JP2017024784A - Capping head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate complicated replacement work and increase manufacturing efficiency by enabling a cap to be fitted to a container with a plurality of types of apertures.SOLUTION: A cap P is held and tightened around a container by a plurality of chuck members 41. A first contact part 46a is provided in the chuck member 41 and comes into contact with an outer peripheral surface of a first cap P having a relatively small diameter. A second contact part 46b is provided in the chuck member 41 and comes into contact with an outer peripheral surface of a second cap P having a relatively large diameter. A capping head can be operated in a first mode of holding and tightening the first cap P around the container by the first contact part 46a and a second mode of holding and tightening the second cap P around the container by the second contact part 46b.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a capping head that holds a cap and winds it around a mouth of a container.

  Conventionally, for example, devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3 are known as devices for attaching a cap to the mouth of a container such as a PET bottle. In these apparatuses, the cap holding member is detachably attached to the apparatus main body, and the cap is housed and held in a recess formed in the cap holding member and attached to the mouth of the container.

JP-A-8-133315 Japanese Patent No. 4175290 Japanese Patent Publication No.58-34352

  There are φ28 and φ38 as the main diameters of PET bottles. Conventionally, in order to attach caps to PET bottles of these diameters in one capper, the capping head for φ28 and the capping head for φ38 have been manually replaced. Such an exchange operation is very complicated and causes a reduction in production efficiency of the container filling process.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a capping head capable of abolishing complicated replacement work and increasing production efficiency by enabling a cap to be attached to a container having a plurality of types of calibers. Yes.

  A capping head according to the present invention includes a plurality of chuck members that hold a cap and wind it around a container, and a first abutting on an outer peripheral surface of a first cap that is provided on the plurality of chuck members and has a relatively small diameter. A contact portion and a second contact portion that is provided on the plurality of chuck members and contacts the outer peripheral surface of a second cap having a relatively large diameter. It is characterized in that it can be operated in a first mode in which the second cap is held and tightened around the container, and in a second mode in which the second cap is held by the second abutting portion and wound around the container.

  The capping head includes a mounting member that supports the chuck member in a swingable manner about a swing shaft extending in the axial direction of the first or second cap, and the chuck member in the first or second cap. An urging unit that urges the cap toward the outer peripheral surface may be further provided.

  Preferably, the capping head further includes switching means attached to the attachment member so as to be rotatable about the axis of the first or second cap and having a first engagement portion and a second engagement portion. The switching means is positioned so that the chuck member engages with the first engagement portion in the first mode, and is positioned so that the chuck member engages with the second engagement portion in the second mode.

  The capping head may further include a biased portion that is provided in each of the chuck members and is positioned forward of the capping head in the rotation direction with respect to the swing shaft. The biased portion includes a biased member supported by a rod-shaped member extending along the axial direction of the first or second cap, and the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion are respectively The rod-shaped member can be engaged.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a capping head capable of eliminating complicated replacement work and increasing production efficiency.

It is a top view which shows the capper provided with the capping head which is 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the capping head of 1st Embodiment, and the left side from a center line is D arrow view of FIG. 6, and the right side from a center line is E arrow view of FIG. It is an arrow line view which follows the AA line of FIG. It is an arrow line view which follows the XX line of FIG. It is a figure which shows the chuck member seen from the Y direction of FIG. It is an arrow line view which follows the BB line of FIG. It is an arrow line view which follows the CC line | wire of FIG. 2 in 1st mode. It is an arrow line view which follows the CC line of FIG. 2 in 2nd mode. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of an attachment member, a switching member, and a chuck member in a 1st mode. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of an attachment member, a switching member, and a chuck member in 2nd mode. It is a top view which shows the structure of 2nd Embodiment schematically.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a capper 10 that is a part of a filling system, and the capper 10 includes a supply star wheel 11, a capper star wheel 12, a cap disk 13, and a discharge star wheel 14.

