JPH0220517B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement of a bottle gripping and rotation device applied to an empty bottle side inspection machine and the like.

The bottle gripping and rotating device of the conventional bottle side inspection machine is explained with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. A shows the inlet star wheel, and b shows the bottle rotating turret (rotating body for transporting bottles).
The bottle rotating turret b is rotated by means not shown. In addition, c is a bottle opening presser bell provided on the bottle rotating turret b so that it can be raised and lowered and rotated, d is a bottle stand that is rotatably provided on the bottle rotating turret b, e is a pulley integrated in the bottle stand d, and f
is a belt for rotating a pulley installed along the bottle rotating turret b, g is an outlet star wheel, h is an accumulation table, i is a bottle feeding conveyor, j is a bottle discharging conveyor, k is a bottle, and a belt is placed on the bottle feeding conveyor i. The bottle k is transferred by the inlet starwheel a onto the bottle stand d of the bottle rotating turret b, and begins to move together with the bottle rotating turret b. At this time, the bottle mouth presser bell c is lowered and the bottle k is gripped on the bottle stand d, and at the position (A), the pulley e comes into contact with the belt f and the bottle k begins to rotate. This rotation continues to the (b) position, during which time the side surface of the bottle (empty bottle) k is inspected by a side surface inspection device or the like (not shown). After passing the position (b), the bottle mouth presser bell c is raised, and the bottle k is then transferred to the bottle discharge conveyor j by the outlet star wheel g. At this time, the defective bottles are removed to the accumulation table h,
Only good bottles are sent to the next process by the discharge conveyor j.

In the bottle holding/rotating device, the bottle opening of the bottle k after cleaning is held down by the bottle opening holding bell c, which is undesirable as it causes secondary contamination. Further, there was a problem in that the bottle gripping and rotation device became large because an inlet star wheel a, a pulley rotating belt f, and an outlet star wheel h were required around the bottle rotating turret b.

The present invention addresses the above-mentioned problems by fixing a substantially semicircular housing having a bottle neck receiving portion at equidistant positions on the outer periphery of a rotating body for transporting bottles, and fixing a substantially semicircular first housing to The bottle neck gripping member is fitted into the housing so as to be movable in the circumferential direction, and the shaft provided in the first bottle neck gripping member is inserted into the arcuate hole provided in the housing. A bottle neck receiving position in which the bottle neck gripping member is fully inserted into each of the housings so that the bottle neck can be received, and a bottle neck gripping position in which one end of the bottle neck gripping member comes out from each of the housings and the bottle neck is gripped. A second bottle neck gripping member having a substantially quarter circle shape is pivotally supported within the first bottle neck gripping member so as to be movable between the two bottle neck gripping members. A spring for biasing each of the second bottle neck gripping members in the bottle neck direction is interposed between the second bottle neck gripping member and the housing, and the first and second bottle neck gripping members are biased in the circumferential direction. A cylinder for moving the bottle to a circular cam on the housing side is interposed between the shaft and the bottle conveying rotating body, and when the first bottle neck gripping member is moved in the direction of the bottle neck receiving position, Contact with the above second
The present invention relates to a bottle gripping and rotating device characterized in that a roller for swinging the bottle neck gripping member in the opposite bottle neck direction against a spring is attached to the second bottle neck gripping member. , the neck of the bottle can be gripped to prevent secondary contamination of the bottle mouth. Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved bottle gripping and rotating device that can be made smaller by eliminating the need for an inlet star wheel, a belt for rotating pulleys, an outlet star wheel, and the like.

