JP2000327086A - Capper - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain highly accurate cap opening torque without impairing production efficiency. SOLUTION: This relates to a copper 3 comprising a holding mechanism 4 for holding a container 1, a capping head 6 for holding and rotating a cap 2, and a controller 12 which controls a motor for rotating the capping head a predetermined degree from a position where both screw tip ends are fitted for screwing on the cap. The controller calculates the amount of deviation of both screw tip ends from a signal input from a camera 15, and basing on the amount of deviation, the capping head is rotated for fitting both screw tip ends. By this, a line length is shortened and production efficiency is also improved compared with that of a conventional one.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a capper, and more particularly to an improvement in a capper for screwing a cap onto a container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a capper, a gripping mechanism for gripping a container, a capping head for gripping a cap,
Driving means for driving the capping head to rotate, and control means for controlling the driving means to rotate the capping head, the control means aligning the screw tip of the container with the screw tip of the cap. The capping head is rotated by a predetermined amount in the tightening direction from the closed position, and the cap is screwed onto the container (Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-86034). According to this kind of capper,
Since the capping head is rotated by a predetermined amount from the position where the screw end of the container and the screw end of the cap are aligned, the opening torque can be controlled with high accuracy.

[0003]

In the configuration disclosed in the above publication, the capping head is rotated in the direction of loosening while the two screw portions are engaged, and at the same time, the position where the capping head falls is detected. That is, when the engagement of both threaded ends is released,
This is because the capping head slightly drops. However, in the above-described configuration, the detection section must be set on the assumption that the capping head must be rotated about one turn at the maximum in order to detect the drop, and as a result, the line becomes longer and the production efficiency is poor. There are drawbacks. In view of such circumstances, the present invention provides a capper capable of obtaining a high-precision opening torque without impairing production efficiency.

[0004]

That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a gripping mechanism for gripping a container, a capping head for gripping a cap, a driving means for rotating and driving the capping head, and controlling the driving means. Control means for rotating the capping head, the control means rotating the capping head by a predetermined amount in the tightening direction from a position where the screw end of the container and the screw end of the cap are aligned, to the container. In a capper to which a cap is screwed, a detecting means for detecting a tip portion of the screw portion of the container and a tip portion of the screw portion of the cap is provided, and the control device is configured to output the signal based on a signal from the detecting unit. The position of the tip of the screw portion of the container and the tip of the screw portion of the cap are matched.
In the invention of claim 7, a holding mechanism for holding the container,
A capping head that grips the cap, a driving unit that rotationally drives the capping head, and a control unit that controls the driving unit to rotate the capping head. In a capper adapted to screw the cap to the container by rotating the capping head by a predetermined amount in the tightening direction from a position where the screw portion tip of the cap is aligned,
Along with providing a container supply means for aligning the screw tip positions of the container in a predetermined direction and supplying the container to the gripping mechanism, a detecting means for detecting a screw tip position of the cap is provided, and the control device includes: The position of the tip of the threaded portion of the container and the tip of the threaded portion of the cap are matched based on a signal from the detection means.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the tip position of the screw portion of the container and the tip portion of the screw portion of the cap are known from the signal input from the detecting means. It is possible to select the closer one of the loosening directions so that both screw tip portions match. Therefore, since the capping head only needs to be rotated by a half turn at the maximum, the line length can be reduced and the production efficiency can be improved as compared with the conventional case where the capping head is rotated once. According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, while the tip position of the screw portion of the container is aligned in a predetermined direction by the container supply means, the tip position of the screw portion of the cap is determined by the signal input from the detection means. Thereby, it is possible to select the one which is closer to either the tightening direction or the loosening direction of the capping head so as to match the two screw thread tips. Therefore, since the capping head only needs to be rotated by a half turn at the maximum, the line length can be reduced and the production efficiency can be improved as compared with the conventional case where the capping head is rotated once.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiment. FIG. 1 shows a rotary type capper 3 for capping a cap 2 on a container 1 filled with a content liquid. The gripping mechanisms 4 for gripping the container 1 are arranged at equal intervals on a rotating body (not shown), and the same number of capping heads 6 that are rotationally driven by a motor 5 as driving means are provided immediately above the gripping mechanisms 4. ing. The capping head 6 can be composed of a conventionally known air chuck that grips the cap 2 using, for example, air pressure. The capping head 6 is connected to the motor 5 via a pair of spline shafts 8 and 9 fitted in a telescopic manner, and the spline shaft 8 is fixed to a drive shaft of the motor 5.
The spline shaft 9 that moves up and down is provided with a cam follower (not shown), which is engaged with a cam surface of a cylindrical cam laid concentrically with the rotating body. Thus, the capping head 6 is moved up and down with the rotation of the rotating body.

