JP2004275992A - Vessel washing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vessel washing device, in which stacked vessels in the state where a plurality of the vessels are fitted with each other, can be washed automatically and efficiently. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of vessel receiving portions 4 are provided between a pair of side plates 2a and 2b of a rotating drum 1 intermittently rotating, in a circumferential direction at an equal interval. When a stopping position in which the vessel receiving portion 4 stops at one side portion of the rotating drum 1 is a supply station S<SB>1</SB>, a position where it stops above the rotating drum 1 is a washing station S<SB>2</SB>. Whenever the vessel receiving portion 4 stops at the supply station S<SB>1</SB>, the stacked vessel A is supplied from a supply conveyer 40 into the vessel receiving portion 4. The stacked vessel A is transported to the washing station S<SB>2</SB>by the intermittent rotation of the rotating drum 1, a plurality of air jet nozzles 14 provided on the washing station S<SB>2</SB>are moved in the axial direction of the rotating drum 1, and a high pressure air injected from the air jet nozzles 14 is impacted to the stacked vessel A to wash the vessel a. The washed stacked vessel A is naturally discharged from the vessel receiving portion 4 at the other side portion of the rotating drum 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning a plastic container.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Plastic containers are often used for packaging food and foodstuffs. In order to form the plastic container, a manufacturing method is generally employed in which a sheet material made of a thermoplastic resin is vacuum-formed, and then a blank is punched. Then, the manufactured plastic containers are packed in a bag in a state where several tens of the plastic containers are stacked and shipped.
[0003]
The plastic container as described above may generate plastic powder or debris when punching out the edge, and if the plastic powder or debris adheres to the container or remains inside the container, it is mixed with food and foodstuffs to improve hygiene. Due to problems, washing is performed in a stacked state after production. At the time of the cleaning, a cleaning method by blowing high-pressure air is generally adopted.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, when cleaning the stacked containers, conventionally, the setting of the stacked containers with respect to the air cleaning device and the removal after the cleaning are manually performed, so that there is a problem that it takes time and the cleaning efficiency is low.
[0005]
An object of the present invention is to provide a container cleaning device that can automatically and efficiently wash stacked containers.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the present invention, a pair of side plates are provided, a plurality of container receiving portions are formed between the side plates at equal intervals in a circumferential direction, and a pitch of the container receiving portions is set to a rotation angle. A rotating drum that is intermittently rotated in one direction, a position where the container receiving portion stops at one side of the rotating drum is a supply station, a position where the container receiving portion stops above the rotating drum is a cleaning station, and the stop is at the supply station. A supply conveyor for supplying a stacked container in which a number of containers are fitted in a container receiving portion, and a plurality of air injection nozzles for injecting high-pressure air toward the stacked containers in the container receiving portion stopped at the washing station; Moving means for reciprocating the plurality of air injection nozzles in the axial direction of the rotary drum, and having a configuration in which ventilation holes are provided at the bottom of the container receiving portion. That.
[0007]
In the container washing apparatus having the above-described configuration, the rotating drum is intermittently rotated in one direction, and each time the rotating drum stops, the stacked containers are supplied from the supply conveyor into the container receiving portion stopped at the supply station. Then, when the stacked container is transported to the washing station, the high-pressure air is jetted from the air injection nozzle toward the stacked container, and the air injection nozzle is moved in the axial direction of the rotating drum to wash each container. Due to the intermittent rotation of the rotating drum after the washing, the rotating drum is transported to the other side and the stacked containers after the washing are slid and dropped along the inclined wall surface of the container receiving portion to be discharged.
[0008]
As described above, in the container cleaning apparatus according to the present invention, the supply, the cleaning, and the discharge after the cleaning of the stacked containers can be automatically and efficiently performed.
[0009]
In the container cleaning device according to the present invention, by providing a dust collection duct for applying suction to the bottom of the container receiving portion stopped at the cleaning station at the rotation center of the rotary drum, the container is blown off from the container by collision of high-pressure air. The collected foreign matter such as plastic powder can be collected in the dust collection duct, and the foreign matter can be prevented from scattering around.
