JPS6234632B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION "Field of Industrial Application" The present invention relates to an automatic bottling method.

``Prior art'' Conventionally, the conventional bottling method for liquids, etc., employed in bottling factories involves continuously transporting bottles in a line, and cleaning them one after another during the transport.
It is a continuous processing method that involves filling, capping, and stamping or labeling.

An automatic bottling device that belongs to this method has a conveyance path through which bottles are conveyed in a line, and a cleaner (first step) and a filler, which introduce bottles from the conveyance path, process them, and return them, are placed in the middle of the conveyance path. It is equipped with a device (second process), a capper (third process), and a stamping or labeling device (fourth process), and is also equipped with a conveyor for empty containers in parallel with the conveyance path. Bottles brought in are extracted one by one and sent to a conveyance path, and the fed bottles are continuously transferred and processed in the first to fourth steps by each of the above devices, while empty containers or The case is transferred to the end of the conveyance path by an empty container transfer conveyor and left on standby.
After all the processing has been completed, the bottles are put back into a waiting container or case and transported outside.

"Problems to be Solved by the Invention" However, since this conventional method is based on processing one piece one after another, there is currently a limit to processing speed and processing efficiency.

Further, the bottle feeding operation and the processing bottle storage operation are required to be carried out manually by an operator, which may cause contamination or damage. In the case of glass bottles, the damage is often broken, chipped, cracked, etc., and in the case of plastic bottles, it is often caused by deterioration of physical properties due to crumples, deformation, discoloration, etc.

Furthermore, the equipment has to be large-scale, and if it is attempted to automate the supply of bottles and the storage of processed bottles, the equipment will become even larger and will occupy an entire factory building.

The present invention seeks to obviate such conventional drawbacks.

"Means for Solving the Problems" The present invention introduces a container containing a plurality of bottles in predetermined rows and columns into a transfer device, and extracts the bottles in rows from the container on the transfer device by a loader. A cleaner, a filling device, a cap feeding device, and a cap tightening device are sequentially arranged around the bottle conveying means to transfer the bottle to the intermittent operation bottle conveying means when the bottle conveying means is stopped. By processing each row of bottles at once, cleaning, filling, cap supply, and cap tightening are performed in sequence, and when the bottle conveyance means is stopped, all processed bottles are
The unloader is used to transfer and accommodate the empty containers one after another from the bottle transport means to the empty containers sent by the transfer device, one after another, and send them out.

``Function'' With the above configuration, the container containing bottles brought in from the container manufacturer can be sent as is to the transfer device, and the bottles in the container are then taken out line by line and cleaned. The liquid is filled, the cap is placed, the cap is tightened, and the container is returned to the container, which is then delivered by means of a transfer device.

Example 1 Figures 1 to 8 show an example of bottling a plastic sample bottle for cosmetics.

Figure 1 shows its configuration, and the specific bottling method shown here is a container B containing a plurality of bottles A arranged in rows and columns.
are introduced by a belt conveyor 1, which is a transfer device, and the bottles A are transferred row by row by a loader 2 to a chain conveyor 3, which is an intermittent bottle conveyance means, and air cleaners 4 are sequentially arranged along the route of the chain conveyor 3. , the filling device 5, the cap feeding device 6, the cap tightening device 7, and the marking stamp device 8 sequentially clean, fill, cap feed, cap tighten,
Chain conveyor 3 with engraved stamp processing
Then, the bottles A are returned to the downstream point of the belt conveyor 1 again, and the processed bottles A are transferred and stored row by row by the unloader 9 into the empty container B transferred by the belt conveyor 1, and sent out. It is.

The automatic bottling device used for the above-mentioned bottling has a chain conveyor 3 located midway above the belt conveyor 1, and the chain conveyor 3 forms a rectangular route, with its input and output ends connected to the belt conveyor. 1 and intersect.

Also, along the route of the chain conveyor 3, as described above, the loader 2, air cleaner 4, filling device 5, cap feeding device 6, cap tightening device 7,
An engraving stamp device 8 and an unloader 9 are sequentially installed.

