JP6978760B2 - Filling device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a filling method for filling a continuously conveyed bottle-shaped container with a filler such as a liquid, powder, or granule, and a filling device used for carrying out the filling method.

Various proposals have been made conventionally for this type of filling method and filling device (see Patent Documents 1 to 3).

The liquid filling machine shown in Patent Document 1 is a liquid filling machine suitable for high-mix low-volume production that facilitates adjustment at the time of container remodeling, and has a state in which a plurality of containers are brought into contact with each other in the traveling direction. A pair of positioning means having a V-shaped tip 18 is inserted between the containers to fix the container in a predetermined filling position.

However, in this filling machine, when changing (changing) to a container having a different outer diameter, the interval between the pair of positioning means (15), the interval between the pair of side guides (14), and a plurality of filling nozzles ( It is necessary to adjust the spacing in the container traveling direction of 5) and the height positions of the plurality of filling nozzles (5), respectively, and the mechanism is complicated and the filling machine becomes expensive.

Patent Document 2 describes a liquid filling device using a transfer screw (17) provided with a spiral groove (16) in order to accurately transfer the container directly under the liquid injection nozzle.

However, in this liquid filling device, the container is configured to be horizontally moved to the filling table (4) side while being sandwiched between the transport screw (17) and the support plate (38), and the mechanism is large. It is not easy to change the shape of the container.

In Patent Document 3, a container sent by a supply conveyor (1) is extruded from the side onto a filling base plate (40) by a pusher pad (31) having a plurality of V-shaped grooves, and the container is filled with an object. The device to be used is described. In this device, since the container is extruded using the pusher pad (31) having the V-shaped groove formed, even if the outer diameter of the container changes, it can be accurately placed in the predetermined filling position, and the container can be placed. The mold can be easily changed.

However, in this device, in the case of a container having a small outer diameter and a high height, the container falls over when the container is extruded from the supply conveyor (1) onto the filling base plate (40). There is a risk. Further, when the container after being filled with the object is pushed out onto the discharge conveyor (2) by the extrusion pin (51a), the container may tip over.

Utility Model Registration No. 3079826 Gazette Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-96903 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-254651

Therefore, in view of the problems in the filling device and the like described in the above-mentioned patent documents, the present invention improves the positioning accuracy of the bottle-shaped container to optimize the filling work and adjusts the bottle-shaped container at the time of changing the mold. It is an object of the present invention to provide a filling method and a filling device in which the number of places is reduced so that the mold change work can be performed easily and quickly.

In the present invention, the following configuration is adopted as a specific means for solving such a problem.

In the filling device according to the first invention of the present application, a conveyor for transporting a bottle-shaped container is provided above the conveyor so as to have a spiral groove and its axis is substantially parallel to the conveyor in the transport direction. A fixedly arranged screw conveyor and a plurality of fitting contact portions expanding forward in a substantially V shape are formed at a pitch substantially the same as the pitch of the spiral groove of the screw conveyor, and the fitting contact is formed. The portions are arranged so as to face substantially parallel to the screw conveyor, and are driven forward and backward in the direction of contact and separation with the screw conveyor by the pressing drive portion. It is arranged on the upper side of the bottle-shaped container sandwiched between the pressing holding body that presses and holds the container between the grooves and the fitting contact portion of the pressing holding body and the spiral groove of the screw conveyor. A filling device including a filling nozzle that is driven up and down by an elevating drive unit and whose injection port is inserted into the bottle-shaped container at its descent position.
The positioning work unit provided with the pressing holding body and the filling work unit provided with the filling nozzle are arranged in a facing state with the conveyor sandwiched between them, and can be moved in opposite directions, and in the opposite direction. It is characterized in that it moves simultaneously in the same direction by the screwing operation of the screw rods extending substantially in parallel, and the ratio of the movement amount of the positioning work unit and the filling work unit is 2: 1. It is supposed to be.

In a second aspect of the present invention, the filling apparatus according to the first invention, the filling operation unit, and a lower substrate to be Riutsu moving by the screw engagement operation of the screw rod, the lower base A plurality of screw rods which are arranged in parallel on the upper side of the above surface and to which the filling nozzle is attached, a plurality of screw rods which connect the lower base material and the upper base material at a plurality of positions on a plane, and the above. It is characterized by having a synchronous drive unit that synchronously drives a plurality of screw rods.

The present invention has the following effects.

