JP2012250188A - Foreign matter removing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To propose a foreign matter removing apparatus.SOLUTION: The foreign matter removing apparatus 1 includes: a vibratory conveyer 10 that has an elongated trough 20 for transporting a workpiece W, and a vibration motor 30 for generating a force to vibrate the trough and to transport the workpiece in a fixed direction; and a foreign matter removal station ST set on the way in a conveyance direction WD of the trough. The foreign matter removal station ST includes: an opening section 25 provided with a plurality of punched holes 25a, permitting an air flow A from a lower surface side of the trough 20 to a top side, over the full width of the trough 20; and a suction means 50 provided with an air suction port 51 disposed distantly above the opening section 25 to suction the air having passed the punched holes.

Description

  The present invention relates to a foreign matter removing apparatus that removes foreign matter using a vibration conveyor. More specifically, a foreign object that can separate and remove foreign matter adhering to or mixed in the workpiece while conveying the object to be conveyed (hereinafter referred to as a workpiece) in a certain direction by a vibrating conveyor. The present invention relates to a removing device.

  In many manufacturing industries, in order to ensure that their products manufactured at factories are shipped with a constant quality, inspections are made to prevent foreign matter contamination. For example, when the product is a food provided to consumers, the trust of the product is damaged at a stretch if foreign substances such as hair, yarn waste, packaging waste, and dust are mixed. Therefore, it is desired to remove foreign matters reliably, and there has been a demand for such foreign matter removing devices.

  Thus, for example, Patent Document 1 proposes a foreign matter sorting apparatus for sorting, separating, and removing foreign matters mixed in food materials such as tea leaves. This foreign matter sorting device is a device that has been proposed in order to improve what was previously performed by an operator who manually discovered defective tea leaves and foreign matters and picked them up manually. This device is equipped with a vibrating part that strikes and vibrates a conveyor belt with a vibration plate in the middle of a general conveyor. This makes it easier for people to find and pick up defectives and foreign objects. In addition, this foreign matter sorting apparatus also discloses an improved configuration so that a foreign matter adsorbing body made of an electromagnet or the like is disposed vertically above the vibration part so as to remove iron powder that deteriorates the quality of tea leaves. ing.

JP 2002-306070 A

However, the foreign material sorting apparatus according to Patent Document 1 is provided with a vibration unit that modifies a general conveyor and beats the conveyor belt to vibrate. Therefore, it is inevitable that the structure of the conveyor is complicated. Further, since the conveyor belt is locally beaten by the plate-like member, there is a concern that the conveyor belt may be worn or damaged early. Furthermore, this foreign matter sorting device is intended to disperse the tea leaves uniformly, thereby making it easier for the operator to find defectives and foreign matter, and the found foreign matter is picked up manually by the operator. There is a possibility of damage.
And the foreign material selection apparatus by patent document 1 is also disclosing about the structure which provides the foreign material adsorption body which removes the iron powder etc. which are foreign materials which are hard to remove by manual work, It is limited to adsorption. This foreign matter sorting apparatus is based on the premise that the foreign matter found by the operator is manually picked up, and thus has a fundamental problem that fatigue and long-time work are likely to occur.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to propose a foreign matter removing apparatus that can separate foreign matter adhering to and mixed in a workpiece without using a person and can also remove the foreign matter.

The above object is achieved by the foreign matter removing apparatus according to the present invention. This foreign matter removing apparatus generates a long trough for transporting a workpiece and a vibration motor that generates a force for vibrating the trough to convey the workpiece in a certain direction. And a foreign matter removal station that is provided in the middle of the trough conveyance direction and performs foreign matter removal processing on the workpiece,
The foreign matter removal station is disposed with an opening provided with a plurality of punch holes that allow air flow from the lower surface side to the upper surface side of the trough across the entire width of the trough, and spaced above the opening. And a suction means for sucking the air that has passed through the punch hole.

  The suction means includes a suction port portion having the air suction port, a negative pressure source that generates an air flow to be sucked, and a pipe line portion that connects at least the air suction port and the negative pressure source, It is preferable to include a foreign matter catching means for catching foreign matter contained in the air sucked from the air suction port.

