Filling device and filling method

Abstract

To provide a filling device with which filling operation can be efficiently performed.SOLUTION: A filling device 1 in this embodiment includes a filling work area 30 in which filling operation is performed to fill a container B with fillers, a filling part 50 that fills the container B with fillers in a state where the container B is floated in the filling work area 30, conveying parts 20 (a first conveying part 22 and a second conveying part 24) that convey the container B and transferring parts 40 (a first transferring part 42 and a second transferring part 44) that transfer the container B to and from the filling work area 30. The filling part 50 floats the bottom face of the container B to a position where the transferring parts 40 and the container B do not come into contact with each other, and the transferring parts 40 move above the filling work area 30 below the container B which is floated by the filling part 50.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a filling device and a filling method. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a container holder for a filling machine that has a neck support that supports the underside of the neck ring of a container held in the container holder, and has a spring in the holder body that supports the weight of the container. Patent document 2 also discloses a filling device that is characterized by having a filling unit that supports a filling means equipped with a filling nozzle having a filling liquid outlet formed at the lower end, a height adjustment means for vertically changing the relative positional relationship between the filling nozzle outlet and the container in the working area of ​​the filling process in which the filling liquid is filled into the container, a position adjustment unit that has angle adjustment means for tilting the filling nozzle and adjusting the discharge direction of the discharged filling liquid to any direction relative to the vertical direction, and a control unit that controls the operation of the filling unit and the position adjustment unit. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-84084 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-205703 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a filling device and a filling method that can perform filling work efficiently. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The filling device of the present invention has a filling work area where filling work is performed to fill containers with filling material, a filling unit that fills the containers with filling material while floating the containers within the filling work area, a transport path for transporting the containers, and a transfer unit that transfers the containers between the filling work area and the transport path, wherein the filling unit floats the bottom of the container to a position where the transfer unit does not come into contact with the container, and the transfer unit moves above the filling work area below the container that has been floated by the filling unit.

[0006] Preferably, the system further includes a first conveying path for conveying the container before it is filled with the filling material, and a second conveying path for conveying the container after it has been filled with the filling material, the filling work area being located adjacent to the first conveying path and the second conveying path, the transfer unit transferring the container from the first conveying path to the second conveying path via the filling work area, and after transferring the container, the transfer unit moving in the direction opposite to the direction in which the container is transferred from the first conveying path to the second conveying path.

[0007] Preferably, the transfer unit includes a first transfer unit that transfers the container from the first conveying path to the filling work area, and a second transfer unit that transfers the container from the filling work area to the second conveying path, and the first transfer unit and the second transfer unit transfer the container at the same time.

[0008] In addition, the filling method of the present invention includes the steps of: transferring a container to be filled with a filling material by a transfer unit that transfers the container from a transport path that transports the container before filling to a filling work area where the filling work of filling the container with the filling material is performed; filling the container with the filling material while floating the container that has been transferred to the filling work area; and moving the transfer unit above the filling work area below the floating container. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, the filling operation can be carried out efficiently. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view illustrating a filling device 1 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 2] 2 is a perspective view illustrating the filling device 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the filling device 1 in detail. FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart illustrating a filling method (S10) in this embodiment. [Figure 5-1] 10A to 10D are diagrams [(A) to (D)] for explaining the filling method (S10) in detail. [Figure 5-2] 10A to 10H are diagrams [(E) to (H)] for explaining the filling method (S10) in detail. [Figure 5-3] 10 is a diagram [(I) to (K)] explaining the filling method (S10) in detail. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] First, the configuration of a filling device 1 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views illustrating a filling device 1 according to this embodiment. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating in detail the configuration of the filling device 1. Fig. 3A is a diagram illustrating a schematic example of the filling device 1, and Fig. 3B is a diagram illustrating the details of the transfer unit 40. As illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, the filling device 1 is a linear filling device that fills a container B with a liquid filling material. The container B is a container to be filled with a liquid or gas filling material, such as a glass bottle made of glass, a PET bottle made of synthetic resin, or a bottle can made of metal. The capacity of the container B is 180 ml to 2000 ml. The filling material is a liquid such as a beverage, alcohol, or seasoning. Hereinafter, the filling device 1 of this example will be described as filling a 1800 ml glass bottle (one-liter bottle) with a beverage.

