JP2007003217A - Combinatorial metering apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the time required to discharge all articles and automatically perform their discharge operation. <P>SOLUTION: Articles are each supplied for memory hoppers 8, and the articles are discharged via a collection chute 22. The memory hoppers 8 are supplied with the articles via a scale hopper 2, a feed hopper 12, a linear-advance feeder 16, and a dispersal feeder 18. The weight of articles in the memory hoppers 8 is sequentially accumulated by a control unit 36 in all-particle discharge mode. When an accumulated value reaches a weight at which articles do not cause clogging even when articles are approximately simultaneously discharged to the collection chute 22 from the memory hoppers 8, articles of which the weight is accumulated are discharged from the memory hoppers 8 housing them by the control unit 32. The control unit 32 controls the scale hopper 2, the feed hopper 12, the linear-advance feeder 16, and the dispersal feeder 18 in such a way that articles may be supplied for the memory hoppers 8 to which articles have been discharged via the scale hopper 2, the feed hopper 12, the linear-advance feeder 16, and the dispersal feeder 18. The control unit 36 repeats this operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a combination weighing device, and more particularly to a device that discharges all articles present in a weighing device, for example for changing the item to be weighed.

  In the combination weighing device, articles existing in the combination weighing device may be discharged. For example, in Patent Document 1, even if the operation of supplying articles to the weighing hopper is repeated a predetermined number of times, if the combination is not established and the combination of the weighing hoppers to be the target weight cannot be selected, the articles in all the weighing hoppers are forced It is disclosed to perform all the discharge processing to be discharged.

JP 2001-4436 A

  In the technique of Patent Document 1, when an appropriate amount of combination cannot be obtained, articles are discharged from all weighing hoppers. However, when cleaning the combination weighing device or changing the type of articles to be weighed by the combination weighing device, it is necessary to discharge the articles from all the devices constituting the combination weighing device in addition to all weighing hoppers. is there. In this case, the technique of Patent Document 1 cannot cope with this. Therefore, when discharging articles from all the devices of the combination weighing device, the following two methods are used alone or in combination.

  In the first method, among the devices constituting the combination weighing device, the operation from the lower device to the upper device is sequentially repeated a plurality of times. That is, when the combination weighing device is equipped with a memory hopper, the discharge gates of the plurality of memory hoppers in the lower stage are opened, and the articles in the memory hopper are discharged to one collective chute. The discharge gate of the weighing hopper above each memory hopper is opened to supply articles in the plurality of weighing hoppers to the corresponding memory hopper. The gate of each supply hopper above each weighing hopper is opened, and the articles in the supply hopper are supplied to the corresponding weighing hopper. A plurality of linear feeders provided corresponding to the respective supply hoppers are operated, and articles are supplied from the linear feeders to the corresponding supply hoppers. Each linear feeder is operated with one distributed feeder to supply articles on the distributed feeder. This operation is repeated a plurality of times to discharge all articles on the combination weighing device.

  When the first method is performed by automatically operating the combination weighing device, the time required to discharge all articles is shortened. However, when articles are discharged from the memory hoppers simultaneously to the collective chute, if the amount of articles in each memory hopper is large, the articles may bridge near the exit of the collective chute. Therefore, instead of automatic operation, the operator must visually check the amount of articles in the memory hopper, select the memory hopper so as not to cause bridging, open the gates of the memory hopper in sequence, It takes a long time to complete.

  In the second method, the combination calculation is performed in the same manner as in the normal combination weighing operation, and the article is discharged even if the combination result is not within the target weight range. In this case, if a packaging machine is installed in the lower stage of the collecting chute, articles outside the target weight are also packaged by the packaging machine. It is necessary to prevent this package from being put on the market by mistake. Therefore, the size of a packaging bag in which articles outside the target weight range are packaged is made larger than that of a normal bag. In this method, it takes a lot of time to discharge all articles.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a combination weighing device that can shorten the time required to discharge all articles and can automatically perform the operation.

