JP2019006429A - Object treating facility - Google Patents

Abstract

To prevent trouble occurence caused by abnormal inclination of an object in an object treating facility, by surely detecting suitability of an attitude of the treating object such as a container.SOLUTION: An object such as a container 12 transported along a transportation path 11 is subjected to a predetermined treatment such as a beverage filling treatment by a treatment device. At that time, a distance to the container 12 is detected by a non-contact type laser distance meter 31. From a detection result of the laser distance meter 31, existence of abnormal inclination of the container 12 is detected by a computer device 37 as an inclination detector. When the computer device 37 detects the abnormal inclination of the container 12, the computer device 37 as a control device makes the treatment device perform the abnormal countermeasure operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an object processing facility, and more particularly, to an object processing facility that can detect and deal with an abnormal inclination of a processing object being transported by a transport device.

  For example, in a manufacturing process of a product in which a beverage liquid is filled in a container, a filling nozzle is inserted into the container from the container opening when the container is filled with the beverage liquid. In addition, in order to disinfect the inside of the container before filling the container with a beverage, a disinfecting nozzle is inserted into the container (Patent Document 1).

  In these cases, if the container is not held in the correct posture, for example, if it is held in a largely inclined state, the nozzle collides with the container. And it is impossible to insert a nozzle into the container.

  For this reason, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, when a contact body is provided and mechanical contact occurs between the contact body and the container, it is determined that an abnormal inclination occurs in the container. , Stop moving the container for feeding.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-94782

  However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the collision between the contact body and the container is unavoidable, and in some cases, the container and the contact body are inevitably damaged due to this.

  Further, since the contact body is provided along the outer periphery of the nozzle, the inclination of the container can be detected only at the position of the nozzle. For this reason, even if the apparatus is stopped after detecting the inclination of the container, the nozzle may collide with the container if it cannot be stopped suddenly during high-speed operation and an overrun occurs.

  Patent Document 1 describes that the tilt of the container is detected optically in a non-contact manner instead of the contact body described above (paragraph 0039 of Patent Document 1). However, there is no disclosure of specific means for that purpose, and thus optical detection is not a specific technical means but merely an idea.

  Accordingly, the present invention is capable of reliably detecting the suitability of the posture of a processing object such as a container and preventing the occurrence of troubles based on an abnormal inclination of the object in the object processing facility. Objective.

In order to achieve this object, the object processing equipment of the present invention comprises:
A processing device for performing a predetermined process on an object being transported along the transport path;
A non-contact rangefinder that detects the distance to the object;
An inclination detecting device for detecting the presence or absence of an abnormal inclination in the object from the detection result of the distance meter;
And a control device that causes the processing device to perform an abnormality handling operation when the tilt detection device detects an abnormal tilt of the object.

  According to the object processing facility of the present invention, when the object is abnormally inclined, the detection result of the distance meter also shows an abnormal value due to the inclination. It can be reliably detected by contact. In addition, since the control device causes the processing device to perform an abnormality coping operation when the detection device detects an abnormal inclination of the object, troubles based on the abnormal inclination of the object are prevented in advance. be able to. Moreover, since the presence or absence of an abnormal inclination is detected from the detection result of the distance meter, the apparatus configuration is simpler than the case of detecting the inclination by image processing, and the obtained measurement data Easy to process.

  According to the object processing facility of the present invention, the control apparatus causes the processing apparatus to stop the operation of the processing apparatus as an abnormality handling operation, to remove the object from the transport path, and to detect abnormalities in the object. It is preferable to perform at least one of an operation for correcting the inclination.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to reliably prevent troubles based on an abnormal inclination of the object.

  According to the object processing facility of the present invention, it is preferable that the processing apparatus introduces means for performing processing on the object into the object from an opening provided in the object.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a situation in which proper processing by the processing device cannot be performed because the object is abnormally inclined.

