JP6935133B2 - Article guidance device and article supply device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an article supply device for supplying various articles and an article guide device used therein, and more specifically, to an article guide device and an article supply device suitable for supplying articles to a combination scale, for example.

The combination scale has a plurality of measuring parts, and the combination weight, which is the total weight of various combinations of the weights of the articles supplied to each measuring part, is selected and the selected weighing part has a predetermined weight range. It discharges the goods of the part.

This combination scale can be roughly classified into an automatic type, a semi-automatic type, and a manual type depending on the difference in the method of supplying the article to the measuring unit and the method of discharging the article. In a manual combination scale, the goods are manually supplied and discharged. Further, in the semi-automatic combination scale, the goods are supplied manually and the goods are discharged automatically. Further, in the automatic combination scale, the goods are automatically supplied and discharged without manual operation.

In automatic combination scales, articles are generally supplied to the center of a dispersion feeder configured to vibrate drive a conical topcon, and articles radially distributed and transported along the topcon are delivered to the dispersion feeder. It is supplied to a plurality of straight feeders arranged in a circular shape around it to be vibrated and conveyed, and is supplied to a plurality of supply hoppers corresponding to a plurality of measuring parts arranged corresponding to each straight feeder. ..

When the article to be supplied is, for example, an elongated one, when the article is distributed and transported from the distributed feeder to a plurality of straight feeders arranged in a circle around the distributed feeder, the article is placed at the start end of the adjacent straight feeder. It may stay over the entire area and hinder the subsequent transportation of the article. In order to prevent such retention of the article, for example, in Patent Document 1, the article contact member is above the start end of the adjacent straight feeder. Is deployed, and the article contact member is reciprocated in the parallel direction of the straight feeder, so that the article straddling the starting end of the adjacent straight feeder is agitated by the article contact member.

Jikkai Sho 62-146929

In Patent Document 1, it is necessary to provide a structure for supporting the article contact member so as to be reciprocally movable, and a mechanism for driving the structure, which is expensive to manufacture. In addition, there is a problem that a separate electric power is required to reciprocate the article contact member, which increases the running cost.

The present invention has been made with attention to such a point, and an object of the present invention is to prevent articles from remaining between adjacent article supply positions without requiring special driving means.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.

(1) In the article guide device according to the present invention, the article discharged from the transport path to a plurality of article supply positions arranged in parallel along the transport path through which the article is to be transported. The plurality of article supply positions are provided with a rotatable roller that is rotatable around a horizontal axis in a direction intersecting the parallel direction of the plurality of article supply positions, and the plurality of article supply positions are adjacent to each other. The article supplied during the position can come into contact with the idler roller.

According to the article guide device according to the present invention, even if the article discharged from the transport path is erroneously supplied between adjacent article supply positions, it abuts on the idler roller , and when the weight balance of the article is lost or abutted. The idler roller rotates freely in the direction according to the degree of force applied, etc., and the article is guided to one of the adjacent article supply positions, and is adjacent without requiring special driving means. It is possible to prevent the article from remaining between the article supply positions.

(2) The article supply device according to the present invention is an article supply device including the article guide device according to the above (1), and is a transport mechanism for transporting the supplied articles and a transport mechanism for transporting the articles. A plurality of locations of the route are provided with an article discharge mechanism capable of switching between an allowable state for allowing the transported article to pass through and a discharge state for discharging the transported article to the outside of the transport path, and in parallel with the above. The plurality of article supply positions to which the arranged articles should be supplied are arranged in parallel along the transfer path of the articles by the transfer mechanism, and the articles discharged from the transfer path by the article discharge mechanism The position to be supplied.

According to the article supply device according to the present invention, by switching the operating state of the article discharge mechanisms at a plurality of locations, the articles transported by the transport mechanism are placed among the plurality of article supply positions arranged in parallel along the transport path. Can be smoothly distributed and supplied to the desired position of. Further, when the article discharge mechanism discharges and supplies the article to the predetermined article supply position, the article is supplied between the adjacent article supply positions depending on the discharge timing of the article from the article discharge mechanism. However, in this case, the supplied article is supplied to the article supply position without remaining due to the rotation induction by the idler roller.

(3) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the transport mechanism has a transport conveyor that transports the article, and the article discharge mechanism retracts from the transport conveyor and moves through the article in the allowable state. On the other hand, in the discharge state, the guide member has a guide member that advances on the transfer conveyor and guides the article out of the transfer path.

According to this embodiment, depending on the posture switching state of the guide members in the plurality of article discharge mechanisms, the articles transported by the transport mechanism are desired among the plurality of article supply positions arranged in parallel along the transport path. It can be smoothly discharged and supplied to the position. Further, even across idler roller located between the product supply position supplied article is adjacent, it takes the force at collapse and contact the weight balance of goods degree, the direction in idling roller corresponding to equal Will rotate and the article will be guided to one of the adjacent article supply positions.

(4) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a discharge chute for collecting the articles discharged from the transport path is arranged at each of a plurality of article supply positions where the articles arranged in parallel are to be supplied. The idle roller is placed between the adjacent discharge chutes.

According to this embodiment, the article supplied between the adjacent discharge chutes is smoothly rotationally guided by the idler roller and guided to one of the adjacent discharge chutes, and the article is adjacent to the discharge chute. It is possible to prevent it from being caught between the shoots and remaining.

(5) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the idler roller has a polygonal cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the axis.

According to this embodiment, chevron-shaped convex portions are provided at a plurality of locations in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface of the idler roller , and the friction between the outer peripheral surface of the idler roller and the article in contact with the article is increased, so that the article can be provided. The rotational power due to the imbalance of weight or the external force acting on the article is surely transmitted to the idler roller. As a result, for example, even if the article remains across the idler roller in a well-balanced manner, the external force of the subsequent article or the like acts on the remaining article, so that the idler roller rotates and the remaining article is used as the article. It is possible to guide to the supply position and eliminate the residual article.

In yet another embodiment (6) the present invention, the idler roller, Ru comprises at least one of concave and convex portions on its outer periphery.

According to this embodiment, the friction between the idler roller and the article increases due to the biting of the convex portion into the article and the entry of the article into the concave portion, and the idle roller is accurately driven by the weight of the article and the external force applied to the article. It can be rotated.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the articles from remaining between the adjacent article supply positions arranged in parallel without requiring a special driving means.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a weighing system including an article supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the weighing system of FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view of the weighing system of FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a set of article distribution points. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the first rotation guide unit. FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional side view of the first rotation guide unit. FIG. 7 is a schematic front view showing an article discharge location. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the second rotation guide unit and the slide guide unit. FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway side view showing the mounting state of the second rotation guide unit. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the removed state of the second rotation guide unit and the slide guide unit as viewed from below. FIG. 11 is a schematic front view showing a set of article distribution points including the second rotation guide unit and the slide guide unit. FIG. 12 is a schematic side view of the combination scale. FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view showing an arrangement state of an article detection sensor that detects an article. FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the weighing system of FIG. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of overall control of the article supply device. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the vibration feeder. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the distribution / transport mechanism. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the article discharge mechanism.

Hereinafter, a weighing system including an article supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a weighing system including an article supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a side view thereof. Note that FIG. 1 shows a safety cover 80 that covers the swivel conveyor 14 that is reciprocally rotated over a predetermined angle as described later. The inside of the safety cover 80 is transparent, and the safety cover 80 is divided into left and right parts, and each of them can be oscillated and opened upward. The weighing system of this embodiment supplies goods. It is provided with an article supply device 1 for performing articles and a semi-automatic combination scale 2 for supplying articles manually in the past.

