JP3195094B2 - Multi-stage weight sorter - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multistage weight for weighing articles supplied by a predetermined number, sorting the weighed articles to a predetermined sorting position corresponding to the weighed value, and sorting the weight of the articles. Regarding the sorting machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional multi-stage weight sorter is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-184022. The weight sorter, as shown in FIG.
A measuring unit 2 having four containers 4a to 4d, a supply device 6 for supplying articles to the containers 4a to 4d of the measuring unit 2, a measuring unit 2
The transport device 8 includes a transport device 8 for receiving and transporting the articles weighed from the containers 4a to 4d and transport devices 8a to 10f provided at six distribution positions in the transport device 8. The multi-stage weight sorter sorts the articles based on the weighing value in the weighing unit 2 and controls each of the sorting devices 10a to 10f according to the sorting result to sort the articles into a predetermined sorting location corresponding to the weighing value. Can be sorted.

The supply device 6 has a plurality of containers mounted on a conveyor, and these containers are conveyed in synchronization with the containers 4a to 4d of the measuring section 2. That is, the containers of the transport conveyor and the containers 4a to 4d of the weighing section 2 meet each other one by one at the article supply position. When supplying articles to each of the containers 4a to 4d of the weighing section 2, the operator may manually supply a predetermined number of articles to each of the containers on the transport conveyor, whereby the articles supplied to each of the containers are:
The container 4a of the measuring unit 2 is conveyed to the measuring unit 2 side while being held in the container, and is moved from the container on the conveyor to the container 4a
To 4d.

[0004]

According to the conventional multi-stage weight sorter described above, as the weighing capacity of the weighing section 2, the transfer capacity of the transfer device 8, and the sortability of the sorting devices 10a to 10f are increased, the supply device 6 is increased. It is necessary to increase the conveyor speed, but when the conveyor speed exceeds a certain level, the moving speed of the containers attached to the conveyor increases, and the operator can supply articles to each container of the supply device 6. Therefore, there is a problem that the processing capacity of the multi-stage weight sorter cannot be increased to a certain level or more. When the conveyor speed of the supply device 6 is increased,
There is also a problem that it becomes difficult for an operator to input a predetermined number of articles into each container, and an input error occurs. Furthermore,
There is also a problem that as the capacity of the weight sorter is increased, the number of workers who put articles into the supply device 6 also needs to be increased.

An object of the present invention is to provide a multi-stage weight sorter that solves the above-mentioned problems.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of weighing containers are provided on a main body along a circumference, and a weighing unit weighs the weight of an article supplied to each weighing container. The sorting unit sorts the weighing value of each article obtained in multiple stages, and the sorting device sorts the weighed articles to a plurality of sorting positions predetermined based on the sorting result in a multi-stage weight sorter, A dispersing device for dispersing a large number of articles supplied to a predetermined position on the outer peripheral side is provided on the main body, each receives the articles dispersed by the dispersing apparatus and places the received articles on the corresponding measuring container sides. A supply device for sending out a predetermined number of units is provided on the main body, and a conveying unit that receives the articles in the measuring containers and conveys the articles to the sorting unit by the predetermined number is provided at a lower position of the plurality of measuring containers. The sorter is characterized in that provided in the lower position of the transport unit.

According to a second aspect, in the multi-stage weight sorter according to the first aspect, the plurality of weighing containers are divided into a plurality of groups, and the plurality of sorting devices are provided in correspondence with each group of the weighing containers. A platform is provided, and the transport unit transports the articles in the weighing container to the sorting device corresponding to the group to which the weighing container belongs.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a weight measuring device measures the weight of an article, a sorting unit sorts the measured weight values of the article in multiple stages, and the sorting apparatus sorts the measured articles into the sorting result. In a multi-stage weight sorter for distributing to a predetermined plurality of distributing positions based on the dispersing device, a dispersing device for dispersing a large number of articles supplied to a predetermined position on an outer peripheral side is provided in a main body, and each is dispersed by the dispersing device. A plurality of supply devices for receiving articles and sending out the received articles by a predetermined number to the following conveyance unit side are provided on the main body, and a conveyance unit that conveys the articles sent from the supply device side to the weight measurement device by the predetermined number is used. Is provided at a lower position of the supply device, and the weight measuring device and the sorting device are provided at a lower position of the transport unit.

According to a fourth invention, in the multi-stage weight sorter according to the third invention, the plurality of supply devices are divided into a plurality of groups, and the weight measuring device and the plurality of supply devices are associated with each group. A plurality of sets of the sorting device are provided, and the transport unit is configured to transport the articles sent from the supply device side to the set of the weight measuring devices corresponding to the group to which the supply device belongs. Is what you do.

According to a fifth aspect, in the multi-stage weight sorter according to the first, second, third, or fourth aspect, the transport section is formed by a chute, and a plurality of timings for adjusting the discharge timing of the articles discharged from the chute. Is provided on the chute.

