JP4613655B2 - Container filling and sealing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a container filling and sealing device that fills and seals contents in a cup-shaped container, and in particular, until a container taken out from a container housing unit that stacks and houses a large number of containers is supplied to a filling mechanism or the like. The present invention relates to a container filling and sealing device provided with a foreign matter removing means for removing foreign matter in the container.

  As described above, a container filling and sealing device including a foreign substance removing unit that removes foreign substances in a container has been conventionally known (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

  The foreign substance removing device in the container described in Patent Document 1 is a horizontal plate-shaped stopper provided with an air inlet, and a vertical shape arranged so as to be lifted and lowered through the air inlet with a slight interval. And a lower end opening suction pipe. In addition, a large number of ventilation holes are formed around the air inlet of the horizontal plate stopper. Further, a horizontal rectangular tubular header pipe is connected to the upper end of the suction pipe, and a piston rod of a fluid pressure cylinder is connected to the middle of the header pipe.

  In the foreign matter removing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, when the suction pipe is lowered and inserted into the air inlet of the stopper, the air inlet is closed by the suction pipe. Then, the inside of the container becomes negative pressure, and the container is sucked up and brought into contact with the stopper. In this state, the air in the container is sucked from the lower end opening of the suction pipe, and the air flows into the container from the outside through the vent hole, so that the inside of the container extends from the vent hole to the inner surface of the container. An air flow toward the lower end opening of the suction pipe is generated, and the foreign matter in the container is conveyed and removed by this air flow.

  In addition, the container supply device described in Patent Document 2 takes out a separation magazine for storing containers in a downward state and a container at the bottom of the stack in the magazine one by one, and reverses the slat conveyor. And a foreign device in the container is removed during the conveyance by the conveyance device. The transport device includes a container holding member provided on the horizontal rotation shaft. The horizontal rotation shaft is provided with a recovery passage inside. The container holding member has a short round bar shape and is inserted so as to intersect the horizontal rotation axis. An outward holding surface is formed on one end surface of the container holding member, and a suction port is opened in the holding surface. The suction port communicates with the collection passage of the horizontal rotation shaft through a communication hole formed in the horizontal rotation shaft. And the air nozzle is penetrated by the horizontal rotating shaft and the container holding member through the suction inlet and the communicating hole. The tip of the air nozzle protrudes outward from the suction port, and has a jet outlet at the protruding end.

In the container supply device, the container holding member rises with the holding surface facing upward and is brought into contact with the downward opening of the lowest container stored in the separation magazine. The container is held. When the container is held, the container holding member is rotated while being lowered. During this time, air is blown into the container through the air nozzle, and the air in the suction port is sucked through the recovery passage. The suction amount is set to be larger than the air ejection amount. Due to this suction air flow, the foreign matter in the container is sucked into the suction port and collected through the collection passage.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-12014 (page 3-4, FIG. 4) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2001-253412 (page 3-5, FIG. 10)

  The container foreign matter removing device described in Patent Document 1 takes out a cup-shaped container with the opening portion facing upward, and abuts the stopper while abutting a stopper while supplying the container to the conveyor. The upper opening is sealed, and foreign matter is removed by suction with a suction pipe inserted from above. Thus, in the structure which attracts | sucks the inside of the container which faced the opening part upwards, there existed a problem that it was difficult to remove a foreign material completely.

  Further, the foreign matter removing mechanism provided in the container supply device described in Patent Document 2 supplies the inverted stack of the stacked containers, and this inverted container, that is, with the opening facing downward. The inside of the cup is sucked while the container is cut out and held, and rotated to erect. Therefore, an apparatus for inverting the stack is necessary, and the entire apparatus becomes large. In addition, there is a slat conveyor below the position where the cups are cut out one by one. When the lowermost cup is taken out, the foreign material in the next container above it falls into the container on the conveyor. There was a risk of it.