(A) First Invention of the present application According to the filling device according to the first invention of the present application, a conveyor for transporting a bottle-shaped container is provided with a spiral groove and its axis is substantially parallel to the transport direction of the conveyor. The screw conveyor fixedly arranged above the conveyor so as to be, and the plurality of fitting contact portions that expand in a substantially V shape toward the front are substantially the same as the pitch of the spiral groove of the screw conveyor. The fitting contact portions are arranged so as to face substantially parallel to the screw conveyor, and are driven forward and backward in the direction of contact and separation with the screw conveyor by the pressing drive portion. It is sandwiched between a pressing holding body that presses and holds the container between the fitting contact portion and the spiral groove of the screw conveyor, and between the fitting contact portion of the pressing holding body and the spiral groove of the screw conveyor. Since it is arranged on the upper side of the bottle-shaped container and is driven up and down by the elevating drive unit and has a filling nozzle whose nozzle is inserted into the bottle-shaped container at the descent position.
(B) Each of the bottle-shaped containers sequentially conveyed by the transport conveyor is cut out by a predetermined number by the screw conveyor, and each of the cut-out bottle-shaped containers is cut out by each fitting contact portion of the pressing holding body. By pressing against the spiral groove side of the screw conveyor and sandwiching it between them, each bottle-shaped container has a diameter dimension equal to or smaller than the limit diameter that can be fitted into the spiral groove of the screw conveyor. Even if the diameter dimension is smaller than the limit diameter and the fixed position cannot be determined by swinging in the left-right direction in the state of being fitted into the spiral groove, each bottle-shaped container is fitted with the above-mentioned fitting. The bottle-shaped container is filled because the contact portion is accurately positioned at a position corresponding to the center of the substantially V-shape, and the distance between these plurality of bottle-shaped containers is always kept constant in the screw conveyor portion. The filling work of the filler from the nozzle is performed accurately, and the reliability of the filling work is guaranteed.
(B) Each bottle-shaped container is positioned by pressing each bottle-shaped container against the spiral groove side of the screw conveyor by each fitting contact portion of the pressing holding body and sandwiching the bottle-shaped container between them. Therefore, in the case of a bottle-shaped container having a diameter dimension equal to or less than the limit diameter, it is only necessary to adjust the facing distance between the screw conveyor and the pressing holding body (in other words, the advancing position of the pressing holding body). Since each bottle-shaped container can be positioned regardless of the size of the diameter of the mold container, when changing the mold of the bottle-shaped container, the spiral groove of the screw conveyor and the fitting contact portion of the pressing holding body are used. There is no need to change the positioning mechanism consisting of the above. For example, the structure is simplified and the cost is reduced as compared with the case where the positioning mechanism needs to be changed when changing the mold of the bottle-shaped container. Ru,
Etc. can be obtained.

(C) According to a filling device according to the first aspect of the present invention, opposing further the filling operation units the pressing nipping body positioning operation unit provided with the filling nozzle is provided, across the conveyor The positioning work unit and the filling work unit are arranged in a state and can be moved in opposite directions at the same time, and are simultaneously moved in the same direction by a screwing operation of a screw rod extending substantially parallel to the facing direction. The ratio of the amount of movement of is 2: 1 .

Here, to explain the technical background, first of all, since the screw conveyor is fixedly arranged, the bottle is formed by the spiral groove of the screw conveyor and the fitting contact portion of the pressing holding body facing the spiral groove of the screw conveyor. When the mold container is sandwiched, the position of the side portion of the bottle-shaped container near the spiral groove (the radial position of the screw conveyor 3 on the horizontal plane) is uniquely determined by the position of the spiral groove, and the said. The position is constant regardless of the size of the diameter of the bottle-shaped container. Therefore, when changing the mold of the bottle-shaped container, first, the forward position of the positioning work unit provided with the pressing holding body and the forward position of the filling work unit provided with the filling nozzle are set to the forward position of the bottle-shaped container after the mold change. It is necessary to adjust each according to the diameter dimension.

Secondly, the height dimension of the bottle-shaped container, that is, the height position of the bottle mouth opening at the upper end of the bottle-shaped container differs depending on the size of the bottle-shaped container. Is the height position of the filling work unit corresponding to the height position of the filling nozzle inserted into the inside from the bottle mouth of the bottle-shaped container (more specifically, at the time of filling work, a separate elevating drive unit is used for a predetermined stroke. It is also necessary to adjust the height position of the filling work unit corresponding to the height at the lowest descent end of the filling nozzle driven up and down.

Since the spacing between the bottle-shaped containers changes with the change of the bottle-shaped container, it is necessary to adjust the spacing between the filling nozzles. However, in the present invention, the spacing between the bottle-shaped containers is also adjusted. Is automatically performed by sandwiching the bottle-shaped container between the screw conveyor and the pressing holding body as described above, and is always held constant regardless of the mold change, so that the distance between the filling nozzles is also large. No adjustment required.

