A stopper device and its usage method

Abstract

This invention discloses a stoppering device and its usage method. The stoppering device includes a base plate, a bottle conveying mechanism, a lifting and tilting mechanism, a stopper extractor, an inflation mechanism, and a stoppering mechanism. The bottle conveying mechanism is located on one side of the base plate for conveying material bottles. The lifting and tilting mechanism is located on the other side of the base plate, and its outer wall is connected to the stopper extractor. The stopper extractor has a through hole for placing the stopper, and the inner wall of the through hole is provided with an air outlet and an air injection hole at intervals. When the lifting and tilting mechanism is driven, an air injection chamber is formed between the stopper, the inner wall of the through hole, and the material bottle. The inflation mechanism is located at the end of the lifting and tilting mechanism and communicates with the air injection chamber. The stoppering mechanism is located above the material bottle and pushes the stopper to engage with the bottle neck. Through the combined use of the above devices, this invention effectively improves the stoppering rate of material bottles and can reduce the residual oxygen content inside the material bottle after stoppering without the need for a vacuum system, meeting the requirements for stoppering high-end material bottles.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of packaging technology, and in particular to a stoppering device and its method of use. Background Technology

[0002] In the food and pharmaceutical packaging machinery industry, to extend the shelf life of materials after filling and placing them into containers, inert gas is typically used to reduce the oxygen content inside the bottles. In the pharmaceutical packaging machinery industry, there are two types of equipment: continuous filling and intermittent filling. Intermittent filling commonly employs the following two inert gas filling (hereinafter referred to as gas filling) sealing methods:

[0003] Method 1, Vacuum-Sealed Nitrogen-Filled Stoppering: This method involves first sealing the bottle mechanically, then evacuating the air from the bottle, filling it with inert gas, and finally stopping the stopper. This effectively reduces residual oxygen levels after stopping, extending the shelf life of the material. However, this method combines the steps of stopper removal, sealing, vacuuming, nitrogen filling, and stopping into a single station. This centralized process inevitably leads to a long cycle time, making it unsuitable for high-speed filling. Furthermore, vacuum-sealed nitrogen-filled stoppering requires a vacuum system, and the piping system within this system needs sterilization, making the implementation relatively complex and costly.

[0004] Method 2, nitrogen curtain protection for stoppering: This method involves filling the empty bottle with inert gas before filling. During filling and stoppering, a gas curtain is created using a filling needle or similar device to inject inert gas into the bottle and simultaneously form a barrier at the bottle opening to prevent air from entering. Finally, the stopper is applied. In this method, to increase the filling rate, the bottle is not vacuumed; instead, inert gas is directly injected to eliminate internal gas before stoppering. However, because this device operates intermittently, there is a time interval between the bottle's movement from the filling station to the stoppering station, and the bottle opening is open. The higher the filling rate, the shorter the interval. Therefore, during this time interval, gas backflow into the bottle is inevitable, resulting in a residual oxygen content of 2%–5% after stoppering, which cannot meet the requirements for stoppering high-end bottles.

[0005] Therefore, a stopper device and its usage method are needed to solve the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide a stoppering device and its usage method, so as to effectively increase the stoppering rate of material bottles and reduce the residual oxygen content inside the material bottle after stoppering without the need for a vacuum system, thereby meeting the requirements of stoppering high-end material bottles.

[0007] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides a stoppering device, including a base plate, a bottle conveying mechanism, a lifting and flipping mechanism, a stopper taker, an inflation mechanism, and a stoppering mechanism;

[0008] The bottle conveying mechanism is disposed on one side of the base plate for conveying material bottles;

[0009] The lifting and flipping mechanism is located on the other side of the base plate, and the outer wall is connected to the plug extractor;

[0010] The stopper has a through hole for placing a bottle stopper, and the inner wall of the through hole is provided with an air outlet and an air injection hole at intervals. When the bottle stopper is placed in the through hole, the air injection hole can be exposed.

