JPH06194258A - Inspection apparatus for plugged state - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically detect proper or improper plugged state of a can container by communicating the inside of a contact part to be measured that surrounds the periphery of container opening and keeps its air tightness with a vacuum chamber and detecting the internal pressure therein. CONSTITUTION:After three solenoid valves SV1-SV3 are closed, only the valve SV2 is opened and then is closed after a specified time. Thus, the inside of a chamber is evacuated. At this timing, an air cylinder 2 is driven to lower a rod 2a and a packing 1b of a contact part 1a is depressed to keep the air tightness thereof. At the same time, the valve SV1 is opened and a detected value during a specified period is sampled by a pressure sensor to judge its plugging state (sealing property). That is, when the sealing condition is proper, after the valve SV1 is opened, the degree of vacuum in the chamber 3 decreases upto the quantity equivalent to the content volum from the valve SV1 to a measuring contact 1 and is stabilized thereafter. When the sealing condition is improper, the vacuum pressure continues decreasing without being stabilized. In this case, the 'abnormality' is indicated and the operation is stopped. On the other hand, when it is proper, the valve SV3 is opened to release the vacuum to the outside air and make preparations for the following action.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus for a plugged state, and more particularly to an inspection apparatus suitable for inspecting the quality of the plugged state by a crown cap of a can container such as an 18 L (liter) can.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, various liquids such as liquid seasonings such as soy sauce or liquid chemicals such as paint are
8L cans (specified in JIS) are filled and shipped, transported or stored in an airtightly sealed state.

In manufacturing plants for liquid seasonings and chemicals, the plugging work performed immediately after filling the 18 L can with liquid is being automated. However, according to the current plugging device, a plugging defect such as poor airtightness or no cap is often caused.
It is necessary to inspect the airtight state of each can container after the completion of the plugging work, but there is no inspection device suitable for such an 18 L can, and troubles have occurred in the market.

[0004]

By the way, when performing a plugging inspection of a can container such as an 18L can, it is relatively easy to check that the crown cap is not attached, so this check is relatively easy. It is difficult to find it visually, so the airtightness check is currently done by inverting the cans, so it takes a lot of time and effort to inspect many cans. Was needed.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an inspection apparatus capable of automatically inspecting the quality of the plugged state of a can container such as an 18L can. .

[0006]

A structure for achieving the above object will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 corresponding to an embodiment. The inspection apparatus according to the present invention has a substantially cup shape and is inspected. It has a contact portion 1a having a shape capable of covering the periphery of the mouth M of the container W, and the entire circumference of the end portion on the open side of the contact portion 1a is
A measuring contact 1 having a structure capable of air-tightly partitioning the inner part thereof to the outside in a state of being brought into contact with the peripheral portion of the mouth M of the container W to be inspected with a predetermined pressing force, and the measuring contact device. A moving means (air cylinder) 2 for moving 1 to selectively set either the contact state or the release state thereof, and the inside of the measuring contact tool 1 and the vacuum exhaust system ( For example, vacuum pumps 6 etc.) are closed valves SV1 and SV, respectively.
A chamber 3 communicating via 2; a pressure sensor PS for measuring the internal pressure of the chamber 3; and a control means 5 for controlling the driving of the moving means 2 and the opening / closing of the closing valves SV1, SV2,
The inside of the chamber 3 is kept in a vacuum state, and the above two closing valves are provided.
With the SV1 and SV2 closed and the measuring contact tool 1 in contact with the container W to be inspected, the output of the pressure sensor PS after opening the closing valve SV1 on the measuring contact tool 1 side should be used as the inspection information. It is characterized by being configured in.

[0007]

[Function] First, the chamber 3 is maintained in a vacuum state by opening only the closing valve SV2 on the vacuum system side with the closing valve SV1 closed, and closed at a predetermined vacuum degree by closing the closing valve SV2. It will be a closed room.

After the chamber 3 is set to the above state, the measuring contact tool 1 is brought into contact with the container W to be inspected, and the closing valve SV1 is opened in this state. When the plugged state of “is good”, as shown in FIG. 6 (a), the volume is reduced by an amount corresponding to the volume of the closed space from the shutoff valve SV1 to the measuring contact tool 1, and the level after the reduction is reached. Stabilizes at.

