JP3211501B2 - Rotary stopper - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rotor wristper for adjusting the distance between articles such as containers being conveyed by a conveyor, and more particularly to a variable rotor wristper which can be used for articles of different sizes. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when introducing a container continuously conveyed on a conveyor into a container processing device such as a filling machine, it is necessary to make the interval between the containers coincide with the interval between each filling head of the filling machine. For this purpose, an interval adjusting mechanism for adjusting the interval between articles such as containers conveyed on the conveyor to a predetermined interval is provided on the conveyor side of the container supply unit to the filling machine. Such an interval adjusting mechanism includes a rotating body disposed on the side of the conveyor, and a plurality of engaging claws radially mounted on the outer peripheral side of the rotating body at regular intervals in the circumferential direction. Conventionally, a rotor wristper was used in which the interlocking pawl was engaged with each container on the conveyor, and the rotating body was rotated at a speed slightly lower than the traveling speed of the conveyor, thereby widening the interval between the containers to a predetermined interval. Known from.

In recent years, a container processing device such as a filling machine has also been used for containers of various sizes and shapes, and the above-mentioned rotor wristper can also be used for various articles (containers) of different sizes. Requested. Therefore, the present applicant has already proposed a variable rotor wristper which can be used for articles of various sizes (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-130517).
issue). The rotor wristper (container spacing adjusting device in the above specification) comprises a rotating body (4) comprising a rotating base (8) which can rotate relatively around the same axis (9) and a lid (10). And
Radial sliding grooves (11) are formed at equal intervals on the rotating base (8), and each guide bar (engaging claw) (1) is inserted into these sliding grooves (11).
2) is slidably fitted, and one lid body (10) is provided with a guide groove (13) curved in an arc shape in a direction intersecting with the radial slide groove (11). Pin (14) attached to (12)
Are engaged with the guide groove (13).
In this rotor wristper, the guide bar (12) is rotated by rotating the lid (10) with respect to the rotating base (8).
The guide bar (12) can be moved forward and backward in the radial direction in (11), and the guide bar (12) can be
The guide bar (12) is retracted inward of the rotating body (4) for the small-sized container (2). Then, in the configuration of the rotor wristper, the rotor wristper is moved so that the guide bar (12) moved forward and backward in the radial direction can be engaged with an appropriate position of the container (2) on the conveyor (1). To adjust the distance between them.

[0004]

In the conventional rotor wrestler according to the above construction, when the container is used for a wide range of containers from a large container to a small container, the amount of engagement and disengagement of the engaging claw increases. There has been a problem that the maximum outer diameter of the pawl becomes large and the entire apparatus becomes large, and the amount of movement for adjusting the distance between the rotor wristper and the conveyor increases. In addition, as the diameter of the container increases, the amount of protrusion of the engaging claw from the sliding groove increases, so that the portion held in the sliding groove decreases, and the strength of a large container with a large load increases. There was a possibility that a problem might occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages, and does not increase the outer diameter of the tip of each engaging claw.
Rotor wristper that can handle large to small articles without having to move a large position, and can also handle large containers without reducing the rigidity of the engaging claws. The purpose is to provide.

[0006]

A rotor wristper according to the present invention comprises: a rotating body disposed on a side of a transporting means for continuously transporting a number of articles; A plurality of attached engaging members, with the rotation of the rotating body, by engaging each of the engaging members with each article being conveyed, to adjust the spacing between the articles, In particular, the base of each of the engagement members is swingably supported on the outer periphery of the rotating body via a fulcrum shaft, and a cam follower that swings integrally with each of the engagement members, and a rotation center of the rotation body, A circular main cam fixedly arranged with its center aligned, a notch formed on the conveying means side of the circular main cam, an arc-shaped sub cam movably arranged in the notch, and the cam follower. Urging means for pressing both cams It provided, to change the position of the sub cam according to the size of articles to be conveyed, in which the engagement member is to vary the angle of the engaging member at a position to engage the article.

