JP4779376B2 - Air conveyor - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conveyor that supports a lower surface side of a flange formed at a neck portion of a container by rails arranged on both sides, and slides and conveys the rail by blowing air to the mouth of the container. is there.

  Lightweight containers such as PET bottles are unstable when transported while standing by a normal conveyor, and are therefore widely transported with the neck flange suspended by an air conveyor (for example, patents) Reference 1).

  The air conveyor described in this Patent Document 1 (referred to as a bottle air transport device in this publication) extends along the bottle transport track, and has a collar formed at the lower end of the bottle neck. It has a pair of collar guides (corresponding to the rails of the present invention) that are slidably engaged, and in the state where the bottle is suspended from the collar guides, the mouth neck is located above the collar. Air is blown and transported. A transport duct is provided above the collar guide as means for blowing air. The brim guides are strip-shaped plates, and a pair of left and right ribs are provided so as to project a predetermined amount from the left and right side edges of the conveyance groove on the lower wall of the conveyance duct. Smaller than the inner diameter, and slidably supports the lower surface of the collar portion.

  The conveyance duct has a quadrangular cross section, and a rectangular conveyance groove into which the mouth and neck of the bottle is inserted is provided on the lower surface. The inside of the transport duct is an air chamber filled with pressurized air, and an air outlet that ejects the pressurized air in the air chamber toward the transport walls in the groove walls (upper wall and left and right walls) of the transport groove. Are provided along the transport track.

In the air conveyor, the pressurized air blown out from the duct is discharged downward from between the rails on both sides at the time of conveyance. When the container to be transported is a PET bottle, the mouth portion is relatively large and has a shoulder portion that is inclined from the mouth portion to the trunk portion. It is almost unaffected by and can be transported smoothly.
JP 2004-189363 A (page 2-3, FIG. 1)

  In the case of a shape that has a relatively large mouth portion such as a PET bottle and has a shoulder portion that is inclined from the mouth portion toward the lower trunk portion, it is pulled out below the rail as described above. Because it is not affected by the air coming in, it is suitable for transport by air conveyor, but in the case of a container with a relatively small mouth and rectangular body like a pouch container There is a problem that it cannot be smoothly conveyed because it is greatly affected by the air coming out and shakes back and forth. In addition, a part of the pouch container that is transported in a dense state in the front and back may be blown up by the air that comes out. In this case, the front and rear pouch containers are pushed by the puffed container which is swollen, the transport posture is inclined to the side, the friction with the rail is increased, and the transport may not be performed smoothly.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there are provided a support rail which is arranged on both sides in the container transport direction and is inserted between a plurality of flanges formed on the container to support the container, and the container supported by the support rail. In an air conveyor provided with a pressure chamber having a blowout port for blowing air to the mouth portion, an upright wall provided with the blowout port is formed on the bottom surface of the pressure chamber so as to extend above the upper end surface of the mouth portion of the container. And forming an upper wall continuously covering the top of the mouth of the container continuously to the upper end of the upright wall, and further providing a plate in the vertical direction across the upright wall and the mouth of the container, one of the support rails to the lower end of the upstanding walls, the other support rails provided below said plate, between the plate and the upper wall, or one between said plate and the other support rail It is characterized in that an opening for releasing the air blown out from the serial outlet.

  In the air conveyor of the present invention, the air outlet is provided on the side in the container conveying direction, and the opening for releasing the air blown from the outlet is provided between the pressure chamber and the rail. Since the amount of air that escapes downward from the space is reduced, even if the container has a small mouth and a flat body like a pouch container, the posture is smooth without being unstable due to the influence of exhaust air. Can be transported.

