JP4420286B2 - Opening device and opening method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an opening device for opening a container that encloses a beverage such as milk, and an opening method.

In the following Patent Documents 1 to 3, after a stopper of a container is pierced from directly above with a needle provided with a claw at the tip, the stopper is detached from the container by raising the needle while hooking the claw on the stopper. Is disclosed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-180497 JP 2000-203691 A JP 2003-54691 A

  However, since the stopper is tightly fitted to the container, in order to remove the stopper from the container, the needle must be lifted against the frictional force between the stopper and the container or while the stopper is deformed. Since the container tends to rise together with the stopper due to the reaction force at this time, a member for pressing the shoulder or neck of the container is indispensable in order to prevent the container from being lifted. This leads to an increase in the size of the entire apparatus. Moreover, when the shape of the container is close to a cylinder and does not have a shoulder or neck, it is difficult to press the container as described above.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a plug-opening device and a plug-opening method that can be reliably opened while having a small and simple structure.

This onset Ming, upper opening is closed with a plug, the upper surface is arranged to correspond to a plurality of containers positioned on the inside of the open box-body, it can pierce the plurality of containers stoppered with respective tips A plurality of needles, swiveling means for turning the plurality of needles in a posture in which each tip is directed downward, or a posture in which each tip is raised, and the plurality of containers are directly below each of the plurality of needles. A capping device comprising transport means for transporting the box so as to be positioned, and moving means for moving the plurality of needles up and down relative to the box. A plurality of rotating shafts fixed to each other in a horizontal direction, a plurality of bearing members that receive the plurality of rotating shafts in parallel with each other, and each of the plurality of rotating shafts rotatably mounted on the moving means; and the rotating shaft And the pinion provided in front A rack meshing with the pinion extends in a direction transverse to the rotation axis, characterized in that it comprises a rotation driving source for driving the rack in a direction transverse to the rotation axis.

  Furthermore, the opening device according to the present invention is characterized in that it includes shift means for horizontally moving the plurality of needles in the direction opposite to the direction in which the tips of the needles rise.

The plug-opening method according to the present invention includes a step of bringing a plurality of needles into a posture in which respective tips are directed downward, and a plurality of needles whose upper end openings are plugged with plugs immediately below the tips of the needles. A step of transporting the container, a step of piercing each of the plurality of needles into each of the stoppers of the plurality of containers by lowering the plurality of needles, and a turning of the plurality of needles in the direction in which the respective tips rise In synchronism with the step of detaching the plurality of stoppers upward from the plurality of containers, the step of raising the plurality of needles raising the tips, and the operation of turning the needles, A step of horizontally moving the needle in a direction opposite to a direction in which the tip of the needle rises .

  According to the present invention, the plurality of needles are respectively plugged into the plugs that close the upper end openings of the plurality of containers by lowering the plurality of needles in a posture in which the tips are directed downward. Can be pierced. When a plurality of needles are swung and the tips are raised, the individual needles tilt while deforming the individual stoppers, and the individual stoppers are inclined with respect to the container. To do. This reaction force is applied to the individual containers, but the individual containers are not tilted because they are positioned inside the box.

  The above “positioning” means, for example, that the inclination of each container is regulated by providing a bowl-shaped partition material surrounding each container inside the box. Alternatively, this means that a plurality of containers are packed inside the box without any gaps, thereby eliminating the room for individual containers to tilt.

  Further, when a plurality of needles whose tips are raised are lifted from the box, the individual stoppers are lifted from the box together with the individual needles without coming off the needle. Thereafter, if the plugs are removed from the individual needles with, for example, a stripper, the above steps can be repeated.

  In addition, according to the present invention, as described above, a plurality of needles can be horizontally moved in a direction opposite to the direction in which each tip rises while each needle is tilted while deforming each stopper. Thereby, when the diameter of the upper end opening of the container is relatively small, it is possible to avoid the tip of each needle from colliding with the edge of the upper end opening of the container.

  An opening device and an opening method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since well-known techniques can be applied to the driving source, guiding means, driving means, and moving means described below, illustration or description thereof will be omitted.

  For example, a rotary machine such as a servo motor, an air cylinder, or a hydraulic cylinder can be applied as a drive source. As the guide means, a sliding treatment in which a slider is slidably engaged with a slide rail can be applied. As a driving means, one of the turning treatments formed by screwing a ball nut or the like into the feed screw is connected to the slider, and the turning treatment is relatively rotated by using a driving source to follow these displacements. Thus, the slider may be moved or stopped to a desired position.