The present invention holds a container that stacks and accommodates a large number of cup-shaped containers, a separation means that separates the lowest container of the containers accommodated in the container, and a container separated by the separation means. In the container filling and sealing device comprising a transport conveyor for transporting and a foreign matter removing means for removing foreign matter in the container before the separated container is transferred to the transport conveyor, the foreign matter removing means is provided below the container. A rotary transfer means for arranging and rotating the container separated by the separation means with the opening facing upward, and a delivery means for receiving the container from the rotary transfer means and delivering it to the conveyor. further, the delivery means comprises a delivery holding member for holding the container, together with advancing and retracting movement along the delivery retaining member in the conveying direction of the conveyor, the holding Comprising a moving mechanism orientation of the container is moved to change the upright from the horizontal state, the rotary transfer means inverts the container received in a state of facing upward opening, with its opening down In this state, after removing the foreign matter by the foreign matter removing means, it is rotated 90 degrees, and then the container is supplied to the transport conveyor by the delivery means.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the rotary transfer means includes a transfer holding member that rotates about a rotation shaft, and a rotation drive means that rotates the transfer holding member, and the transfer holding member has a bottom portion. The container is held toward the rotating shaft side.

  The container filling and sealing device of the present invention takes out cup-like containers stacked with the openings facing upwards one by one from the lowermost end, and after removing them from the inverted state, the foreign matter removal rate is greatly increased. improves. Moreover, since the container is separated in an upright state with the opening portion facing upward, there is no possibility that foreign matter from the upper container will fall.

  A foreign substance removing means for removing the foreign substance in the container is disposed below the accommodating part for accumulating and accommodating a large number of cup-shaped containers. Then, after the container at the lowermost end of the housing part separated by the separating means is received and rotated by the rotary transfer means in an upright state with the opening facing upward, the opening is turned upside down, Foreign matter is removed by the foreign matter removing means. Thereafter, the delivery means receives the cup-shaped container and supplies it to the conveyor. As described above, the container in the container is kept in an upright state, and the separated container is turned upside down to remove the foreign matter, thereby efficiently removing the foreign matter and removing the foreign matter. The object of re-contamination of the apparatus and the simplification of the structure of the apparatus is achieved. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to invert the entire stack in a state where the cup-shaped containers are stacked, the entire apparatus does not increase in size.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view showing an overall configuration of a container filling and sealing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. This container filling seal device intermittently conveys a cup-like container 2 (see FIG. 4 to be described later) having a large diameter at the upper part and a gradually smaller diameter toward the lower part by a container conveying conveyor 4 to fill the filling position. B is sequentially stopped at each container processing position such as B, seal position C, trimming position D, etc., and each processing is performed.

  In the container conveyor 4, a pair of chains (not shown) are hung around sprockets 6 and 8 disposed on both sides of the upstream part (left side in FIG. 1) and the downstream part. A number of holder plates 10 are attached. Each holder plate 10 has a plurality of (for example, six) container holding holes formed at equal intervals, and holds and conveys the cup-shaped container 2 in each container holding hole. The cup-shaped container 2 has a flange portion 2 a formed at the periphery of the opening, and the flange portion 2 a is engaged with and held by the periphery of the container holding hole of the holder plate 10.

  A cup supply unit 12 that supplies the cup-shaped container 2 to the holder plate 10 is provided at a position slightly away from the upstream end of the container transport conveyor 4. In addition, between the cup supply unit 12 and the upstream end of the container transport conveyor 4, a container storage unit 14 that stores a large number of cup-shaped containers 2 in an upright state, that is, with the openings facing upward. Separating means 16 (see FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 because illustration is omitted in FIG. 1), and separating means 16 Rotation transfer means 18 for receiving and rotating and transporting the cup-shaped container 2 taken out by the method, and foreign substance removal means 20 for removing the foreign substance in the inverted cup-shaped container 2 held and inverted by the rotation and transfer means 18. Etc. are provided.

  Further, above the upstream end of the container transport conveyor 4, the cup-shaped container 2 that is held by the rotary transfer means 18 and from which foreign matters are removed while being rotationally transferred is received, and the holder plate 10 of the container transport conveyor 4 is received. Delivery means 22 is provided for delivery.

  The filling position B is on the downstream side of the delivery position A where the delivery means 22 is provided, and the filling position B is filled with a content such as a liquid in the cup-shaped container 2 that has been conveyed. 24 is provided.

  On the further downstream side of the filling position B, a sealing position C and a trimming position D are arranged in this order. A sealing device 26 is provided at the sealing position C, and a trimming device 28 is provided at the trimming position D, respectively.

