JP7420760B2 - Article removal device and article inspection device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an article removal device and an article inspection device, and more particularly to an air blow type article removal device and an article inspection device equipped with the same.

Air blowing uses a jet of compressed air from an air nozzle to remove products with poor inspection results from the production line, or to distribute and discharge products destined for a specific destination to a specific delivery line on the product transport line. 2. Description of the Related Art A type of article removal device and an article inspection device using the same as a sorting section have been known for some time.

In this type of article removal device and article inspection device, there are cases where it is not possible to apply ejection force by air jet to the object to be excluded due to the size, shape, transportation posture, etc. of the article, and there are cases where effective air injection (air blow) is not possible depending on the conveyance speed. If sufficient time is not available, it may be difficult to perform an accurate removal operation.

Therefore, in the past, spraying control was carried out to increase the accuracy of article removal by air injection, such as by predicting the center of gravity of the article while taking into account changes in conveyance interval and direction due to misalignment of the article on the conveyor. (For example, see Patent Document 1).

In addition, the timing of air supply to multiple air nozzles is controlled so that air is injected sequentially from multiple air nozzles adjacent to each other in the conveyance direction, thereby ensuring the removal of target items in response to various changes in the article conveyance status. There are known methods for achieving this (for example, see Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-179969 JP2018-95327A

However, in the former article removal device, the spray is directed toward the center of gravity of the article or a predetermined spraying area depending on the conveyance condition such as the inclination when the article for packaging is sent to the production line. The structure was configured to control conditions such as direction and spraying time to cover items in front and back, so if the conveyance speed was high, the spraying time required for reliable sorting and discharge could not be secured and the product could not be discharged. There was a possibility.

On the other hand, in the conventional latter type of article removal device and article inspection device, based on the conveyance distance of the article to be sorted after the article is detected, the object to be sorted is moved from the upstream side of the plurality of air nozzles to the front position of each air nozzle. By executing air injection for a predetermined period of time from the air nozzle each time an article arrives, it is possible to secure the spraying time necessary for eliminating the articles to be sorted.

However, there are cases where multiple types of items with different lengths and masses are inspected on the same production line, and it may be necessary to replace the air nozzle depending on the type in order to reliably sort and discharge the items to be sorted. Ta.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an air blow type article removal device that does not require replacement of the air nozzle and can flexibly adapt to the size and mass of the object to be inspected. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an article inspection device that serves as a sorting section.

(1) In order to achieve the above object, the article removal device according to the present invention is an article removal device that is installed in an article conveyance line and eliminates conveyed articles by air blowing, and is arranged along the conveyance direction of the articles. a plurality of air nozzles having a predetermined nozzle width, a plurality of solenoid valves provided corresponding to each of the air nozzles and controlling the supply of compressed air supplied from an air source to the air nozzles; nozzle number setting means for setting the number of air nozzles to be used; an article detection sensor that is provided upstream of the plurality of air nozzles and detects the introduction of the article into the blow area of the most upstream air nozzle among the plurality of air nozzles; While shifting the blow width area of the set number of air nozzles set by the nozzle number setting means in the transport direction based on the transport speed of the product and the nozzle width of the air nozzle based on the product detection timing by the product detection sensor. The present invention is characterized by comprising an air blow control section that controls opening and closing of the plurality of electromagnetic valves to operate in units of the set number of air blows to execute the air blow in the blow width region.

With this configuration, in the present invention, the articles to be excluded are discharged by simultaneous air blow from the set number of air nozzles by the nozzle number setting means. In addition, when an article detection sensor on the upstream side of multiple air nozzles detects that an article is brought into the blow area of the most upstream air nozzle, the conveyance speed of the article and the nozzle width of the air nozzle are adjusted based on the detection timing. Based on the air blow control section, the plurality of electromagnetic valves are controlled to open and close in units of a set number so as to perform air blow while shifting the blow width regions of the set number of air nozzles in the conveyance direction. Therefore, even if the length of the article in the transport direction changes, the ejection force can be sufficiently adjusted by, for example, changing the number of simultaneous air blow nozzles without changing the shift speed of the simultaneous air blow nozzles, and there is no need to replace air nozzles. Moreover, it is possible to flexibly adapt to the size and mass of the object to be inspected.

(2) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the nozzle number setting means may set the set number of air nozzles based on the designated length of the article in the transport direction. In this case, it becomes possible to accurately set the air blow area width corresponding to the length of the article.

(3) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the nozzle number setting means may have a plurality of setting modes in which the set number of air nozzles is different for the specified article length. good. With this configuration, it becomes possible to easily set the spraying conditions for multiple types of articles having different masses, different representative areas to be blown by air, etc. for the same article length.

