JP2784489B2 - Article alignment machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an article aligning machine for aligning articles such as caps.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an article aligning machine for aligning articles cut from an article extracting apparatus, an aligning cylinder is arranged at an outlet side of a cutting pocket of the article extracting apparatus, and an article holding section is provided at an outlet side of the aligning cylinder. Is conceivable. Then, at this time, as the method of arranging the articles, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-36207, articles to be cut out from the cutting pocket of the article cutting apparatus are put into an ascending airflow in the aligning cylinder, After the posture of the article is aligned in a substantially constant direction by the rising airflow, the rising airflow is stopped or decelerated, the article is received in the article holding section, and the article is sucked and held in the article holding section in the aligned attitude. Things can be adopted.

[0003] In this article aligning machine, the article can be delivered to an article carrier or the like by inverting the article holding portion that holds the article by suction.

[0004]

However, in the prior art, the position of the article received in the article holding section is different from a predetermined attitude, or two articles are received in the article holding section. Misalignment may occur.

If the misalignment of the articles caused in the article holding section is left as it is, mechanical troubles such as abnormal transfer of the articles from the article holding section to the article transporting tool or the like occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to easily remove an article from an article holding unit in an article aligning machine when the article received by the ascending airflow in the aligning cylinder and received in the article holding unit has a defective orientation. Is to do.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article extracting apparatus, which is disposed on an exit side of an extracting pocket ,
An updraft is formed and the article can rotate freely.
With a vertical passage that can be cut
Receiving the articles to be cut out,
An alignment cylinder that allows the posture to be aligned in a substantially constant direction, and an alignment cylinder
Located on the outlet side to stop or reduce the updraft in the alignment cylinder
Receiving the aligned articles at a high speed and sucking the aligned articles
In an article aligning machine having an article holding section capable of holding, an article having a poor posture received in the article holding section is blown off.
Airflow blowoff nozzle enabling is obtained by the so provided on the side near the said article holding portion.

[0010] According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the article holding portion can be turned over while holding the article by suction, and the suction applied to the article is released to release the article. to the possible transfer of the lower of the article transport device
Both the air flow blowing nozzle, the article holding portion of the counter
Before turning , airflow can be applied to the article.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the article according to the first or second aspect, further comprising an article posture detecting sensor for judging whether the posture of the article received in the article holding section is good or not. The airflow blowing nozzle is turned on on condition that the attitude detection sensor detects a defective attitude of the article.

The present invention described in claim 4 is the first to third aspects of the present invention.
The present invention according to any one of the above, further comprising an article rejecting device for capturing and discharging the articles blown by the airflow blowing nozzle.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the following operations are provided. When aligned by the updraft in the alignment cylinder and is defective alignment orientation of the articles received in the article holding portion, misalignment of <br/> article blowing from the article holding portion by blowing airflow nozzle
Can be removed.

[0012] The articles (non-defective articles) which are correctly aligned and held in the article holding section receive the suction force from the article holding section, and are not blown off by the airflow blowing nozzle.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the following operations are provided. Airflow blowing nozzle, after acceptance of the article by the article holding portion, the inversion prior to the article holding portion, exerting airflow article
Can be . Therefore, the articles delivered to the article carrier by the reversal of the article holding section are only the articles in a correct alignment posture (non-defective articles) which have not been blown off by the airflow blowing nozzle, and the articles with the misalignment are delivered to the article carrier. Mechanical trouble can be prevented.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the following operations are provided. The airflow blowing nozzle is turned on on condition that the article attitude detection sensor detects the article attitude failure. Therefore,
The air flow blowing nozzle is turned on only when necessary without being continuously turned on, so that misaligned articles can be reliably removed from the article holding section.

