A grouping device for container filling

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of packaging machinery, and in particular to a grouping device for container filling. It comprises two mutually parallel screws and a power unit for driving the screws to rotate, the power unit is connected to the screws, the threads of the two screws are interlaced, and the rod bodies of the two screws, the threads on one of the screws and the threads on the other screw form a grouping area and a call area, and the grouping area and the call area are arranged alternately and move synchronously in the same direction due to the synchronous rotation of the two screws. The present invention transports the containers through twin screws to achieve grouping of the containers. When transporting, the containers are in an orderly and spaced arrangement state under the clamping of the twin screws, and there is no extrusion or collision between the containers to cause damage to the outer surface of the containers.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of packaging machinery, and in particular to a grouping device for container filling. Background Art

[0002] In the field of filling technology for beverages, dairy products, and daily chemicals, filling materials into containers requires that the containers be placed at the filling station. According to the difference in the container conveying path, there are two main filling technologies, one is linear filling and the other is rotary filling. In the former, the movement path of the container at the filling station is a linear path, and in the latter, the movement path of the container at the filling station is an arc path. Among them, the linear filling technology has a wide range of applications and is therefore widely used in the industrial field.

[0003] For example, a linear filling machine disclosed in a patent with Chinese patent application publication number CN112028000A and application publication date of December 4, 2020, and named “A linear filling machine”, includes a feeding system for transporting bottles and a filling system for filling materials into bottles. The filling system includes a box body, and at least two injection pipes are provided in the box body. The feeding system includes a feeding track that passes through the box body and passes under the injection pipe. A movable baffle that can move forward and backward above the feeding track and is symmetrically distributed on the left and right is provided in the box body. A first driving member for driving it to move forward and backward above the feeding track is connected to the movable baffle. At least two bottle blocking clamps that can move forward and backward above the feeding track are provided between the movable baffles. A second driving member that can drive it to move forward and backward above the feeding track is connected to the bottle blocking clamp. A symmetrical angle is formed on the bottle blocking clamp facing the side where the feeding track is located, and a triangular bottle clamping mouth is defined between the angles.

[0004] In the prior art, the linear filling process includes grouping, limiting, filling and other steps. The main operating feature is that the container will pause after entering the filling station to wait for docking with the filling valve and complete the filling operation. Because of the pause of the container, the entire linear filling device is in stepping operation mode. The biggest disadvantage of this working mode is that it is time-consuming, energy-consuming, and has limited output.

[0005] In order to allow the containers to have enough time to pause, the containers that are about to enter the filling station are usually in a disordered and mutually squeezed arrangement state, which will cause the containers to be constantly squeezed or collided with each other, which is not conducive to the orderly transportation of the containers and will damage the outer surface of the containers. Summary of the invention

[0006] In view of the defects of the above-mentioned existing linear filling technology, the present invention provides a grouping device for container filling, which can achieve the following technical effects: the containers are transported by a twin screw to achieve grouping of the containers. During transportation, the containers are clamped on the twin screws and are arranged in an orderly and spaced-apart state, and there is no squeezing or collision between the containers, which would cause damage to the outer surface of the containers.

[0007] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides the following technical solution: a grouping device for container filling, comprising two parallel screws and a power unit for driving the screws to rotate, the power unit is connected to the screws, the threads of the two screws are embedded, and grouping areas and calling areas are formed between the rod bodies of the two screws, the threads on one of the screws, and the threads on the other screw, and the grouping areas and calling areas are alternately arranged and move synchronously in the same direction due to the synchronous rotation of the two screws.

[0008] In this technical solution, driven by the power unit, two parallel screws produce self-rotation motion. Due to the different phase angles, the threads of the two screws are not symmetrically distributed, and the threads on the two screws will be in an embedded state, that is, a thread on one screw will be embedded between two adjacent threads on the other screw, thereby dividing the space between the twin screws into alternating grouping areas and call areas in the length direction of the screws. After the containers enter between the twin screws one by one, they are located in the grouping area and are transported to the filling station in an orderly manner by the twin screws in a mutually spaced arrangement state. There will be no squeezing or collision between the containers, which will cause damage to the outer surface of the containers. By adjusting the phase angle of the two screws, the size of the grouping area and the call area can be adjusted to adapt to containers of different bottle types and increase the applicability of this grouping device.