(4) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the number of air nozzles that simultaneously perform air blowing is set to a plurality, and the simultaneous air blowing is performed in accordance with the movement of the article on the article conveyance line in the conveying direction. When an upstream solenoid valve corresponding to an upstream air nozzle among the plurality of air nozzles is closed, a standby solenoid valve corresponding to a standby air nozzle located downstream of the plurality of air nozzles is opened. Good too. In this case, the shift speed of the plurality of adjacent nozzles in the conveying direction can be set independently with respect to the number of the plurality of adjacent nozzles that perform air blowing simultaneously, and discharge patterns with various blowing conditions can be easily set.

(5) In order to achieve the above object, the article inspection device according to the present invention includes an article removal device having any of the above configurations as a sorting section, and performs a predetermined article inspection for each article on the article conveyance line. It is equipped with an inspection section that performs the following.

With this configuration, in the present invention, simultaneous air blowing from a set number of air nozzles is performed on the object to be inspected in the inspection section, while the blow width of the set number of air nozzles is The area is shifted in the transport direction. When the upstream article detection sensor detects that the article has entered the blow area of the most upstream air nozzle, air blow control is performed based on the article conveyance speed and the nozzle width of the air nozzle, based on the detection timing. The opening and closing of the plurality of solenoid valves are controlled by the section so that they operate in units of a set number. Therefore, even if the length of the article in the transport direction changes depending on the product, the ejection force can be sufficiently adjusted by changing the set number of air nozzles that perform simultaneous air blow without changing the shift speed, making it easy to replace air nozzles. The article inspection device has a sorting section that is unnecessary and can flexibly correspond to the size and mass of the article to be inspected.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an air blow type article removal device that does not require replacement of air nozzles and can flexibly correspond to the size and mass of the object to be inspected. It is possible to provide an article inspection device as a part.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an article inspection device including an article removal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the blowing state of a set number Nr of air nozzles that perform simultaneous air blowing among a plurality of air nozzles in the article inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 6B shows the dynamic setting of the sorting operation time. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a first article removal process using a first air blow pattern during sorting and discharge in the article removal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a second article removal process using a second air blow pattern during sorting and discharge in the article removal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an explanatory view of the 3rd article removal process by the 3rd air blow pattern at the time of sorting discharge in the article removal device concerning one embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(One embodiment)
FIGS. 1 and 2 show the configuration of an article removal device and an article inspection device using this as a sorting section, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, its configuration will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 1, the article inspection apparatus 1 of this embodiment includes an inspection machine 10 and an air jet sorter 20, which is an article removal apparatus.

The inspection machine 10 includes a transport unit 11 that transports a work Wp, which is an item to be inspected (article), in a predetermined transport direction (X direction in FIG. 1), and an inspection unit 12 (article inspection unit; (not shown in detail) and a control section 13 that controls them.

The conveyance unit 11 is, for example, a belt conveyor type in which an endless conveyor belt is wound around a plurality of rollers, and has a conveyor conveyance path 11a that can convey articles in the X direction.

The inspection section 12 performs, for example, an X-ray inspection, and includes an X-ray generator and an X-ray detector (not shown) for the inspection. However, the inspection section 12 may perform other inspections, such as metal inspection, mass measurement, shape inspection, etc., or may perform at least one of a plurality of such inspections.

The control unit 13 includes, for example, a transport control means 13a that controls the transport speed and transport interval of the work Wp by the transport unit 11, and outputs a transport control signal Cb corresponding to the air jet sorter 20, and an output of an X-ray generator. and an inspection control means 13b for controlling the X-ray line detection cycle and inspection period of the X-ray detector according to the conveyance speed of the workpiece Wp, and various kinds of means for controlling article inspection and article conveyance by both means. A calculation control means 13c that calculates a control value, a sorting control means 13d that outputs article detection information and inspection results from an article detection sensor (to be described later) to the air jet sorter 20, and an operation display means that allows operation input and screen display. Contains 13e.

This inspection machine 10 inspects the current workpiece Wp according to the inspection result in the inspection section 12, for example, according to the inspection result that a foreign object is detected in the workpiece Wp by X-ray inspection of the workpiece Wp being inspected. A sorting command signal Rj for instructing the sorting and ejection of the work Wp in which foreign matter has been detected is generated within a predetermined sorting operation delay time from the time of detection of carry-in, and is output to the air jet sorting machine 20 side, which is a sorting section. It has become.

Specifically, in the control unit 13 of the inspection machine 10, the operation display unit 13e displays the workpiece length L (mm), which is the length of the workpiece Wp in the conveyance direction, the conveyance speed Vrj (mm/s) of the conveyance unit 11, and the air In addition to setting parameters such as the sorting capacity PPS (pieces/s) of the jet sorter 20, the number of simultaneous air blows Nr according to the discharge mode described later, and the times T3 and T4 (s) related to the sorting timing, it is possible to display alarms, etc. be. That is, the operation display means 13e functions as nozzle number setting means according to the present invention.

