JPH03138543A - Abnormality detector for stopper of bottle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect abnormality of the stopper of a gas-contained or liquid- contained bottle automatically during fast conveying by providing respective means for the rotation of the bottle on its perpendicular axis, abrupt stopping, striking, its reverberation characteristic detection, and the comparison of its output with a reference value on a bottle conveyance line. CONSTITUTION:A bottle rotating and stopping device 1 while rotating the bottle 2 to be inspected on its vertical axis moves at the same speed with the bottle conveyance and stops rotating the bottle when a position detection sensor 8 detects the arrival of the bottle at an inspection position, a striking device 4 strikes the flank of the bottle 2, and a microphone 3 catches the sound and sends a signal to a processor 13. When the bottle 2 is rotated, the liquid in the bottle also rotates, and the looser its stopper is, the more air bubbles are produced; and the reverberation time of the detected sound at the time of the striking is short for an abnormal stopper and long for a sound stopper. A comparator 11 compares the output of the microphone 3 with a reference voltage level and outputs the result to a bottle rejecting device 12. Consequently, bottle abnormality can be detected automatically with invariably constant standards without intervention of the operator.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a device for detecting an abnormality in the closure of a bottle, particularly for detecting an abnormality in the closure of a bottle containing a foaming liquid such as carbonated water or beer. The present invention relates to a bottle stopper abnormality detection device suitable for inspecting abnormalities.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, foaming liquids such as carbonated drinks and beer (hereinafter referred to as
It is called a gas-containing liquid. ) has not been developed to automatically detect on the production line whether or not a bottle containing a bottle is properly capped, and currently visual inspection is the main method.

That is, a worker monitors the capped bottles flowing on the line from the side of the line, determines whether the contents are leaking, and detects whether there is any abnormality in the caps.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) Detecting content leakage due to such stopper abnormalities involves inspecting each bottle by making the eyes follow the bottle transport speed, which puts an excessive burden on the eyes and quickly tires them. In addition, there are various other problems, such as the fact that the testing standards depend on individual differences and the state of mind on that day, and that the back side of the bottle cannot be tested.

On the other hand, an automatic inspection method using a CO2 analyzer is also considered, but it is currently difficult to put it into practical use due to the requirements such as being able to perform high-speed detection according to the bottle transport speed and being able to withstand continuous use.

The present invention has been developed in view of the above situation, and particularly aims to provide a device that automatically detects an abnormality in the stopper of a bottle containing a gas-filled liquid that is transported at high speed.

(Means for solving the problem) Therefore, the present invention is arranged in the middle of a bottle conveyance line,
A rotating means for rotating the bottle around a vertical axis, a means for suddenly stopping the bottle, a striking means for striking the bottle after the sudden stop, a detecting means for detecting the reverberation characteristics caused by the striking, and a comparison of the output from the detecting means with a reference value. The object of the present invention is to provide a bottle stopper abnormality detection device characterized by comprising a processing means for processing the bottle, and to provide a means for solving the above-mentioned problem.

(Function) When the bottle to be inspected flows on the conveyor and reaches the inspection section by the apparatus of the present invention, the bottle rotation/stop means is activated to rotate the bottle around the vertical axis. At this time, the liquid in the bottle rotates following the rotation of the bottle, and bubbles are generated at the liquid surface due to pressure changes in the liquid. The larger the amount of leakage from the frame, the more bubbles are produced. At the point when the rotation of the liquid in the bottle reaches a steady state, the operation of the bottle rotation/stopping means is stopped, and the bottle is stopped.

