JP2020033043A - Alignment reversal cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a device for cleaning a container by inverting a container and a container direction aligning device to be compactly integrated in a production line.SOLUTION: An alignment reversal cleaner 1 includes an alignment cleaner unit 3 in which a plurality of alignment cleaner heads 2 are arranged, and a reversal device 4 for reversing the alignment cleaner unit up and down. The alignment cleaner head 2 includes container holding means (gripper 20), a rotating device (hollow rotary actuator 60) having a hollow part at a center of rotation capable of rotating the container held by the holding means in a circumferential direction of the container, a sealing member 40 that contacts a mouth part of the container, a discharge pipe 42 passing through the hollow part of the rotating device and communicating with an inside of the container held by the holding means, and a liquid injection nozzle (air blow nozzle 50) inserted into the container through the discharge pipe, the reversing device turns the alignment cleaner unit upside down while the container is held by the alignment cleaner head.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a container reversal cleaner.

  Foreign matter, such as dust, hair, insects, paper dust, metal chips, resin chips, etc., entering containers such as food, daily goods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals is a strictly prohibited matter that these producers must not cause . If foreign matter is found, the producer needs to notify the consumer and have to collect and return the product, causing great damage. Mistakes in foreign companies can damage a company's image and, if mistakes are made in responding to the discovery of foreign materials, can lead to a loss of social credibility as a company and even endanger the company. Therefore, it is customary to perform air cleaning before filling the contents into a packaging container such as a bottle.

  When cleaning is performed manually, the mouth of the bottle is pressed against a device having an air blow nozzle and a dust collecting mechanism for a certain period of time. At this time, in order to increase the efficiency of cleaning, the bottle is turned upside down and air blown from bottom to top so that falling foreign matter is collected at the dust collection part.

  As an apparatus for performing this on a production line, a container conveyed by a conveyor is supplied to a rotatable mounting table, an air blow nozzle is moved up and down in the container on the mounting table, and cleaning is performed. There is a device that regulates a container in a specific direction by detecting a detector and rotating a mounting table (Patent Document 1). However, in this apparatus, the container is turned upside down during the cleaning, and the air blow cannot be performed from below to above, and there is a concern that the removal of foreign matters may be incomplete.

  As a device that can turn the container upside down during cleaning, the hand that picks up the container is fixed to the shaft, the shaft is swingably attached to the arm, the container conveyed by the conveyor is picked up by the hand, and the arm is lifted. There has been proposed an apparatus in which a hand is rotated by 360 ° by swinging, and cleaning is performed by an air blow nozzle and a vacuum hose provided in the hand during the rotation (Patent Document 2). However, this device cannot align the container in a predetermined orientation after cleaning.

JP-A-63-76696 JP 2000-313500 A

  As described above, in a conventional apparatus, a container conveyed by a conveyor in a production line is picked up, turned upside down, cleaned by air blowing from bottom to top, and aligned in a predetermined direction. Can not. If a container orientation detection device and a direction alignment device for aligning the container in a predetermined direction are added to the cleaning device described in Patent Document 2, the device configuration becomes large, a large installation space is required, and equipment costs rise. I do. If it is necessary to manually arrange the containers in a predetermined direction, labor shortages and rising labor costs due to a declining birthrate and an aging population pose a problem.

  On the other hand, according to the present invention, the container is turned upside down, cleaning is performed by ejecting a fluid such as air from below to thoroughly remove foreign substances, and an apparatus for performing this cleaning and a direction alignment apparatus are integrated. It is an object of the present invention to make the apparatus configuration compact, eliminate the need for a large installation space, and to perform operations such as taking out a container from a transport line, inverting the container vertically, and returning the container to the transport line at a high speed.

  The inventor removes the container from the conveyor conveyance line, and rotates the container in the circumferential direction to rotate the container in a predetermined direction while cleaning the container by injecting a fluid from below in the container with the container turned upside down. A rotating device having a hollow portion is used as a rotating device for passing a discharge pipe through the hollow portion, and a fluid ejecting nozzle is passed through the discharge tube. The arrangement cleaner head can be made compact, and furthermore, if a reversing device for reversing the arrangement cleaner unit in which a plurality of alignment cleaner heads are arranged upside down is provided, the whole apparatus including the reversing device can be made compact. Thus, the present invention has been completed.

That is, the present invention is to hold a container, while spraying a fluid into the held container, an alignment cleaner unit in which a plurality of alignment cleaner heads arranged in a predetermined direction by rotating the container in the circumferential direction, A container reversal cleaner having a reversing device for reversing the alignment cleaner unit up and down,
Align cleaner head,
Holding means for holding the container,
A rotating device having a hollow portion at the center of rotation, which can rotate the container held by the holding means in the circumferential direction of the container,
A sealing member that contacts the mouth of the container held by the holding means,
Through a hollow part of the rotating device, a discharge pipe communicating with the inside of the container held by the holding means, and a fluid ejection nozzle inserted through the inside of the discharge pipe and inserted into the container held by the holding means,
A reversing device is provided in which a reversing device inverts the reversing cleaner unit up and down while the container is held by the repositioning cleaner head.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the alignment reversal cleaner of this invention, a container can be taken out from a conveyance line, and a foreign substance can be thoroughly removed by injecting fluid from the inside of a container in the state which inverted the container upside down. In addition, a cleaning mechanism having a fluid ejection nozzle and a discharge pipe, and a direction alignment mechanism for holding the container in a predetermined direction during cleaning are integrated into a compact device configuration. The entire apparatus including the reversing device for reversing also has a size of about 1/2 that of a cleaning device having a reversing device and a direction aligning device for containers in a line. In addition, by eliminating the transfer device between the devices, the installation space of the device is significantly reduced to about 1/3, and the space and cost required for the equipment can be reduced.

