JP5553528B2 - Sorting device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sorting device used together with a weight sorter, a foreign matter inspection device, and the like.

  Conventionally, weighing and packaging systems (production lines) of production factories that weigh and package articles such as potato chips, candy, livestock products, agricultural products, and marine products and ship to the market include, for example, weighing devices such as combination weighers, A packaging machine, an inspection device (X-ray foreign object detection device, metal detector, weight sorter, etc.), and a boxing device are provided.

  In such a system (production line), a foreign substance inspection apparatus, a weight sorter, and the like have a sorting apparatus for sorting articles according to the inspection result of the foreign substance inspection apparatus and the selection result of the weight sorter in the subsequent stage. Is provided. As the sorting device, for example, in order to exclude articles sequentially conveyed on the transport line from the transport line, one having an end that is pivotally supported and having a swing arm that swings. Yes (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Further, in Patent Document 1, in order to confirm the operation of the sorting arm, an imaging unit that photographs a predetermined imaging range including the sorting arm, and an inspection image based on the monitoring image photographed by the imaging unit. A configuration is disclosed that includes image processing means for determining whether or not distribution according to the determination result of the apparatus has been reliably performed.

JP 2004-148248 A

  In the sorting apparatus as described above, if attention is paid to a certain sorting arm, the sorting arm does not always operate because the sorting arm does not always operate every time an article is conveyed. It is difficult to visually confirm whether or not For example, in a later process or the like, a defective product may be found in a non-defective product, so that the defective operation of the sorting arm may be known later, for example, the defective product has not been distributed. In addition, the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1 requires expensive imaging means and image processing means, which increases the cost.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a sorting device that can easily visually check whether or not the sorting arm is operating normally at low cost. The purpose is that.

In order to achieve the above object, the sorting apparatus of the present invention is configured to be swingable around a support shaft disposed on the side of the article transport path, and is moved from the transport path by a predetermined motion. A sorting arm for removing articles, a driving means for swinging the sorting arm, a light emitting means provided in or near the sorting arm, and a driving arm for driving the sorting arm
A drive command signal is output and a lighting command signal for lighting the light emitting means is output.
The light emitting means is preset by the input of a lighting command signal.
It is configured to light up for a predetermined lighting time .

  According to this configuration, it is possible to notify the user that it is time for the sorting arm to swing by turning on the light emitting means provided in or near the sorting arm. That is, since the light emitting means is turned on when the sorting arm should swing, the user can see whether the sorting arm is operating normally by looking at the sorting arm when the light emitting means is turned on. It becomes easy to confirm this visually. Therefore, it becomes easy to visually confirm the operating state of the sorting arm when a malfunction occurs.

The apparatus further comprises an operation detecting means for detecting that the allocating arm has oscillated.
The swinging movement of the sorting arm is not detected by the motion detection means during the fixed lighting time
The light emitting means detects when the swinging motion of the sorting arm is detected by the motion detecting means.
May be configured to light up with different lighting states.

According to this configuration, the sorting arm swings when the sorting arm should swing.
If the action detecting means does not detect that the light emitting means is
The lighting of the sorting arm is different from the time when it should move.
The malfunction can be notified to the user.

In addition, the light emitting means detects the swinging motion of the sorting arm during a predetermined lighting time.
When it is detected by the stage, it lights continuously, and the swinging arm swings during the predetermined lighting time.
It is configured to blink when an action is not detected by the action detection means.
May be.

With this configuration, the user can use the light emitting means when the sorting arm should swing.
Easily discriminate whether it is informing you of this or whether the distribution arm is in malfunction
it can.

In addition, the light emitting means detects the swinging motion of the sorting arm during a predetermined lighting time.
When detected by the stage, it lights in the first color and during the predetermined lighting time, the sorting arm
When the swing motion is not detected by the motion detection means, the second color different from the first color
You may be comprised so that it may light by the color of.

With this configuration, the user can use the light emitting means when the sorting arm should swing.
Easily discriminate whether it is informing you of this or whether the distribution arm is in malfunction
it can.

