JP5051783B2 - Container lid joining method - Google Patents

Abstract

A liquid medication (4), a powder medication, or a granular medication is filled into a container body (2) having a tube-like section (2a) and a closed bottom section (2b).  After that, in fitting and mountimg a lid body (3) having a tube-like section (3a) and a closing upper end section (3b) to the container body (2), an elongated spatula (5) is caused to be present between both the tube-like sections (2a, 3a) so as to form a gap therebetween to enable air within the container (1) to be released through the gap.  Then, the elongated spatula (5) is pulled out to allow the pressure within the container (1) to be equal to the atmospheric pressure, and this prevents the phenomenon that the filled medication (4) leaks from the fitting gap between the container body (2) and the lid body (3) after the container body (2) and the lid body (3) are joined together.

Description

  The present invention relates to a container formed by fitting a main body and a lid to each other, and relates to a method of filling the container with a liquid, a powdery body, a granular body or the like, and then coupling the lid to the container main body. It is.

  FIG. 1 shows a conventionally known general container form, which is composed of a cylindrical main body and a cylindrical lid, and the outer diameter of the main body is smaller than the outer diameter of the lid. Of course, the cylindrical lid having a larger outer diameter may be determined as the main body, but the smaller outer diameter is used as the main body in FIG. By the way, this container is filled with liquid medicine, powder medicine, or granular medicine.

  When filling the container with the medicine, remove the lid and separate it from the main body, and after filling the main body with the top open, join the lid and seal it with glue to prevent the lid from coming off. Then dried. The empty container with the lid temporarily joined is randomly placed in the hopper, removed from the hopper by a certain number, the lid is removed, the medicine is packed in the main body, the lid is joined again, Sealed so that the lid does not come off.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-59602 discloses that an apparatus for filling a container with a pharmaceutical product includes an orientation device for orienting the container in a vertical direction so that the upper shell of the container is on the upper side. Sequentially fed to a removal device for removing the upper shell, the device transfers at least one device for inspecting the absence of the container and a still closed container from the orientation device through the inspection device to the removal device A transfer means is provided.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-92393 discloses an apparatus for measuring and filling a medicine container, in particular a container, which is continuously operated and includes a simple and reliable device for detecting the presence of a container and a liquid. And a device for metering and filling drugs designed to be easily applied to both pasty fillings.
That is, a rotating bottom portion in which a hole engaged by a movable piston is formed; a belt for transferring a container; a rotating top portion having a medicine container; a bottom central portion and a rotating central portion integral with the top portion; formed in the central portion The first position in which the container communicates with the hole along each hole in each rotation, and each piston moves downward to be drawn into the drug, and the piston moves upward to open the opening. And a mechanism for controlling movement of the other valve; and one valve configured to travel between the second positions where a predetermined amount of medicine is supplied into the lower container.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-59602 JP-A-6-92393

  Thus, there are various devices for filling a container with a medicine or other substance. Basically, the lid body is removed and the container body is filled with medicine, and then the lid body is put on the container body and joined. There are few problems when the filling is powder or granular material, but when filling the container body with a liquid, the container body and the lid body are fitted so that the liquid does not leak by covering the lid body and joining. The tolerances are tight. However, when the lid is put on the container body and joined, the container internal pressure after joining becomes high.

  That is, the fitting tolerance between the container main body and the lid body is strict, and when the lid body is coupled, the internal air cannot flow out, and after coupling, a high internal pressure state is obtained. Therefore, the air inside the container flows out and tries to reach the same internal pressure as the atmospheric pressure, but the phenomenon that the liquid filled with the outflow of air leaks from the fitting gap between the container body and the lid occurs. To do.

  On the other hand, if the internal pressure is high when the container main body and the lid body are joined together, if the band seal is used, the applied part will be melted temporarily to be soft and bend with the weak part on the circumference as the base point. That is, a banana phenomenon occurs in which the container body and the lid body are bent. The problem to be solved by the present invention is this problem, and provides a coupling method so as not to raise the pressure inside the container when the container body is coupled with a lid.