As described above, when changing the mold of the bottle-shaped container, three adjustment operations of adjusting the advancing position of the positioning work unit and the filling work unit and adjusting the height position of the filling work unit are required. In this case, in the present invention, the positioning work unit and the filling work unit are arranged in a facing state with the screw conveyor interposed therebetween, and can advance and retreat in opposite directions, and are extended substantially parallel to the facing direction. Since it is configured to move in the same direction at the same time by the screwing operation of the screw rod, the forward position of the positioning work unit and the filling work unit can be adjusted at the same time by the screwing operation of the screw rod. As a result, the adjustment operation at the time of changing the mold of the bottle-shaped container is only the two operations of the screwing operation of the screw rod and the height adjustment work of the filling work unit, for example, the position adjustment of the positioning work unit and the filling work unit. Compared to the case where the mounting operation, the height adjustment operation of the filling nozzle, and the interval adjustment operation of the filling nozzle need to be individually performed by different mechanisms, the remodeling work of the bottle-shaped container is much simpler. Since the work can be performed in a shorter time, a filling device suitable for high-mix low-volume production can be provided, and the mechanism for changing the mold is simple, the filling device can be manufactured. There are effects such as promotion of cost reduction.

The positioning work unit and the filling work unit are moved in the same direction at the same time, and the ratio of their movement amounts is 2: 1 in the bottle-shaped container, that is, the center of the outer diameter and the center of the bottle mouth. This is because when the outer diameter of the bottle-shaped container used changes due to the remodeling of the bottle-shaped container, the center position of the bottle mouth always changes by 1/2 of the amount of change in the outer diameter. ..

( B ) Second Invention of the present application According to the filling device according to the second invention of the present application, the following peculiar effects can be obtained in addition to the effects described in (a) above. That is, in this invention,
The filling work unit is arranged in parallel with the lower base material which is moved back and forth by the screwing operation of the screw rod in a parallel state on the upper side of the lower base material, and the upper base group to which the filling nozzle is attached. Since it is composed of a material, a plurality of screw rods connecting the lower base material and the upper base material at a plurality of positions on a plane, and a synchronous drive unit for synchronously driving the plurality of screw rods, a plurality of screw rods can be used. By rotating any one of the screw rods, all the other screw rods are synchronously rotated, and the lower base material is maintained in a parallel facing state with the lower base material. The height of the filling nozzle attached to the upper base material can be adjusted by moving the filling nozzle in the approaching direction or the separating direction with respect to the above. By simplifying the height adjustment mechanism, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the filling device.

It is a top view of the packaging apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. It is the AA arrow view of FIG. It is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the filling / loading work unit shown in FIG. 1.

1 to 4 show a filling device Z according to an embodiment of the present invention. This filling device Z is a device for sequentially filling a bottle-shaped container 61 with PP balls (polypropylene balls) for promoting stirring and silicon oil, and is a base extending substantially horizontally at a predetermined height position. A conveyor 4 for sequentially transporting bottle-shaped containers 61 supplied from a bottle-shaped container supply source (not shown) on a table 5 in an abutting state, and a conveyor 4 above the conveyor 4 and the conveyor 4 above. The screw conveyor 3 is fixedly arranged so as to be parallel to the conveyor 4 at a position shifted laterally by a predetermined amount from the feeding direction axis, and the screw conveyor 3 is separated from the screw conveyor 3 on the anti-shift side of the screw conveyor 3. It is configured to include a positioning work unit 1 arranged so as to face each other, and a filling work unit 2 arranged so as to face the screw conveyor 3 on the shift side of the screw conveyor 3 so as to be separated from each other. Hereinafter, these will be described individually.

A: Screw conveyor 3
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the screw conveyor 3 is composed of a screw rod provided with a spiral groove 3a having a predetermined width, and has a diameter dimension from one end (upstream side end) in the axial direction to the center portion. In this tapered portion, the groove depth and groove width of the spiral groove 3a gradually increase toward the central portion from one end thereof, and flow on the transport conveyor 4. It functions as an introduction part for the spiral container 61.

Further, a straight rod shape is formed from the central portion to the other end (upstream side end) of the screw conveyor 3, and at least four spiral grooves 3a extending at the same depth and the same width are exposed on the surface of the straight rod shape portion. Its length dimension is set. The four spiral grooves 3a exposed on the surface of the straight rod-shaped portion function as positioning portions of the four bottle-shaped containers 61 in cooperation with the fitting contact portion 12 of the pressing holding body 11 described later. ..

Further, the cross-sectional shape of the spiral groove 3a of the screw conveyor 3 is such that the peripheral surface of the bottle-shaped container having the largest diameter (limit diameter) among the bottle-shaped containers to be used can be fitted into the groove surface in a state of full contact. (The bottle-shaped container 62 shown by the chain line in FIG. 2 is a bottle-shaped container having a limit diameter).

