Container posture control device and filling device using same

Abstract

To provide a container posture control device capable of executing various processes in a short time while controlling a container to be in a desired posture, which is compact and can be installed regardless of location, and a filling device using the same.SOLUTION: A container posture control device 1a comprises: a rotary disk 3 formed of a flat plate; a plurality of container holding tools 4 arranged near an outer periphery of the rotary disk 3 and holding the container in a freely detachable manner; and a guide passage 16 arranged to face the rotary disk 3, on a back plate 6 on a back side of the rotary disk 3. The container holding tool 4 includes: a main body part 4a that holds the container on a flat surface thereof; a holding part that holds the container on the main body part 4a; a second rotary shaft 4b that journals the main body part 4a rotatably to the rotary disk 3; and a guide pin directly or indirectly projected on the main body part 4a, which slides along the guide passage 16.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a container posture control device suitable for small-scale production that controls the posture of a container as desired, and a filling device using the same, and relates to a technology suitable for performing a series of processes, such as cleaning the container, supplying and filling it with the injection material, and sealing it, in a short period of time. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, various products such as liquids, pastes, and powders are supplied and filled in containers with lids for easy storage and transport. For example, beverage products filled in plastic bottles can be mentioned. Here, when manufacturing beverage products filled in containers such as PET bottles, the manufacturing process involves at least three steps: first, cleaning the container, then supplying drinking water to the cleaned container, and then fitting a lid to the opening and sealing it. Most of the products filled in containers and sold commercially are mass-produced by major manufacturers. Due to the large market demand for the products, such major manufacturers build large-scale production lines by combining large cleaning equipment, supplying equipment, and sealing means such as lid rolling machines, and launch products into the market every day.

[0003] As described above, the manufacture of products in which drinking water or the like is filled into containers is carried out using a large-scale manufacturing line in which cleaning devices and the like are appropriately arranged. Most of the cleaning devices and the like for such large-scale manufacturing lines are large and have high processing capabilities aimed at mass production. For this reason, when purchasing these devices and constructing a manufacturing line, a large installation space and huge capital investment costs are required regardless of the scale of production. This is not a problem for large manufacturers who aim for mass production and have sufficient financial resources, but it is difficult to say that this manufacturing method is suitable for small-scale manufacturers who mainly produce in small quantities, such as filling famous water into PET bottles in local famous water producing areas and selling it at the request of tourists. For this reason, in recent years, there has been a growing demand from small-scale manufacturers for a filling device for drinking water that is suitable for small-scale production, has a high production speed, and is compact.

[0004] In addition, in order to improve the quality in terms of hygiene and reduce the rate of defective products, there is a demand for a filling device that can securely seal the container. In particular, in recent years, specially designed lids that contain concentrates such as tea and fruit drinks and have a mechanism that mixes the concentrate with the water in the container when the lid is opened have been used, and there is a growing demand for a high-performance filling device that can seal the container while operating such lids with high precision. In light of the above-mentioned background, the following invention relating to a drinking water filling device has been disclosed recently.

[0005] Patent Document 1 discloses an invention called a "bottled drinking water filling device," which supplies large reusable bottles and sells these bottles filled with drinking water. The device is a small-sized filling device that can clean and sterilize the bottles, supply the drinking water, and cap the bottles, all in one machine. The invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 is characterized by comprising a drum on which bottles to be filled with drinking water are placed and which can be rotated to change the orientation of the water supply port of the bottle, a water supply nozzle section which supplies drinking water to the bottles, a capping machine which supplies caps, a capping machine which caps the bottles with a hammer, a cleaning nozzle section, and piping for discharging cleaning liquid, sterilizing liquid, etc. According to the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 having the above configuration, the water supply nozzle and the capping machine can be arranged around the drum while efficiently utilizing the space. In addition, while the bottle is in an inverted state, a cleaning liquid, a sterilizing liquid, etc. are injected from below into the water supply port of the bottle by a cleaning nozzle to clean and sterilize it. Then, the cleaning liquid, the sterilizing liquid, etc. that have cleaned the inside of the bottle are discharged directly through the water supply port of the bottle by its own weight without using a special mechanism. In this way, a series of steps of supplying drinking water to the bottle being washed and capping the container with a hammer can be performed by a simple and compact device. Therefore, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 has the advantage of expanding the options for installation locations.

[0006] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses an invention entitled "Beverage Sales Machine" that relates to a small-sized filling machine that injects and fills beverages into bottles and sells them. The invention disclosed in Patent Document 2 is characterized by comprising a beverage injection box that houses a bottle, a cleaning nozzle and a beverage nozzle that are installed within the beverage injection box so as to supply cleaning liquid and beverage, respectively, to the bottle, a gripping device that grips the bottle, a rotating support member that supports the gripping device so that it can rotate freely around a substantially horizontal rotation axis that intersects the beverage injection box, and a driving means that rotates the gripping device around the rotation axis. According to the invention disclosed in Patent Document 2 having the above configuration, the process of washing the bottle and supplying drinking water to the bottle can be performed in one beverage filling box while using a mechanism for turning the bottle upside down. As a result, there is no need to install separate boxes for washing and filling the bottle with drinking water, and the entire device can be made compact. Therefore, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 2 has the advantage of expanding the options for installation locations.

[0007] Furthermore, Patent Document 3 discloses an invention entitled “Bottle cleaning method and drinking water vending machine utilizing said method” that relates to a small filling device that fills bottles brought by customers with drinking water and sells them. The invention disclosed in Patent Document 3 is characterized in that it comprises a bottle placing plate on which the bottle is placed and a holder for holding the neck of the bottle, and is equipped with an inverting device that inverts the bottle so that the spout of the bottle is positioned at the bottom, and a nozzle that supplies drinking water or drinking water containing a disinfectant into the inside of the bottle. According to the invention disclosed in Patent Document 3 having the above configuration, the bottle can be washed by inverting the bottle with an inverting device and supplying washing water or the like into the bottle. Furthermore, since the device has a drinking water supply function in addition to the bottle washing function, it is not necessary to prepare a washing device and a supply device separately. In addition, the entire device is compact. Therefore, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 3 has the advantage of expanding the options for installation locations.

[0008] Furthermore, Patent Document 4 discloses an invention entitled "Bottle Drinking Water Filling Machine" that is capable of performing a series of processes, such as washing bottles, supplying drinking water, and attaching caps, in a batch process. The invention disclosed in Patent Document 4 is characterized by comprising a drum consisting of a disk with a rotating shaft at the center, a number of bottle holders arranged in a ring shape in the circumferential direction on the front side of the drum and holding bottles radially from the disk with their water inlets facing outward in a freely attachable and detachable manner, a frame that rotatably supports the rotating shaft horizontally, a water supply nozzle installed directly above the water supply inlets of the bottles arranged parallel to the vertical direction above the drum and supplying drinking water into the bottles, a capping machine that can switch the arrangement of the water supply nozzle and can screw a cap onto the water supply inlet, a cleaning nozzle installed directly below the water supply inlet below the drum and supplying cleaning water into the bottles, and a rotation mechanism that rotates the drum at the desired angle. According to the invention disclosed in Patent Document 4 having the above configuration, as the drum rotates, the bottles mounted on the front side of the drum and moving circularly around the rotation axis are washed, supplied with drinking water, and sealed in sequence. As a result, containers filled with drinking water can be manufactured using a single device without the need for separate washing devices, drinking water supply devices, and capping machines. In addition, because the device is compact overall, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 4 has the advantage of expanding the options for where it can be installed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4837358 [Patent Document 2] JP 2007-323374 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2003-317144 A [Patent Document 4] Patent No. 6173779 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] In the case of the invention disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, it is certainly possible to easily perform a series of steps for manufacturing bottles filled with drinking water using a compact device. However, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 can only process one bottle at a time due to its structure. In other words, when it is necessary to manufacture multiple bottles or more, the time required is simply equal to the product of the number of bottles required and the manufacturing time per bottle, which poses the problem that it is difficult to reduce the manufacturing time.

