Square carton container conveying device

Abstract

To provide a square carton container conveying device capable of always correcting an opening portion into a square shape to grip even when a carton container is supplied in a state where the opening portion is deformed into a parallelogram.SOLUTION: In a square carton container conveying device, a pair of gripping members 56 have contacting parts 64 which are disposed corresponding to opposite side faces A of a square carton container C and come into contact with adjacent corners B of the container C. By moving the pair of gripping members 56 to a closing position in a state where the container C is disposed between the pair of gripping members 56 located at an opening position, a side surface correction member 61 is energized by a coil spring 62 to grip the side surface A of the container C, the side surface A is deformed so as to be orthogonal to the linear direction, and the contacting parts 64 comes into contact with the corners B of the container C.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a square carton container, such as a gable-top paper container filled with liquid contents such as milk, and more specifically to a square carton container transport device that transports the square carton container with its opening open. [Background technology]

[0002] A conventional square carton container conveying device of this type is described in Patent Document 1, and this square carton container conveying device can also accommodate changes in the dimensions of the square carton containers being conveyed. That is, while the horizontal cross section of the opening of a normal square carton container is square, the conveying device of Patent Document 1 is configured so that the positions of a pair of carton holders that hold the square carton container move according to the size of the opening. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-255122 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the conventional conveying device described above, if a carton container is supplied to the conveying device with the cross-sectional shape of the opening deformed into a parallelogram, there is a possibility that the opening will not be corrected to a square even when the carton holder of the conveying device grasps the carton container. In such a case, a problem occurs in that the subsequent process of filling the contents and sealing the opening cannot be performed normally.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a rectangular carton container conveying device that can always correct the opening to a square and grip the carton container, even if the carton container is supplied with the opening deformed into a parallelogram. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The square carton container transport device of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a pair of gripping members provided to correspond to opposing side surfaces of a square carton container and having two abutment portions for abutting adjacent corners of the container, an opening / closing means for moving the pair of gripping members along the same linear direction between an open position and a closed position, a side surface straightening member provided on each of the pair of gripping members, movable along the linear direction and engaging with the side surface of the container, and a biasing member provided on each of the pair of gripping members for biasing the side surface straightening member in a direction protruding toward the other gripping member, and by moving the pair of gripping members to the closed position with a container positioned between the pair of gripping members positioned in the open position, the side surface straightening member is biased by the biasing member to clamp the side surface of the container, the container side surface is deformed so as to be perpendicular to the linear direction, and the abutment portions abut the corners of the container.

[0007] Preferably, the contact portion has a linear shape inclined with respect to the linear direction in a horizontal plane, and the side surface straightening member has a linear shape perpendicular to the linear direction in the horizontal plane. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, a square carton container conveying device can be obtained that can always correct the opening to a square and grip the carton container, even if the carton container is supplied with the opening deformed into a parallelogram. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of a filling and sealing system provided with a square carton container conveying device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the square carton container transport device. [Diagram 3] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating the operation of the square carton container conveying device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The present invention will be described below based on the illustrated embodiments. 1 shows the overall configuration of a filling and sealing system provided with a rectangular carton container conveying device 50 according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this system, an endless chain 12 is wound around the bodies of a sealing device 10 and a filling device 11, and the sealing device 10 and the filling device 11 rotate continuously about their respective axes. Filling heads 16 are attached to the body of the filling device 11 at regular intervals along its periphery, and sealing heads 17 are attached to the body of the sealing device 10 at regular intervals along its periphery. That is, in this embodiment, rectangular carton containers C are continuously conveyed, and as will be described later, filling and sealing operations are performed on the containers C during the continuous conveyance.

[0011] Square carton container conveying devices 50 are attached to the endless chain 12 at regular intervals. A supply star wheel 14 is provided near the filling device 11, and empty containers C formed into a bottomed square cylinder are delivered from the supply star wheel 14 to the filling device 11. In the filling device 11, the filling head 16 fills the containers C with liquid contents while it is continuously rotating, and the containers are conveyed to the sealing device 10. In the sealing device 10, the sealing head 17 forms the opening of the container C into a gable roof shape and seals the opening while it is continuously rotating. The square carton containers C formed in this way are delivered from the sealing device 10 to the discharge star wheel 15 and conveyed to the next process.

[0012] The configuration of a square carton container conveying device 50 will be described with reference to Figure 2. A main body 51 of this device 50 is attached to the endless chain 12 via an attachment portion 52. A pair of support rods 53, 54 extending parallel to the endless chain 12 are provided on the main body 51. A movable member 55 is slidably provided on each of the support rods 53, 54, and a gripping member 56 is attached to the tip of each of the movable members 55. The pair of gripping members 56 extend outside the endless chain 12 and are provided corresponding to the opposing side surfaces A of the square carton container C. The pair of gripping members 56 are displaceable along the support rods 53, 54, i.e., can move along the same linear direction (left and right direction in Figure 2), and move between an open position and a closed position as described below.

[0013] A pair of shafts 60 are slidably fitted to each of the gripping members 56, and a flat side correction member 61 capable of engaging with the side surface A of the rectangular carton container C is provided at the tip of each of the pair of shafts 60. The shaft 60 extends parallel to the support rods 53, 54 and is displaceable in the axial direction, so that the side correction member 61 can move along the same linear direction as the gripping member 56 moves. A coil spring (biasing member) 62 is provided between the side correction member 61 and the gripping member 56, and the side correction member 61 is biased by the coil spring 62 in a direction protruding toward the other gripping member 56. A flange 63 is provided on the shaft 60 on the side opposite to the coil spring 62 to prevent the side correction member 61 from falling off the gripping member 56.

