JPH0637228B2 - Line-type capper - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a line-type capper having a capping head, and more particularly to a line-type capper for capping a container conveyed by a conveyer conveyor by the capping head.

"Prior Art" As a conventional line-type capper, an endless chain is arranged so as to be able to circulate in one direction in a horizontal plane, and a large number of capping heads are attached to the endless chain downward at regular intervals, Further, each capping head can be moved above and along the transfer conveyor for transferring the container and can be raised and lowered, and the capping head is transferred in synchronization with the container at a position directly above the container transferred by the transfer conveyor. It is known that this is lowered toward the container and the cap held by the capping head is capped in the container.

As another line-type capper, an endless chain is arranged so as to be circulatively movable in one direction within a vertical plane above the conveyor, and a large number of endless chains are radially outwardly arranged at regular intervals. When the capping head is attached directly to the container at a position directly above the container, that is, when the capping head is directed downward, the capping head is lowered toward the container and the cap held by the capping head is capped on the container. It is known to do so.

"Problems to be Solved by the Invention" However, in the above-described conventional line-type capper, not all capping heads provided in the endless chain perform capping at substantially the same time,
Only some of the capping heads, that is, the capping heads facing the container at a position directly above the capper perform capping, and the other capping heads perform the circulation return operation for the next capping.

In other words, the conventional line-type capper has an advantage that the container can be continuously capped while the container is continuously advanced by the conveyor, but for that purpose, the endless chain is capped substantially at the same time. More capping heads must be installed than are required to perform the operation, and these capping heads are relatively expensive, so the disadvantage of providing many capping heads is not costly. is there.

"Means for Solving Problems" In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention provides a conveyor for conveying a container, a movable frame provided to be movable back and forth in parallel with the conveyor, and a position above the conveyor. , A plurality of capping heads provided on the movable frame so as to be able to move up and down, and the movable frame are moved in synchronism with the conveyer conveyor, and the capping heads provided on the movable frame are moved back and forth simultaneously along the conveyer conveyor. A reciprocating drive mechanism of the capping head to be moved, and a capping head lifting / lowering mechanism for simultaneously lifting / lowering each capping head provided on the moving frame, and capping each cap in a container conveyed in synchronization with each capping head, A traveling body provided so as to be movable in a direction parallel to the moving direction of the capping head, and the traveling body A drive means for the traveling body that is moved independently of the reciprocating drive mechanism of the head and in synchronization with the reciprocating drive mechanism; and a picker arm of the same number or more as the capping heads provided on the traveling body so as to be movable back and forth. A chute for supplying a cap to each of the picker arms, and a plurality of picker arms are moved back and forth with respect to the capping head to simultaneously supply the caps delivered from the chute to a position directly below the capping head. (EN) A line type capper having a picker arm driving means for simultaneously retracting the picker arm from the position directly below when the cap is delivered to each capping head.

[Operation] According to the above configuration, by moving the traveling body by the driving means of the traveling body, caps can be supplied from the chutes to the respective picker arms provided on the traveling body. The driving means of the traveling body moves the plurality of capping heads in a direction parallel to the moving direction.

And a plurality of picker arms provided on the traveling body,
The drive means of the picker arm allows the caps to be simultaneously positioned immediately below the plurality of capping heads, thereby supplying the caps to the plurality of capping heads all at once. Further, the plurality of picker arms that have supplied the caps to the plurality of capping heads are simultaneously retracted from the position directly below by the driving means of the picker arms, whereby the plurality of capping heads can cap the container.

Therefore, the capping heads can be manufactured at the same time as the capping heads required to perform the capping operation substantially at the same time, which makes it possible to manufacture the line-type capper at a low cost. Since the container is reciprocated along the direction, it is possible to cap the container while continuously advancing the container by the conveyor.

[Embodiment] The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiment. In FIGS. 1 to 3, the containers 1 are continuously conveyed by a conveyor 2 in a state of one row with a constant interval therebetween. The capping head 4 for capping the screw caps 3 on each of the six continuous containers 1 at the same time is arranged above the transfer conveyor 2.

Each of the capping heads 4 is provided to be movable up and down on a moving frame 5 at the same intervals as the container 1 carried by the carrying conveyor 2, and the moving frame 5 is provided along a guide rail 7 provided on the movable machine frame 6, It can reciprocate in a direction parallel to the transport conveyor 2.

