WO2024257459A1 - Closed-bottom cylindrical body processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a closed-bottom cylindrical body processing device that can perform numerous iterations of neck processing on closed-bottom cylindrical bodies without a great enlargement of installation space and that can be used in common for closed-bottom cylindrical bodies of different heights without complex setting actions.　This closed-bottom cylindrical body processing device (100) is characterized by comprising: a multi-stage neck processing section (110) that performs a plurality of iterations of neck processing on open ends of closed-bottom cylindrical bodies and in which a plurality of neck processing units are disposed in sequence; a circulation conveyor (131) that supplies the closed-bottom cylindrical bodies discharged from a downstream-side neck processing unit back to an upstream-side neck processing unit; a transfer turret (140) that retains the closed-bottom cylindrical bodies and moves same to a delivery position that faces the circulation conveyor; and an axial-direction movement mechanism that moves the closed-bottom cylindrical bodies at the delivery position toward the circulation conveyor in a cylinder-axis direction.

Description

Bottomed cylindrical body processing device

The present invention relates to a bottomed cylindrical body processing device that performs neck processing multiple times on the open end of a bottomed cylindrical body while transporting the bottomed cylindrical body along a transport path.

Conventionally, cans used for beverage cans and the like are manufactured by forming a cylindrical can body with a bottom by drawing and ironing a metal plate punched into a circular shape, and then performing a predetermined necking and trimming process on the open end of the can body and, as necessary, a mouth forming process such as threading or curling.
The drawing process, known as necking, is usually divided into a number of steps and carried out in stages so as not to subject the metal material constituting the can body to excessive stress. An example of an apparatus that carries out such necking multiple times in stages is an apparatus that connects multiple process turrets in series, carries out one stage of necking per process turret while sequentially transporting the can body, and carries out multiple necking processes in one round.
However, such an apparatus must be provided with processing turrets in the same number as the desired number of necks to be processed. This creates a problem in that, when manufacturing can bodies that require multiple neck processing, the apparatus and facilities must become long and large, requiring more installation space.

In order to solve such problems, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus in which multiple processing turrets are arranged in series, with a supply position at one end where can bodies are supplied and a discharge position at the other end where can bodies are discharged, in which the can bodies are transported from the supply position and subjected to a first round of multiple processing steps in each processing turret in sequence, and the semi-processed can bodies discharged from the discharge position are returned to the supply position by a circulating conveyor and transported again to the multiple processing turrets where they are subjected to a second round of multiple processing steps.
In an apparatus utilizing such a circulating conveyor, the number of processing turrets arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction can be reduced, and the number of processing operations that can be performed per installation space can be increased.

European Patent No. 2001617

On the other hand, in the apparatus using the above-mentioned circulating conveyor, when converting to the production of beverage cans of a different height, i.e., when changing the mold, it becomes difficult to transfer the cans from the processing turret to the circulating conveyor.
Since each processing turret processes the open end of the can body, it is aligned and transported in order so that the open end of the can body is surely provided for processing, and since the circulating conveyor is structured to suck and transport the bottom of the can body for ease of carrying and transporting, if the device is only suitable for can bodies of a certain height, the circulating conveyor may be positioned in such a way that the transport surface of the circulating conveyor faces closely to the bottom of the can body in the initial design, but if the same device is directly used for necking can bodies of different heights, a problem occurs in that the can bodies that have completed the first round of processing cannot be transferred to the circulating conveyor. In such a case, it would be possible to address the issue by moving the circulating conveyor itself to shift the position of the transport surface, but due to the size of the circulating conveyor, this would be a complex setup and would be unrealistic, and the setup process itself would be complicated.

