JP2651802B2 - Article supply device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article supply apparatus for supplying articles such as caps.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an article feeder, an article feeder introduction line is connected to an article feeder introduction section of an article feeder to introduce the article transporter into the article feeder, and an article feeder discharge section of the article feeder. An article transfer tool discharge line is connected to the article feeder, and the article transfer tool on which the article is transferred in the article feeder is discharged from the article feeder, the article transfer tool is moved to the article processing apparatus, and the article is processed by the article processing apparatus. In some cases, an empty article transporter is used and used again, and the article transporter is introduced again into the article feeder from the article transporter introduction line.

[0003] At this time, as the article supply machine, a number of article carriers continuously introduced from the article carrier introduction line can be sequentially moved from the article carrier introduction section to the article carrier ejection section. It is provided with an article carrying tool moving line, and is provided so as to be able to circulate and move in a circular shape while corresponding to each of a large number of cutout pockets to each article carrying tool on the article carrying tool moving line. One for each
It is possible to adopt an apparatus that receives an individual article, cuts out the received article in the article cutting area toward the corresponding article carrier, and transfers the article to the article carrier.

However, in the above-described article supply apparatus, when the article transporter, on which articles have been transferred by the article feeder, returns to the article transporter introduction line via the article processing apparatus, the article transporter returns to the article transporter. May be brought back. This is due to an unexpected situation that the article on the article transport tool is not used in the article processing apparatus. For example, in a liquid filling processing apparatus for a bottle, when a bottle on which the cap on the article carrier is to be used is absent. In such a case, when the rear article is supplied again by the article feeder to the article carrier holding the first article,
This may cause an article transport trouble and an article processing trouble in the article supply apparatus to the article processing apparatus.

For this reason, in the prior art, it is necessary to diverge an article transport tool bypass line from an article transport tool introduction line and join the article transport tool bypass line to an article transport tool discharge line without passing the article transport tool bypass line. It is.
That is, the article transport tool that has returned the article from the article processing apparatus is branched to the article transport tool bypass line, and then, at a specific timing, the article transport tool is merged with the article transport tool discharge line. .

[0006]

However, the prior art has the following problems. An article carrier bypass line is required, and a space for it is also required.

The control of the line becomes complicated, such as branching of the article carrier from the article carrier introduction line to the article carrier bypass line and merging of the article carrier from the article carrier bypass line to the article carrier discharge line.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to simplify the configuration and control of an article supply apparatus when avoiding double supply of articles to an article transport tool that has brought articles back.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an article transporter introduction line is connected to an article transporter introduction section of an article supplier, and the article transporter is introduced into the article supplier. An article transporter discharge line is connected to the article transporter discharge section of the article feeder so that the article transporter on which articles are transferred in the article feeder can be discharged from the article supplier. An article carrier moving line that enables a large number of article carriers continuously introduced from the introduction line to be sequentially moved from the article carrier introduction section to the article carrier ejection section is provided, and a number of cut-out pockets are provided. Each of the cut-out pockets receives one article in each of the cut-out pockets, while corresponding to each of the article transport tools on the article transport tool moving line, and receiving the one article. In the exit area In an article supply device that can be cut out toward an article carrying tool and the article can be transferred to the article carrying tool, in an article carrying tool moving process from an article carrying tool introduction line to an article cutting area of an article feeder, An article presence / absence detection sensor for detecting whether or not an article is present in the article carrier is provided. When the article presence / absence detection sensor detects the presence of an article, a cutout pocket corresponding to the article carrier having the article is located in an article cutout area. Before the vehicle arrives, an article dispensing means for dispensing the receiving article in the pocket to the outside of the pocket is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the article dispensing means is an air nozzle for blowing off the articles.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the air nozzles for blowing out the articles are arranged in multiple stages along a circulation movement path of the cutting pocket. is there.

[0012]

The article transport tool that has brought back the article is discharged from the article transport tool discharge line through the article transport tool moving line in the article feeder from the article transport tool introduction line while holding the article. At this time, in the article supply machine, the receiving articles in the cut-out pockets corresponding to the article carrying tools having articles are paid out to the outside of the pockets in advance, and the articles are not supplied twice to the article carrying tools.

Therefore, there is no need to provide an article carrier bypass line which branches off from the article carrier introduction line and joins the article carrier discharge line, and the configuration and control of the apparatus are simple.

