JP2009007018A - Beverage container holder, and beverage container delivery device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a beverage container delivery device capable of keeping the posture of a beverage container even when conveying the beverage container, and delivering it to another beverage container holder. <P>SOLUTION: The beverage container holder comprises an arm member which is retractable in the radial direction of a rotating body, a pair of rotary shafts 23, and a pair of grip arms 21 rotatably and pivoted by the pair of rotary shafts. The arm member has a tapered part inside of the rotating body. A driving means for driving a container supporting part in the attaching/detaching direction of container supporting parts of the grip arms 21 to/from the beverage container is provided opposite to the container supporting part with respect to the rotary shafts of the grip arms 21 symmetric to the arm member, and projection parts 22b for locking the tapered part of the arm member are provided on the grip arms. The grip arms 21 are driven by the driving means so as to support the beverage container, the tapered part of the arm member is locked by the projection parts 22b of the grip arms, and the beverage container is supported by the container supporting parts of the grip arms 21 and three points of an abutting member at a fore end of the arm member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is used in a beverage filling process for washing a beverage container such as a plastic plastic bottle or a metal bottle can and filling the beverage, and a container holding device used for carrying and delivering and the container holding In particular, the present invention relates to a container delivery / conveying device, and in particular, to a beverage container having a different caliber, the container holding device that can be used without the need for replacement or addition of parts, and the delivery of the container using the container holding device. The present invention relates to a transport device.

In recent years, for example, plastic containers called plastic bottles and metal bottle-like containers called bottle cans have been widely used as containers for soft drinks, beer and the like. These beverage containers are sterilized and washed with a rinser, filled with beverage with a filler, and sealed with a cap by the time from when the container is manufactured to when the beverage is filled and shipped. For these rinsers, fillers and cappers, a rotary container processing device is generally used, and for the supply and discharge of the containers to and from each of the rotary container processing devices, a rotary container transport device generally called a star wheel is used. ing.
In any of these rotary devices, a container holding device that holds a plurality of containers at a constant interval in the circumferential direction is provided on the outer periphery of a rotating rotating body, and the containers are held in a predetermined posture. The container is transported by rotating the rotating body.

  As such a rotary device, conventionally, for example, a plurality of container pockets are provided on the outer periphery of the rotating body, the body portion of the beverage container is gripped by the container pocket, and the outside of the body portion of the beverage container is guided. There is known an apparatus for conveying a beverage container by providing a semicircular fixed guide bar and rotating a rotating body. However, in such a transport device, if the size and shape of the beverage container are different, it is necessary to change the shape of the container pocket. Therefore, the container pocket and the fixed guide bar are replaced, and adjustment work is performed according to the beverage container. There must be. For this reason, there are many replacement parts, and there is a problem that it takes a lot of cost for the part replacement man-hour and adjustment.

Therefore, in Patent Document 1, the neck portion of a beverage container having a small difference in diameter between different beverage containers as compared with the body of the beverage container is gripped by a pair of clamp arms that are pivotally supported by a rotating body and opened and closed. An apparatus is disclosed that eliminates the need for replacement and adjustment of the parts by suspending and transporting a beverage container.
However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the rotating body that pivotally supports the clamp arm that grips the beverage container rotates, the lower portion of the beverage container is shaken by centrifugal force, and the beverage being transported There was a problem that the posture of the container became unstable. In particular, when the beverage container is delivered while the two rotating bodies rotate, it is difficult to deliver in a stable posture.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 2, the beverage container is a beverage container having a flange at the neck, a gripper that can be gripped by opening and closing an upper part of the flange of the beverage container neck, and a flange provided below the gripper, There is also disclosed an apparatus having a support plate that is provided on the outer surface below and that contacts the outer surface below the flange.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-129921 JP-A-11-236123

  However, since the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2 can be applied only to a beverage container having a flange at the neck, it cannot be applied to a container having no flange at the neck, such as a bottle can. The scope of application is narrow and limited. In addition, as the gripper means, the gripper body is rotated around the fixed pin to grip the beverage container, so that when the beverage container diameter is changed, the center line of the beverage container is displaced in the rotational radius direction, so that the bottle gripper is attached. The position must be adjusted.