In addition, the calculation control means 13c of the control unit 13 also controls the distance Ls from the detection position of the article detection sensor 28 to the leading air nozzle 22(1) on the upstream side, the air nozzle width Lg (mm) of the air nozzle 22, and the conveyance direction (in FIG. The pitch Lp (mm) between each pair of air nozzles 22 adjacent to each other in the X direction of (s), sorting operation time T4 (s), etc. are automatically calculated.

Further, the sorting control means 13d of the control unit 13 transmits the inspection results and discharge commands from the inspection machine 10 to the sorting control unit 30 of the air jet sorting machine 20, and sends an alarm from the sorting control unit 30 of the air jet sorting machine 20. It is now possible to receive information, etc. In addition, it is also possible to substitute the sorting control unit 30 of the air jet sorting machine 20 for the control unit 13 on the inspection machine 10 side other than the means related to inspection determination and output of the determination result.

On the other hand, the air jet sorting machine 20 has a conveyor section 21 having a conveyor conveyance path 21a located downstream of the conveyor conveyance path 11a which is the article conveyance line of the inspection machine 10, and a conveyor conveyance path 21a (sorting conveyance path) side. A plurality of air nozzles 22 (in FIG. 1, arrangement position numbers (1), (2), ..., (n) are added in order from the top; the same applies hereinafter) arranged on one side, A plurality of electromagnetic valves 23 that open and close the respective air supply paths 29 on the upstream side of the air nozzle 22, and a plurality of filter regulators 24 (regulators) that control the pressure of compressed air to a predetermined pressure Pj on the upstream side of these electromagnetic valves 23. , an air pipe 25 connected to an air source such as an air compressor (not shown) on the upstream side of the plurality of filter regulators 24, and a monitoring means 26 for monitoring the air supply flow rate Qs and supply pressure Ps via the air pipe 25. It is equipped with. Note that in FIG. 1, n is an integer of 3 or more.

The air jet sorting machine 20 further includes an article detection sensor 28 that detects the leading end of the workpiece Wp that has been inspected by the inspection machine 10 when it transfers from the conveyor transport path 11a onto the downstream conveyor transport path 21a. and the conveyance control signal Cb and sorting command signal Rj from the control unit 13 of the inspection machine 10, various setting information and instruction inputs, monitoring information such as the supply flow rate Qs and supply pressure Ps obtained from the monitoring means 26, and the article detection sensor 28. A sorting control unit 30 is provided that controls the conveyance section 21 and the plurality of electromagnetic valves 23 based on the article detection signal etc. from the apparatus.

The conveyance section 21 is, for example, a belt conveyor type in which an endless conveyor belt is wound around a plurality of rollers, and has a conveyor conveyance path 21a on the right side in FIG. 1 that can convey articles. Of course, this conveyance section 21 is not limited to the belt conveyor type.

The plurality of air nozzles 22 are a flat type (which may be arranged in a horizontal position, or may be arranged in parallel in a vertical position adjacent to each other in the conveying direction) and a round type air nozzle located on the downstream side of the inspection section 12 of the inspection machine 10. type, spot type, for example, each injection port has a plurality of injection holes, or each injection port has a single slit-like injection hole.

When the plurality of electromagnetic valves 23 are selectively opened by the number of simultaneous air blow nozzles, which will be described later, in response to the opening/closing control signal input from the sorting control unit 30, the plurality of electromagnetic valves 23 are supplied from the air source side and set to a predetermined value by the plurality of filter regulators 24. Compressed air controlled to the pressure Pj can be made to flow into the air nozzles 22 corresponding to the number of simultaneous air blow nozzles. When the valve is closed, compressed air supplied from the air source and controlled to a predetermined pressure Pj by the plurality of filter regulators 24 can be cut off from the corresponding air nozzle 22.

That is, when air controlled to a predetermined pressure Pj by a plurality of filter regulators 24 is selectively supplied via a plurality of electromagnetic valves 23, the plurality of air nozzles 22 are connected to a sorting section which is a predetermined transport section of the transport section 21. By performing air blow within the range of the number of simultaneous air blow nozzles set in advance in Zj, and sequentially shifting the air blow area corresponding to the number of simultaneous air blow nozzles in the transport direction according to the transport speed (hereinafter referred to as air blow shift). , the work Wp to be sorted in the sorting section Zj is sorted and discharged by being blown away or slipped so as to be discharged from the conveyor conveyance path 21a in the Y direction.

Note that the plurality of filter regulators 24 are installed as a single relatively large-capacity one upstream from the branch point where the air piping 25 branches into the plurality of air supply paths 29, for example, between the monitoring means 26 and the air tank 27. It is also possible to provide one.

The air piping 25 is connected to an air source such as an air compressor (not shown), and is also connected to a plurality of other devices A and B, each of which has a pneumatic operating part (not shown), and supplies compressed air from the air source to each device. A, B and the article inspection apparatus 1 of this embodiment can be supplied.

