JP3083889B2 - Capping machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a capping machine and, more particularly, to a capping machine for cutting a so-called pill fur proof cap (PP cap) along a thread of a bottle mouth. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art P. A conventional capping machine that winds a cap (threads the outer peripheral surface) includes a rotating head provided with a roller and a cam follower attached to a pivot shaft, a torsion spring for urging the roller toward the cap, and the like. It has a conical cam that can move up and down relative to the head, and by rotating and moving the cam follower and the cam relatively up and down, the cam follower moves along the cam surface and the roller becomes a plug. Then, the cap is formed with a screw along the thread of the bottle mouth (Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-37518).

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional capping machine, the cam and the cam follower relatively rotate while moving relatively in the axial direction (vertical direction), so that the cam follower spirally moves on the cam surface. Therefore, an uneven load is applied to the cam follower, which makes it difficult to perform a smooth operation, and there is also a problem in terms of life.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages, and is intended to perform the best operation by performing only a relative vertical movement without rotating the cam and the cam follower relatively. is there.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a capping machine comprising: a roller which rotates while forming a groove while being pressed against a cap placed on a bottle; an elastic means for pressing the roller toward the cap; A cam follower that moves up and down integrally with the roller, and a cam that can move up and down relatively to the cam follower, move the cam follower along the cam surface to move the roller closer to and back from the cap. And spiral the roller on the outer surface of the cap
Seal the thread roller that forms the groove of
And a lock roller,
Is divided into sections where the cam followers of each roller can move.
Of the divided cams,
The cam curve between the minute and the lock roller
The cam and the cam follower are configured to be integrally rotatable and relatively movable up and down so that the cam and the cam follower are relatively moved only in the vertical direction.

[0006]

In the capping machine according to the present invention, since the cam follower and the cam do not rotate relative to each other but only move up and down relative to each other, it is possible to make the roller forming the groove in the cap perform the best movement. Since the range of movement of the cam on the cam surface is a part of the cam surface, the cam does not need to be conical, and can be divided into an arbitrary shape.

[0007]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an upper portion of a capping machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion connected to the lower side of FIG. The upper, middle, and lower rotating plates 2, 4, and 6 are horizontally disposed, and the upper cylindrical body 12 is inserted into the holes of the middle and lower rotating plates 4, 6 through the bushings 8, 10. And intermediate cylinder 1
4 are fitted. These two cylinders 12 and 14 are integrally connected, and a gear 1 provided on the outer periphery of the upper cylinder 12 is provided.
It is rotated via 2a. A main rod 18 is inserted into the inside of the two cylinders 12 and 14 via a sleeve 16 so as to be relatively movable up and down. A compression spring 20 is disposed between the upper cylinder 12 and the main rod 18 to urge the cylinder 12 relatively upward and the main rod 18 downward.

[0008] Three upper, middle and lower rotating plates 2, 4 and 4, adjacent to the two cylindrical bodies 12, 14 and the main rod 18, which are vertically supported by the intermediate rotating plate 4 and the lower rotating plate 6, respectively. A guide rod 22 penetrating through 6 is fixed. The main rod 18 has a lower portion supported by a bush 16 in the intermediate cylinder 14, an upper end protruding from an upper end of the upper cylinder 12, and supported by a guide rod 22 via a connection block 24.

One cylindrical portion 26a of the elevating guide 26 is fitted around the outer periphery of the guide rod 22 between the intermediate rotary plate 4 and the lower rotary plate 6. The elevating guide 26 also has a cylindrical portion 26b on the right side of the intermediate cylinder 14 in the figure, and is fitted to the outer periphery of the intermediate cylinder 14 via bearings 28 and 30 so that the intermediate cylinder 14 can rotate. I agree. A cam follower 32 is mounted between the two cylindrical portions 26a and 26b of the elevating guide 26, and engages with a cam (not shown) to move the cylindrical bodies 12 and 14 up and down.

A lower cylindrical body 34 is provided below the main rod 18.
Are rotatably fitted. The lower cylindrical body 34 is rotatable via a pair of thrust bearings 36, 38 and bushings 39, 40 arranged on upper and lower steps on the outer peripheral side of the main rod 18, and moves integrally in the axial direction. As shown in FIG.

An actuator cam 4 for moving a thread roller 42 and a lock roller 44, which will be described later, toward or away from the cap is provided on the outer periphery of the upper portion of the lower cylinder 34.
6 are fitted. The actuator cam 46 is fixed to the lower end surface of the intermediate cylinder 14,
4 and moves up and down together with the lower cylinder 34 via the key 48, so that they rotate integrally and move up and down relatively.

Thread roller 42 and lock roller 4
The thread rollers 42 are alternately arranged at intervals of 90 degrees around the main rod 18, and the thread roller 42 cuts a spiral groove along the bottle screw on the outer peripheral surface of the cap. Seals by bending the lower end of the cap inward. The actuator cam 46 is divided into four parts so that four cam followers 50 respectively attached to the upper portions of the rollers 42 and 44 are guided. Each cam portion 46a, 46b, 46c, 4
In the circumferential direction, various shapes such as an arc shape as shown in FIG. 3, a flat surface as shown in FIG. 4, or a concave surface as shown in FIG. 5 can be selected in the axial direction (vertical direction). )
Has an inclination from the lower part to the upper part so as to be closer to the axis (see FIG. 2).

