JPH10250842A - Transfer control device for air transfer conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: An object of the present invention is to control a supply amount of a container 14 by an air transport conveyor 1. A container (14) is provided on two support rails (15, 16).
Is suspended by engaging the flange-shaped engaging portion 14b. The air introduced into the air duct 18 is supplied from the air outlet 22 to the container 1.
4 and move it downstream. Pneumatic conveyor 1
Endless belts 4 on both sides of the container transport path
5, 46 are arranged, and the container is held and transported between the belts on both sides. The transport mechanism 40 comprising the pair of belts
A plurality of sensors 84, 86, 88 are provided on the downstream side of.
The most downstream sensor 84 is a sensor for detecting shortage of the container, and when this sensor 84 detects shortage of the container, the control device 90 increases the running speed of the belt and supplies the container at a high speed. The upstream sensor 86 is a full sensor. When the sensor 86 detects that the container is full on the air conveyance conveyor 1, the control device reduces the running speed of the belt to reduce the supply amount of the container.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pneumatic conveyor, and more particularly to a pneumatic conveyor control device capable of controlling a supply amount of containers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an air conveying conveyor has two parallel supporting rails engaged with a flange-like engaging portion provided at a mouth of a container to suspend and support the container. By blowing the air introduced into the container onto the container, the container slides on a support rail and is transported downstream. In such an air transport conveyor, a lightweight container such as a PET bottle can be transported at an extremely high speed. However, since the air is blown onto the container and the container is conveyed by sliding on a rail, it is impossible to control the supply amount of the container.

[0003] When a hard container such as a glass bottle is conveyed by a belt conveyor or a chain conveyor and supplied to a processing device such as a filler (filling machine), the conveying speed of the conveyor is usually determined by the capacity of the processing device. The post-processing device is operated at a higher setting to accumulate a certain amount of containers. In this way, the bottle will not run short even when operating at the maximum capacity of the processing apparatus, and even if a large amount of bottles are accumulated and a large pressure acts from behind,
There is no problem because the bottle does not deform.

[0004]

However, in the case of the pneumatic conveyor as described above, there is a problem that when a large amount of containers are accumulated, the containers are deformed by pressing from behind.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to eliminate the above-mentioned problems of the air transport conveyor, and provides a transport means different from the air transport conveyor to control the amount of containers supplied by the air transport conveyor. It is an object of the present invention to provide a transport control device for an air transport conveyor that is enabled.

[0006]

A transfer control device for an air transfer conveyor according to the present invention engages an engaging portion of a container with a support rail to suspend and support the container, and transfers air introduced into an air duct to the container. It is to be sprayed and conveyed toward the downstream side, and in particular, provided in a conveying path of the air conveying conveyor, a conveying means for holding and conveying the container, and a conveying means for the air conveying conveyor. Also provided downstream, detecting means for detecting the supply amount of the container on the air conveying conveyor, and control means for controlling the container conveying speed of the conveying means by a signal from the detecting means, from the conveying means When there is not enough containers on the downstream air transport conveyor, the transport speed of the containers by the transport means is increased,
When the container is full, the transfer speed of the container by the transfer means is reduced or the transfer means is stopped.

[0007] Since the air transport conveyor transports the containers by blowing air, it is impossible to control the transport speed, and it is difficult to control the container supply amount. A transport means for holding and transporting the container is provided separately from the air transport conveyor, and by controlling the transport speed by the transport means, it is possible to control the supply amount of the container by the air transport conveyor. Specifically, a detection unit is provided downstream of the transport unit, and the supply speed of the container is controlled by changing the transport speed of the transport unit according to the amount of the container on the downstream side.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an entire aseptic filling system including a transfer control device for an air transfer conveyor according to one embodiment of the present invention. Inside the clean room accommodating the entire aseptic filling system, there is provided a sterile zone 6 which is separated from the surrounding clean room environment by a chamber 4 and maintains a high aseptic condition. (Indicated by reference numeral 1), the container carried into the clean room from the outside is supplied into the chamber 4 constituting the aseptic zone 6 via the air transport conveyor 1. Further, the air is conveyed through the aseptic zone 6 by the air conveying conveyor 1, and predetermined processes are sequentially performed in a container processing device such as a decapper (plugging device) 8, a filler (filling device) 10, and a capper (plugging device) 12. After that, it is discharged from the clean room and sent to the next process.

FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 show a container transfer portion between a portion disposed in a clean room and a portion disposed in a sterile zone 4 of the air transfer conveyor 1, respectively. 5 and 6 are a plan view, a side view, and a front view, respectively.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a cross section along a line and an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 3. The configuration of the air transport conveyor 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to these drawings. The pneumatic conveyor 1 has two parallel support rails 15 and 16 for supporting a container 14. As shown in FIG. 5, the container 14 transported by the air transport conveyor 1 according to the present embodiment has a flange-shaped engaging portion 14b formed at a mouth portion 14a. This container 1
4 are slightly wider than the outer diameter of the mouth 14a, and are arranged in parallel at a smaller interval than the outer diameter of the flange-shaped engaging portion 14b. Accordingly, each container 14 is conveyed in a suspended state with the lower side of the flange-shaped engaging portion 14b supported by these two support rails 15, 16.

Above the two support rails 15 and 16,
Both side surfaces 18a, 18b and top surface 18c, and both side surfaces 18
a, an air duct 1 comprising bottom surfaces 18d, 18e connecting between the lower portions of 18a, 18b and the support rails 15, 16;
Air is introduced into the air duct 18 from an air supply source (not shown). In addition, above the space formed between the two support rails 15 and 16 inside the air duct 18, a mouth 14 of the container 14 is provided.
The passage 20 having a size through which a can pass is formed. The passage 20 through which the mouth portion 14a passes is formed by both side plates 20a, 2a.
0b and a top plate 20c, and a large number of air outlets 22 (FIGS. 3 and 4) are provided on both side plates 20a and 20b at predetermined intervals and open frontward (downstream) in the traveling direction. 6) is formed, and the air introduced into the air duct 18 flows from these outlets 22 into the container 1.
The container 14 is blown toward the mouth 14a of the container 4 and is sent by the air to the front (to the right in FIGS. 2 and 3 in this embodiment) while sliding on the support rails 15, 16.

In this aseptic filling system, the container 14 is
Air is supplied from the environment in a normal clean room to the aseptic zone 6 constituted by the sealed chamber 4 by the air transfer conveyor 1, and is provided between the clean room side and the aseptic zone 6 side of the air duct 18. A fixed partition wall 24 is provided and the air duct 18 is provided.
The inside is divided into a first zone (clean air portion) 26 on the upstream side and a second zone (sterile air portion) 28 on the downstream side.
The partition wall 24 is formed with a notch 24 a having substantially the same size as the passage 20.
4a is allowed to pass. Air duct 1
The clean air is fed from the upstream to the downstream in the upstream side (clean air portion) 26 of the partition wall 24 from the partition wall 24. On the other hand, sterile air sterilized as described later is sent from the downstream side to the upstream side to the downstream side (sterile air portion) 28 from the partition wall 24. The clean air and the sterile air sent to the upstream portion (clean air portion) 26 and the downstream portion (sterile air portion) 28 of the air duct 18 in this manner are supplied to the air blower formed on the side plates 20a and 20b of the passage 20. The container 14 blown out from the outlet 22 in the downstream direction (to the right in FIGS. 2 and 3) and supported by the support rails 15 and 16 on both sides is moved in the downstream direction.

The clean air portion 2 of the air duct 18
Below the boundary (partition wall) 24 between the 6 and the sterile air section 28, an intermediate chamber 30 partitioned from the outside (in the clean room) is provided. This intermediate chamber 3
Reference numeral 0 denotes a partition wall 30b between the upstream side partition wall 30a and a sterile chamber 32 provided on the downstream side, which will be described later, and both side walls 30c and 30d, a bottom wall 30e, and a ceiling wall 30f. Also, this intermediate chamber 3
The bottom surface 18d and 18e of the air duct 18 and the support rails 15 and 16 are located at the center of the ceiling wall 30f of the "0". Air duct 1
The clean air section 26 and the upstream end of the sterile air section 28 communicate with each other.

