JP2007230605A - Capping apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a capping apparatus which is suitable for capping a tight fitting cap on the top end of a bottle neck, related to a capping apparatus for capping a tubular bottomless cap with a top on the top end of the bottle neck of a bottle. <P>SOLUTION: When a bottle 50 approaches a stop position 11 from the upstream of a transfer conveyer 2, the top end of the neck 51 of the bottle 50 is fitted on the opening end 62 of a cap 60 in a facing manner, and the cap 60 is pushed more toward the downstream side of the conveyer 2 than toward the position 11 by the top end of the neck 51. Then the top face end 61 of the cap 60 is pressed by a pressing member 12 and the cap 60 is rotated on the member 12. By this rotation, the cap 60 slides into the gap between the member 12 and the top end of the neck 51 of the bottle 50, and as a result, the cap 60 is pushed to the top end of the neck 51 and the top end of the neck 51 is fitted in the opening end 62 of the cap 60. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cap crowning device for crowning a closed and bottomless cylindrical cap to an upper end portion of a bottle neck of a bottle.

  Conventionally, as a cap crowning device for crowning a cap on a bottle, for example, a cap crowning device described in Patent Document 1 (corresponding to the sealing portion 2 in the same document) has been proposed. This cap crowning device is a device for crowning a bottleneck on a cap that can be screwed to the upper end of the bottleneck, while carrying a bottle filled with a certain amount of contents by a conveyor. The cap is attached to the bottle neck upper end (bottle mouth) of the bottle.

  Here, the cap that is attached to the bottle by the cap attaching device is formed by drawing an aluminum plate or the like, and is suspended from the handle portion provided at the top surface end and the periphery of the handle portion. And a cylindrical thread forming portion in which the internal thread that should be on the inner peripheral surface remains unthreaded. On the other hand, the bottle includes a bottleneck having an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the threaded portion of the cap, and a male screw is screwed on the outer periphery of the upper end of the bottleneck.

  By the way, the above-described conventional cap crowning device mainly includes a cap temporary fitting portion and a cap crowning portion, and the cap temporary fitting portion is used while the bottle is conveyed by the conveyor in a vertical and horizontal posture. The cap is held in an inclined state on the downstream side in the bottle conveying direction, and the bottle is transferred toward the inclined cap, so that the cap is temporarily fitted over the upper end of the bottle neck.

Further, the cap crowning portion presses the cap temporarily fitted to the bottle neck by the cap temporary fitting portion with a pressure plate, and rotates and revolves a pair of screw engraved rollers facing the screw forming portion of the cap. By press-contacting with a downward movement, a female thread is engraved along the male thread of the bottle neck in the threaded portion of the cap. As a result, the cap is screwed into the bottleneck.
JP-A-7-165292

  However, the cap crowning device described above is a device for crowning a screw-in type cap to the bottle neck, and the cap temporary fitting portion has a cap whose inner diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the bottle neck and the upper end of the bottle neck. It is to be temporarily fitted over the part. For this reason, a cap of a type different from such a screw-type cap, for example, a close-fitting cap (forcibly placing the bottleneck upper end on the inner peripheral part whose inner diameter is substantially equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the bottleneck upper end part) It is difficult to put the cap on the upper end of the bottle neck in terms of structure.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and in particular, an object of the present invention is to provide a cap crowning device suitable for crowning a close-fitting cap to the upper end portion of a bottle neck. .

  In order to achieve this object, a cap crowning device according to claim 1, wherein a bottled cap is attached to the upper end of a bottle neck of a vertically standing bottle, A transport path that transports from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction, and a bottle path that is transported by the transport path is disposed above the bottle neck upper end surface with a distance less than the cap length. The bar-shaped pressing member having the same direction, and the opening end of the cap on the moving path of the upper end surface of the bottleneck of the bottle that is provided on the upstream side of the conveying path than the pressing member and that conveys the opening end of the cap A parking position where the cap is parked in a state facing the upstream side of the road, and a chute passage communicating further upward from the parking position. A cap supply device for sequentially supplying caps to the bottle, and when the bottle approaches the parking position from the upstream side of the transport path and passes under the pressing member, the upper end of the bottle neck is the cap. The cap is engaged with the open end, and the top end of the cap is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the pressing member by the upper end of the bottle neck.

  According to the cap crowning apparatus of claim 1, the bottle in the vertical posture is conveyed from the upstream side of the conveyance path to the parking position where the cap is parked by the conveyance path. It will be moved. On the other hand, the cap is supplied from above to the parking position through the chute passage of the cap supply device, and is parked at the parking position in a state (posture) in which the open end is directed to the upstream side of the conveyance path.

  When the bottle approaches from the upstream side of the conveyance path toward the parking position, the bottle neck upper end of the bottle faces the opening end of the cap on the movement path of the bottle neck upper end surface of the bottle. Combined. When the bottle is further moved to the downstream side of the transport path, the cap is pushed toward the downstream side of the transport path from the parking position by the upper end of the bottle neck.

