JP2012091801A - Cap feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suck and remove a minute substance such as dust or the like in a cap feeder 1 feeding a cap 2 to a capper.SOLUTION: The cap accommodated in a hopper 4 is sent onto a conveyance belt 6 by a discharger 10. The cap is put on guide members 24 each attached to the conveyance belt at the same interval and is upward carried. The conveyance belt shifts from a mild slope of the lower part to a rising part whose angle is almost vertical or acute. The cap with the head turning to the outside in the selection area A is dropped by its weight in the vicinity of the shift part, and only the cap in the reverse direction is selected and carried. Many suction holes 28 are made on the conveyance belt, and a dust collection duct 30 is arranged on the upstream side of the selection area behind the conveyance belt. The surface side is provided with an air outlet 34. The dust collection duct and the air outlet are connected to each other via a filter 36, a blower 38 and a heater 40 to form a circulation path.

Description

  The present invention relates to a cap supply device, and more particularly to a cap supply device including a dust collecting device that collects and discharges minute substances such as dust in the cap supply device.

  Cap supply devices that supply caps to the capper, when fine foreign matter such as dust generated in the cap sorter or in the process of transporting the cap, or foreign matter brought in from the outside, is supplied to the capper while being attached to the cap. This causes a problem that the foreign matter is mixed into the contents filled in the container. Therefore, an invention having a configuration for removing these foreign substances in the cap sorter has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the invention described in Patent Document 1, one end of an air supply pipe and an exhaust pipe is connected to a cap sorter, and a first filter, a blower, a heater, and a second filter are connected between the other ends of these pipes. Thus, an air circulation path is formed. In this configuration, dust is collected by circulating air through the blower and passing it through the filter.

  As in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the cap supply device in the form of a cap sorter is not suitable for feeding a large amount of caps into the chute because the cap feeding speed is not sufficient, and the shape of the cap Each time it changed, it was necessary to replace the sorter and sorting attachment, and there was a problem that it took time and effort.

  Therefore, a so-called elevator sorter-type cap supply device is used as a cap supply device that selects and supplies a large number of caps to the chute (see Patent Document 2). In the cap supply device of the type described in Patent Document 2, the transport belt is caused to travel upward in an inclined state, and the cap is directed to a specific direction in a state in which the transport belt is lifted to almost vertical. The caps are separated from each other by dropping them under their own weight.

Japanese Patent No. 4006802 Japanese Patent No. 3876201

  In addition to dust brought in from the outside, the cap supply device described in Patent Document 2 generates resin powder that has been rubbed when the cap that has fallen during sorting comes into contact with another cap upstream in the transport direction. There was a problem with sanitary properties.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and is provided with a hopper that accommodates a cap, a conveyor belt that is disposed in the casing and conveys the cap upward, and is provided on a conveyance surface of the conveyor belt at predetermined intervals. A horizontal guide member on which the cap is placed, and a cap discharge means for feeding the cap accommodated in the hopper to the conveyor belt, and a plurality of caps fed from the hopper are placed on the guide member In the cap supply device that drops the cap directed in a certain direction by its own weight by sorting the caps, sorts the front and back of the cap, and supplies only the caps in the other direction, a plurality of suction holes are formed in the transport belt. In addition, a dust collection duct for collecting dust and the like in the casing is provided on the back side of the conveyor belt, and Wherein the conveying surface of the conveyor belt is provided an air outlet for blowing out air, and is characterized in that the dust collection through suction holes of the conveyor belt.

  The second invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, a blow-out port for blowing air is provided in the hopper.

  Further, according to a third invention, in the first invention or the second invention, the dust collecting duct is provided upstream of a cap selection area for selecting the front and back of the cap in the conveyance path of the conveyance belt. It is characterized by.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first to third aspects of the present invention, a guide member is provided for guiding the cap dropped in the cap selection area toward the cap supply position by the cap discharging means. It is what.

  Further, a fifth invention is the above-described first invention to the fourth invention, wherein the dust collection duct and the air outlet are connected via a filter, a blower and a heater to form a passage through which air circulates. The air passing through the filter and the heater is circulated.

