JPH0412913A - Vessel carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To alleviate the damage of a vessel and automate the carriage thereof in a carrying device for a liquid sealed glass vessel or the like by arranging a guide and a screw side by side at a constant gap, hanging the vessel between the guide and screw, and carrying the vessel with the rotation of the screw. CONSTITUTION:A screw 5 is adsorbed to and engaged with a rail 2 via the permanent magnet 3 of the rail 2, and a guide 4 is supported on another rail 1. A vessel is hung and supported between the guide 4 and the screw 5. Then, the screw 5 is rotated in an arrow direction with the operation of a motor 9, thereby carrying the vessel. According to the aforesaid construction, the damage of the vessel can be alleviated and the carriage thereof can be automated.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a system in which a container is suspended between a guide and a screw that are arranged in parallel at regular intervals, and the container is transported by rotating the screw. This invention relates to a container conveying device.

[Conventional technology]

Containers such as glass and plastic bottles (hereinafter simply referred to as containers) that contain liquid or other fillers usually have a process of transporting them on the manufacturing process line before shipping them as products. Exists. Generally, a belt conveyor, a roller conveyor, or the like is used to transport containers, and the containers are moved by moving the belt or rotating the rollers.

In conveying devices such as belt conveyors and roller conveyors,
Usually, the positions of the containers on the conveyor are not strictly determined, and the containers are arranged randomly on the conveyor. However, when filling a container, it is necessary to accurately position the container, and in order to safely send the container to the next process, it is necessary to reposition the container that has been conveyed by the conveyor.

Further, in order to automate the manufacturing process, it is required to simplify the process line as much as possible, but it is difficult to automate container transfer by a conveyor due to the above-mentioned positioning correction required.

Moreover, conveyor-based conveyance devices not only occupy a large amount of space as fixed equipment, but also have the problem of increasing equipment costs.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

New container conveyance devices have been proposed to solve various problems found in the above-mentioned conventional container conveyance devices such as belt conveyors and roller conveyors. This device consists of two screws placed in parallel at regular intervals, a container suspended between the two screws, and a flange on the neck of the container usually hooked onto the screws), and the two screws rotated. Configured to transport containers.

This device uses a conveying principle that is completely different from that of a conveyor, that is, it moves containers by friction between the screw and the neck of the container.The device allows for accurate container positioning, can automate the manufacturing process line, and is easy to use due to the structure of the device itself. It is also simple and small, and the equipment cost is low.

In the above-mentioned device, the screw is generally rotated while being locked to a rail that has a main body and a shelf protruding from the main body, so the screw is rotated not only by the neck of the container but also by the main body and the shelf of the rail. Contact occurs, and the screw wears out as it operates. Since the screw rotates at high speed, the sliding friction that occurs particularly at the contact portion with the shelf where the screw's own weight and the weight of the container are applied becomes considerably large, accelerating wear and tear. Therefore, the screw must be replaced periodically. However, in the above-mentioned apparatus as well, as with general container conveying apparatuses, it is required to reduce manufacturing costs and maintenance costs, and to be able to easily control the entire conveyance system and perform various and detailed controls.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a novel container conveying device in view of the above requirements.

[Means to solve the problem]

The purpose is to arrange a guide and a screw in parallel at regular intervals, suspend a container between the guide and the screw,
This is achieved by a container transport device that transports containers by rotating a screw.

In the device of the present invention, the guide simply guides the container without rotating, and only rotates the screw, thereby achieving cost reduction and ease of control. In addition, since only the screw is rotated, it is easy to control the removal of defective containers. By moving the displacement part, a defective container being transported under suspension can be dropped from the transport line.

In the present invention, if the screw is rotated while it is locked to a rail (which generally has a main body and a shelf protruding from the main body), there is a risk that the screw will come off the rail, so normally the screw is not rotated. A suction means for adsorption to the rail is provided on the rail. This suction means is not particularly limited as long as it can suction and lock the screw to the main body and the shelf so that the screw does not come off the rail. For example, when attracted by magnetic force,
As shown in the following embodiments, permanent magnets may be buried at regular intervals within the main body, or the rail may be made of a mixture of a resin material (such as nylon) and a magnetic material. Alternatively, when using negative pressure, a through hole is provided in the main body, and small holes communicating with the through hole are drilled at regular intervals on the protruding side of the shelf of the main body, and the pressure inside the through hole is reduced using a vacuum pump or the like. An example of this method is to pull a screw through a small hole.