The driving means includes a motor for driving the sorting arm and a driving current of the motor.
Current detecting means for detecting the current detecting means, and the light emitting means has a current detecting means for a predetermined lighting time.
It is configured to light up in a predetermined lighting color according to the current value detected by the stage.
It may be.

According to this configuration, the user can adjust the drive system of the sorting arm from the lighting color of the light emitting means.
You can know the status and judge the necessity of maintenance such as adjustment of the drive system.
be able to.

The driving means includes a motor for driving the sorting arm and a driving current of the motor.
Current detecting means for detecting the current detecting means, and the light emitting means has a current detecting means for a predetermined lighting time.
Configured to display a predetermined number according to the current value detected by the stage
May be.

According to this configuration, the user starts driving the sorting arm from the numbers displayed on the light emitting means.
It is possible to know the adjustment status of the dynamic system, and the necessity of maintenance such as adjustment of the drive system is not necessary.
The key point can be judged.

  The present invention has the configuration described above, and has an effect that it is easy to visually confirm whether or not the sorting arm is operating normally at a low cost in the sorting device.

(A) is a schematic diagram which shows the schematic structure which looked at the weight sorter using the sorting apparatus of the 1st Embodiment of this invention from upper direction, (b) is the weight which used the sorting apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows schematic structure which looked at the sorter from the side. (A), (b) is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the drive structure of the sorting arm of the sorting apparatus of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of a weight sorter using a distribution device of a 1st embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a figure which shows schematic structure of the drive part of one sorting arm of the sorting apparatus of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (b) is the other sorting arm of the sorting apparatus. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of this drive part. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the weight sorter using the distribution apparatus of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
Fig.1 (a) is a schematic diagram which shows the schematic structure which looked at the weight sorter using the distribution apparatus of the 1st Embodiment of this invention from upper direction, FIG.1 (b) is the distribution apparatus It is a mimetic diagram showing a schematic structure which looked at a weight sorter using. FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams illustrating an example of a driving configuration of a sorting arm of the sorting device. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a weight sorter using the same sorter.

The weight sorter includes an electrical component storage box 5, a supply conveyor 1, a weighing conveyor 2 supported by a weight sensor 4 including a load cell, a sorting conveyor 3 having sorting arms 6 and 7, and an operation A display 10 and a control device 11 are provided. Also,
On both sides of the sorting conveyor 3, an overweight storage box B1 and a lightweight storage box B2 are provided. In the present embodiment, LEDs (light emitting diodes) 8 are attached to the sorting arms 6 and 7.

  Each conveyor 1-3 is comprised by the belt conveyor, for example. The supply conveyor 1 receives, for example, articles W sequentially conveyed by a conveyor (not shown) and transfers the articles W to the weighing conveyor 2. The weighing conveyor 2 receives the articles W conveyed by the supply conveyor 1 and transfers them to the sorting conveyor 3. When the article W is transferred to a predetermined position on the weighing conveyor 2, the weight of the article W is measured by the weight sensor 4.

  The electrical component storage box 5 is attached so that the operation indicator 10 is fitted in the upper part of the front surface, and the control device 11 is stored inside. The operation indicator 10 is configured by using, for example, a touch panel display and the like. The input means for operating the weight sorter and setting the operating condition information thereof, the weight value of the article, the total data, etc. are displayed on the screen (display screen). Display means for displaying in (). The control device 11 inputs a signal from the operation indicator 10 and outputs a signal such as data to be displayed on the operation indicator 10.

