JP3474211B2 - Cam mechanism and material supply device having cam mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cam mechanism used in an article packaging apparatus (apparatus for loading articles into a packaging container) and a material supply apparatus having the cam mechanism.
The material supply device of the present invention sequentially takes out the container blanks from the hopper, partially or completely assembles the taken out container blanks into a packaging container, and thereafter, those packaging containers are placed at an article loading position (that is, a bottle or a can is packaged). It is sent to the place where the container is loaded).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional cam mechanism and material feeding device are described, for example, in European Patent Application No. 182593.

The cam mechanism described in this European application has a sampling means which moves along an orbit. There are an outermost position and an innermost position on the orbit, and the sampling means is
Material when coming to the outermost position (specifically container blank)
Engage with. Such a conventional cam mechanism includes a cam plate having a first guide groove extending in a substantially annular shape. This first
The guide groove is connected to a second guide groove that is also formed on the cam plate. Further, in this cam mechanism, the first and second cam followers are provided movably along the first guide groove. Only one of the cam followers can move along the second guide groove.

The guide grooves and the cam followers can be distinguished from each other. This is because one guide groove is deeper than the other guide groove, and one cam follower has a longer axial length than the other cam follower. Both cam followers can move along the deeper guide groove, but only the shorter cam follower can move along the shallower guide groove. By thus providing the cam mechanism with two separate guide grooves and separate cam followers, the sampling means (for example, the suction cup) connected to both cam followers via the arm is provided with an eccentric orbit around the drive shaft of the cam. It can be turned along a trajectory.

The material supply device of the above-mentioned European patent application has the above-mentioned cam mechanism, and the cam mechanism smoothly moves the sampled container blank, so that the processing speed of the packaging device can be increased. However, the turning direction of the sampling means is limited to a fixed direction around the drive shaft of the cam, that is, a clockwise direction or a counterclockwise direction.

[0006]

The problem to be solved is that the movement of the conventional cam mechanism and the sampling means of the material feeding device is simple, so that the design of the material hopper and other parts of the packaging device is flexible. It is difficult to have sex.

[0007]

The first invention of the present application provides a cam mechanism for use in a material feeding apparatus. This cam mechanism has a cam plate having a first guide groove extending substantially annularly and a second guide groove shallower than the first guide groove, and a follower unit movable with respect to the cam plate. The driven unit has a first cam follower movably provided along the first guide groove and a second cam follower movably provided along the first and second guide grooves. Furthermore, the cam mechanism is the first
And a rotation driving means for turning the driven means along the second guide groove, a sampling means connected to the driven means, a first arm connecting the first and second cam followers to each other, and the first cam follower. An arm shaft fixed to the first arm between the second cam followers and extending parallel to the central axis of the cam, a second arm having one end fixed to the arm shaft, and fixed to the other end of the second arm. And a driven shaft extending parallel to the central axis of the cam. The first guide groove has a portion that engages with the first cam follower and a portion that engages with both the first and second cam followers, and the second guide groove engages with the second cam follower. Have parts. The driven shaft is rotatably connected to the sampling means, and the center axis of the driven shaft is arranged at a position farther from the center axis of the arm shaft than the center axes of the first cam follower and the second cam follower. To be done. The sampling means moves back and forth between an outermost position away from the central axis of the cam and an innermost position closer to the central axis of the cam than the outermost position, and the rotation direction of the rotation driving means. It can be turned in the same direction and in the opposite direction.

The cam mechanism of the present invention can perform an operation of moving the sampling means upward in addition to the basic operation of moving the sampling means downward. That is, in this cam mechanism, the material (container blank) is lifted out of the hopper by the sampling means and then sent to the loading position. The cam mechanism of the present invention is a great improvement over the conventional one. Because the movement of the harvesting means and the material held in it is more complex, allowing great flexibility in the design of the hopper used in this device and the design of the other parts in the packaging device. Is. Further, according to the present invention, the operating speed of the packaging device is also extremely high.

A second invention of the present application provides a material supply apparatus having the cam mechanism and the material stacking section. In this device, the collecting means can take out the material from the material stacking portion while rotating in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the rotation driving means.

[0010]

The collecting means moves back and forth between the outermost position away from the central axis of the cam plate and the innermost position closer to the central axis of the cam plate than this position. The sampling means is swiveled in the same direction as the rotation direction of the rotation drive means and in the opposite direction.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.