The screw to be rotated in the present invention may only have rigidity, but the container conveyance route is not always straight, and in fact is often curved as shown in Figure 1 (in such cases, It is preferable that the screw be flexible so that it can be adapted to various needs.The structure of the screw consists of a mouth and a coil wound helically on the rod.The coil may be made of metal or resin, but in the present invention, Since the container is transported by the rotation of the screw, it is important for product and safety reasons that the neck (including the collar) of the container, which comes into direct contact with the coil, does not suffer wear or damage.Especially when filling carbonated beverages. For containers, more care must be taken to prevent damage to the container.Therefore, the coil must have good wear resistance, flexibility, rolling and sliding properties, as well as dynamic friction (sliding friction and rolling friction).
Such coil materials, which preferably have a small coefficient, include steel (e.g., stainless steel, carbon steel, nickel-chromium steel, cast steel, etc.), nonferrous metals such as chromium, nickel, tin, copper, and alloys thereof (e.g., brass, etc.). ), polyolefins (e.g., submers manufactured by Mitsui Petrochemical Industries, etc.), polyethers (e.g., polyacetal, polyphenylene ether, etc.), polyamides (e.g., 6-nylon, 6°6 nylon, 11-nylon, etc.)
, polyalkylene (e.g. polyethylene, especially ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, polypropylene, etc.), fluorine resins (
For example, resins such as polytetrafluoroethylene, tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer, etc.), and polyesters (such as polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, etc.) are exemplified. Among these, resin-based rubbers are most suitable, mainly considering sliding properties and durability.

The pitch at which the coil is wound around the rod is appropriately determined based on the size of the container, the number of containers to be transported, the number of revolutions of the screw, etc., in consideration of the transport speed of the container. Also, the pitch of the coils does not need to be constant over the entire length of the rod, and may vary, for example, at any part of the rod.

The rod around which the coil is wound helically must be rigid enough not to bend due to rotation and to sufficiently transmit the rotational torque applied from one end of the rod to the other end, and for example, when installed along a curved rail. Not only is it important to have both flexibility, but the selection of a rod material that provides contradictory properties of flexibility and rigidity depends on the adsorption means for the rail to be employed. Therefore, as a rod material,
For example, if a magnet or magnetic material is used for the attraction force, the screw must be made of metal such as steel, nickel, cobalt, or an alloy thereof so that the screw can be attracted by the magnetic force.

In addition, for screws in which at least the surface layer of the rod is a resin layer, when the core of the rod is made of metal, a magnetic metal is used for the upper layer, and when both the core and the surface layer are made of resin, resin is used. The rod is made of a mixture of magnetic material and magnetic material. In this case, the resin material of the coil is sufficient.

In addition, especially in order to impart both flexibility and rigidity to the rod, the rod should be made of wire lobes, i.e. strands of several (or tens) of strands (e.g.
4) It is preferable to have a structure in which several strands are further twisted together on top and this is covered with resin. that time,
There are no particular limitations on the way the lobes are twisted, normal twist or rung twist, and the direction of twist, S twist or Z twist.

In the device of the present invention, the guide is not particularly limited as long as it can guide the neck of the container at a minimum, so long as it does not interfere with container transportation (it may have the same structure as the rail for locking the screw, or it may have a structure similar to the above-mentioned screw). Although it may be in the shape of a round bar, it is preferable to have a simple structure from the viewpoint of manufacturing cost.For example, it may be a resin round bar, or a steel core may be provided at the center of the resin round bar.Also, The above-mentioned resin round bar may be fixed on the rail by arranging a rail in the same manner as the rotating screw, or the round bar and the rail may be integrally formed as a rail from the beginning.Alternatively, the round bar may be made of a magnetic material. In this case, the round bar is attracted and locked to the rail by an attraction means (for example, a magnet) provided on the rail and rotated gently.
It is also possible to equalize the contact between the round rod and the neck of the container. However, when the round bar is used for a curved conveyance line, it is preferable that the round bar is flexible like the screw.

