JP4489917B2 - Container transport screw device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a container conveying screw device that includes a screw body in which a guide groove for guiding a container is formed in a spiral shape on an outer peripheral surface, and guides a container to be conveyed. The present invention relates to a screw device for use.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a container processing line that conventionally performs processing such as washing, filling, and capping on a container, a container guide position that delivers the container from a conveyor device that linearly conveys the container to a conveyance wheel that conveys the container in the rotation direction, A screw device is provided for changing the interval between the containers to be conveyed to the interval between the container holding portions provided in the conveyance wheel. In such a screw device, a screw body in which a guide groove for guiding a container is spirally formed on the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical main body is rotated in synchronization with the rotation of a transport wheel, and is transported by a conveyor device. The container is engaged with the guide groove, and the interval is gradually increased to guide the container to the conveyance wheel. By the way, when the type of container to be processed is changed and the outer shape of the container to be transported or the size of the body diameter is changed, it is necessary to change the shape of the guide groove of the screw body. It was necessary to attach and detach and replace.
[0003]
As a conventional technique for this, a rotating shaft body is rotatably supported in parallel with the container transport line, and a plurality of container guide grooves are formed around the rotating shaft body via support members. A first rotation driving device that disposes a screw shaft body parallel to the rotation shaft body at predetermined angles, and rotates the rotation shaft body to move any screw shaft body to a container guide position corresponding to a container transport line. A container transport timing provided with a second rotation drive device for rotating the screw shaft body at the container guide position, and provided with a phase detection device for detecting the phase of the container guide groove formed in each screw shaft body There is a screw device (see Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-88429).
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, according to the conventional screw device described above, the replacement work can be facilitated, but the phase of the screw body (screw shaft body) exchanged every replacement work is required, and the replacement work is further performed. There is a drawback that a drive device (second rotation drive device) for rotating the screw body and a phase detection device for detecting the phase of the guide groove must be provided.
[0005]
In view of such circumstances, the present invention eliminates the need to adjust the phase when replacing the screw body, simplifies the work required for replacement, and further simplifies the apparatus by omitting means for adjusting the phase. It is an object of the present invention to provide a container transport screw device.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention is intended to solve the above-described problems, and employs the following technical means.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there are provided a plurality of screw bodies having guide grooves formed on the outer peripheral surface for guiding the containers, and the arbitrary screw bodies are rotationally driven in a state where they are positioned at the container guide position of the container transport path. In the container conveying screw device that guides the container to be conveyed, the driven gear provided at one end of each screw body, the drive gear that meshes with the driven gear and rotationally drives each screw body, and each driven gear includes: Support means comprising: a support means that rotatably supports each screw body in mesh with the drive gear; and a support means that can rotate about the same center as the drive gear; and a fixing means that fixes the support means at a predetermined rotational position. The technical means of rotating an arbitrary screw body at the container guide position was adopted.
[0007]
In the second aspect of the invention, the technical means is adopted in which the rotation of the drive gear is stopped and the support means is rotated to position an arbitrary screw body at the container guide position.
[0008]
The invention described in claim 3 employs technical means comprising an actuating device for actuating the fixing means and a rotating device for rotating the support means.
[0009]
【Example】
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 is a plan view showing the arrangement of screw bodies, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a screw device according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a front view of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a right side view of FIG. It is a left side view.
[0010]
FIG. 1 shows a container processing line in which a screw body 8 is arranged at a container guide position A that delivers a container 2 to a conveying wheel 6 that conveys the container 2 in a rotational direction from a conveying path 4 that conveys the container 2 linearly. It shows a state. As shown in FIG. 4, the container 2 transported in the present embodiment includes a cylindrical mouth portion 2 a having a screw formed on the outer peripheral portion, and a flange portion 2 b is formed continuously with the mouth portion 2 a. Further, it is a resin container in which a body portion 2c is formed below.
[0011]
The container 2 having such a shape is configured to be transported in a suspended state with the lower surface of the flange portion 2b supported by a pair of neck guides 10 and 10 and disposed above the neck guides 10 and 10. Compressed air is blown to the mouth portion 2a by an unillustrated air conveying conveyor and propelled in the conveying direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. In this embodiment, the air conveyance conveyor and the neck guides 10 and 10 form the conveyance path 4 that conveys the container linearly.
[0012]
On the other hand, the conveyance wheel 6 that conveys the container 2 in the rotation direction is composed of a rotating body 6b in which a number of grippers 6a that hold the mouth portion 2a of the container 2 as container holding portions are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. The mouth 2a of the container 2 supported by 10 and 10 is gripped, and the container 2 is extracted from the ends of the neck guides 10 and 10 and conveyed in the rotation direction indicated by the arrows.
