WO1998057882A1

WO1998057882A1 - Fitting clamping device for pressure vessel

Info

Publication number: WO1998057882A1
Application number: PCT/JP1998/002670
Authority: WO
Inventors: Katsutoshi Minai; Yoshihisa Koyama
Original assignee: Suntory Limited
Priority date: 1997-06-17
Filing date: 1998-06-17
Publication date: 1998-12-23
Also published as: CA2294025A1; JP4153572B2; JPH1111583A; EP1036755A1; EP1036755A4

Abstract

A fitting clamping device for pressure vessels, in which a fitting mounted on a mouthpiece (3) on a pressure vessel (2) such as a beer barrel is clampled, comprising a clamping torque generating device (25). Wherein swing bases (58, 59) are fixedly mounted on a base (32) which can be vertically moved toward and away from the pressure vessel (2) by a lift driving source (31) supported by a lift frame (23) so as to be capable of swinging back and forth and right and left, and a rotation drive source (33) is loaded on the swing base (58), while a clamp output shaft (54) of the rotation drive source (33) is extended downward to detachably couple thereto a clamping head (30) so that a skirt portion (73) having a tapered surface (74) brings thereinto the mouthpiece (3) to permit a wrench portion (72) thereof to engage with a ratchet of the fitting mounted on the mouthpiece (3). Accordingly, even when the axis of the clamping head is not aligned with the axis of the mouthpiece on a beer barrel, the clamping head accommodates inclination therebetween to thereby enable clamping of the fitting.

Description

Description Pressure vessel fitting tightening device Technical field

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fitting tightening device for a pressure vessel such as a beer barrel, and more particularly, to a fitting tightening apparatus capable of absorbing a tilt of a base of a beer barrel generated in a distribution process. Background art

In the barrel filling process, beer barrels are mainly used, and in the distribution process, there is a possibility that the fitting performance of the beer barrel as a pressure vessel may deteriorate. In the barrel filling process, the quality of the container (product) is reduced. It is known that a fitting tightening process is required to assure. fitting

1 is, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, a pipe-shaped one fitted inside a base 3 of a beer barrel 2 as a pressure vessel. As shown in detail in FIG. 9, the base 3 has screw portions 3 a, 4 a A bush 4 which is detachably mounted by being screwed in via a gas bush, a gas valve 13 which opens and closes a path for carbon dioxide gas in the bush 4, and an upper end (which is urged by a coil spring 6 to the gas valve 13) A down tube 5 against which the flange portion 1 1) abuts, and a beer which is urged by a coil spring 15 in the down tube 5 to abut a valve seat at the lower end inner edge of the gas valve 13 to form a beer passage. It consists of a valve 14.

The bush 4 is a cylindrical body formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction with ratchets 4b, 4b with which a dispense head or a mounting jig is engaged at an upper opening edge. A step part 7 is formed, an outer step part 8 is formed substantially in the middle part, a seal ring 9 is interposed between the base part 3 and the inner bottom face, and a hole 4 serving as a passage for carbon dioxide gas (at the time of pouring) is formed in the peripheral wall. d is bored, and the down tube 5 is loosely fitted into the lower hole 10. At the bottom of the bush 4, three bayonet pieces 4 e protrude toward the center at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the inner peripheral edge, and engage with the bayonet pieces 4 e to engage the retaining disc 1 2. Is attached.

Therefore, in order to automatically mechanize the fitting tightening process, a wrench that can be lifted and lowered toward each base 3 of the vial barrel transferred by the conveyor device and that is inserted into the base 3 and engaged with the ratchet 4 b It can be assumed that the bush 4 is rotated with the provided rotatable fastening head.

However, in this case, if the axis of the tightening head and the axis of the base 3 of the vial barrel 2 do not completely coincide with each other, the bush 4 cannot be tightened in the fitting 1. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, if the collected base 3 of the vial barrel 2 is inclined and the axis C of the vial barrel 2 and the axis C _{1 of the} base 3 are slightly inconsistent, the tightening head is not used. Is set up and down along the axis of the beer barrel 2, since the axis of the base 3 cannot match the axis of the tightening head, the tightening head is fitted to the base 3. Since the wrench part of the tightening head cannot contact the ratchet parts 4b, 4b, it cannot be rotated, and there is a risk that the wrench may run idle. is there.

For this purpose, workers, etc. visually monitor the cap 3 of the beer barrel 2 and inspect the condition of each cap 3, but even if it is visually determined that it is normal, the axial line C _t of the mouthpiece 3 is inclined at a slight angle, which states that it is impossible to match the axial line of the head to the tightening is scattered, beer barrel filler such as its (Kegging equipment) will increase the defect rate in the leak inspection process after kegging.