[0011] And, in the case of the invention disclosed in Patent Document 2, it is certainly possible to achieve a compact filling device. However, since it is a batch method in which bottles are produced one by one, like Patent Document 1, there is a problem that it is difficult to produce multiple bottles filled with drinking water in a short period of time. In addition, in the case of the invention disclosed in Patent Document 2, it is described that the nozzle for supplying the cleaning liquid for cleaning the bottle and the nozzle for supplying drinking water into the bottle may be shared, so there is a possibility that the cleaning liquid may be mixed with the drinking water. Therefore, it is necessary to select a cleaning liquid that is not harmful even if the two are mixed and ingested by a consumer. As a result, the types of cleaning liquid that can be used are limited, which is thought to be a problem in that the degree of freedom in product development to meet consumer needs is reduced.

[0012] In addition, in the case of the invention disclosed in Patent Document 3, although it is certainly possible to make the filling device compact, since it is a batch method in which bottles are produced one by one, there is an issue that it is difficult to adapt to the production of multiple bottles in a short period of time, as with the inventions disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

[0013] Next, in the case of the invention disclosed in Patent Document 4, the whole device is certainly compact, and if multiple bottles are attached to the drum, a series of processes such as washing, supplying drinking water, and sealing can be performed simultaneously in parallel with the rotation of the drum. That is, compared to Patent Documents 1 to 3, while a series of processes for one container is completed, other containers can also be processed, so the time required to complete all the processes for multiple containers can be shortened. However, in the case of the invention disclosed in Patent Document 4, the water supply nozzle for supplying drinking water and the capping machine for attaching caps to bottles cannot be used at the same time. This is because, in the invention disclosed in Patent Document 4, both the water supply nozzle and the capping machine can only process bottles in the same position. Therefore, after supplying water to the bottle, it was necessary to switch the water supply nozzle to the capping device. Therefore, although some of the processes from washing to sealing can be performed simultaneously for multiple bottles, there was a problem that the switching from the water supply nozzle to the capping machine was rate-limiting and the manufacturing time could not be sufficiently shortened.

[0014] As a result of extensive research into overcoming the above-mentioned problems, the inventors discovered that it was possible to solve the above-mentioned problems by, for example, controlling the posture of multiple containers that are mounted on a rotating plate and move in a circular motion as desired, and thus completed the present invention. In other words, the present invention has been made to address the above-mentioned problems in the conventional art, and its object is to provide a container attitude control device that can easily control the attitude of a container as desired. Another object of the present invention is to provide a filling device for filling food products such as drinking water, which uses this container posture control device, is compact, has a high degree of freedom in terms of installation location, and can perform a series of processes from cleaning to sealing with high precision and speed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0015] The first invention for solving the above problems is a container attitude control device for controlling the attitude of a container as desired, comprising: a turntable made of a flat plate and installed so as to be rotatable about a first rotation axis; a plurality of container holders arranged near the outer periphery of the turntable and for detachably holding containers; a back plate arranged parallel to the turntable; and a guide path formed in the back plate, the container holder comprising a main body portion for holding a container on its plane, a holder portion for holding a container on the main body portion, a second rotation axis for supporting the main body portion rotatably relative to the turntable; Between and a guide pin that protrudes in contact with the surface of the plate and slides along the guide path. According to the first aspect of the present invention having the above-mentioned configuration, the plurality of container holders arranged near the outer periphery also perform a circular motion in accordance with the rotation of the rotating disk. The container holders also perform an action of holding containers by their holding parts. In addition, the container holders are provided with a main body part Between The container holder further includes a guide pin that is disposed adjacent to the rotating plate and slides along a guide path disposed on the back plate. Therefore, when the container holder rotates together with the rotating plate, the guide pin slides along the guide path. The direction of the line segment that connects the center line of the guide pin and the center line of the second rotating shaft and is parallel to the rotating plate changes with the movement of the guide pin, thereby changing the attitude of the container held by the container holder.

[0016] Next, the second invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, at least a portion of the guide path is formed so that in two or more adjacent container holders arranged at a desired interval along the rotation direction of the turntable, the inclination of the line segment connecting the center line of the guide pin and the center line of the second rotation shaft is maintained constant, resulting in an attitude-controlled container holder. In the second invention having the above configuration, in addition to the effects of the first invention described above, the guide path guides the guide pin so that the two or more adjacent container holders become attitude-controlled container holders in which the inclination of the line segment connecting the center line of the guide pin and the center line of the second rotation shaft when the turntable is viewed in a plane is kept constant. As a result, there is an effect that the attitudes of the two or more adjacent container holders do not change, and the attitudes of the two or more containers held by them are the same. In this application, a container holder in which the inclination of the line segment connecting the center line of the guide pin and the center line of the second rotation shaft when the turntable is viewed in a plane is maintained constant is defined as an attitude-controlled container holder.

[0017] The third invention is the second invention, wherein the planar shape of the guideway is an n-turn pair formed by n pieces of the same shape being connected in a ring shape with respect to the center line of the first rotation shaft. Title The container holder is characterized in that it has a shape that defines individual regions, and two or more container holders arranged in each region are attitude-controlled container holders. In the third invention having the above configuration, in addition to the effect of the second invention described above, the shape of the guide path is n-fold rotationally symmetric with respect to the center line of the first rotating shaft, so that the planar guide path is formed from n regions of the same shape. In this case, in each of the n regions, the inclination of the line segment that connects the center line of the guide pin and the center line of the second rotating shaft and is parallel to the rotating disk changes in the same manner. As a result, while the container rotates around the first rotating shaft as the rotating disk rotates, the orientation of the container repeats the same change n times. In other words, the effect is that two or more container holders are maintained in the same orientation in each region (becoming orientation-controlled container holders).

[0018] Next, the filling apparatus of the fourth invention is characterized in that it is equipped with a container attitude control device described in the second invention, a nozzle for supplying an injection material to a container held by the attitude-controlled container holder, and / or a sealing means for sealing the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder to which the injection material has been supplied. The fourth invention having the above configuration has the effect of supplying an injection material from a nozzle to a container whose attitude is controlled together with the attitude-controlled container holder by a guide pin guided by a guide path. Here, in the present specification, unless otherwise specified, the injection material supplied from the nozzle is not limited to a product such as drinking water that is supplied and filled into the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder, but also includes products such as cleaning liquid that are not filled into the container but are discharged after supply. In addition, there is no limitation on the nature of the injection material as long as it can be supplied from the nozzle, and it may be a paste or powder in addition to a liquid. The container held by the attitude-controlled container holder is also sealed by the sealing means. Examples of the sealing means include a method of screwing a lid onto a container using a lid-sealing machine, a method of pushing a lid into an opening of a container using a capping machine, and a method of placing a lid on the opening of a container and bonding the periphery of the lid to the periphery of the opening of the container by heating and clamping. In addition, by installing the nozzle described above in the container attitude control device, if the injected substance is a cleaning liquid, it is possible to wash the inside of the container, and if the injected substance is drinking water, it is possible to supply and fill the container with food such as drinking water. Furthermore, by installing the nozzle and sealing means together, washing and filling are also possible, and it is also possible to fill and seal the container with food. In other words, by utilizing the above-mentioned filling device, it is possible to easily manufacture products filled with the injected substance. And by controlling the attitude of the container holder, it also has the effect of increasing the degree of freedom in the arrangement of the nozzle and sealing means, etc.

[0019] In addition, the filling apparatus of the fifth invention is characterized in that it comprises a container attitude control device described in the third invention having at least first and second areas, a nozzle provided at a position corresponding to the first and second areas for supplying the injection material to the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder, and a sealing means provided at a position corresponding to the second area for sealing the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder. The fifth invention having the above configuration has, in addition to the action of the container attitude control device of the third invention described above, the action of supplying the injection material into a container held by an attitude-controlled container holder arranged in arbitrarily selected first and second areas by a nozzle.