[0011]

According to the first aspect, when a large number of articles are randomly supplied to the dispersing apparatus, the dispersing apparatus disperses the supplied articles and is provided at predetermined positions in the dispersing direction. Supply to each supply device. Each supply device receives the articles dispersed by the dispersing device and supplies a predetermined number of the received articles to the corresponding weighing containers. Then, the weighing unit measures the weight of the predetermined number of articles supplied to each weighing container for each weighing container, and the sorting unit reads and weighs the measured values of the predetermined number of articles obtained by weighing.
Then, the transport unit receives the weighed articles from the respective weighing containers, and conveys the received articles to the sorting device by a predetermined number, and the sorting device sorts the weighed articles into a plurality of predetermined sorting based on the sorting result. Sort by position.

According to the second aspect, the articles weighed by a certain group of weighing containers are distributed to a plurality of predetermined distribution positions by a predetermined distribution device corresponding to the group. In other words, when the number of times of weighing of the article weight per unit time (weighing capacity) by the weighing unit is larger than the number of times of allocating the articles per unit time (sorting ability) by one sorting apparatus, by providing a plurality of sorting apparatuses, The balance between the weighing ability and the sorting ability can be achieved.

According to the third aspect, when a large number of articles are randomly supplied to the dispersing apparatus, the dispersing apparatus disperses the supplied articles and is provided at predetermined positions in the dispersing direction. Supply to each supply device. Each supply device receives the articles dispersed by the dispersing device, and sends out the received articles to the transport unit side by a predetermined number. Then, the conveying unit conveys the received articles to the weight measuring device by a predetermined number, and the sorting device sorts the weight-measured articles to a plurality of predetermined sorting positions based on the sorting result.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the articles supplied to the transport section by a certain group of supply apparatuses are transported by the transport section to a predetermined set of weight measuring devices and sorting devices corresponding to the group. In other words, the number of times a given number of articles are sent out per unit time by the dispersing apparatus and the supply apparatus (delivery capacity) is equal to the number of times the weight of articles is measured and distributed by a set of weight measuring apparatus and sorting apparatus (weight measurement and sorting capacity). ),
By providing a plurality of sets of the weight measuring device and the sorting device, it is possible to balance the feeding ability with the weight measuring and sorting capability.

According to the fifth aspect, when each set of articles, each of which is a predetermined number of articles, slides down the chute sequentially and moves, each gate holds the articles for each set, and Can be discharged from the chute. Thereby, each set of articles can be supplied to the sorting device or the weighing device at an accurate timing and so that the articles of each set do not mix with each other.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment will be described by taking an eight-stage weight sorter as an example. FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of the weight sorter. As shown in FIG. 1, the weight sorter has a fixed base 1
A dispersion feeder 16 (dispersion feeder 16 is the dispersion device according to claim 1) is provided at substantially the center of 1, and the articles dispersed outside by this dispersion feeder 16 are 1.
Six straight feeders E (E _{1 to} E ₁₆ ) (straight feeders E
Is a supply device according to claim 1. ).
The plurality of rectilinear feeders E supply articles to the corresponding 16 weighing hoppers A (A _{1 to} A ₁₆ ) by a predetermined number. Articles weight is weighed by each weighing hopper A, weighing hoppers _{A 1, A 2, A 3} , ···, in the order of A _16, each weighing hopper A and corresponding to the respective collecting chute is provided with S ( S _{1 to} S ₁₆ ) (the collecting chute S is the conveying unit according to claim 1). The articles to be discharged through these collecting chutes S is discharged onto the predetermined number by one distributing device 32, the said predetermined total weight and the corresponding receiving box R of the constant number of articles (R ₁ to R ₈₎ The weight is sorted and sorted by the sorting device 32. These linear feeder E, weighing hopper A, and collecting chute S
Is fixedly provided on the fixed base 11 as shown in FIG. 1, and the sorting device 32 is fixedly provided on the floor 33.

That is, the weight sorter weighs the weight of the article, determines which of the eight weight ranks the weight belongs to, and sorts the weighed article based on the determination result. The articles are discharged to the corresponding storage box R, and the weight of the articles is thereby sorted.

Reference numeral 17 shown in FIG. 1 denotes an article storage hopper, which is attached to the upper surface of the center of the fixed base 11 of the weight sorter. Although not shown in the drawing, a discharge port of the bucket conveyor is disposed above the storage hopper 17, and the bucket conveyor is stored in a large storage tank installed at the same level as the installation surface of the weight sorter. The articles to be weighed are pulled up and discharged from the discharge port, and the articles are stored and supplied to the hopper 17 at random.

