Patent Application
20250206588
The present invention relates to a capping head, a spindle assembly, a capping device, and a capping system.
In the related art, a capping head that attaches a cap to a mouthpiece portion of a threaded can filled with a content such as a beverage is known. The capping head includes a pressure block that presses a top wall of the cap and a plurality of forming rollers that form a peripheral wall of the cap. In general, four forming rollers are provided on the periphery of the pressure block.
In a capping head of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2003-146392, five or six forming rollers are provided. By providing a large number of forming rollers in this way, a forming load (pressing force) per forming roller can be reduced, and thus it is easier to suppress deformation of the mouthpiece portion even in a case in which a thickness of the threaded can is reduced.
However, in a case in which a large number of forming rollers are provided, an outer shape (that means a dimension of the outer shape, and the same applies hereinafter) or a weight of the capping head is also increased. Therefore, it is difficult to increase the processing speed of the capping and improve the production efficiency.
An object of the present invention is to provide a capping head, a spindle assembly, a capping device, and a capping system that can keep a compact outer shape of the capping head, achieve weight reduction, and increase the processing speed of the capping to improve the production efficiency.
An aspect of the present invention provides a capping head for attaching a cap having a topped cylindrical shape to a mouthpiece portion of a threaded can having a bottomed cylindrical shape, the capping head including: a body centered on a center axis extending in an up-down direction; a cam follower disposed on an upper side of the body and configured to roll on an outer peripheral surface of a cone cam; a forming roller disposed on a lower side of the body, connected to the cam follower, and configured to move in a radial direction as the cam follower moves in the radial direction; and a biasing member configured to bias the cam follower and the forming roller toward a radially inner side, in which a plurality of the cam followers are provided and arranged in a circumferential direction, a plurality of the forming rollers are provided in the same number as the number of the cam followers and arranged in the circumferential direction, the plurality of forming rollers include a plurality of thread forming rollers configured to form a thread portion to be threaded with the mouthpiece portion on a peripheral wall of the cap, and at least one tuck under forming roller configured to tuck under forming a lower end of the peripheral wall of the cap onto the mouthpiece portion, and the body has a body recess portion depressed downward from an upper surface of the body and configured to accommodate at least a lower end portion of the cone cam.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a spindle assembly including: the capping head described above; an elevation shaft extending in the up-down direction and to which a pressure block configured to press a top wall of the cap is attached; a spindle having a cylindrical shape, into which the elevation shaft is inserted, and to which the body is attached; and an elevation cylinder having a cylindrical shape and into which the elevation shaft and the spindle are inserted, in which the elevation shaft has an upper cam follower configured to move the elevation shaft in the up-down direction, the spindle has a spindle gear configured to rotate the spindle around the center axis, and the elevation cylinder has the cone cam having a cylindrical shape, and a lower cam follower configured to move the elevation cylinder in the up-down direction.
Still another aspect of the present invention provides a capping device including: a turret configured to rotate around a turret axis; the spindle assembly described above disposed on an outer peripheral portion of the turret; a fixed gear configured to mesh with the spindle gear and extending around the turret axis; an upper cam extending around the turret axis and with which the upper cam follower engages; and a lower cam extending around the turret axis and with which the lower cam follower engages.
In the capping head according to the present invention, the body is provided with the body recess portion depressed from the upper surface of the body. The body recess portion is disposed directly below the cone cam, and the body recess portion can accommodate at least the lower end portion of the cone cam, so that the cone cam and the body are disposed close to each other in the up-down direction, but the contact (interference) between these members are prevented.
Therefore, the forming roller for forming the cap and the cone cam can be disposed closer to each other in the up-down direction, and thus the dimension of the body in the up-down direction can be reduced.
Therefore, with the capping head, the spindle assembly, and the capping device according to the present invention, it is possible to keep a compact outer shape of the capping head, achieve weight reduction, and increase the processing speed of the capping to improve the production efficiency.
In the capping head, it is preferable that an inner diameter dimension of the body recess portion is larger than an outer diameter dimension of a lower end portion of the cone cam with which the cam follower comes into contact.
With the above-described configuration, the lower end portion of the cone cam can be reliably inserted into the body recess portion.
In the capping head, it is preferable that the body has a spindle attachment portion attached to a spindle inserted into the cone cam, and the spindle attachment portion is disposed at a bottom portion of the body recess portion having a bottomed hole shape.
In this case, by providing the body recess portion, the spindle can be stably attached to the spindle attachment portion provided at the bottom portion of the body recess portion, while achieving compactness and weight reduction of the body.
In the capping head, it is preferable that an inner diameter dimension of the body recess portion is larger than a diameter dimension of the spindle attachment portion.
In this case, an interval can be provided in the radial direction between an inner peripheral surface of the body recess portion and the spindle attachment portion. For example, in a case in which a part of the lower end portion of the cone cam, which is set at a descent end position, is accommodated in this interval, further compactness of the body can be achieved.
In the capping head, it is preferable that, in a case in which a dimension of the cone cam in the up-down direction from an upper end position with which the cam follower comes into contact to a lower end position is defined as a forming dimension H, a depth dimension h of the body recess portion in the up-down direction is 1.58H or less.
In a case in which the depth dimension h of the body recess portion in the up-down direction is h≤1.58H, the above-described operations and effects can be achieved while sufficiently ensuring the rigidity of the body by forming the body recess portion.
In the capping head, it is preferable that the cam follower has a shaft portion extending in the up-down direction, and a rolling element rotationally supported by a lower end portion of the shaft portion and pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the cone cam by a biasing force of the biasing member.
In the above-described configuration, the rolling element of the cam follower is rotatably supported by the lower end portion of the shaft portion. Therefore, the rolling element can be disposed closer to the upper surface of the body than in the capping head in the related art. In a case in which this configuration is applied to the capping head in the related art, the lower end portion of the cone cam may contact the upper surface of the body. However, as described above, in the present invention, the lower end portion of the cone cam is accommodated in the body recess portion, thereby preventing the contact between the cone cam and the body. With the above-described configuration, the cone cam and the body can be disposed closer to each other in the up-down direction.
The capping head may further include a pressure block disposed on a lower side of the body and configured to press a top wall of the cap.
In the capping head, it is preferable that six or more forming rollers are provided, and the number of the thread forming rollers is larger than the number of the tuck under forming rollers.
As in the above-described configuration, in a case in which the number of thread forming rollers is large, the forming load (pressing force) per thread forming roller can be reduced. Therefore, even in a case in which the thickness of the threaded can is reduced, the deformation of the mouthpiece portion due to the thread forming processing can be more stably suppressed.
In the capping head, it is preferable that four thread forming rollers are provided, and two tuck under forming rollers are provided.
As in the above-described configuration, by providing the capping head with the four thread forming rollers and the two tuck under forming rollers, the forming processing accuracy of the capping can be stably increased.
In the capping head, it is preferable that positions of the thread forming rollers adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction are displaced from each other in the up-down direction.
In this case, the forming portions of the thread forming rollers adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction with respect to the peripheral wall of the cap are displaced from each other in the up-down direction, so that a problem of an excessively large thread forming amount at the same portion (particularly in the vicinity of an upper groove, which is a thread start position) of the peripheral wall of the cap can be suppressed. Variations in the thread forming amount at each position in the up-down direction is suppressed, and the thread forming amount is equalized in the up-down direction.
In addition, since the adjacent thread forming rollers are disposed to be displaced in the up-down direction, these thread forming rollers can be disposed closer to each other without causing interference. As a result, the outer diameter dimension of the capping head can be reduced, and further compactness and weight reduction can be achieved.
In the capping head, it is preferable that the body has a spindle attachment portion attached to a spindle inserted into the cone cam, and the spindle attachment portion is disposed to overlap the body recess portion when seen in the radial direction.
As in the above-described configuration, by disposing the spindle attachment portion and the body recess portion to overlap each other when seen in the radial direction, the dimension of the body in the up-down direction can be further reduced.
In the capping head, it is preferable that a plurality of the biasing members are provided in the same number as the number of the cam followers and are arranged in the circumferential direction, the body has a biasing member accommodation hole extending in the up-down direction, a plurality of the biasing member accommodation holes are provided in the same number as the number of the biasing members and are arranged in the circumferential direction, and each of the biasing members is accommodated in each of the biasing member accommodation holes.
In this case, the biasing member is accommodated in the biasing member accommodation hole provided to extend through the body in the up-down direction. Therefore, the biasing member can be covered from its periphery while maintaining high rigidity of the body. In addition, as compared to a case in which a separate cover is provided on the body, the processing of cutting the biasing member accommodation hole in the body is not complicated, and thus it is easier to manufacture the body.
In the capping head, it is preferable that a plurality of the biasing members are provided in the same number as the number of the cam followers and are arranged in the circumferential direction, the body has a pocket having a recessed shape, depressed from an outer peripheral surface of the body toward the radially inner side, and extending in the up-down direction, a plurality of the pockets are provided in the same number as the number of the biasing members and are arranged in the circumferential direction, each of the biasing members is accommodated in each of the pockets, and the capping head further includes a cover having a cylindrical shape and configured to surround the body from a radially outer side over a whole circumference in the circumferential direction.
