JP7013127B2 - Goods supply equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an article supply device using a vibration feeder that vibrates and conveys various articles, and more particularly, a vibration feeder suitable for supplying articles to a semi-automatic combination scale in which articles are manually supplied. The present invention relates to an article supply device using.

The combination scale has a plurality of weighing parts, and the combination of the weighing parts whose combined weight is the total weight of various combinations of the weights of the articles supplied to each measuring part is selected and selected. 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 manual combination scales, the supply and discharge of goods is done manually. 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 supply and discharge of articles are automatically performed without manual operation.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes a combination scale in which a piece of meat obtained by disassembling a broiler (chicken for meat) is manually inserted into a large number of inlets equipped in parallel with the combination scale to perform combination weighing.

JP-A-2011-80895

In the semi-automatic combination scale as described above, since the articles are manually supplied to the combination scale, the weight of the unit is relatively large and irregular, or articles that are difficult to handle by a machine, for example, meat pieces and fish and shellfish as described above. It is suitable for weighing articles such as, but it requires a worker to grab and supply the articles one by one to a large number of input ports, and it takes a lot of labor to weigh a large amount of articles. be.

Therefore, it is conceivable to vibrate and convey the article to the input port of the semi-automatic combination scale by a vibration feeder, but the conventional vibration feeder has a relatively large unit weight, is irregular, has adhesiveness, and is flexible. It is not possible to smoothly transport articles that are difficult to handle, especially for articles that contain oil and fat components, such as broiler meat pieces.
There is a problem that oils and fats and oils on the surface of the article adhere to and remain on the trough of the vibration feeder, which hinders smooth transportation.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above points, and is a vibration feeder capable of accurately transporting an irregularly shaped and sticky article such as a piece of meat, which is flexible and difficult to handle. It is an object of the present invention to provide an article supply device using .

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

(1) The article supply device according to the present invention allows the passage of the conveyed article at a plurality of locations of the front-stage transport mechanism for transporting the supplied article and the transport path of the article by the front-stage transport mechanism. An article discharge mechanism that can switch between a state and a discharge state in which the transported article is discharged out of the transport path , and an article discharged out of the transport path by the article discharge mechanism are distributed and transported to a plurality of locations. A plurality of vibration feeders for transporting each article transported to each distribution destination of the distribution transport mechanism are provided, and the plurality of vibration feeders are provided with a plurality of article input ports of the combination scale. The vibration feeder is a vibration feeder that vibrates the trough on which the article is placed to convey the article, and is a vibration feeder that conveys the article to at least the bottom of the trough in the conveying direction of the article. A plurality of openings extending along the above are formed.

According to the article supply device of the present invention, when the article is supplied on the upper side of the transport direction of the pre-stage transport mechanism, the article transported by the pre-stage transport mechanism is moved out of the transport path by the article discharge mechanism at a plurality of places of the transport path. The discharged articles are sorted and transported to a plurality of places by the distribution and transport mechanism, and each article sorted by the distribution and transport mechanism can be transported to the supply destination of the articles by a plurality of vibration feeders. Therefore, for example, if the article discharge mechanism is deployed at three locations on the transport path and the distribution transport mechanism is used to further distribute the article to three locations, the article supplied at one location on the upper side of the pre-stage transport mechanism is specified. It will be possible to distribute and supply to 9 locations.
Further, in each of the plurality of vibration feeders, the article can be conveyed at an arbitrary transfer speed or the transfer can be stopped, whereby the article can be supplied at the timing according to the request of the supply destination of the article. It will be easy.
In addition, by supplying the articles that were conventionally manually supplied to the semi-automatic combination scale to one place on the upper side of the front-stage transfer mechanism, the articles are distributed to the plurality of article inlets of the semi-automatic combination scale. It is not necessary for the operator to grab the articles one by one and put them into the article inlet of the semi-automatic combination scale as in the conventional case, and the labor of the operator is greatly reduced.
Furthermore, according to the vibration feeder, in the case of an article that is flexible and sticky, such as a piece of meat, and has oil or oil floating on the surface, the oil or oil on the surface of the article is moved while vibrating the article. It can be guided to the opening and discharged. Therefore, a large amount of oil or oil does not adhere and remain on the bottom surface, which is the main transport surface of the trough, and it is possible to prevent the transport of the article from being hindered by these adhered residues.

