JP7332259B2 - Trough for straight feeder and combination weigher equipped with the same - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a trough for a straight feeder that straightly conveys articles such as confectionery by vibration, and a combination weigher having the same.

In general, in a combination weigher, the articles distributed and conveyed by a distributed feeder are fed to a plurality of straight feeders arranged around them, and the articles vibrationally conveyed by the straight feeders are sent to a weighing hopper via a supply hopper and weighed, A combination calculation is performed based on the weight values of the weighing hoppers, multiple weighing hoppers with a predetermined weight are selected, the articles are discharged from the selected multiple weighing hoppers, and the discharged articles are packaged by the packaging machine. ing.

In such a combination weigher, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a plurality of articles of different types are mixed and weighed so that the mixed articles have a predetermined weight or a predetermined number, so-called mix weighing is performed. There is

JP 2012-237576 A

In the mix weighing described above, it is necessary to weigh each product type, so the number of weighing hoppers assigned to each product type is reduced.

In this way, when the number of weighing hoppers is small and the target production volume is high, it is impossible to achieve the target production volume without supplying an appropriate amount of goods to each weighing hopper. becomes difficult.

However, with a conventional general straight feeder, it is difficult to stably supply an appropriate amount of articles to the supply hopper and therefore to the weighing hopper, and the amount of articles supplied to the weighing hopper becomes either too large or too small. Sometimes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a straight feeder trough capable of stably conveying an appropriate amount of articles, and a combination weigher having the same.

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

(1) A trough for a straight feeder according to the present invention is a trough for a straight feeder that vibrates and conveys supplied articles,
a linear conveying passage; and a partition wall that divides the linear conveying passage into a plurality of sections in a width direction perpendicular to the article conveying direction to form a plurality of narrow conveying passages, wherein the partition wall is , the plurality of narrow conveying paths extend along the conveying direction, and the plurality of narrow conveying passages are configured by arranging a plurality of passage members having the narrow conveying passages in parallel and placing and connecting them on a support plate; The passage member is bent into a U-shaped vertical cross-section opening upward, and the side walls of the adjacent passage members are overlapped to form the partition wall, and the narrow conveying passage extends in the conveying direction. A locking portion is provided at the terminal end to stop the article so that the article can be climbed over.

According to the present invention, the articles supplied to the starting end of the trough are distributed to a plurality of parallel narrow conveying passages while being conveyed by vibration, and are aligned and conveyed in a plurality of rows without overlapping. Articles are delivered according to the number of transport paths.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, the article reaching the terminal end of each narrow conveying path is received by the engaging portion, and a plurality of articles are temporarily stopped in a horizontal state at each terminal end of the plurality of narrow conveying paths. . Therefore, while the vibration drive of the trough is stopped, the article does not inadvertently roll out from the end, and when the trough is vibrated, the plurality of articles stopped side by side at the end of the narrow conveying passage are Articles are delivered over the respective stops.

(2) In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the widthwise interval of the narrow conveying path is larger than the maximum length of the article.

According to this embodiment, even if the maximum length direction of the article is turned sideways, the article is not jammed between the side walls of the narrow conveying path, and is smoothly vibration-conveyed in a stable alignment state. In particular, when the articles are ellipsoidal, they are aligned in a stable posture with the maximum length direction facing sideways, and are conveyed along each narrow conveying path.

(3) In another embodiment of the present invention, the height of the partition wall on the starting end side to which the articles are supplied is lower toward the upper side in the conveying direction.

According to this embodiment, the articles just after being fed to the beginning of the trough are able to move over the low partition wall and are easily distributed in the widthwise direction into a plurality of narrow conveying passages. be guided. In addition, since the partition wall becomes higher as it is conveyed, movement in the width direction is restricted, and at the end portion, it is aligned in a line within the narrow conveying passage.

(4) In still another embodiment of the present invention, the linear conveying passage has a step downward in the conveying direction.

According to this embodiment, even if the articles are piled up at the starting end of the narrow conveying passage, the pile is broken by dropping on the step, and the articles are piled up in the narrow conveying passage after crossing the step. It is transported in a state of being aligned in a row without any.

(5) In one embodiment of the present invention, the height of the step is higher than the height of the article.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to effectively break the stack of articles when falling down a step higher than the height of the articles.

( 6 ) The combination weigher according to the present invention comprises a distribution feeder that conveys the articles supplied on the top cone to the peripheral edge, and radially arranged around the distribution feeder to transfer the articles supplied by the distribution feeder. a plurality of straight feeders that vibrate and convey outward; a plurality of supply hoppers that are provided corresponding to each of the straight feeders and temporarily hold and discharge the articles from the straight feeders; a plurality of corresponding weighing hoppers for temporarily holding the articles discharged from the supply hopper and weighing the articles, and performing a combination calculation based on the weight values of the articles weighed by the weighing hoppers. A combination weigher that performs
At least some of the plurality of straight feeders are provided with the trough according to any one of (1) to ( 5 ) above.

