JPH09328156A - Cap seaming method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform a seaming by a torque which is determined in advance, and enable a lid placing process which is always uniform by performing the seaming while releasing a pressing force to a cap from the top from a point right before the completion of the seaming of the cap. SOLUTION: When a lid placing member 3 is lowered, a cap (c) being gripped, is pressed to the mouth of a container (b) by a vertical pressure-adjusting member 21. At this time, a protuberance (c) of a plug opening confirming means (d) of the cap (c), gets over a male thread part (f), and moves to a location where the starting ends of the male thread (f) and a female thread (g) of the cap (c) are screwed. Under this state, the rotating shaft 2 of the lid placing member 3 is rotated, and for this reason, the screwing of the cap (c) to the mouth of the container (b) advances. Then, when the screwing of both threads (f), (g) starts, the start is detected, and air of a fluid chamber 24 is discharged from an air discharging hole 28 of the vertical pressure-adjusting member 21, and the vertical motion of the lid placing member 3 is not restricted. Therefore, the cap (c) is seamed by a pure torque, and the lid is uniformly placed by the torque which is specified by a rotating pressure-adjusting member 22 in advance.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a capper,
The present invention relates to a cap tightening method capable of securely tightening a cap with a specified torque.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, food stored in a container with a lid is
In consideration of its safety and hygiene, the so-called function with a function that can visually check whether or not unnecessary opening has been done due to mischief in the distribution process from factory shipment to general consumers , As shown in FIG.
It is hermetically sealed by a cap c with a mechanical band d or the like.

The cap c is provided so as to be capable of undulating so that a large number of projections e on the mechanical band d project toward the center of its diameter. Inside the projections e, the external thread f of the container b is attached. A female thread portion g to be screwed is provided.

Therefore, in order for the two screw parts f and g to be screwed together, after the container b is covered on the upper part of the mouth, the projecting protrusion e completely rides over the male screw part f and at least the both screw parts f. , G must be brought into contact with each other or the meshing must be performed.

Therefore, in the conventional capper, as shown in FIG. 5, the cap c held by the chuck 50 is
After being covered by the container b, the male spring part f of the container b and the female screw part g of the cap c are brought into contact with each other by being pressed from above by the coil spring 51 which is mounted on the upper part of the chuck 50. It surely meshes.

When the specified tightening torque is reached, rotation transmission is canceled by a torque limiter built in the chuck 50, such as a slip.

However, in the winding tightening by this method, the cap c is held in the container b from the start of the winding tightening to the completion of the winding tightening.
Since it is constantly pressed against the mouth by a predetermined pressure, a force in the thrust direction is generated between the external thread portion f of the container b and the internal thread portion g of the cap c, and this force becomes a large frictional force during rotation. Receives tightening resistance.

Therefore, during the process in which winding is not completed, the force in the thrust direction between the male screw part f of the container b and the female screw part g of the cap c should be constant due to variations in the material of the container and molding. Instead, the specified tightening torque will be reached, causing slippage in the torque limiter early in the completion of the tightening. There was a big problem that the lid was not applied due to the tightening torque.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and until the female thread portion of the cap is screwed into the male thread portion of the container, Rotate while applying a pressing force from the upper part to promote screwing, and apply a pressing force to the cap when the screwing of both screw parts starts or during the process until the cap tightening is completed. An object of the present invention is to provide a cap tightening method capable of uniformly and surely tightening a screw cap with a cap opening confirmation means on a container by releasing the screw cap and tightening the cap.

[0010]

The means of the present invention for attaining the above-mentioned object is to apply a capper to a screw cap having a cap opening confirming means attached to the lower part thereof for tightening the screw cap around the mouth of the container. The cap held by the lid member is made to correspond to the mouth of the container, and until the female screw portion of the cap is screwed onto the male screw portion of the container,
The cap is rotated while applying a pressing force from above to promote screwing, and when the screwing of both screw parts is started or during the process before the cap is completely tightened, the vertical adjustment is performed. There is provided a cap winding method in which the pressing force applied to the cap by the pressure member is released and the cap is tightened in a state in which the pressing force is not applied by the vertical pressure adjusting member.

