JP6422279B2 - Combination weighing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a combination weighing device.

  In a combination weighing device, when so-called overscale occurs, overscale articles may be discharged at the expense of a weighing cycle. For this reason, the more frequently overscaling occurs, the more properly weighed articles cannot be discharged, and the weighing capacity decreases.

  In order to solve this problem, a combination weighing device of Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-232202) has been proposed. The weighing hopper of this combination weighing device has a first gate and a second gate that can be opened and closed. When the amount of articles stored in the weighing hopper is an appropriate amount, the articles are discharged from the first gate to a subsequent processing step such as packaging. When the article stored in the weighing hopper is overscale or the like, the article is distributed from the second gate to the outside of the apparatus. Therefore, the weighing operation can be performed without reducing the weighing capacity.

  However, in the above-described combination weighing device, it is necessary to further provide a collection mechanism for collecting the articles distributed outside the apparatus. In this case, the structure of the combination weighing device becomes complicated and the number of necessary parts increases. As a result, the combination weighing device is increased in size and cost.

  An object of the present invention is to remove an article determined to be removed by overscale or the like by a simple mechanism without degrading the weighing ability.

  The combination weighing device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a dispersion unit, a plurality of transport units, a plurality of hoppers, and a collection unit. The dispersion unit disperses the article. The plurality of transport units are provided downstream of the dispersion unit and transport the articles. The plurality of hoppers are provided corresponding to the downstream of each conveyance unit and store articles. The gathering part is provided downstream of the plurality of hoppers and serves to gather articles. At least some of the plurality of hoppers are weighing hoppers for weighing articles. This combination weighing device performs a combination weighing operation in which a combination is selected based on the measurement value of the weighing hopper and the selected article is discharged to the collecting unit. This combination weighing device further includes a normal path, a defective receiving box, and a sorting unit. The normal path is a path along which articles are conveyed during the combination weighing operation. The defective receiving box is provided outside the normal route. The distribution unit distributes the articles stored in the hopper to the defective receiving box.

  According to this configuration, the combination weighing device does not have a collection mechanism for collecting articles removed from the normal path. As a result, the structure of the combination weighing device can be simplified.

  The combination weighing device according to the second aspect of the present invention is the combination weighing device according to the first aspect, wherein the defective receiving box is attached to the weighing hopper via the attaching / detaching portion.

  According to this configuration, the weight of the article to be distributed to the defective receiving box can be measured by the weighing hopper. As a result, since there is no need to provide a separate weighing mechanism dedicated to the defective receiving box, the structure of the combination weighing device can be further simplified.

  The combination weighing device according to the third aspect of the present invention is the combination weighing device according to the first or second aspect, further comprising a storage unit and a determination unit. A memory | storage part memorize | stores the weight threshold value of the articles | goods accommodated in a defective receiving box. The determination unit determines that there is an abnormality when the weight of the article in the defective receiving box exceeds the weight threshold.

  According to this configuration, when the weight of the article accommodated in the defective receiving box exceeds the weight threshold value, it is determined as abnormal. Depending on the abnormality, necessary processing can be performed, such as issuing a warning to prompt the user to discard the stored material and empty the defective receiving box.

  The combination weighing device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is the combination weighing device according to the third aspect, wherein the weight of the article in the defective receiving box is determined when the article weighed in the hopper is distributed to the defective receiving box side. It is calculated by adding up to.

  According to this configuration, the weight of the article accommodated in the defective receiving box is acquired by integration. The acquired weight can be used for the above-described abnormality determination.

  The combination weighing device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the combination weighing device according to the third aspect or the fourth aspect, further comprising a control unit. When the determination unit determines that the weight of the article in the defective receiving box exceeds the weight threshold, the control unit stops the operation of the head corresponding to the defective receiving box and the weight of the weighing hopper of the stopped head Is measured to detect that the defective receiving box has been removed and reattached. Further, when the control unit determines that the hopper is remounted and the article in the defective receiving box is removed, the control unit permits the stopped head to be re-operated.

