JP6890400B2 - Liquid filling device and liquid filling method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid filling device for filling the inside of a container with a liquid, and a liquid filling method.

Conventionally, various liquid filling devices have been known for filling a container with a beverage such as beer or a liquid such as a chemical. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-5296 describes a filling device for filling a bottle with a liquid. This filling device includes a centering cup provided at the lower end and facing the conveyed bottle, and a nozzle which is a liquid introduction pipe which is inserted into the bottle mouth from above and introduces a liquid into the bottle. .. The centering cup is provided with an opening for sliding the nozzle up and down, and an inclined surface with which the bottle contacts is provided below the opening. The centering cup is a guide member that guides the bottle to a position where the nozzle can be inserted.

The bottle and the above-mentioned guide member come close to each other, whereby the bottle mouth is guided by contacting the inclined surface of the guide member. Then, after being guided, the nozzle is inserted into the bottle mouth of the bottle. When the liquid is introduced into the bottle from the nozzle with the nozzle inserted into the bottle mouth, the bottle is filled with the liquid.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-52996

In the liquid filling device described above, it is conceivable that the nozzle and the guide member become sticky, for example, by continuously filling a liquid containing sugar for a long period of time. When the nozzle and the guide member become sticky in this way, as shown in FIG. 7A, the highly viscous liquid E adheres between the opening 101a of the guide member 101 and the nozzle 102, and the nozzle is attached to the opening 101a. It is assumed that 102 will be caught.

When the nozzle 102 is caught in a state where the lower end of the nozzle 102 protrudes below the opening 101a of the guide member 101, the bottle N comes into contact with the inclined surface 101b of the guide member 101 as shown in FIG. 7B. Before, the bottle N comes into contact with the lower end of the nozzle 102. That is, the bottle N comes into contact with the lower end of the nozzle 102 in a state where the position of the bottle N in a plan view is deviated from the nozzle 102 before being guided by the inclined surface 101b.

Therefore, since the lower end of the nozzle 102 comes into contact with the bottle N before the bottle N is guided to the position where the nozzle 102 can be inserted, the nozzle 102 hits the edge of the bottle N as shown in FIG. 7 (c). There is a concern that the container such as the bottle N may be chipped or cracked due to contact. Further, when the nozzle 102 comes into contact with the edge of the bottle N or the like, a strong load is applied to the guide member 101 and the nozzle 102, and the filling device itself may be damaged.

An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid filling device and a liquid filling method capable of suppressing the occurrence of chipping or cracking in a container and avoiding damage to the filling device itself.

The liquid filling device according to the present invention is a liquid filling device that fills a container with a liquid, and is inserted into the opening of the container in close proximity to the container and injects the liquid into the inside of the container while being inserted in the opening. A guide member that guides the container to a position where the nozzle can be inserted and a guide member that guides the container to a position where the nozzle can be inserted by contacting the container before the nozzle is inserted into the opening. It is provided with a sensor unit for detecting whether or not the nozzle is in a position where it comes into contact with the container before the guide member.

The liquid filling device includes a guide member that is movable along the nozzle and guides the container before the nozzle is inserted. Therefore, before the nozzle is inserted, the container is guided to a position where the nozzle can be inserted, so that the nozzle can be inserted into the container and filled with the liquid. Further, since this liquid filling device is provided with a sensor unit that detects whether or not the nozzle is in contact with the container before the guide member, it is determined whether or not the nozzle is in contact with the container first. can do. Then, by stopping the approach of the nozzle when it is detected that the nozzle is in the position of contacting the container first, it is possible to avoid the situation where the nozzle first contacts the container. Therefore, since the contact of the nozzle with the container can be avoided, the occurrence of chipping or cracking in the container can be suppressed, and the damage of the filling device itself can be avoided.

Further, the sensor unit may detect the relative position of the nozzle with respect to the guide member by irradiating the guide member with a laser beam. In this case, since the guide member is irradiated with the laser beam to detect the relative position of the nozzle with respect to the guide member, the position of the nozzle can be easily detected as compared with other detection means. Further, when the position of the nozzle is detected by irradiating the laser beam from the sensor unit, the sensor unit can be arranged at a location away from the nozzle and the guide member. Therefore, the degree of freedom in arranging the sensor unit can be increased, and damage to the container or the filling device can be avoided with a simpler configuration.

