Container carrier

Abstract

To enable the movement of retraction with an intermediate gripper GB and the adjustment of a pitch of transport by one intermediate rotary wheel.SOLUTION: A container carrier, including a sixth (downstream) rotary wheel having a pitch of transport set narrower than that of a fourth (upstream) rotary wheel H4, comprises swing means that allows a fifth (intermediate) rotary wheel H5 to make an intermediate gripper GB swing at a downstream delivery position P2 to a sixth rotary wheel so as to match the pitch of transport thereof with that of the sixth rotary wheel and change-over means 25 that changes the intermediate gripper GB over to a retracted state not to interfere with a plastic bottle 1 held by the fourth rotary wheel H4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a container conveying device, and more particularly to a container conveying device including an intermediate rotating wheel that delivers a container from an upstream rotating wheel to a downstream rotating wheel.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, for example, as a beverage production line that performs from the molding of a plastic bottle as a container to the filling of a beverage, there is known one including a blow molding section that molds a plastic bottle and a filling section that fills the plastic bottle with a beverage or the like. In these blow molding sections and filling sections, a container is conveyed by a container conveying device including a plurality of rotating wheels (Patent Documents 1 and 2). The container conveying devices described in these patent documents include an upstream rotating wheel provided with an upstream gripper for gripping a container, a downstream rotating wheel provided with a downstream gripper for gripping a container, and an intermediate rotating wheel provided between the upstream rotating wheel and the downstream rotating wheel and having an intermediate gripper for gripping a container, and an opening / closing means for opening and closing a gripping member constituting the intermediate gripper. Among these, in the container conveying device of Patent Document 1, even when the upstream rotating wheel constituting the blow molding section abnormally stops, the rotation of the intermediate rotating wheel and the downstream rotating wheel is continued so as not to stop each device constituting the filling section. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, switching means is provided to open the gripping member of the intermediate gripper to a retracted state larger than the normal state so that the intermediate gripper does not interfere with the container held by the upstream gripper of the stopped upstream rotating wheel, so that the gripping member does not interfere with the container of the upstream gripper. On the other hand, in the container conveying device of Patent Document 2, since the container conveying pitch by the downstream rotating wheel is set narrower than the container conveying pitch by the upstream rotating wheel, the conveying pitch is adjusted in the intermediate rotating wheel. Therefore, in Patent Document 2, a swinging means for swinging the intermediate gripper on the intermediate rotating wheel is provided, and the intermediate rotating wheel is swung so that the distance between adjacent intermediate grippers becomes narrower at the downstream delivery position of the container between the intermediate rotating wheel and the downstream rotating wheel, thereby adjusting the conveying pitch.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, when an intermediate rotating wheel for retracting the intermediate gripper when the upstream rotating wheel described in Patent Document 1 stops and an intermediate rotating wheel for adjusting the conveying pitch described in Patent Document 2 are respectively provided in a beverage production line, there is a problem that the installation space becomes large. In view of such problems, the present invention provides a container conveying device capable of performing a retracting operation of an intermediate gripper and an adjustment of a conveying pitch in one intermediate rotating wheel.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] That is, a container conveying device according to the invention of claim 1 includes an upstream rotating wheel having an upstream gripper for gripping a container, a downstream rotating wheel having a downstream gripper for gripping a container, and an intermediate rotating wheel provided between the upstream rotating wheel and the downstream rotating wheel and having an intermediate gripper for gripping the container, and an opening / closing means for opening and closing a gripping member constituting the intermediate gripper. In the container conveying device, the conveying pitch of the container in the downstream rotating wheel is set to be narrower than the conveying pitch of the container in the upstream rotating wheel. An oscillating means for oscillating the intermediate gripper is provided on the intermediate rotating wheel, and at the downstream transfer position with the downstream rotating wheel, it is oscillated so that adjacent intermediate grippers approach each other, and the conveyance pitch of the container is made to coincide with the conveyance pitch of the downstream gripper. Furthermore, switching means is provided for switching the gripping member of the intermediate gripper to a normal state for delivering the container or a retracted state in which it does not interfere with the container held by the upstream gripper. When the upstream rotating wheel stops and the rotation of the intermediate rotating wheel continues, the switching means switches the gripping member of the intermediate gripper from the normal state to the retracted state before the intermediate gripper reaches the upstream transfer position with the upstream rotating wheel. This is the gist of the invention.