  According to this configuration, the control unit stops the operation of the head corresponding to the defective receiving box while the user performs the operation of discarding the storage and emptying the defective receiving box that becomes abnormal. As a result, the user can use the combination weighing device more safely.

  According to the combination weighing device according to the present invention, an article determined to be removed by overscale or the like can be removed by a simple mechanism without reducing the weighing ability.

It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the combination weighing | measuring apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the combination measuring device which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the control circuit of the combination weighing | measuring apparatus which concerns on this invention.

(1) Overall Configuration FIG. 1 is a side view showing an outline of the appearance of a combination weighing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The combination weighing device 100 receives articles from the external article supply unit 50, and separates and discharges an amount of articles close to a predetermined target weight from the received articles. The articles handled by the combination weighing device 100 are usually aggregates of small pieces and granular materials, such as snacks and cut vegetables.

  The combination weighing device 100 includes a dispersion feeder 200, a plurality of radially arranged heads 300, a collective chute 400, and a control circuit 500 (see FIG. 3). The articles supplied to the combination weighing device 100 are dispersed to the plurality of heads 300 by the dispersion feeder 200. Each head 300 has a plurality of hoppers to be described later, and articles are stored in them. The control circuit 500 (see FIG. 3) determines a combination by selecting some of the plurality of hoppers. This combination is optimal where the total weight of the selected hopper storage items is closest to the target weight. Finally, the stored articles of a plurality of hoppers according to the determined combination are discharged from the collecting chute 400.

(2) Detailed Configuration FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of the combination weighing device 100. Details of the configuration will be described below with reference to this drawing.

(2-1) Distributed feeder 200
The dispersion feeder 200 is for dispersing the article to the plurality of heads 300, and includes a dispersion table 210 and a first vibration device 220.

  The dispersion table 210 has a conical portion 211 and a flat plate portion 212 provided on the edge thereof.

  The first vibration device 220 can vibrate the dispersion table 210.

  The article is supplied toward the apex of the conical portion 211 and is distributed in each direction. The article is conveyed to each of the plurality of heads 300 by the vibration of the dispersion table 210. The conveyance speed of the dispersion feeder 200 can be changed by adjusting the vibration intensity and speed of the first vibration device 220.

(2-2) Head 300
The plurality of heads 300 are arranged radially so as to surround the dispersion feeder 200. Each head 300 includes a trough 310, a pool hopper 320, a weighing hopper 340, a booster hopper 360, and a defective receiving box 380.

(2-2-1) Trough 310
The trough 310 is a conveyance path for conveying the articles received from the dispersion feeder 200 to the pool hopper 320. The plurality of troughs 310 extend radially from the vicinity of the flat plate portion 212 of the dispersion table 210.

  A second vibration device 311 is attached to the trough 310. The second vibration device 311 vibrates the trough 310 in the radial direction. The article is conveyed from the dispersion feeder 200 side to the pool hopper 320 side by the vibration of the trough 310.

(2-2-2) Pool hopper 320
The pool hopper 320 is for temporarily storing articles received from the trough 310 and has a gate 321. When the gate 321 is opened, the stored article in the pool hopper 320 falls to the weighing hopper 340. The opening / closing operation of the gate 321 is performed by a pool hopper gate opening / closing mechanism GPH (see FIG. 3).

(2-2-3) Weighing hopper 340
The weighing hopper 340 can temporarily store articles received from the pool hopper 320.

  A weight sensor WS (see FIG. 3), which will be described later, is attached to the weighing hopper 340, whereby the weight of the stored article in the weighing hopper 340 and other weights described later are measured.

