JP2971155B2 - Lid supply bonding equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lid supply / bonding apparatus for supplying a lid to a container and bonding the lid to the container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the production process of ready-to-eat food in a container, the lid of the container is often made of a thin plate-like lightweight material such as plastic, paper, aluminum foil or a laminate of two or more of these. The work of supplying and bonding is complicated.

That is, when automatically supplying the lids to the container automatically, the lids are taken out of the storage case one by one at a constant rhythm by a suction head, and are placed at the upper opening of the container being conveyed by the conveyor. The lid is supplied, but at this time, the lid needs to be supplied as close as possible to the upper opening of the container. This is because the lid is made of a lightweight material as described above, so that when the lid is dropped from an upper position spaced apart from the container, the lid falls while fluctuating due to air resistance or the like, and the drop position of the lid with respect to the container This is because the posture may be out of order.

[0004] For this purpose, conventionally, Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-2604.
No. 4 is disclosed. In this method, the suction head is moved between the lid storage portion and the upper side of the container by the suction head moving device, and the lid is supplied from the storage portion of the lid to the upper surface of the container by the suction head, and is sequentially transported by the conveyor. The lid is supplied with the lid as close to the upper opening of the container as possible.

Further, since the lid supplied to the container is made of a lightweight material as described above, it is easily moved by a slight vibration or wind, so that the lid is transported by the transport body from the supply step of the lid to the bonding step. In addition, the position and posture of the lid with respect to the container may be deviated due to vibration from the carrier, unexpected wind, or the like.

For this reason, in order to prevent the lid supplied to the container from shifting during the transportation of the container, conventionally, Japanese Utility Model Publication No.
As described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 1014, a plurality of projections urged by a spring are provided on a conveyor for transporting containers to prevent lid displacement, and the lid is fixed by the projections. As described in, when the lid is supplied to the upper opening of the container, the heating iron is brought into point contact with the upper surface of the lid, and several points of contact between the container and the lid are temporarily fixed by point bonding. ing.

[0007] Then, the container supplied with the lid is transported to the next lid bonding step by a carrier such as a conveyor, and the lid is completely bonded to the container and sealed by a heater.

[0008]

However, providing projections for fixing the lid on the conveyor requires several projections to fix one lid, and an enormous number of projections are required for the entire conveyor. If necessary, there is a problem that the number of parts and assembly steps of the conveyor, such as holes for projections and springs, increase, and the cost increases.

When temporarily fixing the lid with a heating iron,
It is not necessary to install the projections or springs on the conveyor, and the position and posture of the lid supplied to the container with respect to the container at the time of transport will not be out of order, but the lid bonding step is still required separately and the number of manufacturing steps is reduced. There is a problem that it cannot be reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems. When a lid is supplied to a container at a correct position and in a correct posture, the lid is completely adhered to the container, so that the lid is attached to the container. The purpose is to carry out the supply step and the bonding step in one step.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a supply and bonding apparatus for a lid, comprising: a suction head capable of sucking the lid;
A suction head moving device for vertically moving the lid between the lid storage portion and the upper opening of the container on which the lid is placed, and an upper opening of the container to which the suction head with the lid sucked is transported separately heating with the supply device of the lid for supplying the vessel moved <br/> lid to pivot downward, the shape and dimensions lower surface is in contact with the opening edge front surface of the container toward the
A heater having a head, the heating head, and a heating head movement means for relatively moving with respect to the opening edge portion to face the opening edge of the container, the suction head moving instrumentation
The swivel block can be swiveled about a swivel axis extending in the lateral direction.
And the suction head with respect to the swivel block.
Is supported so that it can advance and retreat only in a predetermined direction, and
The moving means surrounds the periphery of the suction head except for the suction surface.
Arrange the heating head so that the heating head is
The swivel block can be moved only in the direction of movement of the suction head.
Back in the direction away from the swing block.
It is characterized in that it is constituted by energizing with n .
Here, "Enclose the periphery except the suction surface of the suction head.
Arrange the heating head so that the heating head
The heating part (lower surface) is arranged so as to go around the outer circumference of the suction head.
And inserted in the space between the suction head and the swivel block.
Means having a portion to be formed. Next, according to claim 2
The invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that the turning
Restrict the shaft so that it can move only a predetermined stroke in the vertical direction
A turning axis guide, and the turning along the turning axis guide.
A first cam mechanism for reciprocating a rotary shaft, and a flat
Arranged in a row to support the swivel block so that it can swivel
A guide shaft and the guide portion for the turning shaft viewed from the axial direction of the guide shaft.
Draw an arc in the vertical direction on the side of, and the upper and lower ends of the arc
Each can be moved only along the guide that extends up and down
Guide portion for guiding shaft that regulates guiding shaft and guide for the guiding shaft
A second cam mechanism for reciprocating the guide shaft along a portion;
And the first cam mechanism and the second cam mechanism have the same
It is operated synchronously by being coupled to the rank shaft
It is characterized by.