  Therefore, in view of the problems of the prior art, the present invention can deal with containers having different caliber sizes without replacing parts or adjusting the rotation center distance of the rotating body that transports the beverage container. A beverage container holding device capable of holding the posture of the container even during the transportation of the beverage, and using the beverage container holding device to hold the container with the beverage container holding device attached to one rotating body It is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage container delivery / conveyance device that can be conveyed and can be reliably and easily delivered to a beverage container holding device attached to another rotating body.

In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention,
A beverage container holding device that constitutes a rotating beverage container transport device and is attached at a constant pitch on a constant circumference of a rotating body that rotates at a constant speed in a plane, and holds the beverage container. Includes an arm member that can advance and retreat in the radial direction of the rotating body and is urged in the outer direction of the rotating body, a pair of rotating shafts disposed at symmetrical positions spaced from the arm member, and The arm member includes a pair of grip arms rotatably supported on a pair of rotating shafts and provided with a container support portion for supporting a beverage container on a first side surface. A portion having an abutting member that contacts and supports the beverage container, has a tapered portion that extends forward in the urging direction toward the inside of the rotating body, and is pivotally supported by the rotating shaft of the pair of grip arms Against said container support and On the opposite side, there is provided drive means for driving the container support portion of the grip arm symmetrically with respect to the arm member in a direction to be in contact with or separated from the beverage container, and the arm member is provided on the side facing each arm member of the pair of grip arms. Protruding portions for locking the tapered portion provided are provided, the pair of grip arms are driven by the driving means so that the container support portion supports the beverage container, and the tapered portion of the arm member is provided on the grip arm. The beverage container is supported at three points: a container support portion of a pair of grip arms and a contact member provided at the tip of the arm member.

  By supporting the beverage container at the three points of the container support portion of the pair of grip arms and the contact member provided at the tip of the arm member, centrifugal force acts even if the rotating body to which the container holding device is attached rotates. Thus, the container can be reliably held without being tilted by being shaken. Further, since the tapered portion provided on the arm member is locked by the protruding portion provided on the grip arm, the locking position of the protruding portion and the tapered portion is determined by the open state of the grip arm according to the beverage container diameter, and the beverage container Even if the diameter changes, the container can be held without changing the center position of the container. Further, since the arm member is urged toward the outer side of the rotating body, that is, the beverage container side, the position of the arm member is naturally determined, and therefore no part replacement or a large-scale device is required to determine the arm member position. .

The driving means for driving the pair of grip arms includes a movable member that can advance and retreat in the radial direction of the rotating body, and one end rotatably supported by a shaft member provided on the movable member, and the other end. Comprises a pair of link arm members rotatably supported on a shaft provided at an end opposite to the container support portion of the pair of grip arms, and the movable member is advanced and retracted in the radial direction of the rotating body. It is characterized by driving the grip arm.
By moving the movable member forward and backward in the radial direction of the rotating body, the movable member can be provided in parallel with the arm member, and space can be saved. Further, by using the link arm member, the movement of the movable member in the radial direction of the rotating body can be easily converted into the movement of the grip arm in the direction of contact with the container support portion.

Each of the pair of grip arms has an end shape in which an end opposite to each container holding portion is positioned vertically, and a hole is provided in each end of the grip arm positioned vertically. The drive means for driving the pair of grip arms includes a movable member that can advance and retract in the radial direction of the rotating body and a pin member provided on the movable member, and the pin member is connected to the pair of grips. The grip arm is driven by being inserted through a hole provided in the arm and moving the movable member forward and backward in the radial direction of the rotating body.
By moving the movable member forward and backward in the radial direction of the rotating body, the movable member can be provided in parallel with the arm member and space can be saved, and a pin member provided on the movable member is provided on the grip arm. By passing through the hole, the movement of the movable member in the radial direction of the rotating body can be easily converted into the movement of the grip arm in the direction of contact with the container support portion.

Further, the means for moving the movable member forward and backward in the radial direction of the rotating body includes a cam means fixed to the rotating body, and a cam follower attached to the inner end of the rotating member of the movable member and engaged with the cam means. And a spring member that urges the movable member toward the inside of the rotating body.
As a result, the movable member can be easily caused to make a predetermined reciprocating motion.

Further, the driving means for driving the pair of grip arms is a compression spring that biases the container support portions of the pair of grip arms toward the container.
By driving the grip arm with a compression spring, a flexible operation is possible, and the container can be easily delivered and received.

