JPS6135077B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement in an automatic cap opening device in a bottle processing machine.

Alcoholic beverages such as sake and beer, liquors, and liquids such as liquid seasonings are filled and sealed by an automatic filling machine into bottles that are transported by an automatic conveyor such as a belt conveyor, but in some cases, the amount of filling may be exceeded. In some cases, shortages occur, and this filling amount check is also automatically performed to exclude unsuitable products and send them to another conveyor such as a belt conveyor.

Therefore, in order to refill the above-mentioned non-conforming products, the cap of the bottle is automatically removed while the rejected non-conforming products are being sequentially transferred by the conveying device, and then the liquid inside the bottle is automatically sucked up. There is an invention of Patent No. 737392 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 48-40691) owned by the present applicant as a bottle processing machine equipped with a device. By the way, the automatic cap-opening device of this patented invention is mainly intended for crown-shaped caps, and opens the cap by lifting it vertically using a clamping plate that hooks the outer periphery of the lower end of the cap, which opens slightly outward. Ta. but,
In the automatic cap opening device with the above structure, the screw-in type, so-called screw cap, is opened using a screw or screw cap.
The need to rotate the cap caused problems in opening the cap. Recently, in pressure-filled gas beverages such as draft beer and carbonated drinks, those sealed with screw caps have a ring-shaped cap formed on the lower edge of the screw cap for safety reasons and to prevent the content from deteriorating. Since the tightening band is wrapped around the neck of the bottle, the screw cap must be rotated with considerable force to open the bottle. Therefore, in the past, opening work had to be done manually, resulting in poor work efficiency.

Furthermore, if there are variations in the torque when sealing the screw cap, the quality of the liquid content cannot be guaranteed. The optimum screw/cap torque for sealing to ensure long-term quality is known empirically, depending on the type of gas beverage.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to efficiently automatically open the screw cap sealed on a bottle filled with a gas beverage such as draft beer. In addition, when opening a bottle, the torque of the screw and cap that seals the bottle is detected, and the quality of the gas beverage is controlled based on the measurement results, thereby preventing quality deterioration. The purpose of this invention is to provide an automatic cap opening device for machines.

Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings.

This embodiment basically consists of the following several mechanical parts. That is, the fixing column 3 and the upper end 3a of the shaft 3 are adjusted according to the torque of the screw cap 2 of the unqualified product A, in which the screw cap 2 is attached to the bottle 1 filled with draft beer that is less than the specified amount.
A torque sensor 5 detects the torque of the screw cap 2 using its detection shaft (not shown) from the twist generated between the sun gear 4 and the boss 4a of the sun gear 4 mounted on the An automatic cap opening mechanism section 6 includes an opening rod 12 having an opening/closing clamp 30 at its tip which is arranged concentrically and which holds the screw cap 2, and which is vertically and rotatably supported on the fixed column 3 via an appropriate support member. , a plurality of bottle holding arms 27, 27 for holding the unqualified product A transferred by a conveyance means such as a belt conveyor are supported concentrically with respect to the fixed column 3 erected. It is formed from a rotary table 7 to be moved.

Next, details of each of the above mechanical parts will be explained.

The automatic opening mechanism section 6 includes a vane plate 8a of the column 8 which is rotatably fitted into the fixed column 3, and a support cylinder section 9 at the lower end concentrically and equidistantly spaced from the vane plate 8a.
A support rod 9 is fitted into and supported by the support rod 9, and a planetary gear 10 meshing with the sun gear 4 is installed at the upper end.
The rotation of the planetary gear 10 is restricted by splines, keys, etc. above the medium-diameter sliding cylinder part 11a rotatably inserted into the support cylinder part 9a, but the sliding cylinder part 11a is not slidable in the axial direction. An opening lever holding member 11 is formed with a small diameter holding cylinder portion 11b that can be inserted movably, and a casing 11c is formed below the sliding cylinder portion 11a;
The opening rod 12 is rotatably and slidably inserted into the casing 11c, and the upper end thereof is pivotally mounted at equal intervals within the casing 11c to form the clamp 30, and inclined protrusions 13a are provided inside the casing 11c. Grasped melon 1
3, a cushioning material 14 such as a rubber plate attached to the inside of the gripping gourd 13 to prevent the bottle from slipping when gripping the bottle 1, and an inclined protrusion 13a of the gripping gourd 13.
A push plate 15 is attached to the lower end of the opening rod 12 so that the gripped melon 13 can be opened and closed by sliding on the surface of the casing 11c, and a push plate 15 is attached to the lower end of the opening lever 12 so that the gripped melon 13 can be opened and closed by sliding on the surface of the casing 11c. a coil spring 16 disposed in the radial direction inside the opening lever 12; and a locking protrusion 1 provided on the outer periphery of the opening lever 12, approximately in the middle thereof, so as to always spring bias the opening lever 12 upward.
The coil spring 17 is interposed within the sliding cylinder portion 11a so that the lower end thereof contacts the upper surface of the neck portion 11b of the casing 11c.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a support member with a pin attached to the support rod 9 in order to independently move the opening rod holder 11 up and down. This is done by engaging the pin 18a into the cam groove 19a of the cam drum 19 fixed to the cam drum 19, and inserting the pin 18a into the slit 9b provided in the axial direction inside the support tube 9a.