As the heater, an electric heater, a high-frequency induction heater or the like is applied.

[0013]

[Action] is adsorbed from the storage case by laminating a cover lid to the surface of one suction head, continued adsorption head, down the to the position facing the upper opening of the container via a suction lids
Move by turning . In addition, to the turning block
On the other hand, the suction head is brought close to or in contact with the upper opening of the container via the lid as much as possible to release the suction, so that the lid is supplied to the upper opening of the food container with the correct position and posture.

At this time, the lower surface of the heating head of the heater is
Face each other with a lid on the opening edge of the container along with wearing the head, 且
Of the suction head by the weight of the
The lower surface of the heating head is lowered or lowered and comes into contact with or close to the entire surface of the opening edge via the lid. The contact portion between the lid and the container is softened and melted by heating, and the lid is adhered to the container and sealed. Note that at least one of the lower surface of the lid and the upper end surface of the container is provided with a heat-fusible material in advance. Also examples
For example, the swivel block swings upward and
With the head facing upwards, the heating head
Automatically moving downward (toward the turning block)
You.

Thus, the lid supplying step and the bonding step become one.

[0016]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, the configuration of the revolving superstructure S, which is a part of the lid bonding apparatus, will be described with reference to FIG. The revolving superstructure S has a revolving block 2 composed of a rectangular parallelepiped having a longitudinal direction horizontal as shown in FIG. 2, and the revolving block 2 has a revolving hole 2a for horizontally penetrating the revolving shaft 1 in the longitudinal direction. A guide shaft 13 projecting horizontally and coaxially from both sides in the longitudinal direction is provided, and flat plate-shaped head covers 3a and 3b are fixed to the upper and lower surfaces of the turning block 2, respectively. , 3b are opposed to each other with the turning block 2 interposed therebetween. Here, the swivel hole 2a is located at a substantially center of both sides in the longitudinal direction of the swivel block 2 and has one head cover 3a.
The guide shaft 13 is located closer to the other head cover 3b.

On the outer surface of the one head cover 3a,
A plurality of cylinder devices 4 projecting outward are mounted along the longitudinal center of the head cover 3a at predetermined intervals, and piston rods 4b project outward from each cylinder tube 4a. A flat horizontal member 5 fixed to the outer end 4c of the piston rod 4b and facing the head cover 3a is provided so as to be able to advance and retreat with respect to the swivel block 2.

A plurality of forward / backward rods 6 are fixed at one end to the horizontal member 5, and the two head covers 3a,
3b penetrates slidably in the thickness direction. The four reciprocating rods 6 form one group each with four rods, and one set is arranged for each cylinder device 4.

[0019] The suction head 7 one suction head 7 before Symbol set each to the other end of the reciprocating rod 6 is in Rukoto are respectively fixed
Moves back and forth from the swivel block 2 by the operation of the cylinder device 4
I do. The outer surface of the suction head 7 is the head cover 3b.
Parallel to the outer surface of the At the center of the suction head 7, suction holes 7 penetrating in the direction of the turning block 2 are provided.
The suction hole 7a is connected to a suction device (not shown) via a suction tube 8. Also, the suction head 7
A suction cup 7c made of rubber is fixed to the outer surface 7b of the base.

Further, a bonding head 9 is provided so as to surround the periphery of the suction head 7, and a high-frequency oscillator 10 of a high-frequency induction heating device is provided at a position in the outer peripheral direction of the suction head 7 with respect to the bonding head 9. Is attached to the heating head
De is configured and constitutes the heater by high-frequency induction heating device including the adhesive head 9 and oscillator 10. The oscillator 10 is provided in a ring shape around the outer periphery of the suction head 7, and has a diameter substantially equal to an opening edge of a container 25 described later.

