Distance measurement mechanism

Abstract

A spacing measuring mechanism is provided, which has a simple structure and can measure the spacing of chain attachments in an operating state, and can easily perform initial setting, monitoring of the spacing change of the chain attachments accompanying chain extension, and resetting. A spacing measuring mechanism (150) of the chain attachment (113) of a container conveying mechanism (100) is provided, which can convey a cylindrical container (T) in an upright state by pushing the chain attachment (113) provided on the chain (110) to convey the container in the traveling direction of the chain (110). The spacing measuring mechanism (150) includes: an attachment detection unit (151) that detects the passage of the chain attachment (113) on the conveying path; and a calculation unit that can measure the passage time from a reference time to the notification of a monitoring signal from the attachment detection unit (151).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a mechanism for measuring the pitch of chain attachments in a container conveying mechanism that uses chain attachments provided on a chain in a container filling machine to push containers and convey the containers. Background Art

[0002] Generally, as a container conveying mechanism for conveying containers by a container filling machine, there is known a mechanism that conveys the container by pressing the container with a chain attachment provided on a chain.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes an article sampling device equipped with a container conveying mechanism that uses a claw chain to constrain cans transferred from a can sealing turntable of a can sealing production line to a discharge turntable and conveys them to a extraction position at a constant speed and equal intervals on a discharge conveyor.

[0004] The article sampling device described in Patent Document 1 has a claw chain wound around a drive sprocket having the same rotation axis as a discharge turret that receives cans from a sealing turret and a driven chain sprocket disposed at a extraction position.

[0005] In addition, the claw chain can transport the can to the extraction position at a constant speed and equal intervals on the discharge conveyor by receiving the can between the claws serving as chain accessories. The claws serving as chain accessories are formed so as to protrude from the outer link plates and the inner link plates constituting the claw chain at prescribed intervals in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the sprocket.

[0006] Prior art literature

[0007] Patent Literature

[0008] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-285523 Summary of the Invention

[0009] The container conveying mechanism described in Patent Document 1, which conveys containers by pressing them with chain attachments provided on a chain, has a problem in that pitch errors of the chains cause variations in the pitch of the containers.

[0010] Chains usually have a gap between the pins and bushings, so due to their structure, a certain degree of deviation in the spacing of the chain attachments is unavoidable (even new products have a spacing of about ±0.3mm).

[0011] Therefore, by determining the location where the pitch of the chain attachment is shortest and setting the positional relationship with the turntable pocket based on the location of the chain attachment, it is possible to avoid adverse effects caused by variations in the pitch of the chain attachment.

[0012] However, the number of chain attachments is usually more than 100, so the measurement to find the chain attachment with the shortest pitch is usually performed using a vernier caliper, which is performed while the machine is stopped, thus taking time and effort.

[0013] In addition, if the chain is elongated, the timing of the handover from the chain attachment to the turntable pocket will be delayed, and the acceleration of the container will increase when it is handed over to the turntable pocket, causing liquid overflow and container damage. Therefore, if the chain is elongated, the positional relationship needs to be adjusted and the timing needs to be reset.

[0014] Furthermore, if the chain stretches beyond a predetermined amount, it is difficult to eliminate liquid overflow and container damage even by resetting the chain, and therefore the chain needs to be replaced.

[0015] The chain elongation for monitoring these needs to be regularly measured with a vernier caliper in a stopped state, similar to the initial setting, which takes a lot of time and effort.

[0016] The present invention is completed to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a spacing measuring mechanism with a simple structure, which can measure the spacing of chain accessories in the operating state, and can easily perform initial setting, monitor the changes in the spacing of chain accessories caused by chain elongation, and reset.

[0017] The spacing measuring mechanism of the present invention is a spacing measuring mechanism of a chain accessory of a container conveying mechanism, and the container conveying mechanism comprises: a chain; a plurality of sprockets, the chain being wound around the plurality of sprockets; and a conveying path, which comprises the chain accessory provided on the chain, and utilizes the chain accessory to push an upright cylindrical container so as to convey the container in the traveling direction of the chain, wherein the spacing measuring mechanism comprises: an accessory detection unit, which detects the passage of the chain accessory on the conveying path; and a calculation unit, which measures the passage time from a reference time to the notification of a monitoring signal from the accessory detection unit, and calculates the difference between the set time and the passage time, thereby solving the above-mentioned problem.

