Container Processing System

Abstract

To provide a container processing system adapted not to feed a container to particular container support means out of a plurality of container support means a rotary container processor comprises.SOLUTION: A container processing system includes a container feeder having a feed conveyor that carries a container 2 and a screw 19 that engages with the container 2 over the feed conveyor and transfers the container 2 downstream. The screw 19 is divided as an upstream screw 21 and a downstream screw 22, and they are rotatably driven by separate servo motors. If no container 2 is fed onto a particular bottle table of a weight charger, the upstream screw 21 is accelerated in speed after decelerated relatively to the downstream screw 22. This increases the spacing between preceding and succeeding ones of containers 2 (2X, 3X), maintaining a greater spacing therebetween. Due to this, no container 2 is fed onto the particular bottle table of the weight charger.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a container processing system, and more particularly to a container processing system that is provided with a plurality of container support means for supporting containers and that is capable of preventing containers from being supplied to specific container support means. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, as described in Patent Document 1, a rotary type weight filling device has been widely known which includes a plurality of container support means arranged at equal circumferential intervals on the outer periphery of a rotating body, a plurality of filling means arranged above each container support means for filling liquid into containers supported by the container support means, a weight measuring means for measuring the weight of the filling liquid discharged into the container through the filling means, and a control means for controlling the opening and closing of the filling means in response to signals from the weight measuring means. In container processing equipment such as rotary weight filling machines, the containers to be processed are transported by a supply conveyor, separated at predetermined intervals by a screw, and then transferred to a supply wheel. The containers held and rotated by the supply wheel are transferred to a rotating container support means at a container supply position. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-230836 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] For example, in a rotary gravimetric filling device, if a filling nozzle or load cell malfunctions, production will generally continue without filling using the corresponding filling nozzle. In this system, containers are also supplied to the container support means corresponding to the filling nozzle that is not filling, and the container is rejected as a defective product at a downstream position. In this case, at least one container is rejected per rotation of the gravimetric filling device, which means that a large number of containers are rejected downstream, requiring a large space to accommodate the rejected containers. Furthermore, there is a risk that the containers may be damaged when rejected, increasing the probability of container waste. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a container-supplying system, comprising: a plurality of container support means provided on a rotating body at a predetermined pitch along the outer periphery of the rotating body and supporting containers; a plurality of processing mechanisms provided on the rotating body corresponding to each of the container support means and performing required processing on the containers supported by the container support means; a container supply device that supplies containers to the container support means of the rotating body; and a control device that controls the operation of the plurality of processing mechanisms and the container supply device, The container supply device is a container processing system including a supply conveyor for transporting containers, and a screw for transporting containers downstream by engaging a spiral groove formed on an outer circumferential surface with the container on the supply conveyor, the screws include a downstream screw disposed downstream in the conveying direction and rotated by a first drive mechanism, and an upstream screw disposed upstream in the conveying direction and rotated by a second drive mechanism, and operations of the first drive mechanism and the second drive mechanism are controlled by the control device; The above container treatment system When supplying containers to all of the container support means, while the rotor is rotating, the downstream screw and the upstream screw are rotated at the same speed, and the containers are engaged with the spiral grooves formed on the outer circumferential surfaces of both screws to transport them downstream, and The above container treatment systemWhen a container is not supplied to the specific container support means in the method, the speed of the upstream screw is decelerated and then accelerated relative to the downstream screw at least once during one rotation of the rotor, thereby widening the gap between adjacent containers engaged in the spiral grooves and preventing the container from being supplied to the specific container support means. At the same time, the supply of containers to the other container support means continues. It is characterized by the following. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to this configuration, the container processing system Among the multiple container support means provided in the container supply system, it is possible to supply no containers to specific container support means and supply containers to the other container support means. For example, in a container processing system equipped with multiple bottle tables (container support means) and multiple corresponding filling nozzles, containers can be supplied to other bottle tables that are in good condition, rather than being supplied to a specific bottle table with a malfunctioning filling nozzle, etc. This eliminates the need to reject unnecessary containers downstream of the container processing system, thereby preventing damage to containers that would otherwise be caused by rejection. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] Cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in Figure 1. [Figure 5] 5(A) to 5(D) are operation process diagrams when the screw shown in FIG. 2 does not supply containers to a specific bottle table. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The present invention will now be described with reference to the illustrated embodiment. In FIG. 1, 1 is a container processing system. This container processing system 1 transports a large number of containers 2 in a line, fills each container 2 with a predetermined weight of filling liquid using a rotary weight filling device 3, and then attaches a cap to the upper end opening of the container 2 using a rotary capper 4. The container processing system 1 includes a weight filling device 3 as a container processing device that fills a predetermined weight of filling liquid into a container 2, a supply wheel 5 and an intermediate wheel 6 arranged adjacent to the upstream position and downstream position of the weight filling device 3, a container supply device 11 arranged adjacent to the upstream position of the supply wheel 5 and supplying containers 2 on the supply conveyor 7 to each bottle table 8 of the weight filling device 3 via the supply wheel 5, a capper 4 arranged adjacent to the downstream position of the intermediate wheel 6 and attaching a cap to the upper end opening of the container 2, a discharge wheel 12 arranged adjacent to the downstream position of the capper 4, a discharge conveyor 13 that transports processed containers 2 handed over from the discharge wheel 12 downstream, and a control device 14 that controls the operation of these components.

