Capping device

Abstract

To effectively carry out mold replacement of a resin container and a brittle material container.SOLUTION: A capping device 2 comprises: a capping head 5a that caps a cap C on a container; a gripper G that grips the container; and a placement plate 12 that supports the container. Interval adjustment means 13 for changing a height of the placement plate 12 is provided. A gripping member of the gripper G includes a metal flange support part 41 having a flat top face, and an abutment part 42 made of an elastic material, which protrudes further inward than the flange support part 41 but does not protrude above the top face. When capping the cap C on a resin container 1R, the flange support part 41 abuts on a flange part 1a of the resin container 1R from below. When capping the cap C on a glass container 1G (the brittle material container), the interval adjustment means 13 adjusts the height of the placement plate 12 to prevent the flange support part 41 from contacting the glass container 1G.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a capping device, and more particularly to a capping device including a capping head that caps containers, a gripper that grips the containers, and a mounting plate that supports the containers from below. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, capping devices for attaching caps to containers have been known that press the cap onto the container from above to seal it, and there are also known devices that can attach caps to resin containers such as PET bottles and brittle material containers such as glass containers (Patent Document 1). In the capping device of Patent Document 1, when a cap is attached to a resin container, capping is performed while the lower part of the flange portion formed on the neck of the container is gripped by a gripper, and when a cap is attached to the brittle material container, the gripper is removed and capping is performed while the container is supported by a mounting plate. More specifically, when a cap is applied to the resin container, the lower part of the flange is gripped by a gripper, and the gripper receives pressure from the capping head. In contrast, when capping a brittle material container, the container is supported by a loading plate, so that the loading plate receives pressure from the capping head. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-240890 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the gripper must be removed in order to cap a brittle material container, making the process of changing molds cumbersome, and when capping, centering must be performed to align the center of the cap held by the capping head with the center of the container. However, if the gripping members of the gripper disclosed in Patent Document 1 are made of metal, there is a risk that the contact portion of the brittle material container with the gripping members may be damaged by impact when the cap is attached. In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a capping device that allows easy conversion between a resin container and a brittle material container. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] That is, the capping device according to the invention of claim 1 includes a capping head for capping a container, a gripper for gripping the container, and a mounting plate for supporting the container from below, In a capping device, when a cap is applied to a container made of resin and having a flange formed on a neck portion, a lower portion of the flange is gripped by the gripper, and when a cap is applied to a container made of a brittle material, the container is supported from below by the loading plate, a gap adjusting means for adjusting a gap between the gripper and the loading plate; The gripper has a pair of gripping members that can be opened and closed, and the gripping members each include a flange support portion that is made of metal and has a flat upper surface, and a contact portion that is made of an elastic material and protrudes inward from an inner edge of the flange support portion but does not protrude above the upper surface of the flange support portion; When a cap is applied to the resin container, the resin container is held in a state in which the resin container is supported from below the flange by the flange support portion of the gripping member, When capping the brittle material container, the distance between the gripper and the loading plate is adjusted by the distance adjustment means so that the abutment portion of the gripping member is in contact with the container and grips it while the flange support portion does not come into contact with the surface of the container. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the above-mentioned invention, the position at which the gripper holds the container can be adjusted by changing the distance between the gripper and the loading plate using the distance adjustment means. When the cap is applied to the resin container, the metal flange support portion supports the flange of the resin container from below, so that the cap can be applied while receiving pressure from the capping head. On the other hand, when capping the brittle material container, the contact part made of elastic material is brought into contact with the surface of the container to grip it, so that centering with the capping head can be performed, and the pressure from the capping head can be received by the mounting plate. On the other hand, since the metal flange support part does not come into contact with the surface of the container, damage to the brittle material container can be prevented. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the capping device according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] Cross-sectional view of II-II part in FIG. [Diagram 3] Gripper side view [Figure 4] Gripper plan view [Diagram 5] Gripper viewed from the center of the rotary table [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a resin container is gripped. [Figure 7] Cross-sectional view showing a state in which a glass container is gripped [Figure 8] Cross-sectional view of the VIII-VIII portion in FIG. [Figure 9]FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the operation when the gripper is positioned at the large diameter opening / closing position and the small diameter opening / closing position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] The illustrated embodiment will now be described. Figure 1 shows a capping device 2 for attaching a cap C to a container 1, and it is possible to attach the cap C to the container 1, which is a resin container 1R (see Figure 6(a)) and a glass container 1G (see Figure 7(a)) as a brittle material container. Furthermore, as shown in Figures 4(a) and (b), the capping device of this embodiment is capable of centering the center of a small-diameter container 1S and a large-diameter container 1L and attaching a cap C to these containers 1. The resin container 1R is made of a resin such as PET, and as shown in Figure 6(a), a flange portion 1a is formed at the neck of the container.When the resin container 1R is transported, the lower part of the flange portion 1a is gripped by a gripper G. In contrast, the glass container 1G made of a brittle material has a thick-walled portion 1b formed at the opening as shown in Fig. 7(a), but does not have a structure corresponding to the flange portion 1a of the resin container 1R, and when the glass container 1G is transported, it is supported from below by a lower loading plate 12. In addition to the above glass, pottery and the like can also be considered as brittle materials.

