Capper

Abstract

To provide a capper capable of supplying all caps to a capping head in a desired direction regardless of the direction of the cap.SOLUTION: A capper 10 is equipped with a cap feed conveyor 12 for feeding caps C having different front and rear surfaces in a state opened at an interval and a cap supply wheel 16 having a plurality of reversible grippers 14 provided to the outer periphery thereof. When the cap C with the top face down on the cap carrying conveyor 12 is held by the gripper 14, the gripper 14 is reversed during transfer by the cap supply wheel 16 to position the top face of the cap C upward. As a result, the caps C are always supplied to the capping heads 24 of the capping wheel 22 adjacent to the cap supply wheel 16 with the top surfaces thereof facing upward.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a capper that uses a gripper to transfer a supplied cap to a capping head. [Background technology]

[0002] A device is known in which caps in a hopper are picked up by a rib belt of a cap alignment device, and caps other than those whose top surfaces contact the belt surface, such as caps whose sides or opening edges contact the belt surface, are configured so that their center of gravity is outside the ribs of the rib belt and they fall off from the ribs into the hopper, aligning the front and back of the caps and transporting them to the capper (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6399588 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, because it is difficult for the cap alignment device to align the front and back of all caps, the cap supply device described in Patent Document 1 determines the front and back of the caps conveyed by the cap alignment device and rejects caps with the wrong side up from the conveyance path. If the proportion of caps with the wrong side up among the caps supplied from the cap alignment device increases, the number of caps conveyed downstream decreases, and processing capacity decreases accordingly.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a capper that can supply all caps to a capping head in a desired orientation regardless of the orientation of the cap. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The capper according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a cap transport means for transporting caps spaced apart from one another, a gripper that is openable, reversible, and capable of gripping the sides of the caps transported by the cap transport means, a cap supply wheel having a plurality of grippers provided on its periphery and transporting the caps gripped by the grippers, an opening / closing means provided on the cap supply wheel for opening and closing the plurality of grippers, and a plurality of capping heads that are provided on the periphery of a wheel adjacent to the cap supply wheel and that receive the caps gripped by the grippers and attach them to containers. The cap supply wheel is provided with an inversion means for independently inverting the plurality of grippers in an inversion section set in the middle of the path for transporting the caps gripped by the grippers from the cap transport means to the capping head, a determination means for determining the front and back of the caps transported upstream of the inversion section, and a control means for controlling the inversion means, wherein the control means inverts the grippers gripping the caps determined by the determination means to be upside down in the inversion section, and then the capping head receives the caps gripped by the grippers and attaches them to containers.

[0007] The capper, which is the second invention of the present invention, is characterized in that, in the first invention, a plate that supports the underside of the cap is placed in the transfer section where the cap held by the gripper is transferred to the capping head. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a capper that can supply all caps to a capping head in a desired orientation regardless of the orientation of the cap. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [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 time series of posture changes of a gripper holding a cap with its top surface facing down until the gripper delivers the cap to a capping head. [Figure 7] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing time series of posture changes from when a gripper gripping a cap with its top surface facing up to when the gripper delivers the cap to a capping head. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] 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.

[0011] The capper 10 of this embodiment comprises a cap transport conveyor (cap transport means) 12 that transports caps C with various orientations (front and back of the top surface) at a predetermined interval (pitch), 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 (gripper transport means) 16 and uses, for example, opening and closing cams 18A, 18B to open and close the grippers 14, an inversion mechanism (inversion means) 20 (see Figures 2 and 4) that is provided on the cap supply wheel 16 and inverts each of the grippers 14, 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, and a control device 25 that determines the orientation of the caps C gripped by the grippers 14 and controls the inversion of the grippers 14.

[0012] The cap supply wheel 16 is disposed adjacent to the downstream end of the cap transport conveyor 12 and adjacent to the capping wheel 22. The caps C are transported on the cap transport conveyor 12 at a predetermined interval (pitch) by an interval adjustment mechanism (not shown), and at the cap supply position P0 at the downstream end of the cap transport conveyor 12, the grippers 14 of the cap supply wheel 16 grip the center of the height direction of the outer circumferential surface of the cap C from both sides.