[0009] As shown in Figures 1 and 4, the gravitational filling device 3 serving as a container processing device includes a rotor 3A that is rotationally driven by a servo motor M1, and load cells 17 (weighing scales) are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer periphery of this rotor 3A. A bottle stand 8 is attached to each load cell 17 as a container support means for supporting the containers 2, and a filling nozzle 18 is provided above each bottle stand 8 in correspondence with the bottle stand 8. In this embodiment, although only a portion is shown in Figure 1, a total of 32 bottle stands 8, numbered 1 to 32, and filling nozzles 18 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the rotor 3A. The servo motor M1 and the on-off valve 18A of the filling nozzle 18 are controlled in operation by the control device 14, and the weight measured by each load cell 17 is input to the control device 14 at all times. When the servo motor M1 is operated and the rotor 3A is rotating in the direction of the arrow, a container 2 is supplied from the container supply device 11 via the supply star wheel 5 to each bottle table 8 of the gravitational filling device 3 at supply position A and supported thereon, and the control device 14 opens the on-off valve 18A of the filling nozzle 18 on the bottle table 8, thereby starting to fill the container 2 with the filling liquid. The weight of the container 2 after filling of the filling liquid into the container 2 has started is input to the control device 14 by the load cell 17, and the control device 14 closes the on-off valve 18A when the weight measured by the load cell 17 reaches a predetermined weight. This allows the predetermined weight of filling liquid to be filled into the container 2. The container 2 filled with the filling liquid by the gravimetric filling device 3 is then transferred from the bottle stand 8 to the capper 4 via the rotating intermediate wheel 6, and a cap is attached to the upper opening by the capper 4. The container 2 is then discharged onto the discharge conveyor 13 via the discharge wheel 12, and is transported downstream. The drive shafts of the supply wheel 5, the rotor 3A of the weight filling device 3, the intermediate wheel 6, the capper 4 and the discharge wheel 12 are interlocked, and are configured to rotate in the direction of the arrows synchronously when the control device 14 drives the servo motor M1. 1, a plurality of pockets 5A (container holding portions) are formed in the circumferential direction of the outer periphery of the supply wheel 5 at the same pitch as the pitch of adjacent bottle tables 8 of the gravitational filling device 3. While the gravitational filling device 3 and supply wheel 5 are rotating in the direction of the arrow, containers 2 are transferred from the container supply device 11 to the pockets 5A at transfer position B and held therein, and then, as the supply wheel 5 rotates, the containers 2 are transported to supply position A and supplied onto each bottle table 8 of the gravitational filling device 3.

