JP2021148597A - Article transportation device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an article transportation device that transports articles transported from an upstream to a downstream by dropping, and can reduce damage of the article by collision among the articles.SOLUTION: An article transportation device 1 is configured to transport articles transported from an upstream to a downstream by a drop. The article transportation device 1 is provided with a gas ejection unit 90 that ejects gas, and generates an air flow causing acceleration by dropping of the article to slow down.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to an article transport device.

An article transporting device that transports an article transported from the upstream to the downstream by dropping is widely known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the article transporting device of Patent Document 1, articles are put into a plurality of measuring hoppers and the weight of each article is weighed. A combination of weighing hoppers in which the total weight of the weighed articles is a predetermined weight is selected, and the articles fall from the selected weighing hopper. The dropped article is temporarily picked up by the timing hopper after passing through the inside of the collective discharge chute. After that, when the gate of the timing hopper is opened, it is discharged further downstream.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-234230

In an article transporting device that transports an article transported from the upstream to the downstream by dropping, it is difficult to control the transport trajectory of the article because the article is dropped and transported. Therefore, the articles are likely to collide with each other, and the collision may damage the surface of the article or cause the bag-shaped article to break, resulting in damage to the article.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an article transporting device for transporting an article transported from the upstream to the downstream by dropping, and which can reduce damage to the article due to a collision between the articles.

The article transporting device according to one aspect is an article transporting device that transports articles transported from the upstream to the downstream by dropping. The article transporting device includes a gas ejection unit that ejects gas and generates an air flow that reduces the acceleration due to the falling of the article.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an article transporting device 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the article transport device 1. FIG. 3 is a block configuration diagram of the article transport device 1. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the timing hopper 70. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the direction of the air flow in the timing hopper 70. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the direction of the air flow in the collective discharge chute 60 according to the modified example.

The article transport device according to the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings below, the same or similar parts are designated by the same or similar reference numerals. The dimensional ratios in the drawings do not always match those described. The embodiments described below are one of the specific examples of the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention.
(Overall configuration of article transport device)

The overall configuration of the article transport device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an article transporting device 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the article transport device 1. FIG. 3 is a block configuration diagram of the article transport device 1. The article transporting device 1 transports articles transported from the upstream to the downstream by dropping. The article transport device 1 is assembled with an article supply chute 10, a dispersion table (dispersion unit) 20, a plurality of radiation feeders (conveyor, transport unit) 30, a plurality of pool hoppers 40, and a plurality of weighing hoppers 50. A discharge chute 60, a timing hopper 70, a control unit 80, and a gas ejection unit 90 are provided. In the present embodiment, the article transport device 1 is a combination weighing device.

The article transport device 1 having the above configuration functions as follows. The article is transported to the article transport device 1 by the cross feeder CF. The article may be, for example, food or a package in which the food is individually wrapped. The article conveyed by the cross feeder CF is put into the article supply chute 10. The article thrown into the article supply chute 10 is supplied to the distributed table 20. The dispersion table 20 transports the articles while dispersing them, and supplies the articles to a plurality of radiation feeders 30 arranged around the dispersion table 20. Each of the radiation feeders 30 conveys the articles supplied from the dispersion table 20 to the pool hopper 40 provided corresponding to each radiation feeder 30 and supplies the articles to the pool hopper 40.

Each pool hopper 40 supplies an article to a weighing hopper 50 arranged below the pool hopper 40. The control unit 80 performs a combination weighing calculation based on the weighing value of the load cell 56 described later (the weighing value of the article in the weighing hopper 50) of the weighing hopper 50. Then, the control unit 80 selects a combination of articles whose result of the combination measurement calculation is within a predetermined allowable range and is closest to the target value. The weighing hopper 50 included in the selected combination supplies the article to the collective discharge chute 60. The collective discharge chute 60 supplies the article to the timing hopper 70. The timing hopper 70 supplies articles to, for example, a bag-making / packaging machine installed after the article transport device 1.
(Detailed configuration)

