JP4857411B2 - Rotary weighing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a rotary weighing device.

Conventionally, the following patent document 1 is known as a rotation metering device.
In Patent Document 1, when the container holding means measures the container, the container is lowered by a spring to hold the container. On the other hand, when the container is received or discharged, the container holding means is lifted by the cam to allow the container to be received and discharged. At the time of measurement, the container holding means holds the container against the centrifugal force, and the cam (guide body) and the cam follower (driven part) are in a non-contact state. As a result, accurate weighing is possible, and the container holding means holds the container against centrifugal force, so that the container can be held even during weighing.
Utility model registration No. 2509184 (page 3)

However, in this apparatus, the cam and the cam follower are provided on the outer peripheral side of the measuring table. Therefore, when the rotational speed is increased, the impact force increases when the cam follower is lowered. This hinders high-speed weighing.
In addition, since there are cams and other parts outside the container, if the contents in the container are spilled, the contents are spilled out and scattered due to centrifugal force, causing the contents to get caught between the cam and the cam follower, causing failure. It is difficult to clean.
Further, in the above-mentioned patent document, since the container holding means is lowered downward at the time of taring, it is necessary to raise the container holding means again when receiving the next container after weighing the tare. poor.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a rotary weighing device that can perform high-speed weighing, has few causes of failure, and is easy to clean.

In order to achieve the above object, the rotary weighing device of the present invention is a rotary weighing device that measures the container and / or the contents filled in the container while rotating a plurality of weighing units on which the container is placed by a rotating means. Each of the weighing units is a device that can be set to a table on which the container is placed, a holding state in which the container is held on the table by moving up and down, and a non-holding state in which the container is not held A main drive unit that includes a holding unit, a driven unit connected to the container holding unit, and a measuring instrument loaded with the table, the container holding unit and the driven unit, and moves the driven unit as the measuring unit rotates. and the driven unit, said metering unit is disposed on the center side of the circumference which rotates, the follower previous to meter the weight of the container and / or contents A non-contact first area that is not in contact with the main moving part is provided on the circumference, and a first maintaining means for maintaining the holding state in the non-contact first area, and the tare weight for measuring the tare weight. A non-contact second area in which the driven portion is not in contact with the main driving portion is provided on the circumference, and further includes second maintaining means for maintaining the non-holding state in the non-contact second area. It is characterized by being .

According to the present invention, for example, when the main drive portion is a cam and the follower portion is a cam follower, even if the cam and the cam follower collide when the cam follower is moved up and down, the radius of the circumference on which the cam is provided is small. And the influence of the impact force on the weighing can be reduced. For this reason, high-speed weighing becomes possible by increasing the rotation speed.
In addition, since the cam and the cam follower are inside, even if the contents are spilled, the contents are not caught between the cam and the cam follower, so that it is difficult to break down. Furthermore, it is easy to clean because the outer structure can be simplified.
Further, since a large number of tables are generally provided, a space is generated inside, so that the space can be effectively used. Therefore, the apparatus can be downsized.
Further, since the holding can be performed independently at the upper and lower positions, the container holding means can be tared while maintaining the non-holding state at the upper position at the time of taring. For this reason, even if the holding means is not moved up and down in the step of receiving the next container, the next container can be received and high-speed operation becomes possible.
In addition, the tare weight in this specification means the weight always loaded on the measuring instrument before the container is placed on the table, that is, the weight when the table is empty.

In the present invention, the second maintaining means is preferably a magnet for holding the container holding means in an upper position.
According to this aspect, the structure of the weighing unit is simplified.

In the present invention, the apparatus further comprises first support means for supporting the plurality of weighing units from below or above, and second support means for supporting the main driving portion, wherein the first support means supports the weighing unit. It is preferable that the second support means supports the main moving portion from above or below the opposite side.
Here, since the main moving part is fixed, the measuring unit is rotating, so if both are supported from the lower side or the upper side, the structure of the apparatus becomes complicated, such as using a hollow shaft. However, according to this aspect, it is possible to avoid a complicated structure of the apparatus.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the following description, as an example of a container, a generally frustoconical container M as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, for example, filled with pudding or the like will be described as an example.

overall structure:
As shown in FIG. 1, an intake-side star wheel 1 and a sorting-side star wheel 3 are provided upstream and downstream of the rotary metering device 2, respectively. The rotary weighing device 2 measures the weight of the contents including the container M while conveying the container.

