Article handling equipment

Abstract

To enable processing of a plurality of kinds of articles, and to suppress an increase in size of an apparatus.SOLUTION: There is provided a filling device 2 (article processing device) including: conveying means 4 for conveying a large container 1A and a small container 1B (articles) through a circular conveying route; and filling means 6 and a capper 7 (article processing means) provided along the conveying route of a container 1 by the conveying means 4. The conveying means 4 has an inner conveying route CA and an outer conveying route CB provided in parallel, and simultaneously conveys the large container 1A and the small container 1B using the inner conveying route CA and the outer conveying route CB, and the filling means 6 and the capper 7 perform different processing to the large container 1A and the small container 1B conveyed on the inner conveying route CA and the outer conveying route CB.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an article processing apparatus, and more particularly to an article processing apparatus including a transport means for transporting articles and an article processing means for processing the articles. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an article processing apparatus that includes a transport means for transporting articles, and an article processing means that is provided along a path along which the articles are transported by the transport means. Known examples of such item processing equipment include one in which a holding means for holding items moves along a circular conveying path (Patent Document 1), and one in which the head of the item processing means is interchangeable in order to process multiple types of items (devices) (Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-192642 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2012-116495 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the article processing apparatus of Patent Document 1 requires redundant space between adjacent article processing means, and the article processing apparatus of Patent Document 2, although capable of processing multiple types of articles, requires redundant space to ensure working space, resulting in the problem that the machine becomes large. In view of these problems, the present invention provides an article processing apparatus that is capable of performing different processing on a plurality of types of articles that are conveyed, while preventing the apparatus from becoming large. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] That is, the article processing apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 is an article processing apparatus including a conveying means for conveying an article along a circular conveying path, and an article processing means provided along the path along which the article is conveyed by the conveying means, The conveying means has an inner conveying path and an outer conveying path provided in parallel, and conveys articles simultaneously using the inner conveying path and the outer conveying path; The article processing means is characterized in that it performs different processes on articles transported along the inner transport path and the outer transport path. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the above invention, by simultaneously transporting items using an inner conveying path and an outer conveying path which are arranged in parallel by the conveying means, it is possible to prevent the device from becoming large, and since different processing is performed on the inner conveying path and the outer conveying path, it is possible to simultaneously process multiple types of items, and items can be processed efficiently. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a filling device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] Side view of the filling device [Diagram 3] A plan view of a holding means constituting the conveying means. [Figure 4] Partial sectional view of the conveying means [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a filling device according to a second embodiment; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] The illustrated embodiment will now be described. FIG. 1 shows a filling device 2 as an article processing apparatus that fills a container 1 as an article with a liquid. The filling device 2 of this embodiment is configured to fill the same liquid into two types of containers 1 having different capacities. The filling device 2 comprises a sterile chamber 3 the interior of which is maintained in a sterile state, a transport means 4 provided inside the sterile chamber 3 for transporting the container 1, a container supply means 5 for supplying empty containers 1 into the inside of the sterile chamber 3, a filling means 6 for filling the container 1 with liquid, a capper 7 for attaching a cap to the container 1, and a container discharge means 8 for discharging the container 1, all of which are controlled by a control means not shown.

[0009] The filling device 2 of the present embodiment is capable of processing the large container 1A having a large capacity and the small container 1B having a small capacity, and each of these containers 1 has a mouth portion formed at the top thereof to which a cap can be attached, and in this embodiment, caps of different shapes are attached to the mouth portions of the large container 1A and the small container 1B. As described above, the large container 1A and the small container 1B have different shapes, and the amount of liquid to be filled and the caps to be attached are different, so in the past it was necessary to fill the liquid using separate filling devices 2, or to change the type of filling device 2 used.However, in this embodiment, it is possible to process the large container 1A and the small container 1B simultaneously using a single filling device 2.

