JP3903330B2 - Rotary valve support structure - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a rotary valve, and more particularly to a support structure for a rotary valve, which includes a fixed side plate (distributor) and a rotary side plate (rotor), and cuts off supply of fluid to be sent to a nozzle or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, a rotary bottle washer is provided with a rotating body that rotates about a central shaft and a bottle that is provided on the outer periphery of the rotating body at equal intervals in the circumferential direction and that is conveyed by a conveyor from an inlet star wheel. A plurality of bottle grippers for reversing the bottle while being rotated and conveyed, and a position corresponding to each bottle gripper of the rotating body, respectively, and spraying the cleaning liquid into the bottle inverted by the bottle gripper An inner washing nozzle for washing the inside of the bottle and a rotary valve for supplying a washing liquid from the stationary side to the inner washing nozzle of the rotating body are provided.
[0003]
A conventional rotary valve has a fixed plate (distributor) and a rotating plate (rotor) which is attached to the lower surface of the rotating body and rotates integrally, and slides on the fixed plate disposed below the rotating plate. ). In the rotating plate, a discharge passage for feeding the cleaning liquid to the pipe connected to each of the inner washing nozzles is formed. On the other hand, the supply plate for distributing and supplying the cleaning liquid sent from the pump to the fixed plate. When the discharge passage of the rotating plate is connected to the supply passage of the stationary plate in a predetermined section during rotation of the rotating plate, the cleaning liquid is sent to the inner washing nozzle through the pipe, The bottle is sprayed into the bottle held by the gripper to clean the bottle.
[0004]
In the rotary bottle washer, the fixed plate and the rotating plate constituting the rotary valve that shuts off the supply of the cleaning liquid are not separated by the pressure of the cleaning liquid supplied from the fixed side. The pressure is constantly applied by a spring or an air cylinder. In order to slide and rotate in pressure contact with each other in this way, when both the fixed side plate and the rotary plate are made of a hard material such as metal, an intermediate plate made of resin is interposed, and the fixed side plate is fixed by a pin. The plate is connected to the plate for smooth rotation (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 6-254511 and 6-254512), or one of the two sliding plates is made of resin, The outer peripheral side is reinforced with a backup ring (Japanese Patent Application No. 8-287603, Japanese Patent Application No. 8-287604).
[0005]
There is no problem when the washing water used in the rotary bottle washer is at room temperature, but when washing the bottle with hot washing water, or when sterilizing the internal passage of the rotary bottle washer with hot steam The resin member is heated and thermally expanded.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
When a resin member expands thermally, it expands as a whole, but if the resin member is constrained by a pin or a backup ring as in the conventional configuration, it cannot expand outward. It expands in the vertical direction, distorts the sliding surface, and leaks. Further, there has been a problem that abnormal wear occurs when the pressing pressure is increased in order to prevent such liquid leakage.
[0007]
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and even if one of the fixed side plate and the rotating plate constituting the rotary valve is thermally expanded, it is uniformly expanded outward. It is an object of the present invention to provide a support structure for a rotary valve that does not affect the occurrence of liquid leakage.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The rotary valve support structure according to the present invention includes a fixed side plate in which a fluid intake port, a supply passage communicating with the intake port and opening in the sliding surface is formed, and the sliding surface of the fixed side plate. A rotating plate that is arranged so as to be slidable and rotatable, and that has a discharge passage that is communicated and cut off with the supply passage as it rotates, and a pressing means that presses the stationary plate and the rotating plate; A rotary valve that discharges the fluid to the outside when the discharge passage is connected to the supply passage of the fixed side plate, and is configured to slide at least one of the fixed side plate and the rotary plate. The moving surface is made of resin, and a radial groove is formed in the resin member, and a protrusion that engages with the groove is formed on a support that supports the resin member. In which the resin member is moved rotatably supported relative to the support.
[0009]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rotary valve support structure in which at least one sliding surface of the fixed side plate and the rotating plate is made of resin, and a protrusion is formed on the resin member. At the same time, a radial groove that engages with the protrusion is formed in the support that supports the resin member, and the resin member is movably supported with respect to the support.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of a rotary bottle washer provided with a rotary valve support structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. The rotating wheel 4 is fixed to the outer periphery of the upper part of the rotating shaft 2 arranged in the center and rotates integrally. Near the outer periphery of the rotating wheel 4, a plurality of bottle grippers 6 (see FIG. 2 showing a configuration during cleaning and sterilization described later) are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. Each of these bottle grippers 6 is supported on a support column 8 fixed perpendicularly to the outer peripheral edge portion of the rotating wheel 4, and radially outward (right side in FIG. 2) and inward side around a horizontal fulcrum. The bottle that is gripped can be inverted and returned to the upright state.
