JP2001122394A - Nozzle cleaning device for rotary liquid filling machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To rapidly carry out a cleaning operation using a simple construction. SOLUTION: In the nozzle cleaning apparatus of a rotary type liquid charging machine wherein a charging port 3a of a charging nozzle 3 is closed with a cleaning cap 13a to allow a cleaning liquid to flow through the nozzle 3, thereby effecting cleaning of the nozzle, a neck holding arm having a neck holding part, which comes into engagement with the neck of a container through a support axis 11 to hold the neck, and a container lifting mechanism 15, which raises the neck holding arm through the axis 11 to connect a mouth P of the container B to the nozzle 3, are provided on a turn table 1, and a cleaning cap arm 13 having a cleaning cap 13a, which is spaced apart from the neck holding arm by a predetermined angle and can close the nozzle 3, is provided for the axis 11, while a cap replacing mechanism 16, which turns the axis 11 by a predetermined angle to replace the neck holding part below the nozzle 3 with the cap 13a when the nozzle is cleaned, is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a filling nozzle cleaning device provided in a rotary type liquid filling machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a rotary filling machine which holds a container at a constant pitch on a swivel table and fills the container with a liquid from a filling nozzle arranged on the container during the swiveling movement, a conventional filling nozzle is used for cleaning. Then, a cleaning cap for closing the outlet of the filling nozzle is manually attached, and the cleaning liquid is supplied to the filling nozzle and discharged to a waste liquid pipe.
However, since it takes time to attach caps to the filling nozzles one by one, a cleaning cap is arranged near the filling nozzle, and at the time of cleaning, these cleaning caps are moved to the outlet of each filling nozzle. There has been proposed an automatic cleaning apparatus that automatically performs cleaning by a moving mechanism to be mounted.

[0003]

However, in the above-described conventional structure, the neck holder for holding the mouth of the container is disposed immediately below the washing nozzle, so that the moving stroke of the washing cap is long and it takes time to attach and detach the washing cap. In addition, there is a problem that the moving mechanism using the arm and the link becomes complicated, the weight increases, and maintenance becomes difficult. In addition,
If the time required for cleaning is prolonged, the temperature of the liquid or the filling nozzle changes when the liquid is being filled at a constant temperature, and it takes time to return to the original appropriate temperature.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a nozzle cleaning apparatus for a rotary type liquid filling machine which can solve the above-mentioned problems and can quickly perform cleaning with a simple structure.

[0005]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a filling head arranged at a constant pitch on an outer peripheral portion of a swivel table, and a filling nozzle of the filling head provided at an opening of a container. Container connection means for connecting to
A nozzle cleaning device of a rotary liquid filling machine that closes a filling port of the filling nozzle with a cleaning cap and flows a cleaning liquid into the filling nozzle for cleaning, wherein the container connection unit includes:
A support shaft vertically suspended and rotatably mounted on a turntable, a neck holding arm having a neck holding portion attached to the support shaft and capable of holding a container by engaging with a neck of the container; A washing cap having a container lifting mechanism for lifting the container via a shaft and a neck holding arm and connecting the mouth of the container to the filling port of the filling nozzle, and having the washing cap on the supporting shaft at a predetermined angle from the neck holding arm. An arm is provided, and at the time of nozzle cleaning, a cap replacement mechanism is provided for rotating the support shaft by a predetermined angle and replacing the neck holding portion below the filling nozzle with a cleaning cap.

[0006] According to the above construction, a cleaning cap arm having a cleaning cap is provided on the support shaft using the support shaft to which the neck holding arm is attached and the container elevating mechanism, and the cap for rotating the support shaft is provided. Since the replacement mechanism is provided, the neck holding portion used for the filling operation can be quickly replaced with the cleaning cap for the cleaning operation only by rotating the support shaft. In addition, since the movement of raising and lowering for mounting the cleaning cap also utilizes the container lifting / lowering mechanism of the container connecting means, the entire apparatus can be simplified,
Compactness can be achieved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the container elevating mechanism having the above-described structure, an elevating cam provided on a horizontal shaft rotated by an elevating driving device, and the cam provided on a support shaft engages the cam. And a cam follower member.
According to the above configuration, the support shaft can be smoothly moved up and down by the cam and the cam follower member, and the cleaning cap can be attached to the filling port using this container elevating mechanism.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the cap replacement mechanism having the above-described structure, wherein the passive pinion provided on the support shaft and the passive pinion rotatably arranged on the same axis on the swivel table respectively. It comprises a rotating ring having a fan-shaped rack to be engaged and a cap rotating device for rotating the rotating ring within a predetermined range. According to the above configuration, the rotating ring can simultaneously rotate the respective support shafts of the swivel table via the fan-shaped rack and the passive pinion to replace the cleaning cap with the neck holding portion, thereby quickly performing the cleaning operation. it can.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Here, an embodiment of a nozzle cleaning apparatus for a rotary type liquid filling machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
It will be described based on. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the rotary type liquid filling machine includes a plurality of (eight in the figure) filling heads 2 arranged at a constant pitch on an outer peripheral portion of a swivel table 1 and having a built-in filling nozzle 3. Container connection means 4 for lifting the container B to connect the opening P of the container B to the filling port 3a of the filling nozzle 3; and closing the filling port 3a of the filling nozzle 3 to circulate the cleaning liquid into the filling nozzle 3 for cleaning. Nozzle cleaning device 5 (FIG. 2). The filling head 2 is disposed below the turning table 1 via a bearing case 6, and a liquid supply pipe 8 connected to a filling liquid tank 7 is communicated with the filling nozzle 3. Filling port 3 of filling nozzle 3
A is provided with a seal member 3b and a guide hole 3c whose diameter is increased toward the bottom, and a waste liquid discharge hole 9 for discharging a cleaning liquid is opened in the guide hole 3c. Reference numeral 10 denotes an exhaust pipe opened at the filling port 3a for supplying and discharging gas in the container B.