The rotary weighing device 2 rotates while receiving a container in the supply area A1 from the intake-side star wheel 1 and then measures the container in a weighing area (first area) A3 through a stable area A2 and discharge area A4. , The container is discharged to the downstream distribution side star wheel 3. On the other hand, the rotary weighing device 2 continues to rotate as it is, and after the tare weight in an empty state is measured in the tare weighing area (second area) A5 and the zero point adjustment is performed, the container M is again in the supply area A1. Supplied.
Each of the star wheels 1 and 3 is a known star wheel.

  As shown in the schematic side view of FIG. 2, the rotary metering device 2 is rotationally driven by a drive device (rotating means) 4 indicated by a broken line. On the other hand, the intake-side star wheel 1 and the sorting-side star wheel 3 are rotated in the reverse direction to the rotation metering device 2 via the pulley 7 and the timing belt 5.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the rotary weighing device 2.
As shown in FIG. 3, the rotary weighing device 2 is provided with a plurality of weighing units 10 radially about the rotation center O. Each weighing unit 10 is rotated about the rotation center O.

Weighing unit 10:
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, each weighing unit 10 includes a table 11 on which a container M is placed and a container holding means 20.

  On the rotation center O side of the table 11, a guide 12 is erected in a substantially vertical direction. On the other hand, the container holding means 20 has an L-shaped side surface, and a slider 24 is fixed to the base end portion on the rotation center O side. The guide 12 supports and guides the slider 24 slidably in the vertical direction. As the slider 24 slides up and down in the guide 12, the container holding means 20 is moved in the vertical direction. The slider 24 moves up and down between a lower stopper 11 a integrated with the table 11 and an upper stopper 12 a integrated with the guide 12.

  Accordingly, as shown on the left side of FIG. 4, the container holding means 20 has a holding state in which the slider 24 moves downward and the container M can be held between the table 11 and the right side of FIG. As shown, it can be set to a non-holding state in which the slider 24 moves upward and does not hold the container M. In the supply area A1 and the discharge area A4 in FIG. 3, the non-holding state is set, and the supply of the container M to the table 11 and the discharge of the container M from the table 11 are allowed.

  The slider 24 is provided with first maintaining means 21 for maintaining the holding state of the container holding means 20 and second maintaining means 22 for maintaining the non-holding state of the container holding means 20. For example, permanent magnets can be used as the first and second maintaining means 21 and 22. That is, permanent magnets are fixed to the upper and lower portions in the slider 24, respectively. When the container holding means 20 is moved downward, the lower magnet 21 is attracted to the lower stopper 11a integrated with the table 11 made of a magnetic material, whereby the holding state of the container holding means 20 is maintained. On the other hand, when the container holding means 20 is moved upward, the magnet 22 on the upper side of the slider 24 is attracted to the upper stopper 12a of the upper end of the guide 12 made of a magnetic material, so that the non-holding state of the container holding means 20 is maintained. Is done.

Scale 13:
Under each weighing unit 10, a weighing device (load cell) 13 is provided. Each weighing instrument 13 is loaded with a table 11 constituting the weighing unit 10, a container holding means 20, a cam follower 23, and the like. Each weighing device 13 is connected to a control device (not shown), and the weight of the weighing unit 10 and the container M placed on the weighing unit 10 is weighed.

The end of each measuring instrument 13 is fixed to the side surface of the substantially cylindrical first support means 31. When the first support means 31 is rotated by the driving device 4 (FIG. 2), each weighing unit 10 is rotated around the rotation center O.
A rotating plate 30 is fixed to the upper end portion of the first support means 31, and a through hole 35 is formed in the rotating plate 30 so that the rotating plate 30 does not contact the measuring unit 10.

Second support means 32:
Above the first support means 31 and the rotating plate 30, a second support means 32 is fixed in a state of being suspended from a frame (not shown) of the apparatus.