[0010]
Further, a pusher is incorporated in each of the plurality of container receiving portions, and a position adjusting device for adjusting the position of the pusher in the axial direction of the rotary drum, and a shaft of the rotary drum at a distance substantially corresponding to the depth of the container at the adjustment position. By providing a reciprocating device that reciprocates in the direction, by moving the pusher toward the stacking container after washing the stacking container, the container can be pressed in the stacking direction by the pusher, so that the container is Even if separated, it can be returned to the fitted state, and the containers can be discharged from the container receiving portion in a stacked state.
[0011]
For this reason, it is possible to automate the bagging operation of packing the stacked containers into the bags in a later process.
[0012]
Furthermore, when the cross-sectional shape of the container receiver is V-shaped, stacked containers having different container sizes and stacked containers having different container shapes can be stably supported by the container receiver.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the container cleaning apparatus according to the present invention has a rotary drum 1 and a supply conveyor 40 for feeding a stacked container A in which a number of containers a are fitted to the rotary drum 1.
[0014]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rotary drum 1 has a pair of side plates 2a and 2b on both sides, and a pair of the side plates 2a and 2b is equally spaced in a circumferential direction by a partition plate 3 arranged radially. The container receiving part 4 is provided between the partition plates 3 which are partitioned and adjacent to each other.
[0015]
A drum shaft 5 is provided on one side plate 2a of the pair of side plates 2a and 2b, and the drum shaft 5 is rotatably supported by a bearing 7 attached to a frame 6. The other side plate 2b is formed of an annular plate, and the other side plate 2b is rotatably supported by a plurality of rollers 8 supported by the frame 6.
[0016]
The drum shaft 5 is intermittently rotated in a direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1 by a rotation driving device (not shown) using a pitch of the container receiving portion 4 as a rotation angle.
[0017]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the container receiving portion 4 has a V-shaped cross-section, and the front wall 9 on the front side in the rotation direction and the rear wall 10 on the rear side in the rotation direction of each container receiving portion 4 have a plate body 11. And a plurality of bars 12 arranged in parallel with each other, and ventilation holes 13 are provided between adjacent bars 12.
[0018]
Here, the position where the container receiving unit 4 is stopped at one side of the rotary drum 1 is set to the feed station S _1, the position to stop the upper rotary drum 1 is a cleaning station S _2. The position of stopping at the other side of the rotary drum 1 is a discharge station S _3. When the container receiving unit 4 is stopped at a feed station S _1, the wall 10 after the container receiving unit 4 is inclined shape inclined with descending slope toward the center side end of the horizontal or rotary drum 1.
[0019]
Discharge end of the feed conveyor 40 faces to one side of the feed station S _1, the vessel A stacked container receiving unit 4 to stop at a feed station S ₁ from the discharge end is fed.
[0020]
With the stacked containers A which is supported on the container receiving unit 4 is transferred to the cleaning station S ₂ by the rotation of the rotary drum 1, is conveyed from the washing station S ₂ to a discharge station S _3.
[0021]
The front wall 9 of the container receiving unit 4 to stop the discharge station S ₃ is an inclined shape inclined with downward gradient toward the outer diameter side end. For this reason, the stacked containers A slide down along the inclined front wall 9 and are naturally discharged from the container receiving portion 4.
[0022]
The cleaning station S _2, a plurality of air injection nozzles 14 for injecting high-pressure air towards the stacked containers A container receiving unit 4 which stops at the cleaning station S ₂ is at a distance in the circumferential direction of the rotary drum 1 Is provided.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 1, each of the plurality of air injection nozzles 14 is supported at the lower end of a rod 15 so as to be tiltable, and each rod 15 is supported movably in the axial direction by an arm 16 projecting above the rotating drum 1. And is movably supported in the direction in which the rods 15 are arranged.