  The combination weighing device according to one embodiment of the present invention has a plurality of article storage means. Each of these article storage means stores articles, and the weight of these articles is stored in the storage means so that the articles can be discharged. As the article storage means, a hopper provided with a weighing means and a gate for discharging the article, for example, a weighing hopper can be used. Alternatively, the weighing hopper and a memory hopper that receives supply of articles from the weighing hopper and discharges articles can be used. The collecting chute collects and discharges the articles discharged from the article storage means. The collective chute may have a portion through which a plurality of articles pass substantially simultaneously. Article supply means supplies the stored articles to the respective article storage means. As the article supply means, for example, a dispersion feeder that disperses the article supplied to the center around the article, and an article supplied from the dispersion feeder is provided around the dispersion feeder corresponding to each article storage means. It is possible to include a linear feeder that is conveyed toward the direction. Alternatively, in addition to the dispersion feeder and the rectilinear feeder, a supply hopper that is provided so as to correspond to each of the article accommodating means and supplies the article supplied from the rectilinear feeder to the article accommodating means may be provided. . This combination weighing device can operate in a combination weighing mode. In the combination weighing mode, various combinations of the stored weights of the articles in the respective article storage means are selected, and a combination in which the total weight is equal to or close to a predetermined target weight is selected from these combinations, and the selected articles are selected. The articles are discharged from the article storage means storing them to the collecting chute, and the article supply means emptied is repeatedly supplied with the articles from the article supply means. The switching means switches from the combination weighing mode to the all article discharge mode. The all article discharge mode is used, for example, when cleaning the combination weighing device or when changing the type of articles to be weighed by the combination weighing device. In the all article discharge mode, the accumulating means accumulates the stored weights of the articles in the respective article accommodating means in order. In the all-article discharge mode, when the accumulated value of the accumulating means reaches a predetermined weight so that the articles are not clogged even if the articles are discharged from the article accommodating means almost simultaneously with the collective chute, The discharge control means discharges the articles whose weight is accumulated from the article storage means storing the articles to the collective chute. In the all article discharge mode, the supply control means causes the article storage means from which the article has been discharged to supply the article from the article supply means. The accumulation means, the discharge control means, and the supply control means are repeatedly operated in that order.

  In the all-item discharge mode of this combination weighing device, the weights of the articles in the article storage means are accumulated in order, and even if the accumulated value is discharged from the article storage means almost simultaneously, the articles will not clog in the collective chute. Since the articles are repeatedly discharged from the article accommodating means to the collecting chute by the expected weight, the articles can be automatically discharged smoothly from the combination weighing device without clogging the articles in the collecting chute.

  The article supply control means changes an operation parameter of the article supply means every time the article supply means is operated so that articles are supplied from the article supply means to the article storage means in a predetermined allowable amount. It is desirable to make it.

  In the state where a large amount of articles are stored in the article supply means and the state where a small amount of articles are stored, even if the article supply means is operated with the same operating parameters, the amount of articles supplied to the article storage means is Different. Therefore, when the amount of articles stored in the article storage means decreases, the operation parameter of the article supply means is changed so that almost the same amount of articles as when a large quantity of articles is stored is supplied. The time required for discharge is shortened.

  The accumulating means starts accumulation of the weights of the articles stored in the respective article accommodating means in order from a predetermined article accommodating means, and accumulation is performed on the article accommodating means from which accumulation is started. It can be different for each.

  If accumulation is always started from the same article accommodating means, the article accommodating means from which the articles are discharged is biased toward the specific article accommodating means. The article storage means for starting the accumulation of weight is changed every time accumulation starts so that this is prevented and the articles are discharged from all the article storage means.

  When the cumulative value of the weights of the articles in all the article storage means becomes smaller than a predetermined weight, the article is discharged from all the article storage means at the same time instead of discharging the articles by the discharge control means. It is also possible to provide all discharge control means for maintaining all the article storage means. For example, the discharge gate provided in the article storage means is left open. When the article supply means also includes a supply hopper, the article can be discharged from the supply hopper.

