Capper

Abstract

To provide a capper which has a large diameter part and a small diameter part, and caps a cap conveyed with the small diameter part upward and the large diameter part downward.SOLUTION: The capper 10 includes a cap conveyor 12 for conveying a cap having a large-diameter portion C1 and a small-diameter portion C2 in a posture in which the large-diameter portion is positioned downward, and a cap supply wheel 16 provided with a plurality of grippers 14 capable of reversing on an outer periphery, and the grippers 14 are reversed during transfer by the cap supply wheel 16 after the cap C on the cap conveyor 12 is held by the grippers 14, so that the small-diameter portion C2 of the cap C is positioned downward. A capping head 24 of a capping wheel 22 adjacent to the cap feed wheel 16 holds and receives the large diameter C1 of the cap C and inserts the small diameter C2 of the cap C into the vessel V.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a capper for attaching a cap having a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion to a container. [Background technology]

[0002] A rotary capper is known that delivers caps conveyed from a chute with the top surface facing up to a capping head of a cap supply wheel, and then attaches the caps to containers using the capping head (Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-232797 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Some caps have a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion, and the small diameter portion is inserted into the container to seal it. For example, a container containing a luxury perfume may have a cap made of glass that seals the small diameter portion and the large diameter portion. Such caps are expensive and cannot be transported using a chute because they would be damaged if transported using a chute. Furthermore, when transporting caps using a conveyor, they must be transported with the large diameter portion (the top of the cap) facing downwards, as they would be unstable if the small diameter portion were facing downwards. However, when transferring them to the capping head, they must be transferred with the small diameter portion facing downwards, i.e., the large diameter portion facing upwards.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a capper that has a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion and caps a cap that is conveyed with the small diameter portion on top and the large diameter portion on the bottom. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The first invention of the present invention is a capper comprising: a cap transport conveyor that transports caps having a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion with a gap between them and with the large diameter portion positioned downward; a gripper that is openable, closable, and reversible and holds the caps; a cap supply wheel having multiple grippers mounted on its outer periphery; an opening / closing means mounted on the cap supply wheel for opening and closing the multiple grippers; an inverting means mounted on the cap supply wheel for inverting the multiple grippers; and a capping head that is mounted in multiple positions on the outer periphery of a wheel adjacent to the cap supply wheel and receives the caps held by the grippers and attaches them to containers.The capper holds caps on the cap transport conveyor with the grippers, and inverts the grippers during rotation and transport by the cap supply wheel to position the small diameter portion of the cap held by the gripper downward, and then the capping head holds and receives the large diameter portion of the cap, inserts the small diameter portion of the cap into the container, and attaches the cap to the container.

[0007] A capper according to a second aspect of the present invention is the capper according to the first aspect of the present invention, characterized in that the gripper holds the small diameter portion of the cap on the cap transport conveyor.

[0008] The capper of the third invention of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, the gripper is formed with an annular surface support portion that supports the outer periphery of the annular surface of the large diameter portion at the center of which is the small diameter portion, and a side holding portion that holds the side of the large diameter portion, and the large diameter portion of the cap on the cap transport conveyor is held by the annular surface support portion and side holding portion of the gripper. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a capper having a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion, which caps a cap that is conveyed with the small diameter portion on top and the large diameter portion on the bottom. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the arrangement of a capper according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2A and 2B are plan views of the gripper, in which FIG. 2A shows the gripper in an open state and FIG. 2B shows the gripper in a closed state. [Figure 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the cap supply wheel opening / closing cam. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the cap supply wheel from above. [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing the time series of changes in the posture of the cap and the gripper pieces from when the gripper grips the large diameter portion of the cap until it rotates 180 degrees and delivers the cap to the capping head. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the arrangement of a capper according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] The capper 10 of this embodiment comprises a cap transport conveyor 12 on which caps C having a large diameter portion C1 and a small diameter portion C2 are transported with the large diameter portion C1 positioned downward, a gripper 14 that is openable, closable, and reversible and holds the caps C transported on the cap transport conveyor 12, a cap supply wheel 16 on which multiple grippers 14 are provided along its outer periphery, an opening and closing mechanism (opening and closing means) 18 that is provided on the cap supply wheel 16 and uses, for example, opening and closing cams 18A, 18B, etc. to open and close the grippers 14, an inversion mechanism (inversion means) 20 (see Figures 3 and 4) that is provided on the cap supply wheel 16 and inverts each of the grippers 14, and multiple capping heads 24 that are provided along the outer periphery of a capping wheel 22 adjacent to the cap supply wheel 16 and receive the caps C gripped by the grippers 14 and attach them to containers V.