Articles in the reservoir hopper 17 are stored in the reservoir hopper 1.
7 and is supplied to the dispersion feeder 16 at a substantially central position on the upper surface of the umbrella 18. The article supplied on the umbrella 18 is sent from the center of the umbrella 18 to the outer peripheral side and dispersed radially when the dispersing vibrator VM supporting the umbrella 18 vibrates. As shown in FIG. 2, the umbrella-shaped body 18 is provided with 16 outlets along the outer peripheral edge, and articles are sent to the respective outlets substantially uniformly. And
Each outlet is provided with a fall stop gate 40, and when the gate 40 is opened, the article falls onto the gutter-like body 19 below. The fall stop gate 40 is driven to open and close by a discharge gate drive cylinder GX (GX _{1 to} GX ₁₆ ) for the dispersion feeder.

[0020] Around the dispersion feeder 16, as shown in FIG. 1, radially (360/16) ° every 16 units linear feeder E (FIG. 1 shows a single linear feeder E _1.) Are disposed, and each straight feeder E is provided on the upper surface of the fixed base 11. Each rectilinear feeder E includes a gutter-like body 19, the center end of which is located below the outer edge of the umbrella-like body 18, and the tip end is located above each weighing hopper A. Each gutter-like body 19 is provided so as to be inclined so that the tip side is downward so that the article can easily slide down. The outlet 20 provided on the tip side of the gutter 19 is
As shown in FIG. 2, it is formed to have a width that allows one article to pass through. The articles dispersed by the dispersion feeder 16 are supplied onto the gutter-like body 19 from the upper surface of the umbrella-like body 18,
A straight-running vibrator V (V _1-
Due to the vibration of V ₁₆ ), the gutter-like body 19 is sent from the center end to the tip end. 21 shown in FIG. 1, a making gate for opening and closing the discharge port 20 of the gutter-like bodies 19, turned gate 21 by the linear feeder linear feeder turned gate drive cylinder GA of E (GA ₁ ~GA ₁₆₎ It is driven to open and close.

As shown in FIG. 1, 16 weighing hoppers A are provided below the tips of the 16 linear feeders E, and can hold and measure articles. The vibrating vibrators V of the straight feeder E are driven in order at predetermined time intervals in the order of V _{1 to} V ₁₆ , and each gutter-shaped body 19 is driven.
The upper article is sent to the outlet 20 side. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the input gate drive cylinder GA is GA ₁ -G
Driven sequentially at a predetermined time interval tsec in the order of A _16, and supplies the articles to the respective weighing hopper A corresponding open poured gate 21 in this order (A ₁ ~A _16). Each of the weighing hoppers A has a weight detector LC (LC _{1 to} LC ₁₆ ).
Is provided to detect a weight value of the article supplied to the weighing hopper A. Below these weighing hoppers A, collecting chutes S (S _{1 to} S ₁₆ ) are provided, respectively. Each weighing hopper A weighing hopper for discharging the gate drive cylinder VA provided to the drives in sequence at predetermined time intervals tsec in the order of VA ₁ to VA _16, the gate 22 of the weighing hopper A Each set shoot S to be released in order
Discharging the articles (S ₁ ~S _16).

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the collecting chute S and the sorting device 32. The collecting chute S is gutter-shaped,
There are 16 units. The 16 collecting chutes S are radially arranged, each upper end is located below the corresponding weighing hopper A, and each lower end is gathered at the center. In the center, one discharge chute 12
Is provided. The discharge chute 12 receives an article sliding down each collective chute S, and the discharge port 34
To be discharged from

As shown in FIG. 3, a conveyor-type sorting device 32 is provided below the discharge chute 12 to receive the articles falling from the discharge port 34 of the discharge chute 12 on the conveyor 13 and to receive an arrow. It is conveyed in the direction of 27. 14 shown in the figure is a guide. The guide 14 is for preventing the articles dropped on the conveyor 13 from being dispersed in a direction other than the conveying direction of the conveyor 13.

On the conveyor 13, as shown in FIG.
Along the left edge of the figure of the conveyor 13 is provided with a goods detection sensor PHR (PHR ₁ ~PHR ₇₎ and air valve closing magnet VC for sorting the article (VC ₁ ~VC _7). These object detection sensor PHR and an air valve closing magnet VC is, PHR ₁ and VC _1, · · ·, PHR
₇ and VC _{7 form a} set, and the PHR and VC of each set are provided at predetermined intervals. The air nozzle N (N ₁ ~N ₇₎ is provided in each air valve closing magnet VC. Each air nozzle N is connected to a pressurized air supply source (not shown) via a corresponding air valve opening / closing magnet VC, and pressurizes air forward when the corresponding magnet VC is opened. Inject. Also,
Conveyor 13 are set up storage box R (R ₁ ~R ₇₎ for receiving the articles to each of the air nozzle N and a position facing through between the. Furthermore, there is installed a receiving box R ₈ in the end position of the discharge side of the conveyor 13. That is, each storage box R (R ₁ to
R ₈ ) corresponds to each of the eight weight ranks.

