JPH0452172Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] "Industrial Application Field" The present invention relates to a container conveyance device that conveys a container, and more particularly to a container conveyance device that rotates the container while conveying it.

"Prior Art" Conventionally, for example, in a container inspection device that inspects collected containers for dirt or damage, it is necessary to rotate the container in order to inspect the entire outer peripheral surface of the container. Container transport devices used in such container inspection devices include those that move the containers intermittently in a straight line and rotate the containers at their stopping positions, and those that have multiple rotary tables surrounding a rotating body. are provided so as to be able to rotate on their own axis, and the rotating body is rotated while the rotating table is rotated while the container placed on the rotating table is adsorbed and held by negative pressure, so that the container is rotated while being transported. There is something.

``Problem that the invention aims to solve'' However, with the former container conveyance device, a large number of container inspection devices can be installed along the container conveyance line, but since the containers are conveyed intermittently, the high speed On the other hand, although it is easy to increase the speed of the latter container transport device, if a large number of container inspection devices are installed, the diameter of the rotating body must be increased, making the entire device large. It had the disadvantage of becoming

``Means for Solving the Problems'' In view of such circumstances, the present invention is based on a chain in which a large number of links are interconnected to form an endless chain, arranged in a horizontal plane and hung around a sprocket, and this chain. are provided at predetermined intervals in the chain, vertically penetrate through the overlapping part of the rear end of the preceding link and the front end of the succeeding link constituting the chain, and connect both links so as to be swingable in a horizontal plane. a cylindrical housing, a rotating shaft rotatably supported on the shaft of the housing, a rotating table provided above the rotating shaft, a spin roller provided on the rotating shaft, and a movement locus of the chain. a rotation drive means provided in the middle of the rotary shaft and rotating the rotary shaft and the rotary table by contacting a spin roller provided on the rotary shaft; and a negative pressure passage formed in the rotary shaft and the rotary table and opening to the rotary table. , a rotary joint provided at the lower part of the rotating shaft, and a flexible tube connected to the rotary joint to connect the negative pressure passage to a negative pressure source.

``Function'' With such a configuration, the container can be rotated while being transported, making it possible to achieve higher speeds.Moreover, the rotary table for transporting the container is an endless chain that is stretched over a sprocket. Therefore, if a large number of container inspection devices need to be installed, the spacing between the sprockets can be increased, and the entire device can be made smaller compared to the conventional case where the diameter of the rotating body is increased. be able to configure.

In addition, in the present invention, the links constituting the chain are connected in a vertical cylindrical housing so as to be swingable in a horizontal plane, and the housing is provided with a rotary shaft and a rotary table so as to be rotatable. It can also be used as a connecting pin for connecting each link. In particular, since the weight of the container added to the rotary table can be applied to the center of the chain, the chain can be run stably.

"Example" The present invention will be explained below with reference to the illustrated example.
In FIG. 1, a container 2 transported by a container transport conveyor 1 is transferred between a supply star wheel 4 and a fixed guide 5 by a timing screw 3, and the present invention is arranged downstream of these. The container is carried into the container transport device 6 according to the above.

A belt 8 is provided above the fixed guide 5 and is stretched between a pair of pulleys 7.
is brought into contact with the body of the container 2 rotated by the supply star wheel 4 and run at the same speed in the transport direction of the container, and the container is held between the supply star wheel 4 and the belt 8. By doing so, it is possible to transfer the container 2 in a floating state without rotating the container 2. A camera 9 disposed above the movement trajectory of the container 2 allows inspection of the inner bottom of the container 2 through the mouth opening of the container 2.

However, the container conveying device 6 according to the present invention includes a star wheel 12 and a fixed guide 13.
Containers 2 from the supply star wheel 4 are transferred between the star wheel 12 and the fixed guide 13, and at the same time, they are placed on a rotary table 14 that is moved in synchronization with the star wheel 12. It is adsorbed and held on the upper surface of the rotary table 14 by negative pressure.

The rotary table 14 has an endless chain 15
(See Fig. 2) A large number of the endless chains 15 are attached to the star wheel 1 at regular intervals so as to be able to rotate on their own axis.
The sprocket 17 is placed between a first sprocket 17 provided on the rotating shaft 16 to which the sprocket 2 is attached, and a second sprocket 18 provided at a predetermined distance from the rotating shaft 16.

The container 2 is rotated while being moved on a straight line as the rotary table 14 moves and rotates.
First, the top surface of the mouth of the container 2 is inspected by two cameras 20 and a follow-up mirror 21 that swings to follow the movement of the container 2. Next, two cameras 22, a fixed mirror 23, and a follow-up mirror 21 are used to inspect the top surface of the mouth of the container 2. The outer periphery of the mouth side of the container 2 is inspected by the mirror 24.