On the other hand, when the plugged state is "bad", as shown in FIG. 6 (b), after the closing valve SV1 is opened, the degree of vacuum continues to decrease without being stabilized. Therefore, the closing valve
Whether or not the sealing condition of the stopper is good can be determined by whether or not the degree of vacuum in the chamber 3 becomes stable after opening the SV1.

Moreover, since the vacuum source at the time of the inspection is the closed chamber 3 and the exhaust is not always continued, the above-mentioned change in the vacuum degree appears remarkably when the shut-off valve SV1 is opened, and accordingly, the high vacuum is caused. With a simple configuration without using a precision pressure sensor or the like, it becomes possible to always accurately and accurately detect the quality of the sealed state.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing a main structure of the embodiment.

First, a can container (18 L can) W after the cap of the crown cap C has been plugged on the mounting table 4 for inspection.
Are sequentially sent in steps at a predetermined interval. Each of the transported cans W is positioned and fixed at a predetermined position on the mounting table 4, and in the fixed state, the presence or absence of a plugging state described later is inspected.

A measuring contact 1 is arranged above the mounting table 4. The measuring contact tool 1 is supported by the rod 2a of the air cylinder 2, and in this supported state, the central axis thereof coincides with the vertical line, and further the center of the mouthpiece M of the can container W fixed on the mounting table 4 coincides. It is located in.

The measuring contact 1 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and a cup-shaped contact portion 1a is integrally formed at a lower end thereof, and an airtight packing 1b is provided on a lower end surface of the contact portion 1a.
Is installed all around.

The contact portion 1a communicates with the internal space 10 of the measuring contact tool 1 through the through holes 10a, ... 10a, and a vacuum connection described later is provided through a tube connection port 11 provided on the side wall of the internal space 10. It has a possible structure.

Further, a lid inspection rod 12 which is slidable along the axial direction is arranged inside the measuring contact tool 1. The lid inspection rod 12 is supported by a holding member 1c inside the measurement contact tool 1 via a spring 13, and the lower end of the rod 12 has a cap C of the container W to be inspected.
A cushioning spring 12b is attached for the purpose of reducing the impact at the time of contact with.

Furthermore, a proximity switch 14 is built in the upper part of the measuring contact tool 1. The switch 14 is a switch for detecting that the lid detection rod 12 moves upward with respect to the measuring contact tool 1 and the stopper (flange) 12a at the upper end of the rod is positioned within a specified distance. The ON / OFF information of the proximity switch 14 is taken into the control device 5 described later.

On the other hand, the chamber 3 has an internal volume that is about the volume of the space above the liquid surface inside the can container W, and the wall body has two connection ports 31 and 32 that communicate with the inside.
Is provided. One of the connection ports 31 communicates with the connection port 11 of the previous measuring contact 1 through the solenoid valve SV1 and the pressure resistant tube 8, and the other connection port 32 includes a vacuum pump 6 and the like. It communicates with system 7 via solenoid valve SV2. In addition, a solenoid valve is provided between the connection port 32 and the solenoid valve SV2 on the vacuum exhaust system 7 side.
The leak system 9 to which SV3 is connected is connected.

Further, the chamber 3 is provided with a pressure sensor PS for detecting its internal pressure (degree of vacuum),
The sensor output is taken into the control device 5. And
The control device 5 performs the drive control of the air cylinder 2 and the open / close control of each solenoid valve SV1, SV2 and SV3 by the following operations based on the pressure detection data collected and the ON / OFF information of the proximity switch 14 described above. At the same time, it is configured to determine whether the plugged state is good or not and issue an alarm when an abnormality occurs, which will be described later.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the operation of the control device 5. The operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to this figure and the above-mentioned FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 and 5. First, the vacuum evacuation system 7 is always driven regardless of the operation of each part, and the inspection of the plugged state is performed continuously by the can containers W sequentially sent to the mounting table 4 at predetermined intervals. To do.