The detailed configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the timing hopper 70. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the direction of the air flow in the timing hopper 70.
(Goods supply chute)

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the article supply chute 10 is located below the end of the cross feeder CF for injecting the article into the article supply chute 10 (the end on the side for injecting the article into the article supply chute 10). Be placed. The article supply chute 10 is arranged above the distributed table 20. The article supply chute 10 receives the supply of articles carried by the cross feeder CF and supplies the articles to the distributed table 20.
(Distributed table)

The distributed table 20 is a table-shaped member formed in a conical shape. The distributed table 20 receives the supply of articles from the cross feeder CF installed above the distributed table 20 via the article supply chute 10. The dispersion table 20 is vibrated by, for example, an electromagnet (not shown) to disperse the supplied articles in the circumferential direction and convey them outward in the radial direction. The distributed table 20 supplies the articles conveyed to the outer edge to a plurality of radiating feeders 30 arranged below the outer edge side of the distributed table 20.
(Radiation feeder)

The article transfer device 1 has a plurality of (14 in this case) radiation feeders 30. The plurality of radiation feeders 30 are arranged in a ring around the distributed table 20. Specifically, the plurality of radiation feeders 30 extend radially around the dispersion table 20. The radiation feeder 30 includes a trough (conveying unit) 31, a distance measuring sensor (detecting unit) 32, a driving unit 33, and a transport control unit (see FIG. 3) 90.

The trough 31 forms a transport path for transporting articles from the distributed table 20 side to the pool hopper 40 side. The drive unit 33 vibrates the trough 31 with a predetermined feeding force P to convey the articles supplied from the distributed table 20 in the radial direction outward (direction away from the distributed table 20). Each trough 31 supplies the article conveyed to the outer edge to the pool hopper 40 arranged below the outer edge side of each trough 31. The drive unit 33 is, for example, an electromagnet.

Above each trough 31, a distance measuring sensor 32 is arranged corresponding to each trough 31. The distance measuring sensor 32 is attached to a support frame 34 fixed to the measuring mechanism frame F and is located above the trough 31. The distance measuring sensor 32 detects the distance between the distance measuring sensor 32 and the article on the trough 31. The distance measuring sensor 32 obtains the distance between the distance measuring sensor 32 and the article by, for example, irradiating the article with light and receiving the light reflected by the article. The distance measuring sensor 32 detects the distance between the trough 31 and the article located near the discharge end.

As shown in FIG. 3, the transport control unit 88 is connected to each unit of the radiation feeder 30, such as the distributed table 20, the distance measuring sensor 32, and the drive unit 33, and the touch panel 86. The touch panel 86 is a liquid crystal display (LCD) having both input and output functions. The touch panel 86 functions as an input unit and an output unit. The touch panel 86 receives inputs such as various settings related to transport control. For example, the touch panel 86 receives input of operation parameters such as the vibration intensity of the radiation feeder 30 and the vibration time of the radiation feeder 30.

The transport control unit 88 sets the drive unit 33 of the radiation feeder 30 based on the vibration intensity of the distributed table 20 and the radiation feeder 30 and / or the operation parameters such as the vibration time of the radiation feeder 30 input from the touch panel 86. Control. As a result, the transport control unit 88 vibrates the trough 31. The operating parameters include a target supply amount TW of articles supplied from the radiation feeder 30 to the measuring hopper 50 via the pool hopper 40. The target supply amount TW is a target amount (constant value) of articles to be supplied per unit time with respect to the measuring hopper 50. The target supply amount TW is set for each article. The transfer control unit 88 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 881 and a memory 882 such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory).
(Pool hopper)