The article discharging performance (discharge mass according to the supplied pneumatic energy (pneumatic power) per unit time) of the air jet sorter 20 configured with a pneumatic circuit downstream of the air piping 25 is approximately the same as the predetermined air pressure Pj and the supply. Although it is specified according to the flow rate Qs, the predetermined pressure Pj is set to, for example, 0.4 to 0.9 [MPaG]. In addition, the supply flow rate Qs is a flow rate value (ANR) converted to the atmosphere under standard conditions (20°C, 1 atm, humidity 65%), and is, for example, a general standard flow rate level for pneumatic parts per discharge unit. In order to obtain 400 [L/min] to 500 [L/min] (ANR), a flow rate multiplied by the number N of air nozzle arrays is supplied. Thereby, the air jet sorter 20 supplies compressed air supplied from the air source to the air nozzle 22 via the plurality of electromagnetic valves 23, and transports the work Wp being transported by air blowing jetted from the air nozzle 22. can be removed from the line.

The monitoring means 26 monitors the flow rate of air flowing from an air tank 27 connected to the air pipe 25 to the air nozzle 22 side through the plurality of filter regulators 24, here, the supply flow rate Qs and It detects the supply pressure Ps, for example, detects the flow rate by the displacement of a movable pressure-receiving component such as a diaphragm that responds to the differential pressure across the plurality of filter regulators 24, or the upstream side of the plurality of filter regulators 24. The flow rate can be monitored using a vortex flowmeter, a thermal mass flowmeter, a Coriolis flowmeter, etc. placed in the air, and an air power meter can also be used.

Note that the air tank 27 is installed as a pressure storage reserve tank with a predetermined capacity in order to solve the problem that the air supply from the air compressor to the air pipe 25 is insufficient due to simultaneous air blowing. Further, the article detection sensor 28 may be replaced by workpiece detection through image processing in the control unit 13 (for example, an X-ray foreign object detection device) on the inspection machine 10 side.

The sorting control unit 30 cooperates with the control section 13 of the inspection machine 10 to receive discharge commands from the sorting control means 13d and workpiece detection signals from the article detection sensor 28, and also controls air blow start timing and air blow control. It is possible to perform ON/OFF control of the plurality of solenoid valves 23, check of the supply flow rate Qs and supply pressure Ps monitored by the monitoring means 26, and other optional controls.

Specifically, the sorting control unit 30 receives the inspection result of the inspection section 12 from the control section 13 of the inspection machine 10 or the corresponding sorting command signal Rj (exclusion signal) for the work Wp to be excluded. Then, when a predetermined sorting operation delay time T3 has elapsed from the time of input, ON/OFF control by a programmable controller, control board, etc. is performed on the workpiece Wp that has entered the sorting section Zj at a predetermined timing and period. In order to perform air blowing, a plurality of electromagnetic valves 23 can be controlled to open and close air blow areas corresponding to the number of simultaneous air blow nozzles described above.

This sorting control unit 30 is configured to include a programmable controller in addition to a CPU, ROM, RAM, input/output interface circuit, etc., although the specific hardware configuration is not shown. By executing transport control, inspection control, sorting operation control, etc. according to a plurality of stored control programs, the functions of a plurality of means described below can be performed.

First, we will explain the step-by-step settings and processing contents for performing air blowing by the number of simultaneous air blow nozzles among the plurality of air nozzles 22 on the workpiece Wp to be discharged, and for shifting the air blowing area in the transport direction. I will explain it separately.

(Step 1) Parameter settings and internal calculations First, the following basic parameters and the number of simultaneous air blow nozzles are set as setting parameters for air blow control. The basic parameters mentioned here include conveyance speed Vrj, workpiece length L (mm), and sorting capacity PPS (pieces/s). Further, the number of simultaneous air blow nozzles is set as the number of simultaneous air blows Nr.

In addition, these parameters are such that in the air jet sorting machine 20, immediately after the entire workpiece Wp enters the air blow area of the plurality of air nozzles 22, air blows from the air nozzles 22 near the workpiece Wp are effectively applied to the entire workpiece Wp. , is set so that maximum ejection force can be applied without disturbing the workpiece posture during ejection.

In addition, the setting of the number of simultaneous air blows Nr is determined based on various conditions such as the sorting capacity PPS (pieces/s), the shape and mass of the work Wp, the transport posture, the friction between the work Wp and the transport surface of the conveyor transport path 21a, and the transport speed. , is set to flexibly obtain the maximum sorting capacity, and here, for example, three discharge air blow patterns can be set by selecting one of the following stable discharge mode, high capacity discharge mode, and arbitrary setting mode. It has become.

