Cap processing device

Abstract

To provide a cap processing device which increases a reusable material while removing a printing material in a reliable manner and prevents increase of a material to be disposed even if a top surface wall is thick.SOLUTION: A cap processing device includes: a table 110 on which an outer surface of a top surface wall of a cap C moves contacting therewith; a pressing mechanism 120 which presses the cap C to the table 110 side to cause the cap C to contact with the table 110 and move; and cutting means 131 which is provided at a cap moving path of the table 110 and cuts the outer surface of the top surface wall of the cap C from the table 110 side.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a cap processing device for removing a printed surface on the outer surface of the top wall of a cap having a top wall and a cylindrical skirt wall hanging down from the periphery of the top wall.

Background Art

[0002] As is well known, synthetic resin container lids are widely used as caps for containers containing contents such as drinking water and the like. This type of container lid is integrally formed by compression molding or injection molding from an appropriate synthetic resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene, and has a top wall and a cylindrical skirt wall hanging down from the periphery of the top wall. And it is common and widely spread that a cap having printing such as a logo on the outer surface of the top wall.

[0003] When defective products are found in the manufacturing process of such caps, it is desirable that they are reused without being shipped. However, when printing (coloring) has been applied, it is not possible to simply melt them again to use them as raw materials for caps, and it is necessary to remove the printing material for reuse. Also, when recycling the cap after opening and reusing it as a raw material, it is similarly necessary to remove the printing material for reuse. For example, in order to remove the printing material, there is a known one that cuts the top wall so that only the cylindrical skirt wall can be recovered (see, for example, Patent Document 1, etc.).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, when the top wall is cut and only the cylindrical skirt wall is recovered, all the material from the top wall is discarded, resulting in waste as only about 50-60% of the material can be reused. Furthermore, while many products with thick top walls, such as pressure-resistant caps, are used, there is a problem in that the thicker the top wall, the more material is discarded. The present invention aims to solve the aforementioned problems and to provide a cap processing device that reliably removes printing material, increases the amount of reusable material, and does not increase the amount of discarded material even if the thickness of the top wall is thick. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention relates to a cap processing apparatus for removing the printed surface of the outer surface of the top wall of a cap having a top wall and a cylindrical skirt wall hanging down from the periphery of the top wall. The apparatus comprises a table to which the outer surface of the top wall of the cap abuts and is movable, a pressing mechanism for pressing the cap toward the table and moving the cap by bringing it into contact with the table, and a cutting means provided in the cap movement path of the table for cutting the outer surface of the top wall of the cap from the table side. The present invention solves the aforementioned problems. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the cap processing apparatus of claim 1, it becomes possible to cut the outer surface of the top wall of a cap containing printing material as thinly as possible using a cutting means, allowing the cap to be reused while leaving most of the top wall intact, dramatically improving the reusability rate.

[0008] According to the configuration described in claim 2, even if the top wall of the cap is warped or uneven, the outer surface of the top wall can be evenly contacted with the table, so that the entire outer surface of the top wall can be cut evenly, and by making the cutting means protrude slightly from the table surface, it is possible to reliably cut the printing material even with a small amount of cutting. According to the configuration described in claim 3, even if the thickness of the top wall changes before and after cutting, the cap can move without tilting, making it possible to process a large number of caps at high speed. According to the configuration described in claim 4, by rotating the end mill to perform cutting, it becomes possible to cut the outer surface of the top wall without depending on the moving speed or the force applied to the cap. Furthermore, since a small-diameter end mill can easily rotate at high speed, the cutting efficiency is high, and it becomes possible to process a large number of caps at high speed. Furthermore, since the cutting chips produced by the end mill are in the form of fragments rather than powder, they are easier to remove. According to the configuration described in claim 5, printing material mixed in with cutting debris is prevented from adhering to the reusable cap, and a reliably reusable treated cap is obtained. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] A schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of the cap processing apparatus according to the present invention. [Figure 2] A diagram illustrating the caps that will be processed. [Figure 3] A front view of one embodiment of the cap processing apparatus according to the present invention, excluding the pressing mechanism. [Figure 4] A cross-sectional view of a pressing mechanism of one embodiment of a cap processing apparatus according to the present invention. [Figure 5] An explanatory diagram of the cap's deformation. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] An embodiment of the capping apparatus according to the present invention will be described. The cap processing device 100 includes, for example, as schematically shown in Figure 1, a table 110 to which the outer surface C11 of the top wall of the cap C abuts and which is movable, a pressing mechanism 120 that presses the cap C toward the table 110 to bring it into contact with the table 110 and move the cap C, and an end mill 131 which is a cutting means provided in the cap movement path of the table 110 and cuts the outer surface C11 of the top wall of the cap from the table 110 side. The cap C is made of a suitable synthetic resin such as rigid polyethylene or polypropylene, and has, for example as shown in Figure 2, a top wall C1 and a cylindrical skirt wall C2 hanging down from the periphery of the top wall C1, with a colored print such as a logo on the outer surface C11 of the top wall. The cylindrical skirt wall C2 is divided into a main portion C6 above the circumferential breaking means C5 and a tamper-evident band portion C4 below the circumferential breaking means C5.

[0011] As shown in Figure 3, the table 110 according to this embodiment forms an arc-shaped cap movement path, and as shown in Figure 4, multiple pressing mechanisms 120 are arranged on a pressing mechanism support turret 126 that rotates around a rotation axis 125. The pressing mechanism support turret 126 is positioned opposite the table 110 and rotates, so that each pressing mechanism 120 receives a cap C supplied from the cap supply passage 115 located upstream of the table 110, moves the held cap C while pressing its top wall outer surface C11 against the upstream surface 111 of the table 110, and after the surface of the top wall outer surface C11 is shaved by the end mill 131 located in the gap 112, moves the held cap C while pressing its top wall outer surface C11 against the downstream surface 113 of the table 110, and discharges it into the cap discharge passage 116.