Further, the guide member includes a centering guide that contacts the container and guides the container, and a rod-shaped member that is fixed to the centering guide and extends along the nozzle, and the sensor unit emits laser light to the rod-shaped member. By irradiating, the position of the nozzle relative to the centering guide may be detected. In this case, by irradiating the rod-shaped member fixed to the centering guide that guides the container with the laser beam, the fixing rod-shaped member can be effectively utilized as the member to be irradiated with the laser beam.

Further, a plurality of sets of nozzles and guide members are arranged side by side, and the sensor unit irradiates the plurality of guide members with laser light along the direction in which the plurality of guide members are arranged, so that each of the plurality of guide members is arranged. The relative position of the nozzle with respect to may be detected. In this case, the sensor unit irradiates the plurality of guide members with the laser beam to detect the relative positions of the nozzles with respect to each of the plurality of guide members. Therefore, the positions of a plurality of nozzles can be collectively detected by irradiating the laser beam of the sensor unit. Therefore, since the positions of a plurality of nozzles can be collectively detected by one sensor unit, the sensor unit can be easily installed and the cost of the sensor unit can be suppressed.

The liquid filling method according to the present invention is a liquid filling method for filling a container with liquid, and is located at a position facing a nozzle for injecting liquid into the container and a guide member movable along the nozzle. The process of arranging the container, the process of detecting whether or not the nozzle is in contact with the container before the guide member, and the process of detecting whether or not the nozzle is in contact with the container before the guide member, and the position where the nozzle is not in contact with the container before the guide member. When is detected, a step of guiding the container to a position where the nozzle can be inserted by bringing the guide member into contact with the container, a step of bringing the nozzle close to the container and inserting the nozzle into the opening of the container, and a container. A step of injecting a liquid from a nozzle into the inside of the container, and a step of guiding the container when it is detected that the nozzle is in contact with the container before the guide member in the step of detecting by the sensor unit. Stop the insertion process and the injection process.

In this liquid filling method, the sensor unit detects whether or not the nozzle is in the position where it comes into contact with the container before the guide member, and when it is detected that the nozzle is not in the position where it comes into contact with the container first, The guide member guides the container and injects the liquid into the container. On the other hand, when it is detected that the nozzle is in the position of contacting the container first, the step of guiding the container, the step of inserting the nozzle, and the step of injecting the liquid are stopped. Therefore, when the nozzle comes into contact with the container before the guide member, the insertion of the nozzle is stopped, so that the situation where the nozzle comes into contact with the container can be avoided. Therefore, since it is possible to avoid contact of the nozzle with the container, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of chipping or cracking in the container and to avoid damage to the filling device itself.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the container from being chipped or cracked and to prevent the filling device itself from being damaged.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the beverage manufacturing system provided with the liquid filling apparatus which concerns on embodiment. (A) is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a nozzle of a liquid filling device in the beverage manufacturing system of FIG. (B) is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a guide member of the liquid filling device of (a). FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a set of nozzles and guide members, a bottle, and a sensor portion of FIG. (A) and (b) are vertical cross-sectional views showing the operation of filling a bottle with a liquid by a nozzle and a guide member. (A) and (b) are vertical cross-sectional views showing the continuation of the filling operation of FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b). It is a flowchart which shows an example of the liquid filling method which concerns on embodiment. (A), (b) and (c) are diagrams showing a liquid filling operation by a conventional liquid filling device.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the liquid filling apparatus and the liquid filling method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same or corresponding elements are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted. In this embodiment, an example in which the liquid filling device is a filler that fills a container with a liquid will be described.

The container includes, for example, a bottle, a PET bottle, a can, or the like, which has an opening into which a nozzle described later can be inserted. In this embodiment, an example in which the container is a bottle B (see FIG. 3) will be described. The liquid filled in the container is, for example, beer, sparkling liquor, wine, plum liquor, RTD (Ready To Drink), juice, milk, soft drink, soy milk drink, lactic acid bacterium drink, sports drink and other beverages, chemicals and seasonings. Liquids other than beverages such as foods, and semi-solid products such as jelly, yogurt, pudding, soup, liquid food and tofu are also included. In the following description, an example in which the liquid filled in the container is a beverage will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the filler 10 of the present embodiment continuously performs, for example, transporting a container, cleaning the container, filling the container with a beverage, sealing the container, labeling the container, inspecting the container, and packing the container. It is provided in the beverage manufacturing system 1. In addition to the filler 10, the beverage manufacturing system 1 includes a bottle feeding unit 2, a rinser 3, a capper 4, a labeler 5, a bottle inspection unit 6, and a boxing unit 7.