The stable discharge mode here refers to the number of simultaneous air blows, taking into account that the number of simultaneous air blows Nr can be approximately calculated using the calculation formula: workpiece length L (mm)/pitch between air nozzles Lp (mm)... [1] In this mode, Nr is the value Nr1 obtained by rounding up the decimal part to the integer of the calculation result (quotient) of this calculation formula [1] and adding 1 (integer + 1), and air is blown over the entire workpiece to discharge it.

Note that the integer +1 here is rounded up and added in order to blow air to the workpiece Wp without exception during the movement of the workpiece Wp from the air nozzle 22 corresponding to the number of simultaneous air blows, and this makes it possible to perform a stable discharge operation. be.

In addition, in the high-capacity ejection mode, the number of simultaneous air blows Nr is the value (integer + 0) of the calculation result (quotient) of the above calculation formula [1] rounded up to an integer (integer + 0) Nr0, and then the air blow is applied to a part of the workpiece. This mode allows relatively higher sorting capacity than the stable discharge mode.

Furthermore, the arbitrary setting mode is a mode in which the number of simultaneous air blows Nr is set to a value set arbitrarily by the user, and the number of simultaneous air blows Nr is set so that it can be changed according to the actual discharge state, regardless of the workpiece length L (mm). It is a possible mode.

After setting the basic parameters and the number of simultaneous air blows Nr, the following control parameters can be calculated based on the set values of these parameters.

The air blow shift time Ts (s) is a time that enables air blowing in synchronization with the movement of the workpiece Wp being transported, and this air blow shift time Ts is the passage time of the pitch Lp between air nozzles. That is, it can be calculated using the formula: shift time Ts (s)=pitch between air nozzles Lp (mm)/transport speed Vrj (mm/s) [5]. The air nozzle pitch Lp here is set so that the air blow area from the air nozzles 22 corresponding to the number of simultaneous air blows Nr is not interrupted in the conveying direction and there is no zone where air is not blown.In FIG. 1, the air nozzle pitch Lp>nozzle width Lg Preferably, the air nozzle pitch Lp is set to a value equal to or close to the air nozzle width Lg (mm).

(Step 2) Adjustment of discharge timing To adjust the discharge timing, a sorting operation delay time T3 and a sorting operation time T4 regarding this timing are set.

First, the sorting operation delay time T3 (s) is set as the time from immediately after the workpiece Wp is detected to have passed by the article detection sensor 28 until it is carried into the entire area of the simultaneous air blow area, and is determined by, for example, the following equation [6] It is calculated by

T3 (s) = (Ls (mm) + Lp (mm) x Nr) / conveyance speed Vrj (mm/s)...[6]
Here, Ls is the distance from the detection position of the article detection sensor 28 to the leading air nozzle 22(1) on the upstream side, Lg is the air nozzle width of the air jet sorter 20, and Lp is the distance between each pair of adjacent air nozzles in the conveyance direction. This is the pitch between the air nozzles 22.

Next, the sorting operation time T4 (s) is set and adjusted.

This sorting operation time T4 is an operation time for discharging the target workpieces out of the system by air blowing, and two setting methods are prepared: static setting and dynamic setting. Note that the number of simultaneous air blows Nr used here is the setting value already set in step 1.

In the static setting, as shown in FIG. 2(a), with the workpiece Wp stationary, air nozzles 22 (air nozzles 22(1) and 22(2) in the figure) for the number of simultaneous air blows are applied to the workpiece Wp. is the sorting operation time T4 until the work Wp subjected to the ejection force is ejected outside the system of the conveyor conveyance path 21a (lower side in the figure) as shown in the figure. Adjust.

In addition, in the dynamic setting, after adjusting the aforementioned sorting operation delay time T3 (s), the sorting operation time T4 as shown in FIG. 2(b) is adjusted according to the user's arbitrary settings under the actual conveyance state of the workpiece Wp. .

Next, the ejection permission conditions are checked depending on whether the following two conditions a and b are satisfied for the sorting operation time T4.

As condition a, 1/sorting capacity PPS (pieces/s)>T4(s)...Whether formula [7] is satisfied, that is, workpiece 1 corresponding to the set value of sorting capacity PPS (pieces/s) It is determined whether the sorting operation time per piece is longer than the set time of the sorting operation time T4. When this condition a is satisfied, it can be seen that the sorting operation can be performed while the time allocated to the actual sorting operation is longer than the set value of the sorting operation time T4.

Also, as condition b, air blow shift time Ts x (number of nozzle arrays n - number of simultaneous air blows Nr) ≧ T4 (s)...Whether formula [8] is satisfied, that is, the number of nozzles per shift in air blow shift. It is determined whether or not the shift by 1 minute is possible within the air blow shift time Ts.

If either condition a or b is not satisfied, an alarm is displayed by the operation display means 13e, prompting the user to check the set value and the transport conditions of the workpiece Wp.

(Step 3) Discharging operation processing Once the parameter settings and conditions have been confirmed as described above, the discharging operation processing becomes possible.

