JP5524598B2 - Foreign object exclusion device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a foreign matter removing apparatus that is provided in a product production line and inspects raw materials conveyed through the production line to remove foreign matters. The present invention relates to a foreign matter removing apparatus that reduces the amount of raw materials as much as possible to reduce waste of raw materials in a manufacturing process.

  Patent Document 1 below discloses an article inspection apparatus that optimizes the divided area size at the time of determination and eliminates defective products while reducing wasteful sorting and discharging. In this apparatus, detection means 14 for outputting a detection signal indicating the quality state of the article W passing through the detection area 5 and determination means for determining the quality state of the article W based on the detection signal and outputting a selection control signal. 22 is provided. According to this apparatus, the quality state of the passing article is determined in each of the plurality of division determination areas having the variable area width determined for each article, while the plurality of fixed area widths corresponding to the preset sorting resolution are determined. For each area of the divided selection area, a selection control signal is output according to the determination result in at least one division determination area corresponding to the area, and articles in the divided selection area determined to be defective are excluded from the line. Thus, according to the present invention, since the width of the division determination area is variable for each article, the size of the division area at the time of determination is insufficient, and a selection omission that causes defective products to remain on the conveyance path may occur. Since the size of the divided area is too large, the sorting operation can be performed without having to sort out and discharge a minimum-sized article together with many non-defective products to the outside of the conveyance path.

  In Patent Document 2 listed below, an inspection object leveling device 50 arranged upstream of an X-ray foreign object detection device that detects X-rays through the X-ray transmission of the inspection object conveyed on the conveyor conveyance path 21. Is disclosed. In this apparatus, the object to be inspected is fed and discharged from the discharge nozzle 51, and the object to be inspected is sent out with a constant layer thickness on the conveying path, and a cutter or the like is cut upstream in the conveying direction. Means 40 is provided, and this cutting means 40 cuts the inspection object on the conveyance path 21 in parallel to the width direction, and cuts and separates from a plurality of inspection objects adjacent to the front and rear in the conveyance direction. The inspection object can be separated from other parts and removed from the line.

JP 2007-244986 A Japanese Patent No. 3910609

  According to the above-described invention described in Patent Document 1, since all articles in the divisional selection area determined to be defective are excluded from the line, not only articles containing foreign substances in the area but also foreign objects are excluded. All items that do not contain are also wasted. In addition, if the raw material that is transported in the line is the final product that will be processed by the subsequent process, even if the article contains foreign matter, only the foreign matter is desired to be excluded, and the part other than the foreign matter is used as the raw material. Since it is useful regardless of the shape or the like, it is useless to discard the entire article including foreign matter. In other words, this apparatus has a problem that a large amount of raw material is excluded as a means for removing foreign matters in the raw material being conveyed, and excessive waste is unavoidable.

  In addition, according to the invention described in Patent Document 2 described above, only the portion containing foreign matter in the inspection object continuously conveyed on the conveyor conveyance path is to be removed from the line. The inspection object flowing continuously in the width is cut in the width direction before and after the length in the transport direction including the foreign matter with a blade-shaped cutting means orthogonal to the transport direction, and the entire portion including the foreign matter is cut. Since it is thrown away, there is a problem that a large amount of inspected objects are thrown away and excessive waste is unavoidable.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in a foreign matter removing apparatus that is provided in a product production line and inspects raw materials conveyed through the production line to remove foreign matter, the foreign matter is reliably removed. It is an object to reduce the waste of raw materials in a production line by eliminating as much as possible the amount of raw materials that are excluded together with foreign substances.

