JPH0891484A - Device and method for gripping article - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To manufacture an article gripping device compactly in its entirety by making the number of its parts used as low as possible and minimize the malfunction by making the tightening torque constant. CONSTITUTION: At the time of gripping an article by a plurality of gripping members 6, the rotating force of an operating means 8 is transmitted through a linkage means 15 to the plurality of the gripping members 6, whereby the article (c) is gripped and released repeatedly by the gripping members 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article-holding device and an article-holding method used in, for example, the industry of filling and packaging containers with liquids.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a capping device for a capper used in the industry of filling and packaging liquids in containers, for example, the one described in JP-A-63-52797 is known.

In this device, the cap supplied to the mouth of the container is gripped on the outer circumference of the cap by a catching arm which is arranged on the catching case on three sides in a toe-like shape, and the catching case is rotated to tighten the cap. Is performed.

In this gripping device, since the above-mentioned three-sided catching arms are opened and closed by the air cylinders that individually operate, the catching case body (head) for supporting the air cylinders is made large. This must be formed, and the weight of the case itself and the entire case due to auxiliary equipment for operation increases, and the inertial force exerts a large force on the rotational torque for tightening, which causes variations in the tightening torque during capping. Prone to

Further, since a capping case having a large number of air cylinders has a large outer diameter, for example, in a rotary type capper having a large number of case bodies (heads) attached to each other, the lead (pitch) between the heads is increased. ) Becomes larger, and the movement amount of the container also increases accordingly.Therefore, when the container is fed at a high speed, the liquid in the filled container is blown to cause insufficient filling or contamination of the vicinity of the machine. There are many inconveniences such as biting of itself.

Furthermore, since many air cylinders are used, air leakage failures such as defective seals in the air flow path are likely to occur, and this maintenance results in reduced operation and the air cylinder type has a complicated structure. As a result, the number of parts used increases and the cost increases.
There were various problems such as.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and in gripping an article to be gripped by a plurality of gripping members, the rotational force of the actuating means is linked to the linking means. Via a plurality of gripping members respectively,
By operating the closing and opening of the gripping member in conjunction with the article, the number of parts to be used can be reduced as much as possible, and the entire device can be manufactured in a compact size. An object is to provide a gripping device and a method for gripping an article.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems The means of the present invention for attaining the above-mentioned object is, in the structure of the first example, a main body, an outer cylinder rotatably attached to the main body, and an interior of the outer cylinder. An operating body that is moved by the operating means, an operating member that is provided on the operating body, and a rotating body that includes a cam body that engages with the operating member and that turns the main body by the movement of the operating body.
A plurality of opening and closing rods are attached to the main body and transmit the rotation of the rotating body by the linking means, and a holding member that is fixed to the ends of the opening and closing rods and is brought into contact with and separated from the outer circumference of the article.

Further, the structure of the second example is such that the main body, the outer cylinder rotatably attached to the main body, the operating means for rotating the main body in the forward and reverse directions by linking to one side portion of the main body, A plurality of opening and closing rods attached to the outer cylinder, a gripping member fixed to the outer end portions of these opening and closing rods and brought into contact with and separated from the outer circumference of the article, and an inner end portion of the opening and closing rod provided on the other side of the main body. Linking means for engaging and transmitting the rotation of the main body to the opening and closing rod.

Further, the article gripping method of the present invention is a method for gripping an article in which a plurality of gripping members can be brought into and out of contact with the outer periphery of the article and are gripped by the plurality of gripping members when contacting the article. The torque of the actuating means is transmitted to each of the plurality of gripping members via the linking means, and the closing and opening of the gripping members to the article are operated in an interlocking manner.

[0011]

The present invention configured as described above has the following operations.

In the configuration of the first example, first, when the actuating means is operated, the operating body is operated and moved by the operating means, so that the operating member of the operating body moves the rotating body engaging with the cam body in one direction. Turn.

Then, the plurality of opening / closing rods connected by the linking means are interlockedly rotated, and the gripping members fixed to the ends thereof respectively come into contact with a plurality of positions on the article surface by a predetermined pressure, so that the article is gripped. .

To release the grip of the article, the rotating member is swung in the other direction by the actuating means, and the gripping member of the opening / closing rod is moved in the opening direction through the linking means to be separated from the article surface.

In the configuration of the second example, when the actuating means is operated,
The main body is rotated in one direction and is interlocked with the opening and closing rod via the linking means.

Then, the plurality of opening / closing rods rotate, and the gripping members respectively fixed to the ends thereof come into contact with a plurality of positions on the surface of the article by a predetermined pressure, so that the article is gripped.