In this embodiment, the container 14 has a mouth 14a.
The lower surface side of the flange-shaped engaging portion 14b provided on the support rails 15 and 16 is supported and transported in a suspended state.
Move below 5,16. Therefore, the partition wall 30a on the upstream side of the intermediate chamber 30 and the aseptic chamber 3
On the partition wall 30b on the second side, the trunk 14c of the container 14 is provided.
Is formed to allow passage of the notch. The partition 30b between the intermediate chamber 30 and the sterile chamber 32
Is provided with a movable shutter 34 so that the notch of the partition 30b between the two chambers 30 and 32 can be sealed when the sterile chamber 32 is sterilized.

Further, both side walls 30 of the intermediate chamber 30
An exhaust port 30g for sucking and discharging the air in the intermediate chamber 30 is provided near the downstream part of the c and 30d (near the sterile chamber 32). This exhaust port 30g
Is connected to a vacuum source via an exhaust pipe (not shown), and sucks the air flowing into the intermediate chamber 30 and discharges the air to the outside. In addition, a rectifying plate 36 is provided in the intermediate chamber 30 between the partition 30b on the sterile chamber 32 side and the position where the exhaust port 30g is provided.
As shown in FIG. 2, the rectifying plate 36 is composed of two plates 37, 3 which are arranged at an interval through which the container 14 can pass.
The portions 37a, 38a of the plates 37, 38 near the side walls 30c, 30d are located at substantially the same position in the traveling direction as the partition wall 24 in the air duct 18 (see FIG. 6). The portions 37b and 38b are arranged to be inclined toward the upstream side (see FIG. 2). By arranging the rectifying plate 36 (37, 38) having such a shape, the air flowing into the intermediate chamber 30 from the clean air portion 26 flows smoothly along the rectifying plate 36 and is discharged from the exhaust port 30g. Is done. In addition,
This current plate 36 may be omitted.

Downstream of the intermediate chamber 30 is provided a continuous sterile chamber 32 with the partition wall 30b interposed therebetween. This sterile chamber 32 also has an upstream partition wall (the intermediate chamber 30), like the intermediate chamber 30.
(A downstream partition wall) 30b, a downstream partition wall 32b, both side walls 32c and 32d, a bottom wall 32e, and a ceiling wall 32f. In addition, this sterile chamber 30
The bottom surface 18d, 18e of the air duct 18 and the support rails 15, 16 are located at the center of the ceiling wall 32f of the air duct 18, and are located above the aseptic chamber 30 by the gap between the support rails 15, 16. The inside of the downstream air duct 18 (sterile air section) 28 communicates with the air duct 18. Further, a notch 32h (see FIG. 4) through which the conveyed container 14 can pass is formed in the front and rear partition walls 30b and 32b.

A supply port 32g for supplying sterilized air is provided in the sterile air section 28 of the air duct 18 located above the sterile chamber 32. The sterile air of the air duct 18 is supplied from the supply port 32g. The aseptic air supplied into the section 28 is blown toward the downstream from an air outlet 22 formed in the passage 20, and flows through the container 14 suspended and supported on the support rails 15 and 16. And the two support rails 15, 16
Flows into the aseptic chamber 32 from the gap between them. Further, a partition wall 24 that partitions the air duct 18 into an upstream portion (clean air portion) 26 and a downstream portion (sterile air portion) 28.
Since the partition 30b of the intermediate chamber 30 on the side of the sterile chamber 32 is located on the downstream side, the air duct 18
A portion of the sterile air blown out of the sterile air section 28 of the above flows into the intermediate chamber 30. And aseptic air section 2
The air flowing into the intermediate chamber 30 from the air outlet 8 together with the air flowing from the clean air section 26 is used as the exhaust port 30.
g. Note that maintenance doors 35 are provided on both side walls 32 c and 32 d of the sterile chamber 32. Further, in the intermediate chamber 30 and the aseptic chamber 32, the body 14 of the container 14 transported while being supported by the flange-shaped engagement portion 14b formed in the mouth 14a.
A guide rod 39 for guiding c is provided.

