JPH06144427A - Cushioning material inserting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatize insertion of cushioning materials that is conventinally executed by manual work. CONSTITUTION:A cushioning material inserting apparatus 1 is equipped with a conveyer 3 for conveying bottles B, a knocker 4 arranged above the conveyer and a carrier 7 that transfers a cushioning material C to a space between the bottle mouth and the knocker, and the inserting apparatus inserts the cushioning material into the internal space of the bottle by ascending and descending operations of the knocker. The knocker is connected to a suction device, and negative pressure of the suction device acts, when the knocker descends, on a suction port 4b formed to the lower end of the knocker.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cushion material insertion device, and more particularly to a cushion material insertion device for automating a manual cushion material insertion work.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Certain tablets have relatively low strength and are relatively fragile. For this reason, in packaging bottles containing such tablets, an elastic cushioning material made of synthetic resin, that is, a cushion material is laid on the bottom of the bottle, and such cushion material is used when the tablets located near the bottom of the bottle are transported or transported. Prevents deformation or crushing.

Such a cushion material generally has a disc shape and is inserted into the inner space of the bottle through the bottle mouth before the tablets are filled in the bottle. The operation of inserting the cushioning material has generally been performed by transiently stopping the bottle conveying line and inserting the cushioning material into each bottle using a rod-shaped member. Further, in this work, the cushion material is pushed in with the rod-shaped material at least twice to prevent the inserted cushion material from being laid on the bottom of the bottle in an inclined posture.

[0004]

However, such a cushioning material insertion operation is still performed manually even though other related operations are automated. For this reason, the bottle conveying line has to be stopped for a relatively long period of time during the operation of inserting the cushioning material, which is a factor that hinders the improvement of the production speed of the apparatus or the entire facility.

In addition, since the cushioning material must be pushed in at least twice in such insertion work,
At least two workers are forced to engage in the insertion work, and there is a strong demand for automation of the insertion work from the viewpoint of labor saving of the entire facility. The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cushioning material that automates the operation of inserting the cushioning material into a bottle, which improves the production speed and saves labor for the entire facility. To provide an insertion device.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a cushion material insertion device constructed as follows. That is, the cushioning material insertion device of the present invention includes a conveyor that conveys bottles, a pressing member that is disposed above the conveyor and that presses the cushioning material toward the bottom of the bottle, and a cushioning material that holds a plurality of cushioning materials. A holding means, a cushion material transfer means for transferring the cushion material held by the cushion material holding means between the bottle mouth and the pressing member, and an elevating device for moving the pressing member up and down.

According to the cushion material inserting device having such a configuration, the cushion material held by the cushion material holding means by the cushion material transferring means is moved between the bottle mouth and the pressing member, and the lifting member moves up and down the pressing member. , The cushion material can be inserted into the inner space of the bottle. Therefore, according to the above cushion material inserting device, the operation of laying the cushion material on the bottom of the bottle can be automated, and the production speed can be improved and the labor of the entire facility can be saved.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a suction port is opened at a lower end of the pressing member, the suction port is connected to a suction device, and a negative pressure of the suction device is generated by the pressing member. When it descends, it acts on the suction port. According to this structure, the cushion material is held by the lower end of the pressing member by the negative pressure and surely descends in the internal space of the bottle. According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the elevating device elevates and lowers the pressing member at least twice during the operation of inserting the cushion material. Thereby, the inclination of the cushion material laid on the bottom of the bottle can be reliably prevented.

According to still another embodiment of the present invention, the cushion material inserting device separates the cushion material from the plurality of cushion material holding means and the cushion material holding means, and moves the cushion material to the cushion material transferring means. And a suction device. According to this structure, a large number of cushion materials are held by the cushion material holding means, and the cushion material can be appropriately moved to the cushion material transfer means by the suction device.
Therefore, the cushion material inserting device can reduce the number of times of loading the cushion material into the cushion material holding means,
It greatly contributes to labor saving.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of a cushion material inserting device according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an operation process diagram for explaining the principle of the cushion material insertion device according to the present invention. The configuration of the insertion device of this example will be schematically described mainly with reference to FIG.

