JPS5834352B2 - Cap tightening device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a cap tightening device that automatically tightens the cap of a container. This invention relates to a cap tightening device with improved cap holding claws for tightening.

Various types of cap tightening devices have been developed to automatically tighten container caps, but the one that is generally used has a large number of cap holding heads that rotate up and down.
One cap is supplied face down on the rotating table.
It is designed to be grasped one by one and screwed onto the opening of the container that reaches directly below the head.

However, as shown in FIG. 1 as an example, the head of the conventional device has a plurality of holding claws 2, 2 divided into a plurality of parts in the head main body 1, and a notch 3 formed on the inner surface of the upper part of the holding claw. , 3 is fitted with a flange 5 protruding from the outer periphery of the lower end of the sleeve 4, and a tapered surface 7 around a large diameter portion formed at the tip of an elevating rod 6 that passes through the sleeve is attached to the inner surface of the holding claws 2, 2. By lowering the lifting rod 6, which can be freely engaged with the protrusion 8.8 and is raised and lowered by a drive device as appropriate, the tip of the holding claws 2, 2 is expanded as shown in the right half of the figure, and the cap 9 is opened. The rubber pieces 2', 2 attached to the tips of the holding claws 2, 2 are released when the sleeve 4 returns due to the rise of the lifting rod 6.
The cap 9 is held by the handle 1, and the cap 9 is screwed onto the mouth of the container by rotating the head 1.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional device, the holding claws 2, 2 swing as the lifting rod 6 moves up and down, and their lower ends perform an expanding movement, and this movement is not a complete horizontal movement, so when forming the cap 9. If the shape of the cap is irregular, the cap 9 will not be kept in a completely horizontal state and will be held diagonally, and if it is tightened to the container mouth in this state, the threads will collapse and the cap will be tightened diagonally. Not only is it easy to use, but it also has the disadvantage that the rubber pieces 2', 2' will wear out if used for a long period of time.

In view of this, the inventors of the present invention have developed an inner surface of the rotating cap holding cylinder using an appropriate device for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned drawbacks.
A plurality of holding rolls each having a cutting surface on the side are rotatably supported and arranged in an annular manner, and an elastic ring is fitted into a groove formed at a position asymmetrical to the cutting surface of these holding rolls. A projecting edge on one side of the flat surface has a tendency to protrude toward the center of the cap holding cylinder, and the upper end edge of the holding roll is brought into contact with the sloped surface of the suppressing part of the pressing body that is raised and lowered by the vertical movement of the lifting rod. When the pressing body is pressed down, the pressing slope presses the protruding edge to rotate each holding roll against the clamping force of the elastic ring body, and when the pressing body is raised, the clamping force of the elastic ring body causes the protrusion of each roll to be rotated. A cap tightening device Patent No. 804,484 (see Japanese Patent Publication No. 17911/1984) was developed which is designed to hold a can yap by its rim.

However, although the above device solves the drawbacks of the conventional device described above, it is not always possible to grip the cap reliably when the knurls formed on the outer circumferential surface of the cap are shallow and fine, or when the outer diameter of the cap is small. A problem arose in that the tightening was not done sufficiently and it was difficult to securely tighten the bolts.

In view of this, the invention was made for the purpose of providing a cap tightening device that can reliably tighten even caps with shallow and fine knurls formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cap, or caps with small diameters. It is.

The present invention will be explained below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

First, the outline of the cap holding head of the cap tightening device will be explained with reference to FIG. A bearing portion 13 provided at the center of the relay tube 12 is fitted into the support tube 11, and a holding nut 14 is screwed onto the outer wall of the relay tube 12.
Friction plates 16 and 17 are interposed between the support cylinder 11 and the flange 15 of the support cylinder 11.

In the illustrated example, the friction plates 16, 17 are connected to the support tube 11.
A protrusion protruding from the inner periphery of the friction plate 16 and a protrusion protruding from the outer periphery of the friction plate 17 are formed in spline grooves formed in the respective axial directions on the outer circumferential surface of the outer circumferential surface and the inner circumferential surface of the outer wall portion of the relay cylinder 12, respectively. When fitted, the friction plate 16 and the support cylinder 11 are rotated together, and the friction plate 17 is rotated together with the relay cylinder 12.

The friction plates 16 and 17 are crimped by the pressing force of a spring 20 interposed between an adjustment nut 18 screwed onto the upper part of the support cylinder 11 and a friction temporary holding plate 19. The support tube 11 and the relay tube 12 are rotated together by the frictional resistance between the friction plates 16 and 17 until a predetermined torque is reached.

