JP2002060049A - Apparatus for determining rotary position of article - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for determining the rotary positions of articles which causes each of upright columnar articles arranged in a line to rotate about its own axis of rotation by a required amount as the articles are gripped by a pair of gripping members at a time, from both right and left sides, and eliminate the drawback of the apparatus causing, although slight, staining or damaging of labels and slight turning of the labels when the labels rub against each other between adjacent articles during rotation. SOLUTION: The apparatus is so formed that when the articles W are gripped, a clearance S forms between them. This prevents the outer peripheral surfaces of the articles W from abutting against each other during rotation to prevent staining, damaging and turning-up of the labels.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for rotationally positioning an upright cylindrical article.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a process of filling a bottle, a can, or the like with drinking water, a drug solution, or the like, a process of packing the bottle or the like (hereinafter, referred to as an article) with a shrink or a transparent bag is included. When a label is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the article in advance in such an operation, it is necessary to arrange the article in a predetermined direction with the label as a reference. The present applicant describes in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-85950 a device for rotating and positioning an upright cylindrical article such as a bottle as described above by a required amount in order to orient it in a predetermined direction during the process. Suggesting things.

In this apparatus, a pair of gripping members are provided in a distributed manner on both sides of a conveyor which conveys articles in a parallel state in contact with each other, and a plurality of articles are separated by these two gripping members. The gripping, rotating positioning, releasing operations, etc., of the articles are simultaneously performed by simultaneously gripping the articles from the left and right sides and rotating the articles by the required amount around their rotation axes in the required direction. To do it.

[0004]

When performing rotational positioning by the rotational positioning device described in the above publication, for example,
Items that are difficult to rotate due to heavy individual products or large frictional resistance on the bottom surface, labels that are too small or too large, labels that are thin or thick, or labels that have low sticking strength, etc. The label may be slightly scratched or damaged due to the labels rubbing between adjacent articles during the rotation of the article.
In some cases, it induced small turning.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and when a label is attached to an article, the label may be stained, scratched, turned up, or the like due to rotational positioning. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for rotationally positioning an article so as not to cause a problem.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following measures. That is, the rotation positioning device of the upright cylindrical body according to the present invention holds the upright cylindrical articles lined up in a row at once from both left and right sides with a pair of gripping members, and holds each article around the individual rotation axis. Each required amount can be rotated. The holding interval between the articles held by the two gripping members is set to be larger than the outer diameter of these articles.

That is, when a plurality of articles are grasped by both grasping members, a gap is formed between the articles, and the outer peripheral surfaces of the articles are prevented from contacting each other. Therefore, even when a label is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the article, the label is prevented from being stained, damaged, or turned up. In addition, there is an advantage that the rotation of the article itself can be performed smoothly and reliably. It should be noted that, even though the gripping interval between the articles by the two gripping members may be larger than the outer diameter of the article, the magnitude of the size must be naturally set to an appropriate size.

For example, it is preferable that the two gripping members are provided on both sides of a conveyor that conveys articles in a state of being in contact with each other in a side-by-side state (a so-called pressing state). The standard is set so that the row of articles on the conveyor does not become unusually long, that is, a range that does not adversely affect the transport density. In short, since it is only necessary that the outer peripheral surfaces do not contact each other when each article is rotated,
It is sufficient that only a small gap of about 1 mm to several mm is generated between the gripped articles.

[0009] The two gripping members may be in contact with each article at at least three points. By doing so, the positioning of each article is assured,
The rattling during rotation can be prevented, and the structure can be simplified. Further, in this structure, at least one gripping member has a structure having a plurality of idler rollers spaced from each other in the article transport direction via a bifurcated bracket or the like, as in an embodiment described later.

[0010] Therefore, even in a situation where articles are conveyed in contact with each other, it is possible to easily and reliably grip these articles while creating a gap between them.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the rotation positioning device 1 according to the present invention includes a device 2 installed on the upstream side.
As a result, a predetermined number (five in the illustrated example) of the upright cylindrical articles W (in the illustrated example, bottles of drinks) are sent out to the conveyor 3 and then the predetermined number of the articles W are obtained. Of the individual articles W (in the illustrated example, the direction of the label L affixed to the outer peripheral surface of the body of the article W) until the package is collectively packaged by the apparatus 4 installed on the downstream side. ) In a certain direction.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rotary positioning device 1 is configured so as to sandwich the conveyor 3 from both right and left sides thereof. Means 9. In the conveyor 3, a slit 12 is formed in the width direction central portion of the guide table 11 supporting the article W along the conveying direction, and the slit 12 is used for driving the article by a chain drive (chain 13). A structure in which the pusher 14 moves is used.