In this case, since the cover suppresses the exposure of the plurality of biasing members to the outside of the device, the appearance of the device is improved. In addition, the cover suppresses the entry of a content such as a beverage (particularly a content with sugar content that easily solidifies) or a liquid such as oil, which may scatter from the outside of the capping head toward the body, into the body. Therefore, the maintainability is improved, and the performance (function) of each component such as the biasing member and the like provided in the body is well maintained.
In the capping head, it is preferable that the body is made of an aluminum alloy.
By making the body from a lightweight aluminum alloy, weight reduction can be achieved while ensuring the rigidity of the entire device.
It is preferable that the capping head further includes a pressure block disposed on a lower side of the body and configured to press a top wall of the cap, in which the body has an accommodation cylinder protruding downward from a lower surface of the body, and a part of the pressure block is accommodated in the accommodation cylinder.
In this case, by accommodating a part of the pressure block in the accommodation cylinder, it is not necessary to provide an accommodation space (insertion space) for the pressure block inside the body, and the dimension in the up-down direction between the lower surface of the body and the body recess portion (bottom portion thereof) can be further reduced. Therefore, compactness and weight reduction of the body can be further achieved.
It is preferable that the capping head further includes a support member configured to support the cam follower and the forming roller, in which the support member has a support shaft extending in the up-down direction, an upper arm configured to connect the support shaft and the cam follower, and a lower arm configured to connect the support shaft and the forming roller, the upper arm has an upper clamp portion configured to surround the support shaft around its axis and being deformable to press an outer peripheral surface of the support shaft, the lower arm has a lower clamp portion configured to surround the support shaft around its axis and being deformable to press the outer peripheral surface of the support shaft, and at least one of the upper clamp portion or the lower clamp portion has a deformation assist groove disposed on a clamp portion peripheral surface and extending in the up-down direction.
In this case, by providing the deformation assist groove extending in the up-down direction on the peripheral surface (clamp portion peripheral surface) of the upper clamp portion or the lower clamp portion (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as a clamp portion), the clamp portion is easily deformed in a direction of pressing the outer peripheral surface of the support shaft. As a result, the outer diameter dimension (diameter dimension) of the support shaft can be reduced (that is, the support shaft can be made thinner), and accordingly, the outer diameter dimension of the entire capping head can also be reduced, so that further weight reduction can be achieved.
In the capping head, it is preferable that the lower arm has a step portion disposed on a surface facing the radially inner side.
In this case, by locking the assembly jig to the step portion of the lower arm in a state in which the cam follower and the forming roller are moved to the radially outer side against the biasing force of the biasing member, so that the state can be stably maintained. The cone cam can be stably inserted into the radially inner side of the plurality of cam followers arranged in the circumferential direction, and thus the assembly work between the capping head and the cone cam is facilitated.
Still another aspect of the present invention provides a capping system including: a filler configured to fill a threaded can with a content; and the capping device described above to which the threaded can discharged from the filler is supplied, in which a transport direction of the threaded can discharged from the filler and directed toward the capping device extends along a tangent of the outer peripheral portion of the turret when seen in a turret axis direction.
With the capping system according to the present invention, the threaded can discharged from the filler is smoothly supplied to the capping device without rapidly changing the transport direction, that is, without being easily affected by a centrifugal force. Therefore, the processing speed of the capping can be stably increased, and thus the production efficiency can be further improved.
Therefore, with the capping head, the spindle assembly, the capping device, and the capping system according to the aspects of the present invention, it is possible to keep a compact outer shape of the capping head, achieve weight reduction, and increase the processing speed of the capping to improve the production efficiency.
A capping head 10, a spindle assembly 80, a capping device 120, and a capping system 100 according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to
The capping head 10, the spindle assembly 80, and the capping device 120 according to the present embodiment are devices for attaching a cap having a topped cylindrical shape to a mouthpiece portion of a threaded can having a bottomed cylindrical shape to seal the threaded can. As the threaded can and the cap, for example, a threaded can and a cap described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2019-011103 can be used. It should be noted that the threaded can may also be referred to as a bottle can.
Although detailed showing is omitted, schematic configurations of the threaded can and the cap are as follows.
The threaded can is made of, for example, an aluminum alloy. The threaded can includes a can body, which is a peripheral wall of the can, and a can bottom, which is a bottom wall of the can. An opening portion of the can body is a mouthpiece portion with a smaller diameter than the portions (body portion and shoulder portion) of the can other than the opening portion. The mouthpiece portion has a substantially cylindrical shape centered on a can axis. The mouthpiece portion includes a curl portion, a male thread portion, and a bulging portion in this order from an opening end toward a can bottom side along a can axis direction.
The bulging portion has an annular shape centered on the can axis. The bulging portion is formed to protrude beyond the male thread portion to an outer side in a can radial direction orthogonal to the can axis. As shown in (a) of
A cap 300 has a cap main body having a topped cylindrical shape and placed over the mouthpiece portion 200, and a liner (not shown) having a disk shape and disposed on an inner surface of a top wall of the cap main body. The liner comes into contact with the curl portion of the mouthpiece portion 200. The cap main body is made of, for example, an aluminum alloy, and the liner is made of, for example, a resin. It should be noted that, in the present specification, a case of simply referring to a peripheral wall 301 and the top wall of the cap 300 refers to the peripheral wall 301 and the top wall of the cap main body unless otherwise specified. As shown in (c) of
As shown in
Here, a “direction definition” in the present embodiment will be described.
In the present embodiment, a direction in which the center axis O of the body 1 extends is referred to as an up-down direction. That is, the center axis O extends in the up-down direction. The up-down direction corresponds to a Z-axis direction in each drawing. In the up-down direction, the cam follower 4 and the forming roller 5 are disposed at different positions from each other. In the up-down direction, a direction from the forming roller 5 toward the cam follower 4 is referred to as an upper side (+Z side), and a direction from the cam follower 4 toward the forming roller 5 is referred to as a lower side (−Z side). It should be noted that the up-down direction may also be referred to as an axis direction. In this case, the upper side corresponds to one axial side in the axis direction, and the lower side corresponds to the other axial side in the axis direction.
A direction orthogonal to the center axis O is referred to as a radial direction. In the radial direction, a direction approaching the center axis O is referred to as a radially inner side, and a direction spaced away from the center axis O is referred to as a radially outer side.
A direction of circling around the center axis O is referred to as a circumferential direction. In the circumferential direction, a predetermined rotation direction is referred to as one circumferential side C1, and a rotation direction opposite to one circumferential side C1 is referred to as the other circumferential side C2. In the present embodiment, as shown in
In addition, a shaft center axis A, which is a center axis of a support shaft 31 described below of the support member 3, is disposed on the radially outer side of the center axis O and extends in the up-down direction (Z-axis direction) parallel to the center axis O. In the present embodiment, the direction definition with the shaft center axis A as a reference is distinguished from the direction definition with the center axis O of the body 1 as a reference, and is as follows.
A direction orthogonal to the shaft center axis A is referred to as a shaft radial direction. In the shaft radial direction, a direction approaching the shaft center axis A is referred to as an inner side in the shaft radial direction, and a direction spaced away from the shaft center axis A is referred to as an outer side in the shaft radial direction.
A direction of circling around the shaft center axis A is referred to as a shaft circumferential direction.
As shown in
In addition, the spindle 85 is fixed to the body 1 in a state of being inserted into a cone cam 7 having a cylindrical shape of an elevation cylinder 90, which will be described below, of the spindle assembly 80. As shown in
Although details will be described below, in
It should be noted that the cone cam 7 may be one of the components of the capping head 10. That is, in this case, the capping head 10 further includes the cone cam 7.
As shown in
As shown in
In addition, as shown in
The peripheral wall portion 11c has a substantially cylindrical shape centered on the center axis O. The peripheral wall portion 11c constitutes a cylindrical portion located on an upper side of the bottom wall portion 11d in the outer peripheral wall of the body 1.
The bottom wall portion 11d has a substantially annular plate shape centered on the center axis O. An outer peripheral portion of the bottom wall portion 11d is connected to a lower end portion of the peripheral wall portion 11c.
As shown in
In the present embodiment, the body recess portion 13 is disposed from the body flange 12 to an upper side portion of the body main portion 11 in the up-down direction. The body recess portion 13 extends in a hole shape from the body flange 12 to the body main portion 11. Specifically, an upper portion of the body recess portion 13 is located inside the body flange 12 (through-hole), and a lower portion of the body recess portion 13 is located in a recess 11b that is depressed downward from an upper end surface 11a of the body main portion 11. That is, the body recess portion 13 penetrates the body flange 12 in the up-down direction, and is disposed over the recess 11b of the body main portion 11.
The dimension in the up-down direction between the upper surface 1a of the body 1 and a bottom wall 13a of the body recess portion 13 is larger than the dimension in the up-down direction between a lower surface 1b of the body 1 and the bottom wall 13a. In other words, the dimension in the up-down direction between the upper surface 1a of the body 1 and the upper surface of the bottom wall portion 11d (that is, a depth dimension of the body recess portion 13) is larger than the dimension in the up-down direction between the upper surface and the lower surface of the bottom wall portion 11d (that is, a thickness dimension of the bottom wall portion 11d).