This multi-stage weight sorter includes a control device 25 shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of electric components connected to the control device 25. Weight detector LC (LC
_{1 to} LC ₁₆ ) detect the weight of the article supplied to each weighing hopper A, and its signal enters the control device 25, the weight rank is determined, and is temporarily stored in the memory in the control device 25. The article detection sensor PHA (PHA ₁ ~PHA ₁₆₎ is
It is arranged on the article supply side (discharge port side of the dispersion feeder 16) of each rectilinear feeder E. The article detection sensor PHA is
If there is a shortage of articles on each gutter-like body 19, a signal to that effect is sent to the control device 25, and the control device 25 sends a signal to that effect to the corresponding distributed feeder discharge gate drive cylinder GX. And the gate 40 is opened. Gate 4
When 0 is released, the article is dropped from the umbrella-shaped body 18 onto the gutter-shaped body 19, and the dropped article moves while sliding down toward the discharge port 20 side. The timing at which the articles on the gutter-like body 18 are put into the weighing hopper A is predetermined as shown in FIG. That is, a predetermined timing (state P)
And turned when the control unit 25 first turned with the charged gate drive cylinder GA ₁ for linear feeder is driven to open the charged gate 21, the gutter-like bodies articles on the 18 promptly weighing hopper A ₁ the vibrator V ₁ for linear feeder is driven so as to. Then, the article is discharged from the discharge port 20 of the gutter-like bodies 18, the article detection sensor PHB ₁ detects the article, thereby closing the discharge port 20 by driving the drive cylinder GA _1, a vibrator V ₁ Stop.
At this time, the discharge opening 20 of the gutter-like bodies 18, the subsequent article has been moved by vibration by the vibrator V _1, waiting for the next discharge. However, when two sets of articles are put into the weighing hopper A ₁ as a set, the driving cylinder G
By driving the A _1, to open and close the gate 21.

Next, as shown in FIG.
After end of the operation of the A _1, by driving the charged gate drive cylinder GA _2, open and close the gate 21 in the same manner as described above, introducing an article of a predetermined number of the weighing hoppers A _2. Hereinafter, a predetermined number of articles are sequentially placed in the order of the weighing hoppers A ₃ , A ₄ ,..., A ₁₆ , A ₁ , A ₂ ,. throw into. Note that the article detection sensors PHB (PHB _{1 to} PHB ₁₆ ) are attached to the lower surface of the tip of each gutter 19 as shown in FIG.

The article level sensor PHC is connected to the reservoir hopper 1
7, detects the level of an article in the reservoir hopper 17 and outputs a signal to the control device 25. That is, by detecting the level of the article in the reservoir hopper 17, the operation is performed so that the layer thickness of the article on the umbrella-shaped body 18 is maintained within a certain range.

Discharge gate drive cylinder VA for measuring hopper
(VA _{1 to} VA ₁₆ ) are the discharge gate 22 of the weighing hopper A.
To open and close. When the articles are put into each of the weighing hoppers A, the control device 25 weighs the articles after a certain stabilization time shown in FIG. 5 has elapsed, fetches the weighing data, and ranks the weight rank for each of the weighing data. It is determined and temporarily stored in the memory in the control device 25. And
When the weighing is completed, the discharge gate drive cylinder VA corresponding to the weighing hopper A is driven to open and close the discharge gate 22 to discharge the articles in the weighing hopper A. The articles discharged from the weighing hopper A are transferred to the collecting chute S corresponding to the weighing hopper A, pass through the collecting chute S and the discharging chute 12, and are conveyed by the conveyor type sorting device 3.
2 is dropped on the conveyor 13.

As shown in FIG. 5, the discharge gate drive cylinder VA is connected to VA ₁ , VA at predetermined time intervals.
_2, ..., VA _16, are sequentially driven in the order of ..., whereby each weighing hopper A _1, A _2, ...,
The articles in A ₁₆ ,... Can be sequentially dropped onto the conveyor 13 at predetermined time intervals t.

