JP5713796B2 - Cone valve type weighing unit - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cone valve type metering unit. In particular, the present invention relates to a cone valve type measuring unit arranged in a measuring device for measuring an object to be weighed such as powder (detergent, fertilizer, etc.) or granules (resin pellets, grain, feed, etc.).

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a weighing device called a packer scale is known as a device for filling an object to be weighed made of powder or granules into a bag or the like. In this type of weighing device, various types of weighing devices have been proposed depending on the type of the object to be weighed and the purpose of use.

  For example, an apparatus in which a cone valve is provided in a lower opening of a hopper body to which an object to be weighed is supplied from an upper opening has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3).

  There has also been proposed an apparatus in which a pair of partition plates in which a plurality of openings are formed is provided in the hopper body (see Patent Document 4). In this patent document 4, it is described that the internal capacity of the hopper body can be adjusted by the vertical movement of the partition plate. Further, it is described that the amount of an object to be weighed that passes through the partition plate can be adjusted based on the degree of overlap of the openings between the partition plates by relative rotation between the partition plates.

JP-A-62-207915 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 52-127461 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 54-90167 JP-A-48-12056

  The inventors of the present invention have shortened the discharge time of the object to be weighed by the cone valve type weighing unit by incorporating the cone valve type weighing unit into the packer scale, thereby realizing high-speed weighing of the object to be weighed. want to be. However, in this development process, the mere design change of the cone valve exemplified in Patent Documents 1 to 3 or the partition plate of Patent Document 4 gradually has a certain limit in shortening the discharge time of the object to be weighed. I understand. For this reason, it came to the conclusion that the fundamental review of the structure of the conventional example is indispensable for the remarkable improvement of the high-speed weighing of the objects to be weighed by the packer scale.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, and it aims at providing the cone valve type measuring unit which can shorten the discharge | emission time of a to-be-measured object from a prior art example.

  In order to solve the above problems, an aspect of the present invention is provided to extend in the vertical direction, and is arranged in a hopper body to which an object to be weighed is supplied from an upper opening, and a lower opening of the hopper body. A cone valve type weighing unit for a weighing device, comprising a cone valve disposed in the hopper body above the cut gate, wherein the cone valve is an inner part of the hopper body. A valve seat opposed to the wall surface, a valve body in contact with the valve seat, and a valve shaft extending from the valve body to the outside of the hopper body along the up-down direction, A cone valve type metering that opens and closes using the valve seat and the valve body when the valve shaft moves up and down, and the valve body rotates using the valve shaft when the valve shaft rotates. Provide unit That.

  With this configuration, in a cone valve type metering unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, centrifugal force can be applied to an object to be weighed flowing between the valve body of the cone valve and the valve seat by rotating the valve body of the cone valve. . Therefore, the discharge time of the object to be weighed from the hopper body can be shortened compared to the conventional example.

  Moreover, in the cone valve type measuring unit according to one aspect of the present invention, the cone valve may be configured to be movable up and down along the inner wall surface.

  With this configuration, for example, when the bulk density of the object to be measured changes, the hopper body between the cut gate and the cone valve is moved up and down by moving the cone valve (valve seat, valve body and valve shaft) up and down. The internal volume of the can be adjusted appropriately.

  Further, in a cone valve type weighing unit according to a certain aspect of the present invention, a portion of a hopper body between the cone valve and the cut gate may be used as a volume weighing unit of the object to be weighed.

  With this configuration, the internal volume of the volume measuring unit can be set to be almost constant, so that the discharge weight of the object to be weighed from the hopper body can be roughly measured using the volume measuring unit. That is, when the volume density of the object to be weighed is constant, when the object to be weighed is completely filled in the volume measuring unit, the weight of the object to be weighed in the volume measuring unit is grasped based on the internal volume of the volume measuring unit. be able to.

  Moreover, the cone valve type measuring unit according to one aspect of the present invention may include a vibrator that vibrates the wall portion of the volume measuring unit.

  With this configuration, when the object to be weighed is put into the volume measuring unit, the wall portion of the volume measuring unit can be vibrated by the vibrator. Therefore, the discharge time of the object to be weighed from the volume measuring unit can be shortened compared to the conventional example. Moreover, since the change of the bulk density of the to-be-measured object in a volume measuring part can be suppressed by provision of this vibration, the fluctuation | variation of the weight of the to-be-measured object discharged | emitted from a volume measuring part can be suppressed.

