JP2001354207A - Apparatus and method for feeding container buffer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a container buffer feeding apparatus capable of increasing the stacking space efficiency of containers. SOLUTION: A bypass conveyor 14 is connected to the middle of a main conveyor 13 for connecting a container manufacturing apparatus 11 to a content filling apparatus 12. A container buffer feeding apparatus 15 is provided in the middle of the conveyor 14. A container arranging and holding rail 43 for hanging and stacking a large number of containers B in series is provided in a flat container carry-in/carry-out magazine 16, and the containers are taken into the holding rail 43 from an upstream side bypass conveyor 14a from a container take-in mechanism 18. The containers are pushed out and fed to a downstream side bypass conveyor 14b from the holding rail 43 by a container pushing-out mechanism 19. A flat container stock magazine 20 corresponding to the container carry-in/carry-out magazine 16 is provided, and the containers are carried in/carried out all together between both magazines 16 and 20. A large number of containers B are hung in the container stock magazine 20, and stacked and stored.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a container buffer / supply apparatus and a container buffer / supply method in a container supply / treatment system such as a container production / filling system such as a plastic bottle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an implant system in which a container manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing containers such as plastic bottles in the same factory and a contents filling apparatus for filling contents into containers manufactured by the container manufacturing apparatus have been widely used. are doing. In this container manufacturing / filling system, the container manufacturing apparatus and the contents filling apparatus are connected by a main conveyor, and a bypass conveyor is often provided in addition to the main conveyor.
In this case, for example, a large number of container groups can be supplied to the palletizer and packed in the bypass conveyor, and the packed container groups can be stacked in a plurality of pallets and temporarily stored in a storage. Further, the container group is supplied from the storage to the depalletizer as needed, the packing is released, the container group is arranged in an upright state, and the container group is supplied to the content filling device.

A container manufactured by a container manufacturing apparatus is directly supplied to a content filling device by a main conveyor during normal transportation, and if the content filling device is stopped due to a failure for some reason, the container manufacturing is stopped. Containers produced in excess by the apparatus are accumulated and stored in the palletizer. If the container manufacturing equipment breaks down for some reason and stops, the containers stored in the palletizer are supplied to the content filling equipment to improve the operation efficiency of the container manufacturing equipment and the content filling equipment. It is supposed to.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned container buffer / supply device requires two types of devices, a palletizer and a depalletizer. Therefore, the size of the device is increased, and the device is complicated and the production cost is reduced. There was a problem that reduction could not be achieved.

[0005] As a conventional container buffer / supply device, there has also been proposed a device for storing containers in a hopper, aligning the containers with an unscrambler, and resupplying the containers. However, this device also becomes larger and more complicated, and cannot reduce the manufacturing cost.

As a conventional container buffer / supply device, a rotary accumulating drum having a cylindrical shape is provided in the middle of the main conveyor, and a plurality of rows of container aligning / holding rails provided in the accumulating drum are provided. There has also been proposed a configuration in which a neck portion is locked so as to accumulate and store in a plurality of rows.

However, since the above-mentioned container buffer / supply device is arranged in the middle of the main conveyor, there is a restriction in installation due to the positional relationship between the container manufacturing device and the contents filling device, and the degree of freedom in installation is limited. There was a problem of low.
Further, since a method of arranging and storing a group of containers in a plurality of rows in a cylindrical accumulation drum is employed, there is a problem that a large number of containers cannot be accumulated and stored in large quantities.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, to simplify the structure and reduce the cost as compared with the palletizer system and the like, and to improve the freedom of installation and the container. An object of the present invention is to provide a container buffer / supply device and a container buffer / supply method capable of improving the group space efficiency.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a container supplying apparatus having a collar which can be suspended and gripped on a neck of the container, and a container supplied. In a container supply and processing system in which a processing device that performs processing such as filling contents into a container is connected by a main conveyor, a bypass conveyor that bypasses the container is connected in the middle of the main conveyor, and a container is provided in the middle of the bypass conveyor. Are suspended and stored in a plurality of rows, and a container stock magazine for supplying the stored containers to a main conveyor via a bypass conveyor is movably provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the container stock magazine includes a plurality of rows of container aligning and holding rails for aligning a plurality of containers in a plurality of rows and holding them in a suspended manner for stocking. A container taking-in mechanism that is formed in a flat shape and takes in the containers conveyed to the container feeding end of the bypass conveyor into the container aligning and holding rails and accumulates the containers, and the container is arranged and held in a row on the container aligning and holding rails. A container push-out mechanism that pushes a container to a feed start portion of the bypass conveyor, a position where the container alignment grip rail faces a container feed end of the bypass conveyor, and a container feed start portion of the container alignment grip rail and the bypass conveyor; The opposite position of the container stock magazine or the container feeding end of the bypass conveyor and the container feeding And position switching mechanism for switching by moving the start portion and, the container loading mechanism, and summarized in that and a control device for controlling the respective operations of the container pushing mechanism and a position switching mechanism.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the container feeding end portion and the container sending start portion of the bypass conveyor are arranged at predetermined container taking-in positions and container pushing-out positions, and the position switching is performed. The mechanism is a stock magazine position switching mechanism for switching the position of the container stock magazine, wherein a plurality of container alignment gripping rails of the container stock magazine are individually switched to the container take-in position and switched to the container push-out position. The gist is that it is configured to be operated.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, a bypass conveyor and a container stock magazine are provided between the container feed end and the container delivery start portion of the bypass conveyor and the container stock magazine. A container carry-in / out magazine for performing a carry-in operation or carry-out operation of the container in between is provided, and the container carry-in / out magazine is formed in a flat shape, and has a plurality of rows for hanging and holding a flange portion of the container. A container take-in mechanism comprising a container aligning / holding rail, the container taking-in mechanism for taking in the containers transported to the container feeding end of the bypass conveyor into the container aligning / holding rails of the container carry-in / out magazine, and accumulating the containers; A container pushing-out mechanism for pushing out containers, which are collected and held in a row on the alignment holding rails, to a delivery start portion of the bypass conveyor, A loading / unloading magazine position switching mechanism for switching the container aligning / holding rail of the container loading / unloading magazine to the container loading position or the container pushing position, and a container loading for loading the containers from the container loading / unloading magazine to the container stock magazine in a row. The gist of the present invention is to include a mechanism and a container unloading mechanism for unloading containers in a row from the container stock magazine to the container loading and unloading magazine.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect, the container carrying-in mechanism is a container simultaneous carrying-in mechanism for carrying the containers in a row from the container carrying-in / out magazine to the container stock magazine all at once. The gist of the container unloading mechanism is that it is a container simultaneous unloading mechanism that simultaneously unloads containers in a row from the container stock magazine to the container loading and unloading magazine.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the container stock magazine according to any one of the third to fifth aspects, wherein:
A plurality of container magazines are arranged in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction, and each container stock magazine switches a stock magazine position between a station corresponding to the container take-in position or the container push-out position and a magazine storage position separated from the station. The gist is configured to be switched by a mechanism, and the magazine storage position is provided with a magazine elevating and lowering storage mechanism for storing the container stock magazines in a plurality of stages vertically.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the sixth aspect, the stock magazine position switching mechanism intermittently transfers the plurality of container stock magazines along a predetermined circulation guide transport path including the station and the magazine storage position. The gist of the present invention is that it is configured to be able to circulate.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the second to seventh aspects, the control device includes, for each of the container stock magazines or the containers, for example, a type of container, production date data, Data input means for inputting at least one kind of data among the data such as cleaning data and damage data of the container stock magazine; recording means for recording the data input by the data input means; and reading from the recording means. Based on the data obtained,
The gist of the invention is to provide processing operation setting means for setting processing operations such as container processing and cleaning of the container stock magazine.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container buffer / supply method, wherein the following steps are performed by using the container buffer / supply apparatus according to the first aspect. The supply capacity including the stop of the supply device of the container is compared with the processing capacity including the stop of the processing device. A process of taking containers in a line into a container buffer / supply device through a bypass conveyor and collecting and storing them.