  The control device 11 is constituted by, for example, a microcomputer, and as shown in FIG. 3, has a calculation control unit 11a composed of a CPU and the like, and a memory such as a RAM and a ROM, and stores operating condition information, a driving program, and the like. Storage unit 11b. And the control apparatus 11 controls the whole operation | movement of a weight sorter, when the calculation control part 11a runs the program for driving | operation using the preset operating condition information. That is, the control device 11 controls the supply conveyor drive circuit 12, the weighing conveyor drive circuit 13 and the sorting conveyor drive circuit 14 to drive (operate) the supply conveyor 1, the weighing conveyor 2 and the sorting conveyor 3 respectively. To control. Further, driving (operation) of the sorting arms 6 and 7 is controlled by controlling the electromagnetic valve controllers 16a and 16b, and lighting and extinguishing of the two LEDs 8 are controlled by controlling the LED driving circuit 15.

  The control device 11 obtains the weight of the article W on the weighing conveyor 2 by converting the analog weighing signal from the weight sensor 4 into a digital weighing signal by the A / D converter 9 and inputting it. When the weight of the article W is within a predetermined weight range set in advance, it is determined as an “appropriate amount product”. And “Lightweight”. Then, for example, the control device 11 distributes an article determined to be an overweight item to the overweight item storage box B1 by the sorting arm 6, and distributes an article determined to be a lightweight item to the lightweight item storage box B2 by the sorting arm 7. The distribution arms 6 and 7 are controlled. In this case, only the article determined to be an appropriate amount of goods passes through the sorting conveyor 3 and is conveyed to, for example, the next conveyor (not shown).

  One sorting arm 6 of the sorting device has one end fixed to a drive shaft 21 that is rotatably provided on one side of the sorting conveyor 3, and the other sorting arm 7 One end is fixed to a drive shaft 22 that is rotatably provided on the other side of the sorting conveyor 3. That is, each of the sorting arms 6 and 7 is configured to be swingable around the drive shafts 21 and 22 disposed on the side of the sorting conveyor 3, and appears and moves on the sorting conveyor 3 by swinging. Thus, the predetermined article W is excluded from the sorting conveyor 3.

As shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), the drive shaft 21 having the sorting arm 6 attached to the upper end extends downward and penetrates the upper surface of the frame 31, and moves up and down inside the frame 31. Direction 2
It is rotatably supported by a pair of support plates 33 fixed to the place. An operation plate 35 fixed to the drive shaft 21 is provided between the pair of support plates 33, and a distal end portion of the operation plate 35 is connected to a rod 38 a of the air cylinder 37 a through a link 36.
The air cylinder 37 a is attached to an attachment member 34 fixed inside the frame body 31. FIG. 2A shows a state in which the rod 38a of the air cylinder 37a is retracted. At this time, the sorting arm 6 is in a retracted state in which it is retracted from the sorting conveyor 3.
When the rod 38a moves forward from this state, the sorting arm 6 swings in the direction of arrow A about the drive shaft 21 and enters the advanced state where it has advanced onto the sorting conveyor 3 as shown in FIG. 2 (b). (Advancing operation of the sorting arm 6). When the sorting arm 6 enters the advanced state, the article is flowed along the sorting arm 6 to the right in the direction of travel (arrow S direction) and stored in the oversized item storage box B1 (FIG. 1 (a)). . Further, the article may be pushed out to the right side by the retracting operation of the sorting arm 6 (the operation of returning from the advanced state to the retracted state).

Further, the structure for rotating the drive shaft 22 to swing the distribution arm 7 is the same as the above except that the distribution conveyor 3 is sandwiched, and the air is provided inside the frame 32.
Over the cylinder 37b is mounted, the rod 38b is to that the distribution arm 7 forward of the air cylinder 37b in the advanced state swings in the direction of arrow B about the drive shaft 22 from the retracted state shown in FIG. 2 (a) (The advance operation of the sorting arm 7). When the sorting arm 7 is in the advanced state, the article flows along the sorting arm 7 to the left in the traveling direction (arrow S direction) and is stored in the lightweight product storage box B2 (FIG. 1A). . Further, the article may be pushed out to the left side by the retracting operation of the sorting arm 7.

