JP2740856B2 - Container capping method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for capping a container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a trigger type discharge container (actually open flat 7-37)
No. 44) or a pump-type discharge container (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 6-30065), in which a nozzle head is attached to the opening of the container body by pressing it with a cap screwed into the opening of the container body. .

In a container provided with these nozzle heads, a cap and a nozzle head are attached to an opening of the container body after filling the container body with a liquid. If the mounting direction is irregular, the nozzle may hinder the handling of the container on the production line and the storage property at the distribution stage may be impaired.

Therefore, a capping method for mounting a nozzle head in a predetermined nozzle direction with respect to a container body has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-127485. This prior art includes a pair of openable / closable clamp fingers for holding the nozzle head in a predetermined direction on both sides of the nozzle head so as to hold the nozzle head in a predetermined direction, and rotating the cap to open the opening of the container body. Provided with elastic contact rollers provided at a plurality of positions on the outer periphery of the cap so as to be screwed together.

[0005]

However, in the prior art, a pair of openable / closable clamp fingers and its driving unit are arranged on both sides of the nozzle head, and the elastic contact roller and its driving unit are arranged at a plurality of positions around the cap. And the device configuration becomes large.

An object of the present invention is to provide a compact configuration in which a nozzle head is pressed against a container body by a cap,
Another object of the present invention is to enable the nozzle head to be positioned and mounted in a predetermined nozzle direction with respect to the container body.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a nozzle head is pinched to an opening of the container main body by a cap screwed into the opening of the container main body, and the nozzle head is connected to the container. In a method of capping a container which is positioned and mounted in a predetermined nozzle direction with respect to a main body, an intermediate tightening torque T1 at an intermediate tightening position of the cap, a final tightening torque T2 at a final tightening position, and The final rotation angle θ up to the final tightening position is determined in advance, the cap and the nozzle head are temporarily attached to the opening of the container body, the cap is chucked by the cap chuck, the nozzle head is chucked by the nozzle chuck, and the cap chuck is chucked. With the simultaneous rotation of the nozzle chuck and the nozzle chuck, the cap tightens to the intermediate tightening position where the tightening torque of the cap reaches the above T1. Simultaneously rotate the chirping head, release the cap chuck by the cap chuck and do not rotate the cap, and rotate the nozzle chuck so that only the nozzle head is positioned in front of the container body by the final rotation angle θ from the predetermined nozzle direction with respect to the container body. Rotated, the cap is chucked again by the cap chuck, and simultaneously with the cap chuck and the nozzle chuck, the cap and the nozzle head are simultaneously rotated by the final rotation angle θ to position the nozzle head in the predetermined nozzle direction with respect to the container body, When the tightening torque of the cap reaches the above T2, the mounting of the cap and the nozzle head is completed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the nozzle head is pressed against the opening of the container main body by a cap screwed into the opening of the container main body, and the nozzle head is pressed in a predetermined nozzle direction with respect to the container main body. In a container capping apparatus that is positioned and mounted on a spindle, a motor-driven spindle, a cap chuck provided at the lower part of the spindle that can chuck the cap and can also release the chuck, and a chuck that is provided at the lower part of the spindle to chuck the nozzle head A nozzle chuck, a torque detector that detects the tightening torque of the cap, a rotation angle detector that detects the rotation angle of the spindle, and the detection results of the torque detector and the rotation angle detector. And controlling the chuck operation of the chuck to execute the capping method according to claim 1. It is obtained so as to Noh.

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the following operations are provided. The cap and the nozzle head are simultaneously rotated to the intermediate tightening position (intermediate tightening torque T1), and only the nozzle head is rotated from the predetermined nozzle direction so as to be positioned forward by the final rotation angle θ of the cap. Since the head is simultaneously rotated to the final tightening position (final tightening torque T2) by the final rotation angle θ, the cap is completely tightened with the predetermined final tightening torque, and at the same time, the nozzle direction of the nozzle head is positioned in the predetermined direction. Can be installed. At this time, the tightening torque applied to the cap is detected by the torque detector, and the rotation angle position of the nozzle head is detected by the rotation angle detector. Therefore, the tightening of the cap and the regulation of the direction of the nozzle head can be ensured.

