JP5589272B2 - Conveying device and aseptic filling system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for conveying a container by a gas jet, and more particularly, to a technique that enables a container to be stably conveyed without damaging the container.

  Conventionally, a technique for continuously conveying a plurality of containers by a gas jet is known. In this transport method, the object to be transported is typically a container that is not suitable for high-speed transport in a mounted state because of its light weight and poor stability, specifically, an empty PET bottle for beverages, etc. is there. As an example, this transport method can be used to transport an empty container in a filling system that fills a container with a liquid content such as a beverage (for example, Patent Document 1).

  A resin container for liquid usually has a collar portion (also called a neck ring) made of a circumferential projection formed in the vicinity of the opening. In Patent Document 1, the container is supported from below by a neck guide rail that extends along the conveyance path, receives a gas jet in a state of standing substantially along the vertical direction, and is slid and conveyed on the neck guide rail. To go.

In addition, side guide rails are provided on both sides of the container to be transported so that the shake (tilt) of the container during transport is regulated. That is, the container is pushed forward by the gas jet while the posture is maintained by the side guide rail.
Japanese Patent No. 3328337

  By the way, in recent years, in order to stimulate purchase will, not only the contents filled in the container but also the designability of the container is regarded as important. Therefore, containers having various shapes have been introduced into the transfer device.

  For this reason, a pair of guide rails must be arranged so as not to interfere with all types of containers to be transported. On the other hand, if the side guide rails are arranged at positions where they cannot interfere with all types of containers, it is impossible to stably guide all types of containers with the side guide rails. As a result, the variation in the container conveyance speed increases.

  If the posture of the container being transported becomes unstable, the container supported by the neck guide rail will shake greatly. And a container may be pinched in the attitude | position inclined by the neck guide rail or the side guide rail, and may stop in that state. In this case, unless the posture of the container is corrected, the transport of the container by the transport device cannot be resumed. That is, there is a problem that the container cannot be stably conveyed. In general, a transport device that connects between some processing steps is required to constantly and stably supply containers to subsequent processes. In particular, in an aseptic filling system, when the use of the aseptic filling apparatus is started, an aseptic filling process of the aseptic filling apparatus is required. And this aseptic start-up process is very complicated and requires cost and time. Therefore, there is a strong demand to constantly and stably supply containers to the filling device so as not to stop the filling device.

  In addition, if the containers cannot be transported at a constant speed, two transported containers may collide in the transport path. When the containers collide with each other, the colliding containers may not only be shaken greatly and caught between the neck guide rails or the side guide rails, but also a problem that the containers are damaged (for example, crushed) may occur. In particular, when a subsequent container collides with a container that is inclined between the neck guide rail or the side guide rails, the container is very easily damaged.

  In recent years, not only from the viewpoint of cost reduction but also from the viewpoint of consideration of environmental problems, the container has been strongly reduced in thickness, and as a result, the container is easily damaged. In particular, in an aseptic filling system, it is not necessary to heat sterilize the contents together with the container. Therefore, the shape of the container filled with the contents by the aseptic filling system is designed without giving rigidity against pressure reduction deformation caused by the temperature of the contents being lowered after the heat sterilization. Under such a recent trend, breakage of containers during transportation is becoming more and more problematic.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such points, and it is possible to stably transport a container without damaging the container when the container is transported by a gas jet. It is aimed.

  A transport device according to the present invention is a transport device that transports a container by a gas jet, and includes a side guide rail that extends along a transport path of the container, and a lateral direction of the side guide rail. And a lateral position adjusting means for adjusting the position along the line steplessly.

  In the transport apparatus according to the present invention, the lateral position adjusting means may include a motor for driving the side guide rail in the lateral direction.

  In addition, the conveying device according to the present invention may further include height direction position adjusting means for steplessly adjusting the position along the height direction of the side guide rail. In the conveying apparatus according to the present invention, the height direction position adjusting unit may include a motor that drives the side guide rail in the height direction.

  Further, the transport device according to the present invention further includes a control device that controls the lateral position adjusting means, and the control device is disposed at a preset position corresponding to the container to which the side guide rail is transported. As described above, the lateral position adjusting means may be controlled. Alternatively, the transport device according to the present invention further includes a control device that controls the lateral position adjusting means and the height direction position adjusting means, and the control device corresponds to a container in which the side guide rail is transported. The lateral position adjusting means and the height direction position adjusting means may be controlled so as to be arranged at a preset position. In these transport apparatuses according to the present invention, the position of the side guide rail set in advance corresponding to the container to be transported may be different depending on the position along the transport path of the container.

