WO2024079944A1 - Device and method for producing resin-coated cans - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention addresses the problem of providing a device and a method for producing resin-coated cans which, when resin-coated cans having been pressed are trimmed, make it possible to evenly cut the resinous coating film.　The device for producing resin-coated cans includes a press machine, a trimmer, and a chute connecting the press machine to the trimmer, and is characterized by including a cooler for cooling at least portions to be trimmed, by the trimmer, of the resin-coated cans being passing through the chute. The method for producing resin-coated cans, in which resin-coated cans processed with a press machine are conveyed to a trimmer by a chute, is characterized by including a cooling step in which at least portions to be trimmed, by the trimmer, of the resin-coated cans being passing through the chute are cooled.

Description

Manufacturing device and manufacturing method for resin-coated cans

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for manufacturing resin-coated cans, and in particular to an apparatus and method for cooling resin-coated cans after they have been molded using a press.

In the past, when manufacturing resin-coated cans using a press, the edges of the opening of the resin-coated can were trimmed with a trimmer after the resin-coated can was drawn and/or drawn and ironed. (See Patent Document 1 (Figure 1) and Patent Document 2 (Figure 1))

JP 2007-296565 A JP 2009-178771 A

When a resin-coated can is drawn and/or drawn and ironed using a press, the temperature of the resin-coated can rises to about 100° C. due to the heat generated during the forming process. This temperature rise also affects the resin film of the resin-coated can, causing the resin film to soften.
For example, when a resin film is formed from PET resin, the glass transition temperature (TG point) of PET resin is about 70°C. If the temperature of a resin-coated can that has risen to 100°C does not drop to below 70°C before it is trimmed with a trimmer, when the resin film that has softened at or above this glass transition temperature is cut together with the metal can using a trimmer, the resin film will stretch at the edges of the opening of the resin-coated can, causing the edges of the resin film after cutting to become uneven.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing device and method for resin-coated cans that can cut the resin film uniformly when trimming resin-coated cans after pressing.

In order to solve the above problems, the manufacturing apparatus for resin-coated cans of the present invention has the following configuration.
1. A resin-coated can manufacturing apparatus comprising: a press machine; a trimmer; and a chute connecting said press machine and said trimmer, said apparatus further comprising a cooling device for cooling at least a portion of said resin-coated can that has been trimmed by said trimmer while said resin-coated can is passing through said chute.

The method for producing a resin-coated can of the present invention has the following features.
1. A method for producing resin-coated cans, in which resin-coated cans processed by a press are transported to a trimmer through a chute, comprising a cooling step of cooling at least the portion of the resin-coated can that has been trimmed by the trimmer while the resin-coated can is passing through the chute.

The present invention allows the resin coating to be cut evenly by cooling resin-coated cans that have been drawn and/or drawn and ironed using a press, thereby reducing the number of defective cans.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a resin-coated can manufacturing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of a resin-coated can manufacturing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention with a cover partially open. 1 is a front view of a resin-coated can manufacturing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention with a cover partially open. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the chute 3 and its surroundings in FIG. 3 . FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an air nozzle 63 of the resin-coated can manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Below, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals in different drawings indicate parts with the same function, and duplicate descriptions in each drawing will be omitted as appropriate.

[Embodiment]
Hereinafter, in this embodiment, the resin-coated can manufactured by drawing and/or drawing and ironing using a press machine is a type of can that is mainly used for beverage cans, etc., and is formed into a can by drawing and ironing an intermediate product formed into a cup shape using a body maker as a press machine.

[overall structure]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a resin-coated can manufacturing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The manufacturing apparatus 1 has a body maker 2 , a chute 3 , and a trimmer 4 .
In the bodymaker 2, the intermediate product formed into a cup shape is subjected to drawing and ironing using a punch and a number of dies, and finally, the shape of the can bottom is processed to form the can body 5. The processing in the bodymaker 2 may be a drawing process or a combination of drawing and drawing and ironing.
The formed can body 5 is transported to a trimmer 4 by a chute 3 .
In the trimmer 4, the edge portion 511 of the opening 51 of the can body 5 formed by the body maker 2 is cut with a knife to perform trimming processing.

[shoot]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a resin-coated can manufacturing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention with a cover partially open, FIG. 3 is a front view of a resin-coated can manufacturing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention with a cover partially open, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of chute 3 in FIG. 3.
The can body 5 formed in the bodymaker 2 is carried out from the bodymaker 2 by an unloader 21 of the bodymaker 2. In the unloader 21, the formed can body 5 is transferred upward by an unloader pocket 211.
The chute 3 transports the can bodies 5 removed from the unloader 21 of the bodymaker 2 to the trimmer 4, and as its transport path, has a flow path 32 that is approximately S-shaped when viewed from the side, inside the chute box 31, which is a housing, connecting an upper inlet 33 and a lower outlet 34.
The flow path 32 is composed of a plurality of rails 321 formed in a generally S-shape when viewed from the side.
The can bodies 5 flow into the inlet 33 from the unloader discharge port 212 of the bodymaker 2, and the can bodies 5 roll down between a plurality of rails 321 and are transported from the outlet 34 to the trimmer entrance 41.
The rail 321 is preferably made of a metal with high thermal conductivity, and may further be provided with heat dissipation means such as fins for dissipating heat conducted from the can body 5 to the rail 321 .

