JPH0711047Y2 - Conveyance posture control device for non-circular cross-section containers - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Industrial Field of the Invention The present invention is a non-circular cross section having a substantially elliptical cross section with both ends having an arc surface in a device for detecting label position deviation of a non-circular cross section container being conveyed by a conveyor. The present invention relates to a container transportation attitude control device.

2. Description of the Related Art In a manufacturing line for containers such as plastic bottles or a filling line for contents, a label defect such as a displacement of a label attached or printed on the container is detected.

Conventionally, the above-mentioned label defect detection is performed by supplying containers, which are continuously conveyed from a discharge conveyor in a preceding process such as a label sticking machine, on a conveyor of a detection device at a constant interval, and at a predetermined position on the conveyor. This is performed by capturing an image of the container being conveyed by the physical inspection device and detecting whether or not the label is at the specified position.

Problems to be solved by the invention In the detection by the above inspection device, if the container being transported is not always in a constant posture with respect to the inspection device (usually, the label surface is orthogonal to the sensor), a detection error will occur. Can no longer be detected.

However, in the above conventional apparatus, the container may move and its direction may change during the relay from the discharge conveyor in the previous process to the transport conveyor of the label defect detection apparatus. In such a case, it is necessary to accurately detect the label defect. I couldn't.
Further, conventionally, in order to prevent the orientation of the container from being changed during the transportation, it has been carried out that the container is clamped from above and below, but in this case, there is a drawback that the transportation device becomes complicated.

The present invention was devised in order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art. It is possible to accurately orient the container in a fixed direction and convey the container to the detection position, and the structure is simple. An object of the present invention is to provide a posture control device for a transport container having a non-circular cross section.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a transporting posture control device for a container having a non-circular cross section according to the present invention is a transporting posture control device for a non-circular cross-section container having a substantially elliptical cross section. A transport conveyor, a spiral rod arranged along the transport direction of the transport conveyor and having a spiral groove that engages with the outer periphery of the transported container, and an outlet end of the spiral rod that faces the transport conveyor and faces each other. A pair of star wheels arranged so as to rotate in the opposite direction, suction holes are formed in the conveyor arranged at least on the star wheel downstream side of the conveyor, and the transported container controlled in a fixed posture by the star wheel is provided. Consisting of a vacuum chamber formed on the back side of the conveyor downstream from the star wheel so as to be fixed on the conveyor by vacuum, The pair of star wheels have a circular arc surface that contacts the circular arc surface of the rear end portion of the container in the transport direction, and a substantially flat surface that extends substantially tangentially from the start end of the circular arc surface toward the rotational direction. The configuration is characterized in that the container to be transported is sandwiched from both sides in the center portion in the width direction, and the engaging surfaces for controlling the container in a constant posture in the transport direction are formed at equal pitches.

Action The non-circular cross-section container conveyed by the conveyor is controlled by its spiral rod so as to synchronize with the pitch of the engaging surface of the star wheel, and is fed so as to exactly match the engaging surface of the star wheel. Be done. By being sandwiched from both sides by the engagement surfaces of the star wheel, the attitude of the transported container is controlled so that the direction thereof is constant. After that, the transported container is fixed on the transport conveyor by the vacuum of the transport conveyor, and is transported to the label defect detection position while maintaining the posture controlled by the star wheel. Therefore, the container to be conveyed is always conveyed to the label defect detection position in a fixed posture (direction), so that the detection by the optical inspection device can be accurately performed.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a conveyer conveyor, and the upper surface of the machine base 2 is continuously driven by a drive motor 3 at a constant speed. The transfer conveyor 1 is composed of a flat belt having a suction hole 4 formed along the center thereof, and a downstream portion from a position of a star wheel described later holds a container by vacuum. Reference numeral 7 denotes a spiral rod arranged on the upstream side of the conveyer conveyor 1, which engages with the outer periphery of a conveyed container 10 having a substantially elliptical cross section with both ends having arcuate surfaces so that the distance between the conveyed containers is constant. The spiral groove 8 having an unequal pitch for adjusting the drive motor 3 through the transmission 9.
Are driven to rotate in synchronization with the transport conveyor 1 and the star wheel.

Reference numerals 12 and 13 denote star wheels, which are provided at the downstream end of the spiral rod 7 and engage with the transported container on the outer periphery thereof to control the posture of the transported container on the conveyor. , 15 are formed at an equal pitch. The engagement surfaces 14, 15
As shown in FIG. 1, the shape of is formed by an arcuate surface that is in contact with the arcuate surface at the rear end of the container in the transport direction and a substantially flat surface that extends tangentially from the bottom of the arcuate surface in the rotational direction. However, in order to prevent the container to be conveyed having a substantially elliptical cross section from being crushed by the pressing of the engaging surface during loading and unloading in the space formed between the engaging surfaces, the state of FIG. Thus, the clearance is appropriately provided on the engagement surface so that a slight gap is formed between the engagement surface of the star wheel and the transported container, particularly between the rear arc portion start end of the engagement surface and the container rear end arc portion. A dent) is formed. With this configuration, the transported container transported by the transport conveyor 1 is received in the space formed by the engagement surfaces 14 and 15 of both star wheels, and the transported container 10 is placed on both sides in the widthwise central portion of the transport conveyor. When the container is further pinched, the container is regulated in a state parallel to the transport conveyor 1, and in this state, the container can be separated from the star wheel.
If a plurality of types of star wheels 12 and 13 having different engagement surfaces 14 and 15 are prepared, they can be selected and used according to the shape of the container.

