JP2015202955A - Rotary container conveying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transfer a container without making the container greatly interfere with a grip member on one side even in the case of transferring the container to a rotary container conveying apparatus comprising a pair of grip members energized in a closing direction by energizing means such as a spring.SOLUTION: A gripper 40 is provided along a circumferential edge of a rotary wheel 30 rotating along a horizontal plane, and energized in a closing direction to grip a container C. A supply wheel 12 supplies the container C from upstream of a rotation direction of the rotary wheel 30 to the gripper 40. With an effect of a segment gear 62, a cam follower 64, a cam 68 and a rotary shaft 32, the gripper 40 swings with respect to the rotary wheel 30 within the horizontal plane. When the rotary wheel 30 receives the container C from the supply wheel 12, the gripper 40 swings such that a center line L passing through its center and extending along the horizontal plane faces the container C transported by the supply wheel 12.

Description

  The present invention relates to a rotary container transport device including a gripper biased in a closing direction in order to grip and transport a container such as a resin bottle.

  As such a rotary container conveyance device, configurations disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are conventionally known. In these devices, the gripper includes a pair of grip members biased in the closing direction by a biasing means such as a spring, and is configured to grip the container by a spring force such as a spring. That is, the container conveyed to the rotary container conveying device by the supply wheel is pushed into the gripper against the spring force and delivered.

JP 2009-120352 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-314752

  When a container is delivered to a rotary container transport device having a pair of grip members biased in the closing direction by a biasing means such as a spring, the container is delivered while greatly interfering with one grip member. There is a problem that the container is scratched by this interference. In particular, when using containers with different diameters and body diameters, the biasing means has a strength that matches the size of the small diameter. There was a problem that it was likely to occur.

  In the present invention, even when a container is delivered to a rotary container transport device having a pair of grip members biased in the closing direction by a biasing means such as a spring, the container greatly interferes with the grip member on one side. It is an object of the present invention to obtain a rotary container transport device that can deliver a container without having to do so.

  A first rotary container transport device according to the present invention is provided along a peripheral edge of a rotating body that rotates along a horizontal plane, and is gripped by a closing direction and grips the container, and a rotating body in the rotating direction of the rotating body. A rotary container transfer means for supplying the container to the gripper from the upstream side and a drive means for swinging the gripper in a horizontal plane are provided. When the container receives the container from the container transfer means, the center of the gripper is provided. The gripper is swung so that the center line extending along the horizontal plane faces the container transferred by the container transfer means.

  A second rotary container transport device according to the present invention is provided along the periphery of a rotating body that rotates along a horizontal plane, and is urged in a closing direction to grip the container, and a rotating body in the rotating direction of the rotating body. A rotary container transfer means provided with a container gripping means for receiving the container from the gripper on the downstream side, and a drive means for swinging the gripper in a horizontal plane, the drive means when transferring the container to the container transfer means Is characterized in that after gripping the container by the container gripping means, the gripper is swung so that the center line extending along the horizontal plane passing through the center of the gripper faces the container gripped by the container gripping means. .

  In the first and second rotary container transport devices, the driving means is provided on, for example, a rotating body, and a rotation shaft to which a gripper is connected, and a rotation that rotates the rotation shaft around an axis according to the rotation of the rotating body. A drive mechanism.

  According to the present invention, even when the container is delivered to the rotary container transport device provided with a pair of grip members biased in the closing direction by a biasing means such as a spring, the container is separated from the grip member on one side. Since it does not interfere greatly and interferes with a pair of grip members equally, it can control that a container is damaged at the time of delivery.

It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the electron beam sterilizer to which one Embodiment of this invention is applied. It is sectional drawing which shows the container conveying apparatus of embodiment, and shows the state which delivers a container from a supply wheel. It is a front view which shows a gripper. It is a top view which shows the mechanism which rocks | grips a gripper. It is a top view which shows the delivery operation | movement of the container from the supply wheel in this embodiment to a rotation wheel. It is a top view which shows the delivery operation | movement of the container from the supply wheel in a prior art to a rotation wheel. It is a figure which shows the delivery operation | movement of the container from the rotation wheel in this embodiment to the discharge wheel.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated embodiments.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an electron beam sterilization apparatus provided with a container transport apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electron beam sterilizer is configured by disposing an electron beam irradiation device 20 on the side of the sterilization chamber 10. The irradiation surface 21 of the electron beam irradiation device 20 faces an electron beam irradiation chamber (not shown) formed in the sterilization chamber 10, and the container C located in the irradiation chamber is irradiated with an electron beam to sterilize. To do.