[0010] The internal space of the sterile chamber 3 is formed to a size capable of accommodating the above-mentioned conveying means 4, filling means 6, etc., and outside the sterile chamber 3, there are provided an air supply means for supplying sterile air and an exhaust means for exhausting air from within the sterile chamber 3, both not shown. As shown in FIG. 2, the air supply means is adapted to supply sterile air from air supply ports 11 provided at the top of the sterile chamber 3, and although not shown in FIG. 1, the air supply ports 11 are provided at multiple points in the sterile chamber 3. In response to this, the exhaust means is provided with an exhaust port 12 at the bottom of the sterile chamber 3, and the exhaust port 12 is provided with a conventionally known HEPA unit to purify the exhausted air. With this configuration, the sterile air supplied from the air intake port 11 inside the sterile chamber 3 forms a laminar flow from the top to the bottom of the sterile chamber 3 and is exhausted from the exhaust port 12.

[0011] In this embodiment, the exhaust port 12 is located inside the conveying means 4, specifically on the inner side of the movement path of the holding means 14 that constitutes the conveying means 4, and the exhaust port 12 is provided at a position lower than the conveying height of the container 1 by the conveying means 4. In this way, by locating the exhaust port 12 inside the conveying means 4, the exhaust port 12 is located approximately in the centre of the sterile chamber 3. As described above, inside the sterile chamber 3 which has a large internal space capable of accommodating item processing means such as the conveying means 4 and filling means 6, an air flow is formed in the central part where air flow is likely to stagnate, thereby maintaining a sterile state. Furthermore, as described below, the driving means of the conveying means 4 in this embodiment is provided on the inner side of the movement path of the holding means 14, so that dust generated by the driving means can be sucked in through an exhaust port 12 provided on the inside of the conveying means 4, preventing the dust from entering the container 1 or liquid. The exhaust port 12 may be provided at a plurality of locations inside the transport means 4 .

[0012] The conveying means 4 conveys the different types of large containers 1A and small containers 1B using an inner conveying path CA and an outer conveying path CB that are provided in parallel with each other. Specifically, the large container 1A is transported along an inner transport path CA, and the small container 1B is transported along an outer transport path CB that is provided in parallel with the inner transport path CA. The conveying means 4 includes an endless elliptical rail 13, a plurality of holding means 14 which move along the rail 13 and simultaneously hold the large container 1A and the small container 1B, and a driving means 15 which moves the holding means 14 individually along the rail 13. The rail 13 is arranged in a substantially elliptical shape consisting of the straight portion and the arc-shaped portion, and as shown in FIG. 2, the rail 13 is provided at a required height from the floor surface of the sterile chamber 3 by means of pillar-shaped members 13a provided at multiple intervals. By supporting the rail 13 in this manner with a plurality of columnar members 13a, the air flowing within the sterile chamber 3 flows between the columnar members 13a and toward the exhaust port 12 located inside the conveying means 4.

[0013] Figure 3 shows a plan view of the holding means 14 that constitutes the conveying means 4, and Figure 4 shows a side view. The holding means 14 is equipped with a pair of holding members 16 that hold the large container 1A and the small container 1B, and an opening / closing means 17 that opens and closes the holding members 16. The gripping member 16 is formed with an inner holding portion 16a for holding the large container 1A and an outer holding portion 16b for holding the small container 1B. The inner holding portion 16a and the outer holding portion 16b are constituted by recesses formed at opposing positions in the gripping member 16, and when the gripping member 16 is closed, the large container 1A and the small container 1B are gripped by the recesses. When the large container 1A is held by the inner holding portion 16a, the large container 1A is positioned on the inner transport path CA, and when the small container 1B is held by the outer holding portion 16b, the small container 1B is positioned on the outer transport path CB.

