JP2001088207A - Apparatus for inspecting hollow molded article - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inspect a preform by an inexpensive apparatus. SOLUTION: Preforms are supplied at an equal interval one by one by a supply device 2. An air permeable conveyor advancing and transferring straightly is arranged above a preform transfer passage to feed the preforms in a suspended posture in such a state that the mouth parts of the preforms are sucked on the undersurface of the air permeable conveyor, and the whole of the body parts of the preforms is inspected by the detector arranged on the lateral side of a feed passage. An air nozzle is arranged on the downstream side of the feed passage, and compressed air is ejected to the preform of which the abnormality is detected to destruct the suction by the air permeable conveyor to allow the preform to fall under its own wt. to discharge the same.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial applications]

The present invention relates to an apparatus for inspecting a hollow preform made of injection molded polyethylene terephthalate, which is a material for blow molding a synthetic resin bottle, and other hollow molded articles.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A preform (8) which is a hollow molded product is shown in FIG.
As shown by an imaginary line, a flange (84) extends over the body (81), and a spiral strip (83) is provided between the mouth (82) and the flange (84). By inspecting the preform (8) before blow molding the bottle and eliminating rejects, the quality of the bottle is improved. If foreign materials are mixed, scratched, air bubbles, or deformed in the preform material, it will cause problems such as bursting, leakage of the filled liquid, and alteration during blow molding. The bottom, torso (81), and mouth (82) are inspected.

Conventionally, this kind of inspection is performed by a rotary inspection device (9) shown in FIG. The device is a supply chute
The preform (8) sent from (91) is inserted one by one into a recess formed on the peripheral surface of the rotating supply wheel (92), and is fed around the turntable (93) rotating simultaneously. To the dents. The preform held around the turntable (93) is inspected at its bottom, torso and mouth by an inspection camera (96) disposed around the turntable during one rotation of the turntable. Then, it is delivered to the take-out wheel (97) which rotates synchronously, and the inspection is completed. The preform that moves while being held in the recess around the turntable is guided by the arc-shaped guide (95) arranged outside to prevent it from falling off the turntable, but rubs against the guide (95). To be sent while
There was a problem that the preform was easily scratched. Also,
In order to inspect the entire preform without blind spots, a suction nozzle provided for each depression of the turntable is arranged above the turntable so as to rotate simultaneously with the turntable and move up and down. Adsorb the foam,
The inspection is carried out while pulling up the turntable and rotating and moving at the same time as the turntable. After the inspection is completed, the preform is lowered into the recess of the turntable to remove the suction. Since the supply wheel (92) and the take-out wheel (97) were rotated synchronously with the turntable and required a complicated mechanism such as vertical movement and rotational movement of the suction nozzle, the price of the device had to be expensive. .

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is capable of inspecting the entire preform body without blind spots during the transition while moving the preform straight, and can be provided at a lower cost than conventional devices.
Moreover, the present invention clarifies an apparatus which does not damage the preform during transportation.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the present invention, the mouth of a hollow molded article is adsorbed to the lower surface of a gas-permeable conveyor which travels straight, and is moved straight. Since only the mouth top surface of the hollow molded product is in contact with and adsorbed to the air-permeable conveyor, there is no other contact with the hollow molded product, and no damage occurs during transportation. In addition, the whole molded product can be easily inspected, and the molded product in which an abnormality is detected can be easily removed by applying an external force and slightly tilting with respect to the air-permeable conveyor, causing the suction to break, dropping by its own weight, and easily being eliminated. The inspection apparatus for a hollow molded product according to the present invention includes a permeable conveyor that moves straight ahead, a suction device that is disposed above the permeable conveyor and generates a negative pressure on the permeable conveyor, and an inspection device that is disposed on a side of the conveyance path. And a discharge device for applying an external force to the molded product detected by the inspection device and tilting the molded product to remove the suction from the air-permeable conveyor.

