JP4465595B2 - Defective container rejection device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for automatically eliminating a broken or fallen defective container in a line for producing food and drink.

In a line for producing foods and drinks, when broken bottle fragments are caught in a conveyor, the line stops and the operation rate decreases. In particular, in winter, bottles collected for recycling may be damaged due to freezing, and this problem appears remarkably. In addition, in a production line, if a container such as a bottle or a can is lying down, for example, the food or drink cannot be automatically filled in the container, or the filled food or drink spills out. Need to be excluded from. For this reason, a worker who monitors the operation state of the line is indispensable, and it is difficult to save labor, and thus cost reduction is extremely difficult. Therefore, in order to promote labor saving as much as possible, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-2232 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 4-91931 (Patent Document 2), the lodging container is excluded from the conveyor. Technology has been proposed.
JP 2001-2232 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-91931

However, since the proposed technique is a technique for eliminating the lodging container, for example, even if a bottle as a container is cracked, it cannot be excluded unless it is lying down. When cracks grow and break during the conveyance of the container by the conveyor, as described above, the fragments are caught in the conveyor, and there is a possibility that the line still stops.
Therefore, in view of the conventional problems as described above, the present invention reexamines the container transport mechanism by the conveyor, thereby eliminating defective containers that can automatically eliminate damaged or fallen defective containers with a simple configuration. An object is to provide an apparatus.

  Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transfer device including a substantially mountain-shaped frame in which an upper surface positioned vertically above forms a horizontal plane over a predetermined width, and a conveyor for conveying containers is disposed on the upper surface. A guide device that is disposed on both sides in the width direction over substantially the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the transport device and prevents the container being transported from falling in the width direction. An apparatus for rejecting defective containers, wherein the width of the conveyor of the transport device is smaller than the diameter of the container, and the height of the guide device from the upper surface of the conveyor of the transport device is set to the diameter of the container. It is characterized by being larger.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the bottom surface gradually inclines downward from both ends in the longitudinal direction of the transfer device toward the center, and an opening is formed at the lowermost part thereof. A shooter device is provided for collecting by sliding down.
The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that a vibration device for applying vibration to at least the bottom surface of the shooter device is provided.

The invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that a storage device for storing the recovered defective container is provided below the opening of the shooter device.
The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that a hopper device for receiving contents spilled from the container is provided.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fluid ejecting device that ejects a high-pressure fluid in one direction along a substantially horizontal plane between the conveying device and the guide device in the vertical direction.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the container fed into the transport device is placed on the conveyor and is transported as it is driven. At this time, if the container is not damaged or laid down, the guide device disposed over substantially the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the transport device prevents the container from being tilted in the width direction and proceeds to the next step. The container is sent out. On the other hand, a defective container that has been sent to the conveying device in a damaged state or a laid-down state falls from the conveying device due to vibration during conveyance through a gap between the conveying device and the guide device, and the slope of the substantially mountain-shaped frame Is eliminated by sliding down. At this time, in addition to the fact that the conveyor width of the conveying device is smaller than the diameter of the container, the holding of the container by the guide device cannot be expected, so that the defective container easily falls from the conveying device and is eliminated. Therefore, by such an action, it is possible to automatically eliminate a damaged or collapsed defective container with a simple configuration.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the defective container removed from the conveying device slides down in the direction of the opening along the bottom surface of the shooter device, and is discharged to the outside through the opening. For this reason, the defective container excluded from the conveying apparatus is not scattered around, and the working environment can be prevented from deteriorating.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the vibration device that applies vibration to at least the bottom surface of the shooter device is provided, the defective container removed from the conveying device is easily slid down to the opening, and the defective container is more easily removed. Eliminate quickly and reliably.

According to the invention described in claim 4, since the defective container discharged through the opening of the shooter device is accommodated in the accommodating device, the defective container can be easily collected.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the contents spilled from the damaged or fallen container are received by the hopper device, the contents are not spilled around and the deterioration of the working environment can be prevented.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the defective container that cannot be expected to be held by the guide device is forcibly excluded from the transfer device by the high-pressure fluid ejected from the fluid ejecting apparatus. Carrying can be greatly reduced.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 and 2 show an overall configuration in which the present invention is applied to a food and beverage production line and a defective container rejection device (hereinafter referred to as “exclusion device”) is embodied.
The exclusion device 10 includes a conveyance device 30 that conveys a container 20 such as a bottle or a can, a guide device 40 that prevents the container 20 being conveyed from falling in the width direction, and a shooter device 50 that collects the excluded container 20. And a hopper device 60 that receives the contents spilled from the container 20.

  The conveying device 30 includes a leg portion 32 erected on the floor surface, a substantially mountain-shaped frame 34 whose upper surface located vertically above forms a horizontal plane over a predetermined width, an upper surface of the frame 34 and an internal space thereof. And a chain conveyor 38 guided by a plurality of rollers 36 arranged. The chain conveyor 38 is rotationally driven by a driving device such as an electric motor (not shown), and conveys the container 20 placed on the upper surface thereof to the left in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the width W of the chain conveyor 38 is smaller than the diameter φD within a range in which the container 20 can be conveyed (W <φD), for example, around 40% of the diameter φD of the container 20. And Here, when transporting a plurality of containers 20 having different diameters φD, the smallest diameter among them may be set as the reference diameter φD. Note that the conveyor device 30 may be a belt conveyor or the like instead of the chain conveyor 38.

