JP4710413B2 - Weighing support device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a weighing support equipment for supporting the weighing operation in balance.

When weighing articles using a weighing device, it is extremely important to select the most appropriate scale according to the object to be weighed. Or do not go. In other words, there are “weighing” and “scale” as parameters that characterize the balance, but it is necessary that these parameters match the object to be weighed.
For example, when weighing a heavy article, it is preferable to use a scale with a large scale, and when weighing a light article, it is preferable to use a scale with a small scale.

  Here, the scale refers to the maximum weight value that can be measured with the scale, and the scale refers to a step size that can be read with the scale. Generally, the range of values that can be taken to some extent is determined for the scale parameters such as the scale and the scale, depending on the measurement principle, the structure of the measurement unit, and the like. Therefore, in order to enable weighing in a wide range of weight values with one weighing device, there is a need for a weighing device that includes a plurality of balances having different scales and scales and switches and selects these balances as appropriate.

On the other hand, according to the weighing support device disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, the name of the material to be weighed and the weight value to be weighed (indicated weighing value) are stored in advance in the device, and these pieces of information are sequentially stored. By displaying on the display unit, it is possible to reduce mistakes in weighing work such as erroneous selection of materials or incorrect weight values to be weighed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-48033

  By the way, even if the weighing support device described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a plurality of scales having different scales and scales in order to widen the measurable range, it is possible to perform measurement using any of the plurality of scales. It is necessary for the worker to judge each time whether or not to do so. That is, it is necessary to determine the scale to be used by the operator by comparing the indicated measured value stored in advance in the apparatus with the scale and scale which are the characteristic parameters of each scale.

However, if it is left to the operator to compare numerical values or determine the scale as described above, the worker must judge his / her work each time the weighing is performed. This causes a problem that the flow is not smoothly performed.
In addition, since such a determination depends on the ability of the operator such as familiarity and experience, there is a problem that an operator may make a mistake by selecting the balance incorrectly.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to easily determine a scale to be used by an operator from a plurality of scales when a plurality of scales are switched to measure an article. it is possible to to provide a metering aid equipment to enable this by performing smoothly weighing to reduce the operational mistakes.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and the present invention provides weighing instruction information for defining two or more articles to be weighed by a measuring instrument as a set of weighing objects, Weighing instruction information storage means for storing weighing instruction information consisting of article identification information for designating an article and an indicated weight ratio indicating the weight ratio of each article to the entire set of weighing objects; and Setting means for setting the total weight to be weighed, weighing instrument information storage means for storing the scales and scales or display resolutions of a plurality of measuring instruments, and the respective weights of each article calculated from the total weight and the indicated weight ratio Based on the value to be weighed and the scale and scale or display resolution of each measuring instrument stored in the measuring instrument information storage means, each set of measuring objects specified from the weighing instruction information is configured. For each article Selecting means for selecting at least one measuring instrument to be used from the plurality of measuring instruments, and notifying means for notifying an operator of the measuring instrument selected by the selecting means. This is a characteristic weighing support device.

The present invention also provides a weighing support device described above, the setting means, wherein the an input means for accepting input of the total weight of the storage means or the operator, and stores the total weight.

According to the present invention, since the weighing support device determines which scale should be used according to the item to be weighed and notifies the operator, it is not necessary for the operator to make such a determination using the head, Weighing work can be performed smoothly and work errors are reduced.
Further, according to the present invention, the same effect can be obtained even when the instruction weight ratio is defined in the work instruction file instead of the instruction measurement value.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a weighing support device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention and weighing devices (balances) 2-3 connected to the device. As shown in the figure, a weighing system is constructed by the weighing support device 1 and the scales 2 and 3 connected to each other. A management PC (personal computer) 4 is a computer for work management and various data management.
1, the CPU 11 is a central processing unit that controls the operation of the apparatus 1 by executing a program on the ROM 12. The ROM 12 is a read-only memory that stores the program of the apparatus 1. Is a read / write memory for temporary storage of data.

