Container Processing System

Abstract

To not provide a container to specific container support means out of multiple container support means that a rotary type container processing device has.SOLUTION: A weight filling device 3 has on its outer periphery filling nozzles 18 and bin tables 8 at an equal pitch in the circumferential direction. A container supply device 11 includes: multiple holding means 21 that holds and transports a container 2; and a linear transport device 22 that moves the holding means 21. When the container 2 is not supplied to a specific bin table 8, by reducing the speed of the holding means 21 that hold a container 2 (x4) scheduled to be supplied to a specific bin table 8 in a transport area C, a clearance of 2 pitches' worth of bin tables 8 is made with the container 2 (X3) held by the holding means 21 that travel one ahead thereof, thereby the container 2 is not supplied to the specific bin table 8.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

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 as set forth in claim 1 A container processing 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 to support containers; a plurality of processing mechanisms provided on the rotating body corresponding to each of the 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 operation of the plurality of processing mechanisms and the container supply device, The container supply device includes a supply conveyor for transporting containers, a plurality of holding means for holding the containers on the supply conveyor, and a plurality of holding means for holding the containers on the supply conveyor. the above Linear drive unit for individual movement along the feeding direction of the supply conveyor and a space widening means rotatably provided upstream of the linear drive device for widening the space between the containers. Preparation, the above Each holding means can hold and transport a container and then supply it to the container support means. When a container is not supplied to a specific container support means on the rotating body, the control device The linear drive device is controlled so that a gap is formed between the adjacent holding means at a position corresponding to the specific container support means by decelerating the upstream holding means of two adjacent holding means and decelerating the gap widening means, thereby preventing containers from being supplied to the specific container support means. It is something. The present invention as set forth in claim 2 is a container processing system comprising a plurality of container support means provided on the rotor at a predetermined pitch along the outer periphery of the rotor to support containers, a plurality of processing mechanisms provided on the rotor corresponding to each of the 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 rotor, and a control device that controls operation of the plurality of processing mechanisms and the container supply device, The container supply device includes a supply conveyor for transporting containers, a plurality of holding means for holding containers on the supply conveyor, and a linear drive device for individually moving each holding means along the conveying direction of the supply conveyor, and is capable of holding and transporting containers with each holding means and then supplying them to the container support means, the linear drive device provides an acceleration section sandwiching a normal speed section in a transfer area in which the containers are held and transferred by the holding means, When containers are to be supplied to all of the container support means of the rotating body, the control device accelerates the rear holding means of two successive holding means from normal speed to the front holding means in the acceleration section so that the distance between the rear holding means and the front holding means is one pitch of the container support means, When a container is not supplied to a specific container support means on the rotating body, the control device accelerates the rear holding means of two adjacent holding means from normal speed to the front holding means in the acceleration section so that the distance is two pitches of the container support means, thereby forming a gap between the adjacent holding means at a position corresponding to the specific container support means, and controlling the linear drive device so that a container is not supplied to the specific container support means. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to this configuration, among the plurality of container support means provided in the container processing system, the container support means that does not require the supply of containers specific If a container support means is provided, it is possible to stop the supply of containers to that container support means while continuing the supply of containers to the other container support means, thereby providing a container processing system that rejects fewer containers than conventional systems. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the supply state of containers during normal operation. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the supply state of the containers at the start of the thinning operation. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the state in which the containers are spaced apart during thinning operation. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main part taken along line IV-IV in FIG. [Figure 5] 5(A) is a cross-sectional view of the main part taken along line VV in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5(B) is a plan view of the main part in FIG. 5(A). [Figure 6] 6A and 6B are diagrams showing the relationship between the movement speed and movement position of the holding means when containers are supplied by the container supply device shown in FIG. 1, where FIG. 6A shows the relationship during normal operation, FIG. 6B shows the relationship between the movement speed and movement position of a specific holding means during thinning operation, FIG. 6C shows the relationship between the movement speed and movement position of a holding means located one upstream from the specific holding means, and FIG. 6D shows the relationship between the movement speed and movement position of a holding means located two upstream from the specific holding means. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8]8A and 8B are diagrams showing the relationship between the movement speed and movement position of the holding means when supplying containers using the container supply device of FIG. 7, where FIG. 8(A) shows normal operation, FIG. 8(B) shows the relationship between the movement speed and movement position of a specific holding means during thinning operation, and FIG. 8(C) shows the relationship between the movement speed and movement position of a holding means located one upstream of the specific holding means. 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 glass 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 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 comprises 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, a screw 19 that is rotatably arranged above the transport process of the supply conveyor 7 and serves as a means for widening the gap between the containers 2 that move back and forth, and a linear transport device 22 that circulates a plurality of holding means 21 along the transport path of the supply conveyor 7 and transfers the containers 2 held by each holding means 21 to a pocket 5A of the supply wheel 5 at the transfer position B. The containers 2 are made of glass, and adjacent containers 2 are supplied in a single line onto a linear supply conveyor 7. The supply conveyor 7 is driven by a motor (not shown), and the operation of the motor is controlled by a control device 14, which controls the supply conveyor 7 to travel in the direction of the arrow at a predetermined speed. A continuous groove is formed on the outer periphery of the screw 19, and the groove regulates the containers 2 being transported on the supply conveyor 7, thereby widening the gap between the preceding and succeeding containers 2. The screw 19 is rotated by a servo motor M2, the operation of which is controlled by the control device 14. When containers 2 are densely packed onto the supply conveyor 7 while the supply conveyor 7 is traveling at a predetermined speed, the numerous containers 2 on the supply conveyor 7 are aligned in a line in the conveying direction at predetermined intervals by engaging with the rotating screw 19. The pitch of the containers 2 spaced apart by the screw 19 is the same as the pitch of adjacent bottle tables 8 of the gravitational filling device 3 and the pitch of adjacent pockets 5A of the supply wheel 5. The control device 14 controls the rotation speed of the screw 19 via the servo motor M2, thereby adjusting the timing at which each holding means 21 of the linear conveying device 22 holds the container 2 at the downstream end 19A of the screw 19.

