JPH0412921A - Flexible screw - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To apply a flexible screw not only to a vessel carrying device, but also to a pulverulent body carrying device by spirally winding a resin coil around a flexible rod having a resin surface layer, and bonding or fusing the resin coil onto the flexible rod at discontinuous spots. CONSTITUTION:The neck collar 101 of a vessel 100 of polyethylene terephthalate made is hooked to and hung between screws 4 and 5. Then, the vessel 100 is carried in an (a) direction with rotation of the screws 4 and 5. Namely, the vessel 100 moves in a series, pushed by the coils 42 and 52 of the screws 4 and 5. The flexible screw 5 comprises a resin flexible rod 41 and a resin coil 42 wound thereabout at a constant pitch. The coil 42 is spot jointed to the rod 41 with an adhesive agent at certain intervals. For the use of the flexible screw in the title as a pulverulent carrying device, a pulverulent body 90 is fed from a supply port on the side of a tube 80. When a screw 70 rotates in an arrow direction, the pulverulent body 90 is pushed by a coil 72, and carried in sequence in a (b) direction for delivery from a discharge port.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a device for conveying containers such as glass or plastic bottles, or devices for conveying containers such as coal, ore, grains, wood chips, plastic chips, cement, resin pellets, etc. This invention relates to a flexible screw used in a device for transporting powder and granular materials.

[Prior art/problem to be solved by the invention] When transporting containers such as glass or plastic bottles (hereinafter simply referred to as containers) filled with liquid or the like, wire lobes (steel cables) are made of steel. A screw made of metal wire wound spirally is used. A container conveying device using a screw with this type of structure arranges the screws in parallel at regular intervals, suspends the container between the screws, and usually hooks the flange on the neck of the container onto the screw), and rotates the screw. The container is configured to transport the container.

This device uses a conveying principle that is completely different from that of the normal helt conveyor or roller conveyor used to transport containers, that is, it moves containers by friction between the screw and the neck of the container, and it is easier to position containers than with a normal conveyor. It is accurate and can automate the manufacturing process line, and the structure of the device itself is simple and small, and the equipment cost is low.

In the above-mentioned device, the containers are transported by high-speed rotation of the screw, so the container suspended on the screw, especially the neck of the container (including the alligator) that comes into contact with the screw, should be protected from wear and damage as much as possible, and the screw should be The screw is required to have as few structural defects as possible so that rotational torque can be efficiently transmitted and containers can be conveyed smoothly.

However, since the steel wire on the wire lobe is simply wrapped around the lobe, the winding pitch of the wire changes from place to place due to the rotational torque transmitted to the screw and the weight of the container being transported while the device is in operation. The transport speed becomes inconsistent. In addition, such a screw may cause undulations (that is, meandering), particularly when the screw is rotating at high speed, which may impede container conveyance.

On the other hand, one method for transporting granular materials such as coal, ore, grain, wood chimps, plastic chips, cement, and resin pellets is to insert a coiled wire, often made of steel, into a metal or resin tube. There is a method in which a steel wire is placed in the tube and rotated to transport the powder and granules introduced from an inlet provided at one end of the tube to an outlet provided at the other end.

However, with a coiled wire, the transportation of powder and granules is not smooth (some powder remains in the tube, so the amount of powder and granules discharged from the other end of the tube is unstable).

Further, in transportation using such a coiled wire, the conveying line may be inclined to transport the powder from the lower end to the upper end of the tube, but it also has the disadvantage that the lifting force to carry the powder upward is small.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a flexible screw that is suitable not only for the above-mentioned container conveyance device but also for a powder conveyance device.

[Means to solve the problem]

The purpose is to connect the coil and the rod by bonding or welding the coil to the rod in dots, which are made of a flexible rod whose surface layer is made of resin at least, and a resin coil wound spirally around the rod. This is achieved by a flexible screw with discontinuous points.

The flexible screw of the present invention is used not only as the novel container conveyance device (details will be described in the following examples) but also as a screw for a powder conveyance device.

In the screw of the present invention, the flexible rod and the resin coil are joined in a point-like manner, and the joints between the two are discontinuous, so in the container conveying device, the winding pinch of the coil is always constant even during operation. In addition to stabilizing the conveyance speed of the container, it also has excellent transmission of rotational torque. In addition, in the powder transport device, not only the amount of powder discharged from the outlet at the other end of the tube is stabilized, but also the lifting force of the powder is increased.

