JPH01202646A - Improved gauge used for inspection of glass container or the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain an improved plug gauge device by providing, for example, a plug gauge, a carriage, a cam, and a bearing roller. CONSTITUTION: A container 11 is carried to a position directly below a plug gauge 13 by a screw conveyer 54. In this case, a cam 24 is located at a position where a carriage 16 is retreated most. Then, the gauge 13 is located at a middle stroke position located at the upper part of the neck part of the bottle 11. Then, while the cam 24 and the conveyer 54 are rotated by a dynamic shaft at a constant time interval, the carriage 16 moves synchronously together with the container 11 located at a measuring position, is pushed into the neck part of the bottle 11, and is pulled out when moving toward side direction together. Further, the cam 24 has a first contour part for linear motion for performing the carriage 16 in equal-speed motion up from 0 to 180 deg. continuously and the second contour part from 180 to 0 deg. forms the recovery contour of a sinusoidal curve. Also, the motion of the gauge 13 that enters or exit the container 11 is controlled by the amount of offset of a bearing roller 23.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a mechanism for use in automatic equipment for inspecting glass containers, etc., and in particular to an improvement for controlling the movement of an inspection head in synchronization with the movement of the container through an inspection zone. cam driven assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,704, assigned to W. It reveals an improved inspection device of the type called In this US patent, as shown in detail in FIG. 1 thereof (i.e., FIG. 1 attached hereto), a plug gauge 13 is attached to a plunger 15 that reciprocates in the vertical direction.

From FIGS. 1 and 4 of the patent specification and the descriptions in the specification related to these drawings, it can be seen that the plunger 15 and the plug gauge 13 move back and forth up and down each time an inspection process is performed. The plunger 15 integrally includes a yoke 22 consisting of a pair of horizontal plates. The cam 24 is connected to the drive shaft 29
The bearing roller 23 rotates in a vertical plane about , and has an integral bearing roller 23 which is itself rotatable at a predetermined radial dimension (offset dimension). This bearing roller 23 is engaged between a pair of parallel plates of the yoke 22. Therefore, when the cam 24 rotates around the shaft 29, the engagement of the bearing roller 23 and the yoke 22 causes the plunger 15 to reciprocate up and down by a stroke equivalent to twice the offset dimension of the bearing roller 23. The carriage 16 has a cam driven roller 2 which itself can rotate.
5 integrally. In FIG. 1 of the present application, this carriage 16 is attached to a support plate 60 so as to be slidable by a predetermined distance in the left and right directions, and biasing means (the spring 26 and the 27
) to the right in the figure, and the cam driven roller 25 is always in pressure contact with the outer periphery of the cam 24. Therefore, the carriage 16 is slid in the left-right direction as the cam 24 rotates. Here, the cam 24 is as described in U.S. Patent No. 3,387°7.
As shown in Figure 8 of No. 04 (i.e., Figure 2 of the present application),
It has a shape that allows the carriage 16 to slide linearly (at a constant speed) over approximately 180 degrees in response to the rotation of the cam 24 at equal angular pitches.

Therefore, during the first half-rotation of the cam 24, the carriage 16 slides in a helical rightward direction in FIG. 1 in synchronization with the feed rate of the container 11. During this time, the plunger 15 slides downward due to the engagement of the bearing roller 23 and the yoke 22, and the gauge 13 enters the neck of the container 11.
This confirms that the neck is in good condition. Subsequently, in the second half-turn of cam 24, carriage 16
slides back to its original position, and the plunger 15
(Gauge 13) returns to rise. If the neck of the container 11 is too deflated, the gauge 13 cannot enter the neck and the container is tested as defective via a microswitch mechanism (not shown). In this way, a so-called gauge test is performed. The portion corresponding to the second half-turn of the cam 24 has a suitably shaped profile, like a sinusoid, to return the carriage 16 to its original position with as little impact as possible.

Applicants have also developed a so-called "leak detector" that utilizes the device structure of U.S. Pat. We have been manufacturing a device that uses a device to attach a plunger to compare it to the standard internal pressure. A "hydraulic finished edge tester" device of this construction is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 3,496,761.

U.S. Patent No. 3.557, assigned to Mr. W. Powers.
．． No. 950, entitled "Photoelectric Defect Detector for Glass Bottles," discloses a type of device commonly known as an "inspection detector." In such devices, the horizontally mounted plunger 18 and the vertically mounted plunger 34 are equipped with optical sensors that inspect the bottom and top of the bottle for defects, respectively, and the It includes a plurality of pairs of rollers that engage the side walls and ends of the bottle during rotational movement of the dish.