The belt conveyor 1, which is commonly used, has container guides 11, 11 on both sides, as shown in FIGS. The containers B arranged and housed in rows are transferred in a constant posture.

The chain conveyor 3, as shown in FIG.
The chain 31 is stretched in a rectangular shape by chain wheels 32 disposed at the four corners and runs intermittently, and the chain 31 is equipped with a large number of cup-shaped bottle attachments 33 with appropriately opened bottoms for accommodating the bottles A. are equipped in a row, and these bottle attachments 33... are attached to container B.
The same number of bottles as in one row are lined up at the same intervals to form one group, and these are arranged at multiple equal pitches, and when intermittent running is stopped, two of the groups are transferred to the belt conveyor 1 and the loader. 2
and the unloader 9, and the five groups correspond to the air cleaner 4, the filling device 5, the cap supply device 6, the cap tightening device 7, and the marking stamp device 8, respectively.

In addition, the chain conveyor 3 is
As shown in the figure, the chain guide 34 supports the route to keep it stable and is provided perpendicular to the belt conveyor 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the loader 2 includes a lifting bar 21 equipped with a plurality of bottle air clamps 22...
, a two-action elevating mechanism 120 that operates the elevating bar 21 up and down and back and forth, and an air supply device (not shown) that appropriately supplies compressed air to the bottle air clamps 22 through a hose, and a belt conveyor. 1 and the chain conveyor 3 on the introduction side.

The two-action elevating mechanism 120 has a slider 122 located above the belt conveyor 1 and moving in the direction of the belt conveyor 1 on a frame 121 that straddles the belt conveyor 1, and a slider 122 that is positioned above the belt conveyor 1 and moves in the direction of the conveyor. The lift bar 21 is moved up and down by a fluid pressure cylinder 125 fixed to the slider 122.
The lifting bar 21 is located above the belt conveyor 1 and has a posture perpendicular to the belt conveyor 1.

The bottle air clamp 22...
They are hung vertically from the lifting bar 21 in correspondence with the rows of bottles A in the container B.

The loader 2 also includes a catcher 130, that is,
A catcher 130 is provided, which is located below the belt conveyor 1 and picks up the bottle containers B introduced by the belt conveyor 1, and also positions and pitches the bottles A in each row.

The loader 2 is operated in conjunction with a catcher 130 and a chain conveyor 3 attached thereto, and when the catcher 130 picks up and feeds containers B containing bottles A in an array,
In the meantime, in the loader 2, the lifting bar 21 operates up and down and back and forth, and the air clamps 22... operate, and the bottle attachments 33 of each group that are intermittently running...bottle A in the container B when the navel stops. ...transfer one row at a time. After all the containers are transferred, the catcher 130 loads the empty container B onto the belt conveyor 1 again and sends it further.

Note that if the relative position between the loader 2 and the container B on the belt conveyor 1 is set on the belt conveyor 1, the catcher 130 is not necessarily necessary.

As shown in FIG. 3, the air cleaner 4 includes a lift bar 41 equipped with a plurality of air nozzles 42, a lift mechanism 140 that moves the lift bar 41 up and down, and a hose that supplies compressed air to the air nozzles 42. It consists of an air supply device (not shown) and is located along the chain conveyor 3 and adjacent to the belt conveyor 1.

The elevating device 140 has a frame 141 extending above the chain conveyor 3, and a hydraulic cylinder 1 mounted on the frame 141.
42 is provided, and the lift bar 41 facing parallel to the lift bar 41 on the chain conveyor 3 is moved up and down by its hydraulic cylinder 142.

The air nozzles 42 are vertically disposed from the lift bar 41 in correspondence with one group of bottle attachments 33.

The air cleaner 4 operates in conjunction with the chain conveyor 3, and the bottle attachments 3 of each group of the chain conveyor 3
3... came to our location and stopped temporarily, the lifting bar 41
is lowered, the air nozzle 42 is inserted into each bottle A in the bottle attachment 33, and compressed air is ejected to clean each bottle.