[0014] Two contact portions 64 are formed on each gripping member 56. The contact portions 64 are flat surfaces extending in the height direction of the rectangular carton container C and can come into contact with the adjacent corner B. That is, the contact portions 64 have a linear shape inclined with respect to the moving direction (linear direction) of the gripping members 56 in the horizontal plane and can press the corner B toward the center of the rectangular carton container C as described below. On the other hand, the side straightening members 61 have a linear shape perpendicular to the moving direction (linear direction) of the gripping members 56 in the horizontal plane and have a planar shape parallel to the side surface A of the rectangular carton container C after straightening.

[0015] A pair of swing arms 70 having an L-shape in plan view are provided on the main body 51. Each swing arm 70 has a first arm 71 extending toward the moving member 55 and a second arm 72 extending toward the mounting portion 52, and is pivotally attached to the main body 51 by a pin 73 at a corner. An elongated hole 74 is formed at the tip of the first arm 71, and a roller 75 attached to the moving member 55 engages with the elongated hole 74. The tips of the second arms 72 of the pair of swing arms 70 are connected by a pin 76, and the pin 76 passes through an elongated hole 77 formed in the mounting member 52. A cam follower 78 is provided on the pin 76, and the cam follower 78 engages with a cam 79 provided along the endless chain 12.

[0016] Each moving member 55 is connected to the main body 51 via a coil spring 80 extending along the support rods 53 and 54, and the moving member 55 located on the right side in FIG. 2 is always biased leftward, and the moving member 55 located on the left side is always biased rightward. That is, the moving members 55 are biased in a direction in which they approach each other, that is, in a direction in which the pair of gripping members 56 approach each other. Therefore, when the cam follower 78 in FIG. 2 is pressed downward by the cam 79, the moving member 55 located on the right side is displaced rightward against the biasing force, and the moving member 55 located on the left side is displaced leftward against the biasing force, and the pair of gripping members 56 are opened. Therefore, the cam 79 and the cam follower 78 constitute an opening / closing means for moving the pair of gripping members 56 along the same straight line between the open position and the closed position.

[0017] The operation of the rectangular carton container conveying device 50 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 shows the operation of correcting the cross-sectional shape of the rectangular carton container C, which should have a square horizontal cross section, to a square when the container C is delivered from the supply star wheel 14 to the filling machine 11 in a deformed parallelogram state. Fig. 3(a) shows the operation when the gripping member 56 grips a relatively large container C, and Fig. 3(b) shows the operation when the gripping member 56 grips a relatively small container C.

[0018] While the conveying device 50 is moving from the sealing device 10 side to the filling device 11, the pair of gripping members 56 are set in the open position by the action of the cam 79 and the cam follower 78. At the delivery position where the supply star wheel 14 and the filling device 11 are close to each other, the container C is placed between the pair of gripping members 56 set in the open position (when opened). At this time, the gripping members 56 are completely separated from the container C, but as the filling device 11 rotates and moves, the pair of gripping members 56 begin to advance toward the closed position according to the shape of the cam 79, and the end of the side correction member 61 abuts against the side A of the container C (during closing). As the gripping members 56 further advance, the side correction members 61 are pressed by the side A of the container C, and move backward while compressing the coil spring 62, and the two corners B located on the diagonal line of the container C approach the corresponding abutment parts 64 of the gripping members 56 (during closing).

[0019] As the filling device 11 rotates, the pair of gripping members 56 move further forward to the closed position, and the contact parts 64 press two diagonally opposite corners B of the container C toward the center of the container C. This corrects the horizontal cross section of the container C from a parallelogram to a square, and the side correction member 61 comes into close contact with the side A of the container C and is biased by the coil spring 62 to clamp the side A (closing completed). In this way, the side A of the container C was inclined with respect to the moving direction (linear direction) of the gripping members 56 when it was supplied between the gripping members 56 in the open state, but in the closed position, it deforms so as to be perpendicular to the linear direction, and the contact parts 64 come into contact with the four corners B of the container C.

[0020] As described above, in this embodiment, even if the container C is supplied from the supply star wheel 14 in a distorted parallelogram shape, the closing action of the pair of gripping members 56 causes the side correction member 61 to tightly clamp the side A of the container C, and the abutment portion 64 to abut against the corner B of the container C, so that the horizontal cross section of the container C is always corrected to a square, and the container C is securely gripped by the gripping members 56.

[0021] In the above embodiment, the pair of gripping members 56 move in a straight line, but the direction of movement of the pair of gripping members 56 may be substantially straight, and may be an arc shape with a large radius of curvature. The horizontal cross-sectional shape of the rectangular carton container C is not limited to a square, and may be a rectangle. [Explanation of symbols]

[0022] 56 Gripping member 61 Side correction member 62 Coil spring (biasing member) 78 Cam follower (opening and closing means) 79 Cam (opening and closing means) A side B Corner C Square carton container

Claims

1. A pair of gripping members are provided corresponding to opposite side surfaces of a rectangular carton container, and each gripping member has two abutment portions that abut adjacent corners of the container; an opening / closing means for moving the pair of gripping members along a same straight line between an open position and a closed position; a side surface correction member provided on each of the pair of gripping members, movable along the linear direction, and engaging with the side surface; a biasing member provided on each of the pair of gripping members and biasing the side correction member in a direction in which the side correction member protrudes toward the other gripping member, When the container is placed between the pair of gripping members positioned at the open position, the pair of gripping members are moved to the closed position, whereby the side surface correction member is biased by the biasing member to clamp the side surface, the side surface is deformed so as to be perpendicular to the linear direction, and the abutment portion abuts against a corner of the container. A square carton container transport device.

2. 2. The rectangular carton container conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the contact portion has a linear shape inclined with respect to the linear direction in a horizontal plane, and the side correction member has a linear shape perpendicular to the linear direction in a horizontal plane.

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