[0009] Specifically, the power unit has two independent power output ends, and the two screws are connected to the corresponding power output ends and driven by the power output ends to move independently. The power output ends and the screws are in a one-to-one correspondence, and the rotation of the two screws is independent of each other, which is convenient for adjusting the phase angle of the two screws, that is, adjusting the size of the grouping area and the calling area.

[0010] In order to increase the flexibility of screw adjustment, the grouping device also includes a mounting bracket and a translation assembly. The mounting bracket includes two adjustment brackets that correspond to the screws one by one and are movably arranged. The screws are arranged on the corresponding adjustment brackets. The translation assembly includes a base and two slides corresponding to the adjustment brackets. The slides are slidably arranged on the base. The adjustment brackets are fixed on the corresponding slides, and the sliding direction of the slides is perpendicular to the screws. The slides can slide on the base and the sliding direction is perpendicular to the screws. Therefore, the adjustment brackets will also translate with the sliding of the slides, so that the two screws are close to or away from each other while maintaining parallelism, thereby adjusting the distance between the two screws, that is, adjusting the size of the grouping area and the calling area.

[0011] Specifically, the translation assembly also includes a driving unit for driving the slide to slide, and the driving unit is a motor I. A screw with opposite threads at both ends is provided on the base, and two slides are respectively arranged at both ends of the screw through a screw sleeve. The output end of the motor I is connected to the screw, and the motor I drives the screw to rotate to drive the two slides to move closer to or away from each other relative to the same center line. The two slides are driven by the same motor I to translate. Since the threads at one end of the screw and the threads at the other end have opposite rotation directions, the motor I can drive the two slides to move synchronously in opposite directions. During the movement of the slides, the center lines of the two slides remain unchanged, so that the filling position of the container will not be offset, and the working position of the filling valve does not need to be changed.

[0012] The driving unit may also be in other forms, such as a pneumatic cylinder or an electric cylinder, the output end of which is connected to the corresponding slide and drives the two slides to move towards or away from each other relative to the same center line.

[0013] The grouping device also includes a bottle blocking assembly, which includes a swing arm and a power assembly. The swing arm is installed on the power assembly and driven by the power assembly to swing. The range of motion of the swing arm is located at the entrance of the screw. The power assembly drives the swing arm to swing to block or allow the container to enter between the screws. In the initial state, the swing arm blocks the entrance of the screw to block the container from passing through. Only when the thread of one of the screws can just match the progress of the container's movement and finally cut into the back of the bottle can the swing arm leave, thereby allowing the container to enter between the screws in an orderly manner and enter the bottle in sequence, so that the container can be separated and limited between the screws.

[0014] The grouping device also includes a photoelectric switch and a control unit. The control unit is electrically connected to the photoelectric switch. The photoelectric switch is arranged at the entrance of the screw. The photoelectric switch detects the state of the containers in the grouping area and feeds back the information to the control unit. The photoelectric switch is used for counting. When no container enters the screw, it will be recorded which grouping areas have no containers, and the filling valves at the corresponding positions can be closed during filling.

[0015] The advantages of the present invention are as follows: the grouping device transports the containers through a twin screw, and the threads on the two screws are in an interlocking state, dividing the space between the twin screws into alternating grouping areas and call areas. After the containers enter between the twin screws one by one, they are located in the grouping area and are arranged in a mutually spaced arrangement and transported to the filling station in an orderly manner by the twin screws. There is no squeezing or collision between the containers, which causes damage to the outer surface of the containers. By adjusting the phase angle of the two screws, the size of the grouping area and the call area can be adjusted to adapt to containers of different bottle types, thereby increasing the applicability of the grouping device. In addition, the two screws are driven to approach or move away from each other while maintaining parallelism by a translation assembly, thereby adjusting the spacing between the two screws, that is, adjusting the size of the grouping area and the call area. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a grouping device in a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 2 A top view of a grouping device in a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the local structure of the screw rod in the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 4 for Figure 2 Right view of;

[0020] Figure 5 It is a structural schematic diagram of the grouping device after the swing arm swings a certain angle;

[0021] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the local structure after the phase angle of the screw is changed in the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the local structure after the screw pitch changes in the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure numerals: screw 101, mounting bracket 102, translation assembly 103, bottle blocking assembly 104, grouping area 105, calling area 106, adjustment frame 107, motor I 108, motor II 109, base 110, slide 111, lead screw 112, swing arm 113, motor III 114, photoelectric switch 115. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] In the description of this embodiment, it should be noted that, if the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", "front", "back", etc. appear, the orientation or position relationship indicated is based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, which is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operate in a specific orientation, and therefore, cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, if the terms "first", "second", and "third" appear, they are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0025] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0026] like Figure 1 As shown in , a grouping device for container filling includes two screws 101, a mounting bracket 102, a translation assembly 103, and a bottle blocking assembly 104.