  In this weight sorter, the sorting device includes the sorting conveyor 3, the sorting arms 6 and 7, the LEDs 8 attached to the sorting arms 6 and 7, the sorting conveyor drive circuit 14, and the LED drive circuit. 15, solenoid valve controllers 16 a and 16 b, solenoid valves 17 a and 17 b, air cylinders 37 a and 37 b, operation check sensors 39 a and 39 b that are motion detection means, a distribution conveyor drive circuit 14, and an LED drive circuit 15 A part of the control device 11 that controls the electromagnetic valve controllers 16a and 16b is configured.

  In the present embodiment, when the control device 11 determines that the item is an “overweight item” based on the weight of the item weighed by the weight sensor 4, the control device 11 operates the sorting arm 6 to distribute the item to the overweight item storage box B1. A first drive command signal for causing the LED 8 attached to the sorting arm 6 to light (emit light) is output to the LED drive circuit 15. . When the first drive command signal is input, the solenoid valve controller 16a controls the solenoid valve 17a so that the sorting arm 6 is retracted and then retracted. Moreover, the LED drive circuit 15 will light the LED8 attached to the distribution arm 6 for a predetermined lighting time, if a 1st lighting command signal is input.

  Further, when the control device 11 determines that it is “lightweight product”, the control device 11 outputs a second drive command signal for operating the sorting arm 7 to distribute the article to the lightweight product storage box B2 to the solenoid valve controller 16b. In addition, a second lighting command signal for lighting (lighting) the LED 8 attached to the sorting arm 7 is output to the LED drive circuit 15. When the solenoid valve controller 16b receives the second drive command signal, the solenoid valve 17b controls the solenoid valve 17b so as to retract after the sorting arm 7 has advanced, and the LED drive circuit 15 receives the second lighting command signal. Is input, the LED 8 attached to the sorting arm 7 is turned on for a predetermined lighting time.

  When the LED drive circuit 15 inputs the first and second lighting command signals, the predetermined lighting time for lighting the LED 8 attached to the sorting arms 6 and 7 is, for example, that the sorting arms 6 and 7 This time is set in advance as the time required from the start of the advance operation to the end of the retreat operation during normal operation.

  Further, when the control device 11 determines that the product is an “appropriate amount product”, the control device 11 does not output the first and second drive command signals and the first and second lighting command signals. That is, none of the sorting arms 6 and 7 is operated in the retracted state, and neither LED 8 is lit.

  In the present embodiment, operation confirmation sensors 39a and 39b are provided. The operation confirmation sensors 39a and 39b are for detecting that the distributing arms 6 and 7 are operated, respectively. Here, as the sensors for detecting the movement of the pistons in the air cylinders 37a and 37b in a non-contact manner. A generally known proximity sensor is used. The operation check sensors 39a and 39b output an operation detection signal to the control device 11 when detecting movements of the pistons of the air cylinders 37a and 37b, respectively.

  For example, the control device 11 outputs a first drive command signal to the solenoid valve controller 16a to operate the sorting arm 6, and then receives an operation detection signal from the operation confirmation sensor 39a within the predetermined lighting time. If not input, it is determined that the sorting arm 6 is malfunctioning, and a first blink command signal for causing the LED 8 attached to the sorting arm 6 to blink is output to the LED drive circuit 15. In the LED drive circuit 15, when the first blink command signal is input, the LED 8 attached to the sorting arm 6 is blinked. In addition, in the case where the operation detection signal from the operation confirmation sensor 39b is not input within the predetermined lighting time after the second drive command signal is output to the electromagnetic valve controller 16b in order to operate the sorting arm 7. Then, it is determined that the sorting arm 7 is malfunctioning, and a second blink command signal for blinking and lighting the LED 8 attached to the sorting arm 7 is output to the LED drive circuit 15. In the LED drive circuit 15, when the second blink command signal is input, the LED 8 attached to the sorting arm 7 is lit in a blinking manner.

  In the present embodiment, when the sorting arms 6 and 7 have to operate (when they should operate), the LEDs 8 attached to the sorting arms 6 and 7 are turned on. By observing the sorting arm to which the LED 8 is attached when the LED 8 is lit, it is easy to visually confirm whether or not the sorting arm is operating normally. Therefore, it becomes easy to visually confirm the operating state of the sorting arm when a malfunction occurs.