In this discharge operation process, a discharge command is output from the inspection machine 10 to the air jet sorting machine 20 and taken into the sorting unit 30. When the article detection sensor 28 detects the work Wp to be discharged, a timer for the sorting operation delay time T3 is started, and when the sorting operation delay time T3 has elapsed, the air nozzles 22 for the number of simultaneous air blows Nr are used for the sorting operation time T4. Start air blow.

In addition, every time the air blow shift time Ts (mm) elapses, for example, when Ts (s) x 0 time elapses, simultaneous air blows are performed from the air nozzle 22 (1) at the left end in FIG. The solenoid valve 23 (from 23 (1) in the figure to the number Nr of simultaneous air blows) is opened for the corresponding number of simultaneous air blows Nr to start the first one. The air blowing of the air nozzle 22(1) is ended, and the air blowing of the air nozzle 22(Nr+1) is started. Next, when a time period of Ts(s)×2 has elapsed, the air blow shift is performed by ending the air blowing of the air nozzle 22(2) and starting the air blowing of the air nozzle 22(Nr+2). The air blow shift is repeated in this manner, and when the time Ts(s)×n has elapsed, the air blow from the air nozzle 22(n) is terminated. Further, when the condition of Equation [9] (Ts(s)×n elapsed time≧T4) is satisfied, the simultaneous air blowing is terminated.

Note that depending on the workpiece length L, the air blowing of the air nozzle in the latter half may not be performed. Further, the various parameters described above indicate ideal calculated values and can be changed arbitrarily. Furthermore, in the above explanation, the relationship between distance (mm) and time (s) was explained, but the conveyance movement of the workpiece Wp is received as a pulse signal from the conveyance drive system, and the roller diameter (mm) and rotation speed (rpm) are It is also conceivable that the above-mentioned ejecting operation processing may be executed by converting the distance from .

Next, the ejection operation will be explained.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates the ejection operation when the ejection operation process is executed with the number Nr of simultaneous air blows set to 1.

In this ejection operation, while the workpiece Wp is being conveyed sequentially from (a) to (c) in FIG. 3, as shown in FIG. When the air nozzle 22 (corresponding to 22(1) in FIG. 1) reaches the front of the air nozzle 22 with arrangement number 1 (corresponding to 22(1) in FIG. 1), air blowing is started.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 3(b) and 3(c), the air blow with the number Nr of simultaneous air blows being 1 is sequentially shifted downstream by the inter-nozzle pitch Lp in accordance with the conveyance speed of the workpiece Wp to be discharged, The work Wp to be discharged is discharged to the outside of the conveyor transport path 21a.

In this case, if the immediately following workpiece Wp is also an object to be discharged, as shown in FIGS. 3(d) and (e), the subsequent workpiece Wp is also Nr Air blowing is started at a timing delayed by ×Ts, and a similar discharge operation process is executed.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates the ejection operation when the workpiece length L of the workpiece Wp is relatively longer than that in FIG. 3 and the ejection operation process is performed with the number of simultaneous air blows Nr set to 2. .

In this ejection operation, while the workpiece Wp is being conveyed sequentially from (a) to (d) in FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. After the work Wp reaches the front of the air nozzle 22 with arrangement number 1, as shown in FIG. ), corresponding to 22(2)), air blowing is started.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 3(c) and (d), the air blow with the number of simultaneous air blows Nr being 2 is sequentially shifted to the downstream side by the inter-nozzle pitch Lp in accordance with the conveyance speed of the work Wp to be discharged, The work Wp to be discharged is discharged to the outside of the conveyor transport path 21a.

In this case, if the immediately following workpiece Wp is also an object to be ejected, as shown in FIGS. Air blowing is started at a timing delayed by ×Ts, and a similar discharge operation process is executed.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates the ejection operation when the workpiece length L of the workpiece Wp is longer than that in FIG. 4 and the ejection operation process is performed with the number Nr of simultaneous air blows set to 3.

In this ejection operation, while the transport of the workpiece Wp progresses sequentially from (a) to (e) in FIG. 5, the workpiece Wp to be ejected (the same After the work Wp (filled out in the figure) reaches the front of the air nozzles 22 with arrangement numbers 1 and 2, the entire workpiece Wp reaches the front of the air nozzles 22 with arrangement numbers 1 to 3, as shown in FIG. When it reaches , air blowing starts.

Next, as shown in (d) and (e) of the same figure, the air blow with the number of simultaneous air blows Nr being 3 is sequentially shifted downstream by the nozzle pitch Lp in accordance with the conveyance speed of the workpiece Wp to be discharged, The work Wp to be discharged is discharged to the outside of the conveyor transport path 21a.

Although not shown in the figure, in this case as well, if the immediately following work Wp is to be discharged, the subsequent work Wp will also be air-blown at a timing that is delayed by Nr0×Ts with respect to the preceding discharge target. will be started, and similar ejection operation processing will be executed.