Advantages of the Invention

[0006] According to the above invention, by providing the oscillating means and the switching means on one intermediate rotating wheel, it is possible to adjust the conveyance pitch between the upstream rotating wheel and the downstream rotating wheel, and when the upstream rotating wheel stops abnormally, it is possible to prevent the intermediate gripper from colliding with the container held by the upstream gripper.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0008] Regarding the following illustrated embodiments, FIG. 1 shows a beverage production line 2 that performs operations from the molding of a plastic bottle 1 as a container to the filling of a beverage. The line includes a blow molding section 3 that blow-molds a parison into the plastic bottle 1, and a filling section 4 that performs processes such as cleaning and filling the blow-molded plastic bottle 1, and is controlled by control means 5 composed of a computer or the like. The above parison and plastic bottle 1 are conveyed by a container conveying device 6 according to the present invention, which is constituted by the first to eleventh rotating wheels H1 to H11. At the delivery position where adjacent rotating wheels H are adjacent, grippers provided on the outer periphery of each rotating wheel H perform the delivery of the plastic bottle 1, so that it is conveyed along the conveyance path indicated by the thick line in FIG. 1.

[0009] Among the container conveying device 6, the blow molding section 3 includes the first to fourth rotating wheels H1 to H4. The first rotating wheel H1 constitutes supply means for supplying the parison, the second rotating wheel H2 constitutes blow molding means for blow-molding the parison into the plastic bottle 1, the third rotating wheel H3 constitutes discharge means, and the fourth rotating wheel H4 constitutes delivery means for delivering the plastic bottle 1 to the filling section 4. Also, among the container conveying device 6, the filling section 4 includes the fifth to eleventh rotating wheels H5 to H11 and a discharge conveyor 6a. The fifth rotating wheel H5 constitutes sterilization means for sterilizing the plastic bottle 1, the sixth rotating wheel H6 constitutes cleaning means for cleaning the plastic bottle 1, the seventh rotating wheel H7 constitutes supply means, the eighth rotating wheel H8 constitutes filling means for filling the plastic bottle 1 with liquid, the ninth rotating wheel H9 constitutes discharge means, the tenth rotating wheel H10 constitutes capping means for attaching a cap to the plastic bottle 1, and the eleventh rotating wheel H11 constitutes discharge means for discharging the plastic bottle 1 to the discharge conveyor 6a. And in this embodiment, the blow molding unit 3 and the filling unit 4 can be separately controlled by the control means 5, and the first to fourth rotating wheels H1 to H4 constituting the blow molding unit 3 and the fifth to eleventh rotating wheels H5 to H11 constituting the filling unit 4 are driven by different drive sources. Therefore, even when the upstream blow molding unit 3 stops abnormally by the control means 5, it is possible to continue operating the downstream filling unit 4, and for the PET bottle 1 held by the filling unit 4, it is possible to complete a series of processes such as filling the beverage and capping. Since the blow molding means constituting the blow molding unit 3, the cleaning means, filling means, and capping means constituting the filling unit 4 are conventionally well-known, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

[0010] The container transfer device 6 of this embodiment sets the transfer pitch of the PET bottle 1 in the filling unit 4 to be narrower than the transfer pitch of the PET bottle 1 in the blow molding unit 3. Specifically, the transfer pitch of the filling unit 4 is 30π, while the transfer pitch of the blow molding unit 3 is set to 48π. FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the fourth to sixth rotating wheels H4 to H6 located at the boundary between the blow molding unit 3 and the filling unit 4. The fourth rotating wheel H4 located at the downstream end of the blow molding unit 3 is the upstream rotating wheel according to the present invention, the fifth rotating wheel H5 located at the upstream end of the filling unit 4 is the intermediate rotating wheel according to the present invention, and the sixth rotating wheel H6 constitutes the downstream rotating wheel according to the present invention. The fifth rotating wheel H5 constitutes the sterilization means for sterilizing the PET bottle 1, and transfers the PET bottle 1 supplied from the fourth rotating wheel H4 at a transfer pitch of 48π to the sixth rotating wheel H6 at a transfer pitch of 30π, and has a configuration capable of adjusting the transfer pitch.