The gripping means 7 includes a pair of gripping members 16 provided on the left and right sides of the conveyor 3, and a pair of gripping members 1.
6 has a gripping operation drive unit 17 that allows them to approach and separate from each other. That is, in the gripping means 7, the side surfaces of the plurality of articles W arranged in a row are pressed in opposition by the two gripping members 16 to grip them. It is a box-shaped machine frame, and the rotation drive means 8 faces from the inside to the facing inner surface.
Is built in, and the part that actually presses the article W is
It is formed by this rotation driving means 8.

The number of the rotation driving means 8 is equal to the maximum number (five in this example) of articles W that can be arranged as one group on the conveyor 3. That is, one rotation drive unit 8 is assigned to one article W. Each rotation driving means 8 is provided with one gripping member 16.
, An idler roller 21 provided for the other gripping member 16,
Position detector 2 that detects the rotational position of article W above
2 (only shown in FIG. 4), and a roller driving unit 23 that rotates the driving roller 20 until a predetermined positioning signal is transmitted from the position detector 22.

The roller driving section 23 rotates the driving roller 20 from a driving source 24 such as a stepping motor via a winding transmission means 25 such as a timing belt. The position detector 22 uses a reflection-type optical sensor or the like.
Is detected, and the roller driving unit 23 is stopped immediately at this detection position, or after a predetermined number of steps are counted from the detection position, the roller driving is performed. The structure is such that the part 23 is stopped.

The idler rollers 21 are rotatable, and a total of four idle rollers 21 are arranged vertically and longitudinally with respect to one driving roller 20 via a forked bracket 26 having a flat Y-shape. Are combined. Thereby, the article W can be securely and stably gripped. Further, the rotation force can be reliably transmitted to the article W. As shown in FIG.
The opposing combination of the driving roller 20 and the idler roller 21 constituting the driving roller 20 is such that the adjacent distance between the rotary driving means 8 along the conveying direction of the conveyor 3 is reduced (that is, the predetermined number of articles W Are arranged in such a way as to make the shape (column length) compacted) in the conveying direction of the conveyor 3 with respect to the left and right gripping members 16.

Then, the opposing combination of the driving roller 20 and the idler roller 21 is combined with the conveyor 3.
Are set to be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the article W. That is, when a plurality of articles W are gripped at once by the gripping members 16 on both sides, a minute gap S is formed between the articles W. In the present embodiment, the minute gap S is about 2 mm
It was made to become. As shown in FIG. 7, the outer peripheral surfaces of the articles W conveyed by the conveyor 3 are in contact with each other until the articles W are gripped by the gripping members 16.

On the other hand, as described above, at least one of the gripping members 16 has a structure in which the plurality of idler rollers 21 are spaced from each other in the article transport direction via the bifurcated bracket 26. W easily and reliably,
It can be gripped while generating the minute gap S. As shown in FIG.
The gripping operation drive unit 17 that allows the objects to approach and separate from each other,
A sliding guide 2 such as a linear guide provided on a base plate 27 provided on the left and right sides below the conveyor 3 along the mutually approaching and separating directions of the two gripping members 16.
8, a first moving table 29 held by the sliding guides 28, and a second moving table 30 on the first moving table 29.
, A cam 32 provided at the lower part of each first moving table 29, and a cam driving unit 33 for rotating these cams 32 synchronously.

Each gripping member 16 is supported via left and right support columns 31. Each first mobile platform 2
9 is provided with a cam follower 35 that can abut on a peripheral surface of the cam 32 opposite to the conveyor 3 (that is, an opposing outward surface) and protrudes downward. Further, these first moving tables 29 are urged in a direction of approaching each other by a spring 36 provided near the conveyor 3. Accordingly, each cam follower 35 is always in contact with each cam 32 by the spring 36, and the first movable table 29 performs mutual approach / separation with one rotation of each cam 32. .

The cam driving section 33 is provided with a rotating shaft 3 of each cam 32.
8 is made interlockable by a wrapping transmission means 39 such as a timing belt, and then one of the rotating shafts 38 is rotated by a drive source 40 such as a brake motor. As is apparent from this, the gripping operation of the article W by the two gripping members 16 (the driving roller 20 and the idler roller 21 of the rotation driving means 8) is generated by the spring force of the spring 36, and The article W is released by the driving force, and as a result, the article W is not subjected to an excessive gripping force. As a result, the article W is prevented from being scratched or peeling off the label L.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned feeding means 9 is
As a whole (that is, the left and right gripping members 16
) Is moved in a plane direction perpendicular to the mutually approaching / separating direction of the two gripping members 16, that is, in the transport direction of the conveyor 3. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, a slide holder 43 such as a linear guide is provided between the first movable table 29 and the second movable table 30 along the moving direction. And the second mobile base 3
0 is connected to a part of the winding transmission means 44 such as a timing belt, and these winding transmission means 44
It is configured to be able to be driven synchronously by a winding transmission means 45 for interlocking, and then driven by a drive source 46 such as a servomotor.