Therefore, the present invention was devised in view of the above circumstances, and even when the axis of the tightening head and the axis of the base of the pressure vessel do not match, the tightening head is removed. Provided is a fitting tightening device which can tighten a fitting by absorbing a tilt of the fitting. Disclosure of the invention

A fitting fastening device for a pressure vessel according to the present invention is a fitting fastening device for fastening fitting mounted on a mouthpiece of a pressure vessel such as a beer barrel. Pressure vessel A tightening torque generating device having a tightening head that can be raised and lowered and rotatable toward the base of the tightening head; an aligning device that aligns a pressure vessel transferred on a conveyor device below the tightening head; A stopping device for stopping the pressure vessel when the fastening head is moved up and down.

Further, the tightening torque generating device mounts and fixes a rocking table on a base supported to be movable up and down toward the pressure vessel so as to be rockable in all directions including front and rear and right and left. A rotary drive source, and a tightening output shaft of the rotary drive source is extended downwardly of the base so that a tightening head is detachably connected.

Further, the rocking table supports a first rocking table that orthogonally supports the rotary drive source and a second rocking table so as to be able to rock in the left-right direction. It is characterized by being supported by a base so as to be swingable in the front-rear direction, and having a fastening output shaft of the rotary drive source penetrating through the second swing table and the base. The rocking table is configured such that a shaft protruding from the left, right, front or rear side surface is fitted to a bracket, and an ammunition is disposed on a lower surface in a front, rear, left or right arrangement orthogonal to the shaft. The swing table is maintained parallel to the base by a shaft.

The tightening head has a wrench that engages with a ratchet formed on the inner peripheral surface of the bush in the fitting of the pressure vessel, and a tapered surface that surrounds the wrench and fits into the base is formed on the inner peripheral surface. And a skirt portion. Therefore, since the tightening torque generating device can swing in the direction of 360 degrees such as front, rear, left and right with respect to the base, the tightening output shaft can swing in the direction of 360 degrees accordingly. Even if the base of the collected vial barrel conveyed by the conveyor device is inclined in any direction, it is engaged with the base by inclining so that the axis of the tightening output shaft coincides with the axis of the axis. become able to. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a front view of a tightening torque generator showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the tightening torque generator shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the tightening torque generator shown in FIG. Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram of the operation. Figure 5 shows the fitting tightening equipment. FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the fitting tightening device shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a side view of the fitting tightening device shown in FIG. Figure 8 is a perspective view of a beer barrel and its fittings. Figure 9 is a detailed vertical section of the fitting. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the axis of the beer barrel does not match the axis of the die. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. As shown in Figs. 5 to 7, the fitting tightening device has a rectangular support frame 18 fixed on the ground or floor E, and an electric motor 19 (Fig. 6) mounted on the top of the support frame 18. , 7), and the output of this electric motor 19 is transmitted to the left and right pinions 21, 21 via the speed reduction mechanism 20, and the lifting frame 23, which can be raised and lowered by the racks 22, 22. Are suspended by four guide rods 24, and, for example, four tightening torque generators 25 are fixed to the lifting frame 23 at predetermined intervals. A conveyor device 26 is supported at a predetermined height by support columns 27 below the lifting frame 23, and the conveyor device 26 is used to set the interval and align the beer barrel 2 conveyed in the direction of the arrow. One alignment device 28 and four stop devices 29 are provided on the support frame 18.

The tightening torque generator 25 is mounted on a base 32 which can be moved up and down via an elevating drive source 31 such as an air cylinder fixed to a guide frame 50 supported by the elevating frame 23, and a beer barrel. A fastening head 30 that can be raised and lowered toward the base 3 of the second 2 projects downward from the base 32. The tightening head 30 generates a torque required for tightening the fitting by a rotary drive source 33 such as a servomotor.

As shown in FIG. 6, the aligning device 28 has an arm 35 having rollers 34 on both left and right sides of the conveyor device 26, which is rotatably supported by a shaft 36, and a lower end of the shaft 36. As shown in FIG. 5, an air cylinder 38 is connected to the portion via a lever 37, and the air cylinder 38 is appropriately fixed to a subframe 40 supporting the alignment device 28. Reference numeral 39 in FIG. 7 denotes a connecting rod that rotates the left and right shafts 36, 36 in an interlocked manner. Therefore, the two rollers 34, 34 rotate equidistantly about the center line of the conveyor plate 41, and When the center of the vial barrel 2 and the center of the conveyor plate 4 1 are stopped by the rollers 3 4 and 3 4, the arm 3 5 is driven by the air cylinder 38. Then, the rollers 34, 34 are opened, and the beer barrel 2 is advanced by the conveyor device 26 to just below the tightening torque generating device 25.