This weighing system automatically supplies articles to the semi-automatic combination scale 2 by the article supply device 1, and as a whole, automatically supplies and discharges the articles. It can also be called.

In this embodiment, a block-shaped piece of meat such as thigh meat or breast meat obtained by disassembling a broiler (chicken for meat), for example, an article having a relatively large unit weight, an irregular shape, and stickiness that is difficult to handle by a machine. It is subject to measurement.

That is, the weighing system of this embodiment is a system suitable for the weighing process of the dismantling line of the broiler.

The article supply device 1 is a horizontally arranged front-stage transport mechanism 3, a plurality of transport paths thereof, in this example, an article discharge mechanism 4 deployed at three locations, and distribution of three units corresponding to each article discharge mechanism 4. It is provided with a transfer mechanism 5 and a vibration feeder 6 as a post-stage transfer mechanism in which a plurality of units corresponding to each distribution transfer mechanism 5 and, in this example, three units are arranged in parallel.

The front-stage transfer mechanism 3 is composed of a belt conveyor in which a horizontally wound transfer belt 7 is rotationally driven from right to left at a constant speed, as indicated by an arrow A in FIG. .. On the right starting end side of the transport belt 7 of the front-stage transport mechanism 3,
The disassembled broiler meat pieces are supplied as the article w.

The article discharge mechanism 4 includes a long plate-shaped guide member 8 that is installed on one side of the front-stage transport mechanism 3 across the transport path and can be swung around the vertical fulcrum a. As shown by the solid line in FIG. 2, the guide member 8 is in a permissible state in which the guide member 8 deviates to the one side of the transport path and takes a retracted posture along the transport direction. Passage is allowed. When the guide member 8 is driven and swings toward the transport path side around the vertical fulcrum a as shown by the virtual line in FIG. 2, the long plate-shaped guide member 8 is obliquely inclined to the transport path in a plan view. It becomes the discharge state of the discharge posture that intersects with. In this discharge state, the article w transported along the transport path gradually moves outward on the other side of the transport path along the plate surface of the guide member 8 intersecting the transport path diagonally. It is guided, discharged from the transport path, and supplied to the distribution transport mechanism 5.

On the discharge side of the article w by the article discharge mechanism 4, a discharge chute 9 having an inclined lower part is fixedly arranged, and the article w guided and discharged by the guide member 8 is on the other side of the article w via the discharge chute 9. You will be guided down below.

In this way, the article discharging mechanism 4 intersects the long plate-shaped guide member 8 so as to be inclined with respect to the transport path of the front stage transport mechanism 3, and guides the article w transported by the front stage transport mechanism 3 to the guide member. Since the article w, which is a sticky broiler meat piece, is surely discharged at a predetermined place because it is guided along the plate surface of No. 8 and discharged.

The distribution transfer mechanism 5 conveys the upward-spreading funnel-shaped loading funnel 10 that receives the article w discharged by the article discharging mechanism 4 and the article w that has been loaded into the loading funnel 10, and is rotationally driven by a predetermined angle. It is equipped with a possible swivel conveyor 14. The swivel conveyor 14 is composed of a transport belt 11 on which the article w slid down by the loading funnel 10 is placed and horizontally transported, left and right side plates 12 standing upright on both sides of the transport belt 11, and both side plates 12. A U-shaped discharge cover 13 attached to the end portion is provided.

The discharge cover 13 forms a drop port for dropping the article w that has been placed and transported by the transport belt 11 without popping out in the transport direction, and as shown in FIG. 4, the discharge cover 13 is provided with respect to both side plates 12. It is bolted and connected so that its position can be adjusted along the transport direction. By adjusting the position of the discharge cover 13, the opening length of the drop port in the transport direction is changed according to the size of the article w so that the article w can be accurately dropped and discharged at a predetermined position without being clogged. ..

The swivel conveyor 14 can be rotationally driven by a servomotor by a predetermined angle around a vertical fulcrum b set on the transport start end side of the transport belt 11 on which articles from the input funnel 10 slide down. In the swivel conveyor 14, the drop port at the transport end of the transport belt 11 is located directly above each vibration feeder 6 at three positions, the central position in the rotation range and the rotation end positions on both sides thereof. There is. That is, the swivel conveyor 14 swivels by a predetermined angle around the vertical fulcrum b to distribute the article w to each of the three vibration feeders 6.

As described above, the swivel conveyor 14 rotates about the vertical fulcrum b set on the transport start end side of the transport belt 11 on which the article from the input funnel 10 slides down, so that the swivel conveyor 14 is in which rotation position. However, the article w conveyed by the pre-stage transfer mechanism 3 can be discharged by the guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 and supplied to the transfer start end side of the swirl conveyor 14. Therefore, when it is necessary to supply the article w to the transport start end side of the swivel conveyor 14, the article w of the pre-stage transport mechanism 3 is discharged by the article discharge mechanism 4 regardless of the rotation position of the swivel conveyor 14, and the swivel conveyor 14 is discharged. The article w can be quickly supplied to 14.

The vibration feeder 6 as the post-stage transfer mechanism is a straight-ahead feeder in which a gutter-shaped trough 15 is detachably connected to the exciter 16 shown in FIG. Is configured to be conveyed to the combination scale 2. A support frame 17 that supports the trough 15 in a state of being inclined downward in the transport direction is connected to the lower surface of the trough 15. The support frame 17 is positioned and engaged with a vibration head 16a provided at the upper end of the exciter 16, and is fastened and fixed by using a buckle-type connecting mechanism 18 operated by a lever.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4 and the like, a large number of slit-shaped through holes 19 along the longitudinal direction of the trough 15 are aligned and formed on the bottom surface and the left and right side surfaces of the trough 15. The through hole 19 discharges oils and fats and oils and liquids floating on the surface of the article w which is a disassembled broiler to the outside of the trough 15, and a large amount of these oils and fats and oils and liquids adhere and remain on the inner surface of the trough 15 and the articles w. Prevents obstruction of transportation.

As described above, the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 is inclined downward in the transport direction and has a large number of through holes 19, so that the article w, which is a broiler meat piece containing oil and fat and has adhesiveness, can be smoothly transported. can do.

Three vibration feeders 6 are arranged in parallel with respect to the swirling conveyor 14 of one distribution and transport mechanism 5, and switching rotation to three positions to the center position of the swirling conveyor 14 and the rotating end positions on both sides thereof. Depending on the situation, the article w can be supplied from each swivel conveyor 14 to the article supply position of the trough 15 of each of the three vibration feeders 6. Therefore, as a whole, the article w can be vibrated and conveyed to nine places by the nine vibration feeders 6 arranged in parallel in a straight line.

In each vibration feeder 6, the article w can be conveyed and stopped by driving and stopping the article w. Therefore, the article w is controlled to be conveyed to the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 to stand by, and the combination scale is used. The article can be supplied to the combination scale 2 at the timing corresponding to the request for the entry into the article input port 25 of 2.