[0020] In addition, the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder arranged in the second region selected arbitrarily is sealed by the sealing means. Note that the sealing means here has already been exemplified, so a description thereof will be omitted here. Furthermore, by installing the nozzle and sealing means described above in the container attitude control device, if the injected substance is a cleaning liquid, the inside of the container can be washed, and if the injected substance is drinking water, food such as drinking water can be supplied and filled into the container. Furthermore, by installing these together, washing and filling are possible, and food can also be filled into the container and sealed. In other words, by utilizing the container attitude control device, a product filled with the injected substance can be easily manufactured. And, since it is possible to control the attitude of two or more attitude-controlled container holders in any region, there is also an effect of increasing the degree of freedom in the arrangement of the nozzle and sealing means.

[0021] The sixth invention is characterized in that, in the fifth invention, the nozzle provided at a position corresponding to the first region is a first nozzle that supplies a cleaning liquid or a sterilizing liquid and a second nozzle that supplies a rinsing liquid into the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder, and the nozzle provided at a position corresponding to the second region is a third nozzle that supplies a liquid or a food paste into the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder. In the sixth invention having the above configuration, in addition to the effects of the fifth invention described above, by arranging the first nozzle and the second nozzle at a position corresponding to the first region, it has the effect of supplying a cleaning liquid or a sterilizing liquid to one of two or more containers held by the attitude-controlled container holder in the first region by the first nozzle, and simultaneously supplying a rinsing liquid to the inside of one of the other containers by the second nozzle. And by arranging the third nozzle at a position corresponding to the second region, it has the effect of supplying a liquid or a food paste to the inside of a container held by the attitude-controlled container holder in the second region.

[0022] Furthermore, the seventh invention is characterized in that, in any one of the fourth to sixth inventions, the rotating plate is installed parallel to a vertical plane, and the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder has a cylindrical opening, the cylindrical axis of this opening is parallel to the vertical direction, and the opening faces the outside of the rotating plate. The seventh invention having the above configuration has the effect of any one of the fourth to sixth inventions described above, in addition to the effect that the injection material supplied to two or more containers held by the attitude-controlled container holder is subjected to gravity parallel to the cylindrical axis of the opening of the container.

[0023] In addition, the eighth invention is characterized in that, in any one of the fourth to seventh inventions, the sealing means is provided with a capping device that attaches a cap to a container held by an attitude-controlled container holder, and a swing prevention means is provided that prevents the attitude-controlled container holder that holds the container that is the target of the capping device from swinging. In the eighth invention having the above configuration, in addition to the function of any one of the fourth to seventh inventions described above, the eighth invention has the function of sealing the container by attaching the lid by using a capping device as the sealing means. The swing prevention means for preventing the swing of the attitude-controlled container holder prevents the swing of the attitude-controlled container holder that holds the container to which the lid is attached. Although there is no particular designation for such swing prevention means, for example, a clamping device for clamping and fixing the attitude-controlled container holder to be the object of the sealing means, or a cylinder device having a rod-shaped body that serves as a stopper and can be inserted and removed from the container holder, etc., may be provided on the frame. In addition, the capping machine in this application is a concept that includes a cap rolling machine that screws on a cap and a capping machine that pushes in and attaches a cap. Effect of the Invention

[0024] According to the first invention described above, the turntable rotates and the container holders arranged thereon and the containers held by these container holders are caused to move in a circular motion, and the attitude of these container holders (and containers) can also be controlled. As a result, if a processing device that performs a desired process (washing, food supply, etc.) on the containers held by the container holders is installed around the turntable, the desired process can be performed on the containers simultaneously while rotating the turntable. Furthermore, even when the above processing device is installed in the present invention, the containers can be easily adjusted to a position that is easy to process, so that the degree of freedom in the attitude and arrangement of the processing device can be increased. That is, unlike the invention of Patent Document 4, in which the attitude of the container is fixed and the degree of freedom in the attitude and arrangement of the multiple processing devices is low, making it difficult to simultaneously supply water and attach the lid, the present invention makes it possible to simultaneously perform multiple processes. In addition, since it is possible to install the processing device while eliminating unnecessary empty space, it is easy to make the device compact. Furthermore, the present invention controls the position of the container by a simple mechanism in which the guide pin of the container holder is slid along a guide path, making the device less prone to breakdowns and reducing the cost of the device.

[0025] Next, in the second invention described above, in addition to the effects of the first invention, the attitude of the container held by two or more adjacent attitude-controlled container holders is kept constant. Therefore, when there are multiple processing devices that are suitable for the container to be processed to be in a predetermined attitude, these processing devices can be installed side by side to process two or more adjacent containers simultaneously in parallel. As a result, it is possible to further improve the processing speed of the container. For example, in both the process of cleaning the inside of the container and the process of rinsing, in order to make it easier to discharge the cleaning liquid and the rinsing liquid out of the container, it is necessary to face the opening of the container downward and make the central axis of the container (the cylindrical axis of the cylindrical drinking spout) parallel to the vertical direction. In other words, when the attitude of the container when processing the container is limited and the same, as in these processes, it is considered that the respective processing devices can be installed side by side and the processes can be performed simultaneously in parallel.

[0026] In addition to the effects of the second invention, the third invention described above has the advantage that, since the planar shape of the guideway is n-fold rotationally symmetrical with respect to the center line of the first rotation axis when the turntable is viewed in plan, the container's posture repeats the same change n times while the container rotates around the first rotation axis with the rotation of the turntable. Therefore, when there are many processing devices that are suitable for the container to be processed to be in a predetermined posture, the third invention allows many processing devices to be arranged according to the number of regions, making it possible to perform many processes simultaneously in parallel. This makes it possible to perform many different types of processes simultaneously in parallel. In addition, since the guideway has a structure in which n units of one shape are connected, not only is it easy to manufacture the guideway, but it is also easy to repair it when it is damaged.

[0027] In addition, the fourth invention described above has the effect of the container attitude control device of the second invention, and in addition, it is possible for the nozzle to supply the substance into the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder, and for the container to be sealed by the sealing means. Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to manufacture products in which the substance is filled into the container, such as a beverage product in which drinking water is filled in a bottle. Furthermore, since there is a high degree of freedom in the arrangement of processing devices such as the nozzle and sealing means, it is also easy to make the filling device compact.

[0028] In the fifth invention described above, in addition to the effect of the container attitude control device of the third invention, the nozzle supplies the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder arranged in the first and second regions selected at will, and the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder arranged in the second region selected at will is sealed by the sealing means. Therefore, in the present invention, for example, the inside of the container can be washed with a cleaning liquid, and the container can be filled with food such as drinking water and then sealed, making it possible to manufacture a product in which the container is filled with the injection material. Furthermore, the arrangement of processing devices such as the nozzle and sealing means can be set with a high degree of freedom, which can lead to a compact filling device.

[0029] In addition, according to the sixth invention described above, in addition to the effects of the fifth invention, the first nozzle can supply and discharge a cleaning liquid or sterilizing liquid to and from a container held by the attitude-controlled container holder arranged in the first area, and the second nozzle can supply and discharge a rinsing liquid to and from the container. In particular, since it is possible to supply and discharge a rinsing liquid into a container, which was difficult in the past, the cleaning liquid remaining in the container after cleaning or sterilization can be removed as much as possible, and the quality of the product can be further improved. Then, the third nozzle can supply and fill a liquid or paste-like food to and from a container held by the attitude-controlled container holder arranged in the second area, and then the container can be sealed. As a result, it is possible to quickly use a compact filling device to efficiently clean or sterilize multiple containers held by the attitude-controlled container holder arranged in the first area while rotating the turntable, and then fill and seal the food in the second area, completing the entire product manufacturing process.

[0030] Furthermore, in the seventh invention described above, in addition to the effects of any one of the fourth to sixth inventions, when the opening of the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder faces vertically downward, the injection material supplied to the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder flows to the opening side of the container by its own weight and is naturally discharged outside the container. Therefore, there is no need to provide a separate means for discharging waste liquid such as cleaning liquid from the container, and the structure of the filling device can be further simplified. As a result, the filling device is less likely to break down and the cost can be easily reduced. In addition, when the opening of the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder faces vertically upward, the injection material supplied to the inside of the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder can be supplied up to a height up to the opening of the container, making it possible to fill the container with as much injection material as possible.

