JPH10297620A - Can container sampling equipment and detecting equipment for can container liquid level distribution - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve greatly production management for a liquid can product in the production line provided with a seamer, a liquid level checker and a filler with a plurality of valves and heads. SOLUTION: This equipment automates can container sampling by being provided with means 4, 8, 9 for matching each can container after tightly wound and sealed with a head number which performed the winding, and means 6, 7, 8, 9 for transporting the can container matched with each head by the means 4, 8, 9 to a conveyor of a winding check line. In addition, the means 4, 8, 9 for matching each can conatainer after it is filled with the valve number which performed the filling, and means 5a, 8, 9 for obtaining liquid level distribution information corresponding to each valve by classifying the liquid level height of each can container through a liquid level check by each valve using the means 4, 8, 9 and a signal from a liquid level checker 5 are provided for obtaining the liquid level distribution of the can container of each filler valve.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a production line for canned beverages, such as beer and juice, in which a liquid is sealed in a can container. Obtains the liquid level distribution of the can container for each valve of the can container sampling device and the filler for injecting the liquid into the can container, which automatically extracts the can container for quality inspection (hereinafter referred to as winding inspection) of the sealed state of the can container. The present invention relates to an apparatus for detecting a liquid level distribution in a can container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a production line for canned beverages such as beer and juice, a liquid such as beer and juice is usually poured into a can container with a filler, and the conveyor is closed and sealed with a seamer. It is then provided with steps such as sterilization, labeling (sticking or printing of a label on the surface of the can), and inspection. Here, a large number of valves for liquid injection of the filler are provided in response to a demand for high-speed production (increase in the number of processing cans per unit time). The same applies to the above-mentioned seamer, which is provided with a number of heads for tightening. Therefore, the tightening inspection must be performed for all heads of the seamer. For this reason, of the cans sent by the main conveyor after the sealing and closing, the same number of cans as the heads corresponding to each head of the Cima are withdrawn from the main conveyor, and the specially-sealed It is sent to an inspection device to check the quality of winding. In this case, conventionally, the removal of the can from the main conveyor and the transfer of the winding inspection line to the conveyor (can container sampling) have been performed manually.

[0003] Further, in the filler, since the amount of filling (injection liquid) into the can container by each valve varies, the amount of filling into the can container for each valve is inspected (hereinafter referred to as "filler").
This inspection is called a liquid level check). Here, in the filler valve, it is not the inspection of the quality of the tightened state as in the inspection of the seamer head, but the inspection.
More than that, for example, it is necessary to classify into four types of high and low levels, and to classify each of the can containers sent by the main conveyor after liquid injection and grasp the distribution, in order to control the production of liquid can products. Is extremely effective. Therefore, in the production line of liquid can products, it has been conventionally required that the distribution of the liquid level of the can container for each filler valve can be obtained.

[0004]

As described above, conventionally,
The extraction of the same number of cans as the number of heads corresponding to each Cima head and the transfer to a tightening inspection line (canning sampling) were performed manually. For this reason, there has been a problem that a great deal of labor is required for can container sampling, and that sampling is likely to be inaccurate. This has become more pronounced, especially with the speeding up of production lines. Further, a technique for acquiring the distribution of the liquid level of the can container for each filler valve has not been realized yet.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to perform can container sampling extremely easily and accurately without manual operation, and furthermore, to facilitate such sampling by increasing the speed of a production line.
An object of the present invention is to provide a can container sampling device which is extremely effective in terms of production control of liquid can products without causing a decrease in accuracy.

A second object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for detecting a liquid level distribution of a can container, which is capable of obtaining a liquid level distribution of a can container for each filler valve and is extremely effective in production control of a liquid can product. It is in.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a container in which a liquid is injected and sent. 1 to N
o. In a production line for a liquid can product comprising a seamer which is continuously wound and sealed by a plurality of heads of n, the can containers sent by the main conveyor after the closing and sealing are closed. No. Cans that correspond to
Head No. Corresponding means and this can-head N
o. No. by the associating means. 1 to No. This is achieved by providing a sampling and transferring means for sequentially transferring the can containers associated with the n heads to a conveyor on a winding inspection line separate from the main conveyor.

[0008] Can Container-Head No. The associating means converts the can containers sent by the main conveyor after the closing and sealing into the Nos. Corresponds to The sampling and transferring means is no. 1 to No. The cans associated with the n heads are sequentially transferred to a conveyor on a tightening inspection line separate from the main conveyor. As a result, can container sampling can be performed extremely easily and accurately without manual operation, and furthermore, there is no decrease in the easiness and accuracy due to the speeding up of the production line, which is extremely effective in production management of liquid can products. is there.

