JP6594848B2 - Processing system and processing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a processing system in which a processing speed of a blow molding machine located on the upstream side and a processing speed of a filling machine located on the downstream side may differ from each other, for example, for a system for filling a container with a beverage.

The process for producing a beverage by filling a plastic container represented by a plastic bottle with a product liquid can be roughly divided into a blow molding process and a product liquid filling process.
The blow molding process is a process of molding a plastic bottle by blowing air into a test tubular preform. The filling step includes a step of washing the blow-molded empty PET bottle, a step of filling the washed PET bottle with a beverage, and a step of attaching a cap to the PET bottle filled with the beverage. In each of these steps, as disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1, a rotary apparatus using a star wheel that is a rotating body having a gripper as a means for holding a PET bottle on the outer periphery is used. This apparatus performs operations necessary for each process while holding a plastic bottle with a gripper.

  A blow molding machine blows air into a preform disposed inside a mold housed in a cavity to inflate the preform to produce a PET bottle. Therefore, the blow molding machine is provided with a mold having a size corresponding to the capacity of the plastic bottle to be manufactured. In the rotary type device, a plurality of molds are provided on the outer periphery of the star wheel. For example, when a small-capacity plastic bottle beverage is produced, it is switched to the production of a large-capacity plastic bottle beverage. Therefore, it is necessary to change the mold of the blow molding machine from one corresponding to a small capacity to one corresponding to a large capacity.

  There is a production system in which an upstream blow molding machine that molds a PET bottle and a downstream filling machine that fills the molded PET bottle with a product liquid are connected. The blow molding machine and the filling machine of this production system are connected to each other by a transfer star wheel and are operated in synchronization with each other. The blow molding machine and the filling machine are operated synchronously at the same speed because each gripper conveys the container to all the grippers in order to obtain the maximum production efficiency.

  The difference between the time required for blow molding a large capacity container and the time required for blow molding a small capacity container is small. Compared to this, the difference between the time required for filling the large-capacity container with the product liquid and the time required for filling the small-capacity container with the product liquid is large. For example, when the capacity of the container is doubled, the filling time takes twice, whereas the difference in time required for blow molding is considerably smaller than twice. As described above, since the capacity of the system that connects the blow molding machine and the filling machine is limited by the filling machine, the system that combines the drinks in the large-capacity containers and the drinks in the small-capacity containers produces the drinks in the large-capacity containers. In this case, it is necessary to lower the capacity of the filling machine, that is, the processing speed or the conveyance speed. Therefore, if it is assumed that the containers are held and conveyed by all grippers, the blow molding machine connected to the filling machine needs to be operated with a reduced capacity according to the filling machine.

JP-A-8-282789 JP 2013-039943 A

  As mentioned above, the blow molding machine needs to replace the mold when molding a large-capacity container and when molding a small-capacity container. It takes a considerable amount of time to exchange. In addition, it is necessary to prepare a large-capacity mold corresponding to the number of all cavities that the blow molding machine has, so in addition to increasing beverage production costs, a large space for storing the mold Is required.

  As described above, the present invention is required for replacement from a small-capacity mold to a large-capacity mold in a system in which an upstream processing apparatus, for example, a blow molding machine and a downstream processing apparatus, for example, a filling machine are connected. An object is to provide a processing system and a processing method capable of reducing time.

The processing system of this invention is provided in the downstream from the 1st process part which performs a 1st process to the process target object conveyed continuously by a 1st rotation conveyance body, and a 1st process part, and a 2nd rotation conveyance body The second processing unit that performs the second processing on the processing target that has been subjected to the first processing, and the processing target that has been subjected to the first processing in the first processing unit, are conveyed by a rotating body. A transport unit that transports continuously with a plurality of third rotating transport bodies.
In the processing system according to the present invention, in the low-capacity mode in which the processing speed of the second processing in the second processing unit is slower than that of the first processing, the first processing unit first sets the interval between the plurality of processing objects as the first pitch. The processing is performed, and the second processing unit performs the second processing by setting the interval between the plurality of processing objects as a second pitch smaller than the first pitch.
Moreover, the processing system in this invention is characterized by converting a 1st pitch to a 2nd pitch in the process in which a conveyance part conveys a process target object from a 1st process part to a 2nd process part.

  Since the processing system according to the present invention has a pitch variable mechanism that converts the first pitch to the second pitch in the low capacity mode, the upstream first processing section has the same speed as in the high capacity mode. You can drive as is. Therefore, the first processing unit, such as a blow molding machine, can mold plastic containers by supplying preforms to every other cavity in accordance with this pitch change, so that large capacity molds can be placed in every other cavity. What is necessary is just to provide. Therefore, according to the processing system of the present invention, when the operation is switched from the high capacity mode to the low capacity mode, the time required for switching from the small capacity mold to the large capacity mold can be reduced, and the production stop time can be reduced. Can be shortened. This suggests that the time required for switching from the large capacity mold to the small capacity mold when switching the operation from the low capacity mode to the high capacity mode can be shortened.