[0011]

The cap winding method of the present invention having the above-described structure has the following effects.

Until the female thread portion of the cap is screwed into the male thread portion of the container, the female thread portion of the cap is rotated by applying a pressing force from the upper portion to the cap by the vertical pressure adjusting member. The threading of the container and the external thread of the container is easily promoted.

When the screwing of both screw parts is started,
Alternatively, by releasing the pressing force applied to the cap by the upper and lower pressure adjusting members before the completion of all the steps of winding the cap, the screwing surface of the female thread portion of the cap and the male thread portion of the container is released. Since the screw is screwed without exerting a force in the thrust direction, that is, a frictional force, and the cap is tightened by a pure tightening torque, the cap is uniformly tightened.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, one embodiment of a cap tightening method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The capper A, which is an apparatus to which the method according to the embodiment of the present invention is adopted, is used for a processing line in the industry where, for example, a container b is filled with a liquid such as chemicals, detergents and foods. Then, the screw cap c is attached to the mouth of the container b, and it is adopted in, for example, a rotary type winding capper, which can continuously and automatically perform a large amount of processing in a short time.

The cap c used in the capper A is provided with a cap opening confirming means d capable of visually checking whether or not the cap is opened, so-called a mechanical band d as shown in FIG. A cap c such as a cap is used.

The cap c is provided so as to be capable of undulating so that a large number of protrusions e of the mechanical band d project toward the center of its diameter. Inside the protrusions e, the threaded portion of the container b is provided. A female thread portion g screwed to f is provided. When the cap is opened at the mouth of the container b and then opened, the mechanical band d is cut off from the body of the cap c to visually check its state. Etc.

The basic structure of the capper A described above is, as shown in FIG. 1, a large number of rotating shafts supported by a machine body 1 configured so as to be able to move continuously or intermittently in one direction at a predetermined speed. 2, a cover member 3 attached to the lower end of the rotary shaft 2, a rotating means 4 of the rotary shaft 2, and a rotary shaft 2
And the ascending / descending means 5 of.

The rotating shaft 2 is connected to the outer shaft 7 and the outer shaft 7 through a detent member 8 composed of a key, a key groove, a spline, etc., so that the rotating shaft 2 can be rotated and moved up and down.
The inner shaft 9 is slidably fitted.

The above-mentioned cover member 3 holds the cap c and pushes it into the mouth of the container b or tightens it, and is fixed to the lower end of the rotary shaft 2 to transmit the movement of the rotary shaft 2. And the gripping mechanism of the cap is
A conventional type such as a mechanical type using a wedge or the like, a vacuum type, an air tube type, or the like is used, and a signal for gripping and releasing is given through an external control system. A wedge operated in the centripetal direction was used.

The rotating means 4 is individually linked to the rotary shaft 2, and, for example, a servo motor or a brake motor is connected to the upper end of the rotary shaft 2 for each of the rotary shafts 2. The motor 4 is rotated or non-rotated by a signal from a control means (not shown).

The lifting means 5 has a spiral groove 11 having a predetermined inclination formed on the outer peripheral portion of a cylindrical body 10 provided in the machine body 1. The spiral groove 11 is fixed to the inner shaft 9 of the rotary shaft 2. The movable piece 12 engaged with the spiral groove 11 moves up and down at a predetermined timing as the machine body 1 rotates.

The caps c described above are sent from a lid supply means (not shown), held one by one by the cap support means 13, and turned by a turning means 14 such as a cam. 3 is handed over in the raised standby state.

Next, in FIG. 2, reference numeral 20 denotes a pressure adjusting means provided on the rotary shaft 2 for adjusting pressure in the rotating direction of the rotary shaft 2 and pressure in the vertical direction. It comprises a member 21 and a rotary pressure regulating member 22.