In the article supply device 1 of this embodiment, the article w transported by the pre-stage transport mechanism 3 can be smoothly discharged and supplied to the three discharge chutes 9 arranged in parallel along the transport path by the article discharge mechanism 4. Is provided with a first rotation guide unit U1 as an article guide device. The first rotation guide unit U1 is provided between adjacent discharge chutes 9 on the inlet side of the discharge chute 9, and the article w discharged by the article discharge mechanism 4 is caught between the adjacent discharge chutes 9 and remains. It prevents you from doing so.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a method of attaching the first rotation guide unit U1, FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional side view of the first rotation guide unit U1, and FIG. 7 is a schematic front view showing an article discharge location.

The first rotation guide unit U1 includes a free-wheeling roller 50 as a rotating body formed into a cylindrical shape having a regular hexagonal vertical cross section, and a support bracket 51 that rotatably supports the freewheeling roller 50 around a horizontal axis q. And have.

As shown in the plan view of FIG. 2, the axial center q is substantially relative to the parallel direction of the three discharge chutes 9 arranged in parallel along the transport path in which the article w is transported by the pre-stage transport mechanism 3. It is the axis in the direction of intersecting at right angles, and is the axis in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the article w of the front stage transport mechanism 3. The free-swing roller 50 has a regular hexagonal cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the axis q as described above.

In the idle roller 50, a support shaft 53 is inserted and supported via rolling bearings 52 at both ends, and both ends of the support shaft 53 are bolted and fixed to support walls 51a and 51b at both ends of the support bracket 51. ..

A relay box 55 that relays electrical wiring is connected and fixed to the side surface of the conveyor frame 3a of the front-stage transfer mechanism 3 via a mounting bracket 54. The first rotation guide unit U1 is detachably attached to the relay box 55.

That is, the support wall 51b on the side of the support bracket 51 that is separated from the conveyor frame 3a extends upward high. The upper end of the support wall 51b is formed in a square connecting hook portion 51c that is open downward, and a pair of left and right downward recesses 56 are formed in the downward end side of the connecting hook portion 51c.

On the other hand, the relay box 55 is formed with a support wall 55a extending upward on the side close to the conveyor frame 3a. A pair of left and right connecting bolts 57 are projected from the support wall 55a. The first rotation guide unit U1 is connected to the relay box 55 by engaging the downward recess 56 of the connecting hook portion 51c of the support bracket 51 with the connecting bolt 57 from above and tightening the wing nut 58 attached to the connecting bolt 57. Can be mounted cantilevered. Further, by loosening the wing nut 58 a little, the first rotation guide unit U1 can be removed upward from the relay box 55 for easy cleaning and the like.

As shown in FIG. 5, the support bracket 51 is inclined to prevent the article w from entering between the adjacent discharge chute 9 and the idler roller 50, and to drop the article w into the adjacent discharge chute 9 to guide the article w. It is provided with an inclination guide portion 51d.

It is desirable that the first rotation guide unit U1 is installed as close as possible to the conveyor frame 3a of the front-stage conveyor mechanism 3 so that the article w is not caught in the gap between the conveyor and the conveyor 7 of the front-stage conveyor mechanism 3. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 6, the end portion of the support shaft 53 on the conveyor frame 3a side is connected to the support wall 51a of the support bracket 51 by a countersunk screw 59, so that the screw head protrudes forward. I have lost it.

As shown in FIG. 2, the article discharging mechanism 4 retracts the swingable long plate-shaped guide member 8 to one side of the transport path of the front-stage transport mechanism 3 to allow the article w to pass, and allows the article w to pass through, and the transport path side. The article w is discharged out of the transport path along the plate surface of the guide member 8 by swinging to and crossing the transport path diagonally.

When the interval between the articles w transported by the pre-stage transport mechanism 3 is narrowed, a part of the plurality of articles w overlaps vertically, or the plurality of articles w are transported side by side, the articles w are transferred. , May be discharged to the first rotation guide unit U1 between the adjacent discharge chute 9.

At this time, the article w gets on the idler roller 50 of the first rotation guide unit U1, but the idler roller 50 can rotate extremely lightly, and the article w is attached to the hexagonal outer peripheral surface of the idler roller 50. Since the hooking of w is good, the idler roller 50 easily rotates depending on the weight of the article w on which it is placed. As a result, the article w is smoothly guided down to the discharge chute 9 without remaining on the idler roller 50, and is supplied to the distribution / delivery mechanism 5 via the discharge chute 9.

Further, even if the article w straddles the idler roller 50, the idler roller 50 rotates freely in a direction corresponding to the imbalance of the weight of the article w, the degree of force applied, etc., and the article w is adjacent to the article w. It is guided by one of the discharge chute 9 and is supplied to the distribution / delivery mechanism 5 via the discharge chute 9.

The article w may remain over the idler roller 50 in a well-balanced manner, but when the subsequent article w discharged by the article discharge mechanism 4 comes into contact with the remaining article w and tries to push it, the idler roller Since the cross section of 50 is a regular hexagon and the friction with the article w is large, the external force acting on the remaining article w is surely transmitted to the idler roller 50. As a result, the idler roller 50 rotates, and the remaining article w is guided and discharged to the discharge chute 9.

Since the idler roller 50 has a hexagonal cross section that increases friction with the article w in this way, when an external force acts on the article w remaining across the idler roller 50 in a well-balanced manner. The external force is transmitted to the idler roller 50, and the idler roller 50 rotates to guide and discharge the remaining article w to the discharge chute 9.

When the idler roller 50 has a circular cross section, when the article w remains straddling the idler roller in a well-balanced manner, even if the remaining article w is pushed and moved by the subsequent article w, the circular idler roller 50 Since the frictional force between the article w and the article w is small and slippery, the force is not transmitted to the idler roller, and as a result, the idler roller cannot rotate and the remaining article w is guided and discharged to the discharge chute 9. It can be difficult to do.

In particular, since the article w is a piece of meat in which oil or oil liquid is raised on the surface thereof, the oil or fat or oil liquid adheres to the surface of the idler roller with the passage of time and becomes slippery and remains. It becomes more difficult to guide and discharge the article w to the discharge chute 9.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the idler roller 50 is a hexagonal roller, there is no problem like a circular roller.

In the article supply device 1 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 and the like, when the article w is distributed and supplied from the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution transfer mechanism 5 to a set of three vibration feeders 6 groups, they are adjacent to each other. Prevents the article w from spilling out from the second rotation guide unit U2 as an article guide device for preventing the article w from remaining straddling the vibration feeder 6 and the vibration feeder 6 at the lateral outer end. A sliding guide unit U3 is provided for each.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the second rotation guide unit U2 and the slide guide unit U3, FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway side view showing the mounting state of the second rotation guide unit U2, and FIG. 10 is a second rotation guide. It is a perspective view which looked at the detached state of a unit U2 and a sliding guide unit U3 from below.

The second rotation guide unit U2 includes a free-wheeling roller 60 as a rotating body formed into a cylindrical shape having a regular hexagonal vertical cross section, and a support bracket 61 that rotatably supports the idle roller 60 around a horizontal axis p. And have. As shown in the plan view of FIG. 2, the axis p is an axis in a direction that intersects the parallel direction of the troughs 15 of the nine vibration feeders 6 arranged in parallel, and is a trough. It is an axial center in the direction along the transport direction of the article w of 15. The free-swing roller 60 has a regular hexagonal cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the axis p as described above.

In the idle roller 60, a support shaft 63 is inserted and supported via rolling bearings 62 at both ends, and both ends of the support shaft 63 are bolted and fixed to support walls 61a and 61b at both ends of the support bracket 61. ..