The foreign substance exclusion device 1, 1a, 1b, 1c described in claim 1 is:
In a foreign matter removing apparatus that is provided in a product production line and inspects a raw material M conveyed along the production line to remove foreign matter F,
Conveying means 2 for conveying the raw material M;
Position information acquisition means 4, 5, 6 for detecting the foreign matter F contained in the raw material M being transported by the transporting means 2 and acquiring two-dimensional positional information of the foreign matter F in the raw material M; ,
Tubular hollow that operates by receiving position information from the position information acquisition means 4, 5, 6 and cuts and removes the foreign matter F in the raw material M and a part of the raw material M around the foreign matter F. and hand-stage 9,
It is characterized by comprising.

The foreign matter exclusion apparatus 1, 1a, 1b, 1c according to claim 2 is the foreign matter exclusion apparatus 1, 1a, 1b, 1c according to claim 1,
The position information acquisition means 4, 5, 6 are viewed in the horizontal plane by detecting the foreign material F by inspecting the raw material M from a direction intersecting a horizontal plane parallel to the conveyance direction of the conveyance means 2. It is configured to acquire two-dimensional position information of the foreign matter F in the raw material M,
The hollowed hand stage 9 is configured to move to a position corresponding to the two-dimensional position of the foreign matter F in the raw material M as viewed in the horizontal plane, the foreign matter F by moving in a direction intersecting the horizontal plane It is characterized in that it is configured to reach and remove a part of the foreign matter F and the raw material M.

The foreign matter exclusion apparatus 1, 1a, 1b, 1c according to claim 3 is the foreign matter exclusion apparatus 1, 1a, 1b, 1c according to claim 2,
The hollowed hand stage 9, in synchronization with the conveyance of the raw material M by the conveying means 2, a two-dimensional of the foreign substance F by moving in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveying means 2 in the horizontal plane It is characterized by moving to a position corresponding to the position.

The foreign matter exclusion device 1, 1a, 1b, 1c described in claim 4 is the foreign matter exclusion device 1, 1a, 1b, 1c according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
A plurality of types of the punching means 9 having different diameters corresponding to the sizes of different foreign matters F are prepared,
A plurality of types of the punching means 9 are selectively operated according to the size of the detected foreign matter F.

According to the foreign matter eliminating apparatus 1, 1a, 1b, 1c described in claim 1, the position information acquisition means 4, 5, 6 inspect the raw material M of the product being conveyed by the conveying means 2 and the raw material M is in the raw material M. The two-dimensional position information of the foreign matter F is acquired, and the exclusion means 9 moves to a position corresponding to the foreign matter F in the raw material M two-dimensionally based on this positional information, and the foreign matter F in the raw material M and the foreign matter F Since only a part of the raw material M around the foreign matter F can be selectively removed, not only the foreign matter F can be reliably removed, but the amount of the raw material M that is removed together with the foreign matter F is reduced. Waste can be saved. That is, the exclusion means has a tubular hollowing means 9, and the foreign material F and a part of the raw material M around the foreign material F can be hollowed out and removed. The hollowed out foreign matter F and a part of the raw material M may be removed by dropping downward as they are, or may be removed by sucking upward from the hollow portion of the hollowed out means 9.

According to the foreign substance exclusion device 1, 1a, 1b, 1c described in claim 2, the effect of the foreign substance exclusion device 1, 1a, 1b, 1c according to claim 1 can be achieved in the following manner. . That is, the position information acquisition means 4, 5, 6 inspect the raw material M from the direction intersecting the horizontal plane parallel to the conveying direction of the conveying means 2 and detect the foreign matter F, thereby detecting the raw material M viewed in the horizontal plane. The two-dimensional position information of the foreign object F is acquired. The hollowing unit 9 receives the position information from the position information acquisition unit 6 and moves to a position corresponding to the two-dimensional position of the foreign matter F in the raw material M viewed in the horizontal plane, and further moves in a direction intersecting the horizontal plane. Thus, the foreign material F in the raw material M is reached, and the foreign material F and a part of the minimum raw material M around the foreign material F can be removed.