To release the grip of the article, the gripping member of the opening / closing rod is moved in the opening direction via the linking means by rotating the main body in the other direction by the actuating means, and the article is separated from the surface of the article.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an article holding device and an article holding method according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The article gripping device A, which is one embodiment of the method and one embodiment of the present invention, is used in the industry of filling and packaging liquids such as chemicals, detergents, and foods into the container b, which is an article. It is used in a line, and is a cap b such as a pump cap or a dispenser cap attached to the mouth of a container b, which enables large-scale processing to be carried out continuously and automatically in a short time. It is used for a gripping device for an article, that is, a cap c.

The cap c used in the method and article gripping apparatus A of this embodiment is of the pump cap type as shown in FIG. 1 in the first example,
It has a pump c4 with a nozzle c3 connected to a hose c2 attached to a lid c1.

A first example of the article gripping device A is, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a main body 1, an outer cylinder 1a, and an operating body 2.
The operating member 3, the rotating body 4, the opening / closing rod 5, and the grip member 6 are basically configured.

The main body 1 described above is fixed to the air supply shaft 7 that is hung from a body (not shown) of the rotary type winding machine at intervals and has a hollow central portion. There is.

The above-mentioned outer cylinder 1a is rotatably attached to the outer periphery of the main body 1 through a plurality of bearings, and has a rotating member g having a rotating means (not shown) linked to the upper portion thereof. There is.

The above-mentioned operating body 2 is attached to the main body 1 and is moved up and down by the operating means 8. The operation body 2 is formed into a cylindrical shape and is introduced into the elevating chamber 9 in the outer cylinder 1a provided in the main body 1. It is movably inserted and is elastically urged to always be positioned above the elevating chamber 9 by a return member 10 such as a coil spring provided in a plurality of sets below the operating body 2. .

The above-mentioned actuating means 8 uses the pressurized air to be fed under pressure, and supplies it to the operating body 2 surface of the elevating chamber 9 through the flow path 11 formed in the hollow portion of the main body 1. ,
The operating body 2 descends against the spring pressure of the spring 10 and gives a rotating force to a rotating body 4 described later.

A plurality of sets, for example, three sets, of the operating member 3 are attached to the inner periphery of the operating body 2 at intervals, and are rotatably fitted to the outer periphery of the main body 1 so that the operating member 3 can be housed in the operating body 2. A roller that is movably engaged with the cam body 12 of the body 4 and is supported by the shaft 13 of the operating body 2 is used.

As shown in FIG. 2, the above-mentioned cam bodies 12 are provided at three positions corresponding to the number of operating members 3 in the operating body 2. As shown in FIG. In the above, the vertical movement (linear movement) of the operating body 2 is converted into the rotational movement of the rotating body 4 by being formed in the shape of a twist groove that is inclined to one side along the outer circumference of the rotating body 4.

An outer cylinder rotatably supported by the main body 1
A roller 14 axially supported by the outer cylinder 1a is used as a rotation stopper for the operating body 2 with respect to 1a.

The structure of the operating member 3 and the cam body 12 described above is not limited to the combination of the groove and the protrusion such as a roller which fits and moves in the groove, and although not shown, A projecting ridge having an inclination attached to the outer periphery of the operating body 2;
A combination with an operating member 3 (for example, a spiral one having a male threaded body having a threaded portion having a large lead) and an engaging member that engages and moves so as to embrace the ridge body may be used. Any means can be adopted as long as it is not provided and can convert linear motion into rotary motion as described above.

A plurality of sets, for example, three sets, of the above-mentioned opening / closing rods 5 are rotatably fitted into the outer cylinder 1a of the main body 1, and the rotating means 4 is rotated by the linking means 15. It is transmitted synchronously.

The above-mentioned linking means 15 is used for the rotating body 4.
And the gears 16 and 17 provided on the opening and closing rod 5,
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a fan gear 17 attached to an upper portion of the opening / closing rod 5 is attached to a ring gear 16 engraved on the outer peripheral portion of the rotating body 4.
The rotation is interlocked by the meshing of the.

The above-mentioned gripping member 6 is formed in the shape of an arm and has its base fixed to the lower end of each of the opening / closing rods 5, 5 and 5, and is in contact with the article, that is, the outer periphery of the cap c. They are separated from each other, and grip the outer periphery of the cap c when the grip portion at the outer end thereof comes into contact.

Therefore, according to the apparatus A of the first embodiment, when the actuating means 8 is operated, the pressurized air passes through the flow passage 11 of the main body 1 and moves up and down the outer cylinder 1a attached to the main body 1. The air is introduced into the chamber 9, and the upper surface of the operating body 2 is pressurized by the pressurized air, and the operating body 2 is pushed downward against the spring pressure of the spring 10 to move.

