JP7009187B2 - Article regulation device and combination scale equipped with it - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an article regulating device that regulates an article to be transported, and a combination scale provided with the article regulating device.

Generally, in a combination scale, articles are dropped and supplied from a supply device above the center of the device to the conical top cone of the dispersion feeder. In the distributed feeder, the article is distributed and conveyed to the transport troughs of a plurality of linear feeders arranged radially around the article by vibration. Each linear feeder vibrates the transport trough to supply the article to the corresponding supply hoppers, and each supply hopper temporarily stores the article and then supplies the article to each of the metering hoppers.

A combination of weighing hoppers whose combined weight, which is the total weight of various combinations of the weights of the articles weighed by each weighing hopper, is selected, the articles of the selected weighing hopper are discharged to the packaging machine, and the packaging machine is used. It is packed in a bag.

The combined scale has a layer thickness regulation made of elastic material above the transport trough of the linear feeder so that the transport amount of the articles by the distributed feeder does not become uneven in the circumferential direction and the transport thickness of the articles in each linear feeder does not become uneven. There is a plate in which the plate is hung down like a curtain and the articles to be transported are leveled with a layer thickness regulating plate so that the conveyed thickness is uniformly regulated (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-326023

However, the above-mentioned layer thickness regulating plate is effective for elastically leveling and uniformly transporting articles that are raised and transported on a linear feeder, but for example, freezing that is dropped and supplied to a distributed feeder. When frozen foods such as fried chicken and frozen scallops and hard and slippery items such as rock ice move vigorously, they did not function sufficiently effectively.

That is, when a hard article such as frozen food or rock ice vigorously collides with a layer thickness regulating plate made of an elastic body, the layer thickness regulating plate is easily damaged and it is necessary to replace the layer thickness regulating plate frequently. In addition, a part of the layer thickness control plate may be cut off due to the collision of the frozen and sharply pointed article, and the generated fragment of the layer thickness control plate may be mixed into the article.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to such a point, and is an article regulating device capable of appropriately regulating the movement of a hard article moving vigorously, and an article regulating device thereof. It is an object of the present invention to provide a combination scale provided.

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

(1) The article regulation device according to the present invention includes a support member provided above the article transport path to which the article is transported, and the support member suspended and supported on the article transport path from the support member to be transported. A metal regulating member that regulates an article is provided, and the regulating member is suspended and supported by the supporting member so as to be swingable and movable upward against the weight of the regulating member. A lower portion thereof has an inclined guide portion inclined in a direction toward the lower side in the transport direction of the article, the support member has an upward locking projection, and the restricting member has an upward locking projection on the upper portion thereof. The restricting member has a connecting hole, and the connecting hole is inserted into the locking projection of the support member from above and is suspended and supported by the support member .

According to the article regulation device according to the present invention, the regulatory member suspended and supported by the support member receives the article when a slippery article such as frozen food or rock ice moves vigorously. The momentum is lost, and the lost momentum is transported along the regular article transportation route. Since the regulating member is made of metal, it does not need to be replaced as frequently as it is made of rubber or resin, which is easily damaged, and it does not become chipped or mixed in the article due to collision with a hard article.

Further, the inclined guide portion inclined in the direction toward the lower side of transporting the regulating member receives an upward transport component from the article transported along the article transport path. When this upward transport component becomes large, the regulating member can swing and smoothly pass through the article while being pushed up, and when the upward transport component decreases due to the passage of the article, the regulating member becomes the original. It swings back to the posture of its own weight.

When such a slippery article moves vigorously, it is possible to catch the article and reduce the momentum of the article, while it is possible to stably pass the conveyed article.

According to the present invention , the support member is provided with a locking projection, and the regulation member only needs to be formed with a connecting hole, and the number of parts is small and the implementation can be carried out at low cost.

Further, in maintenance such as cleaning, the regulating member can be pulled upward and easily removed from the support member, and the regulating member can be easily attached to the support member after cleaning ( 2 ) The present invention. In a preferred embodiment of the above, the support member limits the swing of the restricting member toward the upper side in the transport direction of the article, and keeps the suspending posture of the restricting member constant in a free state.

According to this embodiment, the restricting member swinging in the transport direction of the article returns and swings due to its own weight when the article passes, but the swing is restricted by the support member and is in a constant hanging posture. It becomes a waiting posture.