  Then, the cap is rotated so that the top surface end of the cap is in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the pressing member and the opening end faces downward with the pressing member as a fulcrum. When the cap is rotated about the pressing member in this way, the cap gradually sinks into the gap between the pressing member and the bottle neck upper end of the bottle, and as a result, the cap is pushed by the pressing member to the bottle neck upper end. The upper end of the bottle neck of the bottle is gradually inserted into the open end of the cap.

  After that, when the cap is rotated and submerged to a position just below the pressing member as the bottle is moved, the crowning operation on the upper end of the bottle neck of the cap due to the pressing of the pressing member is converged, and the bottle is pressed together with the cap. The sheet passes through the lower part of the member and is further transported and moved further to the downstream side of the transport path than the pressing member.

  On the other hand, when the bottle with the cap attached as described above passes through the pressing member and is further transported to the downstream side of the transport path, the cap that has been in the parking position until then is detached from the cap supply device. Then, the next cap stocked in the chute passage of the cap supply device is sent to the parking position, and the next cap crowning operation is prepared.

  The cap crowning device according to claim 2 is the cap crowning device according to claim 1, wherein the pressing member has a rotating shaft that extends in the axial direction of the pressing member, and an outer periphery of the rotating shaft that is centered on the rotating shaft. And a pressing roller provided so as to be capable of rolling.

  According to the cap crowning device of the second aspect, in addition to the same operations and effects as the cap crowning device according to the first aspect, the outer periphery of the pressing member is rolled around the rotation axis. Since the pressure roller is provided around the bottle, when the cap is attached to the upper end of the bottle neck, if the top surface of the cap is brought into pressure contact with the outer surface of the pressure roller, the bottle is pressed as the bottle moves. The cap together with the roller can be rotated around the rotation axis. For this reason, when the cap is rotated with the pressing member as a fulcrum as the bottle is conveyed, it is possible to prevent the top surface end of the cap from rubbing against the pressing member and being damaged.

  The cap crowning device according to claim 3 is the cap crowning device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pressing member is parked at the parking position when viewed from the width direction of the conveyance path. The cap is located near the center of the top surface of the cap in the outer diameter direction.

  According to the cap crowning device of the third aspect, in addition to the same operation and effect as the cap crowning device according to the first or second aspect, the pressing member viewed from the width direction of the conveyance path is The outer peripheral surface of the cap is in contact with the top surface end of the cap that is parked at the parking position, and is substantially in contact with the central portion of the outer diameter direction (around symbol P in FIG. 1A). Can be pressed. The contact area between the pressing member and the top surface of the cap can be increased compared to the case where the pressing member is pressed against both edges of the outer surface of the top surface of the cap (the vicinity of the signs Q and R in FIG. 1A). The cap can be more reliably pressed to the upper end of the bottle neck.

  The cap crowning device according to claim 4 is the cap crowning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cap crowning device is arranged in parallel with the transporting path width direction at the parking position and the pressing member. A pair of guide plates that regulate both sides of the cap that is parked in the stop position in the outer diameter direction are provided.

  According to the cap crowning device of the fourth aspect, in addition to the same operations and effects as those of the cap crowning device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the cap crowning device is provided between the opposing surfaces of the pair of guide plates. Has a cap parked at the parking position, and the pair of guide plates restricts both sides of the cap in the outer diameter direction. For this reason, it is possible to guide the movement of the cap pressed against the upper end of the bottle neck by the pressing member in accordance with the conveyance movement of the bottle without shifting the position in the conveyance path width direction.

  The cap crowning device according to claim 5 is the cap crowning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the chute passage is in a state in which a top surface end of the cap is directed to the downstream side of the conveyance path. The cap is passed from above toward the parking position, and the inner wall surface of the chute passage and the portion facing the top surface end of the cap are provided along the communication direction of the chute passage. And two or more projecting pieces projecting in a thin plate shape with an interval in the conveying path width direction, and the tip surfaces of the two or more projecting pieces have a top of a cap passing through the chute passage. Close to the edge of the surface.

  According to the cap crowning device of the fifth aspect, in addition to the same operation and effect as the cap crowning device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the cap is disposed when passing through the chute passage. Even if the top surface end of the cap tries to come into contact with the inner wall surface of the chute passage, contact between the top surface end of the cap and the inner wall surface of the chute passage is blocked by two or more protruding pieces. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the top surface end of the cap from being in full contact with the inner wall surface of the chute passage and to prevent the cap from slipping in the chute passage. As a result, the cap is also prevented from being clogged in the chute passage. it can.

  In addition, even if the top surface end of the cap contacts the tip surface of each protruding piece, each protruding piece is formed in a thin plate shape, so that the entire top surface end of the cap contacts the inner wall surface of the chute passage. For example, the contact area between the front end surface of each protruding piece and the top surface end of the cap is suppressed to be extremely small. Therefore, even if the top surface end of the cap comes into contact with the front end surface of each protruding piece, the flow of the cap in the chute passage is not hindered.

  A cap crowning device according to a sixth aspect is the cap crowning device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the cap crowning device is an intermediate portion in the communication direction of the chute passage, and an opening end of the cap in the chute passage. In the facing portion, an irradiation hole formed to penetrate from the inside of the chute passage to the outside with a groove width narrower than the outer diameter of the cap, and disposed outside the chute passage so as to face the irradiation hole, And a germicidal lamp device that irradiates germicidal light into the chute passage through the radiation hole.