Next, the effect will be explained.

The article inspection device 1 of the present embodiment configured as described above is equipped with an embodiment of the article removal device of the present invention as the air jet sorter 20, and the control section 13 as a nozzle number setting means is operated by the control section 13 as the nozzle number setting means. By simultaneous air blows from the air nozzles 22 equal to the set value (set number) of the number of simultaneous air blows indicated by the display means 13e, the work Wp to be excluded is discharged to the outside of the conveyor transport path 21a.

In addition, when the article detection sensor 28 on the upstream side of the plurality of air nozzles 22 detects that an article is carried into the simultaneous air blow area on the most upstream air nozzle 22 (1) side, the article is transported based on the detection timing. The sorting control unit, which is an air blow control unit, executes simultaneous air blowing while shifting the blow width area of a set number of air nozzles 22 to the downstream side in the conveyance direction according to the conveyance speed based on the speed and the nozzle width Lg of the air nozzles 22. 30, the plurality of solenoid valves 23 are controlled to open and close in units of a set number of simultaneous air blows.

Therefore, even if the workpiece length L (the length of the article in the transport direction) changes, the ejection force can be sufficiently adjusted by changing the set number of simultaneous air blow nozzles, for example, without changing the shift speed of the air blow area for simultaneous air blow. The device does not require replacing the air nozzle and can be flexibly adapted to the size and mass of the object to be inspected.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the control section 13 and the sorting control unit 30 select the air nozzles 22 based on the specified workpiece length L based on the operation input to the operation display section 13e of the control section 13 as the nozzle number setting section. Since the number of simultaneous air blows Nr is set, the air blow area width corresponding to the work length L can be set to a area width that is significantly different from 1, 2, or 3 times the air nozzle pitch Lp, as illustrated in Figures 3 to 5. It becomes possible to set accurately.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 13 and the sorting control unit 30, which function as nozzle number setting means, operate in a stable discharge mode, which is a plurality of setting modes in which the number of simultaneous air blows Nr is different for a specified workpiece length L. , has a high capacity discharge mode and an arbitrary setting mode. Therefore, it is possible to easily set the air blowing conditions in the air jet sorter 20 even for multiple types of workpieces Wp having different masses, representative areas subject to air blowing, etc. for the same workpiece length L. .

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when the number Nr of simultaneous air blows is set to a plurality of numbers, the upstream air nozzle among the plurality of air nozzles 22 that perform simultaneous air blowing in accordance with the movement of the workpiece Wp in the transport direction on the article transport line 22(1) etc. (for example, arrangement numbers 1 and 2 in FIG. 4), when closing the upstream electromagnetic valve 23(1) etc. corresponding to the plurality of air nozzles 22(1) etc. The standby solenoid valve 23 corresponding to the standby air nozzle 22 (for example, arrangement number 3 in FIG. 4) may be opened. In this case, the shift speed of the air blow area in the transport direction by multiple adjacent nozzles can be independently set to vary depending on the number of adjacent nozzles that perform air blowing simultaneously, making it easy to set discharge patterns for various blowing conditions. It becomes possible.

In the article inspection apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the work Wp to be inspected in the inspection machine 10 is simultaneously blown with air from the air nozzles 22 of the set number Nr of simultaneous air blows, while the conveyance speed Vrj of the work Wp and the air nozzle Based on the nozzle width Lg of 22, the inter-nozzle pitch Lp, etc., the blow width region of the air nozzle 22 with the number of simultaneous air blows Nr is sequentially shifted by the inter-nozzle pitch Lp in the conveyance direction. When the upstream article detection sensor 28 detects the entry of an article into the blow area of the most upstream air nozzle 22(1), the conveyance speed Vrj of the work Wp and the air nozzle 22 are adjusted based on the detection timing. Based on the nozzle width Lg and the like, the sorting control unit 30 controls opening and closing of the plurality of solenoid valves 23 to operate in units of a set number of simultaneous air blows Nr. Therefore, even if the workpiece length L changes, the ejection force can be sufficiently adjusted by changing the set number of air nozzles 22 without changing the shift speed of the air nozzle 22 with the number of simultaneous air blows Nr, and there is no need to replace the air nozzle 22. This is an article inspection apparatus that includes an air jet sorter 20 that can flexibly correspond to the size and mass of articles to be inspected.

That is, in this embodiment, a plurality of relatively narrow air nozzles 22 are arranged so as to be adjacent to each other in the article conveyance direction while each blowing in an air blowing direction substantially perpendicular to the article conveyance direction. By controlling the opening and closing of the solenoid valve 23 to operate in units of the number of simultaneous air blows Nr, it is possible to perform a higher sorting capacity than when using a wide air nozzle. Further, the work pitch corresponding to the maximum sorting capacity can be determined by the formula (excluding electrical delay): work pitch A (s/piece)=(L+Lg)/Vrj.

