JP5017732B2 - Star wheel equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a star wheel device used for transporting containers.

As a transport device used in a container inspection device, while rotating a star wheel having a plurality of pockets on its outer periphery around its axis, it takes the container into each pocket and transports it. A star wheel device is known in which a belt disposed along a part of the outer periphery is brought into contact with a container in a pocket, and rotation is transmitted from the belt to the container to rotate the container (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .
JP 2007-10624 A

  When the rotation speed of the container required by the inspection apparatus is high, in the conventional star wheel apparatus, the container taken into the pocket is accelerated rapidly when it comes into contact with the belt. This may impair the stability of the container being conveyed.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a star wheel device capable of increasing the rotation speed of a container smoothly to a necessary speed and improving the stability of the container being conveyed.

The star wheel device (3) of the present invention includes a star wheel (5) in which a plurality of pockets (10) are arranged in the circumferential direction and driven to rotate about an axis (AX), and an outer periphery of the star wheel. A container main body having a main drive belt (24) in contact with the container on a travel route set along the container, and causing the container to rotate in a predetermined direction in the pocket at a predetermined speed by running the main drive belt; A drive mechanism (7) and a container pre-drive mechanism (6) for rotating the container in the predetermined direction at a speed lower than the predetermined speed on the upstream side of the traveling path of the main drive belt in the conveying direction of the star wheel. ) and equipped with a,
The container pre-drive mechanism has a pre-drive belt (18) that comes into contact with the container on a travel path set to be deviated upstream of the star wheel from the travel path of the main drive belt. By causing the drive belt to travel in the same direction as the main drive belt of the main rotation drive mechanism and at a lower speed than the main drive belt, the container rotates, and the travel path of the main drive belt and the travel of the pre-drive belt the Rukoto and a path not partially overlap with respect to the circumferential direction of the star wheel, which solves the problems described above.

According to the present invention, the container taken into the pocket is first driven by the container pre-drive mechanism and starts rotating in a predetermined direction at a low speed. Thereafter, the container comes into contact with the main drive belt and is accelerated in the same direction, and its rotation speed is increased to a predetermined speed. Therefore, the container can be gradually accelerated as compared with the case where the container is rotated only by the container main drive mechanism. For this reason, the rotation speed of the container can be smoothly increased to a necessary speed, and the stability of the container being conveyed can be improved. Further, by bringing the pre-drive belt into contact with the container, the container can be rotated in advance in a predetermined direction at a low speed, and thereafter, the container can be brought into contact with the main drive belt to increase its rotation speed to a predetermined speed range. . By providing overlapping sections on both travel paths, the container can be moved seamlessly from the low-speed drive state by the pre-drive belt to the high-speed drive state by the main drive belt, and the rotation speed can be smoothly increased.

  In one form of the present invention, around the star wheel, a carry-in part (B) into which a container is taken into each pocket and a carry-out part (C) from which the container is taken out from each pocket are set, and the carry-in part and the above-mentioned An inspection section (D) in which the container is inspected by the inspection device (4) is set between the unloading unit and the main drive belt is driven so that the main drive belt comes into contact with the container in the inspection section. A path may be set, and the container pre-drive mechanism may be provided to rotate the container between the carry-in unit and the inspection section. According to this aspect, the container is pre-rotated at a low speed by the container pre-drive mechanism between the carry-in portion and the inspection section, and then the container is smoothly accelerated to the speed range necessary for the inspection by the main drive belt. it can.

  In a section in which the travel paths of the main drive belt and the pre-drive belt overlap, the end on the downstream side of the travel path of the pre-drive belt is more than the end on the upstream side of the travel path of the main drive belt. The star wheel may be retracted radially outward. According to this embodiment, among the containers in the pockets adjacent to the circumferential direction of the star wheel, the container (2A) on the upstream side in the transport direction is brought into contact with the pre-drive belt, and the container (2B) on the downstream side in the transport direction is driven mainly. Can contact the belt. Thus, as the star wheel rotates, the container gradually moves away from the pre-drive belt, while gradually coming into contact with the main drive belt, and the rotation speed of the container increases more smoothly.

  The pre-drive belt may be provided in a plurality of stages with a distance in the axial direction of the star wheel, and the main drive belt may be located between the pre-drive belts in the axial direction. According to this aspect, the pre-drive belt provided in a plurality of stages can reliably support the container at the rotation start stage and increase its stability.