The container connecting means 4 for inserting the mouth portion P of the container B into the guide hole 3c and pressing it against the sealing member 3b to connect the container B and the filling port 3a is connected to the swivel table 1 via the bearing case 6. A support shaft 11 is rotatably arranged so as to be rotatable up and down. As shown in FIG. 5, a lower end of the support shaft 11 has a neck holding portion 12a capable of holding a neck N of the container B.
A cleaning cap arm 13 having a cleaning cap 13a capable of closing the filling nozzle 3 is provided at a predetermined angle θ ° from the neck holding arm 12.

At the upper end of the support shaft 11, a container lifting / lowering mechanism 15 for raising / lowering the container B via a neck holding arm 12 and a support shaft 11 rotated by θ ゜ are provided. A cap exchange mechanism 16 for exchanging the part 12a and the cleaning cap 13a is provided. That is, a fixed sleeve 17 having a flange 17a at the lower end and a cam follower member 26 formed at the upper end is attached to the upper part of the support shaft 11.
7, a passive pinion 31 is mounted via a slide key 30, and the support shaft 11 is guided by the passive pinion 31 and the bearing case 6 so as to be able to move up and down. The container elevating mechanism 15 includes a horizontal shaft 21 rotatably supported via a bearing bracket 22, an elevating cam 23 provided at one end of the horizontal shaft 21, and an other end of the horizontal shaft 21. Lift cam 2 via the horizontal shaft 21 by the rotating lever 24
Lifting and lowering device (air cylinder) 25 for reciprocatingly rotating the cylinder 3 within a predetermined range, a cam follower member 26 with which the upper surface of the lifting cam 23 is engaged, and a support interposed between the flange portion 17a and the passive pinion 19. The cam follower member 26 is configured to urge the shaft 11 downward, and the cam follower member 26 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the elevating cam 23. Therefore, the horizontal shaft 21 is rotated by the lifting drive device 25 via the rotation lever 24, and the support shaft 11 is raised by the lifting cam 23 via the cam follower member 26. By lifting the container B held at 12a by a predetermined distance, the mouth P is pressed against the seal member 3b from the guide hole 3c, and the filling nozzle 12 and the container B can be connected.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cap replacement mechanism 16 rotates on the same axis as the passive pinion 31 provided on the support shaft 11 and the turning table 1 via a guide device 32. A rotating ring 33 that is freely arranged;
A fan-shaped rack 34 disposed on the rotating ring 33 and engaged with the passive pinion 31;
And a cap rotating device (air cylinder) 35 for rotating the 3 in a predetermined range. The guide device 32
The pivot ring 33 is rotatably supported by a plurality of guide rollers 32b in the guide recess 32a. Therefore, by rotating the rotation ring 33 by the cap rotation device 35, the support shaft 11 is rotated via the fan-shaped rack 34 and the passive pinion 31, and the neck holding portion 12a facing below the filling port 3a is moved. At the same time, the cleaning cap 13a can be opposed to the lower side of the filling port 3a. Thereafter, the cleaning cap 13a can be raised using the container lifting / lowering mechanism 15 to close the filling port 3a.

In the above configuration, at the time of filling, the swivel table 1 is swiveled, and the containers are sequentially carried into the receiving portion (not shown) from the inlet starwheel and held in the container holding portion of the neck holding arm 12. Then, when entering a predetermined filling section, the lifting drive device 2 of the container lifting mechanism 15
5 is extended, the elevating cam 23 is rotated, and the neck follower arm 1 is supported by the cam follower member 26 via the support shaft 11.
2 is raised. As a result, the container B held by the neck holding portion 12a is lifted, and the mouth P is pressed against the seal member 3b from the guide hole 3c. Then, the container B is filled with the liquid from the filling nozzle 12. After the filling, the container B is lowered by the container lifting / lowering mechanism 15, and is sequentially discharged from the outlet starwheel.