  Further, according to the alignment reversing cleaner of the present invention, since the alignment cleaning unit is configured to be compact, it is easy to rotate the container to turn the container upside down, thereby increasing the operating speed of the alignment cleaner unit. it can. This makes it possible to take out and return from the transport line and turn the container upside down at high speed.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an alignment reversal cleaner disposed on a container transport line. FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of an alignment cleaner unit of the alignment reversal cleaner of the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the alignment cleaner unit of the alignment reversal cleaner of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a side view of an alignment cleaner unit of the alignment reversal cleaner of the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway view of an alignment cleaner unit of the alignment reversal cleaner of the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a perspective view in which the gripper portion of the alignment cleaner unit of the alignment reversal cleaner of the embodiment is looked up from below. FIG. 7 is a cutaway perspective view of the rotary joint. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the hollow rotary actuator. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the vector of the air flow in the container for each insertion rate of the air blow nozzle. FIG. 10 is a time chart of the operation of the alignment reversal cleaner of the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a front view of the alignment cleaner unit in steps 1 to 4. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the alignment reversal cleaner when the delivery conveyor and the delivery conveyor are arranged in parallel. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the alignment reversal cleaner when the delivery conveyor and the delivery conveyor are arranged in a straight line. FIG. 14 is an example of a container that can be cleaned in the present invention. FIG. 15 is a three-sided view of a bag-shaped container that can be cleaned by the present invention. FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a bag-shaped container that can be cleaned by the present invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each of the drawings, the same reference numerals represent the same or equivalent components.

<Overall configuration of alignment reversal cleaner>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an alignment reversal cleaner 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is disposed on a container conveyance line. FIGS. 2 and 3 show an alignment cleaner unit 3 provided in the alignment reversal cleaner 1. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a front side and a back side, and FIG. 4 is a side view thereof.

  This alignment reversal cleaner 1 has two alignment cleaner units 3 in which four alignment cleaner heads 2 are linearly arranged in parallel to the direction of transport of the container 100. The two alignment cleaner units 3 , Are arranged in series in the same direction as the arrangement direction of the alignment cleaner heads 2. In the present invention, the number of the alignment cleaner heads 2 arranged by one alignment cleaner unit 3 is not particularly limited, but is set to two or more in order to efficiently perform many processes by one robot. Further, in order to prevent an adverse effect on the operation speed of the robot due to an increase in weight, the number is preferably six or less. On the other hand, the number of the alignment cleaner units 3 provided in one of the alignment reversing cleaners may be 1 to 4 in view of the feeding speed of the hakama type holder (also called hakama) 110 that holds the containers 100 on the transport line. preferable. Since there is a limit to the feeding speed of the holder 110, by setting the number to four or less, it is possible to prevent a waiting time from occurring in the operation of the alignment reversing cleaner 1 until the holder 110 reaches a predetermined position.

  Each of the alignment cleaner heads 2 holds the container 100 taken out from the transport line, sprays cleaning air into the container 100 to clean the inside of the container, and rotates the container 100 in its circumferential direction. A mechanism for aligning the container 100 in a predetermined direction is provided.

  Further, each alignment cleaner unit 3 has a mounting portion 5 of a reversing device 4 for reversing the alignment cleaner unit 3 up and down on each main frame back plate 11 (FIG. 3).

  In the alignment reversing cleaner 1 of this embodiment, the hand of the vertical articulated robot is used as the alignment cleaner unit 3, and the arm of the robot functions as the reversing device 4.

  In addition, the aligning cleaner unit 3 is made as light and compact as possible, and the center of gravity of the aligning cleaner unit 3 is brought closer to the connecting portion between the aligning cleaner unit 3 and the reversing device 4 to reduce the load applied to the drive unit and the structure of the reversing device 4. The size is reduced so that the rotation of the alignment cleaner unit 3 by the reversing device 4 and the movement of the reversing device 4 itself can be performed at high speed.

<Fluid>
In the present invention, the cleaning fluid injected into the container is not limited to air (air), but may contain a specific gas such as nitrogen gas, a solvent, water, oil, or a surfactant as necessary for cleaning the inside of the container. A liquid such as a solution may be jetted.

  In the case of injecting the air, if necessary, a device that has been subjected to a static elimination treatment to suppress static electricity inside the container 100 is used. Further, it is preferable to perform a pretreatment according to the use such as passing through a filter for removing oil mist or dust or a sterilization filter so that the inside of the container 100 is not contaminated by the fluid itself.

  The injection pressure of the fluid is appropriately adjusted depending on the type of the fluid, the required flow rate and the required flow rate. In the case of injecting air as in this embodiment, the supply pressure can be 0.3 to 0.5 MPa.

<Container>
The alignment reversal cleaner 1 of the present invention can be applied to various containers having a mouth at one end, and particularly preferably applied to a bottle with a narrow mouth. More specifically, a cylindrical bottle, an elliptical bottle, an eccentric bottle, and the like shown in FIG. 14 can be given. In addition, the present invention can be applied to a wide-mouthed container such as a jar bottle, a cylindrical container, or a prismatic container having an opening at one end, or a bag-shaped container having an opening. When a bag-shaped container is supplied in a folded state as shown in FIG. 15, only air blowing is performed before cleaning, and the bag portion is inflated as shown in FIG. Cleaning with a reversing cleaner is preferable because the tip of the air blow nozzle 50 does not damage the bag.

  The material of the container is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include resins such as PET, PP, and PE, metals such as aluminum, and paper. In the case of a bag-shaped container, for example, the mouth can be made of resin, and the bag can be made of a composite of aluminum and resin.