A cap holding cylinder 21 is screwed to the lower part of the outer wall of the relay cylinder 12, and a suppressor 22 is provided in the bearing part 13 of the relay cylinder 12.
is inserted.

As shown in the third figure, the cap holding cylinder 21 has an inner hole 23 in the center into which the cap 9 can be loosely fitted, and a portion of the inner hole 23 opens to the inner circumferential surface of the inner hole 23. A required number of notch holes 24, 24, .

Since the notches 24, 24... are arranged in an annular manner in this way, the lower part of the cap holding cylinder 23 has stepped parts 24a, 24.
a is formed in a ring shape.

The stepped portions 24a, 24a... are the cap 9.
It has a tapered surface cut in the direction of the suppressor 22 from the middle of its lower surface in order to easily guide it into the inner hole 23, and each edge on the inner hole 23 side has a slightly larger diameter than the diameter of the cap 9. They are arranged in a circular shape.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cap holding claw 25 has a shaft hole 26 at its base, claw teeth 27 at its tip, and a cut groove 28 formed at the rear surface of the base. has been done.

As shown in FIG.
It has an arcuate surface 29 centered at , and an elastic ring 30 such as an annular spring or rubber ring is fitted across the cut groove 28 of each cap holding claw 25 , 25 .

Therefore, when this elastic ring body 30 fits and presses against the above-mentioned surface 29, each claw tooth 27 of the cap holding claws 25, 25, .

The upper and lower ends of the claw teeth 27 are shaved off diagonally as shown in FIG. The cut-off surface 33 is slidable on the upper edge of the cap 9.

Note that the upper cut-out portion 31 does not necessarily have to be formed.

The suppressor 22 has a shaft portion 34, as shown in FIG.
is airtightly fitted into the bearing portion 13 of the relay cylinder 12 via a packing 35, and the lower end of a connecting rod 36 connected to a pressure air supply source (not shown) is connected to its upper end.

Furthermore, pressurized air supply passages 37 and 38 are formed in the axis of the shaft part 34 of the pressing body 22 and the connecting rod 36, and the pressurized air supply passage 37 of the shaft part 34 is formed on the side surface of the pressing body 22. It is opened and pressurizes the upward facing surface 22a of the suppressor 22.

Further, the pressing body 22 is normally pulled upward by a spring 40.

In this embodiment, the support tube 11 and the relay tube 12 are connected via a plurality of friction plates 16, 17, and when excessive force is applied to tighten the cap 9, slipping between the friction plates 16, 17 occurs. Although the illustration shows a structure in which the transmission of rotation to the cap holding cylinder 21 is cut off, if a structure in which the rotation of the main body 10 is separately controlled is adopted, the support cylinder 11 and the relay cylinder 1
2 may not be separated, but may have an integrated structure.

Further, the claw teeth 27 of the cap holding claw 25 according to the present invention are not limited to two threads as shown in the fourth figure, but may be one thread or multiple threads, taking into account the roughness, depth, etc. of the knurling on the outer peripheral surface of the cap to be fastened. It may be an article.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

When holding the cap 9, when the cap side or the head side moves up and down toward the cap 9 sent directly below the cap holding head and approaches it, the annularly arranged stepped portions 24a, 24a, . . . The cap 9 is guided into the inner hole 23 by the tapered surface and its circular edge, and the cap holding claws 25, 25, .
- The scraped surface 33 at the lower end comes into contact with the upper edge of the cap 9,
Each holding claw =25.25... is pressed outward by the entry of the cap 9, and the cap holding claws 25, 25...
3 rotate clockwise around the shaft 39, and the imaginary circle formed by each pawl tooth 27 is enlarged to receive the cap 9.

At this time, the current position 29 of each cap holding claw 25°25...
Due to the rotational displacement, the elastic ring body 30 is expanded, and each cap holding claw 25, 25...
Apply a force in the direction of protruding into the 3rd direction.

Due to this action, each of the claw teeth 27 of the cap holding claws 25, 25, .

After holding the cap 9 in this manner, the main body 10 is rotated in the direction in which the cap 9 is tightened, so that the cap 9 is screwed onto the opening of the container.

In this case, even if an excessive tightening force is applied to the main body 10, excessive torque will not be transmitted to the holding tube 21 due to the slip between the friction plates 16 and 17 as described above.