After that, when the body and neck of the container 2 are further inspected using two cameras 25, a fixed mirror 26, and a follow-up mirror 27, the transmitted light transmitted through the body of the container 2 from the light source 28 is detected. Light is received by a single camera 30 through a fixed mirror 29, and scuffs (scratches) on the container body are inspected using scattering of the transmitted light.

After the above-mentioned inspection is completed, the container 2 is released from adsorption to the rotary table 14 due to the negative pressure, and is transferred to the discharge star wheel 34 and the fixed guide 35, and the container 2 is transferred to the discharge star wheel 34 and the fixed guide 35. The container is then discharged to the original container transport conveyor 1. At this time, the defective containers are ejected to the collection conveyor 37 by the ejector 36.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the chain 15 described above is configured in an endless manner by interconnecting a large number of links 40, and each link 40 is vertically spaced at a required interval. The formed bifurcated portion 40a,
A connecting portion 40b that can be fitted into the gap of the bifurcated portion 40a is provided. A cylindrical housing 41 is disposed vertically through the bifurcated portion 40a and connected together with a screw 42, and a rotary shaft 44 is rotatably supported within the housing 41 via a bearing 43, The rotary table 14 is integrally attached to the upper end of the rotary shaft 44.

A spin roller 45 is integrally formed at the lower part of the rotary table 14, and the rotary shaft 4
A spin roller 46 is integrally attached to the lower part of the rotary table 14, and by rotating the spin rollers 45 and 46, the rotary table 14 can be rotated. On the other hand, a pair of link rollers 47 are rotatably attached to the upper and lower positions of the cylindrical housing 41, respectively.

Guide rails 48 (Fig. 3) are arranged and fixed at both sides of each link roller 47, that is, at four locations on the top, bottom, left, and right of the chain 15, and the chain 15 is supported by the guide rails 48 so as to be freely movable. Along with that. Friction rails 4 are disposed at upper and lower positions on one side of the chain 15 and contact spin rollers 45 and 46 that are integrated with the rotary table 14 and the rotary shaft 44 to rotate them by frictional force.
There are 9.

Further, a negative pressure passage 50 for adsorbing the container 2 is provided in the shaft portion of the rotary table 14 and the shaft portion of the rotating shaft 44, and an air filter 51 is provided above the negative pressure passage 50. There is. A rotary joint 52 is provided at the bottom of the negative pressure passage 50, and the fixed side member of the rotary joint 52 is fixed to the cylindrical housing 41 by a bracket 53. A coil tube 54 for supplying negative pressure into the negative pressure passage 50 is connected to this rotary joint 52, and the other end of this coil tube 54 is connected to a rotary joint 55 shown in FIG. It is communicated with a negative pressure source (not shown) through it.

The rotary joint 55 is connected to the chain 1
A rotary disk 60 is disposed at the center of a pair of sprockets 17 and 18 that extend over the rotary joint 55 (FIG. 5), and constitutes a rotating side member of the rotary joint 55.
is attached to a drive shaft 63 rotatably provided around a fixed shaft 62 erected on the machine frame 61. This drive shaft 63 is interlocked with a motor (not shown) via a main gear 64 fixed to the lower part thereof, and
Gear 65 fixed on the top, machine frame 61 shown in Figure 5
The second sprocket 18 is interlocked with the idle gear 66 rotatably supported by the idle gear 66 and the second sprocket 18 via a gear 68 on a fixed rotary shaft 67.

The coil tubes 54 from each rotary table 14 are connected to the rotary disk 60 as shown in FIG.
A passage 70 formed in the rotating disk 60 and communicating with each coil tube 54 is opened at the lower surface of the rotating disk 60. A small-diameter fixed disk 71 is provided at the lower part of the rotating disk 60, and is fixed to the machine frame 61 with the drive shaft 63 rotatably passing through the shaft portion. The opening of the passage 70 is closed.

The passage 7 is placed on the upper surface of the fixed disc 71.
An arcuate groove 72 is formed over a predetermined angular range concentrically with the opening of 0, and the arcuate groove 72 is formed in the fixed disk 71 via a passage 73 and a conduit 74 connected thereto. It is connected to a negative pressure source (not shown). Therefore, the passage 70, that is, the negative pressure passage 50 of the rotary table 14, communicates with the negative pressure source over a predetermined rotation range of the rotary disk 60, that is, over a predetermined movement range of the rotary table 14, and During this period, the container 2 on the rotary table 14 can be held by suction.

Furthermore, each passage 7 formed in the rotating disk 60
0 is provided with an on-off valve 78 that closes the passage 70 when there is no container 2 to be adsorbed. This on-off valve 78 is connected to the rotating disk 60.
It is equipped with an elevating plunger 79 which vertically penetrates the passage 70 and is movable up and down at the outer peripheral part of the
When the elevating plunger 79 is at the lower end position, its small diameter portion 79a communicates with the passage 70, and when it is at the upper end position, the passage 70 can be blocked by its large diameter portion 79b. Note that this elevating plunger 79 is held at the rising end position by frictional force.

