JPH0528162B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Technical Field> The present invention relates to a liner material supply device, and more particularly to a liner material supply device for supplying an annular liner material to the inner surface of the top wall of a container lid.

<Prior art> As is well known, in various forms of container lids,
In order to seal the open end of the container sufficiently reliably, it is important to form a liner on the inner surface of the top wall of the container lid. Such a liner is generally produced by supplying a liner material in a heated molten state (such liner material may be a thermoplastic resin such as polyolefin or vinyl chloride) to the inner surface of the top wall, and then using a suitable embossing tool to form the liner. It is formed by stamping a material into the desired shape.

Therefore, on the inner surface of the top wall of the container lid, the only area where the liner is essentially required to be present in order to achieve reliable sealing is the peripheral edge corresponding to the opening end of the container. Therefore, especially for large-diameter container lids, in order to reduce costs by minimizing the amount of liner material used, liner material is not present at all in the center of the inner surface of the top wall, but only at the periphery. It is desirable to form a liner with an existing annular shape, usually a toroidal shape. However, JP-A-55-
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 77523, in order to form a ring-shaped liner by stamping, it is necessary to supply the ring-shaped liner to the inner surface of the top wall. Publication No. 77523 discloses a unique liner material supply device that satisfies these requirements.

The liner material supply device is arranged above a container lid support means for supporting a container lid in an inverted state (that is, a state where the inner surface of the top wall faces upward), an extruder, and the container lid support means. and a supply mechanism. The supply mechanism includes an annular flow path through which the heated molten liner material extruded from the extruder flows, and an on-off valve for selectively opening and closing the lower end of the annular flow path.

<Problems to be Solved> However, according to the experience of the present inventors, it has been found that the above-mentioned liner material supply device has the following problems to be solved. That is, a normal valve means is used as a means for selectively opening and closing the annular flow path, but the liner material in a heated molten state that is forced to flow through the annular flow path from the extruder is under considerably high pressure. Therefore, it is difficult to close the annular passageway sufficiently reliably by the valve means, so that the amount of liner material delivered to each individual container lid varies significantly, or the main part of the valve means They tend to wear out and become unusable within a relatively short period of time. Additionally, upon separating the container lid from the material defining the annular flow path after the liner material exiting the annular channel is positioned on the container lid, substantially all of the exiting liner material is disposed of along with the container lid. Some of the spilled liner material that is not separated from the component tends to remain on the component, and this can also cause large variations in the amount of liner material delivered to individual container closures.

<Object of the present invention> The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned facts, and its purpose is to solve the above-mentioned problems existing in the conventional liner material supply device, and to improve the liner material supplied to each container lid. The amount can be maintained at a predetermined amount with sufficient precision and can operate stably over a long period of time.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved liner material supply device.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description, which describes in detail a preferred embodiment of a liner stock supply apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Summary of the Invention> As a result of intensive research and experiments, the present inventors defined an annular flow path between a columnar inner member and a cylindrical outer member that are moved up and down relative to each other, and the lower end of the annular flow path. If the outer surface of the inner member and the inner surface of the outer member cooperate to close the annular flow path, it is possible to close the annular flow passage sufficiently reliably, and also avoid wear of the main part and provide a long-term life. It was found that it can be used stably over a period of time.

Based on the knowledge discovered by the present inventor, the present invention provides a liner material supply device for supplying a ring-shaped liner material to the inner surface of the top wall of a container lid, and for supporting an inverted container lid. Container lid support means including a support base having an upper surface; an extruder; and a supply mechanism disposed above the container lid support means, the supply mechanism comprising a columnar inner member and a cylindrical inner member. and an elevating means for elevating and lowering the inner member relative to the outer member, and in a state where the inner member is lowered relative to the outer member, an upper Although there is substantially no gap between the outer surface of the inner member and the inner surface of the outer member in the region and the lower region, there is an annular flow between the outer surface of the inner member and the inner surface of the outer member in the intermediate region. at least at a lower end of the annular passageway, the outer member has a large diameter portion having an inner diameter larger than an outer diameter of the lower end of the inner member located in the lower region; and when the inner member is raised relative to the outer member,
The lower end portion of the inner member is located corresponding to the large diameter portion of the outer member, so that the lower end of the annular flow path is open, and further, the outer member and the inner member A liner material supply device is provided, characterized in that an introduction path is formed in at least one of the extruder and the liner material to guide the liner material extruded from the extruder to the annular flow path.

