JP2000062941A - Alignment method of measuring spoon - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To pick up a measuring spoon efficiently, by aligning automatically vertically with a measuring cup part at the upper side. SOLUTION: In this alignment method, a measuring cup 32 and an edge 34 extending almost horizontally from the hole edge of an opening 33 are provided. In this case, the weight balance of a measuring spoon 31 or the form of the bottom surface of the measuring cup 32 is set beforehand to contact the edge 34 side to a feeder disk 8 surface, or to make the upper surface at the front end of the edge 34 at the height less than 1/2 the height of the measuring cup 32, when the measuring spoon 31 is provided on the upper surface of the feeder disk 8 by making the opening 33 of the measuring cup 32 at the upper side, the measuring spoon 31 is input on the feeder disk 8, and only the edge 34 of the measuring spoon 31 in which the opening 33 of the measuring cup 32 is made at the upper side is dropped in a clearance 11 between the outer circumferential edge of the feeder disk 8 and a cylindrical peripheral wall 12. As a result, the measuring spoon 31 is aligned automatically vertically along the outer peripheral edge of the feeder disk 8.

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a measuring spoon used when a measuring spoon is inserted by a spoon inserting machine into a container filled with a granular detergent or a bleaching agent. The alignment method. 2. Description of the Related Art In a production line for a powdered granular detergent or a bleaching agent in a container, a certain amount of the detergent or the bleaching agent is filled in a container by a filling machine, and then the detergent or the bleaching agent is filled on the container. Although the measuring spoon is automatically inserted by the spoon inserting machine, it is necessary to supply the measuring spoon to the spoon inserting machine after aligning the direction of the measuring spoon in a specified direction. Conventionally, methods of aligning such measuring spoons include a center of gravity type, a hanging type, a pocket feeder type, and the like.
Various methods such as a vibration type have been proposed, and an optimal alignment method has been adopted according to the shape, dimensions, material, insertion direction, and the like of the measuring spoon. [0004] However, in the conventional method of aligning a measuring spoon, FIG.
It was very difficult to vertically align the measuring spoon 91 with the handle as shown in FIG. 3 with the measuring cup portion 92 facing upward. More specifically, a measuring spoon 91 shown in FIG. 13 has a substantially rectangular measuring cup portion 92 and a narrow handle portion extending substantially horizontally from an edge of an opening 93 of the rectangular measuring cup portion 92. 94, it is difficult to vertically align the measuring cup 92 with the center of gravity with the side of the measuring cup 92 facing upward, and there is a problem that a large number of unaligned measuring spoons remain in the aligning device. [0006] For this reason, in the conventional apparatus, the unaligned measuring spoon must be removed before being sent to the spoon insertion machine, which requires time and effort, and as a result, the capacity of the measuring spoon to be inserted is increased. This has been an obstacle to labor saving and efficiency improvement of production lines. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and provides a method for aligning a measuring spoon which can be automatically and vertically taken out with a measuring cup portion up and efficiently taken out. The purpose is to do. In order to achieve the above object, a method for aligning a measuring spoon according to the present invention is directed to a method of aligning a measuring spoon with an opening of a measuring cup portion on an upper surface of an inclined rotary feeder disk. The weight balance of the measuring spoon or the bottom surface of the measuring cup so that the handle contacts the feeder disk surface when placed, or the upper surface of the tip of the handle is less than half the height of the measuring cup. The shape of the measuring spoon is set in advance, and the measuring spoon is put on the feeder disc. Of the put measuring spoons, only the handle portion of the measuring spoon with the opening of the measuring cup portion facing upward is rotated. By dropping the measuring spoon into the gap between the outer peripheral edge of the feeder disk and the cylindrical peripheral wall disposed along the outer peripheral edge, the measuring spoon The automatic alignment is performed vertically along the outer peripheral edge. In the method of the present invention, the weight balance of the measuring spoon or the shape of the bottom surface of the measuring cup is set in advance so that the measuring cup is inclined toward the handle when the opening of the measuring cup is placed upward. The measuring spoon put on the feeder disc automatically comes into contact with or approaches the feeder disc surface on its handle side. For this reason, of the thrown measuring spoons, the handle portion of only the measuring spoon with the measuring cup portion turned up is efficiently dropped into the gap between the outer peripheral edge of the feeder disk and the cylindrical peripheral wall,
It can be automatically aligned vertically and taken out with the measuring cup part up. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example of a shape of a measuring spoon used in the present invention, and FIGS. 3 to 9 show an embodiment of a measuring spoon aligning apparatus constituted by applying the method of the present invention. First, the measuring spoon of FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described. The measuring spoon 31 in the illustrated example has the same shape as the conventional one, that is, a substantially rectangular measuring cup portion 32 and a narrow handle portion extending substantially horizontally from the edge of the opening 33 of the rectangular measuring cup portion 32. And a semicircular weight 35 on the lower surface of the tip of the handle 34.
