JP2003065888A - Pinhole inspection machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an effective pinhole inspection machine for inspecting concentrically a circular collar sealed part, concerning the inspection machine for inspecting, by a voltage application system, a pinhole of a flat-bottomed circular-sectioned top seal cup-shaped packaging container made of an insulating material for enclosing a conductive content. SOLUTION: This machine has a constitution wherein a subject to be inspected is sandwiched in the pressed state between a pair of edgeless rotating belts on a sliding plate, and simultaneously rotated and advanced during conveyance of the subject, and also has a constitution wherein a voltage is applied continuously all at once from upper and lower sides by utilizing the rotation of the circular collar top seal by a pair of electrodes, an upward stuck first electrode and a downward second electrode having bundle-shaped metal fibers. Thus, the pinhole inspection machine capable of inspecting surely a cup packaged article with a constitution having a simple structure and a mechanism can be provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pinhole inspection for inspecting a sealing defect such as a pinhole in a sealed packaging container of various forms which is formed of an insulating material such as a resin and filled with medicines, foods, cosmetics and the like. Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A pinhole inspection device for a hermetically sealed package, such as a top-seal cup-shaped packaging container or a container in which square-shaped tofu is hermetically sealed, which is sealed with a brim having a flat bottom with a square cross-section and a flat top lid. A typical example of
63-101728). In this example, the second electrode of the conductive material plate arranged so as to come into contact with the lower surface of the belt conveyor of the object carrier, and the carrying direction for applying a high voltage by contacting the entire upper surface of the object There is a brush-shaped first electrode disposed so as to be orthogonal to the pinhole inspection device, and the pinhole inspection machine is based on the principle of applying a high-voltage current between these electrodes.

In general, the sealing portion of a packaging container that is top-sealed with a flat upper lid is usually such that the upper lid size is larger than the brim size of the container. Therefore, when applying a voltage to the surface of the upper lid of the subject, the voltage applied to the sealing contact part of the seal part cannot be indirectly applied, and it is necessary to raise the applied voltage level as compared with the direct application to the seal contact part. The voltage application level is not applicable.

Further, the second electrode of this example is arranged so as to come into contact with the lower surface of the conveyer conveyor, so that the second electrode is applied not by direct contact with the object but by an indirect application method and applied to the bottom surface of the packaging container. Therefore, there is little problem with thin films such as tofu containers, but in the case of seal inspection of the top seal part of thick resin cup, the bottom thickness is thick and it becomes a factor that hinders low voltage inspection. There is a need.

The essential condition of equipping the pinhole inspection machine is that there is no harmful effect of drilling a pseudo pinhole or the like with an applied voltage and that safe and accurate inspection can be performed by applying a low voltage without danger. is there. There has been a strong demand in the industry for a pinhole inspection machine applicable to a wide variety of packaging containers including thick film containers and thick-walled molding containers.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a pinhole inspection machine for inspecting pinholes in a top seal portion of a cup-shaped packaging container having a flat bottom circular cross section or a seal failure, which is sufficiently lower than the dielectric breakdown voltage of the packaging resin. The following configuration was adopted to enable low-voltage application without the risk of fatal mischief such as drilling and to perform an appropriate inspection. (1) As a general configuration outline of the inspection machine of the present invention,
The flat-bottom cup packaged product is conveyed while rotating on the slide plate by the rotating and conveying means as described below, and during this period, a voltage is directly applied from above and below to the inspected part itself of the flange part of the top seal. However, the inspection is performed, and low voltage inspection is promised, including the contact following performance of the brush electrode of amorphous metal fiber having a small diameter. (2) Specifically, the lowermost cylindrical portion of the subject is lightly sandwiched by a pair of endless rotating belts which are connected to the prime mover driving wheel and the idle wheel, and the horizontal flat plate is slid while rotating while being clamped and pressed. The plate is rotated and conveyed on the flat bottom of the subject. (Claim 1) (3) Further, the endless rotating belt on the idle wheel side is abolished, and instead of this, an endless rotating belt exhibitor having an edge linear portion having the same length as the linear portion of the endless rotating belt. A horizontal straight guide plate at the same height as the level is clamped and pressed by an appropriate pressing force of a spring between the endless rotating belt on the drive vehicle side and the object is rotated and conveyed on the slide plate while rotating. .. (Claim 2) (4) In such a rotational conveyance state by the conveying means, the lower surface of the inspection-required portion of the seal tight contact portion between the uppermost annular collar and the upper lid of the packaging container of the subject is linearly brushed upward. Then, a voltage is applied to the first electrode and the inspection is performed. Here, the lengths of the sliding plate and the pair of endless rotation belts are configured to be long enough for the test object calculated from the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion to make one full rotation and to complete the inspection. (5) A brush-shaped second electrode which responds to the voltage application to the first electrode and at the same time has a width sufficiently larger than the width of the flange arranged on the counter electrode side in parallel with the upper surface of the subject upper lid. Then, apply voltage downward and inspect. (6) If there is a pinhole or
If there is a sealing failure, one of both electrodes will contact the defective part, and a flashover current will occur here, so this is received via the other electrode and the current generated by the detection control circuit provided in the configuration circuit Determine the pinhole or seal failure with the number of and issue a necessary alarm or signal. The present invention provides a pinhole inspection machine configured as described above.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIG.
To FIG. 4 will be described. FIG. 1 is a front sectional assembly view of the present invention, in which a lowermost cylindrical portion of a subject 10 on a sliding plate 3 is an endless rotating belt 4 for driving and an endless rotating belt 5 connected to an idle wheel 7. It is shown that the sheet is being rotated and conveyed while being sandwiched and pressed.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the present invention, showing both endless rotating belts, a first electrode 1 arranged upward, and a second electrode 2 arranged downward and parallel to the counter electrode side by a chain line. However, the length of the straight portion of the endless rotation belt is π · D with respect to the outer diameter D of the minimum cylindrical portion of the subject, indicating that the subject 10 is guaranteed to rotate for one full rotation. is doing.

