b2 screwed on the main body 9. The contact body 8 has a cylindrical main body 9 as shown in FIGS. 180 at the bottom
A vertical side and an inclined side are formed at two places in a notch shape with a phase difference of °. Therefore, the contact body 8 and the male screw b2
Abuts on the screwing start end b3 of the guide body 2 and the container b
, The rotation (rotation) in the vertical axis direction is hindered by each, and does not cause the movement.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the guide member 2 is provided with a guide member 10 for projecting the center position of the container b, and covers the external thread b2 when the guide member 10 is attached to the container mouth b1. In addition, centering is performed by engaging with the shoulder b4 near the container mouth b1.

The engagement of the mouth b1 with the guide body 2 is as follows.
The container support 1 is raised by the operation of the elevating means 11 with respect to the guide body 2 waiting in the vertical chute 5, and the separation of the guide body 2 to the mouth b1 is similarly performed by the container support 1. It is done by descending.

The guide 2 is suspended by the container take-out means 12 and holds the container b by suction means (not shown). In this state, when the container support 1 is lowered, it is not shown. It is turned to the conveying means 13 provided near the vertical chute 5 by the operation of the turning means, and is transferred to the conveying means 13 by the operation of a lifting member (not shown).
The container b for which the direction alignment has been completed is transported to the next step.

Accordingly, the container orientation aligning apparatus A and the method thereof according to the first embodiment of the present invention configured as described above have the following effects. In the container b to be aligned in the direction, the position of the external thread b3 at the screwing start end b3 and the position of the front side surface b4 of the container b are always in the same relationship for each of these containers b in container molding. . That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 2B, the screwing start end b3 is located in the same direction as the front side surface b4, and this relationship is the same regardless of the container b.

The container b is placed on the container support 1 via the holder 7, and the container support 1 is
That is, when the container b is raised, the container opening b1 is engaged with the guide body 2 waiting above the container b, and the accurate rotation center of the container b is obtained by the guide member 10.

In this state, the rotating means 3 is operated to operate the container b.
Is rotated in one direction, the screwing start end b3 of the male screw b3 in the container b is applied to the contact body 8 of the stationary guide body 2.
Engage and abut to stop further rotation. At this time, the rotation means 3 does not transmit the rotation of the rotation means 3 to the container b because the non-transmission means 3a operates.

Therefore, in all the containers b, the position where the screwing start end b3 hits the contact body 8 is a position (front side surface b4) where the direction of the desired container b is aligned.

Next, an embodiment of a container direction aligning apparatus and method according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this example, while the first embodiment rotates and aligns the container support 1 on which the container b is placed, while the container b is separated from the container support 1, This is a configuration and a method for rotating the container b to align the directions.

The container support 1 and the guide 2 have the same structure as that of the first embodiment described above.
3 and the position of the front side surface b4 of the container b always coincide with each other on the container b in the molding of the container. Therefore, these components are denoted by the same reference numerals. Detailed description is omitted.

That is, in this embodiment, the container b
Abuts on the container support 1 on which the container 2 is to be placed, and is provided above and corresponding to the container opening b1 of the container support 1, and is engaged with the screwing start end b3 of the external thread 2n screwed into the container opening b1. Body 8
And a rotating means 20 for rotating the guide body 2.

The rotating means 20 is linked to a rotating shaft 21 attached to the guide body 2 so that an arbitrary rotating angle can be obtained by using a rotating member such as a motor. A non-transmitting means 20a similar to the structure shown in the first embodiment is built in, which slips when received and turns the rotation into a non-transmitting state. Further, the guide body 2 is provided with a suction means 22 for the container b and an elevating member 23 capable of obtaining a predetermined stroke.

Therefore, the container direction aligning apparatus A and the method thereof according to the second embodiment of the present invention configured as described above have the following effects. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the holder 7 is placed on the container support 1 via the holder 7, and as shown in FIG.
When the guide body 2 is moved down, the guide body 2 is engaged with the container opening b1 of the container b on the container support 1.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the guide member 2 is rotated by the rotating means 20, the guide member 2 is rotated.
Abuts with the screw start end b3 of the external thread b3 in the container b, and further rotation is stopped. At this time, the rotation of the rotation means 20 is not transmitted to the container b by the non-transmission means 20a of the rotation means 20.