The present invention aims to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to provide a bottomed cylindrical body processing device that can perform multiple necking operations on bottomed cylindrical bodies without maximizing the installation space, and that has a simple configuration and can be used commonly for bottomed cylindrical bodies of different heights without complicated setup procedures.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for processing a bottomed tubular body, the apparatus being configured to perform necking on an open end of a bottomed tubular body multiple times while transporting the bottomed tubular body along a transport path, the apparatus comprising:
a multi-stage neck processing section in which a plurality of neck processing units are sequentially arranged along a conveying path;
a circulation conveyor for resupplying the bottomed tubular body discharged from a downstream neck processing unit provided downstream of the multi-stage neck processing section to an upstream neck processing unit provided upstream of the multi-stage neck processing section;
a transfer turret having a plurality of pockets arranged in a circumferential direction, the transfer turret holding the bottomed cylindrical body discharged from the downstream neck processing unit in the pocket, the transfer turret moving the bottomed cylindrical body to a transfer position facing the circulating conveyor,
The transfer turret solves the above problem by being equipped with an axial movement mechanism that moves the bottomed cylindrical body in the tubular axial direction toward the circulating conveyor when the pocket holding the bottomed cylindrical body is in a transfer position to the circulating conveyor.

In the processing apparatus for a bottomed cylindrical body of the present invention, the circulating conveyor has a conveying surface and is disposed so as to face the bottom of the bottomed cylindrical body,
The bottom of the bottomed cylindrical object may be attracted to the conveying surface and conveyed.

In addition, in the bottomed cylindrical body processing device of the present invention, the axial movement mechanism can be configured as an air blow mechanism that moves the bottomed cylindrical body in the cylindrical axial direction by ejecting gas.

In the bottomed tubular body processing apparatus of the present invention, each neck processing unit of the multi-stage neck processing section is arranged in series in one horizontal direction,
The circulating conveyor extends along the one direction above the multi-stage neck processing section,
a chute is provided for moving the bottomed cylindrical body downward from the rear end of the conveying path of the circulating conveyor to the upstream neck processing unit,
The chute may be configured to include a guide that moves the bottomed cylindrical body in the axial direction.

　The bottomed tubular body processing device of the present invention is provided with a circulation conveyor that supplies the bottomed tubular bodies discharged from the downstream neck processing unit back to the upstream neck processing unit, thereby reducing the number of processing turrets required for the desired series of multiple neck processing operations, so that multiple neck processing operations can basically be performed on bottomed tubular bodies without maximizing the installation space. Moreover, when the bottomed tubular body is transported by the transfer turret to a transfer position opposite the circulating conveyor, the axial movement mechanism moves the bottomed tubular body in the axial direction toward the circulating conveyor. If the positional relationship in the axial direction of the bottomed tubular body between the circulating conveyor and the transfer turret is initially set according to the case where a bottomed tubular body with a relatively high height is used as the processed body, even if it is diverted (changed) to necking of a bottomed tubular body with a relatively low height, the axial movement mechanism can automatically transfer the bottomed tubular body to the circulating conveyor without any additional complicated setting action. Therefore, the bottomed cylindrical body processing device of the present invention can be used commonly for bottomed cylindrical bodies of different heights without complicated setting procedures, providing high convenience.

In addition, according to the bottomed tubular body processing device of the present invention, the bottom of the bottomed tubular body is adsorbed to the transport surface of the circulating conveyor and transported, so even if the bottomed tubular body is in a semi-processed state after the first round of neck processing has been performed in sequence and discharged from the discharge position, the shape of the bottom is not deformed, and support by adsorption can be reliably achieved.

Furthermore, according to the bottomed cylindrical body processing device of the present invention, the axial movement mechanism is composed of an air blow mechanism that moves the bottomed cylindrical body in the axial direction by ejecting gas, so that when changing the shape to neck a bottomed cylindrical body of a different height, optimal transfer of the bottomed cylindrical body can be achieved simply by changing the amount of gas ejected based on the weight of the bottomed cylindrical body after the changeover, and since the bottomed cylindrical body can be moved in the axial direction without contact, scratches on the bottomed cylindrical body can be prevented.