[0011] The fourth rotating wheel H4 rotates counterclockwise as shown in the figure, and is provided with a plurality of upstream grippers GA along its outer peripheral edge so that the conveying pitch of the PET bottle 1 is 48π. On the other hand, the sixth rotating wheel H6 also rotates counterclockwise as shown in the figure, and is provided with a plurality of downstream grippers GC along its outer peripheral edge so that the conveying pitch of the PET bottle 1 is 30π. Since the upstream gripper GA and the downstream gripper GC have a conventionally known configuration, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. However, they include a pair of gripping members for gripping the PET bottle 1 and a spring for biasing the gripping members in a direction to approach each other. The gripping member is configured to grip the neck portion of the PET bottle 1, and is biased in the closing direction at all times by the spring so as to grip the PET bottle 1.

[0012] Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in Figure 2, and shows a cross-sectional view of the fifth rotating wheel H5 constituting the sterilization means. An intermediate gripper GB for holding the PET bottle 1 is provided on the fifth rotating wheel H5 at a predetermined interval. On the conveying path of the PET bottle 1 held by the intermediate gripper GB, an injection nozzle 11 for injecting hydrogen peroxide vapor as a sterilizing agent and a reject box 12 (see Figure 2) for collecting the PET bottle 1 in which sterilization failure is detected are provided. First, the sterilization means will be described. The injection nozzle 11 is connected to a hydrogen peroxide water supply means 13 for supplying an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution, a vaporization chamber 14 for vaporizing the aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution to generate hydrogen peroxide vapor, and an air supply means 15 for injecting the hydrogen peroxide vapor in the vaporization chamber 14 from the injection nozzle 11. In this embodiment, the injection nozzles 11 are arranged at two locations. The hydrogen peroxide water supply means 13 supplies the aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution while measuring the flow rate by a flow meter 16, and the hydrogen peroxide vapor vaporized inside the vaporization chamber 14 is sent to the injection nozzle 11 by the air from the air supply means 15. The above injection nozzle 11 is provided above the PET bottle 1 held by the intermediate gripper GB, and injects the injected hydrogen peroxide vapor into the PET bottle 1 to sterilize the inside of the PET bottle 1. The control means 5 monitors the flow rate of the aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution by the above flow meter 16. When this flow rate falls below a specified value, the PET bottle 1 that has passed through the injection nozzle 11 at that time is determined to have poor sterilization, and is made to be collected in the above reject box 12. Note that the arrangement of the injection nozzles 11 is not limited to two places, and may be three or more places. Also, hydrogen peroxide vapor may be injected outside the PET bottle 1 to sterilize the outside.

[0013] The above fifth rotating wheel H5 includes an upper table 22A and a lower table 22B that rotate around a rotation axis 21 (see FIG. 2), and the intermediate gripper GB is provided at equal intervals along the outer peripheral edges of these tables 22A and 22B. And the fifth rotating wheel H5 includes an opening / closing means 23 for opening and closing the above intermediate gripper GB, a swinging means 24 for swinging the above intermediate gripper GB in the horizontal direction, and a switching means 25 for switching the above intermediate gripper GB to a normal state or a retracted state described later. As shown in FIG. 4, the above opening / closing means 23 is configured to open and close the above intermediate gripper GB between a closed state (a) for gripping the above PET bottle and an open state (b) for releasing the PET bottle 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the above swinging means 24 swings the above intermediate gripper GB, so that the PET bottle 1 can be received from the fourth rotating wheel H4 at a transfer pitch of 48π and the PET bottle 1 can be delivered to the sixth rotating wheel H6 at a transfer pitch of 30π. The switching means 25 can transfer the PET bottle 1 at the transfer positions P1 and P2 with the fourth and sixth rotating wheels H4 and H6, with the intermediate gripper GB in the normal state shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b). Further, by setting it to the retracted state shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, even when the fourth rotating wheel H4 stops abnormally, the intermediate gripper GB can be retracted from the PET bottle 1 held by the upstream gripper GA.

