JP4947625B2 - Can transporter - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a can conveyance device used in a production line for cans such as beverage cans, and more particularly to a can conveyance device that suppresses a jumping phenomenon of a can.

Conventionally, in the production line for beverage cans such as canned beer and can juice, in the beverage can manufacturing process, the washing process, and the beverage filling process leading to the contents filling process, the cans are connected by connecting the processes. A can conveyance device for conveyance is installed.
For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a device that transports a can by ejecting pressurized air toward the outer peripheral surface of the can as a device that transports a substantially bottomed cylindrical can.

As shown in FIG. 3, the can conveying apparatus includes a top guide 2 and a bottom guide 3 that extend in the conveying direction so as to be sandwiched in the axial direction of the can 1, and guide the conveyance of the can 1. And an assist nozzle 4 provided with a plurality of through holes 4a for blowing the compressed air.
In this can conveyance device, for example, when supplying a plain can (bright can) to a printing machine, a propulsion angle is attached to the wall portion (outer peripheral surface 1a) of the can 1 in order to follow the production speed as the speed increases. The blower air is sprayed from the through hole 4a of the assist nozzle 4 to assist the conveyance.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-242312

The following problems remain in the conventional technology.
For example, when transporting a plain can, the plain can is not flange-molded, and the can causes a jumping phenomenon (can pulsation) when the cans are connected downstream due to the frictional resistance unique to the plain can. was there. In particular, a jumping phenomenon is likely to occur when a plain can is taken into a star wheel that feeds the plain can into a printing machine. When this jumping phenomenon occurs, the cans violently collide with each other, and the “linear dents” that are parallel or slightly oblique horizontal line dents to the bottom of the cans, or those that have a small “linear dent” or a length that occurs at the bottom There was a possibility that "micro dents" of 5 mm or less would occur on the outer peripheral surface of the can. In particular, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since the cans are conveyed at high speed by the blower air from the assist nozzle, the cans tend to collide with each other. Further, compared to the case where the conveyance path is horizontal, in the case of the conveyance path in an inclined state or a vertical state, the weight of the can due to free fall is added, so that a jumping phenomenon is more likely to occur.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a can conveyance device that can suppress a jumping phenomenon in a conveyance process and prevent a quality defect on the appearance of the can.

  The present invention employs the following configuration in order to solve the above problems. That is, the can conveying device of the present invention is a device for conveying a substantially bottomed cylindrical can, which extends in the can conveying direction and guides the outer peripheral surface side of the can so as to face each other. A conveying conduit for guiding the can in the conveying direction, having an outer peripheral surface guiding wall, a bottom guiding wall for guiding the bottom side of the can, and an opening guiding wall for guiding the opening side of the can; A positive pressure mechanism that supplies pressurized air into the transport pipeline from a plurality of pressurized air supply holes provided in the transport pipeline to bring the internal pressure of the transport pipeline into a positive pressure state. Features.

  In this can conveyance device, the positive pressure mechanism supplies pressurized air into the conveyance pipeline from a plurality of pressurized air supply holes provided in the conveyance pipeline, thereby bringing the internal pressure of the conveyance pipeline into a positive pressure state. When the cans collide with each other, the impact is mitigated by the air cushion effect due to the positive pressure state, and the jumping phenomenon can be suppressed. In addition, since the conveyance pipeline is brought into a state close to sealing by the pair of outer peripheral surface guide walls, the bottom guide wall, and the opening guide wall, the internal pressure of the conveyance pipeline can be easily set to the positive pressure state.

  In the can conveyance device of the present invention, the pressurized air supply hole is provided on one of the pair of outer peripheral surface guide walls so as to eject pressurized air toward the outer peripheral surface of the can. It is characterized by that. That is, in this can conveying device, the pressurized air supply hole is arranged on one of the outer peripheral surface guide walls and is provided so as to eject the pressurized air toward the outer peripheral surface of the can. The outer peripheral surface is brought into contact with the guide wall and conveyed. Therefore, when the pressurized air supply hole is provided in the bottom guide wall or the opening guide wall and the can is conveyed while being in contact with the bottom guide wall or the opening guide wall, the can is more stable than the can is easily tilted. The compressed air is supplied between the outer peripheral surfaces of the adjacent cans, and a more air cushion effect can be obtained.