Now, when the inspection operation is started, after closing all three solenoid valves SV1, SV2 and SV3, first, only the solenoid valve SV2 on the side of the vacuum exhaust system 7 is opened (STa), and after a certain period of time elapses. Close the solenoid valve SV2. By this operation, the inside of the chamber 3 is evacuated. During this operation, the solenoid valve SV2 is maintained in the "open" state at an interval (standby for a certain period of time) so that the degree of vacuum in the chamber 3 becomes a specified value and the internal volume of the chamber 3 and the vacuum exhaust system. It is determined in advance based on conditions such as the exhaust capacity of No. 7.

When the above evacuation is completed, the detection value of the pressure sensor PS is sampled, and it is judged whether or not the internal pressure of the chamber 3 has reached a specified vacuum degree based on the pressure data ( STb), when the inside of the chamber 3 has a specified degree of vacuum, the air cylinder 2 is driven to lower the rod 2a thereof. By this operation, the measuring contact tool 1 descends from the position shown in FIG. 2, and as shown in FIG.
The packing 1b at the tip of a comes into contact with the upper surface of the can container W,
It is further pressed and deformed. Therefore, in the state of FIG. 4, the inner side of the contact portion 1a of the measuring contact tool 1 is airtightly partitioned from the outside.

At the same time, it is judged whether or not the cap C is attached to the can container W (STc). That is, when the cap C is attached to the can container W,
As shown in FIG. 4, the lower end (buffer spring 12b) of the lid detection rod 12 contacts the upper surface of the cap C, whereby the lid detection rod 12 moves upward with respect to the measurement contact tool 1 and the proximity switch. 14 is turned on, and it is determined that a cap is present at this point.

On the other hand, when the cap C is not attached, as shown in FIG. 5, even if the measuring contact tool 1 is lowered, the lid detecting rod 12 does not move with respect to the measuring contact tool 1, and the proximity switch 14 is It does not turn on. Therefore, the air cylinder 2
Despite driving the device, it is determined that there is no cap when the proximity switch 14 is in the OFF state. At this point, the abnormal “no cap” is displayed, and at the same time when the alarm is issued, the device is turned off. Stop.

Next, after it is confirmed from the determination result of the determination step STc that the cap C is attached, only the solenoid valve SV1 is opened, and then the detection value of the pressure sensor PS is sampled for a certain period of time. Then, based on the pressure data, the degree of vacuum, that is, the quality of the capped state (sealing property) of the cap C is determined (STd).

The determination is made as described above with reference to FIG.
When the closed state by the cap C is “good” [FIG. 6 (a)], after the solenoid valve SV1 is opened, the vacuum degree in the chamber 3 is between the valve SV1 and the measurement contact tool 1. It stabilizes after decreasing by the amount corresponding to the internal volume. In contrast,
When the sealed condition is "bad" [Fig. 6 (b)], the solenoid valve SV
After opening 1, the degree of vacuum will continue to drop without stabilizing. Therefore, after a certain period of time has passed from the time when the solenoid valve SV1 was opened, for example, whether the degree of vacuum at the time when t1 has elapsed in FIG. 6, that is, the value detected by the pressure sensor PS is greater than or equal to a predetermined specified value, is determined. By judging, cap C
It is possible to judge the quality of the sealed state due to.

When the judgment result of the judgment step STd is "defective", the abnormality "defective sealing" is displayed, and at the same time when the alarm is issued, the operation of the apparatus is stopped. On the other hand, when the determination result is “good”, the solenoid valve SV3 of the leak system 9 is opened and the chamber 3 and the tube 8 are opened.
And, the inside of the measuring contact tool 1 is opened to the atmosphere, and thereafter, the driving of the air cylinder 1 (the lifting of the rod 1a) raises the measuring contact tool 1 to stand by at its rising end, and then the solenoid valve of the leak system. SV3 and solenoid valve SV on the side of measuring contact 1
After sequentially closing 1 and 1, the process returns to the initial step STa.

In the above operation, the judgment step
If the result of determination in STb is not the specified vacuum degree, there is an abnormality in the vacuum exhaust system 7 or the chamber 3, so a message to that effect is displayed and an alarm is generated, and at the same time the device operation is stopped. The stop is a cycle stop. During this stop, defective products are removed, and after confirming the completion of the removal work, the cycle is restarted and the process returns to "START".