  In at least one of the main drive belt and the pre-drive belt, the back surface (18b, 24b) of the drive belt in contact with the container may be uneven. According to this aspect, the contact area between the container and the drive belt can be reduced, thereby reducing the possibility of the container and the drive belt sticking, and the stability of the container being conveyed can be further enhanced.

  The traveling direction of each driving belt in the traveling path is set to be the same as the container conveying direction by the star wheel, and the traveling speed of each driving belt is set to be higher than the container conveying speed by the star wheel. Good. According to this aspect, since the pre-drive belt is traveling at a lower speed than the main drive belt and in the same direction as the conveying direction of the star wheel, the container is smoothly taken in between the pre-drive belt and the star wheel. Rotation can be started.

  In addition, in the above description, in order to make an understanding of this invention easy, the reference sign of the accompanying drawing was attached in parenthesis, but this invention is not limited to the form of illustration by it.

  As described above, in the present invention, the first container driving belt and the second container driving belt are arranged along the outer periphery of the star wheel, and the container taken in the pocket is first the first container. Since the container is accelerated by the drive belt, and then the container is accelerated in the same direction by the second container drive belt, the container rotation speed is smoothly increased to the required speed, and the stability of the container during conveyance is increased. Can be increased.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a main part of a container inspection machine in which a star wheel device according to one embodiment of the present invention is incorporated. The container inspection machine 1 includes a star wheel device 3 that conveys a container 2 to be inspected, and an inspection device 4 that inspects the container 2 conveyed by the star wheel device 3. The container 2 is a transparent or translucent bottle for beverages as an example. The inspection device 4 photographs the container 2 conveyed by the star wheel device 3 from the outer peripheral side or the bottom side with a plurality of cameras 4a to 4d, and the presence or absence of defects or foreign matter in the liquid based on the obtained images Inspect. The star wheel device 3 includes a star wheel 5, a container pre-drive mechanism 6, a container main drive mechanism 7, and a rotation stop mechanism 8. The star wheel 5 is a rotating body assembled in a substantially disk shape, and is rotationally driven in a fixed direction (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1) about the axis AX by a motor (not shown).

  On the outer periphery of the star wheel 5, a plurality of pockets 10 for receiving the containers 2 are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. Around the star wheel 5, the carry-in part B and the carry-out part C are set apart from each other by an appropriate interval (about 180 ° as an example) in the circumferential direction of the star wheel 5, and between the carry-in part B and the carry-out part C The inspection section D is set in the. In the carry-in portion B, one container 2 is sequentially taken into each pocket 10 in synchronization with the rotation of the star wheel 5. The containers 2 taken into the pockets 10 are inspected by the inspection device 4 in the inspection section D, and are then transported to the carry-out section C. In the carry-out part C, the container 2 is taken out from the pocket 10 and sent to the next process. Between the pockets 10 of the star wheel 5, a roller 11 as a supporting means is rotatably attached. The roller 11 is provided so that a part of its outer periphery protrudes into the pocket 10. The container 2 taken into the pocket 10 is supported in the radial direction in a state in which the body portion is in contact with the rollers 11 on both sides of the pocket 10 and can rotate around its own axis. A guide rail that guides the container 2 in the transport direction may be provided around the star wheel 5. The support means is not limited to the roller 11 and can be appropriately changed as long as the container 2 can be supported in a rotatable state.

  The container pre-drive mechanism 6 and the container main drive mechanism 7 are provided to rotate the containers 2 in the pocket 10 while supporting the containers 2 taken into the pocket 10 in cooperation with the rollers 11. . The container pre-drive mechanism 6 includes a drive pulley 15, driven pulleys 16 and 17, and a pair of upper and lower pre-drive belts 18 wound around the pulleys 15 to 17 (in FIG. 1, only the upper-stage container drive belt is shown. ) And a driving device (not shown) that rotationally drives the driving pulley 15. The driven pulleys 16 and 17 are arranged so that the pre-drive belt 18 travels along the outer periphery of the star wheel 5 between the carry-in part B and the inspection section D. On the travel path between the driven pulleys 16 and 17, the pre-drive belt 18 contacts at least one container 2, whereby the container 2 is sandwiched between the belt 18 and the roller 11. The number of containers 2 in contact with the belt 18 may be at most several. The drive pulley 15 is rotationally driven so that the belt 18 travels in the same direction as the conveyance direction of the container 2 by the star wheel 5 (direction indicated by the arrow E) in the travel path between the driven pulleys 16 and 17. The traveling speed of the belt 18 is set higher than the conveying speed of the container 2 by the star wheel 5. Therefore, the container 2 sandwiched between the roller 11 and the belt 18 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. An idler 19 is pressed against the belt 18.