The display drive circuit 16 is a circuit that converts an input signal from the CPU 11 into a signal for displaying on the display unit 17.
The display unit 17 is a character / number / image data such as a menu for operating the apparatus 1, an instruction weight value read from the work instruction file, an article name, a message to the operator, and a weight value of the article being weighed. Is a liquid crystal display that functions as a notification means for notifying the operator which scale should be used for each measurement. Data to be displayed is input from the CPU 11 via the display drive circuit 16.

  The key input unit 18 is a touch panel for operating the apparatus 1 and is configured integrally with the liquid crystal display of the display unit 17. This touch panel is provided with numeric keys 0 to 9, a decimal point key, up / down / left / right cross keys, a determination (return) key, a menu selection key, and the like according to the operation contents at the time of operation. .

The communication I / F (interface) 19 is an interface module for connecting to an external management PC (personal computer) 4 to transmit and receive various data. In the present embodiment, a work instruction file is downloaded from the management PC 4 via the communication I / F 19, or a work history file in which the result of the weighing work is recorded for performing work management on the PC is uploaded. To do.
The scale connection unit 20 is an interface for connecting to an external scale, and includes a plurality of scale connection ports (not shown). The weighing support device 1 is a device that can connect a plurality of scales to the scale connection port, and can selectively switch the plurality of connected scales to perform weighing. Here, it is assumed that the scale connection unit 20 is equipped with four scale connection ports No1 to No4.

The alarm sound generator 21 generates an electronic sound when alerting the operator of various operations or when notifying the result of processing.
The non-volatile memory 22 is a flash memory that stores a setting file of the apparatus 1 as well as a work instruction file and a scale file downloaded from the management PC.

1 is a scale composed of weighing pans 25a and 25b, load cells 26a and 26b, A / D conversion circuits 27a and 27b, and connection ports 28a and 28b. Weighing and scales differ depending on the characteristics.
The load cells 26a and 26b are load sensors composed of a metal strain body and a strain gauge attached to the strain body. When a strain is applied to the strain body due to a load, the strain gauge is deformed, and depending on the deformation amount. This is a module that takes out the load as a voltage value because the resistance value of the strain gauge changes. The weighing pans 25a and 25b are trays on which materials to be weighed are placed. The weighing pans 25a and 25b are placed on top of the load cells 26a and 26b so that loads from the materials placed on the plates are transmitted to the load cells 26a and 26b, respectively. .

The A / D conversion circuits 27a and 27b are analog-digital conversion circuits that convert the voltage value of the analog signal input from the load cells 26a and 26b into a digital signal. The converted digital data is sent to the CPU 11 via the connection ports 28a and 28b, and is recognized as the weight of the article placed on the weighing pans 25a and 25b.
The connection ports 28 a and 28 b are interfaces for connecting to the measurement support device 1.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a scale file stored in the nonvolatile memory 22. The scale file is a measuring instrument information storage means in which information relating to a scale that can be used by being connected to the weighing support device 1 is described in a table format, and is used as a criterion when selecting a scale to be used for weighing. Is. In the scale file illustrated in FIG. 2, the scale number, the model number, the scale, and the scale are written in each column.
The balance number is an index for internal processing used to identify each balance, and is represented by a series of numbers. The model number is a number composed of alphanumeric characters representing the model name of each scale.
The scale indicates the maximum weight value that can be measured by each scale, and the scale indicates the increment of the weight value that can be read by each scale. The display resolution may be described in the scale file instead of the scale. Here, the display resolution is a numerical value indicating the size of the scale relative to the scale. For example, if the scale is 6 kg and the scale is 2 g, the display resolution is 1/3000.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a work instruction file downloaded from the management PC 4 and stored in the nonvolatile memory 22. The work instruction file is a weighing instruction information storage means in which data indicating the contents of weighing such as the name of the article to be weighed and the weight value to be weighed (indicated weighing value) is described. Which scale is used for each article? When the determination is made, the data of the indicator metric value in this file is used. In the work instruction file illustrated in FIG. 3, the compounding instruction number, the compounding product name, the measurement number, the article name, and the instruction measurement value are written in each column.

