JPH10246681A - Method and equipment for inspecting inner pressure of can - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inspect the inner pressure of a can accurately with high reliability by arranging a negative pressure sucker for sucking the upper cover of a containing box in the upstream of a carrying path with respect to a sensor. SOLUTION: A carrying unit 1 comprises a roller 5 and an endless belt 6 entrained about the roller 5 and a corrugated paper box (containing box) 7 is mounted on the endless belt 6. A plurality of cans 9 filled with refreshing drink are arranged in the corrugated paper box 7. A negative pressure sucker 3 is disposed in the upstream of a measuring unit (sensor) with electromagnetic wave generator and comprises a negative pressure sucker body 10, a sucking part 11 and an evacuating means 12. Upper cover 8 of the containing box 7 is lifted by the negative pressure sucker 3 and the inner pressure of the can 9 is checked by irradiating electromagnetic wave. According to the arrangement, inaccurate inspection of inner pressure due to a reflecting wave, e.g. vibrating noise, can be avoided when the upper end of the can 9 abuts against the upper cover 8 of the containing box 7.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a can internal pressure inspection apparatus and a can internal pressure inspection method suitable for inspecting the internal pressure of a can stored in a storage box.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, in a canned soft drink production process, cans are filled with soft drinks, sealed, and then filled with canned soft drinks in a shipping cardboard box. After being placed on a transport device and shipped to a predetermined place by the transport device, the product is transported to a market by a vehicle or the like. By the way, in this shipping, if the sealed state of the can is incomplete, inconvenience such as leakage of the filled soft drink will occur.Therefore, it is necessary to include a step of inspecting the internal pressure of the can to detect the inconvenience. There is. As an inspection method in this step, a method called so-called tap inspection is employed in which an electromagnetic wave is applied to a cardboard box and the internal pressure of the can packed in the cardboard box is inspected by measuring the reflected wave.

FIG. 4 shows a state where the can is placed in a cardboard box. In the figure, reference numeral 7 denotes a cardboard box, and 9 denotes a can. A plurality of the cans 9 are placed in the cardboard box 7 in a state where the adjacent cans 9 are brought into close contact with each other. The cardboard box 7 is formed by folding back a plate-like cardboard 7a shown in FIG. In the drawing, reference numeral 100 denotes a can mounting portion, 101 denotes a folded portion, and 102 denotes a bent curve. A plurality of cans 9 filled with soft drinks are placed on the can placing portion 100 in a state where a plurality of cans are arranged. And the folding curve 10
By bending the cardboard 7a with 2 as a corner,
The cardboard box 7 is formed with the plurality of cans 9 included therein. In this case, the folded portion 101 is folded while being positioned inside the upper lid 8 of the cardboard box 7 (see FIG. 4).

[0004]

By the way, since the folded portion 101 is located inside the upper lid 8,
As shown in FIG. 4, the upper end of the can 9 packed in the cardboard box is easily brought into contact with the upper end. In such a case, if an inspection is performed by applying an electromagnetic wave in a state where the folded portion 101 is in contact with the upper end of the can 9, unexpected reflected waves such as chattering noises may be measured, and accurate measurement may be performed. The reliable internal pressure of the can 9 could not be inspected.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide an accurate and highly reliable internal pressure inspection apparatus for a can and an internal pressure inspection method for a can.

[0006]

The negative pressure suction device of the present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems.
The internal pressure inspection device for a can according to claim 1, further comprising: a transport device having a transport path for transporting a storage box containing a plurality of cans filled with contents; Sensor for measuring the internal pressure of the can, which is located upstream of the transport path with respect to the sensor,
A negative pressure suction device for suctioning and lifting the upper lid of the storage box by negative pressure is provided.

After the upper lid of the storage box is lifted by the negative pressure suction device to separate the upper end of the can from the upper lid, the inner pressure of the can is inspected by irradiating electromagnetic waves.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a can internal pressure inspection device, wherein the negative pressure suction device includes a cylindrical body and a first end face plate and a second end face plate for closing both end openings of the cylindrical body. A cylindrical cylinder body, and the cylinder body is partitioned into a first hollow portion on the first end plate side and a second hollow portion on the second end plate side in the cylinder body. A piston movable in the axial direction of the cylindrical body, a piston rod fixed to the piston so as to protrude in the axial direction, and protruding outside through a through hole formed in the first end plate. Vacuum evacuation means for suctioning the inside of the second hollow portion with a negative pressure, and a vacuum fixed to the piston rod, having a suction port at a tip end thereof, and the tip end serving as a holding surface of the upper lid of the storage box. A pad, the inside of the second hollow portion, and the suction pad. It and a suction passage portion for communicating the mouth, characterized in that the outside air introduced through-hole in the first end surface plate is formed.