[Cooling device (air duct)]
The chute 3 is provided with a cooling device 6 for cooling the can bodies 5 within the chute box 31 .
As one of the cooling devices 6, an air duct 61 is arranged to supply cooling air into the chute box 31.
One end 611 of the air duct 61 is connected to the blower 62, and the other end 612 is connected to the air inlet 35 at the top of the chute box 31, and air is blown into the chute box 31 from the air inlet 35. The other end 612 of the air duct 61 does not have to be connected to the top of the chute box 31, and may be connected to any location, such as the bottom of the chute box 31. A filter is installed at the air intake of the blower 62 to prevent foreign matter from entering the chute box 31.
Also, the chute box 31 is provided with an exhaust port (not shown) for exhausting air from the chute box 31 so that the air introduced from the air duct 61 flows smoothly inside the chute box 31. Furthermore, the exhaust port may be provided with a forced exhaust device such as an exhaust fan.

Furthermore, a baffle or the like may be provided within the chute box 31 to control the flow of air so that the air introduced from the air duct 61 can efficiently cool the can body 5.
The shape of the flow path 32 is not limited to being roughly S-shaped when viewed from the side, but may be other serpentine shapes, and can be designed taking into consideration the flow path length required for cooling, the size and shape of the chute box 31, the air flow within the chute box 31, etc.

The air introduced into the chute box 31 is the air around the manufacturing apparatus 1, but air whose temperature has been lowered by an air conditioner or the like may also be introduced. Furthermore, the introduced air may contain ozone or ions for cleaning the can body 5, the rail 321, etc. Also, instead of the air around the manufacturing apparatus 1, air from any location, such as air outside the building in which the manufacturing apparatus 1 is installed, may be introduced.
As described above, the air introduced into the chute box 31 by the air duct 61 cools the entire can body 5, including the part to be cut by the trimmer 4 (the trimming part: the part indicated by the black band pointed to by the arrow in Figure 5 (c)), while the can body 5 passes through the flow path 32, and the temperature of the can body 5 decreases while it passes through the flow path 32 inside the chute box 31.

[Cooling device (air nozzle)]
5A and 5B are perspective views illustrating an air nozzle 63 of a resin-coated can manufacturing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5C is a view illustrating cooling by the air nozzle 63.
An air nozzle 63 is installed in the chute box 31 as one of the cooling devices 6 .
Air nozzle 63 is disposed at the most downstream position of flow path 32. The position of air nozzle 63 is not limited to the most downstream position of flow path 32, and may be designed taking into consideration the position and shape of the flow paths in chute box 31, the size and shape of chute box 31, the air flow in chute box 31, etc.
The air nozzle 63 is a slit-shaped nozzle, and the longitudinal direction of the slit-shaped air nozzle 63 is the direction in which the can body 5 rolls (the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5(b)).
are arranged in line with the
The air nozzle 63 is disposed in a position near the edge portion 511 of the opening 51 of the can body 5 so as to blow air in a slit shape onto the portion to be cut by the trimmer 4 .

The longitudinal length of the air nozzle 63 is approximately the same as the circumferential length of the can body 5. This makes it possible to cool the entire circumference of the vicinity of the edge portion 511 of the can body 5 rolling between the multiple rails 321. (As shown in FIG. 5(b) , it can be seen that the can body 5 rotates once while rolling in the longitudinal direction of the air nozzle 63.) The longitudinal length of the air nozzle 63 may be any length as long as it is equal to or longer than the circumferential length of the can body 5.
The air nozzle 63 can efficiently and intensively cool the area of the can body 5 that is to be cut by the trimmer 4 and is in the vicinity of the opening 51 of the can body 5 .
Like the air duct 61, air is also supplied to the air nozzle 63 by a blower (not shown). This air is also air introduced from the vicinity of the manufacturing apparatus 1 through a filter or the like, but air whose temperature has been lowered by an air conditioner or the like may also be introduced. Furthermore, the introduced air may contain ozone or ions for cleaning the can body 5, the rail 321, and the like. Moreover, air from any location may be introduced, such as air outside the building in which the manufacturing apparatus 1 is installed, instead of air from the vicinity of the manufacturing apparatus 1. Moreover, high-pressure air compressed by a compressor may also be introduced.