[0024]
One end of the arm 16 is fixed to a carriage 18 of a rodless cylinder 17 as moving means, and the operation of the rodless cylinder 17 causes the plurality of air jet nozzles 14 to reciprocate in the axial direction of the rotary drum 1.
[0025]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a dust collection duct 19 is provided on the center axis of the rotating drum 1. The dust collection duct 19 is supported by the frame 6, and a suction port 20 is provided on the upper side. The suction port 20 is provided with a suction force by the exhaust air in the dust collection duct 19, and the suction force acts on the bottom of the container receiver 4 through the ventilation hole 13 of the container receiver 4 stopped at the washing station S _2. It has become.
[0026]
A plate-shaped pusher 21 is provided inside each container receiving portion 4. The pusher 21 is slidably supported by the bar 12 of the container receiver 4 and is movable in the axial direction of the rotary drum 1.
[0027]
Each pusher 21 supports a roller shaft 22 that faces in the radial direction of the rotary drum 1, and a roller 23 is rotatably supported at an end of the roller shaft 22.
[0028]
Each of the rollers 23 is arranged along an annular groove 25 on the back of the position adjustment plate 24, which is partially cut off in the circumferential direction, and a guide groove 27 on the back of a movable plate 26 disposed between the separation portions of the position adjustment plate 24. The rotary drum 1 is movable in the circumferential direction.
[0029]
Slide plates 28 movable along the upper surface of the dust collection duct 19 are connected to both ends of the position adjustment plate 24. On the slide plate 28 is reciprocating device 29 for reciprocating the dimensions approximately corresponding to the pusher 21 in the container receiving unit 4 which stops at the cleaning station S ₂ to a depth of the container a as a moving distance is supported. The reciprocating device 29 comprises a cylinder 31 having a guide rod 30. The cylinder 31 and the guide rod 30 are connected to the movable plate 26, the movable plate 26 is reciprocated by the cylinder 31, and the reciprocating motion is transmitted to the guide groove 27. The force is transmitted to the pusher 21 via the fitted roller 23.
[0030]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the position adjusting plate 24 is movable in the axial direction of the rotary drum 1 along two guide rods 32 parallel to the central axis of the rotary drum 1. The position adjusting plate 24 is moved in the axial direction of the rotary drum 1 by the position adjusting device 33, and at the same time, the movable plate 26 is also moved, and the pusher 21 is moved by the movement of the position adjusting plate 24 and the movable plate 26. The position is adjusted in the axial direction.
[0031]
The position adjusting device 33 is provided with a screw rod 34 between two guide rods 32 movably supporting the position adjusting plate 24, and the screw rod 34 is rotatably supported at a fixed position. The nut member 35 to be engaged is attached to the position adjusting plate 24, and the position adjusting plate 24 is moved in the axial direction of the rotary drum 1 by the rotation of the screw bar 34.
[0032]
The container cleaning apparatus shown in the embodiment has the above structure, and when cleaning the container a, the interval between one side plate 2a of the rotary drum 1 and the pusher 21 is set to be slightly larger than the length of the stacked container A. The position of the pusher 21 is adjusted.
[0033]
When adjusting the position of the pusher 21, the position adjusting plate 24 and the movable plate 26 were moved in the axial direction of the rotary drum 1 by rotating the screw rod 34 of the position adjusting device 33, and were inserted into the annular groove 25 and the guide groove 27. The pusher 21 is moved in the axial direction of the rotating drum 1 via the roller 23.
[0034]
After positional adjustment of the pusher 21, the rotary drum 1 is intermittently rotated in the arrow direction of FIG. 1, the supply container A stacked container receiving unit 4 to stop at a feed station S ₁ from the feed conveyor 40 each time the rotary drum 1 is stopped I do.
[0035]
The stacked containers A supplied to the container receiving unit 4 is transferred to the cleaning station S ₂ by the rotation of the rotary drum 1.
[0036]
When the container A stacked washing station S ₂ is transmitted rotary drum 1 is stopped, the cylinder 31 is actuated in reciprocating device 29, retracting movement of the pusher 21.
