JP2001240021A - Feeding device for bottle shape container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device which feeds bottle shape containers made of a soft synthetic resin while putting the direction in order one by one. SOLUTION: This feeding device 11 for a bottle shape container is equipped with a receiving section 14, a feeding conveyor 15, and a bucket conveyor 18. In this case, the receiving section 14 accumulates bottle shape containers 21 made of a soft synthetic resin. The feeding conveyor 15 erects from the receiving section and carries the bottle shape containers accumulated in the receiving section. The bucket conveyor 18 is disposed on the downstream side of the feeding conveyor, and receives the bottle shape containers carried by the feeding conveyor one by one and moves them. The feeding conveyor has a passage and a pusher. In this case, the passage is partitioned by a plurality of partition plates and turns the bottle shape containers in the vertical direction and receives the bottle shape containers one by one. The pusher protrudes from the lower surface of the passage by a length which is shorter than the diameter of the bottle shape container, and moves along the passage. Also, in the middle of the feeding conveyor, a direction-detecting means and a direction-inverting means 17 are installed. In this case, the direction-detecting means detects the direction of the bottle shape containers 21. The direction-inverting means 17 inverts the bottle shape containers and changes the direction when the direction of the bottle shape containers are opposite.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bottle type container supplying device for supplying a bottle made of a soft synthetic resin to an apparatus for filling contents.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, glass bottles and PET bottles have been used as containers for beverages and the like. These bottle-shaped containers are transported on a conveyor in a state where the containers are set up, and are supplied one by one to a filling device for beverages and the like.

On the other hand, a bottle type container made of a soft synthetic resin made of low density polyethylene or the like is also known, and is used as a container for ice candy, ice cream, and the like. These soft synthetic resin bottle-shaped containers are manually supplied one by one to a bucket conveyor or the like, and are transported to a filling device.

[0004]

The bottle-type container made of a soft synthetic resin made of low-density polyethylene or the like has a light weight and a soft material, so that the bottle-shaped container stands up like a glass bottle or a plastic bottle, or is in an aligned state. It is difficult to maintain and maintain the same direction one by one mechanically because it falls down during transportation on a conveyor or the like, and the direction varies.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a bottle-type container supply apparatus which can supply soft synthetic resin bottle-type containers one by one in a uniform direction.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a receiving portion for accumulating a bottle-shaped container made of a soft synthetic resin, a bottle-shaped container which stands up from the receiving portion and is integrated in the receiving portion. In a bottle-type container supply device including a supply conveyor that transports containers, and a bucket conveyor that is installed downstream of the supply conveyor and receives and moves bottle-type containers that are transported by the supply conveyor one by one, The supply conveyor is partitioned by a plurality of partitioning plates, a passage for receiving the bottle-shaped containers one by one in the vertical direction, and projects from a lower surface of the passage with a length shorter than the diameter of the bottle-shaped container, and is provided in the passage. A pusher that moves along the direction, and in the middle of the supply conveyor, a direction detecting means for detecting a direction of the bottle-shaped container, and a direction for the bottle-shaped container detected by the direction detecting means. When are opposite, characterized in that the direction reversing means for changing the direction by inverting the bottle-type container is installed, it is to provide a feeder of the bottle type container.

According to the present invention, when the bottle-shaped containers are randomly accumulated in the receiving portion, the bottle-shaped containers enter into the passages separated by the respective partition plates of the supply conveyor, and the longitudinal direction thereof is directed in the direction of the passages. Placed. The bottle-shaped container that has entered the passage protrudes from the lower surface of the passage, is pushed by a pusher that moves along the passage, and is pulled up one by one.

In this case, since the pusher protrudes with a length shorter than the diameter of the bottle-shaped container, even if another bottle-shaped container is superimposed on another bottle-shaped container, the lower layer of the bottle-shaped container is formed. Only the container is pulled up by the pusher, and the bottle-shaped container that has been overlaid falls back to the receiving portion. Therefore, the bottle-shaped containers can be arranged one by one in each passage of the supply conveyor from the receiving portion where the bottle-shaped containers are randomly accumulated, pulled up, and conveyed while being arranged vertically along the passage.

Further, in the middle of the supply conveyor, a direction detecting means for detecting the direction of the bottle type container, and when the direction of the bottle type container detected by the direction detecting means is opposite, the bottle type container is turned over. Since the direction reversing means for changing the direction is provided, the bottle-type container is supplied with the direction (bottom direction) aligned.