Are formed integrally so that the center of gravity of the entire measuring spoon 31 is located at least on the handle portion 34 side. In addition, as a constituent material of this measuring spoon 31,
For example, PP (polypropylene) resin or the like can be used. When the center of gravity of the entire measuring spoon 31 is positioned on the handle side as described above, when the measuring spoon 31 is placed on a horizontal surface as shown in FIG. 36, and the handle 34
Takes a posture in which the tip of is in contact with the mounting surface 37. Therefore, a measuring spoon 3 having such a weight balance
When the spoon alignment process is performed using No. 1, as will be apparent from the operation description of the measuring spoon alignment device described later,
Vertical alignment can be performed very efficiently with the measuring cup portion 32 up. Next, the measuring spoon aligning device shown in FIGS. 3 to 9 will be described. 3 and 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a measuring spoon aligning device, and reference numeral 2 denotes a measuring spoon supply device that supplies the measuring spoon 31 to the measuring spoon aligning device 1.
The measuring spoon supply device 2 is provided with the horizontal conveyor 3 from the previous process.
The hopper 4 is configured to receive a measuring spoon 31 carried by the hopper 4, and the inclined conveyor 5 is configured to carry out the measuring spoon 31 loaded in the hopper 4 and throw it into the measuring spoon supply device 1. The measuring spoon aligning device 1 includes a main body case 7 fixedly mounted on a gantry 6, and a rotary feeder disk (disc) that is positioned and inclined in the main body case 7.
8, a motor 10 for rotatingly driving the feeder disk 8 via the rotating shaft 9, a cylindrical peripheral wall 1 fixedly disposed around the feeder disk 8 with a predetermined gap 11 therebetween.
2, a high-pressure air ejection mechanism 13 for blowing off unaligned spoons, and a shooter 14 for removing aligned spoons. The inclination angle of the feeder disk 8 is as follows:
When the measuring spoon 31 is placed on a slowly rotating disk, the angle is set so that the measuring spoon 31 rotates together with the disk without slipping down. Such an angle varies depending on the material, dimensions, and surface properties of the feeder disk 8 and the measuring spoon 31, but is usually about 10 to 60 degrees with respect to a horizontal plane. The dimension g of the gap 11 formed between the cylindrical peripheral wall 12 and the feeder disk 8 is formed at the tip of the handle 34 of the measuring spoon 31, as shown in an enlarged manner in FIG. The weight 35 is set to a size that can easily pass through, but the high measuring cup 32 cannot pass through. By setting the dimension g of the gap 11 to the above-mentioned size, the measuring spoon 31 thrown onto the feeder disk 8 does not pass through the gap 11 and jump out of the disk, so that the handle 34 Only can penetrate into the gap 11. For this reason, if only the measuring spoon that the handle 34 enters into the gap 11 and is aligned vertically is taken out, the measuring spoon 31 thrown apart is aligned with the measuring cup part 32 facing up. Can be taken out. As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the high-pressure air ejection mechanism 13 is composed of two air pipes 13a and 13b for blowing out high-pressure air sent from a compressor (not shown). It is disposed so as to blow high-pressure air from the gap 11 toward the surface of the feeder disk 8 at a position near 30 to 120 ° in the rotation direction with respect to the uppermost portion of the inclined feeder disk 8. (See FIG. 2). By blowing high-pressure air from the rear side of the cylindrical peripheral wall 12 through the gap 11 toward the surface of the feeder disk 8 as described above, the air enters the gap 11 in the state shown in FIG. All spoons other than the measuring spoon 31 are repelled, and the measuring cup 32
Measuring spoon 31 inserted vertically with the top up
Only the gap 11 can be left in the gap 11. The lower end of the high-pressure air ejection mechanism 13 is provided with a tip of a handle 34 of the measuring spoon 31 to prevent the measuring spoon 31 carried in a vertical position from being accidentally blown off. It is desirable to provide a handle guide bar 15 for holding the side from the outside as necessary. The alignment spoon takeout shooter 14
Is a measuring spoon 31 as shown in FIGS.