[0037]
By the backward movement of the pusher 21, a space substantially corresponding to the depth of the container a is formed between the pusher 21 and the stacking container A. When the pusher 21 stops, the rodless cylinder 17 is operated to generate a plurality of air. The injection nozzle 14 is moved from one side plate 2 a of the rotating drum 1 toward the pusher 21.
[0038]
At this time, high-pressure air is jetted from each air jet nozzle 14 toward the stacking container A, and the high pressure moves the entire stacking container A to a position where it comes into contact with the pusher 21 as shown in FIG. There is an interval between the container a at one end of the stacked container A and the one side plate 2a, and foreign matter such as plastic powder adhering to the inner surface of the container a due to high-pressure air blown into the container a and debris entering the container a is removed. It is blown off and the container a is washed.
[0039]
When the air injection nozzle 14 moves and the high-pressure air flowing out of the air injection nozzle 14 is injected between the container a after the cleaning and the container a subsequent thereto, the container a after the cleaning is applied by the air injection pressure. As shown in FIG. 5 (II), the container a is moved to a position where it comes into contact with one of the side plates 2a, and the outer surface of the container a is also cleaned during the movement.
[0040]
The high-pressure air is also blown into the next container a, and the high-pressure air also cleans the inner surface of the next container a.
[0041]
By moving the air injection nozzle 14 toward the pusher 21, the stacked containers A are sequentially washed from the container a on the one side plate 2a side, separated from the stacked containers A after the washing, and sequentially fitted to the washed containers a. Are combined. The innermost and outer surfaces of the rearmost container a are washed while being in contact with the pusher 21. When the outer surface is cleaned, the outermost surface may move to the washed container a side due to turbulence of jet air or the like. It hardly moves to the position where it fits in the container a after the cleaning.
[0042]
During washing of stacked containers A, the suction force is applied to the suction port 20 of the dust collecting duct 19, the suction force acts on the bottom of the container receiving unit 4 which stops at the cleaning station S _2, the container a by the suction force The foreign matter separated from the dust is collected from the suction port 20 into the dust collection duct 19. For this reason, the scattering of the foreign matter to the periphery is prevented, and there is no inconvenience that the working environment is deteriorated.
[0043]
When the air injection nozzle 14 moves to the position of the pusher 21 and stops, the operation of the rodless cylinder 17 causes the air injection nozzle 14 to retreat to the standby position.
[0044]
When the air injection nozzle 14 is retracted, the injection of the high-pressure air may be stopped, or the air injection nozzle 14 may be retracted while the high-pressure air is being injected.
[0045]
When the air injection nozzle 14 is moved backward in a state where high-pressure air is jetted, when the containers a of the stacked containers A are washed again, the containers a after washing are brought into a fitted state one after another, and the last container a is an incompletely fitted state.
[0046]
When the air injection nozzle 14 returns to the standby position and stops, the cylinder 31 of the reciprocating device 29 operates to move the pusher 21 toward the one side plate 2a. The container a after cleaning is pressed by the movement of the pusher 21, and all the containers a are brought into the fitted state by the pressing, and the original stacked state is returned.
[0047]
When the pusher 21 is stopped and returned to its original position, the rotary drum 1 is intermittently rotated, together with the stacked containers A in the container receiving unit 4 to stop at a feed station S ₁ is being transported to the cleaning station S _2, the cleaning station container receiving unit 4 of the S ₂ is moved to the discharge station _{S 3.}
[0048]
When the container receiving unit 4 is moved to the discharge station S _3, since the rotational direction front side of the front wall 9 of the container receiving unit 4 which is inclined state, the stacked container A after cleaning in the container receiving unit 4 front wall 9 And the container A is rolled and discharged from the container receiving portion 4 when the container A is circular.
[0049]
At this time, since the stacking containers A maintain the stacked state, it is not necessary to repeat the stacking operation at the time of the bagging operation in a later process, and the bagging operation can be automated.
