JP7570180B2 - Container member supply device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a container member supplying device equipped with a container member separating unit that supplies container members having flanges on their periphery one by one to a pocket of a container member transport turret.

An example of a container member supplying device that supplies container members having flanges on their peripheral edges one by one to a pocket of a container member transport turret is a lid supplying device provided in a seaming device that seams lids onto cans.
2. Description of the Related Art Seaming devices are known that include a can mounting unit on which a can filled with a beverage or the like is mounted, a chuck unit disposed opposite the can mounting unit, and a seaming roll that seams a lid onto the can.
A known seaming device, as shown in Patent Document 1, for example, includes a seaming turret (1) that performs the seaming process of cans and lids, an input conveyor (supply conveyor 7) that supplies cans before seaming to the seaming turret, a lid transport turret (supply turret 3) of a lid supply unit that supplies lids, a discharge turret (discharge turret 5) that transports the cans from the seaming turret after seaming, and an output conveyor (discharge conveyor 8) that further transports the cans from the discharge turret to the outside.
The seaming turret, the discharge turret and the lid transport turret are each provided with pockets (fitting recesses 2, 4, 6) on the outer periphery for individually storing and transporting cans and lids.
Each pocket of the seaming turret is provided with a can placement unit (lifter 17) on which a can is placed, a chuck unit (seaming chuck device 10) disposed opposite the can placement unit, and seaming rolls (18, 19) that wrap the lid around the can.
In a seaming device configured in this manner, the speed and timing of each turret and conveyor are adjusted using gears, and the operation of the can loading units, chuck units and seaming units arranged in each pocket is linked to the rotation of the seaming turret using gears, cam mechanisms, etc., so that cans and lids transported at high speed can be continuously seamed while being passed on and off.

Conventionally, a three-screw type (three-lid cutting roll type) lid supply device has been used for a seaming device, as shown in Figures 5 and 6. In the three-screw type lid supply device, a plurality of lids F, F, ... are sent downward in a stacked state in a vertically extending passage, and the edge of the lowest lid Fa is engaged with cutting grooves 521, 521, 521 formed on the outer periphery of three lid cutting rolls 520, 520, 520 that are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction and are provided to rotate on a vertical rotating shaft to separate the lids at their lower ends, and the other lids F, F, ... are separated by stoppers 522, 522, 522. The cutting out of the lids is stopped and the lids are separated one by one, and the three lid cutting rolls 520, 520, 520 are rotated simultaneously on a vertical axis via gears 525, 525, 525 and an internal gear 526 that connects these, so that the lowest end Fa sends the lids in a horizontal position along the cutting grooves 521, 521, 521 of each of the lid cutting rolls 520, 520, 520 into a pocket of the lid transport turret 550 (see Patent Document 2).
However, such three-screw lid supply devices have a complex structure, including three lid cutting rolls, which makes them expensive to manufacture. In addition, when disassembling and cleaning the device, the overall weight is heavy, making it difficult to work with.

Another lid supplying device has also been proposed, which is a one-screw type (one-lid cutting type). As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the one-screw type lid supplying device has a configuration in which the lids F, F, ... are sent downward in a stacked state in a diagonally extending passage, and the edge of the lowest lid Fa is engaged with the cutting groove 621 of a lid cutting roll 620 provided to rotate on a vertical rotating shaft in order to separate them at the bottom end, and the other lids F, F, ... are stopped from being cut out by a stopper 622, and the lids are separated one by one, and then displaced from the inclined state by the cutting groove 621 to a horizontal state by the cutting groove 621, and sent to a pocket of a horizontal lid transport turret 650.
However, in such a one-screw type lid supply device, the lid transport turret 650 begins transporting the lids Fa with the curled portions of the lowest lids Fa overlapping, so the curled portions are subjected to a large pressing force due to the weight of the lids F, F, ... that are stacked in large quantities and transported, which can damage the lids Fa or generate wear powder that can get mixed into the product, which is undesirable in terms of product quality and hygiene.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-244537 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-324795

The present invention aims to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to provide a container member supplying device that is easy to use when disassembling and cleaning, and that suppresses the generation of wear powder from the container members.