  According to the object processing facility of the present invention, the means for processing the object is sent out from the instrument for processing the object and the instrument for processing the object toward the object. It is preferably one of processing media such as an electron beam and a filling liquid.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, when the means for processing the object is an instrument for processing the object, an instrument such as a nozzle is placed inside the object when the object is abnormally inclined. In addition to preventing the device from colliding with the object, for example, by stopping the operation introduced to the object, the means for processing the object is changed from the tool for processing the object to the object. In the case of a processing medium such as an electron beam or a filling liquid sent out, it is possible to prevent the processing medium from being correctly introduced into the inside of the target object because the target object is abnormally inclined.

  According to the object processing facility of the present invention, it is preferable that the distance meter detects a distance from a container as an object or a distance from a preform for forming a container.

  In such a case, when processing a container or a preform as a target object, not only can an abnormal inclination in the container or the preform be reliably detected, but the abnormality Occurrence of troubles based on a simple inclination can be reliably prevented.

  According to the object processing facility of the present invention, the inclination detection device is configured to detect the presence or absence of an abnormal inclination of the object along the conveyance direction and the object along the direction intersecting the conveyance direction from the detection result of the distance meter. It is preferable to detect at least one of the presence or absence of an abnormal inclination of an object.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to detect the presence or absence of an abnormality, particularly in a direction in which an abnormality is likely to occur.

  According to the object processing facility of the present invention, it is preferable that there are a plurality of distance meters, and each distance meter detects a distance from the object at another position along the conveyance path.

  As such, since it is possible to detect the presence or absence of abnormal tilt by measuring the distance to the object with a plurality of distance meters, it is possible to improve the detection accuracy of the presence or absence of abnormal tilt, Therefore, the subsequent coping operation can be surely performed. Even if the number of objects to be processed per unit time increases and measurement cannot be performed with only one distance meter, it is possible to follow with another distance meter.

  According to the object processing facility of the present invention, when an object is detected by the object detection device that detects the presence of the object at a predetermined position that can be detected by a distance meter, and the object detection device detects the object. It is preferable to have a signal holding device that holds the detection signal of the distance meter only for a time required for the tilt detection device to detect the presence or absence of an abnormal tilt.

  In such a case, for example, when processing an object at a high speed by a processing device, the time required for the detection processing of the presence or absence of an abnormal inclination by the inclination detection device is measured by the object using a distance meter. Even if it is longer than the time that exists in the area that can be performed, the detection signal of the distance meter is held in correspondence with the processing time of the inclination detection device, so that the abnormality is detected by the inclination detection device. It is possible to reliably detect the presence or absence of a tilt.

  According to the object processing facility of the present invention, the object detection device detects the presence of the object or the presence of a predetermined portion of the transport device for transporting the object along the transport path in a non-contact manner. Is preferred.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, the presence of an object can be detected without contact. In particular, in the case of detecting the presence of a predetermined part of the transport device, the transport device is not tilted even when an abnormal tilt occurs in the object, and therefore an abnormal tilt occurs in the target object. Even when the object is detected, the object detection device can reliably detect that the object exists at a predetermined position where the distance can be detected by the distance meter.

  According to the object processing facility of the present invention, it is possible to reliably detect the suitability of the posture of the processing object in a non-contact manner, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of troubles based on the abnormal inclination of the object.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the principal part of the target object processing equipment of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement based on the structure of FIG. It is a figure which shows the other operation | movement based on the structure of FIG. It is a top view which shows the filling equipment of the drink liquid to the container as an example of the target object processing equipment. It is a figure which shows operation | movement of the installation of FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a problem when the container as an object is abnormally inclined in the facility of FIG. 4. It is a figure which shows the structure of the principal part of the other target object processing equipment of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the principal part of the further another target object processing equipment of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of the target object processing equipment of FIG.

  In the filling facility as the object processing facility shown in FIG. 4, reference numeral 11 denotes a conveyance path, and along this conveyance path 11, a large number of containers 12 in the form of bottles as objects are conveyed at a constant pitch. . Filling the container 12 with the beverage corresponds to “processing” for the container 12 in the illustrated filling facility.