[0031] Furthermore, in the eighth invention described above, in addition to the effects of any one of the fourth to seventh inventions, a capping machine can be used as a container sealing means. Furthermore, the anti-swaying means can suppress the swinging of the attitude-controlled container holder when attaching a lid to a container, so that even lids with special structures can be used to seal the container without defects. As a result, it is possible to accommodate the manufacture of new products using lids with special structures and to reduce the product defect rate. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0032] [Figure 1] 1 is an elevational view showing an internal structure of a filling device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is an elevational view showing the appearance of a filling device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the filling device shown in FIG. 1 with some of the components omitted. [Figure 4] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing the structure of a container holder, in which (a) is a plan view, (b) is a view taken in the direction of an arrow I in (a), and (c) is a view taken in the direction of an arrow J in (a). [Diagram 5] 13A and 13B are diagrams for explaining the structure of the turntable and the guide path, in which (a) is a diagram in which everything except the second rotation axis of the container holder in FIG. 3 has been omitted, and (b) is a diagram in which the turntable has been removed from (a). [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the filling device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 7] 2 is a diagram for explaining a control mechanism of a container attitude control device in the filling device according to the present embodiment. FIG. [Figure 8] 11 is a diagram for explaining a method of setting a guide path for a container attitude control device in the filling device according to the present embodiment. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 2A is a plan view of the container holder showing a state in which the anti-swaying means is activated, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a state in which the anti-swaying means of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0033] In the following, in order to explain the container attitude control device and the filling device using the same of the present invention, a filling device for filling drinking water will be used as an example. In the following description, reference will be made to Figs. 1 to 9. All of these figures are given as examples of embodiments of the present invention, and the user can freely set the shape, number, arrangement, etc. of the components as long as the functions and effects of the present invention described below are achieved. EXAMPLES

[0034] "1; Basic configuration of the embodiment" "1-1; Basic structure" First, a filling device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 are elevational views showing the internal structure and the external appearance of a filling device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, FIG. 1 shows a state in which the front panel 2b is removed in order to make it easier to understand the internal state in FIG. 2. Also, for the many identical components, only some of them are labeled so as not to make the figure complicated. In addition, in FIG. 1, in order to make it easier to identify the position of the container holder 4 arranged on the turntable 3, symbols A to H are attached to distinguish the positions, and the thick arc-shaped arrow indicates the rotation direction of the turntable 3. Note that the height direction of FIGS. 1 and 2 is the upper side of the paper, and the power supply equipment and driving device (e.g., a pulse motor) necessary for the operation of the filling device are omitted so as not to make the figure complicated. Also, position AH is a concept in which the turntable 3 is fixed no matter how many times it rotates, and when FIG. 1 is viewed from above, the left side of the uppermost container holder 4 is position G, and the right side is position H.

[0035] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the container position control device 1a used in the filling device 1 is formed based on a frame 2, and casters 2a are attached to the lower four corners to facilitate movement. Then, as shown in Figure 1, when a panel 2b (see Figure 2) attached to the outer surface of the container position control device 1a is removed, a first rotation shaft 3a rotatably supported by the frame 2 is provided at its center, and a turntable 3 arranged parallel to a vertical plane is installed while being surrounded by a turntable cover 5 to prevent the injected material from scattering. The back plate 6 attached to the frame 2 on the back side of the turntable 3 is provided with a guide path 16 for a guide pin, which is arranged opposite the turntable 3 and consists of a pair of tracks, and the guide pin passes through a closed path (guide path 16) formed between the pair of tracks (see, for example, FIG. 5(b)). Note that the guide path 16 does not necessarily have to be a pair of tracks, and the user can set it arbitrarily as long as it has the same function and effect. For example, the guide path 16 may be a single track, and the slider may slide along the track while sandwiching the track. Meanwhile, on the turntable 3, eight container holders 4 that detachably hold containers 20 are arranged at equal intervals near the outer periphery along the rotation direction of the turntable 3, in a state in which they can rotate around a second rotation shaft 4b (see FIG. 3) on the turntable 3. Furthermore, as will be described in detail later, among these eight container holders 4, the container holders 4 arranged at positions C, D, G, and H (see FIG. 1) on the turntable 3 have the orientation of the container 20 controlled by a guide path 16 so that the opening 20a (drinking spout) faces a desired direction. For example, when the container 20 is moved to a location such as a water supply device 7 or a cleaning and sterilizing device (not shown) arranged around the turntable 3, which will be described later, its orientation is adjusted so that it is in a state suitable for processing.

[0036] Next, in order for the above-mentioned container attitude control device 1a to operate as the filling device 1, a third nozzle 7a of a water supply device 7 for supplying drinking water to a container 20 (with the opening 20a (drinking spout) facing up and its cylindrical axis parallel to the vertical direction) held by a container holder 4 arranged at position G is installed above position G of the turntable 3 of the container attitude control device 1a. And, above position H of the turntable 3, a lid rolling machine 8 is installed for screwing a lid 20b supplied from a lid supply unit 8a to a container 20 (with the opening 20a (drinking spout) facing up and its cylindrical axis parallel to the vertical direction) held by a container holder 4 arranged at position H. Also, symbol 8b is a fixed part formed in a gate shape and provided on the lid rolling machine 8. This fixing portion 8b is fixed to a pair of spring fixing plates 4c5 protruding from the upper surface of a pair of clamping plates 4c2 provided at the top of the container holder 4 shown in Figure 4 by applying force from both outsides to press the clamping plates 4c2 firmly against the container 20, thereby preventing co-rotation and also preventing the container holder 4 from swinging.

[0037] Further, below position C of the turntable 3, there is provided a first nozzle 9 of a cleaning and sterilizing device (not shown) that supplies cleaning liquid or sterilizing liquid to the container 20 (with the opening 20a (drinking spout) facing down and its cylindrical axis parallel to the vertical direction) held by the container holder 4 arranged at position C. In addition, below position D of the turntable 3, there is provided a second nozzle 18 of a rinsing liquid supplying device (not shown) that supplies rinsing liquid to the container 20 (with the opening 20a (drinking spout) facing down and its cylindrical axis parallel to the vertical direction) held by the container holder 4 arranged at position D. Here, since the container holders 4 positioned at the above-mentioned positions G, H, C, and D maintain the container 20 in a desired posture to facilitate cleaning and other processes, these container holders 4 will be specifically referred to as "posture-controlled container holders." 1, an air supply nozzle 10 may be installed to the side of position B of the turntable 3 to supply high-pressure air to blow air onto the container 20 held by the container holder 4 located at position B. In this case, the container holder 4 may be controlled in position so that the opening 20a of the container 20 it holds faces the air supply nozzle 10, or the container holder 4 may be installed so that the air supply nozzle 10 faces the opening 20a. The action and effect of the air supply nozzle 10 will be described later.

[0038] In addition, the filling device 1 is equipped with a control device 11 that controls the operation of a drive device (not shown) that rotates the turntable 3 around the first rotation shaft 3a, the supply of the fill material from the first nozzle 9, the second nozzle 18, and the third nozzle 7a, and the operation of the lid winding machine 8. The control device 11, which will be described in detail later, is equipped with a torque setting knob 11a for adjusting the tightening torque when the lid winding machine 8 screws the lid 20b onto the container 20, and a display panel 11b used to set and check the set torque, the operating state of the filling device 1, etc. Furthermore, the control device 11 is provided with a sensor 12 capable of detecting the presence or absence of the container 20 on the turntable cover 5 near each position so that the control device 11 can supply the injectant or screw on the lid by checking in advance whether the container 20 is held by the container holder 4 (attitude-controlled container holder) at positions C, D, G, and H. This prevents the injectant from being accidentally scattered outside the container 20, or the lid winding machine 8 from failing to screw the lid 20b onto the container 20 and causing it to fall, thereby reliably preventing wasteful consumption of the injectant and the lid 20b.