[0013] A camera 15 is disposed adjacent to the cap supply position P0, and captures an image of the cap C gripped by the gripper 14. The image of the cap C captured by the camera 15 is sent to the control device 25, which determines the orientation of the top surface of the cap C gripped by the gripper 14, i.e., the front or back of the cap C. Thereafter, the cap C gripped by the gripper 14 is transported toward the capping wheel 22 by the rotation of the cap supply wheel 16. Here, the camera 15 capturing an image of the cap C and the control device 25 determining the front or back from the image captured by the camera 15 correspond to the determination means.

[0014] While the cap C is being transferred from the cap supply position P0 toward the capping wheel 22, the control device 25 instructs the reversing mechanism 20 whether to rotate (reverse) the gripper 14 by 180 degrees depending on the front or back of the cap C. That is, the gripper 14 gripping the cap C with the top surface facing downwards (cap C determined as back side) is rotated 180 degrees in the reversing section R1 and then transferred to the cap transfer position P1 where the cap C is delivered to the capping head 24, while the gripper 14 gripping the cap C with the top surface facing upwards (cap C determined as front side) is not rotated in the reversing section R1 and is transferred in the same position to the cap transfer position P1 where the cap C is delivered to the capping head 24.

[0015] As a result, all of the caps C are delivered to the capping head 24 of the capping wheel 22 with their tops facing up at the cap delivery position P1, and are held by the capping head 24. In addition, on the capping wheel 22, a plate 22A is provided at the cap delivery position P1 to support the lower ends of the caps C delivered from the gripper 14 of the cap supply wheel 16. As will be described later, the plate 22A supports the caps C released from the gripper 14, and allows the capping head 24 to grip the bodies of the caps C.

[0016] 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.

[0017] 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 and attaches the cap C to the mouth of the container V, sealing the mouth 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.

[0018] 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 in which the gripper 14 is gripping the cap C.

[0019] 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.

[0020] 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.

[0021] The spline shaft 42 is engaged with a pinion gear (part of the reversing mechanism 20) 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 (part of the reversing mechanism 20) 54 that is capable of reciprocating up and down is engaged with the pinion gear 44.

[0022] 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.

[0023] Furthermore, as will be described later, when the rack 54 of the reversing mechanism 20 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.

[0024] Figure 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the cap supply wheel 16, crossing the opening and closing cams 18A and 18B, showing the gripper 14 receiving an upside-down cap C placed with its top face down on the cap supply conveyor 12, and the gripper 14 handing the cap C over to the capping head 24 with its top face up. Figure 5 is a perspective view of the cap supply wheel 16 from above.

[0025] 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.

[0026] A fixed portion 60, whose position is fixed, is disposed around the rotation shaft 56 via a bearing 56A. The fixed portion 60 is provided with opening / closing cams 18A and 18B for opening and closing the gripper, which engage with the cam follower 48. The opening / closing cams 18A and 18B are located radially inward of 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.

[0027] Furthermore, a lifting mechanism that independently raises and lowers each rack 54 is provided on the turntable 58 via support columns 62. The lifting mechanism includes a linear actuator such as an air cylinder 64 that raises and lowers the rack 54, and the rack 54 is attached to the lower end of a shaft 64A of the air cylinder 64.

[0028] The drive of the air cylinder 64 is controlled by the control device 25, which controls the elevation of the rack 54 based on the front / back determination of the cap C captured by the camera 15, thereby rotating the gripper 14 within a range of 180 degrees. That is, when the gripper 14 holds a cap C in a face-down state with the top surface facing down, the rack 54 is lowered and rotated +180 degrees in the reversal section R1 before reaching the cap delivery position P1. As a result, the cap C is delivered to the capping head 24 in a face-up state with the top surface facing up. Thereafter, the rack 54 is raised in the return section R2 before the gripper 14 returns to the cap supply position P0, and the gripper 14 is rotated -180 degrees to return to its original state.

[0029] On the other hand, when the gripper 14 holds the cap C in a face-up position with the top surface facing up, the rack 54 is not raised or lowered (maintained in the raised position) until the gripper 14 completes a full rotation and returns to the cap supply position P0, and the cap C is handed over to the capping head 24 in a face-up position with the top surface facing up.

[0030] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the time series of changes in the posture of the cap C and the gripper pieces 14A and 14B from when the gripper 14 grips the cap C with its top side facing down and is determined to be rear-side, until the gripper 14 rotates +180 degrees and hands over the cap C to the capping head 24, and Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the time series of changes in the posture of the cap C and the gripper pieces 14A and 14B from when the gripper 14 grips the cap C with its top side facing up and is determined to be front-side, until the gripper 14 hands over the cap C to the capping head 24. Note that in Figs. 6 and 7, the gripper pieces 14A and 14B are drawn as cross sections.