[0012] The filling device 1 has a conveying section 20, a filling work area 30, a transfer section 40, and a filling section 50. The conveying unit 20 has a conveying path for conveying the containers B, and conveys the containers B before filling with the filling material into the filling device 1, and also conveys the containers B filled with the filling material out of the filling device 1. The conveying unit 20 includes a first conveying unit 22 and a second conveying unit 24. The first conveying section 22 conveys the containers B before filling them with a filling material from the upstream side to the downstream side in the conveying direction of the containers B. The first conveying section 22 includes a belt conveyor 220 and a screw conveyor 222. The screw conveyor 222 is located on the belt conveyor 220 and cooperates with the belt conveyor 220 to convey the containers B into the filling device 1. The belt conveyor 220 is an example of a first transport path according to the present invention, and transports a plurality of containers B loaded thereon from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction of the containers B. The belt conveyor 220 is located opposite the belt conveyor 240 of the second transport section 24 across the filling work area 30, and is parallel to the belt conveyor 240. The screw conveyor 222 is controlled by a servo motor, and keeps the intervals between the multiple containers B equal, and intermittently transports the multiple containers B in groups. The screw conveyor 222 stops rotating when a predetermined number of containers B have passed. By stopping its rotation, the screw conveyor 222 makes the containers B that have not passed through the screw conveyor 222 wait on the belt conveyor 220.

[0013] The second conveying section 24 conveys the container B after filling with the filling material from the upstream side to the downstream side in the conveying direction of the container B. The second conveying section 24 includes a belt conveyor 240. The belt conveyor 240 is an example of a second transport path according to the present invention, and transports a plurality of containers B filled with a filling material from the upstream side to the downstream side. The belt conveyor 240 is located opposite the belt conveyor 220 of the first transport section 22 across the filling work area 30, and is parallel to the belt conveyor 220. The belt conveyor 240 has substantially the same configuration as the belt conveyor 220.

[0014] The filling work area 30 is an area where a filling operation is performed by the filling unit 50, which will be described later, to fill the container B with a filling material. The filling work area 30 is located adjacent to the belt conveyor 220 of the first transport unit 22 and the belt conveyor 240 of the second transport unit 24, and in this example, is located between the belt conveyor 220 and the belt conveyor 240. The filling unit 50 is located above the filling work area 30.

[0015] The transfer unit 40 transfers the container B between the conveying unit 20 that conveys the container B and the filling work area 30. The transfer unit 40 pushes the container B from the belt conveyor 220 of the first conveying unit 22 to the belt conveyor 240 of the second conveying unit 24 via the filling work area 30. Here, the direction in which the container B is transferred from the belt conveyor 220 to the belt conveyor 240 is referred to as the transfer direction. The transfer unit 40 moves in the transfer direction when transferring the container B, and moves in the opposite direction to the transfer direction when returning after transferring the container B. The transfer unit 40 moves so as to slide at positions close to the respective placement surfaces of the filling work area 30, the belt conveyor 220, and the belt conveyor 240. The transfer unit 40 is located below the container B, which is held afloat by the filling unit 50, and moves above the filling work area 30.

[0016] The transfer unit 40 includes a first transfer unit 42 and a second transfer unit 44. The first transfer unit 42 pushes and transfers the container B, before it has been filled with a filling material, from the belt conveyor 220 of the first transport unit 22 to the filling work area 30. The first transfer unit 42 is controlled by a servo motor, and changes the amount of movement in the movement direction depending on the size of the container B so that the container B is positioned at a lowered position in the filling unit 50 located above the filling work area 30. The first transfer unit 42 transfers the container B at the same timing as the second transfer unit 44 or at a different timing. The first transfer unit 42 includes a first transfer unit 42A and a first transfer unit 42B, which have substantially the same configuration and will be simply referred to as the first transfer unit 42 unless there is a need to distinguish between them. The second transfer unit 44 pushes and transfers the container B filled with the filling material from the filling work area 30 to the belt conveyor 240 of the second transport unit 24. The second transfer unit 44 is controlled by a servo motor and changes the amount of movement in the movement direction depending on the size of the container B so that the container B is positioned at the lowered position of the filling unit 50 located above the filling work area 30. The second transfer unit 44 transfers the container B at the same timing as the first transfer unit 42 or at a different timing. The second transfer unit 44 includes a second transfer unit 44A and a second transfer unit 44B, which have substantially the same configuration and will be simply referred to as the second transfer unit 44 unless there is a need to particularly distinguish between them.