As shown in FIG. 4, the filling device 5 includes a lifting bar 51 having a plurality of filling nozzles 52, and a lifting mechanism 140 (same as that of the air cleaner 4 described above, and details thereof are omitted) that moves the lifting bar 51 up and down. do)
, a filling liquid tank 53, 53, and a pump 55, 55 that supplies the liquid in the filling liquid tank 53 to the filling nozzle 52 through a hose 54, which corresponds to the chain conveyor 3 and also connects to the air cleaner. Adjacent to 4.

The lifting bar 51 faces the chain conveyor 3 parallel to the chain conveyor 3, and the filling nozzles 52...
3... are provided vertically from the lifting bar 51.

The filling device 5 operates in conjunction with the chain conveyor 3.
When the bottle attachments 33 of each group come to this position and pause, the lifting bar 51 is lowered and the filling nozzle is inserted into each bottle A of the bottle attachments 33. At the same time, the pump 55 ，
55 to fill the bottles A with the liquid in the filling liquid tanks 53, 53.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cap supply device 6 is
An elevating bar 61 having a plurality of vacuum rods 62, and an elevating mechanism 1 that moves the elevating bar 61 up and down.
40 (same as that of the air cleaner 4, details thereof will be omitted), a vacuum device (not shown) for appropriately sucking air from the vacuum rods 62 through a hose, and a cap for supplying the caps C to the vacuum rods 62. It consists of bar feeders 63, 63, and corresponds to the chain conveyor 3 and is located adjacent to the filling device 5.

The lifting bar 61 faces the chain conveyor 3 in parallel with the chain conveyor 3, and the vacuum rods 62 carry one group of bottle attachments 3.
3... are provided vertically from the lifting bar 61.

Further, the bar feeders 63, 63 have a plurality of branched supply ends 63a, and each of these supply ends 63a faces directly below the vacuum rod 62.
...is a shutter type stopper that can be lowered.

The cap feeding device 6 is operated in conjunction with the chain conveyor 3, and the bottle attachments 3 of each group of the chain conveyor 3 are connected to each other.
3... comes to our location and pauses, the lifting bar 61
is lowered, the caps C from the bar feeder 63 are adsorbed onto the vacuum rods 62, and placed over the mouths of the bottles A in the bottle attachments 33, the suction is stopped, and the caps are left alone.

The cap tightening device 7, as shown in FIG.
Lifting bar 7 having a plurality of rotating spindles 72...
1, and a lifting mechanism 15 that moves the lifting bar 71 up and down.
0 and each rotating spindle 7 attached to the lifting bar 71
It consists of two rotating mechanisms 73, corresponds to the chain conveyor 3, and is located at an appropriate position on the turning route of the chain conveyor route.

The elevating mechanism 150 is substantially the same as the elevating mechanism 140 of each previous device, but in this case,
Frame 15 extending above chain conveyor 3
1 is provided with a fluid pressure cylinder 152, and the lift bar 71 is moved up and down by the fluid pressure cylinder 152 via relay members 153 and 154.

The lifting bar 71 faces the chain conveyor 3 in parallel with the rotating spindle 72.
...is one group of bottle attachments 33...
They are vertically movable vertically disposed vertically from a lift bar 71 in correspondence with the above, and springs 72a . The rotation mechanism 73 includes a motor 73a provided on the lift bar 71 and a rotation transmission gear train.

The cap tightening device 7 operates in conjunction with the chain conveyor 3, and the bottle attachments 3 of each group of the chain conveyor 3
3... comes to our location and pauses, the lifting bar 71
is lowered to press the rotary spindle 72 against the cap C attached to each bottle A in the bottle attachment 33 and rotate to tighten the cap C to each bottle A.

As shown in FIG. 7, the engraving stamp device 8 is
Bottle suppressing part 8a that suppresses bottle A... from above
and an engraved stamp part 8b that is engraved or stamped on the bottom of the bottles A, and corresponds to the chain conveyor 3 and is adjacent to the cap tightening device 7.

The bottle holding part 8a is composed of a lifting bar 81 having a plurality of bottle holding rods 82, and a lifting mechanism 140 (same as that of the air cleaner 4, so the details are omitted) that moves the lifting bar 81 up and down. The lifting bar 81 faces the chain conveyor 3 in parallel, and the bottle holding rods 82... hold one group of bottle attachments 3.
3... are provided vertically from the lifting bar 81.