[0011]
An annular rotary plate (rotor) 14 constituting a rotary side member of the rotary valve 12 that shuts off supply of the cleaning liquid supplied to the nozzle 10 is attached to the upper surface of the rotary wheel 4, and is integrated with the rotary wheel 4. Rotate to. Here, the configuration of the connecting portion between the annular rotor 14 and the rotating wheel 4 (support for the rotor 14) will be described. In this embodiment, the rotor 14 is made of resin, and slides and rotates with respect to a metal distributor 16 described later. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, radial key grooves 18 are formed at equal intervals on the bottom surface of the rotor 14. On the other hand, protrusions (sliding keys) 20 are fixed on the upper surface of the metallic rotating wheel 4 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and are engaged with the respective key grooves 18. Further, an annular positioning stopper 22 having an outer diameter substantially matching the inner diameter of the rotor 14 is provided on the inner peripheral side of the position where the sliding key 20 of the rotating wheel 4 is attached. The key groove 18 is not limited to the communication between the inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface of the rotor 14, but may be a long hole extending in the radial direction. However, the sliding key 20 needs to be long enough to move in the radial direction.
[0012]
The same number of discharge passages 24 as the number of bottle grippers 6 are formed radially inside the rotor 14. In each discharge passage 24 formed in the rotor 14, the cleaning liquid inlet side openings 24 a are arranged at equal intervals on the same circumference on the upper surface side of the rotor 14, and the cleaning liquid outlet side openings 24 b are arranged on the rotor 14. Are arranged at equal intervals on the outer peripheral surface of the. The outlet openings 24b of the discharge passages 24 are connected to the nozzles 10 through supply hoses 26, respectively.
[0013]
A central shaft 30 fixed to the frame 28 is fitted to the upper end of the rotary shaft 2, and a fixed side plate (distributor) 16 that constitutes the rotary valve 12 together with the rotor 14 is disposed on the outer periphery of the central shaft 30. Installed. An arc-shaped cleaning liquid supply slot (cleaning liquid supply passage) 32 is formed in the lower surface of the distributor 16 (sliding surface with the rotor 14). The arc-shaped slot 32 is formed on the side surface of the distributor 16. It communicates with the outside through the cleaning liquid inlet 34 that opens. The arc-shaped elongated hole 32 is located on the circumference of the same radius as the circle in which the inlet side openings 24a of the many discharge passages 24 formed in the rotor 14 are arranged. 14 are overlapped with the center being coincident with each other, a part of the inlet side opening 24a of the discharge passage 24 opened at equal intervals over the entire circumference of the sliding surface of the rotor 14 is an arc-shaped elongated hole 32. The other inlet side opening 24a is closed by a flat portion (sliding surface) in which the long hole 32 is not formed. Therefore, when the rotor 14 rotates with respect to the distributor 16, the discharge passages 24 are sequentially connected to the arc-shaped elongated holes 32 and then sequentially shut off.
[0014]
The cleaning liquid inlet 34 opened on the side surface of the distributor 16 is connected to a cleaning liquid tank 38 via a supply pipe 36, and the cleaning liquid sent to the tank 38 from a pump (not shown) is supplied to the cleaning liquid inlet 34. Is supplied to each discharge passage 24 of the rotor 14 through the arc-shaped elongated hole 32, and further sent to each nozzle 10 through a supply hose 26 connected to the outlet side opening 24 b of the discharge passage 24.
[0015]
An annular space (cylinder portion 39) is formed inside the distributor 16, and the piston 40 is accommodated in the space 39. The space 39 is divided into an upper pressure chamber 42 and a lower pressure chamber 44. Yes. The piston 40 is fixed to the outer periphery of the fixed central shaft 30, while the distributor 16 can move up and down along the outer peripheral surface of the fixed shaft 30. The upper and lower chambers 42 and 44 of the piston 42 are connected to an air supply source 52 through air passages 46 and 48 and a switching valve 50, respectively, and air is introduced into either the upper or lower chambers 42 and 44. Thus, the distributor 16 can be moved up and down. The air cylinder 53 incorporated in the distributor 16 constitutes a pressing device that presses the distributor 16 against the rotor 14.