[0009] The capping device 2 transports the container 1 using a supply conveyor 3, a supply wheel 4, a capping wheel 5, a discharge wheel 6, and a discharge conveyor 7, which are arranged in this order from the upstream side in the transport direction, and attaches a cap C to the container 1 using a capping head 5a (see Figure 2) provided on the capping wheel 5. Grippers G for gripping the containers 1 are provided at equal intervals on the outer periphery of the capping wheel 5, and the containers 1 are transferred, for example, when the supply wheel 4 and the capping wheel 5 are close to each other.

[0010] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1, showing a cross-section of the capping wheel 5. As shown in FIG. The capping wheel 5 is composed of a rotating table 11 that rotates around a rotating axis 11a, grippers G arranged at equal intervals along the outer periphery of the rotating table 11, a mounting plate 12 arranged below the grippers G, and capping heads 5a arranged above each gripper G. The capping wheel 5 is driven by a driving means (not shown) and is configured to rotate in synchronization with the supply wheel 4 and the discharge wheel 6 provided adjacent thereto. The gripper G is provided below a support plate 11b located at approximately the center height of the rotating table 11, and is configured to grip and release the neck of the container 1 by opening and closing the gripping member 21 using an opening / closing mechanism 22 described later. In addition, the gripper G of this embodiment is equipped with a spacing setting mechanism 23, which makes it possible to set the spacing of the gripping members 21 to a large diameter opening / closing position (Figure 4(b)) capable of gripping a large diameter container 1L, and a small diameter opening / closing position (Figure 4(a)) capable of gripping a small diameter container 1S.

[0011] The loading plate 12 is a ring-shaped plate-like member provided so as to surround the rotating shaft 11a, and the container 1 is placed on its upper surface. The loading plate 12 is provided so as to be movable up and down relative to the rotating shaft 11a of the turntable 11 by a gap adjustment means 13. The spacing adjustment means 13 is provided in multiple numbers along the cylindrical outer surface of the rotating shaft and is composed of rails 13a provided in the vertical direction, a slider 13b that moves up and down along the rails 13a, and a connecting member 13c that connects the slider 13b to the mounting plate 12. The slider 13b is driven by an actuator using a servo cylinder (not shown) or an actuator using electricity, hydraulic pressure, pneumatic pressure, etc., and adjusts the distance between the gripper and the mounting plate 12 by raising and lowering the mounting plate 12. In this embodiment, the above-mentioned mounting plate 12 has a ring shape, but the mounting plates 12 may be individually arranged at the same intervals as the capping heads 5a. Even in this case, if each mounting plate 12 is connected by a connecting member 13c, all of the mounting plates 12 can be raised and lowered using a different number of sliders 13b. Furthermore, the mounting plate 12 may be fixed at a predetermined height, and the other components may be raised and lowered by the actuator as described above, thereby adjusting the distance between the gripper G and the mounting plate 12.