Further, a bifurcated facing connecting portion 61c extends downward from the lower portion of the support bracket 61, and a pair of upper and lower connecting shafts 64 are horizontally fixedly supported by the facing connecting portion 61c.

On the other hand, a long fixed support frame 65 is provided at the starting end of the vibration feeder 6, and a bifurcated mounting bracket 66 is connected to the fixed support frame 65. The second rotation guide unit U2 is detachably attached to the mounting bracket 66 as follows.

That is, the mounting bracket 66 is formed with a pair of upper and lower engaging grooves 67, and the connecting portion 61c of the support bracket 61 in the second rotation guide unit U2 is externally fitted to the mounting bracket 66, and the upper and lower connecting shafts 64. Is engaged in the upper and lower engaging grooves 67, respectively. As a result, the second rotation guide unit U2 is supported in a horizontal cantilever shape with respect to the mounting bracket 66. Further, the second rotation guide unit U2 can be removed from the mounting bracket 66 by lifting it upward along the engagement groove 67, so that cleaning and accompanying attachment / detachment can be easily performed.

An article that has fallen undesirably on one side of the central trough 15 and one side of both sides of the trough 15, that is, the left or right trough 15 while the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transfer mechanism 5 is rotating. w comes into contact with the idler roller 60 so as to be received by the idler roller 60, and the idler roller 60 rotates freely in a direction corresponding to the imbalance of the weight of the article w, the degree of force applied at the time of contact, and the like. It falls on the central trough 15 or either the left or right trough 15.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, a particularly long article w may remain while straddling the idler roller 60, but the transfer end of the rotating swivel conveyor 14, that is, the discharge cover 13 Since the vertical distance between the lower end portion of the above and the idler roller 60 is set to be small, the next time the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transfer mechanism 5 rotates in the opposite direction (to the left in the case of FIG. 11). In addition, the article w resting on the idler roller 60 can be pushed and moved by the lower end of the discharge cover 13 to drop the article w into the trough 15 on the side where the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution and transport mechanism 5 moves.

The vertical distance between the lower end of the discharge cover 13 of the rotating swivel conveyor 14 and the idler roller 60 is such that the swivel conveyor 14 rotates on the article w that stays on the idler roller 60. The interval is so small that the lower ends of the discharge cover 13 can come into contact with each other.

In this embodiment, since the idler roller 60 is a hexagonal roller having a regular hexagonal cross section, the frictional force between the idler roller 60 and the article w is higher than that of a circular roller having a circular cross section.

As a result, when the article w remains straddling the idle roller 60 in a well-balanced manner, when the article w is hooked on the carry-out cover 13 of the rotating distribution and transport mechanism 5 and pushed laterally, the idle roller 60 Even if oil or oil adheres to the outer surface, the friction between the hexagonal outer shape of the idler roller 60 and the article w becomes large, and the external force acting on the article w is surely transmitted to the idler roller 60. As a result, the idler roller 60 rotates, and the remaining article w is guided in the rotation direction of the distribution / transport mechanism 5 and supplied to the trough 5 of the vibration feeder 6.

The sliding guide unit U3 is installed at the transport start end on the lateral outer side of the left and right troughs 15 in a group of three troughs 15, and the article w to be put into the left or right trough 15 is the trough 15. Guide it by dropping it into the trough 15 without getting caught in the outer side wall.

Further, the sliding guide unit U3 has a structure in which two inclined guide plates 71 are joined in a chevron shape and connected to the support bracket 72, and the fixed support frame 65 has the same specifications as the second rotation guide unit U2. It is installed.

That is, a bifurcated facing connecting portion 72a extends downward from the support bracket 72, and a pair of upper and lower connecting shafts 73 are horizontally fixedly supported by the facing connecting portion 72a. On the other hand, a pair of upper and lower engaging grooves 75 are formed in the mounting bracket 74 connected to the fixed support frame 65, and the connecting portion 72a of the support bracket 72 in the sliding guide unit U3 is externally fitted to the mounting bracket 74 and is vertically and vertically fitted. The connecting shaft 73 of the above is engaged with the upper and lower engaging grooves 75, respectively. As a result, the sliding guide unit U3 can be supported in a horizontal cantilever shape with respect to the mounting bracket 74. Further, the sliding guide knit U3 can be removed from the mounting bracket 74 by lifting it upward along the engaging groove 75, so that cleaning and accompanying attachment / detachment can be easily performed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, on the upper surface of the semi-automatic combination scale 2, a large number, in this example, nine article loading ports 25 are arranged in a straight line on the left and right, and these article loading ports are arranged in a straight line. The combination scale 2 is installed so that 25 faces the distribution / discharge unit of the article supply device 1, that is, the end of the vibration feeder 6 group. Further, each article loading port 25 is provided with a pair of left and right loading gates 26 that are opened and closed in the shape of an inward-opening Kannon door so as to be driveable and openable. Each input gate 26 is open during the period in which the input of the article is requested.

In this embodiment, the supply amount of the articles and the operating speed of the combination scale 2 are such that the weighing processing amount of the articles of the semi-automatic combination scale 2 exceeds the supply amount of the articles to the pre-stage transport mechanism 3 of the article supply device 1. Etc. are set.

If the amount of articles supplied to the pre-stage transfer mechanism 3 of the article supply device 1 temporarily exceeds the weighing processing amount of the combination scale 2, the articles transported by the pre-stage transfer mechanism 3 are transferred to the articles. It can be dealt with by passing the guide member 8 of the discharge mechanism 4 without discharging the material.

FIG. 12 is a schematic side view of the semi-automatic combination scale 2.

The combination scale 2 is basically the same as the conventional semi-automatic combination scale. A supply hopper 40 is arranged directly under the input gate 26 of each article input port 25 of the combination scale 2, and two storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2 are provided below each supply hopper 40. A weighing hopper 41 as a portion is arranged.

Each supply hopper 40 includes two discharge gates 40a and 40b that can be opened and closed independently, and by opening one of the discharge gates 40a, articles are discharged into one storage chamber 41-1 of the measuring hopper 41. By opening the other discharge gate 40b, it is possible to discharge the article into the other storage chamber 41-2 of the measuring hopper 41.

Each measuring hopper 41 is provided with a discharge gate 41a in one of the storage chambers 41-1 and a discharge gate 41b in the other storage chamber 41-2, and by opening the discharge gates 41a and 41b. Articles can be discharged separately from the storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2.

A weight sensor 42 such as a load cell is attached to each weighing hopper 41, and the weight sensor 42 detects the weight of an article in the weighing hopper 41 and sends the output to the control unit of the combination scale 2 described later. Be done. As a result, the control unit of the combination scale 2 calculates the weight of the articles in the respective storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2 of the weighing hopper 41 based on the change in the weight of the articles in the weighing hopper 41, and each weighing The combination calculation described later is performed based on the weight of the articles in the respective storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2 of the hopper 41.

Below the measuring hopper 41, a collecting conveyor 43 that receives and conveys the articles discharged from the measuring hopper 41 is arranged. The articles conveyed by the collecting conveyor 43 are supplied to a packaging machine (not shown). In the packaging machine, articles in a predetermined weight range are vacuum-packed.

The control unit of the combination scale 2 has a combination weight within a predetermined weight range, which is the total weight of various combinations of the weights of the articles in the storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2 of the weighing hopper 41 holding the articles. A combination calculation is performed to select one combination of the storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2, and the articles in the selected storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2 are discharged to the collecting conveyor 43.