[0010] However, this embodiment is characterized in that if it is determined that some kind of malfunction has occurred in the load cell 17, on-off valve 18A, etc. of the weight filling device 3 and normal processing is difficult, the container supply device 11 will not supply containers 2 to the specific bottle stand 8 corresponding to the load cell 17 or on-off valve 18A, while continuing to supply containers 2 to the other bottle stands 8. As shown in Figure 1, the container supply device 11 includes a supply conveyor 7 that transports a large number of containers 2 along a linear transport path from an upstream position not shown to a transfer position B to the supply wheel 5, and a screw 19 that is rotatably arranged above the transport process of the supply conveyor 7 and aligns the containers 2 on the supply conveyor 7 in a row at a predetermined interval. The containers 2 to be processed are PET containers made of synthetic resin, and are supplied in a closely packed state to a linear supply conveyor 7. The operation of the motor that drives the supply conveyor 7 is controlled by a control device 14, which controls the supply conveyor 7 via a motor (not shown) to travel at a predetermined speed in the direction of the arrow.

[0011] 1 to 3, screw 19 is disposed on the conveying path of supply conveyor 7 in parallel with the conveying direction, and a spiral groove 19A with a semicircular cross section is formed on the outer circumferential surface of this screw 19. In addition, a plate-shaped guide member 20 is disposed on supply conveyor 7 at the same height as screw 19 and parallel thereto. When the supply conveyor 7 runs at a predetermined speed while the screw 19 is stopped, the leading container 2 reaches the upstream end of the screw 19 and stops. The following containers 2 then collide with the preceding containers and stop, causing them to accumulate in a dense state upstream of the screw 19. When a detection means (not shown) detects that a predetermined number of containers 2 have accumulated, the screw 19 is rotated at a predetermined speed, and the containers 2 accumulated on the supply conveyor 7 are sequentially fed between the guide member 20 and the spiral groove 19A of the screw 19. The bodies of the containers 2 engage with the groove 19A, aligning the preceding and succeeding containers 2 in a line in the conveying direction at a predetermined pitch before being transferred to the downstream transfer position B. Note that the number of containers 2 transported downstream by the screw 19 and the number of containers 2 transported by the supply conveyor 7 are set to be almost the same, so the number of containers accumulated upstream of the screw 19 remains almost constant. The pitch (spacing) of the adjacent containers 2 that are sequentially engaged and separated by the grooves 19A of the screw 19 is the same as the pitch of adjacent bottle tables 8 of the weight filling device 3 and the pitch of adjacent pockets 5A of the supply wheel 5.

[0012] The screw 19 in this embodiment is composed of a downstream screw 21 and an upstream screw 22, which are divided axially into two parts on the downstream and upstream sides of the conveying direction, and the downstream screw 21 is connected to a servo motor M2, and the upstream screw 22 is connected to a servo motor M3. 2 and 3, the outer diameter and axial dimensions of the downstream screw 21 and the upstream screw 22 are set to be the same, and rotating shafts 23 and 24 are integrally embedded at the axial centers of both screws 21 and 22. In addition, the spiral groove 19A is formed around the outer periphery of the downstream screw 21 and the upstream screw 22. Note that the groove 19A is omitted in FIG.

[0013] End faces 21A and 22A, which form boundary 19B between downstream screw 21 and upstream screw 22, are adjacent to each other with a small gap maintained therebetween, and bottomed holes 21B and 22B are formed in end faces 21A and 22A in the axial direction. The upstream end of rotating shaft 23 is a cylindrical section 23A with an enlarged diameter, which is housed in bottomed hole 21B. The downstream end of rotating shaft 24 is a cylindrical section 24A with an enlarged diameter, which is housed in bottomed hole 22B. A small-diameter bearing 25 is attached to cylindrical section 23A, and a large-diameter bearing 26 is attached to cylindrical section 24A. The small diameter portion of the stepped cylindrical shaft member 27 is fitted into the inner race of the bearing 25, and the large diameter portion of the shaft member 27 is fitted into the inner race of the bearing . The tip of a thin plate-shaped support member 28 is connected to the axial center of the shaft member 27. This support member 28 extends outward through the gap at the boundary 19B between both end faces 21A, 22A of the screws 21, 22, and has an end (not shown) connected to a fixed frame. As a result, the screws 21, 22 are supported horizontally and positioned coaxially, allowing them to rotate independently. As described above, the downstream end of the downstream screw 21 is connected to the servo motor M2, and the upstream end of the upstream screw 22 is connected to the servo motor M3. The operation of these servo motors M2 and M3 is controlled by the control device 14. The control device 14 rotates the servo motors M2 and M3 individually at required speeds, thereby enabling switching between normal operation and thinning operation, which will be described in detail later.

