JP4329074B2 - Conveying means control system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a control system for conveying means, and more particularly to a control system for conveying means for conveying an article supported by a rail by blowing air from a fan.

Conventionally, as a transport means for transporting lightweight articles such as PET bottles, rails connected in series to support the articles, a plurality of fans that eject air and move the articles along the rails, and drive each fan 2. Description of the Related Art An inverter provided corresponding to a motor to be operated and a control unit that controls each inverter are known. (Patent Document 1)
In the case of the conveying means in this Patent Document 1, the inverter is controlled by a control unit, and the conveying speed of the article on the rail is adjusted by changing the amount of air blown from the fan.
Further, as a control system for a transport unit that controls the transport unit by controlling such an inverter, a system that controls the transport speed of the conveyor by an inverter is known. (Patent Document 2)
In Patent Document 2, a control panel is provided at a position separated from the conveyor, and the control panel and each inverter are connected by a power supply line and a communication line, respectively.
Registration No. 2748067 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-133903

However, in the case of the conveying means of Patent Document 1, mutual communication is not performed between the inverter and the control unit, and in order to unidirectionally instruct the frequency to the inverter according to the ambient temperature state, In Patent Document 1, it is difficult to grasp the actual air flow rate by the fans, and it is difficult to change the air flow rate from each fan according to the state of conveyance of the article on the rail.
In the case of the control system for conveying means in Patent Document 2, since the inverter and the motor of the conveyor are connected to each other by the power supply line, the same number of power supply lines as the conveyor are provided between the control panel and the conveyor. Therefore, problems such as hindering the worker's walking and work, and poor maintainability are caused.
In view of the above problems, the present invention can change the amount of air blown from each fan according to the state of conveyance of articles on the rail, and minimizes the wiring between the control means and the air blowing means. A control system for the conveying means is provided.

That is, the control system of the conveying means in the present invention corresponds to a rail that is connected in series to support an article, a plurality of fans that eject air and move the article along the rail, and a motor that drives each fan. In the control system of the conveying means provided with the inverter provided as a control means for controlling each inverter,
The conveyance means includes an air chamber provided along the rail and partitioned into a plurality of air blowing regions by a partition plate, and an article conveyed along the rail while being provided along the rail in the air chamber. An air flow path provided to cover,
An opening for communicating the air chamber and the air flow path is formed in the air flow path, and the air supplied to the air chamber by the fan is ejected into the air flow path in the air flow path by the opening. To be
The fan is provided for each of the air blowing areas, the inverters are provided integrally with the motors or in the vicinity of the motors, and power supply lines and communication lines for connecting the inverters are provided along the rails. Any one of the above and the control means are connected by the communication line,
Furthermore, an upstream sensor and a downstream sensor for detecting an article on the rail and transmitting a detection signal to the control means are provided at positions on the upstream and downstream sides in the conveying direction in each blowing area,
The control means controls the amount of air blown by each fan through mutual communication with the inverter, and if the detection signal from the downstream sensor recognizes that the article is staying at the position of the downstream sensor, When the air volume is increased and the detection signal from the upstream sensor and the downstream sensor recognizes that the article is staying in the air flow area provided with the sensor, the air flow by the fan is reduced. Yes.

According to the above invention, since each inverter and the control means are connected to each other via a communication line, the control means can accurately recognize the amount of air blown from each fan, and transport articles on the rail. The amount of air blown from each fan can be changed according to the state.
In addition, the power supply line and the communication line are provided along the rail, and any one of the inverters and the control means are connected by the communication line. Therefore, good maintainability can be obtained.

The illustrated embodiment will be described below. FIG. 1 shows a liquid filling line 2 for filling a container 1 as an article with a liquid. The liquid filling line 2 includes a container molding device 3 for molding the container 1, A container processing device 4 for cleaning, filling, and capping the container 1 is provided. Between the container forming device 3 and the container processing device 4, a conveying means 5 for conveying the formed container 1 is provided. ing.
In the liquid filling line 2 of the present embodiment, a plastic plastic bottle is processed as the container 1, and a flange 1a is formed at the neck of the container 1 as shown in FIG.
Moreover, since the said container shaping | molding apparatus 3 and the container processing apparatus 4 are conventionally well-known, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