In the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the article w supplied to the starting end portion on the upper side in the transport direction of the front-stage transport mechanism 3 is discharged from three places in the transport direction by the article discharge mechanism 4, respectively. The article w sent to the distribution transfer mechanism 5 and sent to each distribution transfer mechanism 5 is further distributed to three places and sent to the vibration feeder 6, and for convenience, the article w distributed and conveyed by the nine vibration feeders 6. Is supplied to each article input port 25 of the combination scale 2. The article w that has passed through the three article discharging mechanisms 4 and reached the end of the front-stage transport mechanism 3 is carried out and collected in a collection container or the like, and is manually supplied to the start end of the front-stage transport mechanism 3 again in a timely manner. Will be done.

In the supply of the above-mentioned articles, the presence or absence of the articles w at each location, and the requirements of the articles input port 25 of the combination scale 2, each vibration feeder 6, each distribution / transport mechanism 5, and the article discharge mechanism 4 Each article discharging mechanism 4, each distribution transport mechanism 5, and each vibration feeder 6 are controlled according to the situation.

FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing an example of an installation state of the article detection sensor that detects the article w.

Each article detection sensor Sa (1) to Sa (3), Sb (1) to Sb (3), Sc (1) to Sc (3), Sd (1) to Sd (3), Se ( 1) to Se (9) and Sf (1) to Sf (9) are, for example, transmissive photoelectric sensors including a floodlight and a receiver, and pass through a detection region between the floodlights and the receivers arranged opposite to each other. The article w to be used is detected and a detection output is given.

In the transport path of the front-stage transport mechanism 3, the front-stage article detection sensors Sa (1) to Sa (3) for detecting the articles w passing through the detection region immediately before each article discharge mechanism 4 are arranged.

Further, discharge article detection sensors Sb (1) to Sb (3) for detecting the discharged article w are arranged at the base of each discharge chute 9 through which the article w discharged by each article discharge mechanism 4 passes. ing. A through hole is formed in the base of each discharge chute 9 so as not to block the optical path of each discharge article detection sensor Sb (1) to Sb (3).

At the start end portion on the upper side and the end portion on the lower side of the swirl conveyor 14 of each distribution transfer mechanism 5, the distribution start article detection sensor Sc (1) that detects the article w at the start end and the end, respectively. )-Sc (3) and the distribution terminal article detection sensors Sd (1)-Sd (3) are arranged, respectively. The side plate 12 and the discharge cover 13 of the swivel conveyor 14 do not block the optical paths of the distribution start article detection sensors Sc (1) to Sc (3) and the distribution end article detection sensors Sd (1) to Sd (3). A through hole is formed in.

At the start end portion on the upper side and the end portion on the lower side in the transport direction of each trough 15 of each vibration feeder 6 as a rear stage transport mechanism, a rear stage start end article detection sensor that detects an article w at the start end portion and the end portion, respectively. Se (1) to Se (9) and the post-stage terminal article detection sensors Sf (1) to Sf (9) are arranged, respectively. The trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 has a through hole so as not to block the optical paths of the rear-stage start article detection sensors Se (1) to Se (9) and the rear-stage end article detection sensors Sf (1) to Sf (9). Is formed.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of this embodiment.

The weighing system of this embodiment includes a programmable controller (hereinafter, abbreviated as "PLC") 27 as a control device that controls the whole.

A programmable display 29, which is an operation display terminal, is connected to the PLC 27, and the programmable display 29 sets various settings such as the transfer speed of the front stage transfer mechanism 3 and the swivel conveyor 14 and the vibration intensity of the vibration feeder 6. Operations and various displays are performed.

Further, when the control unit 28 of the semi-automatic combination scale 2 requests the charging of the articles into the nine article loading ports 25, the loading request signals (1) to (9) are input to the PLC 27, respectively. At the same time, the above-mentioned article detection sensors Sa (1) to Sa (3), Sb (1) to Sb (3), Sc (1) to Sc (3), Sd (1) to Sd (3), The detection outputs of Se (1) to Se (9) and Sf (1) to Sf (9) are input.

The PLC 27 controls the front-stage transfer mechanism 3 via the front-stage transfer mechanism drive control circuit 30, and controls each guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 via the guide member drive circuit 31. Further, the PLC 27 controls each swivel conveyor 14 of each distribution transfer mechanism 5 via the swivel conveyor drive control circuit 32 and the swirl conveyor swivel drive control circuit 33, and each vibration feeder 6 via the vibration feeder drive circuit 34. To control.

Basically, the PLC 27 controls so that when there is a request for loading an article from the combination scale 2 into each article loading port 25, the article can be immediately loaded into the article loading port 25 for which the loading request is made. The article is transported to the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 and controlled so that it can stand by.

That is, in the vibration feeder 6, when there is no article at the end of the trough 15, the article detected at the start of the trough 15 is conveyed to the end of the trough 15, and the article detected at the start of the trough 15 is conveyed. If not, the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution and transport mechanism 5 is requested to load the article.

In the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transfer mechanism 5, the article is conveyed to the end of the swirl conveyor 14 and the rotation position is controlled so that the article can be immediately loaded into the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 for which the article has been requested to be loaded. Will be done. When there is no article at the end of the swivel conveyor 14, the article detected at the start end of the swirl conveyor 14 is conveyed to the end, and when there is no article detected at the start of the swivel conveyor 14, the article discharge mechanism 4 Is required to put in goods.

When an article passing through the detection area immediately before the article ejection mechanism 4 is detected, the article ejection mechanism 4 that has been requested to put in the article is conveyed in a discharge posture in which the guide member 8 is driven to advance into the transport path. The article is supplied to the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution and transfer mechanism 5 outside the transfer path.

Next, an example of control by the PLC 27 will be described in more detail.

FIG. 15 is a schematic flowchart showing an example of overall control of the article supply device 1 of this embodiment.

First, it is determined whether or not the operation switch of the programmable display 29 is turned on (step S1), and when it is turned on, the operation is started and the semi-automatic combination scales 2 to 9 corresponding to the article loading ports 25 are loaded. When the request signals (1) to (9) are input (step S2), the vibration feeder 6 which is the poorest in the goods transporting direction in the goods supply device 1 is controlled (step S3), and then it is good. (Step S4), and further controlling the article discharge mechanism 4 (step S5), which is good at controlling the distribution and transport mechanism 5, and determining whether or not the operation switch is turned off (step S6). When the operation switch is turned off, it ends.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the vibration feeder 6, which is a subroutine in the overall control flowchart of FIG.

The basic control is to use the vibration feeder 6 when the article is not detected by the post-stage termination article detection sensors Sf (1) to Sf (9), that is, when there is no article at the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6. It is driven for a certain period of time to convey the article at the start end of the trough 15 to the end of the trough 15. Instead of driving for a certain period of time, the trailing end article detection sensors Sf (1) to Sf (9) may drive until the article at the end of the trough 15 is detected.

When the article is not detected by the post-stage start article detection sensors Se (1) to Se (9), that is, when there is no article at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, the article is put into the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6. The article loading command flag is turned on, and the article is loaded from the distribution / transport mechanism 5 into the vibration feeder 6.