[0012] The capping head 5a has a conventionally known configuration and will not be described in detail, but it employs a so-called capping method in which the cap C held by the head is attached to the container 1 by pressing the cap C from above. The capping head 5a is provided so as to be movable up and down with respect to the rotary table 11, and is lowered at a required capping position to attach the cap C to the container 1. A cam mechanism is known as a mechanism for performing such a lifting and lowering operation, but other driving means such as a motor or a cylinder may also be used.

[0013] In this embodiment, the grippers G are arranged at equal intervals along the outer peripheral edge of the support plate 11b, and an approximately disk-shaped upper support member 11c and a lower support member 11d are fixed below the support plate 11b via a connecting member 11e. Here, the upper support member 11c and the lower support member 11d are formed in a shape that does not impede the gripping operation of the gripper G to grip the container 1 or the operation of the capping head 5a. 3 to 5 are diagrams for explaining the gripper G, with Fig. 3 being a side view, Fig. 4 being a plan view, and Fig. 5 being a view of the gripper G as seen from the center side of the rotary table 11. In Fig. 3 to 5, (a) shows a state in which the gripper G holds a small-diameter container 1S, and (b) shows a state in which the gripper G holds a large-diameter container 1L, respectively.

[0014] The gripper G includes a pair of gripping members 21 for gripping the container 1, an opening / closing mechanism 22 for opening and closing the pair of gripping members 21, and a spacing setting mechanism 23 for setting the spacing between the gripping members 21 to a large diameter opening / closing position capable of gripping a large diameter container 1L, and a small diameter opening / closing position capable of gripping a small diameter container 1S. The gripping members 21 are composed of a right gripping member 21R provided on the right side of the figure and a left gripping member 21L provided on the left side of the figure, as shown in Figure 4, and a recess 21a is formed at the tip of each gripping member 21 toward the opposing gripping member 21. When the gripping members 21 are brought into a close closed state, it is possible to grip a small diameter container 1S and a large diameter container 1L, as shown in Figures 4(a) and (b). The recesses 21a have a curved shape with the center bulging outward in a plan view, and this curve is set in a shape that does not come into close contact with the outer periphery of the container 1. Therefore, when the container 1 is gripped by the gripper G, the container 1 is accommodated between the two recesses 21a, and the required two points of each recess 21a come into contact with the outer periphery of the container 1. In other words, the container 1 and the two recesses 21a are in contact with each other at four points, and the container 1 is gripped in this state. Therefore, a gap is formed between the container 1 and the recesses 21a in areas other than the contact areas.

[0015] As shown in Figures 3 to 5, the opening / closing mechanism 22 includes the lower support member 11d that supports the gripping member 21 so that it can be opened and closed, a lifting plate 24 that is movable up and down relative to the lower support member 11d, and a cylindrical cam 26 that engages with a cam follower 25 provided on the lifting plate 24 to move the lifting plate 24 up and down. The lower support member 11d is fixed to the rotary table 11 by the connecting member 11e, and two parallel slide guides 27 are provided on the upper surface of the lower support member 11d in a tangential direction to the rotation trajectory of the rotary table 11. One slide guide 27 is provided with the right grip member 21R, and the other slide guide 27 is provided with the left grip member 21L. With this configuration, the right gripping member 21R and the left gripping member 21L move relatively in a tangential direction to the rotation trajectory of the turntable 11, that is, on a straight line, so as to approach or move away from each other.