[0013]
In the screw body 8, a guide groove 8a for guiding the container is spirally formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical main body, and the container 2 is received by the transport wheel 6 from the transport path 4 for transporting the container 2 in a straight line. It is arranged along the container guide position A to be passed, and rotates around the axis in synchronization with the rotation of the transport wheel 6. The container 2 which is supported by the neck guides 10 and 10 and is conveyed in a state where the front and rear are in contact with each other is engaged with the guide groove 8a, and its progress is regulated by the lead portion 8b forming the guide groove 8a, and the front and rear are gradually moved forward and backward. The interval is widened, is adjusted to the interval of the gripper 6 a of the transport wheel 6, and is delivered to the transport wheel 6.
[0014]
The screw device 12 according to the present invention is arranged on the side of the conveying path 4 of the container 2 described above as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, and is provided with a plurality of screw bodies 8A, 8B, 8C provided in advance (this embodiment). Then, one (8A) of the three) is positioned at the container guide position A. In this state, the container 2 to be conveyed is guided, and when the container type is changed, another screw body (8B or 8C) provided in advance is positioned at the container guide position A. .
[0015]
The screw device 12 is fixed to the gantry 16 and 16 by a pair of support plates 14a and 14b. A cylindrical member 18 is fitted into the right support plate 14 a in FIG. 3, and a central shaft 23 of the drive gear 22 is rotatably supported via a bearing 20 inside the cylindrical member 18. Yes. A drive shaft 24 interlocking with a main motor (not shown) that rotationally drives the transport wheel 6 is connected to the end of the central shaft 23 so that the drive gear 22 is rotationally driven. Three driven gears 26 (26A, 26B, 26C) are arranged on the outer periphery of the drive gear 22 at regular intervals in the circumferential direction (120 degree intervals) (see FIG. 4).
[0016]
On the other hand, a casing member 28 having a lid portion 28a for housing the drive gear 22 and the driven gear 26 disposed on the outer periphery thereof is rotatably fitted to the outer peripheral side of the cylindrical member 18 via a bearing 29. The casing member 28 surrounds the drive gear 22 while allowing relative rotation, while the driven gear 26 supports the center shaft 27 via bearings 30 and 30. And one end of each screw body 8A, 8B, 8C is connected to the central shaft 27 of each driven gear 26A, 26B, 26C corresponding to this.
[0017]
Further, a rotation shaft 34 is fixedly positioned at the center of the lid portion 28a of the casing member 28 on the extension line of the central shaft 23 of the drive gear 22, and the other end is one support plate (on the left side in FIG. 3). 14b is rotatably supported via a bearing 36. On the support plate 14b side of the rotary shaft 34, three support shafts 38 that support the screw bodies 8A, 8B, and 8C are supported by the support members 40 and the driven gears 26A, 26B, and 26C supported by the casing member 28. The other ends of the screw bodies 8A, 8B, 8C are rotatably supported on the support shaft 38 via bearings 39.
[0018]
As a result, each screw body 8A, 8B, 8C is supported by the center shaft 27 of the driven gear 26 and the support shaft 38 opposite thereto, and the casing member 28 having these lid portions 28a, A support means 41 that rotatably supports each screw body 8A, 8B, 8C is constituted by a support member 40 having a rotation shaft 34 and a support shaft 38, and can be rotated about the same center as the center shaft 23 of the drive gear 22. It has become.
[0019]
Further, the rotation shaft 34 and the support member 40 are integrally rotated by rotating the casing member 28 with respect to the cylindrical member 18 in a state where the rotation of the drive gear 22 is stopped, and the driven gear 26 is rotated on the outer periphery of the drive gear 22. The screw bodies 8A, 8B, 8C connected to the central shaft 27 rotate and move in the vertical direction while rotating.
[0020]
According to such a configuration, the screw bodies 8A, 8B, and 8C are always connected to the drive gear 22 via the driven gears 26A, 26B, and 26C, so that the phases are not shifted.