The bottle feeding unit 2 is a portion for flowing the bottle B to the transport line of the beverage manufacturing system 1. The rinser 3 is a bottle washing machine that cleans the bottle B before filling the bottle B with a beverage. A filler 10 for filling the bottle B with a beverage is provided at the end of the transport line of the rinser 3. The filler 10 is a device for filling a bottle B conveyed from the rinser 3 via a transfer line with a beverage. The filler 10 will be described in detail later.

A bottle mouth inspection machine 8 for inspecting the opening B1 (see FIG. 3) of the bottle B is arranged on the downstream side of the transport line of the filler 10. For example, the bottle mouth inspection machine 8 takes an image of the opening B1 of each bottle B conveyed by the transport line, and inspects whether or not the opening B1 is chipped from the taken image. When the bottle mouth inspection machine 8 detects a bottle B having a chip in the opening B1, the bottle B is removed. By detecting the presence or absence of the opening B1 in the bottle mouth inspection machine 8 in this way, even if the bottle B is delivered, or even if the bottle is chipped in the rinser 3 or the transport line, the chipped bottle is formed. It is possible to reliably remove B.

The capper 4 is provided on the downstream side of the bottle mouth inspection machine 8 in the transport line of the bottle B, and a lid is attached to the opening B1 of the bottle B inspected by the bottle mouth inspection machine 8 to seal the bottle B. The labeler 5 attaches a label to the bottle B sealed by the capper 4. The bottle inspection unit 6 inspects the bottle B to which the label is attached by the labeler 5. The boxing unit 7 is arranged on the downstream side of the transport line of the bottle inspection unit 6, and a plurality of bottles B determined to pass by the bottle inspection unit 6 are collectively packed in a box.

Next, the filler 10 will be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the filler 10 is inserted into the opening B1 of the bottle B, and the nozzle 11 for injecting the beverage into the bottle B and the nozzle 11 are inserted. It also includes a guide member 20 that aligns the position of the bottle B with the position of the nozzle 11 in a plan view.

The nozzle 11 has, for example, a cylindrical shape, and a plurality of nozzles 11 are fixed to the filler 10. Each nozzle 11 is attached so as to be movable up and down with respect to the main body of the filler 10, and is lowered by falling by its own weight. Beverages are supplied from the main body of the filler 10 to the inside of the nozzle 11, and the beverage is filled inside the bottle B with the nozzle 11 inserted into the opening B1 of the bottle B from above.

The guide member 20 includes a tubular centering guide 21 through which the nozzle 11 is inserted up and down, and a rod-shaped shaft 22 (rod-shaped member) extending upward from the centering guide 21. The centering guide 21 is a guide for aligning the position of the bottle B with the position of the nozzle 11 in a plan view.

The centering guide 21 includes an opening 21A through which the nozzle 11 is inserted vertically, and a recess 21B formed in a conical shape at the lower portion of the opening 21A. The recess 21B is formed by a tapered surface 21a whose diameter decreases toward the top and a bottom surface 21b located at the upper end of the tapered surface 21a. When the bottle B comes into contact with the tapered surface 21a from below, the bottle B is centered at the position of the nozzle 11, and when the centered bottle B comes into contact with the bottom surface 21b, the bottle B is aligned.

The shafts 22 are provided in pairs, for example, and each shaft 22 extends upward from the centering guide 21. The shaft 22 is fixed to the main body of the filler 10 and extends downward from the fixed portion. The shaft 22 is fixed to the centering guide 21 by, for example, bolt-nut joining. Since the shaft 22 is fixed to the centering guide 21 in this way, it moves in synchronization with the centering guide 21.

The shaft 22 has a diameter-expanded portion 23 at a portion separated from the centering guide 21 by a certain distance. The diameter-expanded portion 23 is a portion whose diameter is expanded from the shaft 22. The enlarged diameter portion 23 may be, for example, a nut fixed to the shaft 22. The heights of the enlarged diameter portions 23 of the plurality of shafts 22 are the same as each other.