[0012] On the opposite side of the moving surface of the cap C of the gap portion 112, a negative pressure suction chip collection means 140 is positioned, which sucks up and removes the chips that have been cut by the end mill 131 from the outer surface C11 of the top wall. At this time, the cutting chips from the end mill 131 are in the form of fragments rather than powder, which prevents them from remaining attached to the cap C and also prevents them from scattering and adhering to the surrounding area of ​​the device without being collected by the cutting chip collection means 140.

[0013] As shown (exaggeratedly) in Figure 1, the downstream surface 113 of the gap 112 of the table 110 is set higher on the cap C side than the upstream surface 111 by the amount of the end mill 131 protruding. By doing so, even if the thickness of the top surface wall changes before and after cutting, the cap C can move smoothly without tilting, and a large amount of caps C can be processed at high speed.

[0014] The pressing mechanism 120 has a central pressing portion 121 that abuts against the inner surface C12 of the top surface wall of the cap C and presses the outer surface C11 of the top surface wall of the cap C toward the table 110 side, and a peripheral pressing portion 122 that abuts against the end of the cylindrical skirt wall C2 of the cap C and presses the cap C toward the table 110 side. The central pressing portion 121 and the peripheral pressing portion 122 are each independently arranged so as to be movable in the pressing direction by a central pressing spring 123 and a peripheral pressing spring 124.

[0015] By doing so, even for a cap Ca with a convex center of the top surface wall as shown in a of FIG. 5 or a cap Cb with a concave center of the top surface wall as shown in b of FIG. 5, as shown in c of FIG. 5, the entire outer surface of the top surface wall is evenly pressed against the table 110, maintaining the planar state of the entire outer surface of the top surface wall, and can be evenly cut by the end mill 131. By minimizing the protrusion amount of the end mill 131 from the surface of the table 110 within a range where the printed layer can be excluded, the printed material can be surely cut even with a small cutting amount. Also, if the diameters of the caps are the same, even if the heights of the caps are different within the stroke ranges of the central pressing spring 123 and the peripheral pressing spring 124, it is possible to cut them evenly by the end mill 131 without changing the settings, and the processing efficiency can be improved.

[0016] The actual processing performance of this embodiment was as follows (the conventional example in parentheses cuts the entire top surface wall). · Reduction rate: 95% or more (conventional example: 50 - 60%) (Reduction rate: Ratio of recyclable weight to the weight of the entire cap C) · Processing speed: 600 cpm or more In this embodiment, a thickness of approximately 0.1 to 0.5 mm was removed. However, the amount of removal can be appropriately adjusted by adjusting the vertical direction of the end mill 131 and the step difference between the upstream surface 111 and the downstream surface 113 of the table 110, depending on the thickness of the cap top surface, the application status of the printed layer, etc.

[0017] In the above embodiment, the cutting means is an end mill 131, but any tool capable of cutting the outer surface of the top wall, such as a fixed blade, milling cutter, or grinder, may be used. Furthermore, although the cap movement path of the table 110 is set to be arc-shaped and the pressing mechanism 120 is moved in an arc shape by the pressing mechanism support turret 126, the pressing mechanism may also be moved in a straight line. Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 2, the target was a cap with a tamper-evident band portion C4 (a cap that was defective during the manufacturing process), but it may also be a cap that has been opened and has been recalled from the market and does not have a tamper-evident band portion C4. Since the caps collected from the market vary in diameter and height, sorting them by size beforehand allows for faster processing. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0018] 100 ··· Capping device 110 ··· Table 111 ··· Upstream surface 112 ··· Gap section 113 ... Downstream surface 115 ··· Cap supply channel 116 ··· Cap discharge channel 120... Pressing mechanism 121 ··· Central pressing part 122 ··· Peripheral pressing area 123 ··· Center compression spring 124 ··· Peripheral compression spring 125 ··· Rotation axis 126... Pressing mechanism support turret 131 ··· End mill (cutting tool) 140 ··· Cutting chip collection method C ··· Cap C1 ··· Top wall C11 ··· Top surface, exterior of walls C12 ··· Top surface, inner surface of wall C2 ··· Cylindrical skirt wall C3 ··· Seal part C4 ··· Tamper-evident band section C5 ··· Circumferential fracture means C6 ··· Main part

Claims

1. A cap processing apparatus for removing the printed surface on the outer surface of the top wall of a cap having a top wall and a cylindrical skirt wall hanging down from the periphery of the top wall, A cap processing apparatus characterized by comprising: a table to which the outer surface of the top wall of the cap abuts and which is movable; a pressing mechanism for pressing the cap toward the table and moving the cap by bringing it into contact with the table; and a cutting means provided in the cap movement path of the table for cutting the outer surface of the top wall of the cap from the table side.

2. The cap processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the pressing mechanism has a central pressing portion that contacts the inner surface of the top wall of the cap and presses the cap toward the table, and a peripheral pressing portion that contacts the end of the cylindrical skirt wall of the cap and presses the cap toward the table.

3. The cap processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the table is configured such that the downstream side of the cap movement path to the cutting means is higher than the upstream side.

4. The capping apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the cutting means includes an end mill.

5. The cap processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that a cutting chip collection means is arranged near the cutting means.

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