JP7283507B2 - Content filling system and content filling method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a contents filling system and a contents filling method.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, filling machines such as fillers have been used to continuously fill a large number of plastic bottles transported at high speed with contents such as carbonated beverages (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

However, depending on the filling conditions of the carbonated beverage, a large amount of foam may be generated from the carbonated beverage in some bottles (also called foaming). It may spurt out. If the foam blows out from the mouth of the bottle, the content of the carbonated drink in the bottle may be less than the specified amount, or the carbonated drink may adhere to the outside of the mouth of the bottle, causing microbial contamination. occur.

For this reason, conventionally, an operator visually inspects whether or not bubbles are blowing out from the mouth of a bottle being conveyed at high speed. If an operator finds a bottle with bubbles blowing out, the bottle and the bottles transported before and after it are discarded together. Against this background, there is a demand for automatic inspection of bubbles spouting from the mouth of a bottle without relying on human labor.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-211931

The present invention has been made in consideration of these points, and automatically detects the presence or absence of bubbles generated in the contents filled in a container and released from the mouth of the container, and automatically detects the presence or absence of bubbles released from the mouth of the container. It is an object of the present invention to provide a contents filling system and a contents filling method capable of reducing the number of containers to be stored.

The present invention provides a filling device for filling a container having a mouth portion and a container body with a content, and a filling device provided downstream of the filling device, wherein the content filled in the container causes a a foam detection device that automatically detects the presence or absence of foam released from the mouth of the foam detection device, a determination unit that is connected to the foam detection device and specifies a container from which foam has been released, and foam detection from the determination unit and a control unit that stores information.

In the present invention, the foam detection device comprises a first foam detection device for detecting foam released from the mouth portion immediately after the container is filled with the contents, and and a second foam detection device configured to detect foam released from the mouth portion after a certain period of time has elapsed after the container is filled with the content. be.

The present invention is a contents filling system, further comprising a discharge section for discharging the container from which the bubbles have been discharged, which is specified by the determination section.

The present invention further includes a cap mounting device that is provided downstream of the foam detection device and that mounts a cap on the mouth of the container, and the discharge section is attached to the mouth of the container by the cap mounting device. The content filling system is characterized in that the container in which the foam has been discharged is discharged before the cap is attached.

The present invention further includes a cap mounting device that is provided downstream of the foam detection device and that mounts a cap on the mouth of the container, and the discharge section is provided downstream of the cap mounting device. A content filling system characterized by:

The present invention is a content filling system, wherein the cap attachment device transports the container into which the foam has been discharged to the discharge section without attaching the cap to the mouth of the container. .

The present invention is the content filling system, wherein the control unit further controls the filling device based on the stored information.

The present invention is a content filling system, wherein the foam detection device includes a plurality of detection units arranged in a vertical direction.

The present invention provides a filling step of filling a container having a mouth portion and a container body with a content, and after the filling step, a A foam detection step of automatically detecting the presence or absence of bubbles released from the foam detection step, a determination step of specifying the container from which the foam was released after the foam detection step, and information about the foam detection determined in the determination step and a storing step of storing the content.

According to the present invention, the foam detection step includes a first foam detection step of detecting bubbles discharged from the mouth portion immediately after the container is filled with the contents, and after the first foam detection step, the and a second bubble detection step of detecting bubbles discharged from the mouth portion after a certain period of time has elapsed after the container is filled with the content.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically detect the presence or absence of foam discharged from the mouth of a container after filling the container, and to reduce the number of containers from which foam is discharged.

1 is a schematic plan view showing a content filling system according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a filling nozzle provided in the filling device of the content filling system according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a foam detection device of a content filling system according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a control unit of the content filling system; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a control unit of the content filling system; FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing a modification of the content filling system; FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view showing a modification of the content filling system; FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing a modification of the bubble detection device;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 are diagrams showing one embodiment of the present invention.

(content filling system)
First, a content filling system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.