  Moreover, in the cone valve type metering unit according to an aspect of the present invention, the cone valve may include an air exhaust unit that guides the air in the volume metering unit to the outside.

  In the cone valve type metering unit of the present invention, the air exhaust means includes an opening provided in the valve body, a hollow structure of the valve body, and a hollow structure of the valve shaft. May be.

  With this configuration, the air in the volume measuring unit can be efficiently guided to the outside. Therefore, the discharge time of the object to be weighed from the volume measuring unit can be shortened compared to the conventional example. Moreover, since the change of the bulk density of the to-be-measured object in a volume measuring part can be suppressed by this efficient air exhaust, the fluctuation | variation of the weight of the to-be-measured object discharged | emitted from a volume measuring part can be suppressed.

  Moreover, the cone valve type metering unit according to an aspect of the present invention includes a first drive device that rotates the valve shaft, and a first connection member that connects the first drive device and the valve shaft. The valve shaft and the valve body may move up and down when the first connecting member moves up and down using the driving force of the second drive device.

  Moreover, the cone valve type measuring unit according to one aspect of the present invention may include a second connecting member that connects the second driving device and the valve seat, and uses the driving force of the third driving device. When the second connecting member moves up and down, the valve seat may move up and down.

  The first connecting member and the second connecting member may be connected via the second driving device, and the first connecting member moves up and down using the driving force of the third driving device. At this time, the valve shaft and the valve body may move up and down.

  Further, the cone valve type measuring unit according to a certain aspect of the present invention may include a bearing box disposed at an upper end portion of the hopper body, and the hopper body when the valve shaft passes through the bearing box. It extends outside and the bearing box may constitute the 2nd connecting member.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a cone valve type weighing unit that can shorten the discharge time of an object to be weighed compared to the conventional example.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a weighing device (packer scale) provided with a cone valve type weighing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top view of the packer scale of FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view of the packer scale of FIG. FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of the cone valve type metering unit of FIG. (A) is the figure which looked at the cone valve type measuring unit AA. (B) is the figure which looked at the cone valve type measuring unit BB. FIG. 5 is a diagram used for explaining the vertical movement of the cone valve of the cone valve type metering unit of FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation for discharging an object to be weighed by the cone valve type weighing unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the internal volume of the volume metering unit in the cone valve metering unit of FIG.

  Hereinafter, a specific configuration example of a cone valve type weighing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In the following description, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference symbols throughout the drawings, and redundant description thereof may be omitted.

  Further, the following specific description merely illustrates the characteristics of the cone valve type metering unit. For example, when the following specific examples are described with appropriate reference numerals attached to the same or corresponding terms as the terms specifying the cone-valve type measuring unit, the specific constituent elements correspond to the above It is an example of the component of a cone valve type measuring unit.

Therefore, the features of the cone valve type metering unit are not limited by the following specific description.
(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a front view of a metering device (packer scale) incorporating a cone valve metering unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top view of the packer scale. FIG. 3 is a side view of the packer scale. FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of the cone valve type metering unit of FIG. 4A is a view of the cone valve type weighing unit as viewed from AA, and FIG. 4B is a view of the cone valve type weighing unit as viewed from BB. FIG. 5 is a diagram used for explaining the vertical movement of the cone valve of the cone valve type metering unit of FIG.

For convenience of the following explanation, it is assumed that the direction in which gravity acts is a vertical direction (not shown), and that gravity acts from “upward” (not shown) to “downward” (not shown). The direction may be rephrased as the vertical direction. 2 and 3, the illustration of the inside of the hopper body 10 is omitted for the purpose of facilitating understanding of the configuration of the packer scale 100.
<Hopper body>
First, the hopper body 10 of the packer scale 100 will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the hopper body 10 of the packer scale 100 is erected in the vertical direction (vertical direction), and includes an upper end portion 11 and a lower end portion (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 2, a supply port 12 (upper opening) for supplying an object to be measured and three mesh portions 13 are formed in the upper end portion 11 of the hopper body 10. An object to be weighed is fed into the hopper body 10 using the supply port 12.

  When an object to be weighed is supplied from the supply port 12 of the hopper body 10, the object to be weighed may embed air. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the air in the volume input unit 10A of the hopper body 10 is configured to be exhausted to the outside using the mesh unit 13.

