JPH0585227B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a container cleaning device, and more specifically, a container cleaning device that grasps a container, inverts it, and injects cleaning fluid into the inverted container. The present invention relates to a container cleaning device.

``Prior Art'' Conventionally, a container cleaning device includes a plurality of grippers each gripping a container, a conveyance mechanism that circularly conveys each gripper while drawing a predetermined endless trajectory, and a gripper conveyed by the conveyance mechanism. an inlet star wheel that rotates in synchronization with the gripper to supply the container to the gripper; an outlet starwheel that rotates in synchronization with the gripper conveyed by the conveyance mechanism and discharges the container from the gripper; A device is known that includes a container inversion mechanism that rotates each of the grippers to rotate the container gripped by the grippers between an upright state and an inverted state, and a nozzle that injects cleaning fluid into the inverted container. Yes (Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 1983)
-281990, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 62-94584).

``Problems to be Solved by the Invention'' However, in conventional container cleaning devices of this type, the above-mentioned conveyance mechanism, the star wheel on the inlet side, the star wheel on the outlet side, the nozzle, etc. are all attached to a fixed frame. Basically, it was a specialized machine for containers of a certain size.

That is, in the conventional container cleaning apparatus having the above-mentioned configuration, when changing the height of the container, the height of each gripper provided in the conveyance mechanism is changed according to the height of the container, and the height of the gripper is Depending on the configuration of the container inversion mechanism, changing the height usually requires adjustment of the container inversion mechanism, and also changes the height of the mouth of the container when the container is inverted with each gripper. It is also necessary to adjust the height of the nozzle.

In practice, such adjustment work is quite difficult, and in fact, it is necessary to use a machine exclusively for containers of a specific size.

``Means for Solving the Problems'' In view of such circumstances, the present invention is designed to enable cleaning even when containers have different heights, and to make changes to the containers extremely easy. .

That is, the present invention provides the above-mentioned container cleaning device, in which an elevating frame is provided to be able to rise and fall freely with respect to a fixed frame, and an elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the elevating frame is provided, and the fixed frame is provided with the inlet star wheel and the outlet star wheel. Wheels are provided, and the transport mechanism, gripper, container reversing mechanism, and nozzle are provided on the lifting frame.

"Operation" According to the above configuration, when the height of the container is changed, if the elevating frame is raised and lowered accordingly,
The conveying mechanism, the gripper, the container reversing mechanism, and the nozzle provided on the elevating frame can be raised and lowered all at once with respect to the entrance starwheel and the exit starwheel provided on the fixed frame.

As a result, even if the height of the container supplied from the star wheel on the inlet side changes, the container can be smoothly gripped by the gripper and transported by the transport mechanism, and the container reversing mechanism and nozzle can also be smoothly gripped by the gripper. Since it is raised and lowered in one piece, it is possible to smoothly invert and clean the container gripped by the gripper.
Furthermore, the container that has been cleaned can be smoothly carried out from the outlet star wheel.

"Example" The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated example.
In Figure 1, the container cleaning device is mounted on a fixed frame 1.
and a lifting frame 3 that is raised and lowered by the lifting mechanism 2.
It is equipped with Although only one elevating mechanism 2 is shown in FIG. 1, three or more similar elevating mechanisms 2 are provided so that the elevating frame 3 can be raised and lowered in synchronization with each other.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the fixed frame 1 is provided with a conveyor 6, a timing screw 7, an inlet star wheel 8, and an outlet star wheel 9. The containers 10 transported by the container 10 are synchronized with the star wheel 8 on the inlet side of the container washing device by the timing screw 7, and are carried into the interior of the container washing device via the star wheel 8 on the inlet side.

As shown in FIG. 1, the entrance side star wheel 8 is connected to a gear 14 and a fixed frame 1.
The exit side star wheel 9 is also connected to a motor (not shown) by meshing with a gear 16 connected to a speed reduction mechanism 15 provided at It is linked to the motor. Furthermore, the timing screw 7 is interlocked with the motor by a chain 19 extending between a sprocket 17 connected thereto and a sprocket 18 connected to the speed reduction mechanism 15.

