JP2008120463A - Container braking device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a container braking device capable of accepting change of size of containers by a simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: The container braking device 4 is provided with a wheel device 18 with a plurality of engagement parts 25 capable of braking bottles BT conveyed by a conveyor 2 on an outer circumference at a certain pitch and having a star wheel 21 wherein a distance from a rotation center C to each tip of the plurality of engagement parts 25 is constant, a rotation limiting mechanism 19 capable of limiting rotation of the wheel device 18, and a moving mechanism 7 moving the wheel device 18 such that a distance Z from the rotation center C to a center line CL of the conveyor 2 can be changed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a container braking device that brakes a container being conveyed by a conveyor.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a container braking device that brakes a container by engaging an engaging portion provided on a rotating body with a container such as a beer bowl that is conveyed by a conveyor is known. In such a container braking device, the engaging portion of the rotating body is positioned in accordance with the size of the target container, for example, the outer diameter of the container body, so that the container can be reliably braked. For this reason, when the size of the container changes, the positional relationship between the container and the engaging portion may change, and the container may not be reliably braked at the engaging portion.

  Therefore, as a container braking device that can respond to the change in the size of the container, a rotating body disposed on the side of the conveyor, and a plurality of rotating bodies provided in the rotating body so as to be able to appear and disappear radially from the rotation center of the rotating body. There is a stopper member that changes the amount of protrusion of the stopper member from the rotating body in accordance with the type of container and changes the relative position of the rotating body with respect to the conveyor (Patent Document 1). In this container braking device, when the protrusion amount of the stopper member is changed, the distance from the rotation center of the rotating body to the tip of the stopper member is changed, and at the same time the interval between two adjacent stopper members is changed. Can respond flexibly.

  In addition, it has a plurality of engaging claws that are arranged at equal intervals on the peripheral edge of the rotating body and that are swingable with respect to the rotating body so that the interval between two adjacent engaging claws can be adjusted. A container braking device is also known in which the inclination of the engaging claws is changed to cope with a change in the size of the container (Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-12144 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-41164

  The container braking devices described in these documents have a problem that the structure is complicated because a mechanism for moving the stopper member or the engaging claw as an engaging part for braking the container relative to the rotating body is indispensable. .

  Then, an object of this invention is to provide the container braking device which can respond to the change of the magnitude | size of a container with a simple structure.

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

  In the container braking device (4) of the present invention, a plurality of engaging portions (25) capable of braking the containers (BT) conveyed by the conveyor (2) are provided on the outer periphery at a constant pitch, and the rotation center (C ) To the respective distal ends of the plurality of engaging portions, a rotating body (18), rotation limiting means (19) capable of limiting the rotation of the rotating body, and the rotation center of the rotating body. The above-described problem is solved by providing a rotating body moving means (7) that moves the rotating body so that the distance (Z) to the center line (CL) of the conveyor can be changed.

  According to this container braking device, the distance from the center of rotation to the center line of the conveyor is changed by the movement of the rotating body, so that the relative position of the front end of the engaging portion with respect to the conveyor can be changed. As a result, even when the size of the container changes, the engagement state with the container can be adjusted by changing the relative position, so that the container is reliably braked by restricting the rotation of the rotating body by the rotation restricting means. it can. Since the plurality of engaging portions are arranged on the outer periphery at a constant pitch and the distance from the rotation center to the tips of the plurality of engaging portions is not changed, the rotating body can be realized with a simple structure. That is, according to this container braking device, a special structure for enabling the plurality of engaging portions to move relative to the rotating body is unnecessary. In the present invention, braking means reducing the moving speed of the container being transported, and is a concept including stopping the container.

  The rotating body may be realized in any form. For example, as one aspect of the present invention, the rotating body is curved so that the two adjacent engaging portions recede toward the rotation center side from their tips. You may provide the star wheel (21) connected by the surface (26). In this case, since the adjacent engaging portions are connected by the curved surface, the strength of each engaging portion is improved, and as a result, the durability of the rotating body is improved.

  The means for moving the rotating body may be realized in any manner. For example, the rotating body moving means may be configured to linearly move the rotating body in a direction in which the rotation center is orthogonal to the conveyor. Moreover, in one aspect of the present invention, a base (5) disposed on the side of the conveyor and a rotating body (Ax2) parallel to a rotation axis (Ax2) of the rotating body that rotatably supports the rotating body. And a support member (15, 16, 17, 22) provided on the base so as to be rotatable around an axis (Ax1), wherein the rotating body moving means moves the support member to the predetermined axis. Support member driving means (31) for rotating around.