  On the other hand, a pair of cut gates 15 </ b> A and 15 </ b> B (opening / closing means) for opening and closing a discharge port (lower opening; not shown) at the lower end is disposed at the lower end of the hopper body 10.

  Accordingly, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, when the discharge port is opened using the cut gates 15A and 15B, the object to be weighed is outside the hopper main body 10 from the main discharge port (in this case, inside the measurement hopper 21). To be discharged.

  However, when the object to be weighed is not discharged from the discharge port of the hopper body 10 (when the object to be weighed is temporarily held in the hopper body 10), this discharge port is connected to the lower end of the hopper body 10 as shown by the solid line in FIG. The pair of cut gates 15A and 15B arranged in the section can be used for closing. The cut gates 15 </ b> A and 15 </ b> B are arranged directly above the weighing hopper 21.

  Specifically, each of the cut gates 15A and 15B is configured to rotate about each of the rotation shafts 16A and 16B using the driving force of the servo motor 14 as shown in FIG. In other words, the cut gates 15A and 15B are changed from the closed state indicated by the solid line to the open state indicated by the two-dot chain line when the rotary shafts 16A and 16B are rotated in the directions of the arrows a and b. When returning from this state to the closed state, the rotary shafts 16A and 16B are rotated in the reverse direction.

The driving of the servo motor 14 (adjustment of the opening degree of the cut gates 15A and 15B) is controlled by the controller 70 using a rotary encoder (not shown).
<Weighing hopper and weighing hopper gate>
Next, the weighing hopper 21 and the weighing hopper gates 21A and 21B of the packer scale 100 will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the packer scale 100 temporarily holds an object to be weighed supplied from a volume measuring unit 10B (details will be described later) of the hopper main body 10 and to a chute (not shown) arranged below the object. A weighing hopper 21 for discharging an object to be weighed and a pair of weighing hopper gates 21A and 21B are provided.

  The weighing hopper 21 is supported by a plurality of (for example, four) load cells 22, and the load cells 22 are fixed to a frame (not shown) of the packer scale 100. The load signal (electrical signal) output from the load cell 22 is input to the controller 70 via a known signal processing circuit (A / D converter, amplifier, filter, etc. are not shown).

  When the weighing hopper gates 21A and 21B open at the predetermined timing, the weighing hopper gates 21A and 21B rotate in the directions of arrows c and d using the driving force of the rotary actuator 17, and the weighing hopper gates 21A and 21B open. For example, it is sent to a packaging machine (not shown) from the lower discharge port (not shown). The driving of the rotary actuator 17 is controlled by the controller 70.

In this way, in this embodiment, the controller 70 measures the weight of the object to be weighed in the weighing hopper 21 based on the load signal from the load cell 22, and for example, permits discharge of the object to be weighed from the packaging machine. When the signal is received, the discharge port of the weighing hopper 21 is opened by the weighing hopper gates 21A and 21B, and the object to be weighed is sent to the chute.
<Cone valve type weighing unit>
Next, the cone valve type weighing unit 200 which is a characteristic part of the packer scale 100 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the packer scale 100 includes a cone valve type weighing unit 200.

  The cone valve type measuring unit 200 includes a cone valve 50, a plurality of drive systems for driving the cone valve 50, a plurality of connecting members for connecting the cone valve 50 and the drive system, and a volume measuring unit 10B. And an air vibrator 60 (vibrator) that vibrates the wall portion.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the main part of the cone valve 50 is disposed in the hopper body 10 directly above the cut gates 15 </ b> A and 15 </ b> B, and the drive system of the cone valve 50 is disposed outside the hopper body 10. The driving of the air vibrator 60 is controlled by the controller 70. In addition, although the air vibrator 60 is illustrated here as a vibrator | oscillator, it is not restricted to this. For example, a piezoelectric vibration element may be used instead of the air vibrator.

  First, the configuration of the cone valve 50 and its peripheral structure will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the cone valve 50 includes a hollow disk-shaped valve body 52, a valve seat 51, and a hollow-structured rod-shaped valve extending from the valve body 52 in the vertical direction (vertical direction). A shaft 53.