The article detection sensors PHR (PHR _{1 to} PHR)
₇ ) detects an article conveyed by the conveyor 13 and, when the weight rank of the detected article corresponds to the article detection sensor PHR, an air valve corresponding to the article detection sensor PHR detecting the article. Opening / closing magnet VC
To open and close. That is, the article being determined weight rank, being conveyed by the conveyor 13, passes through the front of the article detection sensor PHR ₁ ~PHR ₇ sequentially, each article detection sensor PHR detects sequential article, a detection signal Output to the control device 25. Then
The control device 25 reads the signal from the article detection sensor PHR, and sorts the article (the article detection sensor PH).
R) is compared with the weight rank data of the article. If they are compatible, i.e., for example when the article of the weight rank R ₁ is detected by PHR ₁ is off the air valve closing magnet VC (VC ₁₎ corresponding to the article detection sensor PHR (PHR ₁₎ When driven, the article is blown with pressurized air for a predetermined time to push the article into the storage box R (R ₁ ). However, if they do not correspond to each other, it waits for the article detection sensor PHR in the subsequent stage to detect the article, and at the time of detection, compares the sorting position of the article with the weight rank data of the article. In the case where the weight rank data of the article does not correspond with the distribution positions of any of the articles, it is introduced into the receiving box R _8. And then another article conveyed by the conveyor 13, passes through the front of the article detection sensor PHR ₁ ~PHR ₇ in order, in the same manner as described above, and weight rank data of the articles of the distribution position and said article Compare and sort. The weight rank data of the preceding article and the weight rank data of the subsequent article are stored in a memory in the control device 25,
After the article is put into the storage box R, the weight rank data of the article is deleted.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an electric circuit in the control device 25 shown in FIG. LC _{1 to} LC ₁₆ are weight detectors, AMP _{1 to} AMP ₁₆ are amplifiers, AS _{1 to} AS ₁₆ are analog switches, A / D is an A / D converter, and I / O
Is an input / output circuit, and CPU is a microprocessor. The memory includes a ROM, a RAM, and an E ² ROM. Further, the control device 25 is provided with a display unit and operation keys for monitoring and setting weight, weight rank data, and the like. The controller 25, the analog switch AS ₁ at a time chart of states P ₁₃ shown in FIG. 5 and to ON, the weight signal of the weight detector LC ₁ performs a measurement operation by converting A / D, below the order States P ₁₄ , P ₁₅ , P ₁₆ , P ₁ , P ₂ ,
, Where AS ₂ , AS ₃ , AS ₄ , AS ₅ , A
Turn on S ₆ ,... And perform the weighing operation in the same manner as above.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the timing of inputting and weighing articles to the weighing hopper A and discharging the weighed articles in the multi-stage weight sorter. As shown in the chart, one weighing cycle time is Tsec
This is the time, which is divided into 16 equal parts and the state P
, P ₁ , P ₂ ,..., P ₁₆ , P ₁ ,. First, a weighing start command is issued to the control device 25 (this command can be generated by operating an operation key provided in the control device 25 shown in FIG. 6). Are automatically generated based on a program so that the next cycle can be started.), The input gates 21 of the respective linear feeders E are set to E ₁ , E ₂ , E ₃ ,.
Gate drive cylinder GA to open in order of
A ₁ , GA ₂ , GA ₃ ,...
V ₁ rectilinear for vibrator V (not shown), V _2, V _3, ··
・ It works in the order of. Thereby, to the weighing hopper A,
.. Are started in the order of A ₁ , A ₂ , A ₃ ,. In other words, put the gate drive cylinder GA ₁ is charged with articles to the weighing hoppers A ₁ over P ₂ state by operating at P ₁ state,
GA ₂ is P articles in P ₃ state operating in a _two-state and poured into the weighing hopper A _2, to introduce the articles in each weighing hopper A at the timing shown in Similarly the chart below. However, if the number of articles put into each weighing hopper A is, for example, two, every time one article is put into the weighing hopper A,
The input gate drive cylinder GA is operated so as to close the corresponding input gate 21, and the corresponding straight-moving vibrator V is stopped to input two articles. Then, after a predetermined stabilization time has elapsed from the time when the articles are put into each of the weighing hoppers A, the weight of the articles in each of the weighing hoppers A is reduced to a predetermined time.
Weighing is performed sequentially at time intervals of sec, each weighing value obtained by weighing is taken into a memory in the CPU, and a weight rank value is determined for each weighing value. Then, these determined weight rank values are stored in a register in the same memory in the order determined. In other words, weighing the weight of the article of the hopper A ₁ was weighed in a P ₁₃ state, weighing hoppers on the weight of the articles in the A ₂ was weighed in a P ₁₄ state, and so each weighing hopper A at the timing shown in the chart Weigh the weight of the article.

When the weighing of the articles in the weighing hopper A is completed, the discharge gate driving cylinders VA for the weighing hopper are immediately changed to VA ₁ , VA ₂ , VA ₃ ,.
・ Operate in the order of. Thus, the articles in the weighing hopper A are discharged in the order of A ₁ , A ₂ , A ₃ ,..., And each article is sent to the corresponding collecting chute S S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ ,.
・ Discharge in order. That is, the discharge gate drive cylinder VA ₁ is operated at P ₁₄ state, VA ₂ is operated in a P ₁₅ state, and so the discharge gate driving cylinder VA at the timing shown in the chart is activated. In this way, the articles are sequentially discharged from the respective weighing hoppers A, and after a certain period of time elapses for each of the weighing hoppers A, the current weighing cycle is sequentially completed for each of the weighing hoppers A, as shown in the same time chart. The next weighing cycle starts.

On the other hand, the collective shoots S are represented by S ₁ , S ₂ ,
Each article passing in the order of S ₃ ,.
2 are successively dropped on the conveyor 13 and, as described above,
Weight sorting is performed by sorting the articles into respective storage boxes R corresponding to the weight rank of each article.

