JPH036075B2 - - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To measure plug opening torque automatically, to find its deviation from predetermined reference plug opening torque, and to perform plug opening operation by proper plug opening torque on the basis of the deviation. CONSTITUTION:When the output torque of a torque motor 17 increases and a plug starts rotating together with a plug gripping mechanism 15, a controller 46 calculates a maximum torque value from the maximum value detected by a detector 44 and regards it as a plug opening torque value. It is compared with the reference plug opening torque value set by a plug opening torque setter 47 and a plug closing torque value is corrected according to the difference. The plug 14 is clamped in a container 12 again and when the value of a current or voltage to the torque motor 17 exceeds a value corresponding to the set plug closing torque value, a comparator 50 reports that to the controller 46 to stop the rotation of the torque motor 17.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a cap-opening torque detection device that detects a cap-opening torque required to open a cap screwed onto a container.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, for the purpose of confirming the operation state of tightening the stopper to the container by the capper, the opening torque of the container closed by the capper is inspected every required time (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1989-1999). -129717).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the conventional cap opening torque detection device simply opens a cap screwed onto a container and detects the cap opening torque. The container was wasted.

In view of such circumstances, the present invention provides an opening torque detection device that, after opening the stopper and detecting the opening torque, allows the stopper to be closed with an appropriate closing torque and transferred to the next process as a product. It is something to do.

[Means for Solving the Problems] That is, the present invention includes a container gripping mechanism for gripping a container, a plug gripping mechanism for gripping a stopper of the container, and a mechanism for rotating the stopper gripping mechanism in the direction of opening or closing the stopper. A rotational drive mechanism is driven, and this rotational drive mechanism is rotationally driven in the opening direction to detect the opening torque of the stopper that is closed with a predetermined closing torque. A control device is provided which corrects the closure torque to eliminate the difference when there is a difference, and closes the opened closure using the corrected closure torque.

[Operation] According to the above configuration, by rotating the rotational drive mechanism in the opening direction, it is possible to detect the opening torque of the stopper that has been previously closed with a predetermined closing torque. If there is a difference between this detected value and a predetermined reference opening torque, the closing torque can be corrected to eliminate the difference, and the closing torque can be opened based on the corrected appropriate closing torque. A closed stopper can be closed again. Therefore, since the container can be transferred to the next process as a product, waste can be eliminated.

[Examples] The present invention will be described below with reference to illustrated examples.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a conventionally known rotary screw cap, and containers conveyed by a conveyor 2 are transferred to the cap 1 by a star wheel 3.
After being closed by the capper 1, it is carried out onto the discharge conveyor 5 by the star wheel 4 on the discharge side.

On the downstream side of the capper 1, an opening torque detection device 6 according to the present invention is provided. This cap-opening torque detection device 6 also includes a pair of star wheels 7 and 8 like the capper 1, but when the cap-opening torque detection device 6 is not operating, both rotate at idle and are transported by the discharge conveyor 5. The container is passed through as it is without being introduced into the opening torque detection device 6.

On the other hand, when the cap-opening torque detection device 6 operates, the container is adsorbed by the negative pressure introduction hole provided in the star wheel 7, and the cap-opening torque detection device 6
It is now possible to introduce it internally.
The opening torque detection device 6 is equipped with a storage section 9 for discharging and storing defective containers.
Normal containers that have been re-sealed after detection of the opening torque are discharged from the star wheel 8 onto the discharge conveyor 5, while defective containers can be discharged and stored in the stock section 9.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cap opening torque detection device 6 includes a container gripping mechanism 11 having a pair of arms 13, 13 that grip the body of the container 12. , a plurality of caps are arranged at equal intervals around a rotary table (not shown), similar to the conventionally known rotary cappers. As this container gripping mechanism 11, various conventionally known configurations can be used as they are, so a description of the specific configuration will be omitted.

Above each container gripping mechanism 11 is a stopper 14.
A stopper gripping mechanism 15 is provided, and this stopper gripping mechanism 15 is linked to a torque motor 17. The torque motor 17 is fixed to the upper end of a cylindrical body 18, and the cylindrical body 18 can be moved up and down by a lifting mechanism (not shown).

A rotating shaft 20 for rotating the stopper gripping mechanism 15 and a driving shaft 21 of the torque motor 17 are connected by forming a slit 23 along the axial direction on the inner surface of a cylindrical connecting fitting 22 fixed to the driving shaft 21. 2
3 by slidingly engaging the key 24 fixed to the upper end of the rotating shaft 20, the connecting fitting 22
The rotation of the torque motor 17 can be transmitted to the stopper gripping mechanism 15 while allowing the rotating shaft 20 to move up and down relative to the stopper. Note that the rotation shaft 20 is prevented from falling by a stopper ring 25.

The above-mentioned stopper gripping mechanism 15 is basically the same as a conventional well-known air chuck that grips the stopper 14 using air pressure, and is
By introducing air pressure to 0, the disk 31 is pushed down and the ring-shaped elastic body 32 is elastically deformed,
The inner diameter of the shaft hole of the elastic body 32 is contracted to grip the plug 14 inserted therein.

The pressure chamber 30 includes air passages 33, 34, 35,
Compressed air source 3 via conduit 36 and solenoid valve 37
It is connected to 8. Further, since the space on the top surface of the stopper 14 is sealed by the elastic body 32 when the stopper 14 is gripped by the elastic body 32, the space is communicated with the atmosphere through the passages 39 and 40. ing.