When the supply capacity of the container is lower than the processing capacity and the container becomes insufficient, the containers accumulated and stored in the container buffer / supply device are extruded in a row on a downstream bypass conveyor to the processing device side. The step of supplying.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of a container buffer / supply device in a container manufacturing / filling system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

In this embodiment, a plastic bottle B is used as a container, but hereinafter, it is simply referred to as a container B. (Schematic Configuration of Container Manufacturing / Filling System) First, the schematic configuration of the container manufacturing / filling system will be described with reference to FIG.

A container manufacturing apparatus 11 for manufacturing the container B and a contents filling apparatus 12 for filling the contents in the container B are connected by a main conveyor 13. A bypass conveyor 14 is connected to the main conveyor 13, and a container buffer / supply device 15 is provided in the middle of the bypass conveyor 14. (Schematic Configuration of Container Buffer / Supply Device 15) Next, the schematic configuration of the container buffer / supply device 15 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The container buffer / supply device 15 includes a single container loading / unloading magazine 16 for aligning and holding a large number of containers B in a suspended state.
6 is a container loading position P1, a container pushing position P2 or a container simultaneous loading / unloading position P by a loading / unloading magazine position switching mechanism 17.
3 is switched.

A container intake mechanism 18 is provided corresponding to the bypass conveyor 14a on the upstream side.
The containers are taken in a line into the container carry-in / out magazine 16 from the container sending end of FIG.

A container push-out mechanism 19 is provided corresponding to the start-up portion of the downstream-side bypass conveyor 14b. The containers are pushed out from the container carry-in / out magazine 16 to the bypass conveyor 14b and supplied in a line.

On the opposite side of the container carry-in / out magazine 16 from the bypass conveyor 14, a container stock magazine 20 for accumulating and storing containers in a suspended state is provided.
Is provided. The container stock magazine 20 is switched by the stock magazine position switching mechanism 21 between a container simultaneous loading / unloading standby position P4 in the station S and a magazine loading / unloading standby position P6 outside the station S shown in FIG. Has become.

In correspondence with the container carry-in / out magazine 16,
A container simultaneous carrying-in mechanism 22 is provided at the container simultaneous carrying-in / out position P3. A large number of rows of containers B, which are collected and held in the container carry-in / out magazine 16, are simultaneously carried into the container stock magazine 20.

As shown in FIG. 2, the container stock magazine 20 in which the containers B are accumulated and stored is transported to a plurality of magazine storages 23 and stored in a stacked state.

The station S has a simultaneous container unloading mechanism 24.
Is provided. Then, the container stock magazine 20 stored in the magazine storage 23 is transported from the magazine storage 23 to the station S, and the container unloading mechanism 24 transfers the container B group of the container stock magazine 20 to the container loading / unloading magazine 16. They are to be carried out all at once.

At the side of the magazine storage 23, a magazine washing device 25 is provided. Although only one is shown in FIG. 1, it may be provided at two locations corresponding to the magazine storage 23 shown at the top.

The container buffer / supply device 15 is controlled by an operation signal from a control device 26 for controlling the operations of the container manufacturing device 11 and the contents filling device 12. (Configuration of Main Conveyor 13 and Bypass Conveyor 14) The main conveyor 13 and the bypass conveyor 14 are in a state where the container B is suspended by the propulsive force of the air jet while supporting and guiding the flange F provided on the neck N of the container B. It is a known air conditioner carrier to be transported.
A vacuum conveyor is provided at the bottom of the air conditioner conveyor so that the container B can be stably transported by applying a negative pressure to the bottom surface of the container B.

A conveyor branching device 31 is provided at a branch portion between the main conveyor 13 and the bypass conveyor 14a, and the container B is moved by the switching mechanism 31a to the main conveyor 1.
3 or supply to the bypass conveyor 14a on the upstream side. At the junction of the main conveyor 13 and the bypass conveyor 14b, a conveyor junction device 32 is provided, and the switching mechanism 32a switches between receiving the container B from the main conveyor 13 and receiving the container B from the downstream bypass conveyor 14b. ing. (Container carry-in / out magazine 16 and carry-in / out magazine position switching mechanism 17) Next, the container carry-in / out magazine 16 and carry-in / out magazine position switching mechanism 17 will be described with reference to FIGS.

In this specification, the Y-axis direction is the direction in which the container B is loaded or unloaded in the horizontal plane, and the X-axis direction orthogonal to the Y-axis direction is the direction in which the container loading / unloading magazine 16 is moved in the horizontal plane. , Z-axis direction represents the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of X-axis guide rails 34 are attached to a fixed frame 33 installed on the floor surface in parallel with each other and in the horizontal X-axis direction. An X-axis movable frame 36 is provided via a slider 35 so as to be able to reciprocate in the X-axis direction.
As shown in FIG. 3, a servomotor 38 that rotates forward and backward is attached to the fixed frame 33. The drive timing pulley 39 of the servomotor 38 and the fixed frame 33
A timing belt 41 is mounted between the plurality of driven timing pulleys 40 supported by the
Reference numeral 1 is connected to the X-axis movable frame 36.

A plurality of support rods 42 are erected on the upper surface of the X-axis movable frame 36, and a plurality of container alignment gripping rails 43 are mounted on each support rod 42 in a horizontal Y-axis direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction. Have been. Guide grooves 43a oriented in the Y-axis direction are formed between the container alignment gripping rails 43 to guide the neck N of the container B in the Y-axis direction. A flange guide 43b is provided in the vicinity of the guide groove 43a of the container aligning and holding rail 43, and supports the flange F of the container B as shown in FIG. It has become. On the upper surface of the X-axis movable frame 36, a channel-shaped guide panel 44 as an interference blocker is attached in the Y-axis direction so as to correspond to each of the guide grooves 43a. The containers B suspended and gripped by the container alignment gripping rail 43 by the guide panel 44 sway so as not to interfere with each other.

