JPH01279029A - Inspection apparatus for sealed container - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the inspection of a container with a high degree of accuracy, entirely independent of the vacuum effect of the other chambers, by employing a rotary valve structure formed by combining a fixed valve body and a rotatable valve body. CONSTITUTION:There are provided a fixed valve 3 with degassing holes 14 and 15, an inspection hole 16 and a blow hole 17 formed on the circumference thereof at predetermined distances, a rotatable valve body 4 having a plurality of communication holes 23 formed at predetermined distances on the circumference of the corresponding circle and slidably rotatable relative to the fixed valve body 3 and a plurality of chambers 5 attached to the rotatable valve body in such manner that each communication passageway 28 registers with the individual communication hole. The matching of the communication hole 23 and the inspection hole 16 makes a vacuum chamber 31 and the chamber 5 to communicate with each other and, in this condition, the degree of vacuum of the vacuum chamber 31 is measured. In doing so, if the measured result is within the predetermined tolerance, a container is made to pass as an acceptable article and, if beyond the predetermined tolerance, an instruction is given to indicate its rejection.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a sealed container inspection device (hereinafter referred to as
(simply referred to as inspection equipment).

<Prior art> As this type of inspection device, the present applicant previously filed a patent application in 1982.
-215219 was proposed.

This inspection device uses a relatively large chamber and is aimed at mass processing, and is not necessarily optimal for inspecting small quantities with high precision.

Here, "high precision" means precision sufficient to check whether a medicine sealed in a sealed container has sufficient sealing performance to withstand storage for years.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> Therefore, this invention was made with the aim of developing a new inspection device that is optimal for inspecting small quantities with high precision.

<Means for Solving the Problems> Specifically, the present invention includes a fixed valve body in which deaeration holes, inspection holes, and blow holes are formed at predetermined intervals on the circumference; a rotary valve body having a plurality of communication holes formed at predetermined intervals on a circumference corresponding to It comprises a plurality of chambers attached to the rotary valve body so that the respective ventilation passages match the communication holes, and an insertion position for inserting the object to be inspected into the chambers, and a deaeration vent. A degassing position that evacuates the inside of the chamber containing the inspection target to a predetermined degree of vacuum by matching with the communication hole, and a predetermined time after passing through the degassing position by matching the degassing hole and the inspection hole. an inspection position for inspecting the degree of vacuum in the chamber that has passed through the inspection position, a blow position for bringing the inside of the chamber that has passed through the inspection position to atmospheric pressure, and a take-out position for taking out the item to be inspected from the atmospheric pressure inside the chamber, The inspection position is equipped with an inspection box connected to the inspection through hole and a dedicated vacuum pump, and each chamber is connected to the fixed valve body in response to sliding contact and rotation of the rotary valve body. The inspection device is prepared by passing through each of the positions in sequence.

<Function> One of the features of this inspection device is that it employs a "rotary valve structure" consisting of a combination of a fixed valve body and a rotating valve body. As a result, in order to further improve inspection accuracy, each chamber has a relatively small capacity that can accommodate one or several items to be inspected, and a simple ventilation path is installed instead of a complicated "valve mechanism". It is only necessary to provide a device to be inspected, and processes such as insertion of an object to be inspected into each chamber, degassing, inspection, and removal of an object to be inspected can be realized with a very compact structure, making the entire apparatus more compact. In addition, each chamber can always move at a constant speed without stopping, making it possible to efficiently approach each processing position.As a result, the processing time for each chamber is kept to the minimum necessary, which helps maintain inspection accuracy. Processing capacity per chamber is 1
Although it is limited to one to a few, a sufficient inspection speed can be maintained. Furthermore, an inspection box is provided at the inspection position, and the inside of this inspection box is evacuated in advance to a degree of vacuum corresponding to the predetermined vacuum degree in the chamber using a special vacuum pump, and the inspection box and the chamber are communicated with each other. Since the degree of vacuum in the chamber is tested, the influence of the degree of vacuum in other chambers that have already passed through the inspection position can be completely eliminated, making it possible to perform very highly accurate inspection.

<Example> Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

This inspection device 1 has a central support shaft 2 as a base, a fixed valve body 3, a rotary valve body 4, and 16 chambers 5,5...
..., and in a circular arrangement centered on the central support shaft 2, an insertion position 6, a first degassing position 7, a second degassing position 8, an inspection position 9, and a blowing position 1.
0 and a take-out position 11.

