JP2008213905A - Inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inspection device for inspecting a container packaged with a heat shrinkable label.
An inspection apparatus according to the present invention includes a conveyor that conveys a container filled with a liquid, a plurality of microwave sensors, and a determination device. A microwave sensor projects a microwave with respect to the container currently conveyed by the conveyor, and receives the microwave which permeate | transmitted the container. The determiner determines the liquid filling state in the container based on the measurement results of the plurality of microwave sensors, and transmits a signal when determining that the liquid filling state is abnormal. The container is packaged with a heat-shrinkable label, and the plurality of microwave sensors are respectively arranged so as to project microwaves to different height positions of the container.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus for inspecting a filling state of a liquid in a container.

  Conventionally, a beverage container such as a bottle container filled with beer or a bottle filled with soft drinks is covered with a cylindrical heat-shrinkable label (shrink label), and it is widely contracted and packaged. Has been done. The shrinkage of the heat-shrinkable label is performed in the shrink tunnel. The inside of the shrink tunnel is maintained at a high temperature of around 80 ° C. If the beverage container to be used is deteriorated and has reduced strength, it may burst when heated to a high temperature in a shrink tunnel.

  The beverage containers that have finished shrink packaging are transported to the inspection section by a conveyor. During the transportation, the inspector visually inspects the state of the beverage container together with the contracted state of the heat-shrinkable label, and removes the beverage container that has been ruptured, cracked, or chipped.

  Beverage containers packaged with heat-shrinkable labels are protected with heat-shrinkable labels even when ruptured. For example, even if a part of the container is chipped, the shape of the bottle does not collapse. When I entered the blind spot, there was a situation that I missed. Even if a small crack occurs in the beverage container, pressure is applied in the container, foaming occurs, or even if the liquid level in the container is lowered, the beverage container packaged with the heat-shrinkable label is extremely low in visibility. Visual observation sometimes overlooked the occurrence of small cracks, foaming and liquid level reduction.

Various techniques for measuring the liquid level height of the liquid filled in the container have been proposed. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for detecting that a beverage is filled to a predetermined liquid level in the container by inserting a sensor electrode into the container and detecting that the beverage has contacted the sensor electrode. Has been. When beverages such as glass bottles and PET bottles are visible, a technology has been proposed to measure the liquid level using visible light or near-infrared light and attenuating the amount of transmitted light by the beverage. ing. Furthermore, a technique has also been proposed in which X-rays are projected from the side of the container, a difference in absorption amount due to the presence or absence of liquid of transmitted X-rays is detected, and the liquid level is measured.
JP 2006-240659 A

  However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 cannot measure the liquid level of the beverage in the container after filling the beverage. In the technology using visible light or near-infrared light, the detection sensitivity may be low depending on the color of the container or beverage to be filled, and the liquid level of the beverage cannot be detected particularly when the container is opaque. A device that uses X-rays must use a safety device, and is difficult to handle as a device that measures the liquid level of a beverage container, such as complicated handling.

  In any conventional technique, even when a small crack is generated in the beverage container and foaming occurs, it is impossible to detect a situation in which the liquid level is hardly lowered.

  An object of this invention is to provide the test | inspection apparatus which test | inspects the container packaged with the heat-shrinkable label.