[0018] According to the spacing measuring mechanism involved in technical solution 1, it has: an accessory detection unit, which detects the passage of the chain accessory on the conveying path; and a calculation unit, which can measure the passage time from the reference time to the notification of the monitoring signal from the accessory detection unit, thereby being able to measure the passage time of each of the multiple chain accessories in the operating state.

[0019] During initial setting, the phase of the chain drive sprocket is adjusted to adjust the passage time, and the chain attachment with the shortest passage time is adjusted to achieve the minimum allowable passage time. This allows setting during operation without using a vernier caliper or the like.

[0020] Furthermore, by constantly monitoring the passage time, the chain extension can be monitored during operation, and the setting can be reset during operation in the same manner as the initial setting.

[0021] According to the configuration described in claim 2, the reference time is generated in the device that is actually operating, so that the reference time can be obtained without additional adjustment even when the operating speed is changed.

[0022] According to the configuration described in claim 3 , the chain elongation can be detected by comparing the passage time with the set time set based on the passage time measured at the time of initial setting of the container conveying mechanism.

[0023] According to the structure described in claim 4, the attachment detection portion does not interfere with the container, and a structure with a high degree of freedom can be formed.

[0024] According to the structure described in claim 5, it is possible to detect that the elongation of the chain has exceeded the allowable value.

[0025] According to the structure described in claim 6, the elongation of the chain can be detected without the influence of errors and vibrations at each pitch of the chain. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a container filling facility S including a container conveying mechanism 100 to which a pitch measuring mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

[0027] Figure 2 Yes Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the vicinity of the container conveying mechanism 100.

[0028] Figure 3 Yes Figure 1 A perspective view of the chain 110 .

[0029] Figure 4 Yes Figure 1 A top view of the chain 110 is provided.

[0030] Figure 5 yes Figure 4 AA' cross-sectional view of the chain 110.

[0031] Figure 6 yes Figure 1A partially exploded schematic diagram of the vicinity of the container conveying mechanism 100.

[0032] Figure 7 It is an enlarged view showing the arrangement relationship among the gap measuring mechanism, the chain 110 , and the chain attachment 113 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 8 It is an explanatory diagram of the chain attachment 113 having the reference hole 121 .

[0034] Figure 9 This is an explanatory diagram of the drive system portion of the turntable of the production device M. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The container conveying mechanism 100 including the distance measuring mechanism of the chain attachment according to one embodiment of the present invention is a mechanism for conveying containers T by a container filling device S. Figure 1 as well as Figure 2 As shown, the container conveying mechanism 100 includes: a chain 110; a driving sprocket 119 and a driven sprocket (not shown) wound around the chain 110; and a conveying path (not shown) that utilizes a chain attachment 113 provided on the chain 110 to push the upright container T so as to convey the container T in the direction of travel of the chain 110.

[0036] like Figures 3 to 5 As shown, the chain 110 has a pair of left and right inner link plates 111 and a pair of left and right outer link plates 115. The inner link plates 111 are provided with two sleeve holes 112 for the sleeves 117 to be pressed into engagement, and the outer link plates 115 are provided with two pin holes 116 for the connecting pins 118 to be engaged, and are made to slide on the guide rails 120.

[0037] The driving sprocket 119 and the driven sprocket have rotating shafts provided in the horizontal direction, and the chain 110 is wound around them in the vertical direction.

[0038] The left and right pair of inner link plates 111 are connected in a manner that their relative positions do not change by means of sleeves 117 press-fitted into the sleeve holes 112, and the left and right pair of outer link plates 115 are connected in a manner that their relative positions do not change by fitting the connecting pins 118 rotatably inserted into the sleeves 117 into the pin holes 116.

[0039] A predetermined gap t is provided between adjacent inner link plates 111 and outer link plates 115 . The left and right pair of inner link plates 111 and the left and right pair of outer link plates are configured to be rotatable with respect to each other by relative rotation of the bushings 117 and the connecting pins 118 .

[0040] A chain attachment 113 that protrudes toward the conveying path is formed on the upper surface of the inner link plate 111 on the conveying path side of the pair of left and right inner link plates 111 .