Although not shown, in a case in which the cone cam 7 moves relatively downward with respect to the spindle 85 and the body 1 fixed to the spindle 85, the body recess portion 13 accommodates at least a lower end portion of the cone cam 7. Specifically, the body recess portion 13 accommodates at least a large-diameter rolling surface 72 and a taper rolling surface 73, which are disposed at the lower end portion of the cone cam 7 and will be described later. Further, a part of a small-diameter rolling surface 71 of the cone cam 7, which will be described below, may be disposed in the body recess portion 13. It should be noted that the small-diameter rolling surface 71, the large-diameter rolling surface 72, and the taper rolling surface 73 are portions of the cone cam 7 with which the cam follower 4 comes into contact.
As shown in
The cylinder portion 14 protrudes upward from the bottom wall 13a of the body recess portion 13. The cylinder portion 14 protrudes upward from an inner peripheral portion of the bottom wall portion 11d. The cylinder portion 14 has a cylindrical shape centered on the center axis O. As shown in
In a case in which the cone cam 7 is moved downward from an ascent end position (standby position) shown in
An outer peripheral surface of the cylinder portion 14 is disposed to be spaced away from the inner peripheral surface 13b (that is, the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion 11c) of the body recess portion 13 toward the radially inner side (see
As shown in
An upper portion of the spindle attachment portion 15 is disposed inside the cylinder portion 14. Therefore, the spindle attachment portion 15 (at least the upper portion thereof) is disposed to overlap with the body recess portion 13 when seen in the radial direction. In the present embodiment, the lower portion of the spindle attachment portion 15 is located below the bottom wall 13a. In other words, the upper portion of the spindle attachment portion 15 is disposed on the inner peripheral portion of the cylinder portion 14, and the lower portion of the spindle attachment portion 15 is disposed on the inner peripheral portion of the bottom wall portion 11d.
Here, an example of each dimension related to the body recess portion 13 will be described in detail below. It should be noted that each of the following dimensions has a tolerance dimension (numerical range) of ±10%.
In the present embodiment, the inner diameter dimension d1 of the body recess portion 13 is 56 mm. The outer diameter dimension d2 of the lower end portion of the cone cam 7 is 52.7 mm. A clearance (one side clearance) in the radial direction between the body recess portion 13 and the lower end portion of the cone cam 7, that is, [(d1−d2)/2] is 1.65 mm.
In addition, the dimension (depth dimension of the body recess portion 13 in the up-down direction) h in the up-down direction between the upper surface 1a of the body 1 and the bottom wall 13a of the body recess portion 13 is 23 mm. A stroke amount of the cone cam 7 between the ascent end position (standby position) and the descent end position (close position) in the up-down direction is 14.3 mm. The dimension in the up-down direction between the upper surface 1a of the body 1 and the lower end surface of the cone cam 7 set at the descent end position, that is, a cone cam insertion amount is 10.39 mm. Therefore, the cone cam insertion amount/the cone cam stroke amount is approximately 73%.
In addition, in a case in which the dimension of the up-down direction from the upper end position where the cam follower 4 contacts the cone cam 7 to the lower end position (lower end of the cone cam 7) is defined as a forming dimension H, and the forming dimension His 14.56 mm. That is, in the present embodiment, the depth dimension h of the body recess portion 13 in the up-down direction is larger than 0 mm and 1.58H (mm) or less. The depth dimension h is preferably 0.714H (mm) or less. It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, the cone cam insertion amount/the forming dimension H is approximately 71%.
In addition, the dimension in the up-down direction (stroke limit dimension and standby position) between the lower end surface of the cone cam 7 set at the ascent end position and the bottom wall 13a of the body recess portion 13 is 26.91 mm. The dimension in the up-down direction (stroke limit dimension and close position) between the lower end surface of the cone cam 7 set at the descent end position and the bottom wall 13a of the body recess portion 13 is 12.61 mm.
The accommodation cylinder 16 protrudes downward from the lower surface 1b of the body 1. The accommodation cylinder 16 extends downward from the lower surface of the bottom wall portion 11d. The accommodation cylinder 16 has a substantially cylindrical shape centered on the center axis O.
The support protrusion piece 17 protrudes downward from the lower surface 1b of the body 1. The support protrusion piece 17 extends downward from an outer peripheral portion of the lower surface of the bottom wall portion 11d. The support protrusion piece 17 is disposed on the radially outer side of the accommodation cylinder 16. A plurality of the support protrusion pieces 17 are provided to surround the accommodation cylinder 16 from the radially outer side and arranged in the circumferential direction (see
Each support protrusion pieces 17 is disposed radially outwardly away from the accommodation cylinder 16, and the support protrusion pieces 17 adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction are disposed to be spaced apart from each other. Therefore, the body 1 has a cutout portion between the support protrusion piece 17 and the accommodation cylinder 16, as well as between the support protrusion pieces 17 adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction. The cutout portion is a recessed space formed by removing a part of the body 1.
The cutout portion between the support protrusion pieces 17 adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction may be referred to as a roller shaft accommodation pocket 19. The roller shaft accommodation pocket 19 extends inside the body 1 in the up-down direction and is open to the lower side of the body 1. A plurality of the roller shaft accommodation pockets 19 are provided and arranged in the circumferential direction. The number of the roller shaft accommodation pockets 19 is the same as the number of the forming rollers 5.
The skirt portion 11h has a cylindrical shape centered on the center axis O. The skirt portion 11h is disposed on a lower side of the peripheral wall portion 11c. The skirt portion 11h constitutes a cylindrical portion of the outer peripheral wall of the body 1, which is located on a lower side of the bottom wall portion 11d. An upper end portion of the skirt portion 11h is connected to the lower end portion of the peripheral wall portion 11c and the outer peripheral portion of the bottom wall portion 11d. An outer peripheral surface of the skirt portion 11h and the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion 11c are continuous in the up-down direction, and the outer peripheral surfaces are integrally formed without any step difference. The outer peripheral surface of the skirt portion 11h and the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion 11c each constitute a part of the outer peripheral surface 1c of the body 1.
The support protrusion piece 17 is disposed on the radially inner side of the skirt portion 11h. An outer peripheral portion of a lower side portion of the support protrusion piece 17 is connected to the inner peripheral portion of the skirt portion 11h. The skirt portion 11h and the plurality of support protrusion pieces 17 are integrally formed. The skirt portion 11h surrounds the plurality of support protrusion pieces 17, the plurality of roller shaft accommodation pockets 19, the accommodation cylinder 16, and a part of the pressure block 2 from the radially outer side.
The biasing member accommodation hole 23 extends inside the body 1 in the up-down direction. The biasing member accommodation hole 23 penetrates the body 1 in the up-down direction. A plurality of the biasing member accommodation holes 23 are provided in the same number as the number of the biasing members 6 and are arranged in the circumferential direction. Each biasing member 6 is accommodated in each biasing member accommodation hole 23. In addition, the support shaft 31 of each support member 3, which will be described later, is inserted into each biasing member accommodation hole 23 and protrudes upward and downward.
As shown in
The main body hole portion 23a extends inside the body main portion 11 in the up-down direction and penetrates the body main portion 11 in the up-down direction. Specifically, the main body hole portion 23a penetrates the peripheral wall portion 11c, the bottom wall portion 11d, and the support protrusion piece 17 in the up-down direction.
The flange hole portion 23b penetrates the body flange 12 in the up-down direction.
As shown in
In a case of attaching or detaching the body 1 to and from the spindle 85, a work tool having a hook shape, such as a hook wrench (not shown), is locked to the operation portion 21. In a state in which the work tool is locked to the operation portion 21, the body 1 can be attached to and detached from the spindle 85 by operating the work tool and rotating the body 1 in the circumferential direction with respect to the spindle 85.
As shown in
The pressure block 2 is disposed on the lower side of the body 1. The pressure block 2 has a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape centered on the center axis O and extends in the up-down direction. The pressure block 2 is fastened to the lower end portion of the elevation shaft 81 by, for example, threading or the like, and is fixed to the elevation shaft 81. During the capping, a bottom wall of the pressure block 2 comes into contact with the top wall of the cap 300 from above and presses the top wall (see
As shown in
It should be noted that the pressure block 2 need not necessarily be one of the components of the capping head 10. In this case, the pressure block 2 is one of the components of the spindle assembly 80. That is, in this case, the spindle assembly 80 further includes the pressure block 2.
As shown in
The support member 3 has the support shaft 31, an upper arm 32, and a lower arm 33.
As shown in
The support shaft 31 is, for example, supported by the body 1 via a bearing member such as a sliding bearing. A plurality (a pair in the present embodiment) of the bearing members that support each the support shaft 31 are provided at intervals from each other in the up-down direction. Specifically, an upper side portion of the support shaft 31 is supported by the body flange 12 via the bearing member on the upper side. A lower side portion of the support shaft 31 is supported by the support protrusion piece 17 via the bearing member on the lower side. An intermediate portion of the support shaft 31, which is located between the upper end portion and the lower end portion, is disposed in the biasing member accommodation hole 23. The support shaft 31 can rotationally move within a predetermined range around the shaft center axis A.