A cam (original node) 33 is provided below the second support means 32. On the other hand, the container holding means 20 is provided with a cam follower (follower) 23 guided by a cam 33 fixed from above. The cam 33 and the cam follower 23 constitute a main driving portion and a driven portion, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3, the cam 33 and the cam follower 23 are closer to the center of the circumference around which the measuring unit 10 rotates than the table 11. Is provided.
Thus, the cam 33 and the cam follower 23 are provided on the center side, so that high-speed weighing is possible, the cause of failure is small, and cleaning becomes easy.

  When each weighing unit 10 is rotated by the first support means 31 of FIG. 4, the cam follower 23 is guided by the cam 33 provided in the second support means 32, so that the container holding means 20 is in the holding state. It moves so that it may be in a non-holding state.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the cam 33 is provided only at two locations, a portion corresponding to the supply area A <b> 1 of the container M and a portion corresponding to the discharge area A <b> 4 of the container M. Therefore, the first and second non-contact areas C1 and C2 where the cam follower 23 is not in contact with the cam 33 exist on the circumference. In the non-contact areas C <b> 1 and C <b> 2, the cam follower 23 is kept away from the cam 33 and is not in contact with the cam 33.

Operation of the rotary weighing device 2:
When the rotating weighing unit 10 reaches the supply area A1, the container M is supplied onto the table 11 in FIG. 3 by the intake-side star wheel 1 in FIG. On the other hand, the container holding means 20 in FIG. 4 is maintained in the non-holding state as shown on the right side of FIG. 4, and after the container M is supplied, the cam follower 23 in FIG. The container M is held.
Here, the magnet 21 on the lower side of the slider 24 in FIG. 4 is attracted to the lower stopper 11 a, whereby the holding state of the container holding means 20 is maintained, and the container M is placed between the container holding means 20 and the table 11. Retained. Thereafter, when the measuring unit 10 is slightly rotated, the cam follower 23 of FIG.

  Thereafter, the weighing unit 10 in the holding state is further rotated, and after the vibration due to the supply of the container M is stabilized in the stable area A2 of FIG. 3, the weight of the container M is measured by the measuring instrument 13 in the weighing area A3. Is done.

  Thus, in the first non-contact area C1 composed of the stability and weighing areas A2 and A3, the container holding means 20 is maintained in the holding state, and the cam follower 23 is separated from the cam 33. The weight of the weighing unit 10 and the container M is loaded, and the weight error due to the contact of the cam follower 23 does not occur. Therefore, the weight of the contents of the container M can be accurately measured.

Thereafter, when the weighing unit 10 reaches the discharge area A4, the cam follower 23 comes into contact with the cam 33, the cam follower 23 is guided to the cam 33, and the container holding means 20 is moved from the holding state on the left side in FIG. It becomes a non-holding state.
When the container holding means 20 is in a non-holding state, the container M is discharged by the downstream sorting star wheel 3 (FIG. 1) and conveyed downstream.

In the non-holding state, the magnet 22 on the upper side of the slider 24 is attracted to the upper stopper 12a of the guide 12, so that the non-holding state of the container holding means 20 is maintained. Thereafter, as the weighing unit 10 rotates, the cam follower 23 of FIG. 3 enters a non-contact state in which the cam follower 23 does not contact the cam 33, and the weighing unit 10 advances to the tare weighing area A5.
In the weighing unit 10 where the cam follower 23 is separated from the cam 33, the tare weight in an empty state in which the container M is not placed is measured by the weighing device 13 in the tare weighing area A5, and the zero point is adjusted. Thereafter, the weighing unit 10 is moved again to the supply area A1, and the container M is supplied by the intake-side star wheel 1 (FIG. 1).

  As described above, in the second non-contact area C <b> 2 including the tare weighing area A <b> 5, since the cam follower 23 is separated from the cam 33, only the weight of the weighing unit 10 is loaded on the weighing instrument 13. Therefore, the tare weight can be accurately measured.

  Further, since the container holding means 20 in FIG. 4 is maintained in the non-holding state by the upper magnet 22, it is not necessary to move the container holding means 20 up and down in the process of receiving the next container M, so that it operates at high speed. Is possible.