In the aseptic chamber 32, there is provided a transport mechanism (generally designated by reference numeral 40) for transporting the container 14 while holding the body 14c of the container 14 from both sides. This transport mechanism 40
Are a pair of horizontally rotating sprockets 41, 42, 43, arranged on both sides of the air transport conveyor 1, respectively.
44 and an endless belt 4 looped between the pair of sprockets 41, 42 and 43, 44, respectively.
5 and 46. These belts 45 and 46 have elastic bodies attached to the outer surface side in order to hold a lightweight and flexible container 14 such as a PET bottle.

FIGS. 7 to 9 show the belts 45 and 46, respectively.
FIG. 3 is a view showing a driving unit of the transport mechanism 40 by the pair of left and right horizontally rotating sprockets 41, 42, 43;
The sprockets 41 and 43 on the driving side (sprockets located on the right side in FIG. 2) of the motor 44 are connected to the motor 52 via drive transmission rods 47 and 48 and gear boxes 49 and 50, respectively. The rotation is transmitted to rotate. That is, the rotation of the motor 52 is controlled by the sprocket 53 of the motor 52, the sprocket 54 of the one gear box 50, and both sprockets 53,5.
The rotation is transmitted to the gearbox 50 via a chain 56 wound around the gearbox 4, and the rotation is transmitted to the other gearbox 49 to rotate the rods 47 and 48 simultaneously in opposite directions. Thereby, the belts 45 on both sides,
In 46, the surfaces facing each other run in the same direction. A bellows 51 is mounted around a portion of the upper ends of the rods 47 and 48 inserted into the sterile chamber 32 to prevent the outside (in a clean room) atmosphere from entering the sterile chamber 32. ing. The transport mechanism 40 can move the belts 45 and 46 on both sides in a parallel state and adjust the distance between the belts 45 and 46 so that they can be used for containers 14 of different sizes. The rods 47, 48 are connected to the upper sprocket 41,
The rotating shafts 57 and 58 on the 43 side and the lower gear box 49,
And 50 are connected via a flexible joint.

A mechanism for adjusting the interval between the belts 45 and 46 on both sides of the transport mechanism 40 will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. Each pair of rollers 41, 4 arranged on both sides of the air transport conveyor 1
2, 43, 44 and belts 45, 46 are mounted on separate support plates 59, 60, respectively, so that they can be moved separately. Each support plate 59,
60, two cylindrical bodies 61, 62, 63,
64 are provided, and these cylinders 61, 62, 6
Short axes 65, 66, 67, 68 in 3, 64 respectively
(See FIGS. 11 and 12) are rotatably fitted. Below each of these short shafts 65, 66, 67, 68, a guide cylinder 7 fixed upright on the machine frame 70.
Long shafts 75, 76, 77, 78 fitted and rotatably supported in 2, 73, 74 (one not shown) are arranged, and these short shafts 65, 66, 67, 68 are arranged. And long shafts 75, 76, 77, 78 are shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG.

The two long shafts 76 and 78 located on the upstream side (left side in FIG. 11) are adapted to rotate by receiving rotations of gears 79 and 80, respectively. The gears 79 and 80 are meshed with each other, and when one of the gears 79 is rotated by operating the handle 82, the other gear 8 is engaged.
0 rotates in the opposite direction. Then, the two long shafts 76, 78
Rotate in opposite directions. Furthermore, these two long shafts 7 on the upstream side
The rotation of 6, 78 is performed by the two long axes 75,
It is transmitted to 77 and rotated in the same direction. Therefore, by rotating the gear 79 by operating the handle 82, the pair of support plates 59, 60 supporting the rollers 41, 42, 43, 44 are moved in a state of being parallel to the air transport conveyor 1 and mutually moved. Can be approached or separated.