The above-mentioned actuator cam 4 of the lower cylinder 34
A circular plate 52 is fixed slightly below the portion where 6 is fitted. Four pivot shafts 54 are supported vertically through the circular plate 52. At the upper end of each pivot shaft 54, an arm 56 that can swing in the radial direction is attached (see FIG. 6). FIG.
Shows only the configuration of one thread roller 42, and the others are omitted. The cam follower 50 that rolls on the surface of the actuator cam 46 is attached to the upper end of the arm 56. Further, fixed to the lower end of the pivot shaft 54 are arms 62 and 64 through which shafts 58 and 60 provided with the thread roller 42 or the lock roller 44 are supported. A torsion spring 66 is provided around the pivot shaft 54.
2 (see FIG. 2), and constantly urges the thread roller 42 and the lock roller 44 to press the cap 70 over the bottle 68.

The lower end of the main rod 18 has a cylindrical shape, and a pin 72 is inserted into the cylindrical portion, and is urged downward by a spring 74. A pressure block 76 is attached to the lower end of the pin 72 and contacts the top surface of the cap 70. A cover 78 is attached to an opening on the lower surface side of the cylindrical portion of the main rod 18, and serves as a stopper for the pressure block 76.

The operation of the above capping machine will be described. At the first stage, the cam follower 32 of the elevating guide 26 is raised by a cam (not shown), and the upper cylinder 12 and the intermediate cylinder 14 are at the highest position as shown in FIG. At this time, the main rod 18 is
The compression spring 20 inside the cylinder 2 is located at the most lowered position with respect to both the cylinders. Therefore, the cam follower 50 attached to the lower cylinder 34 that moves up and down integrally with the main rod 18 is in contact with the lowermost portion (large diameter portion) of the actuator cam 46 fixed to the intermediate cylinder 14. In this state, the upper and lower arms 56 and 62 of the pivot shaft 54,
64 is swung away from the axis, and the thread roller 42 and the lock roller 44 move outward.

When the bottle 68 having the cap 70 covered just below the main rod 18 is supplied, the elevation guide 26 and the intermediate cylinder 14 are lowered by a cam (not shown).
The main rod 18 also descends, but when the pressure block 76 at the lower end hits the cap 70 and the pin 72 is pushed up, the main rod 18 does not descend any further.
The upper cylinder 12 and the intermediate cylinder 14 descend slightly relative to the main rod 18. As a result, the cam follower 50 moves on the cam surface of the actuator cam 46 toward the upper portion having a small diameter, and the thread roller 42 and the lock roller 44 are pressed against the side surface of the cap 70 (see FIG. 8). Since the upper cylinder 12 is rotated via the gear 12a, the intermediate cylinder 14 and the actuator cam 46 are also rotating, and the lower cylinder 34 is also rotating via the key 48. The cam 46 and the cam follower 50 rotate integrally, and the cam follower 50 moves only on the cam surface in the axial direction (vertical direction). Therefore, the actuator cam 46 is arranged as shown in FIG.
5 as long as the cam follower 50 has a width that can roll.

Further, when the elevating guide 26 is lowered gradually, the cam follower 50
While moving upward, the thread roller 42 and the lock roller 44 are pushed little by little toward the center of the cap 70, and spiral groove cutting and bending of the lower end of the cap 70 are performed (see FIG. 9).

Subsequently, the screw cutting is completed by further lowering the bottle 68 by the amount by which the variation in height is sucked (FIG. 10).
reference). Thereafter, when the intermediate cylinder 14 is raised, the actuator cam 46 is also raised, and the cam follower 50 moves to the large-diameter portion side of the actuator cam 46, and the thread roller 42 and the lock roller 44 are opened outward and separated from the bottle 68 ( See FIG. 11).

In the above embodiment, the thread roller 42
In addition, since the actuator cam 46 for moving the lock roller 44 forward and backward and the cam follower 50 are relatively moved only in the vertical direction, the actuator cam 46 only needs to be part of the circumferential direction. Any cam shape can be selected to optimize the operation of the rollers. In addition, since the actuator cam 46 and the cam follower 50 rotate integrally, the life can be extended without imposing an eccentric load on the cam follower 50, and the type can be easily changed. Further, the upper and lower cylinders 12, 14 and the actuator cam 46 integral therewith, the main rod 18, and the thread roller 42, the lock roller 44, and the cam follower 50 that move up and down integrally therewith are moved up and down by a single lifting cam. As a result, the overall structure can be simplified.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, the actuator cam and the cam follower are integrally rotated to move only in the vertical direction, so that the actuator cam can be divided and the thread roller can be divided. And the lock roller can be formed into a cam shape such that the lock roller performs the best movement.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an upper part of a capping machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a lower portion of the capping machine.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an actuator cam.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an actuator cam.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an actuator cam.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a thread roller and an actuator cam.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the capping machine.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the capping machine.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the capping machine.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the capping machine.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the capping machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 42 roller (thread roller) 44 roller (lock roller) 46 cam (actuator cam) 50 cam follower 66 elastic means (torsion spring) 68 bottle 70 cap

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A roller that forms a groove by rotating while being pressed against a cap placed over a bottle opening, elastic means for pressing the roller toward the cap, a cam follower that moves up and down integrally with the roller, and the cam follower cache relatively a vertically movable cam, said cam follower is moved along the cam surface close to the roller with respect to the cap, the capping machine is retracted, the roller and
A thread roller that forms a spiral groove on the outer surface of the
And a lock roller that seals the lower part of the
In addition, the above cam can be moved by the cam follower of each roller
And split the thread into these divided cams
The cam curve between the roller section and the lock roller section
Different causes, moreover, capping machine for causing relative movement only the cam and the cam follower vertically by rotatably between these cams and the cam follower integrally, and is configured to be relatively moved vertically .