[0011] When the lifting and flipping mechanism is driven, it drives the stopper to rotate and move to the mouth of the material bottle, controlling the through hole to abut and fit against the mouth of the material bottle, so that an air injection chamber is formed between the stopper, the inner wall of the through hole and the material bottle;

[0012] The inflation mechanism is located at the end of the lifting and tilting mechanism and communicates with the inflation chamber through the inflation hole;

[0013] The stopper mechanism is located above the material bottle, pushing the stopper to engage with the bottle opening, and the vent is always connected to the outside during movement.

[0014] Furthermore, the inner wall of the through hole is provided with a plurality of arc-shaped grooves arranged in an annular pattern at equal intervals;

[0015] When the bottle stopper is press-fitted into the through hole, the vent hole is formed between the bottle stopper and the arc-shaped groove.

[0016] Furthermore, the air injection hole is inclinedly disposed on the inner wall of the through hole.

[0017] Furthermore, the air injection port includes a first air injection port and a second air injection port, and the first air injection port and the second air injection port are arranged alternately; the first air injection port injects air towards the bottle stopper, and the second air injection port injects air towards the inside of the material bottle.

[0018] Furthermore, the angle between the first air injection hole and the horizontal plane is 10°-15°, and the angle between the second air injection hole and the horizontal plane is 55°-60°.

[0019] Furthermore, the lifting and tilting mechanism includes a lifting seat, a rotating cylinder, and a rotation drive mechanism;

[0020] The lifting seat has a lifting mechanism for slidingly mounting on the base plate;

[0021] The rotating cylinder is rotatably installed inside the lifting seat, and its outer wall is fixedly connected to the plug taker, and one end is connected to the inflation mechanism;

[0022] The rotary drive mechanism is disposed between the lifting seat and the rotating cylinder.

[0023] Furthermore, the rotary drive mechanism includes a drive motor, a first bevel gear, and a second bevel gear;

[0024] The drive motor is mounted on the lifting base, and its output end is connected to the first bevel gear;

[0025] The second bevel gear is fixedly mounted on the end of the rotating cylinder away from the inflation mechanism and meshes with the first bevel gear.

[0026] Furthermore, the inflation mechanism includes a high-speed rotary joint, an air source, a flow regulating valve, and a solenoid valve;

[0027] The high-speed rotary joint is installed at one end of the rotating cylinder and is connected to the air source through a pipeline;

[0028] The flow regulating valve and the solenoid valve are installed on the pipeline.

[0029] Furthermore, it also includes a stopper mechanism and a top stopper mechanism;

[0030] The stopper feeding mechanism has multiple discharge holes that match the stopper and is located on the side of the lifting and flipping mechanism away from the bottle conveying mechanism;

[0031] When the lifting and flipping mechanism is driven, the plug taker can move to fit against the plug handling mechanism, and the through hole and the discharge hole are located in the same vertical plane;

[0032] The top stopper mechanism is located below the stopper feeding mechanism, and its output end is slidably installed in the discharge hole to push the bottle stopper into the through hole by the stopper feeding mechanism.

[0033] Furthermore, the bottle conveying mechanism, the lifting and tilting mechanism, the inflation mechanism, the stoppering mechanism, and the stopper sorting mechanism are all connected to the same external control system.

[0034] On the other hand, the present invention also proposes a method for using a stopper device to achieve a sealed installation of the stopper at the mouth of a material bottle, the method comprising the following steps:

[0035] When the bottle conveying mechanism transports the material bottles, the bottle stopper is simultaneously installed in the through hole of the stopper taker;

[0036] When the bottle conveying mechanism transports the material bottle to the designated position, the driving lifting and flipping mechanism controls the stopper to move to abut against and fit with the material bottle, and forms an air injection chamber between the stopper, the inner wall of the through hole and the material bottle;

[0037] The inflation mechanism injects inert gas into the inflation chamber through the air injection hole in the through hole, so that the air in the inflation chamber is discharged through the air outlet in the through hole;

[0038] When the gas discharged from the gas injection chamber is all inert gas, the gas filling mechanism is continuously controlled to inject inert gas, and the stopper mechanism is driven to push the stopper along the through hole until it engages with the mouth of the material bottle.