(2) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the trough is inclined downward toward the transport direction.

According to this embodiment, since the trough is inclined downward toward the transport direction, it is difficult to transport the trough so as to have flexibility and adhesiveness by setting the tilt angle of the downward slope to an appropriate angle range. Even if it is an article, it can be smoothly conveyed by vibration, and when the drive of the vibration feeder is stopped, the article can be surely stopped without slipping and moving on the trough.

(3) In another embodiment of the present invention, the tilt angle of the downward slope can be changed and adjusted.

According to this embodiment, by changing and adjusting the tilt angle of the tip of the trough according to the properties and sizes of articles having different ease of transportation, it is easy to transport articles having different properties and sizes. Can be accommodated.

(4) In still another embodiment of the present invention, the opening is an elongated hole along the transport direction.

According to this embodiment, the opening of the trough is an elongated hole along the transport direction of the article, so that if a part of the flexible article enters the elongated hole, the edge of the elongated hole that hinders the transport of the article, That is, the edge of the elongated hole on the lower side in the transport direction of the article can be made smaller, and the transport resistance due to the catching of the article can be suppressed by that amount, while the elongated hole is formed along the transport direction of the article. By lengthening the length, the opening area of the long holes can be secured, and oils and fats and oils on the surface of the article can be reliably discharged from the long holes.

(5) In one embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of the openings are provided with a plurality of openings arranged in a row along the transport direction along a direction orthogonal to the transport direction.

According to this embodiment, a plurality of openings are arranged in a row along the transport direction to form an opening group, and the plurality of the openings are arranged along a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, so that the orthogonality is formed. A continuous transport surface without openings is formed between adjacent openings in the transport direction over the entire length of the transport direction, and the article is smoothly received by this series of transport surfaces. While being transported, the plurality of openings can reliably discharge oils and liquids on the surface of the article over the entire length of the trough.

(6) In another embodiment of the invention, the trough comprises a trough body on which the article is placed and a reinforced bottom plate connected along the lower surface of the bottom of the trough body, the opening of which: It is formed vertically through the bottom of the trough body and the reinforcing bottom plate.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to form a highly rigid bottom portion while forming the trough body with a thin plate material, and it is possible to suitably vibrate and convey even a heavy article.

According to the article supply device of the present invention, when the article is supplied on the upper side of the transport direction of the pre-stage transport mechanism, the article transported by the pre-stage transport mechanism is out of the transport path by the article discharge mechanism at a plurality of places of the transport path. The discharged articles are distributed to a plurality of places by the distribution and transport mechanism, and further transported by a plurality of vibration feeders. It is possible to distribute and supply to.

As a result, by supplying the article that was conventionally manually supplied to the semi-automatic combination scale to one place on the upper side of the front-stage transfer mechanism, the article is supplied to the plurality of article inlets of the semi-automatic combination scale. Since it can be distributed and supplied, it is not necessary for the operator to grasp the articles one by one and put them into the article inlet of the semi-automatic combination scale, which greatly reduces the labor of the operator. ..
Further, according to the vibration feeder, it is possible to accurately convey an amorphous, sticky, flexible and difficult-to-handle article such as a piece of meat.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a weighing system including the article supply device according to the 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 side view showing the trough of the vibration feeder of FIG. FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional side view of the trough of the vibration feeder of FIG. FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the trough of the vibration feeder of FIG. FIG. 8 is a schematic front view showing a set of article distribution points. FIG. 9 is a schematic side view of the combination scale. FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing an arrangement state of an article detection sensor that detects an article. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the weighing system of FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of overall control of the article supply device. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the vibration feeder. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the distribution / transfer mechanism. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the article discharge mechanism. FIG. 16 is a side view showing another embodiment of the trough of the vibration feeder. FIG. 17 is a longitudinal front view showing another embodiment of the trough of the vibration feeder.

