JP5003021B2 - Capper - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a capper, and more particularly, to a drive-in type capper in which a cap held by a capping head is lowered toward a lower container and pushed into a mouth of the container to be fitted.

  In the case of ordinary containers such as bottles that have been used in the past, the bottom of the container is placed on the transport surface and transported in an upright state, which is a so-called bottom transport system. In the capper, the neck of the container is supported by a pocket-type neck guide to center the container and receive the load.

  The driving type capper is required to have higher centering accuracy than the screw type capper. In the case of a screw-type capper, since there is a backlash between the screws formed on the container and the cap, a slight shift of the centering can be tolerated. If the centering position is deviated, the cap cannot be driven and the cap may be damaged, and the demand for the centering accuracy is extremely high. Therefore, in the case of the bottom-carrying type drive-in capper, the clearance between the neck guide and the container is increased so that the container follows the cap side when the cap is driven so that the cap and the container are centered. I have to.

However, in recent years, lightweight containers such as PET bottles have been widely used, and such lightweight containers cannot perform stable conveyance with the bottom conveyance method in which the container is conveyed in an upright state on the conveyance surface. For this reason, neck transport is performed in which the neck gripper is gripped and transported in a suspended state. In the case of neck conveyance in which the container is gripped by the neck gripper as described above, there is no clearance between the neck gripper and the container, so that high mechanical accuracy is required. Moreover, even if the assembly accuracy of the machine is increased, there is a problem that stable driving cannot be performed if there is an error in the accuracy of the container. Therefore, conventionally, a screw capper by neck conveyance is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1), but a drive-in type capper does not exist.
JP 2003-26289 A (page 2-4, FIG. 1)

  An object of the present invention is to obtain a capper capable of stably driving a driving-type cap in neck conveyance.

The present invention relates to a capping head that holds a cap and can be moved up and down, a flange formed in a container and a neck gripper that grips the flange formed below the container, and an opening / closing means that opens and closes the neck gripper. A container supply means for supplying a container to the neck gripper, and a capping head holding the cap is lowered and driven into the container supplied from the container supply means and held by the neck gripper In addition, the neck gripper is opened to form a clearance between the flange of the container or below and the neck gripper, and the container is gripped again after the driving is completed .

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the neck gripper contacts the lower side of the flange when holding the container, and opens to support the lower surface side of the flange when driving the cap. Is.

  Further, according to the invention of claim 3, the neck gripper has a groove for receiving the flange of the container on the surface for gripping the container, and when the container is gripped, the groove is brought into contact with the outer surface of the flange, When driving, the lower surface of the flange is supported by the inner surface of the groove.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a capping head for holding a cap and a flange formed on the container or a neck gripper for gripping the lower side of the flange are provided. After gripping the container with the neck gripper, open the neck gripper once to form a clearance between the flange of the container or below and the neck gripper, and lower the capping head holding the cap in this state. A cap is driven into the container, and the container is gripped again after the driving is completed .

  The capper of the present invention is designed so that a clearance is formed between the neck gripper and the outer surface below the flange of the container when the cap is driven by lowering the capping head into the container held by the neck gripper. By opening the gripper, even if the centering between the cap held by the capping head and the mouth of the container is slightly shifted, the container can move following the cap. The effect that it can be plugged in is obtained.

  A capping head that can be moved up and down while holding a cap, and a neck gripper that is disposed below the capping head and can be opened and closed by an opening and closing means, and a container supplied from the container supply means is formed at the neck portion When the capping head moves downward while holding the cap, the neck gripper is opened and a clearance is formed between the container and the neck gripper. With the configuration that the cap is driven, the object of enabling the cap to be driven even in the case of neck conveyance is achieved.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing the entire arrangement of a filling line equipped with a capper according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the main part of the capper, and FIG. 3 is a III direction of FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view of a neck gripper provided in the capper. In this embodiment, the container 4 into which the cap 2 is driven is a lightweight resin container such as a plastic bottle. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, which will be described later, the cap 2 is disposed inside a cylindrical outer peripheral wall 2a. It has an annular outer ring 2b and an inner ring 2c. The inner ring 2c is inserted into the mouth portion 4a of the container 4, and the outer ring 2b is fitted to the outer surface side of the mouth portion 4a of the container 4. Thus, the mouth 4a of the container 4 is sandwiched from both sides. An annular convex portion 2ba is formed at the lower end of the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring 2b, and this convex portion 2ba engages with the thick portion 4aa formed on the upper end outer surface side of the container mouth portion 4a, so that the cap 2 It is designed to prevent falling off.

