JP2598539Y2 - Lifting device for clamp arm in capper - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a capper, and more particularly, to a capper having a clamp mechanism for holding and fixing a container.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a capper having a clamp mechanism, a rotatably provided rotatable member, and rotatably supported at equal circumferential positions of the rotatable member to rotate in opposite directions to each other. Each pair of clamp shafts, a cam mechanism for reciprocatingly rotating each clamp shaft with the rotation of the rotating body,
A pair of clamp arms that are provided on each pair of clamp shafts and that are opened and closed by rotating operations in opposite directions to grip the container, and that are provided at equal circumferential positions of the rotating body and the pair of clamp arms; There is known a device provided with a capping head for capping a cap on a container held by an arm. When capping various containers having different container heights, it is preferable to hold the container at a position corresponding to the height of the container. For this reason, conventionally, a clamp shaft is rotatably supported on a rotating body. A lower clamp shaft and an upper clamp shaft detachably connected to the lower clamp shaft, and a clamp arm is attached to the upper clamp shaft are known (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-14696). No.). According to this clamp mechanism, a plurality of types of upper clamp shafts are prepared in which the height position of the clamp arm fixed to the upper clamp shaft is adjusted to the height of the container, and when the container is changed, What is necessary is just to replace with the upper side clamp shaft suitable for.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when the types of containers are large, it is necessary to prepare various types of upper clamp shafts, and the management becomes complicated, and the replacement work of the upper clamp shaft is also complicated. Was. In view of such circumstances, the present invention requires the above-mentioned pair of clamp arms to be able to move up and down in accordance with the height of the container, so that the above-described various types of upper clamp shafts need to be prepared or replaced. It is intended to provide a device for lifting and lowering a clamp arm of a capper.

That is, the present invention relates to a rotating member provided rotatably, and a rotating member which is rotatably supported at equal circumferential positions of the rotating member and rotates in opposite directions to each other. A pair of clamp shafts, a cam mechanism that reciprocates each clamp shaft with the rotation of the rotating body, and a pair of clamp shafts, which are opened and closed by rotating operations in opposite directions to grip the container. In each of the pair of clamp arms and a capper provided at a circumferentially equidistant position of the rotating body and a capping head for capping a cap held by the pair of clamp arms, the rotating body includes: A cylindrical cam member surrounding the rotation center of the rotating body is rotatably provided, and the cam member is interlocked with a motor provided on the rotating body, and is disposed around the cylindrical cam member. A plurality of elevating rods are provided on the rotating body so as to be able to move up and down, and a cam follower provided at an upper end of each elevating rod is engaged with a plurality of cams formed on the cam member to rotate the cam member with respect to the rotating body. Accordingly, each lifting rod can be raised and lowered, a lifting member is connected to the lower end of each lifting rod, and a pair of clamp arms that rotate integrally with the clamp shaft with the rotation of the clamp shaft are clamped. In addition to being able to move up and down with respect to the shaft, the ends of each pair of clamp arms are swingably engaged with the outer peripheral portion of the elevating member, and each pair of clamp arms is moved up and down as the elevating member moves up and down. It was made possible.

According to the above construction, if the cam member is rotated with respect to the rotating body by the motor, the cam follower,
The lifting rod and the lifting member are raised and lowered, and each pair of clamp arms can be raised and lowered as the lifting member moves up and down. Therefore, when the container is changed and it becomes necessary to change the height of the clamp arm, it is only necessary to start the motor, and the operation can be performed very easily.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a capper (see FIG. 2) for capping a cap on a container. The rotation is synchronized with the rotation of the capper 1, is carried into the capper 1 by the supply-side star wheel 4, and is held and fixed by the clamp mechanism 5. The container gripped by the clamp mechanism 5 is conveyed with the counterclockwise rotation of the rotating body 6 constituting the capper, and the cap is capped on the container during that. Then, the container 3 with the cap capped is released on the conveyor 2 by the discharge-side star wheel 7 after the gripping by the clamp mechanism 5 is released. The above capper 1
Has a fixed shaft 9 fixed to the frame 8 in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. 2, and a rotatable shaft 10 is rotatably supported on the outer periphery of the fixed shaft 9 from the middle part to the lower part. The rotation shaft 10 can be driven to rotate in one direction by a motor (not shown). The rotating body 6 includes a first disk 11 fixed above the rotating shaft 10, a rotating table 12 fixed below, and a second disk 11 connected above the first disk 11 via a plurality of rods 14. And a shaft portion of the second disk 15 is rotatably supported on the upper end of the fixed shaft 9. A plurality of spindles 16 are arranged vertically at equal intervals on the outer peripheral portion of the first disk 11. Each spindle 16 is, as shown in FIG.
A first spindle 16a having a spline formed on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body, and a second spindle 16b spline-fitted to the first spindle 16a, and the upper end of each second spindle 16b is connected to a second disk. 15 are connected to servomotors 17 respectively. On the other hand, one end of a bracket 18 is rotatably attached to the axial center of each first spindle 16a, and the other end of the bracket 18 is attached to the adjacent rod 14 so as to be able to move up and down. To prevent rotation. Then, a cam follower 1 is attached to each bracket 18.
