JP2017202858A - Container processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide, at a low cost, a container processing apparatus which enables only one person to handle two production lines as well as to reliably carry out predetermine processing in each line.SOLUTION: A first line 10A comprises: an inspection machine 13A for inspecting a container P; and a filling machine 15A for receiving the container P inspected by the inspection machine 13A, filling the container P with beverage, and then discharging the container P to a downstream side. A second line 10B comprises: an inspection machine 13B for inspecting a container P; and a filling machine 15B for receiving the container P inspected by the inspection machine 13B, filling the container P with beverage, and then discharging the container P to a downstream side. The inspection machine 13A and the inspection machine 13B are provided with a plurality of star wheels common to each other such that they are arranged and rotated in a matching manner. The filling machine 15A and the filling machine 15B are provided with a plurality of star wheels common to each other such that they are arranged symmetrically and rotated in an opposite direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a container processing apparatus applied to, for example, an apparatus for filling a container with a beverage.

Manufacturers (hereinafter collectively referred to as beverage manufacturers) that manufacture products in which containers are filled with beverages, foods, and other contents are constantly improving product costs.
A processing line for filling a container with contents such as a beverage in the container can reduce the product cost by filling the container with the beverage while transporting the container at a high speed. In order to convey a container at high speed, a conveyance device called a star wheel is used (Patent Document 1).
Another factor that reduces product cost is to reduce the space occupied by the processing line in the factory (Patent Document 2).

  Beverage production lines used by beverage manufacturers for beverage filling are typically comprised of devices that perform a plurality of different processes. For example, taking a line for filling beverages in plastic containers, for example, a molding machine that molds containers, an inspection machine that inspects the quality of containers formed by the molding machine, and a filling that fills containers that pass the inspection A machine. The molding machine molds a container seed called a preform into the required shape and dimensions. The filling machine may have a function of sterilizing a container prior to filling, and a function of attaching a cap to a container filled with a beverage, as well as a portion for filling the beverage.

JP 2001-341833 A JP 2011-088700 A

In order to save labor, a beverage manufacturer is required to handle a plurality of, for example, two adjacent beverage production lines with a single work supervisor. In this case, two beverage production lines are arranged in parallel, but a plurality of devices constituting one beverage production line may be manufactured by different manufacturers. If different devices manufactured by different machine manufacturers are simply arranged in this way, it may be difficult to perform a desired process in each device. This is because a machine maker may not be able to make its own machine in consideration of devices manufactured by other machine manufacturers.
Therefore, the present invention provides a container processing apparatus that can handle two adjacent production lines by a single work supervisor and can reliably perform the desired processing in each line at low cost. Objective.

The container processing apparatus of the present invention is configured based on a reference container processing apparatus, and performs a predetermined process while continuously transporting a plurality of containers by a star wheel which is a transport apparatus composed of a plurality of rotating bodies. The second upstream processing unit that performs the processing A while transporting the container, and the container that has been subjected to the processing A by the second upstream processing unit, and the processing B that is different from the processing A is performed while transporting the received container And a second downstream processing unit for discharging to the downstream side.
The reference container processing apparatus according to the present invention receives a first upstream processing unit that performs processing A while transporting a container, a container that has been subjected to processing A by the first upstream processing unit, and transports the received container. A first downstream processing unit that performs processing B different from processing A and then discharges to the downstream side, and the second upstream processing unit includes a plurality of common star wheels so that their arrangement and rotation directions coincide with each other. The second downstream processing unit is provided with a plurality of common star wheels so that the arrangement is symmetrical and the rotation direction is opposite.
In addition, the process A and the process B in this invention have a conceptual meaning, for example, if the process A is a process which blow-molds a container, it does not ask to the conditions of shaping | molding. Further, if the process B is a process for filling a beverage, the type of beverage to be filled is not questioned, and even if it is filled with tea or carbonated beverage, it is included in the concept of the filling process.