As described above, the present embodiment provides an air jet sorter 20 (air blow type article removal device) that does not require replacement of the air nozzle 22 and can flexibly respond to the size and mass of the articles to be inspected. In addition, it is possible to provide an article inspection device 1 in which the article rejection device serves as a sorting section.

In addition, in this embodiment, by simultaneously blowing air with a plurality of air nozzles 22 arranged in parallel in the air jet sorter 20, the target workpieces Wp to be discharged can be extended to long items and medium-weight items that cannot be discharged with a normal single air nozzle. This makes it possible to perform higher-level sorting.

In other words, simultaneous air blowing is performed using the optimal number of air nozzles Nr that matches the workpiece size (workpiece length L), and the air nozzles that perform the simultaneous airblowing are shifted in the transport direction in accordance with the article transport speed Vrj, thus solving the following problem. can.
i) Air blowing can be performed accurately for the time required to discharge the workpiece Wp outside the transport system (outside the production line) without depending on the transport speed.
ii) Long workpieces that could not be discharged with a single air nozzle can be discharged.
iii) Simultaneous air blowing using the optimal number of air nozzles Nr improves the ejection force and enables medium-weight workpieces to be ejected. However, it is necessary to secure the required air flow rate (L/min) for the required air flow rate x number of arrays n.
iv) Air blow control can be performed for each air nozzle 22, so even if multiple workpieces Wp are carried into the sorting area for multiple nozzles in parallel, discharge control for each workpiece Wp is possible, resulting in high-capacity sorting. is possible.

As explained above, the article removal device and article inspection system of the present invention can easily set the air blow time for removing articles from the article conveyance line, and can also calculate the maximum actual ejected mass. It is possible to provide an article removal device and an article inspection system that can reduce burden. The present invention is useful for air blow type article removal devices and article inspection systems in general.

1 Article inspection device 10 Inspection machine 11, 21 Conveyance section 11a, 21a Conveyor conveyance path 12 Inspection section 13 Control section (nozzle number setting means)
13a Transport control means 13b Inspection control means 13c Calculation control means (memory calculation means)
13d Sorting control means 13e Operation display means (nozzle number setting means)
20 Air jet sorting machine (sorting section, article removal device)
22 Air nozzle (multiple air nozzles)
22(1) Top air nozzle 23 Solenoid valve 23(1) Top air nozzle solenoid valve 24 Filter regulator 25 Air piping 26 Monitoring means (flow rate monitoring means, air pressure monitoring means)
27 Air tank 28 Article detection sensor 29(1), 29(2), 29(n) Air supply path 30 Sorting control unit (nozzle number setting means, air blow control unit)
L Work length (length of work in transport direction)
Lg Nozzle width Lp Pitch between air nozzles N Number of air nozzle arrays Nr Number of simultaneous air blows (number of air nozzles that perform simultaneous air blows)
Nr0 Number of simultaneous air blows in high capacity discharge mode Nr1 Number of simultaneous air blows in stable discharge mode PPS Sorting capacity T3 Sorting operation delay time T4 Sorting operation time Ts Air blow shift time Wp Workpiece (article, item to be inspected)
Zj sorting section

Claims (5)

An article removal device that is incorporated in an article conveyance line and eliminates conveyed articles by air blowing,
three or more air nozzles with a predetermined nozzle width arranged at a predetermined pitch along the conveyance direction of the article;
three or more solenoid valves that are provided corresponding to each of the air nozzles and control the supply of compressed air supplied from the air source to each air nozzle;
Nozzle number setting means for setting the number of air nozzles that simultaneously blow air among the three or more air nozzles;
an article detection sensor that is provided upstream of the three or more air nozzles and detects the introduction of the article into a blow area of the most upstream air nozzle among the three or more air nozzles;
Based on the article detection timing by the article detection sensor, the blow width area of the set number of air nozzles set by the nozzle number setting means is set by the pitch in the conveyance direction based on the conveyance speed of the article and the nozzle width of the air nozzle. an air blow control unit that controls the opening and closing of the three or more solenoid valves to operate in units of the set number for executing the air blow, so as to execute the air blow in the blow width region while sequentially shifting the air blow. An article removal device characterized by: 2. The article removal device according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle number setting means sets the set number of air nozzles based on a specified length of the article in the transport direction. 3. The article removal device according to claim 2, wherein the nozzle number setting means has a plurality of setting modes in which the set number of air nozzles is different for a specified length of the article. when closing an upstream electromagnetic valve corresponding to an upstream air nozzle among the plurality of air nozzles that simultaneously blow air in accordance with the movement of the article on the article conveyance line in the conveyance direction;
The article removal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a standby solenoid valve corresponding to a standby air nozzle located downstream of the plurality of air nozzles is opened. An article inspection device comprising the article removal device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 as a sorting section, and an inspection section that performs a predetermined article inspection for each article on the article conveyance line.

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