The container member supplying apparatus of the present invention is a container member supplying apparatus including a container member separating unit that supplies container members having flanges on their peripheries one by one to a pocket of a container member transport turret,
The container member separation unit solves the above problem by having a plurality of cut-out portions, one of which is composed of a cut-out groove that engages with a flange of a container member that is integrally formed on the upper outer periphery of the container member transport turret, and the cut-out groove extends spirally along the trajectory of the flange of the container member.

According to the container member supplying device of the present invention, at least one of the multiple cutting sections is composed of a cutting groove that engages with the container member and is integrally provided on the upper outer periphery of the container member transport turret, so there is no need to arrange a large number of cutting rolls around the container member separation unit, making it possible to simplify the structure compared to conventional devices and providing good workability when disassembling and cleaning. In addition, since the cutting groove is provided on the container member transport turret side, it is possible to suppress damage to the flange of the container member and generation of wear powder from the container member when the container member is cut out, compared to a single-screw type container member supplying device.

According to the configuration of the present invention, in which one of the cut-out portions is a cut-out groove that engages with a lid provided on the cut-out roll, it is possible to simplify the structure because only one cut-out roll needs to be arranged in addition to the container member transport turret.

The configuration according to the present invention, in which the container member sent downward is placed in the pocket of the container member transport turret while maintaining a substantially parallel posture, allows the lowest container member to be reliably separated and transferred to the pocket of the container member transport turret without the flanges formed on the periphery of the container member overlapping, which further prevents the flanges of the container member from being damaged and prevents wear powder from being generated from the container member.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a seaming device provided with a container member supplying device (lid supplying device) according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the configuration of a seaming device provided with a container member supplying device (lid supplying device) according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the lid supply device of FIG. 2 . 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a cutting groove and a lid cutting roll in the lid supplying device of FIG. 3 . FIG. 2 is a plan view of a conventional three-screw type lid supplying device. FIG. 6 is a front partial cross-sectional view of the lid supplying device shown in FIG. 5 . FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conventional single-screw type lid supplying device. FIG. 8 is a front partial cross-sectional view of the lid supplying device shown in FIG. 7 .

The present invention will be described in detail below.
An example of an apparatus having a container member supplying apparatus (lid supplying apparatus) according to one embodiment of the present invention is a seaming apparatus that seams lids onto cans.
As shown in FIG. 1, the seaming device 100 includes a seaming turret 101 that performs the seaming process of the can C and the lid F, an input conveyor 102 that transports and supplies the can C before seaming to the seaming turret 101 in an unrotated state, a lid supply device (container member supply device) 104 consisting of a lid separation unit (container member separation unit) 210 that supplies the lids F and a lid transport turret (container member transport turret) 250, a discharge turret 107 that transports the can CM after seaming from the seaming turret 101, and an output conveyor 108 that further transports the can CM from the discharge turret 107 to the outside.
The seaming turret 101, the discharge turret 107 and the lid transport turret 250 each have pockets P on their outer periphery for individually storing and transporting cans C, cans CM and lids F, and the input conveyor 102 is provided with attachments 103 for individually engaging with and transporting cans C.
The rotational speeds of the seaming turret 101, the discharge turret 107 and the lid transport turret 250, the moving speed of the attachment 103 of the input conveyor 102, and the interlocking timing of each pocket P and attachment 103 are designed to be adjustable so that cans C, cans CM and lids F are transferred smoothly between each turret and conveyor.

As shown in FIG. 2, the seaming turret 101, which performs the seaming process of the can C and the lid F, is equipped with a can placement unit 350 that places and rotates a can C in each pocket P, a chuck unit 320 that is provided opposite the can placement unit 350 and has a chuck 321 that positions the lid F placed on the top of the can C and a knockout pad 322 that is vertically movable and fits into the chuck 321 to press the lid F placed on the top of the can C, and a seaming unit 410 that has seaming rolls 451, 452 that seam the lid F to the can C.