Further, in order to detect the amount of torque generated when opening the screw cap 2, the sun gear 4 having a boss portion 4a that is rotatably placed on the upper surface of the fixed column 3, and the fixed A frame 2 having a sun gear 20 mounted on a support 3 and fixed legs 21a and 21b fixed to the upper surface of the sun gear 20.
When the screw cap 2 is opened, due to the torsion transmitted to the sun gear 4 via the planetary gear 10 due to the square projection 4b attached to the boss 4a and attached to the center of the upper surface of the boss 4a. The torque sensor 5 has a detection axis for detecting the torque at the torque sensor 5. This torque
As shown in FIG. 2, the sensor 5 is connected to a torque gauge 22 to measure the torque when the screw cap 2 is opened and the numerical value is displayed digitally, and a printer 23 connected to the torque gauge 22.
The measurement results are automatically printed and recorded.

Reference numeral 24 denotes a stopper rod fixed to the upper surface of the sun gear 20, and the stopper rod 24 has the opening rod holding member 11 and the opening rod 12 inserted therein.
The purpose is to restrict further increases in the event that both increase together.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a rotary table rotatably attached to the fixed column 3 via a sleeve 25, and this rotary table 7 is equipped with unqualified objects that are transported by a conveying means (not shown) such as a belt conveyor. A clamping means 26 is provided for clamping and fixing a product A, that is, a bottle 1 filled with draft beer that is less than a specified amount, and a screw cap 2 capped thereon. This clamping means 26 is attached to a pair of shafts 26A passing through the rotary table 7, respectively.
The bottle 1 is held between the attached bottle holding arms 27, 27. This bottle holding arm 2
The opening/closing means 7 and 27 are, for example, the pair of shafts 26
While the two gears 28 respectively installed on A are in mesh with each other and the lever 29 provided on the shaft 26 having one gear 28 is in sliding contact with the circumferential surface of the cam 30, the bottle holding arms 27, 27 are It closes, but lever 2
When gear 9 separates from the circumferential surface of cam 30, gear 2
By rotating the arms 8 and 28 in the opposite direction, the bottle holding arms 27 and 27 are opened, and the bottle 1 is released.

One embodiment of the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration, and its operation will be explained below with reference to FIG.

Figure a shows the state of the main components of the cap-opening device immediately before the non-conforming product A is transferred to the automatic cap-opening/closing mechanism 6 and the cap is opened.

Next, the pin 18a of the support member 18, which rotates together with the column 8 fixed to the sleeve 25 using a key 31, is connected to the cam/drum 19 of the fixed system of the fixed column 3.
The slit 9 is inserted into the cam groove 19a formed on the outer periphery of the cam groove 19a.
Since the opening lever holding cylinder 11 inserted into this support member 18 moves downward while being regulated by b.
falls on the unqualified product A transferred directly below it. In this case, the several melons 13, 13 pivotally mounted in the case 11c are connected to the inclined protrusions 13a, 13.
a is the opening lever 12 biased by a coil spring 17;
The coil spring 16 is pressed by the push plate 15 provided at the lower end of
It is expanded against the spring force.

Then, the pin 18a moves inside the cam groove 19a to the bottom dead center.
While the cap is lowered, the automatic cap opening mechanism 6 is lowered, so that the screw cap 2 of the unqualified product A is
It is inserted between 3 and 13. Pin 18 to bottom dead center
As a is lowered, even after the protrusion 12a provided on the outer periphery of the opening lever 12 engages with the opening lever holding member 11, the opening lever holding member 11 descends against the spring bias of the coil spring 17. Therefore, since the inclined protrusion 13a moves away from the push plate 15 provided at the lower end of the opening lever 12, the third
As shown in FIG. b, the screw cap 2 of the non-conforming product A is held by the gripping gourds 13, 13.

At this point, the cam groove 19a switches the automatic cap opening mechanism 6 to a rising operation, and as a result, the opening lever holder 11 rises relative to the support 18, but the support 18 rotates together with the column 8. Therefore, the planetary gear 10 revolves around the first sun gear 4 while rotating. Therefore, the bottle holding arms 27, 2 of the clamping means 26
The screw cap 2 of the unqualified product A held by the screw caps 7 receives a rotational force, and a primary torque is generated until the screw cap 2 is separated from the tightening band 2a. A secondary torque is generated until the bottle 1 is removed, and the bottle 1 is opened as shown in FIG. 3c. At this time, as the planetary gear 10 revolves while rotating, the aforementioned primary and secondary torques generated when the screw cap 2 is opened are transmitted to the sun gear 4. Torsion occurs between the fixed torque sensor 5 and the torque sensor 5 in accordance with the primary and secondary torques. This amount of torque is detected by each detection axis (not shown) of a torque sensor 5 attached to a fixed frame 21, measured by a torque gauge 22, digitally displayed, and recorded by a printer 23. .