[0014] The opening / closing means 17 includes two arms 17b that are pivotally mounted on a pivot shaft 17a, and the gripping member 16 is fixed to one end of each arm 17b, and a cam (not shown) is provided on each arm 17b. As a result, the arms 17b pivot in unison to open and close the gripping member 16. A spring 17c is provided at the end of each of the arms 17b on the gripping member 16 side, and the spring 17c biases the gripping members 16 in a direction to approach each other, that is, to bias the holding means 14 to a closed state. One arm 17b is provided so as to protrude toward the rail 13, and a cam follower 17d is provided at its tip. When the cam follower 17d is pressed, the arm 17b swings about the swing shaft 17a, so that the gripping member 16 opens and closes.

[0015] An opening / closing bar 18 driven by a driving means (not shown) is provided inside the cam follower 17d, and the opening / closing bar 18 is arranged so as to move forward and backward in a direction perpendicular to the transport path of the container 1. When the opening / closing bar 18 presses the cam follower 17d from the inside to the outside of the rail 13, the gripping member 16 swings to an open state, and when the opening / closing bar 18 moves from the outside to the inside from that state, the gripping member 16 becomes closed due to the biasing force of the spring 17c. The opening / closing bar 18 is provided at a position adjacent to each of the container supply means 5 and the container discharge means 8 provided along the conveying means 4 as shown in Figure 1, and has a predetermined length in the conveying direction so as to simultaneously press the cam followers 17d of multiple holding means 14 to open and close them simultaneously.

[0016] The driving means 15 moves the holding means 14 by a conventionally known linear drive, and as shown in Figure 4, is composed of rails 13 arranged in parallel above and below, a plurality of electromagnetic coils 19 arranged between the rails 13, and a shuttle 20 which holds the holding means 14 and moves by electromagnetic induction generated between the electromagnetic coils 19. The shuttle 20 includes a permanent magnet 20 a provided in the vicinity of the electromagnetic coil 19 , and rollers 20 b provided above and below the permanent magnet 20 a and engaging with the rail 13 . With the above-mentioned configuration, the control means controls each electromagnetic coil 19, thereby making it possible to move each shuttle 20 and to move the holding means 14 provided on that shuttle 20.

[0017] The container supply means 5 is designed to transport empty large containers 1A and small containers 1B from outside the sterile chamber 3, and is equipped with a belt conveyor 5a for transporting the empty large containers 1A and small containers 1B, and a robot 5b for removing the large containers 1A and small containers 1B from the belt conveyor 5a and handing them over to the holding means 14 of the transport means 4. The belt conveyor 5a stops the transported empty large containers 1A and small containers 1B at a position adjacent to the transport means 4, and the transport means 4 stops, for example, four holding means 14 at a position adjacent to the container supply means 5. The opening and closing bar 18 is provided at the stopping position of the holding means 14. The robot 5b is equipped with multiple holding heads, specifically, four holding heads arranged in the conveying direction to hold large containers 1A, and four holding heads arranged parallel to the large containers 1A to hold small containers 1B, and the holding heads holding the large containers 1A and the holding heads holding the small containers 1B are arranged at the same intervals as the inner conveying path CA and the outer conveying path CB. With this configuration, the robot 5b takes out the large container 1A and the small container 1B from the belt conveyor, and moves the holding head to the holding means 14 stopped at a position adjacent to the belt conveyor 5a. In this state, the opening and closing bar 18 is operated to change the holding means 14 from an open state to a closed state, so that the large container 1A and the small container 1B are held by the inner holding portions 16a and the outer holding portions 16b of the four holding means 14, respectively.