The compounded product name indicates the name of a product produced by weighing and compounding several articles. According to the work instruction file shown in FIG. 3, for example, when preparing a blended product ABC, five articles a, b, c, d, and e are weighed.
The blending instruction number is a unique index assigned to each blended product. The content of the weighing work is specified by designating this blending instruction number.
The measurement number is an index for internal processing that specifies each measurement operation.
The article name represents the name of the material to be weighed, and the indicated weighing value represents the weight value of each article to be weighed. These article name and instruction weighing data are displayed on the display unit 17 during weighing so that the operator can clearly grasp the weighing contents. In the example work instruction file, the unit of the weight value is g.

Next, the operation of the weighing system described above will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the entire process, and FIGS. 5 and 6 show a part of the process.
The description starts from the flowchart of FIG.
First, a scale connected to the weighing support device 1 is specified (step S1). A setting screen for this purpose is displayed on the display unit 17. In this setting screen, a list in which the data of “balance number” and “model number” are taken out from the scale file of FIG. As described above, the display unit 17 is configured integrally with the touch panel (key input unit 18), and the numerical part of the “balance number” on the screen can be touched. An up / down arrow key, a number determination key, and a setting completion key for scrolling the display contents are also displayed on the same screen and can be touched.

  The flow of setting work is as follows. First, a message “Please touch the scale number of the scale connected to the scale connection port No. 1 of this machine and then touch the number determination key” is displayed on the display unit 17. The operator confirms the housing of the scale connected to the scale connection port No1, refers to the model number of the scale described on the label or the like attached on the housing, and is displayed on the screen. Touch the scale number corresponding to the scale of the same model number and the number determination key in succession. With this operation, the weighing support device 1 recognizes which scale is connected to the scale connection port No1. Further, the operator repeats this operation for all scales connected to the ports after the scale connection port No2, and finally touches the setting completion key. By inputting the setting completion key, the correspondence relationship between all the connected scales and the scale connection port is stored in the RAM 13.

Here, the scale with the scale number “1” in the scale file (the scale 2 in FIG. 1) is connected to the scale connection port No1, and the scale with the scale number “2” in the scale file (the scale 3 in FIG. 1) is connected to the scale connection port No2. The following description will be made assuming that the balance is connected and the scale is not connected after the scale connection port No3.
When the above operation is performed by the operator, the scale data (the scale number, the model number, the scale, and the scale) for which the connection to the weighing support device 1 is set is read from the scale file on the nonvolatile memory 22. Are written in the RAM 13 (step S2).

Next, a weighing preparation screen for specifying the content of the work for weighing (mixing) is displayed on the display unit 17 (step S3). On this screen, a message “Please select a recipe instruction number” is displayed. Further, all “combination instruction numbers” in the work instruction file of FIG. 3 are displayed as options, and a determination key is also displayed.
Hereinafter, description will be made assuming that the blending instruction number “1” is blended.

  When the operator selects and inputs the combination instruction number “1”, the data corresponding to the combination instruction number “1” is extracted from the operation instruction file (FIG. 3) stored in the non-volatile memory 22 and is stored in the RAM 13. (Step S4). Then, it is determined whether “indicated weighing value” or “indicated weight ratio” is defined in the written data (step S5). If “indicated weighing value” is defined, the process proceeds to step S6. If “indicated weight ratio” is defined, the process proceeds to step S10.

  According to FIG. 3, since “instructed measurement value” is defined for the formulation instruction number “1”, the display unit 17 is switched to the measurement confirmation screen shown in FIG. On this measurement confirmation screen, numbers (1 to 5) indicating the order of measurement, article names (a to e), and respective instruction measurement values are displayed. However, since which scale is used for weighing each article is determined in the following steps, the “balance number” portion remains blank at this point. When the operator presses the “balance display key” on the measurement confirmation screen, each of the displayed weighings (in the above example, a total of five weighings for the articles a to e) is connected to the weighing support device 1. Which of these should be used is determined by the following procedure (step S6).