According to the present invention, there is provided the following operation. An article reject device is provided for capturing and discharging articles blown off by the airflow blowing nozzle. Therefore, the misaligned articles can be reliably discharged outside the machine by the article rejecting device.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a liquid filling and packaging facility, FIG. 2 is a layout diagram showing a cap alignment feeder,
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the magnetic transport device, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the magnetic transport device, FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a cap alignment feeder, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a transport cylinder and an air flow blowing nozzle of a cap alignment feeder, FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a cap transport device, FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a cap alignment procedure, and FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing an alignment procedure, FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing a cap alignment procedure, FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing a cap alignment procedure, FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing a cap alignment procedure,
FIG. 14 is a schematic view showing a reject device for misaligned articles,
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a rejected state of a misaligned article,
FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing a rejected state of two misaligned articles.

(Liquid-filling and packaging equipment) (FIG. 1) The liquid-filling and packaging equipment 10 fills a bottle 1 with a liquid such as a detergent, then attaches a cap 2 to the bottle 1, and removes the bottle 1 with the cap 2 attached thereto. This is to be packed in a packaging box 3. The liquid filling and packaging equipment 10 includes a bottle aligning and feeding machine 11, a bottle conveying tool conveying conveyor 12, a cap aligning and feeding machine 13, a cap conveying tool conveying conveyor 14, a filling machine 15, a cap mounting machine 16, a box making machine 17, and a box. Filling machine 18
have.

The filling / packaging process by the liquid filling / packaging equipment 10 is performed as follows (1) to (5). (1) In the bottle aligning / feeding machine 11, the bottles 1 are aligned and transferred to the empty bottle conveying device 19 introduced by the bottle conveying device conveying conveyor 12, and the bottle conveying device 19 on which the bottle 1 has been transferred is transferred. The bottle is conveyed by the bottle conveyor conveyor 12.

(2) In the cap aligning / feeding machine 13, the caps 2 are aligned and transferred to the empty cap carrier 21 introduced by the cap carrier transport conveyor 14, and the cap transported with the caps 2 is transferred. The tool 21 is discharged by the cap carrier transport conveyor 14.

(3) The filling machine 15 fills the bottle 1 in the bottle carrier 19 delivered from the bottle carrier conveyor 12 with liquid.

(4) In the cap mounting machine 16, the liquid-filled bottle 1 in the bottle carrier 19 delivered from the filling machine 15 is placed in the cap carrier 21 delivered from the cap carrier conveyor 14. Take out the cap 2 and attach it. Here, the cap carrier 21 that has been taken out and emptied by the cap 2 is again returned to the cap aligning and feeding machine 1 in (2) by the cap carrier conveyor 14.
3 is introduced.

(5) The box making machine 17 makes a box and supplies this box to the box packing machine 18. In the box packing machine 18, the bottle 1 with the cap 2 attached in the above (4) is taken out of the bottle carrier 19, and the bottle 1 is packed in the packaging box 3. Here, the bottle transporter 1 that is empty after the bottle 1 is taken out
9 is again described above by the bottle conveyor conveyor 12
It is introduced into the bottle alignment feeder 11 of (1).

(Cap Alignment Feeder) (FIGS. 2 to 5 and 8) As shown in FIG. 2, the liquid filling and packaging equipment 10 includes a cap transfer tool introduction line 14 of a cap transfer tool transfer conveyor 14.
A and one on each side of the cap carrier discharge line 14B.
A set of cap alignment feeders 13 is provided. The cap aligning / feeding machine 13 supplies a cap carrier introduction line 14 to the cap carrier introduction section 13A via an introduction wheel 22.
A is connected, and the cap carrier 21 is introduced into the cap aligning / feeding machine 13. In addition, the cap alignment feeder 13
Discharge wheels 23, 2
4, the cap carrier discharge line 14 </ b> B is connected, and the cap carrier 21 to which the cap 2 has been transferred in the cap aligner 13 is discharged from the cap aligner 13.

The cap carrier 21 is, as shown in FIG.
Gripping claws 21B, 21 supported by main body 21A and capable of expanding and contracting
B, and a piston 21D which is urged upward by a spring 21C built in the main body 21A.
1B and 21B are always repelled in the diameter expanding direction. The cap 2 is provided with gripping claws 21B, 21
It is fitted and gripped around B. In addition, the cap carrier 2
1 is provided with a magnetic body 21E at the center of the lower surface of the piston 21D.