The object of the invention of claim 2 is to provide an empty can container with No. 1 to No. Production of a liquid can product comprising a filler for continuously injecting liquid with a plurality of valves of m and a liquid level checker for inspecting the liquid level of a can container sent by the main conveyor after the liquid injection. In the line, the can containers sent on the main conveyor after the completion of the liquid injection are respectively numbered with the valves No. Can-valve No. Associating means and the can-valve No. Based on the signals from the associating means and the liquid level checker, the classification of the liquid level of each of the cans that has been subjected to the liquid level inspection is No. 1 to No. m for each valve, and a valve liquid level distribution detecting means for obtaining valve level level distribution information that accumulates the level classification of the liquid level of the can for each valve.

[0010] Can container-valve No. The associating means sets the cans sent by the main conveyor after the liquid injection to the numbers of the valves to which the liquids were injected. Corresponds to The means for detecting the liquid level distribution with respect to the valve is a container-valve no. Based on the signals from the associating means and the liquid level level checker, the classification of the liquid level of each of the cans for which the liquid level inspection has been completed is No. 1 to No. For each valve of m, the liquid level distribution information corresponding to the valve is obtained by accumulating the high and low classification of the liquid level of the can container for each valve. Thereby, the liquid level distribution of the can container for each filler valve can be obtained, which is extremely effective in production management of the liquid can product.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a production line for a liquid can product to which a can container sampling device and a can container liquid level distribution detecting device according to the present invention are applied, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram thereof.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a filler for injecting a liquid into an empty can container (not shown). 1 to No. The liquid is continuously injected into each can container by the valve 164. Reference numeral 2 denotes a seamer for winding a lid around a can (not shown) in which the liquid is injected by the filler 1 and sent. 1 to No. Each of the cans is continuously wound and sealed by the head 18. A represents a filler and a Cima mechanism composed of the filler 1 and the Cima 2.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a transfer point, which indicates a position where the cans are transferred from the seamer 2 to the main conveyor (product conveyor line) 10. Reference numeral 4 denotes a can sensor detecting photoelectric sensor (first sensor) installed downstream of the transfer point 3. Reference numeral 5 denotes a liquid level checker for checking the liquid level (amount of liquid injected into the can) of the can sent by the main conveyor 10 after the liquid injection, for example, by X-ray. Sensor 5a. Reference numeral 6 denotes a can container detecting photoelectric sensor (third sensor) provided downstream of the liquid level checker 5 and upstream of a sampling rejector to be described later.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a sampling rejection device that rejects cans on the main conveyor 10 using a cylinder, air, or the like (not shown) in accordance with a signal from a control device to be described later and transfers the containers to a conveyor 11 on a winding inspection line. 8 is a control device,
Filler, Cima mechanism A, first to third sensors 4, 5a,
6. Upon receiving signals from the liquid level checker 5 and a main conveyor encoder described later, the sampling rejector 7 and the printer 21 are operated. Reference numeral 9 denotes a main conveyor encoder which is attached to a drive shaft of the main conveyor 10 and generates a reference pulse for counting the moving distance of the can on the main conveyor 10.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the control device 8 includes an I / O circuit 8 for receiving signals from various parts of the production line.
a, a programmable controller 8b for performing various control processes based on signals from the I / O circuit 8a, a touch panel 8c for instructing the programmable controller 8b, or displaying a result of the control process of the programmable controller 8b And an I / O circuit 8d for outputting a drive signal of the sampling rejector 7.

The control device 8 includes a can-head No.
The main configuration of the can container sampling device of the present invention comprising the association means and the withdrawal transfer means is provided. Here, the can container-head No. The associating means converts the can containers sent by the main conveyer 10 after the closing and sealing into the Nos. The first sensor 4, the control device 8, and the main conveyor encoder 9 form a main configuration. Further, the withdrawal and transfer means is provided with the above-mentioned can-head No. No. by the associating means. 1 to No. The canister corresponding to the desired number of canisters, usually all canisters associated with all the Cima heads, are sequentially transferred to the conveyor 11 of the winding inspection line, and the third sensor 6,
The sampling rejector 7, the control device 8, and the main conveyor encoder 9 form the main configuration.