The conveying means 5 includes a rail 11 laid between the container forming device 3 and the container processing device 4 along a predetermined path, and a plurality of blowers 12 installed at predetermined intervals along the rail 11. In the middle of the rail 11, an inspection device 13 for determining the quality of the container 1 is provided. Since the inspection device 13 is conventionally known, detailed description thereof is omitted.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the transport means 5 as viewed from the transport direction of the container 1. The rail 11 is composed of two plate-shaped members, and the neck portion of the container 1 is sandwiched between these members. The flange 1a is supported from below.
Further, the conveying means 5 includes an air flow path 14 having a U-shaped cross section that covers the neck of the container 1 protruding above the rail 11 along the rail 11, and an air chamber 15 that further covers the air flow path 14. The inside of the air chamber 15 is isolated from the outside.
The blower 12 is provided above the air chamber 15, and the air flow path 14 and the air chamber 15 communicate with each other through an opening 14 a formed in the air flow path 14. Therefore, the air supplied into the air chamber 15 by the blower 12 is supplied into the air flow path 14 through the opening 14a.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the conveying means 5. For the following explanation, among the plurality of blowers 12, three first to third blowers 12A in order from the upstream side in the conveying direction on the left in the figure. The container processing apparatus 4 is located downstream of the third blower 12C located on the most downstream side.
Next, the air chamber 15 is partitioned at predetermined distances by a partition plate 16, and in the case of the present embodiment, the first to third blower regions 17A to 17A to 17A to 12C to the first to third blowers 12A to 12C, respectively. 17C is partitioned. For this reason, for example, the air blown from the first blower 12A is supplied only to the air chamber 15 of the first blower region 17A.
Further, the opening 14a formed in the air flow path 14 is formed so that when air from the air chamber 15 is ejected to the air flow path 14, it is ejected from the conveyance direction, that is, from left to right in the drawing. ing.
And the 1st-3rd upstream side sensors 21A-21C which detect the container 1 conveyed along the rail 11, and the 1st-3rd downstream, respectively, at the both ends of 1st-3rd ventilation area | region 17A-17C Side sensors 22A to 22C are arranged.
Further, a control panel 23 is provided at a position separated from the rail 11. The control panel 23 includes a control unit 24 that controls the transport unit 5, and a power supply unit 25 that supplies power to the transport unit 5. The container processing device control means 26 for controlling the container processing device 4 is connected.

The first to third blowers 12A to 12C have first to third fans 31A to 31C that supply air to the air chambers 15 of the first to third blower regions 17A to 17C, respectively. The first to third motors 32A to 32C that drive the fans 31A to 31C are configured.
Connected first to third inverters 34 </ b> A to 34 </ b> C are connected to the positions adjacent to the first to third motors 32 </ b> A to 32 </ b> C through short power supply lines 33, respectively. It is also possible to omit the power supply line 33 and provide the first to third inverters 34A to 34C and the first to third motors 32A to 32C integrally.
The first to third inverters 34A to 34C are connected in series by a serial cable 35 as a communication line and a power cable 36 as a power supply line, respectively, and the control panel 23 and the third inverter 23C are serially connected. The third inverter 23 </ b> C and the power feeding means 25 are connected by a power cable 36 via the control panel 23.
The first to third inverters 34 </ b> A to 34 </ b> C and the control panel 23 can communicate with each other by serial communication using the serial cable 35. Each of the three inverters 34A to 34C is provided with a communication device (not shown) for transmitting and receiving signals.
Furthermore, all the electricity supplied from the power supply means 25 to each inverter has the same frequency, and this frequency is converted by the control means 24 controlling the first to third inverters 34A to 34C. Yes.
Therefore, it is possible to arbitrarily change the rotation speed of the first to third motors 32A to 32C, and to change the amount of air blown by the first to third fans 31A to 31C. In this embodiment, the first to third motors are changed. The amount of air blown from the blowers 12 </ b> A to 12 </ b> C can be switched between “large”, “medium”, and “small” by the control of the control unit 24.
And by changing this air flow rate, it is possible to change the wind force of the air that is blown into the air flow channel 14 from the opening 14a of the air flow channel 14, and if the air flow rate from the blower 12 is increased, the air flow is increased. Since the wind force in the flow path 14 also increases, the container 1 can be transported with such a large force.
When the number of blowers is large and the amount of power supplied to the motor is large, it is possible to provide power supply means for each of several inverters.