[0039] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0040] By setting up a lifting and flipping mechanism and a stopper picker to hold the stopper and place it on the material bottle, a gas injection chamber with an air outlet can be formed between the through hole of the stopper picker, the stopper, and the material bottle when the stopper is placed on top of the material bottle. This chamber is used in conjunction with the inflation mechanism to inject inert gas into the gas injection mechanism, thereby squeezing out the air in the material bottle and removing the oxygen. Finally, the stoppering mechanism is used to perform the stoppering operation. During this process, the inflation mechanism is still running, meaning that the stoppering mechanism and the inflation mechanism operate synchronously. This avoids the air backflow that occurs in the material bottle when the two operate alternately in the prior art. This achieves the goal of reducing the residual oxygen content inside the material bottle after stoppering without the need for a vacuum system, thus meeting the stoppering requirements of high-end material bottles.

[0041] Since this device does not require a vacuum system, it saves the time required for the vacuuming step, thereby increasing the stoppering rate of the material bottle.

[0042] Furthermore, since the stopper mechanism compresses and pushes the stopper to engage with the material bottle, the vent is always open to the outside. This ensures that the internal gas pressure in the injection chamber remains the same as the external gas pressure during continuous compression. This prevents the stopper from bulging due to excessive internal gas pressure when the stopper engages with the material bottle, thus ensuring the aesthetics of the material bottle and stopper assembly and the sealing effect of the stopper on the material bottle. Attached Figure Description

[0043] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the plugging device in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 2 For the present invention Figure 1 Enlarged view of point A in the middle;

[0045] Figure 3 This is a top sectional view of the plug extractor in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view of the stopper remover of the stoppering device in one embodiment of the present invention when the stopper is installed;

[0047] Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional view of the stopper remover of the stoppering device in an embodiment of the present invention when it comes into contact with the material bottle;

[0048] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the rotary drive mechanism and the plug taker of the plug-adding device in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] Figure 7 This is a cross-sectional view of the inflation mechanism of the stopper device in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0050] Figure 8 This is a side view of the inserting device in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0051] Figure 9 This is a flowchart illustrating the method of using the stopper device in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0052] Reference numerals in the attached figures: 1. Base plate; 2. Bottle conveying mechanism; 3. Lifting and tilting mechanism; 31. Lifting seat; 32. Rotating cylinder; 33. Rotation drive mechanism; 331. Drive motor; 332. First bevel gear; 333. Second bevel gear; 4. Stopper remover; 41. Through hole; 411. Arc groove; 412. First air injection hole; 413. Second air injection hole; 5. Air filling mechanism; 51. High-speed rotary joint; 52. Air source; 53. Flow regulating valve; 54. Solenoid valve; 6. Stoppering mechanism; 7. Material bottle; 8. Bottle stopper; 9. Stopper sorting mechanism; 91. Discharge hole; 10. Top stopper mechanism. Detailed Implementation

[0053] The following is a more detailed description of the inserting device and its usage method of the present invention with reference to the schematic diagrams, which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention. It should be understood that those skilled in the art can modify the invention described herein while still achieving its advantageous effects. Therefore, the following description should be understood as being of general knowledge to those skilled in the art and is not intended to limit the invention.

[0054] The invention is described more specifically by way of example in the following paragraphs with reference to the accompanying drawings. The advantages and features of the invention will become clearer from the following description. It should be noted that the drawings are in a very simplified form and use non-precise proportions, and are only used to facilitate and clarify the illustration of the embodiments of the invention.

[0055] Example 1

[0056] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown in the figure, an embodiment of the present invention proposes a stoppering device, including a base plate 1, a bottle conveying mechanism 2, a lifting and flipping mechanism 3, a stopper remover 4, an inflation mechanism 5, and a stoppering mechanism 6.

[0057] The bottle conveying mechanism 2 is located on one side of the base plate 1 for conveying the material bottle 7 so that the bottle stopper 8 can be connected to the material bottle 7 in the future.

[0058] The lifting and flipping mechanism 3 is located on the other side of the base plate 1, and the outer wall is connected to the stopper 4. The stopper 4 has a through hole 41 for placing the bottle stopper 8.