[0014] In other words, when there are no abnormalities in the filling nozzles 18 and load cells 17 equipped on the gravitational filling device 3, and containers 2 are supplied to all bottle tables 8 and filled with filling liquid while the rotor 3A of the gravitational filling device 3 is rotating, that is, during normal operation, the operation of the screw 19 is as follows. The control device 14 operates the servo motors M1 to M3 to control the rotational speeds of the rotating body 3A, the downstream screw 21, and the upstream screw 22 so that the processing capacity of the gravitational filling device 3 and the screw 19 are the same. For example, if the gravitational filling device 3 rotates at a rotational speed that processes 320 containers 2 per minute, the downstream screw 21 and the upstream screw 22 are also rotated in the same direction in synchronization at a rotational speed that sends 320 containers 2 per minute to the delivery position B. Then, when a container 2 reaches the upstream end of the screw 19 on the supply conveyor 7, it engages with the spiral groove 19A of the screw 19 and is transported downstream, and the following containers 2 also sequentially engage with the groove 19A and are transported downstream. As the containers 2 are conveyed while engaging with the grooves 19A of the screw 19, the spacing between the preceding and succeeding containers 2 is widened so that the pitch is the same as that of the adjacent bottle tables 8 of the gravitational filling device 3 and the adjacent pockets 5A of the supply wheel 5, and when each container 2 reaches the transfer position B of the supply wheel 5, it is received in each pocket 5A of the rotating supply wheel 5 and is transported in that state and supplied to each bottle table 8 of the rotating gravitational filling device 3 at the supply position A (see Figures 1 and 2). As the rotor 3A rotates, the containers 2 on each bottle table 8 are filled with a predetermined weight of filling liquid by the filling nozzles 18 and load cells 17, and then they are transferred to the capper 4 via the intermediate wheel 6, where a cap is attached, and then discharged via the discharge holes 12 to the discharge conveyor 13.

[0015] Meanwhile, a reject mechanism (not shown) that rejects defective containers is disposed during the transport process of the discharge conveyor 13, and when this reject mechanism ejects a defective container 2 after filling from the discharge conveyor 13, the reject information is input to the control device 14. When the control device 14 receives reject information from the reject mechanism and recognizes that containers 2 processed by a specific filling nozzle 18 in the weight filling device 3 or its corresponding load cell 17 are being rejected continuously, it determines that the opening / closing valve 18A of the specific filling nozzle 18 or its corresponding load cell 17 is faulty and transitions the supply of containers 2 by the container supply device 11 from the normal operation described above to thinning operation. Here, for example, if the third filling nozzle 18 or the load cell 17 among the first to 32nd filling nozzles 18 equipped on the weight filling device 3 is determined to be defective, the control device 14 first stops the filling of the filling liquid by the third filling nozzle 18 and switches to thinning operation in which containers 2 are not supplied to the third bottle stand 8 corresponding to the third filling nozzle 18.