As shown in
The upper arm 32 has an upper clamp portion 32a that surrounds the support shaft 31 around its axis (shaft circumferential direction) and is deformable to press an outer peripheral surface of the support shaft 31. The upper clamp portion 32a is a curved wall portion extending in the shaft circumferential direction when seen in the up-down direction. By threading a fastening thread 34 into the upper arm 32, the upper clamp portion 32a is deformed to narrow its diameter in the shaft radial direction. Therefore, an inner peripheral surface of the upper clamp portion 32a and the outer peripheral surface of the support shaft 31 are tightly adhered to each other, thereby fixing the upper arm 32 to the support shaft 31.
As shown in
The lower arm 33 has a lower clamp portion 33a that surrounds the support shaft 31 around its axis (shaft circumferential direction) and is deformable to press an outer peripheral surface of the support shaft 31. The lower clamp portion 33a is a curved wall portion extending in the shaft circumferential direction when seen in the up-down direction. By threading a fastening thread 35 into the lower arm 33, the lower clamp portion 33a is deformed to narrow its diameter in the shaft radial direction. Therefore, an inner peripheral surface of the lower clamp portion 33a and the outer peripheral surface of the support shaft 31 are tightly adhered to each other, thereby fixing the lower arm 33 to the support shaft 31.
At least one of the upper clamp portion 32a or the lower clamp portion 33a has a deformation assist groove 36 disposed on the clamp portion peripheral surface and extending in the up-down direction. As shown in
A plurality of the deformation assist groove 36 may be provided in the outer peripheral surface of the lower clamp portion 33a (or the upper clamp portion 32a) and arranged in the shaft circumferential direction, or one deformation assist groove 36 may be provided.
In the present embodiment, one deformation assist groove 36 is provided in the lower clamp portion 33a of the lower arm 33 that supports a thread forming roller 5A, which will be described below, among the plurality of lower arms 33. In addition, the plurality of deformation assist grooves 36 are provided in the lower clamp portions 33a of the lower arms 33 that support a tuck under forming roller 5B, which will be described below, among the plurality of lower arms 33 at intervals from each other in the shaft circumferential direction. However, the number of the deformation assist grooves 36 provided in each lower clamp portion 33a is not limited to the example of the present embodiment.
The deformation assist groove 36 is, for example, an R-groove (round groove), and a cross-sectional shape of the groove is a recessed arc shape. A groove width of the deformation assist groove 36 is, for example, 1.5 mm. The number of the deformation assist grooves 36 provided in the lower clamp portion 33a (or upper clamp portion 32a) is, for example, three.
In addition, the lower arm 33 has a step portion 37 disposed on a surface of the lower arm 33 facing the radially inner side. Specifically, the step portion 37 is disposed at an end portion of the one circumferential side C1 on the surface of the lower arm 33 facing the radially inner side. A depth in which the step portion 37 is depressed from the surface facing of the lower arm 33 the radially inner side to the radially outer side is larger toward the other circumferential side C2.
The step portion 37 has a wall surface 37a facing the one circumferential side C1, and an inclined surface 37b that faces the radially inner side extends to the radially outer side toward the other circumferential side C2.
As shown in
A plurality of the cam followers 4 are provided and arranged in the circumferential direction. In the present embodiment, six cam followers 4 are provided at intervals from each other in the circumferential direction.
The cam follower 4 has a shaft portion 41 that extends in the up-down direction and a rolling element 42 that is rotatably supported by the lower end portion of the shaft portion 41 and is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the cone cam 7 by a biasing force of the biasing member 6, which will be described below.
The shaft portion 41 extends parallel to the shaft center axis A and is supported by the end portion of the upper arm 32 on one circumferential side C1. The lower end portion of the shaft portion 41 faces the upper surface 1a of the body 1 with a gap therebetween from above.
The rolling element 42 has an annular shape with an outer diameter dimension larger than an outer diameter dimension of the shaft portion 41 and is disposed coaxially with the center axis of the shaft portion 41. The rolling element 42 is attached to the lower end portion of the shaft portion 41 via, for example, a bearing member such as a rolling bearing. The rolling element 42 is rotatable around the center axis of the shaft portion 41. The lower surface of the rolling element 42 faces the upper surface 1a of the body 1 with a gap therebetween.
As shown in
A plurality of the forming rollers 5 are provided in the same number as the number of the cam followers 4 and are arranged in the circumferential direction. In the present embodiment, six forming rollers 5 are provided at intervals from each other in the circumferential direction. The six (plurality of) forming rollers 5 are disposed around the center axis O at equal pitches. A roll diameter of the forming roller 5 (specifically, a roller main body 52 described below) is, for example, φ26 mm.
As shown in
The roller shaft 51 is attached to the end portion of the lower arm 33 on one circumferential side C1 via a bearing member such as a sliding bearing (not shown). The roller shaft 51 is rotatable around the center axis of the roller shaft 51 with respect to the lower arm 33 and is movable within a predetermined range in the up-down direction.
The roller main body 52 has a disk shape with an outer diameter dimension larger than an outer diameter dimension of the roller shaft 51 and is disposed coaxially with the center axis of the roller shaft 51. The roller main body 52 is connected to a lower end portion of the roller shaft 51. The roller main body 52 is integrally formed with the roller shaft 51 as a single member. The roller main body 52 is disposed below the bottom wall of the pressure block 2.
The roller biasing portion 53 is an elastic member such as a compression coil spring. The roller biasing portion 53 biases the roller shaft 51 and the roller main body 52 to the upper side with respect to the lower arm 33. The roller shaft 51 and the roller main body 52 are movable downward against a biasing force of the roller biasing portion 53.
An upper portion of the roller shaft 51 and the roller biasing portion 53 are accommodated in the roller shaft accommodation pocket 19 of the body 1.
As shown in
Although not shown, the thread forming roller 5A forms the thread portion (female thread portion) that follows the shape of the male thread portion of the mouthpiece portion 200 by pressing the peripheral wall 301 of the cap 300 to the radially inner side. The positions of the roller main bodies 52 of the thread forming rollers 5A adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction are displaced from each other in the up-down direction. That is, the positions of the thread forming rollers 5A adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction are displaced from each other in the up-down direction.
The tuck under forming roller 5B performs the tuck under forming of the lower end of the peripheral wall 301 into a shape that follows the lower portion of the bulging portion 201 of the mouthpiece portion 200 by pressing the lower end of the peripheral wall 301 of the cap 300 to the radially inner side (see (c) of
As shown in
As shown in
A plurality of the biasing members 6 are provided and arranged in the circumferential direction. The number of the biasing members 6 is the same as the number of the support members 3, is the same as the number of the cam followers 4, and is the same as the number of the forming rollers 5. In the present embodiment, six biasing members 6 are provided at intervals from each other in the circumferential direction. Each biasing member 6 is disposed in each biasing member accommodation hole 23.
The cone cam 7 has the small-diameter rolling surface 71, the large-diameter rolling surface 72, the taper rolling surface 73, and a relief taper surface 74.
The small-diameter rolling surface 71 is a portion having the smallest diameter on the outer peripheral surface of the cone cam 7. An outer diameter dimension (diameter dimension) of the small-diameter rolling surface 71 is constant along the up-down direction.
The large-diameter rolling surface 72 is disposed at the lower end portion of the outer peripheral surface of the cone cam 7. An outer diameter dimension of the large-diameter rolling surface 72 is larger than the outer diameter dimension of the small-diameter rolling surface 71.
The taper rolling surface 73 is disposed between the small-diameter rolling surface 71 and the large-diameter rolling surface 72 on the outer peripheral surface of the cone cam 7 in the up-down direction. The taper rolling surface 73 has a tapered shape that extends to the radially outer side toward the lower side. That is, the diameter of the taper rolling surface 73 is larger toward the lower side. An upper end portion of the taper rolling surface 73 is smoothly connected to a lower end portion of the small-diameter rolling surface 71. A lower end portion of the taper rolling surface 73 is smoothly connected to an upper end portion of the large-diameter rolling surface 72.
The relief taper surface 74 is disposed on an upper side of the small-diameter rolling surface 71 on the outer peripheral surface of the cone cam 7. The relief taper surface 74 is a tapered shape extending to the radially outer side toward the upper side. A lower end portion of the relief taper surface 74 is connected to an upper end portion of the small-diameter rolling surface 71.
In the present embodiment, a displacement amount (that is, an inclination with respect to the center axis O) of the relief taper surface 74 in the radial direction per unit length along the up-down direction in at least the lower side portion is smaller than a displacement amount of the taper rolling surface 73 in the radial direction per unit length along the up-down direction. That is, an inclination of the relief taper surface 74 with respect to the center axis O is smaller (gentler) than an inclination of the taper rolling surface 73 with respect to the center axis O.
As a result, a length of the relief taper surface 74 in the up-down direction is sufficiently ensured, thereby suppressing the interference between the shaft portion 41 of the cam follower 4, the upper arm 32, and the relief taper surface 74 even in a state in which the cone cam 7 is disposed at the descent end position with respect to the body 1, although not shown.
Hereinafter, a method (assembly method) of attaching the capping head 10 to the cone cam 7 will be described.