When the article is detected by the post-stage termination article detection sensors Sf (1) to Sf (9) and the article is at the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, the semi-automatic combination scale 2 inputs the article input request signal. If there is, the vibration feeder 6 is driven for a certain period of time to supply the article at the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 to the article input port 25 of the semi-automatic combination scale 2. In addition, instead of driving for a certain period of time, when the article at the end of the trough 15 is no longer detected by the post-stage termination article detection sensors Sf (1) to Sf (9), the article is inserted into the article input port 25 of the combination scale 2. The drive of the vibration feeder 6 may be stopped as if it was supplied to the vibration feeder 6.

In this example, as shown in FIG. 16, first, the number k that specifies one of the vibration feeders 6 is set to "1" (step S301), and the driving flag indicating that the vibration feeder 6 of the number k is being driven is being driven. Is ON (step S302), and when the driving flag is ON, the drive timer for measuring the drive time corresponding to the vibration feeder 6 of the number k is decremented (step S303), and the drive timer is used. Determines whether or not the time is up (step S304).

When the drive timer corresponding to the vibration feeder 6 of the number k is timed up in step S304, the drive of the vibration feeder 6 of the number k is stopped (step S305), assuming that the driving for a certain period of time is completed, and the vibration feeder of the number k is stopped. Whether or not the driving flag of 6 is turned off (step S306), the number k is incremented (step S307), and the number k becomes "10", that is, whether or not the processing for the nine vibration feeders 6 is completed. It is determined whether or not (step S308), and when the number k is not "10", the process returns to step S302, and when the number k becomes "10", the subroutine returns.

In step S302, when the driving flag of the vibration feeder 6 of the number k is not turned on, whether or not an article is detected at the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of the number k, that is, the vibration feeder of the number k. It is determined whether or not the article is detected by the post-stage terminal article detection sensor Sf (k) corresponding to No. 6 (step S309), and when the article is detected, the input request signal corresponding to the number k from the semi-automatic combination scale 2 It is determined whether or not the input of (k) has been input (step S310), and when the input request signal is input, the driving flag of the vibration feeder 6 of the number k is turned ON (step S311), and the vibration feeder of the number k is turned on. The drive timer corresponding to No. 6 is set (step S312), the drive of the vibration feeder 6 of the number k is started, and the process proceeds to step S307 (step S313).

In step S309, when the article is not detected at the end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of the number k, whether or not the article is detected at the start of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of the number k, that is, the number. It is determined whether or not the article is detected by the post-stage start article detection sensor Se (k) corresponding to the vibration feeder 6 of k (step S314), and when the article is detected, the driving flag of the vibration feeder 6 of the number k is set. It is turned ON (step S315), the drive timer corresponding to the vibration feeder 6 of the number k is set (step S316), the drive of the vibration feeder 6 of the number k is started, and the process proceeds to step S307 (step S317).

In step S314, when the article is not detected at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of the number k, the article is sent to the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of the number k with respect to the distribution transport mechanism 5 corresponding to the number k. The input command flag for instructing the input of is turned ON, and the process proceeds to step S307 (step S318).

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the distribution / transport mechanism 5, which is a subroutine in the overall control flowchart of FIG.

The basic control is the trough of the vibration feeder 6 when there is no article at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6, that is, when the article is not detected by the post-stage start article detection sensors Se (1) to Se (9). The article is conveyed to the end of the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution and transfer mechanism 5 so that the article can be put into the start end of 15.

If the article is not detected by the distribution end article detection sensors Sd (1) to Sd (3), that is, if the article is not at the end of the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution transfer mechanism 5, the swirl conveyor 14 is driven for a certain period of time. , The article at the start end of the swirl conveyor 14 is conveyed to the end of the swirl conveyor 14. It should be noted that, instead of driving for a certain period of time, when the article is detected by the distribution end article detection sensors Sd (1) to Sd (3), it is assumed that the article is conveyed to the end portion of the swirl conveyor 14. You may stop driving.

If the article is not detected by the distribution start article detection sensors Sc (1) to Sc (3), that is, if there is no article at the start end of the swivel conveyor 14, the article discharge mechanism 4 is asked to move the article to the swivel conveyor 14. Turn on the discharge command flag that commands discharge.

Further, when there is no article at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 and there is an article at the end of the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution transfer mechanism 5, the rotation position of the swirl conveyor 14 is set to the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6. When there is no position for loading the article into the swivel conveyor 14, the swivel conveyor 14 is rotated to the loading position of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 to drive the swivel conveyor 14 for a certain period of time, and the swirl conveyor 14 starts the vibration feeder 6. Put the goods in. When there is no article at the start end of the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 and there is an article at the end of the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution transfer mechanism 5, the rotation position of the swirl conveyor 14 is set to the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6. When the article is in the loading position, the swivel conveyor 14 is driven for a certain period of time, and the swivel conveyor 14 is charged into the starting end of the vibration feeder 6. Instead of driving for a certain period of time, when the article at the end of the swirl conveyor 14 is no longer detected by the distribution end article detection sensors Sd (1) to Sd (3), the article is transferred to the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6. The drive of the swirl conveyor 14 may be stopped on the assumption that the conveyor 14 is charged at the start end.

The swivel conveyor 14 of one distribution and transfer mechanism 5 is rotated to supply articles to the troughs 15 of the three vibration feeders 6, but since the swivel conveyor 14 is rotated by a servomotor, the loading position control is easy. ..

In this example, as shown in FIG. 17, first, the number j for designating one of the distribution and transfer mechanisms 5, the number k for designating one of the vibration feeders 6, and the vibration distributed by one of the distribution and transfer mechanisms 5 The number a that defines the number of feeders 6 is set to "1" (step S401), and whether or not the driving flag indicating that the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transfer mechanism 5 of the number j is being driven is ON. (Step S402), and when the driving flag is ON, the drive timer for measuring the drive time corresponding to the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution transfer mechanism 5 of the number j is decremented (step S403), and the drive timer is set to the time. It is determined whether or not it has been uploaded (step S404).

When the drive timer corresponding to the swirling conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of the number j has timed up in step S404, the drive of the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of the number j is stopped (step S405), and the distribution of the number j is distributed. The driving flag of the swivel conveyor 14 of the transport mechanism 5 is turned off (step S406), the number k for designating the vibration feeder 6 and the number a of the vibration feeders 6 are incremented (step S407), and the number a becomes "4". It is determined whether or not, that is, whether or not the distribution processing for the three vibration feeders 6 has been completed (step S408), and when the number a is not "4", the distribution processing for the three vibration feeders 6 is completed. Return to step S402, assuming that is not completed.

When the number a becomes "4" in step S408, it is assumed that the distribution process for the three vibration feeders 6 by the distribution transfer mechanism 5 of the number j is completed, the number j is incremented, and the number s is set to "1". Return (step S409), it is determined whether or not the number j has become "4", that is, whether or not the processing for the three distribution transport mechanisms 5 has been completed (step S410), and it has not become "4". Occasionally, it returns to step S402, and when it becomes "4", it returns from the subroutine.

In step S402, when the driving flag of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution / transport mechanism 5 of the number j is not turned on, whether or not an article is detected at the end of the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution / transport mechanism 5 of the number j. That is, it is determined whether or not the article is detected by the distribution terminal article detection sensor Sd (k) corresponding to the distribution transfer mechanism 5 of the number k (step S411), and when the article is detected, the vibration feeder 6 of the number k It is determined whether or not the article loading command flag to the trough 15 is ON, that is, whether or not there is a request to load the article into the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 (step S412), and the article loading command flag is ON. If this is the case, the process proceeds to step S413, and if the article loading command flag is not ON, the process proceeds to step S407.