  The valve shaft 53 is supported by the bearing box 40 at the upper end portion of the hopper body 10. As a result, the valve shaft 53 can extend from the hopper body 10 through the bearing box 40 to the outside of the hopper body 10, and is configured to move up and down and rotate. The bearing box 40 is also slidably supported at the upper end portion 11 of the hopper body 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the upper cone surface and the lower cone surface of the valve body 52 are both formed in a conical shape. A large number of small openings 52A (see the enlarged view of FIG. 4B) are formed on the lower cone surface of the valve body 52, and thereby the inside and the outside of the valve body 52 can be communicated with each other.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the valve seat 51 is connected to a cylindrical side wall portion 51A standing in the vertical direction (vertical direction) and an upper end portion of the side wall portion 51A, and a receiving portion 51B is formed at the tip. The upper inclined portion 51C is connected to the lower end portion of the side wall portion 51A, and the lower inclined portion 51D supports the upper inclined portion 51C at the tip.

  Specifically, the side wall 51A is opposed to the inner wall surface of the hopper body 10 with a slight gap (for example, about 1 mm). The upper inclined portion 51C extends obliquely downward from the upper end portion of the side wall portion 51A toward the inside of the valve seat 51, and the lower inclined portion 51D is inclined toward the inner side of the valve seat 51 from the lower end portion of the side wall portion 51A. It extends upward. And the receiving part 51B is erected so that it can contact | abut to the peripheral part vicinity of the upper cone surface of the valve body 52 in the perpendicular direction (up-down direction) from the contact part of 51 C of upper inclination parts, and lower inclination part 51D. Yes.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the side wall 51A, the upper inclined portion 51C, and the lower inclined portion 51D constitute an annular frame having a triangular cross section (that is, a hollow structure inside). The receiving portion 51B is provided at an inner corner of the annular frame.

  Further, at the upper end of the annular frame of the valve seat 51, three rod-like support members 42 are arranged at equal intervals (that is, separated by 120 °) in the circumferential direction of the annular frame. (See FIG. 4A). These support members 42 extend obliquely upward from the upper end of the annular frame toward the center of the valve seat 51, and are fixed to a cylindrical body 41 provided outside the valve shaft 53. And this cylindrical body 41 is being fixed to the lower end part of the bearing box 40, as shown in FIG.1 and FIG.4.

  With this configuration, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the lift amount of the valve body 52 can be adjusted when the valve shaft 53 moves up and down in the vertical direction using the driving force of the drive system (details will be described later). it can. Then, the cone valve 50 can be closed by contact between the upper cone surface of the valve body 52 and the receiving portion 51B of the valve seat 51 (see the solid line in FIG. 1). On the other hand, the cone valve 50 can be opened by releasing the contact (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4B). That is, the cone valve 50 can be opened and closed by using the valve seat 51 and the valve body 52 when the valve shaft 53 moves up and down in the vertical direction.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, when the cone valve 50 is opened, the valve shaft 53 is rotated about the center axis by using the driving force of the drive system (details will be described later), so that the valve body 52 is The valve shaft 53 can be used for rotation.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1, 4, and 5, the bearing box 40 and the cylindrical body 41 are moved up and down in the vertical direction by using the driving force of the driving system (details will be described later), and the valve shaft 53. When the cylinder moves up and down in the vertical direction, the cone valve 50 (the valve seat 51, the valve body 52 and the entire valve shaft 53) can be moved up and down along the inner wall surface of the hopper body 10, and as a result, the internal volume of the volume measuring unit 10B Can be changed freely.

  By using such a cone valve type weighing unit 200, the packer scale 100 can exhibit the following various functions and effects.

  First, when the cut gates 15A and 15B are closed and the cone valve 50 is opened, the object to be weighed in the volume input unit 10A falls from the gap between the valve body 52 and the valve seat 51 due to the action of gravity, and the cone An object to be weighed accumulates in the volume measuring portion 10B of the hopper body 10 between the valve 50 and the cut gates 15A and 15B. At this time, since the internal volume of the volume measuring unit 10B can be set to be almost constant, it is possible to roughly measure the discharge weight of the object to be weighed from the hopper body 10 using the volume measuring unit 10B. That is, when the volume density of the object to be weighed is constant, when the object to be weighed is completely filled in the volume measuring unit 10B, the object to be weighed in the volume measuring unit 10B is based on the internal volume of the volume measuring unit 10B. Can grasp the weight.