( 3 ) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the locking projection is in the shape of a tongue piece having a width in a direction orthogonal to the article transport path, and the restricting member is wide in a direction orthogonal to the article transport path. The connecting hole is a slit-shaped material to be inserted into the locking projection.

According to this embodiment, the positioning and posture of the regulating member are ensured by inserting the tongue piece-shaped locking projection and the slit-shaped connecting hole, and the article can be received and regulated at an appropriate position and posture. ..

( 4 ) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the restricting member has an opening at the upper portion thereof and a refracting piece bent toward the upper side in the transport direction of the article, and the opening has one end thereof. It extends to the refracting piece to form the connecting hole.

According to this embodiment, the opening at the top of the restricting member extends to the refracted piece of refraction to form a connecting hole in the refracting piece, so that the opening becomes a flexible gap when the restricting member swings.

( 5 ) The combination scale according to the present invention is provided around a dispersion feeder that radially disperses and conveys the supplied articles and a dispersion feeder so that the dispersed and conveyed articles are further conveyed outward. A plurality of linear feeders, a supply hopper that receives the articles transported by each linear feeder, temporarily stores and discharges them, and a weighing hopper that stores the articles discharged from each supply hopper and measures their weights. It is a combination scale that is equipped
The article regulation device according to any one of (1) to ( 4 ) above is provided.
The article transport path is an article transport path by the linear feeder.

According to the combination scale according to the present invention, an article that has been dropped and supplied to the distributed feeder and moved vigorously to the linear feeder side is received by the regulating member of the article regulating device and loses its momentum, and is supplied beyond the linear feeder. It is not supplied to the supply hopper, but is properly sent to the supply hopper under the transfer control by the linear feeder.

( 6 ) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the annular support member is arranged concentrically with the center of the dispersion feeder so as to be height-adjustable, and a plurality of the restricting members are suspended and supported on the support member. Has been done.

According to this embodiment, by adjusting the height of the support member, the height of a plurality of regulatory members corresponding to the plurality of linear feeders arranged around the distributed feeder can be adjusted at once, and the height can be adjusted. Adjustment work can be performed quickly.

As described above, according to the article regulation device of the present invention, it is possible to suitably regulate the movement of even a hard article that moves vigorously.

Further, according to the combination scale of the present invention, a slippery article is dropped and supplied to the distributed feeder, slides on the distributed feeder, moves vigorously onto the linear feeder, passes through the linear feeder, and is charged into the supply hopper. Alternatively, it is possible to prevent the preceding article from being pushed into the supply hopper and loaded by hitting the preceding article at the end of the linear feeder, thereby preventing the article from being overloaded into the weighing hopper. be able to.

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional front view showing a schematic configuration of a combination scale according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the article regulation device of FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the article regulation device. FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional front view of the article regulation device. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the article regulation device. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of the article regulation device. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a main part of the article regulation device. FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional side view showing a main part of the article regulation device, in which (a) shows a free suspension state and (b) shows a swing-up operation state. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a main part of another embodiment of the article regulation device. FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional side view showing a main part of another embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional front view showing a schematic configuration of a combination scale according to an embodiment of the present invention. The combination scale of this embodiment weighs and discharges articles such as various foods in predetermined amounts, and is installed on the floor surface F and a packaging machine in which the weighed articles are installed below (Fig.). It is used for packaging lines that are put into (not shown) and packed in bags.

In the center of the combination scale, a center substrate 1 formed in a hollow short column shape is arranged. The center substrate 1 is supported by a rectangular base 2 having a central portion installed on the floor surface F and having an opening through the upper and lower portions via a plurality of legs 3.

At the center of the upper part of the center substrate 1, a dispersion feeder 5 that radially disperses the articles dropped and supplied from the discharge port 4a of the supply conveyor 4 by vibration is provided. Around the distributed feeder 5, a plurality of linear feeders 6 (14 in this example) for linearly transporting the distributed and transported articles outward by vibration are provided radially. Further, a supply hopper 7 that temporarily stores and discharges articles from each linear feeder 6 and a measuring hopper 8 that weighs and discharges articles discharged from each supply hopper 7 are provided on the outer peripheral wall of the center substrate 1. It is equipped. Then, the articles are weighed and discharged by a plurality of (14 stations in this example) measuring units including the linear feeder 6, the supply hopper 7, and the measuring hopper 8.