At this time, the cap aligning / supplying machine 13 sequentially transfers a large number of cap carriers 21 continuously introduced from the cap carrier introducing line 14A to the cap carrier ejecting section 13B from the cap carrier introducing section 13A. And a cap carrier moving line 25 which can be moved. The cap alignment feeder 13 includes a number of cap carrier mounting tables 26 on the cap carrier moving line 25,
The cap carrier 21 can be held on the cap carrier mounting table 26 (FIG. 4).

In the cap aligning / feeding machine 13, the cap carrier 2 includes a cap carrier introduction line 14A, an introduction wheel 22, a cap carrier movement line 25, discharge wheels 23 and 24, and a cap carrier discharge line 14B.
A magnetic transfer device as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is used as one transfer positioning means.

That is, the cap conveyor transport conveyor 14
In (14A, 14B), the cap carrier 21 is placed on the carrier belt 31 that moves along a certain moving path and is carried. At this time, the conveyor 14 has an article guide magnet (not shown) disposed at a lower position along the article moving path by the conveyor belt 31 via a nonmagnetic belt receiver. The cap carrier 21 placed on the conveyor 14 is conveyed together with the carrier belt 31 while the magnetic body 21F on the lower surface is attracted by the article guide magnet.

Then, the conveyor 14A and the introduction wheel 2
3A, the cap carrier 21 is provided with a magnetic plate (iron plate) 32A provided on one of its side surfaces, as shown in FIG.
Is attracted to the permanent magnet 34 located on the carrier holding surface 33A, and is taken into the introduction wheel 22 from the conveyor 14A. Cap carrier 2 taken into introduction wheel 22
1 moves while being held by the carrier holding unit 33 by the permanent magnet 34 described above.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3A, at the connection between the introduction wheel 22 and the cap carrier moving line 25 of the cap aligning / feeding machine 13, the cap carrier 21 is provided on the other of the side surfaces. Magnetic plate (iron plate) 32B
Is attracted to the permanent magnet 35 provided in each cap carrier mounting table 26 of the cap aligning and feeding device 13. At the same time as or immediately after the magnetic plate 32B of the cap carrier 21 is attracted to the permanent magnet 35 of the cap carrier mounting table 26, the permanent magnet 34 provided in each carrier holder 33 of the introduction wheel 22 is shown in FIG. B) As shown in FIG.
The cam follower 34B connected to A and the cam 34C provided around the introduction wheel 22 engage with each other to be separated from the carrier holding surface 33A of the carrier holder 33. As a result, the cap carrier 21 is attracted only by the permanent magnet 35 of each cap carrier mounting table 26 of the cap alignment feeder 13, and as a result, is taken into each cap carrier mounting table 26 from the introduction wheel 22. . In the introduction wheel 22, the support member 34A of the permanent magnet 34 is pushed back by the spring 34D to return the carrier holding surface 33A to the initial position. The cap carrier 21 taken into each cap carrier mounting table 26 moves while being held by the cap carrier mounting table 26 by the permanent magnet 35 described above.

Next, at the connection between the cap carrier moving line 25 of the cap aligning and feeding machine 13 and the discharge wheel 23, as shown in FIG. It is attracted by the attraction force of the fixed magnet 36 (greater than the attraction force of the permanent magnet 35 on the side of the cap aligning and supplying device 13), and is taken out from the cap carrier mounting table 26 of the cap aligning and supplying device 13. The cap carrier 21 taken out of the cap aligning / feeding machine 13 is placed on a magnet rail 37 installed along the cap carrier carrier line of the discharge wheels 23 and 24, and the magnetic material 21E is transferred to the magnet rail 37.
Is sucked and guided, and the discharge wheel 2
It is taken into the tooth profiles 23A and 24A on the outer circumferences of the gears 3 and 24 and moves with its transport pitch being fixed.

Next, the discharge wheel 24 and the conveyor 14B
And the cap carrier 21 is connected to the magnetic body 21
F is attracted by the above-described article guide magnet on the side of the conveyor 14B, and is taken in from the discharge wheel 24 into the conveyor 14B and discharged.