On the other hand, the pitch of the spiral groove 3a of the screw conveyor 3 is set to such a dimension that a required gap is formed between the bottle-shaped containers 62 having a limit diameter in the spiral grooves 3a. The pitch of the spiral groove 3a of the screw conveyor 3 substantially matches the installation interval of the pair of filling nozzles 34 (for filling silicon oil) and the pair of filling nozzles 38 (for filling PP balls), which will be described later. It is set. Therefore, in a state where the bottle-shaped container 61 is in contact with the center of the bottom surface of the spiral groove 3a exposed on the side surface of the screw conveyor 3 in an oblique manner at an equal pitch, the pair of filling nozzles 34 are fed. The pair of filling nozzles 38 should match the bottle-shaped container 61 that abuts on the two spiral grooves 3a on the front side in the direction, and the pair of filling nozzles 38 should match the bottle-shaped container 61 that abuts on the two spiral grooves 3a on the rear side in the feeding direction. become.

If the bottle-shaped container is a bottle-shaped container 62 having a diameter corresponding to the limit diameter as shown by the chain line in FIG. 2, the bottom surface of the spiral groove 3a causes the bottle-shaped container 62 to be laterally oriented. Since the movement is restricted, the axis of the bottle-shaped container 62 substantially coincides with the center of the groove bottom of the spiral groove 3a in the axial direction of the screw conveyor 3, and each bottle-shaped container 62 is positioned. Become. However, when the bottle-shaped container is a bottle-shaped container 61 having a diameter smaller than the limit diameter, the regulating action of the groove bottom surface of the spiral groove 3a does not work on the bottle-shaped container 61, and the bottle-shaped container does not work. The container 61 swings in the spiral groove 3a and its position is not uniquely determined. Under such circumstances, a pressing holding body 11 described later is provided so that even a bottle-shaped container 61 having a small diameter can be reliably positioned.

On the other hand, the screw conveyor 3 is rotationally driven by a driving force input from a drive source (not shown) via the drive system 8 to the end of the straight rod-shaped portion thereof. The rotation control of the screw conveyor 3 is performed by a controller (not shown), and in this embodiment, the screw conveyor 3 is intermittently driven by two pitches. That is, each of the bottle-shaped containers 61 is stopped by sequentially positioning the two bottle-shaped containers 61 adjacent to each other in a pair at the filling position of the PP sphere and the filling position of the silicone oil. In this stopped state, the two preceding bottle-shaped containers 61 correspond to the filling nozzle 34 for filling silicon oil described later, and the two subsequent bottle-shaped containers 61 are for filling PP balls described later. Corresponding to the filling nozzle 38, the filling work of silicon oil and the filling work of PP balls are performed during this stop, respectively.

The term "filling" as used herein is a broad concept that includes both a state in which the filler is packed in the container without gaps and a case in which the filling material is packed with a space left in the container. Therefore, as the filler, not only liquids but also powders, granules and spheres can be applied.

B: Positioning work unit 1
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the positioning work unit 1 is attached to a pair of left and right support bases 16 erected on the upper surface side of the base 5 via a slider 15 and is in contact with the screw conveyor 3. A horizontally long flat plate-shaped movable base 10 that can be moved in the direction of separation, and a movable base 10 that is attached to the movable base 10 via a pair of left and right sliders 14 and can move in the direction of contacting and separating from the screw conveyor 3. It is configured to include the pressed holding body 11.

B-1: Movable base 10
As shown in FIG. 4, the movable base 10 is driven by the front-rear position adjusting portion 6 together with the lower base material 21 of the filling work unit 2 described later in a direction in which the movable base 10 is brought into contact with and separated from the screw conveyor 3. That is, the front-rear position adjusting portion 6 is composed of a screw rod 40 screwed into both the nut 17 provided on the movable base 10 and the nut 24 provided on the lower base material 21.

Therefore, when the screw rod 40 is rotated clockwise by the operation of the handle 41, the movable base 10 and the lower base material 21 move simultaneously in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4, and the screw rod 40 is rotated counterclockwise. Then, it moves in the direction of arrow B at the same time. Then, the position of the pressing holding body 11 described later is adjusted by the movement of the movable base 10, and the positions of the filling nozzle 34 and the filling nozzle 38 described later are adjusted by the movement of the lower base material 21.

As described above, the movable base 10 and the lower base material 21 are simultaneously moved in the same direction by the rotation operation of the screw rod 40, but the movement amounts are not the same. When the movement amount on the movable base 10 side is "2", the movement amount on the lower base material 21 side is "1". This is because the center of the outer diameter of the bottle-shaped container coincides with the center of the bottle mouth, and when the outer diameter of the bottle-shaped container used changes due to the remodeling of the bottle-shaped container, the center position of the bottle mouth. This is because it always changes by 1/2 of the amount of change in the outer diameter. Therefore, in this embodiment, the ratio of the pitch of the threads 41a of the screw rod 40 to the pitch of the threads 41b is set to "2: 1".