The movable machine frame 6 is arranged above the fixed machine frame 8, and a pair of screw shafts 9 mounted vertically downward on both sides of the lower surface of the movable machine frame 6 are fixed to the fixed machine frame 8. A threaded shaft 9 is slidably fitted in each cylindrical member 10, and a screw shaft 9 thereof is screwed into a worm wheel 11 rotatably supported by each cylindrical member 10.

Then, two worms 13 are provided on one rotary shaft 12 which is horizontally supported on the stationary machine frame 8, and the worm wheels 11 are engaged with the respective worms 13 to rotate the rotary shaft 12. In this case, the movable machine frame 6 is moved up and down via the screw shaft 9, so that the distance between the conveyor 2 and the capping head 4 in the height direction can be adjusted according to the height of the container 1.

Next, the reciprocating drive mechanism 16 for reciprocating the moving frame 5 along the guide rail 7 is arranged in parallel with the conveyor 2 and has a cam shaft 17 rotatably supported in the movable machine frame 6; A drum 18 fixed to the cam shaft 17 is provided, and a cam follower 20 provided on the moving frame 5 is engaged with a groove cam 19 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the drum 18, so that the drum 18 is rotated. The movable frame 5 can be reciprocated according to the shape of the groove cam 19.

The drum 18 is interlocked with a rotating shaft 23 arranged in the vertical direction via a bevel gear 21 attached to the cam shaft 17 and a bevel gear 22 meshing with the bevel gear 21, and the rotary shaft 23 is spline-fitted to the rotating shaft 23. It is linked to axis 24. The rotary shaft 24 is linked to a horizontal rotary shaft 27 via a bevel gear 25 attached thereto and a bevel gear 26 meshing with the bevel gear 25, and further linked to a motor 29 via a reduction mechanism 28.

The pair of vertical rotating shafts 23 and 24 are arranged on the shafts of the screw shaft 9 and the tubular member 10, and the spline fitting allows the movable machine frame 6 to move up and down with respect to the stationary machine frame 8. I am trying to do it.

However, the elevating mechanism 35 for elevating and lowering the capping heads 4 is provided with the spindle yoke 36 that connects the capping heads 4 to each other.
The reference numeral 36 permits rotation of the respective rotary shafts 37 constituting the respective capping heads 4, but prevents relative movement up and down in the axial direction. It is possible to move up and down at the same time while permitting.

A cam follower 38 is attached to the spindle yoke 36, and the cam follower 38 is rotatably mounted on a fixed cam 39 fixed to the movable machine frame 6. This fixed cam
39 is an inclined cam surface 40 whose front side in the transport direction of the container 1 is lowered
When the moving frame 5 is moved to the front side in the carrying direction of the container 1, the inclined cam surfaces 40 of the moving frame 5 allow the capping heads 4 to be simultaneously lowered.

Further, on the back surface of the fixed cam 39, an elevating cam 41 capable of engaging with the cam follower 38 is provided at the same time as the fixing cam 39 so as to be able to move up and down. Therefore, the cam follower 38 is one of the fixed cam 39 and the elevating cam 41. It comes to engage with the cam located at the higher position. The elevating cam 41 is movable up and down along a pair of columns 42 provided on the movable machine frame 6, and the shaft 4 mounted on the movable machine frame 6 is movable.
3 through the bell crank 44 pivotally supported on the cam shaft 17
It is interlocked with the disc cam 45 fixed to.

As shown in FIG. 3, the shaft 43 is horizontally arranged on the movable machine frame 6, and the tip of one arm of the bell crank 44 is moved up and down via a link 46 (see FIG. 2). The cam follower 47 interlocked with the cam 41 and provided at the tip of the other arm is used for the lifting cam 41 and the bell crank 44.
It contacts the outer peripheral surface of the disc cam 45 by its own weight.

Further, the disc cam 45 is fixed to the cam shaft 17, and when the moving frame 5 is moved to the front side in the carrying direction of the container 1, the elevating cam 41 is positioned at the lower end position, and the moving frame 5 is moved.
Is arranged so that the elevating cam 41 is located at the rising end when the cap is retracted from the forward end to the backward end, so that the moving frame 5 can be moved backward with each capping head 4 being located at the rising end. There is.

Further, the rotating shaft 37 of each capping head 4 is in key or spline engagement with a gear 50 rotatably supported on the upper part of the moving frame 5, and is integral with the gear 50 in the rotating direction. However, it is slidable in the axial direction. Each of the gears 50 is a gear 51 that meshes with it.
The capping heads 4 are rotated in the screw tightening direction of the screw caps 3 by the motors 52 in cooperation with the motors 52 having a built-in clutch and brake.