  The processing system in the present invention can execute the high capacity mode in which the processing speed of the second processing in the second processing unit is faster than the low capacity mode. In this high-capacity mode, the interval between the plurality of processing objects in the first processing unit can be the second pitch, and the interval between the plurality of processing objects in the second processing unit can be the second pitch. And the conveyance part at this time maintains a 2nd pitch in the process in which a process target object is conveyed from a 1st process part to a 2nd process part.

In the processing system of the present invention, the first processing unit can be attached with a predetermined number N of first processing elements to perform the first processing, and the second processing unit has a predetermined number M of second processing to perform the second processing. With elements.
In the low-capacity mode, the first processing unit can perform the first processing by attaching the first processing elements whose number is 1 / n times the predetermined number N (where n is a positive integer of 2 or more). .
In the high capacity mode, the first processing unit can perform the first processing by attaching a predetermined number N of first processing elements.

In the processing system of the present invention, at least the following means can be adopted to convert from the first pitch to the second pitch in the low capacity mode.
As for a 1st means, one 3rd rotation conveyance body is provided with a pitch conversion mechanism. That is, the first means includes a pitch variable mechanism in which the third rotary transport body of the transport unit has a first pitch on the side receiving the processing object and a second pitch on the side delivering the processing object. .

  In the first means, any one of the third rotary conveyance bodies includes a plurality of grippers for gripping the processing object, and among the plurality of grippers, the gripper that receives the processing object moves at a first pitch and at a speed V2. The gripper that delivers the object to be processed can move at a second pitch and at a speed V1 that is slower than the speed V2.

The second means changes from the first pitch to the second pitch between the adjacent upstream third rotating transport body and downstream third rotating transport body, and the upstream third rotating transport body and downstream third rotation. Each of the transport bodies includes a plurality of grippers that grip a processing object. The gripper of the upstream third rotating transport body and the gripper of the downstream third rotating transport body are prevented from interfering with the counterpart gripper when the object to be processed is transferred.
The second means is preferably configured such that the gripper of the upstream third rotating transport body and the gripper of the downstream third rotating transport body have a large opening when the object to be processed is transferred, so that Avoid interference.

  Although the processing system of the present invention can be applied to various specific uses, the first processing unit is a blow molding unit that molds a preform which is a precursor of a container into a container, and the second processing unit is molded. The present invention can be applied to a processing system that is a filling unit that fills a container with a product liquid.

In the processing system of the present invention, the first pitch is typically twice the second pitch.
In the processing system of the present invention, typically, in the low-capacity mode, the number of first processing units is ½ times the predetermined number N, and the first processing unit is provided at every other predetermined mounting position. A processing element is attached and a first process is performed.

  According to the processing system of the present invention, when the operation is switched from the low capacity mode to the high capacity mode, the time required for replacement of the first processing element in the first processing section can be reduced, and the production stop time can be shortened. This can also reduce the time required to replace the first processing element when switching the operation from the high capacity mode to the low capacity mode.

It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the drink filling system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the drink filling system of 1st Embodiment, (a) shows the high capacity | capacitance mode which both a blow molding machine and a filling machine operate | move at high speed according to producing the drink of a small capacity container, ( b) shows a low capacity mode in which the blow molding machine operates at a high speed and the filling machine operates at a low speed in accordance with the production of a large capacity container beverage. The transfer wheel of the drink filling system of a 1st embodiment is shown, (a) shows the composition, (b) shows the state where pitch conversion is not performed, and (c) shows the state where pitch conversion is performed. It is a top view which shows the transfer wheel in the high capacity | capacitance mode of the drink filling system of 1st Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the transfer wheel in the low capacity | capacitance mode of the drink filling system of 1st Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the drink filling system of 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the high capability mode which both a blow molding machine and a filling machine operate | move at high speed according to producing the drink of a small capacity container. (B) shows a low capacity mode in which the blow molding machine is operated at a high speed and the filling machine is operated at a low speed in accordance with the production of a large capacity container beverage. It is a top view which shows the structure of the transfer wheel of the drink filling system of 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the gripper used for the transfer wheel of 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view which shows transfer of the plastic container in the transfer wheel of 2nd Embodiment, and the mode before and behind that.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a processing system of the present invention is applied to a beverage filling system 1 will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[First Embodiment]
The beverage filling system 1 according to the first embodiment realizes a series of steps of filling a beverage into a plastic container 100 made of, for example, PET (polyethylene terephthalate). As shown in FIG. 1, the beverage filling system 1 includes a blow molding unit 10 that molds a plastic container 100 by blow molding a preform that is a precursor of the plastic container 100, and a product liquid in the molded plastic container 100. And a filling unit 30 for filling the container. The basic configuration of the beverage filling system 1 is followed in the beverage filling system 2 according to the second embodiment.
In addition, the blow molding part 10 respond | corresponds to the 1st process part of this invention, and the blow molding in the blow molding part 10 respond | corresponds to the 1st process of this invention. The filling unit 30 corresponds to the second processing unit of the present invention, and the filling of the product liquid in the filling unit 30 corresponds to the second processing. Furthermore, the preform and the plastic container 100 correspond to the processing object of the present invention.

