JP3214131B2 - Automatic weighing transfer device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic weighing and conveying device,
That is, the present invention relates to an apparatus for conveying an article along a predetermined conveying path and automatically measuring the weight of the article.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, when goods are transported in a factory or the like, a transport line is formed by a conveyor or the like running in one direction, and the articles are transported by being placed on the conveyor or the like. In such a transport line, a balance is arranged in the middle of the transport line as a means for sequentially and automatically measuring the weight of each item transported along the line so that the items can be sorted according to the weight. Sometimes.

In such a case, conventionally, for example, a weighing conveyor in which a portion of a weighing pan is constituted by a conveyor with a drive mechanism is used, and articles are transferred from a front conveyor located on the front side in the transport direction to the weighing conveyor. Carrying in and carrying out of goods from the weighing conveyor after measuring the weight are performed.

[0004] Further, instead of the above-mentioned weighing conveyor, the weighing pan is merely a tray, and after the articles are dropped or slid down on the pan and weighed, for example, the pan is tilted or the articles are directly fetched from outside. May be configured to be carried out by moving or the like.

[0005]

However, in the case where the conveyor is used in a portion corresponding to the above-described balance dish, the work of loading and unloading the goods can be performed smoothly, but the dish of the balance is constituted by the conveyor. The disadvantage is that the size of the dish is large and its weight is heavy. In other words, if the size of the dish is large, it is susceptible to disturbance such as wind, and if the weight is heavy, a high-resolution balance with a relatively small weight cannot be used. In addition, the weight measurement accuracy is limited by the vibration of the conveyor and the like.

In this case, there is a method in which the conveyor is stopped at the time of measuring the weight to stabilize the state of the balance before performing the weight measurement. However, in this method, it is necessary to wait until the state of the balance is stabilized. Extremely low.

On the other hand, if the weighing pan is merely used as a receiving pan, a shock that occurs when the article is dropped into the pan or when the pallet is forcibly carried out of the pan is limited to achieving both high precision and high-speed processing. There is.

Further, according to the above-mentioned conventional structure, it is difficult to carry and transfer the work because, for example, a spherical or cylindrical article having poor stability is difficult to stabilize its posture on a balance plate. Problems arise.

It is conceivable to use an arm robot or the like for loading / unloading articles to / from the balance. However, in that case, the equipment cost is significantly increased, which is generally not preferable.

The present invention addresses the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and is an apparatus for automatically carrying and measuring the weight of an article.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic weighing / transporting device which can surely transport the weighing material one after another, and can perform high-precision weight measurement and high-speed processing.

[0011]

To achieve the above object, an automatic weighing / transporting apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that it is constructed as follows.

That is, a transport table having a table surface formed in a horizontal or slope shape and having one end and the other end serving as an article loading / unloading section, respectively, and a table adjacent to or approaching the unloading section of the transport table. A balance for measuring the weight of the goods, which is arranged in a horizontal direction, and a transfer conveyor for transferring the goods, which is disposed above the transfer table, wherein the transfer conveyor is arranged along the table surface of the transfer table when the conveyor is operated. A plurality of protrusions protruding outward from the belt surface so that the articles on the transfer table can be transferred from the loading section to the unloading section by being moved in the transport direction and supplied onto the plate in the balance. While the pieces are provided at an interval from each other, the dish of the balance is provided with a recess having a predetermined shape for stopping the articles supplied from the unloading section of the transfer table. To. Then, the article supplied from the unloading section of the transfer table onto the balance plate by the protruding piece enters the depression of the dish and stops, and the weight of the article is measured in a state where the protruding piece is separated from the article. In addition, a configuration is adopted in which the protruding piece that has conveyed the goods on the conveyor or the protruding piece following the protruding piece is carried out of the recess to a predetermined position.

[0013] Here, when the table surface is formed in a slope shape, the slope may be a downward slope in which the article carry-in portion is located above the carry-out portion, or may be in the opposite direction. The slope may be an upward slope that is inclined at an angle.