[0011] The transport path of the supply conveyor 7 extending from the downstream end 19A of the screw 19 to the transfer position B to the supply star wheel 5 forms a transport area C where the linear transport device 22 holds and transports the container 2. 1 to 5, the linear transport device 22 is equipped with a number of running bodies 24 that can circulate in the direction of the arrows along an elliptical circulating transport path R. These running bodies 24 are driven by linear motors RM operated by the control device 14. In addition, a cam member 23 is disposed on one side of the supply conveyor 7 in the transfer area C for advancing a rod 25 provided on each running body 24 onto the supply conveyor 7. In this embodiment, the container 2 is held and transported from the front and back in the conveying direction by two rods 25 provided on two adjacent running bodies 24, and these two rods 25 provided on the two running bodies 24 constitute the holding means 21. As shown in FIG. 5(A), a pair of upper and lower rails 26A, 26B are arranged along the circulatory transport route R, and a large number of electromagnetic coils 27 serving as stators are arranged in a row without gaps throughout the entire circulatory transport route R. Meanwhile, a pair of rollers 28A, 28B is rotatably provided at the top and bottom of the back of each running body 24. The upper pair of rollers 28A are disposed to sandwich the upper rail 26A and roll freely thereon, and the lower pair of rollers 28B are disposed to sandwich the lower rail 26B and roll freely thereon. This allows the running body 24 to circulate along the circulatory transport route R while being supported vertically. A permanent magnet 29 serving as a mover is attached to the center of the back of the running body 24. A linear motor RM is made up of a permanent magnet 29 provided on each running body 24 and a large number of electromagnetic coils 27 arranged along the circulatory transfer route R. The control device 14 excites the electromagnetic coils 27 at required positions, causing a magnetic force to act on the permanent magnets 29 of the running body 24, causing each running body 24 to run along the circulatory transfer route R. A position signal on the circulatory transfer route R while the running body 24 is running is constantly input to the control device 14. This allows the control device 14 to recognize the position of each running body 24 on the circulatory transfer route R and its position in the transfer area C. The control device 14 receives position signals from the servo motor M1, the servo motor M2, and each running body 24 of the linear conveying device 22, and controls the movement of the servo motor M1, the servo motor M2, and each running body 24 of the linear conveying device 22 in accordance with a predetermined cam curve.