Below each weighing hopper 8, a collective chute 9 for collecting articles discharged from a plurality of weighing hoppers 8 selected by a combination operation is deployed, and below the collective chute 9, the collective chute 9 is used. A collective funnel 10 is deployed to collect more slipped items. At the lower end of the collective funnel 10, a collective hopper 11 that temporarily receives and stores the articles collected by the collective funnel 10 and discharges the articles based on the discharge command from the packaging machine side is arranged.

The dispersion feeder 5 includes a conical top cone 12 and an electromagnetic vibration mechanism 13 that vibrates and drives the top cone 12. The vibration mechanism 13 is installed in the center of the frame plate 14 arranged inside the center substrate 1. The vibration mechanism 13 is supported on the frame plate 14 via the weight sensor 15, and the weight sensor 15 detects the weight of the article on the dispersion feeder 5. Then, the supply conveyor 4 is controlled to be turned on / off based on the weight detection information, and articles having a weight within the set range are supplied onto the distributed feeder 5.

Further, below the discharge port 4a of the supply conveyor 4, a supply funnel 16 that guides the discharged articles to fall to the central portion of the dispersion feeder 5 is provided, and a soft notch is formed from the lower end portion of the discharge. A shatterproof member 17 having a resin sheet formed in the shape of a tubular curtain is hung. The supply funnel 16 is connected and supported by the mounting frame 32 of the article regulation device 30 described later.

The linear feeder 6 includes a gutter-shaped transport trough (feeder pan) 20 that goes inward and outward, and an electromagnetic vibration mechanism 21 that vibrates and drives the trough (feeder pan) 20. The vibration mechanism 21 of each linear feeder 6 is arranged on the frame plate 14 so as to surround the vibration mechanism 13 of the distributed feeder 5.

A drive mechanism for opening and closing the gate 7a of the supply hopper 7 and the gate 8a of the measuring hopper 8, a weight sensor for measuring the weight of the article in the measuring hopper 8, and the like are incorporated in the outer peripheral portion of the center substrate 1. The drive unit 22 is mounted, and the supply hopper 7 and the measuring hopper 8 are detachably mounted and supported at the exposed portion of the drive unit 22 by a hook method.

In the combination scale, for example, when a slippery article such as frozen food or rock ice is dropped and supplied to the dispersion feeder 5, it slides on the top cone 12 of the dispersion feeder 5 and moves vigorously onto the linear feeder 6. It may pass through the linear feeder 6 and be charged into the supply hopper 7, or may collide with a preceding article at the end of the linear feeder 6 and push the preceding article into the supply hopper 7 and be charged. In such a case, an excessive amount of articles will be supplied to the supply hopper 7, and therefore the weighing hopper 8 below the supply hopper 7, the combination accuracy in the combination calculation will be lowered, and the yield will be deteriorated.

Therefore, in this embodiment, an article regulation device 30 that regulates and adjusts the movement of slippery articles such as frozen foods and rock ice that move vigorously is attached to four columns 31 erected from the center substrate 1. ing.

2 is a perspective view of the article regulating device 30, FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof, FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional front view thereof, and FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view thereof.

In the following description, the upper side (distributed feeder 5 side) in the transport direction of the linear feeder 6 will be referred to as the inner side, and the lower side (supply hopper 7 side) in the transport direction will be referred to as the outer side.

A mounting frame 32 in which angle members are assembled in a grid shape is connected to the upper part of the four columns 31 erected from the center substrate 1.

The article regulation device 30 includes a support member 33 formed in an annular shape and a regulation member 34 mounted and hung on the support member 33. The support member 33 is mounted concentrically with the distributed feeder 5 on two opposite sides of the mounting frame 32. The number of regulating members 34 is the same as the number of linear feeders 6, and the lower end of each regulating member 34 is hung so as to enter above the article transport path of the linear feeder 6.