<Alignment cleaner head>
The alignment cleaner head 2 holds the container 100, cleans the inside of the container by ejecting air from the air blow nozzle 50 into the held container, and adjusts the container in a predetermined direction by the rotating device 60.

(Gripper)
In the alignment reversing cleaner 1 of the present embodiment, a gripper 20 for holding the container 100 is provided as a holding means for the container 100. In the present invention, the container holding means can be selected according to the shape and hardness of the container, and the container can be held by suction with a vacuum pad, gripping with a gripper, or the like.

  It is preferable that the shape of the portion where the gripper 20 grips the container 100 matches the shape of the container. In order to prevent the container 100 from slipping, an anti-slip material 21 may be attached to a portion where the gripper 20 contacts the container 100. Further, a structure in which the gripper 20 can be easily replaced according to the shape of the container may be adopted.

  The gripper opening / closing device 25 can be of an air type, an electric type, or the like, and is not particularly limited. However, in this embodiment, the gripper is an air type. In the air type, a flexible and strong air hose is selected as an air hose for supply and exhaust. Thereby, even if the gripper 20 is rotated by the rotating device 60 and the air hose is wound around the alignment cleaner unit 3, it is possible to prevent the air hose from being damaged or cut. On the other hand, when an electric switchgear is used, it is preferable to select a flexible and strong electric wire so that the electric wire is not broken by the rotation of the gripper 20. The electric type is preferable in that the degree of opening of the gripper 20 can be arbitrarily set with respect to the size change of the container 100.

  It is preferable that air or electricity for driving the opening / closing device 25 of the gripper be supplied via the rotary joint 30. The use of the rotary joint 30 makes it unnecessary to connect an air hose or an electric wire to the opening / closing device 25 of the gripper. Therefore, the air hose or the electric wire wraps around the alignment cleaner head 2 and is damaged, cut, detached, or Troubles such as damage to surrounding components can be suppressed.

  In this embodiment, the pneumatic rotary joint 30 shown in FIG. 7 is used. The rotary joint 30 supplies air to the gripper opening / closing device 25 through an air system 31 and exhausts air through an air system 32. Since the rotary joint 30 is provided with the seal members 33a, 33b, and 33c at three locations, the air systems 31 and 32 perform completely independent ventilation. Further, since the rotary joint 30 has the deep groove ball bearing 34, the shaft 36 can be smoothly rotated with respect to the housing 35 of the rotary joint 30. A discharge pipe 42 and an air blow nozzle 50 inserted in the discharge pipe 42 are arranged in the hollow central portion 37 (FIG. 5).

  On the other hand, when electricity is supplied using a rotary joint, a hollow rotary connection connector having a rotatable electrical contact such as a slip ring type may be used.

(Seal member)
A seal member 40 is provided above the gripper 20, and an opening of the container 100 gripped by the gripper 20 contacts the seal member 40. In the present embodiment, the sealing member 40 is a cup type that covers the mouth of the container 100 by covering the mouth, and the inner space of the cup has a conical shape (FIGS. 5 and 6). By forming the sealing member 40 into a cup shape and making the inner space a conical shape, the sealing member 40 can be commonly used for containers having different mouth sizes. A hole 41 is provided at the conical top, which is the center of the seal member 40. A discharge pipe 42 is connected to the outer periphery of the hole 41, and the discharge pipe 42 communicates with the inside of the container 100 held by the gripper 20 through the hole 41.

  A pressing spring 43 is provided on the upper surface of the seal member 40 as a pressing mechanism for pressing the seal member 40 toward the gripper 20. Thereby, the seal member 40 is pressed against the mouth part 101 of the container 100 held by the gripper 20. When the seal member 40 is pressed and the inner wall of the seal member 40 is inclined so that the inner space of the seal member becomes conical, the opening 101 of the container 100 held by the gripper 20 and the seal member 40 are separated. Upon contact, even if the positions of both central parts are displaced, the container 100 is slightly moved and the positional deviation is corrected, and the two central parts coincide. This prevents a biased force from being applied to the contact portion between the seal portion 40 and the mouth of the container 100 and the contact portion between the bottom portion of the container and the conveyor, thereby preventing air from leaking and damaging these surfaces. Is prevented. For this reason, as the material of the sealing member, a material that is easy to slip and that does not easily damage the mouth of the container is selected. Resin materials are preferred, and high density polyethylene, polyacetal, and the like are particularly preferred.

  In the present invention, the shape of the seal member is not limited to the above-described cup shape, and may be a shape suitable for the shape of the mouth of the container to be cleaned. More specifically, when the mouth portion of the container to be handled is limited to a circular shape having a predetermined diameter, a conical sealing member adapted to the diameter can be used. In the case of handling a container having a mouth such as an ellipse or a square, a cone-shaped sealing member corresponding to the shape of the mouth can be similarly used. By covering the mouth with a seal member having a depression having an inclined inner wall that comes into contact with the opening surface of the mouth, air leakage can be reliably prevented. In order to further enhance the compatibility, a flexible material such as gel or urethane rubber may be adhered to the inside of the seal member.

  The seal member 40 is rotatably attached to the main frame 10. Therefore, when the gripper 20 holding the container 100 is rotated by the rotating device 60, the mouth of the container 100 and the seal member 40 can be brought into contact with each other without changing the relative position. Thereby, abrasion of the contact surface between the seal member 40 and the mouth of the container 100 can be prevented, and leakage of dust collection air from the contact surface can be prevented. On the other hand, the seal member 40 may be fixedly attached to the main frame 10. Thereby, a bearing or the like for rotatably mounting can be omitted, so that the number of parts can be reduced.

