Control Unit and Control Method for Controlling a Container

Abstract

To provide a control unit and a control method for controlling the correct rotation of a container holding device.SOLUTION: A control unit 6 for controlling a container 1 includes: a plurality of holding devices constituted so that the plurality of holding devices 9 stores containers respectively, and constituted so as to rotate the container on the holding device itself around a longitudinal rotation axis Z2; a supply conveyor 7 for moving the holding device along a control path; at least one control device 16; and an auxiliary conveyor for moving the control device forward / backward in parallel with the control path and along the segment of the control path, so that a first control device moves in a motion step in which the control device moves from an initial position to a final position in a state of being synchronized with the supply conveyor, and a succeeding return step in which the control device moves from the final position to the initial position in the direction opposite with respect to the supply conveyor.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross - reference to related applications This patent application claims the priority of Italian Patent Application No. 102020000021637 filed on September 14, 2020. The entire disclosure content is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to a control unit and a control method for controlling various forms of containers, namely bottles, vials, flasks, ampoules, capillaries, etc.

Background Art

[0003] The present invention is advantageously applied to controlling bottles for products in the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, the following disclosure explicitly refers to this without losing generality.

[0004] In the bottle filling machine industry for products in the pharmaceutical industry, it is known to use a control unit for optically controlling bottles after filling.

[0005] A typical bottle control unit includes a plurality of holding devices, each configured to receive a bottle and to rotate the bottle about a longitudinal axis of rotation on the holding device itself, a supply drum configured to move the holding devices along a circular control path, and at least one optical control device arranged alongside the supply drum and configured to optically control the bottle carried by the holding device as the holding device moves along the control path. The optical control device can be arranged at a fixed position adjacent to the supply drum or can be mounted on an auxiliary conveyor which moves the optical control device back and forth parallel to the control path and along a segment of the control path to enable the control device to move in an operating stroke from an initial position to a final position in synchronization with the supply drum and in a subsequent return stroke from the final position to the initial position in a direction opposite to the supply conveyor.

[0006] Typically, each holding device includes a lower motorized support mounted for rotation and on which a lower segment of the bottle is placed, and an idle countering element mounted for rotation and engaging an upper segment of the bottle. In the holding device, the countering element may have mechanical problems (e.g., as a result of dirt entering between bearings), and thus the countering element may be blocked or in any case difficult to rotate, and thus instead of rotating synchronously with the lower bottle (which is rotated by the movement provided by the lower support), it rubs against the lower bottle (posing a risk of damaging the bottle, dropping the bottle from the holding device, and in the best case scenario, reducing the effectiveness of the bottle control).

[0007] Accordingly, it has been proposed to insert corresponding motion sensors, each configured to detect the rotational movement of the opposing element in order to check the correct rotation of the opposing element (i.e., the synchronous rotation with the lower electric support). However, the common supply drum of the bottle control unit may include dozens of holding devices, and thus, dozens of motion sensors need to be assembled in the supply drum at a relatively high cost (both in terms of the purchase cost of the motion sensors and the installation cost of the motion sensors). SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a control unit and a control method for controlling a container that can be adopted easily and at low cost, that is, a control unit and a control method that enable the correct rotation of the opposing element of each holding device to be controlled at a lower cost compared to known techniques.

[0009] According to the present invention, there are provided a control unit and a method for controlling a container based on what is claimed in the appended claims.

[0010] The claims describe embodiments of the present invention that form an essential part of this specification.

[0011] The present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings show several non-limiting examples of embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

[0013] In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 generally designates a container 1 (bottle, vial, flask, vial, cartridge, syringe,...), of the type known for containing a product 2 (typically a liquid or a powder) of the pharmaceutical industry, for example for single - use (i.e. disposable, used only once and then replaced). The bottle 1 is closed by a cap 3 which may optionally be covered by a plastic film that must be removed to remove the cap 3, and optionally has at least one label 5. The label is adhered to the outer surface of the bottle 1.

[0014] In FIG. 2, reference numeral 6 generally designates a control unit of a machine for filling the container 1. The control unit 6 is configured to perform an optical control on each container 1 before or preferably after filling the container 1 with a predetermined amount of product 2 within a filling station of the machine for filling the container 1.