  The container to which the present invention is applied is composed of a container body and a lid, and the method of coupling the container body and the lid is such that the internal pressure does not increase during the coupling, and the internal pressure is almost atmospheric pressure in the coupled state. Join. Therefore, in the present invention, when covering the lid body, a thin spatula that is thin and excellent in flexibility is inserted into the lid body, and in this state, the lid body is covered and coupled.

  Therefore, when the lid is joined, the thin spatula is curved to fit into the side of the lid body, is sandwiched between the container body and the lid, and the spatula is removed when the joining is completed. Of course, when the spatula is withdrawn, it is pressed so that the lid does not come off at the same time. Here, the spatula is thin, bendable and has excellent flexibility, and the specific shape and material are not limited. Here, not only the case where the spatula is inserted into the lid body, but also the lid body may be coupled in a state of being addressed to the outer surface of the main body.

  In the container coupling method according to the present invention, when a container body is covered with a lid, the spatula is coupled in this state by inserting a thin and highly flexible spatula. Accordingly, the spatula is sandwiched between the inner surface of the lid and the outer surface of the container main body, so that a slight gap is formed around the spatula between the container main body and the lid, and air flows out from this gap. To do. Therefore, the inner pressure of the container does not increase when the lid is coupled, and becomes equal to the atmospheric pressure.

  Therefore, the liquid filled in the state in which the lid is coupled does not leak from between the container main body and the lid, and the lid does not bend so as to come off. That is, the banana phenomenon does not occur. On the other hand, in the past, in order to suppress an increase in the internal pressure when the lid is coupled, the coupling speed of the lid may be slowed. However, in the present invention, the internal pressure increases even if the lid is coupled quickly. Therefore, productivity is improved.

  FIG. 1 is a specific example showing a container 1, which consists of a main body 2 and a lid 3, and the outer diameter of the main body 2 is smaller than the outer diameter of the lid 3, that is, the main body 2 is thinner than the lid 3. Yes. The present invention is a method of joining the lid 3 by filling the main body 2 with a liquid medicine, a powdery medicine, or a granular medicine, and the pressure inside the container is not increased in this joining step. ing. By the way, when the liquid medicine, powder medicine, or granular medicine is filled, the lid 3 is removed and filled into the main body 2, and the lid 3 is bonded and glued (sealed) so as not to come off. Then dry.

2 (a) to 2 (d) are examples showing a container coupling step according to the present invention. In (a), the main body 2 and the lid 3 are separated, the main body 2 is almost filled with the liquid medicine 4, and a thin spatula 5 is inserted along the inner surface of the lid 3. The hand side of the spatula 5 is smoothly curved, the tip portion extends straight, and is along the inner surface of the lid 3.
(B) is just before the cover body 3 couple | bonds with the main body 2, and the spatula 5 is inserted along the inner surface of the cover body 3. FIG.
(C) is a case where the lid 3 is coupled to the main body 2. In the figure, the lid 3 is disposed at a fixed position, and the main body 2 can be coupled to the lid 3 by raising. In this case, the spatula 5 is coupled to the main body 2 in a state where the spatula 5 is positioned along the inner surface of the lid 3.
In (d), the main body 2 is raised and joined to the lid 3, and then the spatula 5 is removed.

  FIG. 3 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. The body 2 and the lid 3 are coupled to each other, and the inside of the container is filled with the liquid medicine 4, and the tolerance of the body 2 and the lid 3 that are fitted to each other so that the liquid medicine 4 does not leak out is It is made strictly. In the present invention, the spatula 5 is fitted between the main body 2 and the lid 3 which are fitted with this strict tolerance. Here, the spatula 5 is made of a thin material having excellent flexibility. For example, SUS316-H, titanium, titanium NT or the like is suitable, but it is not particularly limited. Further, the material of the container 1 is also elastic enough to prevent damage when the spatula 5 is inserted between the main body 2 and the lid 3.

