JP2010260610A - Inspection device and manufacturing facility - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To determine whether an item or a package is abnormal or not using a simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: This inspection device INSP for inspecting an item is provided with a transfer mechanism for transferring an item 10 along a transfer channel 22 and a determination part 40 for determining whether the item 10 transferred by the mechanism is abnormal or not. The part 40 includes first and second photointerrupters 32, 34 having optical axses 36, 38 crossing the transfer channel 22. If the optical axses 36, 38 of the photointerrupters 32, 34 are simultaneously interrupted for a period by the item 10, the item 10 is determined to be a defective item whose width exceeds a set width. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus for inspecting an article and a manufacturing facility for manufacturing a packaged product.

  Patent Document 1 relates to an apparatus for shrinking a heat-shrinkable film by forming a heat-shrinkable film (shrink film) into a cylindrical shape, putting an article to be packaged therein, and heating the heat-shrinkable film. According to Patent Document 1, in a package that does not have packaging defects, when the heat-shrinkable film is heated after the article to be packaged is placed inside the cylindrical heat-shrinkable film, the inner air The heat-shrinkable film expands in a balloon shape due to rapid heating, but in a package with packaging defects, the heat-shrinkable film does not expand due to frequent air leakage. It will be enough. In the apparatus of Patent Document 1, when the height of the heat-shrinkable film when expanded does not exceed the specified height when it expands, it is determined that a packaging defect exists.

JP 2007-99356 A

  FIG. 1 illustrates a packaged product (or article) 10 formed by packaging a container filled with a beverage, food, medicine, or the like with a shrink film. (A) shows an example of a normal product, and (b) shows an example of an abnormal product. Various examples can be given as the abnormal product, but an example is one in which the inner container is ruptured when the shrink film (heat-shrinkable film) is shrunk by heating. For example, when heating the shrink film from its lower part, if the container inside the shrink film ruptures as the lower part shrinks, the upper part of the container is sufficiently shrunk because the upper part of the heat is hindered by the liquid in the container. Instead, as illustrated in FIG. 1B, the upper part may have a shape swelled more than a normal product. It is inefficient to find such abnormal products by visual inspection.

  In Patent Document 1, it is determined that there is a packaging defect for a package in which the expanded film does not reach the specified height, but in the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the article in which the shrink film is expanded more than the specified value is It is judged as an abnormal product and the two are in the opposite relationship. Further, paragraph 0019 of Patent Document 1 describes that the degree of expansion may be detected by measuring the distance (position) of both side portions of the expanded film using a photoelectric sensor. There is not enough explanation as to how the distance (position) of both sides of the expanded film can be measured. The configuration that can be estimated from the photoelectric sensor (paragraph 0018, FIG. 1 and FIG. 4) that detects the expansion height described in Patent Document 1 presses one side surface portion of the expanded film against the guide, and the other side surface portion It is only a configuration that determines that the degree of expansion is normal when the optical axis of the photoelectric sensor is blocked (that is, a configuration obtained by rotating FIG. 4 by 90 degrees).

  An object of the present invention is to provide an inspection device or a manufacturing facility that determines, for example, whether an article or a packaged product is an abnormal product with a simple configuration.

  A first aspect of the present invention relates to an inspection apparatus that inspects an article. The inspection apparatus includes a conveyance mechanism that conveys an article along a conveyance path, and the article that is being conveyed by the conveyance mechanism is an abnormal product. A determination unit that determines whether or not the determination unit includes first and second photointerrupters having optical axes that cross the conveyance path, and the optical axes of the first and second photointerrupters are simultaneously determined by an article. When there is a period to be blocked, the article is determined to be an abnormal product whose width exceeds the specified width.

  A second aspect of the present invention relates to a manufacturing facility for manufacturing a packaged product, which includes a packaging device for packaging a container with a shrink film to manufacture the packaged product, and a packaged product manufactured by the packaging device. An inspection device for inspecting the packaged product and an evacuation device for rejecting the packaged product determined to be an abnormal product by the inspection device, the inspection device passing the packaged product manufactured by the packaging device along a conveyance path A transport mechanism for transporting, and a determination unit for determining whether or not the packaged product transported by the transport mechanism is an abnormal product, wherein the determination unit includes first and second optical axes that cross the transport path. When the optical axis of the first and second photo interrupters is simultaneously blocked by the package, the package is an abnormal product whose width exceeds the specified width. It determines that.

  According to the present invention, for example, an inspection device or a manufacturing facility for determining whether an article or a packaged product is an abnormal product with a simple configuration is provided.

It is a figure which illustrates the packaged goods (article) formed by packaging a container with a shrink film. It is a typical top view of the manufacturing equipment of a suitable embodiment of the present invention. It is a typical side view of the manufacturing equipment of suitable embodiment of the present invention. It is a timing chart which shows the example of a transition of the status signals INT1_, INT2_, the detection signal DET, and the command signal REJ when the package passes the inspection area.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  2 and 3 are a schematic plan view and a side view, respectively, of the manufacturing facility 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The manufacturing facility 100 is configured as a facility for manufacturing the packaged product 10, and includes a packaging device 60, an inspection device INSP, and an evacuation device 50. The packaged product 10 is an article formed by, for example, packaging a container filled with a beverage, food, medicine, or the like with a shrink film (heat-shrinkable film). FIG. 1A illustrates a normal product. FIG. 1B illustrates the abnormal product.