  The air conveyor which arranges the rail which supports the flange formed in the container on both sides in the conveyance direction of the container, and blows and conveys air from the outlet provided in the pressure chamber to the mouth of the container supported by the rail. The air outlet is formed on the side in the transport direction, and an opening is provided between the pressure chamber and the rail to allow air to escape, so that the discharged air does not affect the transport of the container. Achieved the goal of

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an air conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a case where the so-called pouch container 2 is transported will be described. The pouch container 2 is a body portion 2a having a rectangular flat shape made of a flexible and lightweight material at the bottom, and a plastic plug 2b is attached to the center of the upper end of the body portion 2a. The mouth plug 2b has a mouth portion 2c opened at an upper end surface, and three-stage flanges 2d, 2e, and 2f formed at a lower portion thereof. In this embodiment, between the three flanges 2d, 2e, and 2f, the middle and lower flanges (hereinafter, the middle flange is referred to as the second flange 2e and the lower flange is referred to as the third flange 2f), The container 2 is conveyed in a state where support rails 4 and 6 described later are inserted and suspended. The portion 2g between the second flange 2e and the third flange 2f has a substantially square shape so that the suspended container 2 does not rotate during conveyance.

  Two parallel support rails 4 and 6 are arranged along the conveyance path of the container 2. Both of these support rails 4 and 6 are narrower than the outer diameter of the second flange 2e formed on the cap 2b of the container 2, and smaller than the width of the narrow portion 2g between the second flange 2e and the third flange 2f. Are arranged in parallel at large intervals. Inner ends 4a, 6a of the support rails 4, 6 facing each other are inserted between the second flange 2e and the third flange 2f to suspend the container 2.

  A pressure chamber (air duct) 8 to which pressurized air is supplied from an air supply source (not shown) is disposed above the two support rails 4 and 6. The air duct 8 has a substantially rectangular cross section composed of both side walls 8a and 8b, a top surface 8c, and a bottom surface 10. An air passage 12 for advancing the container 2 by applying the pressure of the air is formed in the bottom surface 10 of the air duct 8. On the bottom surface 10 of the air duct 8, an upright wall 10 a is formed at a position close to the container 2 supported by the support rails 4, 6 and extends upward from the upper end surface of the plug 2 b. Further, a horizontal upper wall 10b covering the upper end of the stopper 2b of the container 2 and the upper side of the support rail 6 on the other side is connected to the upper end of the upright wall 10a, and the upright wall 10a of the upper wall 10b is further provided. An inclined wall 10c is formed extending obliquely downward from the opposite end. The space surrounded by the upright wall 10a, the upper wall 10b, and the inclined wall 10c is narrow between the cap 2b of the container 2 supported by being suspended by the support rails 4 and 6, and the upright wall 10a. The space between the inclined wall 10c and the plug 2b is wide.

  The side of the bottom surface 10 of the air duct 8 where the upright wall 10a is formed is directly fixed on one support rail (the right support rail 4 in FIG. 1). Further, on the side where the inclined wall 10c is formed, the space between the outer end 6b of the other support rail 6 and the upper wall 10b is fixed via a spacer 14.

  An upright wall 10a is formed at a position close to the stopper 2b of the container 2 supported by the support rails 4 and 6 on both sides, and fixed to the upper wall 10b on the opposite side across the stopper 2b. A plate 16 is provided. The plate 16 extends in the vertical direction from the upper wall 10 b of the bottom surface 10, and a gap 18 is formed between the lower end portion of the plate 16 and the upper surface of the support rail 6. This gap 18 serves as an air escape opening which will be described later. Since the plate 16 is provided on the opposite side of the upright wall 10a across the stopper 2b of the container 2 supported by the support rails 4 and 6 on both sides as described above, the pressure in the air passage 12 can be increased. The container 2 can be transported effectively. When this plate 16 is not provided, the air pressure acting on the container 2 becomes weak, so it is necessary to increase the air pressure supplied into the air duct 8, and the blower (not shown) must be enlarged. The plate 16 is installed in parallel with the upright wall 10a. In this embodiment, the air escape opening 18 is continuously provided along the transport path of the container 2. It is not limited to continuous ones.

  A large number of air outlets 20 for blowing air from the rear side in the transport direction of the container 2 toward the stopper 2b of the container 2 are formed in the upright wall 10a at a predetermined interval. When the pressurized air is blown from the air outlet 20 to the stopper 2b of the container 2, the second flange 2d of the container 2 slides forward on the support rails 4 and 6 on both sides. A space surrounded by the upright wall 10b, the plate 16, and the upper wall 10b above the support rails 4 and 6 is an air passage 12, and is blown into the air passage 12 from the air outlet 20. The air is discharged to the outside of the air passage 12 through an air escape opening 18 formed mainly on the opposite side of the air outlet 20.