In a container conveyance device in which the screw of the present invention is used, when the screw is rotated while being locked to a rail (generally having a main body and a shelf protruding from the main body), the screw is removed from the rail. Since there is a risk that the screw may come off, suction means is usually provided on the rail to suction the screw to the rail. This suction means is not particularly limited as long as it can suction and lock the screw to the main body and shelf of the rail so that the screw does not come off the rail. For example, when attracted by magnetic force,
As shown in the following embodiments, permanent magnets may be buried at regular intervals within the main body, or the rail may be made of a mixture of a resin material (such as nylon) and a magnetic material. Alternatively, when using negative pressure, a through hole is provided in the main body, and small holes communicating with the through hole are drilled at regular intervals on the protruding side of the shelf of the main body, and the pressure inside the through hole is reduced using a vacuum pump or the like. Examples include means such as suctioning the screw through a small hole.

The resin coil in the flexible screw of the present invention is such that in the container conveying device using the screw of the present invention, the container is conveyed by the rotation of the screw, so the neck of the container (including #F) that the coil directly contacts is worn out or damaged. It is important for product and safety reasons that this product not be exposed to In particular, with containers filled with carbonated beverages, greater care must be taken to prevent damage to the container.

Therefore, the coil has good wear resistance, flexibility, rolling properties, sliding properties, etc., and has 1! ! It is preferable that the coefficients (sliding friction and rolling friction) are small. Examples of resin materials for such coils include polyolefins (for example, Submer manufactured by Mitsui Petrochemical Industries, etc.), polyethers (for example, polyacetal, polyphenylene ether, etc.), and polyamides (for example, 6-nylon, 6,6 nylon, 14-nylon, etc.). , polyalkylenes (e.g. polyethylene, especially ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, polypropylene, etc.), fluororesins (e.g. polytetrafluoroethylene, tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymers, etc.), polyesters (e.g. polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, etc.) ) etc. are exemplified. Among these, Rupmar is the most suitable, mainly considering sliding properties and durability.

The winding pitch of the coil around the flexible rod is determined based on the size of the container, the number of containers to be transported, and the speed of transport of the container.
It is determined as appropriate based on the screw rotation speed and the like. Also, the pitch of the coils does not need to be constant over the entire length of the rod, and may vary, for example, at any part of the rod.

The flexible rod around which the coil is wound helically must not bend due to rotation and must have enough rigidity to sufficiently transmit the rotational torque applied from one end of the rod to the other end, for example when installed along a curved rail. It is important that the material also has flexibility.

As for the rod material, it is sufficient that at least the surface layer of the rod is made of resin, and the resin material may be the same as the above-mentioned coil material, but when selecting a rod material that provides contradictory characteristics of flexibility and rigidity, It depends on the rail adsorption means employed. In other words, for example, when a magnet or magnetic material is used for the attraction force, the screw may be attracted by the magnetic force if the screw has a small amount of flexible rod (the surface layer is made of resin and the core of the rod is made of metal). For example, if the core is made of steel, nickel, cobalt, or their alloys,
must be made of magnetic metal. In the case of a screw in which both the core and the surface layer are made of resin, the rod is made of a mixture of resin material and magnetic material.

In addition, especially in order to impart both flexibility and rigidity properties to the rod, the rod may be further coated on a wire lobe, i.e., a strand of several (or tens) of strands (e.g., 3 to 9 strands in diameter). It is preferable to have a structure in which several strands are twisted together and covered with resin. In this case, the method of twisting the lobes, such as normal twist or rung twist, and the direction of twist, S twist or Z twist. There are no particular limitations.

In the screw of the present invention, the resin coil is not only wound around a flexible rod, but also the coil is bonded or fused to the rod in dots, so that the joints between the coil and the rod are discontinuous. There are no particular limitations on the adhesion and fusion methods, and since both the surface layer of the rod and the coil are made of resin, adhesion and fusion are intended for resins, and conventionally known resin bonding techniques cannot be used. Just adopt it. That is, at the joint between the coil and the rod, the coil is fixed to the rod by, for example, applying an adhesive to the contact portion between the rod and the coil or applying double-sided tape. In fusion bonding, the coil is coupled to the rod by, for example, welding or heat fusion. In this case, the point-like joint between the coil and the mouth/end is particularly important when the screw is arranged in a curved line, since stress is likely to occur in the curved part of the screw due to screw operation, so the number of joints in the curved part of the screw should be increased. do. Alternatively, the point-like joints may be made at regular pitches of the wound coil.

When the screw of the present invention is used in a powder transport device, there is no restriction on the powder and granules to be transported as long as they can be transported by the rotation of the screw. Specific examples of the powder and granules include gravel, crushed stone, coal, coke, and iron ore. The structure of the rod and coil of the screw used in the conveyance device for so-called bulk materials such as chips and pellets of stone, soil, limestone, grain, cement, wood and resin may be the same as in the case of the container conveyance device. , rod diameter and coil diameter according to the size of the powder,
Needless to say, the flight diameter of the screw, the coil pitch, etc. must be selected.