[0013] The cap supply wheel 16 is disposed adjacent to the downstream end of the cap transport conveyor 12 and the capping wheel 22. The caps C are transported on the cap transport conveyor 12 at a predetermined interval (pitch) by a spacing adjustment mechanism (not shown), and at the cap supply position P0 at the downstream end of the cap transport conveyor 12, the large diameter portion C1 located at the bottom is gripped by the gripper 14 of the cap supply wheel 16. The cap C gripped by the gripper 14 is transferred toward the capping wheel 22 by the rotation of the cap supply wheel 16, during which the gripper 14 is rotated (flipped) 180 degrees, so that the large diameter portion C1 of the cap C is positioned above and the small diameter portion C2 is positioned below. The cap C is then transferred to the capping head 24 of the capping wheel 22 at the cap delivery position P1, and the large diameter portion C1 is held by the capping head 24.

[0014] Meanwhile, containers V are supplied from container supply conveyor 26 and supplied to capping wheel 22 via container supply wheel 28, which is arranged adjacent to and between container supply conveyor 26 and capping wheel 22. Container supply wheel 28 delivers containers V to a pedestal (not shown) provided along the outer periphery of capping wheel 22 at container delivery position P2 of capping wheel 22, which is downstream of cap delivery position P1.

[0015] A platform on which the container V is placed is located directly below each capping head 24, and while the capping wheel 22 rotates and transfers the container V and cap C along the outer periphery of the capping wheel 22, the capping head 24 descends, inserting and attaching the small diameter portion C2 of the cap C into the mouth of the container V, thereby sealing the mouth of the container V with the cap C. The container V with the cap C attached is delivered to a container discharge wheel 30 adjacent to the capping wheel 22 at a container discharge position P3 located downstream of the container transfer position P2 and upstream of the cap transfer position P1. The container discharge wheel 30 is positioned adjacent to the upstream end of the container discharge conveyor 32, and the capped container C transported by the container discharge wheel 30 is delivered to the container discharge conveyor 32 and discharged downstream.

[0016] 2A and 2B are plan views of the gripper 14, in which FIG. 2A shows the gripper 14 in an open state, and FIG. 2B shows the gripper 14 in a closed state gripping the large diameter portion C1 of the cap C.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, the gripper 14 includes a pair of left and right gripper pieces 14A and 14B. The base ends of the gripper pieces 14A and 14B are pivotally supported on a base 36 via rotation shafts 34A and 34B, respectively. Each of the gripper pieces 14A and 14B is provided with U-shaped pin receiving portions 36A and 36B that are positioned between the rotation shafts 34A and 34B when the gripper 14 is closed and are arranged alternately above and below. In this state, the U-shaped open portion of the pin receiving portion 36A faces the gripper piece 14B, and the U-shaped open portion of the pin receiving portion 36B faces the gripper piece 14A. In this embodiment, for example, the pin receiving portion 36B is arranged below the pin receiving portion 36A.

[0018] A pin 38 is disposed inside the pin receiving portions 36A, 36B, and is arranged parallel to the rotation shafts 34A, 34B. As shown in the gripper longitudinal cross-sectional view of Fig. 3(a), the upper and lower ends of the pin 38 are held at both ends of a support member 40 having a U-shaped cross-section, and the tip of a spline shaft 42 is attached to the U-shaped base of the support member 40. Note that Fig. 3(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along the vertical axis of the pin 38 and the spline shaft 42, and Fig. 3(b) is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the gripper piece 14B.