[0012] A guide unit 31 is connected horizontally to the upper end of the traveling body 24, perpendicular to the circulating conveying path R, and a rod 25 is fitted inside the guide unit 31 so as to be movable back and forth outwardly of the circulating conveying path R. A coil spring 32 is attached across the rear end of the rod 25 and the back surface of the guide unit 31, so that the rod 25 is constantly biased in a direction to retreat inwardly of the circulating conveying path R. A support shaft 33 is connected to the center of the rod 25, and this support shaft 33 is slidably engaged with an elongated hole 31A in the upper surface of the guide unit 31. Furthermore, a cam follower 34 is attached to the upper end of the support shaft 31, and this cam follower 34 is adapted to engage with the cam member 23 arranged on one side of the supply conveyor 7. The cam member 23 is disposed substantially only on one side of the supply conveyor 7 corresponding to the transfer region C, and no cam member 23 is disposed in other regions of the circulating transport path R. When the linear motor RM controlled by the control device 14 causes the traveling bodies 24 to travel circulatingly along the circulating transport route R, the rod 25 of each traveling body 24 is positioned at the rear end by the coil spring 32 in an area where the cam member 23 is not arranged. On the other hand, in the transfer area C where the cam member 23 is arranged, the cam follower 34 of each traveling body 24 engages with the cam member 23, and the rod 25 is advanced against the coil spring 32 to the forward end position where it is on the transport conveyor 7. When the screw 19 is rotated by the servo motor M2 and the traveling bodies 24 are driven by the linear motor RM to travel along the circulating transport path R, the containers 2 on the supply conveyor 7 are sequentially held from the front and rear by the pair of advanced rods 25, 25 of adjacent traveling bodies 24 at the downstream end 19A of the screw 19. As described above, the rods 25 of the pair of adjacent traveling bodies 24 form the holding means 21. When the containers 2 held by the holding means 21 are transported through the transfer area C in the transport direction together with the supply conveyor 7, they are delivered to the pocket 5A of the supply wheel 5 at the transfer position B and then supplied to the bottle table 8 of the gravitational filling device 3 at the supply position A. On the other hand, when the traveling body 24 passes the transfer position B to the supply wheel 5, the cam follower 34 moves away from the cam member 23, and the rod 25 is retracted by the coil spring 32 to the original retracted end position.

[0013] Furthermore, this embodiment is configured to switch the supply operation of containers 2 by the container supply device 11 between normal operation when there is no malfunction in the filling nozzle 18 or load cell 17 of the weight filling device 3, and thinning operation when an abnormality occurs in a specific filling nozzle 18 or load cell 17 in the weight filling device 3 and containers 2 are not supplied to the bottle table 8 at that position.

