JPH04235825A - Article inspection machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it practicable to set or change, as required, the continuius moving speed of a carrier, and the standstill time and the stopping position of an intermittent conveyance of the carrier by adopting a system to drive the carrier by means of a servo motor along the outward going path of an endless conveyor. CONSTITUTION:Ten sets of conveyance means A to drive two carriers 23, both equipped with a glass bottle holding means 13A, by means of a servo motor 24 along the outward going path of an endless conveyor are constituted. A pitch P1 between a control starting station #0 and an inspection station #1 is made 1.5 times of a pitch P of other inspection stations #1 to #5 by which the carrier 23, making a continuous conveyance up to station #1, coming into collision with the preceding carrier 23 halted at the station #1 is avoided. As long as it is within this collision avoiding range, pitch P1 can be made short and retard the conveyance speed up to a point Q, or inversely, speed it up and it is not necessary to make the pitch P between stations #1 to #5 equal to each other. Moreover, the halting time at stations #1 to #5 can be set as required.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article inspection machine installed in the middle of a production line for various articles such as glass bottles.

0002

[Prior Art] For example, in the middle of the glass bottle production line, the inner and outer diameters of the bottle opening and the diameter of the body of the manufactured glass bottles,
Various inspections are performed, including the height dimension, the inclination angle of the top surface, the smoothness of the top surface, and the presence or absence of so-called lines such as wrinkles and so-called burrs such as cracks.

FIG. 10 schematically shows a conventional glass bottle inspection machine used for such inspection. In the figure, reference numeral 61 denotes a helical shaft for transporting the carrier 62, in which a helical shaft portion 61a with an equal pitch is formed on the transfer start end side and the end end side, and a helical shaft portion 61b with an unequal pitch having a non-helical portion b in between.
is formed.

[0004] Reference numeral 63 denotes a transport guide for the carrier 62, which is disposed from the transport terminal end to the transport start end of the helical shaft 61, and forms an endless path in which the carrier 62 is circulated and transported together with the helical shaft 61.

64 is a holding means for the glass bottle G attached to each carrier 62; 65 is various inspection means disposed at a position corresponding to the non-helical portion b of the helical shaft 61 as an inspection station; 66; is the transportation means on the glass bottle supply side,
67 is a conveying means on the glass bottle receiving side.

According to the above structure, the glass bottle G is supplied from the glass bottle supply side conveying means 66 to the carrier 62 which moves on the helical shaft portion 61a on the transfer start end side of the helical shaft 61, and the carrier 62 is When the helical shaft 61 sequentially reaches the non-helical portion b as it rotates, the transport of the carrier 62 is temporarily stopped for a time corresponding to the rotational speed of the helical shaft 61 and the length of the non-helical portion b. That is, the carrier is intermittently transferred and stopped as the spiral shaft 61 rotates continuously, and various inspections are performed by the inspection means 65 while the carrier is intermittently stopped.

[0007]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] In the glass bottle G inspection machine, as described above, the intermittent transfer stop time of the carrier 62 depends on the length of the non-helical portion b (less than or equal to the circumference of the shaft). It is uniquely determined by the rotation speed of the helical shaft 61. Further, the intermittent transfer stop position and transfer speed of the carrier 62 are also uniquely determined by the helical shape and rotational speed of the helical shaft 61.