A contents filling system 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a system for filling contents L such as carbonated beverages into a bottle (container) 30 (see FIG. 3) having a mouth portion 31 and a bottle body (container body) 32. is. The bottle 30 can be made by biaxially stretching blow molding a preform made by injection molding a synthetic resin material. As the material of the bottle 30, it is preferable to use a thermoplastic resin, particularly PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), or PEN (polyethylene naphthalate). In addition, the container may be glass, can, paper, pouch, or composite container thereof. In this embodiment, a case where a bottle is used as a container will be described as an example.

As shown in FIG. 1, the content filling system 10 includes an inlet-side conveying device (inlet foil) 11, a filling device (filler) 20, an outlet-side conveying device (outlet foil) 13, and a capping device (capper, A seaming and capping machine 16 and a transfer device 18 are provided. The inlet-side conveying device 11, the filling device 20, the outlet-side conveying device 13, the cap attaching device 16, and the transfer device 18 are arranged in this order from the upstream side toward the downstream side along the conveying direction of the bottles 30. ing.

The entrance-side conveying device 11 sequentially receives empty bottles 30 from the outside into the contents filling system 10 and conveys the received bottles 30 toward the filling device 20 . The inlet-side conveying device 11 has a rotating conveying wheel 12 , and the conveying wheel 12 continuously conveys a plurality of bottles 30 to the filling device 20 while rotating (revolving).

The filling device 20 fills the contents L from the mouth portion 31 of the bottle 30 into the bottle body 32 . In this filling device 20, the content L is filled into the empty bottle 30. As shown in FIG.

The filling device 20 has a rotating conveying wheel 21 , and the contents L are filled into the bottles 30 while the plurality of bottles 30 are rotated (revolved) by the conveying wheel 21 . A plurality of filling nozzles 22 (see FIG. 2) are arranged along the outer periphery of the carrier wheel 21 . One bottle 30 is attached to each filling nozzle 22 , and the content L is injected into the bottle 30 from the filling nozzle 22 .

As shown in FIG. 2, the filling nozzle 22, which is well known, has a body portion 23 and a content supply line 24 and a gas supply line 25 connected to the body portion 23, respectively. Among them, the content supply line 24 is connected at its upper end to the head tank 27 (or filler ball) filled with the content L, and is communicated with the inside of the bottle 30 at its lower end. The content L supplied from the head tank 27 passes through the content supply line 24 and is injected into the bottle 30 . The gas supply line 25 has its upper end connected to the head tank 27 and its lower end communicated with the inside of the bottle 30 . A gas for counter pressure such as carbon dioxide supplied from the head tank 27 passes through the gas supply line 25 and fills the inside of the bottle 30 . A snift line 26 is connected in the middle of the gas supply line 25 , and the gas inside the bottle 30 can be discharged through the snift line 26 .

When the content L is a carbonated beverage, the temperature of the content L during filling with the filling nozzle 22 is, for example, 1°C to 10°C, preferably 5°C to 10°C. The reason why the temperature of the content L is set at, for example, 1° C. to 10° C. is that the carbon dioxide gas easily escapes from the content L when the liquid temperature exceeds 10° C.

The content L is a liquid that easily foams after being filled, and includes, for example, various beverages containing carbon dioxide, such as carbonated beverages such as cider and cola, and alcoholic beverages such as beer. The content L may be a non-carbonated beverage. Non-carbonated beverages include all beverages other than mineral water, such as tea, functional drinks, juices, coffee, milk, milk-containing beverages. Alternatively, the content L may be non-beverage liquids containing surfactants, such as dishwashing detergents, laundry detergents, and liquid soaps.

Referring to FIG. 1 again, an outlet-side conveying device 13 is provided downstream of the filling device 20 . The outlet-side conveying device 13 conveys the bottle 30 before being capped after being filled with the content L by the filling device 20 toward the cap attaching device 16 . The outlet-side conveying device 13 has a rotating conveying wheel 14 , and the conveying wheel 14 continuously conveys a plurality of bottles 30 to the capping device 16 while rotating (revolving).