Hereinafter, in the cap aligning and feeding machine 13,
(A) A cap cutting device and (B) a cap alignment device will be described. (A) Cap Cutting Apparatus (FIGS. 5, 7, and 8) As shown in FIG.
A horizontal swivel table 43 is provided so as to be able to swivel around a vertical support shaft 42 of FIG. On the other hand, an inclined support shaft 44 is provided above the vertical support shaft 42 of the gantry 41, and the inclined swivel plate 45 can rotate around the inclined support shaft 44. The inclined turning plate 45 is provided with a horizontal gear 46A provided on the upper part of the horizontal turning table 43.
And a tilt gear 4 provided below the tilt turning plate 45.
6B, it turns in synchronization with the horizontal turntable 43.

The cap aligning / feeding machine 13 is provided with the inclined turning plate 4.
5. A cap cutting drum 47 fixedly arranged around the outer periphery of the cap 5.
Is fixed to a gantry 41, and a lower plate 48 is fixedly arranged on an inner peripheral portion of a lower portion of the drum 47. The cap aligning / feeding machine 13 is provided with a large number of recessed cutout pockets 49 at equal intervals on the outer edge portion of the inclined turning plate 45, and each cutout pocket 49 is provided on the above-described cap carrier moving line 25. By rotating the inclined swivel plate 45, it can be circulated in a circular manner while corresponding to the cap carrier 21 on the cap carrier mounting table 26. The concave bottom of each cut pocket 49 is closed by the lower plate 48 described above.

At this time, the cap 2 to be inserted by the cap loading machine 50 (FIG. 1) is accommodated on the inclined turning plate 45 surrounded by the cap cutting drum 47, Has many caps 2 stacked at random. When the cutout pocket 49 of the inclined swivel plate 45 passes through the lowermost portion of the swivel plate 45, one cap 2 is received in the cutout pocket 49.

On the other hand, an article cutout area is set on the inclined upper portion of the inclined turning plate 45, and the lower plate 48 closing the concave bottom of the cutout pocket 49 is opened in this article cutout area, It is a plate opening portion 48A. Thus, when the cutout pocket 49 of the inclined swivel plate 45 reaches the above-described article cutout area, the cap 2 received in the cutout pocket 49 is transferred from the lower plate opening 48A to the corresponding cap carrier 2.
1 side (the transport cylinder 51 of the cap alignment device)
Consequently, the cap 2 is moved to the corresponding cap carrier 21.
To be transferred to

(B) Cap Alignment Device (FIGS. 5, 7, 8, 14 to 16) As shown in FIG. 5, the cap alignment feeder 13 is provided at the lower part of each cut pocket 49 of the inclined swivel plate 45. In addition, a transport cylinder 51 corresponding to each of the cut pockets 49 is provided. Each transfer cylinder 51
Is the lower plate 48 fixedly arranged on the cap cutting drum 47.
Is sandwiched between the corresponding cutting pockets 49 and circularly circulates with the cutting pocket 49 when the inclined swivel plate 45 turns. Therefore, the cutout pocket 49 of the inclined turning plate 45 reaches the above-mentioned article cutout area, and the cutout pocket 4
The cap 2 received in the lower plate 9 is an open portion 48A of the lower plate 48.
Is cut out from this, the cut cap 2 is housed in the transport cylinder 51. At this time, a bottom plate 52 that closes the bottom of each transport tube 51 is fixedly disposed on the gantry 41 of the cap alignment feeder 13. An article input area is set in the lower portion of the inclined turning plate 45, and the bottom plate 52 closing the bottom of the transport cylinder 51 is opened in this article input area to form a bottom plate open section 52A. As a result, when the transport cylinder 51 of the inclined turning plate 45 reaches the above-described article input area, the cap 2 housed in the transport cylinder 51
From the bottom plate opening 52A into the alignment cylinder 53 described later.

The transport cylinder 51 is provided with a large number of ventilation holes 51A in the cylinder wall. The ventilation hole 51A is
1 to improve the air bleeding, and thereby to sufficiently generate the flow rate of the updraft airflow described later in the alignment cylinder 53.