  The inspection apparatus according to the present invention includes a conveyor that transports containers filled with liquid, a plurality of microwave sensors that project microwaves to containers transported by the conveyor and receive microwaves transmitted through the containers, A determination device that determines the filling state of the liquid in the container based on the measurement results of the plurality of microwave sensors, the container is packaged with a heat-shrinkable label, and the plurality of microwave sensors are It arrange | positions so that a microwave may be projected with respect to a different height position, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, the determiner can determine the filling state of the liquid in the container by determining the presence or absence of liquid or bubbles at a plurality of different height positions in the container.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, when the range of the height position of the liquid level in a container filled with a predetermined appropriate amount of liquid is set as the reference height position range, at least one of the plurality of height positions. One is set higher than the upper limit height position of the reference height position range, and at least one other of the plurality of height positions is preferably set lower than the lower limit height position of the reference height position range.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to further include a unit that performs error processing when the determiner determines that the filling state of the liquid in the container is abnormal. It is preferable that the unit includes a discharger that discharges the container determined to be abnormal by the determination unit to the outside of the conveyance path of the conveyor.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, the container may be a bottle filled with beer.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the test | inspection apparatus which test | inspects the container packaged with the heat-shrinkable label can be provided.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  Examples of the container filled with the liquid to be inspected by the inspection apparatus of the present invention include a bottle container filled with beer and a beverage container such as a PET bottle filled with soft drinks. In this embodiment, the container filled with the liquid is a beer bottle filled with beer. The beer bottle 3 filled with beer is conveyed in the right direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1 by the conveyor 1 driven by the drive unit 10. The beer bottle 3 is covered with a heat-shrinkable label 4 on the upstream side of the shrink tunnel 2. The beer bottle 3 covered with the heat-shrinkable label 4 is heated by, for example, steam at about 80 ° C. in the shrink tunnel 2. Then, the heat-shrinkable label 4 shrinks and comes into close contact with the beer bottle 3, and the beer bottle 3 is packaged with the heat-shrinkable label 4. The heat-shrinkable label 4 is preferably made of a heat-shrinkable polyester film such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or copolymer polyester having a thickness of 10 to 100 μm. The heat-shrinkable label 4 can be formed in a cylindrical shape by superimposing both ends of a film with characters, designs, etc. printed on one side so that the printed surface is on the inside and bonding the overlapping portions.

  Two sets of microwave sensors 5 and 6 are arranged on the downstream side of the shrink tunnel 2 in the conveyance path of the beer bottle 3. The microwave sensors 5 and 6 include projectors 5 a and 6 a that project microwaves onto the beer bottles 3 conveyed by the conveyor 1, and receivers 5 b and 6 b that receive microwaves transmitted through the beer bottles 3, respectively. In this embodiment, two sets of microwave sensors are arranged, but three or more sets may be arranged.

The range of the reference height position of the liquid level in the beer bottle 3 filled with a predetermined appropriate amount of beer is B, the upper limit height position is B _max , and the lower limit height position is B _min . As shown in FIG. 3, the first microwave sensor 5 is higher than the upper limit height B _max, it is arranged to project a microwave with respect to the height position of the beer bottle. Second microwave sensor 6 is lower than the lower limit height position B _min, is arranged to project a microwave with respect to the height position of the beer bottle. In FIG. 1, the first microwave sensor 5 is disposed on the upstream side of the conveyance path, but the second microwave sensor 6 may be disposed on the upstream side. Information on the microwave after passing through the beer bottle 3 measured by the receivers 5 b and 6 b of the two microwave sensors 5 and 6 is transmitted to the determiner 7.

  The determiner 7 determines whether or not the beer filling state in the beer bottle is normal based on the measurement results of the two microwave sensors 5 and 6.

  In the beer bottle in which the bottle is not broken, chipped or cracked in the shrink tunnel 2, the state where the beer is filled up to a predetermined liquid surface position shown in FIG. Not. On the other hand, although the bottle shown in (b) does not have cracks, chips or the like, the excessively filled beer bottle has a liquid surface position exceeding a predetermined position. As shown in (c), when the beer bottle 3 is cracked and cracked when heated in the shrink tunnel or after that, the beer bottle 3 collides with each other, the high pressure state in the bottle is destroyed and the pressure is reduced. If it does so, since the dissolved amount of the component which was dissolved in beer under a high pressure state will decrease, foaming C will arise and a bubble will exist above a liquid level. Furthermore, as shown in (d), when the beer bottle is chipped and cracked and the beer flows out of the beer bottle, the liquid level is greatly lowered from the predetermined liquid level position. Further, even in a beer bottle with a small filling amount, the liquid level is similarly lowered from a predetermined liquid level position.

  Therefore, it is possible to determine whether the filling state is normal or abnormal by determining the presence or absence of liquid or bubbles at different height positions in the container and determining the filling state of the liquid in the container. That is, it is determined whether the filling state is normal or abnormal by determining whether there are bubbles that should not be present in the normal filling state, and whether the liquid level is at a normal level. To do. The specific determination method will be described later.