  Furthermore, the transport device according to the present invention is configured to transport a container having a collar portion formed as a circumferential projection by a gas jet, extends along the transport path, and extends from below to the collar portion of the container. You may make it further provide the neck guide rail which contact | abuts and supports the said container, and the gas injection mechanism which blows a gas jet to the container supported by the said neck guide rail.

  The aseptic filling system according to the present invention includes any one of the above-described transport device according to the present invention, a device for sterilizing a container transported by the transport device, a device for filling the sterilized container with contents, and a content filling. And an aseptic filling device including a device for sealing the sealed container.

  A transport method according to the present invention is a transport method for transporting a container by a gas jet, and a position of a transport device having a side guide rail extending along a transport path of the container along the lateral direction of the side guide rail. A step of adjusting steplessly, and a step of supplying a container to the transfer device in which the position of the side guide rail is adjusted.

  In the step of adjusting the position of the side guide rail in the transport method according to the present invention, the position along the height direction of the side guide rail may be adjusted steplessly.

  In the transport method according to the present invention, the container is transported in a state where a collar portion formed as a circumferential projection is supported from below by the neck guide rail of the transport device extending along the transport path. You may make it do.

  Furthermore, in the step of adjusting the position of the side guide rail of the transport method according to the present invention, the side guide rail may be arranged at a preset position corresponding to the container to be transported. In such a transport method according to the present invention, the preset position corresponding to the container to be transported may be different depending on the position along the transport path.

  Furthermore, in the step of adjusting the position of the side guide rail of the transport method according to the present invention, the side guide rail is automatically driven by a drive using a motor at a preset position corresponding to the container to be transported. It may be positioned.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, in the conveyance of the container using a gas jet, it becomes possible to convey a container stably, avoiding damage to a container effectively.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following embodiments, an example will be described in which the present invention is applied to a system in which a sterilized content (beverage) is filled in a container as a beverage PET bottle in an aseptic state. However, the present invention is not limited to such a system, and the present invention can be applied to the conveyance of various containers.

  1 to 4 are diagrams for explaining an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the aseptic filling system, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a side view showing the conveying device, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3. In the drawings attached to the present specification, for the sake of illustration and ease of understanding, the scale, the vertical / horizontal dimension ratio, and the like are appropriately changed and exaggerated from those of the actual product.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the aseptic filling system 10 includes a conveying device 30 that conveys the container 90 and an aseptic filling device 70 connected to the conveying device 30. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the aseptic filling device 70 includes a sterilization device 72 for sterilizing the container 90 conveyed by the conveyance device 30, a filling device 74 for filling the sterilized container 90 with contents, And a sealing device 76 for sealing the filled container 90.

  The sterilizer 72 sterilizes the inner and outer surfaces of the container 90 with a sterilizing agent such as hydrogen peroxide mist. In the filling device 74, the sterilized container 90 is filled with the sterilized contents. In the sealing device 76, the container 90 filled with the contents is sealed. Specifically, a sterilized cap (lid) is attached to the container 90. In the aseptic filling apparatus 70, the path through which the sterilized container 90 is conveyed is maintained in a sterile state. Various known configurations can be employed for the aseptic filling device 70 itself connected to the transport device 30. Accordingly, further detailed description of the aseptic filling device 70 is omitted herein and reference is made to various prior documents (eg, US Pat. No. 3,342,577).

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the uppermost stream side of the transport path 25 of the container 90 by the transport device 30 is connected to a container forming device 22 that forms the container 90. The container forming apparatus 22 is an apparatus for forming a container 90 having a desired shape from a resin preform (so-called preform) by a blow molding method. Containers 90 having various shapes formed by the forming device 22 are sequentially supplied to the conveying device 30. Further, an inspection device 23 for inspecting the container 90 is provided in the middle of the transport path 25. The inspection device 23 performs various inspections on the container 90. Specific examples of the inspection item include the shape of the container 90. For these container forming device 22 and inspection device 23, various known configurations can be adopted. Accordingly, further detailed description of the container forming device 22 and the inspection device 23 will be omitted in the present specification, and refer to various prior documents.