The contact member provided at the tip of the arm member is provided with a groove in a direction perpendicular to the radial direction of the rotating body that absorbs bending of the arm member when the beverage container is supported.
This can prevent deformation due to the bending of the arm member.

It is composed of a plurality of rotary beverage container transport devices, and holds a plurality of beverage containers mounted at a constant pitch on a constant circumference of a rotating body that constitutes a rotary beverage container transport device and rotates at a constant speed in the plane. In the beverage container delivery / conveying device that delivers the beverage container between the beverage container holding devices and conveys the container by rotation of the rotating body, the upstream beverage container holding device that supports the container and the downstream beverage container holding device that receives the container are: The beverage container holding device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the rotating body of the upstream and downstream container transport devices is rotated so that the upstream beverage container holding device and the downstream beverage container holding device are synchronized. Let
At the position where the container is delivered, the gripper of the upstream side beverage container transport device is opened, and the container is supported by the gripper of the downstream side beverage container transport device.
As a result, the container can be delivered smoothly.

The upstream beverage container holding device is the beverage container holding device according to claim 5, wherein the compression spring has a container holding force by the compression spring weaker than a container holding force of the downstream beverage container holding device. To do.
The upstream beverage container holding device is the beverage container holding device according to claim 5, and the container holding force by the compression spring is weaker than the container holding force of the downstream beverage container holding device, so that the container can be delivered. When the upstream beverage container holding device and the downstream beverage container holding device both hold the beverage container, the holding force of the upstream beverage container holding device is weaker than the holding force of the downstream beverage container holding device, The container is released, and a smoother delivery of the container becomes possible.

  As described above, according to the beverage container holding device of the present invention and the beverage container delivery / conveying device using the holding device, it is not necessary to replace parts or adjust the rotation center distance of the rotating body that transports the beverage container. The present invention provides a beverage container holding device that can accommodate containers of different caliber sizes and can hold the posture of the container even while the beverage container is being transported. A beverage container delivery and transport device that can hold and transport a container with a beverage container holding device attached to one rotating body, and can be easily delivered to a beverage container holding device attached to another rotating body. Can be provided.

  Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention unless otherwise specified, but are merely illustrative examples. Not too much.

  FIG. 1 is a plan layout diagram of a beverage filling line for filling beverages while transporting plastic bottles using a beverage container transport device using a beverage container holding device (hereinafter referred to as a gripper) according to the present invention. First, the whole structure of the drink filling line in the present Example 1 is demonstrated using FIG. In the first embodiment, a case where a plastic plastic bottle is used as a beverage container will be described. However, the beverage container is not limited to this, and other beverage containers such as metal bottle cans should be used. You can also.

  In the beverage filling line 1 shown in FIG. 1, 2 is a supply conveyor that continuously conveys empty PET bottles 12, 3 is an indexing screw that indexes the empty PET bottles 12 conveyed by the supply conveyor 2 at a constant pitch, 4 a -4d is a star wheel in which a plurality of grippers 20 to be described later are attached to the outer peripheral portion of the rotating body at equal intervals, and 5 is an outer periphery of the rotating body at equal intervals for gripping and transporting empty plastic bottles 12 to be described later. The rinser 5 is attached to the section, and the rinser 5 functions to invert the empty PET bottle 12 during transportation, to spray and wash washing water into and out of the PET bottle 12, and to return the PET bottle 12 to an upright position. . 6 is a star wheel in which a plurality of spring grippers 60 described later are attached to the outer peripheral portion of the rotating body at equal intervals, and 7 is a filling in which a plurality of spring grippers 60 described later are attached to the outer peripheral portion of the rotating body at equal intervals. The filling machine 7 fills an empty plastic bottle 12 with a beverage. Reference numeral 8 denotes a capper that seals the PET bottle 13 filled with the beverage by the filling machine 7 with a cap, and the PET bottle 13 is sealed with the cap while being conveyed by the bottom plate and the bottle pocket provided in the capper 8. 9 is a star wheel that does not use a gripper provided with a bottom plate, a bottle pocket, and a bottle guide, and 11 is a conveyor for conveying a plastic bottle 13 filled with a beverage.