Furthermore, according to the bottomed tubular body processing device of the present invention, a chute is provided that moves the bottomed tubular body downward from the rear end of the transport path of the circulating conveyor to the upstream neck processing unit, and the chute is provided with a guide that moves the bottomed tubular body in the axial direction. Therefore, even when changing to necking of bottomed tubular bodies of different heights, the bottomed tubular body transferred downward is aligned in the axial direction of the tubular body by the guide to the open end side without any additional complicated setting action, and the bottomed tubular body is returned to an axial position where it can be necked and re-supplied to the upstream neck processing unit. Therefore, bottomed tubular bodies of different heights can be used in common without complicated setting action, resulting in high convenience.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a bottomed cylindrical body processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention from the front side; 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the bottomed tubular body processing apparatus of FIG. 1 from the back side. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of a transfer turret and a circulating conveyor in the bottomed cylindrical body processing apparatus of FIG. 1 . FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3, showing a state in which a high-height can is being transferred. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3, showing the state during transfer of the low-height can.

The present invention will be described in detail below.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a bottomed tubular body processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the front side (the bottom side of the can body C), and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the bottomed tubular body processing apparatus of FIG. 1 as viewed from the back side (the opening end side of the can body C).
The bottomed tubular body processing apparatus 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention performs neck processing multiple times on the open end of the can body C, which is a bottomed tubular body, while circulating the can body C along a conveying path. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the bottomed tubular body processing apparatus 100 includes a multi-stage neck processing section 110 in which multiple (six in Figure 1) neck processing units are arranged in sequence along the conveying path, a re-supply mechanism 130 having a circulation conveyor 131 that re-supplies the can body C discharged from a downstream neck processing unit provided downstream in the conveying direction of the multi-stage neck processing section 110 to an upstream neck processing unit provided upstream in the conveying direction of the multi-stage neck processing section 110, and a transfer turret 140 for transferring the can body C discharged from the downstream neck processing unit to the circulation conveyor 131.

Each neck processing unit has a rotatable processing turret 120 having multiple pockets P on its outer periphery that are arranged at approximately equal intervals in the circumferential direction for individually storing and transporting can bodies C, and a processing device (not shown) that performs neck processing on the can bodies C stored in the pockets P.
In the multi-stage neck processing section 110, processing turrets 120 of the neck processing units and transport turrets 121 that transport the can bodies C between two adjacent processing turrets 120 are arranged alternately. The can bodies C accommodated in each pocket P of the processing turrets 120 are subjected to one stage of neck processing before being transferred to the transport turret 121 downstream in the transport direction.
The pockets P of the processing turret 120 are alternately designated as a first pocket held in the first round and a second pocket held in the second round, and the can bodies C held in the first pocket are subjected to the nth stage of neck processing in the first round, while the can bodies C held in the second pocket are subjected to the nth stage of neck processing in the second round (i.e., the n+xth stage in total), where n is the arrangement order of the neck processing units counted from the upstream side, and x is the total number of neck processing units.
The conveying turrets 121 also each have a plurality of pockets on their outer periphery that hold the can bodies C, and are rotatable turrets that receive the can bodies C that have been processed by the neck processing unit located adjacent to them on the upstream side and supply them to pockets P of the same phase of the processing turret 120 located adjacent to them on the downstream side.

A processing device (not shown) for performing neck processing is disposed in the pocket P of the processing turret 120, and moves in synchronization with the rotation of the processing turret 120. The processing device includes, for example, a bottom tool that supports the bottom of the can body C, an annular outer tool that fits into the outer periphery of the open end of the can body C to reduce the diameter, and an inner tool that is inserted into the open end of the can body C and has a diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the open end of the can body C by about 1 to 2 mm, and is configured so that the bottom tool and the inner tool can be reciprocated in the cylindrical axial direction of the can body C by a drive mechanism (not shown), and the bottom tool and the inner tool are driven in the approaching direction and further driven in the outer tool direction, whereby the open end of the can body C is inserted between the inner tool and the outer tool, thereby performing one-stage neck processing on the open end of the can body C.
The specific configuration of the neck processing device is not limited to the above configuration, and various known neck processing device configurations can be adopted.