  The operation of the air conveyor according to the above configuration will be described. The container (pouch container) 2 has three-stage flanges 2d, 2e, 2f on the outer periphery of the stopper 2b, and support rails 4 on both sides between the second flange 2e and the third flange 2f, 6 is inserted and supported in a suspended state. Pressurized air is supplied from an air supply source (not shown) to a pressure chamber (air duct) 8 provided above the support rails 4 and 6 on both sides, and this pressurized air is applied to the bottom surface 10 of the air duct 8. A large number of air outlets 20 formed in the provided upright wall 10 b are blown out in the transport direction of the container 2. The container 2 moves forward by blowing air blown from the outlet 20 onto the part of the stopper 2b that is on the support rails 4 and 6.

  In the conventional configuration, the air blown out from the air blowing port 20 is blown to the mouth portion of the container and at the same time escapes from between the support rails on both sides. In this embodiment, however, the air blowing port 20 The air escape opening 18 is provided between the plate 16 fixed downward from the upper wall 10b and the support rail 6 on the opposite side of the air escape opening 20 from the air escape opening 20 to the outside. To be discharged. Accordingly, since the air discharged to the lower side of the support rails 4 and 6 on both sides is greatly reduced, the body portion 2a of the pouch container 2 is very unlikely to be affected by the discharged air, and it is smooth without shaking back and forth. It is conveyed to.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the air conveyor according to the second embodiment. In this embodiment, the structure of the air passage 12 that blows and conveys air to the cap 2b of the container 2 is different from that of the first embodiment, and only this different portion will be described, and other identical portions are not described. The same reference numerals are given and description thereof is omitted.

  An upright wall 10a, an upper wall 10b and an inclined wall 10c are formed on the bottom surface 10 of the air duct 8 provided on the support rails 4 and 6 on both sides, and the opposite side of the upright wall 10a with the cap 2b of the container 2 interposed therebetween. A plate 116 is provided. In the first embodiment, the plate 16 attached to the opposite side of the upright wall 10b is attached downward from the upper wall 10b, and the gap 18 is formed between the lower end portion and the support plate 6. In the embodiment, the plate 116 is fixed upward on the support rail 6, and the air passage 12 is formed by the upright wall 10 a and the upper wall 10 b of the bottom surface 10 and the plate 16. A gap 118 is formed between the upper end of the plate 116 and the lower surface of the upper wall 10b. The gap 118 constitutes an opening for air escape.

  Also in this embodiment, the pressurized air introduced into the air duct 8 is blown into the air passage 12 from the air outlet 20 formed in the upright wall 10a of the bottom surface 10, and is transported to the cap 2b of the container 2 in the conveying direction. The container 2 is advanced by being sprayed from the rear side. On the other hand, the pressurized air blown into the air passage 12 is mainly discharged to the outside from the air relief opening 118, and the amount of air discharged downward between the support rails 4 and 6 is greatly reduced. . Therefore, similarly to the first embodiment, the discharged air does not affect the transport posture of the container 2 and can be transported smoothly.

It is a cross-sectional view of the air conveyor according to the first embodiment. Example 1 It is a cross-sectional view of the air conveyor according to the second embodiment. (Example 2)

Explanation of symbols

2 Container (pouch container)
2b Mouth (plug)
2e Flange (2nd flange)
4 rails (support rails)
6 rail (support rail)
8 Pressure chamber (air duct)
18 Opening (Opening for air release)
20 Air outlet

Claims (1)

A support rail which is disposed between the flanges formed on the container and which is inserted between the flanges formed in the container to support the container, and a blowout port which blows air to the mouth of the container supported by the support rail. An air conveyor with a pressure chamber having
On the bottom surface of the pressure chamber is formed an upright wall provided with the outlet, which extends upward from the upper end surface of the container mouth, and continuously covers the upper end of the container continuously from the upper end of the upright wall. forming a top wall, furthermore, provided with a plate in a vertical direction to face each other across the mouth of the upright wall and the container, one of the support rails to the lower end of the upstanding wall, the other support below the plate A rail is provided, and an air outlet is provided between one of the plate and the upper wall or between the plate and the other support rail to release the air blown from the outlet. Conveyor.

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