  Next, the operation of the beverage filling line 1 will be described. Empty PET bottles 12 supplied from a previous process (not shown) are closely and continuously conveyed on the supply conveyor 2, and are indexed at a constant pitch by the indexing screw 3. The empty plastic bottle 12 indexed by the indexing screw 3 is held by a gripper 20 (to be described later) attached to a star wheel 4a that rotates in synchronization with the pitch speed, and synchronizes with the rotational speed of the star wheel 4a. Is then delivered to the rotating rinser 5. The rinser 5 cleans the empty plastic bottle 12, and the cleaned empty plastic bottle 12 is supplied to the filling machine 7 through the star wheel 4b, the star wheel 6, and the star wheel 4c that rotate in synchronization with each other. The beverage is filled. The plastic bottle 13 filled with the beverage is delivered to the capper 8 through the star wheel 4d. The PET bottle capped by the capper 8 is discharged through the star wheel 9 and sent to the next process by the transport conveyor 13.

  FIG. 2 is an upper plan view showing one of a plurality of grippers 20 attached to the outer periphery of the star wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d and the rinser 5 at equal intervals, and FIG. 4 is a front view in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view along CC in FIG. Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the gripper 20 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The gripper 20 mainly includes a gripper main body 24, grip arms 21 and 22, a centering arm 28, and driving means 30 that drives the grip arms 21 and 22 in the opening / closing direction. Further, the gripper 20 is attached to the star wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d and the rinser 5 so that the center line is directed in the radial direction by attachment means such as bolts at attachment portions 24a and 24b provided in the gripper main body 24. ing. Further, the gripper body 24 has a pair of rotary shafts 23 at the upper part of the gripper body 24 at a position separated from the center link arm 28 symmetrically to the center line of the star wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d or the ringer 5 in the radial direction. 24 is press-fitted and attached. The upper part of the rotary shaft 23 is press-fitted into the gripper main body 24, and the grip arms 21 and 22, which will be described later, are pivotally supported at the lower part, and the lower end part is inserted into a hole 46 a provided in the support member 46 and It is fixed to the support member 46.

  Each of the grip arms 21 and 22 is rotatably supported below the gripper main body 24 of the rotary shaft 23 attached to the gripper main body 24 and has a symmetrical shape with respect to the center line of the gripper main body 24. In addition, grip fingers 21a and 22a that match the shape of the upper portion of the flange portion 12a of the plastic bottle 12 and projections 21b and 22b that stop the moving position of a center link arm 28 described later are provided.

The driving means 30 is attached to the gripper main body 24 and is a means for driving the grip fingers 21 a and 22 a provided on the grip arms 21 and 22 in a direction in which the grip fingers 21 a and 22 a are separated from and contacting the plastic bottle 12 by a toggle mechanism.
In order to drive the pair of grip arms 21, 22, the driving means 30 has an end portion 21 c opposite to the grip fingers 21 a, 22 a with respect to the rotation shaft 23 that pivotally supports the grip arms 21, 22. A pair of link arms 26 and 27, one end of which is jointed with pins 25a and 25b, and a cam follower 37 which is a rotating body are rotatably attached to the end using a pin 38 at the center of the gripper body 24. A sliding body 36 provided along the line, a sliding body guide tube 34 that is integrally fixed to the gripper body 24 and guides the sliding body 36, and between the sliding body guide tube 34 and the sliding body 36. The sliding body 36 is mainly composed of a compression spring 35 that urges the sliding body 36 toward the cam follower 37, and the sliding body 36 slides in the center line direction of the gripper body 24. In addition, the end of the link arm 26, 27 opposite to the end connected to the end 21c, 22c of the grip arm is rotatably attached to the sliding body 36 with a pin 44. ing.

  The center link arm 28 is slidably attached to the gripper main body 24 in the center line direction of the gripper main body 24, and a centering piece 32 that contacts the flange portion 12 a of the plastic bottle 12 is pin bolt 33 at the tip. It is attached using. The centering piece 32 is made of a water-resistant and wear-resistant resin material, and is provided with a groove 32c so as to allow bending in the direction in which the plastic bottle 12 is pushed to form a thin portion. The centering piece 32 supports the PET bottle 12 together with the grip fingers 21a and 22a at the tip 32a, and is locked to the protrusions 21b and 22b of the grip arms 21 and 22 by the taper 32b so that the moving position is stationary. Yes. The center link arm 28 urges the centering piece 32 toward the plastic bottle 12 by a compression spring 29. In addition, 39 is a retaining ring and 31 is a spring receiving washer.