[0021]
That is, with the screw bodies 8A, 8B, and 8C positioned at the container guide position A, the gripper 6a of the transport wheel 6 and the guide grooves 8a of the screw bodies 8A, 8B, and 8C (leads that form the guide grooves 8a). The phase is adjusted in advance so that the positional relationship of the portion 8b) is matched, and the support means 41 supports it. In this case, the other screw bodies 8 (8B, 8C) that are not currently positioned at the container guide position A rotate from the state in phase at the container guide position A while rotating on the outer periphery of the drive gear 22 that has stopped rotating. As a result, the phase is shifted by a predetermined amount of rotation. When the conveyance of the container 2 is started in this state, all the screw bodies 8 are rotated (rotated) by the rotational drive of the drive gear 22, but the rotation of the conveyance wheel 6 and the rotation of all the screw bodies 8 are synchronized. Therefore, as for the phase relationship between the other screw bodies 8 (8B, 8C) that are not located at the container guide position A and the transport wheel 6, the above-described phase shift is maintained for the amount of rotation. Thereafter, when the screw body 8 is replaced, the screw body 8 (for example, 8B) that is not located at the container guide position A is in a direction opposite to the direction in which the screw body 8 is rotationally moved on the outer periphery of the drive gear 22 from the container guide position A. In other words, when the screw body 8B is moved clockwise from the container guide position A to the position shown in FIG. 4, if the screw body 8B is moved counterclockwise, it rotates on the outer periphery of the drive gear 22 whose rotation has been stopped in the reverse direction. Therefore, the phase shift corresponding to the rotation of the predetermined amount is returned, and the positional relationship between the gripper 6a of the transport wheel 6 and the guide groove 8a of the screw body 8 is again met at the container guide position A.
[0022]
If the drive gear 22 and each driven gear 26 are set so that the driven gear 26 rotates an integer when the drive gear 22 rotates once, the screw body 8B in FIG. 4 can be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise. Even if it is moved from one direction, the phase can be adjusted at the container guide position A.
[0023]
A gear 42 is formed on the side of the casing member 28 opposite to the side on which the lid portion 28a is attached. On the other hand, a motor 46 that rotates a gear 44 meshing with the gear 42 by a predetermined amount is attached to the right support plate 14a. ing. Thereby, the rotation means which rotates the arbitrary screw body 8 to the container guide position A is comprised.
[0024]
The support member 40 formed on the rotating shaft 34 integral with the casing member 28 has a positioning plate 48 having a positioning hole 48a (see FIG. 5) formed at a predetermined position facing the left support plate 14b. On the other hand, the left support plate 14b is provided with a cylinder device 52 for advancing and retracting the positioning pin 50 inserted into the positioning hole 48a. Three positioning holes 48a are formed at equal intervals in the rotation direction of the rotary shaft 34. In the cylinder device 52 for moving the positioning pin 50 forward or backward, any one screw body 8 is positioned at the container guide position A. At this time, the positioning pins 50 are arranged in alignment so that the positioning pins 50 can be inserted into the corresponding positioning holes 48a. The positioning plate 48 having the positioning hole 48a and the positioning pin 50 constitute a fixing means 51 for fixing the arbitrary screw body 8 in the state where it is positioned at the container guide position A, and an operation for operating the fixing means 51. A cylinder device 52 is provided as a device.
[0025]
In the container conveying screw device 12 according to the present invention configured as described above, the replacement work of the screw body 8 accompanying the change of the container type will be described.
First, in a state in which the conveyance of the container 2 is stopped and the rotation drive by the drive shaft 24 is stopped, that is, in a state where the rotation of the drive gear 22 is stopped, the cylinder device 52 is operated to remove the positioning pin 50 from the positioning hole 48a. escape. Next, the motor 46 is operated to rotate the casing member 28 in a predetermined direction by a predetermined amount to rotate the support means 41 that supports the screw bodies 8A, 8B, 8C. The container is positioned at the container guide position A. Next, the cylinder device 52 is operated again, and the positioning pin 50 is inserted into the positioning hole 48a at the corresponding position. Thereby, since the exchange operation | work of the screw body 8 is completed, it becomes possible to restart conveyance of the container 2. FIG.
[0026]
In the above embodiment, the motor 46 and the cylinder device 52 are provided so as to be able to automate the replacement work. However, even when the casing member 28 is rotated and inserted into the positioning hole 48a of the positioning pin 50 manually. It is not necessary to adjust the phase of the screw body 8 and the transport wheel 6 during the replacement work, and the work required for this is simplified. Even in the case of automation as described above, a means for phase adjustment is not required as in the prior art, and the apparatus can be simplified as compared with the prior art.
[0027]
The second embodiment according to the present invention will be described below.
In the first embodiment, the support means 41 that supports the screw bodies 8A, 8B, and 8C is rotated in a state where the rotation of the drive gear 22 is stopped, and the arbitrary screw body 8 is positioned at the container guide position A. However, in the second embodiment, the drive gear 22 is rotated integrally with the support means 41 (casing member 28) by the following configuration so that the screw bodies 8A, 8B, 8C are rotated. .