Therefore, the control device 45 for the torque motor 17 includes a controller 46 and a torque motor 17 that occupy the main parts thereof.
A detector 44 that detects the current value or voltage value energized to, an opening torque setting device 47 that sets the reference opening torque, a display 48 that displays the detected opening torque value, etc., and a setting device that sets the closing torque. The capping torque setting device 49 is provided with a comparator 50 that compares the capping torque with a detected value from the detector 44.

In the above configuration, when the main body 18, torque motor 17, stopper gripping mechanism 15, etc. are located at the rising end, the controller 46 maintains the torque motor 17 in a stationary state. In this state, when the container 12 is introduced into the container gripping mechanism 11 from the star wheel 7 in the same way as the upstream cap 1,
This container gripping mechanism 11 grips the container 12. Next, when the main body 18, the torque motor 17, and the stopper gripping mechanism 15 are lowered together by a lift mechanism (not shown), the stopper 14 that is fastened to the container 12 is moved relative to the axis of the elastic body 22 of the stopper gripping mechanism 15. inserted into the hole.

When the main body 18 etc. reach the lower end, the controller 46 of the control device 45 excites the solenoid 37a of the solenoid valve 37 to open the solenoid valve 37, and the compressed air source 38
of air pressure is introduced into the pressure chamber 30, and the elastic body 2
2 to grip the stopper 14. Next, the controller 46 outputs a rotation command signal to the torque motor 17 to rotate the stopper 14 in a direction to open the stopper, and also sequentially increases the output of the torque motor 17.

When the output torque of the torque motor 17 increases and the stopper starts rotating together with the stopper gripping mechanism 15,
At that moment, the current value or voltage value detected by the detector 44 decreases, so the controller 46 calculates the maximum torque value from the maximum value detected by the detector 44, and uses this as the opening torque value. and controller 4
6 is the opening torque value and the opening torque setting device 47.
Compare the reference opening torque value set in , and correct the closing torque value set in the closing torque setting device 49 so that the difference is eliminated, and also calculate the detected opening torque value, correction value, etc. as necessary. data is displayed on the display 48.

When the detection of the opening torque is completed, the controller 46 outputs a reverse rotation command signal to the torque motor 17 and increases the output of the torque motor 17. As a result, the stopper 14 comes to be tightened to the container 12 again, and at that time, the current value or voltage value to the torque motor 17 is changed to the above-mentioned stopper torque setting device 4.
When the current value or voltage value corresponding to the corrected plugging torque value set in 9 is exceeded, the comparator 5
0 outputs this to controller 46. As a result, the controller 46 stops the rotation of the torque motor 17, deenergizes the solenoid 37a of the electromagnetic valve 37, and releases the stopper gripping mechanism 15 from gripping the stopper 14.

Thereafter, when the main body 18, the torque motor 17, the stopper gripping mechanism 15, etc. are raised to the original raised end position by the lifting mechanism, and the container 12 is released from the container gripping mechanism 11, the container 12 is moved to the star wheel 8. This allows the paper to be discharged onto the discharge conveyor 5.

Note that if the container is not opened or closed even when the output of the torque motor 17 reaches its maximum level by the controller 46, the container is discharged onto the stock section 9 described above.

By the way, in the above embodiment, the current or voltage value of the torque motor 17 is detected by the detector 44, but instead, a torque detector 51 is provided on the rotating shaft 20, and this torque detector 51 detects the current or voltage value applied to the rotating shaft 20. The torque value may also be directly detected. The torque detector 51 may be any suitable conventionally known torque detector, such as a torque detector that converts the torsion angle of the rotating shaft 20, which occurs in proportion to the magnitude of the closure torque, into a phase difference between two alternating current voltages. The torque detector can be used as is.

Next, FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which parts corresponding to those in FIG. 1 are indicated by the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 with the addition of "A".

In this embodiment, instead of providing the detector 44, a torque generator or rotary encoder 52A is provided to detect the rotation of the torque motor 17A or the stopper gripping mechanism 15A. Controller 46A
sequentially increases the output torque of the torque motor 17A, and when the torque motor 17A starts rotating and detects that the stopper 14 is opened by the signal from the rotary encoder 52A, the output torque of the torque motor 17A at that time is increased. The opening torque is calculated from the current or voltage value.

It is clear that even with such a configuration, the same effects as those of the above-mentioned embodiments can be obtained.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is not only possible to detect the opening torque by opening the stopper, but also to reclose the opened stopper into the container with a highly accurate closing torque. Since it can be tightened, it is possible to eliminate waste as a product, or it can be used as a high-precision capper.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a connection diagram showing a main part in cross section, and FIG. 3 is a connection diagram of another embodiment of the present invention. 6... Opening torque detection device, 12... Container, 1
5,15A...Plug gripping mechanism, 14...Plug, 17,
17A...Torque motor, 44...Detector, 4
5, 45A...control device, 51...torque detector.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A container gripping mechanism that grips a container, a plug gripping mechanism that grips the stopper of the container, a rotational drive mechanism that rotationally drives this plug gripping mechanism in the direction of opening or closing the stopper, and a rotational drive mechanism that opens this rotational drive mechanism. In addition to detecting the opening torque of the stopper that is rotated in the direction of the stopper and closed with a predetermined closing torque, the above-described method is used to eliminate the difference when there is a difference between this detected value and a predetermined reference opening torque. A cap-opening torque detection device comprising: a control device that corrects a cap-closing torque and closes an opened cap using the corrected cap-closing torque.