For this reason, it is possible to change the transfer speed of the carrier 62 while keeping the intermittent transfer stop time of the carrier 62 constant, or to change the intermittent transfer stop time of the carrier 62 while keeping the transfer speed of the carrier 62 constant. Or, for example, when a glass bottle manufacturing line is switched to manufacturing small-diameter glass bottles G that can increase production volume, the bottle feed pitch and intermittent transfer stop position may be changed. There is a drawback that it is not possible to change the method and control the small-diameter glass bottle G to be placed on standby between inspection stations.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The object of the present invention is to provide an article inspection machine that solves the above-mentioned disadvantages at once. A plurality of sets of transport means that use servo motors to drive movable carriers along the path of
It is arranged between star wheels on the entrance side and the exit side that are continuously driven in synchronization with each other so that each carrier draws the same trajectory, and also holds the article fed out from the star wheel on the entrance side and exits. Each carrier is provided with an article holding means for supplying the article to the star wheel on the side, and an article inspection means is disposed beside the article transfer side path by the article holding means, and an inspection station corresponding to a predetermined article inspection means is further provided. The transfer of the article holding means is temporarily stopped, and the transfer section of the article from the star wheel on the entrance side and the transfer section of the article to the star wheel on the exit side synchronize with the article transfer speed by the star wheel. It is characterized by the provision of a control means for continuously transporting the article holding means.

0010

[Operation] According to the characteristic configuration described above, by driving the carrier along an endless path with a servo motor, the continuous transfer rate of the carrier (in other words, the feed pitch of the carrier per unit time) )and,
The stop time and stop position (in other words, the intermittent feed pitch) of the intermittent transfer of the carrier can be set and changed as desired.

[0011]

[Embodiment] Fig. 1 shows a schematic plan view of a glass bottle inspection machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. A star wheel is provided with a plurality of bottle introducing portions a at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction, and are continuously rotated in synchronization with each other in the same direction.

5 is the bottle introduction part a of the star wheel 2 on the inlet side.
It is a screw having a spiral groove for the inlet, and is driven in synchronization with the star wheel 2 on the inlet side. 6 is the star wheel 2 on the entrance side and the middle part (also called the exit side);
The first bottle transfer mechanism 7 is arranged between the star wheels 3 and 4 on the intermediate part (which can also be called the entrance side) and the outlet side.

8, 9, 10 are star wheels 2, 3, 4
are bottle guides arranged around the periphery of the bottle, and 11 and 12 are the first bottle guides.
and bottle guides disposed at the start and end sides of the second bottle transfer mechanisms 6, 7, both of which are constructed of partially arcuate members.

The first bottle transfer mechanism 6 and the second bottle transfer mechanism 7
have the same structure except for glass bottle holding means 13A and 13B, which will be described later, and the specific structure of the first bottle transfer mechanism 6 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. In the figure, reference numeral 14 denotes a pair of upper and lower carrier guides that form an elliptical endless path in plan view, and are provided at a predetermined interval on a base 15 spanning the star wheels 2 and 3 on the entrance side and the exit side (intermediate portion). It is being

Reference numeral 16 denotes a vertical axis disposed at the center of the arc of the starting end bottle guide 11, on which a plurality of driven timing pulleys 17 (10 are exemplified) are individually rotatably provided above and below. Reference numeral 18 denotes a drive-side vertical shaft disposed at the center of the arc of the end-side bottle guide 12, in which the same number of drive cylinder shafts 19 as the timing pulleys 17 are held such that they can rotate freely relative to each other, and the lower end side of the drive cylinder shafts 19 is has an input side timing pulley 20, and an output side timing pulley 2 on the upper end side.
1 is fixed.

[0016] Then, the timing pulley 2 on the output side
1 and the corresponding driven side timing pulley 17, an endless timing belt 22 is wound individually, and two carriers 23, which are movable along the pair of upper and lower carrier guides 14, are arranged at equal intervals from each other. It is fixed to each timing belt 22 with a gap between them.

[0017] 24 is 10 units each equipped with a timing pulley 25 for driving (two of them are illustrated).
The timing pulley 2 for the drive is driven by a servo motor.
5 are arranged in a distributed manner around the driving side body axis 18, with the timing pulleys 5 corresponding to the timing pulleys 20 on the input side. An endless drive timing belt 26 is wound around the drive side timing pulley 25 and the input side timing pulley 20.

