JP2009006215A - Apparatus for washing can body - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for washing a can body, wherein the apparatus having a size larger than before is not required and the can body can be prevented from being deformed and scratched and the exchange of components of a braking member is not required. <P>SOLUTION: This invention relates to the apparatus for washing the can body having an opening at one end, while being conveyed, and the apparatus is provided with: a washing part which has an inclined conveyance zone, where the can body is inclined downward toward the downstream side and the inclined can body is conveyed by gravity, and is used for washing the can body by jetting washing water toward the upstream side of the inclined conveyance zone; and a draining part for draining the washed can body on the downstream side of the washing part. One or more pairs of fluid jetting means are arranged on both sides of the inclined conveyance zone for jetting a fluid toward the can body to the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the can body from both sides of the inclined conveyance zone so that the movement of the can body to the conveying direction can be stopped by the impact force of the fluid, which is jetted from the pairs of fluid jetting means, on the surface of the can body. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a can cleaning apparatus having an opening at one end where beverages such as beer and soft drinks are filled and enclosed, and in particular, an apparatus for cleaning while transporting a can having an opening at one end. A cleaning section that has an inclined conveyance area that is inclined downward toward the conveyance downstream side and conveys the can body by its own weight, and that injects cleaning water to the upstream side of the inclined conveyance area to wash the can body; The present invention relates to a can cleaning device provided with a draining part for draining downstream of the cleaning part.

  For example, in a manufacturing process in which a beer, juice, or other beverage is filled and sealed in a can body having an opening at one end in a beer factory, a juice factory, etc., the impurities attached to the can body are removed by washing with a cleaning device. Contains beverages such as beer and juice.

  As a can body cleaning device having an opening at the one end, a cleaning unit that conventionally transports a can body while spraying cleaning water to the can body, and the cleaning while transporting the can body downstream of the cleaning section. A cleaning apparatus having a draining part for removing cleaning water adhering to a can body at a section is known, and in particular, the opening of the can body is directed downward as a transport means, and the can body has its own weight on the inclined transport area. There is known a cleaning device which is transported by the above.

  In such a cleaning device, for example, when the can becomes excessive in the downstream process such as the process of filling and enclosing the beverage in the can body, or when the can becomes insufficient in the upstream process such as the process of manufacturing the can body In addition, for example, when an equipment trouble occurs in the upstream process or the downstream process, it is necessary to temporarily stop the flow of the can body. In particular, in the case of a large can body, when the can body collides with the can body, the can body may be deformed or scratched by the impact, so the can body is decelerated so that deformation or scratching is unlikely to occur. There is a need.

Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses a self-propelled can in a can cleaning apparatus that continuously cleans a large number of cans by spraying cleaning water onto a can that self-propels in a chute having a large inclination angle. A can body cleaning apparatus is disclosed in which a braking member that intermittently acts on the surface of a body and a corresponding braking portion are disposed in the chute with a side surface near the bottom of the can body interposed therebetween.
In such a can body cleaning device, a braking action works by pressing the braking member against the can body, and acceleration occurs in the can body when the braking member is separated from the can body and brought into a non-contact state. Thus, by allowing the can body to pass while repeating braking action and acceleration, acceleration of the can body can be moderately suppressed, and even a heavy can body can be self-propelled without causing deformation or scratches. In addition, by arranging the braking member in the chute across the side surface near the bottom of the can body, the can body can be surely decelerated without damaging the can body even when the inclination of the chute is steep, and the strength Since the vicinity of the bottom of the can body having a high height is sandwiched by the braking member, the deformation of the can body by the braking member can be prevented.

Further, in Patent Document 2, as a can stopper that can be used in a can cleaning device, it is arranged on at least one side of the can transport line so as to be movable substantially perpendicular to the transport direction of the transport line. Can be moved toward the can body in synchronism with the lower pressing portion, a lower pressing portion that presses the bottom side surface of the can body, an actuator that pushes the lower pressing portion while moving along the transport line, and the lower pressing portion. In addition, there is disclosed a can body stopper including an upper pressing portion that is disposed so as to be movable up and down relatively with respect to the lower pressing portion and presses the upper side surface.
In such a can stopper, since the top and bottom of the can body having high strength can be pressed, deformation and scratching of the can body can be prevented, and the lower pressing portion and the upper pressing portion move synchronously. Since the can body is suppressed, the can body can be stably stopped. Furthermore, since the upper pressing portion can move up and down relatively with respect to the lower pressing portion, it is possible to cope with can bodies having different heights.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-20739 JP 2004-91124 A

However, in any of the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, there is a possibility that the can body may be deformed or scratched by an impact when the braking member is pressed against the can body. Further, when can bodies collide with each other, the impact may cause deformation or scratches on the can body, and this possibility is high particularly when a plurality of can bodies move as a group. Moreover, in order to inject the amount of washing water necessary for washing into the can body washing section, the can body needs to stay in the washing section for a specified time or more, but the speed control mechanism for that purpose becomes complicated. .
Further, in any of the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, using a brake material such as rubber or a consumable part such as stainless steel as a control member for the can body, the consumable part is brought into contact with the can body. Since the can body is controlled in this way, the consumable parts wear due to contact with the can body, and there is a need to replace the parts.