[0015] The control unit 6 includes a rotary feed conveyor 7. The rotary feed conveyor 7 moves the container 1 along a control path P. Along the control path P, an engineering control is applied to each container 1. Specifically, the feed conveyor 7 includes a drum 8 which is mounted to rotate with a continuous motion about a vertical axis of rotation Z1 (perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1), and a plurality of holding devices 9 (shown in FIG. 2) arranged along the periphery of the drum 8. Each holding device 9 is configured to receive the container 1 and to rotate the container 1 about its own longitudinal axis of rotation Z2 (which is vertical and parallel to the axis of rotation Z1 and is shown in FIG. 2).

[0016] According to what is shown in FIG. 2, each holding device 9 includes a lower support 10 that is mounted to rotate about a corresponding rotation axis Z2 and on which the lower portion of the container 1 is placed, and an opposing element 11 that is mounted to rotate about the corresponding rotation axis Z2 and engages with the upper portion of the container 1 (needless to say, the opposing element 11 is coaxial with the lower support 10 located at the lower part).

[0017] In each holding device 9, the lower support 10 is electric, that is, it is connected to a motor (typically an electric motor). The motor rotates the lower support 10 by applying a driving torque to the lower support 10. According to a conceivable embodiment, each lower support 10 may include its own electric motor carried by the drum 8, or the same electric motor carried by the drum 8 may rotate two or more lower supports 10 that are close to each other.

[0018] In each holding device 9, the opposing element 11 is movable in the vertical direction (that is, along the rotation axis Z2), so that the opposing element 11 is in a receiving / releasing position where it is removed from the upper segment of the corresponding container 1, and the opposing element 11 presses the upper segment of the corresponding container 1 with a given (calibrated) force, thereby pressing the container 1 against the lower support 10 and maintaining the container 1 in a locked state within the holding device 9 at a holding position (shown in FIG. 2).

[0019] In each holding device 9, the opposing element 11 is mounted in an idle state and thus rotates freely about the rotation axis Z2 (that is, without applying any type of torque). During use, the electric lower support 10 is rotated about the rotation axis Z2 by the corresponding motor, and then the rotational movement is transmitted to the container 1. The container 1 transmits the rotational movement to the opposing element 11 (the opposing element follows the rotational movement of the container 1 passively because it is mounted in an idle state).

[0020] According to what is shown in Fig. 1, the control unit 6 includes two twin-type control devices 12 arranged side by side. Each control device is configured to optically control the corresponding container 1 carried by the holding device 9. The two control devices 12 operate in parallel, that is, they are formed to operate together to optically control two containers 1 arranged side by side at the same time.

[0021] The control unit 6 further includes an auxiliary conveyor 13. The auxiliary conveyor supports and moves the two control devices 12 along the segment of the control path P back and forth and parallel to the control path P in order to provide the control operation stroke in which the control device 12 moves from the initial position to the final position in synchronization with the supply conveyor 7 and the subsequent return stroke in which the control device 12 moves from the final position to the initial position in the opposite direction to the supply conveyor 7 to the device 12. Needless to say, during the operation process, the two control devices 12 optically control the two corresponding containers 1 carried by the two holding devices 9 (during the operation process, the two control devices 12 move in synchronization with the two corresponding containers 1, and thus "spot" the two stationary containers 1), while during the return process, these control devices do not perform any optical control.

[0022] Specifically, the auxiliary conveyor 13 includes a support body 14 shaped like an arc (so-called boomerang) or a ring. The support body is mounted side by side on the drum 8 so as to rotate about the axis of rotation Z1 and supports two control devices 12. Further, the auxiliary conveyor 13 includes an actuator device 15. The actuator device periodically rotates the support body 14 back and forth. The actuator device 15 may be completely mechanically independent of the rotational movement of the drum 14 (i.e., it can only be electronically synchronized with the rotational movement of the drum 14 by a control chain), or the actuator device 15 can also mechanically obtain motion from the rotational movement of the drum 14.

[0023] The control unit 6 includes two twin-type control devices 16 arranged side by side. The control device 16 is mounted on the support body 14 of the auxiliary conveyor 13 beside the two control devices 12, that is, the two control devices 16 are carried by the auxiliary conveyor 13 (together with the control devices 12) and periodically move back and forth in a reciprocating manner parallel to the control path P. Each control device 16 is configured to detect the presence (and speed) of the rotation of the opposing element 11 of the holding device 9 while the control device 16 is moving in synchronization with the supply conveyor 7 during the operating stroke. These two control devices 16 also operate in parallel. That is, the control devices 16 are formed to work together to optically control the rotation of two opposing elements 11 arranged side by side at the same time.