[0014] The intermediate gripper GB is provided on a base member 26 that is integrally provided with a swing shaft 26a swingably provided between the upper table 22A and the lower table 22B. As shown in FIG. 4, the intermediate gripper GB includes a first rotating shaft 31A and a second rotating shaft 31B provided on the base member 26, and a first gripping member 32A and a second gripping member 32B swingably provided in the horizontal direction with respect to these first and second rotating shafts 31A and 31B. The upper end of the swing shaft 26a is pivotally supported by the upper table 22A via an upper bearing 27A, and the lower part of the swing shaft 26a is pivotally supported by the lower table 22B via a lower bearing 27B. Also, the lower end of the swing shaft 26a protrudes below the lower table 22B. The first and second gripping members 32A and 32B are each composed of a base side member 32a connected to the first and second rotating shafts 31A and 31B, and a tip side member 32b swingably provided upward with respect to the base side member 32a via a pin 33. The tip side member 32b is configured in a shape suitable for gripping the neck portion of the PET bottle 1 from the left and right. As shown in FIG. 4(b), when the intermediate gripper GB is in the open state and the first gripping member 32A and the second gripping member 32B are open, the pins 33 provided on these first and second gripping members 32A and 32B are aligned coaxially. When the tip side members 32b of the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B are pulled upward from the state where the intermediate gripper GB is in the open state, the tip side members 32b are bounced upward around the pins 33 (see FIG. 5).

[0015] As shown in FIG. 4, the opening / closing means 23 includes a columnar opening / closing pin 34 sandwiched between the base side members 32a of the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B, an opening / closing rod 35 connected to the opening / closing pin 34, an opening / closing cam follower 41 provided at the other end of the opening / closing rod 35, and an opening / closing cam 42 that contacts the opening / closing cam follower 41. The opening / closing pin 34 is located between the first and second rotating shafts 31A and 31B, and arc-shaped recesses 32c capable of accommodating the opening / closing pin 34 are formed in the base side members 32a of the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B. The opening / closing rod 35 is provided so as to penetrate the base member 26 in the horizontal direction. The opening / closing pin 34 is provided at the outer peripheral side end, and the opening / closing cam follower 41 is fixed to the inner peripheral side end that penetrates the base member 26. As shown in FIG. 3, a spring 43 is provided on the outer peripheral side of the base member 26 via a holding member 26b. The spring 43 is elastically installed between the holding member and the pin 33, and constantly biases the pin 33 toward the inner peripheral side of the fifth rotating wheel H5. The opening / closing cam 42 contacts the opening / closing cam follower 41 from the inner peripheral side of the fifth rotating wheel, and the opening / closing cam 42 moves the opening / closing cam follower 41 in the radial direction of the fifth rotating wheel H5.

[0016] With such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 4(a), when the opening / closing cam follower 41 is positioned on the inner peripheral side of the fifth rotating wheel H5 by the opening / closing cam 42, the opening / closing rod 35 moves the opening / closing pin 34 to the inner peripheral side. Then, the opening / closing pin 34 is positioned on the inner peripheral side of the fifth rotating wheel H5 with respect to the first and second rotating shafts 31A and 31B, and the base side members 32a of the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B rotate about the first and second rotating shafts 31A and 31B, and the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B are in a closed state. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 4(b), when the opening and closing cam follower 41 is moved to the outer peripheral side by the opening and closing cam 42, the opening and closing pin 34 will be located on the outer peripheral side of the fifth rotating wheel with respect to the first and second rotating shafts 31A and 31B. As a result, the base members 32a of the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B can rotate about the first and second rotating shafts 31A and 31B, enabling the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B to be in an open state. As shown in Fig. 2, the opening and closing cam 42 is provided at the upstream delivery position P1 with the fourth rotating wheel H4 and at the downstream delivery position P2 of the PET bottle 1 with the sixth rotating wheel H6, and the intermediate gripper GB is configured to open and close within the range where the opening and closing cam 42 is provided. On the other hand, in the section where the opening and closing cam 42 is not provided, since the opening and closing cam follower 41 is located on the inner peripheral side of the fifth rotating wheel H5 due to the biasing force of the spring 43, the intermediate gripper GB is configured to maintain a closed state.

[0017] The swinging means 24 is composed of a swinging cam follower 52 provided via a swinging arm 52a at the lower end of a swinging shaft 26a pivotally supported by the upper table 22A and the lower table 22B, and a swinging cam 53 that abuts against the swinging cam follower 52. As shown in Fig. 2, the swinging cam 53 is provided endlessly along the rotation locus of the fifth rotating wheel H5, and a neutral section A1 for positioning the intermediate gripper GB at the neutral position and a swinging section A2 for swinging the intermediate gripper GB are set in the vicinity of the downstream delivery position P2 with the sixth rotating wheel H6. In a plan view, the swinging arm 52a is provided rearward in the rotation direction of the fifth rotating wheel H5 with respect to the base member 26, and the swinging cam follower 52 is configured to always maintain contact with the swinging cam 53 by a spring 54 elastically installed between the swinging arm 52a and the lower table 22B.