  Further, in the can conveyance device of the present invention, the conveyance pipeline has a curved portion extending in a curved shape, and the pressurized air supply hole is formed on the outer circumferential surface guide wall on the inner circumferential side in the curved portion. It is provided. That is, in this can conveyance device, since the pressurized air is supplied from the inner peripheral side toward the outer peripheral side so as to be urged in the direction along the centrifugal force in the curved portion, the can is guided to the outer peripheral surface on the outer peripheral side. It is conveyed while contacting the wall. Therefore, conversely, when pressurized air is supplied from the outer peripheral side against the centrifugal force in the curved portion, the can is easily disturbed and the posture of the can is easily disturbed, while in the present invention, The can can be transported in a smooth and stable posture.

  Moreover, the can conveyance device of the present invention is characterized in that the positive pressure mechanism sets the upstream side to a higher positive pressure state with respect to the downstream side of the conveyance pipeline. That is, in this can conveyance device, by setting the upstream side to a higher positive pressure state with respect to the downstream side of the conveyance pipeline, the upstream side of the conveyance pipeline becomes a high internal pressure, and there is a gap between adjacent cans. Arise. Therefore, the pushing pressure from the can supply device can be relieved on the upstream side of the transport pipeline, and the jumping phenomenon in the can collision on the downstream side can be further suppressed.

  In the can conveyance device of the present invention, the positive pressure mechanism includes a pressure adjusting unit that adjusts an internal pressure of the conveyance pipeline. In other words, this can transport device includes a pressure adjusting unit that adjusts the internal pressure of the transport pipe. Therefore, the internal pressure of the transport pipe is adjusted according to the transport speed of the can, the size of the can, and the like. A pressure state can be formed.

  In addition, the can conveyance device of the present invention includes a can urging mechanism that urges the can in the conveyance direction by blowing pressurized air toward the can from a plurality of blowing holes provided in the conveyance pipeline. The blow-out holes are formed in the bottom guide wall and the opening guide wall. That is, in this can conveyance device, since the blowing hole for supplying pressurized air for urging the can is formed in the bottom guide wall and the opening guide wall, the pressurized air is blown to the outer peripheral surface side of the can Compared to the above, the escape amount of the pressurized air is small, and the can can be assisted efficiently from the bottom side and the opening side without requiring useless blower pressure for high-speed tracking.

The present invention has the following effects.
That is, according to the can conveyance device according to the present invention, the positive pressure mechanism supplies the pressurized air into the conveyance pipe line from the plurality of pressurized air supply holes provided in the conveyance pipe line to thereby increase the internal pressure of the conveyance pipe line. Therefore, the jumping phenomenon can be suppressed by the air cushion effect, and linear dents and minute dents due to contact between cans can be prevented. Therefore, even at a high production speed, it is possible to prevent poor quality in appearance and reduce the supply error of cans and realize smooth conveyance.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a can conveyance device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the can conveyance device 10 of the present embodiment conveys a substantially bottomed cylindrical can 1 made of, for example, aluminum or an aluminum alloy from a single-row supply device 11 to a printing machine. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the can conveying device 10 extends in the conveying direction of the can 1 and is an inner outer peripheral surface guide wall that is a side guide that opposes each other and guides the outer peripheral surface 1 a side of the can 1. 12 and an outer peripheral surface guide wall 13 (a pair of outer peripheral surface guide walls) and a bottom guide wall 14 as a bottom guide for guiding the bottom 1b side of the can 1 and an opening as a top guide for guiding the opening 1c side of the can 1 A chute (conveying conduit) 16 having a guide wall 15 for guiding the can 1 in the conveying direction, and a plurality of assist ejection holes (blowing holes) 17 provided in the chute 16 toward the can 1. And a can urging mechanism 18 that urges the can 1 in the conveying direction by blowing pressurized air.