According to the foreign substance exclusion device 1, 1a, 1b, 1c described in claim 3, the effect of the foreign substance exclusion device 1, 1a, 1b, 1c according to claim 2 can be achieved in the following manner. . That is, the hand stage 9 hollowed out is adapted to be moved only the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveying means 2 in the horizontal plane, since the operation is synchronized with the transport of raw materials M by conveying means 2, The hollowing unit 9 can move to a position corresponding to the two-dimensional position of the foreign matter F acquired by the position information acquiring unit 6.

According to the foreign substance exclusion device 1, 1a, 1b, 1c described in claim 4 , the effect of the foreign substance exclusion device 1, 1a, 1b, 1c according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is as follows. Can be achieved. That is, as the hollowing means 9, for example, a plurality of types of hollowing means 9 having different diameters are prepared so as to be able to cope with the size of different foreign substances F that are expected, and according to the size of the detected foreign substance F. By selecting and operating the aperture, the foreign matter F can be reliably removed and the amount of the raw material M that is removed together with the foreign matter F can be reduced as much as possible.

It is a typical perspective view of the foreign material removal apparatus concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a typical perspective view of the foreign material removal apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a typical front view of the foreign substance removal device concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a typical top view of a foreign substance removal device concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a typical perspective view of the foreign material removal apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a typical front view of the foreign material removal apparatus concerning a 3rd embodiment. It is a typical top view of a foreign substance removal device concerning a 3rd embodiment. It is a typical perspective view of the foreign material removal apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment.

First to fourth embodiments of the foreign matter removing apparatus according to the present invention will be described.
1. First embodiment (FIG. 1)
Embodiments of the present invention, including the first embodiment, relate to an apparatus provided on a product production line, and in particular, a foreign material that inspects a raw material conveyed along the production line and finds and eliminates the foreign material. It relates to an exclusion device. Here, the raw material widely indicates materials in a stage before the production line is subjected to some processing and made into a product, and the properties thereof are transportable properties such as solid or viscous. The form may take any form such as a regular or irregular block form or continuous form. The name of the material is not particularly limited. For example, if food is exemplified as a product, the raw material may be, for example, minced or block-shaped meat, dough manufactured by kneading hydrated flour, and other characteristics described above. All food ingredients that you have are included. In addition, in embodiment of this invention including 1st Embodiment demonstrated below, it demonstrates taking the example of the raw material for foods which shape | molded the foodstuff which has a certain amount of hardness in the block shape.

  This foreign matter removing apparatus 1 is provided with a belt conveyor 2 as conveying means for conveying the raw material M first. The belt conveyor 2 is formed by winding an endless belt 3 around at least a pair of rollers, and conveys the raw material M carried on the endless belt 3 at a predetermined speed. In this embodiment, since the belt conveyor 2 is installed horizontally in the factory, the conveyance direction is substantially horizontal, and the conveyance plane which is the surface of the endless belt 3 is a horizontal plane parallel to the conveyance direction. Yes.

  The foreign matter removing apparatus 1 inspects the raw material M conveyed by the belt conveyor 2, detects the foreign matter F contained therein, and acquires position information acquisition means for acquiring the two-dimensional positional information of the foreign matter in the raw material M. Have. Here, the two-dimensional position information of the foreign material F in the raw material M indicates the two-dimensional position of the foreign material F in the surface when the raw material M is viewed in a certain plane. In this example, since the belt conveyor 2 conveys the raw material M along the horizontal plane, it means the position of the foreign matter F in the raw material M when the raw material M is viewed in the horizontal plane. That is, the position of the foreign material F in the plan view of the raw material M is shown, and the position information in the height direction in the raw material M is not included.