[0018] In FIG. 2, when the swing cam follower 52 is located in the neutral section A1 of the swing cam 53, the swing means 24 positions the intermediate gripper GB at a neutral position where the line connecting the swing shaft 26a in the intermediate gripper GB and the center of the PET bottle 1 held by the intermediate gripper GB faces in the diametrical direction passing through the center of the fifth rotating wheel H5. When the intermediate gripper GB is in the neutral position, the interval between the PET bottles 1 held by the adjacent intermediate grippers GB is set to be the same conveyance pitch 48π as that of the fourth rotating wheel H4.

[0019] On the other hand, when the intermediate gripper GB moves to the swing section A2, the swing cam follower 52 is moved by the swing cam 53 to the inner peripheral side or the outer peripheral side of the fifth rotating wheel H5. When the intermediate gripper GB located in the neutral position reaches the swing section A2 due to the rotation of the fifth rotating wheel H5 (shown as GB1 in the figure), the intermediate gripper GB then approaches the downstream delivery position P2 with the sixth rotating wheel H6 (shown as GB2 in the figure). Then, the intermediate gripper GB2 causes the swing cam 53 to move the swing cam follower 52 radially outward, and the base member 26 swings toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the fifth rotating wheel H5. Thereafter, at the position where the intermediate gripper GB is closest to the sixth rotating wheel H6 (shown as GB3 in the figure), the swing cam 53 moves the swing cam follower 52 radially inward and returns the base member 26 to the neutral position. When the intermediate gripper GB passes the approaching position with the sixth rotating wheel H6 (shown as GB4 in the figure), the swing cam 53 positions the swing cam follower 52 further radially inward than in the neutral position and swings the base member 26 toward the upstream side in the rotation direction of the fifth rotating wheel H5.

[0020] By swinging the intermediate gripper GB by the swinging means 24 in this way, with respect to the intermediate gripper GB3 located at the neutral position, the intermediate gripper GB2 located upstream thereof approaches the intermediate gripper GB3 by inclining downstream, and conversely, the intermediate gripper GB4 located downstream approaches the intermediate gripper GB3 by inclining upstream. And the intervals between the PET bottles 1 held by the adjacent intermediate grippers GB2, GB3, and GB4 are the same as the conveying pitch 30π of the sixth rotating wheel H6. By opening and closing the intermediate gripper GB by the opening and closing means 23 in this swinging section A2, the PET bottle 1 is transferred from the intermediate gripper GB to the downstream gripper GC.

[0021] After that, in the intermediate gripper GB (shown as the intermediate gripper GB5 in the figure) that has moved to the downstream side of the intermediate gripper GB4, the swinging cam 53 positions the swinging cam follower 52 radially outward, so that the intermediate gripper GB is positioned at the neutral position. As a result, since the intermediate gripper GB that has passed through the swinging section A2 returns to the neutral position before reaching the upstream delivery position P1 with the fourth rotating wheel H4 thereafter, it is possible to receive the PET bottle 1 from the fourth rotating wheel H4 at a conveying pitch of 48π.

[0022] The switching means 25 is configured to switch the intermediate gripper GB between the normal state shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and the retracted state shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. As shown in FIG. 3, the switching means 25 includes an air cylinder 61 fixed to the swinging shaft 26a, a switching rod 62 connected to the air cylinder 61, and an opening means 63 that forcibly opens the intermediate gripper GB by the operation of the air cylinder 61. As shown in FIG. 3, the air cylinder 61 is fixed to the swinging shaft 26a, swings integrally with the swinging shaft 26a, and the rod 61a of the air cylinder 61 is advanced and retracted toward the outer peripheral side of the fifth rotating wheel H5. A plate-shaped holding plate 64 is provided at the tip of the rod 61a, and one end of the switching rod 62 is connected to the lower end of the holding plate 64 via a ball joint 62a. The switching rod 62 is provided toward the outer peripheral side of the fifth rotating wheel H5 so as to penetrate the base member 26, and the other end of the switching rod 62 is connected to a link mechanism 65 connected to the tip side members 32b of the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B via a ball joint 62a. As shown in FIG. 4, the link mechanism 65 includes a link pin 65a connected to the ball joint 62a at the other end of the switching rod 62, and a link lever 65b provided so as to be openable and closable with respect to the link pin 65a. The tip of each link lever 65b is rotatably connected to the tip side members 32b of the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B. The link mechanism 65 is configured to open and close the link lever 65b about the link pin 65a in conjunction with the opening and closing of the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B.