FIG. 13 shows an example of a configuration for controlling the driving of the transport mechanism 40. A plurality of sensors 84 are arranged along a portion of the air transport conveyor 1 which is disposed downstream of the sterile chamber 32. , 86, 88 are provided, and in response to the detection signals from these sensors 84, 86, 88, the control device 90 controls the operation of the motor 52 to change the transport speed of the transport mechanism 40, or to stop. Let it. For example, the first sensor 84 provided at the most downstream side
Is a sensor that detects the shortage of the containers 14 to be supplied to each container processing device such as the filler 10, and the second sensor 86 disposed on the most upstream side is configured such that the containers 14 are fully filled on the air transport conveyor 1. Is a sensor that detects that
When a detection signal indicating that the container 14 is insufficient is input from the first sensor 84 to the control device 90, the control device 90 increases the operating speed of the motor 52 to increase the belt 45 of the transport mechanism 40,
By increasing the running speed of the container 46 at high speed,
Supply 4. When the second sensor 86 detects that the container 14 is present, the air conveyance conveyor 1
Since the container 14 is full at the top, the control device 9
A value of 0 decreases the traveling speed of the belts 45 and 46 of the transport mechanism 40 and reduces the supply of the containers 14 by the air transport conveyor 1. Alternatively, the supply of the container 14 may be interrupted by temporarily stopping the running of the belts 45 and 46.

The supply speed of the container 14 can be controlled by the two sensors 84 and 86 as described above.
More preferable control can be performed by providing the third sensor 88. When the third sensor 88 is detecting the container 14 on the air transport conveyor 1, the transport mechanism 40 is operated at a preset optimal speed, and the third sensor 88 detects the container 14. Instead, when the first sensor 84 is detecting the container 14, the transport mechanism 40 is operated at a speed higher than the set speed and at a lower speed than when the first sensor 84 does not detect the container 14.

The operation of the air transport conveyor 1 according to the above configuration will be described. The container 14 which is carried in from the outside and conveyed in the clean room has an upper portion (clean portion) of the air duct 18 in which the body portion 14c is located in the intermediate chamber 30 and the mouth portion 14a is located above the intermediate chamber 30. (Air portion) 26. Air duct 14
In the clean air section 26, the introduced clean air is blown from the outlet 22 to the downstream side into the passage 20 of the container opening 14b, and the containers 14 are advanced toward the downstream side. The clean air blown into the passage 20 on the upstream side of the partition wall 24 passes between the two support rails 15 and 16 and flows into the intermediate chamber 30 provided thereunder. The intermediate chamber 30 is connected to a vacuum source through an exhaust port 30g and a discharge pipe, and the air flowing into the intermediate chamber 30 is sucked and discharged to the outside.

The clean air portion 26 of the air duct 18
The container 14 to which the clean air has been blown and conveyed passes through the partition wall 24, and the opening 14 b enters the downstream portion (sterile air portion) 28 of the air duct 18. The intermediate chamber 3 disposed below the partition wall 24
0 extends below the sterile air portion 28 provided on the downstream side of the partition wall 24, and as described above, the body portion 14c of the container 14 immediately after the mouth portion 14b enters the sterile air portion 28 is an intermediate chamber. It is located within 30. In this position,
Aseptic air is supplied into the aseptic air portion 28 of the air duct 18 from a supply port 32g for supplying sterilized air, flows through the air duct 13 from right to left in FIG. 3, and flows downstream from the outlet 22 (see FIG. To the right). The aseptic air blown toward the downstream side from the air outlet 22 near the partition wall 24 conveys the container 14 and flows into the intermediate chamber 30 from the gap between the support rails 15 and 16 to clean the clean air. Is sucked and discharged. As described above, the clean air blown out from the upstream portion (clean air portion) 26 of the air duct 18 and a part of the sterile air blown out from the downstream portion (sterile air portion) 28 form the boundary between the two portions 26 and 28. Since the air flows into the intermediate chamber 30 provided below and is discharged from the exhaust port 30g, clean air does not flow into the sterile air section 28 or the sterile chamber 32, and the sterile zone 6 A highly sterile environment inside can be maintained.

The container is transported further downstream by aseptic air blown from the vicinity of the partition wall 24 of the aseptic air section 28, and the body 14c passes through the cutout of the partition 30b between the intermediate chamber 30 and the aseptic chamber 32. Then, it moves into the sterile chamber 32. Also in this case, the container 14 is moved by the air blown from the downstream portion (sterile air portion) 28 of the air duct 18, and is then transported while being held by the belts 45 and 46 of the transport mechanism 40 provided in the sterile chamber 32. You.