In addition, as a container holding means, you may use a pair of rod-shaped container holding means 20A by which the nail | claw 25 was formed in the front-end | tip as shown to Fig.5 (a). In such a case, as shown in FIG. 5B, the container M can be prevented from falling down more reliably by hooking the upper edge of the container M to the claw 25.
5 may be provided integrally with the container holding means 20 of the embodiment of FIG.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the cam and the cam follower are used as the main driving portion and the driven portion, but the container holding means 20 may be set to a holding state or a non-holding state using a solenoid and a plate material.
In the above-described embodiment, the permanent magnet is used as the maintaining means for maintaining the posture of the container holding means 20, but an electromagnet may be used, and each state of the container holding means 20 is maintained by a mechanical method. It may be.
Further, the first maintaining means 21 may maintain the holding state in which the container holding means 20 is lowered by the weight of the container holding means 20 instead of the magnet.

  The weighing device may measure the weight of a product including a container filled with the contents, but may measure the weight of a container not filled with the contents. For example, in the case of canned coffee or the like, the weight W1 of the empty can is measured, and then the coffee can be filled in the empty can in the production line, and after this filling, the weight W2 of the coffee including the can is measured, and the weight is determined from the weight W2. The weighing apparatus can also be applied to a system that calculates the weight (W2-W1) of the contents by subtracting W1.

As described above, the preferred embodiments have been described with reference to the drawings. However, those skilled in the art will readily understand various changes and modifications within the obvious scope by looking at the present specification.
For example, the number of weighing units may be two or more.
Further, it is not always necessary to use a star wheel for supplying and discharging the container to and from the rotary weighing device.
Further, the first support means for supporting the weighing unit may be suspended from above, and the second support means for supporting the main moving part may be supported from below.
Although the apparatus becomes complicated, the first support means and the second support means may be supported from the same direction using a hollow shaft or the like.
In the above-described embodiment, the container to be weighed may be a container that can be placed on a table, and may be, for example, a cylindrical can of drinking water or a milk bottle.
Accordingly, such changes and modifications are to be construed as within the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.

  The present invention can be applied to a rotary weighing device that measures the weight of a container, contents, and the like while rotating a table that supports the container.

It is a top view which shows the function of the rotary metering apparatus concerning Example 1 of this invention. It is the schematic side view partly fractured | ruptured which shows the rotation measuring device. It is a schematic plan view which shows the principal part of a rotary metering apparatus. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the principal part of a rotary metering apparatus. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the modification of a container holding means.

Explanation of symbols

4: Driving device (rotating means)
10: Weighing unit 11: Table 13: Weighing instrument 20: Container holding means 21: First maintaining means (magnet)
22: 2nd maintenance means (magnet)
23: Cam follower (driven part)
31: 1st support means 32: 2nd support means 33: Cam (main drive part)
M: Container

Claims (3)

A rotary weighing device for weighing the container and / or the contents filled in the container while rotating a plurality of weighing units loaded with the container by a rotating means,
Each of the weighing units includes a table for placing the container, a container holding means that can be set to a holding state that holds the container on the table by moving up and down, and a non-holding state that does not hold the container; A follower connected to the container holding means, and a weighing instrument loaded with the table, the container holding means and the follower,
The main drive unit that moves the driven unit as the measuring unit rotates and the driven unit are provided on the center side of the circumference around which the measuring unit rotates ,
In order to measure the weight of the container and / or the contents, a non-contact first area in which the driven portion is not in contact with the main driving portion is provided on the circumference, and in the non-contact first area, the non-contact first area First maintaining means for maintaining the holding state;
In order to measure the tare weight, a non-contact second area in which the driven portion is not in contact with the main driving portion is provided on the circumference, and the non-holding state is maintained in the non-contact second area. And 2 maintaining means. 2. The rotary weighing device according to claim 1 , wherein the second maintaining means is a magnet for holding the container holding means at an upper position. 3. The side according to claim 1, further comprising first support means for supporting the plurality of weighing units from below or above, and second support means for supporting the main driving portion, wherein the first support means supports the weighing unit. The rotary weighing device is characterized in that the second support means supports the main moving part from above or below the opposite side.

Images