By setting the ratio of the movement amount of the movable base 10 to the movement amount of the lower base material 21 in this way, for example, even if the diameter dimension of the bottle-shaped container 61 changes due to the mold change, the movement amount is always the same. The fitting contact portion 12 of the pressing holding body 11 provided on the base 10 side abuts on the outer peripheral surface of the bottle-shaped container 61, and the upper base material described later moves integrally with the lower base material 21. The filling nozzle 34 and the filling nozzle 38 attached to the 22 are located at the center of the bottle mouth of the bottle-shaped container 61. That is, the positioning operation of the bottle-shaped container 61 by the spiral groove 3a of the screw conveyor 3 and the fitting contact portion 12 of the pressing holding body 11, and the filling of the bottle-shaped container 61 by the filling nozzles 34 and 38. The material filling operation will always be performed in an appropriate state before and after the mold change.

B-2: Pressing holding body 11
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the pressing holding body 11 is integrally formed of a substantially U-shaped thick plate material, and is formed between the left and right extending portions thereof and the movable base 10. The slider 14 provided makes it movable in the direction of contacting and separating from the screw conveyor 3, and the pressing drive unit 13 provided between the movable base 10 and the movable base 10 drives the vehicle forward and backward.

Further, at the tip edge of the pressing holding body 11 facing the screw conveyor 3, a fitting contact portion 12 that expands in a substantially V shape toward the front is abbreviated as the pitch of the spiral groove 3a of the screw conveyor. Four rows are arranged at the same pitch. The fitting contact portion 12 advances to abut on the side surface of the bottle-shaped container 61, and further presses the fitting contact portion 12 against the spiral groove 3a side of the screw conveyor 3 to form a bottle-shaped container with the spiral groove 3a. By sandwiching the 61, the bottle-shaped container 61 is positioned and held at the central portion (that is, the deepest portion) of the groove bottom of the spiral groove 3a. Therefore, the four bottle-shaped containers 61 located in each of the four spiral grooves 3a of the screw conveyor 3 are positioned with a constant distance between them.

Such an advance / retreat operation of the pressing holding body 11 is performed by the expansion / contraction movement of the pressing driving unit 13, but since the stroke of the pressing driving unit 13 is constant, the bottle-shaped container 61 is described as described above. When the diameter of the bottle-shaped container 61 changes due to the mold change, the bottle-shaped container 61 is pressed against the spiral groove 3a of the screw conveyor 3 in an appropriate state by the fitting contact portion 12 of the pressing holding body 11. In some cases, the front-rear position adjusting portion 6 is provided in order to eliminate such inconvenience and secure an appropriate pressing state.

Further, the advance / retreat of the pressing holding body 11 by the pressing driving unit 13 is performed in response to the feeding operation of the bottle-shaped container 61 by the screw conveyor 3. That is, in response to the intermittent rotation of the screw conveyor 3 by 2 pitches as described above, the pressing holding body 11 also advances and retreats each time the screw conveyor 3 rotates by 2 pitches. The operation of the drive unit 13 is controlled.

C: Filling work unit 2
As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, the filling work unit 2 is arranged on the base 5 on the base 5 via a support base 20 and a slider 23 so as to be detachable from the screw conveyor 3. A base material 21 and an upper base material 22 arranged so as to face substantially parallel to the base material 21 on the upper side of the lower base material 21 are provided. As described above, the lower base material 21 can be moved in the direction of contacting and separating from the screw conveyor 3 by the rotation operation of the screw rod 40.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the lower base material 21 and the upper base material 22 are separated and opposed to each other in the vertical direction, and are connected by four screw rods 25 arranged at each of the four corners of both. ing. That is, the upper end of each of the screw rods 25 is rotatably supported by the shaft support member 42 provided on the upper base material 22, while the other end side is screwed on the nut 29 provided on the lower base material 21. It has been combined. Further, a sprocket 27 is fixed to a position near the upper end of each of the screw rods 25. Further, a support shaft 43 provided with a sprocket 28 for chain tension is mounted by a shaft support member 44 on the inner side in the plane direction of the upper base material 22 from the mounting position of the screw rod 25.

A chain 26 is hung between the sprocket 27 provided on each of the screw rods 25 and the sprocket 28 provided on the support shaft 43. Therefore, by rotating one of the screw rods 25 by the handle 30, all of the screw rods 25 rotate synchronously via the chain 26, and the upper base material 22 is the lower base material. It will move up and down so as to be in contact with and separated from 21. In this embodiment, the "synchronous drive unit 35" within the scope of the claims is configured by the screw rods 25, the sprockets 27 attached to the screw rods 25, and the chain 26 hung around the screw rods 25. To.