Since the nozzle chuck and the cap chuck are arranged together below the spindle, and the chuck of the cap chuck can be released, the apparatus configuration can be made compact.

[0011]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a capping device, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an exploded capping device,
3 is a flow chart showing a capping procedure of the capping device, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a transition of a tightening torque by the capping device, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a capping process of the capping device, and FIG. 6 shows a trigger type discharge container. FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a pump type discharge container.

Prior to the description of the capping device of the present invention, a trigger type discharge container and a pump type discharge container will be described as containers in which the present invention is used. (A) Trigger-Type Discharge Container (FIG. 6) The trigger-type discharge container 10 has a nozzle head 13 sandwiched by a cap 12 which is fastened to an opening 11A of a container body 11 as described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-3744, for example. Press
The nozzle head 13 is positioned and attachable to the container body 11 in a predetermined nozzle direction. Cap 12
Is to press the flange 15A of the liquid passage 15 together with the packing 23 into the opening 11A of the container body 11.

The trigger type discharge container 10 has a container body 1 for handling on a production line and storage at a distribution stage.
At the time of capping after the contents are filled into the container 1, the mounting direction of the nozzle head 13 with respect to the container body 11 is positioned in a predetermined direction as described above.

(B) Pump-Type Discharge Container (FIG. 7) The pump-type discharge container 30 is provided with a nozzle head by a cap 32 which is fastened to an opening 31A of a container body 31 as described in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-30065. Numeral 33 nips the liquid passage 35 integral with a fixing ring 34 screwed and fixed in the distribution stage, so that the nozzle head 33 can be positioned and attached to the container body 31 in a predetermined nozzle direction. The cap 32 attaches the flange 35 </ b> A of the liquid passage 35 to the packing 4.
3 together with the opening 31A of the container body 31.

The pump-type discharge container 30 has a container body 11 for handling on a production line and storage at a distribution stage.
At the time of capping after the contents are filled, the mounting direction of the nozzle head 33 with respect to the container body 31 is positioned in a predetermined direction as described above.

The capping device 50 for the containers 10 and 30 will be described below (FIGS. 1 and 2). As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the capping device 50 comprises a spindle 51, a servomotor 52, a cap chuck 53, a nozzle chuck 54, a lifting / lowering device 55 including an air cylinder or the like, a torque detector 56, a rotation angle detector 57, and a controller 58.

The spindle 51 is driven by a servomotor 52. The motor 52 has a speed reducer 52A. The speed and torque of the motor 52 are controlled by a controller 58.

The cap chuck 53 includes a spindle 51
The caps 12 and 32 can be chucked and released from the lower part. Cap chuck 5
3 includes hands 63, 63 fixed to a pair of left and right open / close arms 62, 62 of an air actuator 61 provided below the spindle 51;
The caps 12 and 32 are chucked by the closing operation of the hands 63 and 63 by the operation of
The chucks 2 and 32 can be released. The hand 63 is detachably attached so as to replace the elastic pad 63A. The working air of the air actuator 61 is supplied from an air passage formed in the spindle 51.

The nozzle chuck 54 is provided below the spindle 51 and chucks the nozzle heads 13 and 33. The nozzle chuck 54 is fixed to the lower surface of the air actuator 61 below the spindle 51. The nozzle chuck 54 includes a nozzle chuck 54A for the nozzle head 13 and a nozzle chuck 5 for the nozzle head 33.
4B, the nozzle chuck 54A is replaced and used when the trigger-type discharge container 10 is capped, and the nozzle chuck 54B is replaced and used when the pump-type discharge container 30 is capped (FIG. 2).