A nozzle unit 15 is provided in the outlet-side conveying device 13 . This nozzle unit 15 has a mouth cleaning nozzle and/or an inert gas (nitrogen) replacement nozzle (not shown). The mouth cleaning nozzle is a nozzle for cleaning the mouth 31 of the bottle 30 which is continuously conveyed with cleaning liquid or cleaning gas. Further, the inert gas replacement nozzle is a nozzle for replacing the gas in the head space of the continuously transported bottles 30 with an inert gas.

Bubbles may be generated in the content L filled in the bottle 30 while being conveyed by the outlet-side conveying device 13 . If the amount of bubbles is small, the bubbles stay inside the bottle 30 , but if the amount of bubbles is large, they may be discharged to the outside from the mouth portion 31 . For this reason, in the present embodiment, the exit-side conveying device 13 is provided with a foam detection device 40 that automatically detects the presence or absence of foam released from the mouth portion 31 of the bottle 30 .

In the present embodiment, the foam detection device 40 includes a first foam detection device 41 located upstream of the nozzle unit 15 and a second foam detection device 41 located downstream of the first foam detection device 41 and the nozzle unit 15 . and detector 42 . Among them, the first foam detection device 41 is for detecting foam released from the mouth portion 31 immediately after the content L is filled into the bottle 30 .
On the other hand, the second foam detection device 42 is for detecting foam released from the mouth portion 31 after a certain period of time has passed since the bottle 30 was filled with the content L. As shown in FIG.

The growth rate of the bubbles generated from the content L varies depending on various factors such as the type of the content L and the filling speed. Therefore, by providing both the first foam detection device 41 on the upstream side and the second foam detection device 42 on the downstream side, immediately after the content L is filled in the bottle 30 (from the filling of the content L to the first The first bubble detection device 41 detects bubbles with a high growth rate emitted from the mouth portion 31 while reaching the bubble detection device 41, and a certain time elapses after the bottle 30 is filled with the contents L. The second bubble detection device 42 detects the slow-growing bubbles emitted from the mouth 31 after passing through the first bubble detection device 41 and before reaching the second bubble detection device 42 . can do.
This makes it possible to detect various bubbles with different growth rates. Further, another bubble detection device may be provided at a position different from that of the first bubble detection device 41 and the second bubble detection device 42 .

A determination unit 50 is connected to each of the first bubble detection device 41 and the second bubble detection device 42 of the bubble detection device 40 . The determination unit 50 has a function of identifying the bottle 30 from which bubbles have been released when the first bubble detection device 41 and/or the second bubble detection device 42 detects the bottle 30 from which bubbles have been released. Although the method for specifying the bottle 30 from which bubbles have been discharged is not limited, for example, a position number is assigned to each location of the conveying wheel 21 of the filling device 20 where each bottle 30 is accommodated, and each bottle 30 detects the first bubble. When the bottle 30 passes through the device 41 or the second bubble detection device 42, the judging section 50 may recognize the position number corresponding to the passed bottle 30, and thereby identify the bottle 30 from which bubbles have been released. Further, a sensor for detecting the bottle 30 may be provided at the entrance/exit of the filling device 20 to identify the position of the bottle 30 .

Referring to FIG. 3, the first bubble detection device 41 and the second bubble detection device 42 of the bubble detection device 40 have a pair of photoelectric sensors (detection units) 43, 43, respectively. The pair of photoelectric sensors 43, 43 are arranged above the mouth portion 31 of the bottle 30 and on both sides of the foam B released from the mouth portion 31 (both sides in the traveling direction of the bottle 30). The pair of photoelectric sensors 43, 43 are attached to brackets 44, respectively, and each bracket 44 is attached to a horizontal mounting member 45 so as to be horizontally movable. Also, the horizontal mounting member 45 is mounted so as to be vertically movable with respect to the fixed member 46 . As a result, the distance between the pair of photoelectric sensors 43 facing each other and the height position of the photoelectric sensor 43 with respect to the mouth portion 31 can be adjusted. As the photoelectric sensor 43, a conventionally known one can be used. In this embodiment, the first bubble detection device 41 and the second bubble detection device 42 have the same configuration, but the first bubble detection device 41 and the second bubble detection device are not limited to this. 42 may have different configurations.