Four suspension rods 11 (only two are shown in FIG. 1) are provided between opposing portions of the bonding head 9 and the head cover 3b. The hanging bar 11
One end is fixed to the other head cover 3b so as to protrude outward, and the other end is slidably inserted into the inside of the adhesive head 9 and is prevented from coming off. This allows the bonding head
9 is provided so as to be movable in the same direction as the moving direction of the suction head 7.
Is determined. A spring 12 is provided on the outer periphery of the suspension rod 11 between the head cover 3b and the bonding head 9, and the spring 12 urges in a direction separating the bonding head 9 and the head cover 3b. Heating by the above configuration
Head moving means is configured.

The advancing / retracting rod 6 and the suction tube 8 pass through the bonding head 9. In addition, the hanging bar 1
In 1, one end may be fixed to the bonding head 9 and the other end may slidably penetrate the head cover 3 b. In short, the adhesive head 9 may be supported on the head cover 3b so as to be able to advance and retreat within a predetermined size range.

In the revolving structure S having the above structure, the revolving hole 2a is horizontally penetrated by the revolving shaft 1. A turning guide plate 1 is provided at each end of the turning shaft 1.
5 and the guide plate 16 are fixed to the machine frame 27 with the surface perpendicular to the axial direction of the turning shaft 1. The turning guide plate 1
3, a turning guide hole 15a (a turning shaft guide portion) having a long diameter in the up-down direction for guiding the turning shaft 1 by a predetermined distance in the up-down direction, as shown in FIG.
, A guide shaft through hole 15b is formed in which the upper and lower ends of the arc extend up and down, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 4, the guide guide plate 16 disposed outside the guide shaft 5 has a guide having the same shape as the guide shaft through hole 15 b and facing the guide shaft through hole 15 b in the axial direction of the guide shaft 13. A guide hole 16d (guide portion for guiding shaft) is opened. The guiding guide hole 16d includes an arc portion 16a of an arc portion, an upper extension portion 16b extending vertically from both upper and lower ends of the arc portion 16a, and Consists of a lower extension.

Both ends of the turning shaft 1 are slidably engaged with the turning guide holes 15a of the turning guide plate 15, and are connected to the upper portion of the turning rod 17 on the inner surface side of the turning guide plate 15. Have been. The turning rod 17 extends downward and is connected at its lower end to a turning cam 18 which is a plate cam. The turning of the cam 18 allows the turning shaft 17 to move up and down, so that the turning shaft 1 can move up and down. I have. This
A first cam mechanism is configured.

Both ends of the guide shaft 13 penetrate through the guide shaft through hole 15b of the turning guide plate 15 and slidably engage with the guide guide holes 16d of the guide guide plate 16. Both ends of the guide shaft 13 are connected to the guide guide plate 1.
6 is connected to the upper part of the guide rod 19 on the inner surface side. The guide rod 19 extends downward, and its lower end is connected to a guide cam 20 formed of a plate cam. The guide rod 19 can be moved up and down in accordance with the rotation of the guide cam 20, and is guided along the guide guide hole 16d. By moving the shaft 13, the revolving body S can be turned. This constitutes a second cam mechanism.

Here, the turning cam 18 and the guide cam 20
Are both rotatable synchronously by being penetrated by a crankshaft 21 whose axis is oriented in the horizontal direction,
When the turning rod 17 moves upward, the guide rod 19 also moves synchronously. The crankshaft 21 is rotated by a driving device such as a motor (not shown).

On the ceiling 22 of the machine frame 27, a storage case 24 having a lid 23 laminated thereon is mounted at a position where the outer surface of the suction head 7 of each revolving unit S can face the outer surface when facing upward. The lid 23 looks through the lower end of the storage case 24. The lower inner periphery of the case 24 supports the stacked lids 23 so that only the lowermost one of the stacked lids 23 can be taken out by the suction head 7. For example,
Friction between the outer periphery of the lid 23 and the inside of the case 24
And forming a brush on the inner periphery of the lower portion of the case 24.

Below the revolving body S, there is provided a conveyor 26 which is a transporting body for transporting the container 25 while being horizontally hung in a direction perpendicular to the revolving shaft 1. Conveyor 2
6, a plurality of container fitting holes 26b are provided in a row at a predetermined interval so as to be opposed to the outer surface of each suction head 7 of the revolving body S when the outer surface is moved downward. The container 25 is fitted into the container fitting hole 26b with the opening facing upward. The container fitting holes 26b arranged in a line
Are the same as the number of suction heads 7 provided on the revolving unit S. The row of the container fitting holes 26b is
6 are continuously formed endlessly at predetermined intervals along the traveling direction of No. 6.