[0041] The chain attachment 113 has a contact edge 114 that contacts the container T being conveyed on the conveying path and pushes the container T in the conveying direction. The contact edge 114 is set to contact a position on the chain 110 side of the container T in an upright state being conveyed on the conveying path that is closer to the width center, and the closer to the chain 110, the more it tilts toward the traveling direction of the chain 110.

[0042] Furthermore, a conveyance guide (not shown) is provided on the side of the conveyance path opposite to the chain 110 side to prevent the container T from falling out of the conveyance path.

[0043] The bushing 117 is in sliding contact with the upper surface of the guide rail 120 , and the inner surface sides of the pair of left and right inner link plates 111 are in sliding contact with the side surfaces of the guide rail 120 to guide the forward path.

[0044] Next, based on Figures 6 to 9 The structure and operation of the gap measuring mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0045] The containers T are linearly conveyed by the chain attachment 113 of the container conveying mechanism 100 and delivered to the pockets of the turntable of the production device M that performs a circular motion.

[0046] At this time, the chain 110 moves synchronously with the production device M, so the container T transported by the chain accessory 113 passes through the handover position at a fixed moment when it reaches the handover point for transfer from the container conveying path to the production device M, and is smoothly handed over to the pocket of the turntable of the production device M.

[0047] like Figure 6 、 Figure 7 As shown in FIG. 1 , a photoelectric sensor 153 as an accessory detection unit is arranged on the downstream side of the handover position, and is configured to block light when the chain accessory 113 passes through, thereby generating an on / off signal.

[0048] In addition, if Figure 8 As shown, the reference hole 121 is provided on only one chain accessory 113 among all the chain accessories 113, and the reference hole 121 is monitored based on the on / off signal of the photoelectric sensor 153, so that it can be determined whether the chain accessory 113 that has passed through is the chain accessory 113 having the reference hole 121 (No. 1 accessory).

[0049] like Figure 9As shown, the turntable of the production device M that transfers the container T from the container conveying mechanism 100 is provided with an encoder 161 at an appropriate location in its drive transmission system, a claw 163 is provided on the turntable shaft 160, and a proximity sensor 162 is provided to monitor the passage of the claw 163.

[0050] The drive transmission system of the turntable is composed of gears, etc. In actual use, the time offset can be ignored, so the signal of the encoder 161 can be processed as a reference signal for each pocket of the turntable passing through the intersection position. In addition, by monitoring the claw 163 set on the turntable shaft 160, it can be determined which pocket on the turntable is passing through the intersection position.

[0051] The distance measuring mechanism includes a calculation unit (not shown) that is electrically coupled to an appropriate location and performs signal processing, comparison calculations, and the like.

[0052] The calculation unit may be provided independently, or its functions may be incorporated into a control device of other equipment.

[0053] During the initial setting, measurements can be performed under actual operating conditions. However, in this embodiment, in order to reduce measurement errors caused by vibration, the operation is performed at a lower operating speed than during normal production (for example, preferably less than 150 cans / minute (less than 15m / minute in terms of the chain speed)). If the speed is constant, the signal of the pocket position (No. 1 position) of the specific turntable described above is used as a reference, and the passage time of each pocket obtained from the signal of the encoder 161 is used as the reference time to measure the passage time from each reference time to the time when the photoelectric sensor 153 detects the monitoring signal of each chain accessory.

[0054] As a result, the phase relationship between the rotation of the turntable and the rotation of the sprocket is set so that the passage time of the chain attachment having the shortest passage time becomes the optimal value.

[0055] The subsequent monitoring of the chain extension can be carried out in the same manner as during the initial setting: using the signal of the pocket position (No. 1 position) of a specific turntable as a reference, and using the passing time of each pocket obtained from the signal of the encoder 161 as the reference time, the passing time from each reference time to the time when the photoelectric sensor 153 detects the monitoring signal of each chain accessory is measured.

[0056] Monitoring can be performed at all times during normal production, or measurements can be performed at specified intervals.

[0057] Alternatively, the measurement may be performed by operating the machine at a lower operating speed than during normal production, similarly to the initial setting, only during monitoring.

[0058] If the passing time becomes longer as a result of the measurement, the phase relationship between the rotation of the turntable and the rotation of the sprocket is set again so that the passing time of the chain attachment having the shortest passing time becomes the optimal value.