[0006]

According to the present invention, the top of the mouth of the hollow molded product is adsorbed to the air-permeable conveyor, and the inspection device which moves in a suspended state can inspect the body and bottom of the hollow molded product which moves straight. When the inspection device detects an abnormality in the hollow molded product, the molded product tilts with respect to the hollow conveyor by applying a slight external force to the molded product, and a gap is formed between the suction surface of the air-permeable conveyor and the suction portion of the molded product opening. Therefore, the air is sucked in, the suction force on the molded article disappears, and the molded article falls under its own weight and can be eliminated. In addition, since only the top surface of the mouth comes into contact with the air-permeable conveyor and nothing else comes in contact with the molded product, the molded product is not damaged during the inspection.

[0007]

The preform (8) has a flange portion (84) supported by an inclined chute (11) of a storage portion (1), slides down the chute (11) by its own weight, and feeds the lower end of a supply portion (2). ).

The supply unit (2) is provided between two driving sprockets (13) and (13) which are driven by a motor (15) and rotate synchronously, and downstream driven sprockets (14) and (14). Article Chain (12)
(12) is stretched in parallel and running straight along the rail (23). Between the chains (12) and (12), the torso (8) of the preform (8)
The flange portion (84) is conveyed while being supported by the chains (12) and (12). A pair of first star wheels (21) and (21) and a second star wheel (24) and (24) are disposed in the supply section (2) on both sides of the straight transport path by the chains (12) and (12). I have. The first star wheel (21) (21) has a number of fingers (22) on the upper surface, with one finger between the fingers.
Pockets capable of accommodating two preforms are formed symmetrically, and a pair of first star wheels (21) are rotated symmetrically synchronously, so that one preform is formed from the chute (11) of the storage part (11). Receiving the form, sequentially opening and shifting to the second star car. The second star wheel (24) has a smaller number of fingers (28) projecting therearound than the first star wheel. Second star car (24)
The rotating shaft (25) is connected to the motor (26) via the gear train (27), and the preform held between the fingers is rotated downstream at a predetermined constant speed at equal intervals (about 10 cm). send.

Above the second star wheel (24), a body inspection device
The air permeable conveyor (7) of (4) is disposed so as to move straight at the same speed on the extension of the chain (12). As shown in FIG. 4, the ventilation conveyor (7) has a rack-shaped projection (72) on the upper surface.
Are provided in two rows, and through holes (7
The timing belt established in 3) is used. The torso inspection device (4) has an intake pipe (53) connected to one end and a negative pressure chamber (5) inside.
A duct (5) having (2) is arranged in the transport direction.

A plurality of guide plates (6) made of an ultra-low friction material are mounted on a lower surface of the duct (5) in a row. The lower surface of the guide plate (6) has a flat support surface (63) in the center.
Side walls (64 (64) are formed in the longitudinal direction on both sides, and the side walls (6
A guide groove (65) is formed between the support surface (63) and the projection surface (72) of the timing belt constituting the breathable conveyor (7). The upper surface of the guide plate (6) has a shallow groove (6
1) is formed, and a slit (62) reaching the support surface (63) through the groove bottom and substantially the entire length of the guide plate is opened. duct
The bottom plate of (5) has through holes corresponding to the grooves (61) of the guide plate (6).
(51) are opened respectively, and the negative pressure in the negative pressure chamber (52) passes through the slit (62) to cause a suction action in the through-hole (73) of the breathable conveyor.

A gas permeable conveyor (7) is placed between sprockets (71) provided at both ends of the body inspection device (4), and a drive shaft of a motor (26) of the supply device (2) is chained. Is connected to the driving sprocket (71) by a breathable conveyor.
(7) is the phase of the finger of the second star wheel (24) which moves at the same speed as the supply chain (12) and sends out the preform, and the through holes (73) arranged in the breathable belt (7). Are adjusted so that the timings match. Therefore, the top surface of the mouth (82) of the preform (8), which is released from the fingers of the second star wheel (24) and moves while being supported by the chain (12), has a breathable belt (M) moving above it. 7) is in contact with the edge of the through hole (73) and is adsorbed by the air permeable belt, and is suspended from the air permeable belt as shown in FIG. 5, and is separated from the chain (12) of the supply device (2);
Delivered to the torso inspection device (4).

