JP2021187530A - Capper - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a capper capable of capping while positioning a cap and a vessel without applying a large load.SOLUTION: A cap C is gripped by a capping head 22. The capping head 22 is lifted relative to a vessel V by an engagement of a cam 34 and a cam follower 32A. A grip member 48A of the capping head 22 is movable between a grip position abutting onto a lateral surface of the cap C to grip the cap C and an open position away from the lateral surface of the cap to open the cap. When capping the cap C, a plate 52B abuts onto a top surface of the cap C. The grip member 48A is moved to the grip position and the open position by a head drive part 35. The cap C is movable in a horizontal position in the capping head 22 by moving the grip member 48A from the grip position to the open position in the middle of the capping of the cap C, and the cap C is capped to the vessel V by the plate 52B.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

The present invention relates to a capper for tapping a cap into a container.

With a drive-in type capper that is attached by pushing the cap held by the capping head into the mouth of the container, if the cap and the central axis of the container are misaligned during tapping, a strong load will be applied to the cap and container, causing scratches. Defects such as sticking or the cap being slanted into the container may occur. To solve such a problem, a configuration has been proposed in which when the cap is plugged into the container, the neck gripper that grips the container is once opened and the cap is plugged so that the container imitates the axis of the cap. (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 5003021

However, since the container is filled with the contents and is heavy, a strong load may be applied to the cap and the container to make the container imitate the cap, which may cause scratches.

An object of the present invention is to provide a capper capable of tapping while aligning a cap and a container without applying a large load.

The capper according to the first aspect of the present invention has a capping head for gripping a cap, a container holding means provided below the capping head for holding a container, and the capping head and the container holding means relative to each other. The capping head is provided with an elevating means for raising and lowering, and the capping head has a gripping portion that can be moved to a gripping position for gripping the cap in contact with the side surface of the cap and an open position for opening the cap apart from the side surface of the cap. A cap supplied from the cap supply means, which has a plate that comes into contact with the top surface of the cap when the cap is plugged, and a driving means that moves the grip portion between the grip position and the open position. A capper that plugs the cap into the container held by the container holding means after being gripped by the capping head, after the lower end of the cap becomes the same height as the top surface of the container during the plugging operation. By moving the grip portion from the grip position to the open position to open the cap, the cap can be moved horizontally in the capping head, and the cap is stoppered by the plate. ..

In the first invention, the capper according to the second aspect of the present invention includes a rotating means for rotating the capping head and a direction detecting means for detecting the direction of the cap held by the capping head. The capping head is rotated based on the detection signal of the direction detecting means to align the directions of the caps, and then the caps are tapped into the container held by the container holding means.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a capper capable of tapping while aligning a cap and a container without applying a large load.

It is a top view which shows the arrangement of the capper which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a vertical sectional view which shows the structure around the capping head and the container holding part provided along the outer peripheral part of the capper of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a control device. It is a vertical sectional view of a capping head. It is a top view which shows the arrangement of the chuck of a capping head. It is a vertical sectional view which shows the positional relationship between a capping head and a laser sensor in a direction adjustment section. It is a side view which shows the state which the cap held by the capping head is lowered to the vicinity of the mouth part of a container in a plugging section. In the latter half of the plugging section, the chuck is opened and the cap is sandwiched and held by the mouth portion of the plate and the container V.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an arrangement of cappers according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a vertical section showing a structure around a capping head and a container holding portion provided along the outer peripheral portion of the capper of FIG. It is a plan view and only the left half of the capper is shown.

The cap C and the container V are supplied to the capper 10 of the present embodiment from the cap / container supply wheel 12 at the supply position P1. The cap / container supply wheel 12 is a rotating body having a cap supply disc on the upper stage and a container supply wheel on the lower stage. The cap C is supplied from the cap supply chute 14 to the upper cap supply disk, and the container V filled with the contents from the container supply conveyor 16 via the infeed screw 16A is supplied to the lower container supply wheel in the hakama 24A. It is supplied in a housed state (see FIG. 2).

The capper 10 is a wheel-type capper including a plurality of capping heads 22 along the outer periphery thereof and a container holding portion (container holding means) 24 corresponding to each capping head 22. At the supply position P1, the cap C is delivered to the capping head 22 from the cap supply disk of the cap / container supply wheel 12, and the container holding portion 24 is housed in the hakama 24A from the container supply wheel of the cap / container supply wheel 12. The container V is delivered.