Therefore, in FIG.
Is operated, the guide grooves 43a of the container carry-in / out magazine 16 are intermittently switched to the container take-in position P1 corresponding to the container feed end of the bypass conveyor 14a. Further, the position is intermittently switched to the container pushing position P2 corresponding to the container sending start portion of the bypass conveyor 14b. Further, the positions are switched so that the center of the container carry-in / out magazine 16 coincides with the container simultaneous carry-in / out position P3 set at the center between the positions P1 and P2.

In this specification, the container loading / unloading magazine 16 includes a container aligning / holding rail 43 and a guide panel 44.
Actually, for example, 20 or more are provided, but are simplified in FIGS. 4 and 5, and this method is also applied to a container stock magazine 20 and the like described later. (Container Loading Mechanism 18) Next, at a container loading position P1 centering on FIG. 6, the container B is loaded into the guide groove 43a of the grip rail 43 of the container loading / unloading magazine 16 from the bypass conveyor 14a on the upstream side. The insertion mechanism 18 will be described.

The upstream bypass conveyor 14a is composed of an air conditioner 46 and a vacuum conveyor 47, and a container B is provided by a suction box 48 of the vacuum conveyor 47.
The suction force acts on the bottom surface of the. The neck N of the container B is suspended and supported by the grip rail 49 and is conveyed by the propulsion force of the air jet. An opening / closing stopper 50 is provided at the take-in end of the bypass conveyor 14a, and stops the container B at a predetermined timing.

On the other hand, a deceleration stopper mechanism 51 is provided above the container carry-in / out magazine 16 so as to correspond to the container take-in position P1. The deceleration stopper mechanism 51 includes a cover 52 attached to a fixed frame (not shown), a driving pulley 53 and a driven pulley 5 supported by the cover 52.
4, a timing belt 55 mounted on the pulleys 53 and 54, and a forward / reverse rotating servomotor 56 for driving the driving pulley 53. A stopper 57 is suspended from the timing belt 55. The stopper piece 57 is formed to have a width capable of passing through the single guide groove 43a at the container take-in position P1 and a length capable of contacting the body of the suspended and supported container B. I have.

Accordingly, when the servo motor 56 is operated, the stopper piece 57 moves between the standby position β1, the stop position β2 and the retreat position β3 shown in FIG. When the opening / closing stopper 50 is opened and the container B is carried into the guide groove 43a of the grip rail 43, the foremost container B comes into contact with the stopper piece 57 at the standby position β1, and from this standby position β1. It is decelerated until it is transported to the stop position β2. When the container B is moved to the stop position β2, the opening / closing stopper 50 is closed and the supply of the container B in the guide groove 43a is stopped. Thereafter, the stopper piece 57 is moved to the retreat position β3 which does not interfere with the container carry-in / out magazine 16. (Container Extrusion Mechanism 19) Next, the containers B, which are collected and held in a row in the guide grooves 43a of the holding rails 43 of the container carry-in / out magazine 16 with reference to FIG.
The container extruding mechanism 19 that extrudes and supplies the extruded 4b will be described.

A pair of upper and lower timing belts 62 and 63 are mounted on a frame 61 installed at a predetermined position.
4 and 65 and driven pulleys 66 and 67.
The timing belts 62 and 63 are made to revolve in a direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. 7 by a servomotor 68 attached to the frame 61 and a belt transmission mechanism 69. A push rod 70 is attached to the timing belts 62 and 63. The pushing rod 70 is formed so as to be able to enter into the single guide groove 43a moved to the container pushing position P2 and to be able to press the body of the container B.

Accordingly, one of the guide grooves 43a of the grip rail 43 of the container carry-in / out magazine 16 is formed.
When the servomotor 68 is driven in a state where the position a is stopped at the container pushing position P2, the pushing rod 70 is moved from the discharge standby position δ1 to the discharge completion position δ2. Then, the container B group in a row is extruded and supplied from the grip rail 43 of the container carry-in / out magazine 16 to the downstream bypass conveyor 14b in a row. (Container Stock Magazine 20 and Stock Magazine Position Switching Mechanism 21) Next, the stock magazine position switching mechanism 21 for switching the position of the container stock magazine 20 will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 8 and 9, a rectangular frame-shaped fixed frame 71 is installed in the station S, and a rail mounting frame 71a extending in the X-axis direction is provided inside the fixed frame 71. A pair of X-axis guide rails 72 are laid in parallel with each other and in the horizontal direction. The X-axis guide rail 72 is extended to the magazine storage 23 side together with the rail mounting frame 71a. The X-axis guide rail 72
Has a magazine transport trolley 73 (hereinafter, also referred to as a trolley 73).
Are mounted so as to be able to reciprocate in the X-axis direction. The cart 7
A rolling support mechanism 74 is provided at a lower portion of the roller 3 and is in rolling contact with the X-axis guide rail 72.

As shown in FIG. 2, a servomotor 75 capable of rotating forward and backward is installed on the floor surface, and a driving pulley 76 provided on its rotating shaft and a later-described tower frame 13 of the storage 23 are provided.
A timing belt 78 is hung between the plurality of driven pulleys 77 supported by 1 and the carriage 73 is reciprocated in the X-axis direction by the driving of a servomotor 75.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing a cart 73 for supporting the container stock magazine 20. The cart 7
The X-axis movable frame 81 constituting 3 is moved along the X-axis guide rail 72 via the rolling support mechanism 74. On the upper surface of the X-axis movable frame 81, a pair of Y-axis guide rails 82 are supported in parallel in the Y-axis direction. An X / Y-axis movable frame 84 which is reciprocated in the Y-axis direction via a slider 83 is mounted on both Y-axis guide rails 82. A position switching cylinder 85 is attached to the X-axis movable frame 81, and the tip of a rod 86 is connected to the XY-axis movable frame 84.

Therefore, when the position switching cylinder 85 is operated, the XY axis movable frame 84 is guided by the Y axis guide rail 82 on the X axis
Reciprocated in the axial direction.

At the four corners of the XY axis movable frame 84, a plurality of (four) lifting cylinders 88 are supported upward through brackets 87. The rod 88a of the elevating cylinder 88 penetrates upward through a plurality (four) of guide cylinders 89 erected on the X / Y axis movable frame 84. Then, the magazine 20 moves up and down in the Z-axis direction while the magazine 20 is supported by the plurality of rods 88a. In this embodiment, the four elevating cylinders 88 constitute an elevating mechanism 90 for the magazine 20.

Next, the container stock magazine 20 will be described with reference to FIG.
2 and 93 and the connecting plate 94 are formed in a flat shape as a whole. Four engaging cylinders 95 are welded downward to the lower surfaces of the four corners of the frame 91 so as to correspond to the rods 88a of the plurality of elevating cylinders 88. Therefore, the magazine 20 is supported by the carriage 73 in a horizontal state by inserting the upper end of the rod 88 a into the engagement cylinder 95.

