JP6419622B2 - Air conveyor - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conveyor that supports a flange provided at a neck portion of a container with a pair of neck guides and blows and conveys air near the mouth of the container.

  In an air conveyor that transports lightweight bottles, the flange provided on the neck of the bottle is supported from both sides by a pair of parallel neck guides, and air is blown near the mouth of the bottle suspended from the neck guide. Transport along the neck guide. Conventionally, in order to stabilize the posture of a bottle to be conveyed, an air conveyor provided with a pair of body guides for guiding the body of the bottle and a pair of shoulder guides for guiding the shoulder of the bottle has been proposed (patent) Reference 1).

JP 2004-189363 A

  However, the following problem also occurs in the configuration of Patent Document 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, in a conventional air conveyor 50 in which a bottle flange F is supported by a pair of neck guides 52 and a shoulder portion S of the bottle is guided by a pair of shoulder guides 54 and conveyed, When a plurality of bottles B1 to B3 are stopped in a state where they are in close contact with each other, when a single bottle B is conveyed from the upstream side in a forward tilted posture and collides with the bottle group (B1 to B3), the bottle B is a bottle. Ride on the shoulder of the bottle B1 on the most upstream side of the group (B1 to B3). Usually, the climbing of the bottle B is restricted by the shoulder guide 54. However, for example, when the bottle B is soft and has a shoulder shoulder shape, the shoulder S of the bottle B hits the shoulder guide 54 and deforms, and the shoulder guide 54 May be bitten between.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the angle of the forward tilting posture of the bottle B that is transported alone is larger than the case where the plurality of bottles B <b> 1 to B <b> 3 are in close contact and transported in a group. This angle is regulated by the shoulder S of the bottle B coming into contact with the shoulder guide 54, so that the bottle B carried alone is decelerated by friction with the shoulder guide 54. On the other hand, in a situation where a plurality of bottles B1 to B3 are in close contact and conveyed in a group, each bottle is conveyed in a relatively upright state because its front and rear are regulated by adjacent bottles. Therefore, the shoulder portions S of the bottles B1 to B3 hardly contact the shoulder guide 54, and the bottles B1 to B3 are hardly decelerated due to the frictional force with the shoulder guide 54.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, when the bottle B being transported alone is on the downstream side of the bottle group (B1 to B3) being transported in close contact, the bottle B1 to the preceding bottle B A group of B3 may catch up and collide. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the bottle B is pushed by the subsequent bottle group (B1 to B3), rotated around the flange F that engages the neck guide 52 (bounces up), and most downstream of the bottle group. Get on the shoulder of the side bottle B3. At this time, the shoulder portion S of the bottle B is bitten between the shoulder guides 54. In particular, recent thinned plastic bottles have a weak strength and a high center of gravity, and this problem becomes significant. In the problem described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, when the shoulder guide 54 is not provided, the shoulder portion of the bottle B bites into the neck guide 53.

  This invention makes it a subject to support the flange provided in the neck part of the container, and to convey the container which has a shoulder part stably in the air conveyor which conveys in the state which suspended the container.

An air conveyor according to the present invention includes a pair of neck guides that are engaged with a neck portion of a resin container to suspend and support the resin container, and air injection means that blows air onto the resin container, and is propelled by air. In the air conveyor that conveys the resin container along the neck guide by force, the resin container is provided below one of the pair of neck guides and comes into contact with the side surface of the resin container to be conveyed. Made of resin that spreads outward from the neck of the resin container while being provided only under the other neck guide and inclined guide that conveys the container while being inclined to the side with respect to the conveying direction A shoulder guide for guiding the shoulder portion of the container is provided.

The guide is composed of, for example, a plurality of rotating rollers, and the rotating rollers are brought into contact with the container body .

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the container which has a shoulder part can be stably conveyed in the air conveyor which supports the flange provided in the neck part of the container and conveys the container in the suspended state.

It is the front view seen from the container conveyance direction of the air conveyor which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the problem of the conventional air conveyor. It is a figure for demonstrating the problem of the conventional air conveyor. It is a figure for demonstrating the problem of the conventional air conveyor.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Drawing 1 is a front view seen from the container conveyance direction of the air conveyor concerning one embodiment of the present invention.

  The air conveyor 10 of this embodiment is a transport device that supports the flange F of the neck portion of the container V and blows and transports air to the mouth of the container V in a suspended state. The container V is a soft bottle-shaped resin container formed of, for example, a thin resin, and includes a shoulder portion of the shoulder so as to gently expand outwardly downward. The material of the container V is not particularly limited as long as it has elasticity, but PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is desirable. For example, such a resin container is formed by biaxially stretching a container material called a preform. The molding may be performed by stretching an 8 g to 20 g preform to a size of 500 ml, or may stretch a 25 g to 32 g preform to a size of 1000 to 2000 ml. As an example, the thickness of the molded resin container is 0.12 mm to 0.2 mm on the average, and 0.1 mm to 0.16 mm on the thin side. Such a thin and elastic resin container can be stably conveyed in the present invention.

  The air conveyor 10 includes a pair of neck guides 12A and 12B that slidably support a flange F provided around the neck portion of the container V from below. The neck guides 12A and 12B extend along the transport path of the container V in parallel. The neck guides 12A and 12B are fixed to the housing of the air chamber 16 by brackets 14 and 14, respectively. Air is fed into the air chamber 16 by the blower 18, and the air in the air chamber 16 is ejected toward the downstream side in the transport direction from the ejection ports 19 provided at predetermined intervals along the transport path. In this embodiment, the jet nozzle 19 is provided in the left-right side and the upper direction with respect to the opening 20 of the container V, for example.