On the other hand, this foam has a damping effect on vibrations,
Therefore, when a bottle is struck, the reverberation time of the striking sound generated at that time exhibits a characteristic that the more bubbles there are, the shorter it becomes (see Fig. 2). Therefore, immediately after stopping the rotation of the bottle, a blow is applied from the side of the bottle. The characteristics of the reverberant sound are detected and output to a signal processing device. In the signal processing device, the reverberation characteristics and the degree of plug abnormality are calibrated in advance, and this is compared with the measured value of the reverberation characteristics to determine the presence or absence of leakage based on the plug abnormality.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing an apparatus for inspecting the cap of a carbonated beverage bottle, which is a typical embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a bottle rotating/stopping device, which moves at the same speed as the bottle conveyance speed, and when the bottle 2 to be inspected reaches the bottle stopper inspection section, a drive device that does not rotate rotates the bottle 2 to be inspected (al →
Rotate around the vertical axis at position (c), and stop the rotation at position (dl).Rotation stop position of bottle 2 to be inspected (
A position detection sensor 8 is installed immediately after d), and detects the arrival of the bottle 2 to be inspected. Position detection sensor 8
When it is confirmed that the bottle 2 to be inspected has arrived, the striking device 4
is activated to strike the side of the bottle 2, the sound of the strike is captured by the microphone 3, and the signal is sent to the signal processing device 13.

Next, its operation will be explained based on FIG.

When the bottle 2 to be inspected is rotated around the vertical axis by the bottle rotating/stopping device 1, the liquid content also rotates while maintaining a certain speed lag between the bottle and the bottle ((a)-( C
)position). At this time, pressure fluctuations occur in the liquid inside the bottle and bubbles are generated. The looser the stopper is, the more bubbles will be generated.

Next, the rotation of the bottle is stopped (position (d)), and immediately after that, the bottle is detected by the bottle position detection sensor 8 and the striking device 4
to drive. The striking device 4 strikes the bottle 2 only once with a striking force that does not break the bottle 2. The sweat generated at this time is detected by the micromen 3 and output to the signal processing device 13.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sound detected by the microphone 3 has a long residual time when the plug is in good condition, and is short when the plug is normally plugged. This feature becomes more noticeable when the signal passes through the bypass filter 6 below 10Kllz. In the signal processing circuit 13 according to the present embodiment, the microphone output is sent to the amplifier 5.
, a bypass filter 6, and a rectifier circuit 7, and then input to a delay circuit 1°. Delay circuit 1
In this case, only the signal inputted after a certain set time after the impact (about 50 m5 when the difference in output between a healthy stopper and an abnormal stopper becomes clear) is taken out and output to the comparator 11.

The calibrator 11 compares the input voltage level with a reference voltage level (a voltage level that can distinguish between a healthy stopper and an abnormal stopper), and outputs the result to the bottle removal device 12 . Even if there is a minute crack in the bottle 2, the reverberation time will be shortened, so that it is possible to inspect not only defective stoppers but also defective bottles at the same time.

” - In the example described above, we focus on “time fluctuation” as the reverberation characteristic, but there are other reverberation characteristics such as “waveform fluctuation”.
One or a combination of these characteristics may be used to achieve the initial objective.

In the present invention, the term "stopper abnormality" includes abnormalities of the bottle itself, such as "micro-cracks in the bottle", as understood from the Examples described above.

Furthermore, it is clear from the spirit of the invention that the gas-containing liquid used in the present invention is not limited to beverages in terms of Ql'i.

(Effects of the Invention) As described in detail above, according to the bottle stopper abnormality detecting device according to the present invention, it is possible to automatically detect a stopper abnormality without any manual intervention, and moreover, inspection is always performed according to a fixed inspection standard. It is also highly reliable as it can do this. Furthermore, when the apparatus of the present invention is installed on a production line, continuous inspection is possible even at a high bottle feed rate of, for example, 1200 bottles/min, which greatly contributes to labor saving and automation of this type of production line.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cap abnormality detection device for a carbonated beverage bottle according to a typical embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the principle of detecting a cap abnormality. Explanation of main parts of the figure] - Bottle rotation/stop device 2 - = - Bottle to be inspected 3 - Microphone 4 - Impact device I2 - Bottle removal device 13 - Signal processing device

Claims (1)

[Claims] A rotating means for rotating the bottle around a vertical axis, a means for suddenly stopping the bottle, a striking means for striking the bottle after the sudden stop, a detecting means for detecting the reverberation characteristics caused by the striking, and a rotating means for rotating the bottle around a vertical axis, a means for striking the bottle after the sudden stop, a detecting means for detecting reverberation characteristics caused by the striking, and A bottle stopper abnormality detection device comprising processing means for comparing the output from the detection means with a reference value.