Furthermore, the inventors have discovered that if the container lid is rotated when the container lid is separated from the inner member and the outer member after the liner material flowing out from the annular flow path is positioned on the container lid, It has been discovered that substantially all of the spilled liner material can be supplied to the container lid without leaving a portion of the liner material remaining on the inner member and the outer member.

Based on the knowledge discovered by the present inventors, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the support base of the container lid support means is rotatably mounted, and the container lid support means further includes a support base of the container lid support means. It includes a rotation means for rotating the support base.

<Preferred Embodiments of the Invention> Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the liner material supply device constructed according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Configuration of Preferred Embodiment> Referring to FIG. 1, the illustrated liner material supplying apparatus includes a container lid support means, generally designated by number 2, an extruder, generally designated by number 4, and an extruder, generally designated by number 4. It is equipped with a supply mechanism shown by 6.

First, the container lid support means 2 will be explained. The illustrated container lid support means 2 includes a lower support substrate 8
and an intermediate support substrate 10 supported by a suitable support structure (not shown). An opening having a large-diameter upper part 12 and a small-diameter lower part 14 is formed in the intermediate support substrate 10, and a support base 16 is attached to the opening so as to be movable up and down and rotatable. This support stand 16 is connected to the opening 16
It has a disk portion 18 having a size corresponding to the large diameter upper portion 12 of the disk portion 18, and a shaft portion 20 extending downward from the lower surface of the disk portion 18. A permanent magnet 22 is embedded in the disk portion 18 to attract and hold a container lid placed on the top surface thereof. When the container lid is made of a non-magnetic material, instead of embedding the magnet 22 in the disc part 18, a suction hole that opens on the top surface of the disc part 18 is formed and the suction hole is used as a suction source. The container lid placed on the disk portion 18 can be vacuum-adsorbed. The container lid support means 2 further includes:
Rotating means 2 for rotating the support stand 16
4 and an elevating means 26 for elevating and lowering the support base 16. More specifically, an electric motor 28 constituting a common drive source is mounted on the lower support substrate 8. Pulleys 32 and 34 are fixed to an output shaft 30 of this motor 28. The rotation means 24 includes the lower support substrate 10
It has a clutch mechanism 38 mounted on a support frame 36 fixed to the. A pulley 42 is fixed to the input shaft 40 of the clutch mechanism 38, and an endless belt 44 is wound around this pulley 42 and the pulley 32. Output shaft 4 of clutch mechanism 38
A gear 48 is fixed to 6. A rotary shaft 50 is rotatably mounted between the lower support substrate 8 and the intermediate support substrate 10, and a gear 52 that engages with the gear 48 is fixed to the rotary shaft 50. Further, a gear 54 that engages with the gear 52 is fixed to the shaft portion 20 of the support base 16. Thus, when the clutch mechanism 38 is brought into the connected state, the rotation of the motor 28 is caused by the pulley 32, belt 44, pulley 42, gears 48, 5.
2 and 54 to the support base 16, and the support base 16 is rotated, for example, clockwise when viewed from above in FIG. A shaft support member 56 is also fixed on the lower support substrate 8, and a rotary shaft 60 is rotatably mounted on the shaft support member 56. A pulley 62 and a cam plate 6 are attached to the rotating shaft 60.
4 is fixed. Pulley 62 and the above pulley 3
An endless belt 66 is wound around 4 and 4. A support plate 68 fixed to the lower support base plate 8 via an appropriate support structure (not shown) is disposed above the cam plate 64, and a cam driven joint is mounted on this support plate 68. 70 is attached so that it can be raised and lowered. The cam plate 6 is attached to the lower end of the cam follower 70.
roller 7 that is brought into contact with the cam surface or peripheral surface of 8;
2 is rotatably attached. Further, a disk 74 is fixed to the upper end of the cam follower 70. A disk 76 that cooperates with the disk 74 is fixed to the lower end of the shaft portion 20 of the support base 16.
A bearing (not shown) is interposed between the disc 74 and the disc 76 to allow relative rotation between the discs 74 and 76. As shown above, the rotation of the motor 28 is transmitted to the cam plate 64 via the pulley 34, the belt 66, and the pulley 62.
4 is rotated, and in accordance with the rotation of the cam plate 64, the support base 16 is moved up and down via the cam follower 70. Incidentally, since the gear 52 in the rotating means 24 has a sufficiently large thickness in the vertical direction, the support base 1
Even if the gear 6 is moved up and down, the engagement between the gear 52 and the gear 54 is not released.