  The guide device 40 is disposed on both sides in the width direction over substantially the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the transport device 30, and prevents the container 20 from falling down in the width direction due to vibration during transport. Specifically, the guide device 40 is formed of a thin plate having a substantially rectangular shape that is long in the horizontal direction, and is fixed to a pair of brackets 42 that are vertically erected from the left and right of the frame 34. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the guide device 40 is attached so that the height H from the upper surface of the chain conveyor 38, that is, the container conveyance surface, is larger than the diameter φD of the container 20 (H> φD). The guide device 40 is preferably provided with an adjusting mechanism 44 including a bolt and a double nut, as shown in FIG. 2, so that the distance from the container 20 can be easily adjusted.

  The shuter device 50 has a substantially L-shaped cross section, while the bottom surface gradually inclines downward from both longitudinal end portions of the transport device 30 toward the center portion, and an opening is formed at the lowermost portion thereof. The container 20 is recovered by sliding down toward the opening. The shooter device 50 is attached to the left and right sides of the frame 34 of the transport device 30 so that the vertical plate portion 50A is positioned at least over the top and bottom of the container transport surface. Note that an accommodation device (not shown) for accommodating the collected container may be disposed below the opening of the shooter device 50.

  The hopper device 60 is disposed below the shooter device 50 over substantially the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the transport device 30 and receives contents spilled from the container 20 due to breakage or overturning. Specifically, the hopper device 60 has a substantially U-shaped cross section that opens upward, and hangs downward from the frame 34 in an inclined state in which one end in the longitudinal direction is lower than the other end. It is fixed to the bracket 62.

Next, the operation of the exclusion device 10 having such a configuration will be described.
The container 20 sent to the exclusion device 10 is placed on the transport device 30 and transported as the chain conveyor 38 is driven. At this time, since the guide devices 40 are provided on both side surfaces of the container 20 orthogonal to the transport direction, this is prevented even if the container 20 is tilted in the width direction due to vibration during the transport.

  On the other hand, since the container 20 sent in a broken state has a short overall length and cannot be expected to be held by the guide device 40, the container 20 is dropped and removed from between the chain conveyor 38 and the guide device 40 due to vibration during conveyance. Then, it slides down the slope of the substantially mountain-shaped frame 34 and is fed into the shooter device 50. At this time, since the width W of the chain conveyor 38 of the transport device 30 is smaller than the diameter φD of the container 20 as shown in FIG. 3, the holding of the container 20 by the guide device 40 cannot be expected. Broken containers are easily removed from the chain conveyor 38. Then, the damaged container sent to the shooter device 50 slides down in the direction of the opening along the bottom surface inclined downward, and is accommodated in the accommodating device through the opening.

  Further, the container 20 fed in the fallen state is removed by falling from between the chain conveyor 38 and the guide device 40 due to vibration during transportation, like the damaged container, and slips on the slope of the substantially mountain-shaped frame 34. It falls and is sent to the shooter device 50. At this time, the height H of the guide device 40 from the upper surface of the chain conveyor 38 is larger than the diameter φD of the container 20 as shown in FIG. A clearance larger than the diameter φD of 20 is formed, and the lodging container is excluded from here. Then, the lodging container fed into the shooter device 50 slides down in the direction of the opening along the bottom surface inclined downward, and is accommodated in the accommodation device through the opening.

  In addition, in order to more surely eliminate the broken or collapsed defective container, a high-pressure fluid such as high-pressure air is jetted in one direction along a substantially horizontal plane between the conveying device 30 and the guide device 40 in the vertical direction. A fluid ejection device may be attached so that the defective container is forcibly excluded by the fluid. In this way, the defective container that cannot be expected to be held by the guide device 40 is forcibly removed from the transfer device 30 by the high-pressure fluid, so that the transfer of the defective container to the next process can be greatly reduced. it can.

  In addition, it is desirable to attach a vibration device such as a vibrator that applies vibration to at least the bottom surface of the shooter device 50 so that the container 20 fed into the shooter device 50 can easily slide down to the opening. In this way, the remaining container 20 in the shooter device 50 is greatly reduced, and defective containers can be removed more quickly and reliably.

Front view of the exclusion device according to the present invention Side view of exclusion device according to the present invention Partial enlarged view showing the positional relationship between the transport device and the guide device with respect to the container

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Conveyance apparatus 20 Container 30 Conveyance apparatus 34 Frame 38 Chain conveyor 40 Guide apparatus 50 Shutter apparatus 60 Hopper apparatus

Claims (6)

A transport device provided with a substantially mountain-shaped frame whose upper surface positioned vertically above forms a horizontal plane over a predetermined width, and a conveyor for transporting containers on the upper surface;
A guide device that is disposed on both sides in the width direction over substantially the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the transport device, and prevents the container being collapsed in the width direction;
A defective container elimination device that excludes damaged or overlaid defective containers,
An apparatus for rejecting defective containers, wherein a width of the conveyor of the transport device is made smaller than a diameter of the container, and a height of the guide device from an upper surface of the conveyor of the transport device is made larger than a diameter of the container.   A shooter that collects the rejected defective container by sliding down toward the opening, with the bottom surface gradually inclined downward from both ends in the longitudinal direction toward the center, and an opening is formed at the bottom. The apparatus for removing a defective container according to claim 1, further comprising an apparatus.   3. The apparatus for removing a defective container according to claim 2, further comprising a vibration device that applies vibration to at least a bottom surface of the shooter device.   4. The defective container removing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a storage device for storing the recovered defective container below the opening of the shooter device.   5. The defective container rejection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a hopper device that receives contents spilled from the container. 6. A fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a high-pressure fluid in one direction along a substantially horizontal plane between the conveying device and the guide device in a vertical direction is provided. Device for rejecting defective containers as described in 1.