Hereinafter, an article supply device using a vibration feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention and a weighing system including the same 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 using a vibration feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a side view thereof. The weighing system of this embodiment includes an article supply device 1 for supplying articles and a semi-automatic combination scale 2 for supplying articles by hand in the past.

This weighing system automatically supplies articles to the semi-automatic combination scale 2 by the article supply device 1, and is an automatic combination scale that automatically supplies and discharges articles as a whole. 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) is to be weighed. It is supposed to be.

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 includes a horizontally arranged front-stage transport mechanism 3, an article discharge mechanism 4 deployed at a plurality of locations of the transport route , in this example, three locations, and three units corresponding to each article discharge mechanism 4. It is provided with a distribution 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 driven to swing around a 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 is displaced to the one side of the transport path and is in a retracted posture along the transport direction. Is allowed to pass through. 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 becomes the transport path in a plan view. It will be in the discharge state with diagonally crossed discharge postures. In this discharge state, the article w transported along the transport path is gradually outside the other side of the transport path along the plate surface of the guide member 8 intersecting the transport path diagonally. It is guided toward and discharged from the transport path.

An inclined discharge chute 9 with a squeezed lower part is fixedly arranged on the discharge side of the front stage transport mechanism 3, and the article w guided and discharged by the guide member 8 is below the other side via the discharge chute 9. You will be guided down.

In this way, the article discharge mechanism 4 crosses 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. Since it is guided along the plate surface of No. 8 and discharged, the article w, which is a piece of meat of the broiler having adhesiveness, can be reliably discharged at a predetermined place.

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 driven to rotate by a predetermined angle. It is equipped with a possible swivel conveyor 14. The swivel conveyor 14 is composed of a conveyor belt 11 on which an article w that has been guided by the loading funnel 10 is placed and horizontally conveyed, left and right side plates 12 that are erected on both sides of the conveyor belt 11, and both side plates 12. A flat-shaped 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 to 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 this swivel conveyor 14, the drop port of the transport end of the transport belt 11 is located directly above each vibration feeder 6 at the center 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 about the vertical fulcrum b, and distributes 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 conveyor 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 transported by the front-stage transport mechanism 3 can be discharged by the guide member 8 of the article discharge mechanism 4 and supplied to the transport start end side of the swivel conveyor 14. Therefore, when it is necessary to supply the article to the transport start end side of the swivel conveyor 14, the article of the front stage transport mechanism 3 is discharged by the article discharge mechanism 4 to the swivel conveyor 14 regardless of the rotation position of the swivel conveyor 14. Goods can be supplied quickly.

The vibration feeder 6 as a post-stage transfer mechanism connects a gutter-shaped trough 15 that is inclined downward toward the transfer direction to the exciter 16 shown in FIG. 3 in a detachable manner, and vibrates the trough 15 to drive the trough 15. The placed article w is conveyed straight to the combination scale 2, and the placed article w can be stopped at that position by stopping the vibration.

The detailed structure of the trough 15 of this embodiment is shown in FIGS. 5-7. As shown in FIG. 7, each trough 15 includes, for example, a trough main body 15a formed by bending a stainless steel plate into a gutter shape, a reinforcing bottom plate 15b welded along most of the lower surface thereof, and a plurality of troughs in the longitudinal direction of the trough. At the location, the reinforcing rib material 15c welded over the lateral outer surface of the trough body 15a and the lower surface of the reinforcing bottom plate 15b, and the thick plate material welded to the lower surface of the reinforcing bottom plate 15b are bent and formed in a U shape. It is composed of a support frame 15d. Further, the upper end of the trough body 15a on the article loading side is closed by the back plate 15e to prevent the loaded article w from spilling onto the back portion.