[0059] The inner wall of the through hole 41 is provided with an air outlet and an air injection hole at intervals. When the bottle stopper 8 is placed in the through hole 41, the air injection hole can be exposed so that the inflation mechanism 5 can perform the air injection operation.

[0060] It should be noted that the plug remover 4 and the lifting and flipping mechanism 3 are designed to be detachable, so as to facilitate the cleaning or replacement of the plug remover 4. Specifically, the bolt positioning method in the existing technology can be used. It should be noted that during installation, the sealing effect of the connection between the plug remover 4 and the gas end of the inflation mechanism 5 must be ensured, such as by using a sealing ring.

[0061] Specifically, this device uses a lifting and flipping mechanism 3 to control and change the positional relationship between the stopper 4 and the material bottle 7 on the bottle conveying mechanism 2, such as moving away from or in contact with each other, so as to cooperate with the subsequent process of stopping the bottle 8 for material taking and bottle 8 assembly.

[0062] When the lifting and flipping mechanism 3 is driven, it drives the stopper 4 to rotate and move to the mouth of the material bottle 7, controlling the through hole 41 to abut and fit against the mouth of the material bottle 7, so as to meet the requirements of subsequent docking and installation of the stopper 8 and the material bottle 7.

[0063] It should be noted that at this time, an air injection chamber is formed between the bottle stopper 8, the inner wall of the through hole 41 and the material bottle 7, so that the air filling mechanism 5 can vent the gas inside the material bottle 7 by injecting inert gas into the air injection chamber, thereby extending the shelf life of the material inside the material bottle 7.

[0064] Specifically, the inflation mechanism 5 is located at the end of the lifting and flipping mechanism 3 and is connected to the inflation chamber through the inflation hole. That is, the inflation mechanism 5 is always connected to the lifting and flipping mechanism 3 so as to follow the position change of the lifting and flipping mechanism 3 and complete the inflation operation through the inflation hole.

[0065] The stopper mechanism 6 is located above the material bottle 7 to push the stopper 8 from the through hole 41 to engage with the bottle mouth of the material bottle 7, and during the movement, the vent is always in communication with the outside.

[0066] That is, the stopper 8 is pushed to the material bottle 7 by the stoppering mechanism 6 to complete the final stoppering operation of the material bottle 7.

[0067] During the movement process, the gas injection chamber is under continuous compression, meaning the pressure inside the chamber is greater than the external pressure. Consequently, when the material bottle 7 is connected to the stopper 8, the internal pressure of the material bottle 7 will be greater than the external pressure, causing the stopper 8 to bulge and resulting in poor sealing. Therefore, in this embodiment, an air outlet that is always connected to the outside during the stoppering process is provided to ensure that the gas pressure inside the gas injection chamber remains consistent with the external atmospheric pressure until the material bottle 7 is connected to the stopper 8. This reduces the gas pressure inside the material bottle 7 after stoppering, preventing the stopper 8 from bulging and causing poor sealing and appearance defects.

[0068] This device incorporates a lifting and flipping mechanism 3 and a stopper 4 to support the stopper 8 and place it on the material bottle 7. When the stopper 8 is positioned above the material bottle 7, a gas injection chamber with an air outlet is formed between the through hole 41 on the stopper 4, the stopper 8, and the material bottle 7. This chamber is then used in conjunction with the inflation mechanism 5 to inject inert gas into the gas injection chamber, thereby expelling the air from the material bottle 7. Finally, the stoppering mechanism 6 performs the stoppering operation. During this process, the inflation mechanism 5 is always in operation, meaning the stoppering mechanism 6 operates synchronously with the inflation mechanism 5. At this time, the through hole 41 is in close contact with the mouth of the material bottle 7, and a gas injection chamber is formed between the stopper 8, the inner wall of the through hole 41, and the material bottle 7. This prevents air backflow from the material bottle 7, thereby reducing the residual oxygen content inside the material bottle 7 after stoppering without the need for a vacuum system, thus meeting the requirements for stoppering high-end material bottles 7.