  The beverage filling system 1 includes a high-capacity mode (FIG. 2 (a)) in which the product liquid is filled into a small-capacity plastic container 100 and a low-capacity mode (in which the product liquid is filled into a large-capacity plastic container 100). 2 (b)). While the beverage filling system 1 is operated in the low-capacity mode, the plastic container 100 is delivered and received at the boundary portion between the blow molding unit 10 and the filling unit 30 at a pitch different from that in the high-capacity mode. It can be carried out.

[Blow molding part 10]
The blow molding unit 10 stretches and blow-molds a test tubular preform that is continuously conveyed from upstream to produce a plastic container 100. The produced plastic container 100 is conveyed to the filling unit 30. The preform may be sterilized before being conveyed to the blow molding unit 10, or the molded plastic container 100 may be sterilized by the blow molding unit 10 and then conveyed to the filling unit 30. Further, in the beverage filling system 1, it is optional to add processing elements other than the blow molding unit 10 and the filling unit 30.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the blow molding unit 10 includes a molding chamber 11 and a molding machine 13 provided inside the molding chamber 11. In addition, the blow molding unit 10 includes transfer wheels 15 and 16 that sequentially convey the plastic container 100 molded by the molding machine 13 toward the filling unit 30. In FIGS. 1 and 2, white arrows indicate the conveyance direction of the plastic container 100, and solid arrows indicate the rotation direction of the transfer wheel 15 and the like. The same applies to other drawings.

  The molding machine 13 includes a star wheel SW as a rotating body, and after the preform is inserted into a plurality of molding dies that are equally mounted in the circumferential direction of the star wheel SW, Stretch blow molding is performed by blowing blow molding gas inside. The star wheel SW constituting the molding machine 13 corresponds to the first rotary carrier of the present invention, and the mold constituting the molding machine 13 corresponds to the first processing element of the present invention. The number of all dies (first processing elements) attached in the circumferential direction is a predetermined number N. This embodiment does not ask about the concrete composition of blow molding part 10, and can use the conventional rotation type stretch blow molding device. This mold corresponds to the first processing element of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the structure of the star wheel is arbitrary including the following.

The transfer wheels 15 and 16 each have a basic configuration of a star wheel as a rotating body, and a plurality of grippers (not shown) are arranged at equal intervals along the circumferential direction on the periphery of the transfer wheels 15 and 16. Has been. The plastic container 100 held by the gripper is conveyed on the circumference as the transfer wheels 15 and 16 rotate. The plastic container 100 gripped by the gripper by the transfer wheel 15 is transferred to the gripper of the transfer wheel 16. The delivery of the plastic container 100 is performed at a site where the circumference by the transfer wheel 15 and the circumference by the transfer wheel 16 approach each other.
The plastic container 100 conveyed by the transfer wheel 16 is delivered to the transfer wheel 35 of the filling unit 30.

[Filling unit 30]
Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the filling unit 30 fills the plastic container 100 received from the upstream blow molding unit 10 with the product liquid by the filling machine 33. The filling unit 30 includes transfer wheels 35 and 36 that sequentially convey the plastic container 100 received from the blow molding unit 10. The transfer wheels 15, 16, 35, and 36 correspond to the transport unit of the present invention.

The filling unit 30 includes a filling chamber 31 and a filling machine 33 provided inside the filling chamber 31.
The filling machine 33 includes a star wheel SW as a rotating body, and a plurality of filling valves and a plurality of grippers (not shown) are paired on the periphery of the star wheel SW at equal intervals along the circumferential direction. Is arranged. The plastic container 100 held by the gripper is filled with the product liquid from the filling valve while being conveyed on the circumference along with the rotation of the star wheel. The star wheel SW constituting the filling machine 33 corresponds to the second rotary carrier of the present invention, and the filling valve constituting the filling machine 33 corresponds to the second processing element of the present invention. The filling machine 33 includes a predetermined number M of filling valves (second processing elements). The predetermined number M is the same in the high capacity mode and the low capacity mode.

  Similarly to the transfer wheels 15 and 16, the transfer wheels 35 and 36 include a plurality of grippers (not shown). The plastic container 100 held by the gripper is conveyed on the circumference as the transfer wheels 35 and 36 rotate. The transfer wheel 35 can greatly open the gripper when the plastic container 100 is exchanged. Hereinafter, the configuration of the transfer wheel 35 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[Transfer wheel 35]
The transfer wheel 35 has a high capacity structure (35H) applied when the beverage filling system 1 is operated in the high capacity mode and a low capacity structure applied when the beverage filling system 1 is operated in the low capacity mode. (35L) is prepared. The transfer wheel 35 corresponds to the third rotary conveyance body of the present invention. In the high capacity mode, a transfer wheel 35H having a high capacity structure (FIGS. 3B and 4) is installed in the filling chamber 31, and in the low capacity mode, the transfer wheel having a low capacity structure is replaced with the transfer wheel 35H. 35L (FIG. 3 (c) and FIG. 5) is installed. Hereinafter, the transfer wheel 35H and the transfer wheel 35L will be described in this order. The transfer wheel 35H and the transfer wheel 35L have the same configuration except that the shapes of the cam groove 59H and the cam groove 59L are different.