It is preferable that all of the plurality of straight feeders have a trough according to any one of (1) to ( 5 ) above. A part of the plurality of straight feeders may be configured to have the trough according to any one of (1) to ( 5 ) above.

According to the present invention, since the amount of articles delivered from at least some of the straight feeders to the supply hopper is stabilized, neither too large nor too few articles are supplied to the weighing hopper, thereby preventing the combination from being established. can do.

( 7 ) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of delivery guides extending outward to guide and deliver the articles are erected at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction on the periphery of the top cone of the distribution feeder. , and an intermediate portion of the adjacent feed-out guide faces the starting end of the trough of the linear feeder.

According to this embodiment, the articles from the dispersion feeder are smoothly transferred by being guided to the start end of each trough of the straight feeder by the adjacent delivery guides at the terminal end of the dispersion feeder. Goods can be prevented from stagnation at the boundaries of adjacent troughs.

According to the straight feeder trough according to the present invention, an appropriate amount of articles can be stably fed.

Further, according to the combination weigher according to the present invention equipped with the trough according to the present invention, the amount of articles conveyed by each linear feeder, that is, the amount of articles supplied to the weighing hopper can be stabilized at an appropriate amount. can be prevented from failing and high production can be achieved.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a combination weigher according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the combination weigher. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a trough for a straight feeder. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a trough for a straight feeder. FIG. 5 is a plan view of a trough for a straight feeder. FIG. 6 is a side view of a trough for straight feeders. FIG. 7 is a front view of the straight feeder trough viewed from the conveying terminal side. FIG. 8 is a longitudinal side view of a trough for straight feeders. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional end view of each part in FIG. It is a DD end view.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a combination weigher according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an upper portion of the combination weigher.

In the combination weigher of this embodiment, a plurality of types of relatively hard articles having substantially the same shape, for example, four types of hard-coated ellipsoidal gummies w with different tastes are collected to obtain a predetermined number. It is used in weighing and packaging lines that weigh and pack.

At the center of the upper part of the combination weigher of this embodiment, there is provided a distributed feeder 1 having a conical top cone 6 for radially dispersing and conveying the articles w that have been conveyed and dropped by a feeding device (not shown) by vibration. . A large number (24 in this example) of straight feeders 2 are radially arranged around the distributing feeder 1 for linearly conveying the articles w carried out from the periphery of the dispersing feeder 1 further outward. ing. Further, a feed hopper 3 whose gate 3a is controlled to open and close is provided below the feeding end of each straight feeder 2, and a weighing hopper whose gate 4a is controlled to open and close below each feed hopper 3. 4 are arranged respectively.

The dispersion feeder 1 is provided with the above-described top cone 6 that is vibrated by a vibrating mechanism 5. The top cone 6 is equally divided into four sections in the circumferential direction via a partition plate 7. . Articles w of different types are drop-fed to each compartment, and the articles w are distributed and conveyed to a plurality of straight feeders 2 (six in this example) arranged corresponding to each compartment. .

The rectilinear feeder 2 includes a trough 21 on which an article w is placed and conveyed, and a vibrating mechanism 22 that vibrates the trough 21 .

The supply hopper 3 receives and temporarily holds the article w dropped and discharged from the end of the straight feeder 2, and when the weighing hopper 4 disposed below becomes empty, the article w is dropped and discharged to the weighing hopper 4. do. A weight sensor 8 such as a load cell for measuring the weight of the article w in the hopper is connected to each weighing hopper 4 , and weighing data from each weight sensor 8 is output to the control device 15 .

The articles w discharged from the weighing hopper 4 are guided downward at the center of the apparatus by a collecting chute 9, collected in a collecting hopper 11 through a collecting funnel 10 disposed at the lower end of the chute, and held temporarily.

A control device 15 that controls each part performs a combination calculation for each product type, selects a plurality of weighing hoppers 4 that satisfy the set combination conditions, and the articles w are transferred from the selected weighing hoppers 4 to the gathering hopper 11. It is ejected and temporarily held. When a discharge request signal is input from the packaging machine (not shown) to the controller 15, the gate 11a of the collection hopper 11 is controlled to be opened, and the held articles w are discharged and thrown into the packaging machine.

In this embodiment, a straight feeder 2 is used to stably convey an appropriate amount of articles.

3 is a perspective view of the trough 21 of the linear feeder 2, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view thereof.

This trough 21 carries an article w thereon and conveys it along a linear conveying path F having a constant width.