  The opening device 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 has a plurality of containers 3 in which the upper end opening 1 is closed with a stopper 2 and positioned inside the box 4 whose upper surface is open. 3 is opened at the same time. The feature is that a plurality of needles 5 arranged corresponding to a plurality of containers 3 positioned inside the box 4 and a plurality of needles 5 with their tips 6 facing downward, or respectively Swiveling means 7 in which the tip 6 of the arm 6 is raised in the clockwise direction indicated by the arrow C, a transporting means 8 for transporting the box 4, and a plurality of needles 5 together with the swiveling means 7 are moved up and down with respect to the box 4. And moving means 9 to be provided.

  As long as the container 3 has the upper-end opening part 1 like a milk bottle, the shape, a use, a material, etc. will not be limited at all. As the box 4, a so-called boxing may be applied. In order to prevent the containers 3 filled with the beverages from falling down or colliding and damaging the containers 3 in the process of distributing the beverages, A cage-like partition member 41 surrounding the container 3 is provided, and the individual containers 3 can be positioned by the partition member 41. Alternatively, even if the box 4 does not have the partition member 41, the plurality of containers 3 can be positioned relative to each other if the plurality of containers 3 are packed inside the box 4 without any gaps.

  The conveying means 8 winds an endless chain 84 around two sprockets 81 and 82 that are spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction, and drives one sprocket 81 with a motor 83 with a speed reducer. It is a chain conveyor that runs in the direction indicated by T. The direction pointed by the arrow T will be referred to as “transport direction T” below. When the box 4 is placed on the upper chord of the chain 84, the box 4 is transferred in the transfer direction T. Further, only one chain 84 is shown in the figure, but another position wound around two sprockets similar to the above is also provided at a position separated in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the transport direction T with respect to this chain 84. Chains 84 are provided, and the box 4 is supported by these two chains 84. A horizontal direction orthogonal to the transport direction T is indicated by an arrow W in the drawing. This direction is hereinafter referred to as “width direction W”.

  The moving means 9 includes a first guiding means 91 for guiding the movable head portion 90 in the vertical direction, a first driving means 92 for moving the movable head portion 90 up and down according to the first guiding means 91, and a movable head. The second guide means 93 for guiding the portion 90 in the width direction W and the movable head portion 90 are moved in accordance with the second guide means 93 so as to deviate directly above the transport means 8 or to the side of the transport means 8. Second driving means (not shown) to be moved.

  FIG. 4 shows only one rotating shaft 11 and one needle 5 fixed to the rotating shaft 11. The other rotating shaft 11 and the needle 5 are the same as illustrated. The turning means 7 includes a plurality of rotating shafts 11 extending in the width direction W, and a bearing member 13 that rotatably supports the rotating shaft 11 and is connected to the movable head portion 90 via the shift means 12 shown in FIG. And interlocking means 14 for turning the plurality of needles 5 around the rotation shaft 11 as a fulcrum.

  The rotating shaft 11 is fixed with a plurality of holder blocks 15 spaced apart in the axial direction, one needle 5 in each holder block 15 and a tip 6 protruding in the radial direction of the rotating shaft 11. ing. Further, all the needles 5 are parallel to each other and can be rotated together with the rotating shaft 11. The bearing member 13 penetrates the rotating shaft 11 in the vicinity of the lower end thereof, and plays the role of a bracket that supports the rotating shaft 11 via the bush 16. Further, it is desirable that each rotary shaft 11 is supported by two or more bearing members 13, and the bearing members 13 that support the individual rotary shafts 11 are all fixed to a shift frame 17 as shown in FIG. 5. Has been.

  The interlocking means 14 includes a pinion 18 composed of a sector gear fixed at a proper position of the rotary shaft 11, and a rack 19 extending in a direction crossing the rotary shaft 11 and meshing with the pinion 18 from above. The direction in which the rack 19 crosses the rotating shaft 11 coincides with the transport direction T. The rack 19 is slidably attached to the lower side of the shift frame 17 in a direction along the transport direction T via third guide means (not shown).