  The packaging device 60 is a device that manufactures the package 10 by packaging a container with a shrink film, and includes, for example, a mechanism for covering the container with the shrink film and a heater that shrinks the shrink film by heating. sell. The inspection device INSP is configured to inspect the packaged product 10 manufactured by the packaging device 60. The evacuation device 50 is configured to evacuate the packaged product 10 determined to be an abnormal product by the inspection device INSP to the evacuation portion (for example, evacuation path, evacuation region) 55.

  The inspection apparatus INSP includes a transport mechanism 20 (for example, a table top chain conveyor; see FIG. 3) that transports the package 10 manufactured by the packaging apparatus 60 along the transport path 22 while being guided by the guide 24, and a transport mechanism 20. And a determination unit 40 for determining whether or not the packaged product 10 being conveyed is an abnormal product. The determination unit 40 includes first and second photointerrupters 32 and 34 each having optical axes 36 and 38 that traverse the conveyance path 22, and the optical axes 36 and 38 of the first and second photointerrupters 32 and 34 are packaged simultaneously. When there is a period obstructed by the product 10, it is determined that the packaged product 10 is an abnormal product whose width exceeds the specified width.

  The first photo interrupter 32 includes, for example, a projector 32a that emits a light beam onto the optical axis 36, and a light receiver 32b that receives the light beam and outputs a status signal INT1_. In this example, when the status signal INT1_ is at a high level, it means that the optical axis 36 is not blocked by the package (article) 10, that is, the package (article) 10 is not present, Sometimes, it means that the optical axis 36 is blocked by the package (article) 10, that is, the package (article) 10 exists. Similarly, the second photo interrupter 34 includes, for example, a projector 34a that emits a light beam onto the optical axis 38, and a light receiver 34b that receives the light beam and outputs a status signal INT2_. In this example, when the status signal INT2_ is at a high level, it means that the optical axis 38 is not blocked by the package (article) 10, that is, the package (article) 10 is not present. In some cases, it means that the optical axis 38 is blocked by the package (article) 10, that is, the package (article) 10 exists.

  In this embodiment, the optical axes 36 and 38 of the first and second photo interrupters 32 and 34 are arranged so as to cross the transport path 22 (or transport direction) vertically. The optical axis 38 of the second photo interrupter 34 is disposed downstream of the transport path 22 from the optical axis 36 of the first photo interrupter 32 by a distance corresponding to a specified width (reference for identifying abnormal products). ing.

  The packaging device 60 can be configured, for example, to start heating the shrink film from below. The configuration in which the heating of the shrink film is started from its lower part is advantageous for positioning the shrink film with respect to the container. Since the normal container is thinner on the upper side than on the lower side, when the heating of the shrink film is started from the upper side, the shrink film can move upward with respect to the container due to shrinkage of the shrink film. When heating the shrink film from its lower part, if the container ruptures as the lower part shrinks, the upper part is not sufficiently shrunk because the upper part of the heating is hindered by the liquid in the container as described above. As illustrated in FIG. 1B, the upper portion can be a shape that swells more than a normal product. In order to identify an abnormal product that may be caused by such a cause, the optical axes 36 and 38 of the first and second photo interrupters 32 and 34 are arranged at the mouth portion of the container in the package 10 as illustrated in FIG. It is preferable to arrange so that it can be detected whether or not the width at the width exceeds the specified width.

  The determination unit 40 of the inspection device INSP includes a control unit 42 that processes the status signals INT1_ and INT2_ output from the first and second photo interrupters 32 and 34 and outputs an evacuation command to the evacuation device 50. For example, the control unit 42 sets the detection signal DET to an active level during a period in which both the state signals INT1_ and INT2_ are at a low level, and sets the detection signal DET to an inactive level at other times (for example, , A logic circuit) 44 and a command unit 46 that sets the command signal REJ to the active level for a predetermined period in response to the transition of the detection signal DET to the active level and sends a rejection command to the rejection device 50. When the evacuation device 50 receives the evacuation command (that is, when the evacuation signal REJ becomes an active level), the evacuation device 50 evacuates the packaged product 10 on the conveyance path 22 to the evacuation unit 55.

  Here, the period in which both of the state signals INT1_ and INT2_ are at the low level is a period in which both the optical axes 36 and 38 of the first and second photo interrupters 32 and 34 are blocked by the package 10. The existence of such a period means that there is a period in which the optical axes 36 and 38 of the first and second photo interrupters 32 and 34 are simultaneously blocked by the package 10. The fact that there is a period during which the optical axes 36 and 38 are simultaneously blocked by the packaged product 10 is that the width of the packaged product 10 (in the plane including the optical axes 36 and 38) rather than the specified width that is the distance between the optical axes 36 and 38. This means that the width of the packaged product 10 (in the example shown in FIG. 3) is large, that is, the inspected packaged product 10 is an abnormal product.