  The weighing hopper 340 has a first gate 341 and a second gate 342. The articles stored in the weighing hopper 340 fall to the booster hopper 360 when the first gate 341 is opened, and fall to the defective receiving box 380 when the second gate 342 is opened. The opening / closing operation of the first gate 341 and the second gate 342 is performed by the weighing hopper first gate opening / closing mechanism GWHI (see FIG. 3) and the weighing hopper second gate opening / closing mechanism GWHO (see FIG. 3), respectively.

(2-2-4) Booster Hopper 360
The booster hopper 360 temporarily stores articles received from the first gate 341 of the weighing hopper 340 and has a gate 361. When the gate 361 is opened, the stored articles in the booster hopper 360 fall to the collecting chute 400. The opening / closing operation of the gate 361 is performed by a booster hopper gate opening / closing mechanism GBH (see FIG. 3).

(2-2-5) Defective box 380
The defective receiving box 380 stores articles discharged from the second gate 342 of the weighing hopper 340. The defective receiving box 380 is suspended from the weighing hopper 340 via the attaching / detaching portion 381. The defective receiving box 380 is normally suspended from the weighing hopper 340, but can be removed from the weighing hopper 340 in order to discard the contained article when the weight of the contained article becomes excessive.

(2-3) Collective chute 400
The collective chute 400 collects articles discharged from the booster hopper 360, or collects articles discharged from the weighing hopper 340 via the booster hopper 360, and supplies the articles to a device such as a packaging device installed downstream of the combination weighing device 100. Is for passing.

(2-4) Control circuit 500
FIG. 3 shows a control circuit 500 of the combination weighing device 100.

  The number of heads that the combination weighing device 100 has is n. At this time, since the combination weighing device 100 has n weighing hoppers 340, there are n weight sensors WS1 to WSn provided in the respective weighing hoppers 340. The weight sensors WS1 to WSn can be strain gauge type load cells, for example, but may be other types of weight sensors.

  The weight sensors WS1 to WSn output analog signals representing weight. This analog signal is converted into digital data by the AD converter ADC. The weight digital data is sent to the processing unit PRC.

  The processing unit PRC writes the weight digital data received from the AD conversion unit ADC into the memory MEM. The processing unit PRC can read data from the memory MEM, write data to the memory MEM, perform various calculations, and output various signals.

The memory MEM stores the following information in advance.
[For the entire combination weighing device 100]
T: target weight of combination Th _OVS : overscale threshold value Th _FUL : defective receiving box accommodation excessive threshold value [for each head 300 (that is, x-th head: 1 ≦ x ≦ n)]
• H _WHx : Weight of empty weighing hopper 340 • H _EJx : Weight of empty defective receiving box 380

Further, the memory MEM has a storage area for temporarily storing the following information.
[Each head 300 (that is, x-th head: 1 ≦ x ≦ n)]
- C _WHx: weight-C _BHX reservoir articles weighing hopper 340: weight of the stored articles booster hoppers 360-C _EJX: accommodating an article of bad receiving box 380 weight-all gates (321,341,342,361) Control history ・ Other data

Hopper selector SEL is stored in the memory MEM, the weight C _WHx reservoir articles all weighing hoppers 340 (1 ≦ x ≦ n) and weight C _BHx (1 ≦ x ≦ reservoir articles all booster hoppers 360 n) is referred to via the processing unit PRC, and an operation for finding an optimal combination is performed, and a plurality of hoppers whose total weight is closest to the target weight T are selected.

The overscale determination unit OVS refers to the weight C _WHx (1 ≦ x ≦ n) of the stored articles of all the weighing hoppers 340 via the processing unit PRC, and stores the stored articles of any of the plurality of weighing hoppers 340. When the weight C _WHx exceeds the overscale threshold Th _OVS , it is determined that it is an abnormal state of “overscale”.

The defective receiving box excess storage determination unit FUL refers to the weights C _EJx (1 ≦ x ≦ n) of the _stored articles of all the defective receiving boxes 380 stored in the memory MEM via the processing unit PRC, and _performs a plurality of defects. When the weight C _EJx of any of the _receiving articles in the receiving box 380 exceeds the defective receiving box excessive threshold Th _FUL , it is determined that the state is an abnormal state of “excessive receiving box receiving excessive”.