[Transfer wheel 35H]
As shown in FIGS. 3A, 3 </ b> B, and 4, the transfer wheel 35 </ b> H includes a support column 41 whose axis extends in the vertical direction, a rotation shaft 43 that is partially exposed from the upper end of the support column 41, and a rotation shaft 43. And a rotating disk 45 fixed coaxially. The rotating shaft 43 is rotated by a rotating electrical machine (not shown), and the rotating disk 45 is also rotated along with the rotating motion.

  The transfer wheel 35 </ b> H has a plurality of guide arms 47 attached to a rotating disk 45. Each guide arm 47 is provided so that the axis line extends along the radial direction of the rotating disk 45, and the inner end of the radial direction is fixed to the rotating disk 45 via the stator 48. The arm 47 has a cantilever structure.

In the transfer wheel 35H, a slider 49 that reciprocates along the axial direction of the guide arm 47 is slidably attached to the guide arm 47. The slider 49 reciprocates between the inner end and the outer end of the guide arm 47.
A gripper holder 51 is attached to the slider 49, and the gripper holder 51 reciprocates along the axial direction of the guide arm 47 following the reciprocation of the slider 49. The gripper holder 51 has a gripper 52 and a cam pin 53 attached thereto. The gripper 52 is attached to the outer side of the rotating disk 45 in the radial direction (hereinafter the same) than the cam pin 53, and the portion that holds the plastic container 100 faces the outer side in the radial direction. The gripper 52 and the cam pin 53 also reciprocate along the axial direction of the guide arm 47 following the reciprocation of the slider 49. The cam pin 53 is inserted into the cam groove 59H of the cam plate 57H. Gripper 52, as much as possible grasp the plastic container 100, the structure is arbitrary.

Next, the transfer wheel 35 </ b> H has a fixed disc 55 attached to the support post 41. The fixed disk 55 is provided below the rotating disk 45 with an interval.
A cam plate 57H is attached to the fixed disc 55. As shown in FIG. 4, the cam plate 57H in the transfer wheel 35H is formed with a circular cam groove 59H so that the cam curve draws a circle. A cam pin 53 is inserted into the cam groove 59H.

  In the transfer wheel 35H, when the rotary disk 45 rotates following the rotational movement of the rotary shaft 43, the gripper 52 and the cam pin 53 also rotate through the gripper holder 51 attached to the slider 49. The cam pin 53 is inserted into the cam groove 59H of the cam plate 57H. Since the cam groove 59H is circular, the cam pin 53 rotates to draw a simple circular cam curve. Therefore, the gripper 52 also rotates on the circumference.

  In the high capacity mode, the pitch and conveying speed of the plastic container 100 in the blow molding unit 10 and the filling unit 30 including the transfer wheel 35H and the like are the same in P2 and V2.

[Transfer wheel 35L]
Next, the transfer wheel 35L used in the low capacity mode will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 (a), 3 (b) and FIG. Since the transfer wheel 35L has the same configuration as the transfer wheel 35H except that the cam plate 57L is different from the cam plate 57H of the transfer wheel 35H, the following description will focus on this difference.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cam groove 59L of the cam plate 57L includes a first arc groove 61, a second arc groove 63 having a larger radius of curvature than the first arc groove 61, the first arc groove 61, and the second arc. The connecting groove 65 connects the groove 63, and has a substantially elliptical outer diameter in plan view. The second arc groove 63 has the same radius of curvature as the cam groove 59H of the transfer wheel 35H. The connecting groove 65 is substantially linear.

Since the cam plate 57L has the cam groove 59L described above, when the rotary shaft 43 rotates, the slider follows the displacement of the cam pin 53 inserted into the second arc groove 63 and the connecting groove 65 toward the outside in the radial direction. 49 is displaced outward in the radial direction. When the gripper 52 moves following the second arc groove 63 , in addition to the first arc groove 61 , in addition to the gap (pitch) between adjacent ones being increased, as shown in FIG. 5. , Transport speed is faster. As described above, the transfer wheel 35L includes a variable pitch mechanism and a variable speed mechanism in which the pitch of the gripper 52 changes.

The transfer wheel 35L used in the low-capacity mode receives the plastic container 100 from the transfer wheel 16 in an area in which the gripper 52 moves following the second arc groove 63 having a large pitch and a high conveyance speed. Further, the transfer wheel 35L delivers the plastic container 100 to the transfer wheel 36 in an area in which the gripper 52 moves following the first arc groove 61 having a small pitch and a low conveyance speed.
Specifically, the transfer wheel 35L receives the plastic container 100 at the pitch P1 (first pitch) and the conveyance speed V2, and delivers the plastic container 100 at the pitch P2 (second pitch) and the conveyance speed V1. However, V1 = 1/2 × V2 and P1 = 2 × P2 are satisfied.

  Since the pitch of the transfer wheel 35L increases as the gripper 52 moves outward in the radial direction, the plastic container 100 cannot be received from the upstream transfer wheel 16 if it is at the same position as the transfer wheel 35H. Therefore, in the low ability mode, as shown in FIG. 2B, the central axis of the transfer wheel 35L is moved to a position different from that of the transfer wheel 35H in the high ability mode. By doing so, the transfer of the plastic container 100 with the transfer wheel 16 is ensured.