[0059] At this time, if the chain attachment with the shortest passing time is different from the initial setting, it is only necessary to reset it accordingly.

[0060] Regardless of the elongation of the spacing, the handover timing can be optimized by the above-mentioned resetting. However, when the spacing is elongated by more than the specified amount (in this embodiment, more than 1 mm longer than the initial measurement), the deviation in the spacing of each chain attachment becomes larger, which may cause liquid overflow and container damage.

[0061] In addition, the receiving position for receiving from other conveying mechanisms located upstream is separated from the handover position by multiple spacings, so the elongation of multiple spacings is added together to increase the timing offset. Therefore, when the spacing is elongated by more than the specified amount (in this embodiment, it is more than 1 mm longer than the initial measurement), it will cause the receiving position to exceed the allowable error.

[0062] Since the passage time of the chain attachment is proportional to the pitch extension, the actual pitch extension of the chain attachment can be calculated based on the phases of the turntable rotation and the sprocket rotation and the passage time.

[0063] Therefore, if the chain attachment becomes longer than the initial measurement by a predetermined amount (in this embodiment, 1 mm or more), it can be determined that the chain life has expired.

[0064] In addition, since there are fluctuations in the measured values ​​due to vibration and positional offset in the width direction, in this embodiment, chain accessories are replaced when there are more than 10 chain accessories whose spacing is equivalent to being stretched by more than a specified amount compared to the initial measurement (in this embodiment, more than 1 mm longer than the initial measurement).

[0065] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various design changes can be made without departing from the present invention described in the claims.

[0066] In the above embodiment, the reference time is obtained from the signal of the encoder 161. However, each pocket of the turntable may be directly detected to provide a reference time signal.

[0067] In addition, although the chain attachment is formed integrally with the inner link plate on the conveying path side, the structure of the chain attachment is not limited to this. For example, it can be formed separately from the inner link plate, or it can be connected to both sides of a pair of left and right inner link plates, or it can be formed integrally with or connected to other components of the chain such as outer link plates and pins.

[0068] Description of Reference Numerals

[0069] 100…container conveying mechanism; 110…chain; 111…inner link plate; 112…sleeve hole; 113…chain attachment; 114…contact edge; 115…outer link plate; 116…pin hole; 117…sleeve; 118…connecting pin; 119…drive sprocket; 120…guide rail; 121…reference hole; 150…spacing mechanism; 151…attachment detection unit; 153…photoelectric sensor; 160…turntable shaft; 161…encoder; 162…proximity sensor; 163…claw; M…production device; S…container filling equipment; T…container.

Claims

1. A spacing measuring mechanism, comprising a chain attachment of a container conveying mechanism, the container conveying mechanism comprising: a chain; a plurality of sprockets, the chain being wound around the plurality of sprockets; and a conveying path having the chain attachment provided on the chain, wherein the chain attachment pushes an upright cylindrical container to convey the container in the direction of travel of the chain. It is characterized by: The spacing measuring mechanism includes: an attachment detecting unit that detects the passage of the chain attachment on the conveying path; and a calculation unit that can measure the passage time from a reference time to notification of a monitoring signal from the attachment detecting unit. The reference time is based on a signal transmitted from a subsequent conveying mechanism to which the container is transferred from the container conveying mechanism.

2. A spacing measuring mechanism, comprising a chain attachment of a container conveying mechanism, the container conveying mechanism comprising: a chain; a plurality of sprockets, the chain being wound around the plurality of sprockets; and a conveying path having the chain attachment provided on the chain, wherein the chain attachment pushes an upright cylindrical container to convey the container in the direction of travel of the chain. It is characterized by: The spacing measuring mechanism includes: an attachment detecting unit that detects the passage of the chain attachment on the conveying path; and a calculation unit that can measure the passage time from a reference time to notification of a monitoring signal from the attachment detecting unit. The attachment detection portion is disposed downstream of a portion that delivers the container to a subsequent conveying mechanism.

3. The distance measuring mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The calculation unit compares the passage time with a set time set based on the passage time measured during initial setting of the container conveying mechanism.

4. The distance measuring mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that: The calculation unit determines that the chain is elongated when the difference between the set time and the passing time is larger than a predetermined value.

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