[0018] The filling means 6 is equipped with a filling nozzle 6aA for filling the large container 1A with liquid, and a filling nozzle 6aB for filling the small container 1B with liquid, which are arranged so as to be movable up and down by a lifting means (not shown), and liquid is supplied from a liquid supplying means (not shown). Four filling nozzles 6aA for filling the large container 1A with liquid are provided along the inner conveying path CA, and four filling nozzles 6aB for filling the small container 1B with liquid are also provided along the outer conveying path CB, with the filling nozzles 6aA and 6aB being arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveying paths. By arranging the filling nozzles 6aA, 6aB in this manner, when the conveying means 4 moves the holding means 14 to the filling means 6, the four large containers 1A are positioned below the four filling nozzles 6aA that fill large containers 1A with liquid, and the four small containers 1B are positioned below the four filling nozzles 6aB that fill small containers 1B with liquid. The filling means 6 performs different processes by previously setting the filling amounts so that, for example, the filling nozzle 6aA fills the large container 1A with 300 ml of liquid and the filling nozzle 6aB fills the small container 1B with 150 ml of liquid. In addition, the four filling nozzles 6aA for filling the large container 1A with liquid and the four filling nozzles 6aB for filling the small container 1B with liquid may be positioned at a distance from each other on the upstream and downstream sides along the conveying path, so that the timing of filling the large container 1A and the small container 1B with liquid may be made different.

[0019] The capper 7, like the filling means 6, is equipped with four capping heads 7aA for attaching caps to the large container 1A and four capping heads 7aB for attaching caps to the small container 1B, which are arranged so that they can be raised and lowered by a lifting means not shown, and caps are supplied from a cap supplying means not shown. A capping head 7aA for fitting a cap to the large container 1A and a capping head 7aB for fitting a cap to the small container 1B are also provided in the same arrangement as the filling nozzles 6aA, 6aB of the filling means 6. As a result, when the conveying means 4 moves the holding means 14 to the capper 7, the large containers 1A are positioned below the four capping heads 7aA for the large containers 1A, and the small containers 1B are positioned below the four capping heads 7aB for the small containers 1B. In the case where the large container 1A and the small container 1B are, for example, PET bottle containers and the same screw caps are to be attached, the capper 7 has heads for screw caps attached to the capping heads 7aA and 7aB. In addition, when different types of caps are to be attached to the large container 1A and the small container 1B, for example, the capping head 7aA is equipped with a head for screw caps and the capping head 7aB is equipped with a head for PP caps, and they perform different processes. As for the capper 7, the position where the capping head 7aA for the large container 1A is provided and the position where the capping head 7aB for the small container 1B is provided may be disposed separately on the upstream and downstream sides along the conveying path.

[0020] The container discharge means 8 is composed of a belt conveyor 8a provided adjacent to the downstream side of the capper 7, and a robot 8b provided adjacent to the belt conveyor 8a, and the conveying means 4 is provided with an opening / closing bar 18 at the position of the container discharge means 8. With this configuration, when the holding means 14 holding the large container 1A and small container 1B stops at a position adjacent to the belt conveyor 8a, the robot 8b receives the large container 1A and small container 1B held by the holding means 14. Next, the robot 8b places the large container 1A and small container 1B that it has grasped onto the belt conveyor 8a, and the belt conveyor 8a transports the large container 1A and small container 1B to a subsequent process (not shown) located outside the sterile chamber 3.

[0021] The operation of the filling device 2 having the above configuration will be described below. First, the belt conveyor 5a of the container supply means 5 transports the large container 1A and the small container 1B, and at this time the transport means 4 has the four holding means 14 waiting in a position adjacent to the belt conveyor 5a and keeping them in an open state by the opening and closing bar 18. Next, robot 5b of container supply means 5 holds large container 1A and small container 1B on belt conveyor 5a and transfers them to holding means 14 of transport means 4. As a result, large container 1A is held on the inner transport path CA side of holding means 14, and small container 1B is held on the outer transport path CB side.

[0022] Next, as shown in FIG. 5( a ), the control means controls the conveying means 4 to move the four holding means 14 to the filling means 6 . The filling means 6 has four filling nozzles 6aA, 6aB positioned above the inner conveying path CA and the outer conveying path CB, and the filling means 6 lowers the filling nozzles 6aA, 6aB to fill the large container 1A and the small container 1B with liquid. At this time, the filling nozzle 6aA on the inner transport path CA fills the large container 1A with liquid according to its capacity, and the filling nozzle 6aB on the outer transport path CB fills the small container 1B with liquid according to its capacity. When filling of the liquid is completed and filling nozzles 6aA, 6aB are withdrawn upward, conveying means 4 moves holding means 14 to capper 7 on the downstream side.