[Operation of Beverage Filling System 1]
Next, the operation of the beverage filling system 1 will be described.
Since the beverage filling system 1 combines the high-capacity mode in which the large-capacity plastic container 100 is filled with the product liquid and the low-capacity mode in which the small-capacity plastic container 100 is filled with the product liquid, the high-capacity mode is described below. The mode and the low ability mode will be described in this order.
In the high capacity mode, the transfer wheel 35H is assembled to the filling section 30, and in the low capacity mode, the transfer wheel 35L is assembled to the filling section 30.

[High-performance mode (Fig. 2 (a))]
In the high-capacity mode, both the blow molding unit 10 and the filling unit 30 are operated at a high capacity where the conveyance speed is fast.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the beverage filling system 1 operated in the high capacity mode sequentially transports the plastic container 100 molded in the molding chamber 11 by the transfer wheels 15 and 16 in the blow molding unit 10. At this time, the plastic container 100 is held and conveyed by all the grippers of the transfer wheels 15 and 16. In addition, illustration of a gripper is abbreviate | omitted. At this time, the interval between the plastic containers 100 transported by the transfer wheels 15 and 16 is the pitch P2, and the transport speed is V2.

  The plastic container 100 conveyed in order by the transfer wheels 15 and 16 is transferred to the transfer wheel 35H of the filling unit 30, further conveyed by the transfer wheel 36, and supplied to the filling machine 33. At this time, the plastic container 100 is held and conveyed by all the grippers of the transfer wheels 35H and 36. In addition, illustration of a gripper is abbreviate | omitted. The pitch conveyance speed of the plastic container 100 conveyed by the transfer wheels 35H and 36 at this time is maintained at P2 and V2.

  The plastic container 100 supplied to the filling machine 33 is filled with the product liquid in the filling machine 33. The plastic container 100 filled with the product liquid is conveyed toward a processing unit provided downstream of the filling unit 30, for example, a capper to which a cap for sealing the opening of the plastic container 100 is attached.

  When the beverage filling system 1 is operated in the high capacity mode, the pitch and transport speed of the plastic container 100 transported by the transfer wheels 15 and 16 and the pitch and transport of the plastic container 100 transported by the transfer wheels 35H and 36. The speeds coincide with each other at P2 and V2. Accordingly, in FIG. 2A, the distance between the plastic containers 100 on the transfer wheels 15 and 16 and the distance between the plastic containers 100 on the transfer wheels 35H and 36 are drawn to coincide with each other. This transfer wheel 35H conveys the plastic container 100 at equal intervals along the circumference.

[Low-capacity mode (Fig. 2 (b))]
In the low-capacity mode, the blow molding unit 10 operates at a high capacity with a high conveyance speed, and the filling unit 30 operates at a low capacity with a low conveyance speed. When the preceding operation mode is the high capacity mode, the transfer wheel 35H of the filling unit 30 is replaced with the transfer wheel 35L.

  Moreover, the blow molding part 10 is replaced | exchanged for the high capacity | capacitance metal mold | die adapted to a large capacity container. However, in the present embodiment, it is not necessary to replace all of the small capacity molds that have been mounted so far with large capacity molds, only half the number of small capacity molds, that is, 1 / 2N. It is sufficient to replace the with a large capacity mold. Moreover, the replacement is performed every other small-capacity mold that was originally provided.

  Also in the beverage filling system 1 operated in the low capacity mode, the basic operation and the conveyance speed of the blow molding unit 10 are the same as in the high capacity mode. However, in the low-capacity mode, the molding machine 13 does not mold the plastic container 100 from the preform using all the molds that can be held, but is half the number that can hold a large-capacity mold. Only the molding machine 13 is attached to perform molding. Moreover, every other large capacity mold is attached.

  Therefore, the pitch of the plastic container 100 conveyed by the transfer wheels 15 and 16 is P1 (2 × P2), unlike P2 in the high capacity mode, and every other gripper included in the transfer wheels 15 and 16, that is, one pitch. The plastic container 100 is held intermittently. Incidentally, in the high-capacity mode, all the grippers included in the transfer wheels 15 and 16 hold the plastic container 100 without providing a vacancy.

  The plastic containers 100 conveyed in order by the transfer wheels 15 and 16 are transferred to the transfer wheel 35 of the filling unit 30, further conveyed by the transfer wheel 36, and supplied to the filling machine 33. At this time, the plastic container 100 is held and conveyed by all the grippers of the transfer wheels 35L and 36. In addition, illustration of a gripper is abbreviate | omitted.

  However, the transfer wheel 35L that receives the plastic container 100 from the transfer wheel 16 needs to match the pitch P1 of the transfer wheel 16 and the plastic container 100 and the pitch P2 of the transfer wheel 36 and the plastic container 100. Therefore, by adopting a pitch variable mechanism, the transfer wheel 35L spreads to the pitch P1 when the plastic container 100 is received from the transfer wheel 16, and narrows to the pitch P2 when delivered to the transfer wheel 36.

