KR20100050214A - Apparatus for preform inspection - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A device for inspecting a preform is provided to improve inspection accuracy by inspecting an injection port and a body part of a preform, and to minimize an error rate. CONSTITUTION: A device(100) for inspecting a preform comprises a preform feeding unit(20), first and second rotating units(30,70), a transfer unit(40), a preform discharging unit(80), and an inspecting unit(90). The preform feeding unit has a supply guiderail(21) and a rotary feeder(22). The rotary feeder vertically transfers preforms(10). The first rotating unit aligns the supplied preforms. The transfer unit accepts the preforms, and transfers the preforms. The second rotating unit aligns the preforms transferred from the transfer unit. The preform discharging unit discharges the preforms transferred from the second rotating unit. The inspecting unit inspects the outer surface of the preforms.

Description

Preform Inspection Device {APPARATUS FOR PREFORM INSPECTION}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a preform inspection apparatus used in a plastic molding process, and more particularly, to a preform inspection apparatus capable of inspecting an injection hole and a body portion of a preform while gripping and moving the preform with a gripper.

In general, PET (polyethylen terephthalate) bottles are manufactured as a finished product by finally molding the preform, which is an injection molded intermediate product by melting PET resin.

1 is a diagram illustrating a preform.

As shown in FIG. 1, the preform 10 includes an injection hole 1 and a body part 2, and a neck part 3 protrudes between the injection hole 1 and the body part 2. These preforms undergo an inspection process such as appearance, dimensions, and defects in order to prevent defects before the final molding into a finished PET bottle.

The preform inspection apparatus automates the inspection process of the preform, and the conventional preform inspection apparatus has a supply means for continuously supplying the preform, a conveying means for rotating and moving the supplied preform, a discharging means for discharging the conveyed preform, and a preform conveying path. It was installed in the inspection means for inspecting the preform.

However, the conventional preform inspection device has a problem in the process of transferring the preform. That is, the conventional conveying means attaches the body portion of the preform supplied from the supply means to the adsorption hole using air pressure, and rotates in such a state so as to transfer the preform to the discharge means so that some of the adsorption holes do not operate or If there is a foreign material on the surface there was a problem that the transfer of the preform is not made smoothly.

In addition, in order to solve the above problems, a technology has been developed in which a guide plate is installed along the circumference of the conveying means so that the neck portion of the preform can be transported. There was a problem that can not completely inspect the body of the.

An object of the present invention is to provide a preform inspection apparatus capable of inspecting not only the injection hole of the preform but also the body part as a whole while holding the preform and stably transporting the preform.

The gist of the preform inspection apparatus according to the present invention is as follows.

(1) a preform supply unit having a supply guide rail to which the preform is supplied and a rotation feeder installed at one end of the supply guide rail to move the preform vertically; A first rotating part which rotates and aligns the preform supplied from the preform supply part; Conveying means for receiving the preform from the first rotating portion for conveying in the arc direction; A second rotating part for aligning while rotating the preform conveyed from the conveying means; A preform discharge part including a discharge guide rail through which the preform delivered from the second rotation part is discharged; In the preform inspection apparatus comprising a plurality of inspection means for inspecting the appearance of the preform is installed in the movement path of the preform,

The transfer means,

driving axle; A circular plate rotatably coupled to an upper end of the drive shaft; A pair of arm members are rotatably coupled to an upper surface of the outer circumferential portion of the circular plate with an insertion groove formed inside the front end portion, and a spring for opening the front end portion is inserted into the insertion groove. A plurality of grippers having a hook-shaped holding member coupled to the lower front end of the arm member; An upper rotating piece installed in combination with a balance spring inside the rear end of the gripper so as to alternately repeat contact and disconnection operations with an inner surface of the rear end of the gripper, and one end of which is coupled to the upper rotating piece The gripper operation lever is composed of a connecting rod passing through the circular plate and a lower rotating piece coupled to the other end of the connecting rod; A first horizontal bar and a second horizontal bar fixedly coupled to the drive shaft so as to extend downwardly of the gripper operating lever, respectively, facing the first and second rotational portions; And a pressure rod coupled vertically to an end of the first and second horizontal bars so that one side surface of the lower rotating piece is contacted when the circular plate is rotated.

When the circular plate is rotated while one side of the lower rotating piece hits the pressure rod, the upper rotating piece rotates so that the rear end portions of the pair of arm members are held together or held together to hold or release the preform. Preform inspection device.

(2) The preform inspection apparatus according to (1), wherein the rear ends of the pair of arm members are tapered.