  When the determiner 7 determines that the beer filling state is abnormal, the determiner 7 sends a command to the unit that executes error processing. The unit that executes the error processing may be the displacing device 9 that evacuates the beer bottle 3 that has been determined to have an abnormal filling state from the regular conveyance path. In FIG. 1, the evacuator 9 collects the beer bottle 3 in which the filling state is abnormal by pushing it out to the branch conveyor (abnormal container recovery part) 1b. However, without providing the branch conveyor 1b, the beer bottle 3 in which the filling state is abnormal may be pushed out from the conveyor 1 to the abnormal beer bottle collection box disposed at the lower side of the conveyor 1 for recovery. Instead of disposing the evacuator 9, the determination device 7 sends a command to the drive unit 10 that drives the conveyor 1 when the presence of a beer bottle whose filling state is abnormal is confirmed, and stops driving the conveyor 1. It is also possible to do. When the worker finds that the conveyor 1 is stopped, the worker removes the abnormal beer bottle 3 from the conveyor and then restarts the driving of the conveyor 1.

  The unit that executes the error processing may be the display 8b and the alarm 8a that notify the operator of the occurrence of a beer bottle whose filling state is abnormal. When the operator recognizes the occurrence of a beer bottle whose filling state is abnormal by the display device 8b and the alarm device 8a, the worker can exclude the beer bottle or stop driving the conveyor. FIG. 2 shows a signal flow between the determination unit 7 and the receivers 5 b and 6 b of the microwave sensors 5 and 6, the display unit 8 b, the alarm unit 8 a, the discharger 9, and the conveyor driving unit 10.

As already described, the projector 5a and the receiver 5b of the first microwave sensor 5 are arranged above the upper limit height position _Bmax of the reference height position range of the liquid level. Projector 6a and the receiver 6b of the second microwave sensor 6 is disposed below the lower-limit height position B _min of the reference height position range of liquid level. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3A, in a normal beer bottle in which the liquid level is within the reference height position range, there is no moisture at a height corresponding to the position where the first microwave sensor 5 is disposed. . Since the microwave has the property of being absorbed by moisture, the microwave projected from the projector 5a passes through the beer bottle 3 without being absorbed so much and is received by the receiver 5b.

  As shown in (b), in an overfilled beer bottle whose liquid level exceeds the reference height position, beer exists at a height corresponding to the arrangement position of the first microwave sensor 5. As a result, the microwave projected from the projector 5a of the first microwave sensor 5 is absorbed by beer, and the amount of transmitted microwave detected by the receiver 5b is greatly reduced.

  As shown in (c), when the beer bottle 3 is cracked by a collision between the beer bottles when heated in the shrink tunnel or thereafter, foam C is generated. In this case, the microwave projected from the projector 5a of the first microwave sensor 5 is absorbed by the moisture in the bubbles, and the amount of transmitted microwave detected by the receiver 5b is greatly reduced.

  Moreover, in a normal beer bottle, beer exists at a height corresponding to the arrangement position of the second microwave sensor 6. Therefore, the microwave projected from the projector 6a of the second microwave sensor 6 is absorbed by beer, and the amount of transmitted microwave detected by the receiver 6b is greatly reduced. On the other hand, as shown in (d), when a large chip occurs in the body of the beer bottle due to, for example, a rupture in the shrink tunnel, and the beer above the chip E flows out, the second microwave sensor 6 is positioned. There is no moisture at the corresponding height. Therefore, the microwave projected from the projector 6a is received by the receiver 6b without being absorbed much even if it passes through the beer bottle 3. The same state is shown also in the beer bottle whose beer filling amount does not reach the reference amount.

A flow in which the determination device 7 determines the filling state of beer in the beer bottle will be described with reference to FIG. In Step 1, setting a threshold value a ₀ for microwave transmission quantity receiver 5b of the first microwave sensor 5 disposed above receives to determine whether normal or abnormal. The threshold value a ₀ sets a numerical value between the microwave transmission amount when beer is not present (normal case) and the microwave transmission amount when beer or foam is present (abnormal case). If the liquid level position is normal, the measurement value a first microwave sensor 5 is greater than the threshold a _0.