  As the discharge of articles proceeds, the weight of the articles supplied to the article storage means decreases, and even if the weights of articles of all the article storage means are accumulated, the accumulated value is almost the same value from the article storage means, for example. If the value is smaller than the weight that is expected to be less than the weight that is expected not to clog the collective chute even if it is discharged, all the articles are ready to be discharged from all the article storage means at the same time. Use containment means. As a result, the articles supplied from the article supply means pass through the article accommodation means without being stored in the article accommodation means and are discharged to the collecting chute, and the time required to discharge all articles from the combination weighing device. Can be shortened.

  Packaging means for packaging the articles collected by the collecting chute can be provided. Each time an article is supplied to the packaging means via the collective chute, the weight of the article is accumulated, and the packaging control means for instructing the packaging means to package when the accumulated value reaches a predetermined value. Is provided.

  If comprised in this way, whenever a predetermined amount of articles | goods are discharged | emitted from a combination weighing | measuring apparatus, these articles | goods are packaged by the packaging means. Therefore, there is no need for the operator to collect the discharged articles, and all articles can be automatically discharged from the combination weighing device.

  As described above, according to the present invention, all articles can be automatically discharged from the combination weighing device in a short time.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the combination weighing device according to one embodiment of the present invention has a plurality of, for example, n weighing hoppers 2 as a part of the article accommodating means. These weighing hoppers 2 are arranged in an annular shape. These weighing hoppers 2 are divided into two rooms 2a and 2b inside and outside, and articles are supplied from above the respective rooms. Also, discharge gates 4a and 4b are provided in the lower part of each room, and articles can be discharged downward from the inner chamber 2a by opening the discharge gate 4a, and outer chambers by opening the discharge gate 4b. The article can be discharged downward from 2b.

  Each weighing hopper 2 is provided with weight detection means, for example, a load cell 6. By this load cell 6, the articles accommodated in the chambers 2a and 2b inside and outside the weighing hopper 2 are weighed. For example, weighing is performed by the load cell 6 in a state where articles are stored in the room 2a, and the articles in the room 2a are weighed. In this state, the articles are put into the outer room 2b, the articles in the inner and outer rooms 2a and 2b are weighed by the load cell 6, and the measured values of the articles in the inner chamber 2a are subtracted from the measured values. The weight of the article in the room 2b is calculated.

  Below each room 2a inside each weighing hopper 2, a memory hopper 8 is arranged as another article accommodating means. These memory hoppers 8 are supplied with articles from a room 2 a inside the corresponding weighing hopper 2. In addition, a discharge gate 10 is provided below the memory hopper 8, and the articles in the memory hopper 8 are discharged by opening the discharge gate 10.

  Above each weighing hopper 2, a supply hopper 12 is disposed as a part of the article supply means. Articles are supplied to each supply hopper 12 from above. Each supply hopper 12 has a supply gate 14 a corresponding to the room 2 a inside the weighing hopper 2 and a supply gate 14 b corresponding to the room 2 b outside the weighing hopper 2. When the supply gate 14a is opened, the articles in the supply hopper 12 are supplied to the room 2a inside the weighing hopper 2, and when the supply gate 14b is opened, the articles in the supply hopper 12 are placed in the room 2b outside the weighing hopper 2. To be supplied.

  Each supply hopper 12 is provided with linear feeders 16 that are arranged radially so as to correspond to these. Each rectilinear feeder 16 includes a trough 16a and a vibration source 16b. By operating the vibration source 16b, the trough 16a is vibrated and supplies articles on the trough 16a to the supply hopper 12. In the rectilinear feeder 16, there are an amplitude intensity generated by the vibration source 16 b and a driving time of the vibration source 16 b as operation parameters related to the supply amount of the article. This linear feeder 16 also constitutes a part of the article supply means.