[0024] The control device 16 is preferably arranged upstream of the control device 12 so as to pre-check the correct rotation function in the holding device 9 by the control device 16 before using the rotation of the device 9 to optically control the container 1 carried by the holding device 9 by the control device 12.

[0025] In the case of the embodiments shown in the attached drawings, each control device 16 is an optical control device configured to frame the opposing element 11 of the holding device 9. Specifically, the opposing element 11 of each holding device 9 has, on the outside, a graphic element 17 (shown in FIG. 2) having an asymmetry about the axis of rotation Z2 so as to emphasize the rotational movement. (For example, the graphic element 17 can alternately show black stripes and white stripes).

[0026] According to different embodiments not shown, each control device 16 may be an induction control device. In this embodiment, each opposing element 11 has, on the outside, a plurality of protrusions formed of a ferromagnetic material. (In the above embodiment, the control device 16 is formed by a kind of phononic wheel). The position of the ferromagnetic material is detected by the control device 16. Specifically, the protrusions of the opposing element 11 of each holding device 9 are arranged in a ring shape about the axis of rotation Z2 in order to emphasize the rotational movement.

[0027] According to a further embodiment not shown, each control device 16 includes a magnetic sensor disposed on the opposing element 11 of the holding device 9 and a plurality of magnets. Specifically, the magnets are arranged in a ring shape about the axis of rotation Z2 on the opposing element 11 of each holding device 9 in order to emphasize the rotational movement.

[0028] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, two control devices 12 for optically controlling the container 1 and two control devices 16 for detecting the presence (and rotational speed) of the rotation of the opposing element 11 are provided. In another embodiment shown in FIG. 4, only two control devices 16 are provided, and both of these control devices 16 optically control the container 1 and detect the presence of the rotation of the opposing element 11. In other words, in another embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the function of the control device 12 is performed by the control device 16. The control device 16 must therefore perform a dual function, namely the optical control of the container 1 and the detection of the presence of the rotation of the opposing element 11.

[0029] In the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, two control devices 12 operating in parallel and two control devices 16 operating in parallel are provided. Needless to say, the number of control devices 12 and 16 can be various. For example, only one control device 12 may be provided, only one control device 16 may be provided, three or more than four control devices 12 may be provided, or three or more than four control devices 16 may be provided (furthermore, the number of control devices 12 may be different from the number of control devices 16, for example, three control devices 12 and two control devices 16 can also be provided).

[0030] What is important to note in connection with FIGS. 2 and 3 is that when the holding device 9 is framed by the control device 16, the holding device 9 is rotated about the corresponding axis of rotation Z2, thereby imparting rotation to each container 1. This serves for the subsequent optical control of the container 1 carried out by the control device 12. That is, in order to carry out so-called "particle control", the container 1 is rotated at high speed upstream of the control device 12 (i.e., at the control device 16), and subsequently in the control device 12, the container 1 is suddenly stopped in order to (by the control device 12) acquire an image showing the inertial movement of the contents inside the container 1. Alternatively, simply in order to enable the control device 16 to control the correct rotation of the opposing element 11, the holding device 9 is rotated about the corresponding axis of rotation Z2 when framed by the control device 16.

[0031] What is important to note in connection with FIG. 4 is that the optical control carried out by the control device 16 can be used to carry out both the control of the container 1 and the control of the correct rotation of the opposing element 11, i.e., so-called "cosmetic control", only when the control device 16 can rotate the container 1 (slowly) about the corresponding axis of rotation Z2. Cosmetic control requires framing the development state over the entire circumference of the container 1.

[0032] The embodiments described herein can be combined with each other without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0033] The above control unit 6 has a number of advantages.

[0034] Specifically, the control unit 6 has a lower manufacturing cost than a similar well-known control unit 6. This is because only two control devices 16 are required for all the holding devices 9 of the drum 8 (even when there are dozens of them). These two control devices can periodically check the correct rotation of the opposing elements 11 of all the holding devices 9.