In the torso inspection apparatus (4), an inspection device (41) such as a plurality of cameras is disposed corresponding to the transition path of the preform, and the inspection device (41) is provided on the entire front, back and bottom surfaces of the preform torso. Abnormal parts are inspected over time. Inspection is performed by applying light to the preform body and transmitting or reflecting light using a CCD camera (41).
Inspect by A specific configuration of the inspection device (41) and a method of detecting an abnormality by signal processing are known.

An air nozzle (42) is arranged downstream of the body inspection device (4) with respect to the passage of the preform (8) as shown in FIG. When the inspection device (41) emits an abnormal signal,
Compressed air is injected at the timing when the preform in which the abnormality is detected passes in front of the air nozzle (42).
When compressed air is sprayed on the body of the preform (81) or a physical external force is applied by a solenoid, the preform is easily tilted, and the top surface of the mouth (82) and the suction surface of the breathable belt (7). There is a gap between the two and air flows in. Once air flows in, the preform (8) loses its adsorbing power, and the preform falls under its own weight and is discharged to the outside by the chute (43) arranged below.

An endless chain (31) stretched between sprockets (33) is provided below the downstream end of the body inspection device (4).
A known inspection device (3) that moves along (2) is arranged. At the downstream end of the body inspection device (4), a permeable conveyor (7)
The upper guide plate (6) is interrupted immediately before the sprocket (71) on the downstream side, and the suction force on the preform (8) disappears. At this time, a mouth inspection device that passes under the preform
The chain (31) of (3) supports the flange (84) of the preform (8), and the top surface of the mouth (82) and the spiral strip (83) are projected upward from the chain as shown in FIG. Because of the transition, the helical strip (8) is
3) is inspected.

The molded article to be inspected in the present invention is not limited to a preform, and can be used for inspection of hollow molded articles such as bottles and containers and glass bottles. In addition, if the gas permeable conveyor (7) is formed of a gas permeable material and generates suction force to the preform,
It can be used in the practice of the present invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an inspection device.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the torso inspection device.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a conventional rotary inspection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 (1) Storage unit (2) Supply device (21) First star wheel (24) Second star wheel (3) Mouth detection device (4) Body inspection device (41) Inspection device (42) Air nozzle ( 5) Duct (51) Suction hole (52) Negative pressure chamber (6) Guide plate (61) Negative pressure groove (62) Slit (63) Support surface (7) Breathable conveyor (73) Through hole (8) Preform (82) Mouth (84) Flange

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Kindo Matsumoto Inventor 11-15 Takatsuji-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Prefecture F-term inside Ishizuka Glass Co., Ltd. 4F208 AG07 AG24 AH55 AP19 AP20 AQ01 LA02 LB01 LD05 LD08 LG03 LG19 LG28 LJ13 LJ14 LJ16 LJ23 LW39

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. While conveying a hollow molded article having a mouth,
An apparatus for inspecting a hollow molded article by an inspection device arranged near a conveying path, comprising a suction surface on a lower surface for an opening of the hollow molded article, and a permeable conveyor moving straight above the conveying path of the hollow molded article. A suction device disposed above the air permeable conveyor to generate a negative pressure on the air permeable conveyor and suction the mouth of the hollow molded article to the lower surface of the air permeable conveyor; And a discharge device for removing the suction from the air-permeable conveyor by applying an external force to the conveyed hollow molded product and tilting it. 2. A suction device, comprising: a duct having a negative pressure chamber therein; and a flat support surface formed of a low-friction material and attached to a lower surface of the duct and extending on a lower surface in a conveying direction of a hollow molded product. The support surface communicates with the negative pressure chamber of the duct,
And a guide plate having a slit extending long in the transport direction.The ventilation belt moves while being in contact with the support surface of the guide plate, and a timing belt having through holes communicating with the slits on the support surface at regular intervals. The inspection apparatus for a hollow molded article according to claim 1, comprising: 3. At the upstream end of the straight conveying path, the molded products are arranged in a line, and the mouth of the hollow molded product is supported at the lower surface of the permeable conveyor. The apparatus for inspecting a hollow molded product according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a supply device configured to supply each of the hollow molded products to the air-permeable conveyor. 4. A mouth inspection device for supporting and transporting a flange projecting from a neck portion of a hollow molded product sent from a breathable conveyor is provided at a downstream end of the straight transport path. The inspection device for a hollow molded article according to any one of the above.