[0069] Since this device does not require a vacuum system, it saves the time required for the vacuuming step, thereby increasing the stoppering rate of the material bottle 7.

[0070] Furthermore, since the vent is always connected to the outside when the stopper mechanism 6 pushes the stopper 8 to engage with the material bottle 7, the internal gas pressure of the injection chamber remains the same as the external gas pressure during continuous compression. This prevents the stopper 8 from bulging due to excessive internal gas pressure when the stopper 8 engages with the material bottle 7, thus ensuring the aesthetics of the material bottle 7 and the stopper 8 after engagement and the sealing effect of the stopper 8 on the material bottle 7.

[0071] Please continue reading. Figure 2 In this embodiment, the position of the vent is further defined so that the vent chamber is always in communication with the outside atmosphere during the movement of the stopper 8.

[0072] Specifically, the inner wall of the through hole 41 is provided with a plurality of arc-shaped grooves 411 arranged in an annular shape at equal intervals.

[0073] When the bottle stopper 8 is interference-fitted into the through hole 41, the vent hole is formed between the bottle stopper 8 and the arc groove 411. That is, the vent hole is formed through the gap between the arc groove 411 and the outer wall of the bottle stopper 8. Thus, when the bottle stopper 8 moves, it will not block the vent hole. This allows the vent hole to not only be used for air discharge, but also to effectively ensure that the inert gas continuously injected into the air chamber during subsequent bottle stopper 8 installation will discharge the air in the material bottle 7 and the excess gas will be discharged, preventing the bottle stopper 8 from bulging.

[0074] It should be noted that the inner diameter of the through hole 41 is smaller than the inner diameter of the bottle stopper 8, that is, the bottle stopper 8 is interference-fitted into the through hole 41 to prevent the bottle stopper 8 from separating from the through hole 41 during operation of the lifting and flipping mechanism 3.

[0075] The arc-shaped groove 411 provided in this application can also effectively reduce the contact area between the through hole 41 and the bottle stopper 8, thereby reducing the frictional resistance between the two. This ensures that during subsequent stopper insertion, the bottle stopper 8 will not be unable to be pushed due to excessive frictional resistance between the bottle stopper 8 and the through hole 41, or the bottle stopper 8 will deform during the pushing process.

[0076] like Figures 2 to 5 As shown, in this embodiment, the inflation position of the inflation mechanism 5 is further defined to better expel the air from the material bottle 7.

[0077] Specifically, the air injection hole is inclined on the inner wall of the through hole 41 to better inject air into the air injection chamber.

[0078] It should be noted that the air injection holes include a first air injection hole 412 and a second air injection hole 413, and the first air injection hole 412 and the second air injection hole 413 are arranged alternately.

[0079] In addition, the first air injection hole 412 injects air into the bottle stopper 8, and the second air injection hole 413 injects air into the material bottle 7.

[0080] like Figure 5 As shown, the angle between the first air injection hole 412 and the horizontal plane is 10°-15°, as shown by angle α in the figure. The first air injection hole 412 is inclined upward, mainly acting to discharge the gas in the cavity formed by the bottle stopper 8 and the inner wall of the through hole 41.

[0081] The angle between the second air injection hole 413 and the horizontal plane is 55°-60°, as shown by angle β in the figure. The second air injection hole 413 is tilted downwards, mainly to discharge the gas in the material bottle 7.

[0082] Therefore, by setting the first air injection hole 412 and the second air injection hole 413, the entire air injection chamber is divided into two air injection parts, thereby increasing the rate at which the gas is discharged from the air injection chamber by the inflation mechanism 5, thereby accelerating the emptying of the air in the material bottle 7, and thus correspondingly increasing the stoppering rate of the material bottle 7.

[0083] like Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, this embodiment also proposes a specific lifting and flipping mechanism 3 to improve the control effect of the stopper 4 and facilitate the control of the stopper 4 to abut and fit with the material bottle 7.

[0084] Specifically, the lifting and tilting mechanism 3 includes a lifting seat 31, a rotating cylinder 32, and a rotation drive mechanism 33.