The seaming turret 101 is rotatably disposed around the center shaft 109 with the central axis X extending in the vertical direction, and is rotationally driven by a drive mechanism 151 for the seaming turret 101 .
The lid separation unit 210, the lid transport turret 250, and the carry-in conveyor 102 are mechanically driven by the drive mechanism 151 of the seaming turret 101 via a transmission mechanism.

The chuck units 320 are rotatably arranged at equal angular intervals around the center shaft 109, facing the can placement units, with the central axis X extending in the vertical direction, and an outer gear 323 of a rotating shaft supporting the chuck 321 at its lower end meshes with a sun gear 324 supported on the center shaft 109. The chuck unit 320 revolves with the rotation of the center shaft 109 and the center column, and the chuck 321 rotates on its axis due to the meshing of the sun gear 324 with the outer gear 323.
The chuck 321 is fixedly disposed in the vertical direction but is rotatable. As shown to the right of the central axis X in Figure 2, the can mounting unit 350 is raised to clamp a can C with a lid F placed on it between the knock-out pad 322 and the can mounting unit 350, while engaging the outer peripheral surface of the lower end of the chuck 321, thereby centering the lid F.

The seaming unit 410 performs double seaming by means of seaming rolls 451 and 452 pivotally mounted so as to rotate on both ends of a seaming lever 450 whose center is fixed to the lower end of the revolving roll swing shaft 132 .
In the double seaming process, a primary seaming process is performed in which the curled portion of the lid F is wrapped around the flange portion of the can C by a seaming roll 451, and then a secondary seaming process is performed in which the curled portion is crimped and joined by tightening with a seaming roll 452 to maintain the seal.

As shown in Figure 3, the lid supplying device 104 has a lid separation unit (container member separation unit) 210 that cuts out lids F, F, ... one by one from a stack of lids F, F, ... which are stacked vertically by a passage 215 (see Figure 2) that extends approximately vertically, and a lid transport turret 250 having a pocket P that transports the cut-out lid F onto a can C.
The lid transport turret 250 rotates in a clockwise direction as viewed from above (the direction indicated by the arrow B in FIG. 3).
The lid separation unit 210 has two cutouts as shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a perspective view seen from the direction of arrow A in Fig. 3, and in order to make it easier to understand the configuration of the lid supply device 104, the passage 215 and the like are omitted, and of the lids F, F, ..., only the lowest lid Fa is shown.
One of the cut-out portions is formed integrally with the upper outer periphery of the lid transport turret 250, extends spirally along the trajectory of the edge of the lowest lid Fa, and is configured as a cut-out groove 251 that engages with the edge of the lowest lid Fa. The lower end of the cut-out groove 251 corresponds to the position of the pocket P of the lid transport turret 250. A separator knife 252 is provided at the upper end of the cut-out groove 251 to separate the lowest lid Fa from the lid F stacked directly above it and guide only the lowest lid Fa into the cut-out groove 251. The separator knife 252 may be configured as a protruding portion of the upper end wall of the cut-out groove 251, or may be configured as a peripheral edge of a plate 250b that is provided by screws or the like on the main body 250a of the lid transport turret 250 in which the cut-out groove 251 is formed, as shown in Figures 3 and 4.
The cutout grooves 251 and separator knives 252 are provided in the same number as the number of pockets P of the lid transport turret 250 (12 in FIG. 1).
The other of the cut-out portions is provided on a lid cut-out roll 220 which rotates on a rotation axis extending substantially vertically at the lower ends of the lids F, F, . . . stacked in the passage 215.
The lid cutting roll 220 rotates in a clockwise direction when viewed from above (the direction indicated by the arrow C in FIG. 3). The rotation speed is preferably set so that the peripheral speed of the lid cutting roll 220 is close to or equal to the peripheral speed of the transport turret 250.
The outer periphery of the lid cutting roll 220 is provided with a cutting groove 221 that extends in a spiral shape along the trajectory of the edge of the lowest lid Fa that is fed in an arc and engages with the edge of the lowest lid Fa, and this cutting groove 221 constitutes the other of the cutting part. At the upper end of the cutting groove 221, a separator knife 222 is provided to separate the lowest lid Fa from the lids F stacked directly above it and guide only the lowest lid Fa into the cutting groove 221. The separator knife 222 may be formed by a protruding part of the upper end wall of the cutting groove 221, or, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, may be formed by the periphery of a plate 220b that is provided by screws or the like on the roll body 220a of the lid cutting roll 220 in which the cutting groove 221 is formed. This separator knife 222 is arranged at the same height (on the horizontal plane) as the separator knife 252 of the lid transport turret 250.
The inclination angle and length of the spiral of the cut-out grooves 221, 251 that constitute each cut-out portion are made equal to each other, and the length of the cut-out grooves 221, 251 is based on the interval at which the lids F are transported, i.e., the interval between the pockets P.
The number of cut-out parts is not limited to two, and may be three or more. For example, when there are three cut-out parts, the lids F can be cut out by the cut-out grooves 221 of the two lid cut-out rolls 220 and the cut-out groove 251 of one lid transport turret 250.
In addition, in the lid cutting roll 220 shown in Figures 3 and 4, each lid cutting roll 220 has two cutting grooves 221, but the number of cutting grooves may be one, or three or more.

