JP2002193438A - Container discharge apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a container discharge apparatus improved in responsiveness without using air. SOLUTION: This container discharge apparatus is provided with an electric motor 10, and a discharge member 12 connected to an output shaft 10a of the motor and driven to rotate around a designated axis of rotation. An empty can 3 supported on a conveyer 2 to be conveyed and a blade 12b of an impeller 12 driven to be rotated by the electric motor 10 are brought into contact with each other to discharge the empty can 3 from the conveyer 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for discharging a container such as a bottle from a conveying path.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various inspection devices are installed on a line for transporting beverage cans such as beer cans, and defective cans that do not pass the inspection are discharged along the line. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a discharge device of this type, a device that uses an air cylinder to push a defective can to the side of a transport line is well known.

[0003]

However, when an air cylinder is used as an actuator, there is mechanical friction in a solenoid valve for switching and controlling the inside of the cylinder and the operation of the cylinder, which hinders high-speed driving. ing. Furthermore, after the solenoid valve is switched, the direction of the working fluid changes and the internal pressure of the cylinder rises, and there is a considerable time lag before the operation actually starts, which also hinders high-speed driving. I have.

[0004] Although there is a discharge device in which responsiveness is improved using a clutch brake driven by air, there is a certain limit in responsiveness until the actuator starts operating as long as air is used.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a container discharging device which has improved responsiveness without using air.

[0006]

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described. In addition, in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, reference numerals in the accompanying drawings are added in parentheses, but the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment.

The present invention comprises an electric motor (10) and a discharge member (12) connected to an output shaft (10a) of the electric motor (10) and driven to rotate around a predetermined rotation axis. The above-mentioned problem is solved by a container discharging device that discharges the container from the conveying means by bringing a container (3) supported and conveyed by the electric motor into contact with the discharging member that is rotationally driven by the electric motor. .

According to the present invention, since the electric motor is used as an actuator, a time lag from when an electric operation command is output to the actuator to when the actuator is activated and the discharging operation of the container is started is reduced. It is shorter than in the case of the air system. Thus, the discharge device can be easily installed even on a high-speed transport line.

In the present invention, the discharge member has a plurality of projections (12) arranged at equal intervals around the rotation axis.
b) is provided, wherein the electric motor is capable of intermittently driving the discharge member at an angle corresponding to a circumferential interval between the protrusions, and the container can pass when the container is not discharged by the intermittent drive. Each projection may stand by at a position, and the positional relationship between the discharging member and the transporting means may be set such that one projection crosses the moving path of the container when the container is discharged. In this case, set the motor to 360 °
Since the discharge of cans is completed only by rotating in a small angle range of less than, it is possible to more easily cope with an increase in the speed of the transport line.

[0010] In the discharge device of the present invention, the discharge member may be coaxially mounted on an output shaft of the electric motor. In this way, mechanical friction and loss between the electric motor and the discharge member are minimized,
Responsiveness at the time of driving the discharge member is improved, and it is possible to more easily cope with speeding up of the transport line.

Further, in the discharge device of the present invention, the discharge member may be arranged such that an end of the container opposite to a side supported by the transporting means is in contact with the discharge member. . In this case, the container can be reliably discharged from the transporting unit with a smaller force than when the intermediate portion of the container or the end supported by the transporting unit is pushed out by the discharging member.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is incorporated in a beer empty can transport line will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the transport line 1 has, for example, a belt or chain type conveyor 2, and a number of empty cans 3 are placed on the upper surface of the conveyor 2 and are continuously transported in the direction of the arrow in the figure. Is done. Note that the conveyor 2 may be a suction type conveyor 2 as shown in FIG. In the case of the suction type conveyor 2, the can 3 is conveyed while being suspended from the conveyor 2 with its upper end being sucked by the conveyor 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the conveyor 2 is driven by rotating a sprocket 4a by a motor 4. The motor 4 is provided with a detection device 5 for detecting a rotation amount or a rotation position such as a rotary encoder. A signal corresponding to the rotation amount or rotation position of the motor 4 is output from the detection device 5, and the signal is output to the inspection control device 6. The inspection control device 6 is configured as a computer in which various elements such as a microprocessor and a memory necessary for its operation are combined.

A camera 7 is provided in the middle of the transport line 1 as information input means for inspecting the empty can 3. The camera 7 photographs an inspection location of the empty can 3, for example, the can bottom 3a, and outputs image data corresponding to the photographed result to the inspection control device 6.
Output to The inspection control device 6 determines the presence or absence of a defect in the empty can 3 based on the image data acquired from the camera 7. In addition, the inspection location of the empty can 3 is not limited to the can bottom 3a, and may be each part of the empty can 3.

An empty can discharge position is set downstream of the inspection position of the transport line 1 (the position where the camera 7 is installed), and a servomotor 10 as an electric motor for empty can discharge is installed there. Have been. The servo motor 10 is installed on the side of the transport line 1 in a state where the axis direction of the output shaft 10a is made to coincide with the transport direction of the conveyor 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the servo motor 10
An output shaft 10a is provided with an impeller 12 as a discharge member via a coupling 11. Impeller 12
Is a cylindrical portion 12a coaxial with the output shaft 10a and its cylindrical portion 1
Blades 12 as four projections projecting from the outer periphery of 2a
b ... 12b. The angular pitch between the blades 12b is equal to each other and 90 °. Each blade 12b has the same shape and size. FIG. 2A shows a wavy line DL.
As shown by, the trajectory of the tip of each blade 12b when the output shaft 10a rotates crosses the movement path of the can 3 supported by the conveyor 2. Accordingly, the start of the servomotor 10 causes the can 3 to come into contact with the tip of the blade 12b at the end opposite to the side supported by the conveyor 2, thereby causing the can 3 to move as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. The can 3 is removed from the conveyor 2. 2A shows a state in which the servomotor 10 is viewed from the transport direction, and FIG.
0 shows a state when viewed from the side of the transport line 1.

