JP2599013B2 - Method and apparatus for detecting stored articles - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for detecting a contained object, and more particularly, to a first article containing a liquid such as juice in a non-metal container, and a metal container. For detecting that a first article and a second article are both accommodated in a subject containing a second article containing a powder such as a powdered seasoning placed in a container And an apparatus.

(Prior Art and Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Today, products in the form of small bags or the like are well known. For example, in instant noodles packed in a bag, an article containing a liquid such as broth and an article containing a powder such as a powdered seasoning are often added as separate additives together with the noodles in a packaging bag. In such instant noodles, it is necessary to check whether the supplements have been added before the product is shipped to the market.

By the way, when the packaging bag is transparent or opaque, the presence or absence of the additional material can be easily confirmed with the naked eye. However, if the packaging bag is made of a material that cannot be seen through, the presence or absence of the extraneous substance cannot be confirmed with the naked eye, but must be confirmed by touching with a human hand. Since this operation is complicated and requires a lot of time and labor, it is not suitable for mass-producing products. For this reason, attempts have been made to mechanically detect the presence or absence of additional substances.

As a method for mechanically detecting the presence or absence of an additive, a non-metallic container containing a first article such as a liquid seasoning as described in JP-A-60-195481, A metal container including a second article such as a seasoning, and a first metal detector having a detection distance not exceeding the thickness of the first article when a third article such as instant noodles is stored; Methods and devices are known for detecting the presence or absence of the first and second articles using a second metal detector having a detection distance that exceeds a thickness.

In this technique, a second metal detector having a detection distance exceeding the thickness of the non-metal container is indispensable. At present, such a detector has a shortest detection distance of about 10 mm even at the longest detection distance. However, if the thickness of the first article exceeds this, there is a problem that detection by this technique cannot be performed.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is provided in a case where a subject accommodates a first article put in a non-metal container and a second article put in a metal container. The state where the subject contains the first article and the second article is clearly distinguished from the state containing only the first article, the state containing only the second article, and the empty state not containing any article. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and a device capable of making a determination.

(Means for Solving the Problems) According to the present invention, a first article having a constant capacitance and a metal container containing a second article are housed in a subject, and the first article is statically stored. A capacitance detector that outputs a capacitance range including capacitance as ON and outputs a range less than this as OFF, and a first metal detector whose detection distance does not exceed the thickness of the first article. A metal detector that outputs ON when metal is detected and outputs OFF when no metal is detected is disposed on the first article side of the subject, causing the subject to substantially contact the detector; When the first metal detector outputs OFF and the capacitance detector outputs ON, the metal container exists adjacent to the first article on the opposite side of the detector in the subject. Or, it is determined that the first article is present in the subject, and, for the two types of subjects determined as described above, When the second metal detector outputs ON when detecting the genus and outputs OFF when not detecting, the first article and the metal container are in the subject when the second metal detector outputs ON. It is a method for detecting a stored article, characterized in that it is determined that the stored article exists in the storage area.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a device for inspecting a stored object of a subject containing a first article having a constant capacitance and a metal container containing a second article, wherein the electrostatic capacitance including the capacitance of the first article is provided. Outputs the capacity range as ON, and sets the area below this to OF
A capacitance detector that outputs F; a first metal detector whose detection distance does not exceed the thickness of the first article;
A second metal detector that exceeds the thickness of the article and outputs both ON when detecting metal and OFF when not detecting metal, on the first article side of the subject; And
When the object is brought into substantially contact with the detector, the capacitance detector and the second metal detector output ON, and when the first metal detector outputs OFF, the detector in the object is output. A first article on the side, and the first article on the side opposite to the detector.
A stored article detection device characterized in that it is determined that the metal container is present adjacent to an article.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the detection device includes a transporting unit 30, an encoder 40, a signal converter 41 for sending the subject 10 to the detection unit 20,
It comprises a control unit 42 and an elimination device 50. The detection unit 20 contacts the subject 10 via the metal detector 21 and is electrically connected to the signal converter 41. Also, the signal converter 41
Are connected to the control unit 42 and to the encoder 40. Further, the control unit 42 is connected to the exclusion device 50.