The annular support member 33 is formed in an annular shape by joining a pair of semi-circular support members 33A. As shown in FIG. 5, the pair of semicircular support members 33A have the same specifications. For example, a strip member 35 made of a stainless steel plate having a thickness of about 3 mm is bent into a seven-sided semicircular shape. It is formed. Flange portions 35a are folded out and continuously provided at both ends of the strip material 35. By sandwiching the mounting bracket 36 provided on the outer surface of the diagonal position of the mounting frame 32 by the flange portion 35a of both semicircular support members 33A and connecting them with bolts, the support member 33 formed in a 14-sided annular shape is formed. It is assembled. The support member 33 is connected and supported with respect to the connecting bracket 36 of the mounting frame 32 so as to be adjustable in height via a vertically long connecting hole 40, and changes the mounting height of the support member 33 to the mounting frame 32. Therefore, the working heights of all the regulating members 34 can be adjusted at once according to the size of the article and the like.

At the upper ends of each side of the 14 corners of the support member 33, a tongue piece-shaped locking projection 37 is integrally extended and erected in order to suspend and support the regulation member 34.

The regulating member 34 is made of metal, for example, is made of a stainless steel plate having a thickness of about 1 mm, and has a width close to the width on the starting end side of the linear feeder 6. As shown in FIG. 6, the upper end portion of the regulating member 34 is bent inward at a right angle to form a refracting piece 34b. The lower portion of the regulating member 34 is gradually bent outward over a plurality of stages (two stages in this example), and as a whole, the lower portion of the regulating member 34 is curved and inclined toward the outside. Is formed.

A rectangular opening 38 is formed in the upper part of the regulating member 34. Since the upper part of the regulating member 34 is bent inward at a right angle, as shown in the plan view of FIG. 7, one end of the opening 38 is formed at the base of the bending piece 34b extending inward. , And a horizontally long slit-shaped connecting hole 39 is formed in a plan view. Then, the connecting hole 39 is inserted into the tongue piece-shaped locking projection 37 of the support member 33 from above, and the regulation member 34 is locked to the support member 33 to be suspended and supported. ..

Here, the lateral length of the connecting hole 39 is set to be slightly larger than the lateral width of the locking projection 37, and the inner / outer width of the connecting hole 39 is set to be slightly larger than the thickness of the locking projection 37. .. The regulating member 34 is positioned laterally and inwardly and outwardly in a state of being inserted and supported by the locking projection 37, and the flat plate portion plate surface of the regulating member 34 is in a posture orthogonal to the transport direction of the linear feeder 6. Become. Further, in a state where the regulating member 34 is inserted and supported in the locking projection 37, the opening 38 faces the outside of the locking projection 37. As shown in FIG. 8B, the opening 38 is a flexible gap when the restricting member 34 swings backward and swings around the locking portion with the locking projection 37 as a fulcrum.

Since the lower portion of the regulating member 34 is curved and inclined outward, the center of gravity of the regulating member 34 is biased outward from the vertical flat plate portion. Therefore, the regulating member 34 suspended and locked to the locking projection 37 swings inward by its own weight, and the portion above the flat plate portion of the regulating member 34 is shown by the solid line in FIG. 8A. It abuts on the outer surface of the support member 33, is restricted from swinging inward, and is received and held in a constant hanging posture.

In this way, the regulatory member 34 suspended and supported by the support member 33 so as to be swingable in a constant posture and movable upward against its own weight is dropped into the distributed feeder 5 and vigorously directed toward the linear feeder 6. It can catch and slow down the momentum of freezing foods such as frozen fried chicken and frozen scallops, and slippery items such as rock ice. As a result, the vigorous and slippery article is directly thrown into the supply hopper 7 beyond the linear feeder 6 or collides with the preceding article at the end of the linear feeder to push the preceding article into the supply hopper 7. It is possible to prevent it from being thrown in. In this case, the article can be received as a buffer by the regulating member 34 swinging backward with the locking portion with the upper support member 33 as a fulcrum. Since the regulating member 34 is made of metal, it does not need to be replaced as frequently as it is made of rubber or resin, which is easily damaged, and it does not become chipped or mixed in the article due to collision with a frozen hard article. ..

The article received by the regulating member 34 is vibrated and conveyed by the linear feeder 6.

Since the lower end of the regulating member 34 is an outwardly inclined guide portion 34a, the article on the linear feeder 6 is guided outward along the inclined guide portion 34a and conveyed outward. Further, the inclined guide portion 34a of the regulating member 34 receives an upward transport component from the transported article on the linear feeder 6.