[0014]

In the automatic weighing / conveying apparatus constructed as described above, when the conveyor is operated, the projecting pieces on the conveyor are spaced apart from the preceding and succeeding projecting pieces by a predetermined distance. It moves in a predetermined transport direction along the table surface of the transport table located below.

Therefore, in this state, the articles are supplied one by one at predetermined timing between the projecting pieces on the side of the article loading section on the transport table, or the transport conveyor is moved at a predetermined speed in accordance with the supply timing of the articles. When driven by the,
When the table surface is a downward slope, it is carried out along the table surface in such a state that it is riding on the immediately preceding projection, and when the table surface is upward or horizontal, it is pushed by the immediately following projection. And is further supplied from the unloading section to a tray of a balance arranged adjacent to or close to the section.

At this time, since a depression of a predetermined shape is formed in the plate of the balance, the articles supplied from the transfer table onto the plate may be, for example, spherical or cylindrical. From the unloading section side, smoothly move onto the balance plate, and enter the dent of the plate and stop immediately.
The weight of the article is measured while the projection is moving away from the article on the weighing pan due to the movement of the projection that has transported the article, and after the measurement, the projection or the subsequent piece that transports the article is measured. The article on the balance plate is pushed by the protruding piece, and is conveyed to a predetermined position in front of the article.

The articles supplied to the loading section of the transport table in this manner are sequentially transported one by one to the unloading section on the transport table along the table surface by the projecting pieces of the transport conveyor. Since the material is smoothly supplied from the carry-out portion onto the balance plate, no large vibration or impact is generated when moving on the balance plate. Then, the goods transferred to the balance plate enter the pit,
The plate is quickly stopped and stabilized, and the weight is measured with the protruding piece separated from the item on the plate. Since it is carried out, highly accurate weight measurement can be performed in a very short time, and further, such a series of operations can be continuously performed by moving the projecting pieces of the transport conveyor. This makes it possible to realize high-speed processing in addition to high-precision weight measurement of an article.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. This embodiment relates to a case where a cylindrical article is conveyed and a weight is measured, and FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an automatic weighing / conveying apparatus and a peripheral portion in that case.

As shown in FIG. 1, an automatic weighing / conveying apparatus 1 continuously conveys articles from a hopper 2 installed at a predetermined position to a next-stage table (for example, a sorting apparatus) 3 and, on the way, an article a. Are arranged between the hopper 2 and the next stage table 3 so as to measure the weight of the next stage sequentially.

Here, inside the hopper 2, there is provided a hopper conveyor 4 for carrying out the goods, which is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow A shown in the figure, and the goods A in the hopper 2 are moved by the hopper conveyor 4. The automatic weighing and conveying device 1 is conveyed out one by one and supplied to a predetermined position of the automatic weighing / transporting device 1 at a constant timing from a carry-out port 2a on the side of the hopper.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the automatic weighing / transporting apparatus 1 has a front table 11 for guiding an article a in a predetermined conveying direction (the direction of arrow B shown in FIG. 1). It comprises a conveyor 12 arranged above and a balance 13 for measuring the weight of articles arranged between the preceding table 11 and the next table 3.

The front table 11 has a table surface 11a formed in a downward slope in which the table surface 11a is inclined forward and downward in the transport direction, and one end and the other end thereof are an article carry-in part 11b and a carry-out part, respectively. 11c. The article carry-in section 11b is located near the carry-out port 2a on the side of the hopper. In the illustrated example, the front table 11 is provided with a pair of side guards 11d on both sides along the transport direction so that the article a does not drop to both sides when the article a is transported on the table surface 11a. ing.

The balance 13 has a plate 13 on its upper part.
a. The balance plate 13a is arranged so as to be located between the unloading section 11c of the previous table and the article receiving section 3a of the next table 3. A recess 13b having a predetermined shape, which becomes lower as the position goes, is formed. Then, when the article a is supplied thereon from the unloading section 11c side of the preceding table 11, the supplied article a is recessed.
3b, the vehicle quickly stops and stabilizes.