The motor 5 detects the number of rotations.
That is, a rotation detecting means 10 such as a tachogenerator or a rotary encoder for detecting the number of rotations of the capping head 6 is provided, and a detection signal detected here is input to the control device 12. The control device 12 stores the number of rotations at the time of tightening in advance, and the control device 12 has a screw end 13 ′ of the container 1 and a screw end 14 ′ of the cap 2 before tightening, which will be described in detail later. To match. Thus, the container 1 and the cap 2
If the two screw tip portions 13 'and 14' are adjusted in advance, the opening torque can be controlled with high accuracy only by rotating the capping head 6 by a fixed amount thereafter.

Conventionally, in order to match the position of the tip of the threaded portion of the container with the tip of the threaded portion of the cap, the screw is rotated in the opposite direction to the tightening direction with the threaded portion of the container and the threaded portion of the cap engaged. At this time, the position where the tips of the two threaded portions are disengaged and the capping head slightly drops is detected by the height position detecting means.
However, when the section required for detection is set because the tip position of the screw part of the container and the tip part of the screw part of the cap are not known in advance, the setting is made in consideration of the case where the capping head makes one rotation at the maximum. Have to do
For this reason, there is a disadvantage that the line length becomes longer and the production efficiency becomes worse. In order to solve this problem, in the present embodiment, the container 1 is supplied to the gripping mechanism 4 and the cap 2 is supplied to the capping head 6 at a supply position where the cap 2 is supplied. Part 1A
In addition, a camera 15 for simultaneously photographing the outer periphery of the cap 2 is arranged, and video signals of the container 1 and the cap 2 sequentially supplied by the camera 15 are input to the control device 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the container 1 is provided with a mark M in advance so that the screw tip 13 'can be detected. Specifically, a step 1C between the mouth 1A and the shoulder 1B is provided. On the outer peripheral surface, numbers 0 to 11 are sequentially attached counterclockwise at intervals of 30 degrees (5 to 10 are not shown) counterclockwise to the right-handed screw portion 13, and the position of the number 0 Are in the same phase position as the screw portion tip 13 ′. The cap 2 is also provided with a mark M in advance so that the screw tip 14 ′ can be detected. Specifically, on the outer peripheral surface of the lower end of the cap 2, similarly to the right-handed screw 14, a mark M is sequentially formed. Numerals 0 to 11 are attached at intervals of 30 degrees (5 to 11 are not shown), and the position of the numeral 0 is the same phase position as the screw tip 14 '. The numerals attached to the container 1 and the cap 2 are each surrounded by a perfect circle, and the center position of the numeral can be detected from the perfect circle.

The control device 12 can calculate the positions of the tip portions 13 'and 14' of the threaded portions from the respective numbers by arithmetic processing. Therefore, the control device 12 can identify the numbers. On the other hand, it is detected how much the selected numeral is displaced from the center line C, and both of these data are calculated to determine the amount of displacement of both threaded tips 13 ', 14' from the center line C. Then, the amount of displacement between the two is compared, and finally the amount of rotation of the capping head 6 is calculated. Specifically, the camera 15
The control device 12 to which the image signal shown in FIG.
First, a scanning area A is set to be in a range of a total of 40 degrees by 20 degrees left and right around the center line C,
The scanning area A is further scanned in units of blocks L1, L2, R1, and R2 that are further divided in the vertical direction by 10 degrees, and a number is detected. At this time, two or more numbers of the container 1 or the cap 2 may be included in the scanning area A at the same time. In this case, the number closer to the center line C is selected.