Reference numeral 16 is an optical inspection device for detecting a label defect of the transported container. The output of the optical inspection device is sent to a control device (not shown), and the label defective container is eliminated from the line by an appropriate means. .

Reference numerals 17 and 17 'are relay conveyors for delivering the transported container 10 from the discharge conveyor 18 in the previous step at a constant speed.
In the figure, 5 is a vacuum chamber, and 6 is a vacuum pump.

The embodiment apparatus configured as described above operates as follows.

Conveyed container 10 with label applied or printed in the previous step
Is delivered from the relay conveyors 17 and 17 'at a constant speed onto the transport conveyor 1 and is transported by the transport conveyor. When the transported container 10 reaches the position of the spiral rod 7, the transported container 10 is engaged with the spiral groove 8 and its interval is regulated by the pitch of the spiral groove 8 so that the transported container 10 is evenly spaced from the downstream end of the spiral wheel 8. Send between 13 The spiral rod 7 and the star wheels 12 and 13 are driven in synchronization so that the transported container 10 delivered from the end of the spiral groove 8 is exactly sandwiched by the engaging surfaces 14 and 15 of the star wheels 12 and 13. In the illustrated embodiment, the transported container has an elliptical cross-section and is sandwiched by the engaging surfaces 14 and 15 of the star wheels 12 and 13 so that the major axis of the transported container 10 coincides with the center line of the transport conveyor 1. The posture is controlled so that. Then, in this state, the vacuum is fixed on the transport conveyor by the vacuum of the transport conveyor 1 to be transported, and when the label inspection position is reached, the optical inspection device 16 images the label surface and detects a defect. Therefore, since the transported container is always transported to the label defect inspection position in a fixed posture (direction), it is possible to prevent the detection error due to the displacement of the direction.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the conveyor 1 is composed of one belt conveyor, but it may be separated into an upstream conveyor until immediately before the star wheel is located and a downstream conveyor from the star wheel portion, and may be separately structured. Good. In that case, only the downstream conveyor may be a vacuum conveyor having vacuum holes.

Effects Since the present invention is configured as described above, it is possible to convey the non-section container to the detection position by accurately aligning the direction of the conveyed container having a non-circular cross section being conveyed by the belt conveyor in a predetermined direction. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the detection error due to the uneven orientation of the transported container, and the device is simple. In particular, the present invention is a spiral rod, a star wheel,
The combination of the conveyor with the suction hole and the vacuum chamber allows the container to be supplied so as to securely engage with the engaging surface of the star wheel, and the container can be maintained in the one-way aligned posture by the star wheel. The present invention has an excellent effect that it can be surely conveyed from the engagement surfaces of the pair of spirals and can be sent to the next process while maintaining its posture.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a plan view thereof and FIG. 2 is a side view thereof. 1: Conveyor, 2: Machine stand, 3: Drive motor, 4: Suction hole, 7:
Spiral rod, 8: Spiral groove, 10: Container to be transported, 12, 1
3: Star wheel, 14, 15: Engagement surface, 16: Optical inspection device

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location // B65G 47/86 F 8010-3F

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A transporting posture control device for a non-circular cross-section container having substantially elliptical cross-sections having arcuate surfaces at both ends, the transporting conveyor being arranged along a transporting direction of the transporting conveyor.
A spiral rod having a spiral groove that engages with the outer periphery of the transported container, and a pair of star wheels arranged so as to rotate in opposite directions above the transport conveyor at the exit end of the spiral rod, A suction hole is formed in at least the conveyor wheel downstream side of the star wheel, and a suction hole is formed in the conveyor downstream side of the star wheel so as to fix the transported container whose posture is controlled by the star wheel on the conveyor by vacuum. Consisting of a vacuum chamber formed on the back side of the conveyor of
The pair of star wheels have an arc surface that is in contact with an arc surface of a rear end portion of the container to be transferred and a substantially flat surface that extends substantially tangentially from a start end of the arc surface toward a rotation direction. Of the container having a non-circular cross-section, the engaging surfaces for sandwiching the transported container from both sides in the widthwise central portion of the container and controlling the transported container in a constant posture with respect to the transport direction are formed at equal pitches. Conveyance posture control device.