JPH0755463B2 - Grip bell for bottles or similar - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a sleeve-like housing having on one side thereof a receiving opening for a bottle or the like, said receiving opening conically expanding inwardly. An axially movable actuating element arranged on the other side in the housing and a collet chuck actuated by the actuating element and guided for axial movement in the housing. The elastic gripping fingers of the collet chuck are separated from each other by a slot such that the gripping fingers are moved radially by the control surface in response to relative axial movement between the collet chuck and the housing. Applied to the gripper finger thus holding or releasing the bottle or the like from the outside.

Grip bells are known in which the gripping fingers of a collet chuck, which is formed integrally with a piston-like actuating element, impinges its free ends exclusively on a conical control surface in the open and closed states of the collet chuck (Germany). Publication No. 1586012
issue). There is no additional guiding means for the grasping fingers.
This known gripping bell can be used for many kinds of bottles and containers and requires only a small actuating force, but it results in an uncontrolled deformation of the gripping finger, said gripping finger notably being the actuating element. It has a drawback in that it is subjected to a strong bending load at the point of transition to. Moreover, due to the fact that the collet chuck is made of a relatively rigid material, the grasping fingers often break even after only a short period of use.
To seal the actuating element against the inner surface of the housing, which acts as a cylinder, a separate sealing ring is provided, which sealing ring is arranged in the annular groove of the actuating element.

Furthermore, other prior art gripping bells are also known. In the case of this gripper, the clamping sleeve is arranged in a sleeve-like housing, one end of said clamping sleeve abutting the collar of the housing in the region of the receiving opening, the other end abutting the working piston, said piston said housing It is guided by moving in the axial direction (German Publication No. 3819598). The sleeve is slightly inwardly curved and has an opening, the inner diameter of which decreases in the case of axial compression caused by the working piston. This known gripping bell can only be used for specially shaped bottles and containers and requires a relatively high actuation force. The clamping sleeve must be made of a relatively stiff material as it must create a restoring force. Therefore, its service life is limited. As the grabbell becomes loose, the bottle may get caught in the grabbell in an uncontrolled manner.

The object of the invention is to considerably increase the service life of the collet chuck in a gripping bell of the type described at the beginning of the text with the aid of simple measures.

According to the invention, the above problem is solved by the feature that the stationary guide surfaces for the collet chuck and its gripping fingers are respectively arranged inside the collet chuck.

If necessary, by the fact that the collet chuck and its gripping fingers are guided not only on their outside, but on their inside, respectively, by a guide surface which is immovable with the housing and which slides on the collet chuck, if necessary. Limited deformation occurs during movement between open and closed positions without uncontrolled bending or buckling of the grasping fingers. In addition, because of the precise guidance, substantially lower stiffness materials can be used.

As a result, the service life of the gripper of the present invention is substantially extended.

There are several ways to construct the inner and outer guide surfaces for the collet chuck and its grasping fingers. The outer guide surface is formed on the housing. Some special advantageous approaches are described in claims 2-6. With these structural designs, precise guidance on all sides is achieved and only the end section of the grasping finger is bent by the control surface when the collet chuck is moved to the closed position. The remainder of the collet chuck received between the inner and outer guide surfaces can retain its cylindrical shape and has only the function of transmitting movement to the end of the gripping finger in the manner of a sliding sleeve.
In this connection, it is preferred to round the control surface into a concave shape according to claim 7 and thus, especially when the gripping finger ends are rounded into a complementary convex shape. The finger end can be moved exclusively in the radial direction.

Further, there are various methods for holding the inner guide surface for the collet chuck. Some particularly advantageous approaches are described in claims 8-14. In this way, a particularly rigid fixing of the guide surface and a compact and economically priced construction are achieved. In addition, these embodiments provide additional locking and centering techniques for the bottle head, as well as ways to prevent wear-increasing contact between the bottle head and the collet chuck.

Furthermore, the rigid bridge portion inside the collet chuck acts as an abutment for the pressure spring which moves the collet chuck to the open position as claimed in claims 15-19. Thus, a compact closed structure is possible and the collet chuck itself does not have to generate a restoring force.