  According to the cap crowning device of this sixth aspect, in addition to the same operations and effects as those of the cap crowning device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the chute passage is provided with its chute. Bactericidal rays are irradiated from a sterilizing lamp device disposed outside the chute passage through an irradiation hole formed in the passage. When the sterilizing light beam is irradiated into the chute passage, the opening end side of the cap and the inner periphery of the cap are sterilized by the sterilizing light beam.

  Since the irradiation hole for guiding the germicidal light emitted from the germicidal lamp device into the chute passage is provided in the middle part in the communication direction of the chute passage, compared to the conventional system in which the heat sterilization treatment device is arranged in the front stage of the chute passage Thus, the cap can be sterilized at a position closer to the parking position, and the possibility of being contaminated with bacteria while passing through the chute passage can be reduced. Moreover, since the cap is sterilized by irradiating a sterilizing beam instead of heat sterilizing, for example, thermal deformation and composition change of the resin cap accompanying heating can be suppressed.

  The cap crowning device according to claim 7 is the cap crowning device according to claim 6, wherein the irradiation hole has a long groove shape having a length approximately twice or more of an outer diameter of the cap in the communication direction of the chute passage. The length of the germicidal light irradiation part in the germicidal lamp device is approximately twice or more the outer diameter of the cap.

  According to the cap crowning device of the seventh aspect, in addition to the same operation and effect as the cap crowning device according to the sixth aspect, the germicidal beam from the irradiation part of the germicidal lamp device is Irradiation is made into the chute passage through an irradiation hole having a length approximately twice or more the outer diameter of the cap in the communication direction. Therefore, for example, when a plurality of caps are stocked in a row in the chute passage, approximately two or more caps stocked at positions facing the irradiation holes can be sterilized simultaneously.

  The cap crowning device according to claim 8 is the cap crowning device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a portion of the chute passage facing the opening end of the cap is wider than an outer diameter of the cap. A guide slit having a narrow groove width, penetrating from the inside of the chute passage to the outside, and continuously formed to the parking position along the communication direction of the chute passage is provided, and the cap supply The apparatus sequentially supplies a cap having a tongue piece narrower than the guide slit extending a predetermined length from the opening edge to the parking position, and the cap passes through the chute passage. In this case, the tongue of the cap is guided and moved by being loosely inserted into the guide slit.

  According to the cap crowning device of the eighth aspect, in addition to the same operation and effect as the cap crowning device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the cap moves to the parking position through the chute passage. When supplied, the cap piece passing through the chute passage is guided and moved by loosely inserting the tongue of the cap into the guide slit. Moreover, since the cap passing through the chute passage is supplied to the parking position with its tongue piece loosely inserted into the guide slit, the cap posture supplied to the parking position can always be kept substantially constant. This also contributes to suppression of poor cap attachment.

  A cap crowning apparatus according to a ninth aspect is the cap crowning apparatus according to the eighth aspect, wherein the guide slit is also used as the irradiation hole according to the fifth aspect.

  According to the cap crowning device of the ninth aspect, in addition to the same operation and effect as the cap crowning device according to the eighth aspect, irradiation for allowing the guide slit to transmit the germicidal light beam into the chute passage. Since it is also used as a hole, it is not necessary to separately provide a germicidal beam irradiation hole.

  The cap crowning device according to claim 10 is the cap crowning device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the chute passage is a partial range from the parking position, and the top surface end of the cap. And the portion facing the opening end of the cap are arranged in parallel in the direction of conveyance of the chute passage and are formed so as to penetrate from the inside of the chute passage to the outside. A plurality of through slits and a plurality of lattice members continuously formed in the communication direction of the chute passage so as to partition adjacent ones among the plurality of through slits.

  According to the cap crowning device of claim 10, in addition to the same operations and effects as the cap crowning device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the bottle filled with drinking water is capped. Even when water splashing from the upper end of the bottleneck enters the chute passage of the cap supply device, it can be drained out of the chute passage through the plurality of slits and can be evaporated out of the chute passage. For this reason, it is possible to prevent water from being accumulated in the chute passage near the parking position and to prevent the cap from slipping in the chute passage. As a result, it is possible to prevent the cap from clogging in the chute passage.

  In addition, since the top surface end and the open end of the cap are in contact with a plurality of lattice members that partition each through slit, each of the top surface end and the entire open end of the cap is in contact with the inner wall surface of the chute passage. The contact area between the tip end surface of the protruding piece and the top surface end of the cap is suppressed to be extremely small. Therefore, even if the top surface end and the open end of the cap come into contact with the wet lattice members, the flow of the cap in the chute passage is not hindered.

  The cap crowning device according to claim 11 is the cap crowning device according to claim 10, wherein at least one through slit among the plurality of through slits is the guide slit according to claim 6 or 7. It is also used.

  According to the cap crowning device of the eleventh aspect, in addition to the same operation and effect as the cap crowning device according to the tenth aspect, a single through slit loosely fits the tongue of the cap. Since it is also used as a guide slit for guiding the cap, it is not necessary to separately provide a through slit and a guide slit.