A vertically disposed drive shaft 23 is rotatably supported on the lift frame 3, and a disc-shaped rotating body 24 is fixed to the upper part of the drive shaft 23. A large number of grippers 25 are attached at equal intervals on the outer periphery. Each gripper 25 grips the opening of the container 10 brought in by the star wheel 8 on the entrance side.

A gear 28 attached to the lower part of the drive shaft 23 is meshed with a gear 30 connected to a deceleration mechanism 29 provided on the elevating frame 3, and this deceleration mechanism 29 is connected to the fixed frame via a conventionally known telescopic joint 31. It is linked to the speed reduction mechanism 15 provided in 1.
Thereby, even if the elevating frame 3 is raised or lowered by the elevating mechanism 2, the interlocking state between the deceleration mechanisms 15 and 29 can be maintained by the telescopic joint 31.

The gripper 25 provided on the rotating body 24 is a third
As shown in FIG. 4, a bracket 35 is attached to each rotating body 24, and an inner grip is attached to each bracket 35 so as to be rotatable 180 degrees around a pin 36 disposed in the tangential direction of the rotating body 24. The inner grip member 37 has an arcuate support portion 37a that supports the inside of the mouth of the container 10.
has been established.

At the tip of the sliding rod 38 slidably provided on the inner gripping member 37, the arcuate support portion 37a is attached.
An outer gripping member 39 is attached to support the outer side of the mouth of the container 10 facing the sliding rod 38.
A spring 40 elastically loaded between the outer gripping member 39 and the inner gripping member 37 allows the outer gripping member 39 to be held at the arcuate support portion 37a.
In the natural state, the outer gripping member 39
The opening of the container 10 can be gripped by the circular support portion 37a.

A cam lever 41 for moving the sliding rod 38 forward and backward is swingably attached to the inner gripping member 37, and the free end of the cam lever 41 is connected to the distal end of the sliding rod 38 by the elastic force of the spring 40. The cam lever 41 is brought into contact with the stopper part 3 of the inner grip member 37 due to its elastic force.
7b.

A cam follower 42 is provided at the free end of the cam lever 41, and a cam member 43 provided between the inlet star wheel 8 and the outlet star wheel 9 is attached to the cam follower 42, as shown in FIGS. 42 from the outside in the radial direction, and while the cam follower 42 is in contact with the cam member 43, the outer gripping member 39 is held against the spring 40.
can be separated from the arcuate support portion 37a of the inner gripping member 37.

At this time, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, cam grooves 3 are formed on both sides of the outer peripheral surface of the sliding rod 38, respectively.
8a, and each cam groove 38a has a portion on the side of the outer gripping member 39 formed in a linear shape along the axial direction, and a portion on the opposite side formed in a spiral shape diagonally in the circumferential direction and in mutually opposite directions. As shown in FIG. 5, balls 47 attached to the tips of bolts 46 screwed onto both sides of the inner gripping member 37 are respectively engaged with the cam grooves 38a, and in the natural state described above,
Each ball 47 is located at the tip of the linear portion of the cam groove 38a.

Therefore, when the cam follower 42 contacts the cam member 43 and swings, thereby moving the sliding rod 38 forward against the spring 40, the balls 47 are moved relative to each other in the cam groove 38a. It is moved from a straight section to a spiral section. As a result, the sliding rod 38 and the outer gripping member 39 are rotated relative to the inner gripping member 37 and are displaced from the position facing the arcuate support member 37a to a position rotated approximately 90 degrees laterally.

In this state, when the mouth of the container 10 is carried into the arcuate support portion 37a of the inner grip member 37 by the inlet star wheel 8, the cam follower 42 is separated from the cam member 43, so that the sliding The movable rod 38 and the outer gripping member 39 are returned to their original positions by the elastic force of the spring 40.
At this time, the outer gripping member 39 first
The spiral portion of the container 10 is rotated back to the front position facing the arcuate support portion 37a, and then moved linearly toward the arcuate support portion 37a. It is held smoothly and reliably between the arcuate support portion 37a of the inner gripping member 37.