Next, the bottle gripping and rotation device of the present invention is shown in FIGS.
To explain with an example shown in Fig. 1, the third and fourth
In the figure, 1 is the bottle feeding conveyor, 2 is the bottle rotating star wheel (rotating body for bottle conveyance) that rotates around the axis, and 3
4 is a bottle guide such as a bottle side inspection device installed along the same bottle rotating star wheel 2, and 4 is an accumulation table.
5 and 6 are light source bodies, 7 is a bottle side inspection device disposed below the bottle guide 3, 8 is a residual water inspection device in the bottle, 9 is a different type bottle inspection device for detecting irregularly shaped bottles, 1
0 is a bottle opening inspection device, 11 is a bottle bottom inspection device, the bottle side inspection device 7 is installed at both positions (A) and (B), and the residual water inspection device 8 in the bottle and the dissimilar bottle inspection device are installed. The apparatus 9 is disposed at the (C) position, and the bottle opening inspection apparatus 10 and the bottle bottom inspection apparatus 11 are disposed at the (B) position. Further, 12 is a bottle discharging conveyor, 13 is a bottle, and 14 is a bottle gripping and rotating device of the present invention provided at equal intervals on the outer periphery of the bottle rotating star wheel 2. This bottle gripping and rotating device 14 is shown in FIGS. More specifically, 15 in FIGS. 5 to 8 represents a housing having a substantially semicircular planar shape fixed to the bottle rotating star wheel 2, and 16 in FIG. Neck part 13a receiving part, 17
is an arcuate hole provided in the housing 15, 18 is a substantially semicircular rotating body (first bottle neck gripping member) whose planar shape is almost the same as that of the housing 15; It consists of a semicircular plate and a substantially semicircular side plate 18a (see FIG. 7) that integrally connects the outer parts of the respective plates, and the circumferential middle part of the side plate 18a is omitted. The rotating body 18 is fitted into the housing 15 so as to be movable in the circumferential direction. Reference numeral 19 denotes an arc-shaped lever body (second bottle neck gripping member) shorter than the rotating body 18, one end of which is bifurcated (see 19a and 19b in Fig. 8), and a roller 20 is rotatably supported by a pin 21. This lever body 19 is fitted into the rotary body 18, and a portion of the roller 20 protrudes outward from the cutout of the side plate 18a of the rotary body 18. In addition, 21 in FIGS. 4 and 7 is a support that stands on the bottle rotation star wheel 2, 22 is an air cylinder, 23 is a shaft that pivotally connects one end of the air cylinder 22 to the support 21, and 24 is the air cylinder. A joint 25 is attached to the tip of the piston rod 22a of 22, and a shaft 25 is slidably inserted into the arc-shaped hole 17 of the housing 15, and the joint 24, the rotating body 18, and the lever body 19 are pivoted by the same shaft 25. It is worn. Therefore, when the air cylinder 22 is operated in the extension direction, the shaft 25 moves along the arcuate hole 17, and the rotating body 18 and the lever body 19 move in the circumferential direction within the casing 15. Note that the arcuate holes 17 are located at the upper and lower positions of the housing 15 (see FIGS. 7 and 8), and the upper and lower ends of the shaft 25 are located at the rollers 26.
It is fitted into each of the arcuate holes 17 via. Further, 27 in FIGS. 6, 9, and 10 is a spring interposed between the lever main body 19 and the side plate 18a of the rotating main body 18, and the lever main body 19 is connected to the shaft by the spring 27.
5 in a direction away from the side plate 18a. Further, 28 is a circular cam fixed on the bottle rotation star wheel 2, and as is clear from FIGS. 9, 10, and 11, when the air cylinder 22 is in the retracted position, the roller 2
The lever body 19 is rotated in the direction of the side plate 18a against the spring 27 (in the direction away from the tip of the rotary body 18), and the air cylinder 22 is extended so that the bottle neck 13a can be received. When the rotating body 18 and the lever body 19 start moving in the circumferential direction, they move away from the rollers 20, and the lever body 19 is moved away from the side plate 18a by the spring 27 (with respect to the tip of the rotating body 18). The bottle neck 13a is gripped by the rotating body 18 by rotating it in the direction in which the bottle approaches the bottle. Also, 2 in Figure 4
9 is a rotary joint provided on the rotating shaft of the bottle rotation star wheel 2, and 31 is the same bottle rotation star wheel 2.
A switching valve 30 provided above is an air pipe connecting the rotary joint 29 and the switching valve 31,
32 and 33 in Figures 4, 5 and 6 are the switching valves 31.
and air piping connecting the air cylinder 22, a seventh
Numeral 34 in the figure is a bolt that fixes the housing 15 to the rotating star wheel 2.

Next, the operation of the bottle gripping device will be explained. Bottle 13
is transported to the bottle rotating star wheel 2 by the bottle feeding conveyor 1, and the bottle neck 13a enters the bottle neck receiving part 16 of the fixed housing 15 provided on the bottle rotating star wheel 2 (see Fig. 9), and is at the (A) position. A primary side surface inspection is performed by the bottle side surface inspection device 7 disposed at the same position (A), and the results are stored in a storage device. When the bottle 13 passes the position (A), the switching valve 31 is switched, and air is supplied from the pressurized air supply source (not shown) to the air cylinder 22 via the rotary valve 29, air piping 30, switching valve 31, and air piping 32.
is sent to the piston side of the air cylinder 2.
The air pipe 33 on the piston rod side of No. 2 is opened to the atmosphere, and the air cylinder 22 operates in the extension direction.
The movement is transmitted to the shaft 25 via the joint 24,
The coaxial shaft 25, the rotating body 18, and the lever body 19 move within the housing 15 along the arcuate hole 17. In this process, the roller 20 of the lever main body 19 moves to the cam 2.
8, the lever body 19 is rotated by the spring 27 about the shaft 25 in a direction away from the side plate 18a of the rotating body 18, and the bottle neck 13a is moved away from the rotating body 18.
(See Figure 10). The movement of the rotating body 18 and the lever body 19 along the arcuate hole 17 (circumferential movement) continues until the shaft 25 reaches the end of the arcuate hole 17, so the bottle 13 is rotated after gripping the bottle neck. . When bottle 13 reaches position (B), bottle 13
After the rotation of the bottle is completed (see Fig. 11), the bottle side inspection device 7 installed at the same position (B) performs a secondary side inspection, and the bottle opening inspection device 10 placed at the same position (B) performs a secondary side inspection. The missing inspection and the bottle bottom inspection are performed by the bottle bottom inspection device 11 disposed at the same position (B), and the results are stored in the storage device. Also bottle 1
3 reaches the (C) position, the residual water in the bottle 13 is tested by the residual water testing device 8 installed at the same position (C), and the dissimilar bottle testing device 8 installed at the same position (C) 9, different types of bottles are inspected, and the results are sent to the storage device, and it is determined whether the bottles are good or bad based on the inspection results. If the bottles are good, the bottle 13 is
(C), the switching valve 31 is switched, the air cylinder 22 is operated in the retracting direction, the rotating body 18 and the lever body 19 return to the position shown in FIG. 9, and the bottle neck 13a is released. The bottle 13 is discharged onto the bottle discharge conveyor 12 and sent to the next process, the bottling production line. If the bottle is defective, when the bottle 13 reaches the (D) position, the switching valve 31 is switched, the air cylinder 22 is operated in the retracting direction, and the rotating body 1
8 and the lever body 19 return to the position shown in FIG. 9, the bottle neck 13a is released, and the bottle 13 is discharged onto the storage table 4.