  According to the cap crowning device of the present invention, for example, the upper end of the bottle neck is forcibly inserted into the inner peripheral portion of the tightly fitting cap whose inner diameter is substantially equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the upper end of the bottle neck. Even if it is a bottle of the form sealed by (2), there exists an effect that it can be made to attach reliably by pressing a cap with respect to a bottle neck upper end part.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 8, which is an embodiment of the present invention, is cleaned by a bottle cleaning device (not shown) and the contents such as drinking water are fixed by a filling device (not shown). This is a device for sealing the bottle 50 by attaching a cap 60 to the neck 51 of the bottle 50 filled with a quantity.

  1 (a) is a longitudinal sectional view of the cap 60, FIG. 1 (b) is a longitudinal sectional view of the cap 60 attached to the bottle 50 and its neck 51, and FIG. 4 is a rear view of a cap 60. FIG. As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the cap 60 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape with a flexible synthetic resin material, and has a top surface end 61 with its upper end closed, and its lower end opened. Open end 62.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the cap 60 has an inner peripheral portion 63 having an inner diameter substantially equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the neck 51 (upper end portion). This is a kind of tight-fitting cap in which the upper end of the neck 51 is forcibly inserted and sealed. On the other hand, the bottle 50 is a container body having a neck 51 formed in a cylindrical shape and a mouth portion 52 opened at the upper end surface of the neck 51, and the inner capacity thereof is approximately 3 gallons. It corresponds to the front and back.

  The bottle 50 is a barrel having a relatively heavy weight made of a synthetic resin material having impact resistance such as polycarbonate, and the length of the neck 51 to which the cap 60 is attached is sufficiently long. It is secured. The “gallon” used in this embodiment is US liquid gallon (1 gallon≈3.785 liters), and the bottle 50 to which this embodiment is applied is limited to approximately 3 gallons. For example, it may be about 1 gallon to about 5 gallon.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1C, a tongue piece 64 having a predetermined width is extended from the edge of the opening end 62 of the cap 60 by a predetermined length, and the width of the tongue piece 64 is the outer diameter d of the cap. It is formed narrower than. As shown in FIG. 1A, the inner side surface 64a of the tongue piece 64 is substantially flush with the inner peripheral surface 63a of the cap 60, and serves as a guide piece when the cap 60 is attached to the neck 51. It also has a function.

  FIG. 2 is a right side view (in other words, an arrow view taken from one side in the width direction of the transport conveyor 2) of the cap crowning device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the cap shooter 6 is partially illustrated. It is a longitudinal section view. As shown in FIG. 2, the cap crowning device 1 attaches the above-described cap 60 to the upper end portion of the neck 51 in the bottle 50 described above, and is a transport conveyor as a transport path for transporting and moving the bottle 50. 2 is provided. The cap crowning device 1 is mostly made of stainless steel.

  The transport conveyor 2 is a roller conveyor in which a plurality of transport rollers 4, 4,... Are arranged in parallel in the transport direction (left and right direction in FIG. 2) at the upper end of the gantry frame 3, and the transport rollers 4 are rotated. By moving, the bottle 50 placed in a vertical and horizontal posture on each transport roller 4 is transported from the upstream side in the transport direction (right side in FIG. 2) to the downstream side (left side in FIG. 2). .

  On the other hand, a cap hopper 5 for storing a large number of caps 60 to be attached to the bottles 50 in advance is disposed above the transport conveyor 2, and is transported by the transport conveyor 2 below the cap hopper 5. A cap shooter 6 for supplying the cap 60 toward the upper end of the neck 51 of the bottle 50 to be used is disposed.

  The cap shooter 6 has a base end portion (upper end portion) connected to the bottom portion of the cap hopper 5 and is slightly downstream (less than about 10 °) downstream of the conveyer 2 from the connection portion. It is inclined and extended. The cap shooter 6 is supported by a support frame 7 installed directly below the cap hopper 5 through a support shaft 8 so as to be swingable, and is formed in an arc-shaped long groove 9 formed around the support shaft 8. By tightening the adjusting screw 10 to be engaged, the adjustment screw 10 can be fixed to the support frame 7 or the inclination angle can be adjusted.

  Furthermore, a parking position 11 that is a position (position) for parking the cap 60 that is attached to the neck 51 of the bottle 50 is provided at the tip (lower end) of the cap shooter 6. The parking position 11 is a position where the cap 60 illustrated by a solid line in FIG. 2 or 3 is present. Moreover, this parking position 11 is located on the movement path | route (one-dot chain line in FIG. 2) through which the upper end surface of the neck 51 of the bottle 50 conveyed by the conveyance conveyor 2 passes.

  FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, at the parking position 11, the opening end 62 of the cap 60 is connected to the transport conveyor 2 via a pressing member 12 described later and a cap holding mechanism 13 described later (see FIG. 4, FIG. 5, or FIG. 7). The cap 60 is parked in a state directed toward the upstream side (right side in FIG. 3). The cap holding mechanism 13 holds the cap 60 at the parking position 11 so as to be detachable.

  The pressing member 12 and the cap holding mechanism 13 are disposed at the tip of the cap shooter 6, and the pressing member 12 is spaced from the upper end surface of the neck 51 of the bottle 50 conveyed on the conveying conveyor 2 by a distance H less than the cap length h. (H> H). Further, the pressing member 12 is adjacent to the parking position 11 on the downstream side (right side in FIG. 3) of the transport conveyor 2 from the cap 60 (shown by a solid line in FIG. 3) in the parking position 11. Is provided.