  In addition, when the operation confirmation sensors 39a and 39b are provided and the distribution arms 6 and 7 must operate, when the operation detection signals are not output from the operation confirmation sensors 39a and 39b, the LED 8 blinks and lights up. The malfunction of the minute arms 6 and 7 can be notified to the user.

  In the present embodiment, other light emitting means such as a light bulb or a small liquid crystal display may be used in place of the monochromatic LED 8.

Further, instead of the monochromatic LED 8, for example, a multicolor LED lamp (so-called multicolor L
ED), when the sorting arms 6 and 7 must be operated, the multicolor LED lamps attached to the sorting arms 6 and 7 should be lit in the first color (for example, green). When the distribution arms 6 and 7 have to operate, the operation confirmation sensor 3
When the operation detection signal is not output from 9a and 39b, the multicolor LED lamp may be lit in a second color (for example, red) different from the first color. Instead of this multi-color LED lamp, two light emitting means for emitting (lighting) different colors, for example, two LEDs having different light emission colors or two light bulbs having different lighting colors may be used.

  The above-described LEDs, multicolor LED lamps, light bulbs, small liquid crystal displays, and the like are less expensive than the imaging means and image processing means described in the description of the prior art. In addition, single color light emitting LEDs and multicolor LED lamps are small and have a long life, and are less likely to fail even if they move, so they are suitable for mounting on swinging distribution arms 6 and 7.

  Moreover, in order to detect the malfunction of the distribution arms 6 and 7, the sensors that detect the movements of the pistons of the air cylinders 37a and 37b are used as the operation confirmation sensors 39a and 39b. For example, it may be configured to detect an article that is excluded from the sorting conveyor 3 when the sorting arms 6 and 7 are operated using an optical sensor or the like.

In this embodiment, the distribution arms 6 and 7 are configured to be driven using the air cylinders 37a and 37b . However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be a known configuration that is driven using, for example, a motor or an electromagnet. . In this case, when an operation check sensor is provided, for example, a sensor that can detect an article to be excluded from the distribution conveyor 3 when the distribution arms 6 and 7 are operated as the operation check sensor, for example, an optical sensor is used. Just do it. For example, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the sorting arm 6 operates, the sorting conveyor 3
In order to detect articles to be excluded from above, an optical sensor having a light emitting element 41 and a light receiving element 42 is provided. Similarly, an article to be removed from the sorting conveyor 3 when the sorting arm 7 is operated. In order to detect, an optical sensor having a light emitting element 43 and a light receiving element 44 may be provided.

(Second Embodiment)
The schematic configuration of the weight sorter using the sorting apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same as the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b).

The distribution device of the second embodiment is different from the distribution device of the first embodiment in the distribution arm 6,
7 is configured such that the distribution arms 6 and 7 are driven by a motor. In addition, multi-color LED lamps are mounted on the distribution arms 6 and 7 in place of the single-color LED 8.

  FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a drive unit of one sorting arm 6 of the sorting device according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating the other sorting device of the sorting device. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a drive unit of a minute arm 7.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the drive shaft 21 having the sorting arm 6 attached to the upper end extends downward and is connected to a reduction gear mechanism 29a to which the DC motor 24a is attached. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 4B, the drive shaft 22 having the distribution arm 7 attached to the upper end extends downward and is connected to a reduction gear mechanism 29b to which the DC motor 24b is attached. Yes. The reduction gear mechanism portions 29a and 29b have a known configuration in which the rotation of the DC motors 24a and 24b is reduced by a plurality of gears and transmitted to the drive shafts 21 and 22, respectively.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a weight sorter using the sorting apparatus of the present embodiment. The same components as those in FIG.