The photoelectric sensor 43 is connected to the determination section 50 via a communication cable 47 . The determination unit 50 may be an arithmetic device such as a computer. Further, an amplifier, a sequencer, etc. (not shown) may be interposed between the photoelectric sensor 43 and the determination unit 50 . Note that the detection unit is not limited to the transmissive photoelectric sensor 43, and a reflective photoelectric sensor may be used.
Alternatively, a displacement sensor arranged above the bottle 30 may be used as the detection unit, or a camera arranged on the side (or oblique side) of the bottle 30 may be used.

Referring to FIG. 1 again, the determination section 50 is connected to an adjustment section (control section) 51 . The adjustment section 51 adjusts the filling conditions of the filling device 20 based on information from the determination section 50 . The filling conditions include, for example, the moving speed (filling time) of the bottle 30 in the filling device 20, the filling amount of the content L, the filling temperature, the pressure during filling (counter pressure), the holding time, the snift time, the large throw filling, and the Adjustment (time, amount) of small-dose filling, etc. can be mentioned. In this way, by feeding back the information from the determination unit 50 and adjusting the filling conditions by the filling device 20 with the adjustment unit 51, the content L can be filled under the filling conditions under which bubbles are less likely to be discharged from the mouth portion 31. can. As a result, the number of bottles 30 from which bubbles are discharged from the mouth portion 31 can be reduced, and the yield of products can be improved. Further, when the liquid type of the contents L is different, the state of foam generation is also different. Therefore, conventionally, each filling element is shaken to create the optimum filling process for each type of liquid by visual inspection. However, it is possible to automatically and statistically grasp which element contributes most to the bubble generation mechanism for the bottle 30 conveyed at high speed by this contents filling system 10 . Also, the results obtained during manufacturing can be fed back to the filling process in real time. As a result, even if the type of liquid differs from day to day, optimization work is performed at the start of filling, and the optimal filling process can be automatically derived.

Although the determination unit 50 is configured separately from the adjustment unit 51, the configuration is not limited to this, and the determination unit 50 and the adjustment unit 51 may be integrated within one device. Also, the control unit that controls the entire contents filling system 10 may serve as both the determination unit 50 and the adjustment unit 51 .

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the adjustment section (control section) 51 stores information regarding presence/absence of foam detection from the determination section 50, and controls the filling device 20 based on the stored information. ing. That is, the adjustment unit 51 may control the filling device 20 based on the stored information, adjust the filling conditions (described above) by the filling device 20, or operate or stop the filling device 20 as appropriate. For example, the adjustment unit 51 calculates the foam detection rejection rate (the number or ratio of the bottles 30 in which bubbles are detected) from the information on foam detection from the determination unit 50, and based on this foam detection rejection rate, the filling device 20 Optimal fill parameters may be determined.
Furthermore, the adjustment unit 51 may feed back filling conditions based on this optimum filling parameter to the filling device 20 . Alternatively, when the bubble detection rejection rate is high, the adjustment unit 51 may determine that trouble has occurred in the filling device 20 and stop the filling device 20 .

FIG. 4 shows an example of information about foam detection stored in the adjustment unit 51. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, "Time" is the time when bubbles are detected, "Detected bubble detection device" is the bubble detection device that detected bubbles among the first bubble detection device 41 and the second bubble detection device 42, and "Valve No. is the identification number of the valve (filling nozzle 22) that filled the bottle 30 with the content L, "valve temperature" is the surface temperature of the valve that filled the bottle 30 with the content L, and "liquid temperature" , respectively indicate the temperature of the content L filled in the bottle 30 .

In this case, the adjustment unit 51 obtains the bubble generation temperature peculiar to the filled content L (the valve temperature and/or the liquid temperature at around 14:02 in FIG. 4), and determines the bubble generation temperature as the filling device. By feeding back to 20, the optimum filling temperature in filling device 20 can be determined. Specifically, the adjustment unit 51 may control the filling device 20 so that the filling temperature of the contents L in the filling device 20 does not exceed the bubble generation temperature. In addition, when the liquid temperature of the contents L rises due to an abnormality or temporary stop of the equipment of the contents filling system 10 and the filling temperature of the contents L reaches the bubble generation temperature, the adjustment unit 51 adjusts the filling device 20 You may stop automatic supply of the bottle 30 to. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the content L in the bottle 30 from being foamed.