Then, from the end of the supply conveyor, bottle-type containers are supplied one by one to each bucket of the bucket conveyor, and thereafter, the bottle-type containers are placed on a filling device or the like while being held upright by the buckets. Will be sent.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the direction detecting means includes a sensor arranged in the middle of the path of the supply conveyor, and the sensor detects a predetermined position when the bottle-shaped container passes a predetermined position. It has a function to detect the thickness at each location.

According to this aspect, when the bottle-shaped container passes the predetermined position, the sensor detects the thickness of the bottle-shaped container at a predetermined position. If the direction of the bottle-shaped container is different, the thickness at the above-mentioned predetermined location is also different, so that it can be determined whether or not the bottle-shaped container is arranged in the correct direction.

According to a further preferred aspect of the present invention, the sensor has an arm rotatably supported by a support shaft, and one end of this arm is inserted into a passage of the supply conveyor, and the bottle type A sensor main body is provided which is configured to be rotated by being pushed by a container, and which detects when the other end of the arm is in a close position.

According to this aspect, when the tip of the arm comes into contact with the side surface of the thick portion such as the vicinity of the bottom of the bottle-shaped container, the arm rotates in the direction in which the angle of insertion into the passage becomes smaller. The end not inserted in the passage is drawn toward the passage. When the tip of the arm is in contact with the side surface of a narrow portion such as the vicinity of the upper portion of the bottle-shaped container, the arm rotates in a direction in which the insertion angle into the passage increases, and is inserted into the passage. The missing end moves away from the passage. Therefore, by detecting the movement of the other end of the arm with a sensor, the position of the detection unit on the bottle-shaped container (thick portion or thin portion) can be known. For example, a bottle-shaped container made of a transparent or translucent material However, it is possible to make an accurate determination.

According to a further preferred aspect of the present invention, the direction reversing means includes a sucker capable of freely adsorbing and releasing from the bottle-shaped container, and moving the sucker toward and away from the bottle-shaped container. There is driving means for performing an operation of rotating the bottle-shaped container to change its direction.

According to this aspect, when the direction of the bottle-shaped container is in the opposite direction, the suction cup is brought into contact with the bottle-shaped container, sucked and pulled up from the passage, and rotated in the direction of the bottle-shaped container by rotating the suction cup. Is turned over and then returned to the passage, and the suction by the suction cup is released, whereby the direction of the bottle-shaped containers can be changed and aligned.

[0017]

1 to 7 show an embodiment of a bottle type container supply apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the supply device, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a receiving portion and a rising portion of the supply conveyor in the supply device, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the supply conveyor along a width direction, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a direction detecting means in the supply apparatus, FIG. 6 is a side view showing a direction reversing means in the supply apparatus, and FIG. 7 is a bottle from the supply conveyor to a bucket conveyor. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which supplies a mold container.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bottle type container supply device 11 includes a hopper 12 for charging a bottle type container 21, a shooter 13 connected to the hopper 12, and a hopper 12 via the shooter 13. And a supply conveyor 15 whose leading end is inserted into the receiving part 14 and whose end is guided on a bucket conveyor 18, and is disposed below the end of the supply conveyor 15. And a bucket conveyor 18. In addition, bucket conveyor 1
Downstream of 8, a contents filling device 19 for filling contents into the bottle 21 is installed.

The hopper 12 is disposed above the receiving portion 14. A shutter (not shown) is provided at a connection portion between the hopper 12 and the shooter 13, so that an operator can open and close the shutter near the receiving portion 14. Can be operated. The hopper 12 and the receiving portion 14 are connected to each other via the shooter 13 because, for example,
In order to save the trouble of transporting the bottle-shaped container 21 from the accumulation place to the work place, for example, when the accumulation place is located on the upper floor of the same building as the work place where the contents are filled into the bottle-shaped container 21. Hopper 12 and shooter 1 according to the situation at the site
3 need not be installed.

The supply conveyor 15 is provided with the receiving section 14.
An inclined portion 15a which rises at a predetermined inclination angle from
A bottle having a horizontal portion 15b laid horizontally from a place where the rising of the inclined portion 15a is finished to a place where the bucket conveyor 18 is installed, and a charging portion 15c which is directed downward from the end of the horizontal portion 15b; The bottom of the mold container 21 faces downward, and one bottle-type container 21 is charged into each bucket 18a of the bucket conveyor 18 from the charging section 15c. A direction detecting means 16 and a direction reversing means 17 are provided in the middle of the inclined portion 15a.

As shown in FIG. 2, a bottle-shaped container 21 made of a soft synthetic resin is accumulated in the receiving portion 14 in a random direction, and the starting portion is inserted into the receiving portion 14. The inclined portion 15a of the conveyor 15 rises obliquely upward.