A transmission shaft 47 connecting each of the wrapping transmission means 44 and the interlocking wrapping transmission means 45 has an end portion or an intermediate portion in order to allow the first moving table 29 to move toward and away from each other. Is provided with a universal joint (not shown). In the drive source 46, when the gripping means 7 is moved in the same direction as the transport direction of the conveyor 3, these transport speeds and the moving speed of the gripping means 7 are synchronized, and the transport direction of the conveyor 3 is opposite. At the time of the return movement, the speed is adjusted so as to be able to return quickly at a speed higher than the above-mentioned movement speed.

The operation of the feeding means 9 is performed when the gripping means 7 brings both gripping members 16 close to each other (see arrow C in FIG. 3).
Thereafter, the two gripping members 16 are moved in the same direction as the conveying direction of the conveyor 3 (see arrow D), and then when the gripping means 7 separates the two gripping members 16 from each other (see FIG. (See arrow E)).
6 is moved in a return direction opposite to the conveying direction of the conveyor 3 (see arrow F). In this way, the feeding means 9 and the gripping means 7 cooperate to cause both gripping members 16 to perform a flat box movement.

By the way, the rotary positioning device 1 of the present embodiment does not require any troublesome adjustment work when it is desired to target the articles W having different diameters or the like, or when the number of the articles W is different. In addition, in order to enable a simple and quick response, both gripping members 16 (that is, all the rotary driving means 8) can be easily replaced by themselves in the gripping means 7. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, two positioning pins 50 protrude from the upper surface of the support column 31 provided on the second movable base 30. On the other hand, a positioning plate 53 can be attached to the lower surface of the substrate portion 51 of the gripping member 16, and a positioning hole 55 through which the positioning pin 50 can be inserted without rattling is provided in the positioning plate 53. Is formed.

An opening 56 is formed in the substrate portion 51 of the gripping member 16 to avoid interference with the positioning pins 50 that project through the positioning holes 55 of the positioning plate 53. The mounting of the gripping member 16 between the substrate portion 51 and the positioning plate 53 is performed by screwing with a fixing screw 57. However, since the elongated hole 58 is provided on the substrate portion 51 side, the position between the two can be adjusted. It is possible. Further, the mounting of the positioning plate 53 and the support column 31 can be uniquely screwed by the mounting screw 59 under the condition where the positioning position of the positioning pin 50 and the positioning hole 55 is controlled.

Needless to say, as the gripping member 16,
The diameter of the driving roller 20 and the idler roller 21 used in the rotation driving means 8 (see FIGS. 3 and 4), the installation interval of the rotation driving means 8 (that is, the minute gap S to be formed between the articles W). Alternatively, it is assumed that a plurality of types in which the number of the rotation driving means 8 is different are prepared. Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, each gripping member 16 is provided with a handle 62 on the upper surface, so that handling is convenient. Due to such a structure, in the initial installation stage of the rotary positioning device 1, the positioning plate 53 is mounted alone on the support column 31, and the positioning is performed by the positioning pins 50 and the positioning holes 55. To fix both.

Then, the gripping member 16 is placed on the positioning plate 53, a fixing screw 57 is inserted from the long hole 58 of the substrate section 51, and this is lightly screwed into a screw hole 63 provided in the positioning plate 53. In this state,
The gripping members 16 (each of the rotation driving means 8) are aligned with the conveyor 3 or the articles W conveyed on the conveyor 3 in a predetermined position. When the positioning is completed, the fixing screw 57 is securely tightened, and the gripping member 16 and the positioning plate 53 are integrally connected.

When the positioning plate 53 has been connected to the gripping member 16 in this way, the mounting screw 59 is loosened through the opening 56 provided in the substrate portion 51 of the gripping member 16, and the gripping member 16 is removed from the support column 31. remove. Such an operation is performed in advance for all the prepared gripping members 16. In this case, when the target article W is changed in the subsequent use, the gripping member 16 with a simple operation of merely loosening or tightening the mounting screw 59 is used.
Can be dealt with simply by exchanging, no troublesome adjustment work is required at all.

It is to be noted that the rotation driving means 8
Since electrical wiring and signal wiring for the roller drive unit 23 and the position detector 22 are required, only these contacting and separating operations need to be performed via a connector or the like (not shown). Next, the operation of the rotary positioning device 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, at the stage where five articles W are sent out from the upstream apparatus 2 as a group, the sticking directions of the labels L of the articles W are different. Also,
As shown in FIG. 7, at this time, the respective articles W are in a state where their outer peripheral surfaces are in contact with each other.