  Specifically, the pressing member 12 includes a rotating shaft 14 that extends in the axial direction of the pressing member 12, and a pressing roller 15 that is provided on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 14 so as to be rotatable around the rotating shaft 14. The outer peripheral surface of the pressing roller 15 is provided close to the substantially central portion in the outer diameter direction at the top surface end 61 of the cap 60 parked at the parking position 11.

  FIG. 4 is an arrow view from the direction of arrow IV in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the pressing member 12 is formed in a bar shape whose axial direction coincides with the width direction of the conveyor 2 (the same direction as the width direction of the cap shooter 6). The pressing roller 15 of the pressing member 12 is provided across the entire width direction of the cap shooter 6, and the rotating shafts 14 that are passed through the center of the pressing roller 15 are arranged on both sides of the cap shooter 6 in the width direction. It is constructed between the side wall plates 16 and 16.

  The cap holding mechanism 13 mainly includes a pair of gate plates 17 and 17, a pair of bracket plates 18 and 18, and a pair of connecting shafts 19 and 19. The pair of gate plates 17 and 17 are members that can be opened and closed on the cap shooter 6 in order to hold the cap 60 in a detachable manner. It is attached one by one. The pair of gate plates 17 and 17 are connected to bracket plates 18 and 18 projecting outward at substantially right angles from the outer surfaces of the side walls 16 and 16 of the cap shooter 6 via connecting shafts 19 and 19, respectively. Centering on each connecting shaft 19, the shaft is pivotally supported in a plane substantially parallel to each bracket plate 18.

  FIG. 5 is an arrow view from the direction of arrow V in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the pair of gate plates 17, 17 in the cap holding mechanism 13 has a shape that is bent in a substantially square shape from the base end portion to the tip end portion, and the connecting shaft described above is formed in the bent portion. 19 and 19 are connected. The pair of gate plates 17, 17 are extended toward the distal end side of the cap shooter 6 so that the distal ends thereof have a substantially inverted C shape, while the base end sides thereof are the side wall plates 16, 16 of the cap shooter 6. And substantially parallel.

  Further, one end of a coil spring 20 that is a kind of elastic body is attached to the base end portion of each gate plate 17, and the other end of each coil spring 20 is attached to each bracket plate 18 that supports each gate plate 17. It is worn. These coil springs 20 and 20 urge the distal ends of the gate plates 17 and 17 in the proximity direction by their own elastic restoring force, and the distance between the distal ends of the pair of gate plates 17 and 17 by this urging. W is smaller than the cap outer diameter d (W <d).

  For this reason, if the external force exceeding the elastic restoring force of the coil springs 20 and 20 does not act, the cap 60 is caught between the tip portions of the pair of gate plates 17 and 17 and is parked at the parking position 11. Once an external force against the elastic restoring force of the coil springs 20, 20 acts on the cap 60, such as an external force accompanying the transfer movement of the bottle 50, the cap 60 increases the distance W between the end portions of the gate plates 17, 17. It is configured to be opened and removed from the parking position 11.

  Further, the side wall plates 16 and 16 described above are disposed in parallel with each other on both sides in the width direction of the cap shooter 6 in the parking position 11 and the pressing member 12, and each of the side wall plates 16 and 16 of the cap shooter 6 is arranged. The distal end portion functions as a pair of guide plates 21 and 21 by protruding further forward than the cap 60 at the parking position 11. When the cap 60 parked at the parking position 11 is detached, the pair of guide plates 21 and 21 regulate both sides of the cap 60 in the outer diameter direction.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the cap shooter 6 includes a first chute portion 22 extending substantially linearly from the cap hopper 5 obliquely downward (left diagonally lower side in FIG. 2), and a lower end of the first chute portion 22. And a second chute portion 23 that is curved in a substantially arc shape from there, and further extends in a substantially linear shape obliquely downward (left obliquely lower side in FIG. 2). The second chute 23 is a part where five through slits 28 and three through slits 29 described later are formed.

  The cap shooter 6 includes a chute passage 24 that communicates from the parking position 11 upward to the cap hopper 5 inside the first and second chute portions 22 and 23. The chute passage 24 is a passage for sequentially supplying the cap 60 from the cap hopper 5 to the parking position 11, and the cap 60 is in a state where the top surface end 61 of the cap 60 is directed to the downstream side of the conveyor 2. Is passed from above to the parking position 11 (see FIG. 3).

  6 is an end view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the first chute portion 22 includes a pair of projecting pieces 25 and 25 that project from a portion facing the top surface end 61 of the cap 60 in the chute passage 24. In other words, the pair of projecting pieces 25, 25 project from the inner wall surface of the chute passage 24 on the downstream side (left side in FIG. 6) of the conveyor 2. Further, the front end surfaces of the pair of projecting pieces 25, 25 are provided close to the top surface end 61 of the cap 60 that passes through the chute passage 24.