  The container processing apparatus in the present invention includes a form in which the reference container processing apparatus is provided in parallel with the container processing apparatus and a form in which the container processing apparatus is provided alone without providing the reference container processing apparatus. It is out.

  In the container processing apparatus of the present invention, the processing B performed in the first downstream processing unit and the second downstream processing unit can include a process of filling a container with a beverage.

In the container processing apparatus according to the present invention, the axes of the downstream regions of the first downstream processing unit and the second downstream processing unit are bent, and the layout can approach each other.
Further, in the container processing apparatus according to the present invention, the respective downstream regions of the first downstream processing unit and the second downstream processing unit may be bent and separated from each other.

  In the container processing apparatus according to the present invention, the most downstream star wheel disposed on the most downstream side of the second upstream processing unit and the most upstream star wheel disposed on the most upstream side of the second downstream processing unit have the same rotation direction. In some cases, a transfer star wheel can be provided that delivers containers from the most downstream star wheel to the most upstream star wheel.

  In the container processing apparatus according to the present invention, the transfer gripper that grips the neck of the container includes the most downstream gripper that grips the neck of the container provided in the most downstream star wheel, and the most upstream gripper that grips the neck of the container provided in the most upstream star wheel. It is preferable to grip the neck of the container at a position that does not interfere with any of the above.

According to the container processing apparatus of the present invention, the first upstream processing section and the second upstream processing section match the arrangement and rotation direction of the plurality of common star wheels, so the first upstream processing section and the second upstream processing section The processing unit can be configured with two identical devices, which contributes to cost reduction.
Further, according to the container processing apparatus of the present invention, the first downstream processing unit and the second downstream processing unit are arranged so that the plurality of common star wheels are arranged symmetrically and the rotation direction is reversed. Since it is provided, it is possible to secure the time required for processing performed while the container is being conveyed by the star wheel in the second downstream processing unit. Therefore, if the container processing apparatus of the present invention is applied to a beverage filling apparatus, a beverage product with uniform quality can be produced.

It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the drink manufacturing line which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which expands and shows the boundary part of the inspection machine and filling machine in the drink manufacturing line of FIG. It is a top view which expands and shows the filling machine in the drink manufacturing line of FIG. The principal part of the gripper used in the beverage production line of FIG. 1 is shown, (a) is an upper gripper, (b) is a lower gripper, and (c) is an upper / upper gripper. FIG. 2 shows a main part of a gripper used in the beverage production line of FIG. 1, (a) shows that upper gripping grippers interfere with each other, and (b) shows that a lower gripping gripper and upper and upper gripping grippers interfere with each other. It shows how it can be handed over. It is a top view which shows the gripper used in the drink manufacturing line of this embodiment. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the drink manufacturing line which concerns on a comparative example. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the drink manufacturing line which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, a beverage production line 1 according to an embodiment to which a container processing apparatus of the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The beverage production line 1 includes two beverage production lines, a first line (reference container processing device) 10A and a second line (container processing device) 10B. The purpose is to be able to monitor each of the lines 10B. Hereinafter, after describing the configuration of the beverage production line 1, the operation and effects of the beverage production line 1 will be described. The first line 10A and the second line 10B are based on the premise that the same beverage product is manufactured by filling the same container P with the same beverage, but different beverage products are prepared by filling different containers P with different beverages. It can also be manufactured.

[Configuration of Beverage Production Line 1]
As shown in FIG. 1, the beverage production line 1 includes two production lines, a first line 10A and a second line 10B. The beverage production line 1 includes a step of molding a plastic, for example, PET (PolyEthyleneTerephthalate) container P in each of the first line 10A and the second line 10B, a step of inspecting the quality of the molded container P, and an inspection. The process of filling the beverage in the container P that has passed the above is executed in order. For this purpose, the beverage production line 1 includes blow molding machines 11A and 11B, inspection machines 13A and 13B, and filling machines 15A and 15B. The first line 10A and the second line 10B have the same basic configuration except for the characteristic part of the present embodiment described later. explain.