  The position information acquisition means includes an X-ray source 4 above the belt conveyor 2 as foreign matter detection means. The X-ray source 4 is disposed above the belt conveyor 2 and spreads in a triangular shape in a substantially vertical plane substantially orthogonal to a horizontal plane parallel to the conveying direction of the belt conveyor 2 as shown in the figure. Thus, it is possible to irradiate with X-ray light beams that intersect so as to be substantially orthogonal to the transport direction. Further, the position information acquisition means includes an X-ray line sensor 5 as a foreign matter detection means at a position immediately below the upper endless belt 3 irradiated with the X-ray light beam. The X-ray line sensor 5 is composed of a plurality of X-ray detection elements, detects X-rays passing through the endless belt 3 and the raw material M passing right above, and detects the foreign matter F in the raw material M as a belt conveyor. 2 can be detected in correspondence with the position in the width direction.

  The position information acquisition means includes position information detection means 6 for the foreign matter F connected to the X-ray line sensor 5. When the position information detecting means 6 detects the foreign matter F in the raw material M, the position information detecting means 6 processes the signal coming from the X-ray line sensor 5 and the driving information of the belt conveyor 2 on the basis of the common timing. Can be determined in the raw material M viewed in the horizontal plane. That is, according to the position information detecting means 6, it is possible to calculate and acquire the two-dimensional position information of the foreign matter F indicating the position of the foreign matter F in the plan view of the raw material M.

  On the downstream side in the conveying direction of the belt conveyor 2, a foreign matter removing means is disposed in the vicinity of the downstream end of the belt conveyor 2. The exclusion means operates in response to the position information sent from the position information detection means 6 and removes the foreign matter F in the raw material M and a part of the raw material M around the foreign matter F, and includes the belt conveyor 2. A mounting table 7 on which the raw material M is transferred, a moving means having a gate-shaped frame 8 arranged on the left and right and above the mounting table 7, a hollowing means 9 provided on the moving means and moving, and a moving means Position control means 10 for the punching means 9 to be controlled is provided.

  The hollowing means 9 is a cylindrical tubular member, and the peripheral edge of the opened lower end portion is a cutting tool. The cutting means 9 is positioned right above the foreign substance F, moves in the axial direction, and cuts into the raw material M below. If so, the foreign material F and a part of the raw material M around the foreign material F can be cut out. The hollowed-out foreign matter F or the like may be removed by sucking it up from the inside of the tube as it is by means of a suction removal means (not shown) or by dropping it downward from a groove or hole (not shown) provided directly under the raw material M of the mounting table 7. May be.

  As apparent from the function of the punching means 9, the frame 8 for moving the punching means 9 first shows the punching means 9 along the upper beam of the frame 8 in the width direction of the belt conveyor 2 (indicated by an arrow A, horizontal plane). In the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction) and can be positioned in the same direction, and the entire frame 8 is moved along the conveying direction of the belt conveyor 2 (indicated by the arrow B), so that the hollowing means 9 is the same. With respect to the raw material M on the mounting table 7, the hollowing means 9 can be positioned at a desired position in the plane. Further, the frame 8 can be cut into the raw material M by moving the punching means 9 in the vertical direction.

  The position control means 10 of the hollowing means 9 controls the frame 8 based on the two-dimensional position information of the foreign matter F sent from the position information detecting means 6, and the hollowing means 9 is controlled in the width direction (A) and the conveying direction of the belt conveyor 2. By moving only a necessary amount in (B), the hollowing means 9 is set just above the position where the foreign matter F exists in the plane with respect to the raw material M which has been loaded onto the mounting table 7 and placed at a predetermined position. Moreover, the minimum raw material M including the foreign material F can be cut into a cylindrical shape by lowering the punching means 9 by a necessary amount corresponding to the thickness of the raw material M and cutting it into the raw material M. it can.

The operation of the above configuration will be described.
The block-shaped raw material M is carried into the belt conveyor 2 and conveyed. When the raw material M passes directly under the operating X-ray source 4, the X-ray that has passed through the raw material M and the endless belt 3 is detected by the X-ray line sensor 5. The positional information detection means 6 processes the signal coming from the X-ray line sensor 5 and the driving information of the belt conveyor 2 based on the common timing signal, and when the foreign matter F is detected, the foreign matter F is the plane of the raw material M. Two-dimensional position information of the foreign substance F indicating which position in the figure is present is calculated and acquired. This position information specifies where the foreign substance F is in the raw material M viewed in the horizontal plane.