[0027] like Figure 3 As shown in the figure, two screws 101 are arranged in parallel and the threads of the two screws 101 are embedded, and the rod bodies of the two screws 101, the threads on one of the screws 101 and the threads on the other screw 101 form a grouping area 105 and a calling area 106, and the grouping areas 105 and the calling areas 106 are arranged alternately and move synchronously in the same direction due to the synchronous rotation of the two screws 101. In addition, in order to better clamp the container, the threads on the two screws 101 have opposite rotation directions.

[0028] like Figure 2 As shown in , the mounting bracket 102 includes two parallel arranged adjustment brackets 107, each of which is provided with a screw 101 and a motor II 109, the output end of the motor II 109 is connected to the screw 101 to drive the screw 101 to rotate, thereby providing each screw 101 with an independent power output end, and the two screws 101 move independently of each other, so that the phase angles of the two screws 101 can be adjusted conveniently, thereby adjusting the size of the grouping area 105 and the calling area 106. Figure 6 As shown in the figure, in this way of adjusting the phase angle of the screw 101, since the space jointly occupied by the grouping area 105 and the calling area 106 remains relatively unchanged, when the calling area 106 increases, the grouping area 105 decreases, and similarly, when the calling area 106 decreases, the grouping area 105 increases.

[0029] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 4 , Figure 5As shown in , the translation assembly 103 is divided into two groups, which are respectively arranged at the two ends of the adjustment frame 107. The translation assembly 103 includes a motor I 108, a base 110, and two slides 111. The slide 111 corresponds to the adjustment frame 107, and the adjustment frame 107 is fixed on the corresponding slide 111. The slide 111 is slidably arranged on the base 110, and the sliding direction of the slide 111 is perpendicular to the screw 101. A lead screw 112 is arranged on the base 110, and the thread at one end of the lead screw is opposite to the thread at the other end. The two slides 111 are respectively arranged at the two ends of the lead screw 112 through a lead screw sleeve. The output end of the motor I 108 is connected to the lead screw 112. The two slides 111 are driven by the same motor I 108 to translate. The motor I 108 acts as a driving unit to drive the lead screw 112 to rotate so as to drive the two slides 111 to move closer to or away from each other relative to the same center line. The translation assembly 103 drives the two screws 101 to move synchronously in opposite directions while maintaining parallelism, thereby adjusting the distance between the two screws 101, and thus adjusting the size of the grouping area 105 and the calling area 106. Figure 7 As shown in , in this way of adjusting the pitch of the screws 101, the space occupied by the grouping area 105 and the calling area 106 changes together. When the pitch of the screws 101 increases, the calling area 106 and the grouping area 105 increase at the same time. When the pitch of the screws 101 decreases, the calling area 106 and the grouping area 105 decrease at the same time. However, no matter how the pitch of the screws 101 changes, as shown in Figure 4 As shown in , the center lines of the two screws 101 will never be offset, and the working position of the filling valve does not need to be changed.

[0030] like Figure 4 , Figure 5 As shown in , the bottle blocking assembly 104 includes a swing arm 113 and a motor III 114. The swing arm 113 is mounted on the motor III 114 and driven by the motor III 114 to swing. The range of motion of the swing arm 113 is located at the entrance of the screw 101. The motor III 114 drives the swing arm 113 to swing to block or allow the container to enter between the screws 101. In the initial state, the swing arm 113 blocks the entrance of the screw 101 to block the container from passing through. Only when the thread of one of the screws 101 can just match the progress of the container movement and finally cut into the back of the bottle can the swing arm 113 leave, thereby allowing the container to enter between the screws 101 in an orderly manner and enter the bottle in sequence, so that the container can be separated and limited between the screws 101.