The stamp part 8b is located below the chain conveyor 3, and a slider 84 is provided on the frame 83 so as to be movable back and forth, and this is operated by a fluid pressure cylinder 85 fixed to the frame 83. An engraving stamp bar 86 is provided parallel to and facing this, and the bar 86 is moved up and down by a fluid pressure cylinder 87 fixed to the slider 84, and the engraving stamp bar 86 has a group of bottle attachments. A plurality of markings or stamp heads 88... are arranged in correspondence with 33....

The stamping device 8 is operated in conjunction with the chain conveyor 3, and the bottle attachments 3 of each group of the chain conveyor 3 are connected to each other.
3... comes to this location and pauses, the lifting bar 81 is lowered in the bottle holding section 8a, and the bottle holding rods 82... hold down each bottle A... from above the cap C.... At the same time, the stamp part 8
At b, the engraving stamp bar 86 is actuated forward and upward, forcing the engraving or stamp head 88... onto the bottom of each bottle A... through the bottom opening of each bottle attachment 33..., stamping or stamping.

The unloader 9, as shown in FIG. 8, is the same as the loader 2 in FIG. 2. Further, as in the case of the loader 2, a catcher 130 is also attached.
Therefore, a detailed explanation of the structure will be omitted, with reference to the explanation of the loader 2 in FIG. 2.

The unloader 9 and the catcher 130 are located at the intersection of the belt conveyor 1 and the chain conveyor 3 on the delivery side.

Further, like the loader 2, the unloader 9 operates in conjunction with the catcher 130 and the chain conveyor 3.
picks up the transferred empty container B and feeds it one by one. During this time, the lifting bar 21 of the loader 2 operates up and down and back and forth, and the air clamps 22... operate to move the bottle attachments of each group of intermittent running. When the bottle A is stopped, processed bottles A are sequentially transferred and accommodated from the container 33 into the empty container B in rows. After all containers are accommodated, the catcher 130 places the container B on the belt conveyor 1,
send out.

In this case as well, if the relative position between the unloader 9 and the container B on the belt conveyor 1 is set on the belt conveyor 1, the catcher 13
0 is not necessarily necessary.

Since the automatic bottling apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to 8 is as described above, it is possible to feed the container B containing bottles A... brought in from the container manufacturer to the belt conveyor 1 as is. For example, bottles A... are transferred by the loader 2 to the chain conveyor 3 that runs intermittently one line at a time,
As the chain conveyor 3 runs intermittently, the air is cleaned by the air cleaner 4 in the first stroke, liquid is filled by the filling device 5 in the second stroke, and the cap C is filled by the cap supply device 6 in the third stroke. ... is covered, the cap is tightened by the cap tightening device 7 in the fourth step, and a mark or stamp is applied by the stamping device 8 in the fifth step. When the above processing is completed, the unloader 9 transfers the cap to the belt conveyor 1. Then, they are transferred and accommodated line by line to the empty container B that is subsequently transferred, and sent out by the belt conveyor 1.

In addition, in the filling device, cap feeding device, and cap tightening device, the bottle clamper 160 may be used as appropriate.
It is convenient to provide.

Part 2 Next, another example shown in FIGS. 9 to 14 will be explained. FIG. 9 shows its configuration, and the specific method of bottling shown here is Containers B containing... arranged in rows and columns are introduced into the container transfer device 210, and the bottles A... are sequentially transferred row by row by the rotary loader 220 to the index table 230, which is an intermittent rotating bottle transport means. The air cleaner 240, the filling device 250, the cap supply device 260, and the cap tightening device 270, which are sequentially arranged around the index table 230, clean each row of bottles A and drain the liquid at once. The bottle is filled, the cap is put on, the cap is tightened, and if necessary, a stamping device 280 is provided at the final stage to stamp the bottle A in the final step, and the bottle A after all processing is performed one after another, line by line. Next, the rotary unloader 290 transfers and accommodates the empty container sent by the container transfer device 210 and sends it out.