The chute 16 includes a horizontally extending horizontal portion 16A having an upstream end connected to the single row supply device 11, and a curved portion 16B having an upstream end connected to the downstream end of the horizontal portion 16A and extending in a curved shape. The upstream end is connected to the downstream end of the curved portion 16B, and the downstream end is connected to the printing machine, and the vertical portion 16C extends vertically.
The outer peripheral surface guide wall 13 extends so as to be arranged on the outer peripheral side in the curved portion 16B, and the inner peripheral surface guide wall 12 extends so as to be arranged on the inner peripheral side in the curved portion 16B. ing.

Further, the can conveyance device 10 has a positive pressure mechanism 21 that supplies pressurized air into the chute 16 from a plurality of pressurized air supply holes 20 provided in the chute 16 to bring the internal pressure of the chute 16 into a positive pressure state. is doing.
The can urging mechanism 18 includes a bottom assist box 22 serving as a pressurized air chamber provided outside the bottom guide wall 14 and a pressurized air chamber provided outside the opening guide wall 15. The top side assist box 23 is provided.

  The bottom guide wall 14 and the opening guide wall 15 are provided with assist ejection holes 17 through which the pressurized air in the assist box is ejected so as to urge the can in the transport direction. The bottom assist box 22 and the top assist box 23 are connected to a blower 24 that supplies pressurized air. The assist ejection holes 17 are formed in a single row or a plurality of rows at predetermined intervals in the extending direction of the chute 16, and the jet direction of the pressurized air is set at an angle of 45 ° with respect to the transport direction. Yes. In the present embodiment, the assist ejection holes 17 in the bottom guide wall 14 are formed in a single row, and the assist ejection holes 17 in the opening guide wall 15 are formed in two rows.

Further, the bottom guide wall 14 is set so as to be able to advance and retreat together with the bottom side assist box 22 in the direction facing the opening guide wall 15, and the distance from the opening guide wall 15 can be adjusted. That is, the distance between the bottom guide wall 14 and the opening guide wall 15 can be adjusted according to the size of the can 1 to be conveyed. For example, when the can 1 is a 350 ml can, the bottom guide wall 14 is moved inward to narrow the distance from the opening guide wall 15, and when the can 1 is a 500 ml can, the bottom guide wall 14 is turned outward. The distance between the opening guide wall 15 and the opening guide wall 15 is increased.
Further, a sealing sponge 28 is installed in the gap between the bottom side assist box 22 and the top side assist box 23 and the inner peripheral surface guide wall 12 and the outer peripheral surface guide wall 13, and the inside of the chute 16 is substantially sealed. It is said.

The positive pressure mechanism 21 includes an internal pressure air box 25 provided outside the inner peripheral surface guide wall 12. Further, the inner peripheral surface guide wall 12 penetrates the pressurized air in the internal pressure air box 25 in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the can 1 facing (direction perpendicular to the conveying direction), that is, facing can. A plurality of pressurized air supply holes 20 that are ejected in a direction toward the outer peripheral surface 1a are provided.
The outer peripheral surface guide wall 13 is formed with a plurality of opening holes 26 for discharging the air in the chute 16 to the outside.

Further, the internal pressure air box 25 is connected to the blower 24 via an internal pressure adjusting valve (pressure adjusting unit) 27, and the internal pressure of the chute 16 can be adjusted by the internal pressure adjusting valve 27.
Further, the positive pressure mechanism 21 sets the upstream side to a higher positive pressure state than the downstream side of the chute 16. That is, in the present embodiment, the chute 16 is adjusted by dividing the air pressure of the pressurized air into five divided parts of the parts A1 to A5 in order from the upstream side to the downstream side, and the internal pressure is adjusted from the upstream side to the downstream side. In this order, it is divided into four divided parts, part B1 to part B4, in order.