On the other hand, the transport conveyor 12 comprises a pair of transport conveyor rollers 1 provided at a predetermined position above the article loading section 11b of the front stage table 11 and above the balance plate 13a.
An endless conveyor belt 12b is stretched between 2a and 12a, and a number of protruding pieces 12c... 12c are provided on the outer periphery of the belt so as to protrude outward substantially perpendicular to the belt surface. The protruding pieces 12c are provided at a predetermined interval from each other. In the illustrated example, when they come to the side facing the table surface 11a of the front stage table 11, the protruding pieces 12c The distal end is slightly over the table surface 11a and located below the table surface 11a.
When the conveyor belt 12b is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 1, each protruding piece 12c located on the table surface 11a moves at a predetermined speed in the transport direction (direction B), thereby causing the front stage table to move. The article a supplied from the hopper conveyor 2a at the loading section 11b side of the
a to the carry-out section 11c along the slope
The tray 1 is supplied to the third tray 13a, and after a predetermined time, the articles 1a on the tray 13a are pushed up to the receiving portion 3a side of the next stage table 3 and discharged.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The conveyor 12 is operated, and the protruding pieces 12c provided on the outer periphery of the conveyor belt are moved to the table surface 1 of the front stage table 11.
While moving in the transport direction (direction B in FIG. 1) along 1a, the articles a are discharged one by one from the discharge port 2a of the hopper 2 to the article loading section 11b on the front table 11 at a predetermined timing. And the projecting piece 12c located on the side of the article carrying-in section.
When supplied upward, the article a reaches the table surface 11a of the front stage table 11 when the protruding piece 12c moves by a predetermined amount from that position.

At this time, since the table surface 11a has a downward slope, the article a reaching the table surface 11a
Is trying to roll in the direction of arrow B along the surface of the table 11a due to its own weight, is hindered by the projecting piece 12c immediately before it, and moves with the projecting piece 12c in that state.

In this manner, the article a is placed on the front table 1
1 and is further supplied to the plate 13a of the balance 13 near the carry-out unit 11c. In that case, since the depression 13b of a predetermined shape is formed on the upper surface of the balance plate 13a, the article a supplied from the front table 11 onto the balance plate 13a has a cylindrical shape. , The unloading section 1 of the front table 11
From the side 1c, the player smoothly moves onto the balance plate 13a, enters the dent 13b and stops immediately.
The protruding piece 12c gently separates from the article a at a predetermined speed. Therefore, since no large vibration or impact is generated in the balance 13 at the time of supplying the article, a highly accurate weight measurement can be performed in a short time until the subsequent protruding piece 12c contacts the article a.

In this case, the weight measurement is performed at a predetermined timing after the protruding piece 12c separates from the article a supplied to the weighing pan 13a and before the next protruding piece 12c contacts the article a. Do. Specifically, for example, the balance plate 13
A proximity sensor may be provided directly above or near the place where the item a is transferred to a, and the time when a certain period of time has passed after the sensor detects the item a may be set as the measurement start time.

Next, the article a on the weighing dish 13a whose weight has been measured is pushed up from the depression 13b of the dish 13a by the following protruding piece 12c, and is received by the receiving portion 3a of the next stage table 3.
To be carried out. By repeating such an operation at a constant speed in the same manner, the article a is conveyed to and out of the balance plate 13a by each protruding piece 12c, and highly accurate weight measurement by the balance 13 is performed. Are performed continuously. This enables high-speed processing of this type of work.

In order to automatically and continuously carry the article and measure the weight as in this case, for example,
The hopper conveyor 4 and the transport conveyor 12 may be tuned and rotated at the optimum speed by a timing belt or the like.