And three guide rails 14a to 14b for vertically sliding and supporting the vertical slide. The start ends of the guide rails 14a to 14b are attached to the main body case 7 and the cylindrical peripheral wall 12 as shown in FIGS. Through the opened windows 16 and 17,
It is located at an appropriate position on the rear side of the high-pressure air ejection mechanism 13 in the disk rotation direction, for example, near the zenith of the feeder disk 8, and faces the gap 11 between the feeder disk 8 and the cylindrical peripheral wall 12. This aligner spoon takeout shooter 14
The spoon insertion machine (not shown) in the next step (not shown) is obtained by receiving the vertically aligned measuring spoon 31 sent on the outer peripheral edge of the feeder disk 8 and sitting down and sliding the measuring spoon 31 out of the apparatus. To be sent to As shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, a photoelectric sensor or the like for monitoring whether or not the alignment spoon is fully lined up on the shooter is provided above the vicinity of the starting end of the alignment spoon takeout shooter 14. A configured spoon detection sensor 18 is provided, and a control device (not shown) controls the rotation of the motor 10 based on the detection signal of the spoon detection sensor 18 to check whether the alignment spoon sent to the shooter is clogged. The intermittent operation of the feeder disk 8 is performed in accordance with the above. Next, the operation of aligning the spoon when the measuring spoon 31 of FIG. 1 is inserted into the measuring spoon aligning device 1 will be described. First, the measuring spoon 31 is supplied to the hopper 4 of the measuring spoon supply device 2 using the horizontal conveyor 3 or the like, and is conveyed by the inclined conveyor 5 onto the feeder disk 8 of the measuring spoon aligning device 1, and the orientation thereof varies. Is thrown onto the feeder disk 8 in the state described above. At the same time, the motor 10 is rotationally driven by a control device (not shown), and the feeder disk 8 is rotated clockwise as indicated by an arrow in FIG. As a result, the aligning operation of the measuring spoons 31 thrown into the feeder disk 8 in a state of being separated is started. The rotation speed of the feeder disk 8 is set to a moderate speed such that the thrown-in measuring spoon 31 is not blown outward by the centrifugal force, for example, about 10 to 30 rpm. A large amount of the measuring spoon 31 thrown onto the feeder disk 8 as described above is supplied to a high-pressure air injection pipe or a high-pressure air injection pipe (not shown) disposed near the center of the disk as needed. The disk is blown toward the outer circumference of the disk by a brush-type repelling machine (not shown) or the like. The blown-out measuring spoon 31 is rolled or entangled, and is spattered in different postures, for example, as shown in FIGS.
As shown in (g), they gather on the outer periphery of the disk in various postures. At this time, if the measuring spoon 31 having the above-mentioned weight balance is used, the measuring spoon 31 in the upward position as shown in FIG. Due to the weight, the tip of the handle is inclined so as to contact the surface of the feeder disk 8. As a result, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.
The handle 34 easily enters the gap 11 formed between the cylindrical peripheral wall 12 and the feeder disk 8, and finally is vertically inserted into the gap 11 with the measuring cup 32 facing upward. Will be aligned. The conventional measuring spoon 91 (FIG. 1)
In the case where 3) is used, as shown in FIG. 12, the handle portion 94 remains in a horizontal state due to the weight balance and hits the cylindrical peripheral wall 12, so that the handle portion 94 is easily placed in the gap portion 11. Difficult to get into. For this reason, the ratio of vertically entering the gap portion 11 as it is is low, and the alignment efficiency of the spoon is poor. Each measuring spoon 31 which has been slid down to the lowermost end of the inclined surface of the disk as described above is
It is mounted on the disk periphery in various postures as exemplified in (a) to (g), and is carried upward as the feeder disk 8 rotates. On the other hand, from the two air pipes 13a and 13b of the high-pressure air ejection mechanism 13, high-pressure air is always ejected toward the disk surface. Each measuring spoon 31 carried by the feeder disk 8
When the pressure reaches the position of the high-pressure air ejection mechanism 13, high-pressure air is blown to each measuring spoon 31. Of the measuring spoons 31 that are carried in various postures when the high-pressure air is applied, the measuring spoon 31 that is in a vertical state as shown in FIG. Since the outer peripheral edge of the disk in the gap portion 11 into which the portion 34 is inserted serves as a stopper and supports the entire spoon, it is not blown off.