The automatic bottling device used for the above-mentioned bottling includes a container transfer device 210 that changes direction at right angles and transfers the container.
A polygonal index table 230 that rotates intermittently is placed inside the corner, and around the index table 230, the rotary loader 220, air cleaner 240, and filling device 25 are placed as described above.
0, a cap feeding device 260, a cap tightening device 270, a marking device 280 as required, and a rotary unloader 290 are sequentially provided.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the container transfer device 210 includes two inlet conveyors 2 and
10a, a delivery conveyor 210b, and a direction conversion/transfer device 210c therebetween, and the introduction conveyor 210a and the delivery conveyor 210b keep the container B in a constant positional relationship at least at the end and the start end, and keep the containers A in line with the bottles A... The direction changing and transferring device 210c is configured to provide a rotating rail 211 that rotates 90 degrees by appropriate power at the corner of the route, and also connects the rotating rail 211 to the introducing conveyor 210a. Both conveyors 2 are connected to the end and the start end of the delivery conveyor 210b.
A pushing mechanism 212 and a pushing mechanism 213 that push the container B with operating hooks 214 and 215 are provided beside the ends and starting ends of the conveyors 10a and 210b, respectively. When the container B comes to the end of the introduction conveyor 210a, the pushing mechanism 212 Container B on rotating rail 211
Push it up, the rotation rail 211 rotates 90 degrees,
A push mechanism 215 then delivers the container B to a delivery conveyor 210b.

As shown in FIG. 9, the index table 230 is configured such that each side of the polygon is intermittently rotated by a drive device at one side pitch, and two sides of the table face the container transfer device 210 when stopped. It is also provided with bottle clamps 231 on each side to support a row of bottles A in container B all at once, and although not shown, a cam mechanism or the like is used to clamp the bottles on the two sides facing the container transfer device 210. The clamp 231 is opened.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the rotary loader 220 has a fluid pressure cylinder 22 mounted on a frame 221 extending upward from the distal end of the introduction conveyor 210a.
A lifting mechanism is provided with a lifting body 223 that is operated by the lifting body 223.
Horizontal T-shaped rotating arm 2 rotated 90 degrees at 24
25, and the rotating arm 225 rotates from a position above the introduction conveyor 210a to above one side of the index table 230.
A plurality of bottle chucks 226 corresponding to... are provided vertically.

Note that the chucks 226 are air chucks,
It can be used as an electromagnetic chuck to supply air and current as appropriate, or it can be used for push-push, that is, the first push grabs the bottle, and the second
It may also be a purely mechanical automatic chuck that releases it after the first push.

The rotary loader 220 is connected to the introduction conveyor 21
Containers B containing a large number of bottles A in rows and columns are introduced into the introduction conveyor 210a, and when they reach the end and are fed in pitch, they are lifted and lowered by the hydraulic cylinder 222. Vertical movement of body 223 and fluid pressure motor etc. 224
The rotating arm 225 moves up and down and rotates, and the chuck 226 operates to move the bottles A in the container B to the bottle clamps 231 of the index table 230 one by one and stop them. At the same time, the bottle is transferred and held by the bottle clamps 231.

An air cleaner 240 (Fig. 11) and a filling device 2 are sequentially arranged around the index table 230.
50 (Fig. 12), cap feeding device 260 (Fig. 13), cap tightening device, device 270 (Fig. 14)
As shown in FIG. 9, these devices correspond to each side when the index table 230 is stopped, and these devices operate all at once in conjunction with the stop of the index table 230. , bottle clamp 231 of index table 230...
For each row of bottles A... held in the
The devices are cleaned, filled with liquid, supplied with a cap, and tightened with a cap, and the specific construction of these devices is substantially the same as that of the previous example, as shown in FIGS. 11 to 14. are the same, therefore detailed descriptions of these will be omitted with reference to the previous descriptions.

Note that the air cleaner 240 shown in FIG. 11 also has a vacuum system attached to the air nozzle.