The subject 10 includes the first article 1 and the second article 2 in the outer container 6. The first article 1 is a liquid soup and is contained in a non-metallic container 4 such as a synthetic resin. The second article 2 is a powdered seasoning and is contained in a metal container 5. The first article and the second article 2 are not limited to the above-described articles, but may be any articles as long as the gist of the present invention is satisfied.
As the outer container 6, a container made of a synthetic resin which does not have a large electrostatic capacity itself is used.

The subject 10 is transported by a transport means 30 such as a belt conveyor.
It moves on in the direction of arrow A, and is inspected by the detection unit 20 when passing just below the detection unit 20. At the tip of the detection unit 20, a supporter 22 having an appropriate inclination at a contact portion with the subject 10 to make the contact with the subject 10 smoother.
Is installed.

The belt conveyor 30 is driven in the direction of arrow B by a conveyor drive shaft 31. The conveyor drive shaft 31 and the encoder 40 are connected via a connecting member 32. The encoder 40 is connected to the subject 10 placed on the belt conveyor 30.
In synchronization with the movement, the number of pulse signals output in proportion to the movement distance is output and sent to the signal converter 41.

The signal converter 41 receives the transmission signal from the detection unit 20 and the encoder 40, and converts the transmission signal into a form that can be easily compared by the control unit 42.

The control unit 42 determines the presence or absence of an article inside the subject 10 based on the signal sent from the signal converter 41, and sends an appropriate operation signal to the exclusion device 50.

The elimination device 50 operates based on the operation signal from the control unit 42, and eliminates the subject 10 determined as “defective” from the belt conveyor 30.

The detection unit 20 includes a metal detector 21 and a capacitance detector 22, as shown in FIG. Metal detectors 21, as shown in FIG. 2, the first metal detector 21a has a detection distance d ₂₁ a does not exceed the thickness d ₁ of the non-metallic container 4 in the subject 10, and non-metallic comprising a second metal detector 21b having a detection distance d ₂₁ b beyond the thickness d ₁ of the container 4. The first metal detector 21a and the second metal detector 21b detect the ON / OFF state of each subject when coming into contact with the subject 10, and convert the detection signal to a signal converter.
Transmit to 41. As the metal detector, a magnetic detector, a high-frequency detector, a working coil detector, a capacitance detector, and the like can be used.

The capacitance detector 22 has at least two electrodes 23 and 24 before and after the subject 10 to be transferred in the direction of arrow A in FIG. In particular, it is preferable that the electrodes 23 and 24 be provided in the form of a flat plate horizontally in order to enhance the detection effect. When the subject 10 is instant noodles, it is desirable to use a flat electrode having an area of about 1 to 10 cm ² . Such electrodes may be provided on the left and right sides, or may be provided on three or more sides in a manner different from the illustrated embodiment. The electrodes 23 and 24 are
It is preferable to make these close to the non-metallic container 4 at the time of detection, and it is desirable that the distance between the electrodes 23 and 24 and the container 4 at the time of detection be within 0.5 mm.

A total of four metal detectors 21a are provided at positions overlapping with the electrodes 23 and 24 and at left and right positions between the electrodes 23 and 24. When the metal detector 21a is provided at the above position, the specimen 1
Regardless of the angle at which 0 is transferred to the detection unit 20, it is convenient because detection can be performed satisfactorily. However, the number of the metal detectors 21a and the installation positions thereof are not limited to those shown in the figure, and are arbitrary as long as the object of the present invention can be achieved.
21b is a metal detector having a detection distance d ₂₁ b of greater than thickness d ₁ of the non-metallic container 4, the installation position of the metal detector 21b is arbitrary as long as the object of the present invention is achieved.

As shown in FIG. 3, the detecting unit 20 includes a belt conveyor.
It is installed so as to be surrounded by an object thickness securing device 60 installed in contact with the object 10 placed on 30.

That is, if the non-metallic container 4 is flexible such as a separate additive such as instant noodles, the metal detectors 21a and 21b
Becomes flat when it comes into contact with the container, and the metal detector 21a
And 21b are both turned on, which may cause a malfunction. Therefore, when the non-metal container 4 is flexible, when the metal detector 21 contacts the container 4, the container 4
It is desirable to provide a subject thickness securing means for forcing the subject to maintain a constant thickness.

The subject thickness securing device 60 is provided before and after the detector 20,
A rotation axis provided at right angles to the transport direction A of the subject 10
Four rollers 61a, 61b, 62a, 62b fixed to 61, 62
And two belts 63a and 63b stretched over the belt.