[0016] The lift plate 24 is a plate-like member, and the cam follower 25 is provided on the rear surface of the lift plate 24 on the central shaft 11a side. Two guide rods 28 are provided between the support plate 11b and the upper support member 11c, and a slider 24a fixed to the front of the lift plate 24 slides up and down, allowing the lift plate 24 to move up and down as shown in Figures 3(a)(b) and 5(a)(b). Two guide rods 29 are provided in the vertical direction on the back surface of the lift plate 24, and the cam follower 25 is provided so as to be movable up and down along the guide rods 29. The cam follower 25 is constantly biased downward by a spring 30 elastically mounted on the top.

[0017] The cylindrical cam 26 has a cylindrical shape and is provided so as to surround the rotation shaft 11a of the rotary table 11. An endless cam groove is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical cam 26, and the cam follower 25 is adapted to come into contact with a cam surface 26a formed on the lower end surface of the cam groove. The height of the cam surface 26a varies up and down along the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical cam 26, and when the rotary table 11 rotates and each gripper G moves in the circumferential direction, the cam follower 25 moves up and down in accordance with the cylindrical cam 26, thereby moving the lifting plate 24 up and down. At that time, the spring 30 biases the cam follower 25 downward, so that the cam follower 25 is maintained in a state pressed against the cylindrical cam 26, and when the container 1 is gripped by the gripping member 21, this acts as a biasing force for gripping the container 1.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 5, the lift plate 24 is formed with two elongated guide portions 31 arranged in a generally inverted V-shape capable of accommodating the engaging portions 21b provided on the pair of gripping members 21. The guide portions 31 are inclined at an angle of, for example, 45°, so that the guide portion 31 on the right side of the figure accommodates the engagement portion 21Rb of the right side gripping member 21R, and the guide portion 31 on the left side of the figure accommodates the engagement portion 21Lb of the left side gripping member 21L. In addition, in this embodiment, the guide portions 31 are arranged in an approximately inverted U-shape, with the lower ends of both guide portions 31 close to each other and gradually moving apart as they extend upward, and the lower ends of both guide portions 31 are offset vertically and are arranged so as to partially overlap in the left-right direction. By arranging the guide portions 31 in this manner, it is possible to narrow the width of one set of grippers G, and it becomes possible to provide more grippers G on one rotating table 11. As a result of arranging the lower end of the guide portion 31 with an offset vertically in this manner, the engagement portion 21Lb of the left gripping member 21L is provided at the end of the base of the left gripping member 21L bent into a crank shape, as shown in Figure 2.

[0019] According to the opening and closing mechanism 22 having the above-mentioned configuration, the gripping members 21 can be opened and closed as follows. For the sake of explanation, Fig. 4(a) will be explained as a closed state in which the gripping members 21 are close to each other, and Fig. 4(b) will be explained as an open state in which the gripping members 21 are separated from each other. In a state in which the right gripping member 21R and the left gripping member 21L are close to each other as shown in FIG. 4(a), the lifting plate 24 is located in a raised position by the cylindrical cam 26 in the corresponding FIG. 3(a). 5(a), the engaging portion 21Rb of the right grip member 21R and the engaging portion 21Lb of the left grip member 21L are respectively positioned inside and below the guide portion 31. In other words, the engaging portion 21Rb and the engaging portion 21Lb are close to each other in the horizontal direction.

[0020] From this state, when the lift plate 24 moves downward in accordance with the shape of the cam surface 26, the engaging portion 21Rb of the right gripping member 21R and the engaging portion L21b of the left gripping member 21L move relatively along the guide portion 31, respectively. In other words, as the lift plate 24 moves downward from Figure 5(a) to Figure 5(b), the engagement portions 21Rb, 21Lb each move from the inside to the outside of the guide portion 31, while moving relatively from the lower side to the upper side of the guide portion 31. At this time, the right gripping member 21R and the left gripping member 21L are restricted from moving up and down relative to the lower support member 11c by the slide guide 27, and are allowed to move only in the horizontal direction. As a result, when the lift plate 24 descends and the engagement portions 21Rb, 21Lb move from the inside to the outside of the guide portion 31, the right grip member 21R and the left grip member 21L move apart horizontally, resulting in the open state shown in FIG. 4(b).