Next, referring mainly to FIG. 2, the supply mechanism 6 disposed above the container lid support means 2 will be described in detail. The illustrated supply mechanism 6 includes a substantially cylindrical outer member 78 and a substantially cylindrical inner member 80. The outer member 78 is composed of an upper member 82 and a lower member 84 fixed to the lower end thereof. The upper member 82 is fixed to the intermediate support substrate 10 via the extruder 4 (this point will be further referred to later). The member 84 has a large diameter portion 86, a medium diameter portion 88, and a small diameter portion 90 in order from above to below.The outer diameter of the small diameter portion 90 corresponds to the inner diameter of the container lid.Upper member 82
A heating band 92 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 86 of the lower member 84, and the lower member 84 also has a heating band 92 attached thereto.
A heating band 94 is also attached to the outer peripheral surface of the middle diameter portion 86 of No. 4. Heating bands 92 and 94 may be of the well-known electrical resistance type. The inner member 80 is formed from an upper member 96 and a lower member 100 fixed to the lower end of the upper member 96 by a fastening bolt 98. The upper end of the upper member 96 projects upward beyond the upper end of the outer member 78. A lifting means 102 (FIG. 1) is connected to this upper end. As shown in FIG. 1, the elevating means 102 includes a cylinder 10
4 and a hydraulic cylinder mechanism having a piston 106. The cylinder 104 is fixed to an upper support substrate 108 that is fixed to the intermediate support substrate 10 through an appropriate support structure, and the piston 106 is inserted downward through an opening formed in the upper support substrate 108. It extends, and its lower end is connected to the upper end of the upper member 96. Therefore, the piston 106 of the hydraulic cylinder mechanism
The inner member 80 is moved up and down in response to the up and down movements of the inner member 80. Referring again to FIG. 2, the lower end of the inner member 80 is formed with an annular recess 110 that is open radially outward and downward.

The inner peripheral surface of the outer member 78 and the inner member 80
It is important that an annular flow path 112 is defined between the outer peripheral surface of the tube and the outer peripheral surface of the tube. Continuing the explanation with reference to FIG. 2, in the illustrated example, the reference numeral A
In the region from the position indicated by to the position indicated by the symbol B, the outer diameter of the outer circumferential surface of the inner member 80 is reduced. Furthermore, in the region from the position indicated by the symbol C to the position indicated by the symbol D, the inner diameter of the inner circumferential surface of the outer member 78 is increased. Thus, when the inner member 80 is positioned relative to the outer member 78 as shown in FIG. An annular flow path 112 is defined in the intermediate region shown. At the upper end portion indicated by symbol B in the intermediate region A, the outer diameter of the inner member 80 is significantly reduced compared to other members, and a reservoir 114 with an increased radial dimension is formed. There is. In the upper region C located above the intermediate region A and the lower region D located above the intermediate region A, the outer diameter of the outer member 78 and the inner diameter of the inner member 80 are made to be substantially the same. and therefore the outer member 78
There is no gap between the inner circumferential surface of the inner member 80 and the outer circumferential surface of the inner member 80, and in the state shown in FIG.
The upper end and the lower end of the annular flow path 112 are closed. Preferably, a thread 116 is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the inner member 80 at least in the intermediate portion in the vertical direction of the intermediate region A.