  The supply star wheel 11 rotates in the clockwise direction in the drawing, and delivers a container such as a plastic bottle that has been filled with contents by a filler (not shown) and transferred to the capper star wheel 12. The capper star wheel 12 rotates counterclockwise, is supplied with a cap from the cap disk 13, and is wound and attached to the mouth of the container delivered from the capper star wheel 12. The container fitted with the cap is transferred from the capper star wheel 12 to the transfer conveyor (not shown) via the discharge star wheel 14 and transferred to the next process.

  FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of the capping head 20 for attaching the cap P to the container. The capping head 20 is provided at regular intervals along the outer peripheral edge of the capper star wheel 12. The rod 21 extends parallel to the axis of the capper star wheel 12, is driven up and down by a cam mechanism (not shown), and is rotated around the central axis L by a motor (not shown). An attachment member 31 is fixed to the tip of the rod 21, and a switching member (switching means) 61 is attached to the attachment member 31.

  The tip of the rod 21 includes a cylindrical portion 22 and a connecting portion 23, and the attachment member 31 is attached to the connecting portion 23. That is, a spline male mold is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the connecting portion 23, which meshes with a spline female mold formed on the inner wall surface of the shaft hole 32 of the mounting member 31. The cylindrical portion 22 is on the base side (the upper side in the drawing) of the connecting portion 23, and the tip of the mounting bolt 34 screwed into the screw hole 33 of the mounting member 31 abuts. That is, the mounting member 31 is fixed to the tip end portion of the rod 21 by the mounting bolt 34, and the mounting member 31 rotates around the central axis L integrally with the rod 21 by the spline.

  As can be understood from FIGS. 2 and 3, the attachment member 31 includes a cylindrical main body 35 having an outer diameter substantially the same as the outer diameter of the rod 21, and four support plates extending radially outward from a lower portion of the main body 35. Part 36. That is, the support plate portion 36 has a cross shape when viewed from above. A hole 62 formed in the switching member 61 is fitted in the main body 35, and the switching member 61 can be rotationally displaced relative to the main body 35. The switching member 61 is a plate-like member, and has four first engaging portions 63 and four second engaging portions 64 on the outer peripheral edge thereof. The first and second engaging portions 63 and 64 are arc-shaped notches, and each first engaging portion 63 is located between two adjacent second engaging portions 64. The first engaging portion 63 is formed relatively close to the center of the main body 35, and the second engaging portion 64 is formed relatively far.

  An annular top surface abutting portion 37 that abuts the top surface of the cap P is provided on the lower surface of the mounting member 31. A chuck member 41, which will be described later, is attached to the support plate portion 36 by a swing shaft (bolt) 42 and a nut 43 so that the chuck member 41 swings between two adjacent support plate portions 36. A rod-shaped member 44 provided at the end is located. The rod-shaped member 44 can be engaged with the first and second engaging portions 63 and 64 of the switching member 61.

  The configuration of the chuck member 41 will be described with reference to FIGS. The chuck member 41 is disposed at four locations so as to surround the cap P. In each chuck member 41, a wall surface facing the cap P is provided with a first contact portion 46a and a second contact portion 46b. The first contact portion 46a contacts the outer peripheral surface of the first cap having a relatively small diameter, and the second contact portion 46b contacts the outer peripheral surface of the second cap having a relatively large diameter. These contact portions 46a and 46b are formed with knurls formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cap P, that is, convex portions 46c that engage with the longitudinal grooves G extending in the axial direction of the cap P. In the chuck member 41, a biased portion 47 is erected at a swing end located on the opposite side of the swing shaft 42. The biased portion 47 includes a bar-shaped member 44 extending vertically upward with respect to the chuck member 41, that is, along the axial direction of the cap P, and a biased member 48 pivotally supported on the upper end of the bar-shaped member 44. The biased member 48 is provided above the switching member 61.