Here, each glass bottle holding means 13
Ten sets of transfer means A are constructed in which two carriers 23 equipped with carriers A are driven by servo motors 24 along an endless path.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the carrier 23 includes two cam followers 27 each engaged in the guide grooves of the upper and lower carrier guides 14, and a lower surface of the upper carrier guide 14 and a lower carrier guide. A cam follower 28 abutting the upper surface of each carrier 23 is provided, and as also shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, this carrier 23
The glass bottle holding means 13A is attached to the upper side of the glass bottle.

The glass bottle holding means 13A includes a pedestal 29 that is detachably attached to the upper side of the carrier 23.
At the same time, a bottle bottom support plate 33 is provided, and two cylinders 30 are installed vertically so as to pass through the bottle bottom support plate 33 and the pedestal 29, and a pedestal 3 is provided on the top of the cylinder 30.
1 with bolts 32, and two rollers 34 for supporting the bottle body are rotatably provided on the cylinder body 30, and further,
Two rollers 35 for supporting the bottle neck are rotatably attached to the receiving seat 31.

Returning to FIGS. 2 and 3, reference numeral 37 in the figures is a control means for individually controlling the ten servo motors 24, and each of the two glasses driven by one servo motor 24 is The bottle holding means 13A is controlled as described below.

More specifically, the bottle guide 1 on the starting end side
The exit position of No. 1 is designated as control start station #0, and
One glass bottle holding means 13A is located at the station #0.
When the other glass bottle holding means 13A is located at the station #10, the half cycle control in which the glass bottle holding means 13A is transferred between the stations #10 and 13A; This is also a half-cycle control for transferring the bottle holding means 13A to the station #0, and this control is performed as described below.

For control to be described later, the glass bottle holding means 13A is stopped at position 5 on the straight path on the glass bottle transfer side between the control start station #0 and station #10. ,
The pitch P of the transfer stop position of this glass bottle holding means 13A
are set equal.

Further, the positions at which the glass bottle holding means 13A stops intermittent transfer are designated as inspection stations #1 to #5, and the exit position of the bottle guide 12 on the terminal end side is designated as a control end station #6, and the position at which the glass bottle holding means 13A is stopped is designated as the control start station The pitch P1 between #0 and inspection station #1 is made 1.5 times the pitch P of other inspection stations #1 to #5, and the pitch P1 between inspection station #5 and control end station #
6 and the pitch P2 between other inspection stations #1~
It is set to be the same as the pitch P of 5.

[0025] The transfer speed of the glass bottle holding means 13A at the bottle delivery section relative to the star wheel 3 on the exit side during the time the glass bottle holding means 13A goes from the control end station #6 to the station #10; Alternatively, the other glass bottle holding means 13A is station #
The transfer speed of the glass bottle holding means 13A at the bottle transfer portion from the star wheel 2 on the entrance side during the period from the star wheel 2 to the control start station #0 is It is synchronized with the bottle transport speed.

Therefore, the transfer of the glass bottle G from the inlet star wheel 2 to the glass bottle holding means 13A and the transfer of the glass bottle G from the glass bottle holding means 13A to the outlet star wheel 3 are continuous with each other. Accomplished under driving.

Further, the glass bottle holding means 13A within the initial transfer range from the control start station #0 to the point Q
, specifically the pitch difference (1.5-1=
0.5) Glass bottle holding means 13 within the initial transfer range
The transport speed of A is also synchronized with the bottle transport speed by the star wheel 2.

On the other hand, the intermittent transfer stop time of the glass bottle holding means 13A at the inspection stations #1 to #5 is set to half of the intermittent transfer cycle, and the glass bottle holding means 13A is stopped within the remaining half of the time. It is set to increase the speed so that it is transferred by one pitch P.

Furthermore, from the point Q to the inspection station #1
The transfer speed of the glass bottle holding means 13A within the range of one pitch remaining between It is set to match the speed you set.

Among the ten transfer means A configured as described above, one of the seven transfer means A, the glass bottle holding means 13A, is placed at stations #0, #1 to #5, and #6, respectively.
At the same time, one glass bottle holding means 13A of the remaining three transfer means A, including the glass bottle holding means 13A located at station #6, is placed at the pitch of the inspection stations #1 to #5. FIG. 1 shows a state in which they are arranged in the bottle delivery section at the same pitch as P.