Further, since the operating member 3 mounted inside the operating body 2 is engaged with the cam body 12 of the rotating body, the rotating body 4 is moved by the cam action as the operating body 2 moves. Turn a predetermined amount in the direction.

Then, the linking means 15 by the gears 16 and 17 is
Since the rotational force is transmitted in synchronization with the three sets of opening / closing rods 5, 5, 5, the gripping members 6, 6, 6 respectively fixed to the lower ends of the opening / closing rods 5, 5, 5 are attached to the outer surface of the cap c. The cap c is held at a constant pressure because it abuts at three places with a predetermined pressure.

For example, when tightening the cap c, the container b is covered with a constant torque by rotating the rotating member g by a predetermined rotation by a rotating means (not shown).

At this time, since the outer cylinder 1a attached to the main body 1 can be formed to have a diameter and a size as small as possible, the weight of the entire body can be measured, and the outer cylinder 1a can be excessively swung during turning. The inertial force does not work, and there is no variation in the tightening torque during tightening.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 20 denotes a gripping means for the pump portion c4 of the pump-type cap c, and when the cap c is tightly wound around the container b, the mounting position direction of the nozzle c3 is different for each container b. It is fixed and positioned in a certain direction so that it is not uniform.

The structure is such that the inner cylinder 21 attached to the lower side of the main body 1 has a pressing surface whose lower surface is inclined outward.
A pressing body 23 having 22 is internally provided, and an opening / closing piece 25 separated into two parts having an inclined surface 24 that abuts and abuts against a pressing surface 22 of the pressing body 23 is provided in the inner cylinder 21 in a centripetal direction. It is movably supported and is normally urged in a direction in which the opening / closing piece 25 expands by a ring-shaped expanding spring 26 engaged with the inside of the opening / closing piece 25.

A gripping member 27 made of a material that does not damage the cap c is attached to the lower portion of the opening / closing piece 25.

Further, the opening / closing of the opening / closing piece 25 connects the inside of the inner cylinder 21 of the main body 1 with the flow path 11 of the pressurized air in the main body 1 to feed the pressurized air of the operating means 8 under pressure. As a result, the pressing body 23 descends, and along with this, the pressing surface 22 presses the inclined surface 24 of the opening / closing piece 25 by a wedge action to move the opening / closing piece 25 divided in two in the centripetal direction.
The pump part c4 can be held at a predetermined pressure.

The opening / closing piece 25 is opened by the elastic force of the expanding spring 26 described above.

Next, in the second example of the device A of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 10, the main body 1, the outer cylinder 1a, the operating means 8, the opening / closing rod 5, and the gripping member 6 are provided. And the linking means 15 basically.

As in the first example, the main body 1 is fixed to the mounting body 30 that is suspended from the body (not shown) of the rotary type winding machine at intervals. The part is formed in a hollow shape.

The above-mentioned outer cylinder 1a is rotatably attached to the outer periphery of the main body 1 through a plurality of bearings, and has a rotating member g having a rotating means (not shown) linked to the upper portion thereof. There is.

The operating means 8 uses a rotary mechanism such as a rotary actuator operated by a fluid. As shown in FIG. 6, the main body 31 is attached to the hollow portion of the main body 1, and the inside of the main body 31 is attached. By fixing the blade piece 33 to the outer periphery of the main body 1 in the fluid chamber 32, the blade piece 33 is rotated by the fluid supplied from the supply / discharge passages 34 and 35, and the main body 1 is rotated in the forward and reverse directions.

A plurality of sets, for example, three sets, of the opening and closing rods 5 are rotatably fitted into the outer cylinder 1a, and gripping members 6 are attached to the outer ends thereof, respectively.

The gripping member 6 is formed in the shape of an arm and has its base fixed to the lower end of each of the opening / closing rods 5, 5, 5 and is attached to the outer periphery of the article, that is, the cap c. The cap c is gripped on the outer periphery of the cap c when the gripping part at the outer end of the cap abuts.

The linking means 15 is provided on the other side of the main body 1, engages with the inner end of the opening / closing rod 5, and transmits the rotation of the main body 1 to the opening / closing rod 5, as shown in FIG. Further, the rotation is interlocked with the large gear 36 attached to the lower end of the main body 1 by meshing the small gear 37 attached to the upper part of the opening / closing rod 5.