  Next, a specific configuration of the transport device 30 will be described. In the present embodiment, the transport device 30 is configured to transport the container 90 along a predetermined transport path 25 by a gas jet.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, an example in which a PET bottle for beverage is used as a container 90 to be transported by the transport device 30 will be described. As such a container 90, typically, as shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3, etc., the well-known drink bottle which has a capacity | capacitance of 280 ml-2 l can be mentioned. The container 90 includes a head 91 having an opening 91a (also referred to as a mouth) 91a, an intermediate part (body part) 92 including a neck 92a that gradually increases in thickness from the head 91, and an intermediate part. A bottom portion 93 provided below the portion 92 and facing the opening 91a. The container 90 has a longitudinal direction. The opening 91 a is formed at one side end along the longitudinal direction, and has the opening surface on a surface orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the container 90. As shown in FIG. 2, a screw 91 b for fixing a cap (lid) is formed at a position adjacent to the opening 91 a of the head 91. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a collar portion (also called a neck ring) 95 that protrudes in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the container 90 is formed between the head portion 91 and the neck portion 92 a of the intermediate portion 92. ing. The collar portion 95 extends circumferentially on the intermediate portion 92. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the transport device 30 in the present embodiment is configured to transport the container 90 while supporting the collar portion 95 formed as a circumferential protrusion. Ideally, the container 90 at the time of conveyance is supported in a suspended state so that its longitudinal direction is along the vertical direction.

  As a specific configuration, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the transport device 30 includes a pair of neck guide rails (simply guide rails) 40 that abut against the collar portion 95 of the container 90 from below, and the guide rail 40. And a gas injection mechanism 45 for blowing a gas jet to the supported container 90. As shown in FIG. 2, the pair of neck guide rails 40 are arranged in parallel so that the neck portion 92a of the container 90 is sandwiched therebetween. The collar portion 95 of the container 90 is placed on the neck guide rail 40, and the collar portion 95 slides on the neck guide rail 40, whereby the container 90 moves along the neck guide rail 40. Therefore, the conveyance path 25 of the container 90 is substantially defined by the neck guide rail 40. In other words. The neck guide rail 40 is arranged along the transport path 25 designed in advance.

  The gas injection mechanism 45 has an air duct 46 connected to a blower (not shown). The air duct 46 is held in the air separated from the floor surface by a support member 27 made of, for example, a metal channel material or an angle material. Aseptic air cleaned through an appropriate filter (for example, a HEPA filter) is blown into the air duct 46 from a blower (not shown). As a result, the inside of the air duct 46 functions as a chamber in which compressed air is stored.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a neck guide rail 40 is fixed to the lower surface of the air duct 46. A recess 47 that accommodates the collar portion 95 and the head portion 91 of the container 90 is formed on the lower outer surface of the air duct 46. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a plurality of jet ports 48 are formed side by side along the transport path 25 of the container 90 at a position corresponding to the recess 47 of the air duct 46. The ejection port 48 extends obliquely downward, and the compressed air inside the air duct 46 is ejected into the recess 47 along the conveying direction of the container 90. The head 91 of the container 90 located in the recess 47 is pushed out in a predetermined transport direction by the gas jet flow from the inside of the air duct 46 formed in this way into the recess 47, and the container 90 is connected to the neck guide. Slide on the rail 40.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the transport device 30 further includes a pair of side guide rails 35 that extend along the transport path 25 and extend on both sides of the container 90 to be transported. As shown in FIG. 4, the pair of side guide rails 35 are disposed substantially in parallel so as to sandwich the conveyance path 25 of the container 90 therebetween. In FIG. 3, a part of the side guide rail 35 and the holding mechanism 50 on one side (the front side in FIG. 3) is omitted.

  The transport device 30 further includes a holding mechanism 50 that holds the pair of side guide rails 35 so as to be movable in the lateral direction (substantially horizontal direction) and the height direction (substantially vertical direction). As shown in FIG. 2, the holding mechanism 50 includes a lateral position adjusting means 52 that continuously adjusts the position of the side guide rail 35 along the lateral direction and a position along the height direction of the side guide rail 35. And height direction position adjusting means 54 for adjusting the stage. The height direction position adjusting means 54 is supported on a base material 58 spanned between a pair of opposing support members 27. Further, the height direction position adjusting means 54 supports a movable support member 59 having a substantially U-shaped outer shape so as to be movable in the height direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the U-shaped movable support member 59 extends from below the transport path 25 of the container 90 to both sides of the transport path 25 so as to sandwich the transport path 25 of the container 90 therebetween. The lateral position adjusting means 52 is attached to both ends of the U-shape of the movable support member 59, respectively. Each lateral position adjusting means 52 extends to the conveyance path 25 side of the container 90. Each lateral position adjusting means 52 supports the side guide rail 35 at the end on the conveyance path 25 side so as to be movable in the lateral direction.