As shown in FIG. 3, the filler 10 includes a plurality of sets C of the nozzle 11 and the guide member 20. Although two sets C are illustrated in FIG. 3, the filler 10 has, for example, ten sets C. By the way, an abnormality may occur in which a highly viscous liquid E sticks between the opening 21A of the guide member 20 and the nozzle 11, and at this time, the lower end of the nozzle 11 protrudes downward from the opening 21A. The nozzle 11 may not move smoothly up and down with respect to the guide member 20. When this abnormality occurs, the relative position of the nozzle 11 with respect to the guide member 20 (shaft 22 and diameter-expanded portion 23) is located lower than in the normal state.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the sensor unit 30 is provided in order to detect the above-mentioned abnormality. The sensor unit 30 detects the above-mentioned abnormality by detecting, for example, the diameter-expanded unit 23 located above. The sensor unit 30 is, for example, a laser type sensor that irradiates a plurality of sets C of shafts 22 with laser light L. The sensor unit 30 irradiates the shaft 22 with the laser beam L to detect the presence or absence of the enlarged diameter portion 23. The sensor unit 30 irradiates the laser beam L in a direction (for example, a horizontal direction) where the shaft 22 intersects in the extending direction.

The sensor unit 30 irradiates the shafts 22 of the plurality of sets C with the laser beam L at once. Specifically, the sensor unit 30 irradiates the upper portion of the centering guide 21 on the shaft 22 with the laser beam L. Since the upper portion of the centering guide 21 is a portion where the parts are not crowded as compared with the other portions, it is possible to reliably irradiate the shaft 22 with the laser beam L.

The sensor unit 30 detects the nozzle 11 and the guide member 20 of the group C (group C1) that do not detect the diameter-expanded portion 23 as normal, and detects the nozzle 11 and the guide member of the group C (group C2) that detected the diameter-expanded portion 23. 20 is detected as an abnormality. By performing such detection by the sensor unit 30, it is possible to detect an abnormality in which the liquid E is stuck to the nozzle 11 and the opening 21A in a state where the lower end of the nozzle 11 protrudes below the opening 21A. ..

Subsequently, the liquid filling method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a liquid filling method for filling a bottle B with a beverage using the filler 10 provided with the sensor unit 30 described above. In the initial state, as shown in FIG. 4A, the nozzle 11 and the guide member 20 are arranged at the initial positions, and in the initial position, the lower end of the nozzle 11 is near the lower end of the opening 21A of the centering guide 21. positioned.

In the state where the nozzle 11 and the guide member 20 are arranged at the initial positions as described above, in step S1, the bottle B conveyed to the filler 10 is arranged at a position facing the nozzle 11 and the guide member 20 (container). The process of arranging). At this time, the bottle B is arranged so as to be located vertically below the recess 21B of the nozzle 11 and the centering guide 21.

Next, the process proceeds to step S2, and the sensor unit 30 detects (detecting step) whether or not the position of the nozzle 11 with respect to the guide member 20 is normal. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the sensor unit 30 irradiates the shafts 22 of the plurality of sets C with the laser beam L to detect the presence or absence of the diameter-expanded portion 23, and the guide member 20 having the diameter-expanded portion 23 and the guide member 20. The set C2 of the nozzle 11 is detected as an abnormality.

If there is at least one abnormal set C2, the process proceeds to step S3, and if there is no abnormal set C2, the process proceeds to step S4. In step S3, the filling of the beverage is stopped. At this time, the filler 10 may output an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred by a display device or an audio output device (not shown). After passing through this step S3, a series of steps is completed.

In step S4, as shown in FIG. 4B, the guide member 20 is lowered together with the nozzle 11 to bring the guide member 20 and the nozzle 11 closer to the bottle B. At this time, even if the position of the bottle B in the plan view is deviated from the position of the nozzle 11, the bottle B slides on the tapered surface 21a of the centering guide 21 and is centered, so that the bottle B is nozzleed. It is possible to align just below 11.

When the bottle B comes into contact with the bottom surface 21b of the centering guide 21, the centering guide 21 stops the lowering operation. On the other hand, since the nozzle 11 continues to descend, the nozzle 11 descends with respect to the guide member 20 and the bottle B, so that the nozzle 11 is inserted into the opening B1 of the bottle B from above as shown in FIG. 5 (a). (Step S5).