After the cap 9 has been tightened, pressurized air is supplied through the connecting rod 36 and the pressurized air supply passages 37 and 38 of the pressing body 22, and the air pressure is applied to the upward surface 22a of the pressing body 22 to lower the suppressing body 22. When it is pressed, the pressing part 3 of the pressing body 22
2, the claw teeth 27 of each cap holding claw 25, 25, . . . are retracted to release the cap 9 from being held.

Then, when the holding head and the container are moved up and down relative to each other, the cap 9 screwed onto the container is removed from the holding cylinder 21.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the connecting rod 36 and the pressing body 22 are connected, and the cap 9 is held and released by raising and lowering the connecting rod 36, and other structural functions are the same as those described above. This is similar to the example.

FIG. 7 shows a modification of the cap holding head in FIG. 2, which includes cap holding claws 25, 25...
・Make a notch 41 in the middle of the claw tooth 27, and make this notch 4.
1 is engaged with the outer peripheral edge of the cap top plate holding plate 42, and a return spring 43 is interposed between the holding plate 42 and the pressing body 32, thereby eliminating the spring 40 in FIG. be.

Other configurations are the same as those in FIG. 2, so the same reference numerals are given and explanations are omitted.

As explained above, the present invention has the above-described configuration of the cap holding pawl arranged annularly within the cap holder, so that even a cap with a shallow knurled groove can be reliably held by the pawl teeth. , can be tightened reliably.

In addition, since the cap is held by the claw teeth of the cap holding claw, even a cap with a small outer diameter can be held and tightened reliably, and the claw teeth can be formed into an appropriate shape. The cap holding head can be made small without increasing its size.

In addition, if metal is used as the material for the cap holding claw, there is no fear that the claw teeth 1 will wear out, so it can be used semi-permanently, which is much more effective than conventional cap holding claws. have.

Additional related original patent invention patent No. 804,484 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 50-1
No. 7911), a plurality of holding rolls having abraded surfaces on the inward side are rotatably arranged in an annular shape on the inner surface of a cap holding cylinder which is rotated by an appropriate drive device, and the abraded surfaces of these holding rolls are arranged in a ring shape. An elastic ring is fitted into a cut groove formed at an asymmetrical position so that the protruding edge on one side of the cut surface protrudes toward the center of the cap holding cylinder, and an elevating rod is attached to the upper edge of the holding roll. The inclined surface of the pressing part of the pressing body that moves up and down due to the vertical movement of the pressing body is brought into contact with the inclined surface of the pressing part, and when the pressing body is pressed down, the inclined surface of the suppressing part presses the above-mentioned ridge, and each holding roll is applied to the tightening force of the elastic ring body. This is a cap tightening device in which the cap is held by the flange of each roll by the tightening force of the elastic ring when the pressing body is raised.

The invention related to this additional patent application includes a cap holding cylinder which is rotated by an appropriate driving means, and an elastic ring body which fits into a cut groove of a holding claw, which are the main components of the original patent invention. The invention satisfies the additional requirements by making a pressing body that moves up and down the main part of the invention, and in the roll configuration of the original patent invention, the part facing the center of the cap holding cylinder is extended in that direction. The cap holding claw has claw teeth formed at the tip thereof, and the claw teeth of the holding claw are configured to engage with the outer circumferential surface of the cap, and the lower end of the cap holding claw is provided with a shaver that slides into contact with the upper edge of the cap. This is due to the addition of a rakube.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional cap tightening device, FIG. 2 is a front view with half of the cap tightening device in cross section showing an embodiment of the cap tightening device according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the same, and FIG. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the cap holding claw in Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view of the same, Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the cap holding head, and Fig. 7 is another embodiment of the same. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the cap in the right half state and the left half state in the released state. 10... Hollow body, 11... Support tube, 12...
Relay tube, 16.17... Friction plate, 21... Cap holding tube, 22... Pressing body, 23... Inner hole, 24...
・Notch hole, 25... Cap holding claw, 27... Claw tooth, 28... Cut groove, 30... Elastic ring body, 31.33.
...Removed surface, 32... Pressing part, 36... Continuous rod.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of cap holding claws each having claw teeth at their tips are arranged in an annular shape on the inner circular surface of a cap holding cylinder which is rotated by an appropriate drive device, and the bases of the claws are rotatably supported in a horizontal plane. An elastic ring is fitted into a groove formed on the back surface of the base of the claw to give the claw teeth a habit of protruding to the inner circumferential surface of the cap holding cylinder, and the upper end of the cap holding claw is moved up and down by appropriate means. A cap tightening device in which a pressing part of a pressing body is in sliding contact, and a lower end of a cap holding claw is formed with a scraped part which is in sliding contact with an upper edge of a cap.