[Effect of beverage filling system 1]
The effects of the beverage filling system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described.
Since the beverage filling system 1 applies the transfer wheel 35L having a variable pitch mechanism in the low capacity mode, the blow molding unit 10 is the same as in the high capacity mode even if the filling unit 30 is operated at a low speed. It can be operated at high speed. The blow molding unit 10 molds the plastic container 100 by supplying a preform every other pitch in accordance with this pitch conversion, and therefore, a large capacity mold may be provided every other pitch. Therefore, according to the beverage filling system 1, when the operation is switched from the low capacity mode to the high capacity mode, the time required for switching from the small capacity mold to the large capacity mold can be halved, and the production stop time can be reduced. Can be shortened. This suggests that the time required for switching from the large capacity mold to the small capacity mold when switching the operation from the high capacity mode to the low capacity mode can be halved.

  Further, according to the beverage filling system 1, it is sufficient that the large-capacity mold attached to the blow molding unit 10 is possessed by half of the number that can be attached to the blow molding unit 10. Therefore, according to the beverage filling system 1, in addition to the cost required for the large-capacity mold, the space for storing the large-capacity mold can be reduced.

Here, the beverage filling system 1 has been described assuming that the operation speed in the high-capacity mode is twice the operation speed in the low-capacity mode, but this is merely an example, and may be three times, four times, or the like.
Moreover, although the drink filling system 1 provided the function which changes pitch in the transfer wheel 35L of the filling part 30, if the position which changes pitch is between the blow molding part 10 and the filling part 30, it can determine arbitrarily. .

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a beverage filling system 2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the low capacity mode, the beverage filling system 2 is based on the premise that the transport speed of the upstream transfer wheel is different from the transport speed of the downstream transfer wheel. However, when the plastic container 100 is exchanged with transfer wheels having different transport speeds, the gripper with the higher transport speed may catch up with the gripper with the lower transport speed and collide. The second embodiment proposes a transfer wheel that avoids the collision of the gripper.

The beverage filling system 2 also has a high-capacity mode (FIG. 6 (a)) for filling a small-capacity plastic container 100 with a product liquid and a low-capacity mode for driving a large-capacity plastic container 100 with a product liquid ( FIG. 6B) is a dual-use system. The contents of the high ability mode and the low ability mode are the same as in the first embodiment.
Since the basic configuration of the beverage filling system 2 is the same as that of the beverage filling system 1, the following description focuses on the transfer wheels 35 and 36 that are characteristic features thereof. However, since the transfer wheel 35 and the transfer wheel 36 have the same configuration except for the sign of the gripper 74, the transfer wheel 35 will be described below as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the transfer wheel 35 is provided with a rotating disc 71 and a plurality of grippers 72 that grip the plastic container 100 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer periphery of the rotating disc 71. As shown in FIG. 8, each gripper 72 includes a bracket plate 73 fixed to the outer peripheral portion of the rotating disk 71, drive side link plates 75A and 75B and driven side link plates 77A and 77B attached to the bracket plate 73. And. The drive side link plates 75A and 75B and the driven side link plates 77A and 77B form a four-bar linkage mechanism. The structure of the gripper 72 is described more specifically in Patent Document 2.

  The drive side link plates 75A and 75B have an oval shape having a fixed length and are provided so as to intersect each other at a predetermined angle. The drive side link plates 75A and 75B are pinned at one end which is an intersecting portion, and can swing with respect to each other. The other end portions of the drive side link plates 75A and 75B are pinned to the driven side link plates 77A and 77B.

  In the driven side link plates 77A and 77B, base end portions 78A and 78B forming a four-bar linkage mechanism and base end portions 78A and 78B and inclined gripping portions 79A and 79B are integrally connected. The base end portions 78A and 78B are pinned to the drive side link plates 75A and 75B, respectively. Further, boundary portions between the base end portions 78A and 78B and the gripping portions 79A and 79B are pinned.

  When an external force F is applied to the portion where the drive side link plates 75A and 75B are pinned, the gripper 72 opens the gripping portions 79A and 79B and removes the external force F as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 8A, the gripping portions 79A and 79B are closed. In the gripper 72, the gripping portions 79A and 79B are opened larger (FIG. 8 (c)) than that required for transferring the plastic container 100 (FIG. 8 (b)).

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the transfer wheel 35 includes a cam 81 that applies the external force F. The cam 81 is positioned so that the gripper 72, that is, the gripping portions 79A and 79B are opened and closed when the plastic container 100 is transferred. Specifically, the cam 81 is disposed so that the gripper 72 opens from before the plastic container 100 is delivered and closes when the receipt is completed.

[Operation of beverage filling system 2]
Next, the operation of the beverage filling system 2 will be described.
The beverage filling system 2 has the same basic operation as the beverage filling system 1 for performing the high capacity mode and the low capacity mode. However, the beverage filling system 2 performs the pitch conversion and speed adjustment of the blow molding unit 10 operated at high speed and the filling unit 30 operated at low speed without exchanging the transfer wheel 35 and the transfer wheel 36. It is different from the system 1. Below, the drink filling system 2 is demonstrated centering on this difference. In the beverage filling system 2, the transfer wheel 35 corresponds to the upstream third rotary transport body of the present invention, and the transfer wheel 36 corresponds to the downstream third rotary transport body of the present invention.