A description will now be given of the capping of the capper 3 having the above-described configuration. When the gripping mechanism 4 and the capping head 6 are positioned at predetermined supply positions set on the rotation locus of the rotating body, the container 1 filled with the product is supplied to the gripping mechanism 4 and gripped, and the cap 2 rotates. It is supplied to and held by the capping head 6 in the stopped state. Thus, the holding mechanism 4 holds the container 1,
When the capping head 6 grips the cap 2, an image at this time is input to the control device 12 from a camera 15 provided in the vicinity of the supply position. Before moving to the tightening start position, the threaded tip 13 'of the container 1 and the threaded tip 14' of the cap 2 are matched. That is, the control device 12 to which the video signal shown in FIG. 2 is input from the camera 15 extracts only the data of the scanning area A and converts the scanning area A from the inner blocks L1 and R1 adjacent to the center line C. Scanning is performed 10 degrees at a time toward the outer blocks L2 and R2. First, the control device 12 scans the left block L1. Since neither the number of the container 1 nor the number of the cap 2 is detected in this block L1, the control device 12 proceeds to the right block R1. Here, when detecting that the number 1 of the container 1 is included, the control device 12 obtains the angle of the center of the circle surrounding the number 1. In this case, since the center of the numeral 1 is shifted to the right by 8 degrees, this 8 degrees is added to 30 degrees, which is the interval from the numerals 1 to 0, so that the tip 13 'of the threaded portion 13' is 38 degrees below the center line C. It is required to be located on the right side.
When the scanning of the block R1 is completed as described above, the control device 1
Next, 2 scans the outer block R2 adjacent thereto, and when the numeral 2 attached to the cap 2 is detected, the angle of the center of the circle surrounding the numeral 2 is obtained. In this case, the center of the number 2 is the center line C
Is shifted to the right by 20 degrees.
Is subtracted from 60 degrees, which is the interval from to the number 0, to find that the screw tip 14 'is shifted 40 degrees to the left of the center line C.

When the amount of deviation between the two threaded ends 13 'and 14' with respect to the center line C is thus determined, finally, the amounts of deviation are compared to determine whether the capping head 6 is to be tightened or loosened. Decide whether to rotate.
At this time, if both threaded tips are located in the same direction with respect to the center line C, the value of the container threaded tip is subtracted from the value of the cap threaded tip. When the tip is located in a different direction with respect to the center line C, both values are added,
In the case of the present embodiment, since the two screw tip portions 13 ′ and 14 ′ are located on opposite sides, 38 degrees and 40 degrees are added and 7
Eight degrees are required. In this way, the amount of displacement between both is 78
If the degree is determined, the control device 12 operates the motor 5 to rotate the descending capping head 6 to the right (to loosen) by 78 degrees to perform positioning in advance. Thereby, the control device 12 determines that the cap 2 is
The capping head 6 is rotated to the left (tightening direction) by a predetermined amount of rotation at the same time when the capping head 6 is rotated by the predetermined amount of rotation. Is stopped and the cap 2 is opened. As can be understood from the above results, according to this embodiment, for example, 1 to 180 degrees depending on the amount of deviation between the position of the screw tip 13 ′ of the container 1 and the position of the screw tip 14 ′ of the cap 2. If it is within the range, the capping head 6 is rotated to the right (in the direction of loosening) at most half a turn,
On the other hand, when the angle is in the range of 181 degrees to 359 degrees, the capping head 6 only needs to be rotated to the left (tightening direction) at most half a turn. It is possible to shorten the line length and to improve the production efficiency as compared with the conventional method that requires only a section for
In addition, as in the present embodiment, the positioning is performed with the screw portions 13, 1 and 2.
If the process is completed before the four members are engaged with each other, the line length can be further reduced, and the production efficiency can be improved. Although a numeral is used as the mark M, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be Roman characters or other characters.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, the mark M is provided on the entire outer periphery of the container 1. In this embodiment, the mark M is provided. The part of the screw portion 113 is directly photographed without attaching the mark. In the second embodiment, the mark M is provided on the entire outer peripheral portion of the capper 3, but in the present embodiment, only one circular mark M is provided at the same phase position as the screw tip 114 '. ing. That is, in the present embodiment, the image captured by the camera is placed at a predetermined height position, for example, the mouth 1 of the container 101.
01A is scanned downward from the upper end along the center line C. At this time, the distance B required until the screw portion 113 is detected is compared with previously stored data, that is, the screw portion 113 By changing the angle of the screw portion tip 113 ′ in conjunction with the height of the screw portion 113, the amount of displacement of the screw portion tip 113 ′ with respect to the center line C can be obtained from the height of a part of the screw portion 113. In addition, the control device is configured to adjust the position while constantly checking the image input from the camera. Specifically, the control device rotates the cap 102 in a predetermined direction so that the center of the mark M '. In this case, it is necessary to arrange the camera so that there is no blind spot in photographing from the supply position to the tightening start position in order to constantly photograph the mark M of the cap 102. In the second embodiment having such a configuration, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