  In the sterilization chamber 10, a supply wheel 12 (container transfer means) is provided in the vicinity of the inlet 11, and a discharge wheel 14 (container transfer means) is provided in the vicinity of the outlet 13. A rotating wheel (rotating body) 30 is provided between the supply wheel 12 and the discharge wheel 14. The supply wheel 12, the discharge wheel 14, and the rotation wheel 30 rotate along a horizontal plane and convey the container C. That is, the supply wheel 12 conveys the container C supplied from the inlet 11 by rotating it in the direction of the arrow A <b> 1 and delivers it to the rotary wheel 30. The rotating wheel 30 rotates in the direction of the arrow A2 to convey the container C. During this time, the container C is irradiated with an electron beam and delivered to the discharge wheel 14. The discharge wheel 14 rotates in the direction of the arrow A3 to convey the container, and passes it to a discharge conveyor (not shown) at the outlet 13.

The configuration of the container transport device will be described with reference to FIGS.
The rotating wheel 30 has a pair of discs 31 arranged coaxially at a predetermined interval. A rotating shaft 32 is provided at regular intervals along the outer peripheral edge of the disc 31. The rotating shaft 32 is parallel to the central axis of the disk 31, that is, extends in the vertical direction, is supported by a bearing 33 attached to the disk 31, and is rotatable around the axis. The lower end portion of the rotating shaft 32 protrudes below the lower disk 31, and a gripper 40 is attached to the support plate 34 provided at the protruding end.

  The gripper 40 has a pair of leaf springs 41 fixed to both side surfaces of the support plate 34. Each leaf spring 41 has an inverted triangular shape whose width becomes narrower toward the lower side, and a gripping piece 42 is attached to the lower end of each leaf spring 41. The gripping piece 42 has a plurality of protrusions 43 that contact the periphery of the neck portion of the container C, and the tips of the protrusions 43 formed on the pair of gripping pieces 42 contact the outer peripheral surface of the neck portion of the container C evenly. Along the circumference.

  The container C is a resin bottle in the present embodiment, and a flange F is formed at the neck portion. A gripping piece 42 of the gripper 40 grips the lower side of the flange F of the container C. When the container C is transferred from the supply wheel 12 to the gripper 40, the container C is supplied between the pair of gripping pieces 42 so that the flange F is placed on the gripping piece 42, and resists the spring force of the leaf spring 41. And pushed between the pair of gripping pieces 42. In this gripping state, the gripping piece 42 is biased in the closing direction by the spring force of the leaf spring 41.

  The supply wheel 12 supplies the container C to the gripper 40 from the upstream side in the rotation direction of the rotary wheel 30 (the direction of the arrow A1 in FIG. 1), and has a known configuration. That is, a pair of gripping members 51 that grip the neck of the container C are provided at regular intervals on the outer peripheral edge of the supply wheel 12. Each of the pair of gripping members 51 is fixed to a rotating shaft 52 attached to the supply wheel 12, and these rotating shafts 52 rotate simultaneously via a gear 53, thereby opening and closing the gripping member 51. A cam follower 55 is provided at the tip of the connecting member 54 fixed to the lower end of the one rotating shaft 52. The pin 57 erected on the connecting member 54 and the pin 58 erected on the lower surface of the supply wheel 12 are connected by a spring 59, whereby the cam follower 55 is connected to the cam 56 provided on the lower side of the supply wheel 12. Always engage.

  The pair of gripping pieces 42 of the gripper 40 can swing in a horizontal plane. That is, the gripping piece 42 is opened against the spring force of the leaf spring 41 when the container C is supplied from the supply wheel 12 as described above. It is.

  A gear 61 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 32 for the swinging movement of the gripping piece 42, and this gear 61 meshes with a segment gear 62 provided between the pair of disks 31. The segment gear 62 is swingably supported by a support member 63 provided on the lower disk 31. The segment gear 62 is provided with a cam follower 64, and a pin 65 is provided coaxially with the cam follower 64. The pin 65 and the pin 66 erected on the lower disk 31 are connected by a spring 67, and the cam follower 64 is connected to a cam 68 provided between the pair of disks 31 by the spring force of the spring 67. Engage.

  Therefore, when the rotary wheel 30 rotates about the axis, the segment gear 62 swings according to the shape of the cam follower 64, and accordingly, the rotary shaft 32 rotates about the axis, and the gripper 40, that is, a pair of grips. The piece 42 swings. Thus, the segment gear 62, the cam follower 64, and the cam 68 constitute a rotation drive mechanism that rotates the rotation shaft 32 around the axis according to the rotation of the rotary wheel 30, and the rotation shaft 32 and the rotation drive mechanism are A driving means for swinging the gripper 40 is configured.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the operation of delivering the container C from the supply wheel 12 to the gripper 40 will be described in comparison with the prior art. In these drawings, an arrow P indicates a direction in which a center line L passing through the center of the gripper 12 and extending along the horizontal plane faces.