Both plungers can be reciprocated towards and away from the bottle to be inspected and can also be moved horizontally at the same time. This horizontal movement is accomplished by a carriage cam assembly of the same type as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,704, which coordinates the horizontal movement of the bottle through the inspection area. A light source for illuminating each bottle is attached to the carriage of the vertical plunger, and a second light source is located below the path of the bottle. In this way, if a defective part exists, it can be detected by each optical sensor. During this testing period, the bottle is held on one side by rollers and on the other side by a belt, with the finished end supported by the rollers. This causes the bottle to rotate through at least 360 degrees as it passes through the inspection area. W.S.Powe
U.S. Patent No. 3.690., assigned to Mr. R.S., Jr.
No. 456, entitled "Glass Container Defect Detector," discloses an improvement on the defect detector apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 3,557,950.

This improved device includes a brake assembly at the downstream end of the belt. The brake assembly causes the containers to separate from the belt and stop rotation of the containers. A commercially available test detector constructed substantially in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 3,690,456 includes a structural improvement in which optical sensors are mounted on individual carriages. In this commercially available device embodiment, where the carriages move parallel to the bottle and do not move across the bottle, only the guide rollers are attached to the plunger.

Using the carriage-cam-cam-follower-plunger structure described above, generally speaking, the above-mentioned U.S. Pat.
No. 704 and No. 3,557,950 have been found to significantly improve the performance of plug gauge and test detector devices constructed in accordance with the teachings of No. 704 and No. 3,557,950. However, when using a plug gauge made in accordance with the preferred embodiment of U.S. Pat.
There is a problem that the range is limited to twice the offset amount of 3, and that the "r stroke", that is, the amount of advance of the gauge 13 is equal to the offset. In practice, the maximum stroke required for such a plug gauge device is determined by the vertical dimensions of the plug gauge carriage and the associated vertical dimensions of the support; All of the plates need to be replaced with larger assemblies. Systems that use such large assemblies have problems in that the cost of the device is unreasonably high and the operating speed is slow.

Accordingly, a principal object of the present invention is that U.S. Pat.
, 704. In this regard, it is an object of the present invention to improve upon the device structure of U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,704 so that it can accommodate a wide range of container sizes.

Another object of the present invention is to improve the operation of other types of inspection devices that utilize the inspection head movement mechanism of U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,704.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In addition to achieving the foregoing and related objects, the present invention provides an improved gage device for use in inspecting glass containers and the like.

This gauging device includes a conveying means for conveying a container through an inspection area at a constant linear speed, a carriage member capable of reciprocating movement, and a plunger capable of reciprocating movement in an up-and-down direction. An inspection gauge inserted into the end, a cam that can be rotated around a horizontal axis of rotation, and a cam that is eccentrically attached to the cam and attached to the plunger so that the plunger reciprocates in the vertical direction due to the rotation of the cam. a bearing member that is engaged;
The cam moves along the periphery of the rotating cam and is connected to the carriage 7, so that the carriage and the carriage-mounted plunger move as the test gauge moves into and out of the end of the container. and a cam follower adapted to move the cam laterally through the inspection section parallel to the conveyor of containers, and the improved profile of the rotatably mounted cam includes an approximately 180 degree angle of the cam. An elongated linear motion profile is provided which occupies the above angular profile. In a specific embodiment of the invention, the improved cam includes a linear motion profile that occupies approximately 240 degrees of the cam profile.

In the plug gage device according to the invention, the test gage consists of a plug gage that enters the end of the container and extends into the container over a predetermined stroke, unless the end is contracted beyond tolerance. Preferably, the plug gauge enters the end of the container when the cam follower is in the beginning position of the elongated linear motion portion of the cam profile, and the plug gauge is in the end position of the elongated linear motion portion of the cam profile. If present, the plug gauge is directed away from the end of the container.

In the leak detector inspection device according to the present invention, the inspection gauge is a leak detector gauge, and the leak detector gauge is used when air is injected into the container and the leak detector gauge seals the end of the container. The pressure within the container is monitored throughout the test period.

In the inspection detector inspection device according to the present invention, the device further includes a second carriage member capable of reciprocating movement;
a second test gauge mounted on the plunger; and a second rotary cam, all of which are adapted to horizontally reciprocate the plunger to move the second test gauge near the bottom of the container. The second carriage and carriage-mounted plunger are configured to traverse parallel to the conveyor of containers while loading and unloading the containers. 1st and 2nd
Each of these inspection gauges is equipped with an optical sensor that detects any defects in the neck and bottom of the container. Separately, the vertical and horizontal plungers are configured to hold only the rollers that engage the rotating container during the time the inspection is performed and to attach the optical sensor assembly to each carriage. You can also do that.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The above-described embodiments of the present invention and related embodiments will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and descriptions of preferred embodiments.

