JP7152654B2 - cap tightening device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cap tightening device for tightening a cap put on a container.

A cap tightening device is known that covers the mouth of a container such as a vial with a protrusion such as a flange on the periphery of the mouth opening with a metal cap and winds the bottom of the cap around the flange to seal the container. (see Patent Document 1). In this apparatus, a container covered with a metal cap is placed on the container base, which is configured to be rotatable and vertically movable, while the container base is lowered. The container is clamped by pressing the metal cap against the pressure block. Then, while rotating the container base, the roller is pressed against the bottom portion of the cap and tightened around the flange to seal the opening of the container.

Japanese Patent No. 6054712

However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, the container table on which the containers are placed is raised and lowered while the container table is moved in the horizontal direction. becomes unstable.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cap tightening device capable of tightening a cap while maintaining a container placed on a container stand in a stable state.

A cap tightening device, which is a first aspect of the present invention, comprises a mounting table on which a container having a mouth portion covered with a metal cap having a protrusion formed on the outer periphery is mounted, and a container placed on the mounting table. a contact member that contacts the metal cap of the container from above and sandwiches the container between itself and the mounting table; rotating means that rotates the container sandwiched between the mounting table and the contact member; A roller in contact with the hem portion, an advancing means for advancing the roller toward the container, and the advancing roller move the hem portion of the metal cap covering the mouth portion of the rotating container under the projecting portion. A cap tightening device comprising folding means for folding the cap to the side and tightening, wherein the lifting shaft to which the contact member is attached, the lifting means for lifting and lowering the lifting shaft, and the lifting shaft are coaxially arranged inside, a rocking shaft that holds the lifting shaft so that it can move up and down and rotate; and an arm to which the roller is attached and that is provided on the rocking shaft and can swing around the lifting shaft , wherein the abutment member comprises: abutting the metal cap from above by lowering the elevating shaft, the arm being swingably supported by the elevating shaft, and the advancing means swinging the arm about the elevating shaft; to advance the roller toward the rotating container.

A second aspect of the present invention is a cap tightening device according to the first aspect, wherein a plurality of mounting tables are arranged at predetermined intervals on the outer peripheral portion of the rotating body, and the abutment member and the bending means include the It is characterized in that it is provided corresponding to each mounting table.

A third aspect of the present invention is a cap tightening device according to the first aspect, wherein the elevating means comprises a cam follower attached to the elevating shaft and an elevating cam engaged with the cam follower, An adjustment means is provided for adjusting the distance between the contact member and the roller by vertically moving the position of the cam.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cap tightening device capable of tightening a cap while maintaining a container placed on a container stand in a stable state.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the arrangement of the cap tightening device of the present embodiment; FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view along the line II-II of FIG. 1 showing only half of the cap tightening device centered on the rotation axis O; FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing a state in which a lock roller is pressed against a cap covering the top opening of the container;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the arrangement of a cap tightening device that is one embodiment of the present invention. Also, FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view along line II-II of FIG. 1 showing only half of the cap tightening device centered on the rotation axis O. As shown in FIG.

The cap tightening device 10 of the present embodiment is a wheel-type capper that tightens and seals, for example, a metal cap on a container V such as a vial having a protruding portion Vp on the periphery of the mouth opening. The cap tightening device 10 of this embodiment is, for example, a device for tightening on a conveying wheel. The container V which has been supplied to the cap tightening device 10 and whose cap has been tightened, ie, capped, is sent out to downstream processing via, for example, a discharge wheel 16 and a discharge conveyor 18 .

A plurality of bottle stands (mounting tables) 20 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the outer periphery of the conveying wheel 11 of the cap tightening device 10 . The conveying wheel 11 includes, for example, a disk-shaped upper rotating body 11A, a middle rotating body 11B, and a lower rotating body 11C, and a vertical rotating shaft 11D that connects the rotating bodies 11A, 11B, and 11C and rotates them integrally. Prepare. A gear 11E is provided on the outer circumference of the lower rotating body 11C and engages with a gear 22B attached to a wheel rotating motor 22A provided on the base 22. As shown in FIG. The lower end of the vertical rotation shaft 11D is rotatably held by a base 22C installed on the base 22, and the conveying wheel 11 is rotated around the central axis O of the vertical rotation shaft 11D by the rotation of the wheel rotation motor 22A. be. The drive of the wheel rotation motor 22A is controlled by a controller 22D provided on the base 22. As shown in FIG.