  In the first line 10A, the blow molding machine 11A forms a container P filled with a beverage by applying, for example, biaxial stretch blow molding to the supplied preform PF. In FIG. 1, the container P is not shown. The molded container P is conveyed to an inspection machine 13A that performs the next process. In the beverage production line 1, upstream and downstream are defined based on the direction in which the container P is conveyed. However, the upstream and downstream are relative. For example, the inspection machine 13A is located on the downstream side of the blow molding machine 11A, while the inspection machine 13A is located on the upstream side of the filling machine 15A. .

  Including the blow molding machine 11A, the conveyance of the containers P in the first line 10A is performed by a conveyance device formed of a disk-shaped rotating body called a star wheel. The blow molding machine 11 </ b> A conveys the preform PF and the container P by the four star wheels 31, 32, 33 and 34. The star wheel SW rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow in the drawing, thereby conveying the preform PF or the container P while being gripped by a gripping tool called a gripper and delivering it to the adjacent star wheel SW. Although the description of the gripper is omitted in FIG. 1, the gripper of each star wheel SW is arranged on each wheel at equal circumferences and is rotated synchronously between the wheels in the front and rear processes. It has become so. Note that the star wheels 31 to 34 are collectively referred to as the star wheel SW. The rotation direction of the star wheel SW means the direction when the beverage production line 1 is viewed in plan. Furthermore, description of the apparatus and apparatus for blow molding with which the blow molding machine 11A is provided is abbreviate | omitted. The same applies to the inspection machine 13A, the filling machine 15A, and the like.

  In the blow molding machine 11A, each of the star wheels 31 to 34 includes either one of an upper gripper 50 shown in FIG. 4A and a lower gripper 60 shown in FIG. For example, if the star wheel 31 includes the upper gripping gripper 50, the star wheel 32 includes the lower gripping gripper 60. That is, in the blow molding machine 11A, if one of the two adjacent star wheels SW includes the upper gripper gripper 50, the other includes the lower gripper gripper 60. The same applies to the inspection machine 13A and the filling machine 15A described below.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 6, the upper gripper 50 includes a pair of upper gripping pieces 51 and 51 whose gripping end 51A grips more than half of the peripheral length on the upper side of the flange P3 of the container P. A pair of lower gripping pieces 52, 52 that are attached to the lower portion of the upper gripping piece 51 and whose gripping end 52A engages with less than half of the peripheral length on the lower side of the flange P3. The pair of upper gripping pieces 51, 51 and the pair of lower gripping pieces 52, 52 are connected to the pair of frame bodies 53, 53 and have shafts 54, 54 fixed to the frame bodies 53, 53 as fulcrums. Opening and closing is possible. The upper gripper 50 has a neck portion P1 of the container P when the upper gripping pieces 51 and 51 and the lower gripping pieces 52 and 52 are closed by the bias of a spring 55 interposed between one ends of the pair of frame bodies 53 and 53. Grip. When the upper gripping pieces 51, 51 and the lower gripping pieces 52, 52 are open, the neck portion P1 of the container P can be delivered.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the upper gripping gripper 50 holds the upper gripping pieces 51, 51 above the hooking portion P3 with the lower gripping pieces 52, 52 sandwiched between the flanges P3 of the container P. Grip below the heel part P3.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the lower gripping gripper 60 is configured so that the length of the upper gripping piece 61 and the lower gripping piece 62 is opposite to that of the upper gripping gripper 50. This is the same as the gripper 50.

  As shown in FIG. 4C, the upper and upper gripping gripper 70 includes an upper gripping piece 71 and a lower gripping piece 72, except that the upper gripping piece 71 grips the upper side of the container P from the flange portion P2. The configuration is the same as that of the upper gripper 50.