  The raw material M that has passed through the X-ray irradiation range by the X-ray source 4 is sent out from the belt conveyor 2 and sent to a predetermined position on the mounting table 7. The position information from the position information detection means 6 is sent to the position control means 10 of the hollowing means 9, and the position control means 10 controls the frame 8 and moves the hollowing means 9 as appropriate, so that the two-dimensional of the hollowing means 9 is moved. The position is set according to the two-dimensional position of the foreign matter F in the raw material M installed at a predetermined position on the mounting table 7.

  In this embodiment, since the block-shaped raw material M is targeted, the two-dimensional position information of the foreign substance F can be expressed as follows, for example. That is, assuming a first coordinate axis parallel to the transport direction and a second coordinate axis orthogonal to the first coordinate axis in the horizontal plane, the position of the foreign matter F in the raw material M is from the tip of the block-shaped raw material M to the first coordinate axis. It can be represented by two-dimensional coordinates (position information) consisting of a first specific position having a predetermined dimension measured along the second specific position having a predetermined dimension measured along the second coordinate axis at the first specific position. . Since the time at which the leading end of the raw material M passes the X-ray line sensor 5 and the transport speed of the belt conveyor 2 are known, the raw material M or the foreign matter F can be positioned at a predetermined position of the subsequent removal means. Even if the form of the raw material M is not a block shape and is a continuous form, the raw material M or the foreign matter F can be similarly positioned.

  When the hollowing means 9 is positioned two-dimensionally with respect to the foreign substance F, the position control means 10 controls the frame 8 and moves the hollowing means 9 vertically downward to cut into the raw material M. The hollowing means 9 cuts the foreign material F and the raw material M only around it into a cylindrical shape and separates it from the surroundings. The separated raw material M containing the foreign substance F is removed to the outside by appropriate means such as dropping or sucking up as described above.

  In the present embodiment, the raw material M from which the foreign matter F has been removed is carried out by the operator from above the placing table 7 of the removing means, and continuously put into a production line (not shown) disposed in the subsequent stage, which is necessary. Processed and finished in products. In addition, the raw material M in which no foreign substance F is found is carried on the placing table 7 of the exclusion means, and then carried out by the worker, continuously put into the production line, and subjected to necessary processing to obtain a product. It will be finished.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, inspection is performed while conveying the raw material M of the product to determine the two-dimensional position information of the foreign matter F in the raw material M, and based on this positional information, the foreign matter in the raw material M is determined. Since only F and the minimum raw material M around it can be selectively removed by the hollowing means 9, the foreign matter F can be reliably removed, and the amount of the raw material M that is removed together with the foreign matter F This has the effect of reducing waste and eliminating waste.

2. Second Embodiment (FIGS. 2 to 4)
In the description of the second embodiment, the description will focus on the parts that are different from the first embodiment, the same parts as the first embodiment will be referred to, and the description in the first embodiment will be used in principle. The description of will be omitted.

  This foreign matter removing apparatus 1a has a belt conveyor 2 as a conveying means, an X-ray source 4 as a foreign matter F position information acquisition means, an X-ray line sensor 5, and a foreign matter F position information detecting means 6. Further, a sorting means 12 is arranged downstream of the belt conveyor 2, and sorts foreign-contaminated products and non-defective products and distributes them to a line for removing foreign matter F and a non-defective product line, respectively. it can.

  The sorting means 12 is a device in which a large number of rotatable transporting round bars are arranged in parallel to each other in a horizontal plane, and the transported objects are transported by rotating these transporting round bars in a predetermined direction. However, as shown in the figure, each transporting round bar is moved in the axial direction so that the position in the axial direction of each adjacent transporting round bar changes little by little. In addition to the original straight direction orthogonal to the rod, it can be conveyed in other directions inclined at an arbitrary angle with respect to the straight direction. As the sorting means 12, the article classification apparatus disclosed by the applicant of the present invention in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 54-131258 and 61-7130 can be applied. Any means having a function of sorting and transporting M in two directions can be used.