In step S413, whether or not the rotation position of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transfer mechanism 5 of the number j is at the loading position of the article with respect to the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of the number k, that is, the transfer belt of the swivel conveyor 14. It is determined whether or not the end of 11 is directly above the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of the number k, and when it is in the loading position, the instruction flag for loading the article into the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of the number k is turned off. (Step S414), the driving flag of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution and transfer mechanism 5 of the number j is turned ON (step S415), and the drive timer corresponding to the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution and transfer mechanism 5 of the number j is set (step S414). S416), the drive of the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution transfer mechanism 5 of the number j is started, and the process proceeds to step S407 (step S417). In step S413, when the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution / transfer mechanism 5 of the number j is not at the loading position of the article with respect to the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of the number k, the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution / transport mechanism 5 of the number j is changed to the number k. Rotates to the loading position of the article with respect to the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of the above, that is, turns and moves to step S407 (step S418).

In step S411, when the article was not detected at the end of the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution / transfer mechanism 5 of the number j, whether or not the article was detected at the start of the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution / transport mechanism 5 of the number j. That is, it is determined whether or not the article is detected by the distribution start article detection sensor Sc (k) corresponding to the distribution transfer mechanism 5 of the number k (step S419), and when the article is detected, the distribution transfer mechanism of the number j is determined. The driving flag of the swivel conveyor 14 of No. 5 is turned on (step S420), the drive timer corresponding to the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution conveyor 14 of the number j is set (step S421), and the swivel of the distribution conveyor mechanism 5 of the number j is set. The drive of the conveyor 14 is started and the process proceeds to step S407 (step S422).

In step S419, when the article is not detected at the start end of the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution / transfer mechanism 5 of the number j, the article is assigned to the number j so as to discharge the article to the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution / transport mechanism 5 of the number j. The discharge command flag to the corresponding article discharge mechanism 4 is turned ON, and the process proceeds to step S407 (step S423).

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the article discharge mechanism 4, which is a subroutine in the overall control flowchart of FIG.

The basic control is that in the control of the distribution / transport mechanism 5, when the discharge command flag of the article to the article discharge mechanism 4 is turned ON, the article is discharged to the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution / transfer mechanism 5, so that the article is detected in the previous stage. When the articles are detected by the sensors Sa (1) to Sa (3), the guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 is driven to set the discharge posture to advance to the transport path. As a result, the article is guided by the guide member 8 in the discharge posture and falls from the transport belt 7 of the front stage transport mechanism 3 toward the discharge chute 9, and the dropped article is discharged article detection sensors Sb (1) to Sb ( Detected in 3).

Since the control program of the article discharge mechanism 4 is turned on at regular time intervals, for example, if it is turned on every 10 ms, the detection outputs of the ejected article detection sensors Sb (1) to Sb (3) continue 10 times. For example, the optical path of the discharged article detection sensors Sb (1) to Sb (3) is blocked by the article for a period of 10 ms × 10 = 100 ms, and the approximate emission amount of the article can be grasped. Therefore, when the article detection time in which the article discharged by the discharge article detection sensors Sb (1) to Sb (3) continues for a predetermined time, the guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 is retracted from the transport path. By returning to the posture, an appropriate amount of articles can be discharged to the distribution / transport mechanism 5.

Further, when the article is detected by the pre-stage article detection sensors Sa (1) to (3) that detect the article passing through the detection area immediately before the article discharge mechanism 4 and the guide member 8 is driven, the article becomes as described above. Guided by the guide member 8 in the discharge posture, the product is discharged from the transport belt 7 of the front stage transport mechanism 3 to the discharge chute 9, and the discharge article detection sensors Sb (1) to Sb (3) should detect the article. If the discharge article detection sensors Sb (1) to (3) cannot detect the article within a predetermined time, it can be determined that some trouble has occurred. For example, it is possible to detect a defect that the article is sandwiched between the guide member 8 and the transport belt 7.

In this example, as shown in FIG. 15, first, the number k for designating one of the article discharge mechanisms 4 is set to "1" (step S501), and the articles discharged from the article discharge mechanism 4 of the number k are dealt with. It is determined whether or not the discharge detecting flag indicating that the discharge detection sensor Sb (k) is detecting is ON (step S502), and when the discharge detection flag is ON, the discharge detection sensor It is determined whether Sb (k) is ON, that is, whether or not the article is continuously detected (step S503), and when the article is continuously detected, the article discharge mechanism 4 of the number k is ejected. (Step S504), it is determined whether or not the detection time k of article discharge has reached the predetermined time (step S505), and when the predetermined time is reached, an appropriate amount of article is discharged. The guide member 8 is turned off, that is, the guide member 8 is retracted from the transport path (step S506), and the discharge detection indicating that the article discharged from the article discharge mechanism 4 of the number k is being detected. The middle flag is turned off (step S507), the driving flag indicating that the guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 of the article discharge mechanism 4 of the number k is being driven is turned off (step S508), the number k is incremented (step S509), and the number k is incremented. It is determined whether or not the number k has become "4", that is, whether or not the discharge processing of the three article discharge mechanisms 4 has been completed (step S510), and when it has not become "4", step S502 is performed. When it returns and becomes "4", it returns from the subroutine.

In step S502, when the discharge detecting flag indicating that the corresponding discharge article detection sensor Sb (k) is detecting the article discharged from the article discharge mechanism 4 of the number k is not ON, the article of the number k It is determined whether or not the driving flag indicating that the guide member 8 of the discharging mechanism 4 is being driven is ON (step S511), and when the driving flag is ON, the discharged article detection sensor Sb (k) ) Is turned on, that is, whether or not an article is detected (step S512), and when the discharged article detection sensor Sb (k) is turned ON, the article discharged from the article discharging mechanism 4 of the number k The emission detection in-progress flag indicating that the above is being detected is turned on, and the process proceeds to step S509 (step S513).

When the discharge defect detection sensor Sb (k) is not turned on in step S512, the discharge defect detection time for detecting the discharge defect of the article discharge mechanism 4 of the number k is increased (step S514), and the discharge defect detection time is predetermined. It is determined whether or not the time has come (step S515), and when the predetermined time is reached, the discharge defect of the article discharge mechanism 4 of the number k is displayed on, for example, the programmable display 29 to notify the user, and the process proceeds to step S509. (Step S516).

In step S511, when the driving flag indicating that the guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 of the number k is being driven is not ON, the article discharge command flag for the article discharge mechanism 4 of the number k is ON. (Step S517), and when the discharge command flag is ON, the pre-stage article detection sensor Sa (k) that detects an article passing through the detection area immediately before the article discharge mechanism 4 having the number k is used. It is determined whether or not the article is turned on, that is, whether or not the article is detected (step S518), and when the article is detected, the guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 of the number k is driven to advance into the transport path. In the posture (step S519), the driving flag indicating that the guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 of the number k is being driven is turned on (step S520), and the article discharge command flag for the article discharge mechanism 4 of the number k is turned on. Is turned off (step S521), the discharge defect detection time of the article discharge mechanism 4 of number k is set to "0", and the process proceeds to step S509 (step S522).