The stopping device 29 has the same configuration as the aligning device 28 and is arranged in front and rear just below the tightening torque generating device 25, and the four vials 2 pass through the aligning device 28. Then, starting from the first beer barrel 2, it is surrounded by four rollers 34 in order, and stands still, and holds the bases 3 so as to be located immediately below the fastening head 30. Therefore, the four tightening heads 30 simultaneously descend toward the four aligned beer barrels 2, and the tightening heads 30 are fitted into the bases 3 and rotated, so that the bush 4 rotates. It is to tighten fitting 1.

Accordingly, the tightening torque generator 25 will be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a guide frame 50 is fixed to the side surface of the lifting frame 23, and the rail 51 and the guide frame 50 are fixed to the guide frame 50. The base 32 is supported so as to be able to move up and down with a slider 52 (see FIG. 3) interposed therebetween. An elevating drive source 31 such as an air cylinder is fixed to the top of the guide frame 50. The base 32 is connected to the lower end. A fastening output shaft 54 of the rotary drive source 33 extends through the base 32 and extends downward. A fastening head 30 is detachably attached to a lower end portion of the base 32 with a pin 55.

The rotary drive source 33 has a coaxial motor and a speed reduction mechanism 56 assembled coaxially, and the fastening output shaft 54 passes through a cylinder 57 connected to the lower part of the speed reduction mechanism 56. As shown in the figure, the flange 57 a of the cylindrical body 57 is orthogonal to the first swing table 58 and is appropriately fixed with bolts or the like. The first rocking table 58 is supported by the second rocking table 59, while the second rocking table 59 is supported by the base 32. The cylindrical body 57 is loosely fitted in each of the shaft holes formed in the center of the second swing table 59 and the base 32. That is, the second swing table 59 is a bracket in which shafts 60, 60 integrally formed by protruding from the two front and rear sides facing each other and integrally formed are fixed on the base 32. At 6 1 and 6 1, it is rotatably supported and can swing back and forth. Also, The first swing table 58 secures the shafts 62, 62 (see Fig. 2) integrally formed by protruding from the two left and right sides facing each other to the second swing table 59. The brackets 63, 63 can be rotatably supported and swing right and left.

And, between the second rocking table 59 and the base 32, and between the second rocking table 59 and the first rocking table 58, there are provided a spring such as a coil spring. 64 and 65 are arranged opposite to each other on the side not having the shafts 60 and 62. That is, bolts 66 are respectively planted downward on the lower surfaces of the second rocking table 59 and the first rocking table 58 so that the second rocking table 59 and the base 3 2 are respectively provided. And loosely penetrate them (see Fig. 4), and the bolts 66 are fitted with the ammunition machines 64, 65. As a result, the first and second rocking tables 58, 59 are held horizontally, and the tightening output shaft 54 is moved relative to the base 32 and the first and second rocking tables 58, 59. They can be made orthogonal. On the other hand, the tightening output shaft 54 is held by the cylindrical body 57 and extends downward through the first rocking table 58, and extends through the second rocking table 59 and the base 32. And stretched downward.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tightening head 30 detachably attached to the lower end of the tightening output shaft 54 includes a shaft rod inserted into a shaft hole formed in the center of the tightening output shaft 54. 70 is integrally connected by pins 55, and a wrench 72 is screwed and held at the center of a holder 71 integrally formed with a shaft 70 with a reverse screw or the like. Further, the holding body 71 has a skirt portion 73 fitted to the base 3 of the beer barrel 2. A tapered surface 74 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the skirt portion 73. The wrench part 72 has projections 75, 75 formed on the lower end face thereof in diametrically opposite manner. The ratchets 4b, 4b formed so as to face each other in the diametrical direction can be abutted. In addition, when the projections 75 are formed in a cross shape of 4 °, the rotation angle until the projection 75 hits the ratchet 4b can be reduced.

Next, to explain the action of the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the axial line C of Biyataru 2, and the axial line of the cap 3, and the axial line C ₂ of the tightening output shaft 5 4 match Rutoki By simply moving the base 32 up and down, the fastening head 30 and the base 3 can be fitted and removed, and if the rotary drive source 33 is driven, the fitting can be smoothly tightened. You.