  As described above, the non-defective product conveyance line and the foreign matter-contaminated product processing / conveyance line are arranged in parallel to each other at the subsequent stage of the sorting unit 12 so as to receive the raw material M from the sorting unit 12.

  The non-defective product conveyance line includes a non-defective belt conveyor 13 similar to the belt conveyor 2. The non-defective belt conveyor 13 receives the non-defective raw material M received from the sorting means 12 and conveys it, and further feeds it to a wide collective belt conveyor 14 which is a conveyed product collecting means arranged in the subsequent stage. The collective belt conveyor 14 further feeds the raw material M into a processing step or the like provided in the subsequent stage.

  A foreign matter F removing means is provided in the processing / conveying line for the foreign matter mixed products. This exclusion means has substantially the same function as that of the first embodiment, and includes a front conveyor 15 on which the raw material M is transferred from the sorting means 12, a rear conveyor 16 that carries out the removed raw material M, and a front conveyor 15 And a stage 7 disposed between the rear conveyor 16, a gate-shaped frame 8 disposed on the left and right and above the stage 7, and a hollowing unit 9 provided on the frame 8 to move. Further, a position control means 10 for the hollowing means 9 for controlling the moving means is provided.

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the interval between the front conveyor 15 and the rear conveyor 16 is shorter than the length in the transport direction of the raw material M to be transported, and is therefore disposed between the front conveyor 15 and the rear conveyor 16. The length of the mounting table 7 in the conveyance direction is also shorter than the raw material M. Therefore, the raw material M can be positioned at an arbitrary position on the mounting table 7 by appropriately driving the front conveyor 15 and the rear conveyor 16. Therefore, the raw material M can be transported and positioned so that the position of the foreign matter F of the raw material M is aligned with the position directly below the punching means 9 attached to the frame 8 of the moving means.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the frame 8 as the moving means only needs to be able to move the hollowing means 9 only in the width direction of the endless belt 3 orthogonal to the transport direction, and therefore the frame 8 as in the first embodiment. It is not designed to move in the transport direction. That is, the frame 8 of this embodiment is fixed, and the punching means 9 attached to the frame 8 can only move in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction.
Other functions are the same as those in the first embodiment as described above.

The operation of the above configuration will be described.
The block-shaped raw material M is carried into the belt conveyor 2 and conveyed. When the raw material M passes directly under the operating X-ray source 4, the X-ray that has passed through the raw material M and the endless belt 3 is detected by the X-ray line sensor 5. The positional information detection means 6 processes the signal coming from the X-ray line sensor 5 and the driving information of the belt conveyor 2 based on the common timing signal, and when the foreign matter F is detected, the foreign matter F is the plane of the raw material M. Two-dimensional position information of the foreign substance F indicating which position in the figure is present is calculated and acquired. This position information specifies where the foreign substance F is in the raw material M viewed in the horizontal plane.

  When the foreign matter F is detected, the sorting means 12 switches the transport direction to the exclusion means side using the position information from the position information detecting means 6 as a trigger. The raw material M that has passed through the X-ray irradiation range of the X-ray source 4 is sent out from the belt conveyor 2 and then sent to the pre-stage conveyor 15 by guidance of the sorting means 12. The position information from the position information detection means 6 controls the front and rear conveyors 15 and 16 via the position control means 10 (not shown), and the raw material M is the rear conveyor 15 and the rear stage driven as necessary. By the action of the conveyor 16, the position of the foreign matter F is transported to a required position on the mounting table 7 which is directly below the moving range of the hollowing means 9, and is stopped and positioned.