[0014] That is, during normal operation when no abnormality occurs in the filling nozzle 18, the load cell 17, etc. of the gravitational filling device 3, the container supply device 11 supplies the containers 2 in the following manner. When the servo motors M1, M2 and linear motor RM are operated by the control device 14, the containers 2 being transported in a dense state on the supply conveyor 7 are aligned in a row by the screw 19, with the spacing between them being increased to the same pitch as the adjacent bottle tables 8 (see Figure 1). Each container 2 engaged with the screw 19 and transported to its downstream end 19A is successively held by the circulating holding means 21. The spacing (pitch) between each successive holding means 21 and the containers 2 held therein is maintained at the same pitch as the adjacent bottle tables 8 and adjacent pockets 5A. Each holding means 21 holding a container 2 is transported through the transfer area C at the same moving speed (normal speed) as the rotor 3A and the supply wheel 5. The container 2 is then delivered to the pocket 5A of the supply wheel 5 at transfer position B. The container 2 held in the pocket 5A of the supply wheel 5 is transported to transfer position A and supplied from the pocket 5A to the bottle table 8 of the gravitational filling device 3 (see FIG. 1). The moving speed of the holding means 21 at the positions indicated by A to D in FIG. 1 during normal operation is shown in FIG. 6(A). During normal operation, containers 2 supplied onto each bottle stand 8 of the gravimetric filling device 3 at supply position A are filled with a predetermined weight of filling liquid by the filling nozzles 18 and load cells 17 at the corresponding positions as the rotor 3A rotates. After that, the container 2 on the bottle stand 8 that has been filled is transferred to the capper 4 via the intermediate wheel 6, and a cap is attached to the upper opening. After that, the container is discharged from the capper 4 via the discharge wheel 12 onto the discharge conveyor 13 and transported downstream. In this way, during normal operation, containers 2 are supplied to all of the bottle tables 8 of the gravimetric filling device 3, and filling and capping are performed.

[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 are being rejected repeatedly at a specific filling nozzle 18 or the corresponding load cell 17 in the weight filling device 3, it determines that the opening / closing valve 18A of the specific filling nozzle 18 or the 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. As described above, the gravitational filling device 3 has a total of 32 filling nozzles 18, numbered 1 to 32, and the corresponding load cells 17 and bottle tables 8. Here, if the control device 14 determines that, for example, the fourth filling nozzle 18 or load cell 17 is defective, a thinning operation is performed in which containers 2 are not supplied to the fourth filling nozzle 18 or the fourth bottle table 8 corresponding to the fourth filling nozzle 18 or load cell 17. 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.

[0016] First, the control device 14 is set so that no containers 2 are supplied to the fourth bottle stand 8, and a thinning operation is started. Then, the stopper that had been stopping the containers 2 on the upstream side of the screw 19 is retracted, and the alignment and separation of the containers 2 and the sending out of the containers 2 to the transfer area C are resumed by the rotation of the screw 19. Thereafter, the control device 14 recognizes that the container 2 indicated by X3 in Figure 2 is the container 2 to be supplied to the third bottle stand 8 located one before the fourth bottle stand 8 that has been determined not to require supply, and recognizes that the subsequent container 2 indicated by X4 is a specific container 2 to be supplied not to the fourth bottle stand 8, but to the fifth bottle stand 8 located one after the fourth bottle stand 8. 3, when the control device 14 recognizes from the position signal of the holding means 21 that the specific container 2 has been transported to the deceleration section in the transfer region C and has arrived there, the control device 14 continues to move the holding means 21 located downstream, including the holding means 21 holding the container 2 indicated by X3, at the same speed, while decelerating the moving speed of the holding means 21 holding the specific container 2 located upstream and adjacent to the container 2 indicated by X3 by a predetermined amount from normal speed. The control device 14 also decelerates the rotational speed of the screw 19 in accordance with the moving speed of the specific container 2 (see FIG. 6(B)), and also decelerates the holding means 21 moving upstream of the holding means 21 holding the specific container 2 by a predetermined amount from normal speed (see FIGS. 6(C) and (D)). In this way, the holding means 21 holding the specified container 2 is first decelerated in the first half of the deceleration section in Figure 3, and then accelerated in the second half of the deceleration section to return to the original normal speed (the moving speed of the gravitational filling device 3 and the supply wheel 5) (see Figure 6(B)). As a result, the distance between the holding means 21 holding the container 2 indicated by X3 and the holding means 21 holding the specified container 2 indicated by X4, i.e., the distance between the container 2 indicated by X3 and the specified container 2, is formed to be two pitches between adjacent bottle tables 8 (the state in Figure 3). Note that the speed control of the screw 19 and the holding means 21 located upstream of the holding means 21 holding the specified container 2 is also performed in accordance with the speed control of the holding means 21 holding the specified container 2. Then, as the holding means 21 holding the container 2 indicated by X3 and the holding means 21 holding the specific container 2 move at a normal speed while maintaining a distance of two pitches of the bottle table 8, the specific container 2 is not handed over to the pocket 5A of the supply wheel 5 corresponding to the fourth bottle table 8, but is handed over to the pocket 5A corresponding to the fifth bottle table 8 one step behind, and is supplied to the fifth bottle table 8 at supply position A. Furthermore, since the fourth bottle stand 8 reaches the supply position A once per rotation of the rotor 3A of the weight filling device 3, it is necessary to control the supply of a specific container 2 to the fourth bottle stand 8 every time the rotor 3A rotates once while the thinning operation is continuing.