Furthermore, if there is a malfunction of the valve of the filling device 20, for example, a change or abnormality in the operation of an air cylinder connected to a specific valve of the filling device 20 or in the air supply path (operation of a solenoid valve, etc.) connected to a specific valve. When this occurs, the bottle 30 may be prone to release bubbles. Therefore, when bubbles are frequently detected from the bottle 30 filled using a specific valve (valve No. 20 in FIG. 4), the adjustment unit 51 notifies the abnormality by an alarm, display, or the like. You can make it work. In this case, the operator can determine that there is a sign of failure in a specific valve of the filling device 20, so by taking appropriate measures for the valve, the operating rate of the equipment and the yield of the product can be improved. can be made

FIG. 5 shows another example of information about bubble detection stored in the adjustment unit 51. In FIG. In FIG. 5, "Valve No." indicates the identification number of the valve (filling nozzle 22), and "Number of detections" indicates the number of bottles 30 in which bubbles are detected within a predetermined period. In FIG. 5, it can be seen that bubbles are detected intensively in the bottle 30 filled from the No. 20 valve (detection number 39). In this case, the operator can determine that the No. 20 valve of the filling device 20 is malfunctioning. Yield can be improved.

In the present embodiment, the control unit that controls the filling device 20 is also used as the adjustment unit 51 that adjusts the filling conditions of the filling device 20. However, the control unit and the adjustment unit 51 are not limited to this. It may be configured separately.

Referring to FIG. 1 again, a discharge section 60 for discharging the bottles 30 is provided on the downstream side of the outlet-side conveying device 13 and the foam detection device 40 . The discharge section 60 is connected to the determination section 50 . The discharge unit 60 selectively discharges the bottle 30 from which bubbles have been discharged, which is specified by the determination unit 50 . For example, if a position number is assigned to a portion of the conveying wheel 21 of the filling device 20 that accommodates each bottle 30, the determining unit 50 identifies the position number corresponding to the bottle 30 from which bubbles have been released, is sent to the ejection unit 60 . When the bottle 30 accommodated at the corresponding position number arrives, the ejection section 60 selects and ejects this bottle 30 . On the other hand, bottles 30 in which bubbles are not detected by the bubble detection device 40 are sent to the capping device 16 without being sent to the discharge section 60 .

The cap mounting device 16 is provided downstream of the outlet-side conveying device 13 and the foam detection device 40 . The cap attaching device 16 closes the bottle 30 by attaching a cap (not shown) to the mouth portion 31 of the bottle 30 . The capping device 16 has a rotating conveying wheel 17 . The conveying wheel 17 rotates (or revolves) a plurality of bottles 30 to attach caps to the mouths 31 of the bottles 30 . be transported. By attaching the cap to the mouth portion 31 of the bottle 30 in this manner, the bottle 35 containing the contents is obtained.

The transfer device 18 conveys the content-filled bottle 35 capped by the capping device 16 from the capping device 16 to the outside of the content filling system 10 . The capping device 16 has a transport wheel 19 that rotates. An exit conveyor 38 is connected to the transfer device 18 . The conveying wheel 19 rotates (or revolves) the plurality of content-filled bottles 35 while passing them to the exit conveyor 38 , and continuously carries them out of the content-filling system 10 .

Note that the content filling system 10 has a chamber 70 . Inside the chamber 70 are housed the above-described inlet-side conveying device 11 , filling device 20 , outlet-side conveying device 13 , capping device 16 , and transfer device 18 .

Such a content filling system 10 may comprise, for example, an aseptic filling system. In this case, the interior of the chamber 70 is kept sterile. Alternatively, if the contents L are beverages that do not require sterilization, such as cola, the interior of the chamber 70 may be a clean room from which foreign substances and the like are removed.

(Content filling method)
Next, a content filling method according to the present embodiment will be described. The contents filling method according to the present embodiment is carried out using the contents filling system 10 (FIG. 1) described above.