When the upward transport component force from the article below the regulating member 34 becomes large, the regulating member 34 swings backward while being pushed up along the locking projection 37, and the article moves along the inclined guide portion 34a. It is guided and transported to the outside. When the article is smoothly transported outward and the upward transport component is reduced, the regulating member 34 swings back to its original posture by its own weight, and the article is continuously transported.

In this way, the regulating member 34 not only swings backward, but is also pushed up by the upward pressing component force acting on the inclined guide portion 34a, and smoothly passes the conveyed article.

In maintenance such as cleaning, the regulating member 34 can be pulled upward and easily removed from the locking projection 37, and after cleaning, the regulating member 34 can be easily inserted and attached to the locking projection 37. can.

In the present embodiment, the regulating member 34 has a configuration in which the connecting hole 39 is inserted into the locking projection 37 of the supporting member 33 to be suspended and supported. Therefore, for example, the upper portion of the regulating member is hinged to the supporting member. The number of parts is small and the cost is low as compared with the configuration in which the hinges are connected and supported only by rotation. In addition, since the residue of the article does not adhere to and accumulate on the hinge portion and is easily disassembled, it is excellent in cleaning and maintainability and is hygienic.

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

(1) The shape of the regulating member 34 is not limited to a plate shape, and may be, for example, a plurality of rods formed in parallel at a small pitch in a fork shape, depending on the size and properties of the article. The shape can be selected as appropriate.

(2) As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the support member 33 and the locking projection 37 are made of separate members, and the bolt 41 that is caulked or welded to the inward back surface of the locking projection 37 is attached to the support member. It may be inserted into the upper and lower elongated holes 42 formed in 33 and tightened with the wing nut 43 so that the locking projection 37 can be attached up and down so that the height can be adjusted. According to this, the working height of the regulating member 34 can be adjusted individually, and the regulating member 34 can be deployed at an appropriate height for each Linifider 6 in response to an assembly error and the like.

5 Distributed feeder 6 Linear feeder 7 Supply hopper 8 Weighing hopper 30 Article regulation device 33 Support member 34 Restriction member 34a Inclined guide 37 Locking protrusion 38 Opening 39 Connecting hole

Claims (6)

A support member provided above the article transport path to which the article is transported, and
It is provided with a metal regulating member that is suspended and supported from the support member on the article transport path and regulates the article to be transported.
The regulating member is suspended and supported by the supporting member so as to be swingable and movable upward against the weight of the regulating member.
The restricting member has an inclined guide portion inclined in a direction toward the lower side in the transporting direction of the article at the lower portion thereof .
The support member has an upward locking projection and has an upward locking projection.
The regulatory member has a connecting hole at its top and has a connecting hole.
In the restricting member, the connecting hole is inserted from above into the locking projection of the support member, and is suspended and supported by the support member.
An article regulation device characterized by that. The support member limits the swing of the restricting member toward the upper side in the transport direction of the article, and keeps the suspending posture of the restricting member constant in a free state.
The article regulation device according to claim 1. The locking projection is in the shape of a tongue piece having a width in a direction orthogonal to the article transport path.
The restricting member is a plate material wide in a direction orthogonal to the article transport path.
The connecting hole has a slit shape to be inserted into the locking projection.
The article control device according to claim 1 or 2. The restricting member has an opening at its upper portion and a refracted piece bent toward the upper side in the transport direction of the article, and one end of the opening extends to the refracted piece to form the connecting hole. ,
The article regulation device according to claim 3 . A distributed feeder that radially disperses and conveys the supplied articles, a plurality of linear feeders that are arranged around the distributed feeder so that the distributed and conveyed articles are further outwardly conveyed, and each linear feeder conveys the articles. It is a combination scale provided with a supply hopper that receives, temporarily stores and discharges the delivered articles, and a weighing hopper that stores and measures the weight of the articles discharged from each supply hopper.
The article regulation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is provided.
The article transport path is a transport path for articles by the linear feeder.
A combination scale characterized by that. The annular support member is arranged concentrically with the center of the dispersion feeder in a height-adjustable manner, and a plurality of the restricting members are suspended and supported by the support member.
The combination scale according to claim 5 .

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