The bottle base 20 is attached to the upper end of the spline shaft 20A, and the piston 20B is attached to the lower end of the spline shaft 20A. The spline shaft 20A is spline-coupled with a bore member 24, and the bore member 24 is rotatably held by the upper rotating body 11A via a bearing. Around the bore member 24 is provided a gear 24A which engages with a gear 26A attached to a motor 26 for rotating the bottle table. The bottle table rotating motor 26 is installed in the central rotating body 11B, and its driving is controlled by, for example, the control section 22D. Also, the piston 20B of the spline shaft 20A is fitted in a cylinder box 28 provided in the middle rotating body 11B. Compressed air is constantly supplied from an air pressure source 28A into the cylinder box 28 at a predetermined pressure corresponding to the type of the rubber plug (sealing material for the metal cap) S interposed in the container V and the metal cap C. . That is, the piston 20B is always urged upward and functions as an air spring.

Each bottle base 20 is provided with a pressure block 30 which is pressed against the top of the cap C of the container V placed on the bottle base 20 to clamp the container V between itself and the bottle base 20 . The pressure block 30 is rotatably attached to a block holding member 30A attached to the upper end of a vertically extending elevating shaft 32A that constitutes the elevating mechanism 32 via a bearing (not shown). The elevating shaft 32A is vertically held inside a hollow swinging shaft 36A for swinging toward the container V a lock roller 36 for tightening the metal cap C of the container V. The swinging shaft 36A is vertically movable. It is rotatable about the shaft 32A. A lift cam follower 32B is provided at the lower end of the lift shaft 32A and engaged with a lift cam 34 arranged along the rotation axis O. As shown in FIG. That is, the pressure block 30 is pressed against the metal cap C at the retracted position where it is spaced apart above the metal cap C covering the top opening of the container V by engaging with the lift cam 34 of the lift cam follower 32B, It moves up and down between the holding position where the container V is clamped between the bottle base 20 and the holding position.

The rocking shaft 36A extends vertically through a hole provided in the middle rotating body 11B and is rotatably held by the upper rotating body 11A and the lower rotating body 11C via bearings. A lock roller 36 is attached to the upper end of the rocking shaft 36A via an arm 36B, and the arm 36B rotates integrally with the rocking shaft 36A. Also, the lock roller 36 is rotatably attached to the arm 36B via a bearing. A swing cam follower 36D that engages with a swing cam 22E provided on the base 22 via an arm 36C is provided at the lower end of the swing shaft 36A. Although the position of the lock roller 36 is behind the container V in FIG. 2, the position is shifted for the sake of convenience.

A torsion spring 36E wound around the swing shaft 36A is arranged on the lower rotating portion 11C, and one end of the torsion spring 36E is fixed to the lower rotating portion 11C. On the other hand, the other end of the torsion spring 36E is engaged with a spring receiver 36F provided on the swing shaft 36A. As a result, the swing shaft 36A rotationally urges the lock roller 36 toward the container V around the shaft. This urging force pushes the swing cam follower 36D against the swing cam 22E, and engagement with the swing cam 22E pushes the lock roller 36 toward the retracted position away from the container V and toward the container V. Move between crimp positions.

Further, in this embodiment, a height adjustment mechanism 38 is provided to adjust the height of the elevation cam 34 . The height adjustment mechanism 38 is a mechanism for absorbing, for example, differences in thickness of the rubber stopper S depending on manufacturers. That is, the elevation cam 34 is attached to a screw nut 40B screwed into a trapezoidal screw 40A arranged along the rotation axis O, and the trapezoidal screw 40A is rotatably held by the base 22 via a bearing 42. . A bevel gear 40C that engages with a bevel gear 44A of a shaft 44 horizontally disposed on the base 22 is attached to the lower end of the trapezoidal screw 40A. The shaft 44 is connected via a gearbox 45 to a handle 46 provided with a handle 46A. That is, by rotating the handle 46, the trapezoidal screw 40A is rotated, and the elevation cam 34 is raised and lowered together with the screw nut 40B, so that the height can be adjusted.

Next, operation of the cap tightening device 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing a state in which the lock roller 36 is pressed against the cap C covering the top opening of the container V. As shown in FIG.

The conveying wheel 11 of the cap tightening device 10 is rotated at a constant rotational speed by a wheel rotating motor 22A that rotates at a constant speed. From the supply wheel 14, the pressure block 30 and the lock roller 36 are arranged at the retracted position, and the container V covered with the metal cap C with the rubber stopper S interposed in the top opening is supplied. 20.