[0007]

In the above-mentioned rotor wristper, in the case of a large-sized article, the sub-cam is moved toward the outer periphery of the cutout of the main cam, and as the size of the article becomes smaller, the sub-cam is inserted into the cutout. When the engaging member engages with the article, the angle of the engaging member is changed according to the size of the article to accommodate articles of various sizes.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a rotor wristper (generally indicated by reference numeral 1) according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof. In the figure, reference numeral 2 denotes a conveyor for continuously transporting a number of articles such as containers 4, and a guide bar 6 supporting both sides of the transported containers 4 above a transport surface 2a.
a and 6b are provided. These guide bars 6a, 6
The distance b can be adjusted according to the diameter of the container 4 to be conveyed.

A rotor wrestler 1 is provided on a side of the conveyor 2. Two horizontal stays 12 are provided on the side walls of the frame 8 of the conveyor 2 via brackets 10.
a, 12b are fixed in parallel vertically. These two
The stays 12a and 12b penetrate a vertically arranged cylindrical bearing 14 and support the bearing 14 so as to be horizontally movable in a direction orthogonal to the conveyor 2. A screw 16 is screwed into an intermediate portion between the stays 12 a and 12 b of the bearing 14. The screw 16 is rotated by operating a handle 18 to move the bearing 14 horizontally in a direction orthogonal to the conveyor 2. It can be positioned at a predetermined position.

A vertical rotating shaft 20 is inserted into the cylindrical bearing 14, and a sprocket 22 is attached to a projecting portion of the lower end of the bearing 14 from the bearing 14, and a sprocket 22 from the driving source (not shown) is connected through the sprocket 22. The driving force is transmitted to rotate. A casing (rotating body) 24 is fixed to the upper end of the rotating shaft 20 protruding from the bearing 14 and integrally rotates. In this embodiment, the rotating shaft 20 and the casing 24 rotate clockwise in FIG. Casing 24
Are a disk portion 24a at the upper end, a cylindrical portion 24b fixed slightly inward on the lower surface side of the disk portion 24a, and a cylindrical portion 24b.
And a flange portion 24c formed at a lower end portion.

A plurality of (12 in this embodiment) vertical fulcrum shafts 26 are rotatable at equal intervals in the circumferential direction between the upper disk portion 24a and the lower flange portion 24c of the casing 24. Supported. Each of the fulcrum shafts 26 is provided with an engaging claw 28 for engaging with the container 4 on the conveyor 2. These engaging claws 28 are notched at the center part 28a on the front side so as not to interfere with the guide bar (guide bar near the rotor wristper 1) 6b arranged on the conveyor 2 when engaging with the container 4. It has a U-shape that is opened outward. In addition, the tip portions 28 of these engagement claws 28
b has a tapered planar shape so that it can be easily engaged with each container 4, that is, easily inserted between the containers 4. Each fulcrum shaft 2 to which the engagement claw 28 is attached
6 protrudes below the flange portion 24c,
One end of the arm 30 is fixed to the lower end protrusion.
The arm 30 is attached to the engaging claw 28 at an angle of about 90 degrees and extends forward in the rotation direction of the casing 24, and a cam follower 32 is attached to the other end. Cam follower 32 on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical bearing 14
A main cam 34 and a sub cam 36 described later are provided at the same height as that of the torsion spring 3 fitted around the end of the arm 30 on the fulcrum shaft 26 side.
8 allows the cam follower 32 to
And is always pressed against the sub cam 36.