  Further, an operating rod 21 of a turning drive source 20 is connected to the rack 19, while a cylinder body 22 of the turning drive source 20 is fixed to the shift frame 17. Therefore, when the operating rod 21 of the turning drive source 20 moves forward in the direction opposite to the conveying direction T, the rotary shaft 11 rotates clockwise in the figure, and all the needles 5 raise their respective tips 6. Become posture. When the actuating rod 21 of the turning drive source 20 moves backward in the transport direction T, the rotary shaft 11 rotates counterclockwise in the drawing, and all the needles 5 are in a posture in which their respective tips 6 are directed downward.

  The shift frame 17 is a separate body from the movable head portion 90, and is attached to the lower side of the movable head portion 90 via a fourth guide means (not shown) so as to be slidable in the horizontal direction. Further, an operating rod 24 of the shift drive source 23 is connected to the shift frame 17, while the cylinder body 25 of the shift drive source 23 is fixed to the movable head unit 90. The shift unit 12 includes a shift drive source 23 and a shift frame 17. According to such a shift means 12, when the operating rod 24 of the shift drive source 23 advances and retreats, all the needles 5 together with the shift frame 17 move in the transport direction T or the opposite direction accordingly.

  The turning drive source 20 or the shift drive source 23 is not limited as long as it can move the operating rods 21 and 24 forward and backward. However, the accurate rotation of the operating rods 21 and 24 according to the rotation or stoppage of the servo motor. It is desirable to apply a known electric cylinder so that positioning and operation speed can be set. For example, the cylinder main bodies 22 and 25 are internally provided with a servo motor and a rotation treatment, one of the rotation treatments is connected to the operation rods 21 and 24, and the other of the rotation treatments is rotated by the servo motor, whereby the operation rod 21 , 24 is moved forward and backward with respect to the cylinder bodies 22, 25.

  Next, an opening method using the opening device 10 will be described. The following operations are performed based on a program written in a storage medium that can be accessed by the above-described constituent element, an operator command, an electrical signal from sensors, or a CPU that controls the opening device 10. To do.

  First, the moving means 9 raises all the needles 5 together with the movable head portion 90, and the interlocking means 14 takes the posture in which all the needles 5 have their respective tips 6 directed downward. This is a standby state. Then, a box 4 filled with a plurality of containers 3 is placed on the conveying means 8, and when the box 4 reaches just below the movable head 90 as shown in FIG. 1, the conveying means 8 stops. To do. As a result, the plurality of containers 3 are positioned directly below the respective tips 6 of the individual needles 5.

  The container pointed by the reference numeral 30 has the upper end 1 turned downward when stored in the box 4. When such a container 30 is not conveyed to the position just below the needle 5 by the conveying means 8, the orientation of the containers 3 and 30 is confirmed in advance using a sensor or the like that can detect the upper end opening 1, and an alarm buzzer is sounded. At the same time, the conveying means 8 may be stopped.

  Subsequently, the moving means 9 lowers all the needles 5 with the tips 6 facing directly downward together with the movable head portion 90, so that as shown in FIGS. All the needles 5 can be pierced into the stoppers 2 that close the respective upper end openings 1. Then, when the turning means 7 turns all the needles 5 around the rotating shaft 11 and raises the respective tips 6 as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 5E, the stopper 2 is tilted while being deformed, and finally the stopper 2 is inclined with respect to the container 3, so that the individual stoppers 2 are detached from the container 3. This reaction force is applied to the individual containers 3, but the individual containers 3 do not tilt because they are positioned inside the box 4.

  As described above, the above “positioning” is an action of the partition member 41 provided inside the box 4, or a plurality of containers 3 are packed inside the box 4 without gaps. Therefore, even if the container 3 is slightly lifted from the box 4 with the turning of the needle 5, the container 3 does not jump out of the box 4.

  As described above, according to the stopper opening device 10, the stopper 2 can be detached from the container 3 by turning the needle 5, so that the needle 5 that has pierced the stopper 2 from directly above is raised in the vertical direction as it is. Compared to the technique, the pressing member for preventing the container 3 from lifting from the box 4 can be omitted. Accordingly, the opening device 10 can be downsized and the structure of the opening device 10 can be simplified.