  When the cap P is attached to the mouth of the container by the capping head 20, the capping head 20 rotates clockwise (counterclockwise in FIG. 4 and clockwise in FIG. 6) when viewed from above. In other words, the urged portion 47 (the bar-shaped member 44 and the urged member 48) is located in front of the swinging shaft 42 in the rotational direction of the capping head 20. In order to ensure the tightening operation of the cap P by the capping head 20, an elastic member (biasing means) 51 that biases the chuck member 41 toward the outer peripheral surface of the cap P is provided. The elastic member 51 is endless and engages with all of the biased members 48 as shown in FIGS. The biased member 48 is a cylindrical member, and a groove extending in the circumferential direction is formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof, and the elastic member 51 is engaged with the groove of the biased member 48. In the present embodiment, since the four biased portions 47 are provided at equal intervals around the central axis L, the elastic member 51 is substantially attached to the biased portion 47 when viewed from above. Presents a square.

The operation of this embodiment will be described.
The capping head 20 can be operated in two modes in which caps P having a diameter of, for example, φ28 and φ38 are attached to the mouth of the container. Switching between these modes is performed by changing the rotational angle position of the switching member 61 relative to the mounting member 31. In this switching, the elastic member 51 having an appropriate length is selected and attached to the biased member 48.

  7 and 9 show a state in which the capping head 20 is set to the first mode. In the first mode, the switching member 61 is positioned so that the rod-shaped member 44 provided on the chuck member 41 is engaged with the first engaging portion 63, and therefore the rod-shaped member 44 is positioned relatively inside, A relatively short elastic member 51 is attached to the biased member 48. In this state, the first contact portion 46a can contact the φ28 cap P, and the capping head 20 holds the cap P by the first contact portion 46a and winds it around the mouth of the container.

  On the other hand, in the second mode, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the switching member 61 is positioned so that the rod-shaped member 44 engages with the second engaging portion 64, and the rod-shaped member 44 is relatively outside. Therefore, a relatively long elastic member 51 is attached to the member 48 to be biased. In this state, the second contact portion 46b can contact the φ38 cap P, and the capping head 20 holds the cap P by the second contact portion 46b and winds it around the mouth of the container.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, when the chuck member 41 holds the cap P, the cap P pushes the chuck member 41 outward against the urging force of the elastic member 51. As a result, a gap is generated between the rod-shaped member 44 and the first engagement portion 63 or the second engagement portion 64, and rattling occurs between the rod-shaped member 44 and the switching member 61 in the tightening operation of the cap P. Sometimes. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the switching member 61 is formed of synthetic resin, the metal rod-shaped member 44 is not damaged and noise due to backlash does not occur.

  As described above, the capping head 20 can mount a plurality of types of caps P having different outer diameters on the container, and the mounting operation is basically the same as that of a known device. However, in the present embodiment, as described below, in a state where the chuck member 41 is in contact with the cap P, the convex portion 46c has a shape that generates a force to bite into the vertical groove G (FIG. 2) of the cap P. ing.

  When the convex portion 46 c is engaged with the vertical groove G and the capping head is rotated, the convex portion 46 c positioned at the top in the rotation direction receives the reaction force F from the cap P in each chuck member 41. The direction of the reaction force F is closer to the cap P than the center of the swing shaft 42. Therefore, when the length of the perpendicular from the center of the swing shaft 42 with respect to the vector of the reaction force F is L, the first and second contact portions 46a and 46b of the chuck member 41 are rotated to the cap P side. A moment (= F × L) is applied. Thereby, the convex part 46c can bite into the vertical groove G, and can attach the cap P to a container stably and reliably.

  Unlike known devices, the chuck member 41 is supported by the attachment member 31 so as to be swingable about a swing shaft 42 extending along the axial direction of the cap P. The biased member 48 provided at the tip of each chuck member 41 is on the front side in the rotational direction of the capping head 20 relative to the swing shaft 42 and is biased inward by a single elastic member 51. . Therefore, the manufacturing error of the outer diameter of the cap P is absorbed by the rotational displacement around the swinging shaft 42 of the chuck member 41, and the convex portions 46c of the first and second contact portions 46a and 46b are always in the vertical groove of the cap P. Since G is appropriately engaged, the chuck member 41 does not idle with respect to the cap P in the mounting operation of the cap P to the container.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a configuration is provided in which a biased member 48 is provided on a rod-shaped member 44 extending in a direction perpendicular to the chuck member 41 that swings in a horizontal plane, and the elastic member 51 is wound around all of the biased members 48. Adopted. That is, the structure of this embodiment is simple and easy to assemble.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, most of the components such as the chuck member 41, the biased member 48, and the attachment member 31 are exposed and are not accommodated in a structure such as a housing. Therefore, in the aseptic filling system, in the step of cleaning the capping head 20 with a sterilizing gas such as hydrogen peroxide gas, the sterilizing gas easily spreads to all parts, and sterilization can be effectively performed.