(Air blow nozzle)
In the present invention, a fluid ejection nozzle is inserted into the discharge pipe 42 connected to the seal member 40. In this embodiment, an air blow nozzle 50 is provided as the fluid ejection nozzle (FIGS. 2 and 5). The air blow nozzle 50 is inserted into the container 100 from the center of the seal member 40. The air blow nozzle 50 is connected to an air supply pipe 51, and the air supply pipe 51 is connected to an air supply unit 52. An air hose 53 is connected to the air supply unit 52, and the air hose 53 supplies cleaning air to the air supply unit 52 from an external air supply unit through the hollow attachment unit 5 of the reversing device 4. I do. Therefore, cleaning air is injected from the air blow nozzle 50 into the container 100. The insertion amount of the air blow nozzle 50 into the container 100 is adjusted by lifting and lowering an air blow nozzle bracket 58 described later.

  The material of the air blow nozzle 50 is not particularly limited, but a stainless steel having strength and corrosion resistance can be selected from commercially available products having various required diameters.

  The inner diameter and the outer diameter of the nozzle can be appropriately determined depending on the size of the mouth of the container, the air flow rate and the speed. For example, the inner diameter is about 2 to 5 mm, and the outer diameter is +0.3 to 1. The one with about 0 mm is selected. By setting it to +0.3 mm or more, necessary strength can be obtained, and by setting it to +1.0 mm or less, the outer diameter of the air blow nozzle can be reduced and the air vent area of the discharge pipe 42 can be sufficiently obtained. The inner diameter of the discharge pipe 42 is preferably made as large as possible to increase the air ventilation area and collect a large foreign substance. However, the inner diameter of the outlet pipe 42 must be smaller than the inner diameter. Preferably, the air vent area is sufficient by making the inner diameter of the container about -8 mm or more, and air leakage between the mouth of the container 100 and the seal member 40 is prevented by making the inner diameter of the container less than about -4 mm. In addition, a sufficient air flow rate can be obtained. The optimum size from the viewpoint of the air vent is that the difference between the inner diameter of the discharge pipe 42 and the outer diameter of the air blow nozzle 50 is about 3 to 6 mm, and when expressed as a gap, about 1.5 to 3 mm, for the same reason as described above. preferable.

  When the ratio of the length of the air blow nozzle 50 inserted from the mouth portion 101 to the height of the container 100 is defined as the insertion ratio, the direction of the air flow and the flow velocity in the container change depending on the magnitude of the insertion ratio. FIG. 9 shows an example. In the figure, the arrows in the container 100 indicate the vector of the air flow. The insertion rate and the time for the insertion rate are not particularly limited, and are appropriately adjusted depending on the shape, size, and type of the container, particularly, the foreign matter to be mainly removed. The characteristics of the state of air inside the container and the removal of foreign matter with respect to the insertion ratio will be described below.

  At an insertion rate of about 0%, the flow rate of the air is slightly weak, but there is almost no turbulence in the direction of the air, and the supplied air stably passes through the entire region inside the container. This is preferable because it can be discharged from

  At an insertion rate of about 20%, the direction of air is greatly disturbed at the mouth 101 of the container 100, and foreign matter may not be reliably discharged from the hole 41 of the seal member 40.

  At an insertion rate of about 50%, the flow velocity at the bottom inner wall of the container 100 is very weak, and it may be difficult to remove foreign matter on the bottom inner wall of the container 100.

  At an insertion rate of about 80%, there is a slight turbulence in the direction of the air at the bottom of the container 100, but there is a strong air flow over the entire inner wall of the container 100. Therefore, it is preferable because the foreign matter can be surely separated from the inner wall of the container 100 and the separated foreign matter can be efficiently discharged from the hole 41 of the seal member 40.

  More preferably, while the air is being supplied, the insertion rate of the air blow nozzle 50 is increased in the range of about 0% to 90%, and further returned to 0% in that range, so that the insertion rate of the nozzle is reduced by the fluid supply. Fluctuate in the discharging process. As a result, strong air flows through the inside of the container 100 sequentially without bias, so that the foreign matter can be surely separated from the inner wall of each part in the container and can be reliably discharged from the hole 41. In a small container, a sufficient effect may be obtained even with an insertion rate of about 0%. That is, the insertion time of the air blow nozzle is set to zero, and the foreign matter can be efficiently discharged. In particular, when handling a plurality of types of small containers, it may be preferable to set the insertion time of the air blow nozzle to zero.

  Although the gravity due to the upside down of the container 100 has almost no effect on the flow direction and the flow velocity, the probability that the foreign matter in the container can be discharged from the hole 41 of the seal member 40 is such that the opening 101 of the container 100 faces downward. The higher you are. Therefore, it is preferable to take a long state in which the container 100 is turned upside down by 180 °.

(Dust collection air)
As described above, since the seal member 40 covers the mouth of the container 100 and is pressed against and contacts the mouth of the container 100, the air injected from the air blow nozzle 50 cleans the inside of the container 100 without leaking, Further, by adjusting the insertion rate of the air blow nozzle 50 or changing the insertion rate, the cleaning can be more thorough. The air that has cleaned the inside of the container is discharged from the hole 41 as dust collection air.

  On the other hand, the alignment cleaner unit 3 has a dust collection duct 44 extending in the direction in which the alignment cleaner heads 2 are arranged, and a plurality of discharge pipes 42 are connected to the dust collection duct 44. Therefore, the dust-collected air discharged from the hole 41 passes through the discharge pipe 42, passes through the dust-collecting duct 44 and the dust-collecting air collecting part 45, and is connected to the dust-collecting air connecting part 46 of the main frame back plate 11. The dust is sucked through a dust collecting hose 47 into a dust collecting device (not shown). In the dust collecting device, foreign matters are removed from the dust collecting air, and clean air is discharged. In FIG. 1, the dust collection hose 47 is drawn from the back of the alignment cleaner unit 3, but may be drawn from the front.