When detecting the subject 10, the subject thickness securing device 60 is brought into contact with the subject 10 together with the detectors of the detection unit 20. At this time, the rotating shafts 62 of the rollers 62a and 63b are rotated by a motor (not shown) so that the belts 63a and 63b are moved along the direction A in which the subject 10 is transferred and at the same speed as the transfer speed. Let it. Accordingly, the belt is attached to the upper surface of the subject 10 with the rotation of the rollers 61a, 61b, 62a, and 62b.
A pulling force is exerted on the non-metal container 4 on the inner upper surface of the subject 10 by a force that is pulled right and left and forward through 63a and 63b. As a result, a certain thickness is secured at the center of the container 4, and at the same time, the floating of the subject 10 is prevented.

The detection unit 20 can be moved up and down with respect to the belt conveyor 30 by appropriate means (not shown), and the metal detectors 21a and 21b are always both on the belt conveyor.
It is set to contact 30 loaded noodles. When only one of the first article 1 and the second article 2 is present, the capacitance detector 22 enables the electrodes 23 and 24 to move upward with a lower limit at a position where the electrodes 23 and 24 are almost in contact with the first article 1 and the second article 2. When the first article 1 exists on the article 2, the first article 1 can always contact the surface of the first article 1.

Next, an operation when the detection device described above detects the presence or absence of an article stored in a packaged product will be described.

The subject 10 is configured such that the non-metal container 4 including the first article 1 and the metal container 5 including the second article 2 are stacked in the stated order with the container 4 being at the top and accommodated in the outer container 6. It is composed.

With the above configuration, the first article 1 has a constant capacitance that can be detected by the capacitance detector 22. For example, when the first article 1 is a liquid soup such as dashi, the above condition is satisfied, and the capacitance in this case is about 10 pF. The second article 2 may have any capacitance. For example, a powder material such as a powder seasoning can be used. As the container 4, a bag-shaped or box-shaped container made of a nonmetallic material can be used. The container 4
Contains 5 cc or more, preferably 10 cc or more, of the first article 1 which is a liquid having a water content of 20% by weight (hereinafter simply referred to as%) or more, preferably 40% or more. Further, the container 4 contains a liquid, and the thickness of the container 4 is 2 mm or more, preferably 3 mm or more.

Therefore, by setting the water content of the first article 1 which is a liquid contained in the container 4, the volume of the first article 1, and the thickness of the container 4 within the above numerical ranges, the capacitance detector 22 can be used.
This makes it possible to clearly detect the capacitance corresponding to the liquid first article 1. The above numerical range is particularly effective when the capacitance is detected by the capacitance detector 22 having a flat electrode having an area of 1 to 10 cm ² .

FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the state of the subject 10 and the outputs of the capacitance detector 22, the first metal detector 21a, and the second metal detector 21b. In FIG. 4, the state of the subject 10 is the first
In the case where the article and the second article are housed, the case where only the first article is housed, the case where only the second article is housed, and the case where nothing is housed, are divided into each of the detection elements. The combination of output signals is different.

That is, the capacitance detector 22 can distinguish the state from the state. This is the subject 10
Each state indicates a capacitance of about 10 pF and is within the range of the capacitance corresponding to the ON output of the capacitance detector 22, whereas the state indicates 0 pF and the capacitance This is because it is within the range of the capacitance corresponding to the OFF output of the detector 22. In the state, the metal forming the metal container 5 exhibits the relatively large capacitance described above, and in the state, the air of the subject 10 exhibits a capacitance of 0 pF.

The state can be distinguished from the state by the first metal detector 21a.
States can be distinguished from states. As described above, the first article 1 and the second article 2 are
It is possible to judge a non-defective product existing in the inside.

In the detection state described in detail above, the detection unit 20
Are transmitted to the signal converter 41 corresponding to any of the different detection states. At the same time, the signal converter 41 receives the timing pulse from the encoder 40 as a signal. This signal converter 41 is used only when a detection signal corresponding to the case where all of the first article 1, the second article 2, and the third article 3 are contained in the subject 10 from the detector 20 is transmitted. Then, the pulse signal from the encoder 40 is sent to the control unit 42.