Further, it is preferable that the pipe line part includes a terminal opening part for discharging the sucked air, and the terminal opening part is arranged toward a lower surface of the opening part of the foreign substance removing station.
Further, if a reversing mechanism for reversing the front and back of the workpiece is provided downstream of the foreign matter removal station so as to repeat the foreign matter removal processing on the workpiece again, the front and back surfaces of the workpiece when there is a front and back side respectively. The foreign matter removal process can be performed.

  In the foreign matter removing apparatus of the present invention, a foreign matter removing station is installed in the middle of the vibration conveyor. In this foreign substance removal station, a workpiece that is repeatedly raised and received by vibration and being conveyed (expanded) flows from the punch hole in the opening to the upper air suction port when passing through the opening. Ascending air flow will be blown. Therefore, according to the invention, if the foreign matter adhering to or mixed in the work can be separated by the rising air flow, and the foreign matter is relatively light compared to the work such as hair, lint, dust, etc., the vibration conveyor By adjusting the amount and pressure of the ascending air flow as well as the conveying speed and amplitude, the separated foreign matter can be sucked into the air inlet side without manual intervention and recovered and removed.

It is the front view shown about the foreign material removal apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view when it sees in the II-II arrow direction in FIG. It is the figure which expanded and showed the periphery of the foreign material removal station shown by the arrow X in FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 is a front view showing a foreign matter removing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view when viewed in the direction of arrows II-II in FIG.
The foreign matter removing apparatus 1 includes a vibrating conveyor 10 as a main structure. The vibration conveyor 10 has the same structure as a conventional one. In other words, the vibration conveyor 10 includes a gantry 12, and the gantry 12 includes a plurality of support legs 14 on the lower side and a support frame 16 having a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the front. Between each support leg 14 and the gantry 12, an anti-vibration device 13 formed by using a rubber spring or a coil spring (detailed structure inside is omitted) that can be elastically deformed is provided.

A long and groove-shaped trough 20 for conveying a workpiece is disposed above the vibration conveyor 10. The trough 20 extends in the longitudinal direction of the support frame 16 (parallel to the workpiece conveyance direction WD, left and right in FIG. 1), and is supported by the support frame 16 via a plurality of vibration springs 21. .
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the support frame 16 on the gantry 12 is a frame including a pair of wall structures facing each other with a space in the front and rear (left and right in FIG. 2). The vibration spring 21 is a leaf spring. As shown in FIG. 1, the vibration springs 21 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the support frame 16 on both sides of the trough 20, and upper and lower ends of the vibration springs 21 via the brackets 22 and 24, respectively. And attached to the support frame 16.

  As is clear from FIG. 1, each of the excitation springs 21 is inclined at a predetermined angle, and the excitation springs 21 adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction of the support frame 16 form two opposite sides of a parallelogram. . In this example, the vibration springs 21 are arranged only at two positions on both ends in the longitudinal direction of the support frame 16. However, the vibration springs 21 are appropriately disposed as necessary according to the length of the trough 20. The number of arrangements is increased.

  And in the structure illustrated here, the one end side (left end side in FIG. 1) of the support frame 16 is inclined, and it is set as the attachment surface 16a. A pair of vibration motors 30 for generating a force for conveying the workpiece in a fixed direction via the attachment plate 31 and the holder 32 are attached to the attachment surface 16 a in front and behind the support frame 16. These vibration motors 30 are attached so as to be inclined so that the rotation shaft thereof is parallel to the excitation spring 21, and are rotated with respect to the excitation spring 21 by rotation of eccentric weights (not shown) attached to both ends of the rotation shaft. Excitation force is generated in the orthogonal direction. More specifically, the vibration motor 30 is arranged so that the line of action of the excitation force passes through the center of gravity of the trough 20.