The detailed process of step S6 is demonstrated using the flowchart of FIG.
First, the “balance number”, “weighing”, and “scale” data stored in the RAM 13 are called up for all the scales determined to be actually connected to the weighing support device 1 in step S1. (Step S61).
Next, for the first weighing in the weighing sequence, the “indicated weighing value” data stored in the RAM 13 is called (step S62).

First, the called “measured value” is compared with the “weighed value” of each balance, and a “weighed” scale greater than the “indicated measured value” is selected (step S63). At this stage, each scale is selected based on the fact that it cannot weigh more than the weight.
Next, the “scale value” of the scale selected above is compared with the “indicated weighing value”, and only a scale that can divide the “indicated weighing value” by the “scale value” is further selected (step S64). This selection is based on the fact that what can be read by each scale is a weight value in which the “scale” is a step size.

Thus, it is judged that the balance obtained through the above two-stage selection is the balance to be used for the first weighing in the weighing order (step S65). The above procedure is repeated for all the weighings in the weighing order displayed on the weighing confirmation screen (step S66).
Here, in the example shown in the measurement confirmation screen of FIG. 7, the specific judgment for selecting the scale for the measurement of the articles a and d will be described below.

  First, for the weighing of the article a, the “indicated weighing value” is 5100 g. Therefore, in the first stage, only the balance with “balance number” 1 whose “weighing amount” is 30 kg is selected. Also, since the “scale” of this balance is 10 g and can be divided by 5100 g, this balance is also selected in the second stage. In this way, the balance 2 with “balance number” 1 is finally selected as the balance to be used for weighing the article a. In addition, when “display resolution” is described instead of “scale” in the scale file (FIG. 2), the above-mentioned determination is made after calculating the scale by multiplying “scale” by “display resolution”. To do.

  For the weighing of the article d, since the “indicated weighing value” is 147 g, in the first stage, the “weighing number” 1 weighing unit “weighing” 30 kg and the “weighing number” 2 weighing unit “weighing” 3 kg Are selected. The “scale weights” of these balances are 10 g and 1 g, respectively, and only the latter can divide 147 g. Therefore, in the second stage, only the latter scale is selected, and the scale 3 with “balance number” 2 is the final selection result for weighing the article d.

  In addition, as a result of selection of the balance by such a procedure, it may be determined that a plurality of balances can be used. For example, in the example of FIG. 7, both “balance number” 1 and 2 remain as the final selection result for the weighing of the article b. In other words, the “indicated weighing value” 450 g of this weighing is smaller than both “weighing” 30 kg and 3 kg, and can be divided by either “grating” 10 g or 1 g. Therefore, finally, it is determined that both scales 2 and 3 of “balance number” 1 and 2 are usable.

Returning to the flowchart of FIG.
When selection of the scales for all the weighings is completed in this way, the scale numbers of the scales to be used for the respective weighings determined in the above steps are displayed on the weighing confirmation screen in FIG. 7 (step S7). This screen also displays a weighing execution key for proceeding to the next step. When a plurality of scales are selected, the plurality of scale numbers are displayed.

Next, each weighing is performed using the determined scale (step S8). The details are as follows. This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, when the operator presses the weighing execution key on the weighing confirmation screen shown in FIG. 7, the display unit 17 switches to the weighing execution screen, and displays weighing instructions for the worker in order from the first weighing in the weighing sequence (steps). S81). For example, in the weighing of the first article a, a message “Please weigh 5100 g of the article a using the scale with the scale number 1” is displayed. If a plurality of scale numbers are displayed in step S7, any scale can be used.