As shown in
The assembly jig 60 has a columnar shape centered on the center axis O. The assembly jig 60 has a substantially star shape when seen in the up-down direction. The assembly jig 60 has a plurality of locking arms 61 disposed at intervals from each other in the circumferential direction. The number of the locking arms 61 is the same as the number of the forming rollers 5, and is six in the present embodiment.
In a case of attaching the assembly jig 60 to the capping head 10, first, the assembly jig 60 is disposed on the lower side of the capping head 10, and each locking arm 61 is disposed between the roller main bodies 52 adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction, although not shown. In this state, the assembly jig 60 is moved upward toward the body 1, so that the assembly jig 60 is inserted up to the upper side of the roller main body 52.
Next, the assembly jig 60 is rotated in the other circumferential side C2 by using the work tool such as a hexagonal wrench (not shown). As a result, a radially outer end portion of the locking arm 61 is locked to the step portion 37 as shown in
In addition, the rotation of the assembly jig 60 toward the other circumferential side C2 is restricted by the contact of the locking arm 61 with the wall surface 37a of the step portion 37 from the one circumferential side C1.
In this way, in a state in which the plurality of cam followers 4 are moved to the radially outer side (open state), the lower end portion of the cone cam 7 can be inserted into the radially inner side of these cam followers 4.
As shown in
After attaching the capping head 10 to the cone cam 7, the pressure block 2 is inserted into the accommodation cylinder 16 of the body 1, and the pressure block 2 is attached to the elevation shaft 81.
Hereinafter, the spindle assembly 80 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.
As shown in
The elevation shaft 81 extends in the up-down direction. The pressure block 2 is attached and fixed to the lower end portion of the elevation shaft 81 by threading or the like (see
The elevation shaft 81 includes a shaft portion 82 that extends in the up-down direction centered on the center axis O, an upper cam follower 83 that moves the elevation shaft 81 in the up-down direction, and a connection arm 84 that connects the shaft portion 82 and the upper cam follower 83.
The spindle 85 has a cylindrical shape extending in the up-down direction centered on the center axis O. The shaft portion 82 of the elevation shaft 81 is inserted into the spindle 85. The spindle 85 is rotatable around the center axis O with respect to the shaft portion 82. The body 1 is attached and fixed to the lower end portion of the spindle 85 by threading or the like.
Therefore, the body 1 is rotatable around the center axis O with respect to the pressure block 2.
The spindle 85 includes a spindle gear 86 that rotates the spindle 85 around the center axis O. The spindle gear 86 is an external gear centered on the center axis O. In the present embodiment, the spindle gear 86 is disposed at an upper end portion of the spindle 85.
The elevation cylinder 90 has a cylindrical shape extending in the up-down direction centered on the center axis O. The shaft portion 82 and the spindle 85 of the elevation shaft 81 are inserted into the elevation cylinder 90. In the present embodiment, the elevation cylinder 90 is disposed below the spindle gear 86. The elevation cylinder 90 is movable in the up-down direction with respect to the elevation shaft 81 and the spindle 85.
The elevation cylinder 90 includes the cone cam 7 having a cylindrical shape, and a lower cam follower 91 that moves the elevation cylinder 90 in the up-down direction.
The cone cam 7 is disposed at the lower end portion of the elevation cylinder 90. The lower cam follower 91 is disposed at the upper end portion of the elevation cylinder 90.
Hereinafter, the capping device 120 according to the present embodiment will be described.
As shown in
The turret axis T is parallel to the center axis O and extends in the up-down direction. The turret 121 has a substantially cylindrical shape centered on the turret axis T. It should be noted that, in
In the present embodiment, a direction in which the turret axis T extends is referred to as a turret axis direction. The turret axis direction corresponds to the up-down direction (Z-axis direction).
A direction orthogonal to the turret axis Tis referred to as a turret radial direction. In the turret radial direction, a direction approaching the turret axis Tis referred to as an inner side in the turret radial direction, and a direction spaced away from the turret axis T is referred to as an outer side in the turret radial direction.
In the present embodiment, a direction of circling around the turret axis Tis referred to as a turret circumferential direction. As shown in
It should be noted that
As shown in
A plurality of the spindle assemblies 80 are provided and arranged around the turret axis T on the outer peripheral portion of the turret 121. The plurality of spindle assemblies 80 are arranged at equal pitches around the turret axis T on the outer peripheral portion of the turret 121. The number of the spindle assemblies 80 is, for example, 10 or more.
The fixed gear 122 is an annular plate-like external gear centered on the turret axis T. The fixed gear 122 is fixed to the device base portion 125 and extends in the turret circumferential direction. A dimension of the spindle gear 86 in the up-down direction is larger than a dimension of the fixed gear 122 in the up-down direction. Therefore, even in a case in which the spindle assembly 80 moves in the up-down direction, the meshing state between the fixed gear 122 and the spindle gear 86 is well maintained.
The upper cam 123 is a groove having an annular shape and extending over the whole circumference around the turret axis T. The upper cam 123 is provided on an outer peripheral surface of the device base portion 125. In the present embodiment, the upper cam 123 is disposed above the fixed gear 122. The position of the upper cam 123 in the up-down direction is changed toward the circumference of the turret axis T.
As shown in
The head descent portion 123a extends downward toward the turret rotation direction R.
The horizontal portion 123b is connected to an end portion of the head descent portion 123a in the turret rotation direction R and extends in the turret rotation direction R. A position of the horizontal portion 123b in the up-down direction is constant along the turret rotation direction R.
The head ascent portion 123c is connected to an end portion of the horizontal portion 123b in the turret rotation direction R and extends upward toward the turret rotation direction R.
The upper cam 123 and the upper cam follower 83 that engages with the upper cam 123 constitute the upper cam mechanism 126. That is, the capping device 120 includes the upper cam mechanism 126.
The lower cam 124 is a groove having an annular shape and extending over the whole circumference around the turret axis T. The lower cam 124 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the device base portion 125. In the present embodiment, the lower cam 124 is disposed below the fixed gear 122. The position of the lower cam 124 in the up-down direction is changed toward the circumference of the turret axis T.
The lower cam 124 includes a front descent portion 124a, a first horizontal portion 124b, a descent portion 124c, a forming portion 124d, an ascent portion 124e, a second horizontal portion 124f, and a rear ascent portion 124g. The front descent portion 124a, the first horizontal portion 124b, the descent portion 124c, the forming portion 124d, the ascent portion 124e, the second horizontal portion 124f, and the rear ascent portion 124g are arranged in this order along the turret rotation direction R. The lower cam 124 has only one set of the front descent portion 124a, the first horizontal portion 124b, the descent portion 124c, the forming portion 124d, the ascent portion 124e, the second horizontal portion 124f, and the rear ascent portion 124g. That is, the lower cam 124 is provided with only one set of the descent portion 124c, the forming portion 124d, and the ascent portion 124e.
The front descent portion 124a extends downward toward the turret rotation direction R. A position of the front descent portion 124a in the turret circumferential direction is the same as a position of the head descent portion 123a in the turret circumferential direction.
The first horizontal portion 124b is connected to an end portion of the front descent portion 124a in the turret rotation direction R and extends in the turret rotation direction R. A position of the first horizontal portion 124b in the up-down direction is constant along the turret rotation direction R. A position of the first horizontal portion 124b in the turret circumferential direction is the same as a position in the turret circumferential direction at the end portion of the horizontal portion 123b in the reverse turret rotation direction.
The descent portion 124c is connected to an end portion of the first horizontal portion 124b in the turret rotation direction R and extends downward toward the turret rotation direction R.
The forming portion 124d is connected to an end portion of the descent portion 124c in the turret rotation direction R and extends in the turret rotation direction R. The position of the forming portion 124d in the up-down direction is constant along the turret rotation direction R.
The ascent portion 124e is connected to an end portion of the forming portion 124d in the turret rotation direction R, and extends upward toward the turret rotation direction R.
The positions of the descent portion 124c, the forming portion 124d, and the ascent portion 124e in the turret circumferential direction are the same as the positions in the turret circumferential direction at the intermediate portion located between both end portions of the horizontal portion 123b in the turret circumferential direction.
The second horizontal portion 124f is connected to an end portion of the ascent portion 124e in the turret rotation direction R and extends in the turret rotation direction R. A position of the second horizontal portion 124f in the up-down direction is constant along the turret rotation direction R. A position of the second horizontal portion 124f in the turret circumferential direction is the same as a position in the turret circumferential direction at the end portion of the horizontal portion 123b in the turret rotation direction R.
The rear ascent portion 124g is connected to an end portion of the second horizontal portion 124f in the turret rotation direction R and extends upward toward the turret rotation direction R. A position of the rear ascent portion 124g in the turret circumferential direction is the same as the position of the head ascent portion 123c in the turret circumferential direction.
The lower cam 124 and the lower cam follower 91 that engages with the lower cam 124 constitute the lower cam mechanism 127. That is, the capping device 120 includes the lower cam mechanism 127.