  The sorting apparatus of this embodiment includes a sorting conveyor 3, sorting arms 6, 7, a multi-color LED lamp 8A attached to each sorting arm 6, 7, a sorting conveyor drive circuit 14, and an LED. Drive circuit 15A, DC motor controllers 23a, 23b, DC motors 24a, 24b, DC power supplies 25a, 25b, current detectors 26a, 26b, sorting conveyor drive circuit 14, LED drive circuit 15A, and DC motor controller It is comprised by a part etc. of the control apparatus 11 which controls 23a, 23b. As the multicolor LED lamp 8A, for example, an LED (so-called multicolor LED) in which three LEDs R (red), G (green), and B (blue) are housed in one package and can emit multicolor light is used. That's fine.

  The current detectors 26a and 26b are for detecting motor drive currents (load currents) supplied from the DC power supplies 25a and 25b to the DC motors 24a and 24b via the DC motor controllers 23a and 23b. And shunt resistors 27a and 27b and A / D converters 28a and 28b. Each motor drive current is converted into a voltage across each shunt resistor 27a, 27b and detected. The voltages across the shunt resistors 27 a and 27 b are A / D converted by the A / D converters 28 a and 28 b and input to the control device 11.

  When the control device 11 determines that the item is “overweight” based on the weight of the article weighed by the weight sensor 4, the control device 11 operates the sorting arm 6 to distribute the article to the oversized item storage box B <b> 1. Is output to the DC motor controller 23a. When the first drive command signal is input from the control device 11, the DC motor controller 23 a drives and controls the DC motor 24 a so as to perform a retracting operation after the sorting arm 6 has advanced. At this time, the current detection unit 26 a detects the motor drive current and outputs the detected value to the control device 11. The control device 11 outputs a first LED control signal corresponding to the detected value of the motor drive current to the LED drive circuit 15A. The first LED control signal is a lighting command signal including information indicating a lighting color corresponding to the detected value of the motor driving current. The LED drive circuit 15A turns on the multi-color LED lamp 8A attached to the sorting arm 6 with a lighting color corresponding to information indicating the lighting color included in the input first LED control signal. That is, the lighting color of the multicolor LED lamp 8A changes according to the detected value of the drive current of the DC motor 24a.

Further, when the control device 11 determines that the item is “lightweight” based on the weight of the article weighed by the weight sensor 4, the control device 11 operates the sorting arm 7 to distribute the article to the lightweight article storage box B <b> 2. The second drive command signal is sent to the DC motor controller 2
Output to 3b. When the DC motor controller 23b receives the second drive command signal from the control device 11, the DC motor controller 23b performs the retraction operation after the sorting arm 7 has advanced.
The motor 24b is driven and controlled. At this time, the current detection unit 26 b detects the motor drive current and outputs the detected value to the control device 11. The control device 11 outputs a second LED control signal corresponding to the detected value of the motor drive current to the LED drive circuit 15A. The second LED control signal is a lighting command signal including information indicating a lighting color corresponding to the detected value of the motor driving current. The LED drive circuit 15A turns on the multi-color LED lamp 8A attached to the distribution arm 7 with a lighting color corresponding to information indicating the lighting color included in the input second LED control signal. That is, the lighting color of the multicolor LED lamp 8A changes according to the detected value of the drive current of the DC motor 24b.

  Further, when the control device 11 determines that the product is an “appropriate amount product”, the control device 11 does not output the first and second drive command signals and the first and second LED control signals. That is, none of the sorting arms 6 and 7 is operated in the retracted state, and any of the multi-color LED lamps 8A is not lit.

  In the present embodiment, the detection value of the motor drive current and the lighting of the multicolor LED lamp 8A are previously set so that the lighting color of the multicolor LED lamp 8A changes according to the detection value of the driving current of the DC motors 24a and 24b. A relationship with colors is determined, and the relationship is stored in the storage unit 11 b of the control device 11.