The trough 21 of this embodiment is constructed by arranging three passage members 23a, 23b, and 23c having a constant small width of the conveying passage f in parallel and placing and connecting them on a support plate 24 made of a thick plate material.

The passage members 23a, 23b, and 23c are formed by bending a thin plate into a U-shaped vertical cross-section opening upward. The left and right side walls of the intermediate passage member 23b and the inner side walls of the left and right outer passage members 23a and 23c overlap to divide the wide conveying passage F into three narrow conveying passages f over its entire length. A partition wall 25 is formed.

According to the trough 21 of this embodiment, the partition wall 25 formed by stacking the side walls of the passage members 23a, 23b, and 23c functions as a longitudinal rib elongated in the conveying direction, making the trough 21 made of a thin plate material highly rigid. can do. Further, by forming the passage members 23a, 23b, and 23c by bending a plate material, a narrow conveying passage f without joints of the members is continuously formed along the conveying direction at the boundary between the bottom surface and the side walls standing at both ends thereof. It can be formed, and it is possible to carry out the transportation smoothly without catching or clogging the joints with scraps of articles and the like. In addition, cleaning and washing of the narrow conveying path f are facilitated.

5 is a plan view of the trough 21, FIG. 6 is its side view, FIG. 7 is a front view of the trough 21 as seen from the conveying terminal side, and FIG. 8 is a longitudinal side view of the trough 21, FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional end view of each part in FIG. It is a DD end view.

At an intermediate portion of the linear conveying path F of the trough 21, there is formed a step d that descends in the conveying direction. On the starting end side of the trough 21, which is on the upper side of the transfer from the step d, the partition wall 25 is formed lower toward the upper side of the transfer, and on the step d and on the lower side of the transfer, the partition wall 25 has a constant height. is formed in

Here, the inner width of the narrow conveying path f is set to be slightly larger (for example, about 1 mm) than the length of the article w in a stably falling posture, that is, the maximum length of the article. In addition, the height of the partition wall 25 on the downstream side of the step d is slightly higher than the height of the article w in the stably lying posture. It is set slightly higher than the height.

A tongue-like engaging portion 26 that is inclined upward is bent at the terminal bottom surface of each of the narrow conveying passages f. The locking portion 26 lightly locks and temporarily holds the article w that has reached the transport end, and when the trough 21 is driven to vibrate, the article w passes over the locking portion 26 at an angle (for example, 5 ~10 degrees).

A support plate 24 for the trough 21 is formed by bending a thick plate material, and is used for attaching and detaching the trough 21 and the vibrating mechanism 22 . A locking pin 27 having a large-diameter head, a pair of positioning pins 28 , and a hook 29 are provided on the lower surface of the support member 24 . The locking pin 27 is locked to the rim of the locking hole (not shown) of the vibration plate 22a of the vibrating mechanism 22 shown in FIG. Insert into a positioning hole (not shown). In this state, the tip of the locking lever 30a of the buckle-type connecting fitting 30 provided on the vibrating plate 22a is locked to the hook 29, and the trough 21 is moved to the vibrating plate 22a by swinging beyond the dead point. The trough 21 can be removed from the vibrating plate 22a of the vibrating mechanism 22 by detaching the hook 29 by operating the locking lever 30a in the opposite direction beyond the dead point.

In addition, on the upper surface of the outer peripheral portion of the top cone 6 in the distributed feeder 1, a large number of feed-out guides 31 for guiding and feeding the outwardly conveyed articles w to the starting ends of the troughs 21 of the straight feeders 2 are provided. They are erected at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction.

The delivery guide 31 is tapered toward the center of the distribution feeder 1 and formed in a hollow chevron shape that rises outward. The delivery guide 31 is provided at the starting end of the trough 21 in the linear feeder 2 so as to cover the starting end of the trough side wall. The intermediate portions of the adjacent delivery guides 31 face the starting ends of the respective troughs 21 of the linear feeder 2, and the articles w guided between the adjacent delivery guides 31 smoothly enter the starting ends of the conveying passages F in the troughs 21. It is designed to guide you to

In this embodiment, the four types of articles w separately carried into the upper portion of the combination weigher are dropped and supplied to the vicinity of the center of each of the four sections formed in the distributed feeder 1, and after being distributed and conveyed for each section, It is supplied to a weighing hopper 4 via a linear feeder 2 and a supply hopper 3 . That is, combination weighing is performed using six weighing hoppers 4 for each kind.

Here, in the straight feeder 2, articles are conveyed as follows.

The articles w distributed and conveyed to the outer peripheral portion of the distributed feeder 1 are guided between the adjacent delivery guides 31, and are not caught on the starting end side wall of the trough 21 in the straight feeder 2, and are conveyed to the starting end of the linear conveying path F. sent in.