The cushion material inserting device 1 includes a conveyer 3 for conveying the bottle B placed in an upright position with the bottle mouth facing upward,
The knocker 4 is disposed above the conveyor 3 and is lifted and lowered by a lifting device (not shown). The cross section of the conveyor 3 is shown, and the conveyor 3 is arranged so as to continuously convey the bottles B below the knocker 4. A suction passage 4a extending in the longitudinal direction is formed in the knocker 4, and the upper end of the suction passage 4a is connected to a suction device (not shown) via a flexible tube 5. The lower end of the suction passage 4a is
The suction port 4b that opens downward is formed, and the negative pressure of the suction device is sucked through the flexible tube 5 and the suction passage 4a.
Acts selectively.

The insertion device 1 is also provided with a magazine 6 of cushion material C arranged on the side of the knocker 4, a carrier 7 of cushion material C arranged below the magazine 6, and a carrier 7 below. And a suction device 9. A large number of cushion materials C from the upper end of the magazine 6 to the magazine 6
Loaded inside, the magazine 6 accommodates the stack S of cushioning materials C so as to be movable downward.

The carrier 7 has a through hole 8 arranged below the magazine 6 in alignment with the axis of the magazine 6, and the lower end of the through hole 8 has a diameter smaller than that of the upper end. Further, the suction device 9 is arranged below the through hole 8 in alignment with the center line of the through hole 8, and at the upper end of the suction device 9, there is formed a suction port 9a that expands upward. The suction device 9 is moved up and down by a lifting device (not shown), and the suction port 9a is moved from the illustrated lowered position to the raised position where it abuts the cushion material C in the magazine 6. The suction device 9 is connected to a suction device (not shown), and the negative pressure of the suction device selectively acts on the suction port 9a.

As shown in FIG. 1A, when the conveyor 3 conveys the bottle B to a position aligned with the axis of the knocker 4,
As shown in FIG. 1B, the suction device 9 is moved to the raised position, and a negative pressure is applied to the suction port 9a of the suction device 9. Next, the suction device 9 is moved down while adsorbing the cushion material C located at the lower end of the stack S. Adsorption port 9
When a passes through the through hole 8, the cushion material C engages with the reduced diameter portion of the through hole, and as shown in FIG.
Held in.

The carrier 7 holding the cushion material C in the through hole 8 transfers the cushion material C between the bottle mouth of the bottle B and the knocker 4. As shown in FIG. 1D, the knocker 4 is lowered and a vacuum is applied to the suction port 4b of the knocker 4. As shown in FIG. 1 (E), the cushion material C is pressed by the knocker 4 and inserted into the bottle B. When the cushion material C is inserted to the bottom of the bottle B, the vacuum of the opening 4a is unloaded and the knocker 4 is raised.
Further, the carrier 7 is moved to an initial position below the magazine 6 as shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the cushion material inserting device according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the cushion material inserting device shown in FIG. In addition, in FIG. 3, the illustration of the magazine is omitted, and
The knocker is shown in the lowered position. As shown in FIG. 2, the insertion device 1 includes a conveyor 3 for conveying the bottle B, and the conveyor 3 continuously conveys the bottle B in an upright position with the bottle mouth facing upward in the arrow A direction. To do. Adjacent to the conveyor 3, two bottle stoppers 31, 32 (FIG. 3) are spaced apart. Bottle stopper 3 located upstream
1 prevents the advance of the bottle B at a predetermined position, and the bottle stopper 3
The movement of the plurality of bottles B located on the upstream side of 1 is prevented. The predetermined number (six in this example) of bottles B that have been prevented from moving each stand still beneath a plurality of knockers 4 (six knockers 4 in this example). Further, the downstream bottle stopper 32 is located on the downstream side of the insertion device 1 when the cushion material C is not accurately positioned in the bottle B or when the cushion material C is not inserted in the bottle B. The bottle B is prevented from advancing at a predetermined position, and the transport of the bottle B is interrupted.