When the gripper 20 configured in this manner rotates on the outer periphery of the star wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d or the rinser 5, the fixed cam 48 provided on the star wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d or the rinser 5 described later is used. The cam follower 37 is pushed outward of the star wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d or the rinser 5, the compression spring 35 is compressed, and the sliding body 36 slides in the outward direction of the star wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d or the rinser 5. It is urged in the moving direction. At this time, the end portions of the link arms 26 and 27 attached to the sliding body 36 with the pins 44 are pushed and moved in the outer direction of the star wheels 4a, 4b, 4c and 4d or the rinser 5, and the link arms 26 and 27 The end portions of the grip arms jointed with the end portions 21c and 22c move in the direction of the sliding body 36, and the distance between the end portions of the link arms 26 and 27 decreases. At this time, since the grip arms 21 and 22 are jointly connected to the link arm at the end portions 21c and 22c, the distance between the end portions 21c and 22c is reduced, and the grip fingers 21a rotate around the rotation shaft 23. , 22a acts in the direction of releasing the plastic bottle 12.
Conversely, when the cam follower 37 is moved in a direction to release the urging force due to compression of the compression spring 35, the grip fingers 21a and 22a act in a direction in which the plastic bottle 12 is gripped.

  In FIGS. 2 to 5, the gripper 20 grips the upper side of the flange portion 12 a of the plastic bottle 12, but the gripper 20 may grip the lower side of the flange portion 12 a of the plastic bottle 12.

Next, the configuration and operation of the gripper 40 attached to the star wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d and the rinser 5 and different from the gripper 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. A part or all of the gripper 40 can be used in place of the gripper 20.
FIG. 6 is an upper plan view showing one of a plurality of grippers 40 attached to the outer peripheral portions of the star wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d and the rinser 5 at equal intervals, and FIG. DD sectional view, FIG. 8 is a front view in the direction of arrow E in FIG.

  The gripper 40 mainly includes a gripper main body 24, grip arms 51 and 52, a center link arm 28, and driving means 50 for driving the grip arms 51 and 52 in the opening / closing direction. The gripper 40 has the same mechanism as the gripper 20 except for the grip arms 51 and 52 and the driving means 50. The same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the same mechanism as the gripper 20 is omitted.

  Each of the grip arms 51 and 52 is rotatably supported by a lower portion of a rotating shaft 23 attached to the gripper body 24, and has a symmetrical shape with respect to the center line of the gripper body 24 except for an end portion. Grip fingers 51 a and 52 a that match the shape of the upper portion of the flange portion 12 a of the bottle 12, and projections 51 b and 52 b that stop the moving position of the center link arm 28 are provided. Each of the grip arms 51 and 52 has a cutout long hole 51c and 52c at the end opposite to the grip fingers 51a and 52a. In addition, the grip arms 51 and 52 are shifted in the vertical position so that they do not contact each other at the ends, and are arranged on the plane as viewed from above.

  In order to drive the pair of grip arms 51, 52, the driving means 50 has a cam follower 37 as a rotating body rotatably attached to the end portion thereof using a pin 38, and extends along the center line of the gripper body 24. A sliding body 36 provided; a sliding body guide cylinder 34 that is integrally fixed to the gripper body 24 and guides the sliding body 36; and a sliding body provided between the sliding body guide cylinder 34 and the sliding body 36. It is mainly composed of a compression spring 35 that urges the moving body 36 toward the cam follower 37. The sliding body 36 is slidable in the direction of the center line of the gripper main body 24, and a pin 56 is provided at an end opposite to the end where the cam follower 37 is attached. The pin 56 has the same diameter as the width of the cutout long holes 51c and 52c and is inserted through the long holes 51c and 52c at the same time. A guide roller 57 is provided between the grip arms 51 and 52 and the sliding body 36 so as to surround the pin 56.