As claimed in claims 16 to 18, the collet chuck can be constructed as a separate part, which part comprises a base-like connecting section and is separate from the piston-like actuating element, but removable Connected to it.

However, due to the fact that the collet chuck, in the case of the gripper bell of the invention, can be made from a flexible plastic material with good slidability, the collet chuck, the piston-like actuating element and the piston-like element are A particularly advantageous monolithic design with the sealing element can be provided. The monolithic design is described in dependent claims 19 to 25. The one-piece constructional unit formed by the collet chuck, the piston and the sealing means realizes a particularly advantageous construction cost and allows a simple and quick replacement of the collet chuck, if required. The one-piece design naturally ensures that the two parts subject to wear, the collet chuck and the sealing flange, are always updated together.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the gripper bell with the closed position shown on the left and the open position shown on the right.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line AB in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of another embodiment of the collet chuck.

The gripping bell shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a rotationally symmetrical, sleeve-like housing 1, which is made of a hard plastic material with good sliding properties. The upper end of the housing 1 in the vertical use position shown is closed by a cover formed on the housing. A central connecting pin 17 having an extending hole is formed inside the cover. A flexible hose 18 or a tube is fixed to the connecting pin 17. This hose or tube serves to hold the gripper bell within the gripping head of the bottling or filling machine. The machine is not shown in detail. On the other hand, the hose is a cylindrical space 19 formed at the upper end of the housing 1.
It works by supplying compressed air to. The sealed piston-like actuating element 4 is arranged in said cylindrical space 19 and is axially movable.

A circular receiving opening 2 is arranged at the end of the lower end gripping bell in the illustrated vertical use position, the diameter of this opening being slightly larger than the diameter of the head of the bottle to be gripped (shown in phantom). The receiving opening 2 is followed at its lower end by a centering surface 20 which expands conically for the bottle head. The receiving opening 2 is followed by a control surface 3 at its upper end, which also expands into a substantially conical shape and is fluted and rounded. Control surface 3
The lower end which touches to extends at an acute angle to the horizontal. The upper end in contact with the control surface 3 extends vertically and merges seamlessly with the cylindrical inner surface 9 of the housing 1. The receiving opening 2, the centering surface 20, the control surface 3 and the inner surface 9 are arranged concentrically with the central axis of the housing 1.

Inside the housing 1 there is arranged a sleeve-like collet chuck 5, which is made of a flexible plastic material and extends from the actuating element 4 substantially to the receiving opening 2. The collet chuck is arranged so as to be movable in the axial direction. The collet chuck 5
Has a horizontal base 16 at its upper end, and the base is integrally formed with a collet chuck, and the collet chuck contacts the piston-like actuating element 4 in a large area through the base. The collet chuck 5 is detachably connected to the actuating element 4 by a central screw extending through the base 16.

The outer peripheral surface of the collet chuck 5 has a cylindrical shape over almost its entire length and is guided by moving on the inner surface 9 of the housing 1. The outer peripheral surface of the collet chuck 5 is rounded into a convex shape corresponding to the control surface 3 only in its lower end section, and when the collet chuck is opened, the outer peripheral surface terminates in the receiving opening 2. Collet chuck 5
The inner peripheral surface of is also largely cylindrical and has a thickened stepped portion 14 in its lower end section, said thickened portion extending partially cylindrically on the inside when the collet chuck is opened, Aligned with the receiving opening 2. The collet chuck 5 has a plurality of axially extending slots 6 which are evenly distributed on the circumference and open at its lower end, thus forming a plurality of individually movable gripping fingers 7. The slot 6 terminates at a certain distance from the base 16 of the collet chuck 5 and its upper region is continuous and cylindrical.