The knocker 4 hangs from a holder 41, and the holder 41 is supported by a horizontal elevating plate 42. The elevating plate 42 is vertically guided by the guide rod 43. A fluid actuated cylinder device 44 is mounted on the top surface of a housing 46 surrounding the lift plate 42,
The piston rod 45 of No. 4 is connected to the central region of the lift plate 42.

A suction passage 4a is formed in the center of each knocker 4, and the lower end of the suction passage 4a forms a suction port 4b that opens downward. The suction passage 4a penetrates the holder 41 and is connected to the flexible tube 5, and the flexible tube 5 is connected to a suction device (not shown). A plurality of cylindrical magazines 6 (six magazines 6 in this example) are arranged along the conveying direction of the conveyor 3,
Are vertically attached to the upper surface of the base 61, respectively. The side surfaces of the magazines 6 are partially opened, and the stack S of the cushioning materials C housed in the magazines 6 is visually recognized from the outside of the machine through the opening portions of the side surfaces.

The carrier 7 is movably arranged below the base 61. The carrier 7 is made of, for example, a resin molded product, and has the same number of circular through holes 8 as the magazine 6. The through hole 8 is arranged directly below each magazine 6, the upper end portion of the through hole 8 has a diameter slightly larger than the cushion material C, and the lower end portion of the through hole 8 is the cushion material C.
Has a smaller diameter.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged sectional view of the carrier 7. As shown in FIG. 4, the inner wall surface 81 of the through hole 8 includes a tapered surface 82 whose diameter is reduced inward in the radial direction.
It terminates at a hole 83 having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the cushion material C and allowing the suction device 9 to be inserted. On the outer peripheral portion of the upper end of the through hole 8, an annular floating prevention claw 84 is screwed. The radially inner edge portion of the anti-floating claw 84 projects inward from the inner wall surface 81 and has a diameter slightly smaller than that of the cushion material C. The inner edge portion is preferably composed of a plurality of tongue-shaped pieces arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction, reduces the insertion resistance of the cushion material C into the through hole 8, and is accommodated in the through hole 8. It is configured to prevent lifting of the cushion material C. However, it is also possible to form the inner peripheral edge in the form of a peripheral edge extending over the entire circumference.

Referring to FIG. 2, the carrier 7 is fixed to supporting portions 71, 71 having guide holes 72, and the supporting portion 7
1 is supported by a guide rod (not shown) inserted in the guide hole 72 so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the conveyor 3. A piston rod 74 of a fluid actuated cylinder device 73 is attached to one end of the carrier 7,
The carrier 7 is moved in a direction orthogonal to the conveyor 3 by the expansion and contraction of the piston rod 74.

A plurality of aspirators 9 (six aspirators 9 in this example) are arranged directly below each magazine 6. Each suction device 9 is provided with a suction port 9a that opens upward and is supported by the elevating member 91 at a predetermined interval. A suction passage (not shown) formed in the suction device 9 penetrates the elevating member 91 and is connected to the flexible tube 92.
2 is connected to a suction device (not shown). Supports 93, 93 are fixed to both ends of the elevating member 91, and the support 93 is supported by a guide rod 94 so as to be vertically movable. The piston rod 96 of the fluid-operated cylinder device 95 is attached to the central portion of the elevating / lowering member 91, and the elevating / lowering member 91 is moved up and down by the expansion and contraction of the piston rod 96.