As shown in FIG. 7, the support frame 15d constituting the lower surface of the trough 15 includes a bottom portion 15d1 and both side portions 15d2, 15d2, and the height of both side portions 15d2, 15d2 is one end side in the longitudinal direction. It gradually decreases from the article loading side to the other end side.

By connecting the trough body 15a to the upper ends of both side portions 15d2 and 15d2 of the support frame 15d, the trough body 15a is moved along the longitudinal direction, that is, the article w, with the bottom surface of the support frame 15d horizontal. Can be tilted along the transport direction of.

As shown in FIG. 5, on the lower surface of the trough 15 configured as described above, that is, the lower surface of the support frame 15c, the operating lever 18a constituting the buckle-type connecting mechanism 18 and the coupling to the vibration mechanism 16 are connected. A protrusion 18b is provided. At the time of assembly, first, the connecting protrusion 18b is slidly engaged with the engaging connecting portion of the vibration head 16a provided at the upper end portion of the vibration mechanism 16 shown in FIG. 3 from the front and positioned at the engaging end. .. Next, the free end portion of the loop-shaped connecting member 18c made of a spring wire rod pivotally mounted on the operating lever 18a is hooked on the locking portion of the vibration head 16a, and the operating lever 18a is shaken upward beyond the dead point. By the dynamic operation, the trough 15 is elastically attracted and urged toward the vibration head 16a, whereby the trough 15 can be fastened and fixed to the vibration head 16a in a constant posture.

Further, when removing the trough 15 for cleaning or the like, the operation lever 18a is largely swung downward beyond the dead point from the above-mentioned fastening state to disengage the hook of the connecting member 18c and leave it in a free state. The entire trough 15 can be removed from the vibration head 16a by removing the connecting protrusion 18b forward from the engaging connection portion of the vibration head 16a.

At the bottom and the left and right sides of the trough main body 15a, openings 19 composed of slit-shaped elongated holes along the longitudinal direction of the trough main body 15, which is the transport direction of the article w, are formed so as to be aligned vertically and horizontally.

That is, a plurality of openings 19 are arranged in a row at a constant pitch along the longitudinal direction (longitudinal direction) of the trough body 15a to form an opening 19 group, and the plurality of openings 19 groups are orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the trough. They are arranged side by side along the direction (horizontal direction).

In this example, three rows of openings 19 groups are formed on the bottom of the trough body 15a and on the left and right sides, respectively.

Further, the reinforcing bottom plate 15b is formed with three openings 19'consisting of long elongated holes that overlap with the openings 19 groups of each row formed at the bottom of the trough main body 15a. This opening 19 (19') causes the oil and liquid that have emerged on the surface of the article w, which is a piece of meat of the broiler, to flow out, and a large amount of the oil and oil and the oil liquid adhere to and remain on the inner surface of the trough body 15a. It prevents it from interfering with transportation.

The lower edge of the opening 19 of the trough body 15a in the transport direction of the article w tends to be caught by the flexible article w and contribute to the transport resistance, but the opening 19 is the trough body in the transport direction of the article w. Since it is composed of a long hole along the longitudinal direction of 15, the lower end edge of the opening 19 which becomes a transport resistance can be reduced, and the transport resistance due to the catching of the article w can be suppressed by that amount. On the other hand, by lengthening the opening 19 along the transport direction of the article w, the opening area can be secured and the oil or oil on the surface of the article can be reliably discharged from the opening 19.

If the opening 19 is not a long hole long along the transport direction of the article w, but a round hole capable of discharging oil or oil on the surface of the article w, for example, the edge of the round hole of the article w is reached. The catching resistance of the hole increases, making it more difficult to transport than a long hole.

Further, if the inner surface of the trough main body 15a is coated, it can be smoothly conveyed at the beginning of transportation, but gradually, oil and oil on the surface of the article w remain to cover the coated surface, so that the article w Smooth transportation becomes difficult.