  The relationship between the detected value of the motor driving current and the lighting color of the multi-color LED lamp 8A is, for example, divided into a plurality of first to fifth ranges, for example, a range of motor driving current values in advance. A lighting color may be determined for each of the five ranges. For example, for each of the first to fifth ranges, lighting colors are determined in order of white, blue, green, yellow, and red in order from the smallest current value. The control device 11 determines which range the first to fifth detection values of the motor drive current belong to, and the first and second LED controls including information indicating the lighting color corresponding to the determined range. Generate and output a signal.

The drive currents of the DC motors 24a and 24b are respectively driven by the drive shafts 2 of the distribution arms 6 and 7.
It is proportional to the torque required to rotate 1 and 22, and increases as the torque increases. Therefore, the motor drive current is in the first to third ranges (lights in white, blue, green)
In this case, the distribution arms 6 and 7 are in a normal operating range. In the fourth range (yellow light), the distribution arms 6 and 7 are operating, but the operation becomes difficult. In the case of the fifth range (lights red), if the distribution arms 6 and 7 are determined not to operate normally, the user can change the lighting color of the multicolor LED lamp 8A. The necessity of maintenance such as adjustment of the drive system of minute arms 6 and 7 can be determined.

  In the case of this embodiment, since the two distributing arms 6 and 7 are not operated simultaneously, two DC motor controllers 23a and 23b may be connected in parallel to, for example, one DC power source (25a). Good. In this case, only one DC power source (25a) and one current detection unit (26a) are required.

In the present embodiment, when the sorting arms 6 and 7 have to operate, the multi-color LED lamps 8A attached to the sorting arms 6 and 7 are turned on. Shows whether or not the sorting arms 6 and 7 are operating normally by looking at the sorting arms 6 and 7 to which the multi-color LED lamp 8A is attached when the multi-color LED lamp 8A is lit. It becomes easy to confirm visually. Therefore, it becomes easy to visually check the operating state of the sorting arms 6 and 7 when a malfunction occurs. Furthermore, the adjustment state of the drive system of the sorting arms 6 and 7 can be known from the lighting color of the multi-color LED lamp 8A, and it is possible to determine whether maintenance such as adjustment of the drive system is necessary or unnecessary.

  In this embodiment, the lighting color is changed according to each of the first to fifth ranges including the detected value of the motor driving current. However, the lighting is performed more precisely according to the detected value of the motor driving current. The color may be changed.

  Also in the present embodiment, when the operation check sensor is provided and the distribution arms 6 and 7 have to operate, when the operation detection signal is not output from the operation check sensor, the multicolor LED lamp 8A is set to a specific color. For example, the user can be notified of the malfunction of the sorting arms 6 and 7 by blinking and lighting. In this case, as an operation confirmation sensor, for example, an optical sensor or the like may be used to detect an article that is excluded from the sorting conveyor 3 when the sorting arms 6 and 7 are operated.

In this embodiment, the multicolor LED lamp 8A is used as the light emitting means, but a small liquid crystal display or the like may be used. Also, using a small liquid crystal display or LED display that can display numbers, instead of changing the color, it is configured to display predetermined numbers according to the magnitude of the motor drive current. Also good. For example, the current range (
The range from 0 to the maximum value of the expected drive current is divided into multiple ranges, for example, 10 ranges, and numerical values (numbers) from 0 to 9 are assigned in order from the smallest of the divided ranges. The control device 11 determines which range of the above ten detection values of the motor drive current belong, and displays the numerical value (number) assigned to the determination result range. Also good. In this case, when the distribution arms 6 and 7 have to operate, numbers are displayed on the display unit, and the user adjusts the drive system of the distribution arms 6 and 7 based on the numerical values displayed. It can be determined whether maintenance is necessary or not. In this case, the entire display surface of the display may be turned on only in the first short time when the distribution arms 6 and 7 are operated. This makes it easier for the user to know when the sorting arms 6 and 7 are to operate.

  The above-described multicolor LED lamp, small liquid crystal display, LED display, and the like are less expensive than the image pickup means and image processing means described in the description of the prior art. In addition, the multicolor LED lamp is small and has a long life and is not easily damaged even if it moves, so it is suitable for mounting on the swinging distribution arms 6 and 7.