By using an air nozzle for blowing off the articles as the article dispensing means for dispensing the receiving articles in the cut-out pocket, the configuration of the apparatus becomes extremely simple.

By arranging the air nozzles for blowing out articles in multiple stages along the circulation movement path of the cutting pocket,
The receiving articles in the cut-out pocket can be blown off in multiple stages, and the payout can be ensured.

[0016]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a liquid filling and packaging equipment, and FIG.
Is a layout diagram illustrating a cap aligning and feeding machine, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a magnetic transport device, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of a magnetic transport device, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a process diagram showing a cap aligning and feeding machine, and FIG.
Is a schematic diagram showing an example of a transport cylinder and an air flow blowing nozzle of the cap alignment supply device, FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the air flow blowing nozzle of the cap alignment supply device, FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a cap transport device, FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing an air nozzle for blowing off the cap of the cap alignment feeder, FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing a cap alignment procedure, FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing a cap alignment procedure, FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing a cap alignment procedure, FIG. 14 is a schematic view showing a cap alignment procedure, FIG. 15 is a schematic view showing a cap alignment procedure, FIG. 16 is a schematic view showing another installation example of a cap blowing air nozzle of a cap alignment feeder, and FIG. It is a principal part top view.

(Liquid-filling and packaging equipment) (FIG. 1) The liquid-filling and packaging equipment 10 fills a bottle 1 with a liquid such as a detergent, then attaches a cap 2 to the bottle 1, and removes the bottle 1 with the cap 2 attached thereto. This is to be packed in a packaging box 3. The liquid filling and packaging equipment 10 includes a bottle aligning and feeding machine 11, a bottle conveying tool conveying conveyor 12, a cap aligning and feeding machine 13, a cap conveying tool conveying conveyor 14, a filling machine 15, a cap mounting machine 16, a box making machine 17, and a box. Filling machine 18
have.

The filling / packaging process by the liquid filling / packaging equipment 10 is performed as follows (1) to (5). (1) In the bottle aligning / feeding machine 11, the bottles 1 are aligned and transferred to the empty bottle conveying device 19 introduced by the bottle conveying device conveying conveyor 12, and the bottle conveying device 19 on which the bottle 1 has been transferred is transferred. The bottle is conveyed by the bottle conveyor conveyor 12.

(2) In the cap aligning / feeding machine 13, the caps 2 are aligned and transferred to the empty cap carrier 21 introduced by the cap carrier transport conveyor 14, and the cap transported with the caps 2 is transferred. The tool 21 is discharged by the cap carrier transport conveyor 14.

(3) The filling machine 15 fills the bottle 1 in the bottle carrier 19 delivered from the bottle carrier conveyor 12 with liquid.

(4) In the cap mounting machine 16, the liquid-filled bottle 1 in the bottle carrier 19 delivered from the filling machine 15 is placed in the cap carrier 21 delivered from the cap carrier conveyor 14. Take out the cap 2 and attach it. Here, the cap carrier 21 that has been taken out and emptied by the cap 2 is again returned to the cap aligning and feeding machine 1 in (2) by the cap carrier conveyor 14.
3 is introduced.

(5) The box making machine 17 makes a box and supplies this box to the box packing machine 18. In the box packing machine 18, the bottle 1 with the cap 2 attached in the above (4) is taken out of the bottle carrier 19, and the bottle 1 is packed in the packaging box 3. Here, the bottle transporter 1 that is empty after the bottle 1 is taken out
9 is again described above by the bottle conveyor conveyor 12
It is introduced into the bottle alignment feeder 11 of (1).

(Cap Alignment Feeding Machine) (FIGS. 2 to 5 and 9) As shown in FIG.
A and one on each side of the cap carrier discharge line 14B.
A set of cap alignment feeders 13 is provided. The cap aligning / feeding machine 13 supplies a cap carrier introduction line 14 to the cap carrier introduction section 13A via an introduction wheel 22.
A is connected, and the cap carrier 21 is introduced into the cap aligning / feeding machine 13. In addition, the cap alignment feeder 13
Discharge wheels 23, 2
4, the cap carrier discharge line 14 </ b> B is connected, and the cap carrier 21 to which the cap 2 has been transferred in the cap aligner 13 is discharged from the cap aligner 13.

As shown in FIG. 9, the cap carrier 21 is
Gripping claws 21B, 21 supported by main body 21A and capable of expanding and contracting
B, and a piston 21D which is urged upward by a spring 21C built in the main body 21A.
1B and 21B are always repelled in the diameter expanding direction. The cap 2 is provided with gripping claws 21B, 21
It is fitted and gripped around B. In addition, the cap carrier 2
1 is provided with a magnetic body 21E at the center of the lower surface of the piston 21D.