In this embodiment, as will be described later, the article w to be conveyed is detected by a transmissive photoelectric sensor at two locations, the start end side and the end end side of the side portion of the trough main body 15a, and is used for article detection. The through holes 23 for forming the optical path of the above are formed so as to face each other, and a floodlight and a light receiver constituting the photoelectric sensor are installed on the outside of each through hole 23, respectively.

Incidentally, a suitable specification of the vibration feeder 6 in the case where one piece of broiler meat piece of several hundred g is used as the article w is illustrated below. The trough main body 15 is formed by bending a stainless steel plate having a thickness of about 1.5 mm into a gutter shape having a width of about 100 mm, a depth of several tens of mm, and a total length of several hundred mm. The opening 19 is an elongated hole having a length of several tens of mm and a width of about several mm. A stainless steel plate having a thickness of about 3 mm is used for the reinforcing bottom plate 15b and the reinforcing rib material 15c. Further, the tip-down inclination angle of the trough body 15 is preferably 10 degrees to 20 degrees in consideration of the sliding performance and the stopping performance of the broiler meat pieces. If the inclination angle is less than 10 degrees, the transport speed becomes insufficient, and if the inclination angle exceeds 20 degrees, the article w cannot be stopped immediately even if the drive is stopped. Further, in order to smoothly vibrate and convey the meat pieces of the broiler, the vibration amplitude of the vibration mechanism 16 is set to about 3 to 6 mm.

As described above, the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 has a large number of long openings 19 along the transport direction of the article w and is inclined downward toward the transport direction, so that it contains oil and fat and has adhesiveness. However, the article w, which is a piece of meat of a broiler that is flexible and difficult to handle, can be smoothly vibrated and conveyed, while the vibration can be stopped and stopped at an arbitrary position.

Three vibration feeders 6 are arranged in parallel with each of the swirling conveyors 14 of the distribution and transport mechanism 5, respectively, according to the switching rotation to the center position of the swirling conveyor 14 and the rotating end positions on both sides thereof. The article w can be supplied from the swivel conveyor 14 to 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 charging the article into the article loading port 25 of 2.

Of the group of three vibration feeders, the idler roller 20 faces the terminal rotation locus of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution and transfer mechanism 5 at an intermediate point between the central trough 15 and the troughs 15 on both sides thereof. However, it is supported horizontally in the transport direction via a fixed base (not shown). The idle roller 20 is provided at an intermediate point between 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. The article w that has fallen undesirably is received and rotated and dropped onto the central trough 15 or the left or right trough 15 by its own weight.

Further, as shown in the schematic front view of FIG. 8, a relatively long article w may stay while straddling the idler roller 20, but next, the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transfer mechanism 5 may stay. Is rotated in the opposite direction (to the left in the case of FIG. 8), the article w resting on the idler roller 20 is pushed and moved at the end of the swivel conveyor 14, that is, at the lower end of the discharge cover 13. Then, the idler roller 20 rotates, and the article w can be dropped into the trough 15 on the side where the swivel conveyor 14 moves.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, etc., in the group of troughs 15 in a set of three units, a chevron inclined toward the inside of the trough 15 is formed at the transport starting end on the lateral outer side of the left and right troughs 15 on both sides. The guide plate 21 is installed via a fixed base (not shown), and the article w to be loaded into the left or right trough 15 is dropped into the trough without being caught in the outer side wall of the trough 15 and guided. It has become so.

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 the weighing system of this embodiment, the supply amount of the articles and the combination scale 2 so 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. The operating speed etc. are set.

If the supply amount of the article 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 article transported by the pre-stage transfer mechanism 3 is to be transferred to the article. It can be dealt with by passing through the guide member 8 of the discharge mechanism 4 without discharging the product.