[0085] The lifting seat 31 has a lifting mechanism (not labeled in the figure) that is slidably mounted on the base plate 1, that is, the stopper 4 is brought into contact with the material bottle 7 by lifting.

[0086] It should be noted that the lifting seat 31 includes a support plate and symmetrically arranged columns. Both the support plate and the columns can slide relative to the base plate 1 to perform lifting operations.

[0087] The rotating cylinder 32 is rotatably installed inside the lifting seat 31, and its outer wall is fixedly connected to the plug extractor 4. One end of the cylinder is connected to the inflation mechanism 5. The inflation mechanism 5 injects inert gas into the through hole 41 inside the plug extractor 4 to meet the subsequent requirement of injecting inert gas into the inflation chamber.

[0088] Furthermore, the rotation of the rotating cylinder 32 controls the connection or separation of the stopper 4 from the material bottle 7, so as to complete the inflation and stoppering operation and the replenishment of the bottle stopper 8, respectively.

[0089] The rotary drive mechanism 33 is disposed between the lifting seat 31 and the rotating cylinder 32.

[0090] Specifically, the rotary drive mechanism 33 includes a drive motor 331, a first bevel gear 332, and a second bevel gear 333.

[0091] The drive motor 331 is mounted on the lifting seat 31, and its output end is connected to the first bevel gear 332.

[0092] The second bevel gear 333 is fixedly mounted on one end of the rotating cylinder 32 away from the inflation mechanism 5 and meshes with the first bevel gear 332.

[0093] That is, by driving the motor 331 to rotate in both directions, the rotation of the rotating cylinder 32 is controlled, thereby controlling the connection or separation of the stopper 4 from the material bottle 7.

[0094] Please continue reading. Figure 7 The inflation mechanism 5 is further defined here to better supply inert gas to the inflation chamber.

[0095] The inflation mechanism 5 includes a high-speed rotary joint 51, an air source 52, a flow regulating valve 53, and a solenoid valve 54.

[0096] The high-speed rotary joint 51 is installed at one end of the rotating cylinder 32 and is connected to the air source 52 through a pipeline. The flow regulating valve 53 and the solenoid valve 54 are arranged on the pipeline.

[0097] like Figure 1 as well as Figure 8 As shown, in order to facilitate the replenishment of bottle stoppers 8 into stopper takers 4, the entire equipment can be integrated into the operation of bottle stopper 8 replenishment, bottle stopper 8 docking and fitting, inert gas filling and stoppering, so as to further improve the stoppering rate of material bottles 7.

[0098] The stopper-adding device also includes a stopper-feeding mechanism 9 and a stopper-pushing mechanism 10, which are used to deliver the stopper 8 and push the stopper 8 into the through hole 41 of the stopper taker 4, respectively.

[0099] It should be noted that the stopper arrangement mechanism 9 is existing technology. Its specific principle is to arrange the stopper 8 neatly in its own rubber stopper channel by means of vibration.

[0100] The stopper mechanism 9 has multiple discharge holes 91 that match the stopper 8, and is located on the side of the lifting and flipping mechanism 3 away from the bottle conveying mechanism 2.

[0101] When the lifting and flipping mechanism 3 is driven, the stopper 4 can move to fit with the stopper handling mechanism 9 (i.e., the lifting and flipping mechanism 3 flips the stopper 4 to separate it from the material bottle 7), and the through hole 41 and the discharge hole 91 are located in the same vertical plane to facilitate the subsequent pushing of the bottle stopper 8 into the through hole 41.

[0102] The top stopper mechanism 10 is located below the stopper feeding mechanism 9, and its output end is slidably installed in the discharge hole 91 to push the bottle stopper 8 into the through hole 41 by the stopper feeding mechanism 9.

[0103] In this embodiment, both the top stopper mechanism 10 and the stopper insertion mechanism 6 have a driver capable of linear motion, such as an electric cylinder or a pneumatic cylinder, to push the stopper 8.