Hereinafter, the mutual communication performed between the control unit 24 and the first to third inverters 34A to 34C will be specifically described. Main signals transmitted from the control unit 24 to the first to third inverters 34A to 34C. Is a control signal for controlling the first to third blowers 12A to 12C.
With this control signal, the first to third inverters 34A to 34C change the frequency of the electricity supplied from the power supply means 25 to change the rotation of the first to third motors 32A to 32C, thereby changing the first to third motors. The amount of air blown by the fans 31A to 31C is changed to change the force applied to the container 1.
The first to third inverters 34A to 34C transmit operation signals indicating the operation states of the inverters, and the control means 24 recognizes the blast volume of the first to third fans 31A to 31C based on the operation signals. Can be done.
In order to perform such mutual communication, addresses corresponding to the control unit 24 and the first to third inverters 34A to 34C are set, respectively, and the control unit 24 has A0 and first to third inverters. The addresses A1 to A3 are set in 34A to 34C, and when transmitting each of the above signals, the transmission destination address is added to the head of these signals, and then the transmission source address is transmitted. It has become.
For example, when the control means 24 transmits a control signal to the third inverter 34C, the first and second inverters 34A, 34B receive this signal by adding the addresses A3 and A0 to the head of the control signal. Even so, since it recognizes that the head address is not its own and ignores this control signal, only the third inverter 34C is controlled according to this control signal.
As described above, the control unit 24 and the first to third inverters 34A to 34C communicate with each other, whereby the control unit 24 can monitor the amount of air blown from the first to third blowers 12A to 12C as needed. The amount of blown air can be arbitrarily controlled according to the transport state.

Next, the first to third upstream sensors 21A to 21C and the first to third downstream sensors 22A to 22C will be described. For these sensors, conventionally known sensors that detect the container 1 passing therethrough are used. ing.
The first to third upstream sensors 21A to 21C and the first to third downstream sensors 22A to 22C are connected in series by a serial cable 37, and the control means 24 and the third downstream sensor 15C are connected to the serial cable. 37 is connected.
In order to recognize from which sensor the signal received by the control means 24 is, the head of the signal transmitted by the first to third upstream sensors 21A to 21C and the first to third downstream sensors 22A to 22C. Are assigned addresses indicating the first to third upstream sensors 21A to 21C and the first to third downstream sensors 22A to 22C, respectively.
Each sensor is set to transmit a detection signal to that effect to the control means 24 when the container 1 is continuously detected for 3 seconds or more. The control means 24 receives the detection signal from each sensor. When received, it is recognized that the container 1 stays at the position of the sensor that transmitted the detection signal.
Specifically, while the sensor does not transmit the detection signal, it means that the container 1 is being transported on the rail 11, and when the sensor transmits the detection signal, the containers 1 are in close contact with each other and the flow is delayed. Means that

As described above, the serial cable 35 connecting the first to third inverters 34A to 34C, the first to third upstream sensors 21A to 21C, and the first to third downstream sensors 22A to 22C are connected. The power cable 36 that connects the serial cable 37 and the first to third inverters 34 </ b> A to 34 </ b> C exits from the control panel 23 and is wired along the rail 11.
Therefore, the cables wired to the control panel 23 are the serial cable 35 that connects the control means 24 and the third inverter 34C, the serial cable 37 that connects the control means 24 and the third downstream sensor 15C, and the control. Only the power cable 36 connecting the panel 23 to the third inverter 34C is provided.
From the above, the number of cables wired between the blower means and the control means is minimized compared to the conventional case where the power supply lines are connected between the control means and each blower means by the number of motors. Can be. Moreover, since these cables are wired along the rails, it is possible to solve the problem that the wiring hinders the worker's walking and work as in the conventional case, and the maintainability is poor.