As shown in FIGS.
Is a bottom wall 24 continuously arranged along the path,
It has a plurality of partition plates 22 arranged at predetermined intervals in the width direction of the bottom wall 24. The partition plate 22 also supplies the conveyor 1.
5, and a passage 23 is formed between the partition plates 22. The width of the passage 23 is slightly larger than the width of one bottle-type container 21 to be supplied. For example, when supplying a bottle-type container having a diameter of the thickest portion of 50 mm, the width is about 63 mm. preferable. Further, the number of rows of the passages 23 may be appropriately set according to the installation space of the supply device 11, the intended processing capacity, and the like, and may be, for example, eight rows.

Supply conveyor 15 inserted in receiving section 14
At the start end of the container, the height of the partition plate 22 is increased toward the center (see FIG. 3), and the bottle-shaped containers 21 randomly accumulated thereon spread uniformly in the width direction of the supply conveyor 15. Like that.

The bottom wall 24 of the supply conveyor 15 has a slit 2 in the center along the respective passages 23 over the entire length thereof.
7 are formed. Further, a protruding portion 25 a of the pusher 25 moved by a chain 26 disposed below the bottom wall 24 protrudes upward through the slit 27. In this case, the height of the protruding portion 25 a protruding from the bottom wall 24 is shorter than the maximum diameter of the bottle-shaped container 21.
That is, when the bottle-shaped container 21 is pushed by the protrusion 25a, the protrusion 25a does not protrude above the bottle-shaped container 21.

The pusher 25 includes a plurality of protruding portions 25a protruding from the slits of the passages 23 and a connecting portion 25b connecting the lower ends of the protruding portions 25a in the width direction. Chains 26 are connected to both ends. The pushers 25 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the movement path of the supply conveyor 15, and the bottle-shaped containers 21 are arranged one by one between the protruding portions 25 a of the pusher 25.

The chain 26 is stretched around a plurality of sprockets (not shown) and driven to rotate by driving means such as a motor (not shown). When the chain 26 is rotated, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a forward path from the start end to the end of the supply conveyor 15 (a direction from the near side to the back in FIG. 3, a direction of an arrow A in FIG. 4). Then the bottom wall 24
Is moved along the passage 23, and the return path from the end to the start (the direction from the back of the paper in FIG. 3 toward the front, the direction of the arrow B in FIG. 4).
Then, the pusher 25 is returned to the start end portion through the lower side of the supply conveyor 15.

As shown in FIG. 5, the direction detecting means 16
Has a thickness detection sensor 36. The thickness detection sensor 36 has an arm 31 rotatably supported by a support shaft 32 disposed on a side of each passage 23.
One end of the arm 31 is inserted into the passage 23 and the detection plate 3
4 is mounted, and the other end is disposed outside the passage 23, and a reflection plate 35 is mounted. A photoelectric tube 33 (corresponding to the sensor main body of the present invention) for detecting the reflection plate 35 when it is at a close position is provided. Note that the arm 31 always keeps the reflecting plate 35
3 is urged by an urging means such as a spring (not shown) so as to rotate toward 3.

The supply conveyor 15 is adapted to intermittently move by the length between the protruding portions 25a of the pusher 25 for accommodating the bottle type container 21.
6, when the intermittent movement of the supply conveyor 15 is stopped,
The detection plate 34 is arranged so as to be in contact with the tip of the bottle type container 21. Then, the thickness detection sensor 36 detects the thickness of the bottle-shaped container 21 when the intermittent movement of the supply conveyor 15 is stopped.

As shown in FIG.
A suction cup 41 attached to the tip of the shaft 43, the suction cup 41 is moved toward and away from the bottle 21 and the bottle 2
And a drive unit (not shown) for rotating the bottle-shaped container 21 while holding the unit 1 to change the direction. A suction / exhaust pipe 42 for sucking and opening the bottle-shaped container 21 is attached to the base of the suction cup 41.

The charging section 15c of the supply conveyor 15
As shown in FIG. 7, the bottle-shaped container 21 that has a shape that descends substantially vertically from the end of the horizontal portion 15 b toward the bucket conveyor 18 and moves along the passage 23 partitioned by the partition plate 22 is Bucket conveyor 1 with bottom facing down
8 one by one into each bucket 18a. In the middle of the passage 23 descending substantially vertically, a supporting plate 52 which is moved in and out by a driving means (not shown) is arranged.
At the timing when the bucket 18a of the bucket conveyor 18 is arranged at a predetermined position.
Are put into the buckets 18a at the same time.

