JPH0780419A - Container separation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate a device stoppage time and a removal work by automatically selecting out a container with a smaller height than normal, found among normal containers. CONSTITUTION:When transporting a container, it is arranged in a zigzag fashion by a lateral guide 3 so that it is positioned outside a corveyor 1. Further, only a container to be transported is pulled toward the center of the conveyor 1 by a plate 4 halfway through a container transport pasage, and then is allowed to pass through the clearance of the plate 4. On the other hand, a container with a smaller height than a container to be transported is allowed to pass below the plate 4 by keeping the container positioned outside the conveyor 1, without being pulled toward the center of the conveyor 1. This container with a smaller height is guided to an area outside the conveyor 1 by a first bar guide 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a container selecting device for automatically removing only low containers having a height lower than that of a container to be conveyed from a conveyor for conveying the container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, returnable containers such as beer bottles are mixed with containers of various sizes when recovered from the market. First, the containers are sorted according to size, and then, It is supplied to the production line for each size and reused.

And, in the production line for each size,
An inspection device is installed to automatically identify defects, cracks, dirt, etc. in empty containers, which allows defective containers to be automatically identified and removed, and only good containers to be supplied to subsequent processes. Was.

However, since the size of the container is manually selected, a container having a size different from the container to be supplied to the manufacturing line having a predetermined size may be supplied by mistake. When the containers of different sizes enter the inspection device, the inspection posture cannot be maintained due to the difference in height and diameter, and the containers may be caught during transportation, causing troubles.

For this reason, a height sensor for detecting the height of a container is installed at the entrance of the inspection device, and when a container having a different height comes in, the inspection device is automatically stopped and a lower container is manually operated. Had been removed.

[0006]

However, since it is removed as described above when mixed in a low container, there are the following problems.

(1) The labor is lost because it is manually removed.

(2) There is a loss of time due to the stoppage of the inspection device until it is restarted.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and provides a container selecting device which automatically removes a mixed low container, thereby eliminating device down time and removing work. The purpose is to do.

[0010]

The present invention for achieving the above object is to remove a low container having a height lower than that of a container to be transferred from a conveyor for transferring a cylindrical container in an upright state. A container sorting device, on both sides of the conveyor, with a width such that the containers are arranged in a zigzag shape at the time of transportation, each of which is installed along the transportation direction,
A side guide in which one part is cut to form a space,
From the front of the container approaching each space to each space, above the conveyor, fixed to a predetermined height corresponding to the height of the container to be transported, the upper end of the container to be transported. A plate in which a portion is drawn to the central portion of the conveyor to form a gap through which the passage can be formed, and the low container conveyed without passing through the gap between the plates is guided to the outside of the conveyor from each of the space portions. And a bar guide for.

[0011]

In the present invention configured as described above, when the single-row conveyance is performed on the conveyor in the upright state, the cylindrical container is
It is regulated by the side guides to have a width slightly wider than the diameter of the container and arranged in a zigzag shape.

When the container is conveyed in this state and reaches the plate, the container to be conveyed is drawn to the center of the conveyor and passes through the gap between the plates.

On the other hand, when a low container having a height lower than that of the container to be transported is mixed, the plate is fixed at a predetermined height corresponding to the height of the container to be transported. The low container passes directly under the plate and is guided to the outside of the conveyor by a bar guide, and thereafter, the low container is removed to the outside of the conveyor.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing how a low bottle is removed in an embodiment of the container selecting apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a top view showing an embodiment of the container selecting apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. It is the figure seen from the conveyance direction front of the container selection apparatus shown in FIG.

The container sorting apparatus of the present embodiment is erroneous when a medium bottle is supplied to an inspection device for automatically identifying and removing defects, cracks, stains and the like in the medium bottle beer production line. This is for removing the small bottles mixed in by the above, and as shown in FIG. 1, it is installed on the conveyor 1 that conveys the bottles in a single row. The shapes of the medium bottle and the small bottle are as shown in Table 1.

[0017]

[Table 1] As shown in FIG. 2, the conveyor 1 includes a belt 2 that conveys bottles by moving downward from the drawing by a drive source (not shown), and bottles that are arranged in a zigzag shape when conveyed. Wider than the body diameter of W (= 105m
m), side guides 3 are provided on both sides of the belt 2 along the longitudinal direction of the belt 2.

A part of the side guide 3 is cut by 500 mm to form a space as shown in FIG. A plate 4 for pulling only the middle bottle to the center in the width direction of the conveyor 1 above the belt 2 from just before the bottle approaches this space to the middle of the space.
Are supported by the support columns 5. The plate 4 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, both ends are notched in a substantially Y shape, and a gap S (= 29 mm) slightly larger than the neck diameter of the middle bottle is formed in the center so as to connect the notches. . More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the reinforcing portion 4a and the resin portion 4 are
b, and the gap S is formed by projecting the resin portion 4b from the reinforcing portion 4b.
Is located at a height L (= 243 mm) at which the neck of only the middle bottle can be held by the gap S.