The fixed valve body 3 is disc-shaped and has a fitting hole 13 in the center thereof, and first degassing passages are formed at predetermined intervals on a circumference centered on the fitting hole 3 as will be explained later. Hole 1
4. Second degassing hole 15, inspection hole 16 and blow hole 1
7, and is fitted onto the central support shaft 2 through the fitting hole 13. Each of the first and second deaeration vents 14.15 is connected to an attachment (not shown), and via this attachment, the deaeration vent 14 is connected to a first vacuum pump (not shown), and also to the deaeration vent 15. are respectively connected to a second vacuum pump (not shown). This fixed valve body 3 is connected to the key 1
9, it is possible to move forward and backward in the direction of arrow A, but it does not rotate about the central support shaft 2, and is always urged in the direction of arrow B by the spring 20 so as to press against the rotating valve body 4. has been done.

The rotary valve body 4 is also disk-shaped and has a shaft hole 22 in the center, and 16 valve bodies are formed at predetermined intervals on the circumference of the shaft hole 22 and have the same diameter as the fixed valve body 3. The fixed valve body is moved at a constant speed in the direction of arrow C around the central support shaft 2 that has communication holes 23, 23, and passes through the shaft hole 22, while receiving the pressing force of the spring 20 described above. 3
It is designed to rotate while sliding in contact with. Note that a backing 24 is applied to the sliding surfaces of the rotary valve body 4 and the fixed valve body 3, and vacuum grease is applied thereto.

Each chamber 5 is box-shaped and has a slightly larger volume than the test object 25 in which, for example, a medicine is sealed in a plastic or glass container. The device is equipped with a push lever 27 that is operated at a predetermined timing by a cam mechanism to push out the inspection object 25, and a ventilation passage 28.

Each chamber 5 is attached to the rotary valve body 4 in such a manner that the ventilation passage 28 and the communication hole 23 are aligned with each other, and the positions 7 to 11 are sequentially moved in accordance with the rotation of the rotary valve body 4. Being allowed to pass.

The insertion position 6 is a position for inserting the inspection object 25 into the chamber 5, and is such that one inspection object 25 sent by a conveyor (not shown) is automatically inserted into the chamber 5. It is being done.

The first degassing position 7 is provided at an interval corresponding to two chambers from the insertion position 6 as a time for the lid body 26 to close, and the first degassing position 7 is located between the communication hole 23 and the first degassing hole. 14, and preliminary evacuation of the chamber 5 is performed by the first vacuum pump.

The second degassing position 8 is provided at an interval corresponding to one chamber from the first degassing position 7,
At this point, the communication hole 23 and the second deaeration hole 15 match, and the final deaeration in the chamber 5 is performed by the second vacuum pump.

The inspection position 9 is set at an interval equivalent to three chambers from the second degassing position 8 for a standing time, that is, if there is a sealing defect such as a pinhole in the inspection object 25, the internal gas is leaked from there and the chamber 5 is drained. The inspection box 30 is provided at this inspection position 9 to provide time for reducing the degree of vacuum.

This inspection box 30 is equipped with a vacuum chamber 31 to which a vacuum gauge (not shown) is connected, and this vacuum chamber 31 is connected to an on-off valve 3.
It is connected to a degassing passage 33 via 2. Open/close valve 32
is operated at a constant timing by a cam 34 fixed to the rotary valve body 4 and constantly rotating together with the rotary valve body 4, and is connected to a vacuum chamber 31 and a degassing passage 33 that connects to a third vacuum pump (not shown). can be freely communicated and disconnected. Note that 35 is an O-ring, and this O-ring 35 substantially corresponds to a valve.

Further, 36 is a spring for automatically returning the on-off valve 32, and 37 is a cushion spring for averaging the acting force of the cam 34.

Inside the vacuum chamber 31, a third vacuum pump (not shown) is used to pump the chamber 5 in advance at a certain timing by the cam 34.
The vacuum level is the same as the predetermined vacuum level. and,
By matching the communication hole 23 and the inspection hole 16, the inside of this vacuum chamber 31 and the inside of the chamber 5 are communicated with each other, and in this state, the degree of vacuum inside the vacuum chamber 31 is measured, and the measurement result is determined to have a predetermined error. If it is within the range, it is considered to be a good product and it is passed through as is, and if it is outside the error range, it is determined to be a defective product and a predetermined instruction is issued to a take-out position 11, which will be described later.

The blow position 10 is provided adjacent to the inspection position 9, where the communication hole 23 and the blow through hole 17 match, and the inside of the chamber 5 after the inspection is brought to atmospheric pressure.

The take-out position 11 is provided at an interval equivalent to two chambers from the blow position 10 as a time for the lid body 26 to open, and the take-out position 11 is provided with an interval corresponding to two chambers from the blow position 10 as a time for the lid body 26 to open. The samples are taken out from the chamber 5 while being distributed to a take-out conveyor (not shown).