[0050]
In the embodiment, the pusher 21 is provided in the container receiving portion 4, and the stacked containers A are supplied between the pusher 21 and the one side plate 2a of the rotary drum 1. However, the pusher 21 is omitted, and the pair of side plates is omitted. The distance between the stacking containers 2a and 2b is set to the length of the stacking container A plus the depth dimension of one container a, and the stacking containers A are placed in the container receiving portion 4 formed between the pair of side plates 2a and 2b. The cleaning operation may be performed by supplying.
[0051]
As shown in the embodiment, a pusher 21 is provided in the container receiving portion 4 and a position adjusting device 33 for adjusting the position of the pusher 21 in the axial direction of the rotary drum 1 is provided. When the reciprocating device 29 for reciprocating the pusher 21 by a substantially corresponding dimension is provided, the stacked containers A having different length dimensions can be washed.
[0052]
Further, as shown in the embodiment, assuming that the cross-sectional shape of the container receiving portion 4 is V-shaped, the stacked containers A composed of the round containers a are supported by the front and rear walls 9 and 10, and are stacked from the rectangular containers a. Since the stacked container A having two corners sandwiching one corner is supported by the front and rear walls 9, 10, the stacked container A having a different shape and size of the container a can be stably supported by the container receiving portion 4.
[0053]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the present invention, the rotating drum on which the plurality of container receiving portions are formed is intermittently rotated, and each time the container receiving portion moves to the position of the supply station and stops, the container is stacked on the container receiving portion from the supply conveyor. A container is supplied, and each time the stacked container is transported to the position of the washing station and stopped, the plurality of air injection nozzles reciprocate in the axial direction of the rotating drum, and the high-pressure air injected from the air injection nozzle is stacked in the stacked container. The container can be automatically and efficiently cleaned.
[0054]
In addition, a suction duct is provided at the center of the rotating drum to apply suction to the bottom of the container receiving part that stops at the washing station, so that foreign matter blown from the container due to collision with high-pressure air can be collected. It can be collected in the duct, and the work environment can be prevented from deteriorating due to the foreign matter flying around.
[0055]
Further, since the pusher provided in the container receiving portion is moved backward before the start of cleaning, and is advanced after cleaning the container to press the container, the containers after cleaning can be held in a stacked state, and can be held in a later step. Can be automated.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing an embodiment of a container cleaning apparatus according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. 3; FIG. 5 (I) and (II) are plan views showing the cleaning state of the stacked containers.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rotary drum 2a, 2b Side plate 4 Container receiving part 13 Ventilation hole 14 Air injection nozzle 17 Rodless cylinder (moving means)
19 dust collection duct 21 pusher 29 reciprocating device 40 supply conveyor S ₁ supply station S ₂ washing station

Claims (4)

A rotary drum having a pair of side plates, a plurality of container receiving portions formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction between the side plates, and a rotating drum intermittently rotated in one direction with a formation pitch of the container receiving portions as a rotation angle, and the container A stack in which a number of containers are fitted in a container receiving portion where the position where the receiving portion stops at one side of the rotating drum is a supply station, a position where the receiving portion stops above the rotating drum is a washing station, and the receiving portion stops at the supplying station. A supply conveyor for supplying containers, a plurality of air injection nozzles for injecting high-pressure air toward the stacked containers in the container receiving portion stopped at the washing station, and the plurality of air injection nozzles reciprocate in the axial direction of the rotating drum. A container cleaning device comprising: a moving means for moving the container; 2. The container cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a dust collection duct provided at a rotation center portion of the rotary drum to apply a suction force to a bottom of the container receiving portion stopped at a cleaning station. A pusher is incorporated in each of the plurality of container receiving portions, and a position adjusting device that adjusts the position of the pusher in the axial direction of the rotary drum, and in the axial direction of the rotary drum by a distance substantially corresponding to the depth of the container at the adjustment position. 3. The container cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising a reciprocating device that reciprocates. The apparatus for cleaning a container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the container receiving portion has a V-shaped cross section.

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