On the other hand, on the upper base material 22, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a support bracket 33 made of a substantially U-shaped plate material has a pair of left and right arm portions 33A and 33B on the positioning work unit 1 side. It is placed facing toward. The support bracket 33 is supported up and down in the vertical direction by the elevating drive unit 31 fixed to the upper base material 22, and is guided by a pair of left and right guide rods 32. It moves in the vertical direction with respect to the upper base material 22 as it expands and contracts.

A pair of left and right silicone oil filling nozzles 34 are attached to the tip of the first arm 33A of the support bracket 33. The filling nozzle 34 is connected to a silicone oil storage container (not shown) via a supply hose.

Further, a filling nozzle 38 for filling a pair of left and right PP balls is attached to the tip of the second arm portion 33B of the support bracket 33. The filling nozzle 38 is connected to a spherical hopper 37 attached to the hopper support member 36 provided on the upper base material 22.

As described above, the pair of left and right filling nozzles 34 and the pair of left and right filling nozzles 38 attached to the support bracket 33 are integrally raised and lowered with respect to the upper base material 22 by the expansion and contraction movement of the elevating drive unit 31. Along with the movement (first vertical movement), the filling work unit 2 moves up and down integrally with the upper base material 22 (second vertical movement) as the filling work unit 2 moves up and down based on the rotation operation of the handle 30. Further, as the lower base material 21 moves forward and backward based on the rotation operation of the screw rod 40, the direction in which the lower base material 21 and the upper base material 22 are integrally brought into contact with and separated from the screw conveyor 3. Will move forward and backward.

Then, in the "first vertical movement" based on the operation of the elevating drive unit 31, the tips of the filling nozzle 34 and the filling nozzle 38 are inserted into the inside of the bottle-shaped container 61 from the bottle mouth to eject the filler. It relates to a filling operation for causing the filling nozzle 34 and the filling nozzle 38 to be pulled out upward from the inside of the bottle-shaped container 61 and retracted. On the other hand, in the "second vertical movement", the height position of the bottle mouth of the bottle-shaped container 61 changes up and down due to the mold change of the bottle-shaped container 61, so that the filling nozzle is used even after the mold change. It is related to the mold change operation for adjusting the heights of the 34 and the filling nozzle 38 so as to be appropriate heights, and as described above, the screw rod is used to cope with the change in the diameter of the bottle-shaped container 61 due to the mold change. In combination with moving the lower base material 21 forward and backward by the 40, the intended purpose is achieved.

In FIG. 3, for convenience of drawing, the state in which the filling nozzle 34 is provided on the upper base material 22 and the state in which the filling nozzle 38 is provided on the upper base material 22 are individually illustrated.

D: Description of operation of the filling device Z Hereinafter, the operation of the filling device Z configured as described above will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3.

D-1: Filling work of the filling material into the bottle-shaped container 61 As shown in FIG. 1, the filling work is started in a state where the pressing holding body 11 of the positioning work unit 1 is retracted. When the bottle-shaped container 61, which is sequentially conveyed on the transport conveyor 4 in close contact with each other in front and back, reaches the screw conveyor 3, first, two bottle-shaped containers are cut out by the spiral groove 3a of the screw conveyor 3. 61 is cut out, and at that time, the screw conveyor 3 is stopped. In this stopped state, the bottle-shaped container 61 is located in the spiral groove 3a of the screw conveyor 3, but its position is not fixed.

Next, the pressing drive unit 13 extends and the pressing holding body 11 is pushed forward, and the fitting contact portion 12 at the tip thereof abuts on the side surface of the bottle-shaped container 61, and further forwards this. Extrude and sandwich the bottle-shaped container 61 with the spiral groove 3a. In this pinched state, the bottle-shaped container 61 is positioned on a line connecting the center in the width direction of the fitting contact portion 12 and the center in the width direction of the spiral groove 3a, and each filling nozzle 38 of the filling work unit 2 is positioned. It is located above the center of the bottle mouth of the bottle-shaped container 61.

Next, the filling nozzle 38 is lowered by the elevating drive unit 31, the tip thereof enters the bottle-shaped container 61 from the bottle mouth, and in this state, a predetermined amount of PP balls are ejected from the filling nozzle 38. This is filled in the bottle-shaped container 61. After the filling work is completed, the filling nozzle 38 is pulled upward and stands by for the next filling work.