FIG. 3 shows an electrical system diagram of the present invention,
A state in which a voltage is applied upward to the lower surface δ of the inspection target portion of the top seal portion collar of the subject and a state where a voltage is applied downward to the upper surface of the upper lid by the second electrode 2 is displayed. The relative relationship between the power supply 41 and the detection control circuit 42 arranged in these circuits is shown. FIG. 4 is a line A-A of FIG.
The side view of the sectional view also shows the relationship between the conveyor 30 for supplying the subject 10 to the inspection machine of the present invention and the succeeding conveyor 40 for discharging the inspection machine out of the machine after completion of the inspection.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a front cross-sectional explanatory view of the present invention, showing a state in which the lowest cylindrical portion of the subject 10 is clamped by the guide plate 14 with respect to the drive-side endless rotation belt 4.
6 is a plan view of the present invention, showing the relative relationship between the endless drive belt 4 for driving and the guide plate 14. The length of the edge E of the guide plate is .pi..D as in the above case. As a result, it is possible to cope with the entire rotation of the subject. Here, although the conveyors 30 and 40 arranged before and after the inspection machine are present, they are omitted because they are obvious. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the voltage application of the first and second electrodes to the subject 10 and the electrical system including the power supply 41 or the detection control circuit 42 in the connection circuit.

Next, the operation and effect of the embodiment of the present invention will be described. The first and second embodiments are different from each other in the mechanism for rotating and transporting the subject 10, but the operation centering on the subject 10 and the application of voltage and other effects are common to both embodiments, and therefore duplicated in description. Therefore, the first embodiment will be described as a representative.

First, the subject 10 entering by the supply conveyor 30 slides due to running inertia, reaches the entrance of the sliding plate 3 and is sandwiched between a pair of endless rotating belts, and the distance between both belts is a cylindrical portion D. Since it is narrower, it is pinched, and the driving side belt is pressed by the pushing force of the spring 9 and the frictional force, and the subject 10 advances while rotating in the direction of the arrow. Here, in the second embodiment, the underlined portion is endless.
It will be sandwiched between the rotating belt 4 and the guide plate 14, and will be broken.

During this period, the top seal portion of the subject 10 to be inspected δ is in a standby state and the first electrode 1 is arranged linearly upward.
The element group of the second electrode 2 which is arranged in a straight line in a downward direction on the opposite side to the contact with the dense element group of FIG. According to the completion of the rotation, the high voltage is directly applied to the inspected part from above and below, and the inspection process is completed.

During the above-described inspection process, if there is a pinhole or a seal defect in the portion to be inspected of the subject, a flashover current will be generated there. Therefore, the detection in the circuit based on the change in the current value. The control circuit 42 operates, and immediately determines the defect based on the ratio with the specified current value, and issues a necessary signal such as an alarm or a defective product elimination command. The above is the basic operation and effect of the present invention.

[0015]

As described above, the mechanism and structure of the present invention are
Both the first and second embodiments are not particularly complicated and elaborate, and it is possible to combine them with a very general combination of machine elements. Can be provided.

In both the first and second electrodes of the present invention, the self-developing of the portion to be inspected δ is applied directly, and as a characteristic of this point, contact application is applied to the thin foreskin material portion, and in addition, it is flexible. The voltage applied to the inspected part δ without direct contact with the electrode element made of amorphous metal fiber, which is comparatively strong and has a highly-recoverable wiping contact function, is a highly efficient and low voltage application. To make it possible, it is possible to provide a machine with extremely high safety.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although there is no mention of the measures relating to the dimensions of the subject 10 and, above all, the changes in the height of the subject 10, both the mounting heights of the first and second electrodes are short. It is easy to construct the electrode pedestal 11 and the suspension pedestal 12 so that they can expand and contract according to changes, and it is possible to sufficiently cope with them.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view of a first embodiment of the present invention. A pair of endless rotation belts sandwiches the lowest cylindrical portion of the subject 10 and shows a pressed rotation state.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the present invention. Subject 1 on sliding plate 3
The orientation relationship between the first and second electrodes is clearly shown in 0 and both endless rotating belts.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a voltage application state to the first and second electrodes and the subject 10 of the present invention, and an electrical system.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the present invention. Supply conveyor 30
It also specifies the relationship between the inspection machine and the subsequent conveyor for discharge.