[0019] The spline shaft 42 is engaged with a pinion gear 44 that is integrally attached to the base end of the base 36, and is rotatably supported via a bearing or the like on a fixed part 46 that is fixed to the cap supply wheel 16. The base end of the spline shaft 42 is attached to a cam follower support part 50 that supports a cam follower 48, and a coil spring 52 is disposed between the cam follower support part 50 and the fixed part 46, with the spline shaft 42 at its center. In addition, a rack 54 that is capable of reciprocating up and down is engaged with the pinion gear 44.

[0020] With the above configuration, when the cam follower 48 engages with the opening / closing cams 18A, 18B, it is pushed radially outward from the cap supply wheel 16, and the pin 38 together with the spline shaft 42 is pushed radially outward relative to the fixed portion 46 against the biasing force of the coil spring 52. This causes the pin receiving portions 36A, 36B to be pushed radially outward, and the grip pieces 14A, 14B are rotated outward relative to each other about the rotation shafts 34A, 34B, opening the gripper 14. Conversely, when the cam follower 48 and the opening / closing cams 18A, 18B are disengaged, the pin 38 together with the spline shaft 42 is moved radially inward relative to the fixed portion 46 by the biasing force of the coil spring 52, and the gripper 14 is closed.

[0021] Furthermore, when the rack 54 is raised or lowered, the pinion gear 44 and the spline shaft 42 that engages with the pinion gear 44 are rotated, and the gripper 14 together with the base 36 are rotated within a range of 180 degrees.

[0022] Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the cap supply wheel 16, crossing the opening and closing cams 18A and 18B, showing the state in which the gripper 14 receives the cap C from the cap supply conveyor 12 and the state in which the gripper 14 delivers the cap C to the capping head 24. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the cap supply wheel 16 from above.

[0023] The cap supply wheel 16 has a rotation shaft 56 at its center, and a rotating disk 58 is provided around the rotation shaft 56, rotating integrally with the rotation shaft 56. Fixing portions 46 that hold the grippers 14 are attached to the outer periphery of the rotating disk 58 at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction.

[0024] Additionally, a cam structure 60, whose position is fixed, is disposed around the rotation shaft 56 via a bearing 56A. The cam structure 60 includes opening / closing cams 18A and 18B that engage with the cam follower 48 to open and close the gripper, and an elevation cam 62 that raises and lowers the rack 54. The opening / closing cams 18A and 18B are located radially inside the cam follower 48 at the same height as the gripper 14, and are provided in two locations, one just before the cap supply position P0 and one at the cap delivery position P1 where the cap C gripped by the gripper 14 is delivered to the capping head 24, as shown in FIG.

[0025] On the other hand, the lifting cam 62 is configured as a cylindrical structure centered on the rotary shaft 56 above the opening / closing cams 18A, 18B, and has a grooved cam 62A provided around the entire outer periphery. As shown in Fig. 5, each of the racks 54 is vertically disposed at a position where it can engage with the pinion gear 44 of each gripper 14, and is supported so as to be able to move up and down by a support member 64 that rotates integrally with the rotary shaft 56. A cam support portion 64A is provided at the upper end of the support member 64, extending radially inward in the wheel direction, and having a cam follower 66 attached to its tip that engages with the grooved cam 62A.

[0026] That is, when the rotation of the rotary shaft 56 rotates the gripper 14 and rack 54 along the outer periphery of the wheel, the cam follower 66 travels within the grooved cam 62A along the outer periphery of the lifting cam 62, and the rack 54 rises and falls according to the height of the grooved cam 62A. The cam groove 62A is positioned in an upper position before and after the cap supply position P0, and is positioned in a lower position before and after the cap delivery position P1. As a result, the gripper 14, which gripped the cap C at the cap supply position P0, is rotated 180 degrees (flipped) by the descending rack 54 before reaching the cap delivery position P1. Furthermore, after delivering the cap C to the capping head 24, the gripper 14 is rotated 180 degrees by the ascending rack 54 while returning from the cap delivery position P1 to the cap supply position P0, and is returned to its original position.

[0027] 6 is a time-series diagram showing the posture changes of the cap C and the gripper pieces 14A and 14B from when the gripper 14 grips the large diameter portion C1 of the cap C until it rotates 180 degrees and delivers the cap C to the capping head 24. Note that in FIG. 6, the gripper pieces 14A and 14B are drawn as cross sections.