As shown in FIG. 1, the predetermined section from the supply position P1 toward the downstream side is a direction adjustment section A1 in which the capping head is rotated to match the direction of the cap C with the direction of the container V as described later. be. On the downstream side of the direction adjusting section A1, a plugging section A2 for attaching the cap C to the mouth of the container V by the capping head 22 is provided. The container V, which has been plugged in the plugging section A2, is delivered to the discharge wheel 18 at the discharge position P2 located on the downstream side of the plugging section A2 while being housed in the hakama 24A, and further to the discharge conveyor 20. Is handed over.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the capper 10, the rotating body 10B is rotatably held around a fixed shaft 10A arranged in the center via bearings 26A, 26B and the like. The rotating body 10B includes a lower rotating portion 28A in which the container holding portion 24 is arranged along the outer circumference, and an upper rotating portion 28B for holding the capping head 22 arranged directly above each container holding portion 24. Further, a gear 28C is arranged on the outer periphery of the lower end portion of the rotating body 10B, and the gear 28C is driven by, for example, a worm gear 30 connected to a drive motor (not shown). As a result, the rotating body 10B is rotated around the fixed shaft 10A at a predetermined speed.

The container holding portion 24 of the present embodiment includes a gripper 24B. The neck of the container V delivered while being housed in the hakama 24A is gripped by the gripper 24B. The opening / closing operation of the gripper 24B is controlled by a cam mechanism (not shown). That is, the gripper 24B is closed at the supply position P1 and the container V is gripped, and is opened before the discharge position P2 to open the container V.

The capping head 22 is attached to the lower end of the head holding portion 32. The head holding portion 32 is vertically held by the upper rotating portion 28B, and a cam follower 32A (elevating means) that engages with a cam (elevating means) 34 provided on the fixed shaft 10A is provided in the vicinity of the upper end portion thereof. That is, when the head holding portion 32 moves along the circumference with the rotation of the upper rotating portion 28B, the head holding portion 32 moves up and down according to the shape of the cam 34.

Further, the capping head 22 is attached to the lower end of the rotating shaft 36 that vertically passes through the inside of the head holding portion 32 via the head driving portion 35. On the other hand, the upper end of the rotary shaft 36 is connected to the servomotor 38. That is, the capping head 22 can be rotated by driving the servomotor 38.

The head drive unit (drive means) 35 is a mechanism that controls the cap gripping operation of the capping head 22 by using compressed air, and an air passage 35A that circulates air along a shaft is provided inside the head drive unit (drive means) 35. The lower end of the 35A is connected to a chuck drive mechanism of the capping head 22 described later. Compressed air can be supplied to the air passage 35A from the compressed air source 35C via the on-off valve 35B.

Further, a laser sensor (direction detecting means) 40 for detecting the direction of the cap C is arranged in the vicinity of each capping head 22 as described later. The laser sensor 40 is held by a support rod 40A hanging from the lower surface of the upper rotating portion 28B.

The drive of the servomotor 38 and the on-off valve 35B is controlled by the control device 42 as shown in the block diagram of FIG. The control device 42 determines the opening / closing timing of the chuck of the capping head 22, which will be described later, based on the signal from the encoder 42A that detects the phase of the rotating body 10B, controls the opening / closing of the opening / closing valve 35B, and controls the opening / closing of the opening / closing valve 35B. The rotation of the servomotor 38 is controlled based on the signal to adjust the direction of the cap C with respect to the container V in a predetermined direction.

4A and 4B are vertical cross-sectional views of the capping head 22, FIG. 4A shows a state before the cap C is held, and FIG. 4B shows a state where the cap C is held. Further, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the chucks of the capping head 22. The configuration of the chuck drive mechanism provided in the capping head 22 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

The capping head 22 is provided with a cup-shaped head body 22A opened downward, a chuck mechanism 22B housed in the head body 22A, and a shaft portion provided on the upper part of the head body 22A and connected to the head drive unit 35. It is equipped with 22C. An air passage 35A is arranged at the center of the shaft portion 22C. The air passage 35A is radially branched below the shaft portion 22C, extends diagonally downward, and communicates from the top surface of the head body 22A to the inside of the head body 22A.

At the center of the lower end of the shaft portion 22C, a rod-shaped locking member 44 is provided downward and extends into the head main body 22A. A cam member 46 constituting the chuck mechanism 22B is arranged directly below the top surface in the head main body 22A. The outer peripheral surface of the cam member 46 is in sliding contact with the inner peripheral surface of the head body 22A, and a hole 46A through which the locking member 44 is airtightly inserted is provided at the center thereof. That is, the cam member 46 is arranged so as to be able to move up and down in the head main body 22A, and when compressed air is supplied into the head main body 22A through the air passage 35A, the top surface of the head main body 22A and the top surface of the cam member 46 Compressed air is supplied between them, and the cam member 46 is lowered along the inner peripheral surface of the head body 22A. A seal ring 46B is attached to the upper end of the outer peripheral surface of the cam member 46 to make airtight between the cam member and the inner peripheral surface of the head body 22A, and prevent leakage of compressed air supplied into the head body 22A. To.