  Next, when the operator places the article a on the balance 2 (balance number 1) according to the above instruction, the load cell 26a of the balance 2 starts detecting the load amount, and the digital value of the measurement result is sent from the connection port 28a. Output. The weighing support device 1 takes in the output of the balance 2 from the scale connection unit 20, and the CPU 11 detects which scale connection port of the scale connection unit 20 has been input (step S82). Then, by referring to the correspondence relationship between the scale and the scale connection port stored in the RAM 13 in step S1, it is recognized which scale the article is placed on, and is it the correct scale instructed in step S81? It is determined whether or not (step S83). Here, since the article a is placed on the scale 2 (balance number 1) as instructed, the CPU 11 detects the input to the scale connection port No1 and determines that the correct scale is being used.

  When it is determined that the correct scale is used, the weighing support device 1 digitally displays the sent weight value data on the weighing execution screen of the display unit 17 in real time, and the weight value is the indicated weighing value. When they are equal, a message “Weighed correctly” and “Next key” are displayed on the display unit 17 and an electronic sound for notifying completion of weighing is generated from the alarm sound generating unit 21 (step S84). When the operator finishes weighing and presses the “next key”, the same steps are repeated for the second weighing (step S85).

  Here, in the weighing of the first article a, it is assumed that the article a is placed on the balance that should not be used by mistake by the operator, that is, the balance 3 with the scale number 2, and the weighing is attempted. Then, a signal from the scale 3 is input to the scale connection port No2 of the scale connection unit 20, and it is detected by the CPU 11 that there is an input to the scale connection port No2 (Step S82). 1 determines that the operator has made a mistake in the scale (step S83). Then, a message “Wrong scale. Use correct scale.” Is displayed on the display unit 17, and an electronic sound is generated from the alarm sound generation unit 21 to alert the operator (step S86). ).

Here, returning to the flowchart of FIG. 4 again, the description will be continued.
When all the weighings of the blending instruction number “1” are completed in this way, a message for selecting whether to end weighing is displayed on the display unit 17 (step S9). When the weighing is continued, the processing from step S3 is performed. Done again.

  By the way, when the combination instruction number “3” is selected and input in step S3, the following processing is performed. According to the work instruction file shown in FIG. 3, since the indicated weight ratio is defined for this formulation instead of the indicated measurement value, the display unit 17 displays the measurement confirmation screen shown in FIG. 8 (not FIG. 7). On this screen, a message “Please input the total weight to be blended.” And numeric keys 0 to 9 and a decision key are displayed. When the operator inputs the total weight using these keys (step S10), the weight value to be weighed for each article is calculated from the inputted total weight and the indicated weight ratio of each article (step S11). ), The measurement confirmation screen is switched to the display of the same format as FIG. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S6.

  Thus, according to the above embodiment, “weighing” and “scale” are stored for each of the plurality of scales connected to the weighing support device 1, and these numerical values and the “instructions” of the article to be weighed are stored. The optimum balance to be used for weighing is automatically determined by comparing with “weighing value”. Therefore, it is not necessary for the operator to make such a determination every time weighing is performed, and the weighing work can proceed smoothly without stopping, so that the work efficiency can be improved.

As described above, one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. It is possible to change the design.
For example, the number of scales connected to the weighing support device 1 is not limited to two, and may be any number. The apparatus 1 and the scales 2 to 3 may be independent devices that are not connected to each other. That is, the weight value data measured with the scales 2 and 3 is displayed on the display unit built in the scale itself without being sent to the apparatus 1, and the apparatus 1 selects and judges the scale to be used for each measurement. It may have only a function to notify the person. Furthermore, the number of scale connection ports of the scale connection unit 20 may be any number, and the number of ports may be plural, or a connection method in which a plurality of scales are serially connected with a single port number. You can also.

In step S1 of the above embodiment, the operator performs the setting while checking the scale connection port number of the scale connection unit 20 and the model number of each scale one by one. These settings may be automatically performed by receiving an identification signal from the.
In addition, although the scales 2 to 3 have been described using load cell type scales, an electromagnet is used for one arm of a mechanical balance, and the load of the sample placed on the other arm is balanced with the electromagnetic force of the electromagnet. It may be a measuring section using a force balance type balance.