The main cam 34 basically has a circular shape whose center coincides with the center O ₁ of the rotary shaft 20, and has a cutout portion 34 a formed on a part of the side facing the conveyor 2. The cutout portion 34a is cut out in a substantially U-shape from a position closer to the upstream side (upstream in the rotation direction of the engaging claw 28) than the front side facing the conveyor 2 and slightly downstream. On the other hand, the sub cam 36 is
4, and one end thereof is connected via a fulcrum pin 40 to a lower surface side of a position connected to the downstream end of the cutout portion 34a of the main cam 34,
It is swingable within the notch 34a. The swinging end of the sub cam 36 is connected to a rod 44 via a connecting member 42. The rod 44 is inserted into a support member 46 fixed to the side surface of the cylindrical bearing 14 and is slidable in a direction parallel to the conveyor 2. The rod 44 is moved in a direction parallel to the conveyor 2. Then, the sub cam 36 is connected to the notch 3 of the main cam 34 via the connecting tool 42.
It can be swung within 4a. A knob 48 is attached to the support member 46. By tightening the knob 48, the movement of the rod 44 is restricted and the sub cam 36 can be fixed at an arbitrary position. As shown in FIG. 2, the cam follower 32 includes a main cam 34 and a sub cam 3
6 are arranged at such a height as to be able to abut simultaneously.

Next, the rotor wristper 1 according to the above configuration will be described.
The operation of will be described. This rotor wrestler 1 is
When applied to the container 4 of the applicable maximum diameter, spread conveyance surface 2a being arranged on the opposite sides of the guide bars 6a of the conveyor 2, the spacing 6b, on both sides around the center C ₁ of the conveyor 2 Slightly larger than the diameter of the container 4. Further, the rotor wristper 1 is retracted according to the diameter of the container 4 so that the center C _{1 of the} conveyor 2 and the rotor wrist
To adjust the distance between the center O ₁ of a predetermined size, the engagement nails 28 to mate to the vessel 4 at the optimum position. Further, the rod 44 to which the sub-cam 36 is connected is moved downward in FIG. 1 so that the outer surface of the sub-cam 36 matches the outer peripheral surface of the main cam 34 (see FIG. 3), and the knob 48 is fastened at this position. Then, the sub cam 36 is fixed so as not to move.

In this state, the conveyor 2 and the rotor wristper 1 are driven. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The container 4 continuously conveyed by the conveyor 2 is spread at a predetermined interval, and the rotor wristper 1 is rotated at a speed slightly lower than the traveling speed of the conveyor 2. FIG.
When a container having the largest diameter is used as shown in FIG. 7, since the outer periphery of the sub-cam 36 is made to coincide with the outer peripheral surface of the main cam 34, the cam curve formed by the two cams 34, 36 is completely circular. I have. Since the cam followers 32 attached to the engaging claws 28 move on the circular cam curve, all the engaging claws 28 rotate while keeping the radial direction, and have moved to the front side of the conveyor 2. At this time, it is inserted between the containers 4 and rotates while pressing the front side of the containers 4 on the conveyor 2 running at a speed slightly higher than the rotation speed of the engaging claws 28, and the engaging claws 28 are already engaged. Then, the distance from the front container 4 (indicated by reference numeral 4a in FIG. 1) that is moving forward at the traveling speed of the conveyor 2 is increased.

As the diameter of the container 4 to be applied becomes smaller, the rod 44 to which the sub-cam 36 is connected is moved as shown in FIG.
Move to the left of. Then, the sub cam 36
It swings around the fulcrum pin 40 connected to the main cam 34 via the connecting tool 42, and moves inward of the notch 34a. For example, if the maximum vessel diameter applicable to the apparatus of this embodiment shown in FIG.
The position of the sub-cam 36 is retracted to the position shown in FIG.
The container 4 of 5 is retracted to the position of FIG.