Returning to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 3 to 5, 38 in the figure
is an endless timing belt disposed along the path on the glass bottle transfer side by the glass bottle holding means 13A, which prevents the glass bottle A supported by the glass bottle holding means 13A from falling down, and It has the function of rotating the bottle A.

Reference numeral 39 denotes five inspection means (the number of which is not specified) arranged along the path on the glass bottle transfer side, which inspects the carrier 23 on the glass bottle transfer side path and thus the glass bottles. They are arranged to correspond to the temporary stop positions of the holding means 13A, that is, the inspection stations #1 to #5.

According to the above structure, the glass bottle G fed out from the star wheel 2 on the entrance side is held by the glass bottle holding means 13 which is driven in synchronization with the star wheel 2.
When the glass bottle holding means 13A holding the glass bottle G passes through the control start station #0 and reaches point Q, the speed is increased, and the glass bottle holding means 13A holds the glass bottle G.
When it reaches inspection station #1, it is temporarily stopped.

Thereafter, at each inspection station #1-5, there is a pause for half the time of the intermittent transfer cycle and the next station #2-6 until the control end station #6 is reached via inspection stations #2-5. The glass bottle G is repeatedly transferred at an increased speed to The inside and outside diameters of the bottle opening, the diameter of the body, the height dimensions, the inclination angle of the top, the smoothness of the top, and the presence or absence of streaks and cracks are inspected.

After reaching the control end station #6, the glass bottle holding means 13A is decelerated to a speed that synchronizes with the exit side star wheel 3 and is continuously transferred until it reaches the station #10. Means 13A
The glass bottle G held by is delivered to the star wheel 3 on the exit side.

During this period, the other glass bottle holding means 13A is controlled in synchronization with the glass bottle holding means 13A, which is controlled as described above, and when the glass bottle holding means 13A reaches station #10, The other glass bottle holding means 13A takes over the glass bottle G from the star wheel 2 on the entrance side and is located at the control start station #0. That is, for each cycle in which the timing belt 22 of the transfer means A makes one revolution, two glass bottles G are transferred from the star wheel 2 on the inlet side to the star wheel on the outlet side, and various inspections are carried out during this period. It has become.

Here, the reason why the pitch P1 between the control start station #0 and the inspection station #1 is 1.5 times the pitch P of the other inspection stations #1 to #5 is that up to inspection station #1, This is to avoid a situation in which the continuously transported carrier 23 collides with the carrier 23 that is temporarily stopped at inspection station #1.

As long as this collision can be avoided, for example, the above-mentioned pitch P1 can be reduced and the transport speed to point Q can be slowed down, or the above-mentioned pitch P1 can be increased and the transfer speed from point Q to inspection station # As is clear from this, the pitch P between the inspection stations #1 to #5 can be increased.
It is not necessary to set the inspection stations to the same pitch P, and the pause time at each inspection station #1 to #5 can also be set arbitrarily. This is achieved for the first time by using the servo motor 24 as the drive source for the transfer means A.

[0039] Furthermore, two carriers 23 are provided in the transfer means A.
However, it is possible to implement this by using only one unit, and in this case, by increasing the number of transfer means A by one or two units,
The return transfer of the carrier 23 from station #10 to station #16 is performed at high speed, and when the preceding carrier 23 is located at station #17, the following carrier 23 is located at station #16.

Alternatively, when the glass bottle manufacturing line is switched to manufacturing small-diameter glass bottles G that can increase the production volume, one carrier 23 is equipped with two glass bottle holding means 13A. By changing the transfer speed and temporary stop position of the carrier 23, it is also possible to control the small-diameter glass bottle G to wait between the inspection stations #1 to #5.