As shown in FIG. 9, the rotary unloader 290 is located above the starting end of the delivery conveyor 210b, and in relation to the index table 230 and the delivery conveyor 210b, the rotary unloader 290 collects processed materials from the index table 230 when the delivery conveyor 210b is stopped. Grasp the bottles A... in units of rows and send them to the delivery conveyor 2.
The rotary unloader 29 is transferred to and accommodated in the empty container B that is being fed in pitch at the starting end of 10b.
0 is the same as the above-mentioned rotary loader 220 (FIG. 10), and illustration and detailed explanation will be omitted as reference is made to this.

Thus, in the automatic bottling apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 to 14, when the container B containing the unprocessed bottles A is fed to the introduction conveyor 210a, the container B containing the unprocessed bottles A is placed in a predetermined positional relationship at the end of the container B. Bottles A in container B are fed one by one by the rotary loader 220 to the index table 2.
30, and as the index table 230 rotates intermittently, each row is cleaned by the air cleaner 240 in the first stroke, and filled with liquid by the filling device 250 in the second stroke.
In the third step, the cap feeding device 260 covers the caps C, and in the fourth step, the cap tightening device 270 tightens the caps C. When the process is completed, the rotary unloader 290
As a result, the empty container B is further transferred by the container transfer device 210, and is transferred and accommodated line by line to the empty container B, which is being sent pitchwise at the starting end of the sending conveyor 210b, and is sent out.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the two embodiments described above. For example, even if several lines of bottles A are processed one by one, the capping process may be performed in each processing device depending on the object to be processed. , devices such as seals may be added or removed, and the specific configuration may be changed in design.

Further, in the above embodiments, the object to be processed is a sample bottle of cosmetics, but of course the object is not limited to this.

Furthermore, the processed bottles that have been sent out may be subsequently sent to a packaging device or the like.

"Effects of the Invention" According to the present invention, a container containing a plurality of bottles is introduced into a transfer device, and the bottles are transferred one after another in rows by a loader from the container on the transfer device to an intermittent-operating bottle conveying means. With the intermittent operation of the bottle conveying means, the bottles in each row are simultaneously and one after another by a cleaner, a filling device, a cap feeding device, and a cap tightening device sequentially arranged around the bottle conveying means. After cleaning, filling, supplying caps, and tightening the caps, the unloader transfers and stores the processed bottles one after another row by row into the empty containers that are transferred by the transfer device, and then sends them out. In addition, the consistent processing of cleaning, filling, and capping equipment can be performed fully automatically and efficiently in each of the above line units, improving processing speed and efficiency. If the bottles are fed as they are to the conveyor, the processed bottles will come out in a container, so there will be no need for the operator's hands during the process, and there will be no contamination caused by tentacles, cracks or cracks. No damage such as deterioration of physical properties, deformation, discoloration, etc. due to chipping, cracking, bulging, or bulging, and no decrease in yield.

Additionally, the device can be simple and compact, which is of great benefit.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show embodiments of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the configuration of one example, FIGS. 2 to 8 are perspective views specifically showing various parts and devices of the same example, and FIG. 9 is a diagram of another example. The configuration outline diagrams of the example and FIGS. 10 to 14 are perspective views specifically showing respective parts and devices of the example. 1... Belt conveyor, 2... Loader, 3... Chain conveyor, 4... Air cleaner, 5... Filling device,
6... Cap supply device, 7... Cap tightening device,
8... Engraving stamp device, 9... Unloader, 210
... Container transfer device, 220 ... Rotary loader, 2
30... Index table, 240... Air cleaner, 250... Filling device, 260... Cap feeding device, 270... Cap tightening device, 280... Marking device, 290... Rotating unloader.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A container containing a plurality of bottles in predetermined rows and columns is introduced into a transfer device, and a loader extracts bottles from the containers on the transfer device in rows and transfers them to an intermittent bottle conveying means when the bottle is stopped. a cleaner, a filling device, a cap feeding device, which are sequentially arranged around the bottle conveying means;
Using the cap tightening device, when the bottle conveying means is stopped, each bottle in the row unit is processed at once, thereby sequentially cleaning, filling, supplying caps, and tightening the caps, and all processed bottles are A bottling method characterized in that, when the bottle transport means is stopped, an unloader is used to transfer the empty containers from the bottle transport means to the empty containers sent by the transfer device one after another in the row unit, and send them out.