[0021] Next, Fig. 6 shows a state in which a resin container 1R is gripped by the gripper G, and Fig. 7 shows a state in which a glass container 1G is gripped by the gripper G, and Fig. 6(a) and Fig. 7(a) show cross-sectional views of part AA in Fig. 4(a) and (b), i.e., the part where the recess 21a formed in the gripping member 21 contacts the container 1. Fig. 6(b) and Fig. 7(b) are enlarged views of the main parts of Fig. 6(a) and Fig. 7(a), respectively. In this embodiment, the right side gripping member 21R and the left side gripping member 21L are composed of a flange support portion 41 formed of metal and a contact portion 42 made of an elastic material that is provided at the position of the recess 21a and protrudes inward beyond the inner edge of the flange support portion 41. A metal such as stainless steel can be used for the flange support portion 41, and the inner edge of the flange support portion 41 is processed into a curved shape in order to form the recess 21a in a plan view. Moreover, at least the area of ​​the flange support portion 41 where the recess 21a is formed has an upper surface processed to be flat. On the other hand, a tapered shape 41a is formed on the underside of the flange support portion 41, the thickness of which increases from the inner edge to the outside, and a storage groove 41b that opens toward the inside is formed halfway along the tapered shape 41a.

[0022] The contact portion 42 can be made of an elastic material such as silicon, engineering plastic, or rubber, and is a curved thin plate-like member formed along the recess 21a in a plan view. As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the abutment portion 42 is formed so as to be in close contact with the tapered shape 41a formed in the flange support portion 41, and the outer end portion is adapted to be accommodated in the accommodation groove 41b formed in the tapered shape 41a. The inner end of the abutting portion 42 is formed so as to protrude inward beyond the inner edge of the flange support portion 41, and the edge of the abutting portion 42 constitutes the recess 21a. Specifically, as shown in enlarged views in Figures 6(b) and 7(b), the inner end of the abutment portion 42 is formed so as to wrap around the inner edge of the flange support portion 41, and is set so that the amount of protrusion from the inner edge of the flange support portion 41 is as small as possible. However, the abutment portion 42 is formed so as not to protrude above the upper surface of the flange support portion 41 .

[0023] With this configuration, the operation of the gripper G when gripping the resin container 1R will be described with reference to FIG. When the resin container 1R is transferred from the supply wheel 4 to the capping wheel 5, the resin container 1R is transported by so-called neck transport, and the transfer is performed between the gripper of the supply wheel 4 and the gripper G of the capping wheel 5 while the neck of the resin container 1R is held by the gripper G. At this time, the loading plate 12 is retracted to a position spaced apart below the resin container 1R by the spacing adjustment means 13, or is positioned at a height such that it lightly contacts the bottom surface of the resin container 1R held by the gripper G. When the gripper G of the capping wheel 5 receives the resin container 1R from the supply wheel 4, the gripping member 21 of the gripper G grips the lower part of the flange portion 1a of the resin container 1R. At this time, as shown in Figure 6, the abutment portion 42 provided on the inside of the flange support portion 41 contacts and grips the outer surface of the resin container 1R, but since the amount of protrusion of the abutment portion 42 is set small, the upper surface of the flange support portion 41 abuts against the lower surface of the flange portion 1a of the resin container 1R. In this state, when the capping head 5a attaches the cap C to the resin container 1R, the capping head 5a presses the resin container 1R downward, and this pressure is received by the metal flange support portion 41, making it possible to attach the cap C to the resin container 1R.