A solenoid 81 for raising and lowering a cam 80 is provided at a predetermined position below the rotating disk 60, and as shown in FIG. The lower end of the elevating plunger 79 can be engaged with the lower end of the elevating plunger 79 to push it up. Also, a fixed cam 8 is located in front of the solenoid 81.
2, and this fixed cam 82 can engage with the cam portion 79c of the elevating plunger 79 located at the ascending end to lower the elevating plunger 79 to the descending end position.

In the above configuration, when the container 2 is placed on the rotating table 14 from the supply star wheel 4, the passage 70 of the rotating disk 60 overlaps with the arcuate groove 72 of the fixed disk 71 at the same time. At this time, the elevating plunger 79 is positioned at the lower end position by the fixed cam 82, and the solenoid 81
remains deenergized, so the communication state of the passage 70 is maintained. Therefore, when the passage 70 of the rotating disk 60 overlaps the arcuate groove 72 of the stationary disk 71, the coil tube 54 and the rotary joint 52 Negative pressure is introduced into the negative pressure passage 50 through the negative pressure passage 50, and the container 2 on the rotary table 14 is held by suction.

At this time, if the container 2 does not exist, the solenoid 81 is energized in response to a signal from a detector (not shown) that detects the presence or absence of a container, and the cam 80 is positioned at the upper end position. As a result, the elevating plunger 79 engages with its cam 80 and is raised, so that the passage 70 is blocked and the passage 70 of the rotating disk 60 is connected to the arcuate groove 77 of the fixed disk 71.
Negative pressure is not introduced into the negative pressure passage 50 of the rotary table 14 even if the rotary table 14 is superposed. The solenoid 81 is arranged so that the cam 80 is connected to the elevating plunger 7.
When the cam 9 is raised, it is deenergized and the cam 80 is lowered to its original lowering end position.

When the container 2 is supplied onto the rotary table 14 and held by suction, the rotary table 14
5 passes the side of the friction rail 49 (see Fig. 5), and at that time, the upper and lower pair of spin rollers 45 and 46 each contact the friction rail 49 and rotate due to the frictional force. will be done. Therefore, the container 2 held by the rotary table 14 is transferred while being rotated by the rotary table 14. In addition, in that case, the above friction rail 49
are arranged above and below the chain 15, so that the rotating shaft 44 to which the rotary table 14 is attached will not be forced against the cylindrical housing 41 that supports it, allowing smooth rotation. can.

Various inspections as described above have been completed on the container 2 which is being rotated while being moved on a straight line as the rotary table 14 is moved and rotated.
When the water is transferred to the discharge star wheel 34 and the fixed guide 35, the passage 70 of the rotating disk 60 and the arcuate groove 72 of the fixed disk 71 are no longer overlapped, and the negative pressure in the container 2 is reduced. The suction to the rotary table 14 by the rotary table 14 is released. Thereafter, the elevating plunger 79, which was located at the rising end position without the container present, is lowered by the fixed cam 82 to open the passage 70, and the same operation is repeated thereafter.

In the above embodiment, the rotary table 14 is rotated by the fixed friction rail 49, but it is of course possible to rotate it by the pulley 7 and belt 8 described above.

"Effects of the Invention" As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to increase the speed, and at the same time, even if it is necessary to provide a large number of container inspection devices, the entire device can be made compact. Furthermore, the housing can also be used as a connecting pin for connecting each link, and the weight of the container added to the rotary table can be applied to the center of the chain, allowing the chain to run stably. This effect can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a right side view of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the rotary joint 55, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the part shown in FIG. 1. A schematic plan view of the main part of the
FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the main part of the figure, and FIG. 7 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2... Container, 6... Container transport device, 14... Rotating table, 15... Chain, 17, 18... Sprocket, 40... Link, 41... Cylindrical housing, 44... Rotating shaft, 45, 46... Spin roller, 48... Guide rail, 49... Friction rail, 52, 55... Rotary joint, 50... Negative pressure passage.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A chain having a large number of links connected to each other to form an endless chain, arranged in a horizontal plane and stretched around a sprocket, and a rear end portion of the preceding link that is provided at predetermined intervals in this chain and that constitutes the chain. A cylindrical housing that vertically penetrates the overlapping part between the front end of the link and the front end of the following link, and connects both links so as to be able to swing in a horizontal plane, and a rotating housing that is rotatably supported on the shaft of the housing. A shaft, a rotary table provided on the top of the rotating shaft, a spin roller provided on the rotating shaft, and a spin roller provided in the middle of the movement locus of the chain that contacts the spin roller provided on the rotating shaft to rotate the rotating shaft. and a rotation drive means for rotating the rotary table, a negative pressure passage formed in the rotary shaft and the rotary table and opened to the rotary table, and a rotary joint provided at the lower part of the rotary shaft;
A container conveying device comprising: a flexible tube connected to the rotary joint to communicate the negative pressure passage with a negative pressure source.