  As used herein, “stepless adjustment” does not mean that it can be adjusted to any one of a plurality of positions that are set in stages, but at least within a predetermined range. It means that it is adjustable. The lateral position adjusting means 52 may be configured by various known means that can adjust the position of the side guide rail 35 to an arbitrary position on at least a part of a straight line extending in the lateral direction. Similarly, the height direction position adjusting means 54 can be constituted by various known means capable of adjusting the position of the side guide rail 35 to an arbitrary position on at least a part of a straight line extending in the height direction. . As an example, the lateral position adjustment means 52 and the height direction position adjustment means 54 may be configured as means for moving the shaft member back and forth along the lateral direction or the height direction by motors 52a and 54a such as servo motors. According to such adjusting means 52 and 54, the side guide rail 35 can be positioned steplessly and accurately in the lateral direction or the height direction by driving the motors 52a and 54a. Further, the position adjusting means 52 and 54 having a drive mechanism by the motors 52a and 54a can be configured extremely simply.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the side guide rails 35 are usually disposed so as to face the container 90 supported substantially along the vertical direction from the side. That is, the side guide rail 35 is disposed at a position facing the intermediate portion 92 of the container 90 from the horizontal direction. According to the side guide rail 35, the container 90 to be transported can be controlled to swing in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction by contacting the intermediate portion 92 of the container 90.

  In addition, the arrangement | positioning space | interval along the horizontal direction of a pair of side guide rail 35 is the largest horizontal of the container 90 in the vertical direction position where the side guide rail 35 is arrange | positioned so that conveyance of the container 90 may not be controlled by friction. It is preferable that the width is set larger than the direction width. When the container 90 does not have a rotating body shape, as a specific example, when the cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the container is a substantially polygonal shape (for example, a substantially rectangular shape), the container by the pair of neck guide rails 40 The width along the horizontal direction of the container 90 changes depending on the support state of the 90. The maximum horizontal width of the container 90 here means the maximum width of the widths of the container 90 along the horizontal direction.

  By the way, as shown in the figure, the conveying device 30 is connected to the lateral position adjusting means 52 and the height direction position adjusting means 54, respectively, and controls to control the lateral position adjusting means 52 and the height direction position adjusting means 54. A device 60 is further included. Containers 90 having various outer shapes are fed into the transport device 30. For each outer shape of each container 90, an optimum position where the side guide rail 35 should be arranged is set in advance as a relative position with respect to the neck guide rail 40. The relative position of the side guide rail 35 with respect to the preset neck guide rail 40 is stored in the control device 60 or a storage device (not shown) accessible by the control device 60 or input to the control device 60 each time. It has come to be. The control device 60 includes the lateral position adjusting means 52 and the height direction position so that the side guide rail 35 is disposed at a relative position with respect to the neck guide rail 40 set in advance corresponding to the outer shape of the container 60 to be conveyed. The adjusting means 54 is operated.

  In the present embodiment, the relative position of the side guide rail 35 with respect to the neck guide rail 40 is set considering not only the outer shape of the container 90 to be transported but also the transport path 25. That is, in the present embodiment, the relative position of the side guide rail 35 with respect to the neck guide rail 40 is set to be different depending on the position along the transport path 25 of the container 90. In other words, the relative position of the side guide rail 35 with respect to the neck guide rail 40 is not the same at each position along the transport path.

  Next, a method for transporting the container 90 using such a transport device 30 will be described. Hereinafter, the conveyance method described includes a step of adjusting the position of the side guide rail 35 and a step of sequentially supplying the containers 90 to the conveyance device 30. Hereinafter, details of each process will be described.