  Second, when the object to be weighed is introduced into the volume measuring unit 10B from the volume input unit 10A, the air in the volume measuring unit 10B is efficiently exhausted, and the object to be weighed falls into the volume measuring unit 10B. This is effective for promoting the speed of the measurement, and thus for shortening the discharge time of the object to be weighed from the volume measuring unit 10B.

  Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the cone valve type weighing unit 200 of the present embodiment is configured such that when the object to be weighed is introduced into the volume weighing unit 10B from the volume loading unit 10A, the air in the volume weighing unit 10B is used. Air exhaust means capable of guiding the air to the outside.

  This air exhaust means is constituted by the opening 52A provided in the lower cone surface of the valve body 52, the hollow structure of the valve body 52, and the hollow structure of the valve shaft 53. That is, when the object to be weighed falls from the volume input unit 10A to the volume measuring unit 10B, the air in the volume measuring unit 10B is opened on the lower cone surface of the valve body 52 as shown by the dotted arrows in FIGS. 52A is guided to the hollow region of the valve body 52. This air is efficiently exhausted to the outside through the hollow region of the valve shaft 53.

  In addition, since the change of the bulk density of the to-be-measured object in the volume measurement part 10B can be suppressed by this efficient air exhaust, the fluctuation | variation of the weight of the to-be-measured object discharged | emitted from the volume measurement part 10B can be suppressed. On the other hand, when the bulk density of the object to be measured changes, the cone valve 50 (the valve seat 51, the valve body 52, and the entire valve shaft 53) is moved up and down along the inner wall surface of the hopper body 10 as described above. The internal volume of the volume measuring unit 10B can be adjusted appropriately.

  Third, when an object to be weighed is introduced into the volume measuring unit 10B from the volume input unit 10A, a centrifugal force is applied to the object to be measured flowing between the valve body 52 and the valve seat 51. This is effective for promoting the speed at which an object falls to the volume measuring unit 10B, and thus shortening the discharge time of the object to be weighed from the volume measuring unit 10B.

  Therefore, in the cone valve type metering unit 200 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the valve body 52 can be rotated using the valve shaft 53 by rotating the valve shaft 53 around the central axis. it can.

  Thereby, the centrifugal force by the said rotation can be made to act appropriately with respect to the to-be-measured object which flows between the valve body 52 and the valve seat 51. FIG.

  Fourth, when an object to be weighed is introduced from the volume input unit 10A into the volume measuring unit 10B, applying vibration to the wall of the volume measuring unit 10B causes the object to be measured to fall to the volume measuring unit 10B. This is effective for promoting the speed and, in turn, shortening the discharge time of the object to be weighed from the volume measuring unit 10B.

  Therefore, in the cone valve type measuring unit 200 of the present embodiment, the wall portion of the volume measuring unit 10B can be vibrated by the air vibrator 60 when the object to be weighed in the volume input unit 10A is input to the volume measuring unit 10B.

  In addition, since the change of the bulk density of the to-be-measured object in the volume measurement part 10B can be suppressed by provision of this vibration, the fluctuation | variation of the weight of the to-be-measured object discharged | emitted from the volume measurement part 10B can be suppressed. On the other hand, when the bulk density of the object to be measured changes, the cone valve 50 (the valve seat 51, the valve body 52, and the entire valve shaft 53) is moved up and down along the inner wall surface of the hopper body 10 as described above. The internal volume of the volume measuring unit 10B can be adjusted appropriately.

  Next, a drive system of the cone valve type metering unit 200 for moving the valve body 52 up and down and rotating will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the drive system includes a pair of air cylinders 32 </ b> A and 32 </ b> B and a servo motor 34. The driving of the air cylinders 32A and 32B and the servo motor 34 is controlled by the controller 70.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the fixing bracket 35 used for connecting the servo motor 34 and the valve shaft 53 is formed by piston rods 33A and 33B of the air cylinder 32A and piston rods 33C and 33D of the air cylinder 32B. It is supported. That is, the fixture 35 is connected to the valve shaft 53 and also to the servo motor 34 outside the hopper body 10 as shown in FIG. 1.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the fixing bracket 35 constitutes a connecting member that connects the servo motor 34 and the valve shaft 53.

  One pulley 36B of a pair of pulleys 36A and 36B is provided at the upper end of the valve shaft 53, and the other pulley 36A is provided on the rotation shaft of the servo motor 34. A timing belt 37 is hung on these pulleys 36A and 36B.