  It is a cover material between the upper part of the opening of the cup-shaped container 2 being conveyed by the container conveying conveyor 4 and the lower surface of the sealing head 26a of the sealing device 26 and the lower surface of the trimming head 28a of the trimming device 28. A film 30 is supplied. The lid material film 30 is drawn from a roll-shaped film installed outside the container filling and sealing apparatus according to this embodiment, and is introduced into the container filling and sealing apparatus via an introduction roller (not shown). The lid material film 30 introduced into the container filling and sealing device is directed in the direction opposite to the transport direction of the container transport conveyor 4 (see arrow E in FIG. 1) by the direction changing roller 32, and then the drive roller 34 and the idle roller 30. After being pulled down onto the transport surface of the container transport conveyor 4 via rollers 36 and the like, it is supplied below the sealing device 26 and the trimming device 28.

  The sealing device 26 provided at the sealing position C is configured to raise and lower the seal head 26a by the operation of an air cylinder (not shown), and the container 2 that is intermittently conveyed by the container conveying conveyor 4 When the air cylinder is stopped below the seal head 26a, the air cylinder is operated to lower the seal head 26a, and the lid material film 30 is pressed onto the opening of the cup-shaped container 2, so that the film 30 is moved to the cup-shaped container 2. It welds to the upper surface of the flange part 2a. The trimming device 28 also moves the trimming head 28a up and down by operating an air cylinder (not shown), and the cup-shaped container 2 conveyed by the container conveying conveyor 4 is located below the trimming head 28a. When the air cylinder is stopped, the air cylinder is operated to lower the trimming head 28a, and the periphery of the film 30 welded to the flange portion 2a of the cup-shaped container 2 is cut and separated from the main body portion of the sheet-like film 30. . The remaining portion 30a from which the lid portion of the sheet-like film 30 is cut off is wound around the roll 40 via the discharge roller 38 and the like.

  The cup supply unit 12 that supplies the cup-shaped container 2 includes a frame 12a that is inclined with the front side (the right side in FIG. 1) slightly downward, and a large number of cup-shaped containers 2 are placed in the frame 12a. They are stacked and stacked in an upright state with the openings facing up. As described above, when the container transport conveyor is configured to transport the cup-shaped containers 2 in six rows, the cup-shaped containers 2 are also stacked in six rows. A lift (not shown) is provided on the front side of the cup supply unit 12 so that the stack of six rows of cup-shaped containers 2 can be lifted upward.

  The container housing part 14, the rotation transfer means 18 and the foreign matter removal means 20 are arranged on a straight line between the cup supply part 12 and the upstream end of the container transport conveyor 4. The container accommodating portion 14 disposed at the upper side surrounds and holds the cup-shaped container 2 by a plurality of vertically arranged rod-shaped members 14a. A swing guide member 42 is provided above the container accommodating portion 14, and receives the cup-shaped container 2 from the cup supply portion 12 and supplies it to the container accommodating portion 14. The swing guide member 42 has an upright position (a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1) aligned in a straight line above the container accommodating portion 14 and an inclination that coincides with an inclination of the front side of the frame 12 a of the cup supply portion 12. It can be swung between an inclined position (position indicated by a broken line in FIG. 1). When the swing guide member 42 moves to the inclined position, the stack of the cup-shaped container 2 positioned at the forefront of the cup supply unit 12 is pushed up by the lift and inserted into the swing guide member 42. The Thereafter, when the swing guide member 42 returns to the upright position, the inserted stack of cup-shaped containers 2 is supplied to the lower container accommodating portion 14.

