JP2009162724A - Combination metering device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a combination metering device capable of increasing allowable content per one hopper, when quantities are large of setting weight or metering goods, in order to render multiple metering and associated error correction to unnecessary. <P>SOLUTION: The combination metering device which is equipped with a plurality of hoppers holding goods supplied by dropping to exhaust the held goods concerned by dropping, a weight sensor for metering goods held in the hopper, and a selecting means making combination selection of the goods so as to fit a setting weight on the basis of the measured value by the weight sensor, in order to perform quantitative metering by gathering up the goods by combination selection from drop-exhausting from the hopper, and is characterized by forming high-capacity hopper with vertical unification such that by including a plurality of hopper groups composed of the hoppers arranged in-series vertically where each of the hopper group is connected each other to meter the held goods with one weight sensor and dropping exhausts of the hoppers are always opened except the hopper deployed at the bottom. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a combination weighing device that combines a plurality of articles so as to have a set weight.

  Conventionally, in a combination weighing device that selects a combination of articles whose total weight is a set weight by weighing and supplying a plurality of articles with variations in individual weights to a plurality of weighing hoppers, the allowable capacity of the weighing hopper is small, etc. Depending on the circumstances, the upper limit weight per measurement may be lower than the set weight. In such a case, it is a general practice to divide and weigh an article having a set weight into a plurality of times and to match the articles weighed each time. For example, when the set weight is 1 kg and the upper limit weight per measurement is about 700 g, the division target value per measurement is set to 500 g and the measurement is performed twice.

However, an error is unavoidable in each weighing, but the error in each time is accumulated in the total weight value, which may deteriorate the weighing accuracy. Therefore, when weighing by dividing into multiple times, the weighing error between the divided target value and the initial weighing value is added to or subtracted from the next divided target value, and the weighing error for each time is corrected sequentially. There has been proposed a combination weighing device that prevents the accumulation of (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 58-41325 A

  Although the above-described combination weighing device can prevent a decrease in accuracy due to accumulation of errors, it takes time to divide and measure a plurality of times, and there is a problem that the control becomes complicated by correction in each weighing time. The present invention provides a combination weighing device that increases the permissible capacity per hopper and eliminates the need for multiple weighing and error correction associated therewith when the set weight or the bulk of the weighing article is large.

A first aspect of the present invention is a plurality of hoppers for holding an article to be supplied in a fall, dropping and discharging the held article, a weight sensor for weighing the article held by the hopper, and the weight sensor A combination weighing device that performs a quantitative weighing by dropping and collecting the articles selected by the combination from the hopper.
A plurality of hopper groups in which the hoppers are arranged in series in the vertical direction are provided, and the hopper groups are interconnected so that articles to be held are weighed by one weight sensor. Provided is a combination weighing device characterized in that a large-capacity hopper integrated with upper and lower parts is formed by always opening a drop discharge port of a hopper other than the above.

  The combination weighing device according to claim 1 of the present invention has the following excellent effects. In each hopper group, the upper and lower integrated large-capacity hopper loaded on one weight sensor is formed by always opening the drop discharge port of the hopper other than the hopper arranged at the lowermost part. On the other hand, it is bulky, and even when it is usually necessary to divide into multiple batches and perform combination weighing, it is possible to handle with one measurement or a small number of measurements, thereby shortening the measurement processing time and there is no error accumulation. Therefore, complicated error correction control becomes unnecessary.

  Also, even when holding the articles independently by closing the drop outlets of each hopper belonging to the same hopper group except when discharging the articles, before and after supplying the articles to the uppermost hopper and before and after discharging the articles from the lowermost hopper It is possible to grasp the individual weight of the article held in each hopper by one weight sensor based on the difference in the measured value of the weight sensor. Therefore, without increasing the number of expensive weight sensors, a large number of combinations of articles can be secured to improve the weighing accuracy, and the man-hours required for adjusting the installation space and weight sensor can be reduced. It is.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a combination weighing device according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a two-stage upper and lower hopper mounted on the combination weighing device and a weight sensor loaded with those weights. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view for explaining the operation of the upper and lower two-stage hopper.

(Combination weighing device 1)
A combination weighing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 holds a plurality of hopper groups 2 that hold articles supplied from a feeder (not shown), and discharge the held articles, and articles that are held in each hopper group 2. a plurality of weight sensors 3 for, based on the weight value with the weight sensor 3, it includes a combination selecting unit 42 as a selection means for selecting a combination of articles to be set weight W _S, were combined selected article Is discharged from the hopper group 2 and collected by the collecting chute 5 to perform quantitative weighing. In addition, the articles | goods supplied to each hopper are not restricted to a single thing, The cluster (article group) of rose-shaped articles | goods, such as snacks, is included.