When the gripper 40 configured in this manner rotates on the outer periphery of the star wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d or the rinser 5, a fixed cam 48 provided on the star wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d or the rinser 5 described later is used. The cam follower 37 is pushed outward of the star wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d or the rinser 5, the compression spring 35 is compressed, and the sliding body 36 slides in the outward direction of the star wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d or the rinser 5. It is urged in the moving direction. At this time, the pin 56 attached to the sliding body 36 is pushed and moved in the outer direction of the star wheels 4 a, 4 b, 4 c, 4 d or the rinser 5, and the notched long holes 51 c, 52 c are also moved to the star wheel as the pin 56 moves. 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d or the mover 5 outward. And the grip arms 51 and 52 rotate centering around the rotating shaft 23, and the grip fingers 51a and 51b act in the direction which releases the PET bottle 12. FIG.
Conversely, when the cam follower 37 is moved in a direction to release the urging force due to compression of the compression spring 35, the grip fingers 51a and 52a act in a direction to support the plastic bottle 12.

  6 to 8, the gripper 20 grips the upper side of the flange portion 12 a of the plastic bottle 12, but the gripper 20 may grip the lower side of the flange portion 12 a of the plastic bottle 12.

FIG. 9 is an upper plan view showing one of a plurality of grippers 60 attached to the outer periphery of the star wheel 6 and the filling machine 7 at equal intervals, and FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line FF in FIG. It is. Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the gripper 60 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The gripper 60 is different from the grippers 20 and 40 attached to the star wheels 4a, 4b, 4c and 4d or the rinser 5 described above, and the grip arm is always urged by a spring force, so that the plastic bottle resists the spring force. It is a gripper that supports and opens the door.

  The gripper 60 mainly includes a gripper main body 64, grip arms 61 and 62, a center link arm 28, and a compression spring 67 that drives the grip arms 61 and 62 in the opening / closing direction. Further, the gripper 60 is attached to the star wheel 6 and the filling machine 7 so that the center line faces the radial direction by attachment means such as bolts at attachment portions 64a and 64b provided on the gripper main body 64. A pair of rotary shafts 63 are mounted on the gripper main body 64 symmetrically with respect to the center line of the star wheel 6 or the filling machine 7 in the radial direction, and the upper portions thereof are press-fitted into the gripper main body 64. The upper part is press-fitted into the gripper main body 64, and grip arms 61 and 62, which will be described later, are pivotally supported at the lower part, and the lower end part is inserted into a hole provided in the support member 68 and fixed to the support member 68 by a bolt 65. .

  Each of the grip arms 61 and 62 is rotatably supported by a lower portion of a rotating shaft 63 attached to the gripper main body 64 and has a symmetrical shape with respect to the center line of the gripper main body 24. Grip fingers 61 a and 62 a that match the shape of the upper portion of the flange portion 12 a of the bottle 12 and protrusions 61 b and 62 b that stop the moving position of the center link arm 28 described later are provided.

  The compression spring 67 is provided between the ends 61c and 62c on the opposite side of the grip arms 61a and 62a provided with the grip fingers 61a and 62a, and the grip arm ends 61c and 62c are separated from each other. Spring force is urged in the direction. The end portions 61c and 62c are urged away from each other by the compression spring 67, whereby the grip fingers 61 and 62 rotate around the rotation shaft 63, and the grip arms 61c and 62c support the PET bottle 12. Will be energized.

  The center link arm 28 is slidably attached to the gripper main body 64 in the center line direction of the gripper main body 64, and the configuration and operation thereof are the same as those of the center link arms constituting the gripper 20 and the gripper 40 described above. Therefore, the description is omitted.

  When the plastic bottle 12 is supported by the gripper 60 configured as described above, the plastic bottle 12 is pushed against the urging force of the compression spring 67 from between the front ends of the grip fingers 61a and 62a, and the grip finger 61a. 62a and the projections 61b and 62b, the center rig piece 32 is supported at three points of the tip 32a.

  The gripper 20 attached to the star wheels 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d and the rinser 5, the gripper 40, and the gripper 60 attached to the star wheel 6 and the filling machine 7 can all be changed in diameter of the supported plastic bottle 12. The center position of the grasped plastic bottle 12 does not change. Such a mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. 11 taking the gripper 60 as an example.

FIG. 11 is an operation position diagram showing the position of the grip arm when the plastic bottles of different sizes are supported by the gripper 60. When the grip fingers 61a and 62a of the grip arms 61 and 62 grip the plastic bottle 12, the gripper 60 can be controlled even if the gripped plastic bottle diameter is changed as shown by 12A, 12B and 12C in FIG. The cam angle of the tapered portion 32b of the centering piece 32 can be determined so that the centering piece 32 of the link arm 28 is stopped at a position where the center line position of the PET bottle 12 does not change. The same applies to the gripper 20 and the gripper 40.
Accordingly, the gripper 20, the gripper 40, and the gripper 60 can be used for any PET bottle having a standard diameter of a PET bottle generally distributed in the market, for example, a diameter of 28 mm, a diameter of 33 mm, and a diameter of 38 mm.

