JPH11322066A - Pet bottle carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the handling property in a device with the structure that a pet bottle is taken into pocket of a star wheel by a timing screw by providing a guide rail for supporting a lower surface of a neck ring of a pet bottle over from a part in front of a pet bottle taking position to a part in rear thereof. SOLUTION: When a pet bottle 1 is carried onto an air flow conveyor 5, the pet bottle 1 is carried by the air blown to a neck part thereof in the condition that a lower surface of a neck ring 1a is supported by a right and a left receiver rails 6A, 6B. Continuously, a neck part of the pet bottle 1 is taken into a pocket 12a of a star wheel 12 so as to be supported, and carrying direction is changed. At this stage, the neck ring 1a is also supported by a guide rail 7A provided over from a part in front of the pet bottle taking position to a part in rear thereof, and since the pet bottle 1 is not supported at a bottom part thereof, the pet bottle 1 is stably taken into the pocket part 12a without generating jumping thereof.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a PET bottle conveying apparatus suitable for taking a PET bottle into a pocket of a star wheel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art PET bottles (empty containers) are supplied with their bottoms supported by a chain conveyor in which a number of hinges are connected, synchronized by a timing screw and taken into a star wheel pocket for subsequent processing. Be transported. That is, the bottom of the plastic bottle is supported and enters the pocket. The star wheels are installed in two stages, upper and lower, in order to erect the plastic bottle during transfer. A guide is provided on the outer periphery so as not to come off the pocket.

As a method of transporting a PET bottle, a lower surface of a collar (called a neck ring) of a neck portion of the PET bottle is supported by a guide rail, and air is blown to the neck portion to slide the bottle on the guide rail (Eyeflow). Called a conveyor). When using an airflow conveyor, it is placed on the chain conveyor just before the timing screw.

[0004]

In the conventional method in which the bottom of a plastic bottle is supported and taken into a pocket, the plastic bottle jumps and is caught between the outer peripheral guide without entering the pocket of the star wheel. is there. This situation becomes significant at high speed operation. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a PET bottle transporting device that can reliably take a PET bottle into a pocket of a star wheel.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention relates to a PET bottle transporting apparatus for loading a supplied PET bottle into a star wheel pocket by a timing screw. And a guide rail for supporting the lower surface of the neck ring of the plastic bottle. According to the present invention, when the plastic bottle is taken into the pocket of the star wheel, the neck ring of the plastic bottle is supported by the guide rail, and the bottom surface of the plastic bottle is made free. Thereby, the plastic bottle can be reliably taken into the pocket of the star wheel.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a PET bottle conveying apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the PET bottle conveying device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA ′ of FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, a star wheel device 10 having a plurality of pockets on an outer peripheral portion.
Are arranged. An upper and lower two-stage timing screw 2 is arranged on the inlet side of the star wheel device 10, and an inspection station 4 is arranged on the outlet side of the star wheel device 10. An air flow conveyor 5 is provided on the inlet side of the timing screw 2. The air flow conveyor 5 has receiving rails 6A and 6B and a large number of air outlets 6C in two rows, and the lower surface of the neck ring 1a of the plastic bottle 1 is supported by the receiving rails 6A and 6B. ), The PET bottle 1 is conveyed.

[0007] Between the air flow conveyor 5 and the star wheel device 10, parallel guide rails 7 A, which support the lower surface of the neck ring 1 a of the plastic bottle 1, are provided.
7B is provided. The upper surfaces of the receiving rails 6A, 6B and the upper surfaces of the guide rails 7A, 7B are substantially flush with each other. Reference numeral 8 denotes a side guide for guiding the plastic bottle 1 by contacting the plastic bottle body.

On the outer peripheral side of the star wheel device 10, an outer peripheral guide 9 for guiding the plastic bottle 1 in contact with the plastic bottle body is provided. The outer peripheral guide 9 extends from a portion slightly inside the terminal end of the timing screw 2 to a portion slightly beyond the contact point between the star wheel device 10 and the inspection station 4.

Next, the operation of the PET bottle transport device configured as described above will be described. The PET bottle 1 is transported by the air flow conveyor 5 to the position of the timing screw 2. In the air flow conveyor 5, the PET bottle 1 is blown by blowing air on the neck while the lower surface of the neck ring 1a is supported by the receiving rails 6A and 6B.
Is transported. Therefore, in the air flow conveyor 5,
The plastic bottle 1 is transferred in a forward leaning posture. Upon exiting the airflow conveyor 5, there is no air (air) blowing. For this reason, the PET bottle 1 is transported substantially upright by the upper and lower two-stage timing screws 2 with the lower surface of the neck ring 1a supported by the guide rails 7A and 7B (see FIG. 2).