9, and each cam follower 19 is engaged with an elevating cam 21 fixed to the fixed shaft 9 via an inverted cup-shaped cover 20, so that the first spindle 21 is moved by the elevating cam 21 with the rotation of the rotating shaft 10. 16a can be raised and lowered. Further, a capping head 22 is attached to the lower end of each of the first spindles 16a.
When the cap 6b is rotated, the capping head 22 is rotated via the first spindle 16a spline-fitted to the second spindle 16b, and the cap 24 held by the capping head 22 is capped on the container 3. Have to be able to. The capping head 22 is formed of, for example, a conventionally known air chuck type capping head, and can grip the cap 24 when compressed air is supplied from a compressed air source (not shown) via an electromagnetic valve. It has become. Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the same number of the above-described clamping mechanisms 5 as the capping heads 22 are provided at equidistant positions on the outer peripheral portion of the lower turntable 12 constituting the rotary body 6.
Is provided. Each of the clamp mechanisms 5 includes a rotary table 12
A pair of clamp shafts 25A and 25B that are vertically supported on the
And a gear 26 attached to each clamp shaft 25A, 25B,
26, the two gears 26, 26 mesh with each other so that when one clamp shaft 25A is rotated in the forward and reverse directions, the other clamp shaft 25B can be rotated in the reverse direction. I have to. A pair of clamp arms 28 and 29 are respectively attached to the pair of clamp shafts 25A and 25B so as to rotate integrally with each of the clamp shafts. Therefore, by rotating the pair of clamp shafts 25A, 25B in opposite directions via the gears 26, 26, the pair of clamp arms 28, 29 can be opened and closed. One end of a swing lever 30 is fixed to the lower end of one of the pair of clamp shafts 25A and 25B, and a cam follower 32 constituting a cam mechanism 31 is fixed to the other end of the swing lever 30. Installed. A return spring 3 is provided between each swing lever 30 and the rotary table 12.
3, the swing lever 30 is moved in one direction by the return spring 33, that is, the clamp shaft 25A,
The clamp arms 28 and 29 are urged to rotate in the closing direction via 25B. The cam mechanism 31 includes a cam member 34 fixed to the frame 8, and the return spring 33 urges the swing lever 30 in the above-described one direction, thereby moving the cam follower 32 to the cam member 34. It is engaged with the outer peripheral cam surface. Therefore, the clamp arms 28 and 29 can be opened by moving the swing lever 30 in the opposite direction to that described above by the cam member 34 against the return spring 33. Further, each of the pair of clamp arms 2
8 and 29 are attached so as to rotate integrally with each of the clamp shafts 25A and 25B. At the same time, each of the clamp arms 28 and 29 is attached to each of the clamp shafts 25A and 25B.
A and 25B can be moved up and down. That is,
The pair of clamp shafts 25A, 25B are connected to one end of swing arms 35, 35 protruding outward in the radial direction of the rotary table 12 at respective lower positions. , Drive rods 36A and 36B disposed in parallel with the clamp shafts 25A and 25B are fixed. And one clamp shaft 25A and drive rod 36A
The other clamp arm 28 is attached to the other clamp shaft 25B and the drive rod 36B so as to be able to move up and down. Therefore, when each of the clamp shafts 25A and 25B is rotated in the opposite direction, each of the swing arm 35 and the drive rod 36
A, 36B, the respective clamp arms 28, 29 are integrally rotated with the respective clamp shafts 25A, 25B, while the respective clamp arms 28, 29 are respectively rotated by the respective clamp shafts 25A, 25B.
It is also possible to go up and down. Next, a description will be given of an elevating device 38 for raising and lowering all the clamp arms 28 and 29 at the same time. The elevating device 38 is a cylinder arranged on the first disk 11 constituting the rotating body 6 so as to surround the rotation center thereof. A cam member 39 is provided. The cam member 39 is rotatably supported on the first disk 11 via a bearing 40. A gear 41 is formed on the outer periphery of the upper end of the cam member 39, and meshes with a drive gear 43 of a motor 42 fixed to the first disk 11 via an idle gear 44. Also, at least three lifting rods 45 are arranged around the cam member 39 so that each lifting rod 4
5 is provided on the first disk 11 so as to be movable up and down, and a cam follower 46 provided at the upper end of each lifting rod 45 is engaged with a cam groove 39 a formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cam member 39. This cam groove 39a is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cam member 39 by the same number as the lifting rod 45, and by forming each cam groove 39a obliquely in the vertical direction,
When the cam member 39 is rotated with respect to the first disk 11, the lifting rods 45 can be raised and lowered simultaneously. Further, a ring-shaped elevating member 47 surrounding the rotating shaft 10 is connected to the lower end of each elevating rod 45, and the same number of engaging members 48 as the clamp mechanisms 5 are provided at equal circumferential positions of the elevating member 47. It is mounted so that it protrudes radially outward. On the other hand, each of the clamp arms 28,
Engagement portions 28a, 29 having a U-shaped cross section
is formed, and the respective engaging members 48 are engaged in the respective engaging portions 28a and 29a. Therefore, each pair of clamp arms 28 and 29 can swing with respect to each of the engagement members 48, and the elevating member 47 and each of the engagement members 48
When the robot moves up and down, it moves up and down as one moves. In the above configuration, when the container 3 is carried into the rotary table 12 of the capper 1 via the supply-side star wheel 4, the cam mechanism 31 described above causes a pair of clamp arms 25A and 25B via a pair of clamp shafts 25A and 25B. 28 and 29 are swung in the closing direction to grip the container 3. At this time, the engaging portions 2 of the clamp arms 28 and 29
Although 8a and 29a are engaged with the engaging member 48 provided on the elevating member 47, the engagement does not hinder the opening and closing operations of the clamp arms 28 and 29. On the other hand, the capping head 22 is held at the rising end position by the elevating cam 21, and in this state, the cap 24 is supplied to and held by the capping head 22 by a cap supply mechanism (not shown). Then, the cap 24 is attached to the capping head 22.