The elevating device 55 raises and lowers the spindle 51 and switches the cap chuck 53 and the nozzle chuck 54 between a standby position and a chuck working position. Also,
During the capping operation in which the cap chuck 53 and the nozzle chuck 54 are positioned at the chuck working position, the elevating device 55 continues to press the spindle 51 downward, and the caps 12 and 32 that are tightened by the cap chuck 53 and spirally move downward are moved. Then, the cap chuck 53 and the nozzle chuck 54 can be moved to follow.

The torque detector 56 is provided on the spindle 51 and detects the tightening torque of the caps 12 and 32.

The rotation angle detector 57 is composed of an encoder and is provided in the servomotor 52 to detect the rotation angle of the spindle 51.

The controller 58 includes caps 12 and 32
The intermediate tightening torque T1 at the intermediate tightening position, the final tightening torque T2 at the final tightening position, and the final rotation angle θ from the intermediate tightening position to the final tightening position are predetermined. . Then, the controller 58 obtains the detection results of the torque detector 56 and the rotation angle detector 57 and
(Spindle 51) Rotation and Air Actuator 61
The capping operation of the (cap chuck 53) is controlled, and the capping device 50 executes the following capping operations (1) to (4).

Hereinafter, the capping procedure of the capping device 50 will be described (FIGS. 3 to 5). (1) Initial Position Determination (FIG. 5A) For the containers 10 and 30 introduced into the capping device 50, the caps 12 and 32 and the nozzle heads 13 and 33 are temporarily attached to the openings 11A and 31A of the container bodies 11 and 31. Install. At this time, the nozzle directions of the nozzle heads 13 and 33 are set to the initially set directions.

On the other hand, on the capping device 50 side, based on the detection result of the rotation angle detector 57, the nozzle chuck 5
The chuck direction of No. 4 is set to an initial setting direction that matches the above-described initial setting direction of the nozzle heads 13 and 33.

(2) The cap chuck 53 and the nozzle chuck 54 are set to the chuck working position by the elevating device 55, and the nozzle heads 13 and 33 are set by the nozzle chuck 54.
And the hands 63, 63 are closed by the air actuator 61 of the cap chuck 53, and the caps 12, 32 are chucked.

When the spindle 51 is rotated by the servo motor 52 and the cap chuck 53 and the nozzle chuck 54 are simultaneously rotated, the tightening torque of the caps 12 and 32 is detected by the above-described intermediate tightening torque T1 (the torque detector 56). ), Until the intermediate tightening position reaches
2 and the nozzle heads 13 and 33 are simultaneously rotated (FIG. 5).
(B)).

(3) When the tightening torque of the caps 12 and 32 by the cap chuck 53 reaches the above T1, the hands 63 and 63 are opened by the air actuator 61 of the cap chuck 53 and the caps 12 and 32 are opened by the cap chuck 53. The chuck is released (FIG. 5C).

Then, the spindle 51 is rotated by the servo motor 52 without rotating the caps 12 and 32,
The rotation of the nozzle cap 54 causes the nozzle heads 13, 3
Only 3 is rotated from the predetermined nozzle direction (final setting direction) with respect to the container bodies 11 and 31 by the above-described final rotation angle θ (detected by the rotation angle detector 57).

(4) The hands 63, 63 are closed by the air actuator 61 of the cap chuck 53 and the cap 1 is closed.
Chuck 2 and 32 again.

Then, the spindle 51 is rotated by the servo motor 52, and the caps 12 and 32 and the nozzle heads 13 and 33 are simultaneously rotated by the final rotation angle θ (the rotation angle detector 57 Detection), rotate the nozzle heads 13 and 3
3 is positioned in a predetermined nozzle direction with respect to the container bodies 11 and 31 (FIG. 5D). At this time, the torque detector 56
Detects that the tightening torque of the caps 12 and 32 has reached the aforementioned final tightening torque T2.
2 and the mounting of the nozzle heads 13 and 33 are completed.

FIG. 4 shows the command torque (solid line) output from the controller 58 to the servomotor 52 and the torque detected by the torque detector 56 (dashed line) in the above (1) to (4).
FIG.