[0017] Next, Fig. 7 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment described above in the operation of the linear transport device 22 and the screw 19, but the other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. In this second embodiment, an acceleration section is provided in the transfer area C to accelerate the holding means 21, and control is performed to determine whether the holding means 21 traveling in front is accelerated to a distance of one pitch or two pitches. That is, in the first embodiment described above, during normal operation, the holding means 21 in the transfer region C were driven at the same normal speed as the gravitational filling device 3, supply wheel 5, and screw 19, with a one-pitch gap between the preceding and succeeding holding means, but in this second embodiment, as shown in Fig. 7, acceleration regions are provided in the transfer region C with normal speed regions sandwiched in between, and the holding means 21 that receives containers 2 from the screw 19 is accelerated from normal speed to a predetermined speed in the acceleration region and then returned to normal speed, under speed control (see Fig. 8(A)). As a result, the holding means 21 one position upstream, which was separated by more than one pitch from the preceding holding means 21 in the acceleration region, is now separated by the same one pitch as the adjacent holding means 21 preceding it at transfer position B, and in this state the bottles are sequentially transferred to the pockets 5A of the supply wheel 5 and then supplied to the bottle tables 8. On the other hand, in the case of thinning operation in which containers 2 are not supplied to a specific bottle table 8 in the weight filling device 3, the control during normal operation is to control the speed so that the holding means 21 holding the specific container 2 to be supplied to the specific bottle table 8 is spaced two pitches apart from the holding means 21 traveling just before it in the acceleration section (see Figure 8(B)). In this way, the speed of the holding means 21 holding the specific container 2 in the acceleration region is controlled so that the distance between it and the holding means 21 traveling in front is two pitches, and it is then transferred to the normal speed region. As a result, the specific container 2 is supplied to the pocket 5A of the supply wheel 5 corresponding to the bottle platform 8 immediately behind the position corresponding to the specific bottle platform 8, and no container 2 is supplied to the specific bottle platform 8. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, since this can be achieved simply by controlling the speed of the holding means 21 of the linear conveying device 22 in the container supply device 11, there is no need to decelerate or accelerate the screw 19 during thinning operation, and the screw 19 is always driven at a constant speed. However, the speed of the screw 19 is decelerated depending on the number of containers 2 to be thinned. That is, when a state in which 320 containers 2 are filled and capped per minute during normal operation is changed to a thinning operation in which 310 containers 2 are filled and capped per minute without supplying containers 2 to one of the 32 bottle tables 8, the screw 19 decelerates from a speed of discharging 320 containers 2 per minute during normal operation to a speed of discharging 310 containers 2 per minute during thinning operation. In the second embodiment, the acceleration section in the transfer area C serves as a distance adjustment section in which the moving speed of the holding means 21 is adjusted to adjust the distance to the holding means 21 traveling in front. In this second embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are assigned the same numbers as in the first embodiment. In this second embodiment as well, the same functions and effects as those in the first embodiment can be obtained.