The measuring spoon 31 having other postures as shown in (b) to (g) directly receives the wind pressure of the high-pressure air, and is therefore blown off toward the center of the feeder disk 8. As a result, the opening 33 of the measuring cup 32 is directed toward the cylindrical peripheral wall 12 at the peripheral edge of the feeder disk 8 after passing through the position of the high-pressure air ejection mechanism 13 as shown in FIG. And the handle portion 34 is the gap portion 11
Only the measuring spoon 31 inserted vertically inside remains. At this time, on the lower side of the gap 11,
If the handle portion guide bar 15 for supporting the handle portion 34 of the measuring spoon 31 from the outside is provided, it is ensured that the measuring spoon 31 that is transported in a vertically aligned state is accidentally repelled by high-pressure air. Can be prevented. The measuring spoon 31 aligned vertically as described above is further fed along with the rotation of the disk while sitting on the outer peripheral edge of the feeder disk 8. Then, when reaching the starting end position of the aligning spoon takeout shooter 14, it moves onto the guide bars 14a to 14c and is carried out of the apparatus through the opening window 17 of the cylindrical peripheral wall 12 and the opening window 16 of the case body 7, and is not shown. It is sent to the spoon insertion machine of the next process. On the other hand, the measuring spoon 31 blown off by the high-pressure air ejection mechanism 13 and having a posture other than that shown in FIG.
Slides down the disk surface with its momentum,
It gathers again near the lowermost end of the inclined surface of the disk, and repeats the operation of aligning the spoon. Therefore, the measuring spoon 31 put on the feeder disk 8 is sequentially aligned with the rotation of the feeder disk 8, and is carried out from the aligned spoon takeout shooter 14 to the outside. When the aligning operation of the measuring spoon proceeds and the measuring spoons 31 aligned on the aligning spoon takeout shooter 14 are fully lined up and cannot be fed onto the shooter even if they are further aligned, the full state is reached. Is detected by the spoon detection sensor 18, the motor 10 is stopped, and the rotation of the feeder disk 8 is temporarily stopped. Then, a shooter 1 for taking out an alignment spoon
The measuring spoons 31 lined up on the feeder 4 are sequentially conveyed to the spoon inserting machine, and when a space is left on the shooter, the spoon detecting sensor 18 detects this and rotates the feeder disk 8 again to align the measuring spoons. Resume operation. In this way, the feeder disk 8 is operated intermittently according to the progress of the spoon alignment operation. As described above, the measuring spoon 31 put into the measuring spoon aligning device 1 in a disjointed state is
According to the rotation of the feeder disk 8, the measuring cup section 3
2 is vertically aligned in the gap 11 with the upside up,
They are sequentially carried out of the device. FIG. 11 shows another example of the shape of the measuring spoon used in the method of the present invention. Measuring spoon 31 according to this example
A resin having a higher specific gravity than the PP resin constituting the spoon body, for example, a thermoplastic synthetic resin 36 such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is integrally formed on the handle portion 34 by insert molding or embedded molding, and the measuring spoon 31 is It is configured to be inclined toward the part 34 side. In the case of the measuring spoon 31 shown in FIG. 11, since the thermoplastic synthetic resin 36 which can be colored is used, the thermoplastic synthetic resin 36 is colored in a color different from that of the measuring spoon main body, so that the two-color molding spoon can be used. can do. In addition, by variously devising the embedding shape of the thermoplastic synthetic resin, a measuring spoon excellent in design can be provided. In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the measuring spoon 31 is used such that the center of gravity is completely located on the handle 34 and inclined toward the handle 34 when placed on a horizontal plane. Although the case was taken as an example, in the case of the present invention, not only the measuring spoon having the center of gravity completely on the handle portion 34 side,
For example, when the shape of the lower bottom surface of the measuring cup portion 32 is formed into an arc shape and the measuring cup portion 32 having the lower bottom arc shape is placed on the upper surface of the inclined feeder disk 8, the handle portion 34 thereof is formed.