In a process in which the spindle assembly 80 is rotated by the turret 121 in the turret rotation direction R around the turret axis T, the upper cam mechanism 126 moves the elevation shaft 81, the pressure block 2, the spindle 85, and the body 1 in the up-down direction. That is, the upper cam mechanism 126 moves the capping head 10 in the up-down direction. In addition, the lower cam mechanism 127 moves the elevation cylinder 90 and the cone cam 7 in the up-down direction.
Here, a process in which the cap 300 is attached (subject to capping) to the mouthpiece portion 200 of the threaded can B by using the capping device 120 will be described in detail.
First, as shown in (a) and (b) of
The threaded can B in which the cap 300 is placed over the mouthpiece portion 200 is transported along the outer peripheral portion of the capping device 120 and is disposed directly below the capping head 10 of the spindle assembly 80, as shown in (c) of
As shown in (d) of
Therefore, the contact state between the rolling element 42 of the cam follower 4 and the large-diameter rolling surface 72 of the cone cam 7 is maintained from (c) of
In (d) of
As shown in (e) and (f) of
As a result, each cam follower 4 is moved to the radially inner side, and each forming roller 5 connected to each cam follower 4 via each support member 3 is also moved to the radially inner side. In addition, in a state in which the fixed gear 122 and the spindle gear 86 mesh with each other, the spindle assembly 80 is moved in the turret rotation direction R, thereby causing the spindle 85 and the body 1 to rotate around the center axis O.
Therefore, each roller 5 of the thread forming roller 5A and the tuck under forming roller 5B comes into contact with the peripheral wall 301 of the cap 300 and rolls on the peripheral wall 301 around the center axis O (can axis). As a result, the thread forming roller 5A forms the thread portion (female thread portion) to be threaded with the male thread portion of the mouthpiece portion 200, on the peripheral wall 301 of the cap 300. In addition, the tuck under forming roller 5B performs the tuck under forming of the lower end of the peripheral wall 301 of the cap 300 onto the lower portion of the bulging portion 201 of the mouthpiece portion 200.
Next, the lower cam follower 91 is guided from the forming portion 124d of the lower cam 124 to the ascent portion 124e, thereby causing the cone cam 7 of the elevation cylinder 90 to move to the upper side with respect to the body 1. Due to this movement and the biasing force of the biasing member 6, the position at which the rolling element 42 of the cam follower 4 comes into contact with the cone cam 7 is changed from the small-diameter rolling surface 71 to the taper rolling surface 73, and is further changed from the taper rolling surface 73 to the large-diameter rolling surface 72.
As a result, each cam follower 4 is moved to the radially outer side, and each forming roller 5 connected to each cam follower 4 via each support member 3 is also moved to the radially outer side. Therefore, each roller 5 of the thread forming roller 5A and the tuck under forming roller 5B of the rollers 5 is spaced away from the peripheral wall 301 of the cap 300 to the radially outer side.
As shown in (g) of
In this manner, the mouthpiece portion 200 of the threaded can B is capped with the cap 300, and the threaded can B is sealed. In the present embodiment, the series of operations in which each roller 5 of the thread forming roller 5A and the tuck under forming roller 5B comes into contact with the peripheral wall 301 of the cap 300, rolls on the peripheral wall 301, and then is spaced away from the peripheral wall 301 is set to be performed once. That is, the capping device 120 performs the capping via a single action.
In addition, in the present embodiment, during the series of operations (single action) in which each roller 5 comes into contact with the peripheral wall 301 of the cap 300, rolls on the peripheral wall 301, and then is spaced away from the peripheral wall 301, each roller 5 (thread forming roller 5A and tuck under forming roller 5B) makes two rotations around a cap center axis (can axis) on the peripheral wall 301 of the cap.
It should be noted that, as described above, the capping head 10 includes the pressure block 2, the thread forming roller 5A, and the tuck under forming roller 5B, and the spindle assembly 80 includes the capping head 10. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it may be said that the spindle assembly 80 includes the pressure block 2, the thread forming roller 5A, and the tuck under forming roller 5B.
Specifically, the spindle assembly 80 includes the pressure block 2 that is disposed in the capping head 10 and that presses the top wall of the cap 300 as the upper cam follower 83 moves to the lower side, the plurality of thread forming rollers 5A that are provided in the capping head 10, that come into contact with the peripheral wall 301 of the cap 300 as the lower cam follower 91 moves to the lower side, that form the thread portion to be threaded with the mouthpiece portion 200 on the peripheral wall 301, and at least one tuck under forming roller 5B that is provided in the capping head 10, that comes into contact with the peripheral wall 301 of the cap 300 as the lower cam follower 91 moves to the lower side, that tucks under forming the lower end of the peripheral wall 301 onto the mouthpiece portion 200.
Hereinafter, the capping system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described.
As shown in
Reference numeral 130 shown in
On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the transport direction D of the threaded can B discharged from the filler 110 and directed toward the capping device 120 extends along a tangent of the outer peripheral portion of the turret 121 when seen in the turret axis direction (that is, when seen from above).
In the capping head 10 according to the present embodiment, a body recess portion 13, which is depressed from the upper surface 1a of the body 1, is provided in the body 1. The body recess portion 13 is disposed directly below the cone cam 7, and the body recess portion 13 can accommodate at least the lower end portion of the cone cam 7, so that the cone cam 7 and the body 1 are disposed close to each other in the up-down direction, but the contact (interference) between these members are prevented.
Therefore, the pressure block 2 and the forming roller 5 for forming the cap 300, and the cone cam 7 can be disposed closer to each other in the up-down direction, and thus the dimension of the body 1 in the up-down direction can be reduced.
Therefore, with the capping head 10, the spindle assembly 80, and the capping device 120 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to keep a compact outer shape of the capping head 10, achieve weight reduction, and increase the processing speed of the capping to improve the production efficiency.
In addition, in the present embodiment, the inner diameter dimension d1 of the body recess portion 13 is larger than the outer diameter dimension d2 of the lower end portion of the cone cam 7 with which the cam follower 4 comes into contact.
With the above-described configuration, the lower end portion of the cone cam 7 can be reliably inserted into the body recess portion 13.
In addition, in the present embodiment, the spindle attachment portion 15 is disposed at the bottom portion of the body recess portion 13 having a bottomed hole shape.
In this case, by providing the body recess portion 13, the spindle 85 can be stably attached to the spindle attachment portion 15 provided at the bottom portion of the body recess portion 13, while achieving compactness and weight reduction of the body 1.
Further, in the present embodiment, the inner diameter dimension d1 of the body recess portion 13 is larger than the diameter dimension of the spindle attachment portion 15.
In this case, the interval can be provided in the radial direction between the inner peripheral surface 13b of the body recess portion 13 and the spindle attachment portion 15. For example, in a case in which a part of the lower end portion of the cone cam 7, which is set at the descent end position, is accommodated in this interval, further compactness of the body 1 can be achieved.
In addition, in the present embodiment, in a case in which the dimension of the cone cam 7 in the up-down direction from the upper end position with which the cam follower 4 comes into contact to the lower end position is defined as the forming dimension H, the depth dimension h of the body recess portion 13 in the up-down direction is 1.58H or less.
In a case in which the depth dimension h of the body recess portion 13 in the up-down direction is h≤1.58H, the above-described operations and effects can be achieved while sufficiently ensuring the rigidity of the body 1 by forming the body recess portion 13.
In addition, in the present embodiment, the body recess portion 13 has a hole shape extending in the up-down direction from the body flange 12 to the body main portion 11, and the dimension in the up-down direction in which the cone cam 7 set at the descent end position is inserted into the body recess portion 13 is the same as or equal to or larger than a dimension L of the body flange 12 in the up-down direction.
In this case, the dimension in the up-down direction in which the cone cam 7 set as at the descent end position is inserted into the body recess portion 13 (cone cam insertion amount) is equal to or larger than the dimension L of the body flange 12 in the up-down direction. Since the insertion dimension of the cone cam 7 into the body recess portion 13 is sufficiently ensured, further compactness and weight reduction of the body 1 can be achieved.
In addition, in the present embodiment, the cam follower 4 has the shaft portion 41 that extends in the up-down direction and the rolling element 42 that is rotatably supported by the lower end portion of the shaft portion 41 and is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the cone cam 7 by the biasing force of the biasing member 6.
In the above-described configuration, the rolling element 42 of the cam follower 4 is rotatably supported by the lower end portion of the shaft portion 41. Therefore, the rolling element 42 can be disposed closer to the upper surface 1a of the body 1 than in the capping head in the related art. In a case in which this configuration is applied to the capping head in the related art, the lower end portion of the cone cam may contact the upper surface of the body. However, as described above, in the present embodiment, the lower end portion of the cone cam 7 is accommodated in the body recess portion 13, thereby preventing the contact between the cone cam 7 and the body 1. With the above-described configuration, the cone cam 7 and the body 1 can be disposed closer to each other in the up-down direction.
In addition, in the present embodiment, six forming rollers 5 are provided, and the number of the thread forming rollers 5A is larger than the number of the tuck under forming rollers 5B.
As in the above-described configuration, in a case in which the number of thread forming rollers 5A is large, the forming load (pressing force) per thread forming roller 5A can be reduced. Therefore, even in a case in which the thickness of the threaded can B is reduced, the deformation of the mouthpiece portion 200 due to the thread forming processing can be more stably suppressed.