With the standby at the upper position of the filling nozzle 38, the pressing holding body 11 is retracted, and the restrained state of the bottle-shaped container 61 by the fitting contact portion 12 is released. Then, the screw conveyor 3 resumes rotation, cuts out the two bottle-shaped containers 61 that follow in the spiral groove 3a, and transfers them forward together with the two preceding bottle-shaped containers 61. Then, when the transfer amount reaches an amount corresponding to the two pitches of the spiral groove 3a, the rotation of the screw conveyor 3 is stopped.

Here, the pressing holding body 11 of the positioning work unit 1 advances, and each of the bottle-shaped containers 61 is pressed against the bottom surface side of the corresponding spiral groove 3a by the fitting contact portion 12, and together with the spiral groove 3a. Hold. As a result, the four bottle-shaped containers 61 are positioned at appropriate positions, and the interval between the bottle-shaped containers 61 is set as the set interval. In this state, the filling nozzle 34 faces the center of the bottle mouths of the two preceding bottle-shaped containers 61 from above, and the filling nozzle 34 faces the center of the bottle mouths of the two subsequent bottle-shaped containers 61. 38 is facing from above.

Next, the filling nozzle 34 and the filling nozzle 38 of the filling work unit 2 are lowered, and each filling nozzle 34 is placed in the preceding bottle-shaped container 61 (that is, the bottle-shaped container 61 already filled with PP balls). Once inserted, the filling nozzle 38 is inserted into a subsequent bottle-shaped container 61 (ie, an unfilled bottle-shaped container 61). Then, the preceding bottle-shaped container 61 is filled with silicone oil in addition to the PP balls already filled, and the subsequent bottle-shaped container 61 is filled with PP balls.

When the filling of the silicon oil and the PP ball into the bottle-shaped containers 61 is completed, the pressing holding body 11 of the positioning work unit 1 retracts, and the restraint state with respect to the bottle-shaped containers 61 is released. With the retreat of the pressing holding body 11, the screw conveyor 3 rotates by the amount corresponding to 2 pitches, and the preceding bottle-shaped container 61 (that is, the bottle-shaped container 61 for which all the filling work has been completed) is moved from the screw conveyor 3. Send out to the front side. At the same time, the following bottle-shaped container 61 is advanced by two pitches, and only two bottle-shaped containers 61 on the conveyor 4 side are cut out and advanced.

Then, when each of the bottle-shaped containers 61 advances by two pitches, the rotation of the screw conveyor 3 is stopped, and the pressing holding body 11 of the positioning work unit 1 is further advanced to advance the fitting contact portion 12. Each bottle-shaped container 61 in the spiral groove 3a of the screw conveyor 3 is sandwiched and positioned. In this positioning state, the preceding bottle-shaped container 61 already filled with PP spheres corresponds to the filling nozzle 34 of the filling work unit 2, and the newly cut out bottle-shaped container 61 that follows is filled. It corresponds to the nozzle 38.

In this state, the preceding bottle-shaped container 61 is filled with silicone oil, and the succeeding bottle-shaped container 61 is filled with PP balls. After the filling is completed, the pressing holding body 11 retracts and the restrained state for each bottle-shaped container 61 is released. Then, the screw conveyor 3 rotates, and the preceding bottle-shaped container 61 is sent forward from the screw conveyor 3, and at the same time, the following bottle-shaped container 61 is advanced by two pitches, and at the same time, on the transport conveyor 4 side. Cut out only two bottle-shaped containers 61 and move them forward.

By repeating the above operation, PP balls and silicone oil are sequentially filled in the bottle-shaped container 61 sequentially conveyed by the conveyor 4, and a required product can be obtained.

D-2: Work associated with the mold change of the bottle-shaped container 61 When the bottle-shaped container 61 is changed, the diameter and height dimensions of the bottle-shaped container 61 cut out by the screw conveyor 3 portion (that is, the bottle mouth). (Height position) changes compared to before the mold change, so the forward position of the pressing holding body 11 in the positioning work unit 1 according to the diameter and height dimensions of the new bottle-shaped container 61 after the mold change. And the position adjustment of the filling nozzle 34 and the filling nozzle 38 provided in the filling work unit 2 on the filling work unit side, and the height position of the filling nozzle 34 and the filling nozzle 38 of the filling work unit 2. Three adjustment work is required.

In this case, first, the adjustment of the forward position of the pressing holding body 11 in the positioning work unit 1 and the position adjustment of the filling nozzle 34 and the filling nozzle 38 provided on the upper base material 22 on the filling work unit side are performed. As described above, this is achieved by rotating the screw rod 40 of the front-rear position adjusting portion 6 to advance and retreat the pressing holding body 11 and the upper base material 22 at a ratio of “2: 1”. The movement modes and the ratio of the movement amount are as described above.