In FIG. 1, the cam plate 10 is shown partially in cross section. The reference grooves 11 and 12 in this cross-section portion are guide grooves. The guide groove 11 is formed shallower than the guide groove 12. The guide groove 11 has an axial length (see FIG.
Only the cam follower 21 having a relatively short length (in the left-right direction) is accepted. The cam follower 22 has an axial length longer than that of the cam follower 21, and is arranged at a position facing the cam follower 21.

A front view of the cam plate 10 is shown in FIG. In this figure, the cam followers 21, 22 are shown in various positions around the drive shaft 40 along the central axis of the cam plate 10. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the deeper guide groove 12 is formed in an annular shape in the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the cam plate 10 along substantially the entire length of the peripheral edge. However, at the point X, the shallower guide groove 11 branches off from the guide groove 12.

While the branched guide groove 11 extends substantially along the upper edge of the cam plate 10 toward the point 11a, the guide groove 1
2 indicates a point 1 inside the guide groove 11 (close to the drive shaft 40)
It extends toward 2a. The guide groove 11 is bent at a point 11a to change its direction and extends inward of the cam plate 10 (close to the drive shaft 40).
1, 12 intersect with each other at a point Y.

Below the intersection Y, the guide groove 12 further extends toward the point 12a, while the guide groove 11 extends inside the guide groove 12 toward the lower edge of the cam plate 10.
The guide groove 12 bends at a point 12a, and this time the cam plate 1
Since they extend along the lower edge of 0, both guide grooves 11 and 12 meet at the point Z.

The cam followers 21, 22 are connected to each other by a first arm 26. As shown in Figure 1,
The first arm 26 has an arm shaft 27 rotatably supported by the drive plate 30. This arm shaft 27
Is inserted into one end of the second arm 50 and is fixed to the second arm 50 via a key.

The drive plate 30 is fixed to the drive shaft 40 so as to be rotatable with respect to the cam plate 10. Drive plate 3
When the first arm 26 is swung around the drive shaft 40 by 0, the cam followers 21 and 22 move along their respective predetermined paths as shown in FIGS.

The cam followers 21 and 22 have axes 1 respectively.
And the first arm 2 which is rotatable about the axis 2.
There is a bearing action which reduces friction during the movement of 6.
The central axis 3 of the arm shaft 27 is located substantially in the center of the axes 1 and 2.

The first arm 26 and the second arm 50 are rigidly connected to each other so that they cannot move relative to each other. The second arm 50 is connected to the driven shaft 52.
That is, the hole 51 is formed at the other end of the second arm 50,
One end of the driven shaft 52 in the hole 51 is inserted and fixed. The center axis 4 of the driven shaft 52 is located farther from the center axis 3 of the arm shaft 27 than the center axes 1 and 2 of the cam followers 21 and 22.

With this structure, the suction cup 58, which will be described later, temporarily turns in the opposite direction while the drive shaft 40 for driving the cam mechanism is rotating in a certain direction. In the present embodiment, the arm shaft 27 is the first arm 2
Although it is provided at a substantially central position of 6 in the longitudinal direction, it is needless to say that it does not have to be the central position.

The driven shaft 52 is inserted into the sliding block 54 and is rotatable about the central axis 4 with respect to the sliding block 54. The sliding block 54 has a rod 5
6 and the suction cup 58 are fixed. The rod 56 is
It is inserted in the collar 57 and slidable in the rod longitudinal direction with respect to the collar 57. The collar 57 is rotatably fitted to the drive shaft 40 and does not rotate even when the drive shaft 40 is driven. Further, the collar 57 is constrained on the drive shaft 40 so as not to move in the axial direction thereof.

When the drive shaft 40 rotates the drive plate 30, the rotating drive plate 30 pivots the first arm 26 about the drive shaft 40. The arm shaft 27 is
Since it is rotatably inserted in the drive plate 30, when the first arm 26 pivots with respect to the fixed cam plate 10, the first arm 26 simultaneously moves in the drive plate 30 about its central axis 3. Rotate against. At this time, suction cup 58
The sliding block 54 rotates with respect to the first arm 26 and the driven shaft 52, and the rod 56 slides with respect to the collar 57. The movements of the first arm 26 and other components will be described later in detail with reference to FIGS.