  First, the process of adjusting the position of the side guide rail 35 will be described. The control device 60 identifies the container 90 to be supplied by information from the container forming device 22 or from another input. Next, the control device 60 sets the lateral position adjusting means 52 and the height of the side guide rail 35 so that the side guide rail 35 is disposed at a relative position with respect to the neck guide rail 40 set in advance corresponding to the type of the container 60 to be supplied. The vertical position adjusting means 54 is operated. As a result, at each position along the transport path 25, the arrangement position of the side guide rail 35 is adjusted steplessly along both the lateral direction and the height direction. In this way, the side guide rail 35 is automatically positioned to an optimum position according to the outer shape of the container 90 to be transported by the transport device 30 and the configuration of the transport path 25.

  Next, a process of sequentially supplying the containers 90 to the transfer device 30 will be described. As described above and as shown in FIG. 1, the most upstream side of the transport path 25 of the transport device 30 is connected to the container forming device 22. The container forming apparatus 22 is supplied with a preform as a preform for forming the container 90. In the container forming apparatus 22, the preform is heated and pressed by a blow molding method, and a container 90 having a desired shape is formed from the preform. The molded container 90 is sequentially supplied to the transport device 30.

  The container 90 supplied to the conveying device 30 is pushed along the neck guide rail 40 by the gas jet flowing from the inside of the air duct 46 to the concave portion 47 located outside the air duct 46 as described above. In this way, the containers 90 supplied to the transport device 30 are sequentially transported along the transport path 25.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the arrangement position of the side guide rail 35 is adjusted steplessly according to the type (outer shape) of the container 90 to be conveyed. That is, the side guide rail 35 is not positioned at a stepwise set position, but the side guide rail 35 is positioned at an optimal position according to the outer shape of the container 90 to be transported. Therefore, the side guide rail 35 positioned at the optimum position on the side of the container 90 to be conveyed can effectively regulate the shake of the container 90 during the conveyance, and the container 90 to be conveyed has a predetermined posture, Specifically, it becomes possible to stably maintain a generally upright state.

  For this reason, it is possible to effectively prevent clogging of the container 90 in the transport path 25 due to the shake of the container 90 during transport. In addition, since the posture of the container 90 at the time of conveyance is stabilized, fluctuations in the conveyance speed can be greatly reduced. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the container 90 from colliding with the two continuous ones at a high speed in the transport path 25. For this reason, it is possible to effectively prevent clogging of the container 90 in the transport path 25 due to the collision between the two continuous containers 90.

  At the same time, it is possible to effectively prevent damage to the containers 90 such as crushing, dents, deformations, and cracks caused by the containers 90 colliding with each other at a high speed or the following containers 90 colliding with the corners of the inclined containers 90. It can also be avoided.

  Further, the transfer device 30 is required to supply the container 90 constantly and stably in the subsequent process. Under such circumstances, the entire length of the transfer device 30 is designed to be long by meandering the transfer path 25 for the purpose of providing the transfer device 30 with a function of stocking containers. And in the conveying apparatus 30 designed in such a long way, the conveyance path | route 25 contains not only a linear part but the curved part normally. Further, the transport path 25 includes a portion with an upward gradient or a downward gradient.

  For this reason, the transfer path 25 includes a portion where the moving speed of the container 90 is accelerated and the container 90 passes at a high speed, and a portion where the moving speed of the container 90 is reduced and the container 90 passes at a low speed. For example, the conveyance speed of the container 90 is low at a portion where an ascending slope is provided. The conveyance speed of the container 90 becomes high in the part provided with the downward slope or the long straight part. In addition, there is an area in the transport path where the direction in which the container 90 swings is determined. For example, in a portion where the conveyance path bends to the right along the conveyance direction of the container 90, the container 90 swings to the left in the conveyance direction. Furthermore, in a portion where the conveyance path is bent, the shake of the container 90 increases as the conveyance speed of the container 90 increases.

  And according to this Embodiment, the relative position of the side guide rail 35 with respect to the neck guide rail 40 preset corresponding to the shape of the container 90 conveyed is the position along the conveyance path 25 of the container 90. Depending on it. That is, the side guide rail 35 is arranged at an optimum position at each position in consideration of the magnitude of the shake of the container 90 and the conveyance speed of the container 90 at each position in the conveyance path 25. For this reason, the side guide rail can more effectively regulate the shake of the container 90 during conveyance, and the posture of the container 90 being conveyed can be kept more stable.