In the illustrated example, the reservoir 114
Correspondingly, the outer member 80 is formed with an introduction passage 118 extending in the radial direction from the inner circumferential surface to the outer circumferential surface thereof. The introduction passage 118 has an inner portion 119 of relatively small diameter and an outer portion 120 of relatively large diameter.
The reservoir 114 has a sufficiently large vertical dimension with respect to the inner side 119 of the introduction passage 118, so that even if the inner member 80 is moved up and down, the introduction passage 118
and reservoir 114 remain in communication. As shown in FIG. 1, an extruder 4 is located outside the introduction path 118.
The extrusion port 122 is screwed on. The main body 124 of the extruder 4 has a suitable support structure (not shown).
It is attached to the intermediate part support substrate 10 via.
If desired, instead of forming the introduction channel 118 in the outer member 78, the inner member 80 may include the reservoir 114.
It is also possible to form an introductory path extending up to the point where the extrusion port 122 of the extruder 4 is connected to the introductory path.

<Operations and Effects of Preferred Specific Examples> Next, the functions and effects of the liner material supply device as described above will be explained. The vertical movement of the inner member 80 in the supply mechanism 6 and the container lid support means 2
The fourth diagram shows the vertical movement and rotation of the support base 16 in
3-A to 3-D, when the liner material is started, the inner member 80 in the supply mechanism 6 and the support stand 16 in the container lid support means 2 are It is positioned as shown in the figure. As can be easily understood by referring to FIG. 2 together with FIG. 3-A, in this state, the extrusion port 1 of the extruder 4
The liner material 126 in a heated and molten state extruded through the liner material 126 flows into the reservoir 114 through the introduction channel 118 and then flows from the top to the bottom in the annular channel 112. is filled by. When the liner material 126 flows down within the annular flow path 112, the liner material 126 flows in a spiral manner along the thread 116 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner member 80, and thus flows down the annular flow path 112. The circumferential flow distribution of the liner material 126 is made sufficiently uniform.

The inner member 80 of the feeding mechanism 6 is then raised to the position shown in Figure 3-B and maintained in this raised position for a predetermined time interval _t1 . In this way, the lower end of the inner member 80, more specifically, the annular recess 110, is located corresponding to the large diameter portion of the inner circumferential surface of the outer member 78, that is, the portion from position C to position D. The lower end of the annular flow path 112, which had been closed until then, is opened. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3-B, the annular flow path 11
A predetermined amount of liner material 126 flows into the annular recess 110 from the downstream of the liner material 126 . The amount of liner material 126 flowing out can be appropriately set by adjusting the predetermined time interval _t1 . In addition, during this time, as shown in FIG. 3-B, the disk portion 18 of the support stand 16 in the container lid support means 2
A container lid 128 in an inverted state (that is, with the inner surface of the top wall facing upward) is supplied onto the container lid 128 by a suitable feeding mechanism (not shown), and is magnetically attracted by the magnet 22. Ru.