  The resin containers 4 such as plastic bottles conveyed by the air conveyor 6 are cut at a predetermined interval by the infeed screw 8 and delivered to the supply wheel 10. The container 4 whose neck is gripped by a gripper (not shown) of the supply wheel 10 is rotated and conveyed to the rinser 12. The container 4 supplied into the rinser 12 is cleaned while the neck is gripped and rotated. The cleaned container 4 is supplied to the filler 16 via the first intermediate wheel 14 and filled with liquid while being neck-conveyed in the filler 16, and then the second container 18 is used to implement the present invention. It is supplied to the capper 20 according to the example. In the capper 20, the supplied container 4 is gripped by the neck gripper 22 shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 at the lower side 4 c of the flange 4 b (see FIG. 6), and the cap 2 is driven in while being rotated and conveyed. Thereafter, the container 4 is discharged onto the discharge conveyor 26 via the discharge wheel 24. In the discharge conveyor 26, the container 4 is placed in an upright state on the conveyance surface, and supported by the bottom surface 4d and conveyed.

  The capper 20 is provided with a plurality of neck grippers 22 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral portion of the rotating body 28. Further, above each neck gripper 22, a capping head 30 that holds the cap 2 and descends and drives it into the mouth 4 a of the container 4 is disposed. The capping head 30 includes a rod 32 that moves up and down and a chuck 34 that is provided at the lower end of the lifting rod 32 and holds the cap 2 by suction. A cam follower 36 is attached to the upper part of the lifting rod 32 and engages with an annular cam (hereinafter referred to as a chuck lifting cam 38) disposed above the rotating body 28. Accordingly, the lifting rod 32 and the chuck 34 are moved up and down.

  The neck gripper 22 will be described with reference to FIGS. The neck gripper 22 includes a pair of grip members 44 and 46 attached to upper ends of two vertical rotating shafts 40 and 42 that are rotatably supported by the rotating body 28, respectively. Arc-shaped concave portions 44a and 46a having inner diameters substantially coincident with the outer diameters of the portions 4c below the flange 4b of the container 4 are formed on the surfaces of the tip portions of the grip members 44 and 46 facing each other. Gears 48 and 50 are attached to the lower ends of the rotary shafts 40 and 42, respectively, and mesh with each other.

  Both the grip members 44 and 46 are connected by a spring 52 in the vicinity of the center thereof, and the distal end portions are always attracted to each other. A cam follower 54 is attached to the rear side of the rotating shaft 40 of one grip member 44, and an annular cam (hereinafter referred to as a gripper opening / closing cam 56) disposed on the lower side of the rotating body 28. Is engaged. As the rotating body 28 rotates, the cam follower 54 rotates along the gripper opening / closing cam 56 and rotates the one grip member 44 according to the shape of the gripper opening / closing cam 56. Since the one grip member 44 to which the cam follower 54 is attached and the other grip member 46 are engaged with gears 48 and 50 fixed to the lower ends of the respective rotary shafts 40 and 42, the one grip member 44 is engaged with each other. Is rotated by the gripper opening / closing cam 56, the other grip member 46 is rotated by the same amount in the direction opposite to the direction in which the grip member 44 rotates, and the pair of grip members 44, 46 approach each other, Separate.

  The operation of the capper 20 according to the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 and FIGS. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the positions of the cam curves of the chuck raising / lowering cam 38 and the gripper opening / closing cam 56 in the rotational direction, and the upper chuck raising / lowering cam 38 shows the cam curve as shown in FIG. The lower gripper opening / closing cam 56 shows the size of the diameter of the cam curve, with the upper side showing the larger diameter side and the lower side showing the smaller diameter side.

  The containers 4 transported by the air conveyor 6 are separated at predetermined intervals by the infeed screw 8, and then the supply wheel 10, the rinser 12, the first intermediate wheel 14, the filler 16, and the second intermediate wheel 18 are neck transported. Then, each process such as cleaning and filling is performed while being sequentially delivered, and then supplied to the capper 20. The neck grippers 22 provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the capper 20 are opened and closed according to the shape of the gripper opening / closing cam 56, and at the container supply position A from the second intermediate wheel 18. The cam follower 54 is in contact with the large-diameter portion 56a (see FIG. 4) of the gripper opening / closing cam 56, and both grip members 44, 46 are open. When the container 4 is inserted between the opened grip members 44 and 46 from the second intermediate wheel 18, both grips are taken while the cam follower 54 passes through the transition portion 56 b toward the small diameter side of the gripper opening / closing cam 56. When the members 44 and 46 gradually approach and the cam follower 54 moves to the small diameter portion 56c, the grip members 44 and 46 are completely closed, and the portion 4c below the flange 4b of the container 4 is gripped from both sides. (A position where both grip members 44 and 46 are closed and grip the container 4 is indicated by 56A in FIG. 5).