Further, the display unit 17 may be a display device other than a liquid crystal display, and may be, for example, one using an LED (light emitting diode). The key input unit 18 may not be a touch panel integrated with the display unit 17 but may be an independent button type input device.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the scale did not have a display part, you may make it display the weight value in measuring by providing a display part in the scales 2-3.

  In the above embodiment, the work instruction file of FIG. 3 is downloaded from the external management PC 4 and input to the apparatus 1. However, the work instruction file is directly input to the apparatus 1 using the key input unit 18. Or may be edited and stored in the nonvolatile memory 22. The data described in the work instruction file may include, for example, a delivery destination number in addition to the data shown in FIG. Similarly, the scale file in FIG. 2 may be downloaded from the management PC 4 or may be input on the apparatus 1.

Further, in the work instruction file of FIG. 3, each combination instruction number includes the weighing of a plurality of articles, but may be the weighing of a single article. In this case, when the designated weight ratio is designated, it is set to 100%.
In the above embodiment, the total weight is input from the key input unit 18 in step S10. However, the total weight data is described in advance in the work instruction file of FIG. 3 and read in step S10. Also good.

  Further, in the measurement confirmation screen after selecting the scales, in the example of FIG. 7, a plurality of scales with scale numbers 1 and 2 are selected for weighing the articles b and c. In this case, in the above-described embodiment, it has been described that any scale can be used, that is, which scale can be used by the operator, but the weighing support device 1 narrows the scale to one to the operator. You may make it show. For example, if the scales are used in the order of 1, 2, 1, 2, 2 in weighing the articles a to e in the example of FIG. 7, it is inconvenient because the scale to be used must be changed for each weighing. . Therefore, in order to avoid changing the balance as much as possible, the weighing support device 1 determines the order of the balances to be used as 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, or 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, and displays it on the display unit 17. If displayed, the convenience of work can be improved for the operator.

  The present invention is suitable for use in a weighing system for weighing articles by appropriately switching a plurality of balances, and a weighing support device that is used in the system and supports weighing work with the balance.

It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the balance connected to the measurement assistance apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention, and the apparatus. An example of a scale file is shown. An example of a work instruction file is shown. It is a flowchart showing the whole process. It is a flowchart which shows the detailed operation | movement of step S6. It is a flowchart which shows the detailed operation | movement of step S8. It is an example of a measurement confirmation screen when a combination instruction number in which an instruction measurement value is defined is selected. It is an example of the measurement confirmation screen when the combination instruction number in which the instruction weight ratio is defined is selected.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Work instruction | indication measuring device 2-3 ... Measuring device (balance) 4 ... Management PC 11 ... CPU 12 ... ROM 13 ... RAM 16 ... Display drive circuit 17 ... Display part 18 ... Key input part 19 ... Communication I / F DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Scale connection part 21 ... Alarm sound generation part 22 ... Nonvolatile memory 25a * 25b ... Weighing pan 26a * 26b ... Load cell 27a * 27b ... A / D conversion circuit 28a * 28b ... Connection port

Claims (2)

The weighing instruction information that defines two or more articles to be weighed by a measuring instrument as a set of weighing objects, the article identification information for designating each article, and the weight ratio of each article to the entire weighing object Weighing instruction information storage means for storing weighing instruction information consisting of an indicated weight ratio representing:
Setting means for setting the total weight to be weighed of the entire set of weighing objects;
Measuring instrument information storage means for storing the weighing and scale or display resolution of a plurality of measuring instruments;
The weighing instruction based on the value to be weighed of each article calculated from the total weight and the indicated weight ratio, and the scale and scale or display resolution of each weighing instrument stored in the weighing instrument information storage means Selection means for selecting at least one measuring instrument to be used from among the plurality of measuring instruments for each article constituting each set of measuring objects designated from the information;
Informing means for informing the operator of the weighing instrument selected by the selecting means;
A weighing support device comprising: The setting means includes
The weighing support device according to claim 1 , wherein the weighing support device is a storage unit that stores the total weight or an input unit that receives an input of the total weight from an operator.

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