[0017] The first transfer unit 42 and the second transfer unit 44 also include a holding plate 400 that presses against the body of the bottle. As shown in FIG. 3(B), the holding plate 400 is plate-shaped and includes a plurality of equally spaced grooves 402. The grooves 402 are V-shaped grooves that hold the body of containers B of various sizes. The grooves 402 are positioned to correspond to the filling unit 50, which will be described later.

[0018] The filling unit 50 fills the container B with the filling material within the filling work area 30. The filling unit 50 moves up and down in the vertical direction, lifting the container B, which is on the loading surface of the filling work area 30, from the state where it is resting on the loading surface to a floating state, and filling the container B with the filling material while it is floating. The filling unit 50 fills the container B with the filling material while lifting the bottom surface of the container B to a position where the transfer unit 40 and the container B do not come into contact with each other. The filling unit 50 also includes a filling nozzle 500 , a gripping unit 502 , and a load cell 504 . The filling nozzle 500 is a cylindrical member for filling container B with a filling material stored externally (not shown). The filling nozzle 500 may be thinner or thicker than the bottle mouth of container B. If the filling nozzle 500 is thinner than the bottle mouth of container B, it may be inserted inside the bottle mouth of container B when the filling unit 50 fills container B with a filling material. If the filling nozzle 500 is thicker than the bottle mouth of container B, it may be positioned above the bottle mouth of container B without being inserted inside the bottle mouth of container B. Note that the filling nozzle 500 in this example is thicker than the bottle mouth of container B and is too thick to be inserted inside the bottle mouth of container B, so it fills container B with a filling material while positioned above the bottle mouth of container B. The gripping unit 502 is a robot hand, a so-called gripper, for gripping the container B. The gripping unit 502 has two or more claws and is operated pneumatically or electrically. The gripping unit 502 is of a parallel opening and closing type or a fulcrum opening and closing type. The gripping unit 502 in this example is of a pneumatic type and of a parallel opening and closing type with two claws.

[0019] Furthermore, the gripping unit 502 closes its claws to grip the container B at a timing corresponding to when the filling unit 50 and the bottle mouth of the container B separate and when the filling unit 50 stops at a position where the filling nozzle 500 can fill the bottle mouth of the container B with the filling material, and opens its claws to release its grip on the container B at a timing corresponding to when the filling unit 50 places the container B on the placement surface of the filling work area 30. Here, the timing corresponding to the stop and the timing corresponding to the placement may be immediately after the filling unit 50 stops moving downward in the vertical direction, or may be after a certain time (for example, at least one second and at most three seconds) has passed since the movement stopped. The load cell 504 is a hanging weighing device that measures the weight of the container B while the filling unit 50 is floating the container B. The load cell 504 continuously measures the weight of the container B from the start of filling the container B with the filling material to the end of filling while the filling unit 50 is floating the container B. The load cell 504 may also measure the weight of the container B before and after filling the container B with the filling material.

[0020] Next, the filling method in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the filling method (S10) in this embodiment. FIG. 5-1 is a diagram [(A) to (D)] for explaining the filling method (S10) in detail. FIG. 5-2 is a diagram [(E) to (H)] explaining the filling method (S10) in detail. FIG. 5-3 is a diagram [(I) to (K)] explaining the filling method (S10) in detail. As an example, the operations in steps S100 to S120 illustrated in Fig. 4 will be described below with reference to Fig. 5 (Figs. 5-1 to 5-3). In the filling method of this example, as illustrated in Fig. 2, 12 containers B are considered as one group, and the filling operation is performed in groups. For convenience of explanation, a specific example will be taken in which the filling operation of two groups is performed consecutively.