The suction cup 58 is connected to a vacuum suction device (not shown). Vacuum suction device, suction cup 5
It is used to suck the container blank into the suction cup 58 and to release the container blank from the suction cup 58 by controlling the pressure in 8. By operating the suction device at a specific timing during the rotation cycle of the cam mechanism to raise or lower the internal pressure of the suction cup 58, the container blank can be grasped or released at an appropriate timing.

FIG. 2 shows the positions of the cam followers 21, 22 and other parts with respect to the cam plate 10 at different timings during the blank supply cycle. In this figure, the first arm 26, the second arm 50, the driven shaft 52, the rod 56 and the suction cup 58 are shown schematically.

That is, the first arm 26 is a solid line connecting the cam followers 21 and 22 and is defined by the second arm 50.
Is an extension of the first arm 26 extending from the cam follower 21, and the driven shaft 52 is the second arm 50.
Is shown as a point at the tip of the. Further, the rod 56 is formed by a solid line extending from the tip of the second arm 50 substantially outward in the radial direction of the cam plate 10, and the suction cup 58 is formed by the solid line.
It is represented by a point at the outer edge of 6.

When the suction cup 58 is at the position O in FIG.
Both cam followers 21, 22 are in the guide groove 12, that is, in the arcuate portion on the right side in FIG. The path taken by the suction cup 58 during the rotation cycle of the cam mechanism is shown by the locus L. On this locus L, in addition to the above-mentioned point O, seven points A,
B, C, D, E, F, and G are shown as the positions of the suction cup 58. The state of the container blank (the positional relationship between the container blank and the hopper 70 and the container blank and the suction cup 58) and the positions of the cam followers 21, 22 when the suction cup 58 is in each of these positions are shown in FIGS. There is. That is, the positions A to G correspond to FIGS. 3 to 9 are side views of the material supply device which is a part of the packaging device.

First, referring to FIG. 3, this figure shows a state before the leading container blank C1 is taken out from the hopper 70 by the suction cup 58. A large number of cylindrical container blanks C including the container blank C1 are stacked in the hopper 70 in a flattened state.

The hopper 70 includes a bottom portion 66 and the bottom portion 6.
Rim 6 projecting obliquely upward from the front end (or lower end) of 6
Have eight. The rim 68 engages the leading (or bottom) container blank. The bottom 66 and the rim 68 together support the container blank C. In particular, the rim 68 prevents the container blank from sliding forward and out of the hopper 70. The container blank C is further supported in the hopper 70 by the top bracket 60. The bracket 60 includes a roller 62 and an arm 64.

As mentioned above, FIG. 3 shows the suction cup 58.
2 is in the position A shown in FIG. 2, the positional relationship between the suction cup 58 and the container blank C and the cam follower 21,
22 position is shown. When the suction cup 58 is in this position, the cam follower 21 moves to the position 11a shown in FIG.
It is in.

While the cam follower 22 moves from the position X to the position Y on the cam plate 10 along the guide groove 12 (more precisely, for a few moments when the cam follower 22 moves a part of the distance between XY), the cam follower 22 moves. The follower 21 stops at the position 11a and does not move. On the movement trajectory of the suction cup 58 while the cam follower 21 is stopped at the position 11a, the position A
Is a position farthest from the drive shaft 40. That is, in FIG. 3, the suction cup 58 on the rod 56 is
The cam plate 10 is at the most pushed position radially outward, that is, at the outermost position. The suction cup 58 is pressed against the container blank C1 at this position and engages (sucks) it.

FIG. 4 shows the positional relationship between the suction cup 58 and the container blank C and the positions of the cam followers 21, 22 when the suction cup 58 is at the position B shown in FIG. The suction cup 58 moves (turns) from the position A in the clockwise direction to reach the position B (this movement direction is the same as the rotation direction of the drive plate 30 which rotates counterclockwise as the drive shaft 40 rotates). Is the opposite). By the movement of the suction cup 58, the container blank C1 is lifted upward along the surface direction.

The reason why the blank C1 is moved along the plane direction is that it is substantially tangential to the movement locus of the suction cup 58 (see the locus between position A and position B in FIG. 2) immediately after the surface of the blank C1 comes into contact with it. In other words, the hopper 70 supports the container blank therein in such a state.