[0104] It should also be noted that the bottle conveying mechanism 2, the lifting and tilting mechanism 3, the inflation mechanism 5, the stoppering mechanism 6, and the stopper sorting mechanism 9 are all connected to the same external control system.

[0105] That is, through synchronous control by the same external control system, different operations are performed when the lifting and flipping mechanism 3 is in different states. For example, when the lifting and flipping mechanism 3 flips the stopper 4 to separate it from the material bottle 7, the stopper handling mechanism 9 and the top stopper mechanism 10 cooperate to place the bottle stopper 8 in the stopper 4. Then, when the lifting and flipping mechanism 3 flips the stopper 4 to fit with the material bottle 7, the inflation mechanism 5 operates to inject inert gas. When the gas in the material bottle 7 is discharged, the stoppering mechanism 6 operates to push the bottle stopper 8 to dock with the material bottle 7, realizing the integrated stoppering function.

[0106] Example 2

[0107] like Figure 9 As shown in the figure, this embodiment also proposes a method for using a stopper device to achieve the sealing installation of the stopper 8 at the mouth of the material bottle 7, so as to improve the stoppering rate and stoppering effect of the material bottle 7.

[0108] Specifically, the method of use includes the following steps:

[0109] While the bottle conveying mechanism 2 is conveying the material bottle 7, the bottle stopper 8 is simultaneously installed in the through hole 41 of the stopper taker 4, such as by the stopper feeding mechanism 9 and the stopper lifting mechanism 10.

[0110] When the bottle conveying mechanism 2 transports the material bottle 7 to the designated position, the synchronous driving lifting and flipping mechanism 3 controls the stopper 4 to move to abut and fit against the material bottle 7, and forms an injection chamber between the stopper 8, the inner wall of the through hole 41 and the material bottle 7 for subsequent filling with inert gas.

[0111] The inflation mechanism 5 injects inert gas into the inflation chamber through the inflation hole in the through hole 41, so that the air in the inflation chamber is discharged through the air outlet in the through hole 41, thereby discharging the air in the material bottle 7 and extending the shelf life of the material in the material bottle 7.

[0112] When the gas discharged from the gas injection chamber is all inert gas, the gas filling mechanism 5 is continuously controlled to inject inert gas, and the stopper mechanism 6 is driven to push the stopper 8 along the through hole 41 to engage with the mouth of the material bottle 7. That is, the gas filling mechanism 5 and the stopper mechanism 6 operate synchronously to prevent a time interval between their operation, which could lead to gas backflow and an increase in the residual oxygen content in the material bottle 7.

[0113] This invention, through the aforementioned steps, ensures that the inflation mechanism 5 and the stoppering mechanism 6 operate synchronously. At this time, the through-hole 41 abuts against the mouth of the material bottle 7. An injection chamber is formed between the stopper 8, the inner wall of the through-hole 41, and the material bottle 7. Inert gas is continuously injected through the inflation mechanism 5. This synchronous operation of the stoppering mechanism 6 and the inflation mechanism 5 eliminates any time interval between them, preventing air backflow within the material bottle 7 due to intermittent operation. This achieves the goal of reducing the residual oxygen content inside the stoppered material bottle 7 without the need for a vacuum system, thus meeting the requirements for stoppering high-end material bottles 7. Furthermore, since this device does not require a vacuum system, it saves the time required for the vacuuming step, thereby increasing the stoppering rate of the material bottle 7.

[0114] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this invention without departing from its spirit and scope. Therefore, if these modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this invention and their equivalents, this invention also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A capping device, characterized in that, The device comprises a base plate, a bottle conveying mechanism, a lifting and overturning mechanism, a plug taking device, an inflating mechanism and a plug inserting mechanism. The bottle conveying mechanism is arranged on one side of the base plate to convey material bottles. The lifting and overturning mechanism is arranged on the other side of the base plate, and the outer wall is connected to the plug taking device. The plug taking device has a through hole for placing a bottle plug, and the inner wall of the through hole is spaced apart to form an air outlet hole and an air injection hole. When the lifting and overturning mechanism is driven, the plug taking device is rotated and moved to the bottle mouth of the material bottle, the through hole is controlled to abut and fit the bottle mouth of the material bottle, and an air injection chamber is formed among the bottle plug, the inner wall of the through hole and the material bottle. The inflating mechanism is arranged at the end of the lifting and overturning mechanism, and is communicated with the air injection chamber through the air injection hole. The plug inserting mechanism is arranged above the material bottle to push the bottle plug to be clamped with the bottle mouth of the material bottle, and the air outlet hole is always communicated with the outside during the movement. The inner wall of the through hole is provided with a plurality of annularly and equidistantly arranged arc-shaped grooves. When the bottle plug is clamped in the through hole, the air outlet hole is formed between the bottle plug and the arc-shaped grooves.