On the lower surface of the frame 91, grip rails 96 for suspending and supporting the containers B in a line are provided at a plurality of positions.
And they are attached parallel to each other in the Y-axis direction. The grip rail 96 includes a guide groove 96a for guiding the neck N of the container B, and a flange guide 96b for supporting and slidingly guiding the flange F of the container B. At the front end of the frame 91, a stopper 121 of a position regulating mechanism 120 described later is provided.
Are provided at two places.

Hooks 98 are attached to four positions on the outer surface of the frame 91 of the magazine 20, respectively, and can be lifted by horizontal support bars 140 and 141 of a magazine elevating and lowering storage mechanism 130 of the storage 23 described later. ing.

X / Y axis movable frame 84 of the carriage 73
On the upper surface, a plurality of channels each serving as an interference preventing body for preventing the container B suspended on the grip rail 96 from swaying and interfering with the magazine 20 supported on the cart 73 are provided. Are mounted parallel to each other in the Y-axis direction.

FIG. 8 shows the carriage 7 in the station S.
The front end surface (the right end surface in FIG. 8) of the grip rail 96 of the magazine 20 supported by the magazine 3 is located at the container simultaneous carry-in / out standby position P4 separated by a predetermined distance rearward in the Y-axis direction. In this state, when the position switching cylinder 85 is operated, X ·
The Y-axis movable frame 84 is moved forward in the Y-axis direction (to the right in FIG. 8). For this reason, as shown in FIG. 9, the grip rails 96 are moved to the container simultaneous loading / unloading position P5 in which the grip rails 43 are in contact with (or close to) the grip rails 43 of the magazine 16, respectively. Therefore, it is possible to carry in / out the group of containers B between the magazine 16 and the magazine 20.

In this embodiment, the magazine 20 is moved by the X / Y axis movable frame 84 and the position switching cylinder 85.
The container simultaneous loading / unloading standby position P4 and the container simultaneous loading / unloading position P
5 to form a magazine forward / backward position switching mechanism 80 for switching between the forward and backward positions. (Container simultaneous carrying-in mechanism 22 and container simultaneous carrying-out mechanism 24) Next, based on FIGS. 8 and 9 and FIGS. 12 to 14, a large number of containers B held by the container carrying-in / out magazine 16 are simultaneously transferred to the magazine 20. The container simultaneous carrying-in mechanism 22 for carrying in and the container simultaneous carrying-out mechanism 24 for carrying out all at once will be described.

As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG.
Is fixed frame 71 provided in station S
A rectangular frame-shaped fixed frame 100 is provided so as to correspond to. FIG. 14 shows the position between the fixed frames 71 and 100.
A pair of horizontal support frames 101 as shown in (1) and (2) are installed in parallel in the Y-axis direction and at predetermined intervals in the X-axis direction. A Y-axis guide rail 102 is attached to each of the horizontal support frames 101, and the Y-axis movable frame for loading is mounted on the Y-axis guide rails 102 via a loading rolling support mechanism 103A and a loading rolling support mechanism 103B. 104A and a transportable Y-axis movable frame 104B are mounted so as to be able to reciprocate in the Y-axis direction.

As shown in FIG. 12, simultaneous carry-in bars 105A are attached to the carry-in Y-axis movable frame 104A at a plurality of locations at a predetermined pitch, that is, at the same pitch as the formation pitch of the guide grooves 43a of the grip rails 43. ing.
As shown in FIG. 13, simultaneous unloading bars 105B are attached to the unloading Y-axis movable frame 104B at a plurality of positions at the same pitch as the pitch of the guide groove 96a of the grip rail 96. The rolling support mechanism 1
03A and 103B are the roller support plate 106 and the roller 10
7.

The simultaneous carry-in bar 105A and the simultaneous carry-out bar 105B are, as shown in FIGS.
A and 108B reciprocate respectively. The driving mechanisms 108A and 108B include a timing belt 111 mounted between a driving pulley 109 and a driven pulley 110.
, A servomotor 112, and a belt transmission mechanism 11
3.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, when the drive mechanism 108A of the container simultaneous carrying-in mechanism 22 is operated in a state where the magazine 20 is located at the container simultaneous carrying-in / out position P5, the container of the magazine 16 is moved by the simultaneous carrying-in bar 105A. The group B is carried into the magazine 20 all at once. Conversely, when the drive mechanism 108B of the container simultaneous unloading mechanism 24 is operated, the container B group of the magazine 20 is moved to the magazine 16 by the simultaneous unloading bar 105B.
Will be carried out all at once. (Position Control Mechanism 120 of Container Stock Magazine 20) Next, the position control mechanism 120 for controlling the position of the container stock magazine 20 to the container simultaneous loading / unloading position P5 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The position regulating mechanism 120 has a stopper 121 attached to the horizontal support frame 101 corresponding to the locked member 97 attached to the frame 91 of the magazine 20. On the horizontal support frame 101 side, a position regulating lever 122 is supported via a support shaft 123 so as to be tiltable. The position regulating lever 122 is configured to be tiltable by a position switching cylinder 124, and the rod 1
25 is connected to the position regulating lever 122.

Therefore, at the station S, the carriage 7
3 magazine supported on the XY axis movable frame 84
When 0 is moved from the container simultaneous carry-in / out standby position P4 to the container simultaneous carry-in / out position P5, the stopper 121 is locked by the stopper 121.
Are abutted and locked. Further, the square pipe 92 is abutted and locked on the position regulating lever 122, and the position of the magazine 20 at the container simultaneous loading / unloading position P5 is secured. In addition, Magazine 2
When 0 is retracted from the container simultaneous loading / unloading position P5 to the container simultaneous loading / unloading standby position P4, the position regulating lever 122 is rotated to the upper retreat position. (Magazine storage 23) Next, the magazine 2 supported by the cart 73 and carried into the magazine loading / unloading standby position P6.
A magazine storage 23 for storing 0 in a plurality of levels in the vertical direction will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 16, the magazine storage 23
Is mounted on the tower frame 131. Four drive sprockets 132 are mounted at predetermined positions at the four corners of the upper end of the tower frame 131, and four driven sprockets 133 are mounted near the lower end of the tower frame 131. Chains 135 to 138 are respectively mounted on the driving sprocket 132 and the driven sprocket 133 in the Z-axis direction. An idler sprocket 139 is supported near the driven sprocket 133. The pair of chains 135 and 136 and 137, 1
38, horizontal support rods 140 and 141 as locking members
Are vertically connected in multiple stages. Each of the driving sprockets 132 is configured to be switchable in the X-axis direction by a cylinder 142 as a sprocket position displacement mechanism.