In step 2, a threshold value b ₀ for determining whether the microwave transmission amount received by the receiver 6b of the second microwave sensor 6 disposed below is normal or abnormal is set. The threshold b ₀ is a value between the microwave transmission amount when beer is present (normal) and the microwave transmission amount when foam is present or when neither beer nor foam is present (abnormal case). To do. If the liquid level position is normal, the measured value b of the second microwave sensor 5 is smaller than the threshold value b _0. The threshold value a and the threshold value b can be obtained in advance by measuring the microwave transmission amount of a beer bottle in a normal filling state or a beer bottle in an abnormal filling state.

In step 3, the determiner 7 acquires a microwave transmission amount measurement result a by the microwave sensor 5 and a microwave transmission amount measurement result b by the microwave sensor 6. In step 4, the determination unit 7 compares the measurement result a with a threshold value a _0, it is determined whether a> a ₀ condition is satisfied, if not a> a ₀ condition is satisfied, It is determined that the beer filling status of the beer bottle to be inspected is abnormal. If the condition of a> a ₀ is satisfied in step 4, the determiner 7 further compares the measurement result b with the threshold value b ₀ in step 5 and determines whether or not the condition of b <b ₀ is satisfied. to decide. If the condition of b <b ₀ is satisfied, the determination unit 7 determines that the beer filling state of the beer bottle to be inspected is normal, and if the condition of b <b ₀ is not satisfied, It is determined that the beer filling status is abnormal. In this embodiment, the determination is made using the microwave transmission amount measured by the receiver of the microwave sensor, but the microwave transmittance can also be used. As described above, since the state in the bottle at a plurality of different height positions of the beer bottle is inspected, as shown in FIG. It is possible to detect the abnormality of the beer bottle immediately after the occurrence.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, beer bottles filled with beer are used, but it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to liquids other than beer and containers other than bottles.

It is the figure which looked at an example of the inspection device concerning the present invention from the upper part. It is a figure which shows the flow of a signal of the inspection apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the container filled with the liquid, and a microwave sensor. It is a figure which shows the determination flow by a determination device.

Explanation of symbols

1: Conveyor, 1b: Abnormal container collection unit, 2: Shrink tunnel, 3: Beer bottle (container), 4: Heat-shrinkable label, 5, 6: Microwave sensor, 5a, 6a: Projector, 5b, 6b: Reception 7: Determinator, 8a: Alarm, 8b: Display, 9: Exhaust device, 10: Conveyor drive means, B: Reference height position range of liquid level, B1 to B3: Height position of liquid level, C: Bubble, D: Crack, E: Chip

Claims (6)

A conveyor for transporting containers filled with liquid;
A plurality of microwave sensors that project microwaves to the containers being conveyed by the conveyor and receive the microwaves transmitted through the containers;
A determinator for determining a filling state of the liquid in the container based on a measurement result by the plurality of microwave sensors;
With
The container is packaged with a heat-shrinkable label,
The plurality of microwave sensors are respectively arranged to project microwaves to different height positions of the container.
Inspection apparatus characterized by that.   The inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the determination device determines the liquid filling state in the container by determining the presence or absence of liquid or bubbles at a plurality of different height positions in the container.   When the range of the height position of the liquid level in the container filled with the predetermined appropriate amount of the liquid is set as the reference height position range, at least one of the plurality of height positions is the reference height position. The upper limit height position of the range is set higher, and at least another one of the plurality of height positions is set lower than the lower limit height position of the reference height position range. Item 3. The inspection apparatus according to Item 2.   4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unit that executes an error process when the determination unit determines that the filling state of the liquid in the container is abnormal. 5. Inspection equipment.   The inspection apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the unit includes an evacuator that evacuates containers determined to be abnormal by the determiner out of the conveyance path of the conveyor.   6. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the container is a bottle filled with beer.

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