The insertion device 1 is equipped with various sensors in order to control the operation of these components. The sensors are a bottle count sensor 101 for counting the number of bottles B passing through the bottle stopper 31. An alignment detection sensor 102 that detects the alignment of a predetermined number of bottles B, a cushion material detection sensor 103 that detects the presence or absence and the inclination of the cushion material C in the bottle B on the downstream side of the insertion device 1, and a bottle on the downstream side of the insertion device 1. B
Congestion detection sensor 104 for detecting the stagnation of the sheet, and remaining amount detection sensor 105 for detecting the remaining amount of the cushion material in magazine 6. It should be noted that these sensors are composed of, for example, known optical sensors, and are included in the control unit 112.
(Fig. 3).

The control unit 112 has a control means for automatically controlling the operation of the insertion device 1. The operation unit 110 is connected to the control unit 112, and the operation unit 110 includes a plurality of operation switches 111 for manually operating the insertion device 1 such as starting and stopping. Next, the operation of the insertion device 1 automatically controlled by the control unit 112 will be described.

A large number of bottles B are conveyed by the conveyor 3 in the direction of arrow A. Bottle B with the bottle count sensor 101 at the top
When detecting, the movable portion of the bottle stopper 31 projects above the conveyor 3 and contacts the bottle B. Bottle stopper 31
The bottle B that has abutted against the movable part of is blocked from advancing, and the subsequent bottles B are sequentially stopped. When the alignment detection sensor 102 detects the alignment of a predetermined number of bottles B, the cylinder device 95 extends the piston rod 96, and all the suction devices 9 are raised.
At the same time, the negative pressure of the suction device is applied to the suction port 9 a of the suction device 9. The suction device 9 includes the through hole 8 of the carrier 7 and the base 6.
1 rises through a through hole (not shown) of FIG. Thereafter, the cylinder device 95 retracts the piston rod 96, separates the lowest cushion material C from the stack S downward by the suction device 9,
Let this fall. The stack S is entirely lowered by the thickness of the separated cushion material C.

The cushion material C adsorbed on the suction device 9 is
It moves into the through hole 8 of the carrier 7 while the suction device 9 is descending. More specifically, the cushion material C is the floating prevention claw 84.
(FIG. 4), and abuts the tapered surface 82 of the through hole 8,
It is held in the through hole 8 between the floating prevention claw 84 and the tapered portion 82. Since the anti-floating claws 84 are in the form of tongue pieces spaced apart from each other, the cushion material C can be smoothly passed through the through holes 8.

The cushion material C in the through hole 8 is generated by static electricity generated between the cushion material C adsorbed by the suction device 9 and the stack S or static electricity generated between the cushion material C and the carrier 7. Has a tendency to float from the through hole 8. However, the anti-floating claws 84 prevent the cushion material C from floating and securely hold the cushion material C in the through hole 8. Thus, the cushion material C is housed in the through hole 8 and securely held in the through hole 8, while the suction device 9 descends to the initial position.

Next, the cylinder device 73 draws in the piston rod 74 and carries the cushioning material C on the carrier 7.
Are moved above the conveyor 3. When the cushion material C is transferred by the carrier 7 between the bottle B and the knocker 4, the piston rod 74 is stationary. The cylinder device 44 extends the piston rod 45 and simultaneously lowers all the knockers 4. At the same time, the suction passage 4a communicates with the suction device, and the negative pressure of the suction device acts on the suction port 4b. The lower end of the knocker 4 contacts the cushion material C while descending,
The cushion material C is attracted to the suction port 4b and the cushion material C is pressed downward. The cushion material C bends downward, falls from the through hole 8, and moves into the bottle B.

The knocker 4 continues to press the cushion material C downward to lower the cushion material C in the bottle B. When the cushion material C descends to the bottom of the bottle B, the suction passage 4a is cut off from the suction device, and the negative pressure acting on the suction port 4b is released. The cylinder device 44 transiently retracts the piston rod 45 to slightly raise the knocker 4, and then extends the piston rod 45 again and lowers the knocker 4. As a result, the cushion material C is pressed downward twice near the bottom of the bottle B.