  A distributed feeder 18 is disposed at the center of each linear feeder 16. The dispersion feeder 18 includes a top cone 18a and a vibration source 18b. The top cone 18a is torsionally vibrated by the vibration source 18b, thereby supplying articles on the top cone 18a onto the linear feeders 16. The dispersion feeder 18 has a driving time of the vibration source 18b of the vibration source 18b as an operation parameter related to the amount of articles supplied to each linear feeder 16. The dispersion feeder 18 also forms part of the article supply means. Articles are supplied from the supply device 20 to the dispersion feeder 18.

  A collective chute 22 is arranged below each weighing hopper 2 and each memory hopper 8 so as to collect the articles discharged from the room 2 b outside the weighing hoppers 2 and the articles discharged from the memory hopper 8. ing. The collective chute 22 is formed in, for example, a funnel shape having openings at the upper part and the lower part thereof, and the cross-sectional area being gradually reduced from the upper part toward the lower part. A collective funnel 24 is disposed below the collective chute 22. A packaging means, for example, a packaging machine 26 is disposed below the collective funnel 24, and the articles collected together by the collective chute 22 are packaged in a packaging bag.

  The gates 4 a and 4 b of each weighing hopper 2, the gate 10 of each memory hopper 8, and the gates 14 a and 14 b of the supply hopper 12 are controlled to be opened and closed by a gate drive circuit 28. Similarly, drive control of each linear feeder 16, dispersion feeder 18, and supply device 20 is performed by a vibration control circuit 30. The gate drive circuit 28 and the vibration control circuit 30 perform each control described above according to instructions from the control device 32. The control device 32 includes, for example, a CPU and storage means, for example, a memory. The control device 32 is supplied with a measurement signal from each load cell 6 digitized by the A / D converter 34. Further, from the operation setting display unit 36, for example, the target weight of the combination weighing device, the above-described operation parameters of each linear feeder 16 and the distributed feeder 18, and the like are set. Further, a detection signal from a sensor 38 for detecting the layer thickness of the article on the top cone 18 a of the dispersion feeder 18 is supplied to the control device 32 via the I / O circuit 40. Further, the control device 32 receives a packaging enable instruction signal from the packaging machine 26. Based on these inputs, the control device 32 operates in accordance with a program stored in the memory, and the gate drive circuit 28 and the vibration control circuit 30 are connected to the gates 4a and 4b of the weighing hoppers 2 and the gates of the memory hoppers 8, respectively. 10. Gives instructions for driving control of the gates 14a and 14b of the supply hopper 12, the linear feeders 16, the dispersion feeder 18, the supply device 20, and the packaging machine 26.

  This combination weighing apparatus operates in the following combination weighing mode when an instruction to operate in the combination weighing mode is given by the operation setting display unit 36.

  Now, articles are supplied to the respective chambers 2a and 2b, the memory hopper 8, the supply hopper 12, the linear feeder 16 and the distributed feeder 18 of each weighing hopper 2, and the respective chambers 2a and 2b of each weighing hopper 2 and the memory hopper 8 are supplied. Is stored in the memory of the control device 32. Further, it is assumed that a discharge permission signal is supplied from the packaging machine 26 via the I / O circuit 40.

  In this state, the control device 32 makes various combinations of the weights of the articles in each memory hopper 8 and the articles in the room 2b outside each weighing hopper 2, and the total weight of these combinations is equal to the target weight. A combination calculation is performed to select a value closest to this value and falling within the allowable weight range. The gate drive circuit 28 is instructed to open the gate 10 of the memory hopper 8 and the gate 4b of the room 2b outside the weighing hopper 2 constituting the selected combination. As a result, the articles are discharged from the room 2 b outside the memory hopper 8 and the weighing hopper 2 constituting the selected combination and supplied to the packaging machine 26 via the collecting chute 22. Further, the control device 32 supplies a discharge completion signal indicating that the article has been discharged to the packaging machine 26 via the I / O circuit 40 to the packaging machine 26. Thereby, the packaging machine 26 performs packaging.