After that, as the conveying wheel 11 rotates, the lifting shaft 32A is lowered by the lifting cam 34, the pressure block 30 is pressed against the cap C of the container V, and the container V is sandwiched between the container V and the bottle base 20. be. At this time, the clamping force of the bottle base 20 is adjusted by an air cushion function constituted by the piston 20B and the cylinder box 28. As shown in FIG. Further, the bottle table rotating motor 26 is driven in the seaming section A (see FIG. 1) where the container V is sandwiched by the pressure block 30, and the container V sandwiched between the pressure block 30 and the bottle table 20 is driven. is rotated integrally with the bottle base 20 and the pressure block 30 .

Further, when the conveying wheel 11 rotates, the rocking shaft 36A is rotated by the rocking cam 22E, and the bottom edge of the metal cap C is moved by the lock roller 36 to the lower edge of the projection of the container V as shown in FIG. pressed against the part. That is, as the container V rotates, the hem of the metal cap C is wound around the neck of the container V, and the opening of the container V is sealed by the metal cap C and the rubber stopper S. When the conveying wheel 11 rotates to the position where the winding of the metal cap C to the container V is completed, the lock roller 36 is returned to the retracted position by the rocking cam 22E, and the pressure block 30 is also moved to the retracted position by the lifting cam 34. , and the driving of the bottle table rotation motor 26 is stopped. The sealed container V is then delivered to the discharge wheel 16 and the cap tightening device 10 repeats the same operation.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the container is clamped by raising and lowering the pressure block instead of the bottle table, so that the container placed on the bottle table is not subject to the acceleration due to the lifting as in the conventional case. , the seaming work can be performed in a stable state. In addition, in this embodiment, since the elevating shaft of the pressure block is arranged coaxially within the swing shaft, the structure around each bottle holder can be made compact, and the outer diameter of the conveying wheel can be reduced. The turning radius of the bottle table can be reduced. As a result, the peripheral speed of the bottle table can be reduced compared to a large-diameter conveying wheel that operates at the same rotational speed. That is, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the configuration in which the bottle table is not moved up and down and the configuration in which the peripheral speed is reduced make it possible to reduce the acceleration applied to the container placed on the bottle table and to carry out stable transportation. is.

In this embodiment, the cap tightening device using the wheel was described as an example, but a line type device may also be used. In addition to the motor, a cam mechanism, a belt drive mechanism, or the like can also be used to rotate the bottle table.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 cap tightening device 11 conveying wheel 11A upper rotating body 11B central rotating body 11C lower rotating body 11D vertical rotating shaft 14 supply wheel 16 discharge wheel 20 bottle stand 22 base 22A motor for rotating transport wheel 22D control section 22E rocking cam 26 Bottle table rotation motor (rotation means)
30 Pressure block 32A Elevating shaft 34 Elevating cam 36 Lock roller 36A Oscillating shaft 36E Torsion spring 38 Height adjustment mechanism C Metal cap O Rotating shaft S Rubber plug V Container

Claims (3)

a mounting table on which a container having a mouth portion with a protruding portion formed on its outer periphery and covered with a metal cap is placed;
an abutting member that abuts the metal cap of the container placed on the mounting table from above to sandwich the container with the mounting table;
a rotating means for rotating the container sandwiched between the mounting table and the contact member;
a roller in contact with the hem of the metal cap;
advancing means for advancing said roller towards the container;
A cap tightening device comprising folding means for folding and tightening the hem of the metal cap covering the opening of the rotating container to the lower side of the projecting portion by the advancing roller,
a lifting shaft to which the contact member is attached;
an elevating means for elevating the elevating shaft;
a swing shaft in which the elevating shaft is coaxially arranged and which holds the elevating shaft so as to be vertically and rotatably;
said roller is mountedand aarm and
the contact member contacts the metal cap from above by lowering the elevating shaft;
The arm is swingably supported by the elevating shaft, and the advancing means swings the arm about the elevating shaft to advance the roller toward the rotating container.
A cap tightening device characterized by: 2. The cap according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of said mounting bases are arranged at predetermined intervals on the outer peripheral portion of said rotating body, and said abutting member and said bending means are provided corresponding to said respective mounting bases. Winding device. The elevating means comprises a cam follower attached to the elevating shaft and an elevating cam with which the cam follower is engaged. 2. The cap tightening device according to claim 1, further comprising adjusting means for adjusting.

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