The inspection means 39 disposed at each inspection station #1 to #5 of the first bottle transfer mechanism 6 inspects, for example, a certain predetermined location of each bottle. Inspection station #1 of the second bottle transfer mechanism 7
Inspection means 39 for inspecting the bottle body for foreign matter, etc. is disposed at positions 5 to 5.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show the specific structure of the glass bottle holding means 13B, which is provided in the carrier 23 of the second bottle transfer mechanism 7 and is suitable mainly for inspecting bottle bodies and visual inspection. This glass bottle holding means 13B is characterized in that the side surface of the bottle is open.

Specifically, two shaft bodies 42 having a receiving seat 41 at the upper end are slidably inserted through a receiving stand 40 that is detachably attached to the upper side of the carrier 23, and A roller 43 is attached to the lower end of the body 42, and
A cam 44 that supports this roller 43 is provided on the base 15, and a spring 45 that urges the roller 43 toward the cam 44 is provided.Furthermore, three tapered rollers 46 that support the bottle opening are mounted on the receiving seat 41. It is provided in

The cam 44 lifts the shaft body 42 once and lowers it when taking over the glass bottle G from the entrance side star wheel (intermediate star wheel) 3, and the cam 44 opens the three bottle openings. and a function of lifting the shaft body 42 once when transferring the glass bottle G to the outlet star wheel 4 to release the support of the bottle mouth part by the three tapered rollers 46. We are prepared.

On the other hand, the anti-slip member 4 is attached to the pedestal 40.
A support shaft 49 with a bottle holder 48 attached thereto is rotatably installed therethrough, and a timing pulley 5 is attached to the support shaft 49.
0, and as shown in FIG. 1, an endless timing belt 51 that meshes with the pulley 50 is arranged to make the glass bottle G supported by the three tapered rollers 46 rotatable. There is.

Although the first and second bottle transfer mechanisms 6 and 7 are configured so that the carrier 23 takes an endless elliptical path, the transfer path of the carrier 23 is made to take a simple circular path. This constitutes the first and second bottle transport mechanisms 6, 7, among which glass bottle holding means 13A,
It is possible to arrange various inspection means 39 beside the route on the bottle transfer side by 13B, or to arrange only one set of bottle transfer mechanisms, or three or more sets of bottle transfer mechanisms.

[0047]

As explained above, according to the article inspection machine of the present invention, the carrier is driven by a servo motor so as to be movable along an endless path, so that the carrier and the articles to be transferred can be inspected. The speed of continuous transfer (in other words, the feed pitch of the object to be transferred per unit time) and the stop time and stop position of intermittent transfer of the object to be transferred (in other words, the intermittent feed pitch) can be arbitrarily changed. Now you can.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a glass bottle inspection machine.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal side view of the glass bottle inspection machine.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a first bottle transfer mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a carrier and article holding means attached to the first bottle transfer mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a carrier and article holding means attached to the first bottle transfer mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the article holding means on the first bottle transfer mechanism side.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the same as above.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the article holding means on the second bottle transfer mechanism side.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the same as above.

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view of a conventional bottle transfer mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

2, 3, 4... Star wheel, 13A, 13B... Glass bottle holding means, 23... Carrier, 24... Servo motor,
39...Inspection means, A...Transfer means, G...Glass bottle (article)
, #1-5...Inspection station.

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: A plurality of sets of transfer means for driving movable carriers along an endless path by servo motors are provided on an inlet side and an inlet side that are continuously driven in synchronization with each other in a state in which each carrier draws the same trajectory. Each carrier is provided with an article holding means disposed between the star wheels on the exit side, holding the article fed out from the star wheel on the entrance side and supplying the article to the star wheel on the exit side, and the article holding means An article inspection means is disposed beside the route on the article transfer side, and furthermore, the transfer of the article holding means is temporarily stopped at an inspection station corresponding to a predetermined article inspection means, and the article is inspected from the star wheel on the entrance side. An article inspection machine characterized in that a transfer section and an article delivery section to an exit side star wheel are provided with a control means for continuously transferring the article holding means in synchronization with the article transfer speed by the star wheel.