Thus, when the cushion material C is laid on the bottom of the bottle B, the cylinder device 44 retracts the piston rod 45 to raise the knocker 4 to the initial position, and the cylinder device 73 extends the piston rod 74, Carrier 7
Is moved to the initial position, that is, just below the magazine 6. Further, the bottle stopper 31 draws its movable part to the side of the conveyor 3 to enable the conveyor 3 to convey the bottle B. When a predetermined number (6 in this example) of bottles B have passed the bottle count sensor 101, the movable part of the bottle stopper 31 again projects above the conveyor 3 to make the following bottle B stand still and the insertion device 1 The above-mentioned series of insertion work is performed again.

As described above, the cushion material insertion device 1 is used.
Is equipped with a conveyor 3 for transporting the bottle B, a knocker 4 arranged above the conveyor 3, and a carrier 7 for transferring the cushion material C between the bottle mouth and the knocker 4, and the lifting and lowering of the knocker 4 is carried out. The cushioning material C can be inserted into the inner space of the bottle B by. According to the insertion device 1, the operation of laying the cushion material C on the bottom of the bottle B can be automated.

The knocker 4 is connected to a suction device, and the negative pressure of the suction device acts on the suction port 4b formed at the lower end of the knocker 4 when the knocker 4 descends. Therefore, the cushion material C is held at the lower end of the knocker 4 and surely descends in the internal space of the bottle B. Furthermore,
The cushion material C is pushed downward at least twice by the knocker 4 near the bottom of the bottle B, so that the laid cushion material C is prevented from inclining.

Further, in the insertion device 1, the plurality of magazines 6 holds the stack S of a large number of cushion materials C, and the suction device 4 has the cushion material C positioned at the lowest position of the stack S.
Are sequentially moved to the carrier 7, the number of times of loading the cushion material C is relatively small, which is extremely advantageous in saving labor. The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible, and these are also included in the present invention within the scope of the invention described in the claims. Needless to say.

For example, although the fluid actuated cylinder device is used in the above embodiment, the carrier, knocker or suction device may be moved or moved up and down by a driving device such as an electric motor. Further, the number of bottles into which the cushioning material is to be inserted in one insertion operation and the number of cushioning materials that can be loaded in the magazine can be appropriately changed.

[0035]

According to the above configuration of the present invention, it is possible to provide a cushioning material inserting device which automates the operation of inserting a cushioning material into a bottle, which can improve the production speed and save labor in the entire facility. It will be possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an operation process diagram for explaining the principle of a cushion material insertion device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a cushion material insertion device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the cushion material insertion device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged sectional view of a carrier.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cushion Material Insertion Device 3 Conveyor 4 Knocker 4a Suction Path 4b Suction Port 5 Flexible Tube 6 Magazine 7 Carrier 8 Through Hole 9 Suction Device 9a Suction Port B Bottle C Cushion Material S Stacking

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A conveyor for conveying bottles, a pressing member arranged above the conveyor for pressing the cushion material toward the bottom of the bottle, a cushion material holding means for holding a plurality of cushion materials, and the cushion. A cushion material inserting device comprising: a cushion material transferring means for transferring the cushion material held by the material holding means between the bottle mouth and the pressing member; and a lifting device for moving the pressing member up and down. 2. A suction port is opened at a lower end of the pressing member,
The cushion material insertion according to claim 1, wherein the suction port is connected to a suction device, and negative pressure of the suction device acts on the suction port when the pressing member descends. apparatus. 3. The cushion material inserting device according to claim 1, wherein the elevating device elevates and lowers the pressing member at least twice during a cushion material inserting operation. 4. The cushion material inserting device includes a plurality of the cushion material holding means, and a suction device for separating the cushion material from the cushion material holding means and moving it to the cushion material transferring means. Claim 1
4. The cushioning material insertion device according to any one of 3 to 3.