The cylindrical article a in the above embodiment
It is related to the case of carrying the weight measurement by transporting
As another embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 3 and 4 show configuration examples in which a spherical article is conveyed and weight is measured. These figures show the cross section of the periphery of the balance dish 23a.
And the weighing pan 23a have a wide outer groove 21e, 23e, 33e extending along the conveying direction of the article b, and a relatively narrow inner groove 21f, 23f, formed in the center thereof.
33f. The spherical article b rides on the inner groove, and the side surface of the outer groove serves as a side guard, thereby preventing the article b from dropping or falling down in the side direction.
Each protruding piece 22c of the transport conveyor 22 is provided at the center in the width direction of the outer periphery of the belt, and each tip thereof has an inner groove 21f of the front table 21 and the balance plate 23a.
By moving into the conveying direction after entering into 23f, it is possible to convey the article b in the same manner as in the above embodiment.
Weight measurement is performed.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which a good product and a defective product can be sorted out after measuring the weight. In this embodiment, the next-stage table 43 has an upward slope opposite to the preceding-stage table 51, and the opening / closing portions 43b and 43 are provided at predetermined positions on the table surface.
b is provided. And these two tables 4
The article c is transported and supplied from the front table 51 to the weighing dish 53a by the transporting conveyor 52 disposed over the third and 51, and after the weight is measured on the weighing dish 53a,
The paper is conveyed in a predetermined direction along the next stage table 43. At that time, based on the measured weight value of the article c, each opening / closing section 43b in the next stage table 43 is configured to open and close at a predetermined timing in accordance with the passage of the article. According to this, not only the weight of the article c can be measured, but also the non-defective / defective article can be automatically sorted when the article c is carried out using the measurement result.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, an article can be gently transferred from a transfer table onto a balance plate, that is, without generating large vibrations and shocks. Since there is little or no shock at the time of unloading, a series of operations of transporting the goods and measuring the weight can be performed at high speed.

Further, the balance plate only needs to be large enough to place an article thereon, so that the balance dish can be made to the minimum necessary size (it may be called a weight) according to the article, and furthermore, the driving section Since it is unnecessary, the influence of disturbance and vibration is extremely small, and high-precision weight measurement is possible.

In addition, regardless of the shape of the article, and therefore the shape of the article having poor stability such as a spherical shape or a cylindrical shape, the shape of the transfer table, the transfer conveyor, or the balance plate is adjusted to the shape of the article. Thus, the articles can be reliably conveyed one by one in a stable posture and the weight can be measured.

In addition, the driving means to be provided in the apparatus only needs to be those for the conveyor, so that the configuration of the entire apparatus can be simplified accordingly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, and is a longitudinal sectional front view showing an automatic weighing / conveying apparatus and its periphery.

FIG. 2 is a right side view showing the automatic weighing / conveying device in FIG. 1 alone;

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention, and is a longitudinal sectional front view showing the periphery of a balance in an automatic weighing and conveying apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a main part of an automatic weighing and conveying apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Automatic weight measuring and conveying apparatus 11, 21, 51 ... Conveying table (front stage table) 11a ... Table surface 11b ... Article carrying-in part 11c ... Carry-out part 12, 22, 52 ... Conveying conveyor 12b Conveyor belt 12c, 22c Projecting piece 13 Balance 13a, 23a, 53a Balance plate 13b Hollow

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01G 11/00 B07C 5/18 B65G 19/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A transfer table having a table surface formed in a horizontal shape or a slope shape and one end and the other end of which are an article carry-in section and a carry-out section, respectively. A balance for measuring the weight of the goods, and a conveyor for transferring the goods, which is arranged above the transfer table, which is arranged along the table surface of the transfer table when the conveyor is operated. A plurality of articles protruding outward from the conveyor belt surface so that the articles on the transport table can be transported from the loading section to the unloading section by being moved in the transport direction and supplied onto the plate in the balance. The projecting pieces are provided at an interval from each other, and the tray of the balance has a predetermined shape for stopping the articles supplied from the unloading section of the transport table thereon. A recess is formed, and the article supplied from the unloading section of the transfer table onto the balance plate by the projecting piece enters the recess of the dish and stops, and the article is separated from the article in a state where the projecting piece is separated. An automatic weight measuring and conveying device, wherein the weight of the goods is measured, and the protruding pieces or the subsequent protruding pieces on the conveying conveyor are conveyed out of the recess to a predetermined position by the protruding pieces. .