[0023] The opening means 63 is composed of a swing lever 66 swingably provided on the base member 26 and a push-out plate 67 provided on the holding plate 64 of the air cylinder 61. The swing lever 66 is swingably provided on a support shaft 68 fixed to the base member 26, and the lower end of the swing lever 66 is movable back and forth about the support shaft 68. The lower end of the swing lever 66 is also configured to be accommodated inside a receiving hole 35a formed in the opening and closing rod 35 through a long hole 26c (see FIG. 4) provided on the upper surface of the base member 26. When the swing lever 66 swings, the opening and closing rod 35 is advanced or retracted in conjunction with this. A roller 69 is provided on the upper part of the swing lever 66 via an arm, and by moving the roller 69 up and down, it is possible to swing the swing lever 66 about the support shaft 68. The above-mentioned extrusion plate 67 is configured to move forward and backward in the radial direction of the fifth rotating wheel H5 by the above-mentioned air cylinder 61, and a step 67a protruding downward is provided at the lower part of the extrusion plate 67 at its tip.

[0024] With the above configuration, when the switching means 25 sets the intermediate gripper GB to the normal state, as shown in FIG. 3, the air cylinder 61 is contracted, and the opening means 63 allows the opening and closing operations of the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B. That is, when the air cylinder 61 is contracted, the extrusion plate 67 is located on the outer side in the radial direction of the fifth rotating wheel H5, and the roller 69 of the swing lever 66 contacts the portion behind the step 67a of the extrusion plate 67. As a result, the roller 69 is located above, and the tip of the swing lever 66 is located on the inner side in the radial direction of the fifth rotating wheel H5. Therefore, the opening and closing rod 35 is located on the inner side in the radial direction of the fifth rotating wheel H5. At this time, since the opening and closing rod 35 is urged toward the inner side in the radial direction of the fifth rotating wheel H5 by the urging force of the spring 43 that constitutes the opening and closing means 23, the opening and closing cam follower 41 comes into contact with the opening and closing cam 42. Thereby, when the air cylinder 61 is contracted with the intermediate gripper GB in the normal state, the opening and closing rod 35 of the opening and closing means 23 moves forward and backward, so that the intermediate gripper GB performs an opening and closing operation in the normal state shown in FIG. 4.

[0025] On the other hand, when the switching means 25 sets the intermediate gripper GB to the retracted state, as shown in FIG. 5, the air cylinder 61 is extended, and the opening means 63 forcibly sets the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B to the open state. That is, when the air cylinder 61 is extended to move the extrusion plate 67 to the inner side in the radial direction of the fifth rotating wheel, the roller 69 of the swing lever 66 contacts the step 67a of the extrusion plate 67 and is pushed downward. Then, the lower end of the swing lever 66 moves radially outward of the fifth rotating wheel H5, and the opening and closing rod 35 moves radially outward of the fifth rotating wheel H5 against the biasing force of the spring 43. As a result, the opening and closing cam follower 41 provided on the opening and closing rod 35 disengages from the opening and closing cam 42, and the opening and closing pin 34 moves, so that the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B are opened as shown in FIG. 4(b).

[0026] In this way, when the opening means 63 forcibly opens the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B, the pin 33 connecting the base side member 32a and the tip side member 32b is aligned coaxially, and in conjunction with this, the link lever 65b of the link mechanism 65 also opens. At the same time, by extending the air cylinder 61, the switching rod 62 moves radially inward of the fifth rotating wheel H5, so that the link pin 65a of the link mechanism 65 is pulled radially inward. As a result, the tip side members 32b of the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B are pulled upward with respect to the base side member 32a about the pin 33. The tip side member 32b pulled upward in this way can be retracted above the plastic bottle 1 held by the upstream gripper GA of the fourth rotating wheel H4 so as not to interfere.