When the upper lid of the storage box comes into contact with the distal end face of the vacuum pad, the upper lid is held by sucking it from a suction port provided on the distal end face by vacuum evacuation means. At this time, since the upper lid closes the suction port, a negative pressure is generated in the suction passage portion and the inside of the second hollow portion communicating with the suction passage portion. Due to the differential pressure between the negative pressure of the second hollow portion and the first hollow portion held at atmospheric pressure by the outside air introduction through-hole, the piston separating these two hollow portions moves upward. I do. At the same time, the upper lid adsorbed on the distal end surface of the vacuum pad connected to the piston via the piston rod is lifted.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the can internal pressure inspection apparatus according to the second aspect, wherein the second hollow portion and the suction port are provided inside the piston rod in an axial direction. And a rod through-hole that forms a part of the suction passage portion is formed.

[0011] A rod through-hole is formed in a piston rod of the negative pressure suction device to be a part of a suction passage portion.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the can internal pressure inspection apparatus according to the second or third aspect.
The vacuum evacuation means includes a switching valve for releasing the inside of the second hollow portion to the atmosphere.

A switching valve is provided in the evacuation means of the negative pressure suction device, and by switching this switching valve, the inside of the second hollow portion can be arbitrarily switched to atmospheric pressure or negative pressure.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for inspecting the internal pressure of a can, which irradiates an electromagnetic wave to a storage box containing a plurality of cans filled with contents, and inspects the internal pressure of the can by the reflected wave. The inspection method is characterized in that the electromagnetic wave is irradiated after the upper lid of the storage box is lifted.

After lifting the upper lid of the storage box which may come into contact with the upper end of the can, the inner pressure of the can is inspected by irradiating electromagnetic waves.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a measuring device (sensor) with an electromagnetic wave generator, and 3 is a negative pressure suction device.

The transport device 1 includes rollers 5, 5, which are arranged vertically and are arranged in a plurality in the direction perpendicular to the paper and have a horizontal axis.
And an endless belt 6 wound around these rollers 5
It is composed of As shown in FIG. 3, a cardboard box (storage box) 7 is placed above the endless belt 6.
The cardboard box 7 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and includes an upper lid 8 and a folded portion 101 (see FIG. 1) located inside the upper lid 8. A plurality of cans 9 filled with soft drinks are arranged inside the cardboard box 7.

As shown in FIG. 3, the measuring device 2 with an electromagnetic wave generator is disposed downstream of the negative pressure suction device 3 in the conveying direction of the cardboard box 7. The measuring device 2 with an electromagnetic wave generator includes an electromagnetic wave generator that generates an electromagnetic wave and a measuring device that measures a reflected wave such as an ultrasonic wave.

As shown in FIG. 3, the negative pressure suction device 3 is arranged upstream of the measuring device 2 with an electromagnetic wave generator. As shown in FIG. 1, the negative pressure suction device 3 is fixed to the frame 4 and mainly includes a negative pressure suction device main body 10, a suction unit 11 located below the negative pressure suction device body 10, and a vacuum exhaust unit 12.

The frame 4 forms a mouth-shaped outer frame,
It is composed of left and right columns 33, 33, and an upper frame 34 and a lower frame 35 that connect the upper and lower ends of the left and right columns 33, 33 and extend in the horizontal direction.
The upper frame 34 includes a bottom wall 34a and the bottom wall 34a.
And has a substantially L-shaped cross-section comprising a back wall portion 34b standing upright at right angles. A fixing member 36 is fixed to the upper surface of the bottom wall portion 34a. Fixing member 36
Is formed with a through-hole penetrating in the vertical direction, and a suspension shaft 37 having an axis in the vertical direction in the through-hole.
Are movably inserted in the vertical direction. A lock mechanism 38 having a lever is attached to the fixing member 36, and the suspension shaft 37 is fixed at an arbitrary position.
With the above configuration, the negative pressure suction device 3 is fixed to the frame 4 via the suspension shaft 37.

As shown in FIG. 2, the negative pressure suction device main body 10 is roughly composed of a cylinder main body 14, a piston 15, and a piston rod 16. Cylinder body 14
Is a cylindrical body 17 constituting a side wall, and a lower flange (first end face plate) 18 located at upper and lower openings of the cylindrical body 17.
And an upper flange (second end face plate) 19. The two flanges 18 and 19 are fixed by connecting bolts 20 in a state where the flanges 18 and 19 are opposed to each other in the vertical direction and sandwich the cylindrical body 17. The lower flange 18 is formed with a through hole 25 at the center of the circular cross section, and a plurality of outside air introduction through holes 26 at positions separated from the through hole 25. The upper flange 19 has a female thread 27 at the center of its circular cross section.
Is formed, and an exhaust pipe 28 is connected to a position separated from the internal thread portion 27. The lower end of the suspension shaft 37 shown in FIG. 1 is screwed to the female screw portion 27.