Next, the operation of the bottle type container supply device 11 will be described. First, a bottle-shaped container 21 made of a soft synthetic resin such as low-density polyethylene is put into the hopper 12,
A large number of bottle-shaped containers 21 are stored in the hopper 12.
Then, a shutter (not shown) provided at a connection portion between the hopper 12 and the shooter 13 is opened and closed, and a required amount of the bottle-shaped container 21 is supplied to the receiving portion 14. The bottle-shaped containers 21 are piled up in the receiving portion 14 in a random direction.

The starting end of the supply conveyor 15 is inserted into the receiving portion 14, and the bottle-shaped container 21 is vertically inserted into each passage 23 while being regulated by the partition plate 22 of the supply conveyor 15. Inserted. Since the partition plate 22 at the start end of the supply conveyor 15 is higher at the center, the bottle type containers 21 are supplied on average in the width direction of the supply conveyor 15.

In this piled state, each bottle type container 21
Although they are oriented in different directions, they enter the passage 23 one by one sequentially from the bottle-shaped container 21 below the mountain, and are aligned in the vertical direction. Then, the bottle-shaped container 21 that has entered the passage 23 is pushed by the protruding portion 25 a of the pusher 25 and is pulled up from the receiving portion 14 along the passage 23. In this case, the height of the protruding portion 25a protruding from the bottom wall 24 is shorter than the maximum diameter of the bottle-shaped container 21, so that even if a plurality of bottle-shaped containers 21 are stacked, Only the lowermost bottle-shaped container 21 that is in contact therewith is pulled up and taken out of the receiving portion 14.

When the amount of the bottle-shaped containers 21 piled up in the receiving portion 14 becomes small, the shutter of the hopper 12 is opened each time, so that the bottle-shaped containers 21 can be supplied to the receiving portion 14. At this time, since the shutter can be operated from the receiving portion 14 side, the supply can be performed smoothly if one worker is in the vicinity of the receiving portion 14. When the bottle-shaped container 21 is not inserted into any of the passages 23 arranged in the width direction, the worker refills the bottle-shaped container 21 and supplies the bottle-shaped container 21 to all the passages 23. Monitoring work may be performed so that

The bottle-shaped container 21 pulled up one by one
Is the direction detecting means 1 installed on the inclined portion 15a.
Go through 6. At this time, the bottle-shaped containers 21 are arranged in the vertical direction along the passage 23, but are not necessarily aligned so that the bottoms face the traveling direction. Therefore, there are the one that passes through the direction detecting means 16 from the top first and the one that passes through the direction detecting means 16 from the bottom first.

As shown in FIG. 5 (a), when the sheet passes through the direction detecting means 16 from the upper part, when the intermittent movement of the supply conveyor 15 is stopped, the detecting plate 34 of the thickness detecting sensor 36 is stopped.
Does not contact the side near the top. Therefore, arm 3
1 is rotated by a biasing means (not shown) in a direction in which the insertion angle into the passage 23 increases, and the reflection plate 35 approaches the photoelectric tube 33.

On the other hand, when the sheet passes through the direction detecting means 16 from the bottom first, as shown in FIG.
When the intermittent movement 5 is stopped, the detection plate 34 of the thickness detection sensor 36 is pushed against the side surface near the bottom having a large diameter. Therefore, the arm 31 rotates in a direction in which the angle of insertion into the passage 23 becomes smaller against the urging means (not shown), and the reflecting plate 3
5 moves away from the photoelectric tube 33.

Here, the detection signal of the reflected light by the photoelectric tube 33 is emitted only when the reflection plate 35 is close to the photoelectric tube 33 when the intermittent movement of the supply conveyor 15 is stopped. Therefore, the detection signal is issued only in the case of FIG. Therefore, when the detection signal is transmitted, it can be determined that the upper part of the bottle-shaped container 21 faces the traveling direction. In addition, as the thickness detection sensor 36, various types other than the above-mentioned structure can be adopted, and for example, a limit switch or the like for detecting that the end of the arm 31 comes and goes may be used.

The bottle-shaped container 21 having passed through the direction detecting means 16
Eventually reaches the direction reversing means 17. Here, in the detection result of the direction detecting means 16, the bottle-shaped container 21
If the upper part is determined to be in the traveling direction, the direction is reversed. To perform this direction reversal,
As shown in FIG. 6 (a), first, the suction cup 41 is
, And is sucked through the suction / exhaust pipe 42 to cause the suction cup 41 to adsorb the bottle-shaped container 21.