The vertical pressure adjusting member 21 has a cylindrical main body 23 at the outer end portion of the rotary shaft 2, that is, the lower end portion.
And a first fluid chamber 24 is provided inside the main body 23, and a movable body 25 such as a piston operated by a fluid such as air pressure is movably inserted into the first fluid chamber 24 in the axial direction thereof. It is fitted, and a mounting shaft 26 for mounting the lidding member 3 is extended on one side (lower side) of the moving body 25.

The upper part of the main body 23 has the first fluid chamber 2
4 has a first air supply hole 27 for air communicated therewith,
The first exhaust hole 28 is provided in the main body 23 near the lower limit of the moving body 25.
The fluid to be pressure-fed to the first supply hole 27 is provided in the middle of a fluid source (not shown) and is capable of arbitrarily converting the pressure-feeding pressure (not shown) or fluid. A pressure adjusting member capable of converting pressure arbitrarily is linked.

Therefore, when the cap c held by the lidding member 3 is made to correspond to the mouth of the container b, when a pressing force higher than a set pressure is applied, the cap c is released and is uniformly wound by a predetermined air pressure. It is possible to perform the above, and by converting the vertical pressure according to the type of the cap c, the type of the container b, or the material of the container, a good work result can be obtained.

The rotary pressure regulating member 22 sets the tightening torque, and the first fluid chamber 24 in the main body 23.
A second fluid chamber 29 is provided in the lower part of the above, and a pressurizing body 30 that is movable in the axial direction of the mounting shaft 26 is inserted into the second fluid chamber 29.

The mounting shaft 26 and the main body 23 are connected by a connecting member 31 which is freely connectable and disconnectable.
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the connecting member 31 has a sliding groove 32 in which a plurality of lines (three lines in the embodiment) are formed in the inner circumference of the main body 23 in the axial direction. The outer peripheral projection 33 is movably engaged in the axial direction, and the pressing body 3
A first friction body 34 that receives a pressing force of 0 and a center hole (not shown) are movably fitted to the mounting shaft 26, and one side surface of the first friction body 34 abuts the outer surface of the first friction body 34 and the other side surface. Is supported by the main body 23.

A plurality of the first friction body 34 and the second friction body 35 may be provided in a laminated form, and in this case, fine adjustment of the vertical pressure can be made more accurately and accurately. Becomes

Further, in the main body 23, the second fluid chamber 29
A second supply hole 36 for a fluid such as air and an exhaust hole 37 which are communicated with each other are provided, and the fluid pressure-fed to the second supply hole 36 is provided in the middle of a fluid source (not shown). Then, a flow rate adjusting member (not shown) that can arbitrarily convert the pressure feeding pressure or a pressure adjusting member that can arbitrarily convert the fluid pressure is linked.

Therefore, when the pressurized fluid is pressure-fed from the second supply hole 36, the pressing body 30 moves downward and presses the first friction body 34, and the surface thereof is pressed against the surface of the second friction body 35. Therefore, the rotation of the rotary shaft 2 is transmitted to the mounting shaft 26 through the main body 23 by the frictional engagement of the friction bodies 34 and 35, and the cover member 3 is rotated.

At this time, by setting the fluid pressure to the second supply hole 36 in advance according to the shapes and types of the cap c and the container b, the desired tightening torque of the cap c on the container b can be obtained. can get.

According to the embodiment method of the present invention configured as described above, first, the machine body 1 of the capper A is rotated in one direction at a predetermined speed, which allows the machine body 1 to hang down from the machine body 1. The cover member 3 of the rotating shaft 2 is controlled to move up and down by the lifting means 5 by a cam curve as shown in FIG.

Further, the pressure adjusting means 20 attached to the rotary shaft 2
And the air pressure from the first supply hole 27 is sent into the first fluid chamber 24, and the mounting shaft 26 descends to the lower limit through the moving body 35. And this descent state is maintained.