  In addition, the suction flow rate in the dust collector is adjusted by changing the valve in the dust collection path and the suction capacity in the dust collector so that the balance between the cleaning air and the dust collection air can be balanced. It is preferable to be able to do so.

  Depending on the type of the fluid used for cleaning, the fluid collected by the dust collecting device and from which foreign matter has been removed may be reused as the cleaning fluid, as in the present embodiment.

(Rotating device)
In the present invention, the alignment cleaner head 2 is provided with a rotating device (that is, a container passing through the central portion of the mouth of the container 100) capable of rotating the holding means (gripper 20) holding the container 100 in the circumferential direction of the container 100. A rotating device 60 having a hollow portion at the center of rotation is used as a rotating device that can rotate around a virtual axis extending in the height direction of 100. As such a rotating device 60, a hollow rotary actuator, a hollow motor, or the like can be used. In order to rotate the container 100 in the circumferential direction, a rotating device having a hollow portion at the center of rotation is used, so that an air supply tube 51 that sends cleaning air to the hollow portion and a discharge tube 42 that collects dust collection air. Therefore, the cleaning device and the rotating device can be compactly integrated. Also, since the rotating device can be arranged near the mouth of the container, the aligning cleaner head 2 can be made compact also by this, and the center of gravity of the aligning cleaner head is concentrated, and the reversing device is set near the center of gravity. 4 can be positioned at the center of vertical rotation.

  The driving method of the hollow rotary actuator 60 can be pneumatic or electric, and is not particularly limited. The electric type is preferable in that the stop when rotating the container 100 in the circumferential direction to the predetermined direction is easily controlled and the structure can be simplified. Examples of the electric type include an inverter motor, a stepping motor, a servomotor, and the like that can surely stop. Among them, it is preferable to use a compact and lightweight stepping motor which has high torque in a low speed range, can perform stop control with high accuracy, and has a low weight.

  FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the hollow rotary actuator 60 used in this embodiment. This hollow rotary actuator 60 is a combination of a rotary table 61 having a hollow portion and a stepping motor 62, and transmits power to a gear formed on the outer periphery of the rotary table 61 by a pinion 63 of a rotating shaft of the stepping motor 62. Then, the rotary table 61 is rotated. The rotary table 61 rotates the gripper 20 via the shaft 36 of the rotary joint 30. On the other hand, the stepping motor 62 is attached to the main frame 10 by a flange (not shown).

<Alignment cleaner unit>
The alignment cleaner unit 3 generally serves as a main frame 10 for fixing the plurality of alignment cleaner heads 2, a main frame back plate 11 on which the main frame 10 is mounted, and a supply path for air injected from the air blow nozzles 50 of the alignment cleaner head 2. An air hose 53, a dust collection duct 44 serving as a recovery path for the dust collection air discharged from the inside of the container 100 through the discharge pipe 42, and a direction detecting means for detecting the direction of the container 100 held by the alignment cleaner head 2 are provided. I have.

  The main frame 10 is provided with a seal member 40 of the aligned cleaner head 2 arranged linearly, a hollow rotary actuator 60, a dust collection duct 44, and a fixed position adjuster 72 for a square pipe 71 having a direction detection sensor 70 at one end. ing.

  The main frame 10, the air blow nozzle lifting / lowering drive device 54, and the linear roller slider 55 are attached to the main frame back plate 11.

  It is preferable that the main frame 10 be reduced in weight for improving the reversing operation of the alignment cleaner unit 3 by the reversing device 4. Therefore, the main frame 10 is preferably made of a light material, for example, aluminum or titanium is selected. Duralumin, super duralumin, and super super duralumin are more preferable from the viewpoint of high strength and easy processing, and those subjected to a heat treatment for further improving the strength are preferable. It is also preferable to reduce the weight of the main frame back plate 11, and it is therefore preferable to use a thin plate and to perform lightening when the strength is acceptable.

  In this embodiment, a direction detecting sensor 70 that recognizes a characteristic portion of the container by color discrimination is provided as the direction detecting means. A sensor that detects an RGB value, a light amount, and the like can be used as a sensor based on such color discrimination.

  On the other hand, in the present invention, the direction detecting means is not limited to a sensor based on color discrimination, and is appropriately selected according to the characteristics of the container. For example, the characteristics of the design on the side of the container may be read by a normal optical sensor, and the depression at the bottom of the bottle may be detected by a contact sensor. Features include eye marks, letters, and logo marks. Examples of the optical sensor include those using an LED, a laser, or the like.

  Further, in the present invention, the direction detecting means is not limited to being provided in the alignment cleaner unit 3. For example, a camera may be provided on the transport line of the container 100, and the orientation of the container may be detected by image recognition.

  The driving device 54 for raising and lowering the air blow nozzle raises and lowers the air blow nozzle bracket 58 via a floating joint 56 attached to the tip of the drive shaft of the driving device 54 for raising and lowering the air blow nozzle, and a connection bracket 57 fixed to the floating joint 56. (FIG. 2). Since the air supply pipe 52 connected in series to the air blow nozzle 50 is fixed to the air blow nozzle bracket 58, the position of the air blow nozzle 50 with respect to the container 100, The insertion rate of the air blow nozzle 50 can be changed and adjusted.

  In the present embodiment, two air blow nozzle raising / lowering driving devices 54 are provided on the main frame back plate 11 to raise and lower the air blow nozzle bracket 58 (FIG. 3) in order to more reliably raise and lower the air blow nozzle bracket.

  The type of the driving device 54 for raising and lowering the air blow nozzle is not particularly limited, but an air type or an electric type is used. It is preferable to use an electric linear motion actuator in terms of easy adjustment of the insertion speed, position, stop time, and the like of the air blow nozzle 50 into the container 100.