[0027] Hereinafter, the operation of the beverage production line 2 having the above configuration will be described. First, the operation when the beverage production line 2 is operating normally and both the blow molding unit 3 and the filling unit 4 are operating normally will be described. First, in the blow molding unit 3, in the blow molding means including the second rotating wheel H2, a parison is formed into the plastic bottle 1, and the formed plastic bottle 1 is then conveyed at a conveying pitch of 48π by the fourth rotating wheel H4 as the upstream rotating wheel.

[0028] At the upstream transfer position P1 between the fourth rotating wheel H4 and the fifth rotating wheel H5, in the fifth rotating wheel H5, the swinging means 24 positions the intermediate gripper GB at the neutral position, and the switching means 25 sets the intermediate gripper GB in the normal state as shown in FIG. 3. As a result, the interval between adjacent intermediate grippers GB matches the interval between the PET bottles 1 held by the upstream gripper GA of the fourth rotating wheel H4. By opening and closing the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B of the intermediate gripper GB at the opening degrees shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) by the opening and closing means 23, the PET bottles 1 are transferred.

[0029] When the transfer of the PET bottle 1 is completed at the upstream transfer position P1 and the fifth rotating wheel H5 further rotates, the swinging means 24 conveys the intermediate gripper GB while maintaining it at the neutral position, that is, at the transfer pitch of 48π, and passes it below the injection nozzle 11 constituting the sterilization means. Then, hydrogen peroxide vapor is injected into the PET bottle 1 by the injection nozzle 11, and the PET bottle 1 is sterilized. At this time, if the flow meter 16 detects that the concentration of hydrogen peroxide vapor is insufficient, the control means 5 recognizes the position of the PET bottle 1 that has passed through the injection nozzle 11 during the period when the generation of hydrogen peroxide vapor is insufficient, using an encoder (not shown) or the like. When the intermediate gripper GB holding the PET bottle 1 is positioned above the reject box 12 shown in FIG. 2, the control means 5 operates the air cylinder 61 of the switching means 25 to set the intermediate gripper GB in the retracted state. At that time, the swinging lever 66 constituting the opening means 63 moves the opening and closing rod 35, whereby the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B are forcibly opened, so that the PET bottle 1 held by the intermediate gripper GB falls into the reject box 12 and is collected. After that, the control means 5 operates the air cylinder 61 to switch the intermediate gripper GB in the retracted state to the normal state.

[0030] When the intermediate gripper GB of the fifth rotating wheel H5 approaches the downstream delivery position P2 with the sixth rotating wheel H6, the swinging means 24 swings the intermediate gripper GB to narrow the interval between adjacent intermediate grippers GB, and makes the conveying pitch by the intermediate gripper GB coincide with the conveying pitch 30π of the downstream gripper GC. Here, the switching means 25 keeps the intermediate gripper GB in the normal state. Since the intermediate gripper GB performs an opening / closing operation as shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b), the PET bottle 1 can be delivered to the downstream gripper GC of the sixth rotating wheel H6. When the intermediate gripper GB passes through the downstream delivery position P2 with the sixth rotating wheel H6, the swinging means 24 swings the intermediate gripper GB back to the neutral position, and makes the conveying pitch by the intermediate gripper GB coincide with the conveying pitch 48π by the upstream gripper GA of the fourth rotating wheel H4. As described above, while the beverage production line 2 is operating normally, the fifth rotating wheel H5 can adjust and deliver the conveying pitch between the blow molding section 3 and the filling section 4 with different conveying pitches.