[High-performance mode]
In the high-capacity mode, both the blow molding unit 10 and the filling unit 30 are operated at a high capacity where the conveyance speed is fast.
In the transfer wheels 35 and 36, the pitch and the conveyance speed of the plastic container 100 to be conveyed are both P2 and V2. Moreover, the transfer wheels 35 and 36 convey the plastic container 100 using all the grippers 72.

[Low ability mode]
In the low capacity mode, the blow molding unit 10 operates at a high capacity with a high conveying speed (V2), and the filling section 30 operates with a low capacity at a low conveying speed (V1). Even if the preceding operation mode is the high capacity mode, the transfer wheels 35 and 36 of the filling unit 30 are continuously used as they are.
Similarly to the beverage filling system 1, the large capacity mold attached to the molding machine 13 in the low capacity mode is attached every other half of the predetermined number N that can be held. Therefore, the interval between the plastic containers 100 delivered to the transfer wheel 35 is P1 (= 2 × P2) and is held every other gripper 72. Further, the transfer speed of the transfer wheel 35 is V2 as in the high capacity mode.

  Next, the transfer wheel 36 is a plastic container in which the conveyance speed is V1 (= 1/2 × V2) and the gripper 74 is held using all the grippers 74 as the filling unit 30 is operated at a low capacity. The interval of 100 is P2. That is, when the plastic container 100 transported at the pitch P1 and the transport speed V2 is transferred from the transfer wheel 35 to the transfer wheel 36, the speed and the pitch are converted into the pitch P2 and the transport speed V1.

  Here, since the transfer speed of the transfer wheel 35 is higher than that of the transfer wheel 36, the gripper 72 of the transfer wheel 35 may interfere with the gripper 74 of the transfer wheel 36. That is, since the moving speed of the gripper 72 is twice the moving speed of the gripper 74, the gripper 72 that has just finished receiving and catches up with the gripper 74 that has been involved in the transfer of the plastic container 100 in advance. There is a fear. This interference can also occur between the gripper 72 and the gripper 74 that is about to start giving and receiving.

In order to avoid the interference between the gripper 72 and the gripper 74 described above, the gripper 72 of the transfer wheel 35 and the gripper 74 of the transfer wheel 36 are configured to largely open before and after the plastic container 100 is transferred. This will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 9 shows a process when the plastic container 100 conveyed by the transfer wheel 35 is transferred to the transfer wheel 36. In FIG. 9, the upper stage in the figure is preceded by the time in the lower stage, and the left side in the figure is preceded by the time in the right side.

  Before the plastic container 100 gripped by the gripper 72 of the transfer wheel 35 is transferred to the gripper 74 of the transfer wheel 36, the gripper 74 is opened widely. As the rotation of the transfer wheels 35 and 36 proceeds, the gripper 74 is gradually closed and the plastic container 100 is gripped by both the gripper 72 and the gripper 74. This state is shown in the lower left figure of FIG. As the transfer wheels 35 and 36 further rotate, the gripper 72 gradually opens and the gripping of the plastic container 100 from the gripper 72 to the gripper 74 is completed.

  In the above-described gripping process, in the fully open state where the gripper 72 or the gripper 74 is opened to the maximum, there is no interference with the movement locus of the counterpart gripper 72 or gripper 74 indicated by a broken line. Therefore, the gripper 72 or the gripper 74 does not interfere with the counterpart gripper 72 or the gripper 74 before and after the plastic container 100 is transferred.

[Effect of beverage filling system 2]
The beverage filling system 2 according to the second embodiment has the same effects as the beverage filling system 1 described above without exchanging the transfer wheel 35 and the transfer wheel 36. Therefore, the beverage filling system 2 can shorten the work time required when switching from the high capacity mode to the low capacity mode or vice versa.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the configuration described in the above embodiments can be selected or changed to other configurations as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention. .
For example, the pitch variable mechanism that converts the pitch P1 to the pitch P2 is not limited to the first embodiment and the second embodiment. Further, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the beverage filling system 1 is used as an example of the processing of the present invention as a stem, but the processing speed is the same between the upstream processing unit and the downstream processing unit. In some cases, particularly in different cases, the present invention can be applied to various systems having a high upstream processing speed.
Further, as an example in which the processing speed and the pitch are different, the relationship of V1 = 1/2 × V2 and P1 = 2 × P2 is satisfied. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and V1 = 1 / n × V2, P1 = It can be widely applied to the relationship of n × P2. However, n is an integer of 2 or more. Similarly, the number of the first processing elements (molds) attached to the first processing unit in the low speed mode is not limited to 1/2 × N, and can be applied to 1 / n times the predetermined number N.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2 Beverage filling system 10 Blow molding part 11 Molding chamber 13 Molding machine 15, 16 Transfer wheel 30 Filling part 31 Filling chamber 33 Filling machine 35, 36 Transfer wheel 35H, 35L Transfer wheel 41 Strut 43 Rotating shaft 45 Rotating disc 47 Guide arm 48 Stator 49 Slider 51 Gripper holder 52 Gripper 53 Cam pin 55 Fixed disk 57, 57H, 57L Cam plate 59H, 59L Cam groove 61 First arc groove 63 Second arc groove 65 Connecting groove 71 Rotating disk 72 Gripper 73 Bracket plate 74 Gripper 75A, 75B Drive side link plate 77A, 77B Drive side link plate 78A, 78B Base end 79A, 79B Grip part 81 Cam 100 Plastic container