(3) the first horizontal bar is formed to extend longer by a predetermined length than the second horizontal bar,

The lower rotating piece,

Two adjacent sides have a shape of a triangular prism inwardly curved, the curved one side when the circular plate is rotated hit the pressure rod of the first horizontal bar and the other curved side is the second The preform inspection apparatus according to the above (1), wherein the preform inspection device is installed to hit the pressure rod of the horizontal bar.

(4) The preform inspection device according to (3), wherein one side of the lower rotating piece protrudes downward from the circular plate to prevent further rotation of the lower rotating piece.

(5) The inspection means,

A first camera installed on one side of the circular plate so as to be positioned above the gripping member and photographing the injection hole of the preform, and a second camera installed on the other side of the circular plate so as to be positioned below the imaginary horizontal line extending from the gripping member. A preform inspection apparatus according to (1), comprising: a second camera and a third camera, and illumination for irradiating light to a preform photographed adjacent to the first, second, and third cameras.

(6) The preform inspection apparatus according to (5) above, wherein the illumination is an LED illumination.

(7) Between the second rotating part and the preform discharge part is provided with a blower for carrying out the defective preform to the outside by using air pressure, and on one side of the preform discharge part is defective so that the defective preform carried by the blower can escape A preform inspection device according to (1) above, wherein a preform discharge port is formed.

According to the present invention, it is possible to increase the efficiency of inspection by reliably gripping and conveying the preform reliably.

In addition, according to the present invention by inspecting the entire portion of the preform without omission, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the inspection, thereby minimizing the defective rate.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. In the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted for simplicity of explanation, and like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the specification.

2 is a perspective view of a preform inspection apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 is a plan view of a preform inspection apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is a side view of a preform inspection apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention to be.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

Preform inspection apparatus 100 of the present invention is divided into a preform supply unit 20 for vertically supplying the preform 10 and the first rotation unit for receiving and rotating while receiving the preform 10 supplied from the preform supply unit 20 30, the transfer means 40 for receiving the preform 10 from the first rotating part 30 and conveying it in the arc direction, and receiving and rotating the preform 10 transferred from the transfer means 40 while being aligned. The second rotary part 70, the preform discharge unit 80 for discharging the preform 10 transmitted from the second rotary unit 70 and the preform 10 is installed in the movement path of the preform 10, And inspection means 90 for inspecting dimensions and other defects.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the preform inspection apparatus 100 according to the present invention will be described in order according to the movement path of the preform 10.

First, the preform supply unit 20 is composed of a supply guide rail 21 and the rotary feeder (22).

The feed guide rail 21 has a stepped portion formed therein so that the neck portion of the preform 10 can be moved and is installed to be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the ground, so that the preform 10 naturally falls from above to the rotation feeder. Allow entry into (22).

In addition, the rotation feeder 22 is installed adjacent to the end of the supply guide rail 21 and the first rotation unit 30 at a constant speed one by one to the preform 10 continuously supplied from the supply guide rail 21 one by one. Supplies).

In this case, the rotary feeder 22 is composed of a drive shaft 24 and two star wheels 25, 25 'rotatably coupled to the upper end of the drive shaft 24, and the star wheels 25, 25'. The body portion of the preform 10 can be moved by fitting to the fitting portion formed on the outer circumference thereof. In addition, the guide plate 23 is installed on one side of the rotary feeder 22 so that the neck portion of the preform 10 can be spread.

In the present invention, the rotary feeder 22 is not limited to the star wheel shape and may be modified in various forms. For example, it is also possible to install the screw grooves formed side by side on the outer circumferential side and to be transported by sandwiching the body portion of the preform therebetween.

Subsequently, the first rotation part 30 is for aligning the preforms 10 supplied one by one from the rotation feeder 22 and entering the transfer means 40. The driving shaft 31 and the driving shaft 31 It is composed of a guide wheel and a star wheel 32 rotatably coupled to the upper portion.

Here, the guide wheel is to be moved across the neck portion of the preform 10, it is coupled to the top of the drive shaft 31 to be positioned horizontally to the guide plate 23, in the drawings for convenience of description Omitted and shown.

In addition, the star wheel 32 is rotatably coupled to the bottom of the guide wheel, so that the body portion of the preform 10 is caught and moved to the fitting portion 33 protruding outward. In this case, it is preferable that two or more star wheels 32 are formed at predetermined intervals so that the body portion of the preform 10 can be fitted as a whole.

Subsequently, the conveying means 40 is a characteristic configuration of the present invention. The first rotating part 30 can be conveyed in a circular arc direction by holding the preform 10 aligned by the first rotating part 30. It is installed adjacent to).