[0018] In the above embodiment, the container 2 was held by two rods 25 provided on two running bodies 24, but a container holding mechanism such as a gripper may be attached to one running body 24 to hold and move the container 2. In the above embodiment, the container processing device that performs the required processing on the container 2 is described as the gravitational filling device 3 that fills the container 2 while measuring the weight of the filling liquid with the load cell 17, but the container processing device may be, for example, a filling device that fills the container while measuring the flow rate of the filling liquid with a flow meter, or a filling device that employs another filling method. Furthermore, container processing devices other than filling devices, such as rotary cappers and labelers, may also be used. In addition, in the above embodiment, the process when one specific one of the multiple filling nozzles 18 of the weight filling device 3 fails is described, but even if two or three consecutive filling nozzles fail, it is also possible to perform a thinning operation so that containers 2 are not supplied to specific bottle tables 8 at those consecutive positions, and further, it is also possible to perform a thinning operation so that containers 2 are not supplied to bottle tables 8 for the third, seventh and 30th filling nozzles 18 (i.e., multiple bottle tables at discontinuous positions). Furthermore, the container support means is not limited to a configuration that supports the bottom surface of the container 2, such as the bottle stand 8, but may be a configuration that supports the container 2 by holding the neck portion and suspending it. Furthermore, it is also possible to omit the supply wheel 5 in the above embodiment and supply the containers 2 directly from each holding means 21 of the container supply device 11 to each bottle table 8 of the weight filling device 3. [Explanation of symbols]

[0019] 1... Container processing system 2... Container 3...Weight filling equipment (container processing equipment) 7... Supply conveyor 8... Bottle stand (container support means) 11...container supply device 14...control device 17...Load cell 18...Filling nozzle (processing mechanism) 21... Holding means 22... Linear conveying device 24...Traveling body RM...Linear motor

Claims

1. A container processing 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 to support containers; a plurality of processing mechanisms provided on the rotating body corresponding to each of the 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 operation of the plurality of processing mechanisms and the container supply device, The container supply device includes a supply conveyor for transporting containers, a plurality of holding means for holding containers on the supply conveyor, a linear drive device for moving each holding means individually along the transport direction of the supply conveyor, and a space widening means rotatably provided upstream of the linear drive device for widening the spaces between the containers, and the containers can be held and transported by each holding means before being supplied to the container support means. A container processing system characterized by controlling the linear drive device so that when a container is not supplied to a specific container support means on the rotating body, the control device decelerates the upstream holding means of two adjacent holding means and also decelerates the gap widening means, thereby forming a gap between the adjacent holding means at a position corresponding to the specific container support means, and so that a container is not supplied to the specific container support means.

2. A container processing system comprising 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 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 includes a supply conveyor for transporting containers, a plurality of holding means for holding containers on the supply conveyor, and a linear drive device for individually moving each holding means along the conveying direction of the supply conveyor, and is capable of holding and transporting containers with each holding means and then supplying them to the container support means, the linear drive device provides an acceleration section sandwiching a normal speed section in a transfer area in which the containers are held and transferred by the holding means, When containers are to be supplied to all of the container support means of the rotating body, the control device accelerates the rear holding means of two successive holding means from normal speed to the front holding means in the acceleration section so that the distance between the rear holding means and the front holding means is one pitch of the container support means, A container processing system characterized by controlling the linear drive device so that when a container is not supplied to a specific container support means on the rotating body, the control device accelerates the rear holding means of two adjacent holding means from normal speed to the front holding means in the acceleration section so that the distance between them is two pitches of the container support means, thereby forming a gap between the adjacent holding means at a position corresponding to the specific container support means, and preventing a container from being supplied to the specific container support means.

3. a supply wheel is provided between the supply conveyor and the rotating body, and a plurality of holding portions capable of holding containers are provided on the outer periphery of the supply wheel in accordance with the pitch of the container support means; A container processing system as described in claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that containers on the supply conveyor held by each of the holding means are transferred to the holding section of the supply wheel at the transfer position and then supplied to the container support means of the rotating body.

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