The filling nozzle 3 is cleaned before filling, during filling, and after filling. That is, the cap rotation device 35 of the cap replacement mechanism 16 is operated to rotate the rotation ring 3.
3 and the fan-shaped rack 34 and the passive pinion 31
By rotating the support shaft 11 through the, the cleaning cap 13a is moved below the filling port 3a. Then, the container raising / lowering mechanism 15 is operated to raise the cleaning cap 13a, and the
Close a. Further, the cleaning liquid tank 4 is switched by the switching valve 41.
The washing water of No. 2 is introduced into the filling nozzle 3 from the liquid supply pipe 8 and washed, and is discharged from the waste liquid discharge hole 9.

According to the above configuration, the neck holding arm 12
A cleaning cap arm 13 is provided on a support shaft 11 having
Is replaced with the cleaning cap 13a, and the container elevating mechanism 1
5 to raise the cleaning cap 13a to fill the filling port 3
a is closed, so that simplification and compactness can be achieved as compared with the case where the cleaning device is independently provided, and a lifting / lowering mechanism for the cleaning cap 13a is not required, further simplifying and reducing the weight. And maintenance can be easily performed.

Further, since the cleaning cap arm 13 is provided adjacent to the neck holding arm 12, the moving stroke of the cleaning cap 13a can be shortened, and the attachment and detachment can be performed in a short time. Furthermore, in the cap replacement mechanism 16, all the cleaning cap arms 13 can be simultaneously rotated by the rotation ring 33 to move the cleaning cap 13a to the cleaning position, and the weight can be reduced with a simple configuration. .

[0017]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the cleaning cap arm having the cleaning cap on the supporting shaft using the supporting shaft to which the neck holding arm is attached and the container lifting / lowering mechanism. And a cap replacement mechanism for rotating the support shaft is provided, so that simply by rotating the support shaft, the neck holding portion used for the filling operation can be quickly replaced with a cleaning cap for the cleaning operation. In addition, since the container lifting / lowering mechanism of the container connecting means for lifting to attach the cleaning cap is used, the entire apparatus can be simplified and the size can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the support shaft can be smoothly moved up and down by the cam and the cam follower member, and the cleaning cap can be attached to the filling port by using the container elevating mechanism. it can. Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the rotating cap can simultaneously rotate the respective support shafts of the swivel table via the fan-shaped rack and the passive pinion to replace the cleaning cap with the neck holding portion, thereby quickly. Cleaning work can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of a nozzle cleaning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the nozzle cleaning device during cleaning.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a container elevating mechanism of the nozzle cleaning device.

FIG. 4 is an overall plan view showing a cap replacement mechanism of the nozzle cleaning device.

FIG. 5 is a plan sectional view showing a neck holding arm and a cleaning cap arm of the nozzle cleaning device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 B Container P Mouth N Neck 1 Rotating table 2 Filling head 3 Filling nozzle 3a Filling port 4 Container connection means 5 Nozzle cleaning device 9 Waste liquid discharge port 11 Support shaft 12 Neck holding arm 12a Neck holding part 13 Cleaning cap arm 13a Cleaning cap 15 Container lifting mechanism 16 Cap replacement mechanism 21 Horizontal shaft 23 Lifting cam 25 Lifting drive 26 Cam follower member 33 Rotating ring 34 Fan-shaped rack 35 Cap rotating device

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Satoshi Ogawa 1-89, Minamikohoku, Suminoe-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Hitachi Zosen Corporation (72) Inventor Hisahiko 1-chome, Minamikohoku, Suminoe-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka No. 7-89 F-term in Hitachi Zosen Corporation (Reference) 3B201 AA46 AB53 BB05 CB01 3E079 EE13 FF03

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A filling head, which is arranged at a constant pitch on an outer peripheral portion of a swivel table, and container connecting means for connecting an opening of a container to a filling nozzle of the filling head, wherein a filling port of the filling nozzle is cleaned. What is claimed is: 1. A nozzle cleaning device for a rotary type liquid filling machine, which is closed by a cap and flows a cleaning liquid into a filling nozzle for cleaning, wherein a support shaft vertically rotatably and rotatably mounted on a swivel table in said container connecting means. And a neck holding arm attached to the support shaft and having a neck holding portion capable of holding the container by engaging with the neck of the container, and lifting the container through the support shaft and the neck holding arm to fill the mouth of the container. A container elevating mechanism connected to the filling port of the nozzle; a washing cap arm having the washing cap provided on the support shaft at a predetermined angle from the neck holding arm; Sometimes, the nozzle cleaning device of a rotary type liquid filling machine, characterized in that the support shaft is provided with a cap replacement mechanism to replace the cleaning cap neck holding portion located below the filling nozzle by a predetermined angle rotation. 2. A container elevating mechanism comprising: an elevating cam provided on a horizontal shaft rotated by an elevating drive device; and a cam follower member provided on a support shaft and engaged with the cam. The nozzle cleaning device for a rotary liquid filling machine according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A cap replacement mechanism, comprising: a rotary pinion provided on a support shaft; and a rotary ring having a fan-shaped rack rotatably disposed on the same axis on a rotary table and engaged with the passive pinion. 3. The nozzle cleaning device for a rotary type liquid filling machine according to claim 1, further comprising a cap turning device for turning the turning ring in a predetermined range.