  The control unit CNT generates a control signal for each head 300 in accordance with signals input from the hopper selection unit SEL, the overscale determination unit OVS, the defective receiving box storage excess determination unit FUL, and the like.

  The gate drive circuit DG opens and closes various gates included in the head 300. The gate driving circuit DGx for the x-th (1 ≦ x ≦ n) head 300 includes a pool hopper gate opening / closing mechanism GPHx that opens and closes the gate 321 of the pool hopper 320 and a weighing hopper that opens and closes the first gate 341 of the weighing hopper 340. The first gate opening / closing mechanism GWHIx, the weighing hopper second gate opening / closing mechanism GWHOx for opening / closing the second gate 342 of the weighing hopper 340, and the booster hopper gate opening / closing mechanism GBHx for opening / closing the gate 361 of the booster hopper 360 are controlled.

  The indicator driving circuit DI controls the indicator IND included in the head 300. That is, the indicator drive circuit DIx for the x-th (1 ≦ x ≦ n) head 300 is configured so that when the defective receiving box containing excessively occurs in the defective receiving box 380 of the x-th head 300, the x-th head 300 For controlling the warning indicator INDx.

(3) Operation of Combination Weighing Device 100 Hereinafter, various operations of the combination weighing device 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

(3-1) Grasping the weight of stored articles (3-1-1) Initialization No articles are stored in each weighing hopper 340 and each booster hopper 360, and no articles are stored in each defective receiving box 380. When not accommodated, the user may initialize the combination weighing device 100. As a result, the _values of C _WHx , C _BHx , and C _EJx (1 ≦ x ≦ n) in the memory MEM of the control circuit 500 are all set to zero.

(3-1-2) Acquisition of Measurement Value Sx of Weight Sensor WSx The weight sensor WSx provided in the weighing hopper 340 in the x-th (1 ≦ x ≦ n) head 300 outputs the measurement value Sx. The processing unit PRC acquires the measurement value Sx and records it in the memory MEM. The measured value Sx of the weight sensor WS _x is expressed by the following mathematical formula.

Sx = H _WHx + C _WHx + H _EJx + C _EJx

Here, for the _meanings of H _WHx , C _WHx , H _EJx , and C _EJx , refer to “(2-4) Control Circuit 500”.

  In the control circuit 500, the processing unit PRC calculates each numerical value from the measurement value Sx and the information recorded in the memory MEM in the following manner.

(3-1-3) Calculation of weight C _WHx of stored article in weighing hopper 340 As already described in the section “(2-4) Control circuit 500”, the values of H _WHx and H _EJx are stored in the memory MEM in advance. Saved. Therefore, when the combination weighing device 100 has not yet discharged the articles stored in the weighing hopper 340 to the defective receiving box 380, the processing unit PRC calculates _CWHx by _{performing the following} calculation.

C _WHx = S _x -H _WHx -H _EJx

On the other hand, if the article stored in the weighing hopper 340 has been discharged to the defective receiving box 380, the control unit PRC must _execute the control to record the value of C _{EJx in} the memory MEM. _CWHx is calculated by _{performing the following} calculation.

C _WHx = S _x -H _WHx -H _EJx -C _EJx

The calculated value of _CWHx is recorded in the memory MEM by the processing unit PRC.

(3-1-4) Calculation of weight C _BHx of stored article of booster hopper 360 When the booster hopper 360 is empty and the first gate 341 of the weighing hopper 340 is opened and the article is discharged, the processing unit PRC is the value of the weight C _WHx reservoir articles weighing hopper 340 in the immediately preceding that time, recorded in the memory MEM as the weight C _BHX reservoir articles booster hoppers 360.