  For example, top side assist (assist ejection hole 17 in the opening guide wall 15), bottom side assist (assist ejection hole 17 in the bottom guide wall 14), side (pressurized air supply hole 20 in the inner peripheral surface guide wall 12). ), The set pressure (air pressure) of the pressurized air is set as shown in Table 1 below for 350 ml cans and divided as shown in Table 2 below for 500 ml cans. ing. Moreover, the opening hole 26 in the outer peripheral surface guide wall 13 is set so that the opening diameter and the number of formation thereof are a predetermined opening ratio with respect to the effective area of the entire chute 16.

  By setting the air pressure and the opening ratio of the opening hole 26, the internal pressures at the divided portions of the portion B1 to the portion B4 of the chute 16 are set as shown in Table 3 below for the 350 ml can, and the table below for the 500 ml can 4 is set. As shown in Tables 3 and 4, in the 350 ml can, the internal pressure is changed according to the site of the chute 16, but in the 500 ml can, the area of the can 1 is large and the jumping phenomenon is caused even if the internal pressure is relatively low. Therefore, the internal pressure in each part of the chute 16 is set constant.

  Thus, in this embodiment, the positive pressure mechanism 21 supplies pressurized air into the chute 16 from the plurality of pressurized air supply holes 20 provided in the chute 16 to bring the internal pressure of the chute 16 into a positive pressure state. Therefore, when the cans 1 collide with each other, the impact is mitigated by the air cushion effect due to the positive pressure state, and the jumping phenomenon can be suppressed. Moreover, since the chute | shoot 16 is made into the state close | similar to sealing with the outer peripheral surface guide wall 13, the inner peripheral surface guide wall 12, the bottom part guide wall 14, and the opening part guide wall 15, the internal pressure of the chute | shoot 16 is easily a positive pressure state. Can be.

  Further, since the pressurized air supply hole 20 is provided on the inner outer peripheral surface guide wall 12 so as to eject the pressurized air toward the outer peripheral surface of the can 1, the can 1 is formed on the outer peripheral surface guide wall 13 on the outer peripheral surface. Is conveyed in contact with each other. Therefore, the can 1 is more stable than the case where the pressurized air supply hole 20 is provided in the bottom guide wall 14 or the opening guide wall 15 and the can is conveyed while contacting the bottom guide wall 14 or the opening guide wall 15. The compressed air is supplied between the outer peripheral surfaces of the adjacent cans 1, so that an air cushion effect can be obtained. In particular, when the chute 16 is in an inclined state or a vertical state as in the present embodiment, the can posture can be maintained even in a situation where a damping phenomenon is likely to occur due to the free weight of the can 1 due to free fall and the conveyance assist with pressurized air. And a sufficient air cushion effect can be obtained, and damage due to collision between cans 1 can be prevented.

  Furthermore, since pressurized air is supplied from the inner peripheral side toward the outer peripheral side so as to urge in the direction along the centrifugal force in the curved portion 16B, the can 1 is in contact with the outer outer peripheral surface guide wall 13. Be transported. Therefore, on the contrary, when pressurized air is supplied from the outer peripheral side against the centrifugal force in the curved portion 16B, the conveyance of the can 1 is braked and the posture of the can 1 is easily disturbed. In the embodiment, the can 1 can be transported in a smooth and stable posture.

  Further, by setting the upstream side to a higher positive pressure state with respect to the downstream side of the chute 16, the upstream side of the chute 16 has a high internal pressure, and a gap is generated between adjacent cans 1. Therefore, the pushing pressure from the single row supply device 11 can be reduced on the upstream side of the chute 16, and the jumping phenomenon in the collision of the can 1 on the downstream side can be further suppressed.

Further, since the internal pressure adjusting valve 27 for adjusting the internal pressure of the chute 16 is provided, the internal pressure of the chute 16 is adjusted according to the conveyance speed of the can 1 and the size of the can 1 to form a desired positive pressure state. be able to.
Further, since the assist ejection holes 17 for supplying pressurized air for urging the can 1 are formed in the bottom guide wall 14 and the opening guide wall 15, pressurized air is supplied to the outer peripheral surface 1 a side of the can 1. Compared to the case of spraying, the escape amount of the pressurized air is small, and the can 1 can be efficiently assisted from the bottom 1b side and the opening 1c side without needless blower pressure for high-speed tracking.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, in the above embodiment, the internal pressure of the chute 16 can be adjusted by the internal pressure adjusting valve 27, but the internal pressure of the chute 16 may be adjustable by making the opening area of the opening hole 26 variable.
Moreover, although the can 1 is conveyed to the printing machine by the can conveyance apparatus 10, you may apply to the process conveyed to the apparatus used by other processes, such as a spray apparatus for inner peripheral surface coating.