FIG. 9 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 loading gate 26 of each article loading port 25 of the combination scale 2, and a weighing having two storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2 is 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, by opening the discharge gates 41a and 41b. Goods 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 the article in the weighing hopper 41, and the output thereof is sent 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 operation for selecting one combination of the storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2 is performed, and the articles in the selected storage chambers 41-1 and 41-2 are discharged to the collecting conveyor 43.

In the weighing system of 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. The article w sent to each of the distribution and transfer mechanisms 5 and sent to each distribution and transfer mechanism 5 is further distributed to three places and sent to the vibration feeder 6, and is conveniently distributed and conveyed by nine vibration feeders 6. The article w 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 articles as described above, the presence or absence of articles w at each location, and the requirements of articles in each article input port 25 of the combination scale 2, each vibration feeder 6, each distribution and transfer mechanism 5, and article discharge mechanism 4. Each article discharge mechanism 4, each distribution transfer mechanism 5, and each vibration feeder 6 will be controlled according to the situation.

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing an example of the 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 light receiver, and pass through a detection region between the floodlights and the light 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 articles are arranged at the base of each discharge chute 9 through which the articles w discharged by each article discharge mechanism 4 pass. There is. A through hole is formed at 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).

Distributing start article detection sensor Sc (1) that detects articles w at the start and end portions at the start end portion on the upper side and the end portion on the lower side in the transport direction of the swivel conveyor 14 of each distribution transfer mechanism 5. )-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. It should be noted that the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 does not 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) as described above. The through hole 23 is formed therein.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the weighing system of this embodiment.

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

A programmable display 29, which is an operation display terminal, is connected to the PLC 27. In this programmable display 29, 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 are set. 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 each of 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 swivel conveyor swivel drive control circuit 33, and each vibration feeder 6 via the vibration feeder drive circuit 34. To control.

The PLC 27 basically 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 has been 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 carried. If not, the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution and transfer 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 of the swivel 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 Requests the input of 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 transfer mechanism 5 outside the transfer path.

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

FIG. 12 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 scale 2 to the loading corresponding to the nine 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 transport direction of the article in the article supply device 1 is controlled (step S3), and then the skill is good. (Step S4), the distribution and transport mechanism 5 is controlled (step S4), and the article discharge mechanism 4 is controlled (step S5), and it is determined whether or not the operation switch is turned off (step S6). When the operation switch is turned off, it ends.

FIG. 13 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 transport 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 article input request signal is input from the semi-automatic combination scale 2. 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. 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.

In this example, as shown in FIG. 13, 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 as if the driving for a certain period of time is completed (step S305), 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 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. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the distribution / transfer 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 the article disappears 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 portion of the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution and transfer mechanism 5 so that the article can be put into the start end portion 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 beginning 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 swivel conveyor 14. You may stop the drive of.

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 is sent to the swivel conveyor 14 with respect to the article discharge mechanism 4. 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 swivel 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 starting end portion of the vibration feeder 6 is driven from the swivel conveyor 14. 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 swivel 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 swivel 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. 14, 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 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 swivel 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 swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transfer mechanism 5 of the number j has timed up in step S404, the drive of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transfer mechanism 5 of the number j is stopped (step S405), and the distribution of the number j is performed. The driving flag of the swivel conveyor 14 of the transfer mechanism 5 is turned off (step S406), the number k for designating the vibration feeder 6 and the number a of the vibration feeder 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 performed. 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 changed 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 / transfer mechanism 5 of the number j is not turned on, whether or not the article is detected at the end of the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution / transfer mechanism 5 of the number j. That is, it is determined whether or not the article is detected by the distribution end 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 input command flag is not ON, the process proceeds to step S407.

In step S413, whether or not the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transport mechanism 5 of the number j is at the position where the article is loaded into the trough 15 of the vibration feeder 6 of the number k, that is, the conveyor 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), turn on the driving flag of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transfer mechanism 5 with the number j (step S415), and set the drive timer corresponding to the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transfer mechanism 5 with the number j (step S415). S416), the drive of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution transfer mechanism 5 of No. 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 / transfer 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, that is, swivels and moves to step S407 (step S418).