From the above configuration, the operation of the liquid filling line 2 in the present embodiment will be described.
First, when the liquid filling line 2 is activated, the container 1 formed by the container forming device 3 is supplied onto the rail 11, and the air from the first to third blowers 12A to 12C is supplied to the first to third air, respectively. The air is supplied into the air chambers 15 of the blowing regions 17A to 17C.
When the container 1 from the container forming apparatus 3 reaches the first air blowing region 17A, the container 1 is conveyed downstream by the air blown into the air flow path 14 through the opening 14a. Become.
And when this container 1 passes the partition plate 16 located in the downstream end of the 1st ventilation area | region 17A, the conveyance of the container 1 will be performed similarly to this in the ventilation area | region adjacent to this 1st ventilation area | region 17A, and 2nd The container 1 is supplied to the container processing device 4 after the container 1 is also conveyed in the third air blowing regions 17B and 17C.
Here, when the container 1 is not sufficiently supplied from the container forming apparatus 3 just after the operation of the liquid filling line 2 is started, and the interval between the containers 1 is sufficiently wide, the first to third above. The upstream sensors 21A to 21C and the first to third downstream sensors 22A to 22C do not detect the container 1 continuously for 3 seconds or more, and no detection signal is transmitted from each sensor.
In this way, when the first to third upstream sensors 21A to 21C and the first to third downstream sensors 22A to 22C do not transmit detection signals, the control means 24 uses the first to third inverters 34A to 34A. With respect to 34C, the air flow from the first to third blowers 12A to 12C is controlled to be “small”.
In this way, by setting the amount of air blown from the blower to “small”, in the air blowing region 17 that the blower 12 is in charge, the wind force of the air blown from the opening 14a of the air flow path 14 is weak, and the container is conveyed Since the force is small, even if the container 1 catches up with the container 1 located on the downstream side thereof, scratches due to contact and deformation due to compression are prevented.

When the supply amount of the container 1 increases with respect to the number of processes in the container processing device 4 while the container 1 is being transported in this manner, the container 1 is accumulated from the downstream side of the transport means 5 and the third downstream most downstream. The container 1 stays at the position of the downstream sensor 15C, and the container 1 is continuously detected for 3 seconds or more.
Then, the third downstream sensor 15C transmits a detection signal to that effect to the control unit 24, and the control unit 24 determines that the detection signal is a detection signal from the third downstream sensor 15C from the address of the detection signal. recognize.
Then, the control means 24 controls the third inverter 34C to switch the blowing amount of the third blower 12C to “medium” and increases the wind force of the air blown from the opening 14a of the air passage 14 in the third blowing region 17C. In this third air blowing area 17C, the container 1 is conveyed downstream with a stronger force.
As described above, when the downstream sensor 22 transmits the detection signal to the control unit 24 and the upstream sensor 21 does not transmit the detection signal, the air flow rate by the blower 12 is set to “medium”. This control is similarly performed in the other first and second blowers 12A and 12B.

After that, when the container 1 is accumulated beyond the third upstream sensor 14C from the position of the third downstream sensor 22C, the third upstream sensor 14C detects the container 1 for 3 seconds or more and detects that. A signal is transmitted from the third upstream sensor 14C to the control means 24.
At this time, the control means 24 controls the third inverter 34C so as to maintain the air flow rate from the third blower 12C as “medium”. As described above, while the container processing apparatus 4 is performing the liquid filling operation, the control unit 24 uses the respective blowers 12 even when the upstream sensor 14 and the downstream sensor 15 transmit detection signals. The air flow rate is maintained at “medium”, and this control is similarly performed in the other first and second blowers 12A and 12B.
When the upstream sensor 14 and the downstream sensor 15 transmit detection signals, the air flow rate from each blower 12 is set to “large” according to conditions such as the number and size of the containers 1 being conveyed. It is also possible to set to switch.