At this time, the cap aligning / supplying machine 13 sequentially transfers a large number of cap carriers 21 continuously introduced from the cap carrier introducing line 14A to the cap carrier ejecting section 13B from the cap carrier introducing section 13A. And a cap carrier moving line 25 which can be moved. The cap alignment feeder 13 includes a number of cap carrier mounting tables 26 on the cap carrier moving line 25,
The cap carrier 21 can be held on the cap carrier mounting table 26 (FIG. 5).

In the cap aligning / feeding machine 13, the cap carrier 2 includes a cap carrier introduction line 14A, an introduction wheel 22, a cap carrier movement line 25, discharge wheels 23 and 24, and a cap carrier discharge line 14B.
A magnetic transfer device as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is used as one transfer positioning means.

That is, the cap conveyor transport conveyor 14
In (14A, 14B), the cap carrier 21 is placed on the carrier belt 31 that moves along a certain moving path and is carried. At this time, the conveyor 14 has an article guide magnet (not shown) disposed at a lower position along the article moving path by the conveyor belt 31 via a nonmagnetic belt receiver. The cap carrier 21 placed on the conveyor 14 has the above-described magnetic material 21 at the center of the lower surface thereof.
E is transported together with the transport belt 31 while being attracted by the article guide magnet.

Then, the conveyor 14A and the introduction wheel 2
3A, the cap carrier 21 is provided with a magnetic plate (iron plate) 32A provided on one of its side surfaces, as shown in FIG.
Is attracted to the permanent magnet 34 located on the carrier holding surface 33A, and is taken into the introduction wheel 22 from the conveyor 14A. Cap carrier 2 taken into introduction wheel 22
1 moves while being held by the carrier holding unit 33 by the permanent magnet 34 described above.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3A, at the connection between the introduction wheel 22 and the cap carrier moving line 25 of the cap aligning / feeding machine 13, the cap carrier 21 is provided on the other of the side surfaces. Magnetic plate (iron plate) 32B
Is attracted to the permanent magnet 35 provided in each cap carrier mounting table 26 of the cap aligning and feeding device 13. At the same time as or immediately after the magnetic plate 32B of the cap carrier 21 is attracted to the permanent magnet 35 of the cap carrier mounting table 26, the permanent magnet 34 provided in each carrier holder 33 of the introduction wheel 22 is shown in FIG. B) As shown in FIG.
The cam follower 34B connected to A and the cam 34C provided around the introduction wheel 22 engage with each other to be separated from the carrier holding surface 33A of the carrier holder 33. As a result, the cap carrier 21 is attracted only by the permanent magnet 35 of each cap carrier mounting table 26 of the cap alignment feeder 13, and as a result, is taken into each cap carrier mounting table 26 from the introduction wheel 22. . In the introduction wheel 22, the support member 34A of the permanent magnet 34 is pushed back by the spring 34D to return the carrier holding surface 33A to the initial position. The cap carrier 21 taken into each cap carrier mounting table 26 moves while being held by the cap carrier mounting table 26 by the permanent magnet 35 described above.

Next, at the connection between the cap carrier moving line 25 of the cap aligning and feeding machine 13 and the discharge wheel 23, as shown in FIG. It is attracted by the attraction force of the fixed magnet 36 (greater than the attraction force of the permanent magnet 35 on the side of the cap aligning and supplying device 13), and is taken out from the cap carrier mounting table 26 of the cap aligning and supplying device 13. The cap carrier 21 taken out of the cap aligning / feeding machine 13 is placed on a magnet rail 37 installed along the cap carrier carrier line of the discharge wheels 23 and 24, and the magnetic material 21E is transferred to the magnet rail 37.
Is sucked and guided, and the discharge wheel 2
It is taken into the tooth profiles 23A and 24A on the outer circumferences of the gears 3 and 24 and moves with its transport pitch being fixed.

Next, the discharge wheel 24 and the conveyor 14B
And the cap carrier 21 is connected to the magnetic body 21
E is attracted by the above-described article guide magnet on the side of the conveyor 14B, and is taken into the conveyor 14B from the discharge wheel 24 and discharged.