  By the way, the containers 1, 1... Are randomly accommodated in the hopper with the lids 3, 3... Joined, and the containers 1 taken out one by one from the hopper are removed by the lid 3. The liquid medicine is filled inside. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the lid 3 is covered and joined, and then the joint portion of the lid 3 is sealed and dried.

  In this case, the containers 1, 1... Stored in the hopper are random, the direction when taking out is not constant, and liquid medicine can be filled into the main body 2 when the main body 2 is reversed. Absent. Therefore, the direction of the container 1 taken out from the hopper is corrected, the lid 3 is removed with the main body 2 facing down, and the main body 2 is filled with liquid medicine from the upper end opening.

  The present invention relates to a method for joining the main body 2 and the lid 3 and does not limit the method for taking out the containers 1, 1... Randomly accommodated in the hopper and the reversing mechanism. The containers 1, 1... In the hopper fall into the receiving holes of the rotating body provided on the outer periphery of the rotary table, and the direction of the container 1 that is dropped and stored may be reversed. Inverted and aligned in the correct orientation. The container 1 dropped and accommodated in the correct orientation with the main body 2 facing down is left as it is, and only the container 1 that has fallen in the reverse direction with the lid 3 facing down is inverted, and all containers 1, 1.・ Direction is unified.

When the main body 2 is unified toward the lower side, the lid 3 is removed, and the main body 2 is filled with the liquid medicine 4, or the powder medicine or the granular medicine. Then, the lid 3 is attached again, sealed, and then dried. FIG. 4 shows a series of steps in which the container 1 drops from the hopper, puts liquid medicine, powdery medicine or granular medicine into the main body 2, and then the lid 3 is dried.
(A) of the figure is the correct orientation with the main body 2 facing down, while (b) is the reverse orientation with the lid 3 facing down. Therefore, as shown in (b), when the direction of the container 1 dropped from the hopper is reverse, the lid 3 is removed after reversing, and the liquid medicine or powder medicine or granular is removed from the main body 2. Filled with medicines.

  FIG. 5 is a specific example showing the reversing mechanism of the container 1, in which 29 is a hopper, 26 is a rotary table, and 27 is a rotating body. A large number of containers 1, 1... Are accommodated in the hopper 29 at random, and the container 1 drops from a drop hole 7 of a pipe 6 extending downward from the central axis of the hopper 29.

  The hopper 29 is attached to the upper end of the support column 8 standing up from the base 31, and a guide pipe 9 is provided on the outer periphery of the pipe 6 (the pipe 6 fits into the hole of the guide pipe 9), and the guide pipe 9 moves up and down. Installed as possible. That is, the swing pipe 9 is fitted with the pipe 6, and the upper end thereof is located at the center bottom of the hopper 29, and acts to guide the containers 1, 1... In a random state to the drop hole 7 of the pipe 6. . The guide pipe 9 can be moved up and down through the rod 11 by the operation of the air cylinder 10 provided on the base side. That is, the container 1 in the hopper 29 can be moved up and down in synchronization with the intermittent rotational movement of the rotary table 4 so that the containers 1 fall into the hole 7 one by one.

  On the other hand, the rotary table 26 is supported by a support column 12 rising from a base 31, and a support shaft 13 passes through the support column 12. The rotation table 26 is attached to the upper end of the support shaft 13. The lower end portion of the support shaft 13 extends downward from the support column 12, and a pulley 14 is attached to the lower end. The pulley 14 rotates via a timing belt (not shown), so that the rotary table 26 can also rotate. . In this case, the rotary table 26 is driven to rotate intermittently by 90 °.

  There are various mechanisms for intermittently driving the rotary table 26, but in general, a cam is used, and the other pulley connected to the pulley 14 via a timing belt is attached to the cam to perform an intermittent motion. It is composed. This intermittent motion is generally used in a feeding device for supplying a material to a press machine, and the description thereof is omitted here.