FIGS. 3 and 4 are views showing a transfer step of transferring the PET bottle 1 by the star wheel device 10.
3 is a sectional view taken along line OB of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line OC of FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the star wheel device 1
Reference numeral 0 includes a main shaft 11 connected to a driving source, and star wheels 12 and 13 fixed to upper and lower portions of the main shaft 11. The upper star wheel 12 has a plurality of pockets 12a on the outer periphery where the neck of the plastic bottle fits, and the lower star wheel 13 has a plurality of pockets 13a on the outer periphery where the body of the plastic bottle fits.

In the state shown in FIG. 3, the plastic bottle 1 is
The neck is supported by the star wheel 12, the lower part of the body is supported by the star wheel 13, and the neck ring 1a is supported and transported by the guide rail 7A. The PET bottle body is also in contact with the side guide 8. Then, in the state shown in FIG.
Is transported with the neck supported by the star wheel 12 and the lower part of the body supported by the star wheel 13.
The body of the plastic bottle is in contact with the outer peripheral guide 9.

According to this embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the plastic bottle 1 is connected to the pockets 1 of the star wheels 12 and 13.
When we take in 2a, 13a, there is not support of the bottom,
PET bottle 1 does not bounce. Since the PET bottle 1 is sent almost upright by the upper and lower two-stage timing screw 2, the PET bottle 1
The pockets 12a and 13a are securely inserted into the pockets 12a and 13a.

Next, a second embodiment of the PET bottle conveying apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
FIG. 6 is a plan view of the PET bottle conveying device of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line DD ′ of FIG. 5. In the present embodiment, a chain conveyor is used in place of the air flow conveyor, and the PET bottle is supplied to the timing screw 2 by the chain conveyor. That is, a chain conveyor 20 is disposed below the timing screw 2, and the PET bottle 1 is transported to the timing screw 2 by the chain conveyor 20.

The transport surface 20a of the chain conveyor 20 is
As shown in FIG. 6, the plastic bottle 1 is inclined downward from just before being taken into the pocket of the star wheel,
When the PET bottle 1 is taken into the pocket of the star wheel, a gap G is formed between the transport surface 20a of the chain conveyor 20 and the bottom of the PET bottle. The guide rails 7A and 7B extend from an intermediate portion of the timing screw 2 to a portion of the star wheel device 30. The configurations of the timing screw 2 and the outer peripheral guide 9 are the same as in the first embodiment.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are views showing a transfer step of transferring the PET bottle 1 by the star wheel device 30. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line OE of FIG. 5, and FIG.
It is an F line sectional view. As shown in FIG. 7, the star wheel device 30 includes a main shaft 31 connected to a driving source, and a main shaft 31.
And star wheels 32, 33 fixed to the upper and lower portions of the vehicle. The star wheels 32, 33 have a plurality of pockets 32a, 33a on the outer periphery where the PET bottle body fits.

In the state shown in FIG. 7, the PET bottle 1 is transported with the body supported by the star wheels 32 and 33 and the neck ring 1a supported by the guide rails 7A and 7B. The PET bottle body is also in contact with the side guide 8. In the state shown in FIG. 8, the PET bottle 1 is transported with the body supported by the star wheels 32 and 33 and the bottom supported by the bottom guide 34. The PET bottle body also contacts the outer peripheral guide 9. Also in this embodiment, when the plastic bottle is taken in the pocket of the star wheel, there is no support on the bottom surface, so that the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the plastic bottle is taken into the pocket of the star wheel, there is no support on the bottom, so the plastic bottle does not bounce. Further, according to one aspect of the present invention, the PET bottle is fed almost upright by the upper and lower screws.
Therefore, the plastic bottle is securely taken into the pocket.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a PET bottle conveying device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line A-A 'of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line OB of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line OC of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a PET bottle conveying device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line D-D ′ of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line OE of FIG. 5;

8 is a sectional view taken along line OF of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 PET bottle 1a Neck ring 2 Timing screw 4 Inspection station 5 Air flow conveyor 6A, 6B Receiving rail 6C Air outlet 7A, 7B Guide rail 8 Side guide 9 Outer peripheral guide 10, 30 Star wheel device 11 Main shaft 12, 13, 32, 33 Star wheel 12a, 13a, 32a, 33a Pocket 20 Chain conveyor 20a Conveying surface 34 Bottom guide G Gap

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A PET bottle transporting device that takes in a supplied PET bottle into a star wheel pocket by a timing screw, wherein a guide rail that supports a lower surface of a neck ring of the PET bottle is provided before and after a position where the PET bottle is taken. A PET bottle conveying device, characterized in that: 2. The PET bottle conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the timing screw is installed in two stages, upper and lower.