The second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
Multistage checkweighers of the second embodiment, in a multi-step weight sorter first embodiment, the weighing hopper A (A ₁ ~A _16), weighing hoppers for discharge gate driving cylinder VA (VA ₁ to VA
_16), removing the weight detector LC (LC ₁ ~LC _16),
Each outlet chute S (S
_{1 to} S ₁₆ ). And
As shown in FIG. 11, a feeding conveyor 26 and a conveyor-type weighing device 28 are provided at a stage preceding the sorting device 32. That is, in the first embodiment, the weight of the articles is measured by the 16 weighing hoppers A, whereas
In the embodiment, a method of weighing an article by one weighing device 28 is used. Other than this, the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment, and the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the detailed description is omitted.

According to this weight sorter, as shown in FIG. 10, the articles put in the storage hopper 17 are dispersed by the dispersion feeder 16 and supplied to the 16 linear feeders E. Then, each of the rectilinear feeders E puts a predetermined number of articles into the corresponding collective chutes S at predetermined time intervals t. The articles put into the respective collecting chutes S are sequentially dropped at predetermined time intervals t and fall on the feeding conveyor 26 shown in FIG. The feed conveyor 26 is
The received articles are conveyed in the direction of arrow 27 shown in FIG. The conveyer type weighing device 28 conveys each of the fed articles to the subsequent sorting device 32 by the weighing conveyor 29.
The articles being conveyed by the weighing conveyor 29 are weighed by the weight detector 31, and the weighing signal is sent to the control unit 2.
5 is input. Then, the control unit 25 determines the weight rank based on the weighed values of these weighed articles in the same manner as in the first embodiment. And the sorting device 32 is also the first
In the same manner as in the embodiment, the weighed articles are sorted into the storage boxes R corresponding to the weight rank. In this way, the weight of the articles can be sorted.

A third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The multi-stage weight sorter of this embodiment includes a gate 30 shown in FIG. 7 on the discharge side of the collecting chutes S (S _{1 to} S ₁₆ ) of the multi-stage weight sorter of the first embodiment. Gate 30
Drive cylinders GY (GY ₁ to GY ₁ to
GY ₁₆ ) are provided, and other than that, the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, and detailed description is omitted. This gate 3
The reason for providing 0 and the gate drive cylinder GY will be described below. In the first embodiment, the articles are weighing hoppers A ₁ to A ₁ .
When discharged into the collecting chute S ₁ to S ₁₆ in the order of A _16, if there is a difference in slip degree of the collecting chute S, for example, on the collecting chute S ₁ and two sets of articles sliding down the S ₂ is the conveyor 13 Fall timing may overlap. This is likely to occur when the time interval t of each state P shown in FIG. 5 is short. In such a case, there is a problem that both sets of articles cannot be sorted accurately. Therefore, an article which slides down the collecting chutes S once received by the gate 30, after the time adjustment, the gate drive cylinder GY is driven in the order of GY ₁ ~GY ₁₆ to open and close the gate 30, a conveyor the articles 13 Drop it up. by this,
An article sliding down each collecting chute S can be dropped on the conveyor 13 at an appropriate timing. Since the length from the position of the gate 30 to the lower end of the collecting chute S is short, the timing of the drop does not shift during this period. Then, the gate drive cylinder GY (GY _{1 to} GY _{1 to} G
Y ₁₆ ) is driven to open the gate 30 as shown in FIG.

However, in the third embodiment, the gates 30 shown in FIG. 7 are provided on each discharge side of each collecting chute S (S _{1 to} S ₁₆ ) of the multi-stage weight sorter of the first embodiment. And a gate drive cylinder GY for opening and closing the gate 30
(GY _{1 to} GY ₁₆ ) are provided, respectively.
Multistage Checkweigher each collecting chute S in the embodiment of (S ₁ ~
At each discharge unit side of S ₁₆ ), gates 30 shown in FIG.
And a gate drive cylinder GY (GY ₁ -GY ₁₆ ) for opening and closing the gate 30. With this configuration, as in the third embodiment, articles that slide down the collecting chute S can be once received, and each article can be dropped onto the feeding conveyor 26 at an appropriate timing with a predetermined time interval t.

A multi-stage weight sorter according to a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The difference between the weight sorter of this embodiment and the weight sorter of the first embodiment is that in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, one article weighed by the weighing hoppers A _{1 to} A ₁₆ is used. In the weight sorter according to the fourth embodiment, the articles weighed by the weighing hoppers A _{1 to} A ₈ (first group) are arranged as shown in FIG. A configuration in which the articles distributed by the distribution apparatus 32 and weighed by the weighing hoppers A _{9 to} A ₁₆ (second group) are distributed by a separate distribution apparatus 32 ′ (the distribution apparatuses 32 and 32 ′ are equivalent). I was just doing. Therefore, the weight sorter, as shown in FIG. 8, is provided with a discharge chute 12 to the discharge side of the S ₁ to S ₈ of the collecting chutes S, separate from the discharge side of the S ₉ to S ₁₆ A discharge chute 12 'is provided. The other parts are the same as those of the first embodiment, and the same parts are indicated by the same reference numerals and the detailed description is omitted.