[0039] In addition, as shown in Figure 2, the container posture control device 1a is equipped with a start button 13 that is pressed to rotate the turntable 3 at the desired angle, an emergency stop button 14 for emergency stopping the filling device 1 if a malfunction occurs during operation of the filling device 1, and an opening / closing door 15 used when loading a container 20 into the container holder 4 at position A of the turntable 3 (see, for example, Figure 1). Here, each time the start button 13 is pressed, the turntable 3 rotates by 45°, and as a result, the container holder 4 arranged at position A moves to position B. Then, at each of positions C, D, G, and H, the containers 20 held by the container holder 4 (attitude-controlled container holder) are processed by a plurality of nozzles and a cap winder 8 arranged nearby. Note that a specific method of using the filling device 1 will be described later, and therefore will not be described here. Also, the angle by which the turntable 3 rotates each time the start button 13 is pressed is set to 45°, but it goes without saying that this angle can be arbitrarily set by the user in accordance with the arrangement of the first nozzles 9 and the like arranged around the turntable 3 and the number of container holders 4 arranged on the turntable 3.

[0040] Next, the structure of the container attitude control device 1a will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the filling device according to the present embodiment shown in Fig. 1 with some of the components omitted. Here, the same components as those already explained are given the same reference numerals and the explanation is omitted. Also, to avoid cluttering the figure, only some of the components that are present are given reference numerals, and also only some of the components that are not necessary for the explanation are given reference numerals. Also, to avoid cluttering the figure, the container 20 held by the container holder 4 is omitted. 3, in the container posture control device 1a, a turntable 3 is supported by a frame 2 (not shown), and eight container holders 4 capable of detachably holding containers 20 are disposed at equal intervals near the outer periphery of the turntable 3. These container holders 4 are rotatably supported by a second rotating shaft 4b that is installed horizontally and has one end fixed to the turntable 3. In addition, container holder 4 has an integrated structure in which main body 4a, which is disposed on the front side of turntable 3 and has a flat surface parallel to turntable 3, and guide pin support plate 4d, which is disposed on the rear side of turntable 3 and has a flat surface parallel to turntable 3, are connected via connecting shaft 4e inserted into arc-shaped hole 3b provided in turntable 3. In other words, container holder 4 is rotatable about second rotating shaft 4b within the range in which connecting shaft 4e can move inside hole 3b. A rear plate 6 having a guide path 16 arranged to face the turntable 3 is installed in parallel to the turntable 3 on a frame 2 (not shown) on the rear side of the turntable 3 (see FIG. 5). As described above, the guide path 16 is formed by a pair of tracks 16a, 16a (see FIG. 1), and the guide pin 4f (see FIG. 4) moves within a closed path (guide path 16) formed between the pair of tracks 16a, 16a. The guide pin 4f installed on the guide pin support plate 4d moves along this guide path 16, thereby changing the attitude of the container holder 4. Details of this attitude control will be described later, and therefore will not be described here.

[0041] Next, the structure of the above-mentioned container holder 4 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Fig. 4 shows the structure of the container holder, with Fig. 4(a) being a plan view, Fig. 4(b) being a view seen in the direction of arrow I in Fig. 4(a), and Fig. 4(c) being a view seen in the direction of arrow J in Fig. 4(a). Here, the same components as those already explained in Fig. 1 to Fig. 3 are given the same reference numerals. In Fig. 4(b), the guide pin support plate 4d, which is partially hidden by the main body 4a, and the guide pins 4f installed thereon are indicated by dashed lines. 4(a) to 4(c), the container holder 4 includes a main body 4a arranged parallel to the rotating plate 3 (not shown), and a guide pin support plate 4d that is parallel to the main body 4a and connected to the main body 4a via a connecting shaft 4e. A clamping portion 4c for holding a container 20 (not shown) is provided on the front side of the main body 4a, and a second rotating shaft 4b that supports the main body 4a rotatably relative to the rotating plate 3 is provided on the back side of the main body 4a on which the connecting shaft 4e is provided. Furthermore, a guide pin 4f that is disposed inside the guide path 16 is provided on the guide pin support plate 4d so as to protrude toward the back plate 6 in parallel with the second rotating shaft 4b. The through hole 4g ​​provided in the main body 4a will be described later.

[0042] Among the above components, the clamping section 4c includes a base 4c1 protruding from the front side of the main body 4a, and a pair of clamping plates 4c2, 4c2 that engage with the base 4c1 and can slide parallel to the plane of the main body 4a. The clamping plate 4c2 has a slit 4c3 parallel to the plane of the main body 4a, and the guide member 4c4 installed on the base 4c1 allows the clamping plate 4c2 to slide within the slit 4c3 while engaging with the base 4c1. Furthermore, one end of the slit 4c3 has a spring fixing plate 4c5 installed on the clamping plate 4c2, and both ends of the spring 4c6 are fixed by the pair of spring fixing plates 4c5, 4c5 on the pair of clamping plates 4c2, 4c2. Therefore, when the pair of clamping plates 4c2, 4c2 are slid apart from each other, the pair of clamping plates 4c2, 4c2 try to close due to the restoring force of the stretched spring 4c6. That is, the container 20 sandwiched between the pair of clamping plates 4c2, 4c2 is held by the container holder 4. The central axis (the cylindrical axis of the opening 20a) of the container 20 sandwiched between the pair of clamping plates 4c2, 4c2 is held so as to be parallel to the plane of the main body 4a and also parallel to the line segment connecting the center line of the second rotating shaft 4b and the center of the connecting shaft 4e in FIG. 4(b). In addition, as described in detail below, in order for the container holder 4 to hold the container 20 more firmly, a force may be applied directly to each of the pair of clamping plates 4c2, 4c2 as in the case of the fixing part 8b shown in Fig. 1. The fixing mechanism of the fixing part 8b is not particularly specified, and an example of such a mechanism is a cylinder device. That is, the cylinder of the cylinder device presses the clamping plate 4c2, making it even more difficult for the container 20 to swing, and it is possible to prevent the container 20 from falling off the container holder 4 during processing or the container 20 from changing its posture, resulting in incomplete processing.

[0043] Next, the structure of the turntable 3 on which the container holder 4 is placed and the guide path 16 for controlling the attitude of the container holder 4 will be described with reference to FIG. Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining the structure of the rotating disk and the guideway, Fig. 5(a) shows a state in which all components except the second rotating shaft of the container holder in Fig. 3 have been omitted, and Fig. 5(b) shows a state in which the rotating disk has been further removed from Fig. 5(a). Note that the same components as those already explained in Figs. 1 to 4 are given the same reference numerals and their explanations are omitted. Also, to avoid cluttering the diagrams, only some of the multiple components are given reference numerals. As shown in Fig. 5(a), in the container posture control device 1a, a back plate 6 fixed to a frame 2 (not shown) is installed on the back side of the turntable 3, which has a first rotating shaft 3a installed at its center, and a guide path 16 (see Fig. 5(b)) consisting of a pair of tracks 16a, 16a fixed by a plurality of bolts (not shown) and a closed path 16b formed between them is provided on the surface of the back plate 6 facing the turntable 3. As described above, the second rotating shafts 4b of the container holder 4 described with reference to Fig. 4 are disposed at equal intervals near the outer periphery along the rotation direction of the turntable 3, and arc-shaped holes 3b are formed through which the connecting shafts 4e of the container holder 4 (see Figs. 3 and 4) are inserted. Furthermore, fixing pin holes 3c are formed near each second rotating shaft 4b. These fixing pin holes 3c are drilled to prevent the container holder 4 from swinging, and although details will be described later, they are formed at positions that coincide with the through holes 4g (see FIG. 4(b)) of the container holder 4 (attitude-controlled container protector) arranged at position H when the turntable 3 is viewed from above.

[0044] 5(b), guide path 16 has a shape that is two-fold rotationally symmetrical with respect to the center line of first rotating shaft 3a inserted through hole 6a, and has a shape in which first region 21 and second region 22 having the same shape are connected with each other, with the dashed line shown in the figure as the boundary. Guide path 16 is formed so that when container holder 4 is arranged at positions C and D of turntable 3 in first region 21, and when container holder 4 is arranged at positions G and H of turntable 3 in second region 22, container 20 held by each of them is controlled in position so that opening 20a faces the outside of turntable 3 and the central axis of container 20 (cylindrical axis of opening 20a) is parallel to the vertical direction.