  The plurality of discharge pipes 42 are connected to the dust collection duct 44, and the air supply pipe 51 passes through the dust collection duct 44. With such a connection and arrangement, the air intake / exhaust portion of the air can be made compact. When the air blow nozzle bracket 58 moves up and down, the air supply pipe 51 penetrating the dust collection duct 44 comes into sliding contact with the dust collection duct 44. In order to prevent dust collection air from leaking from the dust collection duct 44 due to the sliding contact, an air leakage prevention packing 48 is provided at a sliding contact portion of the air supply pipe 51.

  The linear roller slider 55 assists the raising / lowering operation of the air blow nozzle bracket 58 by the air blow nozzle raising / lowering driving device 54. Instead of the linear roller slider 55, another slide mechanism such as a linear motion guide may be used. A linear roller slider is preferable in terms of lightness.

<Reversing device>
In the present invention, the reversing device 4 is a device for reversing the alignment cleaner unit 3 while the container 100 is being held by the holding means (FIG. 1). The reversing device 4 rotates the alignment cleaner unit 3 in the direction a with the arrangement direction of the alignment cleaner heads 2 in the alignment cleaner unit 3 as the center of rotation, or the rotation center in the direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the alignment cleaner heads 2. A device for rotating the alignment cleaner unit 3 in the b1 direction or the b2 direction can be provided.

  In the alignment reversing cleaner 1 of the present embodiment, a reversing device 4 that rotates the alignment cleaner unit 3 in the b1 direction or the b2 direction about a horizontal direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the alignment cleaner heads 2 as a rotation center is used. Further, in the alignment reversing cleaner 1 of the present embodiment, a device for rotating the wrist of the arm of a general six-axis vertical articulated robot is used as the reversing device 4. Thus, the range in which the alignment cleaner unit 1 moves in the front-rear direction of the robot can be reduced, and the entire alignment reversal cleaner 1 can be made compact. In particular, when the container 100 is inverted by the alignment cleaner unit 3, the direction in which the radius of rotation including the container 100 held by the gripper 20 becomes smaller (usually, the radius of rotation on the side holding the container 100 becomes larger. When the air supply units 52 of the unit 3 are rotated in the direction (b1 direction) facing each other (b1 direction), and when the unit is returned from the inverted state, it is rotated in the opposite direction (b2 direction). Since it is possible to make the whole alignment reversal cleaner 1 compact by reducing the installation distance between the three, it is preferable. Furthermore, since the moment of inertia required during rotation is reduced, the energy used by the robot can be minimized, and the durability of the joints of the robot can be increased. Therefore, in a mode in which two alignment cleaner units 3 are arranged as in this embodiment, it is preferable to invert the alignment cleaner unit 3 as described above. In this case, in order to more reliably prevent interference between the alignment cleaner units 3, the first axis closest to the installation part of the vertical articulated robot is slightly rotated so that the alignment cleaner units 3 move in directions away from each other. It is also effective.

  On the other hand, when a device for rotating the alignment cleaner unit 3 in the direction a with the arrangement direction of the alignment cleaner head 2 as the center of rotation is provided as a reversing device, a device for rotating the elbow of the arm of the vertical articulated robot can be used. . In this case, the second axis of the robot is slightly warped backward and the elbow is swung upward from the front, thereby minimizing the range in which the alignment cleaner unit 3 moves in the front direction, and eliminating the movement of the robot in the left and right directions. Therefore, the movement range in the left-right direction occupied by the robot can be reduced. Therefore, it is effective when three or more arrangement cleaner units 3 are arranged in parallel.

  The type of the robot is not particularly limited, either when using the device for rotating the wrist of the robot arm or the device for rotating the elbow as the reversing device 4, but the motion range is large and the posture of the arm can be arbitrarily set. It is preferable to use a vertical articulated robot because it can be changed and has a rotating portion on the arm tip axis. In the case of using a commercially available 4- to 7-axis vertical articulated robot, the robot may be appropriately selected based on the load capacity and the necessary moving range.

  When a robot is used as the reversing device 4, the number of axes of the robot has three or more axes for raising and lowering the alignment cleaner unit 3, moving in the horizontal direction, and reversing the alignment cleaner unit 3 up and down. Is preferred. However, in the case of three axes, a link mechanism for directing the tip of the robot arm in a certain direction is required. By configuring the reversing device 4 with a robot arm having three or more axes, not only the reversing of the alignment cleaner unit 3 but also the horizontal movement and lifting / lowering can be performed by the robot arm. It is easy to shift the cleaning timing and finely adjust the position of the alignment cleaner unit 3. A pick position for removing the container 100 to be cleaned from the transport line and a place for returning the cleaned container 100 to the transport line. It is also easy to make the position different. Accordingly, when the transport line for supplying the container to the pick position and the transport line for discharging the container from the place position are separately provided, the container 100 is cleaned by one of the two aligned cleaner units 3. In the meantime, the next container 100 to be cleaned can be supplied to the pick position of the other aligned cleaner unit 3. Therefore, immediately after the cleaning by one of the alignment cleaner units 3 is completed and the container is returned to the transport line, the container to be next cleaned by the other aligner cleaner unit 3 can be taken out from the transport line. Therefore, the processing time required for cleaning can be reduced.

  On the other hand, if the pick position and the place position are the same, after returning the cleaned container to the transport line, the container is paid out, and a waiting time occurs until the next container to be cleaned is sent to the pick position. However, since the paying-out conveyor and the sending-in conveyor can be used at the same time, the container transport system can be configured simply and at low cost.

  In the present invention, a robot may not be used as the reversing device, and the type of the reversing device is not limited. For example, the reversing device may be configured by combining a pneumatic or electric linear moving device or rotary moving device.