  As described above, when the strokes of the piston rods 33A, 33B, 33C, and 33D of the air cylinders 32A and 32B are contracted, the fixing bracket 35 is moved downward. Then, the members (specifically, the servo motor 34 and the valve shaft 53) connected to the fixing bracket 35 move downward. As a result, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, the valve body 52 also moves downward, thereby opening the cone valve 50.

  On the other hand, when the strokes of the piston rods 33A, 33B, 33C, 33D of the air cylinders 32A, 32B are extended, the fixture 35 moves upward. Then, the members (specifically, the servo motor 34 and the valve shaft 53) connected to the fixing bracket 35 move upward. As a result, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 1, the valve body 52 of the cone valve 50 also moves upward, and when the valve body 52 contacts the receiving portion 51 </ b> B (see FIG. 4B) of the valve seat 51, 50 closes.

  Thus, the cone valve type measuring unit 200 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to move the valve body 52 up and down (that is, based on the driving force of the air cylinders 32A and 32B, the lift of the valve body 52). Configured to adjust the amount).

  On the other hand, when the rotation shaft of the servo motor 34 rotates, this rotational power is transmitted to the valve shaft 53 via the pair of pulleys 36A and 36B and the timing belt 37. Then, since the valve shaft 53 rotates around the central axis, the valve body 52 can be rotated using the valve shaft 53 as shown in FIG.

  Thus, the cone valve type metering unit 200 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to rotate the valve body 52 of the cone valve 50 (that is, based on the driving force of the servomotor 34, The centrifugal force can be applied to the object to be measured flowing between the valve seat 52).

  Next, the drive system of the cone valve type metering unit 200 for moving the cone valve 50 (the valve seat 51, the valve body 52 and the entire valve shaft 53) up and down will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the drive system includes an LM (Linear Motion) guide actuator 30 with a servo motor 30A. The drive of the servo motor 30A is controlled by the controller 70.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the air cylinders 32 </ b> A and 32 </ b> B are supported on the slide base 30 </ b> B of the LM guide actuator 30 using a fixing bracket 31. The slide base 30B of the LM guide actuator 30 is fixed to the outer wall surface of the hopper body 10 as shown in FIGS. Further, the fixing bracket 31 is fixed to a bearing box 40 as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the bearing box 40 supports an annular frame body of the valve seat 51 via a cylindrical body 41 and a support member 42.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the member composed of the fixing bracket 31, the bearing box 40, the cylindrical body 41, and the support member 42 constitutes a connecting member that connects the air cylinders 32A, 32B and the valve seat 51. ing.

  In the present embodiment, the fixture 35 and the fixture 31 are connected via air cylinders 32A and 32B as shown in FIG.

  As described above, when the fixture 31 moves upward on the slide base 30B of the LM guide actuator 30, the members (for example, the air cylinders 32A and 32B and the bearing box 40) connected to the fixture 31 also move upward.

  As a result, since the valve seat 51 is supported by the bearing box 40 via the cylindrical body 41 and the support member 42, as shown in FIG. 5B, the valve seat 51 is caused by sliding upward of the bearing box 40. Moves upward. Further, since the valve shaft 53 and the valve body 52 are supported by the piston rods 33A, 33B, 33C, and 33D of the air cylinders 32A and 32B via the fixing bracket 35, the air cylinders 32A and 32B slide upward. By movement, as shown in FIG. 5B, the valve shaft 53 and the valve body 52 also move upward similarly to the valve seat 51.

  Thereby, the internal volume of the volume measuring unit 10B 'in FIG. 5B is larger than the internal volume of the volume measuring unit 10B in FIG. 5A.

  On the other hand, when the fixture 31 moves downward on the slide base 30B of the LM guide actuator 30, members connected to the fixture 31 (specifically, the air cylinders 32A and 32B and the bearing box 40) also move downward. .

  As a result, since the valve seat 51 is supported by the bearing box 40 via the cylindrical body 41 and the support member 42, the valve seat 51 is slid by the downward sliding of the bearing box 40 as shown in FIG. Moves downward. Further, since the valve shaft 53 and the valve body 52 are supported by the piston rods 33A, 33B, 33C, 33D of the air cylinders 32A, 32B via the fixing bracket 35, the air cylinders 32A, 32B slide downward. As a result of the movement, the valve shaft 53 and the valve body 52 also move downward as in the valve seat 51 as shown in FIG.