  Rotating bodies 27, 27,... Having a horizontal axis in the radial direction are attached to the outer periphery of the rotary table 26. The rotating body 27 has a receiving hole 15 into which the container 1 is fitted in the vertical direction, The engaging piece 16 is provided so as to protrude from the outer periphery of the rotary table 26. Therefore, the container 1 dropped from the hopper 29 and passing through the hole 7 fits into the accommodation hole 15 of the rotating body 27. A push-up pin 17 is provided below the accommodation hole 15 of the rotating body 27, and the push-up pin 17 can be moved up and down by the air cylinder 30.

  There are various height (length) dimensions of the container 1, and there are a plurality of containers 1, 1... Stacked continuously in the pit 7. The container 1 may be engaged with the receiving hole 15, and the container 1 is raised by the push-up pin 17. Therefore, it is assumed that one container 1 is accommodated in the accommodation hole 15 of the rotating body 5, and the upper container 1 does not fall and enter the accommodation hole 15 even when the push-up pin 17 is lowered. Can be adsorbed by air.

  Thus, the container 1 fitted in the accommodation hole 15 of the rotating body 27 rotates 90 ° with the rotation of the rotary table 26, and the orientation of the container 1 is detected at this position. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing the state of the container 1 accommodated in the accommodation hole 15 of the rotating body 27. FIG. 6A shows the correct orientation, the main body 2 is located on the lower side, and the lid 3 is located on the upper side. On the other hand, FIG. 6B shows a case where the container 1 is in the reverse direction, in which the main body 2 is located on the upper side and the lid 3 is located on the lower side.

  A substantially ring-shaped base 18 is provided on the lower side of the rotating body 27, and the main body 2 is fitted into a hole 19 formed in the base 18 and protrudes downward. However, when it is formed in the reverse direction as shown in (b), the outer diameter of the lid 3 is large and does not fit into the hole 19. Therefore, it is possible to know the orientation of the container 1 by detecting the main body 2 protruding downward from the base 18 with a sensor. Thus, the accommodation hole 15 of the rotating body 27 and the hole 19 of the base 18 form a stepped hole.

  FIG. 7 is a front view of the rotary table 26. Rotating bodies 27, 27,... Are rotatably supported at four locations on the outer periphery of the rotary table 26. Each rotating body 27, 27,. 16, 16, ... protrudes. A base 18 is provided on the lower side of the rotary table 26, and the body 2 of the container 1 that projects into the hole 19 by being fitted in the hole 19 can be detected by a sensor 20 provided on the lower side of the base 18. I can do it. A push-up pin 21 is attached below the hole 19, and the push-up pin 21 can be moved up and down by the operation of the air cylinder 22.

  When the rotary table 26 rotates, it is necessary to push up the main body 2 of the container 1 fitted in the hole 19 as shown in FIG. 6A, and a lid in which a lower end is partially fitted as shown in FIG. 6B. It is necessary to push up the body 3. Therefore, the container 1 can be pushed up by raising the push-up pin 21 by the operation of the air cylinder 22. The rotary body 27 in which the rotary table 26 rotates and accommodates the container 1 while being pushed up to a predetermined height rotates its position by 90 °.

  If the rotary table 26 is rotated 90 °, the engaging piece 16 that protrudes to the outside of the rotating body 27 is engaged with the concave groove of the engaging portion 23 as shown in FIG. Since the engaging piece 16 forms an elongated horizontal portion, the rotating table 26 is rotated, so that the engaging piece 16 is fitted into a groove that is also cut out horizontally. Therefore, if the engaging portion 23 rotates 180 °, the engaging piece 16 and the rotating body 27 engaged with the concave groove of the engaging portion 23 also rotate 180 °.