At the starting end of the conveying path F, the partition wall 25 is lower toward the upper side of the conveying side, so that the overlapping articles w can move in the width direction of the path. While being vibrated, the overlapping of the articles w is broken, and most of the articles w are guided to one of the three parallel narrow conveying passages f.

The articles w guided to the narrow conveying paths f assume a stable sideways posture while being conveyed with vibration, and are conveyed while being aligned in a vertical line along the respective narrow conveying paths f.

When the article w is conveyed to the intermediate portion of the narrow conveying passage f in the upper stage, it slides down to the narrow conveying passage f in the lower stage at the step d. At this time, even if the articles w are overlapped in the upper small-width conveying passage f, the overlap is broken by sliding down on the step d, and the articles w are aligned in a row in the lower small-width conveying passage f.

The height of the step d is preferably higher than the height of the article w in order to break the stacking of the articles w. In this embodiment, the height of the step d is slightly higher than the height of the article w.

The article w reaching the end of the trough 21 climbs over the locking portion 26 and is delivered to the supply hopper 3 while the vibration is being driven. w does not climb over the engaging portion 26 and temporarily stops in a sideways posture. Then, when the vibration drive of the trough 21 is restarted with the discharge operation of the supply hopper 3, the leading article w that has temporarily stopped at the locking portion 26 is fed over the locking portion 26.例文帳に追加As a result, articles w are prevented from spilling out from the end of the trough, and about three articles w are fed into the supply hopper 3 in one delivery.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the articles w supplied to the starting end of the trough 21 of the straight feeder 2 are sorted into three rows of small-width conveying passages f in parallel while being vibrationally conveyed, without overlapping each other. The articles w are aligned and conveyed in three rows, and at the terminal end, an appropriate amount of about three articles w can be stably supplied to the supply hopper 3 according to the number of narrow conveying passages f. An appropriate amount of about three articles w can be stably supplied to the weighing hopper 4 via the .

As a result, in the combination calculation of each weighing cycle, it is possible to prevent the combination from becoming unsatisfactory and achieve a high production volume.

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

(1) The straight conveying path F of the trough 21 can be divided into two rows or four or more rows of narrow conveying passages f.

( 2 ) Depending on the type of the article w, it can be implemented in a form without the step d.

1 distributed feeder 2 straight feeder 3 supply hopper 4 weighing hopper 6 top cone 7 partition plate 21 trough 23a, 23b, 23c passage member 25 partition wall 26 locking portion d step F conveying passage f narrow conveying passage w article

Claims (7)

A trough for a straight feeder that vibrates and conveys a fed article,
a linear conveying path;
a partition wall that divides the linear conveying passage into a plurality of pieces in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the article to form a plurality of narrow conveying passages;
The partition wall extends along the conveying direction,
The plurality of narrow conveying passages are configured by arranging a plurality of passage members having the narrow conveying passages in parallel and placing and connecting them on a support plate,
each of the plurality of passage members has a vertical cross-sectional shape that is open upward and is bent into a U-shape, and side walls of adjacent passage members are overlapped to form the partition wall;
The narrow conveying passage has an engaging portion at the terminal end thereof in the conveying direction so that the article can be climbed over, and
In the locking portion, the terminal end of the bottom surface of the narrow conveying passage is inclined upward toward the conveying direction.
A trough for a straight feeder characterized by: The widthwise interval of the narrow conveying path is larger than the maximum length of the article,
A trough for a straight feeder according to claim 1. The height of the partition wall on the starting end side to which the article is supplied is lower toward the upper side in the conveying direction,
A trough for a straight feeder according to claim 1 or 2. The linear conveying path has a step downward in the conveying direction,
A trough for a straight feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 3. the height of the step is higher than the height of the article;
A trough for a straight feeder according to claim 4. a distribution feeder that conveys the articles supplied on the top cone to the peripheral edge; and a plurality of linear feeders that are radially arranged around the distribution feeder and vibrate and convey the articles fed by the distribution feeder outward. a plurality of supply hoppers respectively provided corresponding to the respective linear feeders for temporarily holding and discharging the articles from the linear feeders; A combination weigher comprising a plurality of weighing hoppers for temporarily holding the weighed items and weighing the items, and performing a combination calculation based on the weighing values of the items weighed by the weighing hoppers,
At least some linear feeders of the plurality of linear feeders are provided with the trough according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 5,
A combination weigher characterized by: A plurality of delivery guides extending outward to guide and deliver the articles are erected at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction on the peripheral edge of the top cone of the dispersion feeder. The portion faces the beginning of the trough of the linear feeder,
The combination weigher according to claim 6.

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