JPH0356493Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an apparatus for feeding containers such as bottles and cans into receiving devices such as inspection machines and liquid filling machines.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, in the above-mentioned infeed equipment for containers such as bottles and cans (hereinafter referred to as infeed equipment),
A timing screw is used to feed the container into the receiving device.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, when using a timing screw,
Due to the screw-back phenomenon peculiar to screws, containers may topple over in the infeed.
In addition, in the device using the screw, since the inlet and outlet of the container in the device are integrated,
If there is jamming at the inlet, the feeding of the container at the outlet becomes unstable, causing a lag between the infeed timing and the receiving timing, making it difficult to reliably infeed.

Furthermore, due to the structure, the contact point between the screw and the container cannot be lowered, and the infeed tends to become unstable because it is handled at a high position.
Also, it could not be applied to short containers. Furthermore, the sliding friction between the container and screw causes scratches on the surface of the soft container, which limits speed.

On the other hand, there are devices in which a single finger wheel with multiple fingers is installed near the conveyance path, but it is necessary to strictly synchronize the timing between this wheel and the receiving device, and it is not possible to synchronize the timing too strictly. If even some disturbance occurs in the feeding of the container from the upstream side, the fingers may not be able to reliably capture the container.

The present invention has been made with the above-mentioned considerations in mind, and its purpose is to provide an infeed device that can stably infeed even short containers.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a first finger wheel that has the same number of fingers and rotates synchronously in the same direction along the conveyance path of containers such as bottles and cans, starting from the upstream side in the conveyance direction. and a second finger wheel, and the rotational phase of the two finger wheels is slightly shifted from each other, and
The first finger wheel is characterized in that the fingers of the first finger wheel are rotatable upstream in the conveying direction.

(Function) In the above configuration, the first finger wheel roughly adjusts the feeding timing of the container sent from the upstream side in the conveying direction, and then the second finger wheel determines the feeding timing of the container sent from the upstream side in the conveying direction. Fine-tune the timing to match the receiving timing of the device. As a result, the container is fed at a timing that matches the receiving device. Further, since the fingers of the first finger wheel can rotate upstream in the conveyance direction, even if containers are sent at random, the fingers can reliably capture the containers.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the device of the present invention, and 1 is a conveyance path for containers Y such as bottles and cans, which is made up of, for example, a meandering conveyance belt driven by a drive source not shown. , the container Y is transported from the upstream side (right side in the figure) to the downstream side (left side in the figure) at a predetermined speed.
Reference numerals 2 and 3 denote guides made of a flexible material such as resin, which are erected to face each other on both sides of the conveyance path 1.

4 and 5 are a first finger wheel and a second finger wheel provided along one side of the conveyance path 1. Each finger wheel 4, 5 has wheels 6, 7 of the same size and a plurality of (10 in the illustrated example) fingers 8 of approximately the same shape.
Consists of 9... Each finger 8..., 9... is arranged so as to equally divide the circumference of each wheel 6, 7. As shown in FIG. 2, the fingers 8 of the first finger wheel 4 are attached to a shaft 11 via a coil spring 10, and are prevented from rotating downstream in the conveying direction by a stopper 12. It is regulated so that it can rotate only upstream in the transport direction.

On the other hand, the fingers 9 of the second finger wheel 5 are fixed so as not to rotate. and,
Both finger wheels 4, 5 are mounted on shafts 13, 1 such that the tips of their respective fingers 8, 9 are offset from each other.
It is attached to 4. In other words, the rotational phases of the first finger wheel 4 and the second finger wheel 5 are slightly shifted (the maximum width of the shift is approximately 1/2 of the distance 1 between the fingers 8, 8 or 9, 9,
(see figure). Incidentally, the wheel 6 of the first finger wheel 4 has an elongated mounting hole 15 formed therein, as shown in FIG.

3 and 4 show the mounting state and drive mechanism of both the finger wheels 4 and 5, and 1
6 is a base, and 17 is a support member provided on the base 16. Brackets 18 and 19 are attached to the support member 17 so as to be vertically adjustable in height.