  Next, the investigation of the occurrence of dents of “linear dents” and “micro dents” when the can 1 is actually conveyed using the can conveyance device according to the present invention will be specifically described.

  In this dent occurrence investigation, the processing speed was changed, and the number of samplings was 100. The dents that occurred were classified as “minimal” if they were 10 mm or less, “small” if they were less than 11-20 mm, and “medium” if they were 20 mm or more. The results of the investigation are shown in Table 5 below for 350 ml cans and in Table 6 below for 500 ml cans. In addition, as a comparative example, the results of the dent occurrence investigation are also shown in Table 7 below for the case where the 500 ml can was similarly transported using the conventional can transport apparatus shown in FIG.

  As shown in Table 7, when transported by a conventional can transport apparatus, dents of “small” or less occur at any processing speed, and many dents of “medium” or more occur particularly at 1500 cpm. (Incidence: about 78%). On the other hand, as shown in Tables 5 and 6, it was found that no “minimal” dents were generated at any processing speed when the cans were transported by the can transporting apparatus of this example (occurrence rate). : 0%). As described above, in this embodiment, there is no quality defect on the appearance of the can 1 from a low processing speed to a high processing speed.

In one Embodiment of the can conveyance apparatus which concerns on this invention, it is a schematic side view which shows the whole. In this embodiment, it is principal part sectional drawing in the surface orthogonal to the conveyance direction which shows a can conveyance apparatus. In the conventional example of the can conveyance apparatus which concerns on this invention, it is principal part sectional drawing in the surface orthogonal to the conveyance direction.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Can, 1a ... Can outer peripheral surface, 1b ... Can bottom, 1c ... Can opening, 12 ... Inner outer periphery guide wall, 13 ... Outer outer periphery guide wall, 14 ... Bottom guide wall, 15 ... Opening Guide wall, 16 ... Chute (conveyance line), 16B ... Curve portion, 17 ... Assist ejection hole (blowing hole), 18 ... Can urging mechanism, 21 ... Positive pressure mechanism, 27 ... Internal pressure adjustment valve (pressure adjustment portion) )

Claims (5)

An apparatus for conveying a substantially bottomed cylindrical can,
A pair of outer peripheral surface guide walls extending in the conveying direction of the can and facing each other to guide the outer peripheral surface side of the can, a bottom guide wall guiding the bottom side of the can, and an opening side of the can An opening guide wall that guides the can in the transport direction;
A positive pressure mechanism for supplying pressurized air into the transport pipeline from a plurality of pressurized air supply holes provided in the transport pipeline to bring the internal pressure of the transport pipeline into a positive pressure state ;
A can urging mechanism that urges the can in the transport direction by blowing pressurized air from the plurality of blowing holes provided in the transport pipe toward the can;
The can conveying apparatus , wherein the blowing hole is formed in the bottom guide wall and the opening guide wall . The can conveying device according to claim 1,
The can conveying device, wherein the pressurized air supply hole is arranged on one of the pair of outer peripheral surface guide walls and is provided so as to eject pressurized air toward the outer peripheral surface of the can. The can conveying device according to claim 2,
The conveyance pipeline has a curved portion extending in a curved shape,
The can conveying apparatus, wherein the pressurized air supply hole is provided in the outer peripheral surface guide wall on the inner peripheral side in the curved portion. The can conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The said positive pressure mechanism sets an upstream side to a higher positive pressure state with respect to the downstream side of the said conveyance pipe line, The can conveyance apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The can conveyance device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The can transporting apparatus, wherein the positive pressure mechanism includes a pressure adjusting unit that adjusts an internal pressure of the transport pipe.

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