[0031] Next, the operation when an abnormality occurs in the blow molding section 3 and the fourth rotating wheel H4 stops abnormally will be described. As described above, since the blow molding section 3 and the filling section 4 are driven by different drive sources, even when the blow molding section 3 stops abnormally, by continuing the operation of the filling section 4, it is possible to complete the processing of the PET bottle 1 held by the filling section 4. However, when the fourth rotating wheel H4 stops, since the fifth rotating wheel H5 continues to rotate, the intermediate gripper GB will collide with the PET bottle 1 held by the upstream gripper GA stopped at the upstream delivery position P1. Therefore, when the control means 5 recognizes that an abnormality has occurred in the blow molding section 3, the control means 5 controls the switching means 25 of the intermediate gripper GB located at the upstream delivery position P1 to switch the intermediate gripper GB to the retracted state shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. First, as the air cylinder 61 extends, the push-out plate 67 of the opening means 63 swings the swing lever 66, thereby advancing the opening / closing rod 35 to the outer peripheral side and forcibly opening the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B. On the other hand, as the air cylinder 61 extends, the switching rod 62 moves to the inner peripheral side, and the tip-side member 32b connected to the switching rod 62 rotates upward and moves about the pin 33 provided between the tip-side member 32b and the base-side member 32a. As a result, at the upstream delivery position P1, with respect to the PET bottle 1 held by the upstream gripper GA, the tip-side member 32b of the intermediate gripper GB is in a state of being retracted upward, so that the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B of the intermediate gripper GB are prevented from colliding. In addition, for the intermediate gripper GB that is located downstream of the upstream delivery position P1 and already holds the PET bottle 1 when an abnormality occurs, the switching means 25 maintains the normal state so that the PET bottle 1 is delivered to the sixth rotating wheel H6 at the downstream delivery position P2. Further, when the intermediate gripper GB is set in the retracted state by the switching means 25, the tip-side members 32b of the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B are bounced upward. Therefore, even when the intermediate gripper GB is located at the delivery position P2 with the sixth rotating wheel H6 and the adjacent intermediate grippers GB approach each other, the first and second gripping members 32A and 32B do not interfere with each other.

[0032] Thus, according to the beverage production line 2 in the present embodiment, even when the conveyance pitch of the fourth rotating wheel H4 and the conveyance pitch of the sixth rotating wheel H6 are different, the intermediate gripper GB can be swung by the swinging means 24 provided on the fifth rotating wheel H5 to adjust the conveyance pitch and deliver the PET bottle 1. Also, when the fourth rotating wheel H4 that constitutes the blow molding section 3 stops, the switching means 25 provided on the fifth rotating wheel H5 retracts the intermediate gripper GB, thereby preventing the intermediate gripper GB from colliding with the PET bottle 1 held by the upstream gripper GA. As described above, in the present embodiment, since the fifth rotating wheel H5 is provided with the swinging means 24 for swinging the intermediate gripper GB to adjust the conveying pitch and the switching means 25 for avoiding the collision between the PET bottle 1 held by the upstream gripper GA, the number of rotating wheels constituting the container conveying device 6 can be reduced, and the line length can be shortened.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0033] 1 PET bottle (container) 2 Beverage production line 3 Blow molding section 4 Filling section 6 Container conveying device 23 Opening / closing means 24 Swinging means 25 Switching means 26 Collision prevention means GA Upstream gripper GB Intermediate gripper GC Downstream gripper H4 Fourth rotating wheel (upstream rotating wheel) H5 Fifth rotating wheel (intermediate rotating wheel) H6 Sixth rotating wheel (downstream rotating wheel)

Claims

1. An upstream rotating wheel having an upstream gripper for gripping a container, a downstream rotating wheel having a downstream gripper for gripping the container, an intermediate rotating wheel provided between the upstream rotating wheel and the downstream rotating wheel and having an intermediate gripper for gripping the container, and an opening / closing means for opening and closing a gripping member constituting the intermediate gripper, in a container conveying device, the conveyance pitch of the container in the downstream rotating wheel is set to be narrower than the conveyance pitch of the container in the upstream rotating wheel, the intermediate rotating wheel is provided with a swinging means for swinging the intermediate gripper, and at the downstream delivery position with the downstream rotating wheel, the adjacent intermediate grippers are swung so as to approach each other, and the conveyance pitch of the container is made to coincide with the conveyance pitch of the downstream gripper, furthermore, a switching means is provided for switching the gripping member of the intermediate gripper to a normal state for performing delivery of the container or a retracted state in which it does not interfere with the container held by the upstream gripper, when the upstream rotating wheel stops and the rotation of the intermediate rotating wheel continues, the switching means switches the gripping member of the intermediate gripper from the normal state to the retracted state before the intermediate gripper reaches the upstream delivery position with the upstream rotating wheel. A container conveying device characterized by this.

2. The container conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the gripping member of the intermediate gripper is provided so as to be movable upward, and the switching means switches the gripping member of the intermediate gripper to the retracted state by moving it upward.

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