Therefore, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 17, when the magazine 20 is moved to the magazine loading / unloading standby position P6 corresponding to the lower part of the storage 23 by the cart 73, the magazine 20 is moved to the magazine elevating mechanism 90. By the operation, as shown by the chain line in FIG. 17, the magazine is moved to the magazine loading / unloading position P7. Next, the cylinder 142 is actuated, and the driven sprockets 133 are moved in the X-axis direction approaching the magazine 20 with each other.
40 and 141 are moved to positions corresponding to the hooks 98 provided on the magazine 20. As a result, the horizontal support rods 140,
The magazine 20 is lifted by the hook 141 via the hook 98, moved upward, and stored at the lowermost position of the magazine storage position P8 of the storage 23. (Magazine Cleaning Device 25) Next, the cleaning device 25 for cleaning the magazine 20 stored in the storage 23 will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 15, a fixed support frame 160 is provided on the floor at a position separated from the tower frame 131 of the storage 23 by a predetermined distance in the Y-axis direction. Between the fixed support frame 160 and the tower frame 131, a pair of horizontal fixed frames 161 and 162 are erected and connected in parallel in the Y-axis direction. The horizontal fixed frames 161 and 162 have Y-axis guide rails 163 and 164, respectively.
Is attached. The Y-axis guide rail 163, 1
At 64, a magazine support frame 165 is supported via a rolling support mechanism 166 having a plurality of rollers so as to be able to reciprocate in the Y-axis direction. The magazine support frame 165
A plurality of (four) support pins 167 are fixed to the upper part of the magazine so as to correspond to the four engagement cylinders 95 of the magazine 20. The magazine support frame 165 is reciprocally movable by a position switching mechanism (not shown) mounted on the horizontal fixed frames 161 and 162.

Therefore, when it becomes necessary to wash the magazine 20 stored in the storage 23, the magazine support frame 165 is moved to the magazine loading / unloading standby position P6 in the storage 23. At this position, the magazine 20 is received, moved to the cleaning position P9, and the magazine 20 is cleaned by a cleaning mechanism (not shown). (Control Device 26) Next, the configuration of the control device 26 will be described mainly with reference to FIG.

The control device 26 includes a central processing unit 181 for performing arithmetic processing based on various input data, and includes a read only memory ROM and a random access memory RAM. A keyboard 183 is connected to the control device 26, and inputs, for example, data such as a manufacturing date and a cleaning date of the magazine 20, a type of the container B, a manufacturing date and a cleaning date, and the like. ing. A display 184 is connected to the control device 26 to display various data. Further, a magazine sensor 185 provided on the magazine 20 for detecting a barcode and the like, and a container sensor 186 provided on a container for detecting a barcode and the like are connected to the control device 26. It is connected.

The control device 26 controls the container buffer
The operation of the supply device 15 is controlled as described below. (Operation of Embodiment) Next, the operation of the container buffer / supply device in the container manufacturing / filling system configured as described above will be described.

When the container manufacturing and filling system is operating normally, the processing capacity of the container manufacturing apparatus 11 and the content filling apparatus 12 are balanced, and the container B manufactured by the container manufacturing apparatus 11 is Through to the content filling device 12. Therefore, the container buffer / supply device 15 is not operated. If for any reason there is a difference between the processing capacity including shutting down the content filling device 12 and the processing capacity including shutting down the container manufacturing device 11, the container buffer / supply device 15 is operated as described below. . (When the content filling device 12 is stopped and the container manufacturing device 11 is operating normally) When the container buffer / supply device 15 is not used, as shown in FIG. The trolley 73 supporting the empty magazine 20 at the station S is located at the position P3, and is stopped at the container simultaneous loading / unloading standby position P4. Furthermore, empty magazines 20 are stored in three of the four storages 23.
Are fully accommodated, and the magazine 20 is not in the leftmost storage 23 in FIG.

When the container manufacturing apparatus 11 is stopped in this state, an operation signal is output from the control device 26 to the conveyor branching device 31 by the stop signal, and the switching mechanism 31a
Is switched to the bypass conveyor 14a side. For this reason, the manufactured container B is conveyed to the container take-in position P1 by the bypass conveyor 14a. In synchronization with the switching operation of the switching mechanism 32a, the servo motor 38 of the loading / unloading magazine position switching mechanism 17 is operated, and the leftmost guide groove 43a of the magazine 16 corresponds to the container loading position P1 as shown in FIG. Is stopped. Then, similarly to the operation described in the operation of FIG.
And, for example, 20 containers B are accumulated and stored in a line.

When the supply of the container B to the guide grooves 43a in the first row is completed, the servo motor 38 is restarted and
The guide grooves 43a in the second row are moved to positions corresponding to the container take-in positions P1, and a predetermined number of containers B are accumulated and stored in the guide grooves 43a in the second row. When the operations are sequentially performed and the containers B are accumulated and stored in all the guide grooves 43a, the magazine 16 is stopped at the container simultaneous loading / unloading position P3 by the re-operation of the servomotor 38.

Next, the magazine forward / backward position switching mechanism 80 of the carriage 73 is operated, and the magazine 20 is switched from the container simultaneous carry-in / out standby position P4 to the container simultaneous carry-in / out position P5. Thereby, each guide groove 43a of the magazine 16 and each guide groove 96a of the magazine 20 approach each other so as to correspond to each other. In this state, when the servo motor 112 of the container simultaneous carrying-in mechanism 22 is operated, the container B group accumulated and stored in the magazine 16 is pushed out by the simultaneous carrying-in bar 105A and is inserted into the guide groove 96a of each grip rail 96 of the magazine 20. Are carried in all at once and accumulated and stored.

When the simultaneous carry-in operation is completed, the magazine forward / backward position switching mechanism 80 is operated to move the magazine 20 together with the X / Y-axis movable frame 84 from the container simultaneous carry-in / out position P5 to the container simultaneous carry-in / out standby position P4. Can be switched. Thereafter, the servomotor 75 of the stock magazine position switching mechanism 21 is operated, and the carriage 73 moves along the X-axis guide rail 72 from the container simultaneous loading / unloading standby position P4 to the empty storage 23 where the magazine 20 is not stored. The movement is stopped at the lower magazine loading / unloading standby position P6.

Next, the elevating cylinder 88 of the magazine elevating mechanism 90 is operated, and the magazine 20 is raised from the magazine loading / unloading standby position P6 shown by the solid line in FIG. 17 to the magazine loading / unloading position P7 shown by the chain line. Then, the cylinder 14
2 is actuated to orbit horizontal support bars 140 and 141
Is moved directly below the hook 98, the hook 98 is lifted by the two support rods, and the magazine 20 is moved from the magazine loading / unloading position P7 to the lowermost position of the magazine storage position P8 and stopped.

The magazine 16 which has completed the first container simultaneous transfer operation takes the containers B again from the bypass conveyor 14a line by line, and soon a large number of containers B are accumulated and stored in the entire magazine 16.

On the other hand, the empty bogie 73 in which the magazine 20 holding the full container B is stored in the storage 23 is
It is moved to the lower part of another storage 23 storing the empty magazine 20, and receives the empty magazine 20 on the rod 88a of the XY axis movable frame 84. This receiving operation is performed by an operation substantially opposite to the above-described magazine storing operation. Thereafter, the carriage 73 moves to the container simultaneous carry-in / out standby position P4, then moves to the container simultaneous carry-in / out position P5, and is stopped. In this state, the containers B accumulated and stored in the magazine 16 are simultaneously carried into the guide grooves 96a of the grip rails 96 in the same manner as the above-described simultaneous carrying-in operation.