[0031] The grouping device further includes a photoelectric switch 115 and a control unit. The control unit is electrically connected to the photoelectric switch 115. The photoelectric switch 115 is disposed at the entrance of the screw 101. The photoelectric switch 115 detects the state of the containers in the grouping area 105 and feeds the information back to the control unit. The photoelectric switch 115 is used for counting. When no container enters the screw 101, it will be recorded which grouping areas 105 have no containers, and the filling valves at the corresponding positions can be closed during filling.

[0032] When this embodiment is implemented, driven by the motor II 109, the two parallel screws 101 produce self-rotation motion. Due to the different phase angles, the threads of the two screws 101 are not symmetrically distributed, and the threads on the two screws 101 will be in an embedded state, that is, a thread on one screw 101 will be embedded between two adjacent threads on the other screw 101, thereby dividing the space between the twin screws 101 into alternately arranged grouping areas 105 and call areas 106 in the length direction of the screws 101. A conveyor belt is arranged below the screws 101, and containers are closely arranged on the conveyor belt. After entering between the twin screws 101 one by one, they are located in the grouping area 105, and are in a mutually spaced arrangement state and are orderly transported by the twin screws 101 into the filling station. After grouping, the containers are separated, and there will be no squeezing or collision between the containers to cause damage to the outer surface of the containers. By adjusting the phase angle and the spacing of the screw 101, the sizes of the grouping area 105 and the calling area 106 can be adjusted to adapt to containers of different bottle types and increase the applicability of the grouping device.

[0033] The second embodiment of the present invention:

[0034] Based on the structure of the above embodiments, the difference lies in the form of the driving unit. In this embodiment, the driving unit adopts a cylinder or an electric cylinder, and the output end of the cylinder or the electric cylinder is connected to the corresponding slide 111. The cylinder or the electric cylinder drives the two slides 111 to move closer to or away from each other relative to the same center line. Although the form of the driving unit is different, the movement mode of the final driving screw 101 is consistent, and the two screws 101 can also be driven to move synchronously in opposite directions while maintaining parallelism, thereby adjusting the distance between the two screws 101, and then adjusting the size of the grouping area 105 and the calling area 106 to adapt to containers of different bottle types.

[0035] The specific description of the present invention in the above embodiments is only used to further illustrate the present invention and cannot be understood as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention. Technical engineers in this field may make some non-essential improvements and adjustments to the present invention based on the contents of the above invention, which fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A grouping device for container filling, characterized in that: The invention comprises two parallel screws and a power unit for driving the screws to rotate. The power unit is connected to the screws. The threads of the two screws are embedded in each other. The rod bodies of the two screws, the threads on one of the screws and the threads on the other screw form a grouping area and a calling area. The grouping areas and the calling areas are arranged alternately and move synchronously in the same direction due to the synchronous rotation of the two screws. By adjusting the phase angles of the two screws, the sizes of the grouping areas and the calling areas can be adjusted to adapt to containers of different bottle types. The invention also comprises a mounting bracket and a translation assembly. The mounting bracket comprises two corresponding screws. The adjusting frame is movably arranged, and the screw is set on the corresponding adjusting frame. The translation assembly includes a base and two slides corresponding to the adjusting frame. The slide is slidably set on the base, and the adjusting frame is fixed on the corresponding slide. The sliding direction of the slide is perpendicular to the screw. The translation assembly also includes a driving unit for driving the slide to slide. The driving unit is a motor I. The base is provided with a screw with opposite thread rotation directions at both ends. The two slides are respectively arranged at both ends of the screw through a screw sleeve. The output end of the motor I is connected to the screw. The motor I drives the screw to rotate to drive the two slides to move closer to or away from each other relative to the same center line.

2. A grouping device for container filling according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power unit has two independent power output ends, and the two screw rods are respectively connected to the corresponding power output ends and driven by the power output ends to move independently.

3. A grouping device for container filling according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: It also includes a bottle blocking assembly, which includes a swing arm and a power assembly. The swing arm is installed on the power assembly and is driven by the power assembly to swing. The movement range of the swing arm is located at the entrance of the screw. The power assembly drives the swing arm to swing to block or allow the container to enter between the screws.

4. A grouping device for container filling according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: It also includes a photoelectric switch and a control unit. The control unit is electrically connected to the photoelectric switch. The photoelectric switch is arranged at the entrance of the screw. The photoelectric switch detects the state of the containers in the grouping area and feeds back the information to the control unit.

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