  The cap supply device of the present invention forms a large number of suction holes in the conveyor belt, and drops the cap in one direction while the conveyor belt is almost upright to sort the cap upstream. A dust collection duct is placed behind the conveyor belt for suction, which collects very small foreign matter such as dust adhering to the cap or floating around it to prevent foreign matter from entering the capper. The effect of doing is obtained.

FIG. 1 is a side view of the cap supply device. Example 1 FIG. 2 is a front view of the cap supply device, and is a view taken in the direction of the arrow II in FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view showing a main part of the cap supply device.

  A hopper that accommodates the cap, a transport belt that transports the cap fed out from the hopper upward, a cap discharging means that feeds the cap in the hopper to the transport belt, and a transport surface of the transport belt perpendicular to the traveling direction thereof The guide members are mounted at equal intervals in the direction of the direction, and the cap that is directed in a certain direction is conveyed as it is by raising the conveying belt at a steep angle that is almost vertical, and in the reverse direction. The cap supply device is configured to drop the caps facing the caps to sort the front and back of the caps and supply only the caps in the predetermined direction to the capper. The transport belt includes a guide member for transporting the caps. A dust collection nozzle is placed on the back side of the transport surface, and air blowing means for blowing warm air is placed on the transport surface side. Forming a circulation circuit of the dust collecting nozzle, filter, blower, heater and air blowing means, and sucking dust on the conveying surface side from a number of suction holes formed in the conveying belt, The objective of collecting and collecting fine foreign matters such as dust is achieved.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. A cap supply device according to this embodiment (indicated by reference numeral 1 as a whole) includes a hopper 4 that accommodates a large number of caps 2 and a transport belt 6 that receives the cap 2 fed from the hopper 4 and transports it upward. I have. Note that the cap 2 supplied by the cap supply device 1 according to this embodiment covers the mouth of a container (not shown) and seals the inside of the container, and has a cylindrical shape 2a (see FIG. 3). One end is open and the other end is closed.

  The hopper 4 is provided with a lid 8 that covers the upper portion, and the cap 8 is opened by inserting the lid 8. The bottom part of the hopper 4 is comprised by the inclined surface 4b toward the exit 4a direction of the center part. A cap discharging means 10 such as a vibrator is provided at the outlet 4 a of the hopper 4, and the cap discharging means 10 always supplies a certain amount of the cap 2 to the transport belt 6. An air blowing port 12 is provided in the upper part of the wall surface around the hopper 4 so that hot air is blown into the hopper 4 through a blower, a heater and the like which will be described later. In this embodiment, an air blowing port (hereinafter referred to as a first air blowing port) 12 is provided on the wall surface 4c opposite to the feeding direction of the cap 2 by the cap discharging means 10 provided at the outlet 4a of the hopper 4. It is provided, and the dust in the hopper 4 is sent out to the downstream side.

  An endless cap transport belt 6 is disposed from the lower side of the cap discharging means 10 provided in the lower part of the hopper 4 toward the diagonally upper side. The conveyor belt 6 is accommodated in a casing 14, and is connected to a sprocket 16 disposed below the cap discharging means 10, a sprocket 18 disposed above, and an intermediate sprocket 20 disposed on a lower direction changing portion. It is laid around. In addition, a tension wheel 22 is disposed slightly above the intermediate sprocket 20 of the direction changing portion, and the tension is adjusted by pressing the conveyor belt 6 from the outside.

  The conveyor belt 6 includes a horizontal portion 6a that receives the cap 2 fed from the cap discharging means 10, a circular rising portion 6b that gently rises along a substantially circular path, and a bending point 6c. And a steeply rising portion 6d that rises up to a nearly upright state by changing the inclination angle.