[0023] In the capper 7, four capping heads 7aA and 7aB are positioned above the inner transport path CA and the outer transport path CB, respectively, and the capping heads 7aA and 7aB attach caps to the large container 1A and the small container 1B. At this time, the capping head 7a on the inner transport path CA attaches a cap that fits the large container 1A, and the capping head 7a on the outer transport path CB attaches a cap that fits the small container 1B. Then, the control means moves the holding means 14 to the container discharge means 8, and the robot 8b transfers the large container 1A and small container 1B from the holding means 14 onto the belt conveyor 8a, which then transports the large container 1A and small container 1B to a subsequent process not shown.

[0024] Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, large containers 1A and small containers 1B of different shapes are transported along the inner conveying path CA and the outer conveying path CB, respectively, and the item processing means such as the filling means 6 and capper 7 perform processing corresponding to the large containers 1A and small containers 1B which have different capacities and caps attached. As a result, whereas in the conventional method, a dedicated filling device 2 was used to fill large container 1A and small container 1B with liquid, it is now possible to process both using a single filling device 2. It is sufficient that at least one of the article processing means, such as the filling means 6 and the capper 7, is configured to perform different processing for the large container 1A and the small container 1B. In other words, if the mouths of the large container 1A and the small container 1B are similar and only the container capacity is different, only the processing by the filling means 6 is different, and the capping operation by the capper 7 is the same for the large container 1A and the small container 1B.

[0025] 5 shows a filling device 2 according to a second embodiment. In this second embodiment, as the holding means 14 of the conveying means 4, an inner holding means 14A for holding a large container 1A and an outer holding means 14B for holding a small container 1B are separately provided. The inner holding means 14A and the outer holding means 14B have a structure in which they are opened and closed by an opening / closing means 17 and an opening / closing bar 18, similar to the holding means 14 in the first embodiment. However, the gripping member 16 of the inner holding means 14A is formed only with an inner holding portion 16a for gripping the large container 1A at a position on the inner conveying path CA, and the gripping member 16 of the outer holding means 14B is formed only with an outer holding portion 16b for gripping the small container 1B at a position on the outer conveying path CB. The control means is adapted to control the drive means 15 to move the inner holding means 14A and the outer holding means 14B individually while recognizing the positions of the inner holding means 14A and the outer holding means 14B. As shown in FIG. 1, the inner holding means 14A and the outer holding means 14B can be moved in groups of four, for example, in accordance with the number of filling nozzles 6a and capping heads 6a of the filling means 6 and the capper 7.

[0026] The filling means 6 and the capper 7 in this embodiment are provided with filling nozzles 6aA, 6aB and capping heads 7aA, 7aB on the inner transport path CA and the outer transport path CB, respectively, in the same manner as in the first embodiment. For example, in the case of the filling means 6, when the conveying means 4 moves the inner holding means 14A holding the large container 1A to the filling means 6 under the control of the control means, the filling means 6 fills the large container 1A with liquid using a filling nozzle 6aA provided above the inner conveying path CA. Similarly, when the conveying means 4 moves the inner holding means 14A holding the large container 1A to the capper 7, the control means attaches a cap to the large container 1A using a capping head 7aA provided above the inner conveying path CA of the capper 7. In response to this, for the small container 1B, the control means sequentially moves the outer holding means 14B holding the small container 1B to the filling means 6 and the capper 7, and fills the container with liquid and attaches a cap using the filling nozzle 6aB and the capping head 7aB respectively provided above the outer conveying path CB.