A slide base 20 is provided on the horizontal portion 18a of the bracket 18. 21 is a housing into which the shaft 13 is fitted, and 22 is a bearing for the shaft 14, both of which are held by the slide base 20. 2
Timing pulleys 3 and 24 are provided integrally with the shafts 13 and 14, respectively, and discs 25 and 26 are used to connect the wheels 6 and 7 to the shafts 13 and 14, respectively. 27 is a timing belt. As a result, both finger wheels 4, 5 rotate in the same direction and at the same speed without causing any slippage. Reference numeral 28 designates a guide holding portion for holding the guide 29, which is formed so as not to impede the rotation of the fingers 8, 9, and so on.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a rotary knob having a threaded portion 30a that is screwed into a threaded portion (not shown) formed on the bracket 18. By rotating this rotary knob 30 to the right or left, the slide base 20 is rotated.
The first finger wheel 4, second finger wheel 5, guide 29, etc. on the slide base can be integrally slid in the direction of arrow A or B as shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 31 denotes a guide erected opposite the guide 29, and 32 a guide holding and adjusting device, which is configured to hold the guide 31 and slide it to adjust the distance between it and the guide. . Note that 33 is a spring that allows the guide 31 to swing around a fulcrum. (See Figure 1).

35 is a motor, 36 is a transmission belt, and 37 is a gear section. A spline shaft 38 and a universal joint 3 are connected between the gear portion 37 and the shaft 13.
9, 40, etc. Note that 41 is a holding member erected on a base 42 such as a floor.

Returning to FIG. 1 again, 50 is a receiving device such as an inspection machine, and a plurality of (in the illustrated example, 8
) receiving portions 51 are arranged at equal intervals.
In this embodiment, the ratio between the rotation speed of the receiving device 50 and that of the finger wheels 4 and 5 is 5:
It is set to 4. Further, the conveyance speed of the container Y by the conveyor belt is set slightly higher (about 10%) than the conveyance speed by the finger wheels 4 and 5. For example, 52 is an inspection machine, and 53 is a discharge path.

As shown in FIG. 5, the vertical positions of the finger wheels 4, 5 can be set by loosening the mounting bolts 43 and moving the brackets 18 up and down. Further, by operating the rotary knob 30, the horizontal position of the finger wheels 4, 5 can be set.

Thus, when the containers Y are sent in an orderly manner from the upstream side in the transport direction, the containers Y are first caught between the fingers 8, 8 of the first finger wheel 4, and
is sent by the rotation of the first finger wheel 4 and the movement of the conveyor belt, and is then caught between the fingers 9, 9 of the second finger wheel 5,
The rotation of the second finger wheel 5 and the movement of the conveyor belt feed the material into the receiving device 50.

Even if the conveyance of the containers Y from the upstream side in the conveyance direction becomes random for some reason and it becomes difficult for the fingers 8, 8 to capture the containers Y, the fingers 8 are rotated to the upstream side in the conveyance direction. Since it can move and escape, the container Y can also be captured reliably. Since the rotational phases of the first finger wheel 4 and the second finger wheel 5 are shifted in advance, the rotational phases of the first finger wheel 4 and the second finger wheel 5 are shifted in advance, so that the feed is reliably fed into the receiving device 50 in this case as well.

[Effect of idea]

As detailed above, the present invention provides a first finger wheel that has the same number of fingers and rotates synchronously in the same direction along the conveyance path for containers such as bottles and cans, starting from the upstream side in the conveyance direction. and a second finger wheel, and the rotational phase of the two finger wheels is slightly shifted from each other, and the fingers of the first finger wheel are rotatable to the upstream side in the conveying direction. can be reliably in-feed to the receiving device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of the infeed device, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the first finger wheel, Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the main part,
FIG. 4 is a side view of the main part, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the adjustment mechanism, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of the main part. 1... Conveyance path, 4... First finger wheel, 5... Second finger wheel, 8, 9...
Finger, Y...container.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A first finger wheel and a second finger wheel having the same number of fingers and rotating synchronously in the same direction are provided in order from the upstream side in the conveyance direction along the conveyance path of containers such as bottles and cans, An infeed device for containers such as bottles and cans, characterized in that the rotational phases of the two finger wheels are slightly shifted from each other, and the fingers of the first finger wheel are rotatable upstream in the conveying direction.