Measuring and testing – With fluid pressure – Leakage
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-25
2002-04-09
Williams, Hezron (Department: 2856)
Measuring and testing
With fluid pressure
Leakage
Reexamination Certificate
active
06367312
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a liquid leakage inspecting device which inspects a barrel-like liquid container containing beer, for instance, and detects liquid leakage from the mouth of the container.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventionally, a container for beer is barrel-shaped and made of an aluminum plate or steel plate. The barrel-shaped container is strong, and has a relatively large capacity. The capacity of such a container is 7 litters, 10 litters, 15 litters, 20 litters, 25 litters, or 50 litters. The container is provided with a sealing stopper unit in its mouth portion to maintain the quality of the content liquid sealed in the container, and to prevent the content liquid from deteriorating and losing flavor.
The sealing stopper unit comprises: a mouth portion
1
a
formed on the upper surface or the lower surface of a container
1
containing liquid such as beer B; a bush a placed in the mouth portion
1
a;
a liquid raising cylindrical member c inserted into the bush a by the pushing force of first springs b; a gas valve d provided on the outer periphery of the upper surface of the liquid raising cylindrical member c so as to be engaged with the inner surface of the upper portion of the bush a; and a solution valve f which raises the content liquid by pressure air G supplied into the container
1
through the liquid raising cylindrical member c when the gas valve d is opened by the pushing force of second springs e, and which valve f discharges the content liquid out of the container
1
.
In the production line of the beer B, defective products whose content liquid is leaking from the mouth portion
1
a
of the container
1
are detected and then discharged out of the main line of the production line. The container
1
is repeatedly used in view of resource conservation.
In the liquid leakage inspecting device, which judges whether the content liquid is leaking from the mouth portion
1
a
of the container
1
, pure water w is injected into a concave portion g formed on the upper surface of the sealing stopper unit
4
′ in the mouth portion
1
a
of the container
1
, and a probe P is then put in the pure water w to measure its electric conductivity, thereby detecting liquid leakage.
In
FIGS. 8 and 9
, cylinders S′
1
are disposed on both sides of a conveyer
2
′ which transports the container
1
having the sealing stopper unit
4
′ in the mouth portion
1
a.
The rods of the cylinders S′
1
are provided with clamp units
12
′ which can be opened and closed with respect to rotational axes
16
′. The clamp units
12
′ are connected to holding frames
15
′ provided with rollers
14
′, and holds the container
1
for liquid leakage inspection by a leakage inspecting unit
20
′. In the next step to the clamp units
12
′ on the conveyer
2
′, cylinders S′
2
provided on both sides of the conveyer
2
′ are actuated to extend the rods toward the axis center O of the container
1
. Stopper units
17
′ having contact portions are attached to the edges of the respective rods of the cylinders S′
2
. In the next step to the stopper units
17
′, a water supply unit
31
′ which supplies the pure water w into the concave portion g formed in the upper portion of the sealing stopper unit
4
′ is formed. In the next step to the water supply unit
31
′, a probe P and a leakage inspecting unit
20
′ are formed. The double-cylindrical probe P is inserted into the pure water w supplied into the concave portion g to measure the electric conductivity of the water, thereby judging whether the content liquid is leaking from the mouth portion
1
a.
The leakage inspecting unit
20
′ is provided with a water supply unit
31
″ which rotates in the vertical direction by 90 degrees in the ascending position of the probe P after the measurement, and which water supply unit
31
″ supplies wash water to wash the probe P. In the next step to the leakage inspecting unit
20
′, an air supply unit
43
′ which blows dry air or hot air to the water in the concave portion g is provided. In the next step to the air supply unit
43
′, a reject conveyer
45
′ is provided. The reject conveyer
43
′ transports the container
1
judged to be a defective product having leakage and discharged out of the main line of the production line by actuating a reject cylinder S′
6
.
Positioning units
21
′ are formed in the locations of the water supply unit
31
′, the leakage inspecting unit
20
′, and the air supply unit
43
′. Each of the positioning units
21
′ stops and positions the container
1
being transported on the conveyer
2
′. Cylinders S′
3
and S′
4
as driving power sources are provided on both sides of the conveyer
2
′. The edge of each rod of the cylinders S′
3
is provided with a grip unit
50
′ having an arcuate inner surface
50
′
a
corresponding to the outer peripheral surface
1
b
of the container
1
. Each rod of the cylinders S′
4
extends toward the axis center O of the container
1
, and is provided with a contact portion
24
′ (not shown) which can be in contact with the outer peripheral surface
1
b
of the container
1
. The conveyer
2
′ is a belt conveyer or a roller conveyer, for instance.
In a conventional liquid leakage inspecting unit shown in
FIG. 8
, pure water is injected into the concave portion g formed in the mouth portion g of the container
1
being transported on the conveyer in the pure water injecting position. When the container
1
being transported on the conveyer reaches the inspecting position, the probe P is inserted into the pure water in the concave portion g to measure the electric conductivity of the water. Here, the pure water injecting position is situated at a distance from the inspecting position. Because of this, the pure water injected into the concave portion g of the container in the pure water injection position is subjected to the vibration from the conveyer or the shock caused by the container
1
brought into contact with the guide members. As a result, the pure water flows out of the concave portion, hindering accurate measure of the electric conductivity.
There is another problem that the electric conductivity can be measured only when the beer B is leaking into the pure water from the gas valve d or the solution valve f of the sealing stopper unit
4
′, because the probe P is inserted into the pure water w injected only into the concave portion g formed on the upper surface of the sealing stopper unit
4
′.
In other words, leakage from the boundary between the mouth portion
1
a
and the bush a cannot be detected.
In the conventional liquid leakage inspecting device shown in
FIGS. 8 and 9
, the probe P is rotated in the vertical direction by 90 degrees in its ascending position after the leakage detection by the probe P inserted into the pure water w supplied into the concave portion g of the mouth portion
1
a
from the water supply unit
31
′ of the leakage inspecting unit
20
′. The water supply unit
31
″ then supplies wash water to wash the probe P. After that, the air supply unit
43
′ provided in the next step to the leakage inspecting unit
20
′ blows dry air or hot air to dry the washed probe P.
As described above, washing the probe P requires a rotating operation of the probe P. Also, since the air supply position is situated at a distance from the water supply position, the drying of the probe P adds to the number of procedures, resulting in poor efficiency of the liquid leakage inspection on the conveyer
2
′.
Furthermore, since the water supply unit
31
″ supplies water only to the outer surface of the probe P, the inside of the double-cylindrical probe P cannot be sufficiently washed. As a result, dust and impurities remain in the probe P, thereby causing a problem that accu
Hashimoto Hiroshi
Minai Katsutoshi
Yamagishi Tetsuo
Garber C D
Sapporo Breweries Ltd.
Williams Hezron
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