  As an example of the elastic member 51, a rubber O-ring can be used, but a magnet can be used instead. Specifically, the magnet or magnetic body is attached to the biased member 48, and the magnetic body or magnet is attached to the main body 35 so that the biased member 48 is biased toward the main body 35 by applying a magnetic force. do it.

  FIG. 11 schematically shows the configuration of the second embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 9 in the first embodiment. That is, FIG. 11 shows the positional relationship between the attachment member 31 and the chuck member 41, and the elastic member 51 is not shown. In the second embodiment, the switching member 61 is not provided, and the attachment member 31 performs the same function as the switching member 61.

  In the second embodiment, the chuck member 41 is rotatable about the rocking shaft 42 in each support plate portion 36 of the mounting member 31, and is attached to both ends extending in the opposite directions from the rocking shaft 42. 1 and 2nd rod-shaped members 441 and 442 are provided. A first contact portion 46 a is formed in the vicinity of the first rod-shaped member 441, and a second contact portion 46 b is formed in the vicinity of the second rod-shaped member 442. The distance from the oscillating shaft 42 is such that the first contact portion 46a is shorter than the second contact portion 46b, and therefore the first contact portion 46a has a relatively small diameter as in the first embodiment. The second contact portion 46b is used for mounting a second cap having a relatively large diameter.

  At the upper ends of the first and second rod-like members 441 and 442, biased members 481 and 482 for attaching elastic members are provided, respectively. Since the biased members 481 and 482 are located at substantially the same distance from the swing shaft 42, a common elastic member is used. In a state where the elastic member is attached to each biased member 481, each first rod-like member 441 contacts the attachment member 31. Similarly, in a state where the elastic member is attached to each biased member 482, each second rod-like member 442 contacts the attachment member 31.

  According to the second embodiment, since the switching member is omitted, the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the first embodiment.

  In both the first and second embodiments, there are two types of cap diameters to which the capping head 20 can be attached. However, the cap diameter can be configured to be used for caps of three or more types.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Capping head 31 Mounting member 41 Chuck member 42 Oscillating shaft 44 Rod-like member 46a 1st contact part 46b 2nd contact part 47 Energized part 48 Energized member 51 Elastic member (urging means)
61 Switching member (switching means)
63 1st engaging part 64 2nd engaging part P Cap

Claims (4)

A plurality of chuck members that hold the cap and wind it around the container;
A first abutting portion provided on the plurality of chuck members and abutting against an outer peripheral surface of a first cap having a relatively small diameter;
A second abutting portion provided on the plurality of chuck members and abutting against an outer peripheral surface of a second cap having a relatively large diameter;
In a first mode in which the first cap is held by the first contact portion and wound around the container, and in a second mode in which the second cap is held by the second contact portion and wound around the container. A capping head characterized by being operable. An attachment member that supports the chuck member so as to be swingable about a swing shaft extending along the axial direction of the first or second cap;
The capping head according to claim 1, further comprising: an urging unit that urges the chuck member toward an outer peripheral surface of the first or second cap. Switching means attached to the attachment member in a rotatable state about the axis of the first or second cap, and having a first engagement portion and a second engagement portion;
The switching means is positioned so that the chuck member engages with the first engagement portion in the first mode, and the chuck member engages with the second engagement portion in the second mode. The capping head according to claim 2, wherein the capping head is positioned as follows. A biasing portion that is provided on each of the chuck members and is positioned in front of the swing shaft in the rotational direction of the capping head;
The biased portion has a biased member supported by a rod-shaped member extending along the axial direction of the first or second cap,
The capping head according to claim 3, wherein each of the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion is engageable with the rod-shaped member.

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