  Below the container housing portion 14, there is provided a rotation transfer means 18 that receives and rotates and transfers the cup-shaped containers 2 taken out one by one by the separation means 16. The rotary transfer means 18 has a horizontal rotating shaft 44 disposed above the transport surface of the container transport conveyor 4 in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction E, and circumferentially spaced around the horizontal rotating shaft 44. 4 is provided with a transfer holding member 46 (see FIG. 3) and a rotation driving means (not shown) for rotating the transfer holding member 46 about the horizontal rotation shaft 44. As shown in FIG. 3, each transfer holding member 46 is provided on both sides of an attachment member 48 fixed to the main body side of the rotary transfer means 18, and includes container holders 50, 50 that face each other and can be separated from each other. The lower surface of the flange 2a of the cup-shaped container 2 is supported by a holder 52 fixed to the front surfaces (surfaces facing each other) of both the container holders 50, 50, and the container body portion below the container body is supported. It comes to hold. These container holders 50, 50 are always attracted in the direction of approaching each other by a spring 52 attached to the end thereof, and resist the spring 52 by pulling apart the rollers 54, 54 attached thereto. Can be separated. The attachment member 48, the spring 52 and the roller 54 are provided at both ends of the container holders 50 and 50.

  The rotary transfer means 18 is intermittently rotated by 90 degrees about the horizontal rotation shaft 44, and the position F where the transfer holding member 46 faces upward is taken out from the container accommodating portion 14. A receiving position for receiving the cup-shaped container 2, a horizontal position G rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise in FIG. 2 from the receiving position F is an intermediate position, and a further downward position H rotated 90 degrees is described later. The foreign substance removal position where the foreign substance removing means 20 removes the foreign substance, and the next horizontal position J rotated 90 degrees from the foreign substance removal position H are the delivery positions where the cup-shaped container 2 is delivered to the delivery means 22.

  At the receiving position F and the delivery position J of the container transfer means 18, an opening means 56 that opens the pair of container holders 50 of the transfer holding member 46 and enables the cup-shaped container 2 to be held and taken out is provided. Yes. The opening means 56 includes rollers 54, 54 attached to the pair of container holders 50, 50 by an opening air cylinder 58 disposed in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction E of the container transport conveyor 4. A fork-shaped opening member 60 that moves forward and backward in the direction is provided. The width of both sides of the opening member 60 is slightly larger than the distance between the two rollers 54 and 54 in the approaching state, and the opening member 60 is advanced by the operation of the opening air cylinder 56 so that both rollers are moved forward. By inserting between 54 and 54, a pair of roller 54 and 54 can be pushed open and the space | interval of both the container holding bodies 50 and 50 can be expanded. The opening means 56 is provided at both ends of the container holders 50 and 50 at the receiving position F and the delivery position J, and opens and closes from both ends of the container holders 50 and 50. It has become. Note that the outer surface side tip of the opening member 60 is tapered so that it can be easily inserted between the rollers 54 and 54.

  On the both sides of the lower end portion of the container accommodating portion 14, the lowermost container 2 of a large number of cup-shaped containers 2 accommodated in a stacked state within the accommodating portion 14 is separated from the upper container 2, and the rotational transfer means 18. Separation means 16 is provided for delivery. The separating means 16 can move up and down with a pair of outer stoppers 62 and 62 disposed near the lower end of the container housing portion 14 and a pair of bottom stoppers 64 and 64 disposed slightly below the outer stoppers 62 and 62. And a pair of inner stoppers 66, 66. The outer stoppers 62 and 62 are configured to move forward and backward in the horizontal direction toward the cup-shaped container 2 held in the container housing portion 14 by the operation of the horizontal air cylinders 68 and 68. Similarly, the bottom stoppers 64 and 64 are advanced and retracted in the horizontal direction toward the cup-shaped container 2 held in the container accommodating portion 14 by the operation of the horizontal air cylinders 70 and 70. The outer stoppers 62 and 62 and the bottom stoppers 64 and 64 are arranged with the same vertical distance as the distance between the flanges 2a of the cup-shaped containers 2 stacked.

  Further, the inner stoppers 66 and 66 can be moved up and down by vertical air cylinders 72 and 72. Further, the vertical air cylinders 72, 72 are connected to the air cylinders 68, 68 for outer stoppers, and are movable in the horizontal direction. Therefore, the inner stoppers 66 and 66 can be opened and closed integrally with the outer stoppers 62 and 62 and can be moved up and down with respect to the outer stoppers 62 and 62. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the inner stoppers 66 and 66 are narrow, the outer stoppers 62 and 62 and the bottom stoppers 64 and 64 are wide, and the inner stoppers 66 and 66 It moves up and down through notches 62a, 62a, 64a, 64a formed in the stoppers 62, 62 and the bottom stoppers 64, 64.