  Furthermore, the conveyance speed of the container 90 can be adjusted by adjusting the distance between the pair of side guide rails 35. For example, when the interval between the pair of side guide rails 35 is narrowed, the probability that the container 90 is in contact with the side guide rails 35 is increased. When the container 90 comes into contact with the side guide rail 35, the conveyance speed of the container 90 is reduced due to friction between the container 90 and the side guide rail 35. That is, if the interval between the pair of side guide rails 35 is narrowed, the conveyance speed of the container 90 can be reduced as a whole. Conversely, if the distance between the pair of side guide rails 35 is increased, the conveyance speed of the container 90 can be increased as a whole. In this way, by appropriately adjusting the distance between the pair of side guide rails 35, it is possible to further reduce fluctuations in the conveyance speed in the conveyance path 25.

  Further, there may be an error in installation of the transfer device 30 or the like. Specifically, the installation of the neck guide rail 30 is preferably not linear. If the conveyance path 25 that should be a straight line meanders even slightly, the container 90 swings in the horizontal direction (horizontal direction) in this portion, and accordingly, the conveyance speed of the container 90 is not stabilized. Become. According to the present embodiment, by adjusting the position of the side guide rail 35, the transport path 25 of the container 90 including installation errors and the like can be corrected. Thereby, the fluctuation | variation of the conveyance speed in the conveyance path | route 25 and the shake of the container 90 during conveyance are suppressed, and it becomes possible to convey the container 90 still more stably.

  In this way, the container 90 can be stably conveyed to the aseptic filling device 70 without damaging the container 90. In the aseptic filling apparatus 70, the contents can be sequentially filled into the container 90 that is constantly and stably supplied. In the aseptic filling system 10, when the use of the aseptic filling apparatus 70 is started, an aseptic filling process of the aseptic filling apparatus 70 is required. This aseptic start-up process is extremely complicated and requires cost and time. According to the present embodiment, since the container 90 can be stably transported and supplied to the aseptic filling device 70 as described above, the aseptic start-up process of the aseptic filling device 70 that is complicated and requires time and cost is performed. The inconvenience that it must be repeated can be avoided.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the arrangement position of the side guide rail 35 can be adjusted steplessly according to the type (outer shape) of the container 90 to be conveyed. That is, the side guide rail 35 can be positioned at an optimum position according to the outer shape of the container 90 to be conveyed. Therefore, the side guide rail 35 can effectively regulate the shake of the container 90 during conveyance, and can effectively prevent clogging of the container 90 in the conveyance path 25. In addition, since the posture of the container 90 at the time of conveyance is stabilized, fluctuations in the conveyance speed can be greatly reduced. Therefore, the occurrence of clogging of the container 90 in the transport path 25 due to the collision between the two continuous containers 90 at a high speed can be effectively prevented. As a result, damage to the container 90 such as crushing, dent, deformation, and cracking caused by the collision of the containers 90 at a high speed or the collision of the subsequent container 90 with the corners of the inclined container 90 is effective. Can be avoided.

  In addition, since the posture of the container 90 at the time of transportation can be stabilized irrespective of the outer shape of the container 90 as described above, when the container 90 having a shape with high designability is transported, or the container 90 with a thin wall thickness. The above-described embodiment can also be suitably used when transporting the sheet. That is, the process of heat-sterilizing the contents together with the sealed container 90 is omitted, and the above-described transport device 30 and the transport method are applied to the aseptic filling system 10 capable of processing a variety of shapes of the container 90. can do.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the relative position of the side guide rail 35 with respect to the neck guide rail 40 is determined in advance corresponding to the type of the container 90. And the control apparatus 60 controls the position adjustment means 52 and 54 so that the side guide rail 35 may be positioned to the position preset according to the kind of container 90 which should be conveyed. That is, the side guard rail 35 can be automatically positioned at an appropriate position set in advance according to the type of the container 90 to be transported. Thereby, even if the type of the container 90 to be transported is changed, the position of the side guide rail 35 is adjusted quickly and easily, and the container 90 of the type to be transported next is damaged. It becomes possible to carry it stably without any problems.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the relative position of the side guide rail 35 with respect to the neck guide rail 40 set in advance corresponding to the type of the container 90 to be transported is at a position along the transport path 25 of the container 90. Depending on it. That is, the side guide rail 35 can be arranged at an optimum position at each position in consideration of the magnitude of the shake of the container 90 and the conveyance speed of the container 90 at each position in the conveyance path 25. . For this reason, the side guide rail 35 can more effectively regulate the shake of the container 90 during transportation, and the posture of the container 90 being transported can be maintained more stably.