  The conveyance belt 6 is attached with a guide member 24 in a direction (horizontal direction) crossing the conveyance belt 6 at a constant interval on a conveyance surface (a surface outside the conveyance belt 6 wound around the sprockets 16, 18, and 20). It has been. The interval between the guide members 24 is slightly larger than the diameter of the cylindrical cap 2 (see FIG. 3). The cap 2 is supported by placing the cylindrical portion 2a on the horizontal guide member 24, and when the opening side is in contact with the conveyance surface of the conveyance belt 6 and the closed head side faces outward. When the cap 2 to be transported reaches the suddenly rising portion 6d, it falls by its own weight, and conversely, when the closed head side is in contact with the transport surface and the opening side is facing outward, the cap 2 can enter the suddenly rising portion 6d. The height of the horizontal guide member 24 is set so that it is held without being dropped and conveyed upward. Thus, the part slightly above the bending point 6c is a selection area A for selecting the direction of the cap 2 so that the cap 2 in one direction is dropped and the cap 2 in the other direction is conveyed as it is. . In this embodiment, the guide member 24 is formed of an antistatic member, and dust is prevented from adhering to the cap 2 due to static electricity.

  The conveyor belt 6 is formed with a number of through-holes (suction holes 28 that are sucked by a dust collection duct, which will be described below) that communicate the conveyance surface and the back side. Also, dust collection that collects dust and the like by suction from the back of the conveying surface near the upper portion of the gently rising portion 6b that rises in an arc shape of the conveying belt 6, that is, slightly upstream from the sorting area A. A duct 30 is provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the dust collection duct 30 has a tube 32 having a diameter close to the interval between the two guide members 24 arranged horizontally over the entire width of the transport belt 6. A large number of elongated dust collecting holes 32 a are formed in the body 32. On the other hand, on the opposite side of the dust collection duct 30 across the conveying belt 6, a second air blowing port 34 for blowing warm air into the casing 14 is provided.

  The dust collection duct 30 is connected to the second air outlet 34 through a filter 36, a blower 38, and a heater 40, thereby forming an air circulation path. A first air outlet 12 for blowing hot air into the hopper 4 is also connected to this circuit. The conveyor belt 6 is accommodated in the casing 14, and the inside of the casing 14 is maintained at a positive pressure by the air blown out from the second air blowing port 34, thereby preventing dust from entering from the outside.

  Further, in order to prevent the cap 2 that has been transported by the transport belt 6 and dropped in the sorting area A from coming into contact with the cap 2 being transported below the cap 2, the cap 2 is supplied to the cap 2 by the cap discharging means 10. A guiding member 42 is provided for returning to the fed horizontal portion 6a).

  At the feeding position B at the upper end of the conveyor belt 6, there is provided a feeding means 44 for feeding the cap 2 that has been sorted and conveyed by the conveyor belt 6 to a chute for delivering it to the capper. The feeding means 44 includes an air nozzle 44 a disposed on the side of the conveying belt 6, and air is blown from the air nozzle 44 a to the cap 2 that has reached the position of the feeding means 44 and conveyed along the guide member 24. The belt 6 is discharged to the outside.

  The operation of the cap supply device 1 according to the above configuration will be described. The lid 8 of the hopper 4 is opened and a large number of caps 2 are put inside. The cap 2 accommodated in the hopper 4 always feeds a certain amount of cap 2 to the lower conveying belt 6 by the cap discharging means 10 connected to the outlet 4 a of the hopper 4.

  The cap 2 sent out from the hopper 4 by the cap discharging means 10 falls on the horizontal portion 6a at the upstream end of the transport belt 6 and is transported by the transport belt 6 traveling upward. The guide members 24 attached to the conveyor belt 6 in a horizontal direction (a direction crossing the conveyor belt 6) are attached at intervals slightly larger than the diameter of the cylindrical portion 2a of the cap 2, and each guide member 24 is attached. The caps 2 are accommodated in a row in the horizontal direction and conveyed. As the conveyor belt 6 travels, the cap 2 enters the substantially vertical sharply rising portion 6d from the arc-shaped gentle rising portion 6b past the bending point 6c. The upstream end (lowermost side) of this suddenly rising portion 6d is a selection area A for sorting the front and back of the cap 2, the opening side is in contact with the conveyor belt 6, and the closed head side faces the outside 2 falls by its own weight. On the other hand, the cap 2 with the opening side facing outward and the head side contacting the conveyor belt 6 is heavier on the head side than the opening side. It is conveyed to.