After that, the inner member 80 in the supply mechanism 6
begins to be lowered, and then the support stand 16 in the container lid support means 2 begins to be raised. In the illustrated embodiment, the inner member 80 is lowered beyond the position shown in FIG. 3-A to the position shown in FIG. 3-C. The support stand 16 is then raised to the position shown in FIG. 3-C. When the inner member 80 is lowered by a predetermined amount or more from the position shown in Figure 3-B, the third
As understood by referring to Figures -A and 3-C, the lower end (i.e., the portion below position D) of the outer member 78 and the inner circumferential surface of the outer member 78 have substantially the same diameter. The lower end of the annular flow path 112 is closed by cooperation with the outer circumferential surface of the lower end portion 80 (ie, the portion below position B). In this way, the lower end of the annular flow path 112 is closed by the cooperation between the inner circumferential surface of the outer member 78 and the outer circumferential surface of the inner member 80, which can be made to have a sufficient area.
Even if the pressure of the liner material 126 is considerably high, the liner material 126 flowing out from the annular flow path 112 is completely cut and separated from the liner material 126 inside the annular flow path 112, and the lower end of the annular flow path 112 is sufficiently Can be closed securely. In addition, the outer member 7
The inner circumferential surface of the inner member 8 and the outer circumferential surface of the inner member 80 will not be worn out in a short period of time.

On the other hand, when the support stand 16 is raised by more than a predetermined amount, as can be understood by referring to FIG. The lower end of the small diameter section 90 of the outer member 78 at 6 is inserted, thus positioning the container lid 128 concentrically with sufficient precision relative to the outer member 78 and inner member 80 of the feeding mechanism 6.

When the inner member 80 in the supply mechanism 6 is lowered to the position shown in Figure 3-C and the support stand 16 in the container lid support means 2 is raised to the position shown in Figure 3-C, the inner member 80 An outflow liner material 126 accommodated in an annular recess 110 formed at the lower end is pressed against and bonded to the inner surface of the top wall of the container lid 128 (normally, there is no liner material on the inner surface of the top wall of the container lid 128). 126
A coating film with adhesive properties is applied to the
This coating allows the liner material 126 to be sufficiently firmly bonded to the inner surface of the top wall of the container lid 128).
In the illustrated embodiment, an annular recess 110 is formed at the lower end of the inner member 80, and the outflow liner material 126 is constrained within the annular recess 110, so that the desired annular liner material 1
26 is supplied to the inner surface of the top wall of the container lid 128.

Next, the container lid 1 is placed on the support base 16 of the container lid support means 2 and the disk portion 18 thereof.
28 is in the position shown in Figure 3-D (such position is
(same position as shown in Figure-A and Figure 3-B)
be lowered to. And during such a decline,
The container lid 128 positioned on the support base 16 and its disc portion 18 is rotated at a relatively low speed (for example, about 60 to 80 rpm). Thus,
A container lid 128 having an annular liner material 126 on the inner surface of the top wall is obtained. According to experiments conducted by the present inventors, when lowering the support base 16, the support base 1
6 is not rotated, the outflow liner 12
6 tends to remain in the annular recess 110 of the inner member 80, but rotation of the support platform 16 is sufficient to ensure that the outflow liner 126 is separated from the annular recess 110 so that substantially all of the outflow liner 126 It has been confirmed that all are supplied to the container lid 128.

Thereafter, the container lid 128 having the annular liner material 126 is taken out from above the disc portion 18 of the support base 16 by a suitable take-out mechanism (not shown), and then placed in a suitable embossing machine ( (not shown) and the annular liner material 126
is stamped into the desired liner. On the other hand, the inner member 80 in the supply mechanism 6 is raised to the position shown in FIG. 3-A.

<Modification> FIG. 5 illustrates a modification of the outer member 78 and the inner member 80 in the supply mechanism 6. In this modification, the annular flow path 11 is increased by increasing the inner diameter of the inner circumferential surface of the outer member 78 without reducing the outer diameter of the outer circumferential surface of the inner member 80.
2 is specified. That is, in the region from the position indicated by the symbol A to the position indicated by the symbol B, the inner diameter of the outer member 78 is increased, and the annular flow path 112 is defined in the intermediate region A.
In the upper end part B of the intermediate region A,
The inner diameter of the outer member 78 is greatly increased compared to other parts to form a reservoir 114.
The structure of the modified example shown in FIG. 5 other than the above-mentioned points may be substantially the same as that of the preferred embodiment described above. Also in the modified example shown in FIG. 5, when supplying the liner material to the inner surface of the top wall of the container lid,
A two-dot chain line 80 starts from the position where the inner member 80 is indicated by the solid line.
Raise it to the position indicated by A, and then move to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line 8.
It can be lowered to the position shown by 0B and then returned to the position shown by the solid line.