The conveying means 40 is a drive shaft 41, a circular plate 42 rotatably coupled to the upper end of the drive shaft 41, and a plurality of coupled to the outer peripheral portion of the circular plate 42 at a predetermined interval Gripper 51, a gripper operating lever 65 for operating the gripper 51, a first horizontal bar 43, a second horizontal bar 44, which are vertically coupled to the drive shaft 41, and The pressure rod coupled to the end of the first and second horizontal bars (43, 44) vertically upwards so that the gripper operation lever 65 hits and rotates during the rotation of the circular plate (42) 45, 46).

The conveying means 40 of the present invention configured as described above is characterized in that the preform 10 is conveyed by a gripping method rather than an adsorption method. Hereinafter, the gripper 51 and the gripper 51 as one configuration for implementing such a feature. The operation thereof will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

5 is a view showing the gripper coupled to the circular plate according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 6 is a plan view of a gripper according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the gripper 51 of the present invention has arm members 52 and 53 having a shape corresponding to each other, and a grip member 60 coupled to a lower front end of the arm members 52 and 53. , 61).

The arm members 52 and 53 are coupled to the upper surface of the outer circumferential portion of the circular plate 42 by a coupling rod 54 to enable horizontal rotation about the intermediate portion. On the other hand, an insertion groove 55 is formed inside the front ends of the arm members 52 and 53, and a spring 56 is inserted into the insertion groove 55 to install the front ends of the arm members 52 and 53. You will be opened. Accordingly, the rear ends of the arm members 52 and 53 are in a state of being gathered with each other. In order to accomplish such a state more easily, the rear ends of the arm members 52 and 53 are preferably tapered.

Subsequently, the rear ends of the arm members 52 and 53 gathered as described above are opened again by the upper rotating piece 66. That is, the upper rotary piece 66 is coupled to the balance spring 59 inside the rear end of the arm members 52 and 53 so as to periodically open the rear ends of the arm members 52 and 53 according to rotation. Will be. Here, more specific information about the rotational movement of the upper rotary piece 66 will be described later.

Subsequently, the gripping members 60 and 61 are formed in a hook shape to stably hold the preform 10, and are fixedly coupled to the lower ends of the front ends of the arm members 52 and 53 by bolts 58. It rotates with the arm members 52 and 53 in a horizontal direction.

3 is a plan view of a preform inspection apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 6 is a plan view of a gripper according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figures 7 and 8 are operations of the gripper according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention It is a figure for demonstrating. 3, 6 to 8 will be described in detail with respect to the operation of the gripper of the present invention.

The gripper 51 is operated by the gripper operating lever 65 and the pressure rods 45 and 46.

First, the gripper operation lever 65 is to open the rear ends gathered with each other by the elastic force of the spring 56 provided in the front end portion, specifically, located inside the rear ends of the arm members 52 and 53. Upper rotary piece 66, one end is fixedly coupled to the upper rotary piece 66 and the other end is fixedly coupled to the other end of the connecting rod 68 and the connecting rod 68 through the circular plate 42 It consists of a lower rotating piece (67).

The upper rotary piece 66 is coupled by a balance spring 59 having a rod shape so that both ends in the longitudinal direction are in contact with and separated from the inner surfaces of the rear ends of the arm members 52 and 53 whenever the upper rotating piece 66 is rotated by 90 degrees. do.

In detail, when both ends of the upper rotating piece 66 come into contact with the rear end inner surfaces of the arm members 52 and 53 by rotation, the rear ends of the arm members 52 and 53 are opened. As the front ends of the arm members 52 and 53 are collected, the preform 10 is gripped by the gripping members 60 and 61.

On the other hand, when the upper rotary piece 66 is rotated 90 degrees to be separated from the rear end inner surface of the arm members 52 and 53, the rear end of the arm members 52 and 53 is inserted into the front end spring 56 It is automatically gathered by, so that the front end of the arm member (52, 53) is opened so that the holding member (60, 61) place the preform.

Rotation of the upper rotary piece 66 as described above is made by the lower rotary piece (67). That is, the upper rotating piece 66 is fixedly coupled by the lower rotating piece 67 and the connecting rod 68 as described above to receive the rotational force of the lower rotating piece 67 as it is.

In this case, the rotational force of the lower rotating piece 67 is generated by the pressing rods 45 and 46. Specifically, the pressing rods 45 and 46 are installed to hit one side of the lower rotating piece 67 to strike the lower rotating piece 67 according to the rotation of the circular plate 42. It can be.