  On the other hand, the chuck raising / lowering cam 38 is at the highest position at the position A where the container 4 is supplied from the second intermediate wheel 18 to the capper 20, and the chuck 34 attached to the raising / lowering rod 32 of the capping head 30 is raised. is doing. Subsequently, when the cam follower 36 reaches the lowering start position 38 </ b> A (see FIG. 5) of the chuck raising / lowering cam 38, the chuck 34 is lowered together with the raising / lowering rod 32, and the cap 2 attracted and held by the chuck 34 is attached to the container 4. It approaches the mouth portion 4a (see FIG. 6A). When the chuck 34 starts to descend, the cam follower 54 of the neck gripper 22 is in contact with the smallest diameter portion 56c of the gripper opening / closing cam 56, and the flange 4b of the container 4 is closed with both grip members 44, 46 closed. The lower part 4c of this is gripped.

  When the cap 2 held by the chuck 34 descends and approaches the opening 4a of the container 4, the diameter of the gripper opening / closing cam 56 slightly increases, and both grip members 44 and 46 are slightly opened ( The position at which the gripper opening / closing cam 56 slightly opens the gripper 22 is indicated by 56B in FIG. 5). At this time, the distance between the grip members 44 and 46 is small, and a clearance is formed between the inner surfaces of the arc-shaped concave portions 44 a and 46 a of the grip members 44 and 46 and the outer surface of the container 4. The bottom surface of the flange 4b is supported by both grip members 44 and 46 without opening larger than the diameter of the flange 4b (see FIG. 6B). When the both grip members 44 and 46 are slightly opened, the outer ring 2 b and the inner ring 2 c of the cap 2 are not in contact with the mouth 4 a of the container 4. This is because when the cap 2 is brought into contact with the container 4 and the grip members 44 and 46 are opened to form a clearance with the outer surface of the container 4, there is an error in the assembly accuracy of the machine and the accuracy of the container 4. This is because the cap 2 may interfere with the container 4 and deform the outer ring 2b or the inner ring 2c.

  Thereafter, the lowering of the chuck 34 continues, and the driving of the cap 2 is started (the position at which the chuck raising / lowering cam 38 is plugged is indicated by 38B in FIG. 5). After the chuck 34 is lowered to the lowest position and driven, and the cap 2 is completely driven into the mouth 4a of the container 4 (see FIG. 6C), the cam follower 54 of the grip member 44 is again gripped. The container 4 is gripped again by moving to the smallest diameter portion of the opening / closing cam 56 (the re-grip position of the gripper opening / closing cam 56 is indicated by 56C in FIG. 5). After both grip members 44 and 46 of the neck gripper 22 grip the container 4 again, the cam follower 36 starts to rise by the chuck lifting cam 38, and the chuck 34 releases the cap 2 as shown in FIG. 6 (d). (The rising start position of the chuck raising / lowering cam 38 is indicated by 38C in FIG. 5). If the chuck 34 is lifted and released from the cap 2 with the neck gripper 22 being slightly opened, the container 4 is shaken by centrifugal force, so that the container 4 is returned to the state firmly gripped by the neck gripper 22. Then, the chuck 34 is raised.

  After the driving of the cap 2 is completed and the chuck 34 is lifted off the cap 2, the neck gripper 22 reaches the container discharge position B where the container 4 is transferred from the capper 20 to the discharge wheel 24. The cam 56 gradually shifts from the smallest diameter portion to the large diameter portion, and both grip members 44 and 46 are gradually opened, and the gripped container 4 is released and discharged from the capper 20.