On the other hand, when the gripper 25 gripping the container 10 approaches the outlet starwheel 9, the cam follower 42 engages with the cam member 43, so that the outer gripping member 39 is separated from the arcuate support portion 37a while remaining opposed to it. After that, the arcuate support portion 37
It is moved to a position 90 degrees off from the front position of a.
Therefore, the container 10 is smoothly delivered to the outlet star wheel 9 from within the arcuate support portion 37a without being obstructed by the outer gripping member 39, and is further discharged to the conveyor 6.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 1, the cam member 4
3 is attached to the tip of a support arm 44, and the base of this support arm 44 is attached to the upper end surface of the drive shaft 23 so as to be rotatable with respect to the drive shaft 23. This support arm is connected to the rotating body 24 by a connecting rod 45 attached to the fixed frame 1.
The connecting rod 45 and the support arm 44 are arranged so that they do not rotate due to the
4 are connected to each other so as to allow the lift frame 3 to move up and down as the lift frame 3 moves up and down.

Next, each gripper 25 is rotated 180 degrees in the normal rotation zone A of FIG. 2 by a container reversing mechanism 49 (FIG. 3) consisting of a cam mechanism, and the container 10 gripped in the upright state is rotated into an inverted state. I am now able to do this. Further, the container reversing mechanism 49 is configured to rotate the gripper 25 in the reverse direction by 180 degrees in the reversing zone B, thereby returning the container 10 which has been placed in an inverted state to an upright state again.

As shown in FIG. 3, the container reversing mechanism 49 includes a pair of cam followers 50 provided on the inner gripping member 37 of each gripper 25, and both cam followers 50.
It consists of a cam rail 51 passed through between the two. The cam rail 51 is fixed to the elevating frame 3 by a plurality of supports 52 as shown in FIG. The gripper 25 is twisted such that the gripper 25 rotates 180 degrees around the pin 36 of the gripper 25 between the normal rotation zone A and the reverse rotation zone B.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, a container opening nozzle 55 for spraying cleaning liquid is provided at a position in front of the timing screw 7.
The opening of the container 10 can be cleaned by spraying cleaning liquid from above toward the opening of the container 10, which is conveyed in an erect state by the conveyor 6.

The container opening nozzle 55 is attached to a water receiving table 56 (see FIG. 1) fixed to the lifting frame 3, and the container opening nozzle 55 is raised and lowered together with the water receiving table 56 as the lifting frame 3 moves up and down. It's becoming like that. The cleaning liquid sprayed from the container opening nozzle 55 toward the mouth of the upright container 10 is collected by a water receiving table 56, and the cleaning liquid collected by the water receiving table 56 is circulated (not shown). The water is collected in a washing tank, and is circulated and supplied again to the container mouth nozzle 55 from within this circulation washing tank.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the rotary body 24 is provided with internal cleaning nozzles 57 at positions radially inside each gripper 25, and each internal cleaning nozzle 57 injects cleaning liquid into the inverted container 10. This makes it possible to clean the inside of the container 10. Each internal cleaning nozzle 57 is connected to the above-mentioned circulating cleaning tank (not shown) via a rotary joint 58 (FIG. 1) in an internal cleaning circulation cleaning zone C following the normal rotation zone A shown in FIG. The cleaning liquid in the circulation cleaning tank is circulated and supplied to the inner cleaning nozzle 57. The cleaning liquid injected into the container 10 is collected into a circulating cleaning tank via a water receiving table 56 provided on the elevating frame 3.

Further, the water receiving table 56 is provided with an inverted container 1 at the entrance of the internal washing circulation cleaning zone C.
An outer washing nozzle 60 for washing the outside of the container 10 is provided, and the outside of the container 10 can be washed with the washing liquid from the outer washing nozzle 60. The cleaning liquid in the circulation washing tank is also supplied to this outer washing nozzle 60, and the cleaning liquid injected from the outer washing nozzle 60 is also collected into the circulation washing tank.

Container 10 that has passed through the internal cleaning circulation cleaning zone C
Next, it passes through an internal washing and finishing washing zone D. In this internal cleaning finishing cleaning zone D, the internal cleaning nozzle 57 provided on the rotary body 24 is switched and connected to the fresh water supply source via the rotary joint 58, and clean water is supplied from the fresh water supply source. A cleaning liquid is injected into the container 10 from the nozzle to perform final cleaning. This cleaning liquid is then collected into the circulation cleaning tank.