[0028]
That is, in the configuration shown in the first embodiment, the connection end of the drive shaft 24 is configured to be extendable and detachable from the central shaft 23 of the drive gear 22 so that the drive gear 22 can be rotated. Like that. Even in such a configuration, the screw bodies 8A, 8B, and 8C are always connected to the drive gear 22 via the driven gears 26A, 26B, and 26C, so that the phases are not shifted.
[0029]
That is, the gripper 6a of the conveyance wheel 6 and the guide groove 8a of each screw body 8A, 8B, 8C in the state where each screw body 8A, 8B, 8C is positioned at the container guide position A as in the first embodiment. The phase is adjusted in advance and supported by the support means 41 so that the positional relationship of the (lead portion 8b forming the guide groove 8a) matches. At this time, since the drive gear 22 is in a rotatable state, when the casing member 28 is rotated to move the screw bodies 8A, 8B, 8C, the drive in a state of being engaged with the driven gears 26 to be moved. The gear 22 is rotated integrally with the casing member 28, and the other screw bodies 8 (8B, 8C) that are not located at the container guide position A maintain the state in phase at the container guide position A without rotating. . In this state, when the drive shaft 24 is connected to the central shaft 23 and the conveyance of the container 2 is started, the rotation of the drive gear 22 causes all the screw bodies 8 to rotate while maintaining a state in phase with the conveyance wheel 6 ( Rotation).
[0030]
In the replacement operation of the screw body 8 accompanying the change of the container type in the second embodiment, first, the connection end of the drive shaft 24 is shortened in a state where the conveyance of the container 2 is stopped and the rotation of the drive shaft 24 is stopped. Then, it is pulled out from the central shaft 23 of the drive gear 22. Next, the positioning pin 50 is removed from the positioning hole 48a, and the housing member 28 is rotated to position the arbitrary screw body 8 at the container guide position A. Next, the positioning pin 50 is inserted into the positioning hole 48 a and fixed, and the connecting end of the drive shaft 24 is extended to connect to the central shaft 23 of the drive gear 22. Thereby, since the replacement | exchange operation | work of the screw body 8 is completed, it becomes possible to restart conveyance of the container 2. FIG. Even in the case of the second embodiment configured as described above, it is not necessary to adjust the phase of the screw body 8 and the transport wheel 6 during the replacement work, and the work required for this is simplified.
[0031]
In both cases of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the number of screw bodies 8 is not limited to three, and depending on the number of container types to be changed, each outer shape and body diameter Two or four or more corresponding screw bodies 8 may be provided.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
As a result of employing the above configuration, the present invention can obtain the following effects.
(1) It is not necessary to adjust the phase when the screw body is replaced, and the work required for replacement can be simplified.
(2) Furthermore, the device for phase adjustment is not required, and the apparatus can be simplified as compared with the prior art.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the arrangement of screw bodies according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a screw device according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a front view of FIG. 2;
4 is a right side view of FIG. 3. FIG.
5 is a left side view of FIG. 3. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 ... Container 4 ... Transfer path 6 ... Transfer wheel 8 ... Screw body 10 ... Neck guide 12 ... Screw device 14a ... Support plate 14b ... Support plate 16 ... Stand 18 ... Cylindrical member 20 · · · Bearing 22 · · · Drive gear 23 · · · Center shaft 24 · · · Drive shaft 26 · · · Driven gear 27 · · · Center shaft 28 · · · Casing member 29 · · · Bearing 30 · · · Bearing 34 · · · · · · · · · · · · · Bearing 38 · · · Support shaft 39 · · · Bearing 40 · · · Support member 41 · · · Support means 42 · · · Gear 44 · · · Gear 46 · · · Motor (rotating device)
48 ... Positioning plate 48a ... Positioning hole 50 ... Positioning pin 51 ... Fixing means 52 ... Cylinder device (actuator) A ... Container guide position

Claims (3)

Provided with a plurality of screw bodies formed with guide grooves for guiding the container on the outer peripheral surface, and rotationally driven in a state where an arbitrary screw body is positioned at the container guide position of the container transport path, to guide the containers to be transported In the container conveying screw device, each of the screws in a state in which the driven gear provided at one end of each of the screw bodies, a driving gear that meshes with the driven gears and rotationally drives the screw bodies, and each of the driven gears meshes with the driving gear. A support means capable of rotating the body at the same center as the drive gear, and a fixing means for fixing the support means at a predetermined rotational position. A container conveying screw device characterized by being positioned at the container guiding position. 2. The container conveying screw device according to claim 1, wherein in a state where the rotation of the drive gear is stopped, the support means is rotated to position an arbitrary screw body at the container guide position. 3. The container conveying screw device according to claim 1, further comprising an actuating device for actuating the fixing means and a rotating device for rotating the support means.

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