At this time, the suction means 21 is operated to suck and hold the container b, and the elevating member 23 is operated to
As shown in (c), the container b is raised and moved upward without interfering with the holder 7.

In this state, the rotating means 20 is operated to rotate the container b which is suction-held, so as to obtain a predetermined rotation angle as shown in FIG.

The predetermined rotation angle means that the position of the contact member 8 in the guide body 2 is predetermined in the initial state of the operation of the alignment process in which the container b is placed on the container support 1. Point is always set. Therefore, by the rotation of the guide body 2, the contact rotation angle until the contact body 8 engages with the screw start end b 3 of the male screw b 3 in the container b is controlled by a control means (not shown) linked with the rotation means 20. Is detected by By calculating the contact rotation angle and an angle required to reach the position of the front surface b4 of the container b set in advance, a predetermined rotation angle for rotating the guide body 2 can be obtained.

As a result, all the containers b are in the guide 2
By rotating to the position of the predetermined rotation angle, the desired position of the container b is aligned (front side surface b4), and the container d is lowered by the operation of the elevating member 23, as shown in FIG. Fits in holder 7 on support 1.

The direction alignment by this rotation is performed by the container b
And the rotation of the guide body 2 may be performed appropriately in parallel. In such a case, for example, as shown by a virtual line in FIG. The purpose is achieved by operating the two rotating bodies 3 and 20.

[0032]

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, the screwing start of the male screw is performed by utilizing the relationship that the screwing start of the male screw applied to the container and the front surface are always constant. The simple configuration and operation of the unit to match the position to a predetermined position has a special effect that the container can be aligned in the direction of the container.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional front view showing a main part of a first embodiment of a container orientation aligning apparatus employing a container orientation alignment method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a guide body and a container used in the container direction alignment method according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an engaged state between a guide body and a container mouth in the container direction alignment method according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory view showing a main part of a second embodiment of the container direction aligning apparatus employing the container direction aligning method according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an operation state of a conventional container direction alignment device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A container direction aligning device b container b1 container mouth b2 male screw b3 screwing start end 1 container support 2 guide body 3, 20 rotating means 8 contact body

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3E054 AA15 DC11 DD01 FA04 FC04 FC07 FC13 GA01 GB01 GC10 3F081 AA18 BC02 BE04 BF08 CA05 CA48 CC08 CE04 EA09 EA10 FB06

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for aligning the direction of a container with respect to a container to be closed by attaching a container mouth to a male screw with a cap and closing the container, wherein the container is placed and the container is turned by a rotating means. And a guide body provided above and corresponding to the container mouth of the container support and having an abutment body which is engaged with a screw start end of a male screw screwed into the container mouth. A container direction aligning device, characterized in that: 2. An apparatus for aligning the direction of a container with respect to a container whose mouth is covered with a male screw by a cap and closed, comprising: a container support on which the container is placed; A guide body having an abutment body provided above and corresponding to the container mouth of the body and engaged with a screwing start end of a male screw screwed into the container mouth, and a rotating means for rotating the guide body. A container direction alignment device, comprising: 3. A method for aligning the direction of a container with respect to a container whose mouth is covered with a male screw by a cap and closed, comprising: a container mounted on a container support; A guide body that stands by above the mouth, one or both of the container and the guide body move, and the external thread of the vessel mouth and the contact body of the guide body correspond to each other; Rotating the container to abut the threaded start end of the external thread of the container against the abutting member of the guide body and position the container when the container is stopped. . 4. A method for aligning the direction of a container with respect to a container whose mouth is covered with a male screw by a cap and closed, comprising: a container mounted on a container support; A guide body that stands by above the mouth, and one or both of the container and the guide body move to make the external thread of the vessel mouth correspond to the contact body of the guide body; After the body is rotated and the contact body of the guide body comes into contact with the screwing start end of the external thread of the container mouth, the container is further rotated by rotating the guide body at a predetermined angle, A container direction alignment method, comprising positioning a direction of a container.