  The pair of projecting pieces 25, 25 are for preventing direct contact between the top surface end 61 of the cap 60 and the inner wall surface of the chute passage 24, and both are first along the communication direction of the chute passage 24. The chute 22 is provided in the entire range from the upper end to the lower end (see FIG. 2). Further, the pair of projecting pieces 25 and 25 are provided in the width direction of the cap shooter 6 (vertical direction in FIG. 6) with a small interval compared to the cap outer diameter d (see FIG. 1A), approximately parallel. It has been.

  Further, the first chute portion 22 includes a guide slit 26 that is formed through the chute passage 24 at a portion facing the opening end 62 of the cap 60. In other words, the guide slit 26 is formed so as to penetrate from the downstream side (the right side in FIG. 6) of the conveying conveyor 2 in the inner wall surface of the chute passage 24 to the outside of the chute passage 24. .

  The guide slit 26 is a groove that guides the cap 60 that slides down in the chute passage 24 when the tongue piece 64 of the cap 60 passing through the chute passage 24 is loosely inserted, and the groove width is the outer diameter of the cap. It is narrower than d and slightly wider than the tongue piece 64 of the cap 60.

  FIG. 7 is a rear view of the cap shooter 6. 7 is also an arrow view taken from the arrow VII in FIG. 3, in which the illustration of the support frame 7, the support shaft 8, the adjusting screw 10, the cap 60, etc. is omitted, and A germicidal lamp 27 described later is shown by a two-dot chain line. As shown in FIG. 7, the guide slit 26 extends from the upper end portion (connected portion with the cap hopper 5) of the first chute portion 22 along the communication direction of the chute passage 24 (vertical direction in FIG. 7). Furthermore, it is continuously formed from the upper end portion of the second chute portion 23 to immediately before the parking position 11 provided at the lower end portion of the second chute portion 23.

  Returning to FIG. 2, a sterilization lamp 27 for irradiating germ light such as ultraviolet rays (UV light) into the chute passage 24 is provided outside the intermediate portion in the communication direction of the chute passage 24 in the first chute portion 22. It is attached. The germicidal lamp 27 is opposed to the guide slit 26 along the guide slit 26 in the range from the vicinity of the portion of the first chute portion 22 connected to the second chute portion 23 to the vicinity of the support portion of the support shaft 8. Is arranged (see FIG. 7). That is, the guide slit 26 is also used as an irradiation hole for transmitting the germicidal light irradiated from the germicidal lamp 27 into the chute passage 24.

  In addition, the germicidal lamp 27 is located at a predetermined distance from the outer wall surface of the chute passage 24 with respect to the outer wall surface in order to avoid contact with the tongue piece 64 of the cap 60 passing through the chute passage 24. It is attached so as to be substantially parallel. Further, the sterilizing lamp 27 has a length of the sterilizing light irradiation portion 27 a that is approximately twice or more as long as the outer diameter d of the cap along the communication direction of the chute passage 24. The two or more caps 60 stocked in the shape (see FIG. 3) can be irradiated with a sterilizing beam simultaneously.

  In the present embodiment, the length of the irradiating portion 27a of the germicidal lamp 27 is approximately four times as long as the cap outer diameter d, so that the four or more caps 60 stocked in the chute passage 24 can be compared. At the same time, sterilizing light can be irradiated.

  FIG. 8 is an end view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the second chute portion 23 of the cap shooter 6 is closed by the side wall plates 16 and 16 on both sides in the width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 8) of the chute passage 24, respectively. 24 are open through a plurality of through slits 28,..., 29,...

  The plurality of through slits 28,..., 29,... Are formed to penetrate from the inside of the chute passage 24 of the second chute portion 23 to the outside. Along the communication direction, the second chute portion 23 is continuously formed from the upper end portion thereof to immediately before the parking position 11 provided at the lower end portion of the second chute portion 23 (see FIGS. 5 and 7).

  Specifically, five through slits 28 are opposed to the upstream side of the conveyor 2 in the second chute 23 on the peripheral wall portion (left side in FIG. 8) facing the downstream side of the conveyor 2 in the second chute 23. Three through slits 29 are arranged in parallel in the width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 8) of the second chute portion 23 on the peripheral wall portion (right side in FIG. 8).

  Here, according to the second chute portion 23, when the cap 60 passes through the chute passage 24, the formation side of the five through slits 28 on the peripheral wall portion of the chute passage 24 is connected to the top surface end 61 of the cap 60. The side where the three through slits 29 are formed faces the opening end 62 of the cap 60. Of the three through slits 29 facing the opening end 62 of the cap 60, the one through slit 29 at the center in the width direction of the cap shooter 6 functions as the guide slit 26 for the second chute portion 23. Is.

  Further, adjacent ones of the through slits 28 are partitioned by a plurality of lattice members 30 formed in a thin plate shape continuous in the communication direction of the chute passage 24, and a cylindrical shape is formed between the lattice members 30. Since the spacers 31 are interposed, the width of each through slit 28 is kept constant. On the other hand, adjacent ones of the through slits 29 are also partitioned by a plurality of lattice members 32 formed in a thin plate shape continuous in the communication direction of the chute passage 24, and a cylinder is formed between the lattice members 30. Since the spacers 33 are interposed, the groove width of each through slit 29 is kept constant.