Container 10 after finishing cleaning has been completed in this way
passes through the draining zone E in an inverted state to drain water, and then returns to the upright state from the inverted state when passing through the above-mentioned reversal zone B. Then, the container 10 passed through the reversal zone B and was erected.
is delivered to the exit star wheel 9 at the same time as the gripper 25 releases the grip, and is discharged onto the aforementioned transport conveyor 6 by the exit star wheel 9.

In the above configuration, for example, when changing the container from a container with a low height to a container 10 with a high height, the elevating frame 3 may be raised by the elevating mechanism 2 according to the height of the container. When the elevating frame 3 is raised, the rotating body 24
Since the gripper 25 is raised, the gripper 25 provided thereon is also raised. Further, since the cam rail 51 that constitutes the container reversing mechanism 49 is also lifted up integrally with the lifting frame 3, the cam follower 51 provided on the gripper 25
The engagement between the cam rail 51 and the cam rail 51 is never disengaged.

On the other hand, since the transport conveyor 6 and the star wheel 8 on the entrance side are provided on the fixed frame 1 and do not rise, tall containers transported by the star wheel 8 on the entrance side are transported by the rotating body. The container 24 is smoothly gripped by the gripper 25 raised integrally with the container 24, and rotated by the container reversing mechanism 49 as the rotating body 24 rotates.

Further, as the rotating body 24 rises, the inner washing nozzle 57 provided thereon rises, and as the elevating frame 3 rises, the container mouth nozzle 55 and the outer washing nozzle 60 provided thereon rise, so that the container The mouth nozzle 55 and the inner washing nozzle 57 are connected to the container 10.
The relative position between the outer washing nozzle 60 and the container 10 does not change, and the relative position between the outer washing nozzle 60 and the container 10 only needs to be shifted by the height of the container. Fluctuations in the relative position between the container and the container can be reduced. Therefore, the container can be cleaned in good condition regardless of the height of the container.

As described above, when changing the height of a container, it is only necessary to raise and lower the lifting frame 3 according to the height of the container using the lifting mechanism 2, making the changing operation extremely easy. I can do it.

In the above embodiment, the drive shaft 23, the rotating body 24, the gears 28, 3 are used as the conveyance mechanism for circulating the gripper 25 while drawing a predetermined circular endless trajectory.
0, reduction mechanism 15, 29 and telescopic joint 31
For example, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 63-281990, the gripper is constructed by drawing an elliptical endless trajectory using an endless chain. Of course, a conveyance mechanism for circulating conveyance may also be used. Further, the container reversing mechanism 49 may be constituted by a cylinder provided on the rotating body 24, and the cleaning liquid may be cleaning air.

"Effects of the Invention" As described above, according to the present invention, when the height of the container is changed, it is only necessary to raise and lower the elevating frame accordingly, making the change work extremely easy. The effect is that it can be done as follows.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 shows an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 2; FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of FIG. 1; FIG. The figure is a sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 4. 1... Fixed frame, 2... Lifting mechanism, 3...
Lifting frame, 8, 9...Star wheel, 10
... Container, 23 ... Drive shaft, 24 ... Rotating body, 2
5...Gritzpa, 49...Container reversing mechanism, 50...
...Cam follower, 51...Cam rail, 55,5
7, 60... nozzle, 56... water receiving table.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of grippers each gripping a container;
a conveyance mechanism that circularly conveys each gripper while drawing a predetermined endless trajectory; an entrance-side star wheel that rotates in synchronization with the grippers conveyed by the conveyance mechanism and supplies containers to the grippers; an exit star wheel that rotates in synchronization with the grippers conveyed by the mechanism and discharges the container from the grippers; and an exit star wheel that rotates each of the grippers to place the containers gripped by the grippers in an upright state and an inverted state. In a container cleaning device equipped with a container reversing mechanism for rotating and a nozzle for spraying cleaning fluid into an inverted container, an elevating frame is provided to be movable up and down with respect to a fixed frame, and an elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the elevating frame. and the fixed frame is provided with the entrance side star wheel and the exit side star wheel, and the elevating frame is provided with the transport mechanism,
A container cleaning device characterized by being provided with a gripper, a container reversing mechanism, and a nozzle.