As shown in FIG. 3, in this rotary positioning device 1 with respect to such five articles W, both gripping members 16 waiting on both left and right sides of the conveyor 3 are close to each other (arrow C).
Then, the individual articles W are simultaneously held by the respective rotation driving means 8. Thereby, as shown in FIG.
Means that a minute gap S is formed between adjacent ones. At substantially the same time as the gripping, the two gripping members 16 start moving in the same direction and at the same speed as the conveying direction of the conveyor 3 in response to the operation of the feeding means 9 (see FIG. 5) (arrow D). .

During this movement, the rotation drive means 8 rotates the article W by a required amount until a detection signal is issued from the position detector 22. Therefore, all the articles W are aligned in a predetermined direction (see FIG. 2). During the rotation of the articles W, the individual articles W are kept out of contact with each other, so that the label L is prevented from being stained, damaged, or turned up. When the rotational positioning of the article W is completed in this way, the two gripping members 16 are separated from each other (arrow E), and return to the original standby position (arrow F).

Since the return operation at this time is set so as to return quickly in the feeding means 9, even when the conveying speed of the conveyor 3 is kept constant, when the two gripping members 16 reach the standby position, Immediately, the operation can be shifted to the next operation (operation for rotating and positioning the next five articles W sent in next). This leads to a reduction in the conveying pitch between the gathering of the articles W on the conveyor 3, thereby further improving the processing efficiency. Thus, the five articles W aligned in the same direction are sent out to the downstream device 4, and packaging without failure is performed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, the article W is not limited as long as it has an upright cylindrical shape, such as a bottle, a can, and a paper cylinder. Whether or not the label L is attached to the article W is not limited. That is, the present invention can be implemented for the purpose of protecting the painted surface when the article W is painted, preventing the article W itself from being damaged, and the like. Therefore, as a method of detecting the direction of the article W, a pattern, a mark, or the like is provided on the article W itself by printing or forming unevenness, and this is appropriately detected by a sensor (including a contact switch or the like). Good.

The number of articles W to be rotationally positioned is not limited at all, and may be two or more. The conveyor 3 may be a belt conveyor, a roller roller conveyor, or the like. The rotary positioning device 1 may be mounted on a chute or a flat table surface without providing the conveyor 3.
May be installed. A plurality of the rotary positioning devices 1 are provided along the conveyor 3, and in each rotary positioning device 1, the skipping process is performed by the number of the articles W corresponding to the total number of installations (that is, the same product W). (The operation is deviated so as not to perform the overlapping processing for the collection), it is possible to further double the processing efficiency as a whole. This kind of usage is also possible.

In addition, the detailed structure including the shapes of the members used and the adopted mechanism of each part can be appropriately changed according to the embodiment.

[0036]

As is apparent from the above description, in the article rotary positioning apparatus according to the present invention, the upright cylindrical articles arranged in a row are simultaneously held by a pair of holding members from both left and right sides thereof. In such a case, since a gap is formed between the respective articles, the outer peripheral surfaces of the respective articles do not contact each other, and thus, for example, when a label is attached to the outer peripheral face of the article. However, the label is prevented from becoming dirty, damaged, or turned up. In addition, there is an advantage that the rotation of the article itself can be performed smoothly and reliably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged plan view showing a part (an article gripping state) in FIG. 3;

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example in which a rotary positioning device according to the present invention is installed during a process.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing one embodiment of a rotary positioning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view taken on line AA of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounting structure of the gripping member.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view showing a state immediately before reaching FIG. 1 (before gripping an article).

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rotation positioning device 3 Conveyor 7 Gripping means 8 Rotation driving means 9 Feeding means 16 Gripping member W Article L Label S Micro gap

Claims (3)

[Claims] An upright cylindrical article (W) arranged in a row is simultaneously held by a pair of holding members (16) from both left and right sides thereof, and each article (W) is moved around an individual rotation axis. An article rotation positioning device for enabling rotation by a required amount, wherein the gripping interval of each article (W) by both gripping members (16) is set to be larger than the outer diameter of the article (W). Rotary positioning device. 2. The two gripping members (16) include an article (W).
Are provided on both sides of a conveyor (3) that transports the products in a parallel state in contact with each other, and the articles (W) on the conveyor (3) are simultaneously held by these two holding members (16). The article positioning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a minute gap (S) can be formed between the articles (W) during the holding. 3. The article according to claim 1, wherein the two gripping members (16) can contact at least three points with respect to the individual article (W). Rotary positioning device.