[0035] Furthermore, since the control device 16 can operate while moving in synchronization with the supply conveyor 7, even when the control device 16 is relatively simple and low-cost, it can simply and yet extremely effectively check the correct rotation of the opposing elements 11 of the holding device 9. The invention disclosed in this specification includes the following. [Aspect 1] A control unit (6) for controlling a container (1), a plurality of holding devices (9), each configured to house the container (1) and configured to rotate the container (1) on itself about a first longitudinal axis of rotation (Z2); a supply conveyor (7) for moving the holding device (9) along a control path (P); at least one first control device (16); an auxiliary conveyor (13) for moving the first control device (16) parallel to and along a segment of the control path (P) back and forth with respect to the control path (P) so that the first control device (16) moves in an operating stroke in which the first control device (16) moves from an initial position to a final position in synchronization with the supply conveyor (7) and in a subsequent return stroke in which the first control device (16) moves from the final position to the initial position in a direction opposite to that of the supply conveyor (7); including in a form in which each holding device (9) includes a lower support (10) rotatably mounted with the lower portion of the container (1) placed thereon and an opposing element (11) rotatably mounted and engaging with the upper portion of the container (1), the control unit (6), characterized in that the first control device (16) carried by the auxiliary conveyor (13) is configured to detect the presence of rotation of the opposing element (11) of the holding device (9) while the first control device (16) is moving in synchronization with the supply conveyor (7) during the operating stroke. [Aspect 2] The control unit (6) according to Aspect 1, wherein the first control device (16) is configured to detect the rotational speed of the opposing element (11) of the holding device (9) while the first control device (16) is moving in synchronization with the supply conveyor (7) during the operating stroke. [Aspect 3] The control unit (6) according to aspect 1 or 2, wherein the first control device (16) is an optical control device and is configured to frame the opposing element (11) of the holding device (9). [Aspect 4] The control unit (6) according to aspect 3, wherein the opposing element (11) of each holding device (9) has a graphic element (17) that is asymmetrical about a first axis of rotation (Z2) so as to emphasize a rotational movement on the outside. [Aspect 5] The first control device (16) is configured to optically control the container (1) carried by the holding device (9) while the first control device (16) is moving in synchronization with the supply conveyor (7) during the operating stroke. The control unit (6) according to aspect 3 or 4. [Aspect 6] The control unit (6) according to aspect 1 or 2, wherein the first control device (16) is an induction control device. [Aspect 7] Including a second control device (12), the second control device (12) is mounted on the auxiliary conveyor (13) beside the first control device (16), and the second control device (12) is moving in synchronization with the supply conveyor (7) during the operating stroke. The control unit (6) according to any one of aspects 1 to 4, which is configured to optically control the container (1) carried by the holding device (9). [Aspect 8] The control device (16) is configured to detect the presence of rotation of the opposing element (11) of the first holding device (9), while the second control device (12) is downstream of the first holding device (9) with respect to the direction of movement of the supply conveyor (7). The control unit (6) according to aspect 7, which is configured to optically control the container (1) carried by the second holding device (9). [Aspect 9] Including at least two first control devices (16), the first control devices are arranged beside each other, both are carried by the auxiliary conveyor (13), and are configured to operate simultaneously to detect the presence of rotation of the opposing elements (11) of the two corresponding holding devices (9). The control unit (6) according to any one of aspects 1 to 8. [Aspect 10] The control unit (6) according to any one of Aspects 1 to 9, wherein the supply conveyor (7) includes a drum (8), the drum supports the holding device (9), and is mounted to rotate about a second rotation axis (Z1) parallel to the first rotation axis (Z2). [Aspect 11] A control method for controlling a container (1), a plurality of holding devices (9) each configured to accommodate the container (1) and configured to rotate the container (1) on the holding device (9) about a longitudinal rotation axis (Z2) are moved by a supply conveyor (7) and along a control path (P), at least one control device (16) is moved by an auxiliary conveyor (13) parallel to and along a segment of the control path (P) back and forth with respect to the control path (P) so that the control device (16) moves in an operating stroke from an initial position to a final position in synchronization with the supply conveyor (7) and in a subsequent return stroke from the final position to the initial position in a direction opposite to that of the supply conveyor (7). including a step, in a form in which each holding device (9) includes a lower support (10) mounted to rotate and on which a lower portion of the container (1) is placed, and an opposing element (11) mounted to rotate and engaging with an upper portion of the container (1), the control method is characterized in that it includes a further step of detecting the presence of rotation of the opposing element (11) of the holding device (9) by the control device (16) carried by the auxiliary conveyor (13) while the control device (16) is moving in synchronization with the supply conveyor (7) during the operating stroke.