[0031] FIG. 6(a) shows a state in which the gripper 14 grips the outer periphery of a cap C placed face down on the cap supply conveyor 12 at the cap supply position P0. 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 cap C is placed on the plate 22A and the gripper 14 rotated +180 degrees grips the cap C face up. In the state shown in FIG. 6(c), the gripper 14 is released while the capping head 24 is placed on top of the cap C. The cap C released from the gripper 14 is then slid over the plate 22A while the capping head 24 is placed on top of it, and as shown in FIG. 6(d), the capping head 24 descends further and grips most of the side surface.

[0032] 7(a) shows a state in which the gripper 14 grips the outer peripheral surface of a cap C placed face up on the cap supply conveyor 12 at the cap supply position P0. FIG. 7(b) shows how the gripper 14 gripping the cap C is transported to the cap delivery position P1 while maintaining the posture of FIG. 7(a). FIG. 7(c) shows how the upright cap C gripped by the gripper 14 is placed on the plate 22A and the capping head 24 is placed on top of the cap C. As the capping head 24 descends, the gripper 14 is released, and most of the side surface of the cap C released from the gripper 14 is held by the capping head 24, as shown in FIG. 7(d).

[0033] As shown in Figures 6(c) and 7(c), when the cap C handled in this embodiment is gripped by the gripper 14, the gripping margin of the capping head 24 is narrow, and the capping head 24 cannot stably grip the cap C. For this reason, in this embodiment, a plate 22A on which the cap C is placed is disposed at the cap transfer position P1, and the cap C is supported from below by the plate 22A even after it is released from the grip of the gripper 14. Then, while the cap C moves on the plate 22A, the capping head 24 is further lowered to grip the side of the cap C. This ensures that the cap C is securely gripped. Note that the plate 22A may be omitted as long as the capping head 24 can securely grip the upper part of the cap C even when gripped by the gripper 14.

[0034] As described above, the capper equipped with the cap supply wheel of this embodiment can supply all caps to the capping head in the desired orientation, regardless of the orientation of the caps being supplied. This allows for high throughput regardless of the alignment accuracy of the cap alignment device, and eliminates the need to align the caps front and back.

[0035] The camera for detecting whether the cap is upside down may be placed anywhere upstream of the reversing section, for example, on the cap transport conveyor. Also, the sensor for detecting whether the cap is upside down is not limited to a camera, and a distance sensor such as a laser sensor may be placed to measure the distance to the top surface of the cap to determine whether it is upside down. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 10 Cappa 12 Cap transport conveyor (cap transport means) 14 Gripper 14A, 14B gripper piece 15 Camera (judging means) 16 Cap supply wheel (gripper transport means) 18 Opening and closing mechanism (opening and closing means) 20 Reversal mechanism (reversal means) 22 Capping wheel 24 Capping Head 25 Control device (determination means, control means) C Cap R1 Reversal section R2 Return section

Claims

1. a cap conveying means for conveying the caps in a spaced-apart state; a gripper that is provided so as to be openable, closable, and reversible, and that grips the side of the cap transported by the cap transport means; a cap supply wheel having a plurality of grippers provided on its outer periphery and transporting the caps gripped by the grippers; an opening / closing means provided on the cap supply wheel for opening and closing the plurality of grippers; a plurality of capping heads provided on the outer periphery of the cap supply wheel and an adjacent wheel, the capping heads receiving the caps gripped by the gripper and attaching them to the containers; a reversing means provided on the cap supply wheel for independently reversing the plurality of grippers in a reversing section set in the middle of a path along which the caps gripped by the grippers are transported from the cap transport means to the capping head; a determination means for determining whether a cap is front or back while being conveyed upstream of the reversing section; a control means for controlling the reversing means, the control means reverses, in the reversing section, a gripper that grips a cap determined by the determination means to be upside down; The capping head then receives the cap gripped by the gripper and attaches it to the container.

2. 2. The capper according to claim 1, wherein a plate for supporting a lower surface of the cap is disposed in a transfer section where the cap gripped by the gripper is transferred to the capping head.

Images