Claims (12)

A first processing unit that performs a first process on a processing object that is continuously transported by a first rotating transport body;
A second processing unit that is provided on the downstream side of the first processing unit and that is continuously transported by a second rotary transport body, and that performs a second processing on the processing target that has been subjected to the first processing;
A transport unit that includes a plurality of grippers for gripping the processing object that has been subjected to the first process by the first processing unit, and that transports the processing object continuously with a single third rotating transport body; Prepared,
In the low capacity mode in which the processing speed of the second process in the second processing unit is slower than the first process,
The first processing unit performs the first processing with the interval between the plurality of processing objects as a first pitch,
The second processing unit performs the second processing by setting the interval between the plurality of processing objects as a second pitch smaller than the first pitch,
The conveyance unit moves the gripper that receives the processing object at a speed V2 among the plurality of grippers, and the gripper that delivers the processing object moves at a speed V1 that is slower than the speed V2.
A processing system characterized by that.
The transport unit, pre-Symbol processing object to receive without the grippers said first pitch, said gripper passing the processing object forms the second pitch, and a pitch changing mechanism,
The processing system according to claim 1 .
The pitch variable mechanism is
By changing the distance from the rotation center of the third rotary transport body to the position where the gripper grips the object to be processed, conversion between the first pitch and the second pitch and conversion between the speed V2 and the speed V1 are performed. Is made,
The processing system according to claim 2 .
A first processing unit that performs a first process on a processing object that is continuously transported by a first rotating transport body;
A second processing unit that is provided on the downstream side of the first processing unit and that is continuously transported by a second rotary transport body, and that performs a second processing on the processing target that has been subjected to the first processing;
A transport unit that includes a plurality of grippers for gripping the processing target that has been subjected to the first processing by the first processing unit, and that transports the processing target continuously by a plurality of third rotary transport bodies; Prepared,
In the low capacity mode in which the processing speed of the second process in the second processing unit is slower than the first process,
The first processing unit performs the first processing with the interval between the plurality of processing objects as a first pitch,
The second processing unit performs the second processing by setting the interval between the plurality of processing objects as a second pitch smaller than the first pitch,
The transport unit is
An adjacent upstream third rotary transport body and a downstream third rotary transport body are provided, and the second pitch from the first pitch between the upstream third rotary transport body and the downstream third rotary transport body. To
The upstream third rotating transport body and the downstream third rotating transport body each include a plurality of upstream grippers and a plurality of downstream grippers that grip the processing object,
The upstream gripper that has just finished giving and receiving the processing object catches up with the downstream gripper that was previously involved in transferring the processing object,
In the fully open state where the upstream gripper and the downstream gripper are opened most widely before and after the transfer of the object to be processed, interference with the movement trajectory of the counterpart in plan view is avoided.
A processing system characterized by that.
The gripper of the upstream third rotating transport body that receives the processing object moves at the first pitch, and the gripper of the downstream third rotating transport body that delivers the processing object moves at the second pitch. Moving,
The processing system according to claim 4.
In the high capacity mode in which the processing speed of the second process in the second processing unit is faster than the low capacity mode,
The interval between the plurality of processing objects in the first processing unit is the second pitch,
The interval between the plurality of processing objects in the second processing unit is the second pitch,
The transport unit maintains the second pitch in the process of transporting the processing object from the first processing unit to the second processing unit.
The processing system as described in any one of Claims 1-5 .
The first processing unit can be attached with a predetermined number N of first processing elements for performing the first processing,
The second processing unit includes a predetermined number M of second processing elements for performing the second processing,
In the low capacity mode,
The first processing unit performs the first processing by attaching the first processing element in a number 1 / n times the predetermined number N (where n is a positive integer of 2 or more).
The processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 .
In the high capacity mode in which the processing speed of the second process in the second processing unit is faster than the low capacity mode ,
The first processing unit attaches the predetermined number N of the first processing elements to perform the first processing.
The processing system according to claim 7 .
In the low capacity mode,
The first processing unit can be attached with a predetermined number N of first processing elements for performing the first processing, and is equal to ½ times the predetermined number N at every other predetermined mounting position . Applying the first treatment with the first treatment element attached;
The processing system according to claim 7 .
The first processing unit is a blow molding unit that molds a preform which is a precursor of a container into the container,
The second processing unit is a filling unit that fills the molded liquid with the product liquid.
The processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 9 .
The first pitch is twice the second pitch,
The processing system as described in any one of Claims 1-10.
The processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 11,
The first treatment and the second treatment are performed on the object to be continuously conveyed.
A processing method characterized by the above.

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