According to the above-mentioned embodiment of the present invention, when the cap is not attached to the can container W to be inspected,
Since the apparatus is immediately stopped without vacuuming the contact portion 1a of the measuring contact tool, there is no danger of the liquid in the can container W flowing out to the outside, and the safety is high.

Further, since the internal volume of the chamber 3 is set to be approximately the same as the volume of the space above the internal liquid surface of the can container W, when the contact portion 1a of the measuring contact tool is evacuated, the cap C Even if there is an airtight leak, when the gas above the liquid surface of the can container W spreads into the chamber 3, the inside of this system becomes almost atmospheric pressure. There is no fear of leaking from M.

In the above embodiment of the present invention, an air cylinder is used as a means for moving the measuring contact tool 1 up and down, but the means is not limited to this, and for example, a hydraulic cylinder or a mechanical moving mechanism or the like. Other equivalent alternatives can be substituted.

Further, the means for detecting the presence or absence of the cap C of the can container W can be replaced by other equivalent publicly known means such as a photoelectric switch, or such a lid detecting structure. The present invention can be practiced without specifically providing.

Further, in the above embodiments, the example in which the present invention is applied to the inspection of the can container has been described, but the invention is not limited to this, and various other types such as a plastic container, a wide-mouthed bottle or a cylindrical container can be used. It can be applied to the inspection of the stoppered state of containers. Moreover, inspection of such various containers,
The entire configuration of the apparatus can be easily performed by changing only the shape and size of the contact portion 1a of the measuring contact tool without changing the overall configuration.

[0034]

As described above, according to the apparatus of the present invention, in the state of contact with a can container or the like, a measuring contact tool that surrounds the periphery of this container opening and airtightly partitions it to the outside, and this contact. A chamber that communicates with the inner part of the tool and the vacuum exhaust system via a closing valve, respectively, and the inner part of the measuring contact tool is in a vacuum-sealed chamber with the measuring contact tool in contact with the can container. The internal pressure at this time is detected, and the detection result is provided as inspection information of the plugged state, so the information for determining the quality of the plugged state (airtightness), that is, the pressure (vacuum degree) The change appears remarkably at the time of inspection, and it is possible to always detect the quality of the sealed state accurately. As a result, it is possible to perform highly reliable inspection with a relatively simple device configuration. Becomes

In addition, at the time of inspection, it is possible to make the inspection possible without manually connecting the measuring system to the can container simply by lowering the measuring contact tool and bringing it into contact with the can container upper surface. Fully automated inspection of the stoppered state of cans such as cans becomes possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the main configuration of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation contents of the control device 5 of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an inspection state according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another example of the inspection state.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the operation of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-Measuring contact tool 1a-Contact part 1b-Packing 11-Port for tube connection 2-Air cylinder 2a-Rod 3-Chamber 7・ ・ ・ ・ Vacuum exhaust system 8 ・ ・ ・ ・ Tube 9 ・ ・ ・ ・ Leak system PS ・ ・ ・ ・ Pressure sensor SV1, SV2, SV3 ・ ・ ・ ・ Solenoid valve 4 ・ ・ ・ ・ Mounting table 5 ・ ・ ・ ・Control device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A device for inspecting a container mouth for the presence or absence of a plugged state, the device having a substantially cup-shaped contact portion capable of covering the periphery of the mouth of the container to be inspected. A measurement contact tool capable of airtightly partitioning the inner part thereof to the outside in a state where the entire circumference of the end on the open side is in contact with the peripheral part of the mouth of the container to be inspected with a predetermined pressing force, A moving means for moving the measuring contact tool to selectively set the contact state to either the contact state or the release thereof, and the inside is closed to the inner part of the measuring contact tool and the vacuum exhaust system, respectively. A chamber that communicates via a valve, a pressure sensor that measures the internal pressure of the chamber, a control unit that controls the driving of the moving unit and the opening and closing of each closing valve are provided, and the inside of the chamber is maintained in a vacuum state. Close the two shut-off valves of the An apparatus for inspecting a plugged state, which is configured such that the output of the pressure sensor after the closing valve on the side of the measurement contactor is opened is provided as inspection information in a state where the touch tool is in contact with the container to be inspected.