  Therefore, in view of the problems of the prior art, the present invention does not require an apparatus larger than the conventional one, can prevent deformation and scratching of the can body, and further eliminates the need for replacement of brake member parts. An object is to provide a cleaning device.

In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention,
An apparatus for cleaning while transporting a can body having an opening at one end, and having an inclined transport region that is inclined downward toward the transport downstream side and transports the can body by its own weight, the upstream of the tilt transport region In a can cleaning apparatus comprising a cleaning section for spraying cleaning water on the side to clean the can body, and a draining section for draining downstream of the cleaning section, on both sides of the transport area, from both sides of the transport area A pair or a plurality of pairs of fluid ejecting means for ejecting fluid toward the can body in a direction opposite to the can body transport direction is provided, and the can body is transported in the transport direction by the surface pressure of the fluid ejected from the ejecting means and colliding with the can body. It is possible to stop the movement of the camera.

By providing a pair or a plurality of pairs of fluid ejecting means, it is possible to apply a surface pressure in the direction opposite to the conveying direction to the can body, and since the ejected fluid has elasticity, Even when it collides with a succeeding can body, the can body can be stopped without receiving a strong shocking reaction force. Therefore, deformation and abrasion of the can body can be prevented. Also, since no consumable parts are used to stop the can, there is no need to replace the parts.
The fluid to be used may be anything as long as it is not necessary to clean the adhered fluid by ejecting the fluid, and examples thereof include air, water, etc., but water is particularly preferable. If the fluid is water, the fluid (water) sprayed by the cleaning section can be removed together with the cleaning water at the draining section on the downstream side, and a tank or the like for storing supply water can be used as the cleaning water. This is because the installation space of the incidental equipment of the can body cleaning device can be reduced.

  Further, the fluid ejecting means faces a fluid pipe disposed parallel to both sides of the transport path with the cleaning section sandwiched at a position where the fluid ejected from the fluid ejecting means reaches the cleaning section, and a transport area of the fluid pipe. A spray nozzle connected to a fluid discharge port provided on the side of the spray nozzle, and the tip injection port of the spray nozzle is positioned upstream of the connection position with the fluid pipe in the transport direction of the can body A plurality of spray nozzles are connected to the fluid pipe at regular intervals while being inclined.

  Using the spray nozzle, the spray nozzle is disposed so that the front spray port is inclined upstream of the connecting position with the fluid pipe in the transport direction of the can body, and the spray nozzle is attached to the fluid pipe. By connecting a plurality of fluids at regular intervals, the ejected fluid is dispersed over a wide area, so when the can body collides with the fluid, the can body does not receive a strong impact locally in part, Deformation and abrasion of the can can be further effectively prevented.

In addition, a plurality of pairs of spray nozzles are connected to the fluid pipe along the tube axis direction, and the mounting interval between the plurality of pairs of spray nozzles is smaller than the diameter of the can body.
By connecting a plurality of pairs of spray nozzles, even when the can collides with a fluid or a subsequent can body, the plurality of can bodies can be stopped without receiving a strong impact reaction force. In addition, by making the spray nozzle attachment interval smaller than the diameter of the can body, the plurality of can bodies can be stopped in contact with each other, and the number of stopped can bodies exceeds a certain number. The can body cannot be stopped by the surface force due to the fluid, and the can body located at the most downstream of the stopped can bodies is conveyed to the downstream side. Therefore, a plurality of cans do not move continuously downstream from the spray nozzle that is the fluid ejecting means, and deformation or scratching of the can due to collision between the cans downstream of the spray nozzle can be prevented. .

Further, the spray angle of the pair or plural pairs of spray nozzles is set so that the spray width of the fluid at the collision position with the can body is smaller than the diameter of the can body.
As a result, since all of the fluid ejected from the spray nozzle collides with the can, it is not necessary to use more fluid than necessary, and the amount of fluid used can be minimized.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a can body from being deformed or scratched without requiring a larger-scale device than before, and further to provide a can body cleaning device that does not require replacement of brake member parts. Can be provided.

  Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention unless otherwise specified, but are merely illustrative examples. Not too much.

1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an outline of a can cleaning apparatus according to a first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a plan view in the direction of arrow B in FIG. is there.
The configuration of the can cleaning apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3.
The can cleaning apparatus according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 performs draining and cleaning while conveying the can 5. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a can body cleaning device, 1 is a supply conveyor for continuously transporting the can body 5 to the cleaning device 10, 11 is a transport rail inclined downward toward the transport downstream side, and 12 is a transport rail 11. A cleaning unit that is provided in the middle of the cleaning process to transport the can 5, 13 is a draining unit that further drains the can 5 cleaned by the cleaning unit 12, and 2 is a draining unit to drain the water. The discharge conveyor 4 for discharging the can body 5 downstream is a screw feeder provided on the downstream side of the discharge conveyor 2.

  Next, each part will be described. The supply conveyor 1 is a conveyor that continuously supplies cans supplied from upstream equipment to the cleaning device 10, and the type of the conveyor is not particularly limited as long as the cans can be conveyed. Further, the can body 5 is conveyed on the supply conveyor 1 in an upright state with the opening portion on the upper side.

The transport rail 11 is covered with a housing 14, and is composed of three guide parts, a twist guide part 11a, a straight guide part 11b, and a twist guide part 11c, in order from the upstream side. A rail which is connected to the end portion and the end portion to the start end portion of the discharge conveyor 2 and is inclined with a relatively strong gradient of about 25 ° to 30 °, for example, and is supplied in a horizontal posture from the supply conveyor 1. The can body 5 is slid down and conveyed by its own weight in an inclined posture.
2 and 3, the transport rail 11 is supported by a rectangular frame plate 11e, and is formed by a plurality of guide bars 11d that restrain movement of the can 5 in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. The can body is guided in the transport direction.

  The twist guide portion 11a is provided by twisting the plurality of guide bars 11d, and the can body 5 has a posture of 180 while sliding down the can body 5 by its own weight toward the linear guide portion 11b positioned below. ° Convert. That is, the can body 5 conveyed on the supply conveyor 1 with the opening portion on the upper side is converted into a straight guide portion 11b in a standing state in which the posture is changed by 180 ° by the twist guide portion 11a and the opening portion is on the lower side of the conveying rail. Be transported. The linear guide portion 11b is a guide portion for sliding the can body 5 in an upright state with the opening portion on the lower side of the transport rail, and the twist guide portion 11c has the same structure as the twist guide portion 11a. 5 is again converted by 180 ° to be in an upright state with the opening on the upper side.

The linear guide portion 11b is provided with a cleaning portion 12 and a draining portion 13 in order from the upstream side in the transport direction of the can 5.
The cleaning section 12 is provided with a cleaning water spray pipe 15 along the straight guide section 11b below the straight guide section 11b, and straight with the cleaning water spray pipe 15 along the straight guide section 11a above the straight guide section 11b. A balanced water jet pipe 16 is provided at a target position with respect to the guide portion 11b. Wash water is jetted upward from the wash water jet pipe 15 to wash the inside and outside of the can 5, and balance water is jetted downward from the balance water jet pipe 16 and jetted from the wash water jet pipe 15. The water pressure is balanced to prevent the can 5 from moving up and down, and the outside of the can 5 is washed. In addition, a water jet stopper 30 (to be described later) capable of stopping the sliding of the can body is provided.
Moreover, in the draining part 13 provided in the conveyance direction downstream side of the said washing | cleaning part 12, the can 5 is drained, sliding down the linear guide part 11b.
Drain pipes 14a and 14b for discharging drains generated in the cleaning unit 12 and the draining unit 13 to the outside are provided on the downstream side of the cleaning unit 12 and the draining unit 13 of the housing 14, respectively. Drain is discharged to the outside.

The discharge conveyor 2 continuously removes the can body 5, which has been washed by the washing section 12 and drained by the draining section 13, and whose posture has been changed to an upright state with the opening on the upper side by the twist guide section 11 c from the transport rail 11. The conveyor is discharged and supplied to the screw feeder 4, and the type of the conveyor is not particularly limited as long as the can body can be conveyed.
The screw feeder 4 expands the can body 5 continuously supplied from the discharge conveyor 2 to a downstream device (not shown) with a predetermined interval. If the operation of the screw feeder 4 is stopped, the can body 5 Can also be used as a stopper.

  Next, the water jet type stopper 30 which is a characteristic configuration of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. The water jet stopper 30 is connected to two stopper water pipes 32 fixed to a bracket 31 fixed to the housing 14 and a fluid discharge port provided on the side of the stopper water pipe 32 facing the transport rail 11. A plurality of spray nozzles 32 a and a supply pipe 33 for supplying water to the stopper water pipe 32 are configured. Here, the stopper water pipe 32 is integrally fixed to the bracket 31 by the connecting plate 34, and the water supplied from the supply pipe 33 to the stopper water pipe 32 is the same water as the washing water.

The stopper water pipe 32 has a length corresponding to, for example, 4 to 5 continuous can bodies 5 and is arranged in parallel on both sides of the transport rail 11 with the transport rail 11 in between corresponding to the height of the can body. One end is closed by a blind plug 35 and the other end is connected to a supply pipe 33 for spray water, and the position thereof is arranged at a position where the water sprayed from the spray nozzle 32a reaches the cleaning unit 12. Established.
The length of the stopper water pipe 32 is not particularly limited as long as it is determined by the capability of the cleaning device 10, the number and size of the cans 5 to be cleaned, and the capabilities of the upstream and downstream devices of the cleaning device 10.

Further, the spray nozzle 32a has an inclination angle of 45 ° with respect to the transport rail 11 so that the spray port at the tip is positioned upstream of the connection position with the stopper water pipe 32 on the transport rail 11 side in the can body 5 transport direction. The stopper water pipes 32 are connected at regular intervals so as to be paired at the target positions.
In the first embodiment, the inclination angle is set to 45 °, but the inclination angle is not particularly limited as long as the water sprayed from the spray nozzle 32a can collide with the can 5 from the downstream side in the transport direction. The distance between the spray nozzles 32a is preferably smaller than the diameter of the can body 5 to be conveyed. Moreover, it is preferable to set the spray angle of the spray nozzle 32a so that the spray width at the position where the sprayed water collides with the can body is smaller than the diameter of the can body.

  The water pressure of the water sprayed from the spray nozzle 32 is adjusted so that the conveyance by the dead weight of the can body 5 can be stopped by the surface pressure of the water colliding with the can body 5. As a result, the can 5 transported from the upstream side collides with water sprayed from the spray nozzle 32a (hereinafter referred to as spray water), is decelerated and pushed back, and sprays from the spray nozzle 32a at the most upstream in the transport direction. Stop near water. Next, when the succeeding can body 5 is sequentially conveyed, it is pushed by its own weight (for a plurality of can bodies) including the succeeding can body 5 and the leading can body 5 is sequentially moved to the downstream side by spray water. When the number of stopped can bodies 5 exceeds a predetermined number, all of the can bodies 5 accumulated by the jet water cannot be stopped, and the top can body 5 is discharged. The predetermined number is not particularly limited, but may be set such that the can body on the most upstream side in the transport direction of the plurality of can bodies stopped by the jet water is positioned sufficiently upstream from the upper end of the stopper water pipe 32.

  Although the water injection type stopper 30 is used in the first embodiment, the same effect can be obtained by injecting, for example, aseptic air as another fluid instead of water, and the structure of the air injection device is as follows. The stopper water 32 and the spray nozzle 32 a may have the same configuration as the water jet stopper 30. However, when injecting aseptic air, a supply source of aseptic air, a blower, and a mechanism for discharging the injected aseptic air are required, so that it is preferable to use the water injection type stopper 30.

Next, based on FIG. 4, the operation of the can cleaning apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to an example of initial supply of the can 5. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of charging the can 5 into the can cleaning device 10.
For example, when a beverage filling device (not shown) that is a downstream device of the cleaning device 10 is suspended for a long time, the can body 5 is completely discharged from the cleaning device 10 from the hygiene aspect as shown in FIG. When restarting the beverage filling device, the can 5 needs to be supplied to the cleaning device 10.

  First, the supply conveyor 1 is operated while the screw feeder 4 is stopped, the washing water is injected from the washing water injection pipe 15 and the balance water injection pipe 16, and the injection of the injection water from the water injection stopper 30 is started. The leading can body 5 in an upright state with the opening on the supply conveyor 1 facing upward is pushed out into the guide of the transport rail 11, tilted along the slope of the transport rail 11, and from the subsequent can body 5 by its own weight. Start downhill away. The can body 5 that has started to slide down is converted into a 180 ° posture by the twist guide portion 11 a and enters the cleaning portion 12 with the opening portion facing downward. The can 5 that has entered the cleaning section 12 is decelerated and stopped by the surface pressure received from the spray water in the vicinity of the most upstream spray nozzle 32a constituting the water jet stopper 30. FIG. 4B shows a state in which the top can body is stopped by the water jet stopper 30 as described above.

  Subsequently, the succeeding can body 5 slides down in the same manner as the top can body 5 and abuts the downstream side in the transport direction of the top can body 5 to push the top can body 5. Further, when the number of succeeding can bodies 5 increases, the can bodies 5 cannot be stopped by the surface pressure received from the jet water, and these can bodies 5 move downward in a row, and the succeeding can bodies 5 are also sprayed water. It stops by the surface pressure from. In the same manner, the number of can bodies that stop in succession in the range where the jet water is present increases, and a predetermined number of cans can be stopped. After exceeding the predetermined number, every time one can body 5 is supplied from the supply conveyor, the most downstream can body 5 among the stopped can bodies 5 is discharged downstream, and the transport rail 11 It slides down the slope, is transported to the discharge conveyor 2 through the draining portion 13 and the twist guide portion 11c, and is stopped by the screw feeder 4. In this way, the number of cans 5 stopped by the screw feeder 4 is sequentially increased. FIG. 4C shows a state where the predetermined number of cans 5 that can be stopped by the jet water is exceeded.

  When the number of cans 5 stopped by the screw feeder 4 is increased in this way, finally the cans 5 from the terminal end of the supply conveyor 1 to the start end of the discharge conveyor 2 as shown in FIG. Will be connected. When the screw feeder 4 is started at this time, the conveyance speed of the can 5 is automatically controlled to the conveyance speed of the screw feeder 4. That is, the conveyance speed of the can can be easily performed only by the screw feeder 4.

  Here, the amount of cleaning water sprayed from each can 5 is determined by the amount of water sprayed per unit time at each position of the cleaning water spray pipe 15 of the cleaning unit 12 and the passage time of the can 5. Since it can be determined by the length of the pipe 15, it is possible to secure a sufficient amount of washing water for washing the can body 5 by adjusting the length of the washing water jet pipe 15 and the quantity of jet water per unit time. is there.

Further, since the can body 5 stopped by the water jet stopper 30 and the subsequent can body 5 have elasticity in the jet water, the impact at the time of collision is small, the impact due to the collision is small, and deformation and scratches are generated. Not likely to occur.
Further, since the cans 5 stopped by the screw feeder 4 are released one by one from the water jet stopper 30 and stopped, a plurality of cans do not collide together, and are decelerated by the twist guide portion 11c. And the accelerated distance is short, so there is little impact due to collision, and deformation and scratches are unlikely to occur.

  The apparatus can be used as a can cleaning apparatus that does not require a larger-scale apparatus than before, can prevent deformation and scratching of the can body, and does not require replacement of brake member parts.

It is a block diagram which shows the outline of the washing | cleaning apparatus of the can body which concerns on Example 1. FIG. It is AA sectional drawing in FIG. It is a top view of the B arrow direction in FIG. It is explanatory drawing of can body injection | throwing-in to a washing | cleaning apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

5 Can body 10 Can body cleaning device 11 Transport rail (inclined transport area)
12 Washing part 13 Draining part 15 Washing water injection pipe 16 Balance water injection pipe 30 Water injection type stopper 32 Stopper water pipe (fluid pipe)
32a spray nozzle

Claims (4)

An apparatus for cleaning while transporting a can body having an opening at one end, and having an inclined transport region that is inclined downward toward the transport downstream side and transports the can body by its own weight, the upstream of the tilt transport region In the washing apparatus for a can body provided with a washing section for spraying washing water on the side to wash the can body, and a draining section for draining water on the downstream side of the washing section,
A pair or a plurality of pairs of fluid ejecting means for ejecting fluid from both sides of the transport area to the can body in the direction opposite to the can body transport direction are provided on both sides of the transport area, and are ejected from the ejecting means and collide with the can body. A can body washing apparatus characterized in that the movement of a can body in a conveying direction can be stopped by a surface pressure of a fluid. The fluid ejecting means includes a fluid pipe disposed parallel to both sides of the transport path with the cleaning section sandwiched at a position where the fluid ejected from the fluid ejecting means reaches the cleaning section, and a side facing the transport area of the fluid pipe Consisting of a spray nozzle connected to the fluid outlet provided in
The tip spray port of the spray nozzle is disposed so as to be inclined so as to be located upstream of the connection position with the fluid pipe on the transport region side in the can transport direction,
2. A can cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the spray nozzles are connected to the fluid pipe at regular intervals. A plurality of spray nozzles are connected to the fluid pipe along the pipe axis direction, and
3. The can body cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an interval between the plurality of pairs of spray nozzles is smaller than a diameter of the can body.   The spray angle of the one or more pairs of spray nozzles is set so that the spray width of the fluid at the collision position with the can body is smaller than the diameter of the can body. The can body cleaning apparatus described.

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