[0024] On the other hand, the operation of the gripper G when gripping the glass container 1G will be described with reference to FIG. When the glass container 1G is transferred from the supply wheel 4 to the capping wheel 5, the glass container 1G is placed on the loading plate 12 from the supply wheel 4, and then the gripper G grips the glass container 1G. The spacing adjustment means 13 adjusts the height of the loading plate 12 relative to the gripper G in advance, so that when the gripper G grips the glass container 1G placed on the loading plate 12, the abutment portion 42 comes into contact with the outer surface of the glass container 1G as shown in Figure 7, but the upper surface of the flange support portion 41 is positioned lower than the thick-walled portion 1b of the glass container 1G. In this state, when the capping head 5a attaches a cap C to the glass container 1G, the capping head 5a presses the glass container 1G downward, and this pressure is received by the loading plate 12, making it possible to attach the cap C to the glass container 1G. At this time, by the gripper G gripping the glass container 1G, the center of the glass container 1G can be aligned with the center of the cap C held by the capping head 5a, and since the metal flange support portion 41 is not in contact with the glass container 1G, the glass container 1G is prevented from being damaged by the impact when the cap C is capped.

[0025] Next, the interval setting mechanism 23 for the gripper G to grip the small-diameter container 1S and the large-diameter container 1L as shown in Figs. 4(a) and 4(b) will be described. Figure 8 shows a cross-sectional view of portion VIII-VIII in Figure 1, and the position in Figure 8 is located between the transfer position where the container 1 is handed over from the supply wheel 4 to the capping wheel 5 and the transfer position where the container 1 is handed over from the capping wheel 5 to the discharge wheel 6, and is a section where the gripper G does not hold the container 1. The interval setting mechanism 23 is composed of a cam lifting means for raising and lowering the cylindrical cam 26, and the cam lifting means is composed of a lifting member 32 that contacts the cylindrical cam 26 from below, and a lifting mechanism 33 that raises and lowers the lifting member 32. Here, a rotation stop member 34 that constitutes the lifting mechanism 33 in the horizontal direction is fixed to the lower end of the cylindrical cam 26, and the end of the rotation stop member 34 is arranged to be movable up and down relative to a rod 35 that is arranged at a distance outside the capping wheel 5. With this configuration, the cylindrical cam 26 is prevented from rotating by the rotation stopper member 34 engaged with the rod 35, while being movable up and down along the rod 35.

[0026] The lifting member 32 is a cylindrical member provided between the rotation shaft 11a of the rotary table 11 and the cylindrical cam 26, and is rotatably provided with respect to the rotation shaft 11a of the rotary table 11 and the cylindrical cam 26. In addition, a cylindrical sliding bearing 36 is provided between the rotating shaft 11a and the lifting member 32, and a flange portion 36a is formed on the upper end of the sliding bearing 36 toward the outer periphery, so that the upper end of the lifting member 32 abuts against the lower surface of the flange portion 36a. Furthermore, the bottom of the lifting member 32 is supported from below by rollers 37 provided on the rotating shaft 11a, and with this configuration, the lifting member 32 itself cannot be raised or lowered relative to the rotating shaft 11a. The lift member 32 is provided at its lower end with a gear 32a that protrudes in a flange shape toward the outer periphery. The lifting mechanism 33 is composed of two gears 38, 38 rotatably provided on the lower surface of the rotation stopper member 34, and a motor 39 fixed to the rotation stopper member 34. When the motor 39 is rotated, the gear 39a provided on the motor 39 is transmitted to the gear 32a of the lifting member 32 via the gears 38, 38 of the anti-rotation member 34, making it possible to rotate the lifting member 32.