Further, the control device 8 includes a can-valve N
o. The main configuration of the can container liquid level distribution detecting apparatus according to the present invention, which includes the associating means and the valve liquid level distribution detecting means, is provided. Here, the can-valve No. The associating means sets the cans sent by the main conveyor 10 after the liquid injection to the Nos. The first sensor 4, the control device 8, and the main conveyor encoder 9 form a main configuration. In addition, the means for detecting a liquid level distribution with respect to the valve may be configured such that:
Based on the signal from the associating means and the liquid level checker 5, the level of the liquid level of each can container sent from the main conveyor 10 after the liquid level inspection is completed is No. 1 to
No. 164 corresponding to each valve, and obtains the liquid level distribution information corresponding to the valve by accumulating the high / low classification of the liquid level of the can container for each valve. The second sensor 5a, the control device 8 and the main conveyor encoder 9 obtain the information. The main configuration.

In FIG. 2, s1 is a filler valve No. No. 1 signal, No. 1 of filler 1 When the canister into which the liquid has been injected by the first valve is transferred from the filler / seamer mechanism A to the main conveyor 10, the output is provided from the filler / seamer mechanism A. s2 is Cima head No. One signal, Cima 2
No. When the can container with the can lid wound by the first head is transferred from the filler / seamer mechanism A to the main conveyor 10, the can is output from the filler / seamer mechanism A.

S3 is a one-pitch signal.
When the sheet is transferred from the seamer mechanism A to the main conveyor 10, the filler and the seamer mechanism A output the sheet. s4 is a sampling start signal output from the filler / seamer mechanism A,
ON indicates sampling start, and OFF indicates stop. s5 is the output signal of the first sensor 4, s6 is the output signal of the third sensor 6, s7 is the pulse signal from the main conveyor encoder 9, s8 is the output signal of the second sensor 5a, and s9 is the output from the liquid level checker 5. Is a liquid level signal to be performed.

Next, the operation will be described. First, liquid is injected by the filler 1, the lid is wound by the seamer 2, and the sealed cans are sequentially sent to the transfer point 3.
The control device 8 determines that the first container is transfer point 3
When it is transferred to the main conveyor 10 via the Filler valve No. 1 indicating that the container was filled with liquid by the valve of No. 1 No. 1 signal s1 and No. Cima head No. 1 indicating that the container is a can container with the lid wound around by the head of No. 1 1 signal s2 from the filler and seamer mechanism A, and the filler valve No. 1 and Cima Head No. 1 1 is associated.

Next, the can container to be sent is No. 2
And then count up in the same manner
o. 3, No. 4 and so on. This mapping is
Here, the filler valve No. No. 164
In Cima head No. No. After making a full round at No. 18, each No. Are sequentially associated. As a result, the seamer head N
o. And filler valve No. Are performed.

In the above-mentioned can container, Cima head No. And filler valve No. Is specifically performed as follows. Now, the first can is transfer point 3
Is transferred to the main conveyor 10 via the filler and the Cima mechanism A from the filler valve No. One signal s1 is output. The control device 8 controls this filler valve No. 1 signal s1
The pulse signal s7 from the main conveyor encoder 9 is counted at the same time as the signal is received, and when the first sensor 4 detects the can container sent by the main conveyor 10, the pulse signal s7 is output.
If the counted value of No. 7 is within the predetermined range, the filler valve No. 1 is associated.

Thereafter, the transfer container 3
, A one-pitch signal is output from the filler and the seamer mechanism A each time it is transferred to the main conveyer 10. In the same manner as in the case of the correspondence of No. 1, filler valves No. 2, Filler valve No.
3, Filler valve No. 164. Filler valve No. When the correspondence of 164 is performed, a new filler valve No. is added to the can container to be transferred from the transfer point 3 to the main conveyor 10 next. 1, and the same is repeated thereafter.

Cima head No. The signal given from the filler / seamer mechanism A to the control device 8 corresponds to the seamer head No. 1 signal s2, and Cima head N
o. No. is final. No. 18 except that the above-mentioned filler valve No. 18 was used. Is performed in the same manner as the association of These filler valve Nos. And Cima Head No. Are managed separately.

As described above, the filler valve no. And Cima Head No. After that, each can container is moving on the main conveyor 10,
The position is grasped and managed by the control device 8 based on the presence or absence of the output signal s8 from the second sensor 5a and the output signal s6 from the third sensor 6, and the measured value of the pulse signal s7 from the main conveyor encoder 9. .

Next, the sampling operation of the can container will be described. In general, can container sampling is performed in accordance with the number of seamer heads in order to check whether all seamer heads are good or bad. Here, since the number of seamer heads is 18, the sampling number is also 18, and this number is preset on the touch panel 8c of the control device 8. When the sampling number 18 (Seamer head No. 1 to No. 18) is preset, the control device 8 starts the sampling operation by turning on the sampling start signal s4 from the filler and the seamer mechanism A.