[0016]
A plurality of vertical guide rods 54 are fixed to the upper part of the distributor 16, and these guide rods 54 are slidably supported in the holes of the frame 28 to guide the raising and lowering of the distributor 16. ing. A regulator 56 and a shutoff valve 58 are provided in the air passage 48 for supplying air to the pressure chamber 44 below the piston 40, and the air pressure introduced into the pressure chamber 44 can be adjusted.
[0017]
Further, the rotary bottle washer according to this embodiment is provided with a flow path for collecting a cleaning sterilizing fluid for cleaning and sterilizing the internal fluid passage and the nozzle 10. As shown in FIG. 2, a fluid discharge passage 60 is provided near the nozzle 10 on the rotary wheel 4, and is connected to a recovery passage 64 inside the rotary shaft 2 via a return pipe 62. When the internal passage of the rotary bottle washer is cleaned and sterilized, a nozzle cap 66 is attached to the tip of the nozzle 10, and in this state, a sterilizing liquid or steam is sterilized from the nozzle 10. When the working fluid is ejected, the fluid enters the discharge passage 60 through the gap between the outer surface of the nozzle 10 and the inner surface of the cap 66, and is collected through the return passage 62 and the recovery passage 64 in the rotary shaft 2. It has come to be.
[0018]
The operation of the rotary bottle washer according to the above configuration will be described. During a production operation in which a normal washing operation is performed, air is introduced into the pressure chamber 44 below the piston 40 fitted in the distributor 16 to lower the distributor 16, and a predetermined pressure (that is, the circle of the distributor 16). The distributor 16 and the rotor 14 are separated from each other by the pressure of the cleaning liquid introduced into the arc-shaped elongated hole 32, and the rotor 14 is brought into pressure contact with the rotor 14). In this state, the rotating wheel 4 and the rotor 14 fixed to the rotating shaft 2 are rotated by driving means (not shown).
[0019]
A number of bottles that have been continuously conveyed in an upright state by a conveying conveyor (not shown) are sequentially carried into the rotary bottle washer by a supply means such as a star wheel. The bottles carried into the rotary bottle washer are gripped one by one by the gripper 6 attached to the outer peripheral portion of the rotating wheel 4. While moving along with the rotation of the rotating wheel 4, the gripper 6 is reversed radially inward of the rotating wheel 4, and the held bottle is inverted. The inner washing nozzle 10 faces the mouth of the bottle in an inverted state.
[0020]
An arc-shaped elongated hole 32 is formed on the sliding surface of the distributor 16, and the cleaning liquid is constantly supplied. As the rotor 14 rotates, the inlet-side opening 24 a of the discharge passage 24 is arc-shaped in the distributor 16. When connected to the elongated hole 32, the cleaning liquid is sent to the inner washing nozzle 10 via the discharge passage 24 and the supply hose 26 of the rotor 14 and is injected into the inverted bottle to clean the inside of the bottle. Do.
[0021]
While the inlet-side opening 24a of the discharge passage 24 formed in the rotor 14 is moving in the arc-shaped elongated hole 32 of the distributor 16, the cleaning liquid is sent to the nozzle 10 and sprayed into the bottle for cleaning. To do. Thereafter, when the inlet-side opening 24a of the discharge passage 24 passes through the arc-shaped elongated hole 32 by the rotation of the rotor 14, the series of passages for supplying the cleaning liquid is blocked, and the cleaning is completed. Thereafter, the bottle gripper 6 holds the bottle in an inverted state over a predetermined rotation range, conveys it, and drains water. Thereafter, the bottle gripper 6 is inverted again to return the bottle to an upright state, and is then discharged out of the bottle washer by an outlet star wheel or the like.
[0022]
Since the rotary type bottle washer according to this embodiment incorporates an air cylinder 53 as a pressing means for pressing the distributor 16 against the rotor 14 inside the distributor 16, the sanitary property is extremely excellent. Further, since the air pressure adjusted by the regulator 56 can be introduced into the lower pressure chamber 44 in the distributor 16, the force for pressing the distributor 16 against the rotor 14 can be freely changed. Leakage can be reliably prevented and abnormal wear can be prevented.