  In the present invention, limiting the rotation of the rotating body means preventing the rotating body from freely rotating, and stopping the rotating body completely also allows the rotation of the rotating body but exceeds the predetermined speed. To prevent it from rotating. In one aspect of the present invention, the rotation restricting means includes a braking member (27) provided in a radially outer side than the rotation center of the rotating body so as to be integrally rotatable with the rotating body, and the braking member. A movable member (28) that moves between a release position (a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1) that is separated from the passing range and a braking position (a position indicated by an imaginary line in FIG. 1) that interferes with the passing range; You may provide the movable member drive means (29) to move. According to this aspect, when the movable member moves to the braking position, the movable member interferes with the passing range of the braking member, so that the braking member that rotates integrally with the rotating body hits the movable member and the rotation of the rotating body is stopped. And if a movable member moves to a cancellation | release position, since it leaves | separates from the passage range of a braking member, rotation of a rotary body is accept | permitted.

  In this aspect, the braking member is provided with a plurality of braking members arranged on the same circumference around the rotation center at a constant pitch, and the movable member is held at the braking position. You may further provide the movable member control means (32) which controls the said movable member drive means so that time may be adjusted. In this case, since the plurality of braking members are arranged at a constant pitch on the same circumference, the rotating body is intermittently rotated at a desired pitch by adjusting the time during which the movable member is held at the braking position. be able to. Thereby, when a some container is continuously conveyed with a conveyor, it becomes possible to arrange | position the space | interval between containers and to send out downstream by operating a rotary body intermittently.

  The support member driving means and the movable member driving means may be in any form. For example, at least one of the support member driving means and the movable member driving means moves the piston rod (29a, 31a) back and forth with compressed air. At the same time, it may be configured as an air cylinder device (29, 31) capable of holding the piston rod at a predetermined position. In general, an air cylinder device has a higher operating speed than an electric motor and the like, and can hold a piston rod at a predetermined position. Therefore, the air cylinder device is suitable as one aspect of a supporting member driving unit and a movable member driving unit according to the present invention. It should be noted that at least one of these drive means may be an air cylinder device, but when both of the drive means are constituted by an air cylinder device, there is an advantage that a supply source of compressed air can be shared.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the distance from the rotation center to the center line of the conveyor is changed by the movement of the rotating body, so that the relative position of the front end of the engaging portion with respect to the conveyor can be changed. As a result, even when the size of the container changes, the engagement state with the container can be adjusted by changing the relative position, so that the container is reliably braked by restricting the rotation of the rotating body by the rotation restricting means. it can. Since the plurality of engaging portions are arranged on the outer periphery at a constant pitch and the distance from the rotation center to the tips of the plurality of engaging portions is not changed, the rotating body can be realized with a simple structure. In addition, there is no need for a mold changing operation in which a rotating body corresponding to the size of the container is prepared for each, and the rotating body is replaced when the size of the container changes.

  FIG. 1 shows a container transport device in which a container braking device according to an embodiment of the present invention is incorporated, and FIG. 2 shows a state of the container transport device of FIG. 1 viewed from the direction of arrow II in the same drawing. The container transport device 1 uses a glass bowl BT having a bottom formed at the lower end of a cylindrical body as a container to be transported, and the bowl has three sizes of large, medium, and small. The kite can be transported. FIG.1 and FIG.2 has shown the state in which the container conveying apparatus 1 conveys the largest big bowl as the bowl BT.

  The container transport device 1 is a conveyor 2 that travels at a constant speed from the left side to the right side in FIG. 1, and a pair of upper and lower parts that are arranged above the conveyor 2 and guide the heel BT being transported in the same direction as the travel direction of the conveyor 2. 1 and a container braking device 4 disposed on the side of the conveyor 2 (downward in FIG. 1) for braking the cage BT being conveyed. As the container braking device 4, for example, a rotary topper is used, which is used to adjust the introduction timing of the kite BT sent to the next process located downstream of the conveyor 2 and the mutual interval of the kite BT that is continuously conveyed. It is configured so that braking can be applied to the inner bag BT. In order to realize such a function, the container braking device 4 is attached to a base 5 disposed on the side of the conveyor 2 in a state where the positional relationship with the conveyor 2 is fixed, and to the base 5 in a rotatable state. A braking unit 6 that applies braking to the eaves BT and a moving mechanism 7 as a rotating body moving means for moving the braking unit 6 are provided. The base 5 is configured by connecting an upper plate 10 and a lower plate 11 that are horizontally arranged in the vertical direction by three columnar columns 12 (FIG. 2 shows only two on both sides).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the braking unit 6 is disposed between the upper plate 10 and the lower plate 11 of the base 5 and is vertically paired so as to be rotatable around the axis Ax1 of the column 12 positioned on the left side of the drawing. It is attached to the base 5 through a bearing 14. The braking unit 6 has an upper plate 15 and a lower plate 16 that are horizontally arranged on the upper and lower sides, and the upper plate 15 and the lower plate 16 have two columnar columns 17 (only one at the right end is shown in FIG. 2). It is connected with. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the braking unit 6 includes a wheel device 18 as a rotating body for braking the kite BT being conveyed, and a rotation limiting means for limiting the rotation of the wheel device 18. And a rotation limiting mechanism 19. In FIG. 2, the main part of the rotation limiting mechanism 19 is not shown.