Next, the inspection machine 13A inspects whether or not the container P formed by the blow molding machine 11A has the desired quality. As shown in FIG. 1, the inspection machine 13A inspects the container P while sequentially transporting the container P with the star wheels 35, 36, 37, and 38. The containers P that have undergone the inspection are sent to the filling machine 15A as acceptable products, except for those that are determined to have insufficient quality. In addition, the container P determined to have insufficient quality is removed from the star wheels 35 to 38. The star wheel 38 corresponds to the most downstream star wheel of the present invention.
Here, the inspection machine 13A corresponds to the first upstream processing unit of the present invention, and the inspection machine 13B described later corresponds to the second upstream processing unit of the present invention.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the filling machine 15 </ b> A receives the container P that has passed through the inspection machine 13 </ b> A, and sequentially conveys the container P with the star wheels 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, The container P is washed, and then the beverage is filled into the container P. For example, cleaning can be performed while the container P is being transported by the star wheel 42, and filling can be performed while the container P is being transported by the star wheel 44. The star wheel 39 corresponds to the most upstream star wheel of the present invention.
Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the star wheel 39 of the filling machine 15A is provided with the upper gripper gripper 50, and the starwheel 38 of the inspection machine 13A is provided with the lower gripper gripper 60. Can be delivered.
Moreover, 15 A of filling machines are bent in the direction where the downstream area | region approaches the filling machine 15B which is the other party. The downstream area of the filling machine 15B is also bent in a direction approaching the other-side filling machine 15A.
The lower gripper 60 of the star wheel 38 corresponds to the most downstream gripper of the present invention, and the upper gripper 50 of the star wheel 39 corresponds to the most upstream gripper of the present invention. The filling machine 15A corresponds to the first downstream processing unit of the present invention, and the filling machine 15B described later corresponds to the second downstream processing unit of the present invention.

Since the beverage production line 1 can handle two lines by a single work supervisor, the beverage production line 1 includes a second line 10B in addition to the first line 10A. The blow molding machine 11B and the inspection machine 13B in the second line 10B have the same configuration as the blow molding machine 11A and the inspection machine 13A in the first line 10A, respectively, and have the same orientation. What is different is the position where these are arranged. In other words, the blow molding machine 11A and the inspection machine 13A of the second line 10B are translated from the blow molding machine 11A and the inspection machine 13A of the first line 10A. It is.
Thus, since the blow molding machine 11A and the blow molding machine 11B only need to prepare two identical devices, and the inspection machine 13A and the inspection machine 13B only need to prepare two identical devices, the production cost of the beverage production line 1 Contributes to reduction. For example, the blow molding machine 11A and the blow molding machine 11B have the same configuration of the star wheels 35, 36, 37, and 38, which are constituent elements of the apparatus, and are common to each other, and the rotation directions indicated by the arrows also coincide. .
Since it is as above, conveyance and processing of preform PF and container P in blow molding machine 11B and inspection machine 13B of the 2nd line 10B are performed like 10A of 1st lines.

  Next, the filling machine 15B of the second line 10B includes components common to the filling machine 15A of the first line 10A. For example, the filling machine 15B includes star wheels 39 to 45 having the same configuration as that of the filling machine 15A, but is disposed symmetrically with the filling machine 15A and the respective rotation directions are opposite to each other. Thus, since the filling machine 15B is a mirror image of the filling machine 15A, the filling machine 15B can be called a mirror type if the filling machine 15A is a basic type.

  In the present embodiment, the filling machine 15A and the filling machine 15B are made symmetric so that one work monitor can easily monitor both the first line 10A and the second line 10B. This point will be described later.

Also for the mirror type filling machine 15B, it is desirable to use the same parts as the basic type filling machine 15A and make the arrangement of the parts symmetrical to the filling machine 15A in order to reduce the cost. At that time, it is necessary to consider the rotation direction of the star wheels 39 to 45. The reason for this will be described with reference to FIG.
The star wheels 39 to 45 only carry the container P, but in the process of carrying the container P, some of the star wheels 39 to 45 are subjected to processing such as sterilization and filling. If it is the star wheels 42 and 44 that are related to this process, as shown in FIG. 3A, the container P in the circumferential lengths L1 and L2 of the star wheels 42 and 44 corresponding to the time required to complete the process. Must hold. The circumferential lengths L1 and L2 related to the holding are the lengths from when the star wheels 42 and 44 receive the container P to when it is delivered. FIG. 3A shows a basic filling machine 15A.