The pressure rods 45 and 46 are vertically coupled to the end portions of the first horizontal bar 43 and the second horizontal bar 44 which are vertically coupled to the drive shaft 41. At this time, the hitting of the pressure rod (45, 46) is to be made in the vicinity of the first rotating part 30 and the second rotating part 70 for the smooth delivery of the preform 10, the first, second horizontal bar (43, 44) is preferably extended to the lower portion of the lower rotating piece 67 toward the first rotating portion 30 and the second rotating portion (70).

And, if the lower rotating piece 67 can be rotated by the hitting of the pressure rod (45, 46) as described above, the shape is not limited, but two adjacent sides are curved inward to enable accurate and constant rotation. It is preferable to have a triangular prism shape.

When the lower rotating piece 67 is formed in the shape of a triangular prism as described above, regular rotation of the lower rotating piece 67 can be obtained by varying the lengths of the first and second horizontal bars 43 and 44. have.

For example, when the first horizontal bar 43 is formed longer than the second horizontal bar 44, the curved one side surface of the lower rotating piece 67 is pressurized by the extended first horizontal bar 43. The lower side of the rotating piece 67 is horizontal to the arm members 52 and 53 so as to hit the rod 45 and bend the other side surface so as to hit the pressing rod 46 of the second horizontal bar 44. By installing obliquely in the direction, it is possible to obtain a constant rotation angle of the lower rotary piece 67.

In this case, an anti-rotation rod 69 may be formed to protrude from the circular plate 42 on one side of the lower rotating piece 67 to prevent additional rotation of the lower rotating piece 67. In addition, the upper rotating piece 66 coupled by the lower rotating piece 67 and the connecting rod 68 may rotate by 90 degrees according to the rotation of the lower rotating piece 67 by adjusting the balance spring 59. Can be.

The structure and operation of the transfer means 40, which is a characteristic configuration of the present invention, has been described in detail above. The preform 10 transferred by the transfer means 40 is transmitted to the second rotating part 70 installed on one side of the transfer means 40.

The second rotation part 70 is to align the preform 10 while rotating to enter the preform discharge part 80. Since the basic configuration is the same as that of the first rotation part 30 described above, a description thereof will be omitted. do.

One side of the second rotating part 70 is provided with a preform discharge part 80 adjacent. The preform discharge part 80 is composed of a discharge guide rail 81 installed to be inclined toward the ground so that the preform 10 coming out of the second rotation part 70 naturally falls downward.

The preform inspection apparatus 100 according to the present invention moves the preform 10 along the path as described above and checks the appearance, dimensions, defects, etc. of the preform 10 by the inspection means 90 installed at a predetermined position. Will be examined.

The inspection means 100 is installed on one side of the first, second, third cameras (91, 92, 93) and the first, second, third cameras (91, 92, 93) for photographing the preform 10 Illumination 94.

The first camera 91 is installed on one side of the circular plate 42 so as to be located above the holding members 60 and 61 to photograph the injection hole of the preform 10 being transferred. In addition, the second and third cameras 92 and 93 are installed on the other side of the circular plate 42 so as to be positioned below the imaginary horizontal line extending from the holding members 60 and 61, and thus the body of the preform 10. We will shoot wealth. In this case, the second and third cameras 92 and 93 may photograph almost the entire area of the body part of the preform 10 by photographing the body parts of the preform 10 while crossing each other.

In addition, the illumination 94 is installed in parallel with the first, second, and third cameras 91, 92, and 93 to irradiate light onto the preform 10 when photographing, and the illumination 94 in the present invention. Although the type of is not limited, it is preferable to use light emitting diode (LED) lighting in consideration of lifespan and energy efficiency.

Subsequently, the good or bad of the preform 10 is determined by the images photographed by the first, second, and third cameras 91, 92, and 93. The preform 10 is discharged to the outside, and is discharged to the outside.

A blower 82 is installed between the second rotating part 70 and the preform discharge part 80 to carry out the defective preform 10. In this case, a defective preform discharge port 83 is formed at an introduction portion of the preform discharge part 80 so that the preform carried out by the air pressure of the blower 82 exits to the outside and is separately provided with a defective preform discharge (not shown in the drawing). So that you can fall off.

Various rotating bodies including the rotation feeder in the above-described configuration of the present invention require power. Specifically, the rotary feeder 22 is connected to the driving motor is provided separately, the first rotation unit 30, the transfer means 40 and the second rotation unit 70 is driven by a power unit. .