  FIG. 12 is a partial plan view showing a state in which the plastic bottle 12 is delivered and conveyed from the star wheel 4b to the star wheel 6 and from the star wheel 6 to the star wheel 4c.

  First, the delivery of the plastic bottle 12 from the star wheel 4b to the star wheel 6 will be described with reference to FIG. The PET bottle 12 gripped by the gripper 20 attached to the star wheel 4b and rotated from the G direction rotates in synchronization with the gripper 20 while rotating from the position I to the position II. The gripper 60 attached to the wheel 6 is gripped. After the gripper 60 completely grips the PET bottle 12 at the position II, the cam follower 37 is pushed outward of the star wheel 4a by the fixed cam 48 while the gripper 20 further rotates from the position II to the position III. Then, the grip arms 21 and 22 are opened by the mechanism of the driving device 30 provided in the gripper 20 to release the PET bottle 12, and the PET bottle 12 is held only by the gripper 60, and the delivery is completely completed. .

Next, the delivery of the plastic bottle 12 from the star wheel 6 to the star wheel 4c will be described based on FIG. The PET bottle 12 gripped by the gripper 60 attached to the star wheel 6 and rotated from the H direction rotates in synchronism with the gripper 60 while rotating from the position III to the position II. The gripper 20 attached to the wheel 4c is gripped. At this time, while the gripper 20 is rotated from the position III to the position II, the cam follower 37 is moved inward of the star wheel 4c by the fixed cam 48, whereby the grip arm is driven by the mechanism of the driving device 30 provided in the gripper 20. 21 and 22 close and hold a plastic bottle. When the star wheel 6 and the star wheel 4c continue to rotate from the position II to the position I, the gripper 60 releases the plastic bottle 12, and the plastic bottle 12 is held only by the gripper 20, and the delivery is completely completed. Complete.
At this time, in order for the gripper 60 to release the plastic bottle 12 while the plastic bottle 12 is gripped by the gripper 20 between the position II and the position I, the gripping force of the grip arms 61 and 62 of the gripper 60 is It is necessary to select the spring force of the compression spring 67 so as to be smaller than the gripping force of the 20 grip arms 21 and 22.

  Without changing the parts or adjusting the rotation center distance of the rotating body that transports the beverage container, it is possible to handle containers of different caliber sizes and maintain the container posture even while the beverage container is being transported It can be used as a beverage container holding device that can be used and can be transported while holding the container with a beverage container holding device attached to one rotating body using the beverage container holding device. The present invention can be used as a beverage container delivery / conveyance device that can be reliably and easily delivered to a beverage container holding device attached to a rotating body.

It is a plane layout figure of the drink filling line which fills a drink, conveying a plastic bottle using the drink container conveyance device using the gripper concerning the present invention. It is an upper top view showing one of the several grippers attached to the outer peripheral part of a rotary body at equal intervals. It is AA sectional drawing in FIG. It is a front view of the B arrow direction in FIG. It is CC sectional drawing in FIG. It is an upper top view showing one of the grippers of another form attached to the outer peripheral part of a rotating body at equal intervals. It is DD sectional drawing in FIG. It is a front view of the E arrow direction in FIG. It is an upper plan view showing one of a plurality of grippers of still another form attached to the outer peripheral portion of the rotating body at equal intervals. It is FF sectional drawing in FIG. It is an operation position figure showing a position of a grip arm when a beverage container of a different size is supported by a gripper. It is the fragmentary top view which showed the state which delivers and conveys a PET bottle between star wheels.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Beverage filling line 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d Star wheel 5 Rinsa 6 Star wheel 7 Filling machine 12 Empty plastic bottle 20 Gripper (beverage container holding device)
21, 22 Grip arm 21b, 22b Protruding portion 23 Rotating shaft 26, 27 Link arm 28 Centering arm (arm member)
29 Compression spring 32 Centering piece (contact member)
32b Cam part 32c Groove part 35 Compression spring 36 Sliding body (movable member)
37 Cam Followers 40 Gripper (Beverage Container Holding Device)
44 pin (shaft member)
48 Fixed cam (cam means)
51, 52 Grip arm 51b, 52b Protrusion 51c, 52c Notch slot (hole)
56 pins (pin members)
60 Gripper (Beverage container holding device)
61, 62 Grip arm 61b, 62b Protrusion 67 Compression spring (spring member)