<Operation of alignment reversal cleaner>
Hereinafter, as an example, the operation of one alignment cleaner unit will be described for the case where the container 100 is conveyed to the pick position by a conveyor with the bottom of the container 100 inserted into the holder 110. FIG. 10 is a time chart in this case.

(Step 1)
The holding operation of the container 100 conveyed to the pick position by the gripper 20 starts. At this time, the position of the I mark 102, which is a characteristic part of the container 100, with respect to the direction detection sensor 70 is not uniform (FIG. 11 (Step 1)).

(Step 2)
When the container 100 is held by the gripper 2, the reversing device 4 including a robot arm starts to lift the container 100, and when the container 100 is lifted, the wrist of the arm starts reversing the alignment cleaner unit 3. On the other hand, after the gripper 20 holds the container 100, the air blow nozzle 50 immediately starts jetting air and is inserted up to 80% of the depth of the container 100. After the gripper 20 holds the container 100, the hollow rotary actuator 60 starts rotating to turn the container 100 in a predetermined direction.

  The reversing device 4 completes the reversal when the angle of the alignment cleaner unit 3 becomes 180 ° (FIG. 11 (Step 2)). At this time, the air blow nozzle 50 continues to jet air at a position 80% of the depth of the container. The hollow rotary actuator 60 rotates the container 100 in a predetermined direction. This rotation stops when the direction detection sensor 70 detects the I mark 102. FIG. 11 shows an example in which the container 100 reaches a predetermined direction immediately after the rotation of the hollow rotary actuator 60 (shortest), and an example in which the container 100 reaches a predetermined direction when the upside down of the alignment cleaner unit 3 is completed. (Longest).

(Step 3)
The rotation angle of the alignment cleaner unit 3 by the reversing device 4 is maintained at 180 °, and the air blow nozzle 50 continues to jet air at a position of 80% of the depth of the container. The rotation of the container 100 by the hollow rotary actuator 60 is completed, and in each container 100, the positions of the direction detection sensor 70 and the I mark 102 are aligned. It is preferable that the alignment by rotation of the container 100 by the hollow rotary actuator 60 is completed before the rotation angle of the alignment cleaner unit 3 returns to 0 ° (FIG. 11 (Step 3)).

(Step 4)
The reversing device 4 rotates the alignment cleaner unit 3 in the direction opposite to that of the step 1 to return the rotation angle of the alignment cleaner unit 3 to 0 °. By setting the rotation direction of the alignment cleaner unit 3 by the reversing device 4 in the steps 1 and 4 to be opposite, it is possible to prevent the air hose, the dust collection hose, the cable, and the like from winding around the arm of the robot.

(Step 5)
Thereafter, the horizontal position of the alignment cleaner unit 3 moves toward the pick position, the air blow nozzle 50 is pulled up from the container 100, the gripper 20 is opened, and the container 100 is returned to the holder at the place of the conveyor. The hollow rotary actuator 60 rotates in the opposite direction or the same direction as the direction alignment, and returns to the initial position. By returning to the initial position, the gripper 20 can grip the container 10 from an appropriate direction when the gripping section of the container 10 has an elliptical shape that is not circular. Here, if the driving method of the hollow rotary actuator 60 is a stepping motor, a servomotor, or the like that constantly monitors the rotational position, it is possible to easily return to the initial position. The sensor may be used to return to the initial position. In addition, the speed of the return can be made higher than that at the time of direction alignment if a stepping motor, a servo motor, or the like whose target position is known from the start of the return rotation can be returned to the initial position in a short time. is there. Thus, the cleaning is completed before the container 100 is lifted from the pick position and returned to the place position (FIG. 11 (Step 5)).

<Operation of alignment reversal cleaner according to transport line>
In order to operate the individual alignment cleaner units 3 by the alignment reversal cleaner 1 as in the above-described steps 1 to 5, as shown in FIG. 12, the feeding conveyor 111a for feeding the container to the pick position and the place conveyor were placed. The operation of the alignment reversal cleaner 1 can be different between the case where the delivery conveyors 111b for delivering containers are arranged in parallel and the case where they are on a straight line as shown in FIG. Here, it is assumed that the container 100 has a columnar shape, the bottom of which is inserted into the holder 110, and is conveyed by the top chain type conveyors 111a and 111b. In the alignment reversal cleaner of the present invention, there is no particular limitation on the method of feeding the container to the pick position and the method of discharging the container from the place position, but by transferring the container using the holder 110, the container of various shapes can be removed. Since the handling can easily maintain the pitch of the container and the height of the mouth accurately by changing the holder, it is preferable in terms of downstream processing such as filling and capping. When a holder is used, the top chain type conveyors 111a and 111b are preferable because the holder can be easily slid on the conveyor surface when necessary.

(When the infeed conveyor and payout conveyor are in parallel)
When the sending-out conveyor 111a and the paying-out conveyor 111b are arranged in parallel, first, the uncleaned container 100 is sent to the pick position P1 by the sending-in conveyor 111a while being held by the holder 110 (FIG. 12A). ). The gripper of the alignment cleaner unit 3 grips and lifts the container 100 at the pick position P1. At this time, the holder 110 remains on the feed conveyor 111a (FIG. 12B). On the other hand, the container 100 that has been cleaned and aligned is discharged in the direction of the arrow while being inserted into the holder 110 (FIG. 12A). Next, the lateral feed pusher 112 pushes the empty holder 110 left at the pick position P1 onto the payout conveyor 111b (FIG. 12C). The transverse feed pusher 112 returns to the pick position P1, and immediately sends the container to be cleaned next after the feed conveyor 111a is inserted into the holder to the pick position P1. On the other hand, the container 100 that has completed the cleaning and has been aligned in the predetermined direction is returned from the alignment cleaner unit to the place position P2 (FIG. 12D), and the pay-out conveyor 111b pays it out (FIG. 12E). )), Which is the same as the first arrangement in FIG.