[0027] Further, a male threaded portion 32b consisting of a trapezoidal thread is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lifting member 32, while a female threaded portion 26b that engages with the male threaded portion 32b is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical cam 26. In other words, the cylindrical cam 26 is supported from below by the lifting member 32 via the male threaded portion 32b and the female threaded portion 26b. Furthermore, the male threaded portion 32b of the lifting member 32 and the female threaded portion 26b of the cylindrical cam 26 are each inclined in the circumferential direction, and when the lifting member 32 rotates, the female threaded portion 26b moves in conjunction with the trapezoidal thread formed on the male threaded portion 32b, so that although the lifting member 32 does not move up and down, the cylindrical cam 26, whose rotation is prevented by the anti-rotation member 34, moves up and down. Here, the anti-rotation member 34 moves up and down along the rod 35 together with the cylindrical cam 26, but since the thickness of the two gears 38, 38 is set to match the amount of lift of the cylindrical cam 26, the gears 38, 38 move up and down while maintaining a meshed state with the gear 32a of the lifting member 32. Alternatively, in the above configuration, a mechanism may be used in which steps inclined along the circumferential direction are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lifting member 32 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical cam 26, and these steps are brought into sliding contact with each other. In this case, the steps slide against each other as the lifting member 32 rotates, and the cylindrical cam 26 can be lifted and lowered. In this embodiment, the lifting member 32 is driven by the motor 39, but it is also possible to provide a handle or the like on the gear 39a so that it can be rotated manually.

[0028] 9A and 9B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the interval setting mechanism 23, in which Fig. 9A shows the gripping member 21 in the small diameter opening / closing position, and Fig. 9B shows the gripping member 21 in the large diameter opening / closing position. Also, Fig. 9A shows the gripping member 21 in an open state, and Fig. 9B shows the gripping member 21 in a closed state. 9(A)(b) shows the state of FIG. 3 to FIG. 5(a), and FIG. 9(B)(b) shows the state of FIG. 3 to FIG. 5(b). 9(A), the gap setting mechanism 23 rotates the lifting member 32 by the lifting mechanism 33 to lift the cylindrical cam 26. The lifted position of the cylindrical cam 26 at this time, in other words, the rotation angle of the lifting member 32, is registered beforehand in a control means (not shown). Once the cylindrical cam 26 is positioned at a predetermined raised position, the interval setting mechanism 23 does not operate and the height of the cylindrical cam 26 is maintained until the capping operation is completed.

[0029] When the cylindrical cam 26 is thus positioned at the raised position, the lift plate 24 is accordingly positioned at the upper position, and at this time the gripping member 21 is positioned at the small diameter opening / closing position. When the rotary table 11 is rotated in this state, the cylindrical cam 26 is prevented from rotating, so that the cam follower 25 provided on the lift plate 24 moves up and down in accordance with the cam surface 26a formed on the cylindrical cam 26. On the other hand, since the up and down movement of the cam follower 25 is regulated by the shape of the cam surface 26a, in this embodiment, the lift plate 24 moves up and down within the range of height h between Figures 9(A)(a) and (b). In the state shown in Figures 9(A)(b), the engagement portion 21b of the gripping member 21 is positioned approximately at the lower end of the guide portion 31, and in this state, the gripping member 21 is closed as shown in Figure 4(a) to hold a small-diameter container 1S. From this state, when the lift plate 24 descends by a height h to the state shown in FIG. 9(A)(a), the engaging portion 21b of the gripping member 21 moves upward from approximately the lower end of the guide portion 31 while moving in the left-right direction in the figure. However, since the vertical movement of the gripping members 21 is restricted by the lower support member 11d, the left and right gripping members 21 each move horizontally in a straight line outward by a distance L, and the gripped container 1 is released.

[0030] 9(B), the interval setting mechanism 23 rotates the lifting member 32 by the lifting mechanism 33 to lower the cylindrical cam 26 by a height H. As a result, the lifting plate 24 is positioned at the large diameter opening / closing position lowered by the height H. When the rotary table 11 rotates in this state, the lift plate 24 moves up and down between (a) and (b) in FIG. 9(B). In the state shown in FIG. 9(B)(b), the engagement portion 21b of the gripping member 21 is located approximately in the middle of the guide portion 31, and the gripping member 21 is holding a large-diameter container 1L as shown in FIG. 4(b). From this state, when the lifting plate 24 descends to the state shown in Figure 9(B)(a), the engagement portion 21b of the gripping member 21 moves toward approximately the upper end portion of the guide portion 31, and as a result, the left and right gripping members 21 move apart horizontally, thereby releasing the gripped container 1. At this time, since the cam surface 26a of the cylindrical cam 26 is not deformed, the amount of lifting and lowering of the lifting plate 24 is the same as when the gripping member 21 is opened and closed at the small diameter opening and closing position, and the amount of horizontal movement of the gripping member 21 is also the distance L.