  In addition, the cap length h is between the inner end surfaces of the four lattice members 30 that partition the five through slits 28 and the inner end surfaces of the two lattice members 32 that partition the three through slits 29 facing them. A slightly larger gap is provided, so that a chute passage 24 through which the cap 60 passes toward the parking position 11 is secured in the second chute portion 23.

  Returning to FIG. 2, a cap hammer 35 is disposed on the downstream side of the conveyor 2 relative to the tip of the cap shooter 6, and the cap hammer 35 is placed on the conveyor 2 and conveyed and moved. The bottle 50 is disposed so as to face the upper end surface of the neck 51. The cap hammer 35 is projected and retracted in the vertical direction by the pneumatic cylinder 36. When the cap hammer 35 protrudes, the top surface end 61 of the cap 60 is hit, and the inner surface of the cap 60 on the top surface end 61 side is made to contact the neck 51. It adheres to the upper end surface.

  Next, operation | movement of the cap crowning apparatus 1 comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated. First, when the cap 60 is supplied from the cap hopper 5 to the parking position 11, first, the cap 60 in the cap hopper 5 is sent into the chute passage 24 from the upper end portion of the cap shooter 6. Then, while the tongue piece 64 of the cap 60 is loosely inserted into the guide slit 26 and guided, the cap 60 passes through the chute passage 24 of the first chute portion 22 and the second chute portion 23 to the parking position 11. And slid down.

  At this time, since the cap 60 passing through the chute passage 24 passes through the chute passage 24 while the tongue piece 64 is loosely inserted into the guide slit 26, the posture of the cap 60 supplied to the parking position 11 is almost almost always. Kept constant. When the cap 60 passes through the chute passage 24 of the first chute portion 22, the germicidal light beam from the germicidal lamp 27 passes through the chute passage 24 through the guide slit 26 and the opening end 62 side and inner periphery of the cap 60. The part 63 is irradiated, and the opening end 62 and the inner peripheral part 63 of the cap are sterilized.

  In the situation where a plurality of caps 60 are arranged in a line from the parking position 11 to the cap hopper 5 in the chute passage 24, a plurality of stocks are stored at positions facing the irradiation unit 27a of the germicidal lamp 27. The cap 60 can be sterilized at the same time.

  When the cap 60 that has passed through the chute passage 24 reaches the parking position 11, the cap 60 is parked by the pressing member 12 and the cap holding mechanism 13 with the open end 62 of the cap 60 directed toward the upstream side of the conveyor 2. Stopped at stop position 11. On the other hand, the bottle 50 is conveyed by the conveyance conveyor 2 from the upstream side of the conveyance conveyor 2 in the upright posture toward the parking position 11 where the cap 60 is parked.

  When the bottle 50 approaches from the upstream side of the conveyor 2 toward the parking position 11, the bottle 50 has an opening end 62 of the cap 60 on the moving path through which the upper end surface of the neck 51 of the bottle 50 passes. The neck 51 is engaged so that the upper end portions thereof are opposed to each other. Thereafter, when the bottle 50 is further moved downstream in the transport direction by the transport conveyor 2, the cap 60 is pushed toward the downstream side of the transport conveyor 2 from the parking position 11 by the upper end portion of the neck 51.

  Then, while the top surface end 61 of the cap 60 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the pressing member 12, the cap 60 is rotated so that the opening end 62 faces downward with the pressing member 12 as a fulcrum. At this time, the cap 60 is rotated around the rotating shaft 14 together with the pressing roller 15 by pressure contact with the pressing roller 15. For this reason, it is suppressed that the top surface end 61 of the cap 60 is rubbed and damaged with the pressing member 12.

  When the cap 60 is rotated with the pressing member 12 as a fulcrum, the cap 60 gradually sinks into the gap (interval H) between the pressing member 12 and the upper end of the neck 51 of the bottle 50. As a result, the cap 60 The pressing member 12 gradually presses the upper end of the neck 51 of the bottle 50, and the upper end of the neck 51 of the bottle 50 is gradually inserted into the open end 62 of the cap 60.

  Thereafter, when the cap 60 is further rotated and submerged to a position just below the pressing member 12, the pressing of the cap 60 by the pressing member 12 converges, and the operation of attaching the cap 60 to the upper end portion of the neck 51 also converges. Then, the bottle 50 rubs under the pressing member 12 together with the cap 60, and is further conveyed and moved to the downstream side of the conveying conveyor 2 from the pressing member 12. Then, when reaching below the cap hammer 35, the top surface end 61 of the cap 60 is hit by the cap hammer 35, and is then carried out to the downstream side of the transport conveyor 2.

  On the other hand, when the bottle 50 having the cap 60 attached thereto as described above passes through the pressing member 12 and is further conveyed to the downstream side of the conveyor 2, the cap 60 that has been in the parking position 11 until then is moved to the cap shooter. Therefore, the next cap 60 stocked in the chute passage 24 of the cap shooter 6 is sent to the parking position 11 to prepare for the next cap crowning operation.

  The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and the cap size, the bottle size, or the bottle crown is within the scope of the present invention. It can be easily inferred that various improvements and modifications can be made to the operation method of the apparatus.