  In the present embodiment, as indicated by an arrow P in FIG. 5, when the gripper 40 approaches the supply wheel 12, the gripper 40 faces the center of the container C about to be supplied to the gripper 40. That is, the direction of the arrow P is a direction perpendicular to the tangent line of the supply wheel 12 and the rotary wheel 30. The gripper 40 is placed on the rotating wheel 30 so that its center line L passes through the center of the container C until the supply operation of the container C is completed, that is, until the container C is completely gripped by the pair of gripping pieces 42. It swings relatively. After the container C is supplied, the gripper 40 is such that the center line L faces the radial direction of the rotating wheel 30 and does not swing with respect to the rotating wheel 30.

  As described above, when the gripper 40 receives the container C from the supply wheel 12 by the action of the segment gear 62, the cam follower 64, the cam 68, and the rotating shaft 32, the container C in which the center line L of the gripper 12 is transferred by the supply wheel 12. The container C is smoothly transferred to the pair of gripping pieces 42 by swinging so as to face. That is, the container C does not interfere with one of the grip pieces 42, and the force acting on both the grip pieces 42 from the container C is equal.

  On the other hand, in the prior art, as shown in FIG. 6, the gripper 40 always faces the radial direction of the rotating wheel 30 and does not swing with respect to the rotating wheel 30. Therefore, the container is supplied while interfering with the gripping piece 42 positioned in the forward direction of the gripper 40 during supply, and the container may be damaged.

  The swing of the gripper 40 with respect to the rotating wheel 30 is started 30 degrees upstream of the contact point between the rotating wheel 30 and the supply wheel 12, and at this starting position, the gripper 40 is 15 in the radial direction of the rotating wheel 30. Tilt in the direction of travel by degrees. Thereafter, the gripper 40 gradually decreases the inclination angle, and the inclination angle becomes zero at the contact point with the supply wheel 12.

  FIG. 7 shows an operation of delivering the container C from the wheel 30 to the discharge wheel 14. A gripping member (container gripping means) (not shown) of the discharge wheel 14 receives the container C from the gripper 40 on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the rotary wheel 30. In the delivery of the container from the gripper 40 to the gripping member of the discharge wheel 14, the gripper 40 faces the center of the delivered container C until the container C delivery operation to the gripping member of the discharge wheel 14 is completed. Yes. That is, even after the container C is gripped by the gripping member of the discharge wheel 14, the gripper 40 is relative to the rotating wheel 30 so that the center line L faces the center of the container C gripped by the gripping member. Rocks.

  Therefore, when the container C is delivered from the rotating wheel 30 to the discharge wheel 14, the container C is delivered smoothly without interfering with the gripping member of the discharge wheel 14 as in the supply operation.

  Regarding the delivery operation to the discharge wheel 14, the swing of the gripper 40 with respect to the rotary wheel 30 is started at the contact point between the rotary wheel 30 and the discharge wheel 14. The gripper 40 tilts backward by 5 degrees before the rotating wheel 30 rotates 10 degrees, and tilts backward by 10 degrees before rotating 20 degrees. Thereafter, the gripper 40 gradually returns the inclination angle to the original direction and directs it in the radial direction of the rotating wheel 30.

  In the above-described embodiment, the gripping piece 42 of the gripper 40 is opened and closed by rotating the rotary shaft 32 by the rotary drive mechanism including the segment gear 62, the cam 64, and the cam follower 64. You may be comprised so that the angular position of the rotating shaft 32 may be controlled by a motor. Further, although the gripper 40 is configured to grip the neck portion immediately below the flange F of the container C, the gripper 40 may grip the trunk portion of the container C.

12 Supply wheel (container transfer means)
14 Discharge wheel (container transfer means)
30 Rotating wheel 32 Rotating shaft 40 Gripper C Container L Center line

Claims (4)

A gripper that is provided along the periphery of the rotating body that rotates along a horizontal plane and that is biased in the closing direction to grip the container;
A rotary container transfer means for supplying a container to the gripper from the upstream side in the rotation direction of the rotating body;
Drive means for swinging the gripper in a horizontal plane,
When the drive means receives a container from the container transfer means, the drive means swings the gripper so that a center line passing through the center of the gripper and extending along a horizontal plane faces the container transferred by the container transfer means. A rotary container transport device characterized by being moved.   The driving means includes a rotating shaft provided on the rotating body and connected to the gripper, and a rotation driving mechanism that rotates the rotating shaft around an axis according to the rotation of the rotating body. The rotary container transport device according to claim 1. A gripper that is provided along the periphery of the rotating body that rotates along a horizontal plane and that is biased in the closing direction to grip the container;
A rotary container transfer means provided with a container gripping means for receiving the container from the gripper on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the rotating body;
Drive means for swinging the gripper in a horizontal plane,
When the container delivers the container to the container transfer means, the container gripping means grips the center line extending through the center of the gripper along the horizontal plane after the container is gripped by the container gripping means. The rotary container transport device is characterized in that the gripper is swung so as to face the container.   The driving means includes a rotating shaft provided on the rotating body and connected to the gripper, and a rotation driving mechanism that rotates the rotating shaft around an axis according to the rotation of the rotating body. The rotary container transport device according to claim 3.

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