In the specific examples and modifications described above, the inner member 80 of the supply mechanism 6 is moved up and down, but if desired, the outer member 78 can be moved up and down instead of or in addition to this. You can also do it. Further, instead of or in addition to moving the support base 16 on which the container lid is placed up and down, the outer member 78 can be moved up and down together with the inner member 80.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram illustrating a preferred embodiment of a liner material supply apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the main part of the supply mechanism in the liner material supply device of FIG. 1. Figure 3-A, Figure 3-B
3-C and 3-D are partial cross-sectional views for explaining the operation of the liner material supply device of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the movement of the main parts of the liner material supply device of FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the main part of a modified example of the supply mechanism. 2... Container lid support means, 4... Extruder, 6...
supply mechanism, 16... support stand, 24... rotation means,
26... Elevating means, 78... Outer member, 80...
...Inner member, 102... Elevating means, 110...
Annular recess, 112... Annular flow path, 114...
Reservoir, 118...Introduction channel, 126...Liner material, 128...Container lid.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A liner material supply device for supplying a ring-shaped liner material to the inner surface of the top wall of a container lid,
A container lid support means including a support base having an upper surface for supporting an inverted container lid, an extruder, and a supply mechanism disposed above the container lid support means, the supply mechanism includes a columnar inner member, a cylindrical outer member, and an elevating means for moving the inner member up and down relative to the outer member, and the inner member is moved up and down relative to the outer member. In the lowered state, there is substantially no gap between the outer surface of the inner member and the inner surface of the outer member in the upper and lower regions, but in the intermediate region there is no gap between the outer surface of the inner member and the outer surface. An annular flow path is defined between the inner surface of the member, and at least at a lower end of the annular flow path, the outer member has an inner diameter smaller than an outer diameter of the lower end of the inner member located in the lower region. having a large diameter portion that is enlarged, and when the inner member is raised relative to the outer member;
The lower end portion of the inner member is located corresponding to the large diameter portion of the outer member, so that the lower end of the annular flow path is open, and further, the outer member and the inner member A liner material supply device characterized in that an introduction path is formed in at least one of the extruder and guides the liner material extruded from the extruder into the annular flow path. 2. The liner according to claim 1, wherein the annular flow path has an annular shape, and when the lower end of the annular flow path is opened, the annular liner material flows out from the annular flow path. Material supply device. 3. An annular recess opened radially outward and downward is formed at the lower end of the inner member, and when the lower end of the annular flow path is opened, liner material is transferred from the annular flow path to the annular recess. The liner material supply device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the liner material supply device is made to flow out. 4. A reservoir having an increased radial dimension is formed at the upper end of the annular flow path, and the introduction passage is connected to the reservoir. The liner material supply device according to any one of the above. 5. The liner material supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a thread is formed on the outer surface of the inner member in at least an intermediate portion of the annular flow path. 6. The liner material supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the lower end of the outer member has an outer diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of the container lid. 7. The support stand of the container lid support means is mounted so as to be able to rise and fall freely, and the container lid support means further includes an elevating means for moving the support stand up and down. The liner material supply device according to any one of items 6 to 6. 8. The support base of the container lid support means is rotatably mounted, and the container lid support means further includes rotation means for rotating the support base. The liner material supply device according to any one of Item 7. 9. The liner material supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the container lid support means further includes suction means for adhering the container lid to the upper surface of the support base. 10. The liner material supply device according to claim 9, wherein the suction means comprises a magnet embedded in the upper surface of the support base. 11. The suction means includes a suction hole formed in the support base and opened on the upper surface of the support base, and a suction source for sucking air through the suction hole.
A liner material supply device according to claim 9.