  The illustrated filling equipment includes a first rotor 13, a second rotor 14, and a third rotor 15, and the conveyance path 11 is curved along these rotors 13, 14, and 15. Yes. While the container 12 is conveyed along the 2nd rotor 14, the inside is filled with a drink liquid. Therefore, the 2nd rotor 14 and its auxiliary | assistant apparatus comprise the essential part of the "processing apparatus" in this invention. Reference numeral 16 denotes a filling section along the circumferential direction of the second rotor 14. The first rotor 13 constitutes a guide path to the second rotor 14, and the third rotor 15 constitutes a carry-out path for the filled container 12 from the second rotor 14. The container 12 that has passed through the third rotor 15 is fed along the transport path 11 to, for example, a cap mounting device (not shown).

  In the filling section 16 of the second rotor 14, as shown in FIG. 5, the filling nozzle 19 is directed downward into the container 12 from the opening 18 at the upper end of the container 12 held in the vertical posture by the clamp 17. By being inserted, the beverage liquid 20 is filled into the container 12. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 21 denotes a lowering point of the filling nozzle 19 shown in FIG. 5, and reference numeral 22 denotes an ascending point for extracting the filling nozzle 19 upward from the container 12 after completion of the filling operation.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the container 12 is held in the correct posture by the clamp 17, the filling nozzle 19 can be inserted into the container 12 without any trouble, and the filling operation can be completed. However, as shown in FIG. 6, when the container 12 is not held in the correct posture by the clamp 17 for some reason and is held with an abnormal inclination 23, the filling nozzle 19 is in the opening 18. It cannot collide with the wall 24 of the container 12 and enter the container 12.

  In order to deal with this point, in the object processing facility of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, a stationary laser distance meter 31 is provided as a non-contact distance meter. The distance to the specific part of the container 12 being transported is measured. For example, when the container 12 is a transparent plastic bottle, it is usual to have an opaque “rib portion” 33 at the mouth portion 32 at the upper end of the bottle. Then, the reflected light is received, and the distance D to the collar portion 33 is detected. FIG. 1A shows a range 35 in which a distance can be measured by irradiating a specific portion of the collar portion 33, that is, a laser beam 34. That is, the container 12 is transported in a direction perpendicular to the drawing surface in FIG. 1B, and as shown in FIG. 1A, a certain range along the transport direction 36 is a measurable range 35. It becomes. In the case where the container 12 is a transparent plastic bottle, if the laser beam is irradiated to the transparent part, the laser beam is refracted and does not reflect properly, so that it is difficult to accurately detect the distance.

  The laser distance meter 31 is connected to the computer device 37. The computer device 37 is configured by, for example, a programmable logic controller (PLC).

  As illustrated in FIG. 1B and the solid line portion in FIG. 2, when the container 12 is held in the correct posture by the clamp 17 shown in FIG. The distance value is D. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, in the above-described measurable range 35, it was detected when an abnormal inclination occurred in the container 12 in the direction in which the collar portion 33 approaches the laser distance meter 31. The distance value is D1 smaller than D. On the contrary, in the measurable range 35, if the container 12 has an abnormal inclination in the direction away from the laser distance meter 31, the detected distance value is larger than D. D2.

  Here, the abnormal inclination is an inclination exceeding a limit at which trouble occurs in the operation of the object processing facility, such as the filling nozzle 19 colliding with the wall portion 24 of the container 12 in the opening 18 as shown in FIG. Can mean. Alternatively, it may mean the slope of the safe threshold within the trouble occurrence limit.

  Therefore, when the detected value exceeds the allowable range, the inclination detecting device detects that an abnormal inclination has occurred. The tilt detection device is preferably configured such that the computer device 37 shown in FIG. Alternatively, the tilt detection device can be another device independent of the computer device 37. This also applies to the control device and other devices described below.