  The wheel device 18 includes a rotary shaft 20 disposed between the upper plate 15 and the lower plate 16 and extending in the vertical direction, and a pair of upper and lower star wheels 21 fixed to the rotary shaft 20. The rotating shaft 20 is supported by a pair of bearing units 22 attached to the upper plate 15 and the lower plate 16 in a state in which the rotating shaft 20 can rotate around the axis Ax2. The rotating shaft 20 has a wheel mounting portion 20 a having a hexagonal cross section, and the wheel mounting portion 20 a is configured to fit into a hexagonal hole 21 a formed in the star wheel 21. The pair of star wheels 21 are fitted into a wheel mounting portion 20a of the rotating shaft 20 so as to sandwich a later-described braking member 27 provided at the center of the rotating shaft 20, and the wheel mounting portion 20a and the hexagonal hole 21a are connected. Rotation is prevented by fitting. As shown in detail in FIG. 2, presser plates 23 are provided above and below the pair of star wheels 21. These holding plates 23 abut against a spacer 24 interposed between the rotary shaft 20 and the bearing unit 22, thereby preventing the star wheel 21 from moving in the direction of the axis Ax2. The support means according to the present invention is configured by a combination of the upper plate 15, the lower plate 16, the column 17 and the bearing unit 22.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the star wheel 21 has six engaging portions 25 provided on the outer periphery at a constant pitch with a central angle with respect to the rotation center C being 60 °. The tips of these engaging portions 25 are arranged on the same circumference around the rotation center C. That is, the star wheel 21 is configured such that the distance from the rotation center C to the tip of each engaging portion 25 is unchanged. Two adjacent engaging portions 25 are connected by a curved surface 26 that recedes toward the center of rotation C from their tips. The curved surface 26 can also function as a pocket for holding the heel BT. As shown in FIG. 1, since the distance from the tip of the engaging portion 25 to the heel guide 3 is positioned so as to be sufficiently narrower than the outer diameter of the heel BT, the heel BT conveyed by the conveyor 2 is It engages with the engaging part 25 and is braked.

  The rotation limiting mechanism 19 controls the braking state of the heel BT by switching between stopping the rotation of the wheel device 18 and allowing the rotation. In order to realize this function, the rotation limiting mechanism 19 is located on the outer side in the radial direction from the rotation center C of the wheel device 18 and includes six braking members 27 attached to the rotary shaft 20 so as to be integrally rotatable, The brake lever 28 as a movable member that moves so as to appear and disappear in the passing range of the brake member 27, and a brake air cylinder device 29 as a movable member driving means that moves the brake lever 28 are provided. The six braking members 27 are arranged at a constant pitch with a central angle of 60 ° with respect to the rotation center C and arranged on the same circumference with the rotation center C as the center. 20 is attached.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the brake lever 28 is attached so as to be able to rotate around the axis Ax3 of the support column 17 that connects the upper plate 15 and the lower plate 16, and a gap formed between the pair of star wheels 21. It has a plate thickness that can be inserted into G (FIG. 2) and is installed at a height that can be inserted into the gap G. The braking air cylinder device 29 is a well-known device capable of moving the piston rod 29a back and forth with compressed air and holding the piston rod 29a in a predetermined position. The brake air cylinder device 29 has one end portion (left side in FIG. 1) attached to the bracket 30 attached between the upper plate 15 and the lower plate 16, and the other end portion (right side in FIG. Each end is rotatably attached. The piston rod 29a of the braking air cylinder device 29 moves back and forth between the solid line position and the imaginary line position in FIG. As a result, the brake lever 28 moves between a release position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1 away from the passing range of the braking member 27 and a braking position that interferes with the passing range. When the brake lever 28 is held at the brake position, the rotation of the wheel device 18 stops because the brake member 27 hits the brake lever 28. In this case, since the wheel device 18 stops at a position where the distance from the tip of the engaging portion 25 to the hook guide 3 is the shortest, the hook BT being engaged with the engaging portion 25 stops the hook BT. To do. When the brake lever 28 is switched from the brake position to the release position, the wheel device 18 is allowed to rotate, so that the movement of the kite BT is resumed. When the baskets BT are successively conveyed on the conveyor 2, the interval between the baskets BT delivered to the downstream side of the container braking device 4 can be adjusted by adjusting the time during which the brake lever 28 is held at the braking position. .