The reason for this configuration is that, in the configuration of the multi-stage weight sorter shown in FIG.
That is, when the time interval t is relatively short, the intervals between the articles falling on the conveyor 13 through the collecting chutes S adjacent to each other may be very close, and in such a case, the articles may be accurately sorted. This is because there are things that cannot be done. That is, as shown in the time chart of FIG. 9, the timing of discharging the articles from the respective weighing hoppers A to the respective collecting chutes S is determined as GA ₁ (A ₁ ) → GA ₉ (A ₉ ) → GA
₂ (A ₂ ) → GA ₁₀ (A ₁₀ ) → GA ₃ (A ₃ ) → ・ ・ ・
→ GA ₁₆ (A ₁₆ ) → GA ₁ (A ₁ ) →..., The time interval between articles falling through the adjacent collecting chute S can be expanded to 2 tsec, which is twice as long as tsec. .

However, the weighing hoppers A are divided into two groups, and the sorting process of the articles weighed by the weighing hoppers A in each group is performed by the sorting device 32 corresponding to each group.
32 ', the weighing hoppers A are divided into three or more groups, and the distribution process of the articles weighed by the weighing hoppers A in each group is allocated to the distribution device corresponding to each group. it can.

In the fourth embodiment, the weighing hopper A ₁
The to A ₁₆ is divided into first and second groups, a configuration for distributing articles weighed by the weighing hopper A of each group in a separate distributing device 3232 ', multistage weight sorting of the second embodiment The straight-line feeders E _{1 to} E ₈ of the machine are divided into a plurality of groups, and a plurality of sets of the infeed conveyor 26, the conveyor-type weighing device 28, and the sorting device 32 are provided so as to correspond to each group of the straight-line feeder E. be able to. The reason for this configuration is that, in the configuration of the multi-stage weight sorter shown in FIG. 10, the article supply capacity of the straight-ahead feeder E is high, that is, the interval between the articles falling through the collecting chute S onto the conveyer 26 is small. This is because, as described above, the articles may not be able to be sorted accurately if they are very close to each other. That is, for example, when the straight feeder E is divided into two groups, the timing at which the articles are discharged from each straight feeder E to each collecting chute S is E ₁ → E ₉ → E ₂ → E ₁₀ → E ₃ →. → E
_By setting ₁₆ → E ₁ →..., The time interval between articles falling through the adjacent collecting chute S can be doubled as compared with the second embodiment.

In the first to fourth embodiments, the article conveying means of the sorting device 32 is the belt type conveyor 13, but may be a container type conveyor. Although not shown in the figure, the container-type conveyor is a device in which a plurality of containers are provided on a conveyor and articles are conveyed in a state where articles are held in these containers. That is, according to the sorting device employing the container-type conveyor, each state P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ ,.
········································· When the weight rank of an article matches the storage box R for each weight rank, the container is tilted or inverted to move the article into the corresponding storage box R Can be put in. The supply speed of the supply side for supplying articles to the sorting device and the timing of the conveyor speed of the sorting device are determined, for example, by taking a synchronization pulse from the rotating shaft of a container-type conveyor and reading the synchronization pulse by the control device 25. , the state P ₁ in the control device 25, P _2, P _3, to create a ..., it is possible to determine the speed of the supply side on the basis of the created state P.

Further, in the first to fourth embodiments, the conveying section is the collecting chute S, but instead of the collecting chute S, for example, a conveying conveyor may be used. That is, according to the transport conveyor, the articles can be transported at a constant speed, so that the articles can be transported to the conveyor 13 or the like at extremely accurate timing.

[0045]

According to the multi-stage weight sorter of the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, the dispersing device disperses a large number of randomly supplied articles, and the plurality of dispensing apparatuses receive the articles dispersed by the dispersing apparatus. Since each supply device is configured to be able to supply a predetermined number of articles to the corresponding weighing containers, it is necessary for an operator to manually supply articles to each container of the supply device 6 as in the related art. Therefore, there is an effect that the processing capacity of the weight sorter can be increased without being limited by the work capacity of the worker. Since each supply device supplies a predetermined number of articles to each weighing container, there is also an effect that it is possible to prevent a mistake in the number of articles supplied by a conventional worker. Furthermore, the present invention can increase the processing capacity of the weight sorter as described above, so that the sorting time from when the articles are supplied to the weight sorter to when they are sorted to a predetermined sorting position is longer than before. Can be shortened. Thereby, for example, when weight sorting frozen foods,
There is an effect that the frozen food can be promptly sorted before thawing.