Hereinafter, in the cap aligning and feeding machine 13,
(A) Cap extraction device, (B) Cap alignment device, and (C) Cap reject device will be described. (A) Cap Cutting Apparatus (FIGS. 5, 7 to 10) As shown in FIG.
A horizontal swivel table 43 is provided so as to be able to swivel around a vertical support shaft 42 of FIG. On the other hand, an inclined support shaft 44 is provided above the vertical support shaft 42 of the gantry 41, and the inclined swivel plate 45 can rotate around the inclined support shaft 44. The inclined turning plate 45 is provided with a horizontal gear 46A provided on the upper part of the horizontal turning table 43.
And a tilt gear 4 provided below the tilt turning plate 45.
6B, it turns in synchronization with the horizontal turntable 43.

The cap aligning / feeding machine 13 is provided with the inclined turning plate 4.
5. A cap cutting drum 47 fixedly arranged around the outer periphery of the cap 5.
Is fixed to a gantry 41, and a lower plate 48 is fixedly arranged on an inner peripheral portion of a lower portion of the drum 47. The cap aligning / feeding machine 13 is provided with a large number of recessed cutout pockets 49 at equal intervals on the outer edge portion of the inclined turning plate 45, and each cutout pocket 49 is provided on the above-described cap carrier moving line 25. By rotating the inclined swivel plate 45, it can be circulated in a circular manner while corresponding to the cap carrier 21 on the cap carrier mounting table 26. The concave bottom of each cut pocket 49 is closed by the lower plate 48 described above.

At this time, the cap 2 to be inserted by the cap loading machine 50 (FIG. 1) is accommodated on the inclined turning plate 45 surrounded by the cap cutting drum 47, Has many caps 2 stacked at random. When the cutout pocket 49 of the inclined swivel plate 45 passes through the lowermost portion of the swivel plate 45, one cap 2 is received in the cutout pocket 49.

On the other hand, an article cutout area is set on the inclined upper portion of the inclined turning plate 45, and the lower plate 48 closing the concave bottom of the cutout pocket 49 is opened in this article cutout area, It is a plate opening portion 48A. Thus, when the cutout pocket 49 of the inclined swivel plate 45 reaches the above-described article cutout area, the cap 2 received in the cutout pocket 49 is transferred from the lower plate opening 48A to the corresponding cap carrier 2.
1 side (the transport cylinder 51 of the cap alignment device)
Consequently, the cap 2 is moved to the corresponding cap carrier 21.
To be transferred to

(B) Cap alignment device (FIGS. 5, 7 to 1)
0) As shown in FIG. 5, the cap aligning and feeding device 13 includes a transport cylinder 51 corresponding to each of the cutout pockets 49 below the cutout pockets 49 of the inclined turning plate 45. Each transfer cylinder 51
Is the lower plate 48 fixedly arranged on the cap cutting drum 47.
Is sandwiched between the corresponding cutting pockets 49 and circularly circulates with the cutting pocket 49 when the inclined swivel plate 45 turns. Therefore, the cutout pocket 49 of the inclined turning plate 45 reaches the above-mentioned article cutout area, and the cutout pocket 4
The cap 2 received in the lower plate 9 is an open portion 48A of the lower plate 48.
Is cut out from this, the cut cap 2 is housed in the transport cylinder 51. At this time, a bottom plate 52 that closes the bottom of each transport tube 51 is fixedly disposed on the gantry 41 of the cap alignment feeder 13. An article input area is set in the lower portion of the inclined turning plate 45, and the bottom plate 52 closing the bottom of the transport cylinder 51 is opened in this article input area to form a bottom plate open section 52A. As a result, when the transport cylinder 51 of the inclined turning plate 45 reaches the above-described article input area, the cap 2 housed in the transport cylinder 51
From the bottom plate opening 52A into the alignment cylinder 53 described later.

The transport cylinder 51 is provided with a large number of ventilation holes 51A in the cylinder wall. The ventilation hole 51A is
1 to improve the air bleeding, and thereby to sufficiently generate the flow rate of the updraft airflow described later in the alignment cylinder 53.

The cap aligning and feeding machine 13 is provided with
At a plurality of positions in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral portion of the transfer cylinder 3, at the positions corresponding to the above-described cutout pockets 49 and the transfer tube 51, an alignment tube 53 disposed below the outlet of the transfer tube 51, and an outlet of the alignment tube 53 A cap holder 54 disposed below the cap holder 54 and the above-described cap carrier mounting table 26 disposed below the cap holder 54 are provided.