  When constructing the mirror type of the filling machine 15A, as shown in FIG. 3B, only the arrangement of the star wheels 39 to 45 is symmetric with the filling machine 15A, but the rotation direction of the star wheels 39 to 45 is filled. Assume a filling machine 15C that matches machine 15A. In the filling machine 15C, the circumferential lengths L3 and L4 related to holding the container P in the star wheels 42 and 44 are shorter than the circumferential lengths L1 and L2 in the basic filling machine 15A as shown in FIG. . As described above, the filling machine 15C that is symmetric only with respect to the arrangement of the filling machine 15A cannot complete the processing required as the filling machine.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3 (c), the mirror-type filling machine 15B in this embodiment is not only arranged with the star wheels 39 to 45, but also the rotation direction is opposite, that is, symmetric. Complete the processing required as a machine. More specifically, the circumferential length for holding the container P in each of the star wheels 42 and 44 can be L1 and L2.
However, if not only the arrangement of the star wheels 39 to 45 but also the rotational direction is symmetric, the container P from the inspection machine 13B to the filling machine 15B can be obtained only by arranging the mirror-type filling machine 15B on the downstream side of the inspection machine 13B. Inconvenience occurs in delivery. That is, as shown in FIG. 3B, since the rotation directions of the star wheel 38 and the star wheel 39 related to the delivery of the container P of the inspection machine 13B and the filling machine 15B coincide, the container P can be delivered. Disappear.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a star wheel 2 having a rotation direction opposite to that of the star wheel 38 and the star wheel 39 is interposed as a transfer star wheel. By doing so, in the beverage production line 1, the mirror type filling machine 15B is established.

  Here, the star wheel 38 includes an upper gripping gripper 50, and the star wheel 39 includes a lower gripping gripper 60. If the star wheel 2 includes the upper gripper 50 in accordance with the star wheel 39, the upper gripper 50 provided in the star wheel 38 interferes with the star grip 38 as shown in FIG. On the contrary, if the star wheel 2 includes the lower gripper gripper 60 in accordance with the starwheel 38, the illustration will be omitted, but the lower gripper gripper 60 included in the star wheel 39 will interfere. Therefore, in this embodiment, the star wheel 2 is provided with the upper and upper gripping grippers 70 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5B, the upper and upper grippers 70 can avoid the interference with the lower gripper gripper 60 (and the upper gripper gripper 50), so that the container P can be received and delivered. it can. This upper / upper gripper 70 corresponds to the transfer gripper of the present invention.

[Operation of beverage production line 1]
The operation of the beverage production line 1 according to this embodiment will be described.
The beverage production line 1 continuously supplies the preform PF to the blow molding machine 11A of the first line 10A, and similarly supplies the preform PF continuously to the blow molding machine 11B of the second line 10B. The preform PF supplied to the first line 10A and the second line 10B is formed into a container P in the process of passing through the blow molding machine 11A and the blow molding machine 11B.
The molded container P is transferred from the blow molding machine 11A and the blow molding machine 11B to the inspection machine 13A and the inspection machine 13B, respectively.
The container P transferred to the inspection machine 13A and the inspection machine 13B is subjected to predetermined inspection items in the process of passing through the inspection machine 13A and the inspection machine 13B, and then transferred to the filling machine 15A and the filling machine 15B. When the container P is transferred from the inspection machine 13B to the filling machine 15B, the container P is transferred from the star wheel 38 of the inspection machine 13B to the star wheel 2, and then transferred from the star wheel 2 to the star wheel 39 of the filling machine 15B. .
The container P delivered to the filling machine 15A and the filling machine 15B is subjected to necessary processing such as sterilization and filling in the process of passing through the filling machine 15A and the filling machine 15B, and then from the respective outlets 55A and 55B. It is discharged for the next process. The outlets 55A and 55B are connected to the conveyor 18 via the tributary conveyors 18A and 18B, and the containers P are conveyed to the next process by the conveyor 18.