In the first and second embodiments, it is assumed that the threaded ends 13 'and 113' of the containers 2 and 102 are detected. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the case of a flat container or a rectangular container, it is possible to provide a uniform container by providing a conventional well-known device for aligning the direction of the container (eg, Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-40716). It is not always necessary to detect the tip of the threaded portion when processing a container having. In the first embodiment, the mark M is provided on the entire circumference of the cap 2. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The mark M is provided only at the tip end of the screw portion as in the second embodiment. The position may be adjusted by rotating the tip of the screw portion of the container with respect to the center line C from the state where the tip of the screw portion has been previously aligned on the center line C. Further, in the second embodiment, the screw portion tip 114 'of the cap 102 is continuously photographed by the camera so as to coincide with the center line C. However, the present invention is not limited to this. As shown in the example, a mark is provided at equal intervals over the entire circumference of the cap to calculate the amount of displacement of the tip of the screw portion from the center line C, and then the rotation is performed by adding or subtracting the amount of displacement of the tip of the screw portion of the container. It may be made to match. Furthermore, in the above-described first and second embodiments, the case of a single thread is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. If they are unified to the same mark, it goes without saying that the processing can be performed in the same manner as in the first and second embodiments, and it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied not only to the rotary type capper but also to the line type capper. is there.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to shorten the line length and to improve the production efficiency as compared with the related art.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an image of a camera 15;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view showing a scanning area of the control device 12.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a container 101 and a cap 102 showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Container 2, 102 ... Cap 3 ... Capper 4 ... Grasping mechanism 5 ... Motor (drive means) 6 ... Capping head 12 ... Control device 13, 113 ... Screw part 14, 114 ... Screw part 13 ', 113'
... Screw tip 14 ', 114' ... Screw tip 15 ... Camera (detection means)

Claims (7)

[Claims] The apparatus includes a gripping mechanism for gripping a container, a capping head for gripping a cap, a driving unit for driving the capping head to rotate, and a control unit for controlling the driving unit to rotate the capping head. The control means may rotate the capping head by a predetermined amount in the tightening direction from a position where the screw end of the container and the screw end of the cap are aligned, and screw the cap onto the container. Detecting means for detecting the tip position of the screw portion of the container and the tip position of the screw portion of the cap, wherein the control device detects the tip position of the screw portion of the container and the tip position of the screw portion of the cap based on a signal from the detecting means. The capper is characterized in that the position of the capper is matched. 2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the detecting unit is a camera for photographing a mark attached to at least one of the container and the cap, and the control device calculates a tip end of the screw portion from a position of the photographed mark. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein
The capper described in 1. 3. The cap according to claim 2, wherein the mark is attached to the entire circumference of the cap in the circumferential direction, and the control device calculates a tip end of the screw portion from a part of the photographed mark. The described capper. 4. The capper according to claim 2, wherein the mark is provided on a portion of the cap in a circumferential direction, and the capping head rotates the cap to a position where the mark is photographed by a camera. . 5. The control device according to claim 2, wherein the mark is provided on the entire circumference of the container in the circumferential direction, and the control device calculates the tip position of the screw portion from a part of the photographed mark.
The capper according to claim 4. 6. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the camera directly shoots a part of the screw part of the container, and the control device calculates a tip part of the screw part from the part of the shot screw part. The capper according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein 7. A holding mechanism for holding a container, a capping head for holding a cap, a driving means for rotating and driving the capping head, and a control means for controlling the driving means to rotate the capping head. The control means may rotate the capping head by a predetermined amount in the tightening direction from a position where the screw end of the container and the screw end of the cap are aligned, and screw the cap onto the container. A container supply means for supplying the container to the gripping mechanism by aligning the tip positions of the screw portions of the container in a predetermined direction,
Detecting means for detecting the tip position of the screw portion of the cap is provided, and the control device matches the position of the tip portion of the screw portion of the container with the position of the tip portion of the cap based on a signal from the detecting means. Characteristic capper.