〔Example〕

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the container conveyance apparatus of this invention will be explained in detail based on an Example.

First, the overall structure of the apparatus of the present invention will be described. In the first part showing an overview plane of an example of the device, two rails 1 and 2 with a total length of about 3 m are arranged in parallel at regular intervals in a substantially right-angled curved shape with a radius of curvature of 500 m. Permanent magnets 3 are buried at intervals (for example, 200 m). Although not shown in detail in the drawings, the screw 5 is attracted and locked to the rail 2 by the permanent magnet 3 of the rail 2, and the guide 4 is fixed to the rail 1. screw 5
One end is rotatably supported by a bearing 7, and the other end is rotatably supported by another bearing 8. One end of the guide 4 is a bearing 6
The other end is supported by a bearing 8 so as not to move. The bearing 8 is connected to the motor 9 and the screw 5
can be rotated in the direction of the arrow. Note that the bearing 8 may have a transmission so that the rotational speed transmitted to the screw 5 can be adjusted.

In such a device, a container (not shown in FIG. 1) is suspended between a guide 4 and a screw 5;
By rotating the container in the direction of the arrow, the container moves in one direction (the direction of the bearing 8 in Fig. C) while rotating.

This container conveying device will be explained in more detail based on FIGS. 2 to 4. The second part is a perspective view taken along the line AA' in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line AA', and FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view taken along the line AA'. The rail 2 (the rail 1 is omitted in FIG. 2) has a nylon main body 21 with a rectangular cross section and a shelf 22 protruding from the main body 21, and the rail as a whole has an L-shape. . The rail 1 similarly has a main body part 11 and a shelf part 12. Both rails 1.2
The support arms 10 are arranged so that the shelves 12.22 are opposite each other.
(The rail 1 side is omitted in FIG. 2) are supported at regular intervals, and rectangular permanent magnets 3 are buried at regular intervals in the main body 11.21.

A guide 4 is removably fixed stationary on the shelf 12.
A screen s5 is placed on the shelf 22. The screw 5 is attracted to the side surface of the main body part 21 by the permanent magnet 3 so as not to come off the rail 2, and is locked to the main body part 21 and the shelf part 22. Therefore, when replacing the guide and screw, the guide 4 and screw 5 can be easily attached to and removed from the rail 1.2.

Furthermore, this apparatus is provided with a defective container removal mechanism for removing defective containers during suspension transportation. That is, a damaged or cracked container is detected by the detector 70, the drive mechanism 71 is activated in response to a signal from the detector 70, and the movable displacement part 4a, which is a part of the guide 4, moves in the direction of arrow C. As a result, a portion of the guide 4 becomes chipped, and when a defective container is transported, the container falls downward at that portion. After the defective container is removed, the drive mechanism 71 immediately returns the displacement portion 4a to its original position, so that there is no problem with subsequent container transportation. Here, if the displacement part 4a is made of a magnetic material, the drive mechanism 71 may be a magnetic force generator that attracts the displacement part 4a, or a traction machine that pulls the displacement part 4a, or the detector 70.
There is no restriction as long as the displacement part 4a can be moved by the detection signal.

The screw 5 in this example is flexible in correspondence with the curved rail 2, and includes a flexible rod 51 and the long upper 51.
A resin coil 52 is wound spirally on the top with a certain width.
It can be rotated on the rail 2 in the direction of the arrow by a motor 9 (see FIG. 1). The guide 4 is flexible in accordance with the curved rail 1, is made entirely of resin, and is simply fixed on the rail 1 without rotating.

In such an apparatus, as is clear from FIGS. 3 and 4, a collar 101 on the neck of a container 100 made of polyethylene terephthalate, for example, is hooked onto the guide 4 and the screw 5, and the container 100 is placed between the guide 4 and the screw 5.
When suspending the
Containers can be easily hung between screws 5),
As the screw 5 rotates, the container 100 is conveyed in the direction of arrow A while rotating in the direction of the arrow opening.

That is, the container 100 is pushed in the direction of arrow A by the coil 52 of the screw 5, and rotates and translates one after another.