Is supplied and held, the capping head 22 is rotated by the servo motor 17 and lowered by the elevating cam 21 to cap the held cap 24 on the mouth of the container 3. Thereafter, when the cap 24 is released from the holding of the cap 24 by the capping head 22 and the capping head 22 is lifted, the clamp arms 28 and 29 are opened to release the holding of the container 3, and the container 3 is discharged to the starwheel. 7 to the conveyor 2. Next, when it is necessary to change the height position of the clamp arms 28 and 29 for gripping the container when the container is changed, the motor 42 of the elevating device 38 is started, and the drive gear 43 and the idle gear 44 Then, the cam member 39 is rotated with respect to the rotating body 6 via the gear 41 and the gear 41. Then
Each lifting rod 45 is moved through the cam groove 39a of the cam member 39.
Are simultaneously moved up and down, whereby the elevating member 47 and the engaging member 48 are moved up and down.
Clamp arm 2 engaged via 8a, 29a
8, 29 will be raised and lowered simultaneously. Therefore,
According to the present invention including the elevating device 38, it is possible to eliminate the necessity of exchanging parts of the clamp mechanism, which has been conventionally performed every time the container is changed, and it becomes unnecessary to manage the parts. . Each of the clamp arms 28,
29 is rotated integrally with each clamp shaft 25A, 25B, and each clamp arm 28, 29 is
A spline fitting may be used as a means for allowing the A and 25B to freely move up and down. More specifically, the outer periphery of each of the clamp shafts 25A, 25B may be used as a spline shaft, and spline holes may be formed in the clamp arms 28, 29, and the spline holes may be spline-fitted to the spline shafts. In such a configuration, the clamp arm can be rotated integrally with the clamp shaft in conjunction with the clamp shaft, and the clamp arm can be moved up and down with respect to the clamp shaft.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the need for replacing the parts of the clamp mechanism, which has been performed each time the container is changed, and to eliminate the need for managing the parts. Therefore, there is an effect that the operation can be performed very easily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing one embodiment of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II - II in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 2;

[Description of sign]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Capper 3 ... Container 5 ... Clamp mechanism 6 ... Rotating body 11 ... 1st disk 12 ... Rotary table 15 ... 2nd disk 25A, 25B ... Clamp shaft 31 ... Cam mechanism 28, 29 ... Clamp arm 28a, 29a ... Engagement parts 36A, 36B ...
Drive rod 38 ... Elevating device

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] A rotating body provided rotatably; a pair of clamp shafts rotatably supported at circumferentially equal intervals of the rotating body and rotating in opposite directions to each other; A cam mechanism for reciprocatingly rotating each of the clamp shafts with the rotation of the clamp shaft, a pair of clamp arms provided on each of the pair of clamp shafts, which are opened and closed by rotating operations in opposite directions to each other to grip the container; A capping head provided at equal circumferential positions of the body and capping a cap on a container gripped by the pair of clamp arms, wherein the rotating body has a cylinder surrounding a rotation center of the rotating body. A rotatable cam member is provided, and this cam member is linked to a motor provided on a rotating body, and a plurality of lifting rods arranged around the cylindrical cam member are provided on the rotating body. The cam followers provided at the upper end of each lifting rod are respectively engaged with a plurality of cams formed on the cam member, and each lifting rod can be raised and lowered with the rotation of the cam member with respect to the rotating body. At the same time, a lifting member is connected to the lower end of each lifting rod, and each pair of clamp arms that rotate integrally with the clamp shaft with the rotation of the clamp shaft can be raised and lowered with respect to the clamp shaft. A pair of clamp arms which are swingably engaged with the outer peripheral portion of the lifting member so that the pair of clamp arms can be raised and lowered as the lifting member moves up and down. Lifting device for the clamp arm.