[Operations and effects of beverage production line 1]
The effect | action and effect which the drink manufacturing line 1 which concerns on this embodiment show | plays are demonstrated.
Since the beverage production line 1 makes the rotational direction of the mirror type filling machine 15B with respect to the basic type filling machine 15A symmetrical in addition to the arrangement of the star wheels 39 to 45, the star wheels 39 to 45 in the filling machine 15B are made symmetrical. Thus, it is possible to secure the time required for processing performed while being conveyed. Therefore, according to the beverage production line 1, beverage products having the same quality can be produced in the two beverage production lines of the first line 10A and the second line 10B.

Moreover, since the filling machine 15B can use parts having the same type or the same specifications as the constituent parts of the filling machine 15A including the star wheels 39 to 45, the filling machine 15B contributes to the production cost reduction of the beverage production line 1.
Furthermore, since the beverage production line 1 can use the blow molding machine 11A and the inspection machine 13A of the first line 10A as they are as the blow molding machine 11B and the inspection machine 13B of the second line 10B, the two first lines 10A and The manufacturing cost of the beverage production line 1 provided with the 2nd line 10B can be reduced more.
Furthermore, since it is sufficient to provide the star wheel 2 with a simple configuration in order to establish the mirror type filling machine 15B, it is possible to contribute to the cost reduction of the beverage production line 1 from this point.

The beverage production line 1 includes two beverage production lines, a first line 10A and a second line 10B, and the filling machine 15A and the filling machine 15B are symmetrical with each other. In addition, the axes of the downstream regions of the filling machine 15A and the filling machine 15B are close to each other. Therefore, when one work monitor monitors the two beverage production lines of the first line 10A and the second line 10B, the monitoring is easy. For example, if a single work supervisor is at a position X near the center between the first line 10A and the second line 10B, the work is discharged from the respective outlets 55A and 55B of the filling machine 15A and the filling machine 15B. The container P can be easily monitored. Further, when the conveyor 18 is provided from the respective outlets 55A and 55B of the first line 10A and the second line 10B toward the apparatus for performing the lower process, the distance from the respective outlets 55A and 55B to the conveyor 18 is shortened. Can do.
Assuming that the first line 10A of the basic type is arranged in parallel, as shown in FIG. 7, without having a symmetrical arrangement, the work supervisor monitors at the same position. If it does so, about the 1st line 10A of the direction arrange | positioned on the lower side in a figure, the exit of filling machine 15A is far from a monitoring person, and filling machine 15B becomes a wall and cannot see an exit.

In addition to the above, as long as the gist of the present invention is not deviated, the configuration described in the above embodiment can be selected or changed to another configuration as appropriate.
This embodiment shows an example of inspection machines 13A and 13B that inspect the container P as the first upstream processing unit and the second upstream processing unit that perform the processing A in the present invention, and the first downstream processing unit that performs the processing B As the second downstream processing unit, examples of the filling machines 15A and 15B that fill the container P with the beverage are shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. The container transport device in the present invention can be widely applied to a beverage production line in which at least two devices including a mechanism for transporting a container with a star wheel are arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side.
Further, the first line 10A and the second line 10B are not limited to the planar shape shown in the embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the axial lines of the downstream areas of the filling machine 15A and the filling machine 15B are bent, and The present invention can be applied to the beverage production line 1 including the first line 10 </ b> A and the second line 10 </ b> B that are separated from each other. According to the layout of the downstream area, it is possible to secure a large space between the downstream areas of the two first lines 10A and the second line 10B, and there is an effect that the degree of freedom of the layout of the entire factory is increased.
Moreover, although the example using the gripper which grips the neck portion P1 of the container P is shown in the present embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and a gripper which grips the body portion of the container P can be used.