In the conventional weight sorter shown in FIG. 12, the installation space for the supply device 6, the weighing unit 2 and the transfer device 8 is required separately, so that the installation space for the entire weight sorter is large. There is a need. In contrast, the first
The multi-stage weight sorter according to the fifth to fifth aspects of the present invention is configured as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 7, 8, 10, and 11, so that, for example, as shown in FIG. 16. The linear feeder E), the weighing unit (weighing hopper A) and the transporting unit (collecting chute S) can be vertically overlapped on the floor, so that the installation space of the multi-stage weight sorter is smaller than before. There is an effect that can be.

In the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, the conventional weighing hopper is fixed to the fixed base 11 or the weight measuring device is fixed to the floor to provide a conventional structure. As described above, there is no need for a mechanism for rotating the measuring unit 2, so that the structure can be simplified and the whole apparatus can be made compact. Furthermore, since the weighing hopper A is not driven to rotate, there is an effect that power can be saved and weighing accuracy can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the weighing capacity (per hour) of this multi-stage weight sorter is provided by providing one sorter corresponding to a certain group of weighing containers. The balance between the number of times of weighing the article weight and the sorting ability (the number of times the article is sorted per time) can be balanced. Thus, there is an effect that the weighing and sorting ability can be improved with respect to the cost required for the weight sorter.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a set of weight measuring devices and a sorting device are provided in correspondence with a certain group of feeding devices, so that this multi-stage weight sorter is delivered. A balance between the capacity (the number of times the dispersing device and the supply device sends out a predetermined number of articles per time) and the weighing and sorting ability (the number of times of weight measurement and sorting of the articles per time) can be balanced. Thus, there is an effect that the weighing and sorting ability can be improved with respect to the cost required for the weight sorter.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the chute capable of temporarily holding the articles is provided on the chute, the sorting apparatus or the weight measuring apparatus can accurately set each set of articles so that the sets of articles do not mix with each other. Can be supplied to the device. This allows the weight of each set of items to be accurately determined,
In addition, there is an effect that measurement and distribution can be performed quickly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a multi-stage weight sorter according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the straight feeder according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the collecting chute and the sorting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an electric circuit of the multi-stage weight sorter according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart of the multi-stage weight sorter according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing details of a control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a multi-stage weight sorter according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a multi-stage weight sorter according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a timing chart of the multi-stage weight sorter according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a multi-stage weight sorter according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a collecting chute, a weight measuring device, and a sorting device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a conventional multi-stage weight sorter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List A Weighing hopper E Straight feeder S Collecting chute 11 Fixed base 16 Distributed feeder 17 Reservoir hopper 32 Sorting device

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B07C 5/16-5/32

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of weighing containers are provided on a main body along a circumference, and a weighing unit weighs the weight of the articles supplied to each weighing container, and a weighing value of each article obtained by weighing the articles. In a multi-stage weight sorter in which a sorting unit sorts the weighed articles into a plurality of sorting positions determined in advance based on the sorting result, the sorting unit sorts the articles in multiple stages. The main body is provided with a dispersing device for dispersing the outer peripheral side of the main body, and a supply device that receives the articles dispersed by the dispersing apparatus and sends out the received articles to the corresponding measuring container side by a predetermined number is provided in the main body. A transport unit for receiving the articles in the weighing container and transporting the articles by the predetermined number to the sorting device is provided at a lower position of the plurality of weighing containers, and the sorting device is located below the transport unit. A multi-stage weight sorter provided at a side position. 2. The multi-stage weight sorter according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of weighing containers are divided into a plurality of groups,
A plurality of the sorting devices are provided in correspondence with each group of the weighing containers, and the transport unit is configured to transport the articles in the weighing containers to the sorting device corresponding to the group to which the weighing containers belong. A multi-stage weight sorter characterized by the following. 3. A weight measuring device measures the weight of the article, a sorting section sorts each weight value of the measured article in multiple stages, and the sorting apparatus determines these measured articles in advance based on the sorting result. In a multi-stage weight sorter for distributing to a plurality of distributing positions, a dispersing device for dispersing a large number of articles supplied to a predetermined position on an outer peripheral side is provided in a main body, and each receives an article dispersed by the dispersing apparatus. The main body is provided with a plurality of supply devices for feeding the received articles by a predetermined number to the following conveyance unit side, and the conveyance unit for conveying the articles sent from the supply device side by the predetermined number to the weighing device is provided by the supply device. Wherein the weight measuring device and the sorting device are provided at a lower position of the transport unit. 4. The multi-stage weight sorter according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of supply devices are divided into a plurality of groups,
A plurality of sets of the weight measuring device and the sorting device are provided in correspondence with each group of the supply device, and the transport unit corresponds to the group to which the supply device belongs with the articles sent out from the supply device. A multi-stage weight sorter, wherein the weight is transferred to the set of weight measuring devices. 5. The multi-stage weight sorter according to claim 1, wherein the transfer section is formed by a chute,
A multi-stage weight sorter, wherein a plurality of gates for adjusting discharge timing of articles discharged from the chute are provided on the chute.