Accordingly, the container 1 fitted in the receiving hole 15 of the rotating body 27 in the reverse direction is inverted so that the direction is corrected and the main body 2 is positioned on the lower side and the lid 3 is positioned on the upper side.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, as shown in FIG. 7, the orientation of the container 1 is detected by the sensor 20, and when the container 1 is in the correct orientation, the engaging portion 23 does not rotate, but the container 1 When the direction of 1 is opposite, the engaging portion 23 can rotate 180 ° to correct the direction of the container 1.

  By the way, when the direction of the container 1 is corrected in this way, the lid 3 is removed according to the process shown in FIG. 4 and the liquid medicine 4 is injected into the main body 2. And if the liquid medicine 4 is inject | poured into the main body 2, the cover body 3 will cover and it will couple | bond together again. When the lid 3 is coupled, a thin and flexible spatula 5 as shown in FIG. 2 is inserted in order to prevent the internal pressure from increasing, and when the lid 3 is coupled, the spatula 5 is joined. Is extracted.

  When the lid 3 is attached in this manner, the lid 3 is sealed so as not to come off. Thereafter, in order to dry the paste used for this seal, it is guided to a drying process and dried. In the present invention, the sealing method and the drying method are not limited. In addition, there is no limitation on the liquid medicine 4, the filling method of powdery medicine or granular medicine, and the method of removing the lid 3.

Specific examples of containers. The lid joining method according to the present invention, wherein the lid is attached to the main body. The AA cross-sectional enlarged view of FIG.2 (c). A series of steps to fill a container with a substance. The Example which shows the inversion mechanism based on this invention. The direction of the container that fits into the receiving hole of the rotating body. The front view of the turntable provided with the rotary body.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container 2 Main body 3 Cover body 4 Liquid medicine 5 Spatula 6 Pipe 7 Pit hole 8 Post 9 Guide pipe
10 Air cylinder
11 Rod
12 props
13 Spindle
14 pulley
15 receiving hole
16 Engagement piece
17 Push pin
18 base
19 holes
20 sensors
21 Push-up pin
22 Air cylinder
23 Engagement part
24 axes
25 prop
26 Rotating table
27 Rotating body

Claims (4)

In a container formed by fitting a main body and a lid, in which the main body is filled with a liquid medicine, a powdery medicine, or a granular medicine, and then the lid is fitted to the main body and combined, A thin and flexible spatula is inserted along the inner surface of the lid having a large outer diameter, and the lid is fitted to the main body in this state, and a slight gap is formed by the spatula between the sides to be fitted to each other. A method for joining container covers, wherein the spatula is removed after the air inside is drained and the covers are joined. In a container formed by fitting a main body and a lid, in which the main body is filled with a liquid medicine, a powdery medicine, or a granular medicine, and then the lid is fitted to the main body and combined, A thin and flexible spatula is placed along the outer surface of the main body with a small outer diameter. In this state, the lid is fitted to the main body, and a slight gap is formed by the above spatula between the mating side surfaces. A method for joining container lids, wherein the air is removed and the spatula is pulled out after joining the lids. In a container formed by fitting a main body and a lid, in which the main body is filled with a liquid medicine, a powdery medicine, or a granular medicine, and then the lid is fitted to the main body and combined, A thin and flexible spatula is inserted along the inner side of the main body with a large outer diameter, the lid is fitted to the main body in this state, and a slight gap is formed by the above spatula between the side surfaces to be fitted to each other. A method for joining container lids, wherein the air is removed and the spatula is pulled out after joining the lids. In a container formed by fitting a main body and a lid, in which the main body is filled with a liquid medicine, a powdery medicine, or a granular medicine, and then the lid is fitted to the main body and combined, A thin and flexible spatula is placed along the outer surface of the lid with a small outer diameter. In this state, the lid is fitted to the main body, and a slight gap is formed between the sides to be fitted with each other by the spatula. A method for joining container covers, wherein the spatula is removed after the air inside is drained and the covers are joined.

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