In the container 25, ready-to-eat food is supplied in advance in a pre-process not described. The opening edge of the container 25 has a circular shape having the same diameter as the oscillator 10 of the bonding head 9. Further, at least one of the entire opening edge of the container 25 and the lower surface of the lid 23 is coated with a heat-fusible material in advance.

Further, in the above configuration, the reciprocating rod 6 which moves up and down by the cylinder device 4 of the revolving body S, the revolving shaft 1 for revolving and reciprocating the revolving body S, and the guide shaft 13 are arranged along the guide holes 15a and 16a. The cam mechanism that moves the suction head 7 constitutes a suction head moving device that moves the suction head 7, and the device also serves as a heater moving device that moves the bonding head 9.

In the lid bonding apparatus having the above-described structure, the container 2
The rotating body S rotates in synchronization with the transport of the container 5, and the lid 23 is supplied and adhered to the container 25 from the storage case 24 by the suction head 7.

Next, the operation of the supply / bonding device for the lid will be described from the case where the outer surface of the suction head 7 faces upward. At this time, the upper part of the revolving rod 17 is moving upward, and both ends of the revolving shaft 1 connected to the revolving rod 17 are located above the revolving guide holes 15a, respectively, as shown in FIG. ing. In addition, the upper part of the guide rod 19 is also moving upward,
Both ends of the guide shaft 13 connected to the guide rod 19 are also shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, it is located above the guide hole 16d. For this reason, the revolving body S itself moves upward, and the outer surface of the suction head 7 is placed on the lid 23 stacked in the storage case 24.
Faces from below. Further, the bonding head 9 reduces the distance from the head cover 3 b against the elastic force of the spring 12 by its own weight, and is relatively higher than the suction head 7.
It is away from the lid 23 .

Then, by operating the cylinder device 4 of the revolving body S from the above state to store the piston rod 4b in the cylinder tube 4a, the suction head 7 is moved upward to be stacked in the storage case 24 opposed thereto. The lowermost lid 23 that has been set. At this time, a suction device (not shown) is operated, and one lid 23 is sucked to the suction cup 7c of the suction head 7 via the suction tube 8 and the suction hole 7a. When the lid 23 is sucked, the piston rod 4b extends again and the suction head 7 returns to the turning block 2 side.

Next, the crankshaft 21 rotates 180 degrees. Then, the upper part of the turning rod 17 descends via the turning cam 18 and, along with it, is guided by the turning guide hole 15a, and the turning shaft 1 descends. Further, in synchronization with the lowering of the turning rod 17, the guiding rod 19 also moves down via the guiding cam 20, and
Accordingly, the guide shaft 13 is also guided by the guide guide hole 16d and descends. By the above operation, the revolving superstructure S turns 180 degrees while moving downward, and turns the suction head 7 downward.

At this time, the operation of the suction head 7 is such that as the turning shaft 13 descends along the upper extension 16b of the guide hole 16d, the suction head 7 descends vertically with its outer surface facing upward. As the shaft 13 moves down along the arc portion 16a of the guide hole 16d, the shaft 13 turns and descends while drawing a circle so that the outer surface faces downward. Further, the turning shaft 13 moves along the downward extension 16c of the guide hole 16d. As it moves downward, it descends vertically with its outer surface facing downward.

Subsequently, the suction head 7 is moved down with respect to the revolving block 2 by operating the piston 4, and the suction head 7
Is brought close to the upper opening of the container 25 fitted in the container fitting hole 26b of the conveyor 26 to release the suction action. As a result, the lid 23 sucked by the suction head 7 is supplied to the container 25 in a correct posture and at a correct position.

When the suction head 7 is lowered, the bonding head 9 is lowered together with the suction head 7 by its own weight or the elastic force of the spring 12, and the oscillator 10 of the bonding head 9 is provided. The lower surface of the outer peripheral portion opposes the opening edge of the container 25 via the lid 23, and further contacts through the lid 23. When the lid 23 is supplied to the container 25 by the suction head 7, the oscillator 10 of the high-frequency induction heating device provided in the bonding head 9 operates to generate high frequency,
Due to the dielectric heating, the heat-meltable material at the contact portion between the container 25 and the lid 23 is softened and melted, bonded and sealed.

Note that the conveyor 26 intermittently moves horizontally so that the container is fitted at a position facing the suction head 7 when the lid 23 is supplied and bonded by the suction head 7 and the bonding head 9 of the revolving body S. The mating holes 26b face each other and the lid 23
It operates intermittently with synchronization so that it temporarily stops during the supply / bonding work.