(Example) Next, a plug gauge device incorporating the improved drive cam according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 schematically shows the aperture measuring (plug gauge) device described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,704, and corresponds to FIG. 1 of this U.S. patent specification. As mentioned above, the container 11 to be inspected is conveyed by the screw conveyor 54 to a position where the neck of the bottle is directly below the plug gauge 13. At this time, the cam 24 is at the position where the carriage 16 is moved the most backward (that is, the leftmost position in FIG. 1). The gauge is then in a mid-stroke position above the neck of the bottle 11 as shown. The cam 24 and the screw conveyor 54 are rotated by a power shaft (not shown) at regular time intervals while the carriage 1
6 moves synchronously together with the container 11 in the measurement position,
The gauge 13 is also pushed into the neck of the bottle and removed during the lateral movement.

The prior art device of U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,704 is
Referring to FIG. 2, a first 180 degree constant speed movement and a second 180 degree return movement are performed as the container 11 moves. This figure shows the profile of a prior art cam 24, which generally follows FIG. 8 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,704.

The cam 24 is provided with the outline of the brush 1 for linear movement for moving the carriage 16 at a constant speed, continuing from the 0 displacement position to 180 degrees (FIG. 2 shows four cam follower positions). ), the second cam profile from 180 degrees to 0 degrees forms a sinusoidal return profile 7 .

The movement of the plug gauge 13 into and out of the container 11 is controlled by the amount of offset of an eccentrically mounted bearing roller 23. In the cam 24 of FIG. 2, the roller 23 has four attachment positions 71-74. These mounts are located at offset distances corresponding to ~D4, each 0.75 inches (1.91 cm),
Approximately equal to 1.5 inches (3.81 cm), 2.125 inches (5.40 cm), and 2.75 inches (6.99 cm). Reference is now made to Figure 4a. 4a is a front view showing the plunger stroke of the prior art cam 24 of FIG. 2. FIG. The plunger enters the neck of the bottle at the zero displacement position 81, reaches the bottom dead center at the position 82, and exits the bottle at the position 83. Therefore, the total stroke XI (maximum penetration of the plug gauge 13) is equal to the offset of the roller 23, 2675 inches (6.99 centimeters).

Refer now to FIG. This FIG. 3 shows the profile of an improved cam according to the present invention, which may be used to replace the cam 24 of FIG. The cam 90 has an elongated constant speed (uniform velocity) portion, that is, a linear motion portion 9.
5. This linear motion section 95 begins at the 330 degree cam follower position and continues to the 210 degree cam follower position.

Therefore, the linear motion portion 95 corresponds to one of the cams 24 in FIG.
The total angle is 240 degrees compared to 80 degrees. The remaining cam profile 96 from 210 degrees to 330 degrees is in the shape of a cycloid. However, other suitably shaped contours may be used as long as they cushion the impact.

The operation of such an elongated linear portion 95 of the cam profile is illustrated in FIG. 4b. The plug gauge 13 is located at the starting position of the constant speed portion (eccentric bearing roller position 9).
At 7) it starts to enter the end of the bottle. In this example the starting position is 3
30 degree point, which is 30 degrees lower than in the case of the cam of Fig. 4a.
It's in the front position. Similarly, the plug gauge 13 exits the bottle at the 210 degree point (roller position 99).

The landing is 30 degrees later than the prior art cam 24 of FIG. 4a. As a result, the stroke increases as shown in FIG. 4b, and the amount of increase in stroke is R-5in 3
It corresponds to 0'. Here, R represents the amount of eccentric offset. As is clear from this equation, the constant speed portion of the cam has been extended, resulting in a new stroke that is 1.5 times the original stroke (this moves the bearing position 97.99 to the bottom dead center position 98. Taking as an example the eccentric mounting positions 91 to 94 in FIG. 3, which correspond to the mounting positions 71 to 74 shown in FIG. 2,
The maximum stroke of the conventional technology is 2.75 inches (6,99
centimeters), resulting in a maximum stroke Xt of 4.125 inches (10.48 centimeters), as shown in Figure 4b.

In order to obtain such a long stroke, there is no need to use large cams, carriages, etc., as seen in the prior art.

The improved cam 90 of the present invention may also be utilized in other types of test mounting using such carriage-mounted cam-plunger structures.

An example of such an application is the leak detector apparatus shown in FIG. 1 of commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 3,496,761. This leak detector device will be described by citing the patent number. U.S. Patent No. 3,496.7
[Fluid type finish end inspection device] shown in Figure 1 of No. 61
The cam 2 has a bearing roller 26 in an eccentric position.
2 and a cam follower 23, as disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3.
, 387, 704, the movement of the carriage 8 and plunger I2 is controlled. A test attachment at the end of the plunger 12 allows a tool 13 to close the mouth of the test container for each test cycle. At this time, the downward movement of the plunger 12 causes the inspection attachment to be performed on the tool 13.
is adapted to descend and seal the end of the container.