[0023]
Further, since the rotor 14 is connected to the rotating wheel 4 as a support by a radial groove 18 and a sliding key 20, the resin rotor 14 expands due to the use of a high-temperature cleaning liquid. However, the entire circumference expands almost uniformly outward in the radial direction. Accordingly, the sliding surface in which the inlet side opening 24a of the discharge passage 24 of the rotor 14 is formed is not deformed, so that liquid leakage does not occur and abnormal wear does not occur. Further, the inlet side opening 24a is not completely blocked.
[0024]
In the case of cleaning and sterilizing the interior of the rotary type bottle washer before or after the production operation, as shown in FIG. 2, the nozzle cap 66 is put on the injection port at the upper end of the nozzle 10 as in the production operation. The fluid for cleaning and sterilization is sent through The cleaning and sterilizing fluid sent from the upper tank 38 through the supply pipe 36 to the arc-shaped elongated hole (supply passage) 32 of the distributor 16 enters the discharge passage 24 communicated with the rotation of the rotor 14 and is supplied. It is supplied from the hose 26 to the nozzle 10. The cleaning and sterilizing fluid sprayed from the nozzle 10 passes between the outer surface of the nozzle 10 and the inner surface of the nozzle cap 66, enters the discharge passage 60, and is recovered from the return pipe 62 through the recovery passage 64.
[0025]
For example, in the case where steam sterilization is performed through high-temperature steam as the cleaning and sterilizing fluid, the resin rotor 14 is heated and expanded as in the case of using the high-temperature cleaning liquid. Since it is restricted by the positioning stopper 22 and the upper side is restrained by the distributor 16, it is uniformly expanded outward in the radial direction by the guide of the key 20 and the key groove 18.
[0026]
FIG. 4 is a view showing a rotary valve support structure according to the second embodiment. In the first embodiment, a key groove 18 is formed on the bottom surface of the resin rotor 14 and the lower metal is formed. A sliding key 20 is provided on the rotating wheel 4 (support of the rotor 14) and is engaged with the key groove 18 so that when the rotor 14 is thermally expanded, it can be expanded outward uniformly. In this example, both the distributor 116 and the rotor 114 are made of metal, and an annular slide plate 117 is interposed between them.
[0027]
A plurality of radially extending key grooves 118 are formed on the lower surface side of the annular slide plate 117, while a slip key 120 is provided on the upper surface of the rotor 114 to engage with the key grooves 118. A positioning stopper 122 having an outer diameter substantially matching the inner diameter of the slide plate 117 is formed at the inner peripheral end of the upper surface of the rotor 114.
[0028]
As in the rotor 14 of the above-described embodiment, the same number of discharge passages 124 as the nozzles are formed in the rotor 114, and the slide plate 117 disposed on the rotor 114 and rotating integrally therewith includes a rotor. A through hole 121 corresponding to the inlet side opening 124 a of the discharge passage 124 of 114 is formed. On the other hand, the cleaning liquid is also sent to the distributor 116 from the arc-shaped long hole (cleaning liquid supply passage) 132 opened on the sliding surface (lower surface) and the external supply pipe 136 to the arc-shaped long hole 132. A cleaning liquid inlet 134 is formed, and the supply of the cleaning liquid is interrupted between the distributor 116 and the rotor 114 as the rotor 114 rotates.
[0029]
A distributor 116 disposed above the rotor 114 and the slide plate 117 is supported by a plurality of downward guide rods 154 attached to an upper fixed frame 128 so as to be movable up and down. It is always urged downward by a spring 157 interposed between the provided spring receiver 155 and the upper surface of the inner peripheral portion of the distributor 116, and is pressed against the rotor 114 and the slide plate 117.
[0030]
In the rotary valve support structure according to this configuration, the rotor 114 is fixed on the rotating wheel 104 fixed to the rotating shaft 102, and rotates integrally with the rotating shaft 102 and the rotating wheel 104. A slide plate 117 connected to the rotor 114 in the rotational direction by the slide key 120 and the key groove 118 rotates integrally with the rotor 114 and slides on the lower surface of the distributor 116. When a high-temperature cleaning solution is used or sterilization with high-temperature steam is performed, the resin slide plate 117 expands, but the upper and lower surfaces are both pressed by the metal distributor 116 and the rotor 114, and the inner peripheral side is positioned. Although the outer peripheral side is free, it is guided by the sliding key 120 and the key groove 118, and is uniformly expanded outward. Accordingly, there is no adverse effect such as distortion of the sliding surface with respect to the distributor 116, and liquid leakage and abnormal wear can be prevented.