First, a plurality of empty bottles 30 are sequentially supplied from the outside of the content filling system 10 to the inlet-side conveying device 11 . The bottle 30 is rotationally conveyed by the conveying wheel 12 of the inlet-side conveying device 11 and sent to the filling device 20 .

Subsequently, in the filling device 20, the bottle 30 is held by the carrier wheel 21, and while being rotated (revolved) by the carrier wheel 21, the content L is filled from the mouth portion 31 into the bottle main body 32 (filling step).

Next, in the filling device 20, the filling nozzle 22 is in close contact with the mouth portion 31 of the bottle 30, and the gas supply line 25 and the bottle 30 are communicated with each other. Next, counterpressure gas is supplied to the inside of the bottle 30 from the gas supply line 25 . As a result, the internal pressure of the bottle 30 is raised above the atmospheric pressure, and the internal pressure of the bottle 30 becomes equal to the internal pressure of the head tank 27 (see FIG. 2).

Next, the content L is filled inside the bottle 30 from the content supply line 24 . In this case, the content L is injected into the bottle 30 from the head tank 27 (see FIG. 2) through the content supply line 24 . During this time, the large-throw filling and the small-throw filling may be switched.

Subsequently, the supply of the content L from the content supply line 24 is stopped. Subsequently, the snift line 26 is opened and the gas inside the bottle 30 is discharged from the snift line 26 .

After that, the pressure inside the bottle 30 becomes equal to the atmospheric pressure, and the filling of the content L into the bottle 30 is completed. At this time, bubbles may be generated in the content L in the bottle 30 and released from the mouth portion 31 to the outside.

Subsequently, the bottle 30 filled with the contents L is sent from the filling device 20 to the outlet-side conveying device 13 (see FIG. 1). At this time, the bottle 30 is rotationally conveyed by the conveying wheel 14 of the outlet-side conveying device 13 and sent to the first bubble detecting device 41 of the bubble detecting device 40 .

Subsequently, the first bubble detection device 41 automatically detects the presence or absence of bubbles discharged from the mouth portion 31 of the bottle 30 (in particular, bubbles discharged immediately after filling) (first bubble detection step). Specifically, when the foam discharged from the mouth portion 31 passes through the sensing regions of the pair of photoelectric sensors 43 (see FIG. 3) of the first foam detection device 41, the photoelectric sensor 43 detects the foam. In this case, a signal is sent from the photoelectric sensor 43 to the determination unit 50 (see FIG. 1).

Subsequently, the determination unit 50 identifies the bottle 30 from which bubbles have been released based on the signal from the photoelectric sensor 43 (determination step). For example, if a position number is given to a portion of the conveying wheel 21 of the filling device 20 that accommodates each bottle 30, the determination unit 50 identifies the position number corresponding to the bottle 30 from which bubbles have been released. Subsequently, the determination unit 50 transmits to the discharge unit 60 the position number corresponding to the bottle 30 from which bubbles have been discharged.

Note that when the photoelectric sensor 43 of the first bubble detection device 41 does not detect bubbles, no signal is sent from the photoelectric sensor 43 to the determination unit 50 .

After passing through the first foam detection device 41, the bottle 30 passes through the nozzle unit 15 regardless of whether foam is being emitted from the mouth portion 31, and the frontage portion 31 is washed and/or the head is cleaned. Gas in the space is displaced by inert gas. When the cleaning device in the nozzle unit 15 is used, water may scatter around the carrier wheel 14 and block the light of the photoelectric sensor 43 or cause noise. In that case, it is preferable to apply air to the light receiving portion of the photoelectric sensor 43 to remove the water. The chamber 70 is a sterile chamber, and when used in this sterile chamber, it is necessary to use sterile cleaning water and air.

After passing through the nozzle unit 15 , the bottle 30 is subsequently rotated and transported by the transport wheel 14 and sent to the second bubble detection device 42 . Next, in the second bubble detection device 42, the presence or absence of bubbles released from the mouth portion 31 of the bottle 30 (in particular, bubbles released after a certain period of time has elapsed after filling) is automatically detected (second bubble detection device 42). detection step).