Hereinafter, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. The caps 12, 32 and the nozzle heads 13, 33 are simultaneously rotated to an intermediate tightening position (intermediate tightening torque T1),
Only the nozzle heads 13 and 33 are rotated from the predetermined nozzle direction so as to be positioned forward by the final rotation angle θ of the caps 12 and 32. Thereafter, the caps 12 and 32 and the nozzle heads 13 and 33 are rotated to the final tightening position (final tightening position). With torque T2
), The caps 12, 32 are simultaneously rotated by the final rotation angle θ, and the nozzles of the nozzle heads 13, 33 can be positioned and mounted in a predetermined direction at the same time when the tightening of the caps 12, 32 is completed with a predetermined final tightening torque. At this time,
Since the tightening torque applied to the caps 12 and 32 is detected by the torque detector 56 and the rotation angle positions of the nozzle heads 13 and 33 are detected by the rotation angle detector 57, the cap 1
Tightening of the nozzle heads 2, 32 and regulation of the direction of the nozzle heads 12, 33 can be ensured.

A nozzle chuck 54 and a cap chuck 53 are arranged below the spindle 51 so that the cap chuck 53 can be released.
The device configuration can be made compact.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and the design may be changed without departing from the scope of the present invention. The present invention is also included in the present invention.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, with a compact structure, the nozzle head can be pressed against the container body by the cap, and the nozzle head can be positioned and attached to the container body in a predetermined nozzle direction. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a capping device.

FIG. 2 is an exploded schematic view showing a capping device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a capping procedure of a capping device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a transition of a tightening torque by the capping device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a capping step of a capping device.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a trigger type discharge container.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a pump-type discharge container.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 30 Container 11, 31 Container main body 11A, 31A Opening 12, 32 Cap 13, 33 Nozzle head 50 Capping device 51 Spindle 52 Servo motor 53 Cap chuck 54 Nozzle chuck 56 Torque detector 57 Rotation angle detector 58 Controller

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Susumu Hagiwara 2-1-3 Bunka, Sumida-ku, Tokyo Kao Corporation In-house

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method for capping a container, wherein a nozzle head is clamped to an opening of the container body by a cap screwed into the opening of the container body, and the nozzle head is positioned and mounted in a predetermined nozzle direction with respect to the container body. The intermediate tightening torque T1 at the intermediate tightening position of the cap, the final tightening torque T2 at the final tightening position, and the final rotation angle θ from the intermediate tightening position to the final tightening position are determined in advance. The cap and the nozzle head are temporarily attached to the opening of the container body, the cap is chucked by the cap chuck, and the nozzle head is chucked by the nozzle chuck.
By simultaneous rotation of cap chuck and nozzle chuck,
The cap and nozzle head are simultaneously rotated to the intermediate tightening position where the tightening torque of the cap reaches the above T1, the cap chuck is released by releasing the cap chuck, and the cap is not rotated. The cap is chucked again by the cap chuck, and the cap and the nozzle head are simultaneously rotated by the simultaneous rotation of the cap chuck and the nozzle head, so that the cap and the nozzle head are simultaneously rotated by the final rotation angle θ. And the nozzle head is positioned in the predetermined nozzle direction with respect to the container main body.
2. A method for capping a container, comprising detecting that the number has reached 2, and terminating the mounting of the cap and the nozzle head. 2. A container capping device for clamping a nozzle head to an opening of a container main body by a cap screwed into an opening of the container main body, and positioning and mounting the nozzle head in a predetermined nozzle direction with respect to the container main body. A spindle driven by a motor, a cap chuck provided at a lower portion of the spindle that can chuck a cap and can also release a chuck, a nozzle chuck provided at a lower portion of the spindle to chuck a nozzle head, and tightening of the cap. A torque detector that detects torque, a rotation angle detector that detects the rotation angle of the spindle, and a detection result of the torque detector and the rotation angle detector are obtained to control the rotation of the spindle and the chuck operation of the cap chuck. Wherein the capping method according to claim 1 is executable. Container capping device.