After the nozzle 11 is inserted into the bottle B, the beverage A is injected from the nozzle 11 into the inside of the bottle B to fill the bottle B with the beverage A (step S6). Then, while filling the beverage A, the nozzle 11 rises in accordance with the liquid level of the beverage A, and the lower end of the nozzle 11 moves upward from the opening B1 of the bottle B, and then the filling of the beverage A is completed. After that, the nozzle 11 and the guide member 20 are raised, and the positions of the nozzle 11 and the guide member 20 are returned to the initial positions (step S7). In this way, a series of processes for one bottle B is completed, and the same process is sequentially repeated for the next bottle B.

Next, the action and effect of the filler 10 of the present embodiment will be described. The filler 10 includes a guide member 20 that is movable along the nozzle 11 and guides the bottle B before the nozzle 11 is inserted. Therefore, before the nozzle 11 is inserted, the bottle B is guided to a position where the nozzle 11 can be inserted, so that the nozzle 11 can be inserted into the bottle B to fill the beverage.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the filler 10 includes a sensor unit 30 for detecting whether or not the nozzle 11 is in contact with the bottle B before the guide member 20, so that the nozzle 11 is provided. Can determine whether or not the bottle B comes into contact with the bottle B first. Then, by stopping the approach of the nozzle 11 when it is detected that the nozzle 11 is in contact with the bottle B first, it is possible to avoid the situation where the nozzle 11 comes into contact with the bottle B first. Therefore, since the contact of the nozzle 11 with the bottle B can be avoided, the occurrence of chipping or cracking in the bottle B can be suppressed, and the filler 10 itself (the portion including the nozzle 11 and the guide member 20) can be prevented from coming into contact with the bottle B. Damage can be avoided.

Further, the sensor unit 30 detects the relative position of the nozzle 11 with respect to the guide member 20 by irradiating the guide member 20 with the laser beam L. Therefore, since the laser beam L is applied to the guide member 20 to detect the relative position of the nozzle 11 with respect to the guide member 20, the relative position of the nozzle 11 can be easily detected as compared with other detection means other than the laser sensor. be able to.

Further, by detecting the relative position of the nozzle 11 by irradiating the laser beam L from the sensor unit 30, the sensor unit 30 can be arranged at a location away from the nozzle 11 and the guide member 20. Therefore, the degree of freedom in arranging the sensor unit 30 can be increased, and damage to the bottle B or the filler 10 can be avoided with a simpler configuration.

Further, the guide member 20 includes a centering guide 21 that comes into contact with the bottle B and guides the bottle B, and a shaft 22 that is fixed to the centering guide 21 and extends along the nozzle 11. The shaft 22 is irradiated with the laser beam L to detect the relative position of the nozzle 11 with respect to the centering guide 21. Therefore, by irradiating the shaft 22 fixed to the centering guide 21 that guides the bottle B with the laser beam L, the fixing shaft 22 can be effectively used as a member to be irradiated with the laser beam L.

Further, a plurality of sets C of the nozzle 11 and the guide member 20 are arranged side by side, and the sensor unit 30 irradiates the plurality of guide members 20 with the laser beam L along the direction in which the plurality of guide members 20 are arranged. , The relative position of the nozzle 11 with respect to each of the plurality of guide members 20 is detected. Therefore, when the sensor unit 30 irradiates the plurality of guide members 20 with the laser beam L, the relative positions of the nozzles 11 with respect to each of the plurality of guide members 20 are detected.

Therefore, by irradiating the sensor unit 30 with the laser beam L, the positions of the nozzles 11 with respect to the plurality of guide members 20 can be collectively detected. Therefore, since the positions of the plurality of nozzles 11 can be collectively detected by one sensor unit 30, the sensor unit 30 can be easily installed and the cost of the sensor unit 30 can be suppressed.

Further, in the liquid filling method according to the present embodiment, when it is detected that the nozzle 11 is not in the position where it comes into contact with the bottle B first, the guide member 20 guides the bottle B and the beverage inside the bottle B. Perform an injection of. On the other hand, when it is detected that the nozzle 11 is in contact with the bottle B first, the step of guiding the bottle B, the step of inserting the nozzle 11, and the step of injecting the beverage are stopped.