In this way, this inspection device 1 employs a "rotary valve structure" consisting of a combination of a fixed valve body 3 and a rotary valve body 4, so that its capacity is larger than the product to be inspected 25 in order to improve inspection accuracy. Each chamber 5, which has a relatively small capacity that can accommodate one, only needs to be provided with a simple ventilation passage 28 without providing a complicated "valve mechanism".
Processes such as insertion, degassing, inspection, and removal can be realized with a very compact structure, making the entire device even more compact.

In addition, each chamber 5 can be moved efficiently at each processing position 7 to 7 without stopping (always moving at a constant speed).
As a result, the processing time for each chamber 5 is reduced to the minimum necessary, and in order to maintain inspection accuracy, sufficient inspection speed can be maintained even though the processing amount per chamber is limited to one. become.

Furthermore, an inspection box 30 is provided at the inspection position 9, and the inside of this inspection box 30, specifically the inside of the vacuum chamber 31, is brought to a degree of vacuum corresponding to a predetermined degree of vacuum in the chamber 5 using a dedicated third vacuum pump. Degas this vacuum chamber 3.
Since the degree of vacuum in the chamber 5 is inspected through communication between the inside of the chamber 1 and the inside of the chamber 5, the influence of the degree of vacuum in other chambers 5 that have already passed the inspection position 9,
In other words, when a vacuum gauge is directly connected to chamber 5, it is unavoidable that a certain amount of space will be created in the communication part between the vacuum gauge and chamber 5, but this space will depend on the degree of vacuum in other chambers 5. This will completely eliminate the effects that would otherwise occur, making it possible to perform inspections with extremely high precision.

Note that although this embodiment relates to an example in which the chamber accommodates one item to be inspected, it is of course possible to use a chamber that can accommodate several items to be inspected depending on the required inspection accuracy. It is possible.

<Effects of the Invention> As explained above, the inspection device according to the present invention employs a "rotary valve structure" consisting of a combination of a fixed valve body and a rotary valve body, so that it can further improve inspection accuracy. In addition, each chamber has a relatively small capacity that can accommodate one to several items to be inspected, and does not have a complicated "valve mechanism", making the entire device more compact. In addition, as each chamber can be efficiently placed at each processing position, the processing time for each chamber is minimized, and in order to maintain inspection accuracy, the processing amount per chamber can be reduced from one to several pieces. Although limited, sufficient inspection speed can be maintained. Furthermore, an inspection box is provided at the inspection position, and the inside of this inspection box is evacuated in advance to a degree of vacuum corresponding to the predetermined vacuum degree in the chamber using a special vacuum pump, and the inspection box and the chamber are communicated with each other. Since the degree of vacuum inside the chamber is tested, the influence of the degree of vacuum in other chambers that have already passed the inspection position can be completely eliminated.
This allows for extremely high precision inspection.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an inspection device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the arrow nn line in FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the inspection box. 1... Inspection device 3... Fixed valve body 4... Rotating valve body 5... Chamber 6... Insertion position 7... First degassing position 8... Second degassing position 9... Inspection position 10... Blow position 11... Removal position 14... First deaeration vent 15... Second deaeration vent 17... Blow through hole 23... Communication Hole 25... Product to be inspected 28... Ventilation path 30... Inspection box Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A fixed valve body in which deaeration holes, inspection holes, and blow holes are respectively formed at predetermined intervals on the circumference, and a fixed valve body formed at predetermined intervals on the circumference corresponding to the circumference. A rotating valve body has a plurality of communication holes, and is slidable and rotatable with respect to a fixed valve body, and each of the ventilation passages is aligned with the plurality of communication holes that the rotating valve body has. It is equipped with a plurality of chambers that are attached to the rotary valve body, and has an insertion position for inserting the product to be inspected into the chamber, and the matching of the deaeration vent and the communication hole allows the product to be inspected to be inserted into the chamber. An inspection that checks the degree of vacuum in the chamber after a predetermined period of time after passing through the degassing position by matching the degassing hole and the inspection hole with the degassing position to evacuate the inside of the chamber containing the gas to a predetermined degree of vacuum. position, a blow position for making the inside of the chamber that has passed through the inspection position atmospheric pressure, and a take-out position for taking out the inspection object from the atmospheric pressure inside the chamber, and the inspection position has an inspection through hole. and an inspection box connected to a dedicated vacuum pump, and each chamber sequentially passes through each position as the rotating valve element slides into contact with the fixed valve element and rotates. Container inspection equipment.