The belts 45 and 46 of the transport mechanism 40 normally run at an appropriate preset speed, and the control device 90 controls the speed in response to a container detection signal from each of the sensors 84, 86 and 88. To adjust. In the case of the configuration shown in FIG. 13, while the third sensor 86 in the middle senses the presence of the container 14 and the second sensor 86 on the most upstream side does not sense the container 14, the belts 45 and 46 The container 14 is transported by running at a set speed. When the second sensor 86 on the most upstream side detects the container 14, the container is full on the downstream conveyor 1 and the belt 4
The supply speed of the container 14 is reduced by slowing the traveling speed of the containers 5 and 46. Alternatively, the supply of the container 14 is interrupted by temporarily stopping the running of the belts 45 and 46.

Conversely, when the intermediate third sensor 88 does not detect the container 14 and the most downstream first sensor 84 detects the container 14, the supply amount of the container 14 is slightly short. Therefore, the traveling speed of the belts 45 and 46 is increased to
Increase the supply of Further, the first sensor 84 is also connected to the container 14.
Is not detected, since the supply amount of the container 14 is significantly short, the belts 45 and 46 are run at a high speed to increase the supply amount of the container 14. In this way, the plurality of sensors 84, 86, 88 monitor the amount of the container 14 being conveyed by the air conveying conveyor 1 and always supply an appropriate amount of the container 14 to the downstream container processing apparatus. In a normal conveyor such as a belt conveyor, the supply speed of articles such as containers can be changed by directly controlling the traveling speed itself of the conveyor, but in an air transport conveyor, the conveyor is suspended from a support rail. Since articles such as containers are blown with air and conveyed by forcibly sliding on the support rails, it is impossible to accurately control the conveying speed. Therefore, in the apparatus of the embodiment, a transport mechanism 40 for holding and transporting the container 14 and the like is provided in the middle of the air transport conveyor 1, and the transport mechanism 4 is provided.
Since the transfer speed of 0 is controlled by the control device 90 in accordance with the signals from the sensors 84, 86, 88, the transfer state of the container 14 by the air transfer conveyor 1 can be accurately controlled.

The container 14 is then placed in the decapper 8,
After being sent to and processed by a container processing device such as the filler 10 and the capper 12, it is discharged and sent to the next step.

In the above embodiment, the transport mechanism 40 provided in the aseptic chamber 32 is constituted by the pair of endless belts 45 and 46 disposed on both sides of the air transport conveyor 1, but the transport mechanism by belt is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, the transport mechanism 140 may be configured by a pair of star wheels 141 and 142. Also, the star wheels 14 on both sides
The rotation of the first and second sensors 142 and 142 is controlled by a sensor 84, as shown in FIG.
By controlling by 86 and 88 and the control device 90, it is also possible to adjust the supply amount of the container 14 by the air transport conveyor 1, as in the above embodiment. In addition,
Since the configuration of other parts is the same as that of FIG. 2, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

FIGS. 15 to 17 show an air conveying conveyor 101 according to a second embodiment. In the first embodiment, the air introduced into the air duct 18 is blown to the opening 14a of the container 14. In the second embodiment, the container 114 is conveyed by blowing air to the body 114c of the container 114. Thus, the container 114 is conveyed while the lower surface of the flange-shaped engaging portion 114b is supported by the two support rails 115 and 116 as in the above-described embodiment. It is provided on both sides below these two side rails 115 and 116. On the inner wall surfaces of the air ducts 118 and 119, air outlets 122 and 123 that open toward the downstream side are provided at predetermined intervals. The inside of the air ducts 118 and 119 is
Similarly to the first embodiment, partitioning walls 124 and 125 define an upstream portion (clean air portion) 126 and a downstream portion (sterile air portion) 128.

An intermediate chamber 130 is provided below partition walls 124 and 125 for separating the clean air portion 126 and the sterile air portion 128 of the air ducts 118 and 119.
Are formed. The intermediate chamber 130 includes an inlet-side partition 130a and an outlet-side (sterile chamber 132).
The side wall 130b, both side walls 130c and 130d, and a bottom wall 130e. Containers 11 are provided on partition walls 130a and 130b before and after the intermediate chamber 130.
There is provided a notch 130h through which 4 can pass. Also, the side walls 130c, 130 of the intermediate chamber 130
An exhaust port 130g for sucking and discharging the air in the chamber 130 is provided in d. Further, a closed space 1 is provided above the support rails 115 and 116.
92 are formed. This sealed space 192 is provided with a partition wall 192a at substantially the same position as the partition wall 130b between the intermediate chamber 130 and the sterile chamber 132 (see FIG. 16), and is divided into a clean air side 193 and a sterile air side 194. Have been. Also on this partition wall 192a,
Notch 192b through which mouth 114a of container 114 can pass
Are formed.