[0045] "1-2: How to use the example" Next, the operating procedure of the filling device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 6 as well as to FIG. 1 and FIG. Fig. 6 is a flow chart showing the operation procedure of the filling device according to this embodiment. Note that this operation procedure is based on the assumption that one container 20 held by one container holder 4 on the turntable 3 is filled with drinking water as the injectant and sealed. However, even if multiple container holders 4 on the turntable 3 each hold a container 20, the operation method is basically the same. Also, the "forward direction" indicating the rotation direction of the turntable 3 described below refers to the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 6, in the filling device 1, first, in step S1, the power supply to the filling device 1 is turned on. Next, in step S2, the opening and closing door 15 is opened, and the container 20 is loaded into the container holder 4 arranged at position A of the turntable 3, and the opening and closing door 15 is closed (see Figs. 1 and 2). Next, in step S3, by pressing the start button 13 (see Fig. 2) once, the turntable 3 rotates 45° in the forward direction according to a command from the control device 11, and the container holder 4 holding the container 20 moves to position B. Then, in the next step S4, after the turntable 3 has stopped, air is blown from the air supply nozzle 10 (see FIG. 1) to the container 20 held by the container holder 4 at position B in accordance with a command from the control device 11. While this air blowing is optional, it is preferable to blow air before cleaning the container 20, since any unwanted matter such as dust inside the container 20 is blown away and removed. In other words, dust and the like that may be mixed into the product can be efficiently removed even before cleaning, and the rate of defective products due to contamination by dust and the like can be further reduced.

[0046] Next, in step S5, when the start button 13 is pressed once, the turntable 3 rotates 45° in the forward direction according to a command from the control device 11, and the container holder 4 holding the container 20 moves to position C (see FIG. 1). Then, in step S6, after the turntable 3 stops, if the container 20 held by the container holder 4 is detected by the sensor 12 located near position C, in the next step S7, a cleaning liquid or sterilizing liquid is supplied into the container 20 from the first nozzle 9 according to a command from the control device 11, and a "first cleaning" is performed. As a result, the inner surface of the container 20 is cleaned or sterilized. Note that if the container 20 is not detected in step S6, the process of step S7 is omitted.

[0047] Then, in step S8, when the start button 13 is pressed once, the turntable 3 rotates 45° in the forward direction according to a command from the control device 11, and the container holder 4 holding the container 20 moves to position D (see FIG. 1). Then, in step S9, after the turntable 3 stops, if the container 20 held by the container holder 4 is detected by the sensor 12 located near position D, in the next step S10, a rinsing liquid is supplied into the container 20 from the second nozzle 18 according to a command from the control device 11, and a "second cleaning" is performed. As a result, the inner surface of the container 20 is rinsed with the rinsing liquid, and one layer of the cleaning liquid or sterilizing liquid can be removed. Note that if the container 20 is not detected in step S9, the process of step S10 is omitted.

[0048] Next, in step S11, by pressing the start button 13 three times, the turntable 3 rotates 135° in the forward direction in accordance with a command from the control device 11, and the container holder 4 holding the container 20 moves to position G (see FIG. 1). Then, in step S12, after the turntable 3 stops, if the container 20 held by the container holder 4 is detected by the sensor 12 located near position G, drinking water is supplied from the third nozzle 7a into the container 20 in accordance with a command from the control device 11 in step S13, and "drinking water supply" is performed. As a result, a specified amount of drinking water is filled into the container 20. Note that if the container 20 is not detected in step S12, the process of step S13 is omitted.

[0049] Then, in step S14, by pressing start button 13 once, turntable 3 rotates 45° in the forward direction in accordance with a command from control device 11, and container holder 4 holding container 20 moves to position H (see FIG. 1). Furthermore, in step S15, after turntable 3 stops, if container 20 held by container holder 4 is detected by sensor 12 located near position H, then in step S16 lid seamer 8 operates in accordance with a command from control device 11 to perform "lid attachment" and seal container 20. Note that if container 20 is not detected in step S15, the process of step S16 is omitted.

[0050] Next, in step S17, start button 13 is pressed once, causing turntable 3 to rotate 45° in the forward direction in accordance with a command from control device 11, and container holder 4 holding container 20 to return to position A again (see FIG. 1). Then, in step S18, after turntable 3 has stopped, opening / closing door 15 is opened, container 20 is removed from container holder 4, and container 20 is taken out of filling device 1. Then, after opening / closing door 15 is closed, in step S19, power to filling device 1 is cut off. This completes a series of steps in which one container 20 is filled with drinking water and sealed.

[0051] "1-3: Actions and Effects of the Filling Device According to the Present Embodiment" It is believed that the above-described filling device 1 has the following functions due to the container attitude control device 1a. First, the container posture control device 1a has an action in which the eight container holders 4 (or held containers 20) arranged near the outer periphery perform circular motion around the first rotation axis 3a by rotating the turntable 3. Then, by having a guide pin 4f that is indirectly installed on the main body 4a of the container holder 4 and slides along the guide path 16, the guide pin 4f slides along the shape of the guide path 16 while each container holder 4 rotates together with the turntable 3. Here, the guide pin 4f rotates the container holder 4 around the second rotation shaft 4b while sliding along the guide path 16. That is, the shape of the guide path 16 has the effect of controlling the attitude of the container holder 4, and thus controlling the attitude of the containers 20 held by the container holder 4. More specifically, in the case of the filling device 1, the four containers 20 held by the two container holders 4 (attitude-controlled container holders) at positions C and D in the first area 21 of the guide path 16 and the two container holders 4 (attitude-controlled container holders) at positions G and H in the second area 22 have openings 20a facing the outside of the turntable 3, and their central axes (cylindrical axes of the openings 20a) parallel to the vertical direction. Therefore, the supplied injection material is subjected to gravity parallel to the central axis of the container 20 held by the container holder 4 (attitude-controlled container holder) arranged at the above four positions. Here, the above attitude control will be described with reference to Figs. 7 and 8.

[0052] FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the control mechanism of the container attitude control device in the filling device according to the present embodiment, and shows the container holder arranged at position G on the rotating disk moving to position H and then to position A in this order. Here, the same components as those already described are given the same reference numerals and their description is omitted, and the reference numerals for some components are omitted so as not to make the diagram complicated. The thick arrows in the diagram simply represent the direction of rotation around the second rotation shaft 4b and the magnitude of the rotation angle when the container attitude control device 1a moves the container holder 4 to the next position, and the longer the arrow, the larger the rotation angle. Although the guide pin 4f cannot be seen, its position is shown by a solid line so that the movement of the guide pin 4f can be clearly seen. The direction toward the left side of the paper is the height direction of the container attitude control device 1a. As shown in FIG. 7, the container holder 4 (attitude-controlled container holder) arranged at position G on the turntable 3 moves to position A via position H by the rotation of the turntable 3. If the container holder 4 arranged at position G cannot rotate around the second rotation shaft 4b, the angle between the line segment connecting the center of the second rotation shaft 4b and the center of the connecting shaft 4e at position G and the line segment connecting the center of the second rotation shaft 4b and the center of the connecting shaft 4e at position H is 45° when the turntable 3 is viewed in a plane. However, in reality, in the container attitude control device 1a, the container holder 4 rotates by a large amount of 45° in the direction of the arrow around the second rotation shaft 4b as the turntable 3 rotates around the first rotation shaft 3a. As a result, the above line segment is also parallel to the vertical direction at position H. Then, when the container holder 4 that has moved to position H moves to position A, the container holder 4 can be rotated about the second rotating shaft 4b so that the line segment connecting the center of the second rotating shaft 4b and the center of the connecting shaft 4e has a desired attitude at position A. In other words, when determining the planar shape of the guide path 16, the position of the guide pin 4f can be determined so that, at each position of the turntable 3, the line segment connecting the center of the second rotating shaft 4b and the center of the connecting shaft 4e has a desired inclination when the turntable 3 is viewed in a plan view.