1 Beverage Production Line 2 Star Wheel 10A First Line (Standard Container Processing Device)
10B Second line (container processing equipment)
11A Blow molding machine 11B Blow molding machine 13A Inspection machine 13B Inspection machine 15A Filling machine 15B Filling machine 15C Filling machine 18 Conveyor 31-45 Star wheel 50 Upper gripping gripper 51 Upper gripping piece 51A Holding end 52 Lower gripping piece 52A Holding end 53 Frame Body 54 Shafts 55A, 55B Outlet 60 Lower gripper 61 Upper gripping piece 62 Lower gripping piece 70 Upper / upper gripping gripper 71 Upper gripping piece 72 Lower gripping piece P Container P1 Neck part P2 Ridge part P3 Ridge part PF Preform

Claims (9)

A container processing apparatus that is configured based on a reference container processing apparatus and that performs a predetermined process while continuously transporting a plurality of containers by a star wheel that is a transport apparatus including a plurality of rotating bodies,
A second upstream processing section for performing processing A while transporting the container;
A second downstream process in which the container subjected to the process A is received by the second upstream processing unit, and the process B different from the process A is performed while transporting the received container, and then discharged downstream. And comprising
The reference container processing device includes:
A first upstream processing unit that performs the processing A while transporting the container;
A first downstream process in which the container subjected to the process A is received by the first upstream processing unit, and a process B different from the process A is performed while the received container is conveyed, and then discharged downstream. And comprising
The second upstream processing unit is provided so that the plurality of star wheels common to each other are arranged and rotated in the same direction.
The second downstream processing unit is provided such that a plurality of the star wheels that are common to each other are arranged symmetrically and the rotation direction is opposite.
A container processing apparatus.
The reference container processing device is
Provided in parallel to the container processing apparatus,
The container processing apparatus according to claim 1.
Without providing the reference container processing device,
The container processing apparatus is provided alone,
The container processing apparatus according to claim 1.
The processing B performed in the first downstream processing unit and the second downstream processing unit is:
Including filling the container with the same type of beverage or a different type of beverage,
The container processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-3.
Axis of each downstream region of the first downstream processing unit and the second downstream processing unit is bent and approaches each other,
The container processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-4.
Axis of each downstream region of the first downstream processing unit and the second downstream processing unit is bent and separated from each other,
The container processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-4.
The most downstream star wheel disposed on the most downstream side of the second upstream processing unit and the most upstream star wheel disposed on the most upstream side of the second downstream processing unit have the same rotational direction.
A transfer star wheel is provided for delivering the container from the most downstream star wheel to the most upstream star wheel;
The container processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-6.
The transfer gripper that holds the neck of the container provided in the transfer star wheel,
The neck of the container at a position that does not interfere with any of the most downstream gripper that grips the neck of the container provided in the most downstream star wheel and the most upstream gripper that grips the neck of the container provided in the most upstream star wheel. Grasp,
The container processing apparatus according to claim 7.
A first line that performs a predetermined process while continuously transporting a plurality of containers by a star wheel that is a transport device composed of a plurality of rotating bodies;
A container processing apparatus provided in parallel with a second line that performs a predetermined process while continuously conveying a plurality of the containers,
The first line is
A first upstream processing unit for performing processing A while transporting the container;
A first downstream process in which the container subjected to the process A is received by the first upstream processing unit, and a process B different from the process A is performed while the received container is conveyed, and then discharged downstream. And comprising
The second line is
A second upstream processing section for performing the processing A while transporting the container;
A second downstream processing unit that receives the container that has been subjected to the processing A by the second upstream processing unit, and that performs the processing B while transporting the received container, and then discharges it downstream. Prepared,
The first upstream processing unit and the second upstream processing unit are provided so that the plurality of star wheels common to each other are arranged and rotated in the same direction.
The first downstream processing unit and the second downstream processing unit are provided such that the plurality of star wheels common to each other are arranged symmetrically and the rotation direction is opposite.
A container processing apparatus.

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