  When an abnormal inclination is detected, the computer device 37 as a control device operates so as to eliminate or correct the abnormality. For example, the operation of the first to third rotors 13, 14, 15 is stopped and an alarm is issued, the insertion of the filling nozzle 19 into the container 12 is stopped, or the container 12 that detects an abnormal inclination is removed. Remove from the transport path, correct the posture of the container 12 that detected an abnormal inclination, or take other appropriate measures.

  The direction in which the abnormal inclination occurs will be described with reference to FIG. That is, the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis for defining the three-dimensional space are set, and the container 12 is transported in the horizontal direction, that is, the direction along the x-axis in the xy plane. That is, the transport path 11 coincides with the x axis. In this case, an inclination 38 around the y axis corresponds to an inclination along the transport direction 36, and an inclination 39 around the x axis corresponds to an inclination along a direction perpendicular to the transport direction 36. In some cases, the inclination 38 about the y-axis and the inclination 39 about the x-axis occur simultaneously.

  In the case of a plastic bottle with a capacity of about 500 milliliters, an abnormal inclination occurs when a distance exceeding ± 2.5 mm is measured, for example, compared to the distance value D in the correct posture shown in FIG. Can be determined. In this case, when there is a difference in distance within ± 2.5 mm, it is determined that the filling nozzle or the like can be inserted into the opening 18 of the container 12 without any problem although a slight inclination occurs.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when only one laser rangefinder 31 is used, it is possible to determine whether or not an abnormal inclination has occurred from the distance measurement value. At that time, the computer device 37 as a control device can take appropriate measures such as stopping the conveyance of the container 12 or removing the container 12 from the conveyance path 11. That is, it is possible to reliably detect and deal with the occurrence of an abnormality while having a simple structure.

  On the other hand, a configuration using a plurality of laser rangefinders 31 may be employed. In this case, by changing the measurement direction of the distance by each laser distance meter, the direction of the abnormal inclination generated in the container 12 and the magnitude of the inclination can be known from the measurement result. Accordingly, it is possible to take measures such as correcting the inclination of the container 12 in which an abnormality has occurred. Even when only one laser rangefinder 31 is used, the light emitted from the rangefinder 31 is divided into two or more light beams having different directions, and the two or more light beams from the container 12 are separated. If each of the reflected lights can be analyzed, the direction of the abnormal tilt generated in the container 12 and the magnitude of the tilt can be known.

  Alternatively, by measuring the distance at a plurality of positions in the measurable range 35, it is possible to know the direction of the abnormal inclination generated in the container and the magnitude of the inclination from the measurement result.

  If the laser distance meter 31 measures the distance immediately before the processing is performed on the container 12, the presence or absence of an abnormal tilt can be accurately detected. However, if it is too close to the processing position, there is a risk that it will not be possible to deal with it after detecting the abnormality. For example, in the facility shown in FIG. 4, as shown in the drawing, at a position corresponding to the container 12 after being passed from the first rotor 13 to the second rotor 14, that is, at a position immediately before the lowering point 21 of the filling nozzle. Ideally, a laser distance meter 31 is installed. However, if the treatment after detecting an abnormal inclination is not in time, for example, the laser rangefinder 31 can be installed in the first rotor 13. For example, when filling nearly 900 containers 12 per minute at a high speed, the laser distance meter 31 is installed at a position on the near side of the lowering point 21 of the filling nozzle so that such a high speed can be obtained. It can correspond to processing.

  Alternatively, a plurality of laser rangefinders 31 that measure the distance from the same direction can be installed. According to this, the distance can be measured accurately by performing the distance measurement a plurality of times. That is, it is possible to more accurately detect the occurrence of an abnormal inclination. Even if the number of containers to be filled with beverage liquid per unit time is increased and the filling process is speeded up, even if it is not possible to measure with only one laser distance meter 31, other lasers can be used. You can follow with the distance meter 31.