The sub cam 36 is connected to the notch 3 of the main cam 34.
The operation of the engagement claw 28 when retracted toward the inside of 4a will be described. The cam follower 32 is the main cam 3
4 while the outer peripheral surface of the rotary shaft 4 is moving,
0 located on the ray passing through the center O ₁
The distance between the distal end portions 28b of the 8 does not change as in the case of FIG. The cam follower 32 is the notch 3 of the main cam 34
When the cam follower 4a is reached, the cam follower 32 urged by the torsion spring 38 falls into the notch 34a, and the engaging claw 28 integrally connected to the rear side of the cam follower 32 suddenly moves forward in the rotation direction. Shaken,
The distance from the preceding engaging claw 28 is reduced. When the rotation is further continued, the cam follower 32 comes into contact with the outer surface of the sub cam 36, and initially moves from the innermost position of the sub cam 36 to the outer peripheral side as it rotates. Due to the radial movement accompanying the rotation of the cam follower 32, the engaging claw 28 is swung relatively rearward to return to the original position on the radiation and comes closest to the container 4, and its tip 28b is It enters between the containers 4. As described above, the direction is changed near the position where the engagement claw 28 engages with the container 4, and the distance between the distal end portions 28 b of the engagement claw 28 is changed according to the size of the container 4. Without changing the position of the dowel 28 in the radial direction, the rotor
By simply adjusting the distance between them, it can be used for various containers of different sizes. In addition, since the outer diameter of the entire rotor wristper 1 is not changed, it can be used for various containers 4 with a compact device. In addition, only by swinging the engagement claw 28, the length of the portion where the engagement claw is held by the rotating body is not changed unlike the related art, so that the rigidity of the engagement claw 28 is reduced. Therefore, sufficient strength can be maintained even for a container 4 having a large size. In addition, the engaging claw 28 is swung so that the engaging claw 2
By changing the distance between the rotors 8, the rotor 4 and the conveyor 2
There is also the effect that the amount of adjustment of the distance to is small.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, the base of each engaging member is swingably supported on the outer periphery of the rotating body via the fulcrum shaft, and is integrally formed with each engaging member. An oscillating cam follower, a circular main cam fixedly arranged with the center of rotation of the rotating body coincident with the center of rotation, a notch formed on the conveying means side of the circular main cam, and movable in the notch And a biasing means for pressing the cam follower against both cams, changing the position of the sub-cam according to the size of the article to be conveyed, and the engaging member engaging with the article. By changing the angle of the engaging member at the position, it can be used for containers of different sizes without changing the outer diameter of the whole rotor wristper, and moreover, the rotation center of the rotor wristper and the conveyance center can be used. Well a slight adjustment of the distance between the stages of the centerline, also an effect that can be applied to a large article, it is possible to secure sufficient strength without rigidity of the engaging member is reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a cross section of a part of a rotor wristper according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the rotor wristper.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the operation of the rotor wristper, and is a plan view of a main part showing a case where the invention is applied to a container having the largest diameter. .

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a main part illustrating a different operation state of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a main part for explaining an operation when applied to a container having a slightly smaller diameter than the case of FIG. 3;

6 is a plan view of a main part showing a case where the present invention is applied to a container having a smaller diameter than that of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a main part for explaining a case where the present invention is applied to the smallest container applicable to the apparatus of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rotor wristper 2 Conveying means (Conveyor) 4 Article (container) 24 Rotating body (Casing) 26 Support point shaft 28 Engagement member (engagement claw) 32 Cam follower 34 Circular main cam 34a Notch part of main cam 36 Arc-shaped sub cam 38 Force means (torsion spring)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A rotating body disposed on a side of a conveying means for continuously conveying a large number of articles, and a plurality of engaging members attached to an outer periphery of the rotating body at regular intervals in a circumferential direction, A rotor wristper that adjusts a space between articles by engaging each of the engaging members with each of the articles being conveyed with the rotation of the rotating body. A cam follower swingably supported by a fulcrum shaft and swinging integrally with each engagement member, and a circular main cam fixedly disposed with its center coinciding with the center of rotation of the rotating body, The circular main cam is provided with a notch formed on the side of the conveying means, an arc-shaped sub cam movably disposed in the notch, and an urging means for pressing the cam follower against both the cams. Sub according to the size of the goods A variable rotor wristper, wherein a position of a cam is changed to change an angle of an engaging member at a position where the engaging member engages with an article.