In step S411, when the article was not detected at the end of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution / transfer mechanism 5 of the number j, whether or not the article was detected at the start of the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution / transfer 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 transfer mechanism 5 of the number j is set (step S421), and the swivel of the distribution transfer 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 swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution / transfer mechanism 5 of the number j, the article is assigned to the number j so as to be discharged to the swirl conveyor 14 of the distribution / transfer 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. 15 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 to detect the preceding article in order to eject the article to the swivel conveyor 14 of the distribution and transfer mechanism 5 when the discharge command flag of the article to the article discharge mechanism 4 is turned ON in the control of the distribution and transfer mechanism 5. When the article is 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 to the discharge chute 9 side, and the dropped article is discharged article detection sensors Sb (1) to Sb ( It is 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 over 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 ejected by the ejected article detection sensors Sb (1) to Sb (3) continues for a predetermined time, the guide member 8 of the article ejection mechanism 4 is evacuated 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 ejected 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 that designates 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 being detected is ON (step S502), and when the discharge detection flag is ON, the discharge detection sensor is used. 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 discharged. The detection time (k) of (step S504) is increased (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 discharging 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 is "4", that is, whether or not the discharge processing of the three article discharge mechanisms 4 is completed (step S510), and when it is not "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 discharge mechanism 4 is being driven is ON (step S511), and when the driving flag is ON, the discharge article detection sensor Sb (k) is determined. ) 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 detecting 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 has come, the discharge defect of the article discharge mechanism 4 having 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 turned 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. The posture is set (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 is supplied on the upper side in the transport direction of the front-stage transport mechanism 3, each of the three distribution transport mechanisms 5 outside the transport path is 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 the above, and is distributed and conveyed to each trough 15 of the three vibration feeders 6 by each swivel conveyor 14. That is, the articles supplied at one location on the upper side in the transport direction of the front-stage transport mechanism 3 are distributed and transported to each trough 15 of the nine vibration feeders 6, and the combination scale 2 9 is distributed by each trough 15 of each vibration feeder 6. It can be supplied to the individual article input ports 25.

The trough 15 of each vibration feeder 6 has a large number of long openings 19 along the transport direction of the article w, and is inclined downward toward the transport direction, so that it contains oil and fat and has adhesiveness. The article w, which is a piece of meat of a broiler that is flexible and difficult to handle, can be smoothly vibrated and conveyed, and the vibration can be stopped and stopped at an arbitrary position. It can be supplied to the mouth 25 at the required timing.

Therefore, the article w, which is a piece of meat of the broiler, can be automatically supplied to the nine article inlets 25 of the combination scale 2, and the operator grasps the articles one by one and the semi-automatic combination scale as in the conventional case. It is not necessary to carry out the work of putting the goods into the goods input port, and the labor of the worker can be significantly reduced.

Incidentally, in the case of manufacturing a 2 kg vacuum pack of meat pieces of a broiler with a packaging machine at 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 grasped and put into the article inlet of the semi-automatic combination scale. Moreover, the worker works while standing, so if you work for a long time,
It will consume too much physical strength.

According to the present embodiment, since the article w is automatically distributed and supplied to the article input port 25 of the combination scale 2 by the article supply device 1, the operator grabs the meat piece and inputs it to the article input port 25 of the combination scale 2. It is not necessary and can save a lot of labor.