Next, as shown in FIG.
Then, the bottle-shaped container 21 is pulled up from the passage 23. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6C, the suction cup 41 is rotated to rotate the bottle-shaped container 2.
Invert 1 Then, the suction cup 41 and the bottle 21 are lowered, the bottle 21 is returned to the passage 23, the suction by the suction / exhaust pipe 42 is released, and the bottle 21 is opened from the suction cup 41. In this way, as shown in FIG. 6D, all the bottle-shaped containers 21 can be arranged so that the bottoms face the traveling direction.

The bottle-shaped containers 21 aligned in this way
Is fed through the horizontal section 15b of the supply conveyor 15 to the charging section 1
5c, and as shown in FIG.
Are put into each of the buckets 18a. At this time,
As described above, the bottle-shaped container 21 is installed on the support plate 52 while falling, and the bucket 1 of the bucket conveyor 18 is
When the support plate 52 sinks at the timing when the 8a is arranged at a predetermined position, the support plates 52 are simultaneously thrown into the buckets 18a. Thus, the bottle type container 21 is
Is transported in a state where it is stably held, and sent to a filling device or the like (not shown) to perform a filling operation of the contents.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The supply conveyor is partitioned by a plurality of partitioning plates, a passage for vertically receiving the bottle-shaped containers one by one, and projects from the lower surface of the passage with a length shorter than the diameter of the bottle-shaped container, and along the passage. Since it has the pusher that moves, the bottle-shaped containers that are stacked in the receiving portion in different directions can be pulled up one by one in the vertical direction. Further, in the middle of the supply conveyor, a direction detecting means for detecting the direction of the bottle-shaped container, and when the direction of the bottle-shaped container detected by the direction detecting means is opposite, the bottle-shaped container is inverted to change the direction. Since the direction reversing means for changing the direction is provided, it is possible to supply the bottle-shaped containers in the same direction. Therefore, even in the case of a lightweight bottle-shaped container made of a soft synthetic resin such as low-density polyethylene, it is possible to mechanize the supply to the filling device and the like, and the workability can be significantly improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a bottle-type container supply device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a receiving portion and a rising portion of a supply conveyor in the supply device.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along the width direction of the supply conveyor.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged side view of the supply conveyor.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a direction detecting means in the supply device.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a direction reversing means in the supply device.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which bottle-type containers are supplied from the supply conveyor to a bucket conveyor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Bottle-type container supply device 12 Hopper 13 Shooter 14 Receiving part 15 Supply conveyor 16 Direction detection means 17 Direction reversal means 18 Bucket conveyor 19 Contents filling device 21 Bottle-type container 22 Partition plate 23 Passage 25 Pusher 36 Thickness detection sensor 41 Sucker

Continuation of the front page F term (reference) 3E030 AA01 BA01 BB05 DA06 FA10 GA04 3F081 AA19 BA02 BC03 BD08 BD09 BE04 BE09 BF04 CA05 CA48 CC06 CD02 DA03 DB01 EA09 EA10 EA15 FB01

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A receiving part for accumulating a bottle-shaped container made of a soft synthetic resin, a supply conveyor that rises from the receiving part and conveys the bottle-shaped container accumulated in the receiving part, and is installed downstream of the supply conveyor. In a bottle-type container supply device including a bucket conveyor that receives and moves bottle-type containers transferred by the supply conveyor one by one, the supply conveyor is partitioned by a plurality of partition plates,
A passage for vertically receiving the bottle-shaped containers one by one, and a pusher protruding from a lower surface of the passage with a length shorter than the diameter of the bottle-shaped container and moving along the passage; In the middle of the conveyor, a direction detecting means for detecting the direction of the bottle type container, and when the direction of the bottle type container detected by the direction detecting means is opposite, the direction of the bottle type container is reversed to reverse the direction. A supply device for a bottle-shaped container, wherein a direction changing means for changing the direction is provided. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the direction detecting unit includes a sensor disposed in a middle of a path of the supply conveyor, and the sensor detects a thickness at a predetermined position when the bottle-shaped container passes a predetermined position. The bottle-type container supply device according to claim 1, which has a function. 3. The sensor has an arm rotatably supported by a support shaft, and one end of the arm is inserted into a passage of the supply conveyor, and is rotated by being pushed by the bottle type container. 3. The bottle-type container supply device according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor main body configured to detect when the other end of the arm is at a close position. 4. 4. The direction reversing means includes a sucker capable of freely adsorbing and releasing from the bottle type container, and moving the sucker forward and backward toward the bottle type container and changing the direction of the bottle type container. The supply device for a bottle-shaped container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a driving unit for performing an operation of rotating the container.