  Further, the position information from the position information detecting means 6 is sent to the position control means 10 of the hollowing means 9, and the position control means 10 controls the frame 8 based on this position information, and moves the hollowing means 9 in the transport direction. It moves suitably about the orthogonal width direction. Thereby, the two-dimensional position of the hollowing means 9 is set in accordance with the two-dimensional position of the foreign matter F in the raw material M positioned on the mounting table 7.

  When the hollowing means 9 is positioned two-dimensionally with respect to the foreign substance F, the position control means 10 controls the frame 8 and moves the hollowing means 9 vertically downward to cut into the raw material M. The hollowing means 9 cuts the foreign material F and the raw material M only around it into a cylindrical shape and separates it from the surroundings. The separated raw material M containing the foreign substance F is removed to the outside by appropriate means such as dropping or sucking up as described above.

  Thereafter, the foreign material-removed raw material M discharged from the rear conveyor 16 is further fed to the collective belt conveyor 14 arranged in the rear stage, and is combined with the raw material M fed from the non-defective line. The raw material M from which the foreign matter has been removed has a hole from which the foreign matter F has been removed. However, since the raw material M has not yet been processed into a product, there is no problem, and the raw material M is sent to a subsequent processing step together with the good raw material M.

  When the foreign matter F is not detected, the sorting unit 12 switches the conveying direction to the non-defective line side using the position information from the position information detecting unit 6 as a trigger. The raw material M that has passed through the X-ray irradiation range of the X-ray source 4 is sent out from the belt conveyor 2 and then sent to the non-defective belt conveyor 13 by the guidance of the sorting means 12, and further transferred to the collective belt conveyor 14 to remove foreign matter. Along with the raw material M, it is sent to a subsequent processing step or the like.

  According to this embodiment, in addition to the same effects as those of the first embodiment, the foreign matter F can be removed without obstructing the transfer operation of non-defective products, and the overall work efficiency is high. There is.

3. 3rd Embodiment (FIGS. 5-7)
In the description of the third embodiment, the description will focus on the parts that are different from the second embodiment, and the description of the second embodiment will be used for the parts that are common to the second embodiment, and in principle this section again. The description of will be omitted.

The foreign matter exclusion apparatus 1b of the present embodiment is different from the foreign matter exclusion apparatus 1a of the second embodiment in the configuration of the mounting table 7 and the hollowing means 9 in the exclusion means. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the hollowing means 9 includes an upper blade 9 a having a cylindrical diameter and a cylindrical lower blade 9 b positioned immediately below the upper blade 9 a, and the lower blade 9 b is mounted on the mounting table 7. It is installed in a groove (not shown) formed in the width direction so as to be movable in the width direction. At the time of driving, the upper blade 9a and the lower blade 9b move in the width direction synchronously, are positioned at the upper and lower positions corresponding to the position of the foreign material F of the raw material M, and the upper blade 9a is lowered to move the raw material M to the lower blade 9b. The foreign material F and the surrounding raw material M can be punched into a cylindrical shape and removed.
According to this embodiment, the same effect as that of the second embodiment can be obtained.

4). Fourth embodiment (FIG. 8)
In the description of the fourth embodiment, the description will focus on the parts that are different from the second embodiment, and the parts common to the second embodiment will be referred to in the second embodiment. The description of will be omitted. In FIG. 8, the illustration of the collective belt conveyor 14 is omitted.

The foreign matter removing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is different from the apparatus of the second embodiment in that a sorting belt conveyor 20 that can move freely in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction is used instead of the sorting means 12 that can freely switch the transport direction. Is a point provided. The sorting belt conveyor 20 is disposed between the belt conveyor 2, a hollowing-out means 9 (processing / conveying line for foreign matters mixed product) and a non-defective belt conveyor 13 (non-defective product line), which are exclusion means in the subsequent stage. The raw material M that has been inspected by the X-ray line sensor 5 is received, moved in a necessary line direction according to the detection result of the foreign matter F, and the raw material M is distributed to the subsequent stage.
According to this embodiment, the same effect as that of the second embodiment can be obtained.