In the bottomed tubular body processing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, the processing turrets 120 of each neck processing unit of the multi-stage neck processing section 110 are arranged in series so that they are lined up in one horizontal direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1) with their central axes extending in the horizontal direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1), and each transport turret 121 is also arranged in series so that they are lined up in one horizontal direction with their central axes extending in the same axial direction as the processing turret 120. By arranging them in this manner, it is possible to avoid the processing turrets 120 being arranged so as to overlap each other in the vertical direction (up-down direction in FIG. 1), thereby achieving excellent maintainability.
The circulation conveyor 131 has a parallel path 131b extending in the space above the multi-stage neck processing section 110 in one direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1) that is the same as the installation direction of the multi-stage neck processing section 110, and is arranged so that the supported can bodies C move in a direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1) opposite to the direction in which the can bodies C are conveyed in the multi-stage neck processing section 110 (right-right direction in FIG. 1). Specifically, the circulation conveyor 131 extends with a bend so as to have an upward path 131a for moving the can bodies C transferred from the transfer turret 140 upward and a parallel path 131b for moving them in the circulation direction. The parallel path 131b and the upward path 131a are not limited to a configuration that extends linearly in the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively, as shown in FIG. 1, but may be configured to be disposed at a predetermined angle or to extend in a curved manner. Also, a configuration that extends in a curved manner without distinction between the parallel path 131b and the upward path 131a may be used. The circulating conveyor 131 has a vertical configuration for moving the can bodies C for resupply in the space above the multi-stage neck processing section 110, thereby making it possible to save planar space.

The circulating conveyor 131 is a so-called vacuum conveyor that adsorbs the bottom B of the can body C to the conveying surface 132 and conveys it. If the can body C is made of steel, it may be a magnetic conveyor that adsorbs it by magnetic force. The circulating conveyor 131 is arranged so that the conveying surface 132 coincides with a plane perpendicular to the cylindrical axis of the can body C and faces the cylindrical axis direction of the bottom B of the can body C that has been conveyed to the transfer position by the transfer turret 140. Note that the conveying surface 132 is not limited to being arranged so that it coincides with a plane completely perpendicular to the cylindrical axis of the can body C, and may be arranged so that it forms a slight angle with the plane perpendicular to the cylindrical axis of the can body C as long as it is possible to face the bottom B of the can body C at the transfer position and perform the specified transfer. In Figures 1 and 2, 133 is a support member that supports the circulating conveyor 131 and maintains the transport path, and 134 is a pier that supports the support member 133 in the space above the multi-stage neck processing section 110.

As shown in Figure 3, the transfer turret 140 has multiple pockets P arranged circumferentially, and the pockets P are configured to rotate between a receiving position where the can body C discharged from the downstream neck processing unit is received via the conveying turret 121 and the transfer turret 150 arranged at the most downstream side, and a delivery position opposite the circulating conveyor 131.
In the transport path of the can body C, from the time it is supplied to the multi-stage neck processing section 110 until it is transferred to the circulating conveyor 131, specifically in the transport turret 121, the processing turret 120, the transfer turret 150 and the transfer turret 140, the can body C is transported in such a manner that the opening end of the can body C is always positioned in the same axial direction.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the conveying surface 132 of the circulating conveyor 131 is located in an axial direction that is adapted to, for example, the bottom B of a tall can body C (a high-height can), i.e., that faces the bottom B of the high-height can with a small gap therebetween. If the can body C is a low-height can, as shown in FIG. 5, a certain amount of gap G is formed between the bottom B of the low-height can and the conveying surface 132 of the circulating conveyor 131.
The allowable range of the gap G between the transport surface 132 of the circulating conveyor 131 and the bottom B of the can body C varies depending on the configuration of the axial movement mechanism, but is, for example, 80 mm or less. Since the gap G is also within the range of freedom for the height of the can body C that can be used as the object to be treated, by setting the allowable range of the gap G within the above range, necking can be performed on a sufficiently wide range of low-height cans compared to the standard high-height cans, and a high degree of freedom is obtained in the application of the bottomed tubular body processing apparatus 100.