From these primary and secondary torque measurements,
The amount of torque on the screw cap 2 when the cap is closed is known, and from this measurement, experience shows that the screws and cap 2 are tightened so that the quality of the draft beer does not deteriorate.
The torque of cap 2 can be selected and the quality of draft beer can be guaranteed.

The automatic cap opening mechanism 6 shown on the left side of FIG. 1 shows a case where the pin 18a has been raised to the top dead center of the cam groove 19a. are in contact with each other, and the opening lever holder 11 is depicted in a slightly elevated position from this position. Therefore, since the push plate 15 provided on the lower surface of the opening lever 12 presses the inclined protrusion 13a, the gripped melon 1
3 and 13 are expanded against the bias of the coil spring 16, and the screw cap 2 that was being gripped is released.

After opening, the bottle 1 is held by the bottle holding arm 2 of the holding means 26.
After the clamping by 7 and 27 is released and the draft beer is conveyed from above the rotary table 7 by a conveying means (not shown), the draft beer is sucked and removed from inside the bottle 1 by a suction means (not shown) using a vacuum pump.
Thereafter, the empty bottle 1 is washed and reused.

As described above, the present invention rotates a rotary table having a plurality of bottle holding arms upright around a fixed column, and also connects a plurality of opening levers each having an opening/closing clamp at the tip via an appropriate support member. The planetary gear, which is supported by the fixed column so as to be able to move up and down and rotate freely, and which is mounted on the upper part of the opening/closing rod, is constructed so that it rotates and revolves around the first sun gear. The screw cap can be opened automatically by rotating the opening lever holder after gripping it with the gripping gourd in the clamp of the automatic opening mechanism.

In addition, the torque sensor is fixed to the fixed system member,
The amount of torque of the screw/cap when opening the bottle is transmitted to the sun gear via the planetary gear of the automatic opening/closing adjustment mechanism, so the magnitude of the torque generated between the screw/cap and the sun gear when opening the bottle is By detecting the torsion according to the change using the detection axis of the torque center, it is possible to select the amount of torque when sealing the screw/cap that will minimize the deterioration of the quality of the gas beverage based on this measurement result. , the quality of gas drinks can be maintained constant.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an automatic cap opening device in a bottle processing machine of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of the equipment related to the torque sensor part that also constitutes the above embodiment, and FIG. It is a sectional view showing each state of the opening process. A...Unqualified item, 1...Bottle, 2...Screw/cap,
3...Fixed support column, 4...Sun gear, 4a...Boss part, 5
...Torque sensor, 6...Automatic opening mechanism section, 10
... Planetary gear, 11... Opening lever holding material, 12... Opening lever, 13... Gripping melon, 13a... Inclined protrusion, 15... Push plate, 21... Frame, 26... Bottle holding arm, 30... Clamp.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A rotary table with a plurality of erected bottle holding arms is rotatably supported on a fixed support, and a plurality of opening levers each having an opening/closing clamp for clamping screws and caps at the tips thereof are provided. The screw cap is supported by the fixed column so as to be vertically movable and rotatable via an appropriate support member, and the rotational movement of the opening rod is transmitted to the detection axis of the torque center and displayed on the torque gauge. An automatic cap opening device for a bottle processing machine characterized by being able to detect the torque when opening the bottle. 2. The opening rod is rotatably supported within a support tube at the lower end of a support rod inserted into the wing plate of the column, and a pin protruding inside a support member fixed to the inside of the support rod is connected to the support rod. The bottle processing according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottle processing is moved up and down by engaging in a cam groove on the circumferential surface of a cam drum attached to the fixed column through a slit provided inside the rod. Automatic opening device for machines. 3. The rotational movement of the opening rod is transmitted to the torque through a sun gear rotatably supported at the upper end of the fixed column so as to mesh with a planetary gear rotatably attached to the upper end of the support rod. - An automatic cap opening device for a bottle processing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the signal is transmitted to a detection axis of a sensor. 4. The clamp includes a plurality of gripping gourds pivotally mounted inside the casing, each of which is biased by a coil spring arranged in a radial direction, and the gripping gourd is moved up and down by the opening rod inserted into the casing. 2. The automatic cap opening device for a bottle processing machine according to claim 1, wherein the slanted protrusion provided on the inside thereof is pressed by operation so as to be expandable. 5. The bottle holding arms are formed of a pair installed on a shaft passing through the rotary table, and the bottle holding arms can be opened and closed by rotation of a pair of gears installed on the shaft and meshed with each other. An automatic cap opening device for a bottle processing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: