JPH0470069B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a container discharging device used in a bottle discharging section of a bottle washer.

[Conventional technology]

In general, bottle washer machines wash containers while they are continuously conveyed by a carrier equipped with a number of holders that hold the containers, and then the bottoms of these containers housed in the holders are moved to a bottom guide. A chute provided at a predetermined gap in front of the end of the bottom guide receives the container that has fallen out of the holder, guides it downward, and discharges it. ing.

In the container discharging device described above, the chute is urged toward the bottom guide side by a spring, so that if the container does not fall from the holder and is caught, the chute can move against the spring force,
This movement of the chute was detected and the device was stopped. Then, by operating a lever or the like connected to the chute, the chute is further moved to remove the stuck container.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the conventional container discharging device described above, the chute must be manually moved to take out the container and then returned to its original position and operated again, which has disadvantages such as poor work efficiency and long downtime.

The present invention has been made to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and an object of the present invention is to provide a container discharging device that can automatically return to an operating state after automatically discharging a stuck container.

[Means to solve the problem]

The container discharging device according to the present invention has a large number of holders, a carrier that accommodates and transports containers in each of these holders, a bottom guide that supports the bottom of the container transported by the carrier, and a bottom guide that supports the bottom of the container that is transported by the carrier. a chute provided opposite the downstream end of the guide to receive the container that has come out of the holder and guide it downward; , a drive means for swinging the chute, and a sensor for detecting when the container does not fall and remains in the chute and outputting a drive signal to the drive means.

[Effect]

In the container discharging device according to the present invention, when a container remains in the chute due to jamming or the like,
The chute is swung in response to a signal from a sensor that detects this, and after automatically discharging the container, it returns to its original operating state.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained below with reference to illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is a side view of a container discharging device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the main parts. A large number of holders 4 are attached to the carrier chain 2 in a plurality of rows in parallel, and a container 6 is accommodated in each holder 4 and transported. In the bottle washing machine, the container 6 is accommodated in an inverted state in the holder 4 and is turned around the sprocket 8 before being discharged by the container ejector. The container 6, which has been inverted and now in an almost upright state, moves forward with its bottom surface supported by the guide 10, and when it passes the end of the bottom guide 10, it slips out of the holder 4 and falls along the chute 12. .

A rotary cam 14 provided corresponding to each row of containers 6 transported in a plurality of rows has two notches 14a formed at symmetrical positions, and one surface 14b of the notches 14a receives the falling containers 6. The receiving surface and the other surface 14c serve as a pushing surface for pushing out the container 6. This extrusion surface 14c has the shortest distance from the rotating shaft 16 near the connection part with the receiving surface 14b, and the distance from the rotating shaft 16 gradually increases from there, and from the longest distance part to the next receiving surface 14b. It's starting to connect.

The container 6 that has fallen along the chute 12 is received by the receiving surface 14b of the rotary cam 14, and further descends as the rotary cam 14 rotates.
It is placed on the plate 18. This plate 18
has a horizontal portion 18a having almost the same height as the conveying surface of the discharge conveyor 20 disposed in front of it (on the right side in FIG. 1), and an inclined portion 18b provided closer to the rotary cam 14. There is. This plate 18
After the container 6 is lowered onto the plate 18 from the receiving surface 14b of the rotary cam 14, the discharge conveyor 20
The width of the plate 18 and the position of the discharge conveyor 20 are set so that the plate 18 is gradually pushed out toward the discharge conveyor 20 side and is completely pushed out onto the discharge conveyor 20 near the end of the extrusion surface 14c.

The chute 12 has a lower end 12a that is connected to the fulcrum shaft 2.
2 is rotatably supported. Further, a lever 24 is fixed substantially horizontally to the end of the fulcrum shaft 22, and swings integrally with the chute 12. A piston rod 28 of a vertically arranged air cylinder 26 is connected to the swinging end of the lever 24, and the lever 24 and the chute 12 can be swinged by operating the air cylinder 26.

Above the piston rod 28 is a stopper 30.
is provided. This stopper 30 can be moved up and down, and depending on the position of this stopper 30, the piston rod 28
The amount of movement, that is, the distance between the upper end 12b of the chute 12 that is swung via the lever 24 and the distal end 10a of the bottom guide 10 that opposes the upper end 12b is determined. Therefore, when this device is used for both large and small bottles, by adjusting the stopper 30, the position of the chute 12 can be easily adjusted to match the body diameter of the bottle.

Additionally, a sensor 3 is located near the tip of the lever 24.
2 is provided to detect when the lever 24 swings together with the chute 12 from the position where the piston rod 28 of the air cylinder 26 is stopped by the stopper 30.

Air from a pressure source 34 is supplied to the air cylinder 26 via a solenoid valve 38 to a regulator 36.
The pressure is adjusted to a predetermined pressure according to the bottle and then supplied. By adjusting the air pressure supplied to this air cylinder 26, the force necessary to move the chute 12 can be adjusted to prevent bottle breakage even when used for both large and small bottles. This can be prevented, and it is possible to reliably detect that the bottle has been bitten. Also, by opening the solenoid valve 40,
By retracting the piston rod 28, the chute 12 can be moved significantly. Note that this solenoid valve 40 can be operated automatically or by a manual switch.

The operation of the container discharging device having the above configuration will be explained. Under normal operating conditions, container 6
falls from inside the holder 4 along the chute 12 and is received by the receiving surface 14b of the rotary cam 14. When the rotary cam 14 rotates and the container 6 further descends, the container 6 is lowered onto the inclined portion 18b of the plate 18. Next, container 6
is pushed out from above the plate 18 onto the discharge conveyor 20 by the push-out surface 14c of the rotary cam 14, and is discharged.

When the container 6 is jammed, the chute 12 pushed by the container 6 moves against the urging force of the air cylinder 26 (the state shown in FIG. 3), and this movement is detected by the sensor 32 and the device stop. after that,
By opening the electromagnetic valve 40 and retracting the piston rod 28, the chute 12 is moved greatly (the state shown in FIG. 4), and the container 6 that is stuck is dropped along the chute 12, and then the air cylinder 2 is moved again.
6 to return the chute 12 to its original position (the state shown in FIG. 1).

When the chute 12 is made to perform one reciprocating swing in this way, if the sensor 32 detects that the stuck container 6 has been ejected and returned to its normal state, the device is activated again based on that signal. let Further, if the container 6 has not yet been ejected from the chute 12, the air cylinder 26 is operated again to swing the chute 12 in response to a signal from the sensor 32 that has detected the abnormal state. This operation is repeated until the container 6 is discharged, and when the normal state returns, the device is automatically reset. In this embodiment, the apparatus of this embodiment does not require any manual work, and after automatically discharging the stuck container 6, can automatically return to the operating state again.

Note that a spring is used as a biasing force against the chute to receive the container when it is caught, as in the conventional device, and the air cylinder is used to oscillate the chute to discharge the container after it is caught. May be used only for Further, the driving means for swinging the chute is not limited to the air cylinder as in the above embodiment, but other means may also be used.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, after the containers remaining on the chute of the container discharging device due to jamming or the like are automatically discharged, it is possible to automatically return the container to the operating state again.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a container discharging device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part thereof, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are explanatory diagrams showing different operating states of the device. 2...Carrier, 4...Holder, 6...Container,
10...Bottom guide, 12...Chute, 26...
...Driving means (air cylinder), 32...Sensor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A carrier that has a large number of holders and that accommodates and transports containers in each of these holders, a bottom guide that supports the bottom of the containers that are transported by this carrier, and a carrier that is located opposite the downstream end of the bottom guide. A container discharging device comprising a chute that receives a container that has come out of the holder and guides it downward, wherein the chute is made swingable about its lower part as a fulcrum, and the chute is made to swing. 1. A container discharging device comprising a drive means and a sensor that detects when a container does not fall and remains in a chute and outputs a drive signal to the drive means.