The basic operation of the thus configured seaming device 100 will be described.
The cans C before the lids F are seamed are engaged with each attachment 103 of the carry-in conveyor 102 and conveyed toward the seaming turret 101 which is rotated by the drive mechanism 151 of the seaming turret 101 .
On the other hand, the lids F are cut out one by one from the lid separation unit 210 and transferred to each pocket P of the lid transport turret 250, and are directed toward the seaming turret 101 by the rotation of the lid transport turret 250 (see FIG. 1).
The speed and timing of the input conveyor 102 and the lid transport turret 250 are adjusted to match the speed and timing of the seaming turret 101 so that the centers of the can C and the lid F coincide at the junction G, and the can loading unit 350, whose rotation is controlled via appropriate gears, cam mechanisms, etc. by a drive mechanism 151 powered by a drive source not shown, is raised at the junction G to place the lid F on the can C placed on the plate 360.
The can loading unit 350 then rises further, and the knockout pad 322 in the chuck 321 presses down on the lid F. The chuck 321, whose rotation is controlled by the drive mechanism 151 via appropriate gears, cam mechanisms, etc., engages with the lid F to center the lid F, and the can C with the lid F placed on it is clamped between the plate 360, the chuck 321, and the knockout pad 322 with a constant axial load required for seaming.
Then, the seaming turret 101 rotates further, and the plate 360 and the chuck 321 accelerate to the rotational speed required for seaming before the clamped lid F and can C reach the seaming section E shown in FIG.
While passing through the seaming section E, the seaming lever 450 fixed to the lower end of the roll swing shaft 132 of the seaming unit 410 is swung, and two seaming rolls 451, 452 for primary seaming and secondary seaming, which are pivotally mounted so as to rotate at both ends, are sequentially pressed from the side against the flanges of the can C and the lid F placed on top of it toward the chuck 321, thereby performing double seaming.
After the seaming is completed, the can CM is transferred from the seaming turret 101 to the discharge turret 107, and then transferred from the discharge turret 107 to a discharge conveyor 108, and is transported to the next process such as inspection and packaging.

In the lid supply device 104, the rotational power of the lid conveying turret 250 and the lid cutting roll 220 may be transmitted from the drive mechanism 151 of the seaming turret 101 via a known power transmission mechanism such as an appropriate gear, belt, chain, cam, etc. as necessary, and the rotation may be controlled, or the rotational power may be transmitted and controlled by a drive source other than the drive source that provides power to the drive mechanism 151.
The basic operation of the lid supply device 104 is as follows.
As shown in Figure 4, when multiple lids F, F, ... are stacked vertically in a substantially horizontal position by the passage 215 that extends substantially vertically, as the lid transport turret 250 rotates in the direction of arrow B and the lid cutting roll 220 rotates in the direction of arrow C, one edge of the lowest lid Fa engages with the separator knife 252 in the cutting groove 251 of the lid transport turret 250, and the other edge opposite to the one edge engages with the separator knife 222 in the cutting groove 221 of the lid cutting roll 220.As a result of the lid transport turret 250 and the lid cutting roll 220 rotating synchronously, the separator knives 222, 252 stop the cutting of lids F, F, ... other than the lowest lid Fa, while the lid Fa is guided into the cutting groove 251 of the lid transport turret 250 and the cutting groove 221 of the lid transport turret 220. The lids Fa guided by the cutting grooves 251 and 221 are lowered and sent out to the pocket P of the lid transport turret 250 while maintaining a substantially horizontal posture along the cutting grooves 251 and 221. In this manner, the stacked lids F are supplied one by one to the pocket P of the lid transport turret 250 in order starting from the bottommost lid Fa.