The cap aligning and feeding machine 13 is provided with
At a plurality of positions in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral portion of the transfer cylinder 3, at the positions corresponding to the above-described cutout pockets 49 and the transfer tube 51, an alignment tube 53 disposed below the outlet of the transfer tube 51, and an outlet of the alignment tube 53 A cap holder 54 disposed below the cap holder 54 and the above-described cap carrier mounting table 26 disposed below the cap holder 54 are provided.

The alignment cylinder 53 has a vertical passage through which the cap 2 can freely rotate, and receives the cap 2 introduced from the transport cylinder 51 in the above-described article introduction area. The aligning cylinder 53 includes a cam follower 55B that engages with a cam 55A supported by the gantry 41. The cam follower 55B can be moved up and down within a certain range by following the cam 55A. That is, in the process of aligning the caps 2 by the alignment cylinder 53, the alignment cylinder 53 is set to the lowered position, and the gap between the outlet of the alignment cylinder 53 and the cap holding portion 54 is kept at a constant value. Then, in the process of inverting the cap holding unit 54, the alignment cylinder 53 is set to the raised position, and even if the cap holding unit 54 is inverted in an unexpected state in which two or more caps 2 are supplied to the cap holding unit 54, Two or more caps 2 on the cap holder 54
Do not interfere with the alignment cylinder 53.
A large gap can be formed between the lower end of the cap and the cap holding portion 54.

The cap holder 54 has an alignment air outlet 54A and a suction nozzle 54B. The alignment air outlet 54A forms an ascending airflow in the vertical passage of the aligning cylinder 53, receives the cap 2 introduced from the transport cylinder 51 into the ascending airflow, and aligns the cap 2 in a certain direction. Stop or slow down the air flow,
Is sucked and held in the cap holding section 54 by the suction nozzle 54B in the above-described alignment posture. The cap holder 54 is provided with an attachment 56 corresponding to the form of the cap 2.
Can be attached and detached (FIG. 11).

The cap holder 54 can be turned over while holding the cap 2 by suction. That is, the cap aligner / supplier 13 includes a cam follower 58 fixed to the drive lever of the reversing gear train 62 connected to the rotation shaft 61 of the cap holder 54.
Is engaged with a cam 57 fixed to the vertical support shaft 42 of the gantry 41. Thus, the cap holding portion 54 can be erected (disposed facing the alignment tube 53) or inverted (disposed on the cap carrier 21 on the cap carrier mounting table 26). That is, after inverting the cap holder 54 holding the cap 2 by suction to the inverted state, the suction by the suction nozzle 54B is released, and the cap carrier is held in the fixed position in the inverted state of the alignment posture. It can be delivered to the cap carrier 21 on the mounting table 26.

The cap carrier mounting table 26 is provided at the upper end of a telescopic rod 63 composed of a center rod 63A and an outer cylinder 63B. Then, the telescopic rod 63 is connected to a spring 64.
The cam follower 65A provided at the lower end of the telescopic rod 63 is engaged with the cam 65B on the gantry 41 side while being extended and held by the elastic force of the cap holder 54 in the inverted state.
At the time of delivery of the cap 2 from the
The cap carrier mounting table 26 holding the cap carrier 21 is raised to the delivery position.
When the cap carrier mounting table 26 is raised to the delivery position, the gripping claws 21B, 21B of the cap carrier 21 are pushed into the inner diameter of the opening surface of the cap 2 to reduce the diameter.
The cap 2 is resilient in the radially expanding direction by the spring 21C.
And the cap 2 is transferred from the cap holding portion 54 to the cap carrier 21. Incidentally, when the cap carrier mounting table 26 is raised to the delivery position,
The cap carrier mounting table 26 compresses the spring 64 so that the cap carrier 21 can be fitted to the cap 2 in the cap holder 54 in a buffered manner, but surely.
3 is contractible.