2. The capping device of claim 1, wherein The air injection hole is arranged on the inner wall of the through hole in an inclined manner.

3. The capping device of claim 2, wherein The air injection hole comprises a first air injection hole and a second air injection hole, and the first air injection hole and the second air injection hole are arranged in an interlaced manner.

4. The capping device of claim 3, wherein The first air injection hole is inclined to the horizontal plane at an angle of 10°-15°, and the second air injection hole is inclined to the horizontal plane at an angle of 55°-60°.

5. The capping device of claim 1, wherein The lifting and overturning mechanism comprises a lifting seat, a rotating cylinder and a rotating driving mechanism. The lifting seat has a lifting mechanism to be relatively slidably mounted on the base plate. The rotating cylinder is rotatably mounted in the lifting seat, and the outer wall is fixedly connected to the plug taking device and connected to the inflating mechanism at one end. The rotating driving mechanism is arranged between the lifting seat and the rotating cylinder.

6. The capping device of claim 5, wherein The rotating driving mechanism comprises a driving motor, a first bevel gear and a second bevel gear. The driving motor is mounted on the lifting seat, and the output end is connected to the first bevel gear. The second bevel gear is fixedly mounted on the end of the rotating cylinder away from the inflating mechanism, and is engaged with the first bevel gear.

7. The capping device of claim 5, wherein The inflating mechanism comprises a high-speed rotating joint, a gas source, a flow regulating valve and an electromagnetic valve. The high-speed rotating joint is mounted on one end of the rotating cylinder, and is connected to the gas source through a pipeline. The flow regulating valve and the electromagnetic valve are arranged on the pipeline.

8. The capping device of claim 1, wherein The device further comprises a plug arranging mechanism and a plug pushing mechanism. The plug arranging mechanism has a plurality of discharge holes matched with the bottle plug, and is arranged on the side of the lifting and overturning mechanism away from the bottle conveying mechanism. When the lifting and overturning mechanism is driven, the plug taking device can be moved to abut the plug arranging mechanism, and the through hole and the discharge hole are located in the same vertical plane. The top plug mechanism is arranged below the plug arranging mechanism and has an output end slidingly installed in the outlet hole to push the bottle plug from the plug arranging mechanism into the through hole.

9. The capping device of claim 8, wherein, The bottle conveying mechanism, the lifting and overturning mechanism, the inflating mechanism, the plug installing mechanism and the plug arranging mechanism are connected to the same external control system.

10. A method of using a capping device, characterized by, The plug installing device according to any one of claims 1-9 is used to seal and install the bottle plug at the bottle opening of a material bottle, and the use method comprises the following steps: When the bottle conveying mechanism conveys the material bottle, the bottle plug is simultaneously installed in the through hole of the plug taker; When the bottle conveying mechanism conveys the material bottle to the designated position, the lifting and overturning mechanism is simultaneously driven to control the plug taker to move to abut against the material bottle, and a gas injection chamber is formed among the bottle plug, the inner wall of the through hole and the material bottle; The inflating mechanism injects inert gas into the gas injection chamber through the gas injection hole in the through hole, and the air in the gas injection chamber is discharged through the gas outlet hole in the through hole; When the discharged gas in the gas injection chamber is all inert gas, the inflating mechanism is continuously controlled to inject inert gas, and the plug installing mechanism is driven to push the bottle plug to move along the through hole to be engaged with the bottle opening of the material bottle.

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