(A) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cap used in a present Example, (b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cap attached to the bottle and its bottle neck, (c) is the back surface of a cap. FIG. It is a right view of the cap crowning apparatus 1 which is one Example of this invention, and is a partly longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cap shooter. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 2. It is an arrow view from the arrow IV direction in FIG. It is an arrow view from the arrow V direction in FIG. It is an end elevation in the VI-VI line of FIG. It is a rear view of a cap shooter. FIG. 8 is an end view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Cap crowning device 2 Conveyor (conveyance path)
5 Cap hopper (part of cap supply device)
6 Cap Shooter (part of cap supply device)
11 Parking Position 12 Pressing Member 14 Rotating Shaft 15 Pressing Rollers 21 and 21 Guide Plate 24 Chute Passage 25 and 25 Projecting Piece 26 Guide Slit (Guide Slit, Irradiation Hole, Part of Through Slit)
27 germicidal lamp (sterilizing lamp device)
27a Irradiation part (irradiation part of germicidal lamp device)
28, 29 Through slit (part of through slit)
30, 32 lattice member 50 bottle 51 neck (bottleneck)
60 Cap 61 Top surface end 62 Open end 64 Tongue d Cap outer diameter (cap outer diameter)
h Cap length P Center part of outer diameter direction at the top edge of the cap

Claims (11)

In a cap crowning device for crowning a closed and bottomless cylindrical cap on the upper end of a bottle neck in a vertically standing bottle,
A transport path for transporting a bottle in a vertical position from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction;
A bar-shaped pressing member that is disposed above the bottle neck upper end surface of the bottle that is transported by the transport path with an interval less than the cap length, and whose transport path width direction coincides with the axial direction;
On the upstream side of the bottleneck of the bottle that is provided on the upstream side of the conveyance path than the pressing member and is conveyed by the conveyance path, with the open end of the cap facing the upstream side of the conveyance path, A parking position to park the cap,
A cap supply device that has a chute passage that communicates further upward from the parking position, and that sequentially supplies caps to the parking position through the chute passage;
When the bottle approaches the parking position from the upstream side of the transport path and passes below the pressing member, the upper end of the bottle neck is engaged with the open end of the cap, and the upper end of the bottle neck A cap crowning device, wherein a surface end is pressed against an outer peripheral surface of the pressing member.   The said pressing member is provided with the rotating shaft which goes to the axial direction of the said pressing member, and the press roller provided in the outer periphery of the rotating shaft so that rolling is possible centering | focusing on the rotating shaft. Item 2. A cap crowning device according to Item 1.   The pressing member, when viewed in the direction of the width of the conveyance path, is provided near a substantially central portion in the outer diameter direction at the top surface end of the cap parked at the parking position. The cap crowning device according to claim 1 or 2.   It is provided with a pair of guide plates that are arranged in parallel with the conveyance path width direction in the parking position and the pressing member, and regulate both sides in the outer diameter direction of the cap parked at the parking position. The cap crowning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The chute passage is for allowing the cap to pass from above toward the parking position with the top surface end of the cap directed toward the downstream side of the transport path.
A portion of the inner wall surface of the chute passage that faces the top surface end of the cap is provided along the communication direction of the chute passage, and protrudes in a thin plate shape with an interval in the conveyance path width direction. It has two or more protruding pieces,
The cap crowning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein tip ends of the two or more projecting pieces are provided close to a top surface end of the cap passing through the chute passage.   An intermediate portion in the communication direction of the chute passage, which is formed to penetrate from the inside of the chute passage to the outside with a groove width narrower than the outer diameter of the cap at a portion facing the opening end of the cap in the chute passage. And a germicidal lamp device that is disposed outside the chute passage so as to face the radiation hole and irradiates germicidal light through the radiation hole into the chute passage. The cap crowning device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The irradiation hole is formed in a long groove shape having a length of about twice or more the outer diameter of the cap in the communication direction of the chute passage,
The cap crowning device according to claim 6, wherein the length of the germicidal light irradiation part in the germicidal lamp device is approximately twice or more the outer diameter of the cap. The portion of the chute passage facing the opening end of the cap has a groove width that is narrower than the outer diameter of the cap and is formed to penetrate from the inside of the chute passage to the outside, along the communication direction of the chute passage. A guide slit that is continuously formed up to the parking position is provided,
The cap supply device sequentially supplies, to the parking position, a cap in which a tongue piece narrower than the guide slit extends a predetermined length from an opening edge, and the cap is provided in the chute passage. The cap crowning device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the cap tongue device is guided and moved by being loosely inserted into the guide slit when passing through the cap.   9. The cap crowning device according to claim 8, wherein the guide slit is also used as the irradiation hole according to claim 5.   The chute passage is a partial range from the parking position, the portion facing the top surface end of the cap, and the portion facing the opening end of the cap, continuously in the communication direction of the chute passage. Communicating the chute passages so as to partition adjacent ones of the plurality of through slits and the plurality of through slits that are juxtaposed in the width direction of the conveyance path and formed from the inside of the chute passage to the outside. The cap crowning device according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of lattice members continuously formed in a direction.   The cap crowning device according to claim 10, wherein at least one of the plurality of through slits is also used as the guide slit according to claim 6.

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