The container blank C1 lifted by the suction cup 58 slides upward while being guided by the boss 63, the rim 68 and the subsequent container blank C, and its upper end is inserted into the recess 65 in the bracket 60. It That is, when the suction cup 58 is moved from the position A to the position B, the container blank C1 is lifted upward.
When the suction cup 58 reaches the position B, the lower edge of the container blank C1 projects above the upper end 68a of the rim 68, and the upper edge of the container blank C1 moves toward the top bracket 6.
0 arm 64 is contacted.

When the drive plate 30 further rotates counterclockwise together with the drive shaft 40, the suction cup 58 reaches the position C in FIG. The relationship between the suction cup 58 and the container blank when there is a suction cup at this position C, and the positions of the cam followers 21, 22 are shown in FIG.

As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 5, when the suction cup 58 is in this position C, the cam follower 21 has already left the position 11a in the guide groove 11. That is, the position C is the outermost position of the suction cup 58, that is, the position A.
It is a position retracted closer to the cam plate 10 than that. Therefore,
At this time, the container blank C1 is pulled out of the hopper 70 as shown in FIG. 5, and is in the initial state of the assembly stage.

At this time, a negative pressure is applied inside the suction cup 58 so that the container blank C1 is sucked by the suction cup 58. It is the suction cup 58 that sucks the container blank C1 by controlling the negative pressure in the suction cup 58.
Is almost at position A. The rollers 62 and fixed guides 72 of FIG. 3 are used to assist in assembling the container blank into a packaging container.

FIG. 10 is a front view of the packaging device. In this figure, the hopper 70 is provided with left and right side flanges F1, F.
Have two. When the suction cup 58 pulls the front wall panel of the container blank C1 to the right in FIG.
Constrains the top wall panel of container blank C1 so that it does not move. At this time, the flanges F1 and F2 engage with the end wall panel that is continuous with the rear wall panel of the container blank to restrain the rear wall panel. That is, the front wall panel is easily separated from the rear wall panel because the top wall panel and the rear wall panel are constrained when the front wall panel is pulled out. That is, the blank is easily assembled.

When the drive plate 30 further rotates, the suction cup 58 reaches the position D on the locus shown in FIG. When the suction cup 58 moves from the position C toward the position D, the cam follower 22 moves to the position 12 in the guide groove 12.
Move toward a. That is, the movement from the position C to the position D corresponds in other words to the initial movement of the suction cup 58 in the counterclockwise direction. Therefore, the container blank C1
Is pulled down by the suction cup 58 and disengaged from the engagement with the roller 62.

However, even at this time (when the suction cup is at the position D), the container blank C1 is still held by the fixed guide 72 (see FIG. 6). In this way, when the container blank C1 is pulled out from the hopper 70, the remaining container blanks in the hopper advance by their own weight, and the container blank immediately after the container blank C1 abuts the boss 63 and the rim 68 this time.

In FIG. 6, that is, when the suction cup 58 reaches the position D, the container blank C1 is made into a substantially cylindrical three-dimensional shape. In other words, by being tubular, the container blank C1 is in a state capable of receiving an article (for example, a bottle or a can) therein (of course, the tubular container has both ends closed after the article is accommodated therein). It is completed as a container.). The innermost position of the suction cup 58 is not shown in the figure, but this position is on the locus between positions D and E in FIG.

The drive plate 30 further rotates, and the suction cup 5
FIG. 7 shows a state in which 8 further advances from the position D. FIG. 7 shows the state of the suction cup 58 and the container blank C1 and the positions of the cam followers 21, 22 when the suction cup 58 is at the position E in FIG.

When the suction cup 58 is in this position E, the container blank C1 is still in the process of being pulled out of the hopper 70, and the container blank C1 is not yet completely ready for receiving articles. To move the suction cup 58 from the position D to the position E, in other words,
The suction cup 58 continues to move counterclockwise in the drive shaft 4
This is to turn around 0, but this movement further moves the container blank C1 further away from the hopper 70, as shown in FIG. 7.

Also at this point, the container blank C1
Is still partially held by the fixed guide 72 and is not yet in a completely cylindrical three-dimensional state. This is because the container blank C1 is pulled to the right in FIG. 7 by the suction cup 58, and at the same time, the container blank C1 is pulled to the left and flattened due to the frictional force generated between the container blank C1 and the fixed guide 72.

8 and 9, the suction cup 58 is located at the position E.
Go further, and the container blank C1 is the flight bar 8
It shows the state of being carried between 0a and 80b. The flight bars 80a and 80b move a cylindrical container along the base 82. However, the base 82 itself is also a conveyor.