  In the first and second embodiments, the light emitting means such as the LED 8 and the multi-color LED lamp 8A are directly attached to the respective distribution arms 6 and 7. 7 may be provided in the vicinity. For example, when a human sees the light emitting means, a sorting arm corresponding to the light emitting means is in the visual field, and the operation can be confirmed.

  In the first and second embodiments, the control device 11 is not necessarily configured by a single control device, and a plurality of control devices are arranged in a distributed manner, and the weight selection is performed in cooperation with each other. It may be configured to control the operation of the machine.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, the sorting apparatus used in the weight sorter as an example of the sorting apparatus according to the present invention and having two sorting arms has been described. The present invention can be applied if at least two are provided. For example, when a sorting device having one sorting arm is provided after the X-ray foreign object detection device or metal detector, the X-ray foreign material detection device or metal detector discriminates between defective products and non-defective products. Only articles determined to be non-defective are removed from the sorting conveyor by the sorting arm. Further, the present invention is also applied to a multistage weight sorter in which, for example, three or more sorting arms are arranged in one side of a sorting conveyor having a long conveyor length in the conveying direction of the sorting conveyor. Can do. In such a multistage weight sorter, a predetermined number of weight ranks determined for each different weight range are set in advance, the weight rank corresponding to the weight of the article is determined, and the weight rank is determined in advance by the distribution device. Sorted to a defined position.

  The sorting device according to the present invention is used together with an X-ray foreign object detection device, a metal detector, a weight sorter, etc., and is useful as a sorting device that makes it easy to visually check the operating state of a sorting arm. is there.

3 Sorting conveyor 6, 7 Sorting arm 8 LED
8A Multi-color LED lamp 21, 22 Drive shaft 24a, 24b DC motor 37a, 37b Air cylinder 39a, 39b Operation check sensor

Claims (6)

A sorting arm configured to be swingable around a support shaft disposed on a side of the article conveyance path, and to exclude a predetermined article from the conveyance path by swinging;
Driving means for swinging the sorting arm;
A light emitting means provided at or near the sorting arm ;
A drive command signal for driving the sorting arm is output and the light emission
Control means for outputting a lighting command signal for lighting the means;
With
The light emitting means is set at a predetermined lighting time set in advance by the input of the lighting command signal.
Period of, configured to light up,
Sorting device . An operation detecting means for detecting that the distributing arm has oscillated;
During the predetermined lighting time, the swinging motion of the sorting arm is detected by the motion detection means .
Ri when bought detected Sarena, the light emitting means, the swinging operation is the operation of the sorting arms
The sorting device according to claim 1, wherein the sorting device is configured to light up with a lighting state different from that detected by the detecting means . The light emitting means performs the swinging motion of the sorting arm during the predetermined lighting time.
When detected by the motion detection means, it is continuously lit, and during the predetermined lighting time,
When the swing operation of the serial distribution arm is not detected by the operation detecting unit, configured to flash point lights, sorting apparatus according to claim 2. The light emitting means performs the swinging motion of the sorting arm during the predetermined lighting time.
When detected by the motion detection means, it lights in the first color and during the predetermined lighting time
, When the swing operation of the distribution arm is not detected by the operation detecting unit,
The sorting apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the sorting apparatus is configured to be lit in a second color different from the first color. It said drive means comprises a motor for causing driving the sorting arm, and a current detecting means for detecting a driving dynamic current of the motor,
Said light emitting means during the said predetermined turn-on time, which is configured to light up at the lighting color that is predetermined according to a current value detected by said current detecting means, according to claim 1 to 3
The sorting device according to any one of the above. It said drive means comprises a motor for causing driving the sorting arm, and a current detecting means for detecting a driving dynamic current of the motor,
The distribution device according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit is configured to light up and display a predetermined number according to a current value detected by the current detection unit during the predetermined lighting time. .

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