The power unit is composed of a drive motor for generating power by the power input from the outside, a continuously variable transmission freely adjustable according to the speed of the drive motor and a rotating shaft and a drive chain for transmitting rotational force to the continuously variable transmission. The drive chain is coupled to a drive gear formed under the drive shaft of the first rotation unit 30, the transfer means 40, and the second rotation unit 70 to transfer the power of the drive motor to each component.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings. The description of the present invention is intended for illustration, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be easily modified in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention.

Therefore, the scope of the present invention is represented by the appended claims rather than the detailed description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning, scope, and equivalent concepts of the claims are included in the scope of the present invention. Should be interpreted.

1 shows a preform,

2 is a perspective view of a preform inspection apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

3 is a plan view of a preform inspection apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

4 is a side view of a preform inspection device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a view showing the gripper coupled to the circular plate according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

6 is a plan view of a gripper according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

7 and 8 are views for explaining the operation of the gripper according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

10: preform 20: preform supply unit

21: supply guide rail 22: rotary feeder

23: guide plate 30: first rotating part

32: star wheel 40: transfer means

42: round plate 43, 44: first and second horizontal bar

45: pressurized rod 51: gripper

52, 53: arm member 56: spring

59: balance spring 60, 61: holding member

65: gripper operating lever 66: upper rotary piece

67: lower flower piece 69: anti-rotation rod

70: second rotating portion 80: preform discharge portion

81: discharge guide rail 82: blower

90: inspection means 91, 92, 93: camera

94: illumination 100: preform inspection device

Claims (7)

A preform supply unit having a supply guide rail to which the preform is supplied and a rotation feeder installed at one end of the supply guide rail to move the preform vertically; A first rotating part which rotates and aligns the preform supplied from the preform supply part; Conveying means for receiving the preform from the first rotating portion for conveying in the arc direction; A second rotating part for aligning while rotating the preform conveyed from the conveying means; A preform discharge part including a discharge guide rail through which the preform delivered from the second rotation part is discharged; In the preform inspection apparatus comprising a plurality of inspection means for inspecting the appearance of the preform is installed in the movement path of the preform, The transfer means, driving axle; A circular plate rotatably coupled to an upper end of the drive shaft; A pair of arm members are rotatably coupled to an upper surface of the outer circumferential portion of the circular plate with an insertion groove formed inside the front end portion, and a spring for opening the front end portion is inserted into the insertion groove. A plurality of grippers having a hook-shaped holding member coupled to the lower front end of the arm member; An upper rotating piece installed in combination with a balance spring inside the rear end of the gripper so as to alternately repeat contact and disconnection operations with an inner surface of the rear end of the gripper, and one end of which is coupled to the upper rotating piece The gripper operation lever is composed of a connecting rod passing through the circular plate and a lower rotating piece coupled to the other end of the connecting rod; A first horizontal bar and a second horizontal bar fixedly coupled to the drive shaft so as to extend downwardly of the gripper actuating lever, respectively, facing the first and second rotating parts; And a pressure rod coupled vertically to an end of the first and second horizontal bars so that one side surface of the lower rotating piece is contacted when the circular plate is rotated. When the circular plate is rotated while one side of the lower rotating piece hits the pressure rod, the upper rotating piece rotates so that the rear end portions of the pair of arm members are held together or held together to hold or release the preform. Preform inspection device. The method of claim 1, And a rear end portion of the pair of arm members is tapered. The method of claim 1, The first horizontal bar is formed to extend longer by a predetermined length than the second horizontal bar, The lower rotating piece, Two adjacent sides have a shape of a triangular prism inwardly curved, the curved one side when the circular plate is rotated hit the pressure rod of the first horizontal bar and the other curved side is the second horizontal Preform inspection device, characterized in that installed to hit the pressure rod of the bar. The method of claim 3, wherein Preform inspection device, characterized in that the anti-rotation rod protrudes downward from the circular plate on one side of the lower rotating piece to prevent further rotation of the lower rotating piece. The method of claim 1, The inspection means, A first camera installed on one side of the circular plate so as to be positioned above the gripping member and photographing the injection hole of the preform, and a second camera installed on the other side of the circular plate so as to be positioned below the imaginary horizontal line extending from the gripping member. And a second camera and a third camera, and illumination for irradiating light to a preform photographed and installed adjacent to the first, second and third cameras. The method of claim 5, The illumination is a preform inspection device, characterized in that the LED illumination. The method of claim 1, A blower is provided between the second rotating part and the preform discharge part to blow out the bad reform to the outside using air pressure, and a defective preform half is discharged to one side of the preform discharge part so that the defective preform carried out by the blower can escape. Preform inspection device, characterized in that the outlet is formed.

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