Also in this embodiment, the air outlets 122, 1 formed in the air ducts 118, 119 are similar to the previous embodiment.
23, the container 1 is blown by the air blown to the downstream side.
14, the air ducts 118, 119 and the outlets 122, 123 are provided below the support rails 115, 116, and the air blown from the clean air portion 126 upstream of the air ducts 118, 119 is ,
After transporting the container 114 against the body 114c of the container 114, it flows into the intermediate chamber 130 as it is and is discharged from the exhaust port 130g. In addition, the aseptic air blown out from the aseptic air section 128 on the downstream side partially flows into the intermediate chamber 130 on the upstream side and is exhausted together with the clean air. Thus, the air ducts 118, 1
19, below the partition walls 124 and 125 that partition the clean air portion 126 and the sterile air portion 128, that is,
An intermediate chamber 130 is provided from the clean air section 126 to a part of the sterile air section 128, and the air flowing from the air sections 126 and 128 is sucked and discharged into the intermediate chamber 130. Part 12
The air on the 6 side is a sterile zone 6 such as a sterile chamber 132
(See FIG. 1.) A sterile environment can be maintained without invading the side.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, the engagement portion of the container is engaged with the support rail and suspended and supported.
An air transport conveyor that blows air introduced into an air duct onto the container and transports the air downstream, provided in a transport path of the air transport conveyor, a transport unit that holds and transports the container, and air. Detecting means provided downstream of the conveying means of the conveying conveyor and detecting the supply amount of containers on the air conveying conveyor, and control for controlling the container conveying speed of the conveying means by a signal from the detecting means. Means, when the container is insufficient on the downstream side of the transfer means on the air transfer conveyor, the transfer speed of the container by the transfer means is increased, and when the container is full, the transfer speed of the container by the transfer means is increased. Supplying containers by an air transport conveyor, where transport speeds cannot be controlled by reducing the speed or stopping the transport means. It is possible to freely control the.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an aseptic filling system including a transfer control device for an air transfer conveyor according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part of the air transport conveyor.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a main part of the air transport conveyor.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a main part of the air transport conveyor.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a driving unit of the transport mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of a driving unit of the transport mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a lower part of a driving unit of the transport mechanism.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a transport mechanism.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the transport mechanism.

FIG. 12 is a front view of a transport mechanism.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit of the transport mechanism.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing another example of the transport mechanism.

FIG. 15 is a schematic side view showing another embodiment of the air conveyance conveyor.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along the line XVI-XVI in FIG.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along lines XVII-XVII in FIG. 15;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air conveyance conveyor 14 Container 14b Container engagement part 15 Support rail 16 Support rail 18 Air duct 40 Transport means (transport mechanism) 84 Detection means (sensor) 86 Detection means (sensor) 88 Detection means (sensor) 90 Control means (control) apparatus)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Kazuo Miyazaki 1-1-1, Ichigaya-Kaga-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Inside Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. No. 1-1 Inside Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Takao Katayama 1-1-1, Ichigaya Kagacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Inside Dainippon Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Jin Takaku Ichigaya-cho, Shinjuku-ku Tokyo 1-1-1, Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An air transport conveyor for engaging an engaging portion of a container with a support rail and suspending and supporting the container, and blowing air introduced into an air duct onto the container to convey the air downstream. A transport unit provided in the transport path of the transport conveyor, for holding and transporting the container, and a downstream side of the transport unit of the air transport conveyor, for detecting a supply amount of the container on the air transport conveyor; Detecting means, and a control means for controlling the container conveying speed of the conveying means by a signal from the detecting means, and when the container is insufficient on the air conveying conveyor downstream of the conveying means, the conveying means The speed of transporting the containers is increased, and when the containers are full, the speed of transporting the containers by the transport means is reduced or the transport means is stopped. The control device.