  The container main drive mechanism 7 includes a drive pulley 20, driven pulleys 21, 22, and 23, a container drive belt 24 wound around the pulleys 20 to 23, and a drive device 25 that rotationally drives the drive pulley 20. And have. The driven pulleys 22 and 23 are positioned so that the belt 24 comes into contact with all the containers 2 to be inspected located in the inspection section D and is sandwiched between the belt 24 and the roller 11. When viewed from the axial direction of the star wheel 5, the travel path of the belt 18 between the driven pulleys 16 and 17 is biased upstream of the travel path of the belt 24 between the driven pulleys 22 and 23 in the transport direction of the star wheel 5. ing. However, the driven pulley 22 on the upstream side in the transport direction of the container main drive mechanism 7 (closer to the carry-in portion B) is located on the upstream side in the transport direction than the driven pulley 17 on the downstream side in the transport direction of the container pre-drive mechanism 6. Yes. For this reason, the travel paths of the belts 18 and 24 partially overlap with respect to the circumferential direction of the star wheel 5. In addition, the driven pulley 17 is retracted somewhat outward from the driven pulley 22 in the radial direction of the star wheel 5. Therefore, the downstream end portion of the traveling path of the belt 18 recedes outward in the radial direction of the star wheel 5 from the upstream end portion of the traveling path of the belt 24. This point will be described in detail later.

  The drive device 25 rotates the drive pulley 20 by transmitting the rotation output from the electric motor 26 as a drive source from the pulley 27 to the drive pulley 20 via the belt 28. The rotational direction of the drive pulley 20 is set so that the belt 24 travels in the same direction as the conveyance direction of the container 2 by the star wheel 5 (direction indicated by the arrow F) on the travel path between the driven pulleys 22 and 23. Yes. The running speed of the belt 24 is set higher than the conveying speed of the container 2 by the star wheel 5. As a result, the container 2 sandwiched between the roller 11 and the belt 24 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. Moreover, the running speed of the belt 24 is higher than that of the belt 18. In other words, the traveling speed of the belt 18 is lower than that of the belt 24. Therefore, the container 2 taken in and transported into the pocket 10 first starts to rotate by contacting with the belt 18 of the container pre-drive mechanism 6, and then accelerated by contacting with the belt 24 of the container main drive mechanism 7. Rotates at speed. Since the belt 18 is traveling at a lower speed than the belt 24 and in the same direction as the conveying direction of the star wheel 5, the container 2 is smoothly introduced between the belt 18 and the star wheel 5 to start its rotation. Can do. Since the traveling paths of the belts 18 and 24 partially overlap, the container 2 transitions from a low-speed driving state by the pre-driving belt 18 to a high-speed driving state by the main driving belt 24.

  The rotation speed of the container 2 by the container main drive mechanism 7 is set to a value required for the container 2 by the inspection device 4. When the inspection device 4 inspects foreign matter in the liquid, it is necessary to concentrate the foreign matter on the outer periphery of the container 2 by centrifugal force, and the rotation speed required for the container 2 is set to be relatively high. Even in such a case, in the star wheel device 3 of the present embodiment, the rotation speed of the container 2 is increased stepwise by the container pre-drive mechanism 6 and the container main drive mechanism 7, so that only the belt 24 of the container main drive mechanism 7 is used. Compared with the case where the container 2 is rotated by the above, it is possible to avoid the sudden acceleration of the container 2 and suppress unstable behavior such as wobbling of the rotation axis of the container 2, thereby improving the stability of the container 2 during transportation. it can. When the container 2 is rotated only by the belt 24 of the container main drive mechanism 7, the container 2 is stationary in the pocket 10 when the belt 24 starts to contact the container 2 or friction between the container 2 and the guide rail. Therefore, the belt 24 wears at an early stage. In contrast, the container pre-drive mechanism 6 rotates the container 2 at a low speed, and then the container main drive mechanism 7 accelerates the container 2 in the same direction to increase the rotation speed to a required speed range. Therefore, wear of the belt 24 can also be suppressed.

  The rotation stop mechanism 8 is provided to brake and stop the rotation of the container 2 that has passed through the inspection section D. The rotation stop mechanism 8 is wound between a pair of pulleys 30 and 31 that are arranged in the circumferential direction of the star wheel 5 between the inspection section D and the carry-out part C, and between the pulleys 30 and 31. The brake belt 32 is hung. Resistance is applied to the rotation of the pulleys 30 and 31, and the container 2 in the pocket 10 comes into contact with the belt 32 and is braked. As a result, the rotation of the container 2 stops until it reaches the carry-out part C.