After the supply and bonding of the lid 23 to the container 25 are completed, the piston 4 is operated to return the suction head 7 to the revolving block 2, and the crankshaft 21 is rotated 180 degrees in the reverse direction to the above. Rotate degrees.

Then, the turning rod 17 is moved through the cams 18 and 20.
And the guide rod 19 moves upward, and accordingly, the pivot 1
Moves upward according to the turning guide hole 15a, and the guide shaft 13 also moves upward while being guided by the guide guide hole 16d. Thus, the revolving superstructure S rotates while moving upward,
The suction head 7 is moved while following the same locus as that at the time of descending, and the outer surface of the suction head 7 faces the lower part of the housing case 24 upward and returns to the initial position.

By repeating the above operation, the lid 23 is supplied to the conveyed container 25 and adhered thereto. By using the above-described lid supply / bonding apparatus, the lid 23 is reliably supplied to the container 25 at a predetermined position in a predetermined posture, and is immediately conveyed by the conveyor 26 to be immediately adhered and sealed as it is. During the operation, the position and the posture of the lid 23 do not become out of order, and further, it is not necessary to prepare a separate step of bonding the lid.

In this embodiment, the oscillator 10 of the high-frequency induction heating device is used as a part of the heater.
Other known heating mechanisms, such as an electric heater, may be used.
However, when the dielectric heating by the high-frequency induction heating device is used, the bonding time is short.

Further, in the above embodiment, the heater is constituted separately from the suction head 7, but the heater may be provided on the outer peripheral portion of the suction head 7 with a larger diameter. Further, the turning means of the revolving body S is not limited to the means of the present embodiment, but is disclosed in JP-B-55-26044 and JP-A-59-1429.
Other known means described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 05-2005 or the like may be used, or the storage case 24 may be used as long as the lid 23 can be transferred from the storage case 23 to the upper opening of the container 25. The suction head 7 and the bonding head 9 may be installed in a place other than the ceiling of the frame 27 and moved by another known method.

[0044]

As described above, the lid supplying and bonding apparatus of the present invention can perform the step of supplying the lid to the container and the step of bonding the lid to the container in one step. And the like, the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced. Moreover, without moving the container side toward the heating head
Even so, the lid is bonded by a simple mechanism.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially broken side view showing a revolving superstructure of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view showing the supply and bonding apparatus for a lid according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the pivot shaft guide plate of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a guide shaft guide plate of the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rotating shaft 4 Cylinder device 6 Advancing / retracting rod 7 Suction head 9 Adhesive head 10 High frequency oscillator 13 Induction shaft 15a Revolving guide hole 16d Induction guide hole 17 Revolving rod 18 Revolving cam 19 Induction rod 20 Induction cam 21 Crankshaft 23 Lid 24 Storage case 25 container S revolving unit

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A suction head capable of sucking a lid, and the suction head.
Open the head at the top of the lid storage section and the container on which the lid is placed.
Between the mouthBy turning up and downMove to suction
And a suction head that sucks the lid.
In the upper opening of the container being transportedTurn downwards towards
And inMoveIIn a lid supply device for supplying a lid to a container, the shape and dimensions of the lower surface contacting the entire opening edge of the container are determined.
HaveWith heating headHeating machine and its heatinghead
Is opposed to the opening edge of the container, and
Heating to move relativeheadMovemeansWithThe suction head moving device is provided around a pivot axis extending in a lateral direction.
Equipped with a swivel block that can turn
The suction head is supported so that it can move back and forth only in a predetermined direction.
The heating head moving means is configured to adsorb the suction head.
Arrange the heating head so as to surround the periphery except for the surface, and
Move the heating head only in the direction in which the suction head moves.
As much as possible on the swivel block and
It is configured by biasing with a spring away from the This
And a lid bonding apparatus. 2. A predetermined stroke in the vertical direction of the turning shaft
Swivel axis guide that restricts movement only and its swivel axis
Cam for reciprocating the swivel shaft along the guide for use
A mechanism, and the turning block disposed parallel to the turning axis.
Guide shaft that supports the robot so that it can turn, and from the axial direction of the guide shaft
Draw an arc in the vertical direction on the side of the pivot axis guide.
The upper and lower ends of the arc follow guides that extend vertically.
Guide shaft that regulates the guide shaft so that it can only move
Part, and the guide shaft is reciprocated along the guide axis guide part.
A second cam mechanism for moving the first cam mechanism and the second cam mechanism.
The two cam mechanism is the same by being connected to the same crankshaft.
The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it operates in a timely manner.
Lid supply bonding equipment.