  Below the neck guides 12A and 12B, a pair of shoulder guides 22A and 22B extending along the conveyance path are provided. The shoulder guides 22A and 22B are supported by support members 24A and 24B, respectively. In addition, an inclination guide 26 extending along the transport direction is disposed below the neck guide 12B and the shoulder guide 22B located on the right side in FIG. The tilting guide 26 is supported by, for example, the support member 24B, contacts the side surface near the bottom surface of the container V, and slightly tilts the container V laterally with respect to the transport direction with respect to the vertical axis Lv. In the present application, the bottom surface means a region that comes into contact with the surface when the container is placed on a horizontal surface (in the case where the bottom surface has an uneven shape, a region on the inner side from the outer portion that contacts the surface) A side surface means the area | region from upper part to the shoulder lower part from the part which contacts a surface, when a container is mounted in a horizontal surface.

  On the other hand, below the neck guide 12A and the shoulder guide 22A located on the left side in FIG. 1, a trunk guide 28 extending along the transport direction is disposed, and the trunk guide 28 is supported by, for example, a support member 24A. The shoulder guides 22A and 22B and the trunk guide 28 do not come into contact with the container V in a normal transport state, and the shoulder guides 22A and 22B have the container V as a fulcrum with an engaging portion between the flange F and the neck guides 12A and 12B. The body guide 28 restricts the container V from inclining more than a predetermined angle to the opposite side of the guide 26 for inclination.

  In the present embodiment, the tilting guide 26 includes a number of rotating rollers 30. The rotation shafts of the respective rotating rollers 30 are arranged substantially perpendicularly to the transport direction and inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the vertical direction, and are arranged in a belt shape along the transport path without a substantial gap. In the example of FIG. 1, the rotating rollers 30 are provided in three rows in the vertical direction, and by adjusting the position of the inclination guide 26 (for example, the position in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction), the containers V of various sizes can be adjusted. Thus, the rotation roller 30 in any row can be brought into contact with the lower side surface of the container V. In FIG. 1, the rotation roller 30 in the middle row is in contact with the lower side surface of the container V, and the bottom of the container V is slightly pushed toward the trunk guide 28.

  Next, the operation of the air conveyor 10 according to the present embodiment and the behavior during conveyance of the container V will be described.

  The air ejected from the air chamber 16 through the ejection port 19 is blown to the mouth portion 20 above the flange F of the container V supported by the neck guides 12A and 12B. A propulsive force is given to the mouth portion 20 by the wind pressure of the jetted air, and the mouth portion 20 is moved downstream in the transport direction along the neck guides 12A and 12B. As a result, the container V is transported downstream in the transport direction. At this time, the main body of the container V moves slightly later than the mouth portion 20, so that the container V in the transporting state is inclined forward.

  However, even in a situation where a single container V collides with a group of a plurality of containers V as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, in this embodiment, the inclination guide 26 always abuts against the lower side surface of the container V. In addition, since the central axis of the main body of the container V is slightly deviated from the vertical axis, even if the containers collide with each other, the container V is prevented from vigorously rotating back and forth in the transport direction. That is, the jumping angle is suppressed to a small value, and the momentum at which the container V tries to climb onto the shoulder of the adjacent container V is also suppressed. Thereby, the shoulder portion of the container V that has jumped up hits the shoulder guide and is deformed, and the shoulder portion is prevented from being bitten by the shoulder guide.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the air conveyor that supports the flange provided at the neck portion of the container and conveys the container in a suspended state, the container is a soft container having a shoulder portion of the shoulder. However, the shoulder portion can be stably conveyed without being bitten by the shoulder guide.

  In the present invention, the shoulder guide (22B) and the trunk guide arranged on the same side as the inclination guide are not essential, and one shoulder guide (22A) and one inclination guide are provided on the opposite side across the container V, respectively. It only has to be arranged. When there is only one shoulder guide, the shoulder portion is not caught between the shoulder guides, and the container can be prevented from swinging back and forth in the transport direction by the inclined guide, so the shoulder portion bites the neck guide. It is possible to reduce the occurrence of the phenomenon.

  The tilting guide need not be composed of a rotating roller, and may be a plate member or a rod-like member with little friction, and the contact position with the container is not limited to the lower side as long as the lower side surface is preferable.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Air conveyor 12A, 12B Neck guide 14 Bracket 16 Air chamber 18 Blower 19 Spout 20 Port 22A, 22B Shoulder guide 24A, 24B Support member 26 Inclination guide 28 Trunk guide 30 Rotating roller Lv Vertical axis

Claims (2)

A pair of neck guides that engage the neck portion of the resin container to suspend and support the resin container;
Air injection means for blowing air to the resin container,
In an air conveyor that conveys a resin container along the neck guide by a propelling force by air,
Of the pair of neck guides, provided below one of the neck guides, is in contact with the side surface of the resin container to be conveyed, and is used for conveying the resin container while being inclined to the side with respect to the conveying direction. A guide ,
An air characterized in that it is provided only under the other neck guide and has a shoulder guide for guiding the shoulder of the resin container that expands outward from the neck of the resin container downward. Conveyor. The air conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the tilting guide includes a plurality of rotating rollers, and the rotating rollers are brought into contact with the container body.

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