The alignment cylinder 53 has a vertical passage through which the cap 2 can freely rotate, and receives the cap 2 introduced from the transport cylinder 51 in the above-described article introduction area. The aligning cylinder 53 includes a cam follower 55B that engages with a cam 55A supported by the gantry 41. The cam follower 55B can be moved up and down within a certain range by following the cam 55A. That is, in the process of aligning the caps 2 by the alignment cylinder 53, the alignment cylinder 53 is set to the lowered position, and the gap between the outlet of the alignment cylinder 53 and the cap holding portion 54 is kept at a constant value. Then, in the process of inverting the cap holding unit 54, the alignment cylinder 53 is set to the raised position, and even if the cap holding unit 54 is inverted in an unexpected state in which two or more caps 2 are supplied to the cap holding unit 54, Two or more caps 2 on the cap holder 54
Do not interfere with the alignment cylinder 53.
A large gap can be formed between the lower end of the cap and the cap holding portion 54.

The cap holder 54 has an alignment air outlet 54A and a suction nozzle 54B. The alignment air outlet 54A forms an ascending airflow in the vertical passage of the aligning cylinder 53, receives the cap 2 introduced from the transport cylinder 51 into the ascending airflow, and aligns the cap 2 in a certain direction. Stop or slow down the air flow,
Is sucked and held in the cap holding section 54 by the suction nozzle 54B in the above-described alignment posture. The cap holder 54 is provided with an attachment 56 corresponding to the form of the cap 2.
Can be attached and detached (FIG. 11).

The cap holder 54 can be turned over while holding the cap 2 by suction. That is, the cap aligner / supplier 13 includes a cam follower 58 fixed to the drive lever of the reversing gear train 62 connected to the rotation shaft 61 of the cap holder 54.
Is engaged with a cam 57 fixed to the vertical support shaft 42 of the gantry 41. Thus, the cap holding portion 54 can be erected (disposed facing the alignment tube 53) or inverted (disposed on the cap carrier 21 on the cap carrier mounting table 26). That is, after inverting the cap holder 54 holding the cap 2 by suction to the inverted state, the suction by the suction nozzle 54B is released, and the cap carrier is held in the fixed position in the inverted state of the alignment posture. It can be delivered to the cap carrier 21 on the mounting table 26.

The cap carrier mounting table 26 is provided at the upper end of a telescopic rod 63 composed of a center rod 63A and an outer cylinder 63B. Then, the telescopic rod 63 is connected to a spring 64.
The cam follower 65A provided at the lower end of the telescopic rod 63 is engaged with the cam 65B on the gantry 41 side while being extended and held by the elastic force of the cap holder 54 in the inverted state.
At the time of delivery of the cap 2 from the
The cap carrier mounting table 26 holding the cap carrier 21 is raised to the delivery position.
When the cap carrier mounting table 26 is raised to the delivery position, the gripping claws 21B, 21B of the cap carrier 21 are pushed into the inner diameter of the opening surface of the cap 2 to reduce the diameter.
The cap 2 is resilient in the radially expanding direction by the spring 21C.
And the cap 2 is transferred from the cap holding portion 54 to the cap carrier 21. Incidentally, when the cap carrier mounting table 26 is raised to the delivery position,
The cap carrier mounting table 26 compresses the spring 64 so that the cap carrier 21 can be fitted to the cap 2 in the cap holder 54 in a buffered manner, but surely.
3 is contractible.

However, in the cap aligning device, as shown in FIG. 8, the air flow blowing nozzles 67A and 67B move around the cap moving path between the transfer tube 51 and the aligning tube 53.
The air flow blown out by the air flow blowing nozzles 67A and 67B is blown onto the cap moving path, and the alignment air outlet 54A of the cap holder 54 is aligned with the cap posture by the rising air flow generated in the alignment cylinder 53. The function can be complemented. The direction of each of the airflow blowing nozzles 67A and 67B may be set so as to form a swirling airflow in the circumferential direction in the alignment cylinder 53 (FIG. 8).
(B)).

Further, in the cap aligning device, as shown in FIG. 7, an air flow blowing nozzle 68 is arranged around the cap moving path between the aligning cylinder 53 and the cap holding portion 54. Blows the air flow blown out onto the cap moving path, so that the above-described alignment air outlet 54A of the article holding portion 54 can complement the cap attitude alignment action by the ascending air flow generated in the alignment cylinder 53. The nozzle direction of the airflow blowing nozzle 68 may be set so as to form a horizontal airflow that crosses the center of the cap movement path at right angles (FIG. 7B).