  In the above embodiment, when gripping the lower part 4c of the flange 4b formed on the container 4 by the both grip members 44, 46 of the neck gripper 22 and driving the cap 2, the grip members 44, 46 are opened and the container is opened. 4 is formed with a clearance with respect to the outer surface of the flange 4 and the lower surface side of the flange 4b is supported by the grip members 44 and 46. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, FIG. A configuration as shown in FIG. Since these embodiments are different from the first embodiment only in the configuration of the neck gripper and other configurations are the same, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, horizontal V-grooves 144a and 146a are formed in arcuate recesses (gripping surfaces) for gripping the containers 4 of both grip members 144 and 146 of the neck gripper 122, and the neck gripper When the container 4 is gripped by 122, the flange 4b is fitted in the V grooves 144a and 146a of the grip members 144 and 146, and the outer surfaces of the flange 4b are brought into contact with the bottom sides of both surfaces of the V grooves 144a and 146a. (See FIG. 7A). When the cap 2 is driven into the container 4, when the cap 2 sucked and held by the chuck 34 of the capping head 30 descends and approaches the mouth 4 a of the container 4, the grip members 144 and 146 are slightly moved. To open. Then, the lower surface side of the flange 4b of the container 4 is supported in a state of being placed on the lower surface of the V grooves 144a and 146a of the grip members 144 and 146 (see FIG. 7B).

  Further, the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is a modification of the embodiment of FIG. 7, and a U-shaped groove 244a is formed in the arc-shaped recesses (container gripping surfaces) of both grip members 244 and 246 of the neck gripper 222. 246a is formed. In this embodiment, when gripping the container 4, both grip members 244 and 246 are brought close to each other so that the outer peripheral surface of the flange 4b of the container 4 is brought into contact with the bottom surface of the U-shaped grooves 244a and 246a. When the cap 2 is driven into the container 4, both grip members 244 and 246 are slightly opened, and the lower surface of the flange 4b of the container 4 is supported on the lower surfaces of the U-shaped grooves 244a and 246a.

  Also in these embodiments, the grip members 144, 146, 244 and 246 of the neck grippers 122 and 222 are brought close to each other and brought into contact with the outer surface of the container 4 (the outer surface of the flange 4b) while the container 4 is being rotated and conveyed. The grip members 144, 146, 244, and 246 are opened to form a clearance with the outer surface of the container 4 and the lower surface side of the flange 4b is supported only while the cap 2 is driven in. Even if the axis of the container 4 and the cap 2 is deviated, centering is performed by moving the container 4 along the cap 2, and stable driving can be performed without damaging the cap 2. Can do.

It is a top view which simplifies and shows arrangement | positioning of the whole filling line containing a capper. Example 1 It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the principal part (capping head and neck gripper) of a capper. FIG. 3 is a view in the direction of arrow III in FIG. 2. It is a top view of a neck gripper. It is a figure which shows the cam curve of the cam for chuck raising / lowering and the cam for neck gripper opening / closing. FIGS. 4A to 4D are operation explanatory diagrams sequentially showing the process of driving the cap. FIGS. 7A and 7B are partial cross-sectional views showing the process of driving the cap with the capper of the second embodiment. (Example 2) FIGS. 7A and 7B are partial cross-sectional views showing the process of driving the cap with the capper of the third embodiment. (Example 3)

Explanation of symbols

2 Cap 4 Container 4b Flange 4c Below flange 18 Container supply means (second intermediate wheel)
22 Neck gripper 30 Capping head 56 Opening / closing means (gripper opening / closing cam)

Claims (4)

A capping head that holds a cap and can be raised and lowered, a neck gripper that is disposed below the capping head and grips a flange formed on the container or below the cap, an opening / closing means for opening and closing the neck gripper, and the neck gripper Container supply means for supplying the container to
When the capping head holding the cap is lowered and driven into the container supplied from the container supply means and held by the neck gripper, the neck gripper is opened to open the flange of the container or below the container. And a neck gripper to form a clearance and grip the container again after the driving is finished .   The capper according to claim 1, wherein the neck gripper abuts below the flange when gripping the container and opens to support the lower surface side of the flange when driving the cap.   The neck gripper has a groove for receiving the container flange on the surface for gripping the container. When gripping the container, the neck gripper is brought into contact with the outer surface of the flange, and when the cap is driven, The capper characterized by supporting the lower surface of a flange by an inner surface. A capping head for holding the cap, and a flange formed on the container below the capping head or a neck gripper for gripping the lower side of the flange.
After the supplied container is gripped by the neck gripper, the neck gripper is once opened to form a clearance between the flange of the container or below and the neck gripper, and the capping head holding the cap in this state is provided. A capping method comprising: lowering and driving a cap into a container; and gripping the container again after the driving is completed .

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