[0016] In this embodiment, during the normal operation, the containers 2 on the supply conveyor 7 are temporarily stopped by a stopper (not shown) at a position upstream of the screw 19, and in this state, all of the containers 2 downstream of the stopper are supplied by the container supply device 11 via the supply wheel 5 to the bottle table 8 of the weight filling device 3, whereupon the filling nozzle 18 fills the containers 2 with the filling liquid and the capper 4 caps them.After all of the containers 2 downstream of the stopper (not shown) are discharged onto the discharge conveyor 13, the system switches to thinning operation. First, the control device 14 is set so that no containers 2 are supplied to the third bottle stand 8, and a thinning operation is started. When the thinning operation is started, the control device 14 retracts a stopper (not shown) that has been stopping the containers 2 on the upstream side of the screw 19, so that the containers 2 on the supply conveyor 2 are accumulated in order, starting with the container 2 that has reached the upstream end of the screw 19. When a predetermined number of containers 2 have accumulated, the control device 14 starts supplying the containers 2 to the gravitational filling device 3 by driving the servo motors M1, M2, and M3.

[0017] Here, the operation of the downstream screw 21 and the upstream screw 22 during thinning operation will be described with reference to FIG. When the supply of containers 2 to the weight filling device 3 begins, the control device 14 recognizes that the container 2 indicated by X2 in Figure 5 is the container 2 to be supplied to the second bottle stand 8 located one before the third bottle stand 8 that has been determined not to require supply, and recognizes that the subsequent container 2 indicated by X3 is a specific container 2 that should be supplied not to the third bottle stand 8 but to the fourth bottle stand 8 located one after the third bottle stand 8. Then, with the downstream screw 21 and the upstream screw 22 rotating synchronously at the same speed (see FIG. 5(A)), when the center of the container 2 being transferred, indicated by X2, reaches the boundary 19B between the two screws 21 and 22, the upstream screw 22 begins to decelerate while maintaining the speed of the downstream screw 21 (FIG. 5(B)). Regarding the timing for decelerating the upstream screw 22, decelerating the upstream screw 22 causes the downstream screw 21 and the groove 19A formed in the upstream screw 21 to become misaligned at the boundary 19B. Therefore, if the upstream screw 22 is decelerated before the center of the container 2 indicated by X2 reaches the boundary 19B, there is a risk that the container 2 indicated by X2 will not be able to transfer properly onto the downstream screw 21 and will become caught at the boundary 19B. Therefore, it is preferable to decelerate the upstream screw 22 after the center of the container 2 indicated by X2 has reached the boundary 19B.

[0018] The upstream screw 22 is then stopped, and after a predetermined time has elapsed, the upstream screw 22 is rotated again and begins to accelerate. While the upstream screw 22 is decelerating, stopping, and accelerating in this manner, the downstream screw 21 maintains its previous rotational speed, and the container 2 indicated by X2 and its adjacent downstream container 2 indicated by X1 are transported downstream as they are, thereby widening the gap between the container 2 indicated by X2 and the specific container 2 indicated by X3 (Figure 5(C)). Then, when the tip of the specific container 2 indicated by X3 reaches the boundary portion 19B, the acceleration of the upstream screw 22 ends, and the upstream screw 22 is controlled to rotate at the same speed as the downstream screw 21. As a result, the spiral groove 19A returns to a continuous state similar to the state in Figure 5(A), and the interval between the container 2 indicated by X2 and the specific container 2 indicated by X3 is expanded to two pitches (Figure 5(D)).

[0019] 1, after the container 2 indicated by X2 has been transferred to the pocket 5A of the supply wheel 5 corresponding to the second bottle table at transfer position B in Fig. 1, even when the pocket 5A corresponding to the third bottle table located downstream reaches transfer position B, the specific container 2 indicated by X3 is not conveyed, so the pocket 5A corresponding to the third bottle table remains empty and is transferred to supply position A. After that, when the pocket 5A corresponding to the fourth bottle table located downstream of the pocket 5A corresponding to the third bottle table reaches transfer position B, the specific container 2 indicated by X3 is conveyed by the groove 19A of the downstream screw 21 and is transferred to the pocket 5A corresponding to the fourth bottle table. The containers 2 after the specific container 2 indicated by X3 are transported by the downstream screw 21 and the upstream screw 22, which rotate at the same speed, so that they are transported with a gap of one pitch between them and the container 2 transported in front of them, and are sequentially handed over to the pocket 5A of the supply wheel and supplied to the fifth bottle table and onwards. Furthermore, since the third bottle stand 8 that does not supply a container 2 reaches the supply position A once per rotation of the rotor 3A of the weight filling device 3, while the thinning operation is continuing, the upstream screw 22 is slowed down, stopped, and accelerated once per rotation of the rotor 3A to prevent the specific container 2 from being supplied to the third bottle stand 8.