The piston 15 has a disk shape, and its outer peripheral surface is inserted into the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder body 14 in a slidable manner, and is arranged movably in the axial direction of the cylindrical body 17. . The piston 15 defines a space inside the cylinder body 14 as a lower space (first hollow portion) 4 on the lower flange 18 side.
0 and upper space (second hollow portion) 41 on the upper flange 19 side
And divided into In addition, packing 21 is arranged on the outer peripheral portion of the piston 15 along the outer peripheral surface of the piston 15 in order to maintain airtightness between the lower space 40 and the upper space 41.

The piston rod 16 has an axis in the up-down direction, and a part thereof is arranged so as to protrude downward from the lower flange 18. The piston rod 16 has a columnar shape, and has a rod through-hole 29 formed therein, which penetrates vertically along the axis. The piston rod 16 has a flange 30 provided at one upper end of the piston rod 16 and a bolt 31 attached to the upper surface of the piston 15.
It is fixed by fastening with.

The coil spring 42 is disposed in the upper space 41 so as to have an axis in the vertical direction and abut on the lower surface of the upper flange 19 and the upper surface of the piston 15.

In FIG. 1, the suction section 11 is
4, branch pipe 45, vacuum pad 46, hose 4
7.

The support member 44 has a piston rod 16 projecting from below the lower flange 18 of the negative pressure suction device body 10.
Is fixed to the lower end portion of the cover and is arranged so as to extend in the horizontal direction. Connection pipes 63 fixed to the upper part of the vacuum pad 46 are fixed to the left and right of the support member 44. On the other hand, the lower end of an elongated guide support 54 having an axis in the up-down direction is fixed to the left and right upper surfaces of the support member 44. The guide post 54 is a guide 5 fixed to the lower surface of the bottom wall 34 a of the upper frame 34 of the frame 4.
5 is inserted through a through-hole formed in the inside 5 so as to be vertically movable. The combination of the guide support 54 and the guide 55 prevents the negative pressure suction device main body 10 from moving in the left-right and front-rear directions.

The branch pipe 45 is fixed below the support member 44. In this branch pipe 45, the piston rod 1
A passage 57 is formed which communicates with the rod through hole 29 formed in the inside 6, advances downward, then branches off in both the left and right directions, and reaches outlets 58 provided on the left and right.

The vacuum pad 46 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and a plurality of vacuum pads 46 are arranged below the support member 44. A suction port 61 in which a hole serving as a suction port is formed is provided on a distal end surface 60 which is a bottom surface of the vacuum pad 46. Inside the vacuum pad 46, there is formed a through-hole 62 in the vacuum pad penetrating from the suction port 61 to the upper surface of the vacuum pad 46. The through-hole 62 in the vacuum pad communicates with a passage in a connection pipe 63 fixed to an upper portion of the vacuum pad 46.

The hose 47 is used to connect the left and right outlets 58, 58 of the branch pipe 45 to the upper part of the connection pipe 63 connected to the vacuum pad 46 so as to communicate therewith.

In the above configuration, the piston rod 16
A rod through hole 29 provided in the piston rod 16
Pipe 45 connected to and connected to the lower end of the
5, a connection pipe 63, and a through-hole 62 in the vacuum pad provided in the vacuum pad 46.
Constitutes a suction passage portion 65 that connects the upper space 41 and the suction port 61.

The evacuation means 12 includes a vacuum pump 67,
It is composed of an exhaust pipe 28 and a switching valve 68. One end of the exhaust pipe 28 is connected to the upper flange 1 of the negative pressure suction device main body 10.
9 and the other end is connected to a vacuum pump 67. The switching valve 68 is attached to the exhaust pipe 28, and includes a three-way valve capable of communicating with the upstream of the exhaust pipe 28 on the side of the negative pressure suction device main body 10 and the downstream of the vacuum pump 67 or the atmosphere. Has become.