FIG. 5 is a front sectional view of a second embodiment of the present invention. It can be seen that the guide plate 14 in place of the floating endless rotating belt 4 in the case of the first embodiment clamps and presses the subject 10.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the second embodiment of the present invention. The first electrode 1 is arranged on the guide plate 14 on parallel straight lines.

FIG. 7 is an electrical system diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention. The content is the same as that of the first embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1st electrode 2 Second electrode 3 sliding plates 4 Endless rotating belt 5 Endless rotating belt 6 driving car 7 idle car 8 bearings 9 Push spring 10 subject 11 electrode mount 12 Suspension stand 13 prime mover 14 Information board 30 conveyor 40 Subsequent conveyor 41 power supply 42 Detection control circuit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A top-seal cup-shaped packaging container (hereinafter, referred to as a "seal") having a flat-bottom circular cross-section made of an insulating material and containing a conductive content.
In a pinhole inspection machine for inspecting the subject (10) for a pinhole or a seal failure by a high voltage application method with a positive and negative two electrodes, the inspection of the subject (10) is completed. The subject (10) having a sufficient length to allow smooth running on a flat bottom during the process
(3) for inspection and transportation of the above, and a prime mover (13) and a driving vehicle (6, 6 ') which extend in the entire longitudinal length of the sliding plate (3) and are arranged parallel to the transportation direction.
Driven by the endless rotating belt, which is arranged at a height sufficient to contact the bottommost cylindrical portion of the subject with a belt length sufficient to maintain conveyance during the step of inspecting the subject (10). (4), extending in the entire longitudinal length of the sliding plate (3), parallel to, at the same height and with the same length as the endless rotating belt (4), with respect to the endless rotating belt (4) On the side that clamps and presses the subject (10), the distance between the two belts is such that the subject (10)
Endless rotating belts (5) which are arranged at a position slightly smaller than the diameter (D) of the lowest cylindrical portion of the pair of idle wheels (7, 7 '), and the pair of idle wheels. A set of bearings (8, 8 ') that rotatably support (7, 7') and that are slidably supported horizontally on the machine base in the direction orthogonal to the endless rotating belt (5); Of the pair of bearings (8, 8 ') of a pair of push springs (9, 9') that exert a pushing force (P) in a stroke that can be adjusted in a direction orthogonal to the endless rotating belt (5). Pressing means and the above-mentioned both endless rotating belts (4, 5)
A pair of test objects (10) formed in 1. are clamped, pressed, and rubbed to rotate and convey while rotating, and a test of the test object (10) in a rotating state is required during a test process. The endless rotation is made so as to contact the lower surface of the part (δ), the upper surface of the container and the annular flange top seal part composed of the uppermost flange of the packaging container, and to continuously apply a high voltage. Along the electrode mount (11) arranged in a straight line horizontally on the overhead elevated part of the belt (4), a myriad of minute fiber elements such as amorphous having a width close to the width of the collar part are bundled. In contact with the fixed first electrode (1) and the voltage applied by the first electrode (1) to the rotating subject (10), the first electrode (1) is brought into contact with the upper surface of the subject (10) upper lid, and at the same time, a high voltage is applied. A voltage is applied in parallel with the first electrode (1) and arranged on the counter electrode side. Innumerable elements having one length and a width sufficiently larger than the width of the flange of the subject and having the same material and diameter as the first electrode (1) are bundled on a base fixed to the suspension base (12) of the roof of the airframe. A second electrode (2) fixed in a fixed shape, an AC or DC power supply (41) for supplying power to the both electrodes, and a pinhole or a seal defect which is disposed in the connection line between these electrodes. , A pinhole characterized by including a detection control circuit (42) for judging detection based on the amount of flashover current generated at the location and transmitting various signals such as an alarm accordingly. Inspection machine. 2. A subject (1) consisting of an endless rotary belt (4) driven by the drive wheel (6) and the endless rotary belt (5) associated with an idler wheel (7), in one-to-one correspondence. 10)
Instead of the rotary conveying means, an end edge on the sliding plate (3) which is at the same height as the endless rotary belt (4) for driving the drive wheel (6) and has the same length as the linear portion of the belt (4). A flat plate having a straight line portion (E), and the distance between the straight line portion and the endless rotating belt (4) is set to be slightly smaller than the diameter (D) of the lowest cylinder of the subject (10). -Shaped linear thin guide plate (14) and the guide plate (14) which is slidably supported horizontally on a slide plate (3) and is orthogonal to the endless rotation belt (4) arranged at both ends. The endless rotating belt (4) and the guide are supported by a support means of a guide plate (14) having a pair of push springs (9, 9 ') that exert a pushing force (P) in a direction adjustable stroke. The plate (14) is pivoted to the subject (10) by the frictional force of the clamping pressure on the lowermost cylindrical portion (10 ') of the subject (10). Pinhole inspection apparatus of claim 1 wherein characterized in that and a rotation transfer means for transferring while applying.