As described above, the bottle gripping and rotating device of the present invention fixes the approximately semicircular housing 15 having the bottle neck receiving portion at equidistant positions on the outer circumference of the bottle conveying rotating body 2,
A first bottle neck gripping member 18 having a substantially semicircular shape is fitted into the housing 15 so as to be movable in the circumferential direction,
Insert the shaft 25 provided in the first bottle neck gripping member 18 into the arcuate hole 17 provided in the housing 15,
The first bottle neck gripping member 18 is placed at a bottle neck receiving position where the entire first bottle neck gripping member 18 enters each of the housings 15 to allow the bottle neck to be received, and at a bottle neck receiving position where the first bottle neck gripping member 18 comes out from each of the housings 15 to grip the bottle neck. It is movably supported between the bottle neck gripping position and the approximately quarter-circular second
The bottle neck gripping member 19 is connected to the first bottle neck gripping member 1.
Each of the second bottle neck gripping members 1 is pivotally supported within the second bottle neck gripping member 8 so as to be swingable about the shaft 25, and between the second bottle neck gripping member 19 and the housing 15.
A cylinder 22 for moving the first and second bottle neck gripping members 18, 19 in the circumferential direction is connected to the shaft 25 and the bottle conveying rotation. When the first bottle neck gripping member 18 is moved in the direction of the bottle neck receiving position, the second bottle neck gripping member comes into contact with the circular cam 28 on the housing 15 side. 19 in the direction of the bottle neck against the spring 27.
Because it is attached to the bottle neck gripping member 19, the bottle neck 13a
It is possible to rotate the bottle 13 by gripping it,
Secondary contamination of the bottle 13 after cleaning can be prevented. In addition, it is configured as described above, and the inlet star foil,
A belt for rotating the bottle 13, an exit star wheel, etc. are unnecessary, and the bottle gripping and rotating device can be made smaller. In addition, when rotating the bottle 13 by gripping the bottle neck 13a as described above, in addition to the bottle side inspection, residual water inspection in the bottle, and different type of bottle inspection, a chipped bottle opening inspection and a bottle bottom inspection are also carried out. It is very effective when applied to bottle inspection machines.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to embodiments, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and that various design modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a conventional bottle gripping and rotating device, Fig. 2 is a partially vertical side view thereof, and Fig. 3 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the bottle gripping and rotating device according to the present invention. , FIG. 4 is a longitudinal side view of the same, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an enlarged view of the main parts, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional plan view of the same, and FIG. 7 is a longitudinal side view taken along the line indicated by the arrow in FIG. , FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional side view taken along the line shown in FIG. 5, and FIGS. 2...Rotating body for bottle conveyance, 15...Housing,
17... arcuate hole, 18... first bottle neck gripping member,
19...Second bottle neck gripping member, 20...Roller,
22...Cylinder, 25...Shaft, 27...Spring,
28...Circular cam.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A substantially semicircular housing having a bottle neck receiving portion is fixed at equidistant circumferential positions on the outer periphery of a rotating body for transporting bottles, and a first substantially semicircular bottle neck gripping member is inserted into the housing in the circumferential direction. The shaft provided in the first bottle neck gripping member is inserted into the arcuate hole provided in the housing, and the first bottle neck gripping member is fully inserted into each of the housings. The bottle head is movably supported between a bottle neck receiving position where the bottle neck can be received after entering the housing, and a bottle neck gripping position where one end side thereof comes out from each housing and the bottle neck is grasped. A circular second bottle neck gripping member is pivotally supported within the first bottle neck gripping member so as to be swingable about the axis, and between the second bottle neck gripping member and the housing. A spring for biasing each of the second bottle neck gripping members in the bottle neck direction is interposed, and a cylinder for moving the first and second bottle neck gripping members in the circumferential direction is connected to the shaft and the bottle neck. It is interposed between the first bottle neck gripping member and the conveying rotating body, and when the first bottle neck gripping member is moved in the direction of the bottle neck receiving position, it comes into contact with a circular cam on the housing side and holds the second bottle neck gripping member. A bottle gripping and rotating device characterized in that a roller for swinging in the opposite direction of the bottle neck against a spring is attached to the second bottle neck gripping member.