The control unit 42 determines the presence or absence of an article contained in the subject 10 based on the signal sent from the signal converter 41, and sends an appropriate operation signal to the exclusion device 50. That is,
The control unit 40 stores in advance the number of pulses transmitted from the signal converter 41 in the case of “good” when all the articles are stored in the subject 10. Then, for the subject 10, when the number of pulses of the signal from the signal converter 41 is smaller than the stored value, or
Exclusion device only if the above signal is not transmitted from 41
Send the "Discharge" operation signal to 50.

The removing device 50 removes the corresponding product from the belt conveyor 30 by means of an air jet or the like in accordance with the removing signal. It is also possible to monitor the signal from the control unit 42 without the elimination device and manually remove the subject 10 determined to be defective from the belt conveyor 30.

In the above, the first metal detector 21a whose detection distance does not exceed the thickness of the first article 1 and the second metal detector 21b whose detection distance exceeds the thickness are used together with the capacitance detector 22. This is the case where detection is performed. In the above case, there is an advantage that the non-defective product in which the first article 1 and the second article 2 exist in the subject 10 can be determined by detecting one place.

However, alternatively, the following method can be adopted.

That is, first, the capacitance detector 22 and the first metal detector 21a
, Thereby distinguishing the state from the state (see FIG. 4). Then, for the distinguished state, metal detection may be performed using an appropriate metal detector, and a state in which the metal is detected may be determined as a state (non-defective). In this case, since there is no need to use a metal detector whose detection distance exceeds the thickness of the first article 1,
A wider range of detection is possible.

〔The invention's effect〕

Since the present invention is configured as described above,
When the subject accommodates the first article in the non-metal container and the second article in the metal container, the subject includes the first article and the second article, and includes only the first article. Status,
It is possible to clearly distinguish between a state that includes only the second article and an empty state that does not include any article.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a side view showing the detection unit, FIG. 3 is a top view showing the detection unit, and FIG. 4 is a table showing the relationship between the product state of the subject and the outputs of the capacitance detector 22 and the metal detector 21. is there. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... 1st article 2 ... 2nd article 4 ... Non-metal container 5 ... Metal container 10 ... Subject 21a ... 1st metal detector 21b ... 2nd metal detector 22 ... Capacitance Detector 23 Electrode 24 Electrode

Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Takeshi Nakai 337 Ikezawa-cho, Yamatokoriyama-shi, Yamato-Kori, Nara factory Nara factory (56) References JP-A-60-195481 (JP, A)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first object having a constant capacitance and a metal container containing a second item are accommodated in a subject, and a capacitance range including the capacitance of the first item is turned on. And a first metal detector whose detection distance does not exceed the thickness of the first article, and outputs ON when a metal is detected. And if not detected OF
F and a metal detector to be output are arranged on the first article side of the subject, the subject is brought into substantially contact with the detector, the first metal detector outputs OFF, and the When the capacitance detector outputs ON, it is determined that the metal container exists adjacent to the first article on the opposite side of the detector in the subject or that the first article exists in the subject. And, for the two types of subjects determined as described above, the detection is performed by a second metal detector that outputs ON when metal is detected and outputs OFF when no metal is detected, and the second metal detector
A method for detecting a contained article, comprising determining that the first article and the metal container are present in the subject when outputting ON. 2. A second metal detector having a detection distance exceeding the thickness of the first article is used as the second metal detector, and the object is measured together with the capacitance detector and the first metal detector. The capacitance detector and the second metal detector output ON, and the first and second metal detectors are turned on.
The method according to claim 1, wherein when the metal detector outputs OFF, it is determined that the first article and the metal container are present in the subject. 3. An apparatus for inspecting an article contained in a subject containing a first article having a constant capacitance and a metal container containing a second article, wherein the capacitance includes the capacitance of the first article. A capacitance detector that outputs a range as ON and outputs a range less than this as OFF, a first metal detector whose detection distance does not exceed the thickness of the first article, and a detection distance of the first article A second metal detector having a thickness exceeding the thickness, wherein both detectors that output ON when metal is detected and output OFF when not detected are arranged on the first article side of the subject, When the object is brought into substantially contact with the detector, the capacitance detector and the second metal detector output ON, and when the first metal detector outputs OFF, the detector in the object is output. A first article on the side, and the first article on the side opposite to the detector.
A stored article detection device, which determines that the metal container is present adjacent to an article.