The transfer turret 140 is equipped with an axial movement mechanism (not shown) that moves the can body C in the cylindrical axial direction toward the circulating conveyor 131 (the front side in Figure 1) when the pocket P holding the can body C is in a transfer position to the circulating conveyor 131.
The axial movement mechanism can be constituted, for example, by an air blow mechanism that moves the can body C in the cylindrical axial direction by blowing gas (air).
The air blow mechanism has, for example, a blow nozzle, an air compressor, and piping, and the blow nozzle is arranged to the side of the transfer turret 140 (the opening end side of the can body C) and is capable of blowing air in the transfer direction (towards the bottom side of the can body C). It is preferable to blow air continuously. By keeping the air blowing in a state where it is performed continuously, it is not necessary to blow air each time in synchronization with the can body C transported to the transfer position, so that the can body C can be easily and reliably transferred to the circulating conveyor 131.
The axial movement mechanism is not limited to being constituted by an air blow mechanism, as long as it is capable of moving the can body C toward the bottom side in the cylindrical axial direction, and may be configured to move the can body C by physical contact with a leaf spring or the like, or by magnetic force.

The resupply mechanism 130 equipped with the circulating conveyor 131 is provided with a chute 135 that moves the can bodies C downward from the rear end of the transport path of the circulating conveyor 131 to the upstream neck processing unit.
The chute 135 has an internal space suitable for a tall can body C (high-height can), and is provided with a guide (not shown) for moving the can body C in the internal space toward the open end in the axial direction (the rear side in FIG. 1) when a can body C of a lower height is fed into the chute 135. When the can body C is a low-height can, by providing such a guide in the chute 135, the axial position of the open end of the can body C, which is shifted toward the bottom at the transfer position of the transfer turret 140, can be returned to its original axial position suitable for necking, regardless of the axial height of the can body C sliding down inside the chute 135. In this state, the can body C is fed to the upstream necking unit via the re-supply turret group 136 and the most upstream conveying turret 121, so that a second round of necking can be performed without providing a separate means for adjusting the axial position.

In the above-mentioned bottomed tubular body processing apparatus 100, for example, when necking a can body C which is a low-height can, multiple neck processing steps are performed as follows. First, the unprocessed can body C supplied from the supply mechanism 160 to the multi-stage neck processing section 110 is transferred to the first pocket P of the upstream neck processing unit via the most upstream conveying turret 121, and one stage of neck processing is performed during the time until it is transferred to the adjacent conveying turret 121 on the downstream side in the conveying direction. Similarly, multiple first round neck processing steps (six times in this embodiment) are performed in stages in the first pocket P of each of the adjacent neck processing units on the downstream side via the conveying turret 121, and when it moves to the discharge position of the most downstream downstream neck processing unit, it is transferred to the pocket P of the transfer turret 140 via the conveying turret 121 and the transfer turret 150. When the pocket P holding the can body C is moved to the transfer position with the rotation of the transfer turret 140, the air blow mechanism continuously blows air, blowing the can body C from the open end side toward the bottom side, and the bottom B is attracted to the conveying surface 132 of the circulating conveyor 131. As a result, the can body C is transferred from the transfer turret 140 to the circulating conveyor 131.
The can bodies C attracted to the circulating conveyor 131 pass through an ascending path 131a and a parallel path 131b along the transport path, and are dropped into a chute 135 at the rear end of the parallel path 131b. The can bodies C dropped into the chute 135 are moved by a guide in the internal space so as to approach the open end in the axial direction of the cylinder, and the amount of displacement of the open end of the can body C toward the bottom in the axial direction is returned to its original position at the transfer position of the transfer turret 140. In this state, the can bodies C are supplied to the second pocket P of the processing turret 120 of the upstream neck processing unit via the re-supply turret group 136 and the most upstream transport turret 121.
The can body C supplied to the second pocket P of the processing turret 120 of the upstream neck processing unit undergoes the first stage of the second round (seventh stage overall) of neck processing before being transferred to the adjacent transport turret 121 on the downstream side in the transport direction. Similarly, the can body C undergoes multiple neck processing rounds (six times in this embodiment) in stages in the second pocket P of each of the adjacent neck processing units on the downstream side via the transport turret 121, and when it moves to the discharge position of the downstream neck processing unit on the most downstream side, it is transferred to the discharge mechanism 170 via the most downstream transport turret 121 and transfer turret 150, where other processing is performed as necessary, and the can body C is transported outside the bottomed tubular body processing apparatus 100 for the next process.
Each of the turrets constituting the supply mechanism 160, the multi-stage neck processing section 110, the transfer turret 150, the transfer turret 140 and the discharge mechanism 170 is rotated directly by an appropriate drive source or mechanically via a transmission mechanism, and their rotational speeds, i.e., the pocket movement speeds, and the interlocking timing of each pocket are designed to be adjustable so that the can body C can be smoothly transferred between each turret.