When the first gate 341 of the weighing hopper 340 is opened and the article is discharged when the booster hopper 360 is not empty, the processing unit PRC _determines the value C _BHx of the stored article weight of the booster hopper 360 immediately before that point. In addition, the value of the weight C _WHx of the stored article in the weighing hopper 340 is added to update the value of C _BHx and record it in the memory MEM.

When control is performed to open the gate 361 of the booster hopper 360, the processing unit PRC records zero in the memory MEM as the value of _CWHx .

(3-1-5) Calculation of weight C _EJx of articles contained in defective receiving box 380 When defective receiving box 380 is empty, when second gate 342 of weighing hopper 340 is opened and the articles are discharged, The processing unit PRC _records the value of the weight C _WHx of the stored article in the weighing hopper 340 immediately before that time in the memory MEM as the weight C _EJx of the stored article in the defective receiving box 380.

If the first gate 341 of the weighing hopper 340 is opened and the article is discharged when the defective receiving box 380 is not empty, the processing unit PRC determines the weight C _{EJx of the stored} article in the defective receiving box 380 immediately before that point. The value of the weight C _WHx of the stored article in the weighing hopper 340 is added to the value of C, and the value of C _EJx is updated and recorded in the memory MEM.

Thus, the weight C _EJx of the articles stored in the defective receiving box 380 is calculated by adding up the weight C _WHx each time the stored articles in the weighing hopper 340 are distributed to the defective receiving box 380.

(3-2) Combination Weighing As described above, the hopper selection unit SEL refers to the values of C _WHx and C _BHx (1 ≦ x ≦ n) in all the heads 300 stored in the memory MEM. To select the hopper associated with the combination closest to the target weight T of the combination.

  In the combination weighing device 100 of the present embodiment, the stored articles of the weighing hopper 340 cannot reach the collective chute 400 without passing through the booster hopper 360 provided downstream thereof. Therefore, if a certain weighing hopper 340 is selected, the combination weighing is performed under a “pair designation constraint” in which a booster hopper 360 provided downstream thereof must be selected at the same time.

  In response to the output of the hopper selection unit SEL, the control unit CNT issues a control signal. In response to this, the gates of the hoppers belonging to the determined combination are opened, and the stored articles of those hoppers are collected in the collecting chute 400.

  In a normal combination weighing operation, the article sequentially passes through a dispersion feeder 200, a trough 310, a pool hopper 320, a weighing hopper 340, a booster hopper 360, and a collecting chute 400 as shown in FIG. This route is referred to as a normal route P in this specification.

(3-3) Overscale Determination When the overscale occurs in any of the weighing hoppers 340, the overscale determination unit OVS notifies the control unit CNT of information on the hopper. In response to this, the control unit CNT issues a control signal for opening the second gate 342 of the weighing hopper 340.

  When the second gate 342 is opened, the stored article in the weighing hopper 340 in which the overscale has occurred falls to a defective receiving box 380 provided outside the normal path P.

(3-4) Defect receiving box excessive storage determination When the defective receiving box excessive storage has occurred in any of the defective receiving boxes 380, the control unit CNT Notify In response to this, the control unit CNT controls the indicator IND to issue a warning in order to prompt the user to discard the stored item in the defective receiving box 380.

  The indicator IND may be an instrument such as a lamp appealing to the user's vision, or an instrument such as a buzzer appealing to the user's hearing. The indicator IND may be a display device that collectively displays warnings for a plurality of heads.

  When the user removes the defective receiving box 380 in order to eliminate the excessive receiving of defective receiving boxes, the processing unit PRC indicates that the defective receiving box 380 has been removed from the change in the measured value S of the weight sensor WS of the head 300. Recognize In this case, the processing unit PRC may stop the operation of the head 300 to which the defective receiving box 380 belongs, so that the head 300 cannot be used for the combination weighing operation.