  In the state of FIG. 1, even when the heel BT to be transported changes from a large heel to a middle heel, the distance from the tip of the engaging portion 25 to the heel guide 3 is sufficiently narrower than the outer diameter of the middle heel, It is possible to brake the intermediate part being conveyed by the conveyor 2. However, when the kite BT is changed to a small kite, the distance from the tip of the engaging portion 25 to the kite guide 3 is not sufficiently narrower than the outer diameter of the small kite, so that the small kite cannot be braked. Therefore, the moving mechanism 7 rotates the brake unit 6 around the axis Ax1, thereby shortening the distance Z from the rotation center C of the wheel device 18 to the center line CL of the conveyor 2, and the tip of the engaging portion 25. The distance from the heel guide 3 is made sufficiently smaller than the outer diameter of the small heel. In order to realize this function, the moving mechanism 7 includes a moving air cylinder device 31 as a supporting member driving means. Similar to the brake air cylinder device 29, the moving air cylinder device 31 is a well-known device capable of moving the piston rod 31a back and forth with compressed air and holding the piston rod 31a at a predetermined position. The moving air cylinder device 31 has one end (the lower side in FIG. 1) attached to the bracket 35 (FIG. 2) attached to the upper plate 10 of the base 5 and the other end (the upper side in FIG. 1) the braking unit 6. Each of the upper plates 15 is rotatably attached. As shown in FIG. 1, a cutout portion 10 a is formed in the upper plate 10 in order to avoid interference between the connecting portion of the moving air cylinder device 31 and the braking unit 6 and the upper plate 10 of the base 5. Has been. The moving air cylinder device 31 moves the piston rod 31a forward and backward between the state shown in FIG. 1 and the state shown in FIG. As a result, the braking unit 6 rotates around the axis Ax1 between the first position for the large and medium rods shown in FIG. 1 and the second position for the small rods shown in FIG. . In the second position shown in FIG. 3, the braking unit 6 is closer to the conveyor 2 side than the first position shown in FIG. That is, since the distance Z from the rotation center C of the wheel device 18 to the center line CL of the conveyor 2 is shorter than the distance Z of the first position, the second position is from the tip of the engaging portion 25 to the rod guide 3. Is sufficiently narrower than the outer diameter of the heel BT, which is a small heel. Accordingly, the hook BT, which is a small hook conveyed by the conveyor 2, can be braked by the engaging portion 25.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the operations of the braking air cylinder device 29 and the moving air cylinder device 31 are controlled by a control unit 32. The control unit 32 appropriately distributes the compressed air supplied from the predetermined pressure supply source 100 to each of the braking air cylinder device 29 and the moving air cylinder device 31, and can adjust the supply state of the compressed air. And an operation control unit 34 for operating the air supply unit 33 to control the supply state of compressed air to the air cylinder devices 29 and 31. The operation control unit 34 may be realized by a hardware control circuit or a computer unit. The operation control unit 34 is input with a type signal Sa corresponding to the type (large kite, medium kite, small kite) of the kite BT to be transported, and a stop time during which the kite BT should be stopped by the braking unit 6. A stop signal Sb corresponding to the signal is input.