Next, a method of using the internal pressure inspection apparatus for a can having the above-described configuration will be described. In FIG. 1, a roller 5 is rotated by a drive mechanism (not shown) of the transport device 1, and an endless belt 6 is intermittently driven in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface. The cardboard box 7 placed on the endless belt 6 is transported together with the endless belt 6 in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface. At this time, the folded part 1 located inside the upper lid 8 of the cardboard box 7
01 is in a state of contact with the upper end of the can 9. The transported cardboard box 7 is temporarily stopped when it is brought below the vacuum pad 46. Then, by operating the vacuum pump 67 of the vacuum evacuation unit 12, gas is sucked from the suction port 61 provided in the vacuum pad 46 through the suction passage 65, the upper space 41, and the exhaust pipe 28. At that time, the upper lid 8 of the cardboard box 7 is
It is sucked up together with the gas sucked up from 1 and adsorbed on the front end face 60 of the vacuum pad 46.

At this time, since the suction port 61 is closed by the upper lid 8 of the cardboard box 7 and evacuated by the vacuum pump 67, the inside of the suction passage 65 becomes a negative pressure, and the upper space 41 communicating with the suction passage 65 becomes negative. Also becomes negative pressure. On the other hand, the inside of the lower space 40 is maintained at the atmospheric pressure because it is communicated with the outside air through the outside air introduction through hole 26 provided in the lower flange 18. As a result, a pressure difference occurs between the upper space 41 on the upper surface side of the piston 15 and the lower space 40 on the lower surface side. A driving force is generated by this pressure difference, and the piston 15 moves toward the upper space 41 on the negative pressure side, that is, upward. At the same time, the piston rod 16 fixed to the piston,
Vacuum pad 46 fixed via support member 44
Also moves upward, so that the upper lid 8 of the cardboard box 7 adsorbed on the distal end face 60 of the vacuum pad 46 is held and lifted. In this case, by raising the upper lid 8, the folded portion 101 and the can 9 can be separated.

Thereafter, the exhaust pipe 28 and the upper space 41 are communicated with the outside atmosphere by the switching valve 68 provided on the exhaust pipe 28 and are released to the atmosphere, thereby eliminating the differential pressure between the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the piston 15. Since the differential pressure has disappeared, the piston 15, the piston rod 16, the vacuum pad 4
6 descends. At this time, the piston 15 is returned to a predetermined position by the coil spring 42 provided in the cylinder body 14. In addition, the cardboard box 7 includes an upper space 41 in which the suction port 61 is open to the atmosphere and a suction passage 65.
Is removed from the vacuum pad 46 because it is no longer sucked from the suction port 61 and is placed on the endless belt 6 again.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the cardboard box 7 is moved to below the measuring device 2 with the electromagnetic wave generator by the transport device 1. At this position, the electromagnetic wave is applied to the cardboard box 7 by the measuring device 2 with an electromagnetic wave generator, and the reflected wave is measured. The internal pressure of the can 9 is inspected by performing the inspection in this manner.

Cardboard box 7 that has been inspected by percussion
Is transported to the next step by the transport device 1. Then, the next cardboard box 7 is sequentially inspected in the same procedure as described above.

Therefore, the following effects can be obtained by using the can internal pressure inspection apparatus 3 of the present embodiment. After the upper lid 8 of the cardboard box 7 is lifted by the negative pressure suction device 3, the inner pressure of the can is inspected by irradiating electromagnetic waves, so that the inner pressure inspection is performed after the folded portion 101 of the cardboard box 7 is separated from the can 9. It becomes possible to do. Therefore, it is possible to avoid an incorrect internal pressure test caused by the contact between the folded portion 101 and the upper end of the can 9. By adsorbing the cardboard box 7 and closing the suction port 61, a pressure difference is generated between the upper and lower surfaces of the piston 15 provided inside the cylinder body 14 so that the piston can be driven. Holding and lifting can be performed in a series of operations. Therefore,
A separate lifting mechanism for lifting the cardboard box 7 becomes unnecessary. Further, since only the vacuum pump 67 of the vacuum exhaust means 12 is used as a power source, it is economical. Further, since the switching valve 68 is provided, the pressure in the upper space 41 can be arbitrarily switched from the atmospheric pressure to the negative pressure, and the cardboard box 7 can be arbitrarily detached.

[0038]

As described above, the following effects can be obtained by using the negative pressure suction device of the present invention. According to the internal pressure inspection apparatus for a can according to claim 1, the internal pressure of the can is inspected by irradiating electromagnetic waves after the upper lid of the storage box is lifted by the negative pressure suction device. It is possible to avoid an inaccurate internal pressure test of the can which occurs when the upper lid is in contact with the can.