In addition, a flexible hose 53 is attached to each capping head 4.
Compressed air as a power source is supplied via the, and as is well known in the art, when supplying compressed air, by operating a piston (not shown) to reduce the inner diameter of the annular rubber member, The screw cap 3 inserted in the annular rubber member can be held, and on the other hand, when the supply of compressed air is stopped, the inner diameter of the screw can be expanded by the restoring force of the annular rubber member to release the holding of the screw cap 3. ing.

Next, on the fixed machine frame 8, a slider 56 is provided at a position below the transport conveyor 2 so as to be movable back and forth along the transport conveyor 2.
And a pair of connecting rods 57 mounted downward on both sides of the moving frame 5 are engaged and connected to the slider 56 so as to be able to move up and down, so that when the moving frame 5 reciprocates, Along with this, the slider 56 is reciprocated and the movable machine frame 6 is allowed to move up and down.

The slider 56 is provided with a container gripper 58 which is transported by the transport conveyor 2 at a position directly below each capping head 4. As shown in FIG. 4, each container gripper 58 has a pair of grip arms 59 rotatably supported by the slider 56 and gears 60 attached to the pair of grip arms 59 and meshing with each other.
And a spring 61 for urging both grip arms 59 in the holding direction of the container 1. In a natural state, each pair of grip arms 59 is closed by the spring 61 to hold the container 1. There is.

A cam follower 62 is provided on one grip arm 59 of the pair of grip arms 59, and a swing cam 63 is provided.
When each cam follower 62 is rocked against the spring 61 by the above, the pair of grip arms 59 is opened to open the container 1
To be able to release the retention of. The swing cam 63 is swingably supported on the stationary machine frame 8 and is interlocked with a disc cam 65 attached to the rotary shaft 27 via a link mechanism 64.

Further, the screw cap supply mechanism 70 for supplying the screw cap 3 to each of the capping heads 4 is
A pair of sprockets 71 provided on both sides of the movable machine frame 6, and an endless chain as a traveling body suspended on both sprockets 71.
72, and a motor 73 as a drive means for the traveling body, which rotates and drives one sprocket 71.

As shown in FIG. 5, the chain 72 has a large number of picker arms 74 at the same intervals as the capping heads 4.
Is rotatably supported and each picker arm 74
Is urged toward the inside of an endless chain 72 stretched in an elliptical shape by a torque spring (not shown), and is normally held in a retracted position that does not hinder the vertical movement of the capping head 4.

A cam follower 75 is provided on each of the picker arms 74, and when each cam follower 75 is swung to the outside of the endless chain 72 by the swing cam 76 against the torque spring, the tip of each picker arm 74 is The screw cap 3 supported by the above can be positioned directly below the capping head 4 located at the rising end position. Therefore, in this embodiment, the swing cam 76 is
And a torque spring (not shown)
The picker arm drive means for moving the 74 forward and backward is configured.

At this time, the chain 72 is allowed to travel on a straight line by a guide rail (not shown) so that the chain 72 does not escape when the cam followers 75 are pushed forward by the swing cam 76. The swing cam 76 is interlocked with a disc cam 78 attached to the cam shaft 17 via a link mechanism 77 having a swing lever that is swingably provided on the shaft 43.

Further, a chute 79 is arranged on the movement locus of each picker arm 74 in a state in which each of the picker arms 74 is located inside the endless chain 72, that is, in the retracted position, and is supplied from the sorter 80 to the tip of the chute 79. The screw caps 3 that are stopped can be sequentially taken out by each picker arm 74.

In the above configuration, the rotation of each capping head 4 is stopped when the moving frame 5 is located at the retracted end,
Further, the lifting cam 41 is positioned at the rising end position.
Furthermore, the grip arm 59 of the container gripper 58 is a swing cam 63.
The picker arm 74 holds the screw cap 3 and the swing cam 74
It is located directly below the capping head 4 located at the rising end position due to the forward movement of 76.

In this state, when six consecutive containers 1 are carried in between each pair of grip arms 59, the moving frame 5 and the grip arms 59 are advanced at the same speed as the container 1, and the swing cam 63 is retracted. Then, each container 1 is held between each pair of grip arms 59.

When the moving frame 5 starts to move forward, at the same time, the motor 73 is activated to move the picker arms 74 in synchronism with the capping head 4 while maintaining the positions directly below the picking arms 74. Then, the screw cap 3 is relatively inserted into each capping head 4. Then, compressed air is supplied to each capping head 4 via the flexible hose 53, and each capping head 4 holds the screw cap 3 respectively.