[0053] Next, a specific method for setting the planar shape of the guide path 16 will be described with reference to FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method for setting a guide path for a container attitude control device in a filling device according to this embodiment, and shows a two-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system with the horizontal direction as the X-axis and the vertical direction as the Y-axis in a plan view. The circle in the figure shows the trajectory drawn by the intersection P of the center line of the second rotation shaft 4b of the container holder 4 and the XY plane when the turntable 3, which is installed parallel to the XY plane, rotates around the origin O. Point Q is the intersection of the center line of the guide pin 4f and the XY plane. If the distance from the center of rotation of the turntable 3 (the center line of the first rotating shaft 3a) to the center line of the second rotating shaft 4b is R, and the distance from the center line of the second rotating shaft 4b to the center line of the guide pin 4f is r, then the lengths of the line segments OP and PQ are R and r, respectively, as shown in Figure 8. Now, the rotating disk 3 is rotating clockwise at an angular velocity ω, and point P on the Y-axis moves to the position shown in Fig. 8 over time t, and the angle that line segment PQ makes with the positive direction of the X-axis at this point is α. In this case, the X-coordinate and Y-coordinate of point P at time t are expressed by Rsinωt and Rcosωt, respectively, and the X-coordinate and Y-coordinate of point Q at time t are expressed by (Rsinωt+rcosα) and (Rcosωt+rsinα), respectively. In this case, if the locus described by point Q is expressed by the following equation (1), the angle that line segment PQ makes with the positive direction of the X-axis is always α. (X-rcosα) 2 +(Y-rsinα) 2 =R 2 (1) This means that the inclination of the line segment PQ does not change if the path that the center line of the guide pin 4f traces on the XY plane as the turntable 3 rotates satisfies formula (1). Therefore, in the filling device 1, by forming the guide path 16 so that the above-mentioned path satisfies formula (1), it is possible to keep the attitude of the container holder 4 constant regardless of its position on the turntable 3.

[0054] Next, the filling device 1 equipped with the above-described container attitude maintaining device 1a has the following effects. First, the first nozzle 9 and the second nozzle 18 are sequentially installed below the positions C and D of the turntable 3 in the first area 21, so that one of the two containers 20 held by the container holder 4 (attitude-controlled container holder) arranged in the first area 21 is supplied with a cleaning liquid or a sterilizing liquid by the first nozzle 9, and the other is supplied with a rinsing liquid by the second nozzle 18. These processes are also performed simultaneously in parallel. Then, the third nozzle 7a and the lid winding machine 8 are sequentially installed above the positions G and H of the turntable 3 in the second area 22, so that one of the two containers 20 held by the container holder 4 (attitude-controlled container holder) arranged in the second area 22 is supplied with drinking water and filled, and the other is sealed by screwing the lid 20b. Furthermore, the above action has the effect of producing a product filled with drinking water by the filling device 1.

[0055] Due to the above-mentioned action, in the filling device 1, the attitude of the container holder 4 (and the container 20) is controlled while the eight container holders 4 arranged on the turntable 3 are rotated and moved in a circular motion. As a result, the supply of the cleaning liquid or sterilizing liquid, the rinsing liquid, and the drinking water by the first to third nozzles, and the sealing by the lid winding machine 8, which were difficult in the past, can be performed simultaneously in parallel, and products filled with drinking water can be manufactured in a short time. Furthermore, since the above-mentioned attitude control is possible and the processing device and the like can be installed without leaving any empty space in the frame body 2, it is easy to make the filling device 1 compact, and the selection of the installation location can be expanded. In addition, since the attitude of the container 20 is controlled by a simple mechanism of sliding the guide pin 4f of the container holder 4 along the guide path 16, it is difficult to break down. Therefore, it is easy to keep the price of the device down.

[0056] Furthermore, in the first region 21 of the guide path 16, the containers 20 held by the two container holders 4 (attitude-controlled container holders) have their openings 20a facing the outside of the turntable 3, and their attitudes are parallel to the vertical direction, so that the cleaning liquid or sterilizing liquid and the rinsing liquid supplied into the containers 20 from the first nozzle 9 and the second nozzle 18 are naturally discharged from the openings 20a to the outside of the containers 20 due to their own weight. This eliminates the need to provide a separate discharge means for discharging the injected material, further simplifying the structure of the filling device 1. As a result, the filling device 1 is less likely to break down, and it is easier to keep costs down. Similarly, in the second region 22 of the guideway 16, the containers 20 held by the two container holders 4 (attitude-controlled container holders) have their openings 20a facing the outside of the turntable 3, and their attitudes are parallel to the vertical direction. Therefore, by supplying drinking water from the third nozzle 7a to the containers 20, the drinking water can be filled up to a desired height, with the openings 20a being the upper limit.

[0057] In addition, the filling device 1 allows the supply and discharge of rinsing liquid to and from the container 20, which could not be done simultaneously in parallel in the past, so that the cleaning liquid and sterilizing liquid remaining in the container 20 can be removed as much as possible before filling the container with drinking water. As a result, the cleaning liquid and the like are less likely to mix with the product, further improving the quality of the product.

[0058] "2. Detailed structure of the embodiment" "2-1; Rotational symmetry of guideway shapes" Although not shown here, the shape of the guide path 16 when the turntable 3 is viewed in a plane, as in the container posture control device 1a, may be n-fold rotational symmetric (n = 3 or more) rather than 2-fold rotational symmetric, as in Figure 5(b), for example. The shape of the guide path 16 is n-fold rotationally symmetric with respect to the center line of the first rotating shaft 3a, so that the planar guide path 16 is formed to have n regions of the same shape. As a result, the inclination of the line segment that connects the center line of the guide pin 4f and the center line of the second rotating shaft 4b in one of the n regions and is parallel to the turntable 3 changes in the same manner in the other regions. In other words, while the container 20 goes around the first rotating shaft 3a with the rotation of the turntable 3, the attitude of the container 20 repeats the same change n times. Due to the above action, when there are many processing devices that are suitable for the container 20 to be processed in a predetermined position, such as the above-mentioned cleaning and sterilization processing and rinsing processing, it is possible to arrange many processing devices according to the number of regions, and it is possible to perform many processes simultaneously in parallel. This not only improves the processing speed of the container 20, but also makes it possible to perform many different types of processes simultaneously in parallel. In addition, as described above, since the guide path 16 has a structure in which n pieces of one shape unit are connected, not only is it easy to manufacture, but it is also easy to repair when it is damaged.

[0059] "2-2: Means for preventing container holder from swinging" In the filling device 1, a swing prevention means for suppressing swinging of the container holder 4 (attitude-controlled container holder) when the lid winding machine 8 screws the lid 20b onto the container 20 may be provided. The rocking prevention means here may be a cylinder device 17 equipped with a fixing pin 17a as shown in Fig. 5(b). This cylinder device 17 is installed, for example, on the back side of the back plate 6 or on the frame body 2 (not shown), and is capable of inserting and removing a rod-shaped fixing pin 17a from the fixing pin hole 3c at position H of the turntable 3 shown in Fig. 5(a) by command of the control device 11. The fixing pin hole 3c of the turntable 3 and the through hole 4g ​​of the container holder 4 (attitude-controlled container holder) arranged at position H are aligned in the moving direction of the rod-shaped fixing pin so that they can be inserted therethrough. The operation of the rocking prevention means using this cylinder device 17 will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining the anti-swaying means of the filling device according to this embodiment, Fig. 9(a) shows a state in which the anti-swaying means is activated with respect to the container holder holding the container, and Fig. 9(b) shows a state in which the anti-swaying means of Fig. 9(a) is released. Here, the same components as those already explained are given the same reference numerals and their explanations are omitted, and explanations of their actions and effects are also omitted. Furthermore, the reference numerals and explanations of components unrelated to the explanation here are omitted. As shown in Figure 9(b), when the cylinder device 17 installed on the back side of the rear panel 6 of the filling device 1 is not operating, its rod-shaped fixed pin 17a does not protrude toward the turntable 3, and the fixed pin 17a does not hinder the movement of either the turntable 3 or the container holder 4.