(Hopper group 2)
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the plurality of hopper groups 2 are formed by arranging two hoppers 21 and 22 in series in the vertical direction, and a plurality of weight sensors 3 fixed to the apparatus main body side. Are arranged in parallel above the collective chute 5 in a state of being supported by the weight. The hoppers 21 and 22 include cylindrical hopper bodies 211 and 221 having upper openings 21a and 22a and lower openings 21b and 22b, and gates 212 and 222 capable of closing and opening the lower openings 21b and 22b. As will be described later, the lower hopper 22 is set to be slightly wider than the upper hopper 21 so that the upper hopper 21 can be inserted therein.

  In each hopper group 2, the hoppers 21 and 22 are U-shaped such that the lower part of the hopper body 211 is inserted into the upper opening 22 a of the hopper body 221, and the hopper bodies 211 and 221 partially overlap in the vertical direction. They are connected to each other by a connector 23. The gates 212 and 222 are rotatably supported with respect to the hopper bodies 211 and 221 and are driven to rotate as indicated by arrows in FIG. 2 by an actuator (not shown), and the lower openings 21b and 22b. The articles dropped and supplied from the upper openings 21a and 22a can be held in the hopper by closing the opening, while the articles held in the hopper can be dropped and discharged by opening the lower openings 21b and 22b. .

  Thereby, in each hopper group 2, as shown in Drawing 3 (a), articles can be individually held with upper and lower hoppers 21 and 22. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3B, a large capacity hopper in which the upper and lower hoppers 21 and 22 are integrated can be obtained by always opening the upper gate 212 and rotating and opening only the lower gate 222. Can be formed. Here, the upper hopper 21 is inserted into the lower hopper 22, and there is no fear of spilling articles from the joint between both hoppers.

(Weight sensor 3)
The weight sensor 3 is a load cell provided for each hopper group 2, which is attached to a connecting tool 23 that connects the hoppers, and is a total of articles that are held by one hopper group 2 that supports weight by itself. Set to weigh. The weighing signal of each weight sensor 3 is output to the control unit 4 in which the combination selection unit (selection unit) 42 is provided. When used as a large-capacity hopper in which the upper and lower hoppers 21 and 22 are integrated, the measured value by the weight sensor 3 is used as it is for selecting a combination. When the articles are individually held and weighed by the hoppers 21 and 22, the weight of the articles is first measured with the articles held only in the lower hopper 22, and the articles are supplied to the upper hopper 21. The total weight of the articles of both hoppers is weighed later, and a calculation for subtracting the article weight of the hopper 22 is performed by the control unit 4, and the calculated measurement value difference is adopted as the article weight of the hopper 21.

(Control unit 4)
The control unit 4 includes a weight storage unit 41, a combination selection unit 42, a discharge instruction unit 43, and a supply instruction unit 44. The weight storage unit 41 stores the weight of the article based on the weighing signal from each weight sensor 3, and calculates the individual weight of the article held in each hopper when each hopper 21 and 22 holds the article individually. And remember. The individual weight is calculated as a difference between the measured values before and after the supply of the article as described above.

The combination selection unit 42 calculates all the combination weights of articles that can be discharged simultaneously with the predetermined number of hopper groups or the predetermined number of hoppers based on the hopper groups or the article weights of the hoppers stored in the weight storage unit 41. When the condition setting section 42b for setting whether the setting weight W _S and whether to individually hold the article in the hopper 21, is held in the integrated hopper group 2 by the external input is calculated by the arithmetic unit 42a based on the combined weight was, a judging unit 42c for selecting a combination of articles the closest weight to set the weight W _S. The determination unit 42 c outputs a signal indicating the selected combination of articles to the discharge instruction unit 43. Note that the combination target may be limited to the articles held by the lower hopper 22, but when selected simultaneously with the articles held by the lower hopper 22, the combination target is held by the upper hopper 21. Goods may be included.

  The discharge instructing unit 43 outputs a gate operation signal for dropping and discharging the article held by the hopper group 2 or the hoppers 21 and 22 to the actuator of the corresponding gate. Specifically, based on an output signal from the determination unit 42c, the articles selected in combination are dropped and discharged onto the collective chute 5, and after the gate 222 of the lower hopper 22 that has dropped and discharged the articles is closed, The article is discharged from the hopper 21. In addition, when the articles | goods hold | maintained separately at the hoppers 21 and 22 arrange | positioned two steps up and down are selected simultaneously, the operation signal which opens those gates 212 and 222 simultaneously is output.