  Thereafter, when the user again hangs the defective receiving box 380 that has been disposed and emptied to the weighing hopper 340 via the attaching / detaching unit 381, the processing unit PRC attaches the defective receiving box 380 to the weighing hopper 340 again. Recognize that In that case, the processing unit PRC may output permission to resume the operation of the head 300.

(4) Features According to the combination weighing device 100 according to the present invention, it is not essential to stop the operation of the head in which the overscaling occurs each time overscaling occurs, and thus it is possible to suppress a decrease in calculation capability. .

  In addition, since it is not necessary to further provide a collection mechanism for collecting articles to be discarded that have been distributed outside the apparatus, it is possible to suppress the complicated structure of the combination weighing device 100, an increase in the number of parts, and an increase in cost.

(5) Modifications The configuration of the combination weighing device 100 according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made.

  For example, the combination weighing device 100 may further include a sorting mechanism that allows the articles to be directly put into the collective chute 400 from the first gate of the weighing hopper 340 without passing through the booster hopper 360. In that case, the combination metric does not need to be subjected to “pair specification constraint”.

  In the above-described embodiment, the control circuit 500 is configured by individual hardware divided for each function, such as the hopper selection unit SEL, the overscale determination unit OVS, and the defective receiving box storage excess determination unit FUL. However, unlike this, the control circuit 500 may be composed of a CPU and a memory storing a program.

  Furthermore, in the combination weighing device 100 according to the above-described embodiment, the plurality of heads 300 are arranged radially, but the plurality of heads 300 are combinations disclosed in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-38845). You may arrange | position on a straight line like a measuring device.

ADC AD conversion unit CNT control unit DR Head control circuit FUL Defective receiving box excess storage determination unit IND Indicator control circuit MEM Memory OVS Overscale determination unit P Normal path SEL hopper selection unit UPD Record update unit WS Weight sensor 50 Article supply unit 100 Combination Weighing device 200 Dispersion feeder 210 Dispersion table 211 Conical portion 212 Flat plate portion 220 First vibration device 310 Trough 311 Second vibration device 320 Pool hopper 321 Gate 340 Weighing hopper 341 First gate 342 Second gate 360 Booster hopper 361 Gate 380 Box 400 Collective chute 500 Control circuit

JP 2011-232202 A JP 2010-38845 A

Claims (4)

A dispersion unit for dispersing the articles;
A plurality of conveyance units that are provided downstream of the dispersion unit and convey the article;
A plurality of hoppers provided corresponding to the downstream of the plurality of transport units, respectively, and storing the articles;
An assembly portion provided downstream of the plurality of hoppers for collecting the articles;
With
At least a part of the plurality of hoppers is a weighing hopper for weighing the article,
A combination weighing device that performs a combination weighing operation for selecting a combination based on a measurement value of the weighing hopper and discharging the selected article to the assembly unit,
A normal path through which articles are conveyed during the combination weighing operation;
A defective box provided outside the normal path;
A distribution unit that distributes the article stored in the hopper to the defective receiving box;
Further comprising a,
The defective receiving box is attached to the weighing hopper via an attaching / detaching portion,
Combination weighing device. A storage unit for storing a weight threshold value of the article stored in the defective receiving box;
A determination unit that determines that the weight of the article in the defective receiving box is abnormal when the weight exceeds the weight threshold;
Further comprising
The combination weighing device according to claim 1 . The weight of the article in the defective receiving box is calculated by adding up when the article weighed in the hopper is distributed to the defective receiving box side,
The combination weighing device according to claim 2 . When the determination unit determines that the weight of the article in the defective receiving box exceeds the weight threshold,
Stop the operation of the head corresponding to the defective receiving box,
Detecting that the defective receiving box has been removed and reattached by measuring the weight of the weighing hopper of the stopped head;
further,
When it is determined that the defective receiving box is remounted on the weighing hopper and the article in the defective receiving box is removed,
A controller that permits re-operation of the stopped head;
Further comprising
The combination weighing device according to claim 2 or claim 3 .

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