May be a measuring spoon having a shape such that the upper surface of the tip naturally tilts to a height equal to or less than の of the height of the measuring cup portion 32. In the case of such a measuring spoon, the inclined handle 3
4 can be easily inserted into the gap portion 11 of FIG. 5 as it is, so that automatic alignment can be easily performed similarly to the measuring spoon of FIG. As described above, according to the measuring spoon aligning method of the present invention, the measuring spoon having the handle extending substantially horizontally from the opening edge of the measuring cup is connected to the measuring cup. It can be efficiently taken out by vertically aligning the part with the part turned up. For this reason, it is very effective when used in a production line for a granular detergent or a bleaching agent contained in a container, and the production efficiency can be remarkably improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows an example of a shape of a measuring spoon used in the present invention, (a) is a front view thereof, (b) is a plan view thereof, and (c).
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a weight balance of the measuring spoon of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of a measuring spoon aligning device constituted by applying the method of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a feeder disk and a cylindrical peripheral wall portion. FIG. 6 is a schematic enlarged perspective view of an airflow ejection mechanism. FIG. 7 is a schematic vertical sectional view of an airflow ejection mechanism. FIGS. 8A and 8B show the structure of a shooter for taking out an alignment spoon, in which FIG. 8A is a perspective view, and FIG. FIG. 9 is a schematic enlarged perspective view of a starting end portion of an alignment spoon removal shooter. FIGS. 10 (a) to (g) are diagrams showing examples of various forms of a measuring spoon gathered by sliding down to the lowermost end of the inclined surface of the feeder disk. 11A and 11B show another example of the shape of a measuring spoon used in the present invention, wherein FIG. 11A is a plan view of the measuring spoon and FIG. 11B is BB in FIG.
Line sectional view, (c) is its front view, (d) is its bottom view,
(E) is an enlarged sectional view taken along line CC in (b). FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the behavior when a conventional measuring spoon is used. FIG. 13 shows an example of the shape of a conventional measuring spoon, and FIG.
Is a side view thereof, (b) is a plan view thereof, and (c) is a sectional view taken along line AA in (b). [Description of Signs] 1 Measuring spoon aligning device 2 Measuring spoon feeding device 3 Horizontal conveyor 4 Hopper 5 Inclined conveyor 7 Main case 6 Mount 8 Feeder disk 9 Rotary shaft 10 Motor 11 Gap portion 12 Cylindrical peripheral wall 13 High pressure air ejection mechanism 13a, b Air pipe 14 Alignment spoon removal shooter 15 Handle guide bar 16, 17 Open window 18 Spoon detection sensor 23 Rotary brush 23a Rotating cylinder 23b Flexible blade 31 Measuring spoon 32 Measuring cup 33 Opening 34 Handle 35 Weight Part 36 thermoplastic synthetic resin

Claims (1)

Claims 1. An alignment method for a measuring spoon having a measuring cup portion and a handle portion extending substantially horizontally from an opening edge of the opening of the cup portion, the method comprising: When the opening of the measuring cup is placed on the upper surface of the rotary feeder disc, the handle side contacts the feeder disc surface, or the upper surface of the handle tip is less than half the height of the measuring cup. So that it is tall,
The weight balance of the measuring spoon or the shape of the bottom surface of the measuring cup portion is set in advance, and the measuring spoon is put on the feeder disk, and the opening of the measuring cup portion of the put measuring spoon is turned up. By dropping only the handle of the measuring spoon into the gap between the outer peripheral edge of the rotating feeder disk and the cylindrical peripheral wall arranged along the outer peripheral edge, the measuring spoon is moved to the outer peripheral edge of the feeder disk. A method for automatically aligning a measuring spoon vertically along a line.