  Further, in the process in which the individual needles 5 are tilted while deforming the individual stoppers 2, the shift means 12 synchronizes with the movement of the needles 5 so as to move all the needles 5 together with the shift frame 17 to the respective tips 6. Is moved in the direction opposite to the rising direction, in other words, in the direction opposite to the transport direction T. Thereby, even when the diameter of the upper end opening 1 of the container 3 is relatively small, the tip 6 of the needle 5 can be released away from the edge of the upper end opening 1, so that the tip 6 of the needle 5 is above the container 3. Colliding with the edge of the end opening 1 can be avoided.

  Subsequently, when all the needles 5 with the tips 6 raised are lifted from the box 4, the individual stoppers 2 do not come out of the needles 5 as shown in FIG. Ascends from box 4 as well. Thereafter, if the stoppers 2 are removed from the individual needles 5 by a stripper, the above steps can be repeated.

  The above stripper may be configured as follows, for example. That is, while moving all the needles 5 together with the movable head portion 90 to the side of the conveying means 8 by the second driving means, as shown in FIG. Return to a posture in which the tip 6 faces downward. On the other hand, the comb-tooth plate 27 in which the plurality of cut portions 26 are formed is disposed on the side of the transport device. Then, when these needles 5 are further moved to the side of the conveying means 8 from the state shown in the figure while the stoppers 2 are inserted into the individual needles 5 whose front ends 6 are directed downward, as shown in FIG. In addition, the portions of the individual needles 5 near the rotation shaft 11 pass through the cut portions 26 of the comb-tooth plate 27. In this state, since the plugs 2 are located below the comb-tooth plate 27, if all the needles 5 are raised, only the plugs 2 are caught on the comb-tooth plate 27, and the plugs 2 are almost simultaneously pulled from all the needles 5. Falls. Further, the dropped stopper 2 may be collected with a chute or the like.

It should be noted that the present invention can be implemented in variously modified, modified, or modified forms based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention .

  The present invention can be used to open any container made of glass, PET, light alloy or the like. The plug may be any shape or material, such as cardboard, synthetic resin, or metal thin plate, as long as the needle can be pierced.

1 is a front view of a plug opening device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The front view which fractured | ruptured the principal part of the plug opening apparatus which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. AA sectional drawing of FIG. The perspective view of the principal part of the turning means applied to the stopper apparatus which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. The side view which shows the outline of the turning means and shift means which were applied to the opening device which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS (a) thru | or (f) is explanatory drawing which shows the process of the opening by the opening apparatus based on Example 1 of this invention in order. (A) is a perspective view showing a main part of the strip path applied to cap removal device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, (b) is a front view showing an example of its use.

1: upper end portion 2: stopper 3: container 4: box 5: needle 6: tip 7: turning means 8: conveying means 9: moving means 10: opening device 11: rotating shaft 12: shift means 13: bearing member 14: Interlocking means 18: Pinion 19: Rack 20: Turning drive source

Claims (3)

A plurality of needles that are arranged corresponding to a plurality of containers that are positioned inside a box whose upper end opening is closed with a stopper, and whose upper surface is open;
Swiveling means for swiveling the plurality of needles so that the tips of the needles are directed downward, or the tips of the needles are raised;
Conveying means for conveying the box so that the plurality of containers are positioned directly below the plurality of needles;
A moving means for moving up and down a plurality of the needles relative to the box ,
A plurality of rotating shafts, wherein the turning means fixes the plurality of needles spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction;
A plurality of bearing members for receiving a plurality of the rotation shafts in parallel with each other and rotatably mounting the plurality of rotation shafts on the moving means;
A pinion provided on the rotating shaft;
A rack extending in a direction crossing the rotating shaft and meshing with the pinion;
And a swivel drive source for driving the rack in a direction crossing the rotating shaft .   The opening device according to claim 1, further comprising shift means for horizontally moving the plurality of needles in a direction opposite to a direction in which each tip rises. A step of bringing a plurality of needles into a posture in which each tip is directed downward;
A step of transporting a plurality of containers, each having a top end closed with a stopper, directly below the tip of each of the plurality of needles;
Piercing each of the plurality of needles into the respective stoppers of the plurality of containers by lowering the plurality of needles;
Detaching the plurality of stoppers upward from the plurality of containers by turning the plurality of needles in directions in which the respective tips rise.
Raising a plurality of the needles raising the tip;
A step of horizontally moving the needle in a direction opposite to a direction in which the tip of the needle rises in synchronization with an operation of turning the needle .

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