[0060] On the other hand, when the lid winding machine 8 screws the lid 20b (not shown) onto the container 20 held by the container holder 4 (attitude-controlled container holder) arranged at position H, the cylinder device 17 protrudes the rod-shaped fixing pin 17a as shown in Fig. 9(a) and inserts it into the through hole 4g ​​of the container holder 4 (attitude-controlled container holder) while passing through the fixing pin hole 3c. As a result, the rotation of the turntable 3 is reliably prevented, and the swinging of the container holder 4 around the second rotation axis 4b due to the swinging of the guide pin 4f that is not engaged in the guide path 16 can also be reliably prevented. As a result, the lid 20b can be screwed onto the container 20 held by the container holder 4 (attitude-controlled container holder) at position H of the turntable 3 without any defects, and even the lid of the special structure described above, which is filled with concentrate such as tea or fruit drink and has a mechanism for mixing the concentrate with the water in the container when opened, can be screwed on with good precision. This effect is thought to make it possible to reduce the product defect rate. The cylinder device 17 may be installed anywhere within the filling device 1 as long as the fixing pin 17a can be inserted into the fixing pin hole 3c and the through hole 4g ​​by protruding it.

[0061] "2-3: About the tightening torque adjustment mechanism" The control device 11 may be provided with a tightening torque adjustment mechanism so that the tightening torque when the lid winding machine 8 screws the lid 20b onto the container 20 can be adjusted. In the filling device 1 shown in Figure 1, the tightening torque displayed on the display panel 11b can be set in advance to a desired value while rotating the torque setting knob 11a, and the control device 11 can adjust the tightening torque to the desired value when the lid winding machine 8 screws the lid 20b onto the container 20. The above action allows the lid 20b to be screwed onto the container 20 with an optimum tightening torque according to the material and shape of the container and the lid, and further the properties of the drinking water to be filled. As a result, the drinking water is always stably and reliably sealed under the same conditions, and leakage of the drinking water due to variations in the sealing state is also suppressed.

[0062] "2-4: About the co-rotation prevention mechanism" The filling device 1 may be provided with a co-rotation prevention mechanism for preventing the container 20 from co-rotating when the lid winding machine 8 screws the lid 20b onto the container 20. In Fig. 1, although the detailed structure is not shown, the fixing portion 8b described on the lid winding machine 8 corresponds to the co-rotation prevention mechanism. This fixing portion 8b is assumed to be a cylinder device capable of pressing the held container 20 from both sides with rod-shaped bodies (not shown) when the container holder 4 (attitude-controlled container holder) is arranged at position H in Fig. 1. It is not particularly limited to a cylinder device, and other mechanisms may be used to prevent the container 20 from co-rotating. It is believed that such a co-rotation prevention mechanism can further improve the accuracy of the tightening torque adjustment mechanism described above, and can further enhance the effect of the tightening torque adjustment mechanism described above.

[0063] "2-5; Shape of the clamping plate" The pair of clamping plates 4c2, 4c2 may be formed with a pair of recesses 4c7 facing each other at the opposing ends, as shown in FIG. 4, for example. By clamping the container 20 between such a pair of recesses 4c7, 4c7, the adhesion between the recess 4c7 and the container 20 is improved, and the container 20 can be clamped securely. It goes without saying that the shape of the recess 4c7 can be arbitrarily changed according to the shape of the container 20 to be used. In addition, the recess 4c7 may be provided with a coating layer of rubber or the like on at least the surface that comes into contact with the container 20, so that the container 20 is less likely to slip. This allows the container 20 to be clamped more securely by the clamping portion 4c.

[0064] In this specification, an example has been described in which the container attitude control device 1a is used in a filling device 1 for filling drinking water into a container 20. This filling device 1 can also be used when filling liquids other than drinking water, pastes, and even flowing powders, and the above description is considered to be similarly applicable to these pastes and powders. On the other hand, the container posture control device 1a can be used for purposes other than filling the above-mentioned injection material. For example, if a basket-shaped container or the like capable of accommodating an object is installed instead of the container holder 4, it is possible to simultaneously perform processes such as cleaning and quality inspection while controlling the posture of the container, even for objects that are difficult to flow unlike the above-mentioned injection material. [Industrial Applicability]

[0065] The present invention relates to a compact container posture control device capable of controlling a container to a desired posture, and a filling device using the same, and can be used in technical fields related to container posture control and filling of injectable materials such as liquids, pastes, and powders. [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1...Filling device 1a...Container position control device 2...Frame 2a...Caster 2b...Panel 3...Turntable 3a...First rotating shaft 3b...Hole 3c...Hole for fixing pin 4...Container holder 4a...Main body 4b...Second rotating shaft 4c...Clamping section 4c1...Base 4c2...Clamping plate 4c3...Slit 4c4...Guide material 4c5...Spring fixing plate 4c6...Spring 4c7...Recess 4d...Guide pin support plate 4e...Connecting shaft 4f...Guide pin 4g...Through hole 5...Turntable cover 6...Rear plate 6a...Hole 7...Water supply device 7a...Third nozzle 8...Lid winding machine 8a...Lid supply section 8b...Fixing section 9...First nozzle 10...Air supply nozzle 11...Control device 11a...Torque setting knob 11b...Display panel 12...sensor 13...start button 14...emergency stop button 15...opening / closing door 16...guideway 16a...track 16b...closed path 17...cylinder device 17a...fixing pin 18...second nozzle 20...container 20a...opening 20b...lid 21...first area 22...second area A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H...position

Claims

1. A container attitude control device for controlling the attitude of a container as desired, a rotating disk made of a flat plate and rotatably installed around a first rotation axis; A plurality of container holders are disposed near the outer periphery of the rotating disk and removably hold the containers; A back plate arranged parallel to the rotating plate; A guide path formed in the back panel, The container holder includes: a main body portion for holding the container on the flat surface; a holder for holding the container on the main body; a second rotation shaft that supports the main body so as to be rotatable relative to the rotating plate; A container attitude control device characterized by comprising a guide pin that protrudes indirectly from the main body portion and slides along the guide path.

2. The container posture control device described in claim 1, characterized in that at least a portion of the guide path is formed so that in two or more adjacent container holders arranged at a desired interval along the rotation direction of the turntable, the inclination of the line segment connecting the center line of the guide pin and the center line of the second rotation shaft is maintained constant to form a posture-controlled container holder.

3. The container posture control device described in claim 2, characterized in that the planar shape of the guide path has n-fold rotational symmetry with n identical shapes connected in a ring shape about the center line of the first rotation axis, and the shapes form individual regions, and two or more of the container holders arranged within each of the regions are posture-controlled container holders.

4. The container attitude control device according to claim 2 , A filling apparatus characterized by being equipped with a nozzle for supplying an injection material to the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder, and / or a sealing means for sealing the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder to which the injection material has been supplied.

5. The container attitude control device according to claim 3, which has at least first and second regions; a nozzle provided at a position corresponding to the first and second regions and configured to supply an injection material to the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder; A filling apparatus characterized in that it is equipped with a sealing means provided at a position corresponding to the second area and sealing the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder.

6. the nozzles provided at positions corresponding to the first region are a first nozzle for supplying a cleaning liquid or a sterilizing liquid into the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder and a second nozzle for supplying a rinsing liquid; A filling device as described in claim 5, characterized in that the nozzle provided at a position corresponding to the second area is a third nozzle that supplies food which is a liquid or paste into the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder.

7. A filling apparatus as described in any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that the turntable is installed parallel to a vertical plane, the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder has a cylindrical opening, the cylindrical axis of this opening is parallel to the vertical direction, and the opening faces toward the outside of the turntable.

8. The sealing means includes a capping device that attaches a cap to the container held by the attitude-controlled container holder, A filling device as described in any one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that it is provided with a swing prevention means for preventing the swinging of the attitude-controlled container holder which holds the container to be closed by the lid fastening device.

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