The article transfer device 1 has the same number of pool hoppers 40 as the radiation feeder 30. One pool hopper 40 is arranged below the outer edge side of each radiation feeder 30. The pool hopper 40 temporarily stores the articles supplied from the radiant feeder 30 arranged above. Each pool hopper 40 has a PH gate 42. The PH gate 42 is provided below the pool hopper 40. When the PH gate 42 is opened, the pool hopper 40 supplies the articles in the pool hopper 40 to the weighing hopper 50 arranged below the pool hopper 40. Each PH gate 42 opens and closes when a link mechanism (not shown) is operated by a stepping motor 44. The operation of the stepping motor 44 is controlled by the control unit 80, which will be described later.
(Weighing hopper)

The article transport device 1 has the same number of weighing hoppers 50 as the pool hopper 40. Below each pool hopper 40, one weighing hopper 50 is arranged. The measuring hopper 50 measures the mass of the article supplied from the pool hopper 40, that is, the mass of the article supplied from the radiation feeder 30 via the pool hopper 40. Each weighing hopper 50 has a WH gate 52. The WH gate 52 is provided below the weighing hopper 50. When the WH gate 52 is opened, the measuring hopper 50 supplies the articles in the measuring hopper 50 to the collective discharge chute 60. Each WH gate 52 opens and closes when a link mechanism (not shown) is operated by a stepping motor 54. The operation of the stepping motor 54 is controlled by the control unit 80, which will be described later. Each weighing hopper 50 has a load cell (weighing unit) 56 for weighing an article held by the weighing hopper 50. The load cell 56 is an example of a measuring mechanism. The weighing result of the load cell 56 is transmitted as a weighing signal to the multiplexer 83 of the control unit 80, which will be described later, via an amplifier (not shown).
(Assembly discharge chute)

The collective discharge chute 60 is an example of a discharge path member. After the combined weighing based on the weighing result of the load cell 56, the collective discharge chute 60 is supplied with the weighed articles selected for the combination from the weighing hopper 50. The collective discharge chute 60 collects the articles supplied from the measuring hopper 50 and supplies them to the timing hopper 70. After the combined weighing based on the weighing result of the load cell 56, the collective discharge chute 60 is supplied with the weighed articles selected for the combination from the weighing hopper 50. The collective discharge chute 60 collects the articles supplied from the measuring hopper 50 and supplies them to the timing hopper 70.

The collective discharge chute 60 has an inner wall surface that is inclined with respect to the vertical direction. The article supplied from the measuring hopper 50 comes into contact with the inner wall surface by dropping and then slides down along the inner wall surface. Articles discharged from the discharge port 65 of the collective discharge chute 60 are supplied to the timing hopper 70.
(Timing hopper)

The timing hopper 70 delivers the articles supplied from the collective discharge chute 60 to a bag-making / packaging machine or the like in the subsequent stage. The timing hopper 70 has a main body 71 and a gate 72. The main body 71 has an inlet 71a into which the article enters the timing hopper 70. A gate 72 is attached to the main body 71. The gate 72 is provided below the timing hopper 70. When the gate 72 is opened, the timing hopper 70 supplies the articles in the timing hopper 70 to the bag-making / packaging machine or the like in the subsequent stage. Therefore, the timing hopper 70 temporarily receives the article that has fallen from above the timing hopper 70 in the closed state with the gate 72 closed, and discharges the received article downstream in the open state with the gate 72 open. The gate 72 opens and closes when the link mechanism is operated by a stepping motor. The operation of the stepping motor is controlled by the control unit 80. The gate 72 has a tip portion 72a which is an end portion on the downstream side of the gate 72. Since the tip portion 72a corresponds to the lowermost end portion of the timing hopper 70, articles temporarily received by the timing hopper 70 are likely to accumulate in the tip portion 72a.
(Control unit)

As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 80 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 81 and a memory 82 such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). Further, the control unit 80 includes a multiplexer 83, an A / D converter 84, and a DSP (digital signal processor) 85.

The multiplexer 83 selects the measurement signal of 1 from the measurement signals of the load cell 56 according to the instruction of the DSP 85, and transmits the measurement signal to the A / D converter 84. The A / D converter 84 converts the measurement signal (analog signal) received from the multiplexer 83 into a digital signal according to the timing signal transmitted from the DSP 85, and transmits the digital signal to the DSP 85. The DSP 85 filters the digital signal transmitted from the A / D converter 84.

The control unit 80 is connected to each part of the article transport device 1, such as the stepping motor 44, the stepping motor 54, the stepping motor 76, and the touch panel 86. The touch panel 86 is a liquid crystal display (LCD) having both input and output functions, and functions as an input unit and an output unit. The touch panel 86 accepts inputs such as various settings related to combination weighing.

The control unit 80 performs a combination weighing calculation based on the weighing value in the weighing hopper 50. Specifically, first, the control unit 80 calculates the mass of the article held in each measuring hopper 50 by using the signal filtered by the DSP 85. Then, the control unit 80 performs a combination weighing calculation so that the total mass is within a predetermined target mass range and is closest to the target value. Further, the control unit 80 determines the combination of the weighing hopper 50 based on the result of the combination weighing calculation. Then, the control unit 80 controls the operation of the stepping motor 54 so that the WH gate 52 of the determined weighing hopper 50 opens. Further, the control unit 80 determines whether or not any of the measuring hoppers 50 is empty. When any of the measuring hoppers 50 is empty, the control unit 80 operates the stepping motor 44 to open the PH gate 42 of the pool hopper 40 arranged above the measuring hopper 50. Further, the control unit 80 controls the opening and closing of the gate 72 of the timing hopper 70. Further, the control unit 80 controls the operation of the gas ejection unit 90.
(Gas ejection part)

The gas ejection unit 90 ejects gas to generate an air flow that reduces the acceleration due to the falling of the article. The airflow that reduces the acceleration due to the falling of the article may be a flow of gas having an upward component. The airflow may be an airflow immediately after being ejected from the gas ejection portion 90, or may be an airflow whose direction has changed after the ejection (see FIG. 5). The air flow may reduce the falling speed of the article.

The gas ejection unit 90 has a nozzle 92 that determines the direction of the gas ejected by the gas ejection unit 90. The nozzle 92 may be directed to the inside of the timing hopper 70. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, gas is ejected on the extension line of the nozzle 92. The gas is an arbitrary gas, for example, air. The gas ejection unit 90 may eject gas by opening a valve arranged in a pipe connecting a high-pressure container (not shown) containing a compressed gas and a nozzle 92, and by closing the valve, for example. The gas ejection may be stopped. The opening and closing of the valve may be controlled by the control unit 80.

The gas ejection unit 90 may eject gas before the article collides with a component having a contact surface with which the dropped article comes into contact. In FIGS. 4 and 5, a timing hopper 70 is shown as an example of the components. The timing hopper 70 has a contact surface 72C. The contact surface 72C may be a sliding surface on which the article slides, and may be composed of at least the inner wall surface of the gate 72. The gas ejection unit 90 can eject gas before coming into contact with the contact surface 72C. The gas ejection unit 90 ejects gas from the inlet 70a of the timing hopper 70.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the gas ejection unit 90 can eject gas toward the inside of the timing hopper 70 in a closed state in which the gate 72 is closed. The gas ejection unit 90 may eject the gas in the closed state, while stopping the ejection of the gas in the open state. The gas ejection portion 90 may eject gas toward the tip portion 72a. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the airflow immediately after being ejected from the gas ejection portion 90 is directed to the tip portion 72a, but is reflected by the tip portion 72a or collides with each other, so that the tip portion 72a Going up in the vicinity. As a result, the article is caught in the updraft, and the acceleration due to the fall of the article is reduced. When the article is a package, it is easily affected by the air flow, so that the acceleration due to the dropping of the article can be further reduced.

The gas ejection unit 90 can eject gas for at least a part of the period from the opening of the WH gate 52 of the measuring hopper 50 arranged upstream of the timing hopper 70 to the opening of the gate 72 of the timing hopper. The gas ejection unit 90 may eject gas during the entire period from the opening of the measuring hopper 50 to the opening of the gate 72 of the timing hopper 70. The gas ejection unit 90 does not have to eject gas until the WH gate 52 of the measuring hopper 50 is opened.

In the present embodiment, the article transport device 1 includes a gas ejection unit 90 that ejects a gas and generates an air flow that reduces the acceleration due to the falling of the article. As a result, the gas ejection unit 90 ejects gas, so that the acceleration of the falling article can be reduced. As a result, the collision speed between the articles is reduced, so that damage to the articles due to the collision can be suppressed.

In the present embodiment, the gas ejection unit 90 ejects gas before the article collides with the timing hopper 70. Since the speed at which the article collides with the contact surface is reduced, damage to the article due to the collision can be suppressed when the article is present on the contact surface 72C. Further, since the speed of the article after colliding with the contact surface can be reduced, damage to the article due to the collision can be suppressed when the article colliding with the contact surface 72C collides with another article.

In the present embodiment, the gas ejection unit 90 ejects gas toward the inside of the timing hopper 70 in a closed state in which the gate 72 is closed. Since the timing hopper 70 temporarily receives the articles, the articles are likely to collide with each other. Specifically, in the timing hopper 70, articles that have fallen from each of the plurality of measuring hoppers 50 determined by the control unit 80 are collected and temporarily accumulated. That is, since the articles are collected from a plurality of paths into one path, the articles are likely to collide with each other. By generating an air flow in the timing hopper 70 by the gas ejection portion 90, damage due to collision between articles can be suppressed in the timing hopper 70 in which the number of collisions tends to increase. Further, since the gas is ejected with the gate 72 closed, the gas ejected from the discharge port of the timing hopper 70 is difficult to escape, and an air flow toward the inlet 71a of the timing hopper 70 can be easily generated.

In the present embodiment, the gas ejection unit 90 ejects gas in the closed state and stops the ejection of gas in the open state. By ejecting gas in a closed state where articles easily collide with each other, damage due to collision between articles can be suppressed. On the other hand, in the closed state, the articles are not temporarily accumulated in the timing hopper 70, so that the articles are less likely to collide with each other as compared with the open state. In the open state, by stopping the ejection of gas, damage to the article can be efficiently suppressed and cost effectiveness can be improved. In addition, in the open state, the gas ejected from the discharge port of the timing hopper 70 is discharged to the outside of the timing hopper 70, so that it is difficult to generate an air flow that reduces the acceleration due to the falling of the article. In the open state, the cost-effectiveness can be further improved by stopping the ejection of gas.

In the present embodiment, the gas ejection unit 90 ejects gas for at least a part of the period from the opening of the WH gate 52 of the measuring hopper 50 to the opening of the gate 72 of the timing hopper 70. Articles fall between the opening of the WH gate 52 of the measuring hopper 50 and the opening of the gate 72 of the timing hopper 70, causing collisions between the articles. Damage due to collision can be suppressed efficiently.

In the present embodiment, the gas ejection portion ejects gas toward the tip portion 72a of the timing hopper 70. Articles temporarily received by the timing hopper 70 tend to collect in the tip portion 72a, which is the end portion on the downstream side of the gate 72. By ejecting the gas toward the tip portion 72a, an air flow that reduces the acceleration of the article can be generated from the tip portion 72a where the article tends to accumulate, and damage due to collision between the articles can be suppressed.
(Change example)

The article transport device 1 according to the modified example will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the direction of the air flow in the collective discharge chute 60 according to the modified example. As an example of a component having a contact surface with which a dropped article comes into contact, a collective discharge chute 60 is shown. The collective discharge chute 60 has a contact surface 60C. The contact surface 60C is a sliding surface on which the article slides.

As shown in FIG. 6, the gas ejection unit 90 may eject gas into the inside of the collective discharge chute 60. The gas ejection unit 90 may eject gas from the discharge port 65 of the collective discharge chute 60. The nozzle 92 may be directed to the inner wall surface of the collective discharge chute 60. As a result, on the extension line of the nozzle 92, the flow of the gas ejected from the gas ejection portion 90 has an upward component, so that an air flow that reduces the acceleration due to the falling of the article can be generated. The airflow may go upward along the inner wall surface.

The gas ejection unit 90 may eject gas for at least a part of the period from the opening of the WH gate 52 of the measuring hopper 50 to the passage of the article through the collective discharge chute 60. When the article passes through the collective discharge chute 60, it means that the article is discharged from the discharge port 65 of the collective discharge chute 60. In the collective discharge chute 60, a collision of articles occurs between the opening of the WH gate 52 of the measuring hopper 50 and the passage of the articles through the collective discharge chute 60. Therefore, by ejecting gas during that period, the articles are ejected to each other. Damage due to collision can be efficiently suppressed.
(Other embodiments)

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications. For example, the gas ejection unit 90 may eject gas before the article dropped from the article supply chute 10 collides with the dispersion table 20 (component). For example, the nozzle 92 may be arranged at the bottom of the dispersion table 20, and gas may be ejected from the bottom of the dispersion table 20. Further, the gas ejection unit 90 may eject gas before the article dropped from the dispersion table 20 collides with the pool hopper 40 (component). The gas ejection unit 90 may eject gas toward the inside of the pool hopper 40.

In the above description, the article transfer device 1 may include a booster hopper arranged below the weighing hopper 50. When the article is directly discharged to the collective discharge chute 60 after the gate of the booster hopper is opened, the gas ejection unit 90 may eject the gas after the gate of the booster hopper is opened.

In the above embodiment, the embodiment in which the article transport device 1 is provided with the distributed table 20 and the radiation feeder 30 is radially arranged around the distributed table 20 will be described as an example. However, the article transporting device 1 may be in the form of a linear arrangement in which the transporting unit and the measuring unit are arranged linearly side by side. Further, the method of controlling the radiation feeder 30 in the above embodiment can be applied to, for example, a cross feeder CF.

1: Goods transport device 10: Goods supply chute 20: Distributed table 30: Radiation feeder 40: Pool hopper 50: Weighing hopper 60: Collective discharge chute 70: Timing hopper 80: Control unit

Claims (7)

An article transport device that transports articles transported from the upstream to the downstream by dropping.
An article transport device including a gas ejection unit that ejects gas to generate an air flow that reduces the acceleration due to the falling of the article. It comprises a component having a contact surface with which the dropped article comes into contact.
The article transporting device according to claim 1, wherein the gas ejection unit ejects the gas before the article collides with the component. Equipped with a timing hopper with a gate
The timing hopper
In the closed state with the gate closed, the article dropped from above is temporarily received and received.
With the gate open, the received article is discharged downstream.
The article transporting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the gas ejection unit ejects the gas toward the inside of the timing hopper with the gate closed. The gas ejection part is
In the closed state, the gas is ejected,
The article transport device according to claim 3, wherein in the open state, the ejection of the gas is stopped. It has a gate and has an upper hopper located upstream of the timing hopper.
3. The article transporting device according to. The gate has a tip that is a downstream end of the gate.
The article transporting device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the gas ejecting portion ejects the gas toward the tip portion. An upper hopper having a gate and located upstream of the collective discharge chute,
It is equipped with a collective discharge chute having an inner wall surface inclined with respect to the vertical direction.
The gas ejection portion is any one of claims 1 to 6 for ejecting the gas for at least a part of the period from the opening of the gate of the upper hopper to the passage of the article through the collective discharge chute. The article transporting device according to item 1.

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