The magazine 20 is again moved to the lower part of the storage 23 together with the carriage 73 and delivers the magazine 20 to the magazine elevating storage mechanism 130. By repeatedly performing the above operation, the magazines 20 holding the containers B suspended and held in the three storages 23 are stored in a multi-tiered manner. (When the container manufacturing device 11 is stopped and the content filling device 12 is operating) When the container manufacturing device 11 is stopped, the switching mechanism 32a is operated by an operation signal from the control device 26, and the main conveyor 13 is bypassed. It is switched to the conveyor 14b. When the cart 73 stopped at the station S by the operation signal from the control device 26 supports the empty magazine 20, the magazine 20 is stored in the storage 23 and then the container B is gripped. The full magazine 20 is unloaded, and the process returns to the station S. Then, the magazine 20 supported by the cart 73 is moved from the container simultaneous carry-in / standby position P4 to the container simultaneous carry-in / out position P5, and the container simultaneous carry-out mechanism 24 guides each of the guide grooves 96 of the magazine 20.
a to all the guide grooves 43a of the magazine 16
The group is pushed out at once and carried out.

Next, the magazine 16 is stopped by the operation of the carry-in / out magazine position switching mechanism 17 so that the rightmost guide groove 43a in FIG. 3 moves to the position corresponding to the container pushing position P2. In this state, the container pushing mechanism 19 is operated to
The container group B accommodated in the guide groove 43a in the row is pushed out to the bypass conveyor 14b on the downstream side, merges with the main conveyor 13 and is supplied to the content filling device 12 side.

When the pushing out of the container B in the guide groove 43a of the first row is completed, the carry-in / out magazine position switching mechanism 17 is operated, the movement of the guide groove 43a in the second row is stopped at the container pushing position P2, and the container B is moved. It is extruded by the container pushing mechanism 19 and supplied to the bypass conveyor 14b. When this operation is sequentially performed and the containers B of all the gripping rails 43 are pushed out to the bypass conveyor 14b, the magazine 16 is again stopped at the container simultaneous loading / unloading position P3.

On the other hand, the carriage 73 causes another magazine 20 in which the container B is suspended to be ejected from the storage 23 and moves to the container simultaneous carry-in / out standby position P4. Thereafter, the magazine 20 is moved from the container simultaneous carry-in / out standby position P4 to the container simultaneous carry-in / out position P5, and the group of containers B in each guide groove 96a of the magazine 20 is simultaneously pushed out, and each guide groove 43 of the magazine 16 is pushed out.
a. In this state, the containers B gripped by the guide grooves 43a of the magazine 16 again by the container pushing mechanism 19 in a row as described above by the container pushing mechanism 19 again.
It is extruded and supplied to the b side.

It takes a considerable time until the containers B gripped by the magazines 20 in all the storages 23 are supplied to the content filling device 12 by repeating the above operation. Therefore, when the failure of the container manufacturing apparatus 11 is restored and the container manufacturing apparatus 11 is operated, the container manufacturing / filling system returns to a normal operation state. (Operation of the cleaning device 25) Among the magazines 20 stored in the storage 23, for example, for a magazine 20 that has passed a certain period of time since the previous cleaning, the operation signal from the control device 26 to the cleaning device 25 to support cleaning. Is output. Then
The position switching mechanism (not shown) is operated to move the magazine support frame 165 from the cleaning position P9 to the magazine loading / unloading position P7.
Moved to In this state, the magazine elevating storage mechanism 130
Is operated, the empty magazine 20 that needs to be washed and stored in the magazine storage position P8 is lowered, and the magazine 20 is transferred to the support pins 167 of the magazine support frame 165.

Whether or not cleaning is necessary is determined by comparing the previously input cleaning record of the magazine 20 with the preset number of cleaning days by the central processing unit 181. If there is a magazine 20 that requires cleaning, A bar code or the like attached to the magazine 20 is detected by a magazine sensor 185. Instead of the magazine sensor 185, the control device 26
May be performed only by software control using the address in the storage 23 of the magazine 20 stored by the software.

With the magazine 20 received, the magazine support frame 165 is moved from the magazine loading / unloading position P7 to the washing position P9, and the magazine 20 is washed by a washing mechanism (not shown).

Next, the effects of the container buffer / supply device 15 configured as described above will be listed together with the configuration. (1) In the above embodiment, since the container buffer / supply device 15 is provided on the main conveyor 13 via the bypass conveyor 14, the container manufacturing device 11 and the content filling device 12
The degree of freedom in installing the container buffer / supply device 15 can be increased without being restricted by the installation.

(2) In the above embodiment, the magazine 16 and the magazine 20 are formed in a flat shape, and the multiple rows of gripping rails 43 and 96 are provided for hanging and stacking a large number of containers B in series. In addition, the efficiency of the storage space of the container B can be improved.

(3) In the above embodiment, the magazines 16 are provided corresponding to the bypass conveyors 14a and 14b, and the carts 73 opposed to the magazines 16 are provided by loading and unloading the magazines 20 stored in the storages 23. . Therefore, the loading operation or the unloading operation of the container B group between the magazine 16 and the magazine 20 can be performed simultaneously in a short time.

(4) In the above embodiment, the container carry-in / out magazine 16 is provided between the bypass conveyors 14a and 14b and the cart 73 of the magazine 20. For this reason, only the rigidity of the magazine 16 that is frequently reciprocated by the carry-in / out magazine position switching mechanism 17 can be increased, and the stock magazine 20 can be set to the minimum necessary rigidity, so that a large number of stock magazines 20 can be manufactured at low cost. can do.

(5) In the above embodiment, a plurality of storages 2
3, the magazine elevating storage mechanism 130 for storing the magazines 20 in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction is provided, so that the efficiency of the magazine 20 can be improved.

(6) In the above embodiment, the magazine forward / reverse position switching mechanism 80 for switching the position of the magazine 20 with respect to the bogie 73 between the container simultaneous carry-in / out standby position P4 and the container simultaneous carry-in / out position P5 is provided. For this reason, magazine 16
In this case, the magazine 20 can be brought into the closest position, and the loading operation or unloading operation of the container B can be performed smoothly. Further, after the loading or unloading operation of the container B is completed, when the carriage 73 is moved to the storage 23 side, it is possible to avoid the magazine 20 from interfering with the magazine 16 and to speed up the movement of the carriage 73. Work efficiency can be improved.

(7) In the above embodiment, the carriage 73 has the magazine elevating mechanism 90 that moves the magazine 20 up and down between the magazine entrance / exit standby position P6 and the magazine entrance / exit position P7. Therefore, the container loading / unloading operation between the trolley 73 and the magazine lifting / lowering storage mechanism 130 can be performed smoothly.