  As described above, when the separate infeed conveyor 111a and the outfeed conveyor 111b are arranged in parallel, the length of the transport line in the transport direction can be reduced. Further, the alignment cleaner unit 3 can easily perform the operation for the pick position and the operation for the place position, respectively. In addition, it is preferable that the lateral pusher 112 be provided so as to be shifted from the movable range of the alignment cleaner unit 3 so as not to interfere with the movement of the alignment cleaner unit 3. When the holder 110 is not used for the conveyors 111a and 111b, the lateral pusher 112 is unnecessary.

(When the infeed conveyor and the payout conveyor are common)
When the infeed conveyor 111a and the payout conveyor 111b are common, first, the uncleaned container 100 is sent to the pick position P1 by the infeed conveyor 111a while being held by the holder 110 (FIG. 13A). ). The alignment cleaner unit 3 grips and lifts the container 100 at the pick position P1 to clean the container. At this time, an empty holder 110 remains on the infeed conveyor 111a. (FIG. 13 (b)). The empty conveyor 110 is paid out to the place position P2 by the sending-in conveyor 111a and the paying-out conveyor 111b (FIG. 13C). After the cleaning is completed, the alignment cleaner unit 3 returns the container 100 aligned in the predetermined direction to the holder 110 at the place position P2 (FIG. 13D), and the paying-out conveyor 111b pays out the container 100 (FIG. 13D). e)), which is the same as the first arrangement in FIG.

  In the above example, the operation of the alignment reversal cleaner is described for the case where the holder 110 is used in the conveyor 111, but the transport line of the container using the alignment reversal cleaner of the present invention is not limited to the one using the holder 110. . For example, instead of using the holder 110, the containers 100 on a transfer device such as a belt conveyor may be inverted, cleaned, and returned to the original transfer device or another transfer device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Alignment reversal cleaner 2 Alignment cleaner head 3 Alignment cleaner unit (hand)
4 Reversing device (robot arm)
Reference Signs List 5 Reversing device mounting part 10 Main frame 11 Main frame back plate 20 Gripper 21 Anti-slip material 25 Gripper opening / closing device 30 Rotary joints 31, 32 Air systems 33a, 33b, 33c, sealing material 34 Deep groove ball bearing 35 Housing part 36 Shaft Part 37 hollow center part 40 sealing member 41 hole part 42 discharge pipe 43 pressing spring 44 dust collecting duct 45 dust collecting air collecting part 46 dust collecting air connecting part 47 dust collecting hose 48 air leakage prevention packing 50 air blow nozzle 51 air supply Pipe 52 Air supply unit 53 Air hose 54 Air blow nozzle elevating drive device 55 Linear roller slider 56 Floating joint 57 Connection bracket 58 Air blow nozzle bracket 60 Rotary device having hollow portion at rotation center, hollow rotary shaft Cuctuator 61 Rotary table 62 Stepping motor 63 Pinion 70 Direction detection sensor 71 Square pipe 72 Square pipe fixed position adjuster 100 Container 101 Container mouth 102 I mark 110 Holder (Hakama)
111a, 111b Conveyor 112 Lateral feed pusher P1 Pick position P2 Place position

Claims (12)

Holds the container, injects fluid into the held container, and rotates the container in the circumferential direction to turn the container in a predetermined direction. An alignment cleaner unit in which a plurality of alignment cleaner heads are arranged, and the alignment cleaner unit is turned upside down. A container reversal cleaner comprising a reversing device for causing
Align cleaner head,
Holding means for holding the container,
A rotating device having a hollow portion at the center of rotation, which can rotate the container held by the holding means in the circumferential direction of the container,
A sealing member that contacts the mouth of the container held by the holding means,
Through a hollow part of the rotating device, a discharge pipe communicating with the inside of the container held by the holding means, and a fluid ejection nozzle inserted through the inside of the discharge pipe and inserted into the container held by the holding means,
An alignment reversal cleaner in which a reversing device inverts the alignment cleaner unit while the container is held by the alignment cleaner head.   2. The alignment reversing cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the reversing device turns the alignment cleaner unit upside down by rotating the alignment cleaner unit about a horizontal direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the alignment cleaner heads as a center of rotation.   3. The alignment reversing cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the reversing device is a device that rotates the wrist of the arm of the vertical articulated robot.   2. The alignment reversing cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the reversing device turns the alignment cleaner unit upside down by rotating the alignment cleaner unit about the arrangement direction of the alignment cleaner head as a rotation center.   The alignment reversing cleaner according to claim 4, wherein the reversing device is a device that performs elbow rotation of the arm of the vertical articulated robot.   The alignment reversal cleaner according to claim 3 or 5, wherein an arm of the vertical articulated robot, which is a reversing device, moves the alignment cleaner unit up and down and moves horizontally.   The alignment reversing cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the alignment cleaner head has a direction detection unit that detects a direction of the container held by the holding unit.   The alignment reversal cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein an insertion amount of the fluid ejection nozzle into the container is variable.   The alignment reversal cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a pressing mechanism for pressing the seal member against the mouth of the container.   The alignment reversal cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the seal member has a cup shape that covers the mouth of the container, and has a conical inner space.   The alignment cleaner unit has a dust collection duct extending in the arrangement direction of the alignment cleaner head, a plurality of discharge pipes are connected to the dust collection duct, and a fluid supply pipe that supplies fluid to the fluid ejection nozzle has a dust collection duct. The alignment reversal cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 10, which penetrates the duct.   The alignment reversal cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the fluid is a gas.

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