In addition, in the present embodiment, four thread forming rollers 5A are provided in the capping head 10, and two tuck under forming rollers 5B are provided. As a result, the forming processing accuracy of the capping can be stably improved.
In addition, in the present embodiment, the positions of the thread forming rollers 5A (roller main bodies 52) adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction are displaced from each other in the up-down direction.
In this case, the forming portions of the thread forming rollers 5A adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction with respect to the peripheral wall 301 of the cap are displaced from each other in the up-down direction, so that a problem of an excessively large thread forming amount at the same portion (particularly in the vicinity of an upper groove, which is a thread start position) of the peripheral wall 301 of the cap 300 can be suppressed. Variations in the thread forming amount at each position in the up-down direction is suppressed, and the thread forming amount is equalized in the up-down direction.
In addition, since the adjacent thread forming rollers 5A are disposed to be displaced in the up-down direction, these thread forming rollers 5A can be disposed closer to each other without causing interference. As a result, the outer diameter dimension of the capping head 10 can be reduced, and further compactness and weight reduction can be achieved.
In addition, in the present embodiment, the spindle attachment portion 15 of the body 1 overlaps the body recess portion 13 when seen in the radial direction.
As in the above-described configuration, by disposing the spindle attachment portion 15 and the body recess portion 13 to overlap each other when seen in the radial direction, the dimension of the body 1 in the up-down direction can be further reduced.
In addition, in the present embodiment, the body 1 has the biasing member accommodation hole 23 extending in the up-down direction, and the biasing member 6 is disposed in the biasing member accommodation hole 23.
In this case, the biasing member 6 is accommodated in the biasing member accommodation hole 23 provided to extend through the body 1 in the up-down direction. Therefore, the biasing member 6 can be covered from its periphery while maintaining high rigidity of the body 1. In addition, as compared to a case in which the body 1 is provided with a pocket 11e and a separate cover 8 that covers the pocket 11e as in a modification example of the present embodiment which will be described below, it is easy to manufacture the body 1 because the processing of cutting the biasing member accommodation hole 23 in the body 1 is not complicated. It should be noted that, in a case of the integral body main portion 11 as in the present embodiment, it is easy to achieve weight reduction of the body main portion 11 by performing cutout or the like while ensuring the rigidity of the body main portion 11.
In addition, in the present embodiment, the skirt portion 11h suppresses the exposure of the plurality of support protrusion pieces 17, the plurality of roller shaft accommodation pockets 19, the accommodation cylinder 16, and a part of the pressure block 2 to the outside of the device. Therefore, the appearance of the device is improved.
In addition, the skirt portion 11h and the plurality of support protrusion pieces 17 are connected to each other. Therefore, the rigidity of each support protrusion piece 17 is increased, and each support shaft 31, which is supported by the support protrusion piece 17 via the bearing member, rotationally moves accurately centered on the shaft center axis A. Therefore, each forming roller 5 connected to each support shaft 31 can perform more accurate forming processing on the peripheral wall 301 of the cap.
In addition, the body 1 according to the embodiment is made of a lightweight aluminum alloy. Therefore, it is possible to achieve weight reduction while ensuring the rigidity of the entire device.
Specifically, in the present embodiment, as a result of achieving compactness and weight reduction of the capping head 10, the following processing performance is obtained.
Although not shown, for example, in a spindle assembly including a capping head of a four-roll type (with four forming rollers) in the related art, a capping device including 10 such spindle assemblies, and a capping system including the capping device, the capping processing speed of the threaded can is at maximum 300 cpm. It should be noted that the term “cpm” is a unit representing the number of processed cans (the number of capped cans) per minute.
On the other hand, in the spindle assembly 80 including the capping head 10 of a six-roll type (six forming rollers 5) according to the present embodiment, the capping device 120 including 10 spindle assemblies 80, and the capping system 100 including the capping device 120, the capping processing speed of the threaded can B is increased to at maximum 600 cpm.
In addition, in the present embodiment, a part of the pressure block 2 is accommodated in the accommodation cylinder 16 that protrudes downward from the lower surface 1b of the body 1.
In this case, by accommodating a part of the pressure block 2 in the accommodation cylinder 16, it is not necessary to provide an accommodation space (insertion space) for the pressure block 2 inside the body 1, and the dimension in the up-down direction between the lower surface 1b of the body 1 and the body recess portion 13 can be further reduced. Therefore, further compactness and weight reduction of the body 1 can be achieved.
In addition, in the present embodiment, the body 1 has the cutout portion between the support protrusion piece 17 and the accommodation cylinder 16, as well as between the support protrusion pieces 17 adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction.
Therefore, further weight reduction of the body 1 can be achieved.
In addition, in the present embodiment, the deformation assist groove 36 is provided in at least one of the upper clamp portion 32a or the lower clamp portion 33a of the support member 3.
In this case, by providing the deformation assist groove 36 extending in the up-down direction on the peripheral surface (clamp portion peripheral surface) of the upper clamp portion 32a or the lower clamp portion 33a (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as a clamp portion), the clamp portion is easily deformed in a direction (to the inner side in the shaft radial direction) of pressing the outer peripheral surface of the support shaft 31. As a result, the outer diameter dimension (diameter dimension) of the support shaft 31 can be reduced (that is, the support shaft 31 can be made thinner), and accordingly, the outer diameter dimension of the entire capping head 10 can also be reduced, so that further weight reduction can be achieved.
In addition, in the present embodiment, the step portion 37 is formed on the surface of the lower arm 33 facing the radially inner side.
In this case, by locking the locking arm 61 to the step portion 37 of the lower arm 33 in a state (open state) by using the assembly jig 60 in which the cam follower 4 and the forming roller 5 are moved to the radially outer side against the biasing force of the biasing member 6, so that the open state can be stably maintained. The cone cam 7 can be stably inserted into the radially inner side of the plurality of cam followers 4 arranged in the circumferential direction, and thus the assembly work between the capping head 10 and the cone cam 7 is facilitated.
In addition, in the capping system 100 according to the present embodiment, the transport direction D of the threaded can B discharged from the filler 110 and directed toward the capping device 120 extends along the tangent of the outer peripheral portion of the turret 121 when seen in the turret axis T direction.
With the capping system 100 according to the present embodiment, the threaded can B discharged from the filler 110 is smoothly supplied to the capping device 120 without rapidly changing the transport direction, that is, without being easily affected by a centrifugal force. Therefore, the processing speed of the capping can be stably increased, and thus the production efficiency can be further improved.
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and, for example, as will be described below, the configuration and the like can be changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. It should be noted that, in the showing of the modification example, the same components as in the above-described embodiment is denoted by the same reference numerals, and the differences will be mainly described below.
As shown in
An intermediate portion of the support shaft 31, which is located between the body flange 12 and the support protrusion piece 17 (lower side portion thereof) in the up-down direction, is disposed in the pocket 11e. In addition, each biasing member 6 is accommodated in each pocket 11e.
The pin insertion hole 11f is open to an outer peripheral surface of the lower side portion of the support protrusion piece 17 and extends in the radial direction. The pin insertion hole 11f has, for example, a circular hole shape. A plurality of the pin insertion holes 11f are provided at intervals from each other in the circumferential direction.
The locking pin 11g is inserted into the pin insertion hole 11f. The locking pin 11g has a columnar or cylindrical shape extending in the radial direction and has, for example, a cylindrical shape in the present embodiment. The locking pin 11g may be fixed to the pin insertion hole 11f by fitting, threading, or adhesion, or the like. The locking pin 11g has a portion that protrudes to the radially outer side from the pin insertion hole 11f. That is, the locking pin 11g has a portion that protrudes beyond the outer peripheral surface of the support protrusion piece 17 to the radially outer side. A plurality of the locking pins 11g are provided at intervals from each other in the circumferential direction. For example, three or more locking pins 11g are provided at equal pitches in the circumferential direction.
The cover 8 has a cylindrical shape centered on the center axis O and extends in the up-down direction. As shown in
The cover 8 includes a locking recess portion 8a. The locking recess portion 8a penetrates the peripheral wall of the cover 8 in the radial direction and extends in the up-down direction. The locking recess portion 8a is a notch-shaped or slit-shaped recess portion. The locking recess portion 8a is open to an outer peripheral surface, an inner peripheral surface, and a lower end surface of the cover 8. A plurality of the locking recess portions 8a are provided at intervals from each other in the circumferential direction. For example, three or more locking recess portions 8a are provided at equal pitches in the circumferential direction. The number of the locking recess portions 8a is the same as the number of the locking pins 11g.
A portion of the locking pin 11g that protrudes from the pin insertion hole 11f is inserted into the locking recess portion 8a. Specifically, the locking pin 11g faces a pair of inner surface portions facing in the circumferential direction among the inner surfaces of the locking recess portion 8a, which define the locking recess portion 8a, in the circumferential direction. In addition, the locking pin 11g comes into contact with the inner surface portion of the inner surface of the locking recess portion 8a, which is located at the upper end portion and faces downward, from the lower side.