The lower end surface of the cam member 46 has an annular shape and includes a cam surface 46C that is inclined inward in a conical shape. Below the cam member 46, a plurality of (for example, three) chucks 48 are arranged in an annular shape along the cam surface 46C. Each chuck 48 includes a gripping member 48A that grips the outer periphery of the cap C from the outside, and a driven member 48B that moves the entire chuck 48 inward in the radial direction in cooperation with the cam member 46.

Each gripping member 48A has, for example, a fan-shaped planar shape, and adjacent gripping members 48A are connected to each other by a urging member 50 such as a spring, and each is urged so as to spread outward in the radial direction. The gripping member 48A is held radially inward by the driven member 48B, and the top surface of the driven member 48B includes a contact surface 48C that is in sliding contact with the cam surface 46C. Further, the bottom surface of the driven member 48B is supported by the web portion 22D extending inwardly from the lower end portion of the head main body 22A. That is, the chuck 48 is housed in the cylinder of the head body 22A, and the cam member 46 is arranged between the chuck 48 and the top surface of the head body 22A.

Further, on the lower surface of the cam member 46 inside the cam surface 46C, a urging member 52A such as a spring is arranged around the hole 46A so as to surround the locking member 44 extending downward from the hole 46A. .. At the lower end of the urging member 52A, a plate 52B abutting on the top surface of the cap C is horizontally arranged so as to cover the lower end surface of the locking member 44.

Since the chuck 48 is urged by the urging member 50 so as to expand its diameter, the gripping member 48A is urged outward in the radial direction. As a result, the cam member 46 is urged upward by the contact surface 48C of the driven member 48B that is in sliding contact with the cam surface 46C. Therefore, when compressed air is not supplied into the head body 22A, the chuck 48 is maintained in an open state (diameter expanded state) (open position), and the top surface of the cam member 46 is the top surface of the head body 22A. It is maintained in contact with the surface.

Next, the capping operation in the capper 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 and 6 to 8. Note that FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship between the capping head 22 and the laser sensor 40 in the direction adjustment section A1. Further, FIG. 7 is a side view showing a state in which the cap C gripped by the capping head 22 is lowered to the vicinity of the mouth portion of the container V in the plugging section A2, and FIG. 8 is a side view showing a state in which the cap C gripped by the capping head 22 is lowered to the vicinity of the mouth portion of the container V. , The chuck 48 is opened, and the cap C is sandwiched and held by the mouth portion of the plate 52B and the container V.

The capping head 22 is maintained in the state of FIG. 4A on the upstream side of the supply position P1 of FIG. 1 and on the downstream side of the discharge position P2. The capping head 22 is slightly lowered from the front of the supply position P1 by the engagement between the cam 34 and the cam follower 32A, and the cap C on the cap supply disk of the cap / container supply wheel 12 is inserted into the head body 22A.

As shown in FIG. 4B, in the capping head 22, the top of the cap C is pressed against the plate 52B, and the plate 52B abuts on the lower end surface of the locking member 44 against the urging force of the urging member 52A. The head body 22A is lowered to. After that, at the supply position P1, the open / close valve 35B is opened, the compressed air of the compressed air source 35C is supplied into the head body 22A through the air passage 35A, and the cam member 46 is pushed downward. As a result, the chuck 48 whose bottom is restricted from moving in the vertical direction by the web portion 22D is moved inward in the radial direction against the urging force of the urging member 50 by the contact between the cam surface 46C and the contact surface 48C. , The gripping member 48A grips the outer peripheral surface (side surface) of the cap C from three sides (grasping position).

At about the same time, the capping head 22 is slightly raised by the engagement of the cam 34 and the cam follower 32A, and the cap C is delivered to the capping head 22. The cap C is provided with, for example, a protrusion Cp on the outside of the opening edge, and in the direction adjustment section A1, the capping head 22 has the same level of the height of the protrusion Cp of the gripped cap C as the laser sensor 40, as shown in FIG. It is maintained at the height that becomes.

In the direction adjustment section A1, the control device 42 rotates the capping head 22 by the servomotor 38, and when the projection Cp of the cap C is detected by the laser sensor 40, the servomotor 38 is rotated by a predetermined angle from that position and the capping head. The direction of the cap C gripped by 22 is aligned with the direction of the container V held by the container holding portion 24.