During this test period, the device blows a predetermined amount of air into the container and at the end of the test period measures the pressure inside the container to see if there is a leak, i.e. the pressure drop is below a predetermined limit value. can be investigated. Replacing the prior art cam (with a 180 degree linear motion profile) by an improved cam as shown in FIG. pressure differential) can be increased. This improves the sensitivity of the fluidic end tester.

For other uses, the elongated linear profile cam of FIG. 3 is described in U.S. Pat.
It can be used in place of the carriage-cam-plunger assembly of a photoelectric defect detector.

The contents of this US patent will be explained by citing the patent number. With particular reference to FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,690,456, two cam carriage plunger assemblies of the type previously described, each including a vertical plunger 28 and a horizontal plunger 18, are shown in FIG. 15 of the assembly 46 of rollers (38, 40) and optical sensors (48) parallel to the linear conveyor 12 and in the transverse direction of the assembly engaging and disengaging the ends and bottoms of the containers. controls movement. Additionally, a light source assembly 56 for illuminating the end of the container is attached to the vertical plunger carriage 26, and a light source for illuminating the bottom of the container is located below the path of the container. The linear transport of the container through the inspection location is accomplished by engaging the container 15 between the endless belt 24 and the rollers 16. In addition, rollers 38, 40 mounted on plunger 28 engage the ends of the container. At the end of the test period, the rotation of the container is stopped by a brake pad 23 protruding from the surface of the belt 24.

By incorporating an improved cam, such as cam 90 of FIG. 3, the inspection period is increased, the bottle can be rotated more at a given speed, and inspection accuracy is improved. Further, the container is brought into sufficient contact with the brake pad 23, and the brake can be appropriately applied to the container even at high conveyance speeds.

In a modified test detector device constructed by adding improvements generally described above to the device of U.S. Pat. The optical sensor assemblies are attached to the respective carriages, which merely support the engaging roller assemblies, and these assemblies move parallel to the container and do not move across the container, as previously described. Incorporating the improved cam of FIG. 3 into the device provides the advantages described in the previous paragraph.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a Braggage-gear device of the construction described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,704 incorporating the improved drive cam of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a rear view of the prior art cam of U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,704 showing the specific location of the cross-carriage cam follower. FIG. 3 is a rear view of the improved cam of the present invention incorporated into the apparatus of FIG. 1, showing a particular position of the cam follower corresponding to the position shown in FIG. 4a and 4b are front views showing the relationship between cam rotation and plug gauge stroke for the prior art cam of FIG. 2 and the improved cam example of FIG. 3, respectively; FIG. It is. 11... Container (@) 13... Plug gauge (inspection fixture) 15... Plunger 16... Carriage 22... Yoke
23... Bearing roller 24... Cam
25... Cam follower 29... Drive shaft 54... Screw conveyor 60... Support plates 71-74. 91-94... Eccentric mounting position 90...
Improved cam 95...Elongated constant speed section (linear motion section) 97 (81)...Entry position 98 (8) into the end of the container
2)...Bottom dead center 99 (83)...Escape position from the edge of the container FIG
,2

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An improved gauging device for use in inspecting glass containers, etc., comprising: a conveying means for conveying the container through an inspection area at a constant linear speed; and a reciprocating motion. attached to a reciprocatable carriage member and a plunger that can reciprocate in the vertical direction,
An inspection gauge inserted into the end of the container to be inspected, a cam that is rotated around a horizontal axis of rotation, and a plunger that is eccentrically attached to the cam and reciprocates in the vertical direction as the cam rotates. a bearing member engaged in said plunger and moved along the periphery of a rotating cam and connected to said carriage for movement of a test gauge to engage the end of the container; a cam follower adapted to cause the carriage and carriage-mounted plunger to move laterally through the inspection section parallel to the conveyor of containers as the cam is rotatably mounted; An improved gauging device for use in inspecting glass containers, etc., wherein the improved profile is provided with an elongated linear motion profile that occupies more than 180 degrees of angular profile of the cam. 2. An improved gauging device for inspecting glass containers and the like as claimed in claim 1, wherein the improved cam has a linear motion profile that occupies about 240 degrees of the cam profile. 3. In the improved gage device for inspecting glass containers, etc. as claimed in claim 1, the inspection gage enters the end of the container and extends over a predetermined stroke unless the end is shrunk beyond the allowable tolerance range. Said device consists of a plug gauge that enters the container. 4. In the improved gage device used for inspecting glass containers, etc., according to claim 3, when the cam follower member is at the starting position of the elongated linear movement portion of the cam profile, the plug gauge is located at the end of the container. 5. For inspection of a glass container or the like as claimed in claim 1, the plug gauge is separated from the end of the container when the cam follower is in the end position of the elongated linear movement section. In the improved gauging device used, the test gage is a leak detector gage, which injects air into the container and over a test period with the leak detector gage sealing the end of the container. Said device adapted to monitor the pressure within the container.