  Thereby, the internal volume of the volume measuring unit 10B ″ in FIG. 5C is smaller than the internal volume of the volume measuring unit 10B in FIG.

In this way, the cone valve type measuring unit 200 of the present embodiment is configured so that the cone valve 50 (the valve seat 51, the valve body 52 and the valve shaft 53 as a whole) can be moved up and down along the inner wall surface of the hopper body 10. As a result, the internal volume of the volume measuring unit 10B can be freely changed.
<Controller>
The controller 70 includes, for example, a calculation unit (not shown) including a microcontroller, an MPU, a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), a logic circuit, etc., a memory unit (not shown) such as a ROM or RAM, and a weight display. A display unit (not shown) including a display unit and a message display unit, and an input unit (not shown) through which an operator can input various data can be configured. The controller 70 may be single or plural.

  As described above, the controller 70 controls the operation of the actuators (servo motor 14 and rotary actuator 17) for opening and closing the cut gates 15A and 15B and the weighing hopper gates 21A and 21B, and the drive system of the cone valve type weighing unit 200. The operation of (air cylinders 32A, 32B, servo motor 34 and servo motor 30A) is controlled, and the operation of air vibrator 60 is controlled. Further, as described above, the controller 70 receives a load signal from the load cell 22 that supports the weighing hopper 21, and calculates the weight of an object to be weighed held by the weighing hopper 22 based on the load signal. It also functions as a means.

Then, the controller 70 controls each part of the cone valve measuring unit 200 according to the following operation based on a control program for executing the operation of each part of the cone valve measuring unit 200 when the packer scale 100 is operated. Run while.
<Example of discharging operation of an object to be weighed by the cone valve type weighing unit 200>
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation for discharging an object to be weighed by the cone valve type weighing unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  First, as a preparatory work for the operation of discharging the object to be weighed by the cone valve type weighing unit 200, the operator moves the cone valve 50 of the cone valve type weighing unit 200 up and down by operating a button on the input unit of the controller 70. The internal volume of the measuring unit 10B is adjusted to an appropriate amount. The internal volume may be set based on the predicted value of the bulk density of the object to be weighed and the target discharge weight.

  When the preparatory work is completed, the worker presses a start button (not shown) of the input unit of the controller 70. Then, the packer scale 100 starts the process of FIG. At this stage, it is assumed that the cone valve 50 of the cone valve type weighing unit 200 and the cut gates 15A and 15B of the packer scale 100 are both closed.

  The controller 70 opens the cone valve 50 using the air cylinders 32A and 32B (step S601). At this time, the controller 70 rotates the valve body 52 of the cone valve 50 using the servo motor 34, and vibrates the wall portion of the volume measuring unit 10B using the air vibrator 60 (step S602).

  Next, the controller 70 stops the rotation of the valve body 52 of the cone valve 50 and stops the vibration of the wall of the volume measuring unit 10B after a predetermined timer time has elapsed (in the case of “Yes” in step S603). (Step S604). The “timer time” in step S603 refers to the minimum time required to completely fill the object to be weighed in the volume measuring unit 10B. The “timer time” is, for example, the volume of the object to be weighed. It may be obtained and set in advance by an experiment for filling the measuring unit 10B.

  Next, the controller 70 closes the cone valve 50 using the air cylinders 32A and 32B (step S605).

  Next, the controller 70 opens and closes the cut gates 15A and 15B using the servo motor 14 (step S606), and causes the weighing hopper 21 to discharge an appropriate amount of the weighing object in the volume weighing unit 10B. Then, the process returns to step S601, and the above series of operations is performed again.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the falling speed of the object to be weighed onto the volume measuring unit 10B of the cone valve measuring unit 200 can be greatly accelerated. This can be shortened compared to the conventional example.
<Example of control of internal volume of volume measuring unit>
The bulk density of the object to be weighed may change due to disturbances such as changes in the surrounding environment. In this case, it is considered that the variation in the discharge weight of the objects to be discharged from the cone valve type weighing unit 200 becomes remarkable.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the internal volume of the volume measuring unit 10B is controlled as described below so that the variation in the discharge weight of the object to be measured can be suppressed.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the internal volume of the volume metering unit in the cone valve metering unit of FIG.

  The controller 70 uses the load signal from the load cell 22 to monitor the discharge weight of the object to be weighed, and determines whether this discharge weight has changed by a predetermined amount or more with reference to the target discharge weight. (Step S701).