  Note that various modifications can be made to the above-described embodiment. Hereinafter, an example of modification will be described.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the collar portion 95 of the container 90 is disposed on the neck guide rail 40 and the container 90 is supported by the transport device 30 has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In the first place, the container 90 to be transported is not limited to a beverage bottle, and the configuration of the transport device 30 can be changed as appropriate according to the container 90 to be transported.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the position where the side guide rail 35 is to be positioned is set based on the outer shape of the container 90 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in consideration of not only the outer shape of the container 90 to be transported but also the wall thickness and the like, the position where the side guide rail 35 should be disposed may be set for each type of container 90 to be transported. .

  Furthermore, although the position which should arrange | position the side guide rail 35 in the embodiment mentioned above showed the example set as a relative position with respect to the neck guide rail 35, it is not restricted to this. For example, the position where the side guide rail 35 should be positioned may be set with reference to other coordinates (for example, coordinates specified from a configuration other than the neck guide rail of the transport device 30).

  Further, the side guide rail 35 need not be supported at all positions along the transport path 25 so that the position of the side guide rail 35 can be adjusted steplessly. For example, in a predetermined range along the transport path 25, the side guide rail 35 may be supported so that its arrangement position can be adjusted stepwise. Further, the side guide rail 35 may be supported so as not to move within a predetermined range along the transport path 25. Further, a holding mechanism 50 that can adjust the arrangement position of the side guide rail 35 steplessly and a holding mechanism that cannot adjust the arrangement position of the side guide rail 35 steplessly along the conveyance path 25 of the container 90. It may be arranged alternately.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, and is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of an aseptic filling system. FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the transfer apparatus incorporated in FIG. 1, and is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a side view for explaining the transport apparatus incorporated in FIG. 1 and showing the transport apparatus. FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the transport apparatus incorporated in FIG. 1, and is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Aseptic filling system 20 Conveyance apparatus 22 Container shaping apparatus 23 Inspection apparatus 25 Conveyance path 30 Conveyance apparatus 35 Side guide rail 40 Neck guide rail 45 Gas injection mechanism 50 Holding mechanism 52 Lateral position adjustment means 52a Motor 54 Height direction position adjustment means 54a motor 58 base material 59 movable support material 70 aseptic filling device 72 sterilization device 74 filling device 76 sealing device 90 container 95 collar portion

Claims (7)

A transport device for transporting a container by a gas jet,
A pair of side guide rails extending along both sides of the container to be transported along the transport path of the container,
A pair of lateral position adjusting means for continuously adjusting the position along the lateral direction of each side guide rail;
A height direction position adjusting means for steplessly adjusting the position along the height direction of the side guide rail,
The lateral position adjusting means has a motor for driving the side guide rail in the lateral direction,
The height direction position adjustment means, capable of moving a movable support member having a U-shaped outer shape above that extend on both sides of the conveyance path from below the transport path of the containers in the height direction movable Having a support member,
The pair of lateral position adjusting means are respectively supported by portions of the movable support member that are located on the sides of the container transport path.
A conveying apparatus characterized by that. The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the height direction position adjusting unit includes a motor that drives the side guide rail in a height direction. A control device for controlling the lateral position adjusting means;
The said control apparatus controls the said horizontal direction adjustment means so that the said side guide rail may be arrange | positioned in the position set beforehand corresponding to the container in which it is conveyed. Transport device. A control device for controlling the lateral position adjusting means and the height direction position adjusting means;
The control device controls the lateral position adjustment means and the height direction position adjustment means so that the side guide rail is disposed at a preset position corresponding to a container to be transported. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. It is configured to convey a container having a collar formed as a circumferential projection by a gas jet,
A neck guide rail that extends along the transport path and supports the container by coming into contact with the flange portion of the container from below;
In a state where the side guide rail is disposed at a preset position corresponding to the container to be transported, the relative position of the side guide rail to the neck guide rail depends on the position along the transport path of the container. The transfer device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the transfer device is different. It is configured to convey a container having a collar formed as a circumferential projection by a gas jet,
A neck guide rail that extends along the transport path and contacts the flange of the container from below and supports the container;
The transport apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a gas injection mechanism that blows a gas jet on the container supported by the neck guide rail. A transport apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6;
An aseptic filling device including a device for sterilizing a container conveyed by the conveying device, a device for filling the sterilized container with a content, and a device for sealing the container filled with the content. An aseptic filling system characterized by that.

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