The above-described lid supply device 104 can simplify the structure compared to the conventional device because it is not necessary to arrange a large number of lid cutting rolls around the lid separation unit 210, and therefore can obtain good workability such as being easily disassembled for cleaning or being able to be cleaned without disassembly. In addition, if only one lid cutting roll 220 is arranged in addition to the lid transport turret 250, the structure can be simplified and manufacturing costs can be reduced. In addition, the lid transport turret 250 has a cutting groove 251, and the lid Fa sent downward is lowered to the pocket P of the lid transport turret 250 while maintaining a posture approximately parallel to the stacked lids F, F, ..., and is placed thereon. Therefore, even if one or a small number of lid cutting rolls 220 are provided, it is possible to suppress the flange of the lid F from being damaged when the lid F is cut out and the generation of wear powder of the lid F compared to a one-screw type lid supply device.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various design modifications can be made without departing from the present invention described in the claims.
For example, the container member is not limited to a lid F that is to be sealed around a can C, but may be any container member having a flange on its periphery. An example of a container member having a flange on its periphery is a cup-shaped container having a curled portion on its periphery. In this case, the cup-shaped container is guided to a pocket of the container member transport turret while the curled portion on its periphery maintains a substantially horizontal position.
Furthermore, the material of the container member is not limited to metal, but may be plastic, paper, wood, or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Seaming device 101 Seaming turret 102 Input conveyor 103 Attachment 104 Lid supply device 107 Discharge turret 108 Output conveyor 109 Center shaft 132 Roll swing shaft 151 Drive mechanism 210 Lid separation unit 215 Passage 220 Lid cut-out roll 220a Roll body 220b Plate 221 Cut-out groove 222 Separator knife 250 Lid transport turret 250a Body 250b Plate 251 Cut-out groove 251 Separator knife 320 Chuck unit 321 Chuck 322 Knockout pad 323 Outer gear 324 Sun gear 350 Can placement unit 360 ... Plate 410 ... Seaming unit 450 ... Seaming lever 451 ... Seaming roll (primary seaming)
452 ... Seaming roll (secondary seaming)
520: Lid cut-out roll 521: Cut-out groove 522: Stopper 525: Gear 526: Internal gear 550: Lid conveying turret 620: Lid cut-out roll 621: Cut-out groove 622: Stopper 650: Lid conveying turret C: Can (before lid tightening)
F, Fa ・・・ Lid CM ・・・ Can (after lid is tightened)
P: Pocket E: Seaming section X: Center axis

Claims (4)

A container member supplying device including a container member separating unit that supplies container members having flanges on their peripheries one by one to a pocket of a container member transport turret,
The container member supply device is characterized in that the container member separation unit has a plurality of cut-out portions, one of which is composed of a cut-out groove that engages with a flange of a container member that is integrally formed on the upper outer periphery of the container member transport turret, and the cut-out groove extends spirally along the trajectory of the flange of the container member. The container member supply device according to claim 1, characterized in that there are two cut-out sections, one of which is composed of a cut-out groove provided on the outer periphery of the cut-out roll that engages with the flange of the container member. The container member supply device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the container members are sent downward in a state where multiple container members are stacked vertically, and the container members sent downward are placed in the pockets of the container member transport turret while maintaining a substantially horizontal posture. A container member supplying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the container member is a lid to be fastened to a can.

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