[0031]
FIG. 5 shows a rotary valve support structure according to the third embodiment. In this example, the distributor 216 of the fixed side plate is arranged on the lower side, and the rotary plate (rotor) 214 is arranged on the upper side. Yes. The distributor 216 is made of resin and has an annular shape. The distributor 216 is supported on a support 280 via a fixing member (distributor support) 282, and an intake port 234 to which the cleaning liquid is supplied from the supply pipe 236 and an arc-shaped elongated hole (cleaning liquid) Supply passage) 232 is formed. The rotor 214 is attached to the lower surface side of the rotating wheel 204 fixed to the upper part of the rotating shaft 202 and rotates integrally. A discharge passage 224 that is communicated with the supply passage 232 of the distributor 216 is formed therein.
[0032]
The fixing member 282 fixed on the support column 280 is made of a metal having an annular shape, and a plurality of radially extending key grooves 284 are formed on the upper surface thereof, and the inner peripheral end is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the distributor 216. A positioning stopper 222 having a matching outer diameter is provided. On the other hand, the same number of protrusions (sliding keys) 286 as the key grooves 284 that engage with the key grooves 284 of the fixing member 280 are formed on the lower surface of the distributor 216.
[0033]
In this example, when the resin distributor 216 is expanded due to the use of a high temperature cleaning liquid or high temperature steam supplied to sterilize the interior of the rotary valve, the distributor 216 expands the key groove 284 and the sliding key 286. And is expanded radially outward. Therefore, the same effects as those of the above embodiments can be obtained.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the rotary valve support structure according to the present invention, the sliding surface of at least one of the fixed side plate and the rotary plate is made of resin, and radial grooves are formed in the resin member. In addition to forming, a protrusion that engages the groove is formed on the support that supports the resin member, and the resin member is movably supported with respect to the support, so that it expands evenly to the outer peripheral side. Therefore, the sliding surface is not distorted, and liquid leakage can be prevented and abnormal wear can be prevented. Further, there is no possibility that the entire discharge passage is blocked.
[0035]
In the rotary valve support structure according to the second aspect of the present invention, at least one of the sliding surfaces of the fixed side plate and the rotating plate is made of resin, and a protrusion is formed on the resin member. In addition, a radial groove that engages with the protrusion is formed in the support member that supports the resin member, and the resin member is movably supported with respect to the support member. be able to.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a rotary bottle washer provided with a rotary valve support structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state of the rotary bottle washer during cleaning and sterilization.
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a rotary bottle washer provided with a rotary valve support structure according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a rotary bottle washer provided with a rotary valve support structure according to another embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
14 Rotating plate (rotor)
16 Fixed plate (distributor)
18 Radial groove (key groove)
20 Projection (slip key)
24 Discharge passage 32 Supply passage (arc-shaped long hole)
34 Cleaning fluid intake 53 Pressing means (air cylinder)

Claims (2)

A fixed side plate having a fluid inlet and a supply passage communicating with the inlet and having an opening in the sliding surface is disposed, and is slidably rotatable with respect to the sliding surface of the stationary side plate. A rotation plate having a discharge passage that is communicated with the supply passage, and pressing means that presses the fixed side plate and the rotation plate, and the discharge passage is connected to the fixed side plate during rotation of the rotation plate. In the rotary valve that discharges the fluid to the outside when connected to the supply passage,
The sliding surface of at least one of the fixed side plate and the rotating plate is made of resin, and a radial groove is formed in the resin member, and the groove is formed on a support that supports the resin member. A support structure for a rotary valve, wherein a protrusion engaging with the support member is formed, and a resin member is movably supported with respect to the support. A fixed side plate having a fluid inlet and a supply passage communicating with the inlet and having an opening in the sliding surface is disposed, and is slidably rotatable with respect to the sliding surface of the stationary side plate. A rotation plate having a discharge passage that is communicated with the supply passage, and pressing means that presses the fixed side plate and the rotation plate, and the discharge passage is connected to the fixed side plate during rotation of the rotation plate. In the rotary valve that discharges the fluid to the outside when connected to the supply passage,
The sliding surface of at least one of the fixed side plate and the rotating plate is made of resin, and the protrusion is formed on the resin member, and the protrusion is formed on the support that supports the resin member. A support structure for a rotary valve, wherein a radial groove that engages with the support member is formed, and the resin member is movably supported with respect to the support.

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