According to the internal pressure inspection apparatus for a can of the present invention, when the upper lid of the storage box comes into contact with the front end face of the vacuum pad, the can is sucked from the suction port provided on the front end face by the vacuum exhaust means. The upper lid is held, and at this time, the inside of the suction passage portion and the second hollow portion communicating with the suction passage portion become negative pressure because the work closes the suction port, and the second hollow portion that has become this negative pressure, Due to the pressure difference between the first hollow portion held at atmospheric pressure by the through-hole for introducing outside air, the piston that separates these two hollow portions moves upward, and at the same time, is connected to the piston via a piston rod. The work sucked on the front end surface of the vacuum pad can be lifted. Therefore, it is possible to hold and lift the upper lid of the storage box by a series of operations, and a lift mechanism for lifting the upper lid of the storage box becomes unnecessary, and cost can be reduced. Also,
A complicated mechanism for configuring the lift mechanism can be omitted, and space can be saved. Further, it is economical to hold and lift the upper cover of the storage box only by requiring the power source of the vacuum exhaust means only.

According to the method for inspecting the internal pressure of a can according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the rod through-hole is formed in the piston rod of the vacuum evacuation device and formed as a part of the suction passage portion, the structure becomes simpler. Further, cost reduction and space saving can be achieved.

According to the apparatus for inspecting the internal pressure of a can according to claim 4, a switching valve is provided in the evacuation means, and by switching this switching valve, the inside of the second hollow portion can be arbitrarily switched to atmospheric pressure or negative pressure. Therefore, it is possible to provide a more convenient negative pressure suction device.

According to the method for inspecting the internal pressure of a can according to the fifth aspect, the internal pressure of the can is inspected by irradiating electromagnetic waves after the upper lid of the storage box is lifted by a negative pressure suction device. After the upper lid is separated from the can, the internal pressure can be inspected. Therefore, it is possible to avoid an inaccurate internal pressure test of the can caused by the contact between the upper lid and the can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment in which a can internal pressure inspection device according to the present invention is used in a so-called beating inspection process.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a cylinder body of the negative pressure suction device in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing that a sensor is provided downstream of the evacuation device in the transport direction of the storage box.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a can is stored in a storage box.

5 is a view showing a state where the storage box of FIG. 4 is expanded.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 3 Negative pressure suction device 7 Storage box 8 Top lid 12 Vacuum exhaust means 14 Cylinder main body 15 Piston 16 Piston rod 17 Cylindrical body 18 First end face plate 19 Second end face plate 25 Through hole 26 External air introduction through hole 29 Rod through hole Reference Signs List 40 first hollow portion 41 second hollow portion 46 vacuum pad 60 tip surface 61 suction port 65 suction passage 68 switching valve

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A transport device having a transport path for transporting a storage box containing a plurality of cans filled with contents, and a sensor for irradiating the storage box with an electromagnetic wave and measuring a reflected wave thereof. In a can internal pressure inspection device, a negative pressure suction device that is located upstream of the transport path with respect to the sensor and that lifts the upper lid of the storage box by negative pressure suction is provided. Internal pressure inspection device. 2. The internal pressure inspection device for a can according to claim 1, wherein the negative pressure suction device includes a cylindrical body and a first end face plate and a second end face plate for closing openings at both ends of the cylindrical body. A hollow cylindrical cylinder main body, and the cylinder main body is partitioned into a first hollow portion on the first end plate side and a second hollow portion on the second end plate side in the cylinder main body. A piston movable in the axial direction of the cylindrical body, and a piston fixed to the piston so as to protrude in the axial direction, and protruding to the outside through a through hole formed in the first end plate. A rod; vacuum evacuation means for suctioning the inside of the second hollow portion under a negative pressure; fixed to the piston rod, having a suction port at a front end surface thereof, and the front end surface serving as a holding surface of the upper lid of the storage box. Vacuum pad and the second hollow portion An internal pressure inspection device for a can, comprising: a suction passage portion for communicating the inside with the suction port; and a through hole for introducing outside air is formed in the first end face plate. 3. The internal pressure inspection device for a can according to claim 2, wherein the piston rod communicates between the second hollow portion and the suction port in an axial direction inside the piston rod, and the suction passage portion. An internal pressure inspection device for a can, wherein a rod through hole constituting a part of the internal pressure is formed. 4. The internal pressure inspection device for a can according to claim 2, wherein the evacuation means includes a switching valve for releasing the inside of the second hollow portion to the atmosphere. Internal pressure inspection device for cans. 5. A can internal pressure inspection method for irradiating an electromagnetic wave to a storage box in which a plurality of cans filled with contents are stored and inspecting the internal pressure of the can by a reflected wave thereof, comprising: A method for inspecting the internal pressure of a can, comprising irradiating the electromagnetic wave after lifting.