  Below the rotary transfer means 18, there is provided a foreign matter removing means 20 for ejecting air into the cup-shaped container 2 and suctioning the cup-shaped container 2 to remove foreign matters in the cup-shaped container 2. It has been. The foreign matter removing means 20 includes an upwardly arranged vacuum cup 74, an exhaust duct 78 communicating with the vacuum passage 74 a in the vacuum cup 74 via a pipe 76, and a cup air cylinder 80 for raising and lowering the vacuum cup 74. It has. Further, a blast nozzle 82 inserted through the center of the vacuum cup 74 and a nozzle air cylinder 84 for raising and lowering the blast nozzle 82 are provided. This blow nozzle 82 is connected to an air supply source via an intake hose 86 and blows air from below into the cup-shaped container 2 in an inverted state.

  A cup-shaped container 2 from which foreign matter has been removed by the foreign matter removing means 20 while being rotated and transferred by the rotary transfer means 18 is received above the upstream end of the container transfer conveyor 4, and the holder of the container transfer conveyor 4 is received. Delivery means 22 for delivering to the plate 10 is provided. The delivery means 22 includes a delivery holding member 88 that is inserted into the cup-shaped container 2 and holds the cup, the delivery holding member 88, the delivery position J of the rotary transfer means 18, and the container transport conveyor 4. The cup-shaped container is moved back and forth between the position (delivery position A) to be inserted into the container holding hole formed in the holder plate 10 and from the horizontal state at the delivery position J to the upright state at the delivery position A. 2 is provided.

  The delivery holding member 88 includes a sealing surface 88a that is in close contact with the flange portion 2a of the cup-shaped container 2 and seals the inside, and a protruding portion 88c provided with a vacuum hole 88b that is connected to a vacuum source (not shown) and sucks. The cup-shaped container 2 is provided by bringing the sealing surface 88a into close contact with the flange portion 2a of the cup-shaped container 2 which is in the state of being laid down at the delivery position J, sealing the inside, and sucking from the vacuum hole 88b. Adsorb and hold.

  The moving mechanism 90 includes a slide rail 92 disposed in the same direction as the transport direction E of the container transport conveyor 4, a slide block 94 that can move forward and backward by engaging with the slide rail 92, and an upper portion of the slide block 94. Large and small links 98 and 100 that connect the fulcrum shaft 96, and an air cylinder 102 in which a piston rod 102 a is connected to the large link 98 are provided. By operating the air cylinder 102, the slide block 94 is moved back and forth along the slide rail 92.

  The moving mechanism 90 further includes a connecting member 104 having one end portion rotatably connected to the upper end of the slide block 94 and the delivery holding member 88 supported on the side surface thereof so as to be able to advance and retract. A cam follower 106 is attached near the other end of the connecting member 104 and is engaged in a cam groove 110 formed in the cam plate 108. As shown in FIG. 2, the shape of the cam groove 110 is a straight portion 110a at a higher position, which is almost half near the rotation transfer means 18, and an inclined portion 110b that gradually descends on the other side. Accordingly, when the slide block 94 is moved to the left in FIG. 2, the cam follower 106 enters the high linear portion 110a of the cam groove 110, the connecting member 104 is brought upright, and the delivery holding member 88 is moved to the container transfer means 18. Facing the direction of delivery J. Conversely, when the slide block 94 is moved in the right direction in FIG. 2, the cam follower 106 is lowered along the inclined portion 110b of the cam groove 110, the connecting member 104 is gradually laid down, and the delivery holding member 88 is directed downward. (Refer to the delivery holding member 88 shown by a broken line in FIG. 2). A shock-absorbing spring 112 is interposed between the back surface of the delivery holding member 88 and the side surface of the connecting member 104 so as to relieve an impact when the cup-shaped container 2 is received.

  The operation of the container filling and sealing apparatus according to the above configuration will be described. A large number of stacked cup-shaped containers 2 are stacked in the cup supply unit 12 with the openings facing upward. The swing guide member 42 disposed above the container accommodating portion 14 has a position that is collinear with the container accommodating portion 14 and a position that substantially coincides with the inclination of the front side of the frame 12a of the cup supply portion 12 ( (A position indicated by a broken line in FIG. 1), and a lift (not shown) of the stack of cup-shaped containers 2 in the cup supply unit 12 when moving to an inclined position. And is inserted into the swing guide member 42. When the swing guide member 42 returns to the upright state and moves above the container accommodating portion 14, the held stack of cup-shaped containers 2 is put into the container accommodating portion 14.