Further, when the screw of the present invention is used for transporting powder or granular material, it is inserted and placed in a tube in the same manner as in the case of transport using a conventionally known steel coiled wire. Therefore, the tube should have a diameter that corresponds to the flight diameter of the screw, and its material may be of conventionally known materials, such as metals such as stainless steel, as well as plastics, nylon, polyacetal, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, and other resins. It will be done. Further, like the screw, the tube is preferably flexible so that it can be used on curved lines.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the flexible screw of the present invention will be explained in detail based on examples.

First, we will describe the overall structure of the container conveyance device in which the screw is used. In Fig. 1, which shows an overview plane of an example of the device, two rails 1.2 with a total length of 3 m have a radius of curvature of 5.
The permanent magnets 3 are arranged in parallel at regular intervals in a substantially right-angled curved shape, and permanent magnets 3 are buried in the rail 1.2 at regular intervals (for example, 200 m). Although not shown in detail in the drawing, the flexible screws 4.5 are attracted and locked to the rails 1.2 by the permanent magnets 3, and one end of each screw 4.5 is rotatably supported by a bearing 6.7. , the other end is rotatably supported by another bearing 8. The bearing 8 is connected to a motor 9 and can rotate the screw 4.5 in mutually opposite directions. Note that the bearing 8 may have a transmission so that the rotational speed transmitted to the screw 4.5 can be adjusted.

In such a device, a container (not shown in FIG. 1) is suspended between screws 4.5, and by rotating the screws 4.5 in the directions of arrows, the container is moved in one direction (in the direction of the bearing 8 in the figure). ) The second container conveying device will be explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. Fig. 2 is a perspective view taken along line A-A' in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view taken along line A-A' in Fig. 1.
It is a sectional view at -A'. The rail 2 (rail J is omitted in Fig. 2) is a nylon rectangular main body 2.
1 and a shelf portion 22 protruding from the main body portion 21, and the rail as a whole has an L-shape. The rail 1 similarly has a main body part 11 and a shelf part 12. Both rails l and 2 have shelf parts 12.
22 are supported at regular intervals by support arms IO (the rail 1 side is omitted in FIG. 2) so that they face each other. Rectangular permanent magnets 3 are embedded within the main body portion 11.21 at regular intervals, and the shelf portion 12.
A flexible screw 4.5 is placed on each of 22. Each screw 4.5 is attracted to the side surface of the main body part 11.21 by the permanent magnet 3 so as not to come off the rail 1.2, and the main body part 11.21 and the shelf part 12.
22. Therefore, the screw 4.5 can be easily attached to and removed from the rail 1.2.

The screw 4 is flexible in correspondence with the curved rail 1, and consists of a flexible rod 41 and a resin coil 42 spirally wound around the rod 41 at a constant pitch. The screw 5 is also flexible like the screw 4 and consists of a flexible rod 51 and a resin coil 52, but the winding direction of the coil 52 is exactly opposite to that of the screw 4. The screws 4.5 can be rotated on the rail 1.2 by a motor 9 (see FIG. 1) in mutually opposite directions as shown by the arrows.

In such a device, as is clear from FIG. 3, when the collar 101 on the neck of the container 100 made of, for example, polyethylene terephthalate is hooked to the screw 4.5 and the container 100 is suspended between the screws 4.5 (when suspended, the screw By slightly increasing the distance between the ends of the screws 4.5, the container 100 can be easily hung between the screws 4.5).
is transported in the direction of arrow A. That is, the container 100 is pushed in the direction of arrow A by the coil 42.52 of the screw 4.5 and is translated one after another.

In the above embodiment, the flexible screw 4 of the present invention is composed of a resin flexible rod 41 and a resin coil 42 wound on the rod 41 at a constant pitch, as shown in the cross section of FIG. 4(a). Become. The resin coils 42 are point-bonded to the resin rod 41 at regular intervals (for example, 30 to 110 degrees) using an adhesive. The size of the screw is, for example, if the diameter of the neck of the container 100 is 26,
If the diameter of 01 is 41.2mm and the wall thickness is 3.35M,
The diameter of rod 41 (screw groove diameter) is 9 mm, coil 4
The diameter of screw 2 is 3 mm, the flight diameter of the screw is 15 mm, and the pitch is 35 mm.

In other embodiments of the screw 4, for example, as shown in FIG. In this case, the resin coil 42' is wound around the rod at regular intervals (
For example, 30 to 110 W) is fused by heat fusion. The structure of screw 5 is the same as screw 4,
As described above, the winding direction of the coil is reversed.