[0031] According to the opening and closing mechanism 22 of the gripper G having the above-mentioned configuration, regardless of whether the gripping member 21 is in the small diameter opening and closing position or the large diameter opening and closing position, the gripping member 21 moves relative to the small diameter container 1S in a straight line by the slide guide 27, making it possible to hold both the small diameter container 1S and the large diameter container 1L without shifting their central positions. In addition, according to the spacing setting mechanism 23 of the gripper G of this embodiment, the cylindrical cam 26 on which the cam surface 26a is formed can be raised and lowered to switch the gripping member 21 to a small diameter opening / closing position or a large diameter opening / closing position, eliminating the need to provide excessive structure in a part where centrifugal force acts, such as the rotating table 11.

[0032] Here, in the above embodiment, the container 1 held in Figure 4(a), which corresponds to Figure 9(A)(b), is the container 1S having approximately the smallest diameter that can be held by the gripper G of this embodiment, and the container 1 held in Figure 4(b), which corresponds to Figure 9(B)(b), is the container 1L having approximately the largest diameter. However, according to the configuration of this embodiment, by varying the position of the engaging portion 21b that engages with the guide portion 31, the small diameter opening / closing position and the large diameter opening / closing position can be changed. Specifically, by using the spacing setting mechanism 23 to change the height (the direction of H in FIG. 9) of the cylindrical cam 26, the engaging portion 21b can be positioned at any position within the range shown in FIG. 9(A)(b) and FIG. 7(B)(b), and the small diameter opening / closing position and the large diameter opening / closing position can be set arbitrarily. In this embodiment, two stages, a small diameter opening / closing position and a large diameter opening / closing position, are set, but it is also possible to set one or more so-called medium diameter opening / closing positions between these.

[0033] In the above embodiment, the guide portions 31 provided on the lift plate 24 are each configured as a straight long hole, but it is also possible to curve the guide portions 31. In this case, the distance L by which the gripping member 21 opens and closes can be changed between the small diameter opening / closing position and the large diameter opening / closing position. In addition, in the above embodiment, the guide portions 31 provided on the lift plate 24 are arranged in an inverted V shape, but they may be arranged in a substantially V shape with the upper ends close to each other and the lower end separated from each other. In this case, in the above embodiment, the gripping members 21 move apart when the lifting plate 24 is lowered, but if the guide portion 31 is arranged in a V-shape, the gripping members 21 move apart when the lifting plate 24 is raised. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 1 container 2 capping device 5 Capping wheel 11 Rotating table 11d Lower support member 13 Spacing adjustment means 21 Gripping member 21R Right gripping member 21L Left side gripping member 41 Flange support part 42 Contact part

Claims

[Claim 1] The capping head is provided with a cap for capping a container, a gripper for gripping the container, and a mounting plate for supporting the container from below, In a capping device, when a cap is applied to a container made of resin and having a flange formed on a neck portion, a lower portion of the flange is gripped by the gripper, and when a cap is applied to a container made of a brittle material, the container is supported from below by the loading plate, a gap adjusting means for adjusting a gap between the gripper and the loading plate; The gripper has a pair of gripping members that can be opened and closed, and the gripping members each include a flange support portion that is made of metal and has a flat upper surface, and a contact portion that is made of an elastic material and protrudes inward from an inner edge of the flange support portion but does not protrude above the upper surface of the flange support portion; When a cap is applied to the resin container, the resin container is held in a state in which the resin container is supported from below the flange by the flange support portion of the gripping member, This capping device is characterized in that when capping the brittle material container, the distance between the gripper and the loading plate is adjusted by the distance adjustment means, so that the abutment portion of the gripping member is in contact with the container and grips it while the flange support portion does not contact the surface of the container.

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