In the above embodiment, the screw 5 includes a metal flexible rod 51 and the rod 51, as shown in the cross section in FIG. 5(a).
It consists of a resin coil 52 wound on top at a pitch. For example, if the diameter of the neck of the container 100 is 26.0 m, the diameter of #101 is 41.2 mm, and the wall thickness is 3.35 mm, the size of the screw is the diameter of the rod 41 (the diameter of the screw groove). The diameter of the coil 42 is 3 mm, the flight diameter of the screw is 15 mm, and the pitch is 35 mm.

As for the other 11 types of the screw 5, for example, as shown in FIG.
A screw 5' may be used, in which a flexible rod is coated with a resin coil 52' and a resin coil 52' is wound around the rod.Regardless of the screw structure, if the coil is made of resin, Compared to metal coils, wear and damage to the neck due to contact friction between the coil and the neck of the container can be further prevented.

In the above embodiment, the guide 4 is entirely made of resin or resin containing magnetic metal powder, as its cross section is shown in FIG. 6(a). In addition to this, a guide 4' having a steel core 41 provided at the center of a resin layer 42 may be used, for example, as shown in FIG.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the container conveyance device of the present invention conveys the containers by rotating only the screw without rotating the guide, which only guides the containers, making it easy to control the entire conveyance system and various detailed controls. can be done.

In particular, by providing a defective container removal mechanism associated with a detector for detecting defective containers, defective containers can be easily removed.

Furthermore, by making the screw coil made of resin, wear and tear on the neck of the container transported by the rotation of the screw can be further reduced than with a metal coil.

Further, if the guide is made of resin and has a simple structure (for example, a round bar), costs can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the container conveying device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially omitted perspective view taken along line AA' in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a partially omitted perspective view taken along line AA' in FIG. 1. A partially omitted sectional view, FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view taken along line AA' in FIG. 1, and FIG.
) and 6) show cross-sections of screws used in container transport devices, (a) is a cross-sectional view of an example thereof, (b) is a cross-sectional view of another example, and Figures 6 (a) and (b) are cross-sectional views of a screw used in a container transport device. The cross-sections of the guide used in the device are shown, with (a) being a cross-sectional view of one example, and (b) being a cross-sectional view of another example. 1.2: Rail 3: Permanent magnet (@L attaching means) 4 Guide 5 Niscrew 11.2]: Main body 12.22: Shelf 41: Steel core 42: Resin layer: Flexible rod: Resin Coil; Resin layer (Table N of the rod): Container: Container flange Figure 3 Procedural amendment (voluntary) (c3) Figure 5 (b) 1. Indication of the incident 1990 Patent Application No. 113050 2. Invention Name of container conveyance device 3, relationship with the case of the person making the amendment Patent applicant name Mitsubishi Cable Industries Co., Ltd. Uehara Jushi Kogyo Co., Ltd. 4, agent 541 Address 3-3-9 Hirano-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka (Yumizu) Building) Takashima International Patent Office (a) Figure 6(b) Subject of 5° amendment (11 Specification, page 7, lines 18 to 19 [Polyolefin (e.g., Mitsui Petrochemical Industries, etc.)] "
Polyolefin or polyalkylene (e.g., various types of polyethylene, especially ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, or products based on it with improved injection moldability, such as commercially available products such as Rubmer (manufactured by Mitsui Oil Industries, Ltd.) and polypropylene) correct. (2) "Polyalkylene (e.g. polyethylene, especially ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, polypropylene)" in lines 2-4 of page 8 of the specification, J is deleted.

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) A container transport device in which a guide and a screw are arranged in parallel at regular intervals, a container is suspended between the guide and the screw, and the container is transported by rotating the screw. (2) Arrange guides and rails in parallel at regular intervals,
A screw is placed on a rail, a suction means is provided on the rail to lock the screw to the rail so that the screw does not come off the rail, a container is suspended between the guide and the screw, and the container is rotated by rotating the screw. A container conveying device designed to convey. (3) The container conveying device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the screw comprises a rod and a resin coil wound helically around the rod. (4) The container conveying device according to any one of claims (1) to (3), wherein the screw is flexible. (5) A claim characterized in that it has a detector for detecting a defective container, and a defective container removal mechanism that is associated with the detector and is capable of removing the defective container from the conveyance line. 1) The container conveyance device according to any one of (4).