  The separating means 16 provided at the lower end of the container accommodating portion 14 includes three sets of stoppers 62, 62, 64, 64, 66, 66. In the basic state, the bottom stoppers 64, 64 are closed. The lower surface side of the flange 2a of the cup-shaped container 2 located at the lowest position in the container accommodating portion 14 is supported. Further, the outer stoppers 62 and 62 are disposed slightly above the bottom stoppers 64 and 64. With the outer stoppers 62 and 62 closed, the outer stoppers 62 and 62 are below the flange 2a of the second cup-shaped container 2 from the bottom. Is located. Further, the inner stoppers 66, 66 are in a closed state and are in a raised position, and are located below the flange 2a of the second cup-shaped container 2 from the bottom, like the outer stoppers 62, 62.

  Below the container accommodating part 14 and the separating means 16, the rotation transfer means 18 is arrange | positioned, and it rotates 90 degree | times centering around the horizontal rotating shaft 4, and has moved below the container accommodating part 14 The cup-shaped container 2 at the lowermost end is separated and transferred to the transfer holding member 46 one by one. At this time, first, in order to open both container holders 50, 50 of the transfer holding member 46, the fork-like opening member 60 of the opening means 56 provided at the receiving position F is advanced by the air cylinder 58, and its outer surface Is engaged with both rollers 54 and 54 and separated. Next, the lowermost cup-shaped container 2 accommodated in the container accommodating portion 14 is separated by the separating means 16 and dropped between the container holders 50 and 50. From the basic state, the separating means 16 opens the bottom stoppers 64, 64 by operating the bottom stopper air cylinders 70, 70, and then closes the inside by keeping the vertical air cylinders 72, 72 closed. The stoppers 66 and 66 are lowered (state shown in FIG. 4). The cup-shaped container 2 whose support on the lower side is lost due to the opening of the bottom stoppers 64, 64 is lowered by the inner stoppers 66, 66 being pushed by the upper surface of the flange 2 a, and delivered to the transfer holding member 46 that is moving downward. It is.

  When the cup-shaped container 2 cut by the upper separating means 16 is inserted into the transfer holding member 46 of the rotary transfer means 18, the air cylinder 58 of the opening means 56 operates to retract the fork-shaped opening member 60. When the engagement of the rollers 54 and 54 with the fork-shaped opening member 60 is released, the container holders 50 and 50 approach each other by the spring 52 and hold the cup-shaped container 2.

  After the lowermost cup-shaped container 2 has been delivered to the transfer holding member 46 of the rotary transfer means 18, the bottom stoppers 64, 64 are closed, and the inner stoppers 66, 66 and the outer stoppers 62, 62 are opened. The second cup-shaped container 2 from the bottom held by 62, 62 (At this point, the cup-shaped container 2 at the lowermost end has been handed over to the rotary transfer means 18, so the second cup-shaped container 2 from the bottom Is the cup-shaped container 2 at the lowermost end) to the bottom stoppers 64, 64 below. The inner stoppers 66 and 66 are raised while being opened.

  The inner stoppers 66, 66 are raised to almost the same height as the outer stoppers 62, 62 and stopped, and then moved inward together with the outer stoppers 62, 62 by the operation of the outer stopper air cylinders 68, 68. In this state, as in the first state, the bottom stoppers 64 and 64 are positioned below the flange 2a of the lowermost cup-shaped container 2, and the inner stoppers 66 and 66 and the outer stoppers 62 and 62 are lowermost cup-shaped. Inserted between the container 2 and the flange 2a of the cup-shaped container 2 thereon, the second cup-shaped container 2 from the bottom is supported. At this time, the lower rotary transfer means 18 is rotated 90 degrees, and the next transfer holding member 46 is moved to the receiving position F below the container accommodating portion 14. The separating means 16 repeats the above operation again to put the next cup-shaped container 2 into the transfer holding member 46.