Inside the collet chuck 5, the disc-shaped bridge portion 10
Are arranged in a horizontal position in a substantially central region. A plurality of webs extending in the radial direction are provided around the disc-shaped bridge portion 10.
11, the web extends through the slot 6 with a certain amount of play and fits closely into an annular recess 12 formed inside the housing 1. Therefore, the bridge portion 10 is firmly fixed in the housing 1 and does not participate in the axial movement of the collet chuck 5.

At the level of the recess 12, the housing 1 is divided in a horizontal plane such that the upper boundary of the recess 12 lies in the upper housing section 1a and the lower boundary lies in the lower housing section 1b. Both housing sections are detachably screwed by means of threads 21.
Then, when the lower housing section 1b is unscrewed, the bridge part 10, the collet chuck 5 and the actuating element 4 are
Can be individually removed together from the upper housing section 1a. On the other hand, during assembly of the gripper bell, the actuating element 4 and the collet chuck 5 can be introduced into the upper housing section 1a if the lower housing section 1b is unscrewed. After this, the bridge portion 10 is placed on the lower edge of the upper housing section 1a and is fixed in this position by finally screwing it onto the lower housing section 1b. The bridge part 10 holds all the components so as to form one structural unit.

The lower surface of the bridge portion 10 faces the receiving opening 2 and this lower surface comprises an annular cylindrical extension 13 concentric with the receiving opening 2. The diameter of the cylindrical inner surface of said extension 13 corresponds to the diameter of the receiving opening 2 and limits the receiving means for the bottle head to be gripped. The horizontal lower surface of the bridge portion 10 acts as a stop for the lower surface of the bottle head, ensuring that the desired relative position between the bottle and the gripping bell can be accurately observed. The cylindrical outer surface of the extension 13 is configured as a guide surface 8 for the collet chuck 5 and its gripping fingers 7. The outer surface, together with the cylindrical inner surface 9 of the housing 1, defines an annular guide passage, which guide passage comprises a collet chuck 5.
Surround the collet chuck with close play, but with sufficient play travel. In the region of this guide channel, the collet chuck 5 can only be subjected to tensile or shear stresses, bending or buckling stresses being excluded. Guide surface 8
The lower end of the extends to the point where the inner surface 9 smoothly merges with the control surface 3. The short end section of the gripping finger 7 can therefore be deformed under the influence of the control surface 3 without obstruction.

The pressure spring 15 abuts against the upper surface of the bridge portion 10, and the upper end of the pressure spring acts on the base 16 of the collet chuck 5 and the actuating element 4 to try to push the actuating element 4 upward. The uppermost position is determined by a stop surface, which is formed on the actuating element 4 and is brought into contact with the lower surface of the upper lid of the housing 1. At this position, shown on the right side of FIG. 1, the collet chuck 5 opens and its gripping finger 7 retracts. In this state, the inner cylindrical surface of the extension 13 and the inner cylindrical surface of the thick portion 14 are aligned with the receiving opening 2. Thus, the bottle head to be gripped can enter the gripping bell without obstruction. The functionally important elements, in particular the gripping surface defined by the beveled section of the gripping finger, are well protected against damage which may be caused, for example, by the bottle cap. In its open position, the collet chuck 5 continues with its entire outer surface to the rounded control surface 3 like the inner surface 9 of the housing 1 and is not subjected to any stress.

When compressed air is supplied to the cylindrical space 19 through the hose 18 under sufficient pressure, the actuating element 4 moves downwards in the direction of the receiving opening 2 together with the collet chuck 5 against the force exerted by the pressure spring 15. To do. If there is no bottle, this movement is due to the cam formed on the top of the bridge 10.
Stopped by 23. The head of the screw interconnecting the collet chuck 5 and the actuating element 4 contacts the cam.
The cam 23 determines the maximum closing movement of the collet chuck 5, and thus the minimum mutual distance between the ends of the gripping fingers 7 in the closed position. This closing movement is limited so that no adverse load is applied to the gripping fingers. When moved to the closed position under the influence of the actuating element 4, the gripping finger ends projecting beyond the inner guiding surface 8 are such that they make a sliding movement in which they are oriented substantially radially towards the central axis of the gripping bell. It deforms on the control surface 3. During this movement, the appropriately rounded outer end section of the grasping finger 7 slides along the control surface. The deformation is thus limited to the end section of the gripping finger 7. The grabbing movement is continued until the beveled section 22 of the grabbing finger end contacts the bottles and tightens the bottle between them. Due to the fact that the gripping movement of the gripping fingers takes place mainly in the radial direction, almost all common bottles and containers can be easily and reliably gripped, even if they have a significantly thicker head part.