  The supply instructing unit 44 outputs a feeder operation signal for causing the hopper group 2 or the hopper 21 that has dropped and discharged the article to drop and supply a new article. The feeder operation signal is generated according to the output of the gate operation signal from the discharge instruction unit 43. As described above, the gate operation signal and the feeder operation signal are used for the supply / discharge processing of the article, and in which hopper the article is held when the individual weight is calculated by the weight storage unit 41. This is used to specify whether the article has been supplied to the hopper or from which hopper the article has been discharged.

(Meeting shoot 5)
Collecting chute 5 accepts the setting weight W _S become so combined with falling discharged articles are collectively discharged from the discharge port 5a in such packaging devices is provided below. The discharge port 5a is provided with a shutter (not shown) that opens and closes in synchronization with the operation of the packaging device or the like.

(Operation of combination weighing device 1)
The operation of the combination weighing device 1 will be described below. First, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), when the combination weighing is performed by holding the articles individually by the upper and lower hoppers 21, 22, the upper limit weight per combination weighing by the individual use of the hopper is set. the operation for corresponding description when below the weight W _S. By external input by an operator, the operation after setting for individual use configuration weight W _S and the hopper to the condition setting portion 42b is started. First, with the upper gate 212 closed, an article is supplied from the feeder into the hopper 21 and weighed by the weight sensor 3.

  When the article in the lower hopper 22 is discharged, the upper gate 212 is further opened to drop and discharge the article. After the gate 212 is closed again, the article is supplied from the feeder into the hopper 21. The weight sensor 3 is again weighed. Then, all the hoppers 21 and 22 hold the articles, and the weights of the individual articles held by the hoppers 21 and 22 are stored in the weight storage unit 41 based on the weighing signal from the weight sensor 3. Based on the article weight stored in the weight storage unit 41, the calculation unit 42a of the combination selection unit 42 calculates combination weights for all combinations with a predetermined number of hoppers.

Determining unit 42c is to determine the combination of the goods nearest weight set weight W _S Among these combinations the weight is output as the combination selection signal the result of the combination to discharge instruction unit 43. Based on the combination selection signal from the determination unit 42c, the discharge instructing unit 43 outputs a gate operation signal for opening the gates to the actuators of the hoppers 21 and 22 that hold the articles selected for the combination. As a result, the articles held in the corresponding hopper are discharged and assembled by the collecting chute 5, thereby completing one combination weighing. A new article is supplied to the hopper from which the article has been discharged from a hopper or feeder above the article, and the weighing of the article, selection of the combination, and discharge of the combined article are repeatedly performed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), in the case where an article is held by a large-capacity hopper formed by integrating the hoppers 21 and 22 constituting each hopper group 2, the combination weighing is performed, that is, the set weight W _The operation corresponding to the case where S exceeds the upper limit weight per combination weighing by individual use of each hopper 21, 22 will be described. External input by an operator, setting the integrated use of set condition setting unit 42b weight W _S and the vertical hopper, by the gate 212 is opened actuated, the lower opening 21b is always to be a drop outlet of the upper hopper 21 An open large-capacity hopper is formed.

  When the operation of the apparatus is started, an article is supplied from a feeder into a large-capacity hopper integrated vertically from the feeder with the lower gate 222 closed, and weight measurement by the weight sensor 3 is performed. Then, all the large-capacity hoppers hold the articles, and the weights of the individual articles held in the respective large-capacity hoppers are stored in the weight storage unit 41 based on the weighing signal from the weight sensor 3. Based on the article weight stored in the weight storage unit 41, the calculation unit 42a of the combination selection unit 42 calculates combination weights for all combinations in a predetermined number of hopper groups.

Determining unit 42c determines the combination of the goods nearest weight set weight W _S Among these combinations the weight is output as the combination selection signal the result of the combination to discharge instruction unit 43. Based on the selection signal from the determination unit 42c, the discharge instructing unit 43 outputs a gate operation signal for opening the gates 222 to the actuators of the gates 222 of the large-capacity hopper that holds the selected articles. To do. As a result, the articles held in the corresponding large-capacity hopper are discharged and assembled by the collecting chute 5, thereby completing one combination weighing. Based on the feeder operation signal from the supply instructing unit 44, a new article is supplied from the upper feeder to the hopper that has discharged the article, and thereafter, weighing of the article, selection of the combination, and discharge of the combined article are repeatedly performed.