In the cap aligning device, as shown in FIG. 14A, the cap holding portion 54 is placed near the area where the cap 2 is to be sucked and held by the suction nozzle 54B around the horizontal swivel table 43. , Cap posture detection sensor 101
Is provided. The cap posture detection sensor 101 determines whether the posture of the cap 2 received by the cap holding unit 54 is good. In the present embodiment, the mounting height of the sensor 101 can be adjusted along the sensor mounting rod 102, and the sensor 101 is seated on the cap holding portion 54 in a correct alignment posture and is located above the upper surface level of the cap 2 suction-held. The mounting height position of the sensor 101 is set so that the detection light of the sensor 101 passes through the sensor. This allows
The sensor 101 moves the cap holder 54 in the correct alignment posture.
Is not detected, and the misaligned cap 2 can be detected by blocking or reflecting detection light. The misalignment state of the cap 2 received in the cap holding unit 54 may be such that the posture of the cap 2 received in the cap holding unit 54 is different from a predetermined posture (FIG. 15), or the two caps 2 (FIG. 16).

Then, in the cap aligning device, as shown in FIGS. 14B and 14C, the cap holder 54 sucks and holds the cap 2 by the suction nozzle 54B around the horizontal swivel table 43. After passing through the detection area of the cap posture detection sensor 101 in the area to be moved, the airflow blowing nozzle 103 is provided on the side of the passage area of the cap holding section 54 in the area before the inversion area of the cap holding section 54. The airflow blowing nozzle 103 is turned on on condition that the cap posture detection sensor 101 detects the above-described posture failure of the cap 2 and blows out the airflow. That is, nozzle 1
In 03, after the cap 2 is received by the cap holding unit 54 and before the cap holding unit 54 is turned over, airflow is exerted on the cap 2 having a poor posture, and the cap 2 is blown off from the cap holding unit 54.

Further, in the cap aligning device, as shown in FIGS. 14 (B) and 14 (C), the air flow blowing nozzle 103 is located opposite to the horizontal swivel table 43 with the passage of the cap holder 54 interposed therebetween. Cap reject device 104 on the side
Duct suction port 105 is disposed. The cap reject device 104 captures the cap 2 blown off from the cap holding unit 54 by the airflow blowing nozzle 103 and discharges the cap 2 to the outside.

The procedure for aligning and supplying the caps 2 by the cap aligning and supplying machine 13 is as follows (1) to (13) (FIGS. 6, 9 to 13). (1) Cap loading (FIG. 9 (A)) In the article loading area below the inclined portion of the inclined turning plate 45, the transfer cylinder 5
The first bottom plate 52 is opened (bottom plate opening 52 </ b> A), and the cap 2 in the transfer tube 51 is put into the alignment tube 53. Alignment air is blown from the alignment air outlet 54A of the cap holding portion 54, and an ascending airflow is formed in the alignment cylinder 53 and the transport cylinder 51.

At this time, the alignment cylinder 53 is located at the lower end,
An appropriate gap is formed between the aligning cylinder 53 and the article holding portion 54 for generating entrained air.

(2) Cap Alignment (FIG. 9B) In the process of falling in the rising airflow in the alignment cylinder 53, the cap 2 is aligned in a substantially constant direction and enters the cap holder 54. That is, the cap 2 is arranged in a direction in which the center of gravity is located vertically below the ascending airflow, that is, the opening surface faces upward.

At this time, the air flow blowing nozzle 67A provided between the transport cylinder 51 and the alignment cylinder 53, the alignment cylinder 53
The airflow blown out by the airflow blowout nozzle 68 provided between the cap holder 54 and the cap holder 54 complements the cap posture alignment action by the rising airflow in the alignment cylinder 53.

The cap carrier 21 is introduced from the cap carrier introduction line 14A via the introduction wheel 22 to the cap carrier mounting table 26 below the cap holder 54, and stands by.

(3) Alignment cylinder rise (FIG. 9C) When the cap 2 enters the cap holding portion 54, the alignment cylinder 5
3 moves to the rising end. At this time, the transport cylinder 51 is
Closed by 2.