  The star wheel device 3 may be provided with a support member that supports the container 2 from the bottom side in a section where the container 2 is sandwiched between the belts 18, 24, 32 and the roller 11. However, when the inspection device 4 has a configuration for photographing or illuminating the container 2 from the bottom side, it is necessary to omit the support member on the bottom side of the container 2 at least in the photographing range or illumination range. . The pressing force of the belt 24 against the container 2 may be set as appropriate. However, for example, when the stability of the container 2 needs to be increased by the belt 24 due to insufficient support from the bottom side, the pressing of the belt 24 is performed. The stability of the container 2 may be increased by increasing the force. When the bottom side of the container 2 cannot be supported, the pressing force of the belt 24 may be set to be particularly strong, and the container 2 may be supported only between the belt 24 and the roller 11. The same applies to the pressing force of the belts 18 and 32 against the container 2. On the other hand, when the container 2 is supported from the bottom side, it is sufficient that the belts 18 and 24 are in contact with the container 2 with a pressing force capable of transmitting a rotational force for rotation to the container 2. It is sufficient if the container 2 is in contact with the container 2 with a pressing force that can provide resistance for stopping the rotation of the container 2.

  FIG. 2 shows the arrangement of the belts 18, 24, 32 when viewed from the outer peripheral side of the star wheel 5. As is clear from FIG. 2, the main drive belt 24 and the brake belt 32 are disposed so as to be in contact with the body portion 2 a of the container 2 at approximately the center in the height direction. On the other hand, the pair of pre-drive belts 18 are arranged so as to sandwich the main drive belt 24 vertically. By providing the container pre-drive mechanism 6 with the two-stage pre-drive belt 18 in the upper and lower stages, the container 2 can be smoothly introduced into the section sandwiched between the pre-drive belt 18 and the star wheel 5 to ensure the container 2 at the rotation start stage. It can support and prevent its fall. In addition, since the main drive belt 24 is disposed between the two stages of the pre-drive belt 18, even if the travel path of the pre-drive belt 18 and the travel path of the main drive belt 24 partially overlap, The belts 18, 24 do not interfere with each other.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a section where the travel paths of the pre-drive belt 18 and the main drive belt 24 overlap. As is clear from FIG. 3, in the section where the travel paths of both belts 18, 24 overlap, the downstream end (the end on the driven pulley 17 side) of the travel path of the pre-drive belt 18 is the main drive belt 24. The star wheel 5 is gradually separated outward in the radial direction with respect to the travel route. Therefore, before and after the position where the traveling paths of the belts 18 and 24 intersect, the container 2A on the upstream side in the transport direction is pre-driven out of the containers 2A and 2B in the two pockets 10 adjacent in the circumferential direction of the star wheel 5. The container 2 </ b> B in contact with the belt 18 and on the downstream side in the transport direction is in contact with the main drive belt 24. Accordingly, the container 2 that rotates in contact with the pre-drive belt 18 gradually comes away from the pre-drive belt 18 while gradually coming into contact with the main drive belt 24. Thereby, the rotation speed of the container 2 can be raised more smoothly from the low speed range when driven by the pre-drive belt 18 to the high speed range when driven by the main drive belt 24.

  As shown in FIG. 3, each of the pre-drive belt 18 and the main drive belt 24 is a timing belt in which engagement surfaces are provided on the winding surfaces 18 a and 24 a for the pulleys. Further, the back surfaces 18b and 24b of the belts 18 and 24 in contact with the container 2 are also uneven. FIG. 4 shows an enlarged view of a part of the pre-drive belt 18. The unevenness of the back surface 18 b is realized by providing protrusions 18 c extending in the entire length in the width direction of the belt 18 at equal pitches in the longitudinal direction of the belt 18. The main drive belt 24 is also provided with irregularities in the same manner as in FIG. By providing irregularities on the back surfaces 18b and 24b, the contact area between the belts 18 and 24 and the container 2 is reduced. Therefore, even if the outer surface of the container 2 or the back surfaces 18b and 24b of the belts 18 and 24 become sticky due to adhesion of contents, the container 2 and the belts 18 and 24 are difficult to stick. Therefore, the wobbling of the rotation axis of the container 2 is suppressed, and the stability of the container 2 is increased. Regarding the belt 32 of the rotation stop mechanism 8, the same uneven shape is given to the back surface 32 b (see FIG. 1) in contact with the container 2. Thereby, the possibility that the container 2 and the belt 32 stick to each other due to friction during rotation braking can be reduced, and the braking belt 32 can be smoothly separated from the container 2 to increase the stability during the conveyance of the container 2.