Similar to the collet chuck 5 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the collet chuck 5a shown in FIG. 3 is made of a flexible plastic material such as molded polyurethane and is provided in the housing 1 shown in FIGS. It is for. It is also integrally formed with the base 16a. However, in this case it is constructed as a one-piece piston for the cylindrical space 9. A circular metal disc 26 is fully embedded in the base for reinforcement. A centering shoulder 27 protruding in a circle is formed on the lower surface of the base 16a facing the gripping finger 7. The centering shoulder 27 centers the pressure spring 15 after it has been installed in the housing 1. Therefore, the pressure spring 15 impinges directly on the base 16a or rather on the piston. However, the centering shoulder 27 cooperates with the cam 23 formed on the upper surface of the bridge portion 10 and thus determines the lowermost position of the collet chuck 5a.

The collet chuck 5a of FIG. 3 comprises four axially extending, open-ended slots 6 which are evenly distributed on the circumference. Therefore, this requires a bridge portion 10 whose circumference comprises four radial webs 11 corresponding to the one described above.

The rotationally symmetrical sealing flange 24 has a collet chuck 5a and a base.
They are formed integrally with 16a, respectively, at the upper edge of the collet chuck 5a and the lateral edge of the base 16a. As shown in FIG.
When the collet chuck 5a is not installed, the stress-free sealing ridge 24 projects outwards with a slight bevel to the cylindrical outer surface of the collet chuck, so that after installation in the housing 1, it is Abut the cylindrical inner wall 9 of the housing with the desired prestress. The sealing ridge 24 is followed by an annular groove 25 towards its center, which groove opens axially at the top. On the one hand, this annular groove gives the sealing ridge 24 the desired elasticity and, on the other hand, causes the pressure medium introduced into the cylindrical space 19 to act on the sealing ledge 24 from the inside and makes it stronger on the face 9. To be pressed against.

The end surface of the base 16a is flat except for the annular groove 25 and faces away from the gripping finger 7, but this end surface cooperates with the lid formed on the upper end of the housing 1 and the means of the stopping means. Thus, the upper position or the open position of the collet chuck 5a is determined. In this position, the upper free end of the sealing ridge 24 has a base 16 to prevent it from contacting the lid.
It terminates at a short distance from the plane of said end face of a.

In the case of the collet chuck 5 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the collet chuck 5a is the collet chuck itself and the piston 4
And achieve all the functions performed by the sealing ring of the piston.

Claims (25)