[0021] As illustrated in FIG. 4, in step 100 (S100), the first conveying section 22 conveys containers B in the conveying direction before filling with a filling material. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5-1(A), the belt conveyor 220 conveys the containers B from the upstream side to the downstream side of the belt conveyor 220 with a plurality of containers B placed thereon. The screw conveyor 222 equalizes the intervals between the containers B conveyed by the belt conveyor 220 and stops rotation when 12 containers B have passed. The belt conveyor 220 further conveys the 12 containers B (hereinafter, containers B1) that have passed the screw conveyor 222.

[0022] In step 102 (S102), the first transfer unit 42 transfers the container B1 transferred by the first conveying unit 22 from the first conveying unit 22 to the filling work area 30. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5-1(B), the first transfer unit 42 moves in a direction (transfer direction) perpendicular to the conveying direction, and pushes and transfers the container B1 from the first conveying unit 22 to the filling work area 30. The holding plate 400 receives the container B1 in the groove 402, thereby adjusting the position of the container B1 so that the position of the filling nozzle 500 of the filling unit 50 relative to the bottle mouth of the container B1 is a position where the filling material can be filled. In addition, the second transfer unit 44 moves in the transfer direction together with the first transfer unit 42.

[0023] In step 104 (S104), the filling unit 50 fills the container B1 with the filling material while the container B1 is floating. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5-1(C), the filling unit 50 moves downward toward the container B1 placed in the filling work area 30, and stops at a position where the filling unit 50 and the bottle mouth of the container B1 are separated and the filling nozzle 500 can fill the bottle mouth of the container B1 with the filling material. After stopping, the filling unit 50 then causes the gripping unit 502 to grip the container B1. The filling unit 50 moves upward and holds the gripped container B1 at a height where the bottom surface of the gripped container B1 does not come into contact with the transfer unit 40, at a separation distance D between the bottom surface of the container B1 and the placement surface of the filling work area 30, and fills the container B1 with the filling material while holding it.

[0024] In step 106 (S106), while the container B1 is lifted and floating by the filling unit 50, the transfer unit 40 moves over the filling work area 30 to the position before transferring and loading the container B1. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5-1(D), the transfer unit 40 moves below the container B1 in the direction opposite to the transfer direction, thereby moving the container B1 to the position before transferring and loading (the initial position shown in FIG. 5-1(A)).

[0025] In step 108 (S108), the first conveying unit 22 conveys the containers B in the conveying direction before filling with the filling material. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5-2(E), the belt conveyor 220 conveys the containers B from the upstream side to the downstream side of the belt conveyor 220 with a plurality of containers B placed thereon. The screw conveyor 222 equalizes the intervals between the containers B conveyed by the belt conveyor 220 and stops rotation when 12 containers B have passed. The belt conveyor 220 further conveys the 12 containers B (hereinafter, containers B2) that have passed the screw conveyor 222.

[0026] In step 110 (S110), the filling unit 50 places the filled container B1 on the placement surface of the filling work area 30. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5-2(F), the filling unit 50 fills the container B1 with the filling material while measuring the weight of the container B1 that has been lifted and floated using the load cell 504, and stops filling the container B1 with the filling material when the weight reaches a predetermined value. Then, the filling unit 50 places the filled container B1 on the placement surface of the filling work area 30 and releases the grip of the gripping unit 502.

[0027] In step 112 (S112), the first transfer unit 42 and the second transfer unit 44 push and transfer the containers B1 and B2 in the transfer direction at the same time. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5-2(G), the first transfer unit 42 transfers the container B2 from the belt conveyor 220 to the filling work area 30, and the second transfer unit 44 transfers the container B1 from the filling work area 30 to the belt conveyor 240 at the same time as the first transfer unit 42.