  When the change in the discharge weight of the weighing object exceeds a predetermined amount (in the case of “Yes” in step S701), it is considered that the bulk density of the weighing object has changed due to some disturbance.

  In this case, the controller 70 acquires (calculates) the change amount of the bulk density of the object to be measured using the change amount of the discharge weight of the object to be measured, and calculates the calculated value of the bulk density of the object to be measured and the target discharge weight. Based on the above, the internal volume of the volume measuring unit 10B is reset (step S702).

  Next, the controller 70 finely adjusts the internal volume of the volume measuring unit 10B using the servo motor 30A so that the internal volume of the volume measuring unit 10B becomes the reset value in step S702 (step S703).

  As described above, in this embodiment, even if the bulk density of the object to be weighed changes due to some disturbance, the weight of the object to be weighed is fed back to the controller 70 using the load signal of the load cell 22 to The internal volume of the measuring unit 10B can be automatically adjusted appropriately.

  The cone valve type weighing unit of the present invention can shorten the discharge time of an object to be weighed. Therefore, the present invention can be used for, for example, a cone valve type weighing device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Hopper main body 10A Volume input part 10B Volume measuring part 11 Upper end part 12 Supply port 13 Mesh part 14 Servo motor 15A, 15B Cut gate 16A, 16B Rotating shaft 17 Rotary actuator 21 Weighing hopper 21A, 21B Weighing hopper gate 22 Load cell 30 LM guide actuator 30A Servo motor 30B Slide base 31 Fixing bracket 32A, 32B Air cylinder 33A, 33B, 33C, 33D Piston rod 34 Servo motor 35 Fixing bracket 36A, 36B Pulley 37 Timing belt 40 Bearing box 41 Cylindrical body 42 Support member 50 Cone valve 51 Valve Seat 51A Side wall 51B Receiving part 51C Upper inclined part 51D Lower inclined part 52 Valve body 52A Opening 53 Valve shaft 60 Air vibrator 70 Controller 100 Packer Scale 200 cone valve metering unit

Claims (7)

A cone for a weighing device , which is provided so as to extend in the vertical direction and includes a hopper body to which an object to be weighed is supplied from an upper opening, a cut gate disposed in the lower opening of the hopper body, and a controller. A valve-type weighing unit,
A cone valve disposed in the hopper body above the cut gate;
The cone valve includes a valve seat opposed to an inner wall surface of the hopper body, a valve body that contacts the valve seat, and a valve shaft that extends from the valve body to the outside of the hopper body along the vertical direction. With
The portion of the hopper body between the cone valve and the cut gate is used for the volume measuring portion of the object to be weighed,
A vibrator is provided for vibrating the wall of the volume measuring unit;
The cone valve further includes air exhaust means for guiding the air in the volume measuring unit to the outside, and the valve shaft moves up and down to open and close using the valve seat and the valve body,
The valve body rotates using the valve shaft as the valve shaft rotates ,
The controller opens the cone valve and closes the cut gate, rotates the valve body, and vibrates the wall of the volume measuring unit using the vibrator. Weighing unit.   The cone valve type metering unit according to claim 1, wherein the cone valve is configured to be movable up and down along the inner wall surface. 2. The cone valve type metering unit according to claim 1 , wherein the air exhaust unit includes an opening provided in the valve body, a hollow structure of the valve body, and a hollow structure of the valve shaft. A first drive device that rotates the valve shaft; and a first connecting member that connects the first drive device and the valve shaft;
The cone valve type metering unit according to claim 2, wherein when the first connecting member moves up and down using the driving force of the second driving device, the valve shaft and the valve body move up and down. A second connecting member for connecting the second driving device and the valve seat;
The cone valve type metering unit according to claim 4 , wherein the valve seat moves up and down when the second connecting member moves up and down using the driving force of the third drive unit. The first connecting member and the second connecting member are connected via the second driving device,
The cone valve type metering unit according to claim 5 , wherein when the first connecting member moves up and down using the driving force of the third drive unit, the valve shaft and the valve body move up and down. Comprising a bearing box disposed at the upper end of the hopper body,
The valve shaft passes through the inside the bearing box, extends outside the hopper body, the bearing box constitutes the second connecting member, the cone valve metering of claim 5 unit.

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