Therefore, when the nozzle 11 comes into contact with the bottle B before the guide member 20, the insertion of the nozzle 11 is stopped, so that the situation where the nozzle 11 comes into contact with the bottle B can be avoided. Therefore, since it is possible to prevent the nozzle 11 from coming into contact with the bottle B, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of chipping or cracking in the bottle B and to avoid damage to the filler 10 itself.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the gist described in each claim is modified or applied to other objects without changing the gist. It may be a thing. That is, the present invention can be variously modified without changing the gist described in the claims, and the configuration and shape of each element of the liquid filling device, the configuration and shape of the beverage manufacturing system, and the liquid filling. The order of each step in the method can be appropriately changed without changing the above gist.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the sensor unit 30 that irradiates the shaft 22 of the guide member 20 with the laser beam L to detect whether or not the relative position of the nozzle 11 with respect to the guide member 20 is normal has been described. However, the relative position of the nozzle 11 may be detected by irradiating a portion other than the shaft 22 with the laser beam L. For example, the centering guide 21 may be irradiated with the laser beam L to detect the relative position of the nozzle 11.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the sensor unit 30 irradiates the laser beam L in the horizontal direction has been described. However, the irradiation direction of the laser beam L from the sensor unit 30 and the arrangement position of the sensor unit 30 can be appropriately changed. Further, the liquid filling device according to the present invention may include a sensor unit other than the laser type, and for example, the position of the guide member 20 may be detected by a limit switch.

1 ... Beverage manufacturing system, 2 ... Bottle feeding part, 3 ... Lincer, 4 ... Capper, 5 ... Labeler, 6 ... Bottle inspection part, 7 ... Boxing part, 8 ... Bottle mouth inspection machine, 10 ... Filler (liquid filling device) , 11 ... nozzle, 20 ... guide member, 21 ... centering guide, 21A ... opening, 21B ... concave, 21a ... tapered surface, 21b ... bottom surface, 22 ... shaft (rod-shaped member), 23 ... enlarged diameter part, 30 ... sensor Part, A ... Beverage (liquid), B ... Bottle (container), B1 ... Opening, C, C1, C2 ... Group, E ... Liquid, L ... Laser light.

Claims (5)

A liquid filling device that fills a container with liquid.
A nozzle that approaches the container and is inserted into the opening of the container and injects a liquid into the inside of the container while being inserted into the opening.
A guide member that is movable along the nozzle and guides the container to a position where the nozzle can be inserted by contacting the container before the nozzle is inserted into the opening.
A sensor unit that detects whether or not the nozzle is in a position of contacting the container before the guide member before the guide member comes into contact with the container.
Equipped with a,
The guide member has an opening through which the nozzle is inserted vertically.
The sensor unit detects an abnormality in which a highly viscous liquid adheres between the opening and the nozzle and the relative position of the nozzle with respect to the guide member is located below.
Liquid filling device. The sensor unit detects the relative position of the nozzle with respect to the guide member by irradiating the guide member with a laser beam.
The liquid filling device according to claim 1. The guide member includes a centering guide that contacts the container and guides the container, and a rod-shaped member that is fixed to the centering guide and extends along the nozzle.
The sensor unit detects the relative position of the nozzle with respect to the centering guide by irradiating the rod-shaped member with a laser beam.
The liquid filling device according to claim 2. A plurality of sets of the nozzle and the guide member are arranged side by side.
The sensor unit detects the relative position of the nozzle with respect to each of the plurality of guide members by irradiating the plurality of the guide members with a laser beam along the direction in which the plurality of guide members are arranged.
The liquid filling device according to claim 2 or 3. A liquid filling method that fills a container with liquid.
A step of arranging the container at a position facing the nozzle for injecting a liquid into the container and a guide member movable along the nozzle.
A step of detecting by the sensor unit whether or not the nozzle is in a position where it comes into contact with the container before the guide member.
When it is detected that the nozzle is not in a position where it comes into contact with the container before the guide member, the container is guided to a position where the nozzle can be inserted by bringing the guide member into contact with the container. And the process to do
A step of bringing the nozzle close to the container and inserting the nozzle into the opening of the container.
The step of injecting a liquid into the inside of the container from the nozzle and
With
The guide member has an opening through which the nozzle is inserted vertically.
In the process of detecting with the sensor unit
The sensor unit detects an abnormality in which a highly viscous liquid is fixed between the opening and the nozzle and the relative position of the nozzle with respect to the guide member is located below.
When an abnormality is detected in which the relative position of the nozzle with respect to the guide member is located below, the guide step, the insertion step, and the injection step are stopped.
Liquid filling method.

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