Next, for example, a case where an abnormality has occurred in the container processing apparatus 4 will be described.
When an abnormality occurs in the container processing apparatus 4, the container processing apparatus control means 26 stops the liquid heavy filling apparatus 4 and transmits a signal to that effect to the control means 24.
Then, the control means 24 stops further supply of the container 1 to the container processing apparatus 4, so that a stopper (not shown) provided between the conveying means 5 and the container processing apparatus 4 is operated to remove the container 1. As a result, the container 1 gradually accumulates from the downstream side of the conveying means 5.
In this case, it is necessary to prevent the most downstream container 1 from being compressed and deformed by the upstream container 1.
For example, at the time when the stopper is activated, there is a container over the entire third blowing area 17C, and the third upstream sensor 21C and the third downstream sensor 22C detect the container 1 for 3 seconds or more, respectively. In such a case, the control means 24 controls the third inverter 34C so as to change the amount of air blown from the third blower 12C to “small”.
As a result, since the wind force of the air in the air flow path 14 is lowered, the force acting on each container 1 in the third air blowing region 17C is weakened, and the container 1 located on the most downstream side is prevented from being deformed. The
At this time, if only the second downstream sensor 22B detects the container for 3 seconds or more in the second air blowing area 17B and the second upstream sensor 21B does not detect the container, the control means 24 controls the second blower 12B. On the other hand, the container 1 is retained in the entire area of the second air blowing area 17B by controlling the air flow rate to be “medium”.
Then, the second upstream sensor 21B detects the container 1 for 3 seconds or longer, and the control means 24 sets the air flow rate to “small” with respect to the second blower 12B as in the third air blowing region 17C. Control. This control is performed in the same manner in the other first blowers 12A.
When the abnormality is resolved in the container processing apparatus 4 and a signal to that effect is transmitted from the container processing apparatus control means 26 to the control means 24, the control means 24 releases the stopper, and the normal control described above is performed. And return.

In the above embodiment, the upstream sensor 21 and the downstream sensor 22 are provided for each blower 12. However, the upstream sensor 21 and the downstream sensor 22 may be shared for adjacent blowers 12. good.
For example, if the first to third air blowing regions 17A to 17C are adjacent to each other in the above embodiment, the second upstream sensor 21B and the first downstream sensor 22A can be shared, and the third The upstream sensor 21C and the second downstream sensor 22B can be shared.
Specifically, a sensor sharing the second upstream sensor 21B and the first downstream sensor 22A is installed near the downstream end of the first air blowing area 17A, and the sensor detects the container 1 for 3 seconds or more. When the detection signal is transmitted to the control means 24, the control means 24 controls the second blower 12B as if the second upstream sensor 21B has transmitted the detection signal, and the second blower 12A is the second downstream. Control is performed assuming that the side sensor 22B has transmitted a detection signal. In this case, the sensor may be installed in the vicinity of the upstream end of the second air blowing area 17B.
Further, in the above embodiment, the sensor is set to transmit a detection signal when the container 1 is detected for 3 seconds or longer. Needless to say, this time can be arbitrarily set, and the air flow rate is also in three stages. Not limited to this, it is possible to further change the number of stages according to the staying state of the container 1.
Moreover, although the resin-made container 1 is conveyed as an article in this embodiment, it goes without saying that it can be applied to any article that can be conveyed by air blowing.

The schematic diagram showing the configuration of the liquid filling line in the present embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the conveyance means in a present Example. The side view which shows the structure of the conveyance means in a present Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container 2 Liquid filling line 5 Conveyance means 11 Rail 12A-12C 1st-3rd blower 21A-21C 1st-3rd upstream sensor 22A-22C 1st-3rd downstream sensor 24 Control means 31A-31C 1st -3rd fan 32A-32C 1st-3rd motor 34A-34C 1st-3rd inverter 35 Serial cable 36 Power supply cable 37 Serial cable

Claims (1)

A rail connected in series to support the article, a plurality of fans that eject air and move the article along the rail, an inverter provided corresponding to a motor that drives each fan, and each inverter is controlled In the control system of the conveying means provided with the control means to
The conveyance means includes an air chamber provided along the rail and partitioned into a plurality of air blowing regions by a partition plate, and an article conveyed along the rail while being provided along the rail in the air chamber. An air flow path provided to cover,
An opening for communicating the air chamber and the air flow path is formed in the air flow path, and the air supplied to the air chamber by the fan is ejected into the air flow path in the air flow path by the opening. To be
The fan is provided for each of the air blowing areas, the inverters are provided integrally with the motors or in the vicinity of the motors, and power supply lines and communication lines for connecting the inverters are provided along the rails. Any one of the above and the control means are connected by the communication line,
Furthermore, an upstream sensor and a downstream sensor for detecting an article on the rail and transmitting a detection signal to the control means are provided at positions on the upstream and downstream sides in the conveying direction in each blowing area,
The control means controls the amount of air blown by each fan through mutual communication with the inverter, and if the detection signal from the downstream sensor recognizes that the article is staying at the position of the downstream sensor, When the air volume is increased, and it is recognized by the detection signals from the upstream sensor and the downstream sensor that the article is staying in the air flow area provided with the sensor, the air flow by the fan is reduced. A control system for conveying means.

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