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

(1) It is desirable that the tilt angle of the trough body 15a can be changed and adjusted according to the type of the article w and the like, and for example, it may be configured as shown in FIG. In FIG. 16, a lower frame 15d (a) detachably connected to the exciter 16 and an upper frame 15d (b) connected and fixed to the bottom of the trough main body 15a via a reinforcing bottom plate 15b. Divide into. The front part of the upper frame 15d (b) is pivotally connected to the front part of the lower frame 15d (a) via a lateral fulcrum c so as to be swingable up and down. Further, the lower frame 15d (b) and the rear portion of the upper frame 15d (b) are connected to each other via the arc-shaped upper and lower elongated holes 22 and the tightening bolts 24, and the fastening position is changed and adjusted within the range of the upper and lower elongated holes 22. Thereby, the trough main body 15a may be configured to change and adjust the forward downward inclination angle steplessly. The angle of the upper frame 15d (b) may be adjusted in a plurality of steps.

(2) The openings 19 of the trough body 15a may be arranged in a staggered pattern.

Further, the opening 19 may be formed only at the bottom of the trough body 15a.

(3) The trough main body 15a may be formed in a slatted shape in addition to being formed by bending a metal plate material formed by punching an opening 19. That is, as shown in FIG. 17, a large number of long vertical rail members 36 made of stainless steel are arranged in parallel in a gutter shape with small intervals, and laterally to the outside of the vertical rail members 36 group at a plurality of places in the transport direction. It is also possible to have a structure in which the rail member is welded as a reinforcing rib material 15c and an opening 19 for removing oil and fat is formed between adjacent vertical rail members 36 over the entire length in the transport direction. According to this, a series of transport surfaces can be formed on the inner surface of the trough body 15a without any catching points of the article w, and the movement of the article w in the transport direction becomes smoother, which is particularly flexible and adhesive. It is effective for transporting an article w having a high value.

(4) The means for detachably connecting the trough 15 to the vibration head 16a of the exciter 16 is not limited to the buckle-type connecting mechanism 18 as described above, and the attachment / detachment operation is somewhat time-consuming but simple. As a means that can be carried out at low cost, a simple bolt connection structure can also be used.

(5) If the transport surface of the trough 15 or the surface of the article w such as a piece of meat is moistened with water, the transport becomes smoother. You may also spray water on the surface to get it wet.

(6) In the above embodiment, the description has been made by applying it to a piece of meat as an article to be transported, but the present invention is not limited to the piece of meat, and can be suitably applied to, for example, fish having mucus on the surface and other articles having adhesiveness.

1 Article supply device 2 Combination scale 3 Front stage transfer mechanism 4 Discharge mechanism 5 Distribution transfer mechanism 6 Vibration feeder 15 Trough 15a Trough body 15b Reinforcing bottom plate 15d Support frame 16 Vibration machine 16a Vibration head 18 Connection mechanism 19 Opening 23 Through hole w Article

Claims (6)

The pre-stage transport mechanism for transporting the supplied article, the allowable state for allowing the transported article to pass through at a plurality of locations of the transport path of the article by the pre-stage transport mechanism, and the transport process for the transported article. It is provided with an article discharge mechanism that can be switched to a discharge state for discharging to the outside of the road, and a distribution transport mechanism that distributes and transports the articles discharged out of the transport path to a plurality of places by the article discharge mechanism, and also distributes and transports the article. Equipped with multiple vibration feeders that transport each article that has been transported to each distribution destination of the mechanism.
Each of the plurality of vibration feeders conveys the article to a plurality of article input ports of the combination scale.
The vibration feeder is a vibration feeder that vibrates a trough on which an article is placed to convey the article.
A plurality of openings extending along the transport direction of the article are formed at least at the bottom of the trough.
An article supply device characterized by that. The trough is inclined downward toward the transport direction.
The article supply device according to claim 1. The tilt angle of the downward slope can be changed and adjusted.
The article supply device according to claim 2. The opening is an elongated hole along the transport direction.
The article supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A plurality of the openings are arranged in a row along the transport direction, and a plurality of openings are provided along the direction orthogonal to the transport direction.
The article supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The trough comprises a trough body on which the article is placed and a reinforced bottom plate connected along the lower surface of the bottom of the trough body, the opening extending across the bottom of the trough body and the reinforced bottom plate. It is formed through the top and bottom,
The article supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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