In this state, the Cima head No. 1
When the cans associated with are sent by the main conveyor 10 and come before the sampling rejector 7, the control device 8 activates the rejector 7 and places the can container on the conveyor 11 of the winding inspection line. Transfer. Hereinafter, Cima head No.
2 to No. 2 The cans associated with each of the 18 are sequentially transferred to the conveyor 11 in the same manner. The fact that the can has come before the sampling rejector 7 can be grasped by the position management of each can by the control device 8 described above.

Next, the acquisition of the liquid level distribution information corresponding to the valve (liquid level distribution of the can for each filler valve) will be described. Now, when the first can (the can associated with the filler valve No. 1 in the first round of the filler valve No. 1) is inspected by the liquid level checker 5, the result (the liquid level) is obtained. The level signal s9) is provided to the control device 8. The control device 8 controls the filler valve No. associated with the can container. And the liquid level inspection result are stored in a memory (not shown) in the programmable controller 8b.

In the same manner, for the cans which have been similarly sent by the main conveyor 10 and have been subjected to the liquid level check by the liquid level checker 5, the filler valves No. corresponding to the cans are sequentially assigned. And the liquid level inspection result are accumulated and stored in a memory (not shown) in the programmable controller 8b.

FIG. 3 shows a partially omitted liquid level distribution example of the can container for each filler valve obtained in this manner. Here, a case where the liquid level test results are classified into four high and low levels is illustrated. B indicates that the result is within a predetermined level range higher than the reference level, and C indicates that the result is within a predetermined level range lower than the reference level. A indicates that the level is higher than B, and D indicates that the level is lower than C.

It should be noted that which canister of the filler 1 has the liquid level inspected by the liquid level checker 5 to which the liquid was injected (correspondence between the can level and the filler valve No. of the filler). ) Indicates the filler valve No. And the position management of each can by the control device 8 described above.

The obtained liquid level distribution information corresponding to the valve is output from the control device 8 to the printer 21 to obtain a print result as shown in FIG. 3, for example. Here, the liquid level distribution information corresponding to the valve from the control device 8 is RS-23.
Since the output is performed according to the 2C standard, transmission to not only the printer 21 but also a programmable controller or a computer of another device is easily possible.

[0033]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, can container sampling can be performed extremely easily and accurately without manual operation, and furthermore, the easiness due to the speeding up of the production line is improved.
There is an effect that it is possible to provide a can container sampling device that is extremely effective in production management of liquid can products without lowering the accuracy.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain a liquid level distribution of a can container for each filler valve, and to provide a can container liquid level level distribution detecting device which is extremely effective in production management of liquid can products. effective.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a production line for a liquid can product to which a can container sampling device and a can container liquid level distribution detecting device according to the present invention are applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a partially omitted liquid level distribution example of a can container for each filler valve.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... No. 1 to No. No. 164 having a valve for liquid injection, 2. 1 to No. Cima with a head for sealing and sealing 18 cans, 3 ... Transfer point,
4 ... Photosensor for can container detection (first sensor) 5 ... Liquid level checker 5a ... Photosensor for can container detection (second sensor)
6) Photosensor (third sensor) for detecting cans, 7 ... Rejector for sampling, 8 ... Control device, 9 ...
Main conveyor encoder, 10: Main conveyor (product conveyor line), 11: Conveyor for winding inspection line, 21
... a printer.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A container in which liquid is injected and sent,
o. 1 to No. In a production line for a liquid can product comprising a seamer that is continuously wound and sealed by a plurality of heads of n, the can containers sent by the main conveyor after the sealing and closing are closed. No. Can-head No. Associating means, and the can-head No. No. by the associating means. 1
-No. A can container sampling device, comprising: a sampling transfer unit for sequentially transferring can containers associated with n heads to a conveyor on a winding inspection line separate from the main conveyor. 2. No. is placed in the empty can container that is sent. 1 to N
o. Production of a liquid can product comprising a filler for continuously injecting liquid with a plurality of valves of m and a liquid level checker for inspecting the liquid level of a can container sent by the main conveyor after the liquid injection. In the line, the can containers sent by the main conveyor after the liquid injection are no. Cans that correspond to
Valve No. Associating means; Based on the signals from the associating means and the liquid level checker, the classification of the liquid level of each of the cans that has been subjected to the liquid level inspection is No. 1 to N
o. m for each of the valves, and a valve liquid level distribution detecting means for obtaining a liquid level distribution information corresponding to the valve in which the level of the liquid level of the can for each valve is accumulated. Surface level distribution detector.