The procedure for aligning and supplying the caps 2 by the cap aligning and feeding machine 13 is as follows (1) to (13) (FIGS. 6, 11 to 15). (1) Cap loading (FIG. 11A) In the article loading area at the lower part of the inclined turning plate 45, the transport cylinder 5
The first bottom plate 52 is opened (bottom plate opening 52 </ b> A), and the cap 2 in the transfer tube 51 is put into the alignment tube 53. Alignment air is blown from the alignment air outlet 54A of the cap holding portion 54, and an ascending airflow is formed in the alignment cylinder 53 and the transport cylinder 51. At this time, the alignment cylinder 53 is located at the lower end, and an appropriate gap for generating the entrapped air is formed between the alignment cylinder 53 and the article holding portion 54.

(2) Cap Alignment (FIG. 11B) In the process of falling in the rising airflow in the alignment cylinder 53, the cap 2 is aligned in a substantially constant direction and enters the cap holding portion 54. That is, the cap 2 is arranged in a direction in which the center of gravity is located vertically below the ascending airflow, that is, the opening surface faces upward.

At this time, air flow blowing nozzles 67A and 67B provided between the transport tube 51 and the alignment tube 53, and air flow blowing nozzles 68 provided between the alignment tube 53 and the cap holder 54 blow out. The airflow complements the cap attitude alignment action by the rising airflow in the alignment cylinder 53.

The cap carrier 21 is introduced from the cap carrier introduction line 14A through the introduction wheel 22 to the cap carrier mounting table 26 below the cap holder 54, and stands by.

(3) Alignment cylinder rise (FIG. 11C) When the cap 2 enters the cap holding portion 54, the alignment cylinder 5
3 moves to the rising end. At this time, the transport cylinder 51 is
Closed by 2.

(4) Cap Suction (FIG. 12 (A)) The blowing of the alignment air from the alignment air outlet 54A of the cap holder 54 is stopped, and the suction nozzle 54 is stopped.
The vacuum suction of B is started. The caps 2 are held in vacuum by the cap holder 54 in an aligned state.

(5) Inversion of Cap Holding Unit (FIG. 12B) The cap holding unit 54 starts to invert to the inverted position while holding the cap 2.

At this time, the lower plate 48 of the cutout pocket 49 is opened in the article cutout area above the inclined swivel plate 45 (lower plate opening 48A), and the new cap 2 in the cutout pocket 49 is conveyed. It is cut out into a tube 51. The transport cylinder 51 is a bottom plate 52
The new cap 2 is closed by
Stay within.

(6) Inversion of the cap holding portion is completed (FIG. 12)
(C) The cap holding unit 54 is turned upside down when the cap 2 is held and the inversion is completed. The opening surface of the cap 21 faces downward.

(7) Cap carrier raising (FIG. 13 (A)) The cap carrier mounting table 26 is raised, and the cap carrier 2 is raised.
The first gripping claws 21 </ b> B approach the opening surface of the cap 2. At this time, the cut pocket 49 is closed by the lower plate 48.

(8) Cap Transfer (FIG. 13B) The cap carrier mounting table 26 reaches the rising end, and the gripping claws 21 B and 21 B of the cap carrier 21 fit into the inner diameter of the opening surface of the cap 2. . At the same time, the cap holder 54
The vacuum suction by the suction nozzle 54B is stopped, and if necessary, compressed air is supplied to the alignment air outlet 54A to forcibly separate the cap 2 from the cap holding portion 54. Transfer to 21.

(9) Cap carrier lowering (FIG. 13C) The cap carrier mounting table 26 is lowered.

(10) Lowering of the alignment cylinder (FIG. 14A) The alignment cylinder 53 is lowered.

(11) Inversion of Cap Holding Unit (FIG. 14B) The cap holding unit 54 is turned to the upright position and starts to be inverted.

(12) Completion of reversal of cap holding part (FIG. 14)
(C) The cap holding unit 54 erects when the reversal is completed.

(13) Standby The cap carrier 21 on the cap carrier mounting table 26 is discharged to the cap carrier discharge line 14B through the discharge wheels 23 and 24. After that, return to the above (1),
The new caps 2 retained in the transport cylinder 51 are aligned and supplied.