Claims (8)

In a beverage container holding device that constitutes a rotary beverage container transport device and is mounted at a constant pitch on a constant circumference of a rotating body that rotates at a constant speed in a plane, and holds the beverage container,
The beverage container holding device is:
An arm member capable of advancing and retreating in the radial direction of the rotating body and biased in the rotating body outer direction;
A pair of rotating shafts disposed at symmetrical positions spaced from the arm member;
Each of the pair of rotation shafts is rotatably supported, and includes a pair of grip arms provided with a container support portion for supporting the beverage container on the first side surface,
The arm member has an abutting member that abuts the beverage container and supports the beverage container at a distal end portion thereof, and includes a tapered portion that extends forward in the urging direction toward the inner side of the rotating body,
Drive in a direction in which the container support part of the grip arm is in contact with the beverage container symmetrically with respect to the arm member on the opposite side of the container support part with respect to the portion of the pair of grip arms supported by the rotating shaft. Provided with a driving means to be provided, and provided with a protruding portion for locking the tapered portion provided on the arm member on the side facing the arm member of each of the pair of grip arms,
The pair of grip arms are driven by the driving means so that the container support portion supports the beverage container, and the taper portion of the arm member is locked by the protrusion provided on the grip arm. The beverage container holding device is characterized in that the beverage container is supported at three points of the container support portion and the contact member provided at the tip of the arm member. The driving means for driving the pair of grip arms is
A movable member capable of moving back and forth in the radial direction of the rotating body;
One end is rotatably supported on a shaft member provided on the movable member, and the other end is rotatably supported on a shaft provided on an end portion opposite to the container support portion of the pair of grip arms. It consists of a pair of link arm members,
The beverage container holding device according to claim 1, wherein the grip arm is driven by moving the movable member back and forth in the radial direction of the rotating body. Each of the pair of grip arms has an end shape in which an end opposite to each container holding portion is positioned up and down, and a hole is provided in each end of the grip arm positioned above and below. And
The driving means for driving the pair of grip arms is
A movable member capable of moving back and forth in the radial direction of the rotating body;
A pin member provided on the movable member,
The beverage container holding device according to claim 1, wherein the pin member is inserted into a hole provided in the pair of grip arms, and the grip arm is driven by moving the movable member forward and backward in the radial direction of the rotating body. apparatus. Means for advancing and retracting the movable member in the radial direction of the rotating body includes:
Cam means fixed to the rotating body;
A cam follower attached to the inner end of the movable member of the movable member and engaged with the cam means;
The beverage container holding device according to claim 2 or 3, comprising a spring member that biases the movable member inward of the rotating body. The driving means for driving the pair of grip arms is
The beverage container holding device according to claim 1, wherein the beverage container holding device is a compression spring that urges the container support portions of the pair of grip arms toward the container.   The contact member provided at the tip of the arm member is provided with a groove in a direction perpendicular to the radial direction of the rotating body that absorbs bending of the arm member when the beverage container is supported. The beverage container holding device as described. It is composed of a plurality of rotary beverage container transport devices, and holds a plurality of beverage containers mounted at a constant pitch on a constant circumference of a rotating body that constitutes a rotary beverage container transport device and rotates at a constant speed in the plane. In the beverage container delivery and transport device for delivering the beverage container between the beverage container holding devices and transporting the container by the rotation of the rotating body,
The upstream beverage container holding device that supports the container and the downstream beverage container holding device that receives the container are the beverage container holding device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
Rotating the rotating body of the upstream and downstream container transport devices so that the upstream beverage container holding device and the downstream beverage container holding device are synchronized,
A beverage container delivery / conveyance device, wherein the gripper of the upstream beverage container conveyance device is opened at a position where the container is delivered, and the container is supported by the gripper of the downstream beverage container conveyance device.   The upstream beverage container holding device is the beverage container holding device according to claim 5, wherein the compression spring has a container holding force by the compression spring weaker than a container holding force of the downstream beverage container holding device. The beverage container delivery / conveying device according to claim 7.

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