When bubbles emitted from the mouth portion 31 are detected by the second bubble detection device 42, a signal is sent from the second bubble detection device 42 to the determination unit 50, and the determination unit 50 detects the bottle 30 from which the bubbles have been released. Identify (judgment step). Next, the determination unit 50 transmits to the discharge unit 60 the position number corresponding to the bottle 30 from which the bubbles have been discharged.

The detection method in the second bubble detection step is substantially the same as in the first bubble detection step. Further, in the present embodiment, the foam detection process is composed of the first foam detection process and the second foam detection process.

After passing through the second bubble detection device 42, the bottle 30 then reaches the vicinity of the discharge section 60 (see FIG. 1). At this time, the discharging section 60 selects the bottle 30 from which the bubbles have been discharged based on the signal from the determining section 50 and discharges it from the exit-side conveying device 13 . Note that the discharge unit 60 may select and discharge the bottle 30 in which bubbles are detected by either one of the first bubble detection device 41 and the second bubble detection device 42, or the bottle 30 in which bubbles are detected in both. The bottle 30 may be selected and discharged.

On the other hand, the bottles 30 in which bubbles have not been detected are transported from the exit-side transport device 13 to the capping device 16 (see FIG. 1). By attaching a cap (not shown) to the mouth portion 31 of the bottle 30 in the cap attaching device 16, a content-filled bottle 35 is obtained (cap attaching step).

Thereafter, the content-filled bottle 35 is conveyed from the capping device 16 to the transfer device 18 and carried out of the content filling system 10 from the transfer device 18 .

In the present embodiment, the information regarding the presence or absence of foam detection from the determination section 50 is sent to the adjustment section (control section) 51 and stored in the adjustment section 51 (storage step). In this case, the adjusting section 51 controls the filling device 20 based on the stored information. For example, the adjustment unit 51 may control the filling device 20 based on the stored information, adjust the filling conditions (described above) by the filling device 20, or operate or stop the filling device 20 as appropriate. good.

In this embodiment, it is preferable that the bottle 30 production (conveyance) speed is 100 bpm to 1500 bpm. Here, bpm (bottle per minute) means the transport speed of the bottle 30 per minute.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the bubble detection device 40 automatically detects the presence or absence of bubbles generated in the content L filled in the bottle 30 and discharged from the mouth portion 31 of the bottle 30 . The determination unit 50 also identifies the bottle 30 from which bubbles have been released. As a result, it is possible to automatically detect the presence or absence of bubbles discharged from the mouth portion 31 of the bottle 30 without relying on human labor. As a result, problems such as the amount of the content L in the bottle 30 becoming less than a predetermined amount and the content L adhering to the outer circumference of the mouth portion 31 can be prevented.

Further, conventionally, there is a case where an operator visually inspects the presence or absence of bubbles and discards the bottles 30 from which there is a possibility that bubbles may be spurting out. Since only the produced bottles 30 can be selected and discarded, the number of discarded bottles 30 can be reduced and the product yield can be improved.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the foam detection device 40 includes the first foam detection device 41 that detects foam discharged from the mouth portion 31 immediately after the bottle 30 is filled with the content L, and and a second bubble detection device 42 for detecting bubbles emitted from the mouth portion 31 after a certain period of time has passed after the object L is filled. As a result, various bubbles with different growth rates can be detected by the bubble detection device 40, and the bottle 30 from which bubbles have been discharged from the mouth portion 31 can be reliably removed.

Further, according to the present embodiment, since the discharge unit 60 for discharging the bottle 30 from which bubbles have been discharged is provided, the bottle 30 from which bubbles have been discharged can be automatically and reliably removed.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the discharge section 60 discharges the bottle 30 from which bubbles have been released before the cap mounting device 16 attaches the cap to the mouth portion 31 of the bottle 30 . As a result, there is no possibility that the cap will be attached to the bottle 30 to be discarded, and the cap will be prevented from being wasted.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the adjustment section 51 is provided for adjusting the filling conditions of the filling device 20 based on the information from the determination section 50 . The adjustment unit 51 also stores information regarding foam detection from the determination unit 50 . The adjustment unit 51 stores the information from the determination unit 50 and feeds it back to the filling device 20, so that the relationship between the filling conditions by the filling device 20 and the generation of bubbles can be grasped. Also, based on the information from the determination unit 50, the filling conditions of the filling device 20 can be adjusted so that the foam is less likely to be discharged from the mouth portion 31. FIG.