  In the above, the example in which the container 12 is filled with the beverage using the filling nozzle 19 has been described. However, the present invention is applicable to any technique for inserting a rod-like body such as a nozzle into the container 12 or other object. Applicable. For example, as described in Patent Document 1 described above, the present invention can also be applied to a technique for performing sterilization by inserting an electron beam irradiation nozzle as a rod-like body into a container and irradiating the electron beam. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the present invention can be applied to a parison 41 before blow molding as an object of electron beam sterilization. For example, when the insertion of the electron beam irradiation nozzle into the abnormally inclined parison 41 is stopped, the electron beam is not properly applied to the parison 41 and sterilization is insufficient. Process to discharge.

  In the present invention, the rod-like body such as the filling nozzle 19 or the electron beam irradiation nozzle is inserted into the object such as the container 12 or the parison 41 as described above, and the processing is performed from outside the object without inserting it. It is applicable also to what gives. For example, the present invention can also be applied to a case where an electron beam irradiation nozzle is installed above a target such as a container or a parison and irradiated with an electron beam toward the inside of the target in that state. In such a case, if the object is abnormally inclined, the electron beam is not correctly irradiated inside the object, and the irradiation intensity is not uniform, resulting in insufficient sterilization. Further, the present invention can also be applied to so-called in-mouth filling, in which filling is performed with the filling nozzle 19 at a certain distance above the mouth of the container. In the case of filling in the mouth, if the container is tilted abnormally, the filling material is not properly filled into the container, and spillage may occur.

  Next, the details of the abnormal tilt detection process will be described. FIG. 8 shows details of processing for detecting whether or not an abnormal inclination occurs when a large number of containers 12 held by the clamps 17 are being transported at high speed along the transport path 11. An arrow 36 indicates the conveyance direction. Also in the example of FIG. 8, the collar portion 33 of the container 12 is irradiated with the laser beam 34 from the racer distance meter. Reference numeral 35 denotes a range in which the distance can be measured by irradiating the laser beam 34 in the collar portion 33.

  Now, let t <b> 1 be the time during which the range 35 in which the distance in the container 12 being conveyed at high speed along the conveyance path 11 can be measured crosses the light beam of the laser beam 34. For example, when processing 900 containers per minute, t1 is about 3 milliseconds. That is, the time during which the laser distance meter can output the distance measurement data is only 3 milliseconds. When the computer device 37 shown in FIG. 1 is a programmable logic controller, the time required to determine an abnormal inclination is about 10 milliseconds. This time is represented as t2 in FIG. 8, and t2 is longer than t1. That is, the measurement data is output from the laser distance meter 31 of FIG. 1 to the computer device 37 only for 3 milliseconds, but the computer device 37 cannot complete the processing within that time. That is, the computer device 37 cannot keep up with the processing speed.

  As a countermeasure, as shown in FIG. 9, in addition to the laser distance meter 31, a trigger sensor 46 as an object detection device is installed, and a laser beam 47 from the trigger sensor 46 is irradiated to an appropriate place of the container 12. The reflected light is received at the start of the operation of the laser rangefinder 31, and a trigger is applied at the timing of the light reception. The computer device 37 is configured to serve as both the signal holding device 48 and the tilt detection device 49 in FIG. 9, but the signal holding device 48 is configured to use the laser distance meter 31 until the processing by the tilt detection device 49 is completed. It fulfills the function of holding the measurement data from. Specifically, such a function can be achieved by, for example, a delay function in an amplifier circuit.

  In this way, even if the time t1 in which the range 35 in which the distance in the container 12 can be measured in FIG. 8 traverses the light beam of the laser beam 34 is short, the measurement data of the laser distance meter 31 is converted into the tilt detector 49, that is, the computer. It can be held only for the time t2 required for the processing of the device 37.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the laser beam 47 from the trigger sensor 46 illustrated in FIG. 9 also irradiates the collar portion 33 of the container 12 in the same manner as the laser beam 34 from the laser distance meter 31. Alternatively, as shown by a virtual line in FIGS. 8 and 9, the laser light 47 from the trigger sensor 46 may be configured to irradiate the clamp 17, for example. When the laser beam 47 from the trigger sensor 46 irradiates the collar portion 33, when the container 12 has an abnormal inclination, it may happen that the reflected light from the collar portion 33 cannot be received. Since the position of the clamp 17 is stable without being affected by the tilt of the container 12, more accurate trigger processing can be performed.