Although the bottomed tubular body processing apparatus 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the bottomed tubular body processing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.
For example, in the above embodiment, the multi-stage neck processing section has six neck processing units, and the first and second rounds pass through all the neck processing units to perform neck processing 12 times, but as long as the transport start point and transport end point of the circulating conveyor are set on the downstream and upstream sides of the multi-stage neck processing section, respectively, the configuration is not limited to the above. For example, the first round may pass through up to the fifth processing unit and be resupplied to the first processing unit by the circulating conveyor, and the second round may pass through all six processing units, or the first round may start from the first processing unit, pass through up to the sixth processing unit, be resupplied to the second processing unit by the circulating conveyor, and pass through five processing units in the second round, or other configurations may be used.
In the above embodiment, the neck processing unit performs all the neck processing, but other processes may be provided instead of neck processing. Examples of other processes include flanging to form a flange for tightening the can lid, a trimming process to cut off unnecessary parts such as ears at the opening end, a thread processing process to form a threaded portion for tightening the cap, and a curling process to round the opening end. Also, the cans may be transported without processing by simply passing through the processing turret 120.
Furthermore, for example, the number of cycles is set to two in the above embodiment, but the device can also be configured with a number of cycles of three or more.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100: Bottomed tubular body processing device 110: Multi-stage neck processing section 120: Processing turret 121: Transport turret 130: Re-supply mechanism 131: Circulating conveyor 131a: Ascending path 131b: Parallel path 132: Transport surface 133: Support member 134: Pier 135: Chute 136: Re-supply turret group 140: Transfer turret 150: Transfer turret 160: Supply mechanism 170: Discharge mechanism B: Bottom C: Can body G: Gap P: Pocket

Claims (4)

A processing device for a bottomed tubular body, which performs necking on an open end of a bottomed tubular body multiple times while conveying the bottomed tubular body along a conveying path,
a multi-stage neck processing section in which a plurality of neck processing units are sequentially arranged along a conveying path;
a circulation conveyor for resupplying the bottomed tubular body discharged from a downstream neck processing unit provided downstream of the multi-stage neck processing section to an upstream neck processing unit provided upstream of the multi-stage neck processing section;
a transfer turret having a plurality of pockets arranged in a circumferential direction, the transfer turret holding the bottomed cylindrical body discharged from the downstream neck processing unit in the pocket, the transfer turret moving the bottomed cylindrical body to a transfer position facing the circulating conveyor,
The transfer turret is characterized in that it is equipped with an axial movement mechanism that moves the bottomed cylindrical body in the cylindrical axial direction toward the circulating conveyor when the pocket holding the bottomed cylindrical body is in a transfer position to the circulating conveyor. the circulating conveyor has a conveying surface, and is disposed so that the conveying surface faces a bottom of the bottomed cylindrical body;
2. The apparatus for processing a cylindrical body with a bottom according to claim 1, wherein the bottom of the cylindrical body is attracted to the conveying surface and conveyed. The bottomed cylindrical body processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the axial movement mechanism is composed of an air blow mechanism that moves the bottomed cylindrical body in the cylindrical axial direction by blowing gas. The neck processing units of the multi-stage neck processing section are arranged in series in one horizontal direction,
The circulating conveyor extends along the one direction above the multi-stage neck processing section,
a chute is provided for moving the bottomed cylindrical body downward from the rear end of the conveying path of the circulating conveyor to the upstream neck processing unit,
2. The apparatus for processing a cylindrical body with a bottom according to claim 1, wherein the chute is provided with a guide for moving the cylindrical body in the axial direction.

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