[0020] As described above, in this embodiment, when containers 2 are not supplied to a specific bottle table 8 of the weight filling device 3, the container supply device 11 is switched from normal operation to thinning operation, and the upstream screw 22 is slowed down, stopped, and accelerated at least once during one rotation of the weight filling device 3, thereby stopping the supply of containers 2 to only the specific bottle table 8, while continuing to supply containers 2 to the other bottle tables 8. Therefore, in the event of a malfunction in the filling nozzle 18 or the like of the weight filling device 3, containers 2 will not be supplied to unnecessary bottle tables 8, thereby preventing unnecessary damage to the containers 2 and preventing them from being rejected from the discharge conveyor 13.

[0021] In the above embodiment, the container processing device is assumed to be a gravimetric filling device 3, but the container processing device may be a filling device other than a gravimetric filling device, or a processing device other than a filling device such as a capper or labeler. In addition, in the above embodiment, thinning operation is described as a case in which containers 2 are not supplied to one bottle table 8 in the weight filling device 3, but it is also possible to perform thinning operation for a consecutive number of bottles, such as two or three consecutive bottles, and it is also possible to perform thinning operation for discontinuous bottle tables 8, such as the third, seventh, and thirtieth bottle tables. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, when thinning operation is performed, the upstream screw 22 is decelerated, stopped, and then accelerated. However, depending on conditions such as the processing capacity of the container processing device and the size of the container, it may be possible to accelerate immediately after decelerating without stopping. In addition, if the container 2 is difficult to stand on its own, the container 2 may be transported in a state where it is housed in a hakama. [Explanation of symbols]

[0022] 1... Container processing system 2... Container 7... Supply conveyor 8... Bottle stand (container support means) 11...container supply device 14...control device 18...Filling nozzle (processing mechanism) 19...Screw 19A...spiral groove 19B...boundary 21...Downstream screw 22...Upstream screw M2...Servo motor (first drive mechanism) M3...Servo motor (second drive mechanism)

Claims

1. The apparatus comprises a plurality of container support means provided on the rotating body at a predetermined pitch along the outer periphery of the rotating body to support containers, a plurality of processing mechanisms provided on the rotating body corresponding to each container support means to perform required processing on the containers supported by the container support means, a container supply device that supplies containers to the container support means of the rotating body, and a control device that controls the operation of the plurality of processing mechanisms and the container supply device, The container supply device is a container processing system including a supply conveyor for transporting containers, and a screw for transporting containers downstream by engaging a spiral groove formed on an outer circumferential surface with the container on the supply conveyor, the screws include a downstream screw disposed downstream in the conveying direction and rotated by a first drive mechanism, and an upstream screw disposed upstream in the conveying direction and rotated by a second drive mechanism, and operations of the first drive mechanism and the second drive mechanism are controlled by the control device; When supplying containers to all of the container support means of the container processing system, while the rotor is rotating, the downstream screw and the upstream screw are rotated at the same speed, and the containers are engaged with the spiral grooves formed on the outer circumferential surfaces of both screws and transported downstream, A container processing system characterized in that, when a container is not supplied to a specific container support means in the container processing system, the speed of the upstream screw is decelerated and then accelerated relative to the downstream screw at least once during one rotation of the rotating body, thereby widening the gap between adjacent containers engaged in the spiral grooves, thereby preventing containers from being supplied to the specific container support means, while continuing to supply containers to other container support means.

2. The container processing system described in claim 1, characterized in that when a container is not supplied to a specific container support means in the container processing system, the upstream screw is started to decelerate when the container is located at the boundary between the upstream screw and the downstream screw, and then the acceleration of the upstream screw is stopped before the container one container upstream reaches the boundary, thereby widening the gap between adjacent containers.

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