Further, the height positions of the filling nozzle 34 and the filling nozzle 38 of the filling work unit 2 are adjusted by rotating the handle 30 provided on the upper base material 22 side of the filling work unit 2 to rotate the upper base material 22. Is adjusted by bringing it into contact with the lower base material 21. The mechanism for moving the upper base material 22 in the contacting / separating direction with respect to the lower base material 21 is as described above.

Since the distance between the bottle-shaped containers 61 changes with the change of the bottle-shaped container 61, it is necessary to adjust the distance between the filling nozzles. However, in this embodiment, the bottle-shaped container is used. As described above, the spacing between the 61 is always kept constant by the screw conveyor 3 and the pressing holding body 11 regardless of the type change of the bottle-shaped container, so that the spacing between the filling nozzles 34 and 38 needs to be adjusted. Do not.

As described above, according to the filling device Z of this embodiment, the adjustment operation at the time of changing the mold of the bottle-shaped container 61 is only two operations of the screwing operation of the screw rod 40 and the height adjusting work of the filling work unit. For example, the position adjustment operation of the positioning work unit 1 and the filling work unit 2, the height adjustment operation of the filling nozzles 34 and 38, and the interval adjustment operation of the filling nozzles 34 and 38 are individually performed by different mechanisms. Compared to the case where it is necessary to perform the work, the mold change work of the bottle-shaped container 61 is significantly simplified, the work can be performed in a shorter time, and a filling device suitable for high-mix low-volume production can be provided. Can be provided. Further, since the mechanism used for the mold change is simple, the manufacturing cost of the filling device Z can be reduced.

The filling method and filling device according to the present invention are used in the industrial field of filling a bottle-shaped container with a filler such as a liquid, a powder, or a granule from the opening portion thereof.

1 ・ ・ Positioning work unit 2 ・ ・ Filling work unit 3 ・ ・ Screw conveyor 4 ・ ・ Conveyor conveyor 5 ・ ・ Base 6 ・ ・ Front and rear position adjustment unit 8 ・ ・ Drive system 10 ・ ・ Movable base 11 ・ ・ Pressing and holding Body 12 ・ ・ Fitting contact part 13 ・ ・ Pressing drive part 14, 15 ・ ・ Slider 16 ・ ・ Support base 17 ・ ・ Nut 20 ・ ・ Support base 21 ・ ・ Lower base material 22 ・ ・ Upper base material 23 ・・ Slider 24 ・ ・ Nut 25 ・ ・ Screw rod 26 ・ ・ Chain 27, 28 ・ ・ Sprocket 29 ・ ・ Nut 30 ・ ・ Handle 31 ・ ・ Elevating drive 32 ・ ・ Guide rod 33 ・ ・ Support bracket 34 ・ ・ Filling nozzle 35 ・ ・ Synchronous drive unit 36 ・ ・ Hopper support material 37 ・ ・ Sphere hopper 38 ・ ・ Filling nozzle 40 ・ ・ Screw rod 41 ・ ・ Handle 42 ・ ・ Shaft support member 61, 62 ・ ・ Bottle type container 63 ・ ・ Guide bar Z ... Filling device

Claims (2)

A conveyor that conveys bottle-shaped containers,
A screw conveyor provided with a spiral groove and fixedly arranged above the conveyor so that its axis is substantially parallel to the conveyor in the conveyor direction.
A plurality of fitting contact portions expanding in a substantially V shape toward the front are formed at a pitch substantially the same as the pitch of the spiral groove of the screw conveyor, and the fitting contact portions are substantially parallel to the screw conveyor. The container is moved forward and backward in the direction of contacting and separating from the screw conveyor by the pressing drive unit, and in the advancing state, the container is placed between the fitting contact portion and the spiral groove of the screw conveyor. Pressing and holding body and pressing and holding body,
It is arranged on the upper side of the bottle-shaped container sandwiched between the fitting contact portion of the pressing holding body and the spiral groove of the screw conveyor, and is driven up and down by the elevating drive unit and its nozzle at the descent position. With the filling nozzle inserted in the bottle-shaped container,
A Bei obtain filling device,
The positioning work unit provided with the pressing holding body and the filling work unit provided with the filling nozzle are arranged in a facing state with the conveyor sandwiched between them, and can be moved in opposite directions, and in the opposite direction. It is characterized in that it moves simultaneously in the same direction by the screwing operation of the screw rods extending substantially in parallel, and the ratio of the movement amount of the positioning work unit and the filling work unit is 2: 1. Filling device. In claim 1 ,
The filling operation unit, and a lower substrate to be Riutsu moving by the screw engagement operation of the screw rod, is the filling nozzle while being parallel arranged in a facing state on the upper side of the lower substrate attached It is characterized by including an upper base material, a plurality of screw rods connecting the lower base material and the upper base material at a plurality of positions on a plane, and a synchronous drive unit for synchronously driving the plurality of screw rods. Filling device.

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