[Cooling process]
The method for producing a resin-coated can includes a cooling step of cooling the can body 5, at least the portion to be cut by the trimmer 4.
The can body 5 is cooled by air introduced from an air duct 61 while flowing down inside the chute 3, and finally, the air nozzle 63 intensively cools the portion to be cut by the trimmer 4 to a predetermined temperature, for example, 60° C. or less when the resin film is made of PET resin, more preferably 50° C. or less. The predetermined temperature is appropriately set in consideration of the glass transition temperature of the resin used.
Furthermore, the temperature of the can body 5, particularly the temperature of the portion of the can body 5 that is cut by the trimmer 4, may be measured, and the cooling device 6 may be controlled so that the measured value becomes a predetermined temperature. The temperature of the can body 5 flowing down the flow path 32 may be measured with an infrared thermometer or the like, and the operation of the blower 62 may be controlled to increase or decrease the amount of air introduced by the air duct 61 or the amount of air blown by the air nozzle 63 so that the measured value becomes a predetermined temperature, thereby optimizing the amount of cooling.
In addition, when using air whose temperature has been lowered by an air conditioner or the like as cooling air, the amount of cooling can be optimized by controlling the air conditioner to adjust the temperature of the air introduced by the air duct 61 and the temperature of the air blown by the air nozzle 63.

[Modification]
In the present embodiment, the chute 3 is provided with the air duct 61 and the air nozzle 63 as the cooling device 6, but it is also possible to provide only one of them.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the cooling device using air has been described as an example, but the cooling device is not limited to this.
For example, like a refrigerator, a heat exchanger may be installed inside chute box 31 to cool the entire inside of chute box 31, or rail 321 may be made pipe-shaped to cool rail 321 by passing a refrigerant through rail 321, and can body 5 may be cooled by coming into contact with cooled rail 321.
Furthermore, the flow path 32 may be configured to be long so that at least the portion of the can body 5 that is to be cut by the trimmer 4 can be sufficiently cooled while passing through the flow path 32 without using a cooling means such as air or a refrigerant.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and the present invention also includes design changes and the like that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention.
Furthermore, the above-described embodiments can be combined by utilizing each other's technologies, so long as there are no particular contradictions or problems in the purpose, configuration, and the like.

Reference Signs List 1 Manufacturing device 2 Body maker 21 Unloader 211 Unloader pocket 212 Unloader discharge port 3 Chute 31 Chute box 32 Flow path 321 Rail 33 Inlet 34 Outlet 35 Air inlet 4 Trimmer 41 Trimmer entrance 5 Can body 51 Opening 511 Edge portion 6 Cooling device 61 Air duct 611 One end 612 Other end 62 Blower 63 Air nozzle

Claims (13)

The method includes the steps of: a press machine; a trimmer; and a chute connecting the press machine and the trimmer.
a cooling device for cooling at least a portion of the resin-coated can that has been trimmed by the trimmer while the resin-coated can is passing through the chute; The resin-coated can manufacturing apparatus described in claim 1, characterized in that the cooling device cools the resin-coated cans with air. The resin-coated can manufacturing apparatus described in claim 2, characterized in that the cooling device has a housing that surrounds the chute and blows air into the housing using a blower. The resin-coated can manufacturing apparatus described in claim 2, characterized in that the cooling device has a slit-shaped air nozzle and blows air onto the area of the resin-coated can that is trimmed by the trimmer. The resin-coated can manufacturing device described in claim 4, characterized in that the length of the slit-shaped air nozzle is equal to or greater than the circumferential length of the can body of the resin-coated can. The resin-coated can manufacturing apparatus described in claim 1, characterized in that the chute has a serpentine path. The resin-coated can manufacturing device described in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the press machine is a body maker. In a method for producing resin-coated cans, a resin-coated can processed by a press is conveyed to a trimmer by a chute,
A method for producing a resin-coated can, comprising the step of cooling at least a portion of the resin-coated can that has been trimmed by the trimmer while the resin-coated can is passing through the chute. The method for manufacturing a resin-coated can, as described in claim 8, characterized in that the cooling process is a process of cooling the resin-coated can with air. The method for manufacturing resin-coated cans described in claim 9, characterized in that the cooling process is a process in which air is blown into a housing surrounding the chute by a blower. The method for manufacturing a resin-coated can, as described in claim 9, characterized in that the cooling process is a process in which air is blown onto the area of the resin-coated can that has been trimmed by the trimmer using a slit-shaped air nozzle. The method for manufacturing resin-coated cans described in claim 8, characterized in that the chute has a serpentine path, and in the cooling process, the cans are cooled while passing through the serpentine path. The method for manufacturing a resin-coated can described in any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that in the cooling step, the resin is cooled to a temperature lower than the glass transition temperature of the resin used in the resin-coated can.

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