  When the soot seed signal Sa is input, the operation control unit 34 causes the braking unit 6 to either the first position shown in FIG. 1 or the second position shown in FIG. 3 based on the soot seed signal Sa. The air supply unit 33 is operated so that the operation of the moving air cylinder device 31 is controlled so as to be held by the motor. The brake unit 6 is held at the first position when the saddle type signal Sa indicates the large selection or the medium selection as the selection type, and when the selection signal Sa indicates the small selection as the selection type, the braking is performed. Unit 6 is held in the second position. Further, when the stop signal Sb is input, the operation control unit 34 holds the brake lever 28 of the rotation limiting mechanism 19 at the limit position for the stop time specified by the stop signal Sb, and when the stop time has passed, the limit position is reached. The air supply unit 33 is operated to control the operation of the braking air cylinder device 29 so that the brake can be switched to the release position. Thereby, the control unit 32 functions as a movable member control means according to the present invention. By sequentially inputting the stop signal Sb at a predetermined cycle to the operation control unit 34, the intermittent rotation motion at a desired pitch of the wheel device 18 is realized. As a result, the stop time of the kite BT being conveyed can be adjusted, and therefore the interval between the kite BTs that are continuously conveyed can be adjusted.

  The present invention is not limited to the above form, and can be realized in various forms. The rotating body moving means may be realized in various forms. For example, the moving mechanism 7 may be replaced with a screw mechanism that includes a feed screw and a nut that meshes with the screw, and a drive unit that rotationally drives the feed screw. By performing such replacement, the braking unit 6 can be moved to an arbitrary position without being limited to the two positions of the first position shown in FIG. 1 and the second position shown in FIG. . Further, instead of rotating the braking unit 6 around the axis Ax1 as shown in the figure, it may be moved linearly. When the brake unit 6 is moved linearly, it is desirable to provide guide means for guiding the brake unit 6 in one direction.

  The rotation limiting means is not limited to the one that causes mechanical contact as described above to brake the rotating body. For example, as the rotation limiting means, an electric motor that rotates the rotary shaft 20 and a rotary shaft 20 are provided. Control means for controlling the electric motor so as not to rotate beyond a predetermined rotational speed may be provided. In this case, the rotational speed of the rotary shaft 20 is preferably such that the tangential speed at the tip of the engaging portion 25 is slower than the traveling speed of the conveyor 2 so that the kite BT conveyed by the conveyor 2 can be braked. .

The figure which showed the container conveying apparatus with which the container braking device which concerns on one form of this invention was integrated. The figure which showed the state which looked at the container conveying apparatus of FIG. 1 from the direction of arrow II of the figure. The figure which showed the state which the brake unit moved to the 2nd position with the moving mechanism of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

2 Conveyor 4 Container braking device 5 Base 7 Moving mechanism (rotating body moving means)
18 Wheel device (rotating body)
19 Rotation limiting mechanism (rotation limiting means)
21 Star wheel 25 Engagement portion 26 Curved surface 27 Brake member 28 Brake lever (movable member)
29 Air cylinder device for braking (movable member driving means)
31 Air cylinder device for movement (support member driving means)
32 Control unit (movable member control means)
BT bag (container)
CL Conveyor center line C Rotation center Ax1 Axis (predetermined axis)
Ax2 axis (rotation axis)
Z Distance from the center of rotation to the center line of the conveyor

Claims (6)

  A plurality of engaging portions capable of braking containers conveyed by a conveyor provided on the outer periphery at a constant pitch, and a rotating body having a constant distance from the center of rotation to the respective tips of the plurality of engaging portions; Rotation limiting means capable of limiting the rotation of the rotating body, and rotating body moving means for moving the rotating body so that the distance from the rotation center of the rotating body to the center line of the conveyor can be changed. A container brake device.   The said rotary body is provided with the star wheel with which the said adjacent two engaging parts were connected by the curved surface which retreats to the said rotation center side rather than those front-end | tips. Container braking device. A base disposed on the side of the conveyor and a support provided on the base so as to rotatably support the rotating body and to rotate around a predetermined axis parallel to the rotation axis of the rotating body. A member,
The container brake device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the rotating body moving means includes support member driving means for rotating the support member around the predetermined axis.   The rotation limiting means includes a braking member provided radially outside the rotation center of the rotating body so as to be able to rotate integrally with the rotating body, a release position away from a passing range of the braking member, and the passage The container braking device according to claim 1, further comprising: a movable member that moves between a braking position that interferes with the range; and a movable member driving unit that moves the movable member. As the braking member, a plurality of braking members arranged on the same circumference around the rotation center at a constant pitch are provided,
The container braking device according to claim 4, further comprising a movable member control unit that controls the movable member driving unit so that a time during which the movable member is held at the braking position is adjusted.   At least one of the support member driving means and the movable member driving means is configured as an air cylinder device that can advance and retract the piston rod with compressed air and can hold the piston rod at a predetermined position. The container braking device according to any one of claims 3 to 5.

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