(8) In the above embodiment, the magazine elevating and lowering storage mechanism 130 is composed of a pair of left and right chains 135 to 138 arranged in the vertical direction along the tower frame 131, and a horizontal attached to each of the chains 135 to 138. Support rod 1
40, 141, while the magazine 20 has the horizontal support rod 1 at the magazine loading / unloading position P7.
Hooks 98 locked by 40 and 141 were provided. For this reason, the loading / unloading operation of the magazine 20 can be reliably performed by a simple mechanism.

(9) In the above embodiment, the grip rails 43 and 96 of the magazine 16 and the magazine 20 lock the flange F as a gripped portion formed on the neck of the container to suspend and hold the container. It is configured as follows. Therefore, the container can be stably held and the container can be moved quickly.

(10) In the above-described embodiment, the control device 26 controls each magazine 20 or the container B, for example,
The central processing unit 1 as a keyboard 183 as a data input unit for inputting data such as a type, a manufacturing date, a cleaning history of the container stock magazine 20, and damage, and a processing operation setting unit for setting a processing operation of the magazine 20.
81 are provided. For this reason, the washing operation of the magazine 20 and the processing operation of the container can be performed based on at least one type of data of the input stock magazine 20 and the container.

(11) In the above embodiment, a conveyor branching device 31 is provided at the branch between the main conveyor 13 and the bypass conveyor 14a on the upstream side, and the junction between the main conveyor 13 and the bypass conveyor 14b on the downstream side. Is provided with a conveyor merging device 32. Therefore, the change of the branch conveyor and the change of the conveyer of the container can be automatically and easily performed.

The present invention can be embodied as follows. In another example shown in FIG. 19, the magazine 16 is omitted, the magazine 20 supported on the carriage 73 is intermittently moved in the X-axis direction, and the container B is gripped by the container take-in mechanism 18 from the bypass conveyor 14 a by the rail 96. To be taken line by line. Further, after taking in the container B, the magazine 20 is transferred to the storage 23 side by the cart 73 and stored. Further, when the container B of the stored magazine 20 is supplied, the magazine 20 received by the cart 73 from the storage 23 is moved to the station S, and the container B of the guide groove 96a at the end is transferred to the bypass conveyor 1.
4b is extruded and supplied by the container pushing mechanism 19, and this is sequentially repeated.

In this embodiment, since only the magazine 20 is used and the magazine 16 is omitted, the structure of the container buffer / supply device 15 can be simplified. In another example shown in FIG. 20, the stock magazine position switching mechanism 21 is configured to intermittently circulate a plurality of magazines 20 along a predetermined circulation guide transport path including the station S and the magazine storage position P8. Things.
That is, for example, the upper part of the pair of storage
They are connected by a shaft guide rail 190, and a magazine suspended transfer cart 191 is reciprocally mounted along the X-axis guide rail 190. In addition, as shown by a chain line in FIG.
A circulation guide transport path for the magazine 20 may be provided on the underground side.

In this alternative example, it is possible to improve the space efficiency of collecting the containers in the magazine 20 as compared with the non-circulation method. Further, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of excessive imbalance during the stock period of each magazine 20.

In another example shown in FIG. 21, the bypass conveyor 14a and the bypass conveyor 14b are arranged so as to sandwich the container carry-in / out magazine 16, and the container take-in position P
1 and the container pushing position P2 are separated by a predetermined distance in the X-axis direction. A station S is provided where the container carry-in / out magazine 16 is displaced in the X-axis direction. Here, containers are carried in and out of the container carry-in / out magazine 16 and the container stock magazine 20 all at once.

In FIG. 21, the container loading / unloading magazine 16
May be omitted, and only one or a plurality of container stock magazines 20 may be provided so as to be movable by the magazine carrier 73.

In another example shown in FIG. 22, the container carry-in / out magazine 16 is arranged at a predetermined position, and the feed end of the bypass conveyor 14, the feed start portion, the container take-in mechanism 18, and the container push-out mechanism 19 are not shown. The container is reciprocated in the X-axis direction by a position switching mechanism to take in and push out the container.

Although not shown, the magazine 20 may be moved up and down in the vertical direction at the station S, and the station S may be set at the magazine storage position P8. Although not shown, the storage 23 may be provided between the bypass conveyor 14a and the bypass conveyor 14b.

Although not shown, only one magazine 20 may be used. ○ Although not shown, the magazine 2 is provided by using a plurality of carts 73.
0 may be conveyed.

Next, technical ideas other than the claims grasped from the embodiment will be described below. (Technical Thought 1) In claim 4, the container take-in mechanism 18 is located at the opening / closing stopper 50 provided at the feed end of the bypass conveyor 14a on the upstream side and at the container take-in position P1 of the container carry-in / out magazine 16. Single gripping rail 43
And a deceleration stopper mechanism 51 configured to decelerate the previously taken-in container and stop at a predetermined position in a later stage of the container taking-in operation.

According to the first technical concept, the operation of taking the container can be performed quickly and smoothly. (Technical idea 2) In claim 4, the container pushing mechanism 19 corresponds to a single grip rail 43 of the container loading / unloading magazine 16 at the container pushing position P2 corresponding to the pushing end of the bypass conveyor 14b on the downstream side. A container buffer / supply device provided with a push rod 70 for extruding containers in a row.

According to the technical idea 2, the pushing operation of the container can be performed smoothly.

[0102]

As described above in detail, the inventions according to the first to eighth aspects can simplify the structure and reduce the cost as compared with the palletizer system, and can provide the freedom of installation and The collection space efficiency of the container group can be improved.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the storage and supply of containers can be performed appropriately and promptly in accordance with the production capacity of the container and the filling capacity of the contents.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a container manufacturing and filling system embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a container manufacturing and filling system.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a container carry-in / out magazine, a carry-in / out magazine position switching mechanism, and a container simultaneous carry-in mechanism.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a container carry-in / out magazine.

FIG. 5 is a simplified perspective view of a container carry-in / out magazine.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of a container taking-in mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of a container pushing mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a container carry-in / out magazine and a cart.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing the container carry-in / out magazine and the cart.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a trolley and a container stock magazine.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a trolley and a container stock magazine.

FIG. 12 is a front view in which the container simultaneous carrying-in mechanism and the container carrying-in / out magazine are reduced in width.

FIG. 13 is a front view in which the container simultaneous unloading mechanism and the container stock magazine are reduced in width.

FIG. 14 is a partial perspective view of a container simultaneous carrying-in mechanism and a simultaneous carrying-out mechanism.

FIG. 15 is a front view of a magazine storage and a cleaning device.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a magazine storage and a cleaning device.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged front view of the lower part of the magazine storage;

FIG. 18 is a block circuit diagram of a control device.

FIG. 19 is a schematic plan view showing another example.

FIG. 20 is a schematic front view showing another example.

FIG. 21 is a schematic plan view showing another example.

FIG. 22 is a schematic plan view showing another example.

