JP3203721B2 - Shutter mechanism in container supply device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shutter mechanism for stopping the supply of containers to a star wheel in an apparatus for supplying containers such as ampules and vials.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when supplying containers such as ampules and vials to a processing device such as an ampoule filling machine and a container washing machine, a container supply device is generally used. Such a supply device is configured to fit containers conveyed by a conveyor or a slope into a groove formed on the periphery of a star wheel, convey the containers by rotation of the star wheel, and supply the containers to the next processing device. Have been. In the conventional supply device, when the supply is stopped halfway, the operation itself of the supply device is entirely stopped.

[0003]

However, for example, when an ampoule production line is constructed by combining an ampoule filling machine, a sealing machine, a washing machine, an inspection machine, etc. via a supply device, for example, Generally, the movement is controlled by time, and the supply amount of the ampoule, the transfer speed, the opening and closing of the filling valve, the output of the sealing machine and the washing machine, and the like are controlled so as to be linked. In such a case, if the operation of the supply device is stopped, the operation of the other processing devices is stopped in a halfway state in conjunction therewith, and a large number of defective ampules are generated. That is, when the operation is stopped, problems such as a shortage of the liquid amount of the ampule located at the filling machine or the sealing machine or overburning of the ampule occur. Further, there is a problem that a normal inspection cannot be performed even with an inspection machine for an ampoule. Also, even if the operation is restarted from that state, a large number of defective ampules are generated.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above technical problems and to provide a means for stopping the supply of ampules without generating a defective ampule in the above-mentioned ampoule production line or the like. Is what you do. In order to attain this object, in the container supply apparatus as described above, the arc-shaped shutter that rotates along the periphery of the star wheel has an erect shutter at the circumferential end of the fan-shaped plate fitted to the shaft of the star wheel. The present invention has invented a shutter mechanism in a container supply device in which a receiving port is configured to be openable and closable by rotation of a torque tender attached to a speed control motor provided at the back of an arc-shaped shutter. Also, the rotation of the torque tender attached to the speed control motor,
It was configured to be controlled by a sensor provided on a guide standing on the side of the conveyor. The rotation speed when the shutter closes the receiving opening is configured to be equal to or less than the peripheral speed of the star wheel.

[0005]

The container is closed by rotating the arc-shaped shutter along the periphery of the star wheel, and the containers conveyed by the conveyor or the slope are fitted into the groove of the periphery of the star wheel. Hinder. As a result, the supply of containers is stopped without stopping the operation of the supply device itself. In addition, by closing the receiving port by rotating the shutter at a speed equal to or less than the peripheral speed of the star wheel, containers are prevented from being caught between the tip of the shutter and the groove of the star wheel.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a shutter mechanism according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the supply device of the ampule a will be specifically described. FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 show a perspective view, a plan view, and a side view of the supply device 1 of the ampule a, respectively. Reference numeral 4 denotes a conveyor, and a star wheel 3 is provided at the end of the conveyor 4. As shown in FIG. 3, the rotation of the motor 5 is transmitted to the conveyor 4 via the belt 6, and conveys the ampule a in the direction of the arrow. The star wheel 3 rotates counterclockwise about the shaft 8 by the power of the motor 7. On the periphery of the star wheel 3, there are formed a large number of grooves 9 large enough to fit the ampule a. As shown in FIG. 2, guides 10 are erected on both left and right sides of the conveyor 4, and are received at an end portion of the conveyor 4 between extended portions 11 provided to protrude inward from the left and right guides 10. The mouth 12 is open.
The outer periphery of the star wheel 3 is covered with a curved surface portion 13 formed by the guide 10. On the opposite side of the receiving port 12, there is provided a take-out guide 14 for pushing out the ampoule a, which has been fitted into and conveyed into the groove 9 of the star wheel 3, from the groove 9. Removal guide 14
The ampoule a pushed out from the groove 9 is carried into the passage 15. The passage 15 communicates with the next processing device.

In the supply device 1 as described above, the ampoule a conveyed in the direction of the arrow by the peripheral movement of the conveyor 4 fits into the groove 9 on the peripheral edge of the star wheel 3 through the receiving port 12, and thus is inserted. By the rotation of the star wheel 3, the ampule a is conveyed in the counterclockwise rotation direction while being held between the groove 9 and the curved surface portion 13. When the ampoule a conveyed in this way comes to the opposite side of the receiving port 12, the ampoule a is pushed out of the groove 9 by the removal guide 14. Thus, the ampoule a extruded from the groove 9 passes through the passage 15 and is supplied to the next processing device.
Filling with a chemical solution, sealing and cleaning of the ampule head, and the like are appropriately performed.

In the supply device 1 as described above, an arc-shaped shutter 20 for closing the groove 9 of the star wheel 3 is provided inside the curved surface portion 13 on the right side. As shown in FIG. 2, a shutter 20 is provided upright on a circumferential end of a fan-shaped plate 21 which is rotatable about a shaft 8, whereby a shutter 20 is provided.
Is configured so that the receiving port 12 can be closed and opened by rotating about the shaft 8. A dock 22 is provided upright on the upper end of the shutter 20, and proximity switches 23 and 24 for detecting the dock 22 are provided on the upper surface of the right guide 10.
Is arranged. Further, a speed control motor 25 is disposed so as to be located behind the shutter 20 and fixed to the upper surface of the right guide 10. As shown in FIG.
The peripheral surface of the torque tender 27 attached to the rotation shaft 26 of the speed control motor 25 is brought into contact with the back surface of the shutter 20, and the shutter 20 is rotated by the rotation of the speed control motor 25.