  FIG. 4A is a timing chart showing a transition example of the state signals INT1_, INT2_, the detection signal DET, and the command signal REJ when the packaged product 10 which is a normal product passes through the inspection region. FIG. 4B is a timing chart showing a transition example of the state signals INT1_, INT2_, the detection signal DET, and the command signal REJ when the packaged product 10 that is an abnormal product passes through the inspection region. In a period t in which both the state signals INT1_ and INT2_ are at the low level, the detection signal DET that is the output signal of the logic operation unit 44 transits to the active level (high level), and in response thereto, the command unit 46 The signal REJ is set to an active level (high level) for a predetermined period, and an evacuation command is output to the evacuation apparatus 50.

  The inspection apparatus INSP preferably includes an adjustment mechanism that adjusts the distance between the optical axis 36 of the first photointerrupter 32 and the optical axis 38 of the second photointerrupter 34. The adjustment mechanism can include a drive mechanism 70 for changing the position of at least one of the first photo interrupter 32 and the second photo interrupter 34. The adjustment mechanism can be configured to adjust the distance between the optical axis 36 of the first photointerrupter 32 and the optical axis 38 of the second photointerrupter 34 according to the type of the package 10 to be inspected, for example. Alternatively, the adjustment mechanism can be configured to adjust the distance between the optical axis 36 of the first photointerrupter 32 and the optical axis 38 of the second photointerrupter 34 in accordance with, for example, required inspection accuracy. The adjustment mechanism is, for example, an interface (input unit) that acquires the type of packaged product 10 or the required inspection accuracy, and the drive mechanism 70 drives the type of packaged product 10 or the required inspection accuracy acquired by the interface. A conversion table for converting to a quantity and an output unit for outputting the drive quantity to the drive mechanism 70 can be included.

10 Packaged goods
20 transport mechanism 22 transport path 24 guide 32a, 34a projector 32b, 34b light receiver 32 first photo interrupter 34 second photo interrupter 36, 38 optical axis 40 determination unit 42 control unit 44 logic operation unit 46 command unit 50 rejection device 55 rejection Part 60 Packaging device 70 Drive mechanism INSP Inspection device 100 Manufacturing equipment INT1_, INT2_ Status signal DET Detection signal REJ Command signal

Claims (11)

An inspection device for inspecting an article,
A transport mechanism for transporting articles along a transport path;
A determination unit that determines whether an article being conveyed by the conveyance mechanism is an abnormal product,
The determination unit includes first and second photointerrupters having optical axes that cross the conveyance path, and when there is a period during which the optical axes of the first and second photointerrupters are simultaneously blocked by the article, Judge that it is an abnormal product whose width exceeds the specified width,
Inspection apparatus characterized by that. The optical axis of the second photo interrupter is disposed on the downstream side of the transport path from the optical axis of the first photo interrupter by a distance corresponding to the specified width.
The inspection apparatus according to claim 1.   The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an adjustment mechanism that adjusts a distance between an optical axis of the first photointerrupter and an optical axis of the second photointerrupter.   The inspection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the adjustment mechanism includes a drive mechanism for changing a position of at least one of the first photo interrupter and the second photo interrupter.   The adjustment mechanism adjusts the distance between the optical axis of the first photointerrupter and the optical axis of the second photointerrupter according to the type of article to be inspected or the required inspection accuracy. The inspection apparatus according to 3 or 4. A manufacturing facility for manufacturing a package,
A packaging device for producing a packaged product by packaging the container with a shrink film;
An inspection device for inspecting a packaged product manufactured by the packaging device;
An evacuation device that evacuates the packaged product determined to be an abnormal product by the inspection device;
The inspection apparatus includes: a transport mechanism that transports a packaged product manufactured by the packaging device along a transport path; and a determination unit that determines whether the packaged product transported by the transport mechanism is an abnormal product. Including
The determination unit includes first and second photointerrupters having optical axes that cross the conveyance path, and when there is a period during which the optical axes of the first and second photointerrupters are simultaneously blocked by a packaged product, the packaging The product is judged to be an abnormal product whose width exceeds the specified width.
Manufacturing equipment characterized by that. The optical axis of the second photo interrupter is disposed on the downstream side of the transport path from the optical axis of the first photo interrupter by a distance corresponding to the specified width.
The manufacturing facility according to claim 6. The optical axes of the first and second photo interrupters are arranged so as to be able to detect whether the width at the mouth portion of the container exceeds the specified width,
The manufacturing equipment according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that. An adjustment mechanism for adjusting a distance between the optical axis of the first photo interrupter and the optical axis of the second photo interrupter;
The manufacturing equipment according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that. The adjustment mechanism includes a drive mechanism for changing a position of at least one of the first photo interrupter and the second photo interrupter.
The manufacturing equipment according to claim 9. The adjustment mechanism adjusts the distance between the optical axis of the first photointerrupter and the optical axis of the second photointerrupter according to the type of package to be inspected or the required inspection accuracy.
The manufacturing equipment according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that.

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