  When each vibration motor 30 is driven, the excitation force generated by these vibration motors 30 is transmitted to the trough 20 via the excitation spring 21. As a result, the trough 20 vibrates, so that the workpiece on the trough 20 is vibrated. Can be conveyed in one direction (right direction in FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 1, the transport surface Tf on the downstream side (right side in FIG. 1) of the trough 20 is a damper that can be opened and closed. It can be easily migrated.

And the foreign material removal apparatus 1 shown in figure has the novel structure for removing a foreign material while conveying on the trough 20 of the vibration conveyor 10 by making the vibration conveyor 10 into a main structure as mentioned above. Hereinafter, this structure will be described. Still referring to FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion indicated by an arrow X in FIG.
The foreign matter removing apparatus 1 includes a foreign matter removing station ST in the middle of the trough 20 in the transport direction WD. In the figure, the foreign substance removal station ST is configured to include an opening 25 and an air suction port 51 as will be described later.
The foreign matter removal station ST separates the foreign matter from the workpiece and further removes the foreign matter attached to or mixed in the workpiece by blowing a rising air flow when the workpiece conveyed on the trough 20 passes. It is a configuration.

As shown in FIG. 3, the foreign substance removal station ST is provided with an opening 25. The opening 25 is provided with a plurality of punch holes 25a that allow the air flow A from the lower surface side to the upper surface side in the trough 20. It is a thing. Specifically, the punch holes 25a of the opening 25 extend over the entire width of the trough 20, and form a plurality of hole rows arranged in the workpiece conveyance direction. The hole diameter of the punch hole 25a is such that the work W conveyed on the trough does not drop or fit in, but on the other hand, the air flow A can be formed so that the foreign matter F can be separated from the work W. Is set.
An air suction port 51 is disposed above the opening 25 so as to be spaced apart. The air suction port 51 forms a part of an air suction structure (suction means) 50 that sucks air (see FIG. 2), and serves as a tip portion that sucks air. By sucking air through the air suction port 51, an air flow A that passes (blows up) from the bottom upward through the punch hole 25a is formed.
The illustrated suction structure (suction means) 50 includes a suction port having the air suction port 51, a suction blower (blower) 52 serving as a negative pressure source for generating an air flow to be sucked, and an air suction port. 51 and a duct 53 serving as a pipe line connecting the blower 52 and the like. And it is desirable to arrange a foreign matter catching structure (foreign matter catching means) 54 for catching the foreign matter F contained in the air flow A sucked from the air suction port 51 upstream of the blower 52. As the foreign material capturing structure 54, a foreign material capturing filter that captures foreign material in the middle of the duct 53 and allows air flow, a cyclone separator that generates a spiral flow and separates foreign materials, and the like can be appropriately employed. Here, the structure which accommodated the blower 52 and the foreign material capture structure 54 in the housing | casing 55 is illustrated.

  Then, it is desirable to lay a circulation path 53a on the discharge side so that the discharge port (terminal opening) 56 for discharging the sucked air as described above is returned to the lower side of the opening 25. In this way, it is possible to efficiently circulate the air flow used for removing the foreign matter, and at that time, the air passing through the opening 25 is more strongly blown from the lower side to efficiently remove the foreign matter more reliably. Can be.

In the foreign matter removing apparatus as described above, the workpiece W placed on the trough 20 of the vibration conveyor 10 is conveyed to one side by using the vibration of the vibration motor 30 as a driving force. It is. In the foreign substance removal station ST, an air flow A that flows from the bottom to the top through the punch hole 25 a and further flows toward the air suction port 51 is formed.
The airflow that has passed through the punch hole 25a and has emerged on the upper surface of the trough 20 is blown onto the work being conveyed while vibrating. Since the work is conveyed while repeating a slight upward upward movement, the work is uniformly developed on the trough 20. When the workpiece in such a conveying state passes through the foreign substance removal station ST, it is placed (exposed) in the air flow A, so that the foreign substance F adhering to or mixed in the workpiece is removed. It can be reliably separated by the air flow A.

  When the separated foreign matter is relatively lighter than the work to be conveyed, the air flow A generated as shown in FIG. 3 is sucked into the air suction port 51 with the separated foreign matter placed thereon. Can be removed at once. Preferable examples of such workpieces include foods such as macaroni, corn flakes, potato chips, hail (soybean rice), soybean protein, etc., and foreign substances to be separated and removed include hair, thread scraps, dust and the like. Can be mentioned.

  Furthermore, as described above, if a foreign matter catching structure such as a foreign matter catching filter or a cyclone separator is provided, the removed foreign matter can be efficiently recovered and discarded. Furthermore, as described above, if a circulation path 53a (see FIG. 2) for returning the sucked air flow to the bottom of the foreign substance removal station is provided, air is strongly blown from the lower side to efficiently remove foreign substances. Can be more certain.

1 and 2 exemplify the case where the trough 20 conveys the workpiece in one direction, and an air suction flow toward the air suction port 51 is formed at the foreign matter removal station ST provided in the middle to separate the foreign matter. Although the case where it removes was shown, it is not restricted to this.
When the work is of a certain size, the foreign matter may be removed from both sides of the work by inverting the work (that is, turning over the front and back). For this purpose, it is preferable to provide a mechanism for reversing the workpiece so that the workpiece that has been subjected to the foreign matter removal process is reversed and passed again through the foreign matter removal station. For example, the foreign matter removing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 described above is provided in two stages, and a reversing mechanism for reversing the front and back of the workpiece is disposed therebetween. Such a reversing mechanism may be appropriately configured according to the workpiece. For example, when moving from the first foreign matter removing device on the upstream side to the second foreign matter removing device on the downstream side, air or the like may be blown on the workpiece to be reversed, or from the first foreign matter removing device. You may employ | adopt the structure that a workpiece | work reverses at the time of the fall which transfers to a 2nd foreign material removal apparatus.
Further, an appropriate reversing mechanism for reversing the workpiece may be disposed in the middle of the conveyance path by adding a circulating conveyance path that selectively returns the workpiece after the foreign substance removal to the upstream side of the foreign substance removal station ST. In this case, the front and back foreign matter removal processing can be performed at one foreign matter removal station ST.

  In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the gist thereof. For example, in the above description, the case of food is exemplified as the work, but the work to which the foreign matter removing apparatus is applied is not limited to food. Needless to say, the foreign matter removing apparatus of the present invention is suitable for removing foreign matter from a workpiece on which a relatively lightweight foreign matter may be attached or mixed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Foreign material removal apparatus 10 Vibrating conveyor 13 Anti-vibration apparatus 16 Support frame 20 Trough 21 Excitation spring 25 Opening part 25a Punch hole 30 Vibration motor 50 Suction structure (suction means)
51 Air suction port ST Foreign object removal station W Workpiece WD Transport direction F Foreign material A Air flow

Claims (4)

An oscillating conveyor having a long trough for conveying a workpiece and a vibration motor for generating a force for vibrating the trough to convey the workpiece in a certain direction;
A foreign matter removal station that is provided in the middle of the trough conveyance direction and performs foreign matter removal processing on the workpiece;
The foreign matter removal station is disposed with an opening provided with a plurality of punch holes that allow air flow from the lower surface side to the upper surface side of the trough across the entire width of the trough, and spaced above the opening. A foreign matter removing apparatus comprising a suction means for sucking air that has passed through the punch hole and has an air suction port.   The suction means includes a suction port portion having the air suction port, a negative pressure source that generates a flow of air to be sucked, and a pipe line portion that connects at least the air suction port and the negative pressure source. The foreign matter removing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a foreign matter catching unit that catches foreign matter contained in the air sucked from the mouth.   The said pipe line part contains the termination | terminus opening part which exhales the suck | inhaled air, This termination | terminus opening part is arrange | positioned toward the lower surface of the said opening part of the said foreign material removal station, The Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Foreign matter removal device.   The foreign matter removal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a reversing mechanism for reversing the front and back of the workpiece in order to repeat the foreign matter removal processing on the workpiece again downstream of the foreign matter removal station. apparatus.

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