(4) Cap suction (FIG. 10 (A)) Stopping the blowing of the alignment air from the alignment air outlet 54A of the cap holding portion 54 and stopping the suction nozzle 54
The vacuum suction of B is started. The caps 2 are held in vacuum by the cap holder 54 in an aligned state.

(5) Cap reject (FIGS. 14 to 1)
6) The cap 2 is received by the cap holding unit 54, passes through a region to be sucked and held by the suction nozzle 54B, and then passes through the front surface of the cap attitude detection sensor 101, the air flow blowing nozzle 103, and the cap reject device 104. Thereby, the cap alignment device takes, for example, one of the operation states shown in FIGS. 14 to 16 according to the posture of the cap 2 in the cap holding portion 54. That is, FIG. 14 shows that the cap 2 sucked and held by the cap holding unit 54 in the correct alignment posture is sucked by the cap holding unit 54 and passes through the front surface of the cap posture detection sensor 101, the airflow blowing nozzle 103, and the cap reject device 104. It is in a normal operation state. FIG. 15 shows a state in which the cap 2 received in the cap holder 54 in the bad posture is the cap posture detection sensor 101.
, Is blown off by the airflow blowing nozzle 103, is collected by the cap rejection device 104, and is discharged. FIG. 16 shows the cap holder 54.
The two upper caps 2 that were not suction-held by the cap holder 54 because the two caps 2 were received are
The cap rejection device 1 is detected by the cap posture detection sensor 101 and blown off by the airflow blowing nozzle 103.
This is a reject operation state in which the vehicle is collected and discharged at 04.

(6) Inversion of Cap Holding Unit (FIG. 10B) The cap holding unit 54 starts inversion toward the inverted position while holding the cap 2.

At this time, the lower plate 48 of the cutout pocket 49 is opened (lower plate opening 48A) in the article cutout area above the inclined swivel plate 45 and the new cap 2 in the cutout pocket 49 is conveyed. It is cut out into a tube 51. The transport cylinder 51 is a bottom plate 52
The new cap 2 is closed by
Stay within.

(7) Completion of reversal of the cap holder (FIG. 10)
(C) The cap holding unit 54 is turned upside down when the cap 2 is held and the inversion is completed. The opening surface of the cap 21 faces downward.

(8) Cap Carrier Lifting (FIG. 11A) The cap carrier mounting table 26 is raised, and the cap carrier 2 is raised.
The first gripping claws 21 </ b> B approach the opening surface of the cap 2. At this time, the cut pocket 49 is closed by the lower plate 48.

(9) Cap Transfer (FIG. 11B) The cap carrier mounting table 26 reaches the upper end, and the gripping claws 21 B, 21 B of the cap carrier 21 fit into the inner diameter of the opening surface of the cap 2. . At the same time, the cap holder 54
The vacuum suction by the suction nozzle 54B is stopped, and if necessary, compressed air is supplied to the alignment air outlet 54A to forcibly separate the cap 2 from the cap holding portion 54. Transfer to 21.

(10) Cap carrier lowering (FIG. 11C) The cap carrier mounting table 26 is lowered.

(11) Lowering of alignment cylinder (FIG. 12A) The alignment cylinder 53 is lowered.

(12) Inversion of Cap Holding Unit (FIG. 12B) The cap holding unit 54 is turned to the upright position and starts to be inverted.

(13) Completion of reversal of cap holding part (FIG. 12)
(C) The cap holding unit 54 erects when the reversal is completed.

(14) Standby (FIG. 13) The cap carrier 21 on the cap carrier table 26 is discharged to the cap carrier discharge line 14B via the discharge wheels 23 and 24. After that, return to the above (1),
The new caps 2 retained in the transport cylinder 51 are aligned and supplied.

Hereinafter, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. When there is a defect in the alignment posture of the cap 2 received by the cap holder 54 after being aligned by the ascending airflow in the alignment cylinder 53, the misaligned cap 2 is
3 blows off the cap holding portion 54 and is removed.

Incidentally, the cap 2 (non-defective product) properly aligned and held by the cap holding section 54 receives the suction force from the cap holding section 54, and is not blown off by the airflow blowing nozzle 103.