The cover 8 is fitted over the body main portion 11 and the body flange 12, and the locking pin 11g is locked to the locking recess portion 8a, thereby fixing the cover 8 to the body 1. In addition, the cover 8 can be detached from the body 1 by moving the cover 8 to the upper side with respect to the body 1. That is, the cover 8 is detachably attached to the body 1.
The body 1 and the cover 8 are made of metal, for example, an aluminum alloy. Specifically, the body 1 and the cover 8 are made of, for example, duralumin.
According to the present modification example, the cover 8 suppresses the exposure of the peripheral wall portion 11c, the bottom wall portion 11d, the plurality of pockets 11e, the plurality of biasing members 6, the intermediate portion of the plurality of support shafts 31, the plurality of support protrusion pieces 17, the plurality of roller shaft accommodation pockets 19, the accommodation cylinder 16, and a part of the pressure block 2 (hereinafter, may be abbreviated as the biasing member 6 and the like) to the outside of the device. Therefore, the appearance of the device is improved. In addition, the cover 8 suppresses the entry of a content such as a beverage (particularly a content with sugar content that easily solidifies) or a liquid such as oil, which may scatter from the outside of the capping head 10 toward the body 1, into the body 1. Therefore, the maintainability is improved, and the performance (function) of each component such as the biasing member 6 and the like provided in the body 1 is well maintained.
In addition, in the present modification example, the body 1 and the cover 8 are made of a lightweight aluminum alloy. Therefore, it is possible to achieve weight reduction while ensuring the rigidity of the entire device.
In addition, in the above-described embodiment, an example is described in which the number of the forming rollers 5 provided in the capping head 10 is six, but the present invention is not limited to this. The number of the forming rollers 5 provided in the capping head 10 may be, for example, eight or more, that is, six or more forming rollers 5 may be provided.
In the above-described embodiment, the lower cam 124 of the capping device 120 has only one set of the front descent portion 124a, the first horizontal portion 124b, the descent portion 124c, the forming portion 124d, the ascent portion 124e, the second horizontal portion 124f, and the rear ascent portion 124g, but the present invention is not limited to this, and two sets of these portions may be provided and arranged in the turret circumferential direction. That is, in this case, the lower cam 124 is provided with two sets of the descent portion 124c, the forming portion 124d, and the ascent portion 124e. Then, the series of operations in which each roller 5 of the thread forming roller 5A and the tuck under forming roller 5B comes into contact with the peripheral wall 301 of the cap 300, rolls on the peripheral wall 301, and then is spaced away from the peripheral wall 301 is set to be performed twice. That is, in this case, the capping device 120 performs the capping via a double action.
The present invention may combine the configurations described in the above-described embodiment and the modification example without departing from the gist of the present invention, and the addition, the omission, the replacement, and other changes of the configuration can be made. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and is only limited by the scope of the claims.
Hereinafter, the present invention will be more specifically described with reference to Examples. The present invention is not limited to Examples.
As Comparative Example 1 of the related art, a capping device was used in which a capping head including four forming rollers, specifically, two thread forming rollers and two tuck under forming rollers was used, and the series of operations in which each roller of the thread forming roller and the tuck under forming roller comes into contact with the peripheral wall 301 of the cap 300, rolls on the peripheral wall 301, and then is spaced away from the peripheral wall 301 was set to be performed twice (double action). Then, the cap 300 was subject to the capping onto a large number of the threaded cans B by using this capping device. It should be noted that, unlike the product according to the present invention, the capping head according to Comparative Example 1 is a capping head in the related art in which the body is not provided with a body recess portion or the like.
In Comparative Example 1, a set diameter of the thread forming roller was φ43.5 mm, and a set diameter of the tuck under forming roller was φ45.3 mm. It should be noted that the term “set diameter” corresponds to the inner diameter dimension (diameter dimension of the rotation trajectory of the roller inner end) of the rotation trajectory obtained by rotating the forming roller around the center axis of the capping head. According to the set diameter, a roller distal end load of the forming roller that presses the peripheral wall of the cap to the radially inner side, a contact length per contact of the forming roller with the peripheral wall of the cap (peripheral length around the cap), or the like is adjusted.
In addition, as Comparative Example 2 in the related art, a capping device was used in which the series of operations in which each roller of the thread forming roller and the tuck under forming roller comes into contact with the peripheral wall 301 of the cap 300, rolls on the peripheral wall 301, and then is spaced away from the peripheral wall 301 was set to be performed once (single action). The capping was performed using the capping device under the same condition as in Comparative Example 1 except for the above-described condition.
In addition, as Example 1 of the present invention, the cap 300 was subject to the capping onto a large number of the threaded cans B by using the capping head 10 and the capping device 120 described in the above-described embodiment. Specifically, the capping was performed by using the capping device 120 in which the capping head 10 including six forming rollers 5, specifically, four thread forming rollers 5A and two tuck under forming rollers 5B was used, and the series of operations in which each roller 5 of the thread forming roller 5A and the tuck under forming roller 5B comes into contact with the peripheral wall 301 of the cap 300, rolls on the peripheral wall 301, and then is spaced away from the peripheral wall 301 was set to be performed once (single action).
In Example 1, a set diameter of the thread forming roller 5A was φ43.5 mm, and a set diameter of the tuck under forming roller 5B was φ43.5 mm.
In addition, as Example 2 of the present invention, the capping was performed by using the capping device 120 in which the capping head 10 including six forming rollers 5, specifically, three thread forming rollers 5A and three tuck under forming rollers 5B was used, and the series of operations in which each roller 5 of the thread forming roller 5A and the tuck under forming roller 5B comes into contact with the peripheral wall 301 of the cap 300, rolls on the peripheral wall 301, and then is spaced away from the peripheral wall 301 was set to be performed once (single action).
In Example 2, a set diameter of the thread forming roller 5A was φ43.0 mm, and a set diameter of the tuck under forming roller 5B was φ43.0 mm. The condition of Example 2 except for the above-described configuration was the same as in Example 1.
A predetermined number (a plurality) of the threaded cans B were randomly selected from among a large number of the threaded cans B capped with the cap 300 in each of Comparative Examples 1 and 2 and Examples 1 and 2. Then, for each threaded can B, the items “thread depth”, “cap opening angle”, “tuck under forming”, and “thread length” were measured, and an average value (Ave), a maximum value (Max), a minimum value (Min), and a standard deviation (σ) were obtained.
Specifically, the “thread depth” (mm) was measured as follows.
In addition, the “cap opening angle”) (° is a rotation angle from the start of the rotation operation to the point at which all of a plurality of bridges of the peripheral wall 301 of the cap are broken in a case in which the cap 300 attached to the mouthpiece portion 200 is rotated in a cap opening direction around the can axis.
In addition, the “tuck under forming” was measured by an inspector's sensory test (numerical range: 1.0 to 5.0). (a) to (d) of
Specifically, (c) of
In addition, (a) of
In addition, (b) of
In addition, (d) of
In the tuck under forming evaluation, within the numerical range of 1.0 to 5.0, a range of 2.5 to 3.5 was determined as being good tuck under forming, and a range of less than 2.5 and more than 3.5 was determined as being poor tuck under forming.
In addition, the “thread length” (mm) was obtained by using the thread length (average value) of the two turns of the thread portion formed on the peripheral wall 301 of the cap of Comparative Example 1 as a reference value (zero), and measuring a length of the circumference of the thread portion with respect to the reference value using a measure (ruler or tape measure).
The results of the capping confirmation test are shown in Table 1.
As shown in Table 1, in Comparative Example 1 in which the number of forming times via each roller was twice (double action), the evaluation was obtained as being good. It should be noted that term “small thread portion resistance” in the note column of the table indicates that the torque (resealing torque) required to attach the cap 300 to the mouthpiece portion 200 again after opening the cap 300 is small.
In addition, in Comparative Example 2 in which the number of forming times by each roller was once (single action), the evaluation was obtained as being poor. Specifically, the thread depth was too shallow, the cap opening angle was too large, it was determined as being poor tuck under forming, and the thread length was shorter than in Comparative Example 1. It should be noted that the term “hinging” in the note column of the table indicates that there is a bridge that does not break during cap opening, and this bridge acts like a hinge, resulting in the cap 300 remaining connected to the mouthpiece portion 200 (hinging phenomenon).
On the other hand, in Examples 1 and 2, regardless of the fact that the number of forming times by via each roller 5 was once (single action), both evaluations were obtained as being good. Among the Examples, in Example 1 in which four thread forming rollers 5A and two tuck under forming rollers 5B were used, the thread depth was ensured to be deeper than in Comparative Example 1 with double action, and thus particularly good result was obtained.
Therefore, with the capping head, the spindle assembly, the capping device, and the capping system according to the present invention, it is possible to keep a compact outer shape of the capping head, achieve weight reduction, and increase the processing speed of the capping to improve the production efficiency. Therefore, the industrial applicability is achieved.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-057021 | Mar 2022 | JP | national |
This application is a U.S. National Phase application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2023/013073 filed on Mar. 30, 2023, which claims the benefit of priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-057021 filed on Mar. 30, 2022, the contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The International application was published in Japanese on Oct. 5, 2023 as International Publication No. WO 2023/190821 under PCT Article 21 (2).
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2023/013073 | 3/30/2023 | WO |