[0027] The container discharge means 8 in this embodiment comprises a large container discharge means 8A for discharging the large container 1A, and a small container discharge means 8B which is provided downstream of the large container discharge means 8A on the conveying means 4 and for discharging the small container 1B, and the opening and closing bars 18 are provided at each position in the control means. The large container discharge means 8A and the small container discharge means 8B respectively include belt conveyors 8Aa, 8Ba for transporting containers, and robots 8Ab, 8Bb for transferring containers from the holding means 14 to the belt conveyors 8Aa, 8Ba. With respect to the large container 1A, the control means stops the inner holding means 14A holding the large container 1A at a position adjacent to the belt conveyor 8Aa in the large container discharging means 8A. Then, the robot 8Ab is activated to hold the large container 1A held by the inner holding means 14A, and in this state the opening and closing bar 18 is activated to open the inner holding means 14A, thereby transferring the large container 1A to the robot 8Ab. Next, the robot 8Ab moves the large container 1A to the belt conveyor 8Aa and releases it, and the belt conveyor 8Aa transports the large container 1A to a subsequent process (not shown). On the other hand, for the small container 1B, the control means moves the outer holding means 14B holding the small container 1B, passes it through the large container discharge means 8A, and then stops it at a position adjacent to the belt conveyor 8Ba in the small container discharge means 8B. Thereafter, the robot 8Bb places the small container 1B received from the outer holding means 14B on the belt conveyor 8Ba, and the small container 1B is transported by the belt conveyor 8Ba to a subsequent process (not shown).

[0028] As described above, in the filling device 2 of the second embodiment, the conveying means 4 is capable of simultaneously moving the inner holding means 14A for the large container 1A and the outer holding means 14B for the small container 1B. This makes it possible to simultaneously treat containers of different capacities using one filling device 2, and similarly to the first embodiment, treatment of a plurality of types of containers can be efficiently carried out.

[0029] In the above embodiment, the same liquid is filled into two types of containers, large container 1A and small container 1B, which have different capacities, but the caps and caps attached are different. In this way, according to the filling device 2 of the above embodiment, it is possible to perform different processes on the articles on the inner conveying path CA and the outer conveying path CB. For example, containers of the same shape may be transported using the inner transport path CA and the outer transport path CB, and the filling means 6 may fill the containers on the inner transport path CA and the outer transport path CB with different types of liquid. In the above embodiment, a filling device 2 for filling large containers 1A and small containers 1B with liquid has been described, but the filling device may also be used to process other items as long as it is provided with a conveying means 4 for circulating the holding means 14 for holding items inside the sterile chamber 3 and the item processing means performs different processing on items on the inner conveying path CA and the outer conveying path CB. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 1 Container (item) 1A Syringe 1B Vial 3 Sterile chamber 4 Conveying means 5 Container supplying means 6 filling means 7 capper 14 holding means 15 driving means CA Inner transport path CB Outer transport path

Claims

1. An article processing apparatus including a conveying means for conveying an article along a circular conveying path, and an article processing means provided along the path along which the article is conveyed by the conveying means, The conveying means has an inner conveying path and an outer conveying path provided in parallel, and conveys articles simultaneously using the inner conveying path and the outer conveying path; The article processing apparatus is characterized in that the article processing means performs different processes on articles transported along the inner transport path and the outer transport path.

2. 2. The article processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveying means conveys different types of articles on the inner conveying path and the outer conveying path, and the article processing means performs different processing on the articles conveyed on the inner conveying path and the outer conveying path, respectively.

3. the conveying means includes a holding means for holding the article and moving along the conveying path; 3. The article processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding means has an inner holding portion and an outer holding portion for holding the article at positions on the inner transport path and the outer transport path, respectively.

4. An article processing apparatus as described in either claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the conveying means includes an inner holding means for holding the article at a position on the inner conveying path, and an outer holding means for holding the article at a position on the outer conveying path, and the inner holding means and the outer holding means are moved separately.

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