Upon entering the plugging section A2, the capping head 22 is lowered by the engagement of the cam 34 and the cam follower 32A, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, when the mouth portion of the container V descends to a height at which it slightly enters the lower end of the cap C, the open / close valve 35B is closed, and the chuck 48 moves radially outward due to the urging force of the urging member 50. And the grip of the cap C is released. That is, the chuck 48 grips the cap C over the section B1 over the initial fixed section of the direction adjusting section A1 and the plugging section A2, and then the chuck is held in the section B2 until the next supply position P1 is reached. The 48 is opened and the cap C is held sandwiched between the plate 52B and the mouth of the container V until the plugging is completed. The timing for opening the chuck 48 is controlled based on the relationship between the phase of the rotating body 10B stored in advance and the height of the chuck 48 and the signal from the encoder 42A.

The capping head 22 is further lowered from the state shown in FIG. 8 with the chuck 48 open, and the cap C is pushed into the mouth of the container V by the plate 52B abutting on the top surface of the cap C, and the cap C is completely inserted into the container V. When the plug is plugged, the plugging section A2 ends. The capping head 22 is raised to a height that does not interfere with the plugged cap C by the discharge position P2 due to the engagement between the cam 34 and the cam follower 32A, and is raised to the initial height by the supply position P1.

When the central axis of the mouth portion of the cap C and the container V is deviated in the plugging section A2, the cap C is not gripped by the chuck 48 from the state of FIG. 8 to the completion of the plugging, and the plate 52B and the container V are not gripped. Since it is held by being sandwiched between the two, horizontal movement is not restricted. Further, the inside of the opening edge of the cap C of the present embodiment has a tapered surface that gradually expands outward toward the bottom, and the top surface of the mouth portion of the container V has a tapered surface during the plugging operation. The cap C moves horizontally following the container. Therefore, when the cap C is pressed against the mouth of the container V by the plate 52B of the capping head 22, the cap C is horizontally moved following the mouth and is plugged into the mouth at an appropriate position. The shape of the mouth portion of the cap C and the container V is limited to the present embodiment as long as the cap C can be horizontally moved (aligned) according to the cap C when the cap C is pressed against the mouth portion of the container V. It's not something.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the cap is gripped by the chuck and then the cap is tapped, the chuck is opened and the cap is opened after the lower end of the cap is at the same height as the top surface of the container. By allowing lateral movement (horizontal movement) within the chuck, it is possible to tap at an appropriate position so that a large load is not applied to the cap and the container.

In the capper of the present embodiment, the capping head is raised and lowered, but the container holding portion or both may be raised and lowered to perform plugging. Further, as a configuration of the grip portion, a rubber member that expands by air is arranged, the rubber is expanded by supplying air to grip the cap, and the cap is capped without expanding by not supplying air. May be configured to open. Further, in the present embodiment, the chuck is opened when the mouth of the container is slightly inserted into the cap, but the chuck may be opened when the lower end of the cap is at the same height as the top surface of the container.

10 Capper 10A Fixed shaft 10B Rotating body 22 Capping head 32A Cam follower 34 Cam 35A Air passage 35 Head drive unit 35B Open / close valve 35C Compressed air source 38 Servo motor 40 Laser sensor 46 Cam member 48 Chuck A1 Direction adjustment section A2 Chuck Closed section B2 Chuck open section C cap V container

Claims (2)

With a capping head that grips the cap,
A container holding means provided below the capping head to hold the container, and a container holding means.
A means for raising and lowering the capping head and the means for holding the container are provided.
The capping head is
A gripping portion that can be moved to a gripping position that abuts on the side surface of the cap to grip the cap and an open position that separates from the side surface of the cap and opens the cap.
A plate that comes into contact with the top surface of the cap when the cap is plugged,
It has a driving means for moving the grip portion to the grip position and the open position.
A capper that grips a cap supplied from a cap supply means by the capping head and then taps the cap into a container held by the container holding means.
During the tapping operation, after the lower end of the cap becomes the same height as the top surface of the container, the cap is released by moving the grip portion from the grip position to the open position to open the cap. A capper that can be moved horizontally in the capping head and is stoppered by the plate. A rotating means for rotating the capping head and
A direction detecting means for detecting the direction of the cap held by the capping head is provided.
The first aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the caps are aligned in the direction of the cap by rotating the capping head based on the detection signal of the direction detecting means, and then the cap is tapped into the container held by the container holding means. The capper described.

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