Therefore, according to the apparatus A of the second embodiment, when the actuating means 8 is operated, the pressurized air flows into the fluid chamber 32 in the main body 31 through the supply / discharge passage 34 or 35. The blade piece 33 is operated by this pressurized air to rotate in one direction, which causes the main body 1 to rotate. Therefore, the rotation of the large gear 36 of the linking means 15 attached to the main body 1 is performed. Is transmitted to the opening / closing rod 5 via the small gear 37, the gripping member 6 attached to the lower end of the cap abuts on the outer surface of the cap c at a predetermined pressure at three positions, so that the cap c is kept constant. It is gripped by pressure.

For example, when tightening the cap c, the container b is closed with a constant torque by rotating the rotating member g by a predetermined rotation by a rotating means (not shown).

In FIG. 10, reference numeral 40 denotes a delivery means of the cap c, which is an engaging body of the cap c on a mounting surface 42 serving as a reference surface of a base body 41 hung on a frame (not shown) in the winding machine. 43 is attached, and one of the caps c sent from an aligning feeder (not shown) is supported on this locking body 43, and is supplied to the gripping position by the gripping member 6.

In FIGS. 5 and 10, reference numeral 44 designates a cap c.
The pressing means for pressing the upper surface of the cap allows the cap c attached to the locking body 43 in the delivery means 40 to be stored at an accurate position.

Then, for example, the cap c for the locking body 43
Is insufficiently adhered, for example, if it is slanted or floats with respect to the mounting surface 42, the cap cannot be gripped by the gripping member 6, or it is wound on the container b (the same applies to the push-on cap. ) Is not possible, and this is to prevent this adverse effect.
A pressing body 46 is attached to 45, and a pressing member 47 such as a coil-shaped expansion spring is mounted between the pressing body 46 and the outer cylinder 1a, and the expansion body 47 always presses the pressing body 46. Is urged outwardly (downward).

The pressurizing member 47 can use an air cushion such as an air cylinder or an air tube, or another elastic body, and is biased toward the mounting surface 42 to cap c.
Any can be selected as long as is corrected to the correct posture.

[0056]

According to the present invention constructed as described above, the means structure for opening and closing the plurality of gripping members is simpler, lighter and smaller than the conventional one, so that the number of failures is reduced and the cost is reduced. Therefore, for example, when the device of the present invention is used for winding the cap, the inertial force due to the rotation of the main body can be reduced as much as possible, and the variation of the winding tightening force due to the inertial force can be suppressed. As a result, stable and reliable lid application can be performed.

Further, since the main body can be formed in a small size, for example, in a rotary type capper to which a large number of sets of this main body are attached, the leads (pitch) between the main bodies can be made small, It is possible to downsize the capper body and increase the number of main bodies as compared with the conventional capper.

In this miniaturization, in the gripping device in the capper, the amount of movement of the container for performing lidding and the like is reduced, low speed feeding is possible, and the inside of the filled container due to the conventional high speed feeding is reduced. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of liquid blowing and biting of the container itself. And so on.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional front view of essential parts showing a first embodiment of an article gripping device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing an outline of a linking unit in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line YY in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional front view of essential parts showing a second embodiment of the article holding device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional plan view of the actuating means portion in FIG.

7 is a cross-sectional plan view of the linking means portion in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a state in which a cap having a relatively large diameter is held by the holding member in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a state where a small-diameter cap is held by the holding member in FIG.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a cap holding state by a holding means provided in the article holding device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 c article 1 main body 1a outer cylinder 2 operating body 3 operating member 4 rotating body 5 opening / closing rod 6 gripping member 8 actuating means 12 cam body 15 linking means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A main body, an outer cylinder rotatably attached to the main body, an operating body which is housed in the outer cylinder and is moved by an operating means, an operating member provided on the operating body, and an operating member. A rotary body that pivots the main body by moving the operating body, a plurality of opening and closing rods attached to the main body to transmit the rotation of the rotary body by linking means, and An article gripping device, comprising: a gripping member that is fixed to an end portion and is brought into contact with and separated from an outer circumference of the article. 2. A main body, an outer cylinder rotatably attached to the main body, actuating means for rotating the main body in a reverse direction by being linked to one side portion of the main body, and a plurality of opening / closing units attached to the outer cylinder. The rods, a gripping member that is fixed to the outer ends of the opening and closing rods and is brought into contact with and separated from the outer circumference of the article, and is provided on the other side of the main body and engages with the inner ends of the opening and closing rods. An article gripping device comprising: a linking means for transmitting the rotation of the main body. 3. A plurality of gripping members can be brought into and out of contact with the outer circumference of the article, and when contacting the article, when gripping the article by the plurality of gripping members, the rotational force of the operating means is linked. A method for gripping an article, characterized in that transmission to each of the plurality of gripping members via means is carried out, and the closing and opening of the gripping member to the article are interlocked with each other.