(C) Cap reject device (FIG. 2, FIG. 1)
0) The cap alignment feeder 13 has a cap presence / absence detection sensor 71 installed on the cap carrier introduction line 14A of the cap carrier conveyor 14. The cap presence / absence detection sensor 71 detects whether or not the cap carrier 21 has the cap 2 (the unexpected cap 2 brought back).

The cap aligning / feeding machine 13 has cap blowing air nozzles 72A to 72C as cap dispensing means at a position on the inclined upper side of the above-mentioned inclined turning plate 45, which is located in front of the article cutting area. ing. The air nozzles 72A to 72C are connected to three adjacent cutting pockets 4 in the lower plate 48 along the circulation movement path of the cutting pocket 49.
9 are arranged in three stages by being embedded in each of the three positions, so that the cap blowing air can be blown upward from the bottom side of the cut pocket 49.

That is, when the cap presence / absence detection sensor 71 detects the presence of a cap, the cutout pocket 49 corresponding to the cap carrier 21 with the cap reaches the article cutout area (the area of the lower plate opening 48A). Prior to this, each of the cap blowing air nozzles 72A to 72C blows out air in a timely manner so that the receiving cap 2 in the cutout pocket 49 can be discharged to the outside of the pocket 49.
Thereby, the cap 2 is attached to the cap carrier 21.
Double feeding is avoided.

Hereinafter, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The transfer tube 51 was provided between the cap cutting device and the alignment tube 53. Therefore, the cutting pocket 49 of the cap cutting device is used.
And the alignment cylinder 53 are separated from each other, and further, the lower plate 48 of the cut-out pocket 49 of the cap cut-out device is inclined (the cap 2 in the cut-out device is gathered at the lower end of the slant, In order to ensure that the cap 2 is filled in the cutout pocket 49 passing through the lower end of the inclined portion 49),
The cap 2 cut out from the cut-out pocket 49 is transferred to the transfer cylinder 5
1 and can be guided to the alignment cylinder 53.

After the cap 2 has been put into the transfer cylinders 51 to the alignment cylinder 53 from the opening 48A of the lower plate 48 of the alignment pocket, the alignment cylinder 53 is closed with the lower plate 48 of the cut-out pocket 49 closed. When the cap attitude is controlled by the rising airflow in the inside, the large number of ventilation holes 51A of the transport cylinder 51 improves the air flow in the transport cylinder 51. For this reason, the alignment cylinder 5
The ascending airflow in 3 is made to have a sufficient and sufficient flow rate without being obstructed from the upper side, and the workability of the alignment by the aligning cylinder 53 is not reduced.

The air flow blowing nozzles 67A, 67B, 68
By controlling the posture of the cap 2 moving on the article moving path above and below the alignment cylinder 53 by the airflow blown out by the air, the cap posture alignment effect by the rising airflow in the alignment cylinder 53 can be complemented. At this time, the airflow blown out from the nozzles 67A, 67B, 68 is adjusted by adjusting the directions of the nozzles 67A, 67B, 68.
It extends to the inside of the alignment cylinder 53 and the inside of the article holding part 54, and the cap posture inside the alignment cylinder 53 and the inside of the article holding part 54 can be well controlled. Accordingly, by adjusting the flow rate and the direction of the blowout from the nozzles 67A, 67B, 68 according to the shape and weight of the cap 2, the caps 2 having various shapes and weights can be stably arranged.

Since the air flow blowing nozzles 67A, 67B, and 68 are arranged around the article moving paths above and below the alignment cylinder 53, misalignment in which the cap 2 is ejected or pinched from the gaps above and below the alignment cylinder 53 is eliminated. Occurrence can be prevented.

The cap carrier 21 returning the cap 2 passes through the cap carrier tool moving line 25 in the cap aligning / feeding machine 13 from the cap carrier tool introduction line 14A while holding the cap 2, and the cap carrier tool discharge line 14B. Is discharged from At this time, in the cap aligning and feeding device 13, the cap carrier 2 having a cap is provided.
The receiving cap 2 in the cut-out pocket 49 corresponding to 1 is paid out to the outside of the pocket 49 in advance, and the cap 2 is not supplied to the cap carrier 21 twice.

Therefore, the cap carrier introduction line 14A
, And there is no need to provide a cap carrier bypass line that joins the cap carrier discharge line 14B, and the configuration and control of the apparatus are simple.

By using the cap blowing air nozzles 72A to 72C as the article discharging means for discharging the receiving cap 2 in the cut-out pocket 49, the configuration of the apparatus becomes extremely simple.