  In addition, the unevenness | corrugation of a belt back surface (surface in contact with a container) is not restricted to the form shown in FIG. 4, and can be variously changed. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the back surface 18b of the belt 18 may be provided with a plurality of protrusions 18d extending along the longitudinal direction, and as shown in FIG. The protrusion 18e may be provided.

  The present invention is not limited to the form described above, and may be implemented in various forms. For example, the container pre-drive mechanism can be appropriately changed as long as the container can be rotated in the same direction and at a low speed as the container main drive mechanism. For example, the container pre-drive mechanism may be configured to rotate the container by bringing a rotating roller into contact with the container. A plurality of container pre-drive mechanisms may be provided side by side in the conveying direction of the star wheel, and the container may be accelerated in a plurality of stages before the container reaches the container main drive mechanism. The belt used in the star wheel device of the present invention is not limited to the above-described belt having irregularities on the back surface. The star wheel device of the present invention is not limited to an example combined with a container inspection device, and can be applied to a star wheel device for various uses.

The top view which shows the principal part of the container inspection machine with which the star wheel apparatus which concerns on one form of this invention was integrated. The figure which shows arrangement | positioning of each belt when it sees from the outer peripheral side of a star wheel. The top view which expanded the area where each driving path of a pre-drive belt and a main drive belt overlaps. The partial expansion perspective view of a belt. The figure which shows the modification of a belt. The figure which shows the further modification of a belt.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container inspection machine 2 Container 2a Container body 3 Star wheel device 4 Inspection device 5 Star wheel 6 Container pre-drive mechanism 7 Container main drive mechanism 8 Rotation stop mechanism 10 Pocket 11 Roller 18 Pre-drive belt 18b Back surface of pre-drive belt 24 Main drive belt 24b Rear side of main drive belt 32 Brake belt 32b Back side of brake belt B Carry-in part C Carry-out part D Inspection section

Claims (6)

A star wheel formed with a plurality of pockets arranged in the circumferential direction and driven to rotate about an axis;
A main drive belt that contacts the container on a travel route set along the outer periphery of the star wheel, and the container rotates by rotating the main drive belt in the pocket in a predetermined direction at a predetermined speed. A container main drive mechanism,
A container pre-drive mechanism that rotates the container in the predetermined direction at a speed lower than the predetermined speed on the upstream side of the traveling direction of the star wheel from the travel path of the main drive belt;
Equipped with a,
The container pre-drive mechanism has a pre-drive belt that comes into contact with the container on a travel path that is set on the upstream side of the star wheel with respect to the travel path of the main drive belt. By rotating the container in the same direction as the main drive belt of the main rotation drive mechanism and at a lower speed than the main drive belt,
A star wheel device characterized in that a travel path of the main drive belt and a travel path of the pre-drive belt partially overlap in the circumferential direction of the star wheel.   Around the star wheel, there are set up a carry-in part for taking the container into each pocket and a carry-out part for taking out the container from each pocket, and the container is placed between the carry-in part and the carry-out part. An inspection section to be inspected is set, a travel path of the main drive belt is set so that the main drive belt comes into contact with a container in the inspection section, and the container pre-drive mechanism includes the carry-in unit, the inspection section, and the like. The star wheel device according to claim 1, wherein the star wheel device is provided to rotate the container between the two. In a section in which the travel paths of the main drive belt and the pre-drive belt overlap, the end on the downstream side of the travel path of the pre-drive belt is more than the end on the upstream side of the travel path of the main drive belt. The star wheel device according to claim 1 , wherein the star wheel device is retracted radially outward of the star wheel. It provided a plurality of stages said pre drive belt at a distance in the axial direction of the star wheel, claims 1 to 3, the main drive belt and being located between said pre-drive belt with respect to the axial direction The star wheel device according to any one of the above. Among the main drive belt and the pre drive belt, at least one of the drive belt, of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that unevenness on the back of the drive belt in contact with the container is attached The star wheel device according to any one of the above. The travel direction of each drive belt in the travel route is set to be the same as the transport direction of the container by the star wheel, and the travel speed of each drive belt is set higher than the transport speed of the container by the star wheel. The star wheel device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the star wheel device is provided.

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