[0028] In step 114 (S114), the filling unit 50 fills the container B2 with the filling material while keeping it afloat. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5-2(H), the filling unit 50 moves downward toward the container B2 transferred to the filling work area 30 and stops at a position where the filling unit 50 and the bottle mouth of the container B2 are separated and the filling nozzle 500 can fill the bottle mouth of the container B2 with the filling material. After stopping, the filling unit 50 causes the gripping unit 502 to grip the container B2. The filling unit 50 moves upward and holds the gripped container B2 at a height where the bottom surface of the gripped container B2 does not come into contact with the transfer unit 40, with the bottom surface of the container B2 separated by a distance D from the loading surface of the filling work area 30, and fills the container B2 with the filling material while holding the container B2. At the same time, the second conveying unit 24 transports the filled container B1 on the belt conveyor 240. Furthermore, when container B2 is lifted and floating by the filling unit 50, the first transfer unit 42 and the second transfer unit 44 move above the filling work area 30 below container B2 and move to their respective positions before transferring container B1 and container B2. Specifically, the first transfer unit 42 and the second transfer unit 44 move in the direction opposite to the transfer direction, thereby moving to their respective positions before transferring container B1 and container B2 (initial positions shown in FIG. 5-1(A)).

[0029] In step 116 (S116), the filling unit 50 places the filled container B2 on the placement surface of the filling work area 30. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5-3(I), the filling unit 50 fills the container B2 with the filling material while measuring the weight of the container B2 that has been lifted and floated using the load cell 504, and stops filling the container B2 with the filling material when the weight reaches a predetermined value. Then, the filling unit 50 places the filled container B2 on the placement surface of the filling work area 30 and releases the grip of the gripping unit 502.

[0030] In step 118 (S118), the second transfer unit 44 pushes and transfers the container B2 in the transfer direction. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5-3(J), the second transfer unit 44 transfers the container B2 from the filling work area 30 to the belt conveyor 240. At this time, the second transfer unit 44 moves at a different timing than the first transfer unit 42.

[0031] In step 120 (S120), the second conveying section 24 conveys the filled container B2 on the belt conveyor 240, as illustrated in FIG. 5-3(K). In this way, according to the filling method of this example, the filling material is filled into the container B in a lifted state, so that the filling work can be carried out efficiently. In the filling method of this example, the case where the filling operation is performed continuously for two groups of containers B has been described, but if there are more than two groups, the filling operation can be performed continuously by repeating steps S108 to S114 [Figures 5-2(E) to 5-2(H)].

[0032] As described above, according to the filling device 1 of this embodiment, by filling the container B with the filling material while it is lifted, the position of the transfer unit 40 can be changed below the container B by utilizing the time during which the container B is being filled with the filling material to prepare for the next operation, thereby shortening the work time, and as a result, the filling work can be performed efficiently. Furthermore, according to the filling device 1, the container B before being filled with the filling material and the container B after being filled with the filling material can be transferred at the same time, thereby shortening the operation time. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] B…Container 1...Filling device 20...Transport unit 22...First conveying section 220...Conveyor belt 222...Screw conveyor 24...Second conveying section 240...Conveyor belt 30…Filling work area 40...Transfer section 42...First transfer section 44...Second transfer section 400...Retaining plate 402...Groove 50...Filling section 500...Filling nozzle 502...Gripping part 504...Load cell

Claims

1. a filling work area where a filling work is performed to fill a container with a filling material; a filling section that fills the container with a filling material while the container is in a floating state within the filling work area; a transfer unit that transfers the container between a transport path that transports the container and the filling work area; and the filling unit raises the bottom surface of the container to a position where the transfer unit and the container do not come into contact with each other; The transfer unit moves over the filling work area below the container that is being held afloat by the filling unit. filling equipment.

2. a first conveying path for conveying the container before filling it with a filling material; a second conveying path for conveying the container after filling the container with the filling material; and the filling operation area is located adjacent to the first transport path and the second transport path; the transfer unit transfers the container from the first conveying path to the second conveying path via the filling work area; After transferring the container, the transfer unit moves in a direction opposite to a direction in which the container is transferred from the first transport path to the second transport path. The filling device of claim 1 .

3. the transfer unit includes a first transfer unit that transfers the container from the first conveying path to the filling work area, and a second transfer unit that transfers the container from the filling work area to the second conveying path, The first transfer unit and the second transfer unit transfer the container at the same time.

3. The filling device of claim 2.

4. a step of transferring the container to be filled with a filling material by a transfer unit that transfers the container from a conveying path that conveys the container before filling to a filling work area where a filling work of filling the container with a filling material is performed; a step of filling the container with a filling material while the container transferred to the filling work area is in a floating state; a step of moving the transfer unit over the filling work area below the container in a floating state; A filling method comprising:

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