[Explanation of symbols]

B: Container, F: Flange, N: Neck, S: Station, P
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Container take-in position, P2 ... Container push-out position, P8 ... Magazine storage position, RAM ... Recording means, 11 ... Supply device, 12
... Processing equipment, 13 ... Main conveyor, 14, 14a, 1
4b: Bypass conveyor, 15: Container buffer / supply device, 16: Container loading / unloading magazine, 17: Loading / unloading magazine position switching mechanism, 18: Container loading mechanism, 19: Container pushing mechanism, 20: Container stock magazine, 21 ... Stock magazine position switching mechanism as a position switching mechanism, 22: Simultaneous container loading mechanism as a container loading mechanism, 24: Container simultaneous unloading mechanism as a container unloading mechanism, 26: Control device, 43, 9
6: Container aligning / holding rail, 130: Magazine lifting / lowering storage mechanism, 181: CPU as processing operation setting means, 183
... Keyboard as data input means.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Kobayashi 520 Nakasone-cho, Ogaki-shi, Gifu F-term in N-Tech Corporation (reference) 3E030 AA01 BA04 BB04 BB05 BC03 DA06 DA08 GA08 3F015 AA08 BA00 CA01 3F022 AA02 CC10 FF26 JJ14 KK15 LL31 MM01 MM07 MM17 MM28 3F080 AA22 BA04 CE00 CG14 DA07 DA11 DB04

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A container supply device (11) having a collar (F) that can be suspended and gripped on a neck (N) of a container (B);
In a container supply / processing system in which a processing device (12) for performing processing such as filling the supplied container with contents is connected by a main conveyor (13), the container is bypassed on the way of the main conveyor (13). A bypass conveyor (14) is connected, a plurality of containers are suspended and accumulated and stored in the middle of the bypass conveyor (14), and the stored containers are transferred to the main conveyor (13) via the bypass conveyor (14). A container buffer / supply device, wherein a container stock magazine (20) for supply is movably provided. 2. The container stock magazine (20) according to claim 1, wherein the container stock magazine (20) includes a plurality of rows of container alignment gripping rails (96) for aligning a plurality of containers in a plurality of rows and suspending and holding the stock. A container take-in mechanism (18) configured to take in the containers arranged in a flat shape and conveyed to the container feeding end of the bypass conveyor (14) into the container aligning / holding rail (96), and to accumulate the containers; (96) a container push-out mechanism (19) that pushes the containers collected and held in a row to the delivery start portion of the bypass conveyor (14); a container alignment holding rail (96) and a container of the bypass conveyor (14). A position facing the feeding end, the container aligning and holding rail (96), and the bypass conveyor (1).
The position opposed to the container sending start portion of 4) is determined by the container stock magazine (20) or the bypass conveyor (1).
4) A position switching mechanism (21) for moving and switching the container feeding end portion and the container sending start portion, and operations of the container loading mechanism (18), the container pushing mechanism (19), and the position switching mechanism (21). Control device (2
6) A container buffer / supply device characterized by comprising: 3. The container feeding end of the bypass conveyor (14) and the container sending start part according to claim 2, wherein the container feeding end and the container feeding start part are arranged at a predetermined container take-in position (P1) and a container push-out position (P2). The position switching mechanism (21) is a stock magazine position switching mechanism (21) for switching the position of the container stock magazine (20), and includes a plurality of container alignment gripping rails (9) of the container stock magazine (20).
6) The container buffer / supply device configured to individually switch to the container take-in position (P1) and to switch to the container push-out position (P2). 4. The container according to claim 3, further comprising: a bypass conveyor (14) and a container stock magazine between the container feed end and the container delivery start portion of the bypass conveyor (14) and the container stock magazine (20). (2
0), a container carry-in / out magazine (16) for performing a carry-in or carry-out operation of the container exclusively is provided. The container carry-in / out magazine (16) is formed in a flat shape, A container aligning and holding rail (43) having a plurality of rows for suspending and holding a flange portion, wherein the container conveyed to the container feeding end of the bypass conveyor (14) is arranged on the container carrying-in / out magazine (16); A container take-in mechanism (18) for taking in and accumulating the container (43), and a bypass conveyer (14) for collecting and holding the containers collected and held in a row on the container alignment holding rail (43) of the container carry-in / out magazine (16). A container push-out mechanism (19) for extruding the container to the feeding start portion, and the container aligning and holding rail (43) of the container carry-in / out magazine (16) to the container take-in position (P1) or the container pusher. A carry-in / out magazine position switching mechanism (17) for switching to a position (P2); a container carry-in mechanism (22) for carrying the containers in a row from the container carry-in / out magazine (16) to the container stock magazine (20); A container buffer / supply device comprising: a container unloading mechanism (24) for unloading containers in a row from the container stock magazine (20) to the container loading / unloading magazine (16). 5. The container carrying-in mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the container carrying-in mechanism is a container carrying-in mechanism that carries the containers in a row from the container carrying-in / out magazine (16) to the container stock magazine (20). The container unloading mechanism is configured to transfer the container unloading magazine (1) from the container stock magazine (20).
6) A container buffer / supply device which is a container simultaneous unloading mechanism (24) for simultaneously unloading containers in a row in a row. 6. In any one of claims 3 to 5,
The container stock magazines (20) are disposed at a plurality of locations in the horizontal or vertical direction, and each container stock magazine (2)
0) is a stock magazine position switching between a station (S) corresponding to the container take-in position (P1) or the container push-out position (P2) and a magazine storage position (P8) separated from the station (S). The magazine storage position (P8) is configured to be switched by a mechanism (21), and each of the container stock magazines (20) is placed in the magazine storage position (P8).
Buffer / supply device equipped with a magazine elevating and lowering storage mechanism (130) for storing a plurality of vertical storages in a vertical direction. 7. The stock magazine position switching mechanism (21) according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of container stock magazines (20) are transported in a predetermined circulation guide including the station (S) and the magazine storage position (P8). A container buffer / supply device configured to be able to intermittently circulate along a path. 8. The method according to claim 2, wherein
The control device (26) includes, for each container stock magazine (20) or container (B), for example, the type of container, date of manufacture, and cleaning data and damage data of the container stock magazine (20). Data input means (183) for inputting at least one type of data among the data, recording means (RAM) for recording the data input by the data input means (183), and reading from the recording means (RAM) Container processing and container stock magazine (20)
Processing operation setting means (18) for setting processing operations such as cleaning of
1) A container buffer / supply device comprising: 9. A container buffer / supply method in which the following steps are performed using the container buffer / supply device according to claim 1.
The supply capacity including the stop of the supply device (11) of the container is compared with the processing capacity including the stop of the processing device (12), and when the supply capacity is higher than the processing capacity and a surplus occurs in the container, The container is supplied from the supply device (11) to the container buffer / supply device (1) through the upstream bypass conveyor (14a).
5) The step of taking in a line and collecting and storing the same. When the supply capacity of the container is lower than the processing capacity and the container becomes insufficient, the containers accumulated and stored in the container buffer / supply device (15) are extruded in a line to the bypass conveyor (14b) on the downstream side for processing. A step of supplying to the device (12)