  In the previous step, the transfer holding member 46 holding the cup-shaped container 2 separated by the separating means 16 moves to the intermediate position G on the left side of FIG. 2 when the rotary transferring means 18 rotates 90 degrees. Further, when the rotary transfer means 18 is rotated 90 degrees, the transfer holding member 46 holding the cup-shaped container 2 delivered first is moved to the foreign matter removal position H in the lower part of FIG. The cup-shaped container 2 is turned upside down.

  A foreign matter removing means 20 is provided at the foreign matter removing position H. When the cup-like container 2 held by the transfer holding member 46 is stopped in an inverted state, the cup air cylinder 80 is actuated and the vacuum cup 74 is moved. The inside of the cup-shaped container 2 is sealed by being raised and brought into close contact with the flange 2 a formed on the cup-shaped container 2. Further, the nozzle air cylinder 84 is operated to raise the fusible nozzle 82, and the tip thereof is inserted into the cup-shaped container 2. While injecting air into the cup-shaped container 2 from the blast nozzle 82 and sucking the inside of the cup-shaped container 2 through the vacuum cup 74, foreign matter in the cup-shaped container 2 is discharged to the outside through the exhaust duct 78. In the configuration of this embodiment, the foreign matter is removed while the cup-shaped container 2 is inverted, so that the foreign matter can be removed very efficiently. In addition, when the cup-shaped container 2 of the container housing portion 14 is cut out by the separating means 16, the cup-shaped container 2 is in an upright state, so there is no possibility that foreign matter will fall from the upper cup-shaped container 2. Moreover, since the foreign substance removal position H is arrange | positioned in the side position away from the container conveyance conveyor 4, there is no possibility that the cup-shaped container 2 after the foreign substance removal delivered to the container conveyance conveyor 4 will be recontaminated. Furthermore, since the container accommodating portion 14 is not located above the container transport conveyor 4, when the stacked cup-shaped containers 2 are separated, foreign substances that are caught between the overlapping containers 2 are not present. There is no risk of falling into the container 2 on the transport conveyor 4. In particular, since the cup-shaped container 2 has a large opening, foreign matter can easily enter. Therefore, by not providing the container housing portion 14 above the transport conveyor 4, the possibility of foreign matter falling into the container 2 can be greatly reduced. it can.

  When the removal of foreign matter in the cup-shaped container 2 is completed at the foreign matter removal position H, the vacuum cup 74 and the jet nozzle 82 are lowered by the operation of the cup air cylinder 80 and the nozzle air cylinder 84. Thereafter, the rotation transfer means 18 is rotated 90 degrees, and the cup-shaped container 2 after removing the foreign matter is moved to the delivery position J. At the delivery position J, delivery means 22 having a delivery holding member 88 is disposed. By this delivery means 22, the cup-like container 2 is taken out from the transfer holding member 46 of the rotary transfer means 18, and the holder of the container transport conveyor 4. Deliver to plate 10.

  In the delivery means 22, when the piston rod 102 a of the air cylinder 102 is extended, the slide block 94 moves in the direction of the rotary transfer means 18 (left direction in FIG. 2) via the large and small links 98 and 100. A connecting member 104 is rotatably connected to the upper portion of the slide block 94, and a cam follower 106 attached to the connecting member 104 is engaged with a cam groove 110 formed in the cam plate 108. In the cam groove 110, the straight portion 110a on the container transfer means 18 side is at a high position, and when the cam follower 106 is engaged with the straight portion 110a, the connecting member 104 is in an upright state and is supported on the side surface. The holding member 88 faces the direction of the rotation transfer means 18 and becomes horizontal (state shown by a solid line in FIG. 2).

  When the cam follower 106 enters the straight portion 110 a of the cam groove 110, the protruding portion 88 c of the delivery holding member 88 faces horizontally and faces the transfer holding member 46 of the rotary transfer means 18. When the delivery holding member 88 continues to move forward with the movement of the slide block 94, the sealing surface 88a comes into close contact with the flange 2a of the cup-shaped container 2, and the protrusion 88c in which the vacuum hole 88b is formed has a cup shape. It is inserted into the container 2. An opening means 56 is provided at the delivery position J of the rotary transfer means 18, and the air cylinder 58 is operated to advance the fork-like opening member 60. Both side surfaces of the opening member 60 push the rollers 54 and 54 attached to the pair of container holders 50 and 50 apart to separate the container holders 50 and 50 from each other. The cup-shaped container 2 released from being held by the transfer holding member 46 is attracted to the delivery holding member 88 and delivered to the delivery means 22 side.