FIG. 9 shows a container blank assembled in a completely cylindrical shape. At this point, suction cup 58 has not yet released the top wall panel of container blank C1. 8 and 9 show the states of the suction cup 58 and the container blank C1 and the positions of the cam followers 21, 22 when the suction cup 58 is at each of the position F and the position G on the locus L shown in FIG. ing.

When the drive plate 30 further rotates, the cam followers 21 and 22 both pivot counterclockwise along the guide groove 12 from the position shown in FIG. That is, the suction cup 58 moves counterclockwise from the position G, reaches the position A again via the position O. After that, the above-described operation is repeated as long as the drive shaft 40 rotates.

[0047]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, the movement of the sampling means is more complicated and is therefore used with this cam mechanism (or used in a material feeder). Great flexibility can be provided in the design of the hopper and the design of other parts of the packaging machine. Further, according to the present invention, the operating speed of the packaging device can be increased. For example, if a packaging device having a plurality of hoppers and material supply devices as described above is configured by using a plurality of cam mechanisms of the present invention, the packaging processing speed will be significantly increased.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing an embodiment of a cam mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a cam plate used in the cam mechanism of FIG. 1, and is a diagram schematically showing movement of the cam mechanism during a feeding cycle. .

3 is a side view of the material supply device of the present invention, which is a part of the packaging device, showing the state when the suction cup is at position A in FIG. 2. FIG.

4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 when the suction cup is at position B in FIG. 2.

5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 when the suction cup is at the position C in FIG. 2.

6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 when the suction cup is at position D in FIG. 2.

7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 when the suction cup is at position E in FIG. 2.

8 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 when the suction cup is at position F in FIG. 2.

9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 when the suction cup is at position G in FIG. 2.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing a part of the material supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 The central axis of the second cam follower 2 Central axis of the 1st cam follower 3 Central axis of the 1st arm (arm shaft) 10 cam plate 11 Second guide groove 12 First guide groove 21 Second Cam Follower 22 1st cam follower 26 First Arm 30 drive plate 40 rotary drive shaft 50 Second Arm 52 Driven shaft 58 Collection means

Continuation of front page (56) Reference JP-A-3-212323 (JP, A) JP-A-61-119868 (JP, A) JP-A-56-4524 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int .Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F16H 25/00-25/08 B65B 43/00-43/44

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cam having a first guide groove extending substantially annularly, a second guide groove shallower than the first guide groove, a first cam follower movably provided along the first guide groove, and the first cam follower. A driven unit having a second cam follower movably provided along the first guide groove and the second guide groove, and a rotational drive for turning the driven unit along the first guide groove and the second guide groove. Means, a sampling means connected to the rotation driven means, a first arm connecting the first cam follower and the second cam follower to each other, and the first cam follower between the first cam follower and the second cam follower. An arm shaft fixed to the arm and extending parallel to the central axis of the cam, a second arm having one end fixed to the arm shaft, and a second arm fixed to the other end of the second arm parallel to the central axis of the cam. A follower shaft extending, the first guide groove has a portion that engages with a first cam follower, and a portion that engages with both the first cam follower and the second cam follower; The guide groove has a portion that engages with the second cam follower, the driven shaft is rotatably connected to the sampling means, and the center axis of the driven shaft has the first cam follower and the first cam follower. The two cam followers are arranged at positions farther from the central axis of the arm shaft than the central axes of the two cam followers, and the sampling means has an outermost position away from the central axis of the cam and the cam from the outermost position. It is used for a material supply device characterized in that it can move back and forth between an innermost position close to the central axis line of the above, and can be rotated in the same direction as the rotation direction of the rotation drive means and in the opposite direction. Cam mechanism. 2. The cam mechanism according to claim 1 and a material loading section, wherein the sampling means takes out material from the material loading section while moving in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the rotary drive means. Material supply device characterized by. 3. The material loading section is a hopper that holds a container blank in an unassembled state, the hopper having a bottom portion that supports most of the weight of the container blank therein, and the bottom portion comprises: 3. The material supply apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a rim protruding from the lowermost edge of the rim, and the container blank at the top of the rim is supported by contacting the rim. 4. The hopper comprises a top bracket, the top bracket having a recess, the depth of the recess being equal to or greater than the height of the rim, when the container blank is lifted above the rim. The material supply device according to claim 3, wherein the container blank rides over the rim by part of the container blank entering the recess.