5. Note that, in each of the embodiments described above, there is only one punching means 9, but a plurality of types with different calibers so as to correspond to a plurality of types of foreign matter F. The hollowing means 9 is prepared in advance and provided on the frame 8, and when the foreign matter F is detected, the hollowing means having the smallest diameter among the hollowing means 9 having a diameter larger than the size of the detected foreign matter F. If 9 is selected and used, the foreign matter F can be removed reliably, and the amount of the raw material M that is removed together with the foreign matter F can be reduced as much as possible.

  In each of the embodiments described above, the hollowing means 9 has been described as the removing means. In addition, the tubular suction for separating and sucking the foreign matter F and a part of the raw material M around the foreign matter F is separated. The means may be an exclusion means.

  Further, in each of the embodiments described above, the X-ray source 4 and the X-ray line sensor 5 are exemplified as the foreign matter detection means of the position information acquisition means, but this is only an example, and the foreign matter F in the raw material M is detected. Any means can be used. For example, a transmission sensor that outputs magnetic lines of force generated from a magnet or a coil as a transmission line to the raw material M that is an object to be inspected and detects the intensity of the magnetic line of transmission through the raw material M by a coil, a Hall element, etc. A means for inspecting the presence or absence of the foreign matter F made of can also be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a, 1b, 1c ... Foreign substance exclusion means 2 ... Belt conveyor as conveyance means 4 ... X-ray source as foreign substance detection means which comprises position information acquisition means 5 ... X-ray as foreign substance detection means which constitutes position information acquisition means Line sensor 6 ... Position information detection means constituting position information acquisition means 7 ... Mounting table constituting discharge means 8 ... Frame as moving means constituting discharge means 9 ... Hollow means constituting discharge means 10 ... Discharge means Constructing position control means M ... Raw material M
F ... Foreign matter

Claims (4)

In the foreign matter removing device (1, 1a, 1b, 1c) provided in the product production line and inspecting the raw material (M) conveyed along the production line to remove the foreign matter (F),
Conveying means (2) for conveying the raw materials;
Position information acquisition means (4, 5, 6) for detecting the foreign matter contained in the raw material being transported by the transport means and obtaining two-dimensional positional information of the foreign matter in the raw material;
Tubular hollowing means (9) which operates by receiving positional information from the positional information acquisition means, and hollows out the foreign material in the raw material and a part of the raw material around the foreign material;
A foreign substance exclusion device (1, 1a, 1b, 1c) characterized by comprising: The position information acquisition means (4, 5, 6) detects the foreign material (F) by inspecting the raw material (M) from a direction intersecting a horizontal plane parallel to the conveyance direction of the conveyance means (2). Is configured to acquire the two-dimensional position information of the foreign material in the raw material viewed in the horizontal plane,
The hollowing means (9) moves to a position corresponding to the two-dimensional position of the foreign matter in the raw material seen in the horizontal plane, and reaches the foreign matter by moving in a direction intersecting the horizontal plane, The foreign matter removing apparatus (1, 1a, 1b, 1c) according to claim 1, wherein the foreign matter and a part of the raw material are removed. The hollowing means (9) moves in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveying means in the horizontal plane in synchronization with the conveyance of the raw material (M) by the conveying means (2), thereby causing the foreign matter (F The foreign object eliminating device (1, 1a, 1b, 1c) according to claim 2, wherein the foreign object eliminating device (1, 1a, 1b, 1c) is moved to a position corresponding to a two-dimensional position. A plurality of types of the punching means (9) having different diameters corresponding to the sizes of different foreign matters (F) are prepared,
4. The foreign substance removing device (1, 1 a, 1 b, or 2 ) according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of types of the hollowing means are selectively operated according to the size of the detected foreign substance. 1c).

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