Regardless of the structure of the screw, the coils are bonded or fused in spots at the contact area with the rod, so the coil pitch is constant without any displacement during equipment operation, and the container is transported. The speed is stabilized and the rotational torque from the motor is efficiently transmitted. Furthermore, since the coil is made of resin, abrasion and damage to the neck caused by contact between the coil and the neck of the container can be more effectively prevented than with metal coils.

Next, a case will be described in which the flexible screw of the present invention is used in a powder transport device. The entire structure of the conveying device is almost the same as that of the conventionally known one, only using the screw of the present invention in place of the coiled wire, so the description will focus on the transportation state of the powder and granular material.

FIG. 5 shows a longitudinal cross section of the powder during transportation, in which a flexible screw 70 is inserted and arranged in a metal or resin tube 80 along the central axis of the tube. As shown in FIG. 4(a) or (b), the screw 70 consists of a flexible Ron door 1 and a resin coil 72, and one end of the screw is connected to a motor (not shown) as in the conventional case. , the other end is rotatably supported by a bearing or the like.

Powder 90 is present in the gap between the screw 70 and the tube 80.
The granular material 90 is supplied from an inlet provided on the motor side of the tube 80 and discharged from an outlet provided on the bearing side. In such a conveying device, when the screw 70 is rotated by the motor in the direction of the arrow, the granular material 90 is pushed by the coil 72 and is conveyed one after another in the convex direction of the arrow.

Although the conveyance line in FIG. 5 is a straight line, the amount of powder and granular material 90 discharged from the discharge port of the tube 80 is stable even on a curved line or an upward line. Furthermore, since the lifting force of the granular material 90 is large, the amount of transportation is constant even when applied particularly to uphill routes.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the flexible screw of the present invention has a flexible mouth whose surface layer is made of resin at least, and a resin coil wound spirally on the rod, which is bonded or fused to the rod in a dotted manner. Since the parts are discontinuous, by using it in a new container transport device like the one mentioned above, the coil pitch will not shift due to the winding coil shifting during the device operation, and the container transport speed will be stable. At the same time, rotational torque from one end of the screw can be efficiently transmitted to the other end.

Furthermore, since the screw coil is made of resin, wear and tear on the neck of the container transported by the rotation of the screw can be further reduced than with a metal coil.

In the powder transport device, the coil pitch does not change during operation of the device, and the transmission of rotational torque is good, so the discharge amount of the powder is stable. Moreover, since the lifting force of the granular material is large, the amount of granular material transported is constant, especially on the upward conveyance route.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of a container conveying device using the flexible screw of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a line AA' in Fig. 1.
3 is a partially omitted perspective view of wAA- of FIG. 1.
The partially omitted cross-sectional view at A', FIG. It is a partially omitted perspective view of a powder transport device using the flexible screw of the invention. 1.2: Rail 3: Permanent magnet (adsorption means) 4.5: Flexible screw 11.21
: Main body part 12.22 : Shelf part 41.51 : Flexible rod 42.52 : Resin coil 43 : Resin layer (surface layer of rod) 80
: Tube 90 : Powder 100 : Container 101 : Container flange Figure 3 Zen O ○ Figure 1 (c3) (b) Figure 4 Figure 5 Procedural Amendments Issued on April 26, 1991

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) Consisting of a flexible rod whose surface layer is at least made of resin and a resin coil wound spirally on the rod, the coil is adhered or fused to the rod in dots, and the joints between the coil and the rod are A flexible screw characterized by being discontinuous. (2) A flexible screw used in a container conveyance device in which flexible screws are arranged in parallel at regular intervals, a container is suspended between the screws, and the container is conveyed by rotating the screws, the flexible screw being A screw consists of a flexible rod whose surface layer is made of resin at least, and a resin coil wound spirally around the rod. A flexible screw characterized by being discontinuous. (3) Rails with suction means are arranged in parallel at regular intervals, a flexible screw is placed on the rail, and the screw is locked to the rail by the suction means so that the screw does not come off the rail, and a container is placed between the screws. A flexible screw used in a container conveying device that conveys a container by suspending the container and rotating the screw. 1. A flexible screw comprising a resin coil attached to a rod, the coil being adhered or fused to a rod in a dotted manner, and the joint portions of the coil and rod being discontinuous. (4) A flexible screw used in a powder transport device that is inserted into a tube and rotated to transport the powder or granular material in the tube, the flexible screw having at least a surface layer made of resin. A flexible screw consisting of a rod and a resin coil wound spirally on the rod, the coil being adhered or fused to the rod in dots, and the joints between the coil and the rod being discontinuous. .