On the lower surface of the plate 4 on the side of the space,
The two first portions are arranged at a distance equal to the gap S of the plate 4.
One end of each rod guide 6 is fixed (see FIG. 2).
reference). Each of the first rod guides 6 inclines downward by about 45 degrees in the bottle conveying direction (see FIG. 1), and the distance between the first rod guides 6 gradually increases so as not to touch the shoulder of the middle bottle (see FIG. 1). 3) and extends from the place where the height from the belt 2 is 75 mm to extend substantially parallel to the belt 2 and the other end is fixed to each side guide 3 on the downstream side of the space ( (See FIG. 1). Further, one end of the second rod guide 7 is fixed to each side guide 3 on the upstream side of the space portion at a height of 60 mm from the belt 2, and the other end thereof is directed toward the belt 2 side. It extends so as to hang down gently, and the distance 2 from the side guide 3 on the upstream side of the space.
It is fixed to the side of the conveyor 1 at a position of 50 mm.
Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the distance between the second rod guide 7 and the first rod guide 6 at the fixing portion of the side rod of the conveyor 1 is 75 mm.

In the present embodiment, the structure of the device has been described based on the size of the beer bottle, but it is needless to say that the size of the device itself needs to be changed according to the height of the container, the diameter of the barrel and the like.

Next, the removal of the low bottle in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

The bottles placed on the upper surface of the belt 2 in an upright state in a single row are moved by moving the belt 2 of the conveyor 1 in the conveying direction, and the bottle rows are pressed and the bottles are guided by the side guides 3.
It is regulated by and arranged in a zigzag pattern.

When the medium bottle is conveyed in this state and the medium bottle approaches the plate 4, the neck portion of the medium bottle is drawn to the central portion of the belt 2 along the Y-shaped cutout of the plate 4 and the plate 4 is pulled. Pass through the gap S. At this time, the entire medium bottle tilts toward the center of the conveyor 1. Then, when it passes through the plate 4, it is conveyed again in the upright state.

On the other hand, when a small bottle having a lower bottle height than the medium bottle is mixed, the plate 4 is fixed and supported at a position higher than the height of the small bottle, so that the small bottle passes directly under the plate 4. Then, due to the inclination of the middle bottle by the plate 4, it is pressed to the outside of the conveyor 1. When the vial approaches the space, the side surface of the bottom of the vial changes to the side guide 3 and is regulated by the second rod guide 7. When the vial is further conveyed, the neck portion of the vial contacts the first rod guide 6,
It is guided to the outside of the conveyor 1 along the first rod guide 6, and the entire vial begins to tilt to the outside of the conveyor 1 with the second guide rod 7 as a fulcrum. After that, the vial is greatly tilted and unbalanced, and is removed to the outside of the conveyor 1 in the space.

As described above, in this embodiment, only a predetermined bottle is pulled to the center of the conveyor 1 by the plate 4 and held, and at the same time, a bottle having a lower bottle height than the predetermined bottle is guided by the first guide 6. Even if a small bottle whose bottle height is lower than the standard bottle, which is a standard bottle, is mistakenly mixed by guiding it to the outside of the conveyor 1 and removing it, only the medium bottle is used in the beer production line without stopping the device. Can be supplied to.

The wider the distance W between the side guides 3 is,
The low bottles are located farther than the center of the conveyor 1 to ensure sorting, but if the interval W is too wide, the bottles held by the plate 4 are conveyed with a large inclination, and the bottle neck is held. Becomes difficult and unstable. Therefore, it is preferable that the width W of the side guide 3 is set to an appropriate size with respect to the bottle diameter so that the bottle can be stably transported.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the description has been given by taking the transportation of the beer bottle as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and any can, a plastic container or the like as long as it is a cylindrical container. But it is applicable.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, the containers are arranged in a zigzag pattern by the side guides at the time of transportation and positioned outside the conveyor, and only the containers to be transported are transferred by the plate during transportation. It is held by pulling it toward the center of the conveyor, while the low container whose height is lower than that of the container to be conveyed is not pulled toward the center of the conveyor, and is placed under the plate while being positioned outside the conveyor. By passing it and guiding this low container to the outside of the conveyor along the rod guide, all low containers whose height is lower than the container to be transported are automatically operated without stopping or decelerating the device. Can be removed.

Further, the device of the present invention has a simple structure, so that it can be installed in a narrow space and is inexpensive.

Furthermore, since the low container can be removed without using electric control or power, there is no failure and no adjustment is required.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing how a low bottle is removed in an embodiment of a container sorting apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view showing an embodiment of the container sorting apparatus of the present invention.

3 is a view of the container sorting device shown in FIG. 2 as seen from the front in the transport direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyor 2 Belt 3 Side guide 4 Plate 4a Reinforcing part 4b Resin part 5 Supporting pillar 6 First rod guide 7 Second rod guide

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A container selection device for removing a low container having a height lower than that of a container to be transferred from a conveyor that conveys a cylindrical container in an upright state, on both sides of the conveyor. With a width such that the containers are arranged in a zigzag shape during transportation, each is installed along the transportation direction, and a side guide in which a space is formed by cutting a part of the space, and in each of the spaces. From the front of the container approaching each of the space, above the conveyor, is fixed at a predetermined height corresponding to the height of the container to be transported, the upper end of the container to be transported of the conveyor A plate formed with a gap that can be passed through by being drawn to the central portion, and a bar guide for guiding the low container conveyed without passing through the gap of the plate to the outside of the conveyor from each of the space portions, respectively, Having A container selection device.