  Next, when the air cylinder 102 of the delivery means 22 operates and the piston rod 102a contracts, the slide block 94 moves along the slide rail 92 in the right direction in FIG. The cam groove 110 on the side of the conveyor 4 (the right side in FIG. 2) is an inclined portion 110b that gradually descends. As the slide block 94 moves in the right direction in FIG. 2, the cam follower 106 descends and the connecting member 104 It will fall to the side. In this posture, the cup-like container 2 held by the delivery holding member 88 is set in the upright state, that is, the opening portion is directed upward. While the cup-like containers 2 are taken out one by one from the stack of the cup-like containers 2 accommodated upright in the container accommodating portion 14 in this manner, this rotational transfer is carried out while being held by the rotary transfer means 18 and rotated and conveyed. After the foreign matter in the cup-shaped container 2 is removed by being inverted by the means 18 and removed, the cup-shaped container 2 is returned to the upright state by the delivery means 22 and supplied to the container transport conveyor 4. A large-scale device for inverting the stack is not required, and the entire device is compact.

  The cup-shaped containers 2 supplied to the holder plate 10 of the container transport conveyor 4 are sequentially sent to the filling position B, the seal position C, and the trimming position D by the intermittent driving of the container transport conveyor 4, and the filling device 24, After the respective processes are performed by the sealing device 26 and the trimming device 28, they are sent to the next step. In the above-described embodiment, the foreign matter removing means 20 includes the exhaust duct 78 communicating with the vacuum cup 74 and the jet nozzle 82 inserted through the center of the vacuum cup 74, and injects air into the cup-shaped container 2. However, the inside of the container 2 is sucked in, but it is not necessarily limited to such a configuration. For example, a cleaning liquid that sprays cleaning water from a nozzle into the container to wash away foreign substances, or a chemical solution is used. It may be one that sterilizes the inside of the container by spraying and washing, one that sterilizes the container by irradiating light such as ultraviolet rays, or a combination of these. Further, the foreign matter removed by the foreign matter removing means 20 includes other germs such as dust, paper powder, dust, resin powder, and resin pieces.

It is a side view which shows the whole structure of a container filling sealing device. Example 1 It is an enlarged view of the principal part of the said container filling sealing device. It is a top view which shows the transfer holding member and opening | release means of a rotation transfer means. It is a perspective view explaining the separation process of the cup-shaped container by the separation means.

Explanation of symbols

2 Cup-shaped container 4 Conveying conveyor 14 Storage unit 16 Separating means 18 Rotating transfer means 20 Foreign matter removing means 22 Delivery means 44 Rotating shaft 46 Transfer holding member

Claims (2)

A container that stacks and accommodates a large number of cup-shaped containers, a separation means that separates the container at the lowest end of the container accommodated in the container, and a transport that holds and conveys the container separated by the separation means In a container filling and sealing device comprising a conveyor and a foreign matter removing means for removing foreign matter in the container before the separated container is transferred to the transport conveyor,
A foreign substance removing means is disposed below the container, a rotary transfer means for receiving and rotating the container separated by the separating means with the opening facing upward, and receiving the container from the rotary transfer means. A delivery means for delivering to the transport conveyor; and the delivery means moves and retracts the delivery and hold member along the transport direction of the transport conveyor, and holds the container. A moving mechanism for moving the container so as to change from a horizontal state to an upright state, and the rotary transfer means inverts the container received with the opening facing upward, and the foreign object with the opening facing downward. The container filling and sealing device, wherein after removing the foreign matter by the removing means, the container is rotated 90 degrees and then the container is supplied to the conveyor by the delivery means .   The rotary transfer means includes a transfer holding member that rotates about a rotation axis, and a rotation drive means that rotates the transfer holding member, and the transfer holding member holds the container with the bottom portion facing the rotation axis. The container filling and sealing device according to claim 1.

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