Claims

1. A control unit (6) for controlling a container (1), a plurality of holding devices (9), each configured to receive the container (1) and configured to rotate the container (1) on itself about a first longitudinal axis of rotation (Z2), a supply conveyor (7) for moving the holding devices (9) along a control path (P), at least one first control device (16), an auxiliary conveyor (13) for moving the first control device (16) back and forth parallel to and along a segment of the control path (P) of the control path (P) so that the first control device (16) moves in an operating stroke in which the first control device (16) moves from an initial position to a final position in synchronization with the supply conveyor (7) and a subsequent return stroke in which the first control device (16) moves from the final position to the initial position in a direction opposite to that of the supply conveyor (7), comprising, in a form in which each holding device (9) includes a lower support (10) rotatably mounted and on which a lower portion of the container (1) is placed and an opposing element (11) rotatably mounted and engaging an upper portion of the container (1), the control unit (6) is configured such that the first control device (16) carried by the auxiliary conveyor (13) detects the presence of rotation of the opposing element (11) of the holding device (9) while the first control device (16) is moving in synchronization with the supply conveyor (7) during the operating stroke, the control unit (6), characterized in that the first control device (16) is an optical control device and is configured to frame the opposing element (11) of the holding device (9) while the first control device (16) is moving in synchronization with the supply conveyor (7) during the operating stroke.

2. The control unit (6) according to claim 1, wherein the first control device (16) is configured to detect the rotational speed of the opposing element (11) of the holding device (9) while moving in a state synchronized with the supply conveyor (7) during the operating stroke.

3. The control unit (6) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the opposing element (11) of each holding device (9) has a graphic element (17) that is asymmetrical about the first longitudinal rotation axis (Z2) so as to emphasize the rotational movement outwardly.

4. The control unit (6) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, including a second control device (12), wherein the second control device (12) is mounted on the auxiliary conveyor (13) beside the first control device (16), and is configured to frame the opposing element (11) of the holding device (9) while moving in a state synchronized with the supply conveyor (7) during the operating stroke.

5. Wherein the first control device (16) is configured to detect the presence of rotation of the opposing element (11) of the first holding device (9), while the second control device (12) is configured to frame the opposing element (11) of the second holding device (9) disposed downstream of the first holding device (9) with respect to the moving direction of the supply conveyor (7). The control unit (6) according to claim 4.

6. The control unit (6) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, including at least two first control devices (16), wherein the first control devices are arranged beside each other, both supported by the auxiliary conveyor (13), and configured to operate simultaneously to detect the presence of rotation of the opposing elements (11) of two corresponding holding devices (9).

7. The control unit (6) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the supply conveyor (7) includes a drum (8), the drum supports the holding device (9), and is mounted to rotate about a second longitudinal rotation axis (Z1) parallel to the first longitudinal rotation axis (Z2).

8. A control method for controlling a container (1), a plurality of holding devices (9) each configured to house the container (1) and configured to rotate the container (1) on a holding device (9) about a longitudinal rotation axis (Z2) are moved by a supply conveyor (7) and along a control path (P), at least one control device (16) is moved by an auxiliary conveyor (13) parallel to and along a segment of the control path (P) so that the control device (16) moves in an operating stroke from an initial position to a final position in synchronization with the supply conveyor (7) and in a subsequent return stroke in a direction opposite to the supply conveyor (7) from the final position to the initial position, including steps, in a form in which each holding device (9) includes a lower support (10) rotatably mounted with the lower part of the container (1) placed thereon and an opposing element (11) rotatably mounted and engaging with the upper part of the container (1), the control method being, including a further step of detecting the presence of rotation of the opposing element (11) of the holding device (9) by the control device (16) carried by the auxiliary conveyor (13) while the control device (16) is moving in synchronization with the supply conveyor (7) during the operating stroke, wherein the control device (16) is an optical control device and the control device (16) is configured to frame the opposing element (11) of the holding device (9) while the control device (16) is moving in synchronization with the supply conveyor (7) during the operating stroke. A control method characterized by this.

Images