Each capping head 4 is attached to the screw cap 3
Then, the elevating cam 41 slightly rises to take out the screw cap 3 from each picker arm 74. In this state, the swinging cam 76 retreats to move each picker arm 74 from the position directly below the capping head 4. The motor 52 starts the rotation of each capping head 4.

Further, when each picker arm 74 is retracted from the position directly below the capping head 4, the elevating cam 41 descends to the descending end position, whereby the cam follower 38 of the capping head 4 is placed on the fixed cam 39. When the cam follower 38 descends along the inclined cam surface 40 due to the forward movement of the moving frame 5, the screw caps 3 of the capping heads 4 are tightened on the container 1.

When the tightening of the screw cap 3 is completed, the supply of compressed air to each capping head 4 is stopped, whereby each capping head 4 releases the holding of the screw cap 3. When each capping head 4 releases the holding of the screw cap 3, it is raised by the elevating cam 41 and stopped by the motor 52, and each pair of grip arms 59 releases the holding of the container 1. Then, in the above case, the moving frame 5 is retracted to the original position at a high speed.

On the other hand, when each of the picker arms 74 is retracted from the position directly below the capping head 4, each picker arm 74 cyclically moves by 6 in one direction independently of the operation of the moving frame 5, whereby the screw caps 3 are already moved. The new picker arms 74 that have been held are positioned at the supply positions of the screw caps 3 to the capping heads 4, and the six empty picker arms 74 sequentially take out the screw caps 3 from the chute 79 and hold them during the running. Come to do.

After that, the same operation is repeated and capping is sequentially performed for every six containers.

Although the above-mentioned embodiment shows an embodiment in which a screw cap is used as the cap, various design changes can be made according to the type of the cap. For example, when the cap is an inner cap, it is not necessary to rotate the capping head 4, and the container 1
Since it is not necessary to grip the device, the motor 52 and the container gripper 58, which are the mechanism for that, can be omitted. Further, the container gripper 58 for gripping the container 1 can be omitted if necessary.

[Advantages of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform capping on a container while continuously advancing the container by the transfer conveyor, and the capping head performs the capping operation substantially at the same time. Since it is necessary to prepare only the required number of capping heads, it is possible to obtain the effect that the line type capper capable of performing capping at high speed can be manufactured at low cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, FIG. 3 is a rear view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a container gripper.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the main part of 58, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the main part of the screw cap supply mechanism 70. 1 ... Container, 2 ... Conveyor, 3 ... Screw cap, 5 ... Moving frame, 4 ... Capping head, 18 ... Drum, 16 ... Reciprocating drive mechanism, 19 ... Groove cam 20, 38 ... Cam follower, 35 …… Lifting mechanism 29, 52, 73 …… Motor, 39 …… Fixed cam 41 …… Lifting cam, 58 …… Container gripper 59 …… Grip arm, 74 …… Picker arm 70 …… Screw cap supply mechanism 79 …… shoot

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (56) References JP-A-48-20688 (JP, A) JP-A-60-172691 (JP, A) Practical application JP-A-57-63811 (JP-A-58-167094) Of the detailed description and drawings attached to the application

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A transport conveyor for transporting a container, a movable frame provided so as to be movable back and forth in parallel with the transport conveyor, and a plurality of capping heads provided above the transport conveyor so as to be vertically movable on the movable frame. A reciprocating drive mechanism for the capping head that moves the moving frame in synchronization with the transfer conveyor so that each capping head provided on the moving frame moves back and forth at the same time along the transfer conveyor; The capping head elevating mechanism that moves the capping heads up and down at the same time to cap the caps on the containers that are conveyed in synchronization with the capping heads, and the capping heads can move in the direction parallel to the advancing and retracting direction of the capping heads. The traveling body provided and the reciprocating drive of the traveling body independently of the reciprocating drive mechanism of the capping head. Drive means running body moving in synchronization with the structure, at least as many picker arm and the capping head provided to be respectively move forward and backward in the traveling body,
A chute for supplying a cap to each of the picker arms, and a plurality of picker arms are moved back and forth with respect to the capping head to simultaneously supply the caps delivered from the chute to a position directly below the capping head. A line-type capper, comprising: a picker arm driving unit that simultaneously retracts the picker arm from the position directly below when the cap is delivered to each capping head.