In the mechanism described above, the speed control motor 25 is operated to rotate the arc-shaped shutter 20 counterclockwise along the periphery of the star wheel 3. In this way, as shown in FIG. 5, the shutter 20 is made to protrude to close the receiving port 12, thereby preventing the ampoule a conveyed by the conveyor 4 from being fitted into the groove 9 on the peripheral edge of the star wheel 3. In addition,
When the shutter 20 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction to close the receiving port 12, the speed of the speed control motor 25 is controlled so that the shutter 20 is rotated at a speed equal to or less than the peripheral speed of the star wheel 3. To rotate. That is, if the rotation speed of the shutter 20 is faster than the peripheral speed of the star wheel 3, the ampoule a may be pinched between the tip of the shutter 20 and the side surface of the groove 9 of the star wheel 3 as shown in FIG. There is. When the ampule a is sandwiched in this way, the ampoule a
And other problems, such as breakage of the ampoule a and a disturbed transport speed of the ampule a. Then, by making the rotation speed of the shutter 20 equal to or less than the peripheral speed of the star wheel 3 and closing the receiving port 12, the ampule a is caught between the shutter tip and the groove side surface. It is configured to prevent Guide 1 on the right
The position of the shutter 20 is detected by detecting the dock 22 by the proximity switches 23 and 24 disposed on the upper surface 0, and the operation, stop, forward and reverse rotation of the speed control motor 25 is controlled (see FIG. 7). That is, when the proximity switch 23 disposed on the front side detects the dock 22, the state is as shown in FIG. You can see that. Then, from this state, the reception port 1
To close the shutter 2, the speed control motor 25 is rotated forward (or reverse), and the shutter 20 is rotated counterclockwise. Thus, when the dock 22 is detected by the other proximity switch 24, the operation of the speed control motor 25 is stopped. Thus, as shown in FIG.
Is closed, and the ampule a on the conveyor 4 does not fit into the groove 9 of the star wheel 3. Receiving port 1 again
When the shutter 2 is opened, the speed control motor 25 is rotated in the reverse direction (or the normal direction) to rotate the shutter 20 clockwise. Thus, the supply of the ampule a can be stopped without stopping the operation of the supply device 1 itself.

In addition, a slope may be provided in place of the conveyor 4, and the ampoule a may be supplied using the inclination. In addition, the present invention can be similarly applied to a supply device for other containers such as a vial as well as the ampule a.

[0011]

According to the present invention, the supply of containers can be stopped without stopping the operation of the supply apparatus itself, so that the operation of other processing apparatuses is not adversely affected. Therefore, problems such as insufficient filling liquid amount, overburning, and abnormal inspection do not occur. In particular, the arc-shaped shutter is erected at the circumferential end of the fan-shaped plate, and the shutter is driven by the rotation of a torque tender provided on the back, so that the configuration is simple and maintenance is easy. In addition, since the rotation of the torque tender is detected by the sensor to detect the position of the shutter and control the operation, stop, forward / reverse rotation, it is possible to obtain reliable and smooth control with a simple device. Then, by closing the receiving opening by setting the rotation speed when the shutter closes to be equal to or less than the peripheral speed of the star wheel, the containers are sandwiched between the shutter tip and the groove side surface. Can be prevented and the movement of the shutter can be made smooth.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a supply device with a shutter opened.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a supply device.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the supply device.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a speed control motor.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the supply device with a shutter closed.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state in which an ampoule is sandwiched between a shutter tip and a groove side surface of a star wheel.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a dock and a proximity switch.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Supply device 3 Star wheel 4 Conveyor 9 Groove 12 Receiving port 20 Shutter a Ampoule

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B67C 3/00 B65G 29/00 B65G 47/84

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A container conveyed by a conveyor or a slope is fitted into a groove formed in a peripheral edge of a star wheel from a receiving port, and conveyed by rotation of the star wheel to supply the container to a next processing apparatus. In a container feeding device, a circular arc that rotates along the periphery of the star wheel
Shutter was fitted to the shaft of the star wheel
An arc-shaped chassis is set up on the circumferential end of the fan-shaped plate.
Speed control motor located behind the motor
The rotation of the torque tender attached to the
Containers characterized by opening and closing the opening
Shutter mechanism in the supply device. 2. The speed control motor according to claim 2 ,
The rotation of the torque tender attached to the conveyor
It is controlled by the sensor provided on the standing guide.
The container according to claim 1, wherein the container is configured to be configured as follows.
Shutter mechanism in supply device of equipment. 3. When the shutter closes the receiving opening.
Rotation speed equal to or higher than the peripheral speed of the star wheel.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein:
Shutter mechanism in the supply device for the containers on board.