As described above, the can 3 is discharged by bringing the blade 12b into contact with the end of the can 3 opposite to the side supported by the conveyor 2, so that the intermediate portion of the can 3 and the conveyor 2 can be discharged. The force required to discharge the can 3 is smaller than in the case where the supported end is pushed out. Moreover, feather 1
Since the tip of 2b is in contact with the can 3, the distance that the blade 12b pushes the can 3 can be maximized. When the suction type conveyor 2 is used, since the can 3 and the conveyor 2 are connected with a certain amount of force, a certain amount of force is required also when the can 3 is discharged. According to this, the can 3 can be easily and reliably separated from the conveyor 2 and discharged.

The rotation of the servo motor 10 is controlled by a servo controller 15. Servo controller 15
Starts the servo motor 10 when it receives the motor drive signal from the inspection control device 6, and stops the servo motor 10 when the output shaft 10a rotates 90 degrees. That is, the servo controller 15 controls the operation of the servo motor 10 so that the impeller 12 rotates 90 ° every time a motor drive signal is output from the inspection control device 6. The impeller 12 is positioned in the circumferential direction such that the can 3 passes through a gap between a pair of adjacent blades 12b when the servomotor 10 is stopped. Thereby, the servo motor 10
Is stopped, the can 3 is transported downstream without interfering with the blades 12b.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a defective can discharge process executed when the inspection control device 6 finds a defect in the can 3. When a defective can is detected, the inspection control device 6 starts monitoring the amount of movement of the can 3 by the conveyor 2 based on the output signal from the detection device 5 (step S1). Next, it is determined whether the movement amount of the can 3 after the start of monitoring has reached a predetermined amount (step S2). The predetermined amount at this time is determined from the distance between the inspection position and the discharge position by the camera 7 from when the can 3 is photographed by the camera 7 to when the monitoring of the movement amount of the can 3 is started in step S1. Can 3
After the motor drive signal is output from the inspection control device 6 and the impeller 12 starts rotating,
Is set to a value obtained by subtracting the distance traveled by.

Step S2 until the can 3 moves by a predetermined amount.
Is repeated. Then, when it is determined that the can 3 has moved by a predetermined amount, a motor drive signal is output to the servo controller 15 (step S3), and the defective can discharge process is terminated. As described above, the servo controller 15 receives the motor drive signal and sets the impeller 12 to 90
2B in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Thereby, the can 3 determined as a defective can is discharged to the side of the conveyor 2 by the blade 12b.

When the discharging device of the above embodiment is prototyped and installed on a beverage can transport line, even if the transport speed is set at 2400 to 3000 cans per minute, the intended defective can can be reliably discharged. Was confirmed.

The present invention can be embodied in various forms without being limited to the above embodiments. For example, the electric motor is not limited to the servo motor 10, and various types of motors may be used as long as the drive amount can be controlled. The discharge member is not limited to the impeller 12, but may be, for example, an arm. The number of blades is not limited to four. The output member is the output shaft 1 of the motor 10
0a so as to be rotatable on a different axis from the output shaft 10a.
A transmission mechanism such as a gear train or a belt transmission mechanism may be provided between the and the discharge member. However, if priority is given to the drive response of the discharge member, it is desirable to mount the discharge member coaxially on the output shaft. INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention is not limited to the example attached to the conveyance line of a beverage can, but can be used as a discharge device of various containers.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, an electric motor is used as an actuator.
The time lag from when an electrical operation command is output to the actuator until the actuator is activated and the container discharge operation is started is reduced as compared with the conventional air system. Therefore, the discharge device can be easily installed on a high-speed transport line.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which the present invention is incorporated in a beer empty can transport line.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a main part of the discharging device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a defective can discharging process executed by the inspection control device of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveying line 2 Conveyor (conveying means) 3 Empty can (container) 10 Servo motor (electric motor) 10a Output shaft 12 Impeller (discharge member) 12a Cylindrical part 12b Blade (projection part) 15 Servo controller

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takanori Hazuki 1-17-1 Namamugi, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa F-term in Kirin Techno System Co., Ltd. 3F017 AA05 BB01

Claims (4)

[Claims] An electric motor, and a discharge member connected to an output shaft of the electric motor and driven to rotate around a predetermined rotation axis, wherein a container supported and conveyed by a conveying means and conveyed by the electric motor. A container discharging device, wherein the container is discharged from the transporting means by bringing the discharging member into contact with the rotating member. 2. The discharging member is provided with a plurality of projections arranged at equal intervals around the rotation axis, and the electric motor is configured to discharge the projections by an angle corresponding to a circumferential interval between the projections. The member can be intermittently driven, and the intermittent drive allows each projection to stand by at a position where the container can pass when the container is not discharged, and one projection crosses the movement path of the container when the container is discharged. The container discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the positional relationship between the discharge member and the transporting means is set as described above. 3. The container discharging device according to claim 1, wherein the discharging member is coaxially mounted on an output shaft of the electric motor. 4. The discharging member is arranged such that an end of the container opposite to a side supported by the transporting means is in contact with the discharging member. 4. The container discharging device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,