Air nozzle 72A for blowing off cap
By arranging -72C in multiple stages along the circulation movement path of the cut-out pocket 49, the receiving cap 2 in the cut-out pocket 49 can be blown off in multiple stages, and the payout can be ensured.

The above-described cap reject device is
It can be modified as shown in FIGS. That is, in FIGS. 16 and 17, the cap aligning / feeding machine 13 is provided with the cap blowing air nozzles 102 </ b> A to 102 </ b> A as cap dispensing means at a position in front of the article cutting area on the inclined upper side of the inclined swivel plate 45. 102C is provided. The air nozzles 102A to 102C are installed at three obliquely upper positions on the inner side corresponding to three adjacent cut pockets 49 in the lower plate 48 along the circulation movement path of the cut pocket 49, and have three stages. And blows out the cap blowing air from the obliquely upper side of the cut-out pocket 49, and the cap 2 blown off by the blowing air.
Can be discharged from the cap discharge port 103 to the outside of the drum 47. That is, the above-described cap presence / absence detection sensor 7
When 1 detects the presence of a cap, the air nozzles 102A to 102C for blowing off caps blow air in a timely manner before the cutout pocket 49 corresponding to the cap carrier 21 with the cap reaches the article cutout area. The receiving cap 2 in the cut-out pocket 49 can be blown out and can be discharged from the pocket 49 to the outside of the drum 47. Thereby, double supply of the cap 2 to the cap carrier 21 is avoided.

As described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. included. For example, the article to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the cap.

[0074]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the article supply apparatus, the configuration and control of the apparatus can be simplified when avoiding the double supply of the article to the article transport tool that brought the article back. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a liquid filling and packaging facility.

FIG. 2 is a layout diagram showing a cap aligning and feeding machine.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a magnetic transport device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the magnetic transport device.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a cap aligning and feeding machine.

FIG. 6 is a process diagram showing a cap aligning and feeding machine.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a transfer cylinder and an airflow blowing nozzle of the cap alignment supply device.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing another example of the air flow blowing nozzle of the cap alignment supply device.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a cap carrier.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing an air nozzle for blowing off the cap of the cap alignment feeder.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a cap alignment procedure.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a cap alignment procedure.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing a cap alignment procedure.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing a procedure for aligning caps.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a procedure for aligning caps.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing another example of installation of the air nozzle for blowing off the cap of the cap aligning and feeding device.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of a main part of FIG. 16;

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Cap (article) 13 Cap alignment supply machine (article supply machine) 13A Cap carrier introduction unit (article introduction unit) 13B Cap carrier ejection unit (article ejection unit) 14A Cap carrier introduction line (article conveyance) Equipment introduction line) 14B Cap transfer tool discharge line (article transfer tool discharge line) 21 Cap transfer tool (article transfer tool) 25 Cap transfer tool movement line (article transfer tool movement line) 49 Cutout pocket 71 Cap presence / absence detection sensor (article Presence / absence detection sensor) 72A to 72C Air nozzle for blowing off cap (article payout means)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-5-92808 (JP, A) JP-A-4-371415 (JP, A)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An article carrier introduction line is connected to an article carrier introduction section of an article supply machine to introduce the article carrier into the article supply machine, and the article carrier is discharged to an article carrier ejection section of the article supply machine. A line is connected so that the article transporter on which articles are transferred in the article feeder can be discharged from the article feeder. The article feeder has a large number of article transporters continuously introduced from the article transporter introduction line. Are sequentially provided from the article carrier introduction section to the article carrier discharge section, and each of a number of cutout pockets is located on the article carrier movement line. While corresponding to the above, it is provided so as to be capable of circulating in a circular manner, each of the cut pockets receives one article, and cuts out the received article in the article cutout area toward the corresponding article transport tool, The article In the article supply device which can be transferred to the article transporter, in the process of moving the article transporter from the article transporter introduction line to the article cutting area of the article feeder, it is detected whether or not there is an article in the article transporter. When the article presence / absence detection sensor detects the presence of an article, and before the cutout pocket corresponding to the article carrying tool having the article reaches the article cutout area, the receiving article in the pocket is received. An article dispensing means for dispensing the article out of the pocket. 2. The article supply device according to claim 1, wherein said article payout means is an air nozzle for blowing off articles. 3. The article supply apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said article blowing air nozzles are arranged in multiple stages along a circulation movement path of the cutting pocket.