However, in the case of the vial barrel 2 as shown in FIG. 10, the lifting drive source 31 acts to lower the base 32, and the fastening head 30 tries to fit into the base 3, but the base 3 Since the 3 is inclined, the fastening head 30 does not immediately fit into the base 3 and the downward force is applied while the tapered surface 7 4 of the scar 7 3 is in sliding contact with the outer edge of the upper end of the base 3. Join. Therefore, as long as the upper end of the base 3 is located within a range where the tapered surface 74 can cover, in other words, even if the base 3 is inclined, the skirt portion 73 can be fitted to the base 3 without fail. That is, even if the base 3 is damaged and inclined in any direction, the fastening head 30 can be applied.

Therefore, the skirt portion 73 is rotated by the drive of the rotary drive source 33 and the skirt portion 73 rotates while the tapered surface 74 tries to fit the base 3 while rotating. The first rocking table 58 is on the second rocking table 59 via the shaft 54 and the cylindrical body 57, and the second rocking table 59 is on the base 32, The respective tilts are absorbed by swinging, and as shown in FIG. 4, the tightening output shaft 54 matches the shaft core of the base 3 with the shaft core C _{2 of the} tightening output shaft 54. When the shaft cores C and C2 of the _{two are} aligned with each other, the tightening head 30 has the skirt 7 3 fitted with the base 3 and the wrench 7 2 fitted into the base 3, and the projection 7 5 , 75 can meet the ratchets 4 b, 4 b of the push 4. In this state, the drive of the elevation drive source 31 stops, and the lowering of the base 32 stops.

Then, by detecting that the fastening head 30 has been attached to the base 3, the rotary drive source 33 is activated, and until the projections 75, 75 first contact the ratchets 4b, 4b. After the clamping output shaft 54 idles at a low speed, the rotation drive source 33 detects the contact between the protrusions 75, 75 and the ratchets 4b, 4b, and the necessary torque is output by the rotary drive source 33. When the tightening head 30 is rotated by applying a load to the shaft 54, the bush 4 is rotated in the base 3 via the screws 3a and 4a, whereby the fitting is tightened. After the bush 4 obtains the torque required for tightening, it stops rotating in the base 3, and upon detecting this, the rotary drive source 33 stops, and the base 3 2 is raised by the lifting drive source 31. The fastening head 30 comes off the base 3. After the tightening head 30 is raised, the stopping device 29 is separated from the barrel 2 and the barrel 2 is moved in the direction of the arrow by the transport device 26. Transported to

According to the present invention, even if the base is slightly inclined due to an impact or the like in the distribution process of the beer barrel and the axis of the tightening head of the fitting tightening device and the base do not match, the tightening is performed. The torque generator is tilted in the direction of 360 degrees, such as front, rear, left and right, with respect to the base via the first and second swing tables, so that the axes of both can be aligned. The likelihood of failure is reduced.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. Fitting tightening device for tightening the fittings attached to the pressure vessel base such as a beer barrel, which can move up and down toward the pressure vessel base above the conveyor apparatus and the conveyor apparatus for transferring the pressure vessel. A tightening torque generating device having a rotatable tightening head, an aligning device for aligning a pressure vessel transferred on a conveyor device under the tightening head, and a tightening head moving up and down And a stop device for stopping the pressure vessel when the pressure vessel is closed.

2. The tightening torque generating device mounts and fixes a rocking table on a base supported up and down toward the pressure vessel so as to be rockable in all directions including front and rear and right and left. 2. The pressure vessel fitting according to claim 1, further comprising a rotary drive source, wherein a tightening output shaft of the rotary drive source extends below the base and a tightening head is detachably connected. Tightening device.

3. The rocking table supports a first rocking table that supports the rotary drive source at right angles to the second rocking table so as to be able to rock in the left-right direction. 3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the base is swingably supported in a front-rear direction, and a fastening output shaft of the rotary drive source is swingably penetrated through the second swing base and the base. A pressure vessel fitting tightening device as described.

4. In the rocking table, shafts projecting from left, right, front and rear sides are fitted to a bracket, and an ammunition is arranged on a lower surface in a front, rear, left, or right direction orthogonal to the shaft. 4. The pressure vessel fitting according to claim 2, wherein the swing table is maintained parallel to the base by the shaft.

5. The fastening head has a wrench that engages with a ratchet formed on the inner peripheral surface of the bush in the fitting of the pressure vessel, and a tapered surface that surrounds the wrench and fits into the base. The pressure vessel fitting tightening device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the device comprises a formed cut portion.