[0028] 6(a) shows a state in which the gripper 14 grips the large-diameter portion C1 of a cap C placed upside down on the cap supply conveyor 12 at the cap supply position P0. As shown in FIG. 6(a), the inner corners of the lower sides of the gripper pieces 14A and 14B in this position are each formed as a step 68. When the gripper 14 grips the large-diameter portion C1, the side (outer peripheral surface) of the large-diameter portion C1 engages with a vertical surface (side holding portion) 68A of the step 68, and the annular outer peripheral portion (upper surface in FIG. 6(a)) of the large-diameter portion C1, which has the small-diameter portion C2 at its center, engages with a horizontal surface (annular surface support portion) 68B of the step 68. That is, when receiving a cap C from the cap supply conveyor 12, the gripper 14 holds the large-diameter portion C1 by sandwiching the side of the large-diameter portion C1 between the two opposing vertical surfaces 68A of the gripper pieces 14A and 14B. The height of the vertical surface 68A is set smaller than the height (thickness) of the large diameter portion C1 so that an area in which the capping head 24 holds the top of the cap C can be secured.

[0029] Fig. 6(b) shows a state in which the gripper 14 gripping the cap C is rotated approximately 45 degrees, and Fig. 6(c) shows a state in which the gripper 14 is rotated 180 degrees and the gripped cap C is upright. In the state shown in Fig. 6(c), the capping head 24 is placed over the large diameter portion C1 of the cap C, and as shown in Fig. 6(d), the top of the large diameter portion C1 is held by the capping head 24. At this time, the large diameter portion C1 of the cap C is supported by the horizontal surface 68B of the step portion 68, preventing the cap C from falling due to contact with the capping head 24.

[0030] As described above, the capper equipped with the cap supply wheel of this embodiment has a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion, and can invert caps conveyed with the small diameter portion on top and the large diameter portion on the bottom before delivering them to the capping head, so that capping can be performed properly even when caps are supplied upside down. Furthermore, with this configuration, caps having large and small diameter portions can be stably attached to containers without being damaged.

[0031] In this embodiment, the gripper is configured to have a step portion to hold the horizontal surface and side surface of the large diameter portion of the cap, but this is not limited to this. The gripper may grip anywhere as long as the capping head has an area to grip the large diameter portion. For example, the gripper may grip the small diameter portion, or may grip only the side surface of the large diameter portion on the small diameter side. An example of an example in which the small diameter portion is gripped is a vial cap. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 10 Cappa 12 Cap transport conveyor 14 Gripper 14A, 14B gripper piece 16 Cap supply wheel 18 Opening and closing mechanism (opening and closing means) 20 Reversal mechanism (reversal means) 22 Capping wheel 24 Capping Head C Cap C1 Large diameter section C2 Small diameter section

Claims

1. a cap transport conveyor that transports caps having a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion with a gap between them, with the large diameter portion positioned downward; a gripper that is provided so as to be openable, closable, and reversible and that holds the cap; a cap supply wheel having a plurality of grippers provided on its outer periphery; an opening / closing means provided on the cap supply wheel for opening and closing the plurality of grippers; a reversing means provided on the cap supply wheel for reversing the plurality of grippers; a capping head provided on the outer periphery of a wheel adjacent to the cap supply wheel, the capping head receiving the cap held by the gripper and attaching the cap to a container; The caps on the cap transport conveyor are held by the gripper, and the gripper is inverted during rotational transport by the cap supply wheel to position the small diameter portion of the cap held by the gripper downward, and then the capping head holds and receives the large diameter portion of the cap, inserts the small diameter portion of the cap into a container, and attaches the cap to the container. A cappa characterized by:

2. 2. The capper according to claim 1, wherein the gripper holds a small diameter portion of a cap on the cap transport conveyor.

3. The capper of claim 1, characterized in that the gripper is formed with an annular surface support portion that supports the outer periphery of the annular surface of the large diameter portion at the center of which is the small diameter portion, and a side holding portion that holds the side of the large diameter portion, and the large diameter portion of a cap on the cap transport conveyor is held by the annular surface support portion and side holding portion of the gripper.

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