(Modification)
Next, each modification of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. FIG. 6 to 8, the same parts as those in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the discharging section 60 is provided upstream of the cap attaching device 16 has been described as an example, but it is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 6 , the discharge section 60 may be provided downstream of the capping device 16 . As a result, it is not necessary to dispose the discharge unit 60 in the space around the exit-side conveying device 13, so the space around the exit-side conveying device 13 can be effectively used. In this case, the capping device 16 preferably conveys the bottle 30 to the discharge section 60 without attaching a cap (not shown) to the mouth portion 31 of the bottle 30 from which bubbles have been released. As a result, since the cap is not attached to the bottle 30 to be discarded, it is possible to prevent the cap from being wasted.

Alternatively, the discharge section 60 may be provided on the exit conveyor 38, as shown in FIG. The bottles 30 from which the bubbles have been released are transported at a prescribed pitch, and are ejected from the outlet conveyor 38 at the discharge section 60 of the outlet conveyor 38 . In this case, the cap may be in a rolled-up state or may be in a state in which the cap is not attached.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the first bubble detection device 41 and/or the second bubble detection device 42 of the bubble detection device 40 includes a plurality of (for example, two) photoelectric sensors (detection units) 43, 43 in the vertical direction. may have In this case, it is possible to detect bubbles B having different heights discharged from the mouth portion 31 . For example, the photoelectric sensor 43 positioned below can detect bubbles B with a relatively low height, and the photoelectric sensor 43 positioned above can detect bubbles B with a relatively high height.

Next, a specific example of this embodiment will be described.

Using the content filling system 10 shown in FIG. 1, prepare the bottle 30 in which bubbles are discharged from the mouth portion 31, and pass it between the pair of photoelectric sensors 43, 43 to see whether bubbles can actually be detected. It was confirmed. The transport speed of the bottle 30 was set to 720 bpm.

As the content L, three types of detergent, cola, and melon cream soda were prepared, and the test was conducted five times for each.

As a result, even when the content L was dishwashing detergent, cola, or melon cream soda, bubbles discharged from the mouth 31 could be detected (see Table 1).

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 content filling system 11 inlet-side conveying device 13 exit-side conveying device 15 nozzle unit 16 cap mounting device 18 transfer device 20 filling device 30 bottle 31 mouth portion 32 bottle main body 35 content-filled bottle 40 foam detector 41 first foam detector 42 Second foam detection device 50 Determination section 51 Adjustment section (control section)
60 discharge section

Claims (5)

a filling device for filling a container having a mouth and a container body with contents;
an exit-side conveying device provided downstream of the filling device for conveying the container before being capped after being filled with the contents by the filling device;
a bubble detection device provided in the outlet-side conveying device for automatically detecting the presence or absence of bubbles generated in the contents filled in the container and discharged from the mouth of the container;
A nozzle unit is provided in the outlet-side conveying device,
The nozzle unit has a mouth cleaning nozzle for cleaning the mouth of the continuously conveyed container with a cleaning liquid or cleaning gas,
The foam detection device is
a first foam detection device provided on the upstream side of the nozzle unit for detecting foam discharged from the mouth portion immediately after the container is filled with the content;
and a second foam detection device provided downstream of the nozzle unit and configured to detect foam released from the mouth portion after a certain period of time has passed after the container is filled with the content. content filling system. 2. The contents filling system according to claim 1, wherein said nozzle unit further has an inert gas replacement nozzle for replacing gas in the head space of said container which is continuously transported with an inert gas. 3. The contents filling system according to claim 1, wherein said cleaning liquid is sterilized. The contents filling system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first bubble detection device has a photoelectric sensor, and air is applied to a light receiving portion of the photoelectric sensor. 5. The contents filling system according to claim 4 , wherein said air is sterilized.

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