  The cap 2 that has been transported to the feeding position B above the transport belt 6 is blown with air by the air nozzle 44a and discharged to the outside from the transport belt 6 (see FIG. 2), and is sent to a cap chute (not shown). In the cap supply device 1 according to this embodiment, the hopper 4 is provided with a first air outlet 12 for blowing warm air, and air is blown into the hopper 4 during the operation, so that dust in the hopper 4 is discharged. From the outlet 4a at the lower end of the hopper 4 to the outside. In addition, a dust collection duct 30 is installed on the rear side of the transport belt 6 slightly upstream from the sorting area A. Resin powder adhering to the cap 2 from the suction holes 28 formed in the transport belt 6 The dust on the conveyor belt 6 is collected by suction. In addition, a second air outlet 34 is provided on the opposite side of the dust collection duct 30 across the conveyor belt 6 to create an air flow effective for removing dust in the casing 14 and from the sorting area A. It is also possible to prevent dust from being rolled up due to the fall of the cap 2. Furthermore, if the air is only sucked from the dust collection duct 30, the temperature inside the casing 14 is lowered because the outside air is introduced. However, the quality due to the temperature drop of the cap 2 by blowing warm air from the second air outlet 34. Changes can be prevented. Further, the air blown from the first air blowing port 12 in the hopper 4 and the second air blowing port 34 on the surface side of the conveyor belt 6 is sucked by the dust collecting duct 30, and the filter 36, blower 38 and heater 40 are sucked. Since the temperature difference between the collected air and the blown-out air is smaller than when air is introduced from the outside, energy efficiency can be improved.

  As described above, in the apparatus according to the present embodiment, in addition to the resin powder generated in the hopper 4 and the dust brought in from the outside, the cap 2 falling in the sorting area A for sorting the cap 2 is replaced with the other cap 2. Resin powder generated by the collision with can also be recovered. Note that the dust collection duct 30 is disposed at a position where resin powder adhering to more caps 2 is removed, and resin powder adhering to the conveyor belt 6 when the conveyor belt 6 is substantially vertical. In order to prevent the resin from falling, it is preferably upstream of the sorting area A for sorting the front and back, and downstream of the cap dropping position so that the resin powder newly generated by the drop contact can be removed.

2 Cap 4 Hopper 6 Conveying Belt 10 Cap Discharge Means 14 Casing 24 Guide Member 28 Conveying Belt Suction Hole 30 Dust Collection Duct 34 Air Blowout Port (Second Air Blowout Port)

Claims (5)

A hopper that accommodates the cap; a conveyor belt that is disposed in the casing and conveys the cap upward; a horizontal guide member that is provided at a predetermined interval on the conveying surface of the conveyor belt to place the cap; and the hopper A cap discharging means for feeding the accommodated cap to the conveyor belt;
A plurality of caps fed from the hopper are placed on the guide member and conveyed upward, so that the caps directed in a certain direction are dropped by their own weights to select the front and back of the caps, and only the caps in the other directions are supplied. In the cap supply device,
A number of suction holes are formed in the conveying surface of the conveying belt, a dust collecting duct for collecting dust in the casing is provided on the back side of the conveying belt, and the conveying surface of the conveying belt is provided in the casing. An air supply outlet that blows out air on the side and collects dust through a suction hole of the conveyor belt.   The cap supply device according to claim 1, wherein a blow-out port for blowing out air is provided in the hopper.   3. The cap supply device according to claim 1, wherein the dust collection duct is provided on an upstream side of a cap sorting area for sorting the front and back of the cap in the transport path of the transport belt.   The cap supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a guide member that guides the cap dropped in the cap selection area to a cap supply position side by the cap discharge means.   The dust collection duct and the air outlet are connected via a filter, a blower, and a heater to form a passage through which air circulates, and the air that has passed through the filter and the heater is circulated. The cap supply apparatus according to claim 4.

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