[Claims] 1. A sleeve-like housing, said housing having on one side a receiving opening for a bottle or the like, said receiving opening being followed by a control surface which conically expands inwardly, An elastically movable collet chuck including an axially movable actuating element located on the other side in the housing and a collet chuck acted by the actuating element and guided to move axially in the housing. The gripping fingers are separated from each other by a slot, the gripping fingers being adapted to move radially by the control surface in response to relative axial movement between the collet chuck and the housing, and thus the gripping fingers. At the gripper bell, where the fingers hold or release the bottle or the like from the outside, the collet chuck (5,
An immovable guide surface (8) for 5a) and its gripping finger (7) is arranged inside the collet chuck (5, 5a), respectively, and thus the collet chuck and its gripping finger respectively / their outer surface. A gripping bell, characterized in that it is slidably guided on and / or on their inner surfaces. 2. Grip bell according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide surface (8) is rotationally symmetrical and is arranged concentrically with the housing (1) and the collet chuck (5, 5a). 3. Grip bell according to claim 2, characterized in that the guide surface (8) is cylindrical. 4. An inner surface (9) defines a part of the housing (1) and is located opposite the guide surface (8), said inner surface being cylindrical and said guide surface (8). The grip bell according to claim 3, wherein the grip bell is arranged concentrically with the grip bell. 5. The collet chuck (5, 5a) has a cylindrical central region and is slidably received between the guide surface (8) and the inner surface (9) of the housing (1). The grip bell described in 4. 6. Grip bell according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the guide surface (8) extends to the end section of the control surface located inside the housing. 7. The control surface (3) is rounded into a concave shape,
7. Grip bell according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the ends of the gripping fingers (7) are rounded into a complementary convex shape. 8. A guide surface (8) is arranged on the bridge part (10), said bridge part being fastened in the housing (1) between the actuating element (4) and the receiving opening (2). The gripping bell according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that 9. The bridge portion (10) comprises a plurality of radially oriented webs (11), said webs passing through axially extending openings (6) in a collet chuck (5, 5a) to form a housing (1). 9. The gripping bell according to claim 8, characterized in that the gripping bell engages with the recess (12). 10. The opening according to claim 9, characterized in that the opening is defined between the gripping fingers (7) by an open-ended slot (6).
Gripping bell described in. 11. The housing is divided in a plane extending at right angles to the central axis in the area of the recess (12) and
Grip bell according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that two housing parts (1a, 1b) are detachably connected to each other. 12. A bridge part (10) having an annular extension (13) on the side facing the receiving opening (2), the interior of said extension being configured as a receiving means for a bottle head. The gripping bell according to any one of claims 8 to 11. 13. Grip bell according to claim 12, characterized in that the diameter of the receiving means corresponds approximately to the diameter of the receiving opening (2) and is arranged concentrically therewith. 14. Grasping fingers (7) are provided inside their free ends with a stepped thick portion (14), said thick portion defining a cylindrical surface when the collet chuck (5) is opened. Then
14. Grip bell according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the cylindrical surface is preferably aligned with the receiving means formed in the extension (13). 15. A pressure spring (15) is inserted between the side of the bridge part (10) facing away from the receiving opening (2) and the side close to the piston-like actuating element (4). The gripping bell according to any one of claims 8 to 14. 16. The collet chuck (5, 5a) according to claim 1, wherein the collet chuck (5, 5a) is provided with a base (16, 16a) on the end face adjacent to the actuating element (4). Grab bell. 17. Grip bell according to claim 16, characterized in that the collet chuck (5, 5a) and its base (16, 16a) are formed integrally with each other. 18. Grip bell according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that the collet chuck (5) is detachably connected to the actuating element (4) in the region of the base (16). 19. The piston-like actuating element is defined directly by the base (16a) of the collet chuck (5a), the rotationally symmetrical, elastic sealing ridge (24) being the collet chuck (5a).
Grip according to claim 17, characterized in that it is formed on a base (16a) and / or the sealing ridges abut the cylindrical inner surface (9) of the housing (1) under prestressing. bell. 20. The gripping bell according to claim 19, characterized in that the free end of the sealing tongue (24) is directed towards the side of the collet chuck (5a) facing away from the gripping finger (7). 21. The annular groove (25) is formed in the base (16a) and is open in the axial direction, and the annular groove continues toward the center toward the sealing edge (24). The gripping bell according to claim 20. 22. The sealing ridge (24) extends to the plane of the end face of the base (16a) facing away from the gripping finger (7) or is a short distance in front of said plane. 22. The gripping bell according to claim 21, characterized in that it terminates in. 23. The metal reinforcing plate (26) is embedded in the base (16a) according to any one of claims 16 to 22.
The grip bell described in the item. 24. A pressure spring (15) acting on a base (16a).
Grip bell according to any one of claims 16 to 23, characterized in that a centering shoulder (27) is formed on the side of the base (16a) facing the gripping finger (7). 25. The collet chuck (5, 5a), together with its base (16, 16a) if required, is made of a flexible plastic material. Gripping bell described in.