As described above, when the article w is supplied on the upper side of the transport direction of the front-stage transport mechanism 3, the three distribution and transport mechanisms outside the transport path are provided by the guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 at three locations on the transport path. It is discharged to each swivel conveyor 14 of 5, and is distributed and conveyed to each trough 15 of three vibration feeders 6 by each swivel conveyor 14. That is, the article w supplied at one location on the upper side in the transport direction of the front-stage transport mechanism 3 is distributed and transported to each trough 15 of the nine vibration feeders 6, and each trough 15 of each vibration feeder 6 is used to transfer the article w to the combination scale 2. It can be supplied to nine article inlets 25.

Further, the article w may be undesirably discharged between the adjacent discharge chutes 9 by the article discharge mechanism 4, but the discharged article w is sent to the idle roller 50 of the first rotation guide unit U1. Get on. At this time, the idler roller 50 rotates in a direction corresponding to the imbalance of the weight of the article, the degree of force applied at the time of contact, etc., and is supplied to the discharge chute 9 of one of the adjacent discharge chute 9. NS. As a result, it is possible to prevent the article w from remaining between the adjacent discharge chutes 9 without requiring a special driving means.

When the article w remains in a well-balanced manner across the idler roller 50, the subsequent article w discharged by the article discharge mechanism 4 comes into contact with the remaining article w and acts as an external force to push it. The external force is reliably transmitted to the hexagonal idler roller 50. As a result, the idler roller 50 rotates, and the remaining article w is guided and discharged to the discharge chute 9.

Further, since the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution and transport mechanism 5 rotates to three positions and distributes and supplies articles to each trough 15 of the three vibrating feeders 6, the swivel conveyor 14 during the rotating operation distributes and supplies the articles to the adjacent troughs. The article w may be undesirably dropped and supplied during the period of 15. In this case, since a rotatable free-spinning roller 60 is provided between the adjacent troughs 15, an article that has fallen undesirably comes into contact with the free-spinning roller 60 so as to be received, and the weight of the article. The idler roller 60 rotates freely in a direction corresponding to the imbalance, the degree of force applied at the time of contact, and the like, and is supplied to one of the adjacent troughs 15. As a result, it is possible to prevent the article w from remaining between the adjacent troughs 15 without requiring a special driving means.

Even if the article w remains across the idler roller 60, the next time the swivel conveyor 41 rotates, the article w remaining at the end of the swivel conveyor 14 is pushed and moved in the moving direction of the swivel conveyor 41 to play. The rolling roller 60 can be rotated and eliminated.

According to the present embodiment, the article w, which is a meat piece of a broiler having adhesiveness, can be automatically supplied to the nine article inlets 25 of the combination scale 2, and the operator can automatically supply the article as in the conventional case. It is not necessary to grasp the items one by one and load them into the article loading port of the semi-automatic combination scale, which can significantly reduce the labor of the operator.

Incidentally, in the case of manufacturing a 2 kg vacuum pack of meat pieces of a broiler with a packaging machine in the subsequent stage of a semi-automatic combination scale, assuming that the weighing capacity of the combination scale is, for example, 20 times / minute, the operator is 1 In an hour, an amount of meat pieces corresponding to 2 kg × 20 × 60 = 2.4 t is grabbed and put into the article inlet of the semi-automatic combination scale. Moreover, since the worker works while standing, if the work is done for a long time,
It will consume too much physical strength.

According to the present embodiment, the article supply device 1 automatically distributes and supplies the article w to the article inlet 25 of the combination scale 2, so that the operator grabs the meat piece and loads it into the article inlet 25 of the combination scale 2. There is no need, and a great deal of labor can be saved.

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention can also be carried out in the following forms.

(1) As the material of the rotating body (idle rollers 50, 60), either resin or metal may be used. In addition, surface treatment may be appropriately applied as needed.

(2) In the above embodiment, the rotating bodies (idle rollers 50 and 60) of the first and second rotation guide units U1 and U2 constituting the article guide device are rollers having a hexagonal cross section, but have a circular cross section. It may be used as a roller.

Further, the shapes of the rotating bodies may be different between the first and second rotation guide units U1 and U2.

(3) In order for the rotating bodies (idle rollers 50, 60) of the first and second rotation guide units U1 and U2 to rotate smoothly by contact with the article w, the outer peripheral surface thereof is in contact with the article. It is desirable that the structure has a large friction with w, and as a means for that, it is effective to form a convex portion or a concave portion on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body. In the above embodiment, the roller has a hexagonal cross-sectional shape in order to form a plurality of convex portions in the circumferential direction. It may be configured, star-shaped or other shapes.

Further, by providing ridges along the roller axial direction at a plurality of locations in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface of the roller having a circular cross-sectional shape, it is possible to form a peripheral surface having a good bite to the article w. Further, by forming concave grooves along the roller axial direction at a plurality of locations in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface of the roller having a circular cross-sectional shape, the outer peripheral surface having a large friction with the article w can be obtained. Further, by providing a large number of independent small protrusions (convex portions) and small holes (concave portions) on the outer peripheral surface of the roller, the outer peripheral surface can be made to have a large friction with the article w, and the properties and size of the article w can be adjusted. Convex or concave parts may be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body in an adaptive manner.

(4) A free-wheeling roller as a rotating body is arranged between a number of article loading ports in a semi-automatic combination scale so that manually loaded articles remain between adjacent article loading ports. You may try to prevent it.

1 Goods supply device 2 Combination scale 3 Transport mechanism (pre-stage transport mechanism)
4 Article discharge mechanism 5 Distribution transfer mechanism 6 Vibration feeder (post-stage transfer mechanism)
14 swivel conveyor 15 trough 50 rotating body (idle roller)
60 rotating body (idle roller)
p Axial center q Axial center U1 1st rotation guide unit U2 2nd rotation guide unit w Article

Claims (6)

The articles discharged from the transport path are supplied to a plurality of article supply positions to which the articles are to be supplied, which are arranged in parallel along the transport path through which the articles are transported, and between the plurality of article supply positions. A rotatable idle roller is provided around a horizontal axis in a direction intersecting the parallel direction of the plurality of article supply positions.
The article supplied between the adjacent article supply positions can come into contact with the idler roller.
Goods guidance device. An article supply device including the article guidance device according to claim 1.
A transport mechanism that transports the supplied goods,
Article discharge that can be switched between a permissible state that allows the passage of the transported article at a plurality of locations of the transport path of the article by the transport mechanism and a discharge state that discharges the transported article out of the transport path. Equipped with a mechanism
The plurality of article supply positions to which the articles arranged in parallel are to be supplied are arranged in parallel along the transfer path of the articles by the transfer mechanism, and are discharged from the transfer path by the article discharge mechanism. The position where the article is supplied,
Goods supply device. The transport mechanism has a transport conveyor that transports the article.
In the permissible state, the article discharge mechanism is in a retracted posture in which the article is retracted from the conveyor and is allowed to move through the conveyor, while in the discharge state, the article is advanced onto the conveyor and the article is transported through the transport path. It has a guide member that serves as an evacuation posture to guide the outside.
The article supply device according to claim 2. Discharge chutes for collecting the articles discharged from the transport path are arranged at each of the plurality of article supply positions where the articles arranged in parallel are to be supplied.
The idler rollers are placed between the adjacent discharge chutes.
The article supply device according to claim 2 or 3. The idler roller has a polygonal cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the axis.
The article supply device according to any one of claims 2 to 4. The idler roller is provided with at least one of a concave portion and a convex portion on the outer periphery thereof .
The article supply device according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

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