After the cap 2 receives the cap 2 by the cap holder 54, the air outlet nozzle 103 moves the cap holder 5.
Before the inversion of 4, an airflow is applied to the cap 2. Therefore,
By reversing the cap holder 54, the cap carrier 21
Is delivered to the airflow blowout nozzle 103
Correctly aligned cap 2 that was not blown off
It is possible to prevent the misaligned cap 2 from being delivered to the cap carrier 21 and causing a mechanical trouble.

The air flow blowing nozzle 103 is turned on on condition that the cap attitude detecting sensor 101 detects the defective attitude of the cap 2. Therefore, the air flow blowing nozzle 103 is turned on only when necessary without being continuously turned on, and the misaligned cap 2 can be reliably removed from the cap holding portion 54.

A cap reject device 10 that captures and discharges the cap 2 blown off by the air flow blowing nozzle 103
4 is provided. Therefore, the misaligned caps 2 can be reliably ejected outside the machine by the cap reject device 104.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and a design change or the like may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Even if present, it is included in the present invention. For example, the airflow blowing nozzle is always on and continuously blows the airflow,
The provision of the article posture detection sensor may be omitted.

The articles to which the present invention is applied are not limited to caps.

[0071]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the article aligner, when there is a defect in the alignment attitude of the articles received by the ascending airflow in the aligning cylinder and received in the article holder.
The article can be easily removed from the article holding section.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a liquid filling and packaging facility.

FIG. 2 is a layout diagram showing a cap aligning and feeding machine.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a magnetic transport device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the magnetic transport device.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a cap aligning and feeding machine.

FIG. 6 is a process diagram showing a cap aligning and feeding machine.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a transport cylinder and an air flow blowing nozzle 103 of the cap alignment feeder.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a cap carrier.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a cap alignment procedure.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a cap alignment procedure.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a cap alignment procedure.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a cap alignment procedure.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing a cap alignment procedure.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing a rejection device for an article having a misalignment.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a rejected state of a misaligned article.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing a rejected state of two misaligned articles.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Cap (article) 13 Cap alignment supply machine (article alignment machine) 49 Cut-out pocket 53 Alignment cylinder 54 Cap holding unit (article holding unit) 101 Cap attitude detection sensor (article attitude detection sensor) 103 Air flow blowing nozzle 104 Cap reject device (Article reject device)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yasuaki Kotani 2-1-3 Bunka, Sumida-ku, Tokyo Kao Co., Ltd. Inside the research laboratory (72) Inventor Ichiro Hamada 58, Soyoda-Honcho, Kanazawa-shi, Ishikawa Prefecture (56) References JP-A-8-133453 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B65G 47/256 B65G 47/14

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An outlet side of a cutting pocket of an article cutting device.
Is placed, an updraft is formed and the article rotates
Equipped with a vertical passage that can pass through
Receiving the articles cut from the bucket,
Alignment cylinder that enables the posture of articles to be aligned in a substantially constant direction
And located at the exit side of the alignment cylinder, stopping the rising airflow in the alignment cylinder
Alternatively, the above-mentioned aligned article is received by deceleration, and the aligned article is
In an article aligning machine having an article holding section capable of being sucked and held, an article having a poor posture received in the article holding section can be blown off.
Article alignment device, characterized by comprising provided on the side near the said article holding portion airflow blowoff nozzles that. 2. A can be inverted in a state where the article holder is suction-holding the article, as well as enable transfer the article below the article transport device to release the and suction applied to the article, the blowing airflow nozzle, Before the reversal of the article holding section ,
2. The article aligning machine according to claim 1, wherein an air flow can be applied to the article. 3. An article posture detection sensor for judging whether the posture of the article received in the article holding section is good or not, provided that the article posture detection sensor detects a poor posture of the article.
3. The article aligning machine according to claim 1, wherein the air flow blowing nozzle is turned on. 4. The article aligning machine according to claim 1, further comprising an article rejecting device that captures and ejects the articles blown by the airflow blowing nozzle.