Then, the cap c from the cap supporting means 13 supplied before the point p in this curve is gripped while descending, and below the cover member 3,
The filled container b is supplied onto the table 6.

Further, when the lid applying member 3 is further lowered by the elevating means 5, the cap c grasped by the lid applying member 3 is moved up and down as shown in FIG. 3 (b).
It is pressed against the mouth of the container b by 1.

At this time, as shown in the figure, the projection e of the opening confirming means d in the cap c rides over the male screw part f, and the starting end of the male screw part f and the female screw part g of the cap c. The part moves to a position where it can be screwed.

In this state, since the rotating shaft 2 of the lidding member 3 is rotated by the rotating means 4, the cap c is screwed to the mouth of the container b.

When the screwing of the two screw parts f and g is started, that is, when the switching point m is reached on the curve in FIG. 4, for example, the photoelectric tube, the proximity switch, the cam, etc. provided in the machine body 1 are The detection means 40 detects and the control means 4
By stopping the supply of air in the vertical pressure adjusting member 21 via 1 and discharging the air in the first fluid chamber 24 from the first exhaust hole 28, the vertical movement of the lidding member 3 is not restricted.

Therefore, the force in the thrust direction is released from the two screw parts f and g, and the cap c is tightened by the pure tightening torque. Therefore, the cap c is predetermined by the rotary pressure adjusting member 22. Due to the torque, all the containers b are uniformly and uniformly covered.

The most important thing in this method is that pressure is applied by the vertical pressure adjusting member 21 or the like until the screwing is started so that the screwing of the two screw parts f and g is not hindered by the protrusion e of the cap c. The pressing force from above is applied to the cap c by means to accelerate the screwing, and when the screwing of both screw portions f and g is started, the pressing force by the pressurizing means is released to receive the pressing force. In this state, the cap c is allowed to freely rotate, and the pressing force is released at any timing from the screwing start to the winding completion, which does not cause abnormal fluctuation in the tightening torque. Good.

The cap c without receiving this pressing force
The winding tightening is a state in which the pressing force is released by the control of the vertical pressure adjusting member 21 which is a pressing means, and both screw parts f and g generated when the cap c corresponds to the mouth of the container b. It does not refer to the pressing force of the natural weight of the machine such as the lidding member 3 applied to the machine.

The upper and lower pressure adjusting members 21 of the pressure adjusting means 20 are of the air type in the present embodiment, but mechanical means such as an electromagnetic clutch can be used, and the tightening torque is not limited. Any means can be adopted as long as it can release the pressing force between the start of the screwing and the completion of the winding tightening without causing an abnormal change.

[0045]

According to the present invention configured as described above, the thrust on the threaded portion can be eliminated by releasing the pressing force from above the cap before the completion of winding the cap and winding the cap. The force of the direction is not applied, and the cap is tightened according to the predetermined torque, so that there is a special effect that the cover can be always uniformly applied.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing an apparatus according to an embodiment that adopts a cap winding method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view in which a main part of a cap holding portion in FIG. 1 is cut away.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a cap and a container used in the apparatus in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a rising / lowering curve of a cover member in a winding step in the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a main part of a lidding member used in a conventional cap winding machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A Capper b Container c Screw cap d Opening confirmation means g Female screw part f Male screw part 3 Covering member 21 Vertical pressure adjusting member

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cap, which is grasped by a capping member of a capper, is made to correspond to a mouth of a container when a screw cap having a cap opening confirmation means attached to the lower part thereof is wound around the mouth of the container. Until the female threaded portion of the cap is screwed onto the male threaded portion of the container, the upper and lower pressure adjusting members rotate while applying a pressing force from above to the cap to accelerate the screwing. When the match started,
Or during the process until the tightening of the cap is completed,
A cap winding method, wherein the pressing force applied to the cap by the vertical pressure adjusting member is released, and the cap is tightened without being pressed by the vertical pressure adjusting member.