  The above is only an example of means for holding the measurement data of the laser distance meter 31 only for the time t2 required for the processing of the computer device 37. Other appropriate means can be similarly employed. For example, the same result can be obtained by using a cam switch type output controller and setting the operation angle to be larger.

  As described above, for example, when 900 containers 12 are filled at a high speed per minute, the filling pitch t3 between the adjacent containers 12 and 12 is 67 milliseconds. Even if it takes about 10 milliseconds for processing as described above, no problem occurs.

  The tilt detection device 49 shown in FIG. 9 outputs a signal to that effect when, for example, the container 12 is not tilted abnormally, and outputs a signal when the tilt is abnormal. It can be set as the structure which does not. In that case, the computer device 37 recognizes that an abnormal inclination occurs due to no signal.

  In place of the example of FIG. 9, the signal holding device 48 and the inclination detecting device 49 can be configured by other devices independent of the computer device 37.

  In the above description, the laser distance meter 31 has been described as an example of the non-contact type distance meter. However, as the non-contact type distance meter, in addition to the one using a laser, the one using an ultrasonic wave or the one using a proximity sensor can be used. In particular, in the case of the laser distance meter 31 described above, since the detection range is small and the measurement cycle is relatively short, it is particularly preferably used when the object is a container made of a transparent resin that is conveyed at high speed. it can. Similarly, the trigger sensor 46 may be a non-contact type, and a sensor other than the laser irradiation type can be preferably used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Conveyance path 12 Container 16 Filling section 17 Clamp 19 Filling nozzle 23 Abnormal inclination 31 Laser distance meter 33 Brim part 37 Computer apparatus

Claims (9)

A processing device for performing a predetermined process on an object being transported along the transport path;
A non-contact rangefinder that detects the distance to the object;
An inclination detecting device for detecting the presence or absence of an abnormal inclination in the object from the detection result of the distance meter;
An object processing facility comprising: a control device that causes the processing device to perform an abnormality handling operation when the tilt detection device detects an abnormal tilt of the target.   The control device causes the processing device to perform at least one of an operation for stopping the operation of the processing device, an operation for removing the object from the transport device, and an operation for correcting an abnormal inclination of the object as an abnormality handling operation. The object processing facility according to claim 1, wherein the object processing facility is performed.   3. The object processing equipment according to claim 1, wherein the processing apparatus introduces means for processing the object into an inside of the object from an opening provided in the object.   The means for processing the object includes an instrument for processing the object, and a processing medium such as an electron beam or a filling liquid sent from the instrument for processing the object to the object. The object processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the object processing apparatus is any one.   The object according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the distance meter detects a distance from a container as an object or a distance from a preform for forming a container. Processing equipment.   From the detection result of the distance meter, the tilt detection device has at least the presence or absence of an abnormal tilt of the object along the transport direction and the presence or absence of an abnormal tilt of the target along the direction intersecting the transport direction. 6. The object processing facility according to claim 1, wherein any one of them is detected.   The distance meter according to claim 1, wherein the distance meter has a plurality of distance meters, and each distance meter detects a distance from an object at another position along the conveyance path. Object processing equipment.   An object detection device that detects the presence of an object at a predetermined position that can be detected by a distance meter, and a detection signal of the distance meter when the object is detected by the object detection device, an inclination detection device The object processing equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a signal holding device that holds only a time necessary for detecting whether or not there is an abnormal inclination.   9. The object according to claim 8, wherein the object detection device detects the presence of the object or the presence of a predetermined portion of the conveyance device for conveying the object along the conveyance path in a non-contact manner. Material processing equipment.

Images