(Features of combination weighing device 1)
The combination weighing device 1 has the following characteristic points. First, a plurality of hopper groups 2 each having a plurality of hoppers 21 and 22 arranged in series in the vertical direction are provided, and the plurality of hoppers 21 and 22 constituting each hopper group 2 are connected to each other by a connector 23. Thus, an article held in each hopper group 2 is measured by a single weight sensor 3. In addition, although only one weight sensor 3 is provided for the plurality of hoppers 21 and 22, as described above, based on the measurement value difference before and after the supply of the article from the feeder to the upper hopper 21, each weight sensor 3 is provided. It is possible to grasp the individual weight values of the articles held in the hoppers 21 and 22.

  As a result, without increasing the number of expensive weight sensors, it is possible to improve the weighing accuracy by securing a large number of combinations of articles. Can be suppressed. Moreover, since the plurality of hoppers 21 and 22 belonging to each hopper group 2 are arranged in series in the vertical direction, the substantial installation floor area of the apparatus can be reduced.

  Secondly, each hopper group 2 is vertically integrated so that the weight is supported by one weight sensor by always opening the lower opening 22b serving as a drop outlet of the upper hopper 21 among the plurality of hoppers 21 and 22. The large capacity hopper is formed. As a result, even an article that is bulky with respect to the allowable capacity of each individual hopper and usually has to be combined and weighed in a plurality of times can be handled with a single weighing or a small number of weighings. . As a result, the measurement processing time can be shortened, and moreover, there is no accumulation of measurement errors caused by performing combination measurement divided into many times, so that complicated error correction control can be eliminated.

(Modification of the above embodiment)
In the combination weighing device 1 according to the above embodiment, the hopper group 2 is formed by the upper and lower hoppers 21 and 22. However, the hopper group 2 is not limited to this and may be formed by three or more hoppers. Even if there are three or more stages, the individual weight value of the articles of all hoppers is calculated by adding or subtracting the difference between the weighing values before and after the article supply to the uppermost hopper and the weighing value difference before and after the article discharge from the lowermost hopper. In addition, even when a plurality of hoppers related to one hopper group are integrated, it is possible to cope with this by always opening the fall discharge ports of all hoppers other than the hopper arranged at the lowermost part.

  In the combination weighing device 1 according to the above-described embodiment, the hopper group 2 whose load weight is supported by one weight sensor 3 includes individually formed hoppers 21 and 22 arranged in series in the vertical direction. 221 is formed by connecting with the connecting tool 3, but not limited to this, the hopper main body is formed in one piece in advance, for example, in the form of one elongated cylinder, and a plurality of them are Open / close gates may be provided at intervals in the vertical direction.

  In the combination weighing device 1 according to the above-described embodiment, the plurality of hoppers 21 and 22 are formed by the cylindrical hopper bodies 211 and 221 and the gates 212 and 222 that open and close the lower openings. If it can be configured so as not to leak out, a member corresponding to the hopper body of the above embodiment may be eliminated by adopting a beak-shaped gate, for example. Furthermore, the plurality of hoppers forming one hopper group may have different structures as well as shapes and dimensions.

  In addition, the combination weighing device according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

The functional block diagram of the combination weighing | measuring apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. The perspective view which shows the hopper and weight sensor which are mounted in the weighing | measuring apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. Side surface sectional drawing explaining the action | operation of the hopper mounted in the measuring apparatus which concerns on this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Combination measuring device 2 Hopper group 21,22 Hopper 211,221 Hopper main body 212,222 Gate 23 Connection tool 3 Weight sensor (load cell)
4 control unit 41 weight storage unit 42 combination selection unit (selection means)
43 Discharge instruction unit 44 Supply instruction unit 5 Collective chute

Claims (1)

A plurality of hoppers that hold the articles to be supplied in a fall and drop and discharge the held articles;
A weight sensor for weighing an article held by the hopper;
Selection means for selecting and combining articles having a set weight based on the measured value by the weight sensor,
A combination weighing device that performs quantitative weighing by dropping and collecting the selected articles from the hopper and collecting the articles,
A plurality of hopper groups formed by arranging the hoppers in series in the vertical direction,
Each of the hopper groups is interconnected so that the articles to be held are weighed by one weight sensor, and the upper and lower integrated large hoppers are always opened by always opening the drop discharge ports of hoppers other than the hopper arranged at the lowermost part. A combination weighing device characterized by forming a capacity hopper.

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