  On the other hand, the controller 32 instructs the gate drive circuit 28 so that the empty memory hopper 8 is opened with the gate 4a of the room 2a inside the weighing hopper 2 above the memory hopper 8 to be supplied with articles. give. Further, the control device 32 is configured so that the gate 14b outside the supply hopper 12 above the empty outer chamber 2b of the weighing hopper 2 is opened and the articles are supplied to the empty outer chamber 2b. Gives an instruction to the gate drive circuit 28. Similarly, the control device 32 is also provided so that the inner gate 2a of the supply hopper 12 above the opening is supplied to the inner room 2a which is emptied by supplying the article to the memory hopper 8, and the article is supplied. Gives an instruction to the gate drive circuit 28. In this way, the weighing signal of the load cell 6 of the weighing hopper 2 to which the article is newly supplied is supplied to the control device 32, and the measured value of the newly supplied article is calculated as described above, and the control device. 32 memories. In this state, when the discharge permission signal is supplied from the packaging machine 26, the combination calculation is performed again as described above.

  On the other hand, the control device 32 gives an instruction to the vibration control drive circuit 30 to drive the corresponding linear feeder 16 in order to supply articles to the empty supply hopper 12. When the articles of the linear feeder 16 are reduced by this supply, the control device 32 gives an instruction to the vibration control drive circuit 30 to drive the dispersion feeder 18. Further, when the thickness of the article on the dispersion feeder 18 is reduced, the detection signal from the sensor 38 is supplied to the control apparatus 32, and the control apparatus 32 is set so that the article is supplied from the supply apparatus 20 onto the dispersion feeder 18. An instruction is given to the vibration control drive circuit 30. Hereinafter, the same operation is performed.

  On the other hand, when cleaning the combination weighing device or changing the type of the item to be weighed, it is first necessary to discharge all the items existing on the combination weighing device. Therefore, the all article discharge mode for discharging all articles of the combination weighing device is executed. The operator operates the operation setting display unit 36 to supply the control device 32 with an instruction to set the all article discharge mode. That is, the operation setting display unit 36 functions as a switching unit that gives a switching instruction between the all article discharge mode and the combination weighing mode.

  In the all article discharge mode, the control device 32 performs control as shown in the flowchart of FIG. First, the dispersion feeder 18 and each linear feeder 16 are controlled (step S2), and articles are supplied to each supply hopper 12. Details of step S2 will be described later.

  Next, the supply hopper 12 is controlled (step S4), and the article is supplied to an empty room 2a inside the weighing hopper 2. Subsequently, the weighing hopper 2 is controlled (step S6), and the supplied articles are weighed. Then, the memory hopper 8 is controlled (step S8). For example, articles are supplied to the empty memory hopper 8 from the room 2a inside the weighing hopper 2 above it. Step S8 functions as supply control means.

  And the discharge hopper which discharges | emits goods among each memory hopper is selected (step S10). This selection of the discharge hopper will be described later. Articles are discharged from the selected discharge hopper (step S12). As a result, the article is supplied to the packaging machine 26 via the collecting chute 22.

  The total weight of the discharged articles is accumulated and stored as the accumulated discharge amount (step S14). It is determined whether this cumulative discharge amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount (step S16). If the result of this determination is no, that is, if it is determined that the amount is not greater than or equal to the predetermined amount, the process is executed again from step S2. If the result of the determination in step S16 is yes, that is, if it is determined that the amount is greater than or equal to the predetermined amount, a discharge completion signal is transmitted to the packaging machine 26 (step S18). Thus, packaging is performed by the packaging machine 26. Then, the accumulated discharge amount is cleared (step S20), and the process is executed again from step S2.

  By executing Steps S16, S18, and S20, the articles discharged in the full discharge mode are packed in a bag by a predetermined amount. This predetermined amount is set to a value larger than the maximum target weight that can be set in the combination weighing mode, and the packaging bag used in the packaging machine 26 at that time is larger than the packaging bag used in the combination weighing mode. It is said. These steps S16, 18, and 20 function as packaging control means. In the all article discharge mode, the article supply from the supply device 20 to the dispersion feeder 18 is not performed.

  In step S2, control of the distributed feeder 18 and each linear feeder 16 is performed, but the detailed flowchart of step S2 of FIG. 3 shows only the portion related to the present invention. Each weighing hopper 2 is assigned a number from 1 to n in order from the predetermined position, the same number as the corresponding weighing hopper 2 is assigned to each supply hopper 12, and the memory hopper 8 is also assigned. The same number as the corresponding weighing hopper 2 is assigned.

  First, the weight of the article currently supplied to the room 2a inside the first weighing hopper 2 is read (step S202). Thereby, the supply amount of articles supplied to the first weighing hopper 2 via the corresponding linear feeder 16 and the supply hopper 12, and the supply amount of articles by the dispersion feeder 18 to each linear feeder 16 Is indirectly understood. Next, it is determined whether or not the input amount of articles to the first weighing hopper 2 is equal to or larger than a preset allowable amount (step S204). The allowable amount is a limit amount that can be introduced into the room 2a or the memory hopper 8 inside each weighing hopper 2 determined from the volume of each weighing hopper 2 or the like. If the answer to this determination is yes, it is not necessary to increase the amount of articles supplied to the first weighing hopper 2 any more, so the process moves to the second weighing hopper 2 (step S206).

  If the answer to the determination in step S204 is no, it is still possible to increase the supply amount of articles to the weighing hopper 2. Therefore, it is determined whether the amplitude intensity, which is one of the operation parameters of the linear feeder 16 corresponding to the first weighing hopper 2, is maximum (step S208). If the answer to this determination is no, the amplitude intensity is increased by a predetermined amount (step S210). If the answer to the determination in step S208 is yes, it is impossible to increase the amplitude intensity. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the drive time, which is one of the operation parameters of the corresponding linear feeder 16, is the maximum (step S212). If the answer to this determination is no, the drive time is increased by a predetermined amount (step S214). If the answer to the determination in step S212 is yes, the drive time cannot be increased any further.

  If the answer to the determination in step S212 is yes, or subsequent to step S210 or subsequent to step S214, that is, after adjusting the amplitude intensity or driving time of the linear feeder 16, or after adjusting the amplitude intensity and If the drive time is the maximum, it is determined whether the vibration intensity, which is the operation parameter of the dispersion feeder 18, is maximum (step S216). If the answer to this determination is no, the amplitude intensity is increased by a predetermined amount (step S218). If the answer to the determination in step S216 is yes, or subsequent to step S218, that is, if the strength of the dispersion feeder 18 is increased, or if the strength is maximum, the same processing as in steps S202 to S218 described above is performed. Step S206 and subsequent steps are executed for the linear feeder 16 and the distributed feeder 18 corresponding to the weighing hoppers 2 after the first.

  Each time step S2 in which the above-described processing is performed is executed, the strength and driving time of each linear feeder 16 and the strength of the dispersion feeder 18 are adjusted so that the amount of articles supplied to each weighing hopper 2 becomes a maximum allowable amount. It will be done. This is because the supply of the article from the supply device 20 is stopped, so that if the strength and driving time of the linear feeder 16 and the strength of the dispersion feeder that are set in advance are maintained, they are supplied to the weighing hopper 2. This is because the amount of articles gradually decreases, and the time required to discharge all articles existing in the combination weighing device becomes longer.

  The discharge hopper selection process in step S10 is performed as shown in FIG. First, it is determined whether the all hopper gate opening command is on (step S102). The all hopper gate open command is a command that is issued as a result of processing in steps S132 and S134 described later. This command is executed in step S12 when the total weight of articles put in all the weighing hoppers 2 becomes smaller than a predetermined weight. When this command is executed, all the gates 12a, 12b, 4a, 4b, and 10 of the supply hopper 12, the weighing hopper 2, and the memory hopper 8 are left open, and each linear feeder 16 and the distributed feeder 18 are driven. As it is, the articles are discharged directly from each linear feeder 16 to the collecting chute 22. If the answer to the determination in step S102 is yes, this process ends, and the process is performed in step S12 as described above.

  If the answer to the determination in step S102 is no, a repetitive processing flag k for determining whether or not processing has been performed for all the memory hoppers 8 is set to 1 (step S104). Next, it is determined whether or not the flag for determining whether or not the designation of the memory hopper 8 for starting this processing has been completed is 0 (step S106). If the result of this determination is no, this flag is set to 1, and the value of the pointer m for designating the memory hopper for starting this processing is set to 1 for designating any one of the memory hoppers 8. To n is arbitrarily selected and set (step S108). For example, one of the values 1 to n generated by generation of random numbers is set. If the memory hopper 8 that starts this processing is always constant, the memory hopper 8 that discharges the article is biased toward a specific memory hopper. In order to avoid this, the memory hopper 8 for starting the process is changed every time this process is performed.

  Subsequent to step S108 or if the answer to the determination in step S106 is no, the cumulative means, for example, the cumulative value of the cumulative weight memory TOTALW for accumulating the weight of the discharged article is set to 0 (step S110). Next, the weight of the memory hopper 8 designated by the pointer m is read and stored in the weight memory Mm (step S112). Next, the stored value of the weight memory Mm is accumulated in the accumulated weight memory TOTALW (step S114). The accumulated value of the accumulated weight memory TOTALW is stored as the amount of discharged articles (step S116). This amount of discharged articles is the amount of discharged articles used in step S14 in FIG. Then, the memory hopper 8 designated by the pointer m is stored as a discharge hopper (step S118).

  Next, it is determined whether the cumulative value of the cumulative weight memory TOTALW is equal to or greater than a predetermined limit discharge amount (step S120). The limit discharge amount is slightly smaller than the amount that can cause bridging when the amount of articles is discharged to the collecting chute 22 at the same time and the article is clogged at the portion where the diameter of the lower part of the collecting chute 22 is narrowed. It is a small value. If the answer to the determination in step S120 is yes, the number of discharge hoppers cannot be increased any more, so this process ends. Therefore, thereafter, steps S12, S14, and S16 are executed, and all of the limit discharge amount articles are discharged from the memory hopper 8 selected as the discharge hopper at the same time. Step S120 functions as a discharge control means.

If the answer to the determination in step S120 is no, the discharge hopper can still be increased. Therefore, the value of the pointer m is increased (step S122), and preparation for designating the next memory hopper 8 is made. Then, it is determined whether the value of the pointer m has become one larger than the number n of the memory hoppers 8 (step S124). That is, it is determined whether the designation of the memory hopper at the final position has been completed. If the answer to this determination is yes, the value of the pointer m is set to 1 and the first memory hopper 8 is designated (step 126). If the answer to the determination in step S124 is no, or following step S126, the value of the repetitive processing flag k indicating the number of times the memory hopper 8 has been processed is incremented by 1 (step S128), and the processing for all the memory hoppers 8 is completed. In order to determine whether or not, the value of the repetitive processing flag k is determined as n + 1 (step S130).

  If the answer to this determination is no, the process is executed again from step S112. If the answer to this determination is yes, it is determined whether the accumulated value of the accumulated weight memory TOTALW is equal to or less than a predetermined amount (step S132). This predetermined amount is set to a value smaller than the limit discharge amount, for example, the amount of articles in a state where almost no articles are left in the combination weighing device. If the answer to this determination is no, this process is terminated, and steps S12, S14, and S16 are executed, and all the memory hoppers 8 selected as the discharge hopper are discharged all at once. That is, when all the memory hoppers 8 are selected as the discharge hoppers, the articles are discharged from all the memory hoppers 8 if the weight cumulative value is smaller than the limit discharge amount but exceeds the predetermined amount.

  If the answer to the determination in step S132 is yes, that is, if all the memory hoppers 8 are selected as discharge hoppers and the weight cumulative value is less than a predetermined amount, the weight cumulative value is the limit discharge amount. If less, the hopper gate full open command is turned on (step S134), the article discharge amount is set to 0 (step S136), and this process is terminated. Accordingly, in step S12, the gates 12a, 12b, 4a, 4b, and 10 of the supply hopper 12, the weighing hopper 2, and the memory hopper 8 are kept open, and the linear feeders 16 and the dispersion feeders 18 are driven. Articles are discharged directly from each linear feeder 16 to the collecting chute 22. This is for discharging a few remaining articles at once when almost no articles are left in the combination weighing device. These steps S134 and S136 function as total discharge control means.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the article is discharged only from the memory hopper 8 has been described. However, the article in the room 2b outside the weighing hopper 2 may be discharged together with the article in the memory hopper 8. In addition, even in the case of a combination weighing device including only the weighing hopper 2 without the memory hopper 8, the articles accommodated in the inner chamber 2a and the outer chamber 2b can be discharged. . Further, the weighing hopper 2 may be provided with only one room, similarly to the supply hopper 12, without being divided into two rooms. In this case, the memory hopper 8 can be provided or not provided.

It is a schematic block diagram of the combination weighing device of one embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart of the process which the combination weighing | measuring apparatus of FIG. 1 performs. It is a detailed flowchart of the process of step S2 of FIG. It is a detailed flowchart of the process of step S10 of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

2 Weighing hopper (item storage means)
8 Memory hopper (goods storage means)
12 Supply hopper (article supply means)
16 Straight feeder (goods supply means)
18 Distributed feeder (goods supply means)
32 Control device (accumulation means, discharge control means, supply control means, total discharge control means)
36 Operation setting display section (switching means)

Claims (5)

A plurality of article storage means each configured to store articles, the weights of the articles stored in storage means, and configured to be able to discharge the articles;
A collective chute that collects and discharges the articles discharged from the article storage means into one;
Article supply means for supplying the stored articles to each of the article storage means,
Various combinations of the stored weights of the articles of the respective article storage means, and selecting a combination in which the total weight is equal to or close to a predetermined target weight from the combinations, and selecting the selected articles A combination weighing device that is operable in a combination weighing mode in which supply of articles from the article supply means is repeated to the emptied article accommodation means by discharging from the article accommodation means containing the articles to the collecting chute In
Switching means for switching from the combination weighing mode to the whole article discharge mode;
In the all article discharge mode, accumulating means for sequentially accumulating stored weights of articles of the respective article accommodating means,
In the all-article discharge mode, when the accumulated value of the accumulating means reaches a predetermined weight so that the articles are not clogged even if the articles are discharged from the article accommodating means almost simultaneously with the collective chute, A discharge control means for discharging an article in which the weight is accumulated from the article storage means storing the article to the collective chute;
A supply control means for supplying the article from the article supply means to the article containing means from which the article has been discharged in the all article discharge mode;
And a combination weighing device that repeatedly operates the accumulating unit, the discharge control unit, and the supply control unit in that order.   2. The combination weighing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the article supply control means changes an operation parameter of the article supply means so that an article is supplied from the article supply means to the article accommodation means with a predetermined allowable amount. Combination weighing device to let you.   2. The combination weighing device according to claim 1, wherein the accumulating unit starts to accumulate the weights of the articles stored in the respective article accommodating units in order from a predetermined item accommodating unit, and the accumulation is started. The item storage means is a combination weighing device that is different every time accumulation is performed.   2. The combination weighing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the cumulative value of the weight of all the article storage means becomes smaller than a predetermined weight, all the articles are replaced with the article discharge by the discharge control means. A combination weighing device provided with all discharge control means for maintaining all the article storage means in a state in which the articles are discharged simultaneously from the storage means.   2. The